Angels, God’s Invisible Agents

In the Bible, the Greek word for angel means messenger. An angel brought a message to Mary, as they brought God's messages to many throughout the Bible. Normally, we can't see angels, but they are there doing the bidding of God by ministering to the people of God. Today, a major part of the invisible world, God's invisible agents.

Stay with us. From Chicago, this is The Moody Church Hour, a weekly service of worship and teaching with Pastor Erwin Lutzer. On this program, Erwin Lutzer continues a series on the invisible world, where battles are lost and won. Later, we'll turn to 2 Kings chapter 6 and learn about angels, God's secret agents. Pastor Lutzer comes now to open today's service. But thank you so much for joining us. You know, the Bible says that in this life, we look not at the things which are seen, because the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are unseen are eternal. And that, of course, is our theme today as we speak about angels and the unseen world.

And if you're joining us by way of internet all over the world, we welcome people. We're so glad that they are joining us for our worship service. But right now, Jesus Christ is going up and down the aisles, and he is checking our hearts.

The Bible says that his eyes go to and fro throughout the whole earth, seeking those whose hearts are perfect toward him. Would you bow with me in a moment of silence and then a moment of prayer as we invite the presence of the Holy Spirit to manifest himself through conviction, instruction, and enabling us to worship acceptably. Father, guide us, we ask. Tune our hearts to sing praises to you. We ask Lord Jesus that without any interruption within our own spirit, we might be able to give you praise both now and always. Amen. Praise the Lord for he is glorious Wherever shall his commerce fail Time and faith with saints victorious Still and death shall not prevail Great above all our salvation Foes come high with his plough of pain Heaven, earth, and all creation are embedded in his name For which in honor, glory, blessing, glory of the world to thee Come, and all thy praises dancing With that homage, grant the peace All the saints in that adoring Breathe in the ground before the dawn As our angels serve before thee So on earth I will be found The scripture reading this morning is from portions of Hebrews chapter one and two.

Please join me on the bold print and the text is printed in your bulletin. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days he has spoken to us by his son whom he appointed the heir of all things through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

After making purification for sins he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. Are they not all ministry and spirit sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation but we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels namely Jesus crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. the guilty Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh See Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh The invisible world It's out there You can go on the internet, you can watch television and they'll talk about the paranormal world. They'll speak about instances where people encounter ghosts in houses. And there are those who actually go looking for these ghosts and in some instances finding them. Because there are haunted houses after all. But the people who go looking for these spirits have no idea the kind of spirit they're looking for. And even if they find them, they have no idea regarding their origin or their intention or what they are up to.

What a world we live in. People interested in the unseen, the normally unseen. And they're doing what they can to interpret it. How different it is when we open the pages of the Bible. Because there we discover that in addition to God, who is of course unseen, there are only two kinds of spirits in the world. There are angels and there are demons and if our eyes were open to the spirit world, I think that we would be surprised at the amount of activity around us that is taking place all the time.

There's a veritable buzz, so to speak, in the spirit world. And there are, yes, only angels and demons and today we're going to speak about angels because a couple of messages back I spoke about the occult and we spoke about the demons and Satan. Today we speak about angels. And there is in America an angel craze. There are some places where you can go to an angel store devoted to trinkets and paraphernalia that has to do with angels.

And people again don't understand the distinctions that happen. We had a television show on angels and how the angels are able to bless people and to help people. And right now I'm checking my notes to see what that television program was, yes, touched by an angel.

It was that good feeling program that was family oriented that all kinds of stories of people in distress and someone comes to deliver them. What many don't realize is that that particular series was loaded with cultural theology that is unbiblical and wrong. For example, the idea was that there are angels floating around wanting to do nice things for almost anyone. Doesn't matter who you are, doesn't matter what you believe, they will show up and they will do it. And people didn't understand that there are two different kinds of angels in the atmosphere and there are those that are evil angels, but they will be turned into angels of light and do you good.

If they can deceive you and make sure that you're not afraid to die, they're willing to help along the road of life. Well, today a few facts about angels before we get to an amazing story in the Bible. A couple of things about angels. First of all, they were created by God. Psalm 145 lists the moon and the sun and the angels and it says, At thy command they were created.

I love that. At thy command they were created. God spoke and boom, they were there. And they were there by the multiplied millions at his word. Created by God because there are no baby angels.

Jesus made this very clear. They do not procreate. They don't multiply like human beings. So they were individually created by God. They are persons. You see, the test for personality is intellect, emotion and will and angels have all of that very clearly. The fact that they are spirit beings doesn't mean that they don't have intelligence.

Of course they do. Look at the Bible. Look at the messages they bring.

Look at the fact that they want to look into the whole story of redemption. Clearly, they have intelligence. They have emotions. There are things that cause them joy. There are things that cause them sadness and they have a will. After all, a third of them, according to Revelation chapter 12, a third of them fell with Lucifer. So they chose against God, the one-third did. So they have wills.

They are personalities. They are also all originally holy. Here's a verse I ought to preach on sometime. It says in Mark chapter 8 that when Jesus comes, those who are ashamed, Jesus said, of me and my words in this adulterous generation, of that person I shall be ashamed when I come with my Father's glory with the holy angels. You know, and there are some people who think that the return of Jesus is going to be a happy experience for everyone. Well, Jesus said if you're ashamed of me, I'll be ashamed of you.

Think about that for a moment. But when I come with the holy angels, originally all of them holy because they were created by God. And of course, they were all holy.

And they have rank and organization. You have Michael, for example, who is the chief angel, Michael the archangel. You know, when Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4 that when the Lord comes in the rapture, he shall come in the clouds and the voice of the archangel.

He doesn't even have to name him because everybody knows, based on other passages of scripture, that that's Michael who is going to be giving the charge. He is in charge of the host of angels. And then you have some angels like Gabriel whose main responsibility is to communicate messages. According to the book of Daniel, there are also angels that are chief princes, which means that there are a whole category that have a great deal of influence and a great deal of relationship. And beyond that, you have principalities and powers all organized very, very well, just like the demonic side of the spirit world is also well organized. And so that's what the Bible says about angels.

And in Hebrews 1 14, it says that they are sent to be ministers to those who are heirs of salvation, namely believers. When you think of angels in relationship to the unconverted, read the book of Revelation and there you see them heaping judgment on the world. You know, I was thinking about this when John fell before an angel.

Remember this in the book of Revelation. The angel says, no, don't fall before me. Obviously, you don't never want to worship an angel. He said, don't fall before me. And then the angel said, I am a fellow servant.

Isn't that beautiful? Angels are fellow servants. They are there to help us and to minister to those who are heirs of salvation. And what that means will become a little clearer as this message proceeds. But now for the story. And you have to see this in your Bible so that you know that I'm not making this story up. This is 2 Kings Chapter 6, 2 Kings Chapter 6. Now, just in case you left your Bible at home, I think it's on page 312.

312 in the Bibles that you have there in the seat in front of you. But 2 Kings Chapter 6, let me just tell the whole story to you. And then what we're going to do is go back and we're going to try to grasp why this message and this story should be life transforming for all of us.

And why we should leave studying God's Word today differently than when we began because the power of the Word to transform us is overwhelming. So with that background, here's what happened. The king of Syria, and this is not modern Syria as such, but the king of Syria is warring with the king of Israel. And the king of Syria says, you know, I'm going to bring my troops over here. And he's plotting that. And lo and behold, it's very clear that the king of Israel knows exactly what's going to happen because then he withdraws his troops from the area. He is ready for the attack.

And this happens a couple of times. So the king of Syria is very distressed and believes that there's someone within his ranks who's a spy. But one of his servants who clearly heard of the prophet Elisha, not Elijah, it's easy to get them confused because they were contemporaries, but I hope I remember today that it is Elisha. You'll notice he says in verse 12, one of his servants, that is the king of Syria's servants, said, no, my lord, O king, but Elisha the prophet who is in Israel tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom. He's saying your most private conversations are known to Elisha, who then goes and tells the king of Israel what you, the king of Syria, are going to do. Now either Elisha had some very big ears or more probably God was telling Elisha exactly what the king of Syria was saying.

So the king of Syria says, OK, where's Elisha? They said Dothan. By the way, I've been to Dothan many years ago. It's about 10 miles north of Samaria. But he says in verse 13, go and see where he is that I may send and seize him.

It was told him, behold, he's in Dothan. So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city. I mean, you talk about overkill. I mean, you know, you want to get one guy, so you send horses and chariots and your big army. And I mean, talk about shooting a roach with a shotgun.

I think there's somebody who wants to write a country song, and if I remember, the title is Get the Hammer, Mama, There's a Fly on Papa's Head. And this is a little bit of overkill, actually. Maybe you don't need exactly a hammer now, but nonetheless, the king says we're going to get that guy. So he sends a whole army. The Bible says a vast army of chariots and horses to capture Elisha. Well, what happens is this. Verse 15, when the servant of the man of God, this is the servant of Elisha now, when he arose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, alas, my master, what shall we do?

Put yourself in the position, as I have, of being the servant. That's where we are. And remember the situation now.

This would be like, as someone has said, it would be equivalent to you waking up and finding tanks all around your house, and when you look at the labels carefully, you realize that it says North Korea. And you're going to have a very bad day. Very bad day.

Well, Elisha is speaking to the servant, because he said in verse 16, do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Let me ask you something. Would that have cut mustard with you? If you had been there, would you have said, oh, that's enough for me, oh man of God?

Let's just change the illustration a little bit. You're driving along the street. It's midnight. And you've just driven over a series of sharp objects, all four tires of your car are flat. You're surrounded by gang members.

Some people have, some of them have a gun, some of them have knives, some of them have chunks of iron and stones, and they begin breaking the window. And you say to the person next to you, do not be afraid. Behold, there are more with us than are with them. And the person says, why, of course, forgive me. Just forgive me, forgive me for my anxiety.

Uh-uh, uh-uh. You need something more than just the word of a man of God at that moment. Elisha knew that. And here is a miracle that has occurred only here in the Bible, at least a miracle like this.

Don't expect one like this for yourself, but there is a reason why it happened here so that we might learn. And Elisha prayed and said in verse 17, O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see. So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots and fire all around Elisha. Well, there's a spirit world out there, and notice it says that there was now a vast army. There are more who are with us than with them because there are myriads of angels. In fact, the Bible says 10,000 times 10,000.

I haven't figured it out, but that clearly is in the multiplied millions, and there are many of them, and this army is bigger. And let me say a word about angels. They are spirit beings, but sometimes God gives them the opportunity and the ability to actually become physical. That's why in the Old Testament there are those who entertained angels, unawares as did Abraham. There are stories even today of where people have appeared out of nowhere to help someone, and when they turned around to thank them, the person has disappeared. I know somebody to whom that happened, and I have every reason to believe, the possibility at least, that this was an angel sent by God in a time of distress. And even Satan, let's think theologically here for a moment, he must also have something like that ability and a spirit couldn't quote scripture. He'd have to have some kind of a physical form to make sure that those little puffs of air, which is the way in which we communicate words, would be given to Jesus. And in this instance, God allowed these angels to somehow, whether literally or figuratively, take the form of angels that have chariots, the fire symbolic of God, and these beings are surrounding the town of Dothan, and there are, just like the man of God said, more of God's angels than there were members of the Syrian army.

What a story, but let's continue it. Later on, it says that Elisha said that the Lord opened his eyes, verse 18, and when the Syrians came down against him, Elijah prays now a different prayer, and says, Lord, please strike this people with blindness. So God struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. And Elisha says sarcastically, this is really funny. He says, this is not the way and this is not the city. Follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. Well, of course they're seeking him.

He says, uh-uh, you don't really want me. You want the king of Israel. Let me take you to Samaria. Well, they're blind. What are they going to do? They're going to have to follow him. And so they go the 10 miles to Samaria, and the king of Israel is elated and wants to kill them. I'll summarize the story, but Elisha says, no, no, don't kill them. Let's make a feast for them. Set bread and water before them, I'm in verse 22, that they may eat and then go to their master. So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away and they went to their master, and the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel, at least for a time.

Later on they did again, but that staved off the invasion. What a story. What I'd like to do now is to give you four truths that I believe will be transforming for you tomorrow and in the days ahead. And whether you're here today as a student, whether you're here today as a businessman, no matter what your profession, as a housewife, I want to encourage you today and I want you to leave with the confidence that God is on your side. So here are the four transforming truths. Number one, important to realize, is that God's word is more powerful than the armies of the world. God's word is more powerful than the armies of the world. God's word is more powerful than the armies of the world. God's word is more powerful than the armies of the world. By the way, what I wanted to do in the next few moments is to get you from verse 15 to verse 17. The real agenda that you and I have, how do we live in the world that you can see, which is a very real world, in such a way that we nonetheless derive our encouragement and our strength from the world that you can't see?

That's where we are going in the next few moments. And so first of all, please notice carefully that God's word is more powerful than these armies. When God wants to defend Israel, God is able to intervene and he has multiple armies and various strategies at his disposal that he can deploy at any moment to defend his people whenever he wants to defend them.

Because God is sovereign and God is the one who rules in the affairs of men. The best way to illustrate this is Pilate. Imagine Pilate is standing in the presence of Jesus and he says, do you not know that I have power to crucify you and power to release you? Boy, that sounds confident. Oh, imagine the words of Jesus.

You know them by memory, don't you? Jesus looks at him and calmly said, thou is to have no power at all against me unless it were given to thee from above. Wow, Pilate, don't you know that the air you breathe, don't you know that the brains that I gave you, don't you know that the position that you are now in is all because I have allowed it?

It is under my hands. You can do nothing, absolutely nothing unless I gave you the ability to do it. And when we look at what's happening in America and when we think of the designs of radical Islam and the number of Christians that are being killed today simply because they are Christians and throughout the world those kinds of persecutions and all that is going through, would we remember that God's word is more powerful than the armies and the designs of men who strut on the stage of history believing themselves to be strong, but when God wants to defend his people he has adequate resources to do it. And they can do nothing unless it is given to them from above.

You need to hang on to that in a world that has lost its way. God is confidently in charge. There's a second lesson. The first is that God's word is more powerful than the armies of the world. Secondly, Elisha's prayer.

Did you notice this? Elisha's prayer did not bring the angels. Elisha's prayer only opened the eyes of the servant to see angels that were already there.

They already were in place and Elisha knew it whether he could see them or not at that point I don't know, but Elisha was absolutely confident that in the midst of a situation where everyone was ganging up on him, where a whole army was sent to cut off his head, that he could stand there with utter confidence believing without wavering that if God wanted to deliver him he could and also believing that at all times when it comes to believers there are more on our side than there are on the enemy's side because God has already won the victory. There was no use praying, Oh God send angels. No use praying, Oh God send angels.

The angels were there. Just open your eyes and see what God has already done. That is always my greatest need and that is your greatest need as well. Always that we might be able to see what God has done. There are so many things we pray for that really God has already accomplished. For example we say, Lord defeat Satan. Well Satan has been crushed and defeated. Now he's out on bond, I understand that, out on bail and he's doing a lot of damage but when we confront him our prayer should be one of thanksgiving. Oh God I thank you for the defeat of Satan. I thank you that that has already been accomplished and I stand now on what you've done rather than asking you to do something more except to apply what you've done to my situation because God is God and he is totally sovereign over your situation. And you know we pray, Oh God bless us and it's okay to pray that way. I'm sure that I pray that way many times for a specific situation. But how about this verse in Ephesians?