Ministering Spirits to the Heirs of Salvation

I'd like to begin the sermon today by asking us to consider something that is very fundamental to our day-to-day experience, and that is our senses. We all have eyes, we have ears, we have a nose, we have mouth, we have hands, and we experience life through our senses, through the smell, through the taste, through the touch, through the things that we hear.

We're very, I guess, tactile people. We touch things, we taste things, and for us, the reality of life is very much about what we experience through our physical senses. And in some ways, we can tend to think that that is the fullness of everything that's going around us, you know, what we can see and smell and touch, and that is somehow the fullness of the reality around us. But you know, the Bible repeatedly corrects us in that assumption. In fact, it shows that there is much happening around us every day on the spiritual plane that we don't necessarily perceive with our physical senses. You know, sometimes we might see the effect of it, and it's kind of like the wind. You know, you can't see the wind, but you can see its effect when it blows through the trees, when it blows through the grass, you know it's there. But you can't see it. And in many ways, the spiritual realm is that way. It's around us. It's working. It's active. It's, in some measure, interacting with our lives, and there's times we are completely unaware of it. I want you to consider that when we get down on our knees each day and we pray to God, and we pray some form of that model prayer that Christ gave, and we say, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, to consider that there's actually activity. There's movement. There's action that's taking place that we never see behind the scenes that are bringing about and moving forward that request, and indeed, that prayer. In fact, there's many accounts in the Bible where God's people were placed in situations that were, from a human perspective, you know, uncertain. Maybe they were dangerous. Maybe there were circumstances where someone looked around and they said, I am over my head here. You know, this is an impossible situation. And yet, upon deliverance, they came to find out later, no, actually, there was something going on that was beyond even what you could see, you know, in the realm where God was operating that brought about your deliverance and that God was accomplishing his will nonetheless. As such, God was working. God was active. God was directing. And he was, in many cases, using his creation. Using his creation. And in this case, I want to say, using his ministering spirits to accomplish his purpose.

This brings us to the subject of the message today, one that I hope will be uplifting, encouraging, informational, but also inspiring for all of us. Let's go to Psalm 91 as we introduce the topic.

Psalm chapter 91. Again, this realm that is active that we don't necessarily see or hear or feel, but it is there. And it is God's work. Psalm chapter 91 and verse 11 is where I'd like to begin today. Psalm 91 and verse 11 says, For he shall give his angels a charge over you, to keep you in your ways, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against the stone. He shall give his angels charge over you. I want to talk today about the topic of angels, specifically how they are part of the unseen reality and how they watch over us, they keep us, they bear us up, they do God's will, and they fulfill the purpose for which he sends them. Yes, angels are a very important part of the spiritual realm and a part of our lives that, if we're not careful, we can almost forget about and forget just how active and how involved truly they are. They are accomplishing God's will here on earth, as it is in heaven.

Just because we can't see angels unless they choose to reveal themselves, and in the pages of the Bible, the most common way an angel has revealed himself has been to appear as a young man. That has been the majority of the cases there, but unless they choose to reveal themselves, we don't see them. But that doesn't mean that they aren't there, that they are active, that they aren't involved and dynamic in the way that they're working in our lives, and again to fulfill God's purpose for which they were sent.

Title of the sermon today is Ministering Spirits to the Aires of Salvation.

Ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation. It is indeed what the angels are. It is a purpose that they fulfill. And as we're going to see, this is a role of theirs, but first I want us to understand what the angels are. You know, what are they indeed in terms of the beings that we talk about, and what is their place within the realm of God's order? And once we understand what they are and their placement in the realm of God's order, we'll then come to see how it is they act to carry out His will, and indeed how they're involved in our lives. Let's go to Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1, as we begin to see the order of things pertaining to God and Christ, to the angels, and to us. Colossians chapter 1, beginning in verse 15.

Here, speaking of Jesus Christ, Colossians 1 verse 15, it says, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

For by Him, by the word who became Jesus Christ, all things were created, that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. Verse 17, And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist, or all things are held together.

And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the firstborn, excuse me, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. And so what we come to understand from this passage is that there are things which are created, both in heaven and on earth, both visible and invisible. They are created, and as the passage also tells us, all things were created by God through Jesus Christ, right, through whom and for whom all things were created. So we have this visible and this invisible realm, and among the created things are the angels. The angels. They exist as part of the invisible spirit realm of the Father's creation, again, through Christ, and they are subject to them.

Understand, angels aren't eternal, as the Father and the Son are, okay, as created beings. They had a beginning. We understand that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. These two eternal beings in existence in eternity together, but then at a point of time they created, and among that creation was the angels. So they're not eternal, as the Father and Son are, even though they are spirit beings. They aren't part of the divine God family either, such as you and I will be in glory. So let's understand there's a distinction. They are, the Bible calls the angels, sons of God, okay? So they're sons of God by creation. If you look at the genealogy of Jesus Christ in the beginning of the Gospel accounts, it goes all the way back to, you know, son of Adam, son of God. So Adam as well, mankind as well, sons and daughters of God by creation. But there's a difference between being a son of God by creation and a son or daughter of God by begettle, by spiritual begettle and birth. Okay, understand this is what we shall be. Jesus Christ was the only begotten of the Father, the first of the firstfruits, the first born from the dead, the son of God at the right hand of God. What we will be is in their form and likeness, 1 John 3, right? We will see them as him as he is, and we will be as he is. The same form, the same glorified likeness in the family of God, literally begotten sons and daughters in the God family. Now the angels, again, are spirit beings, spirit creation. They are sons of God by creation, but they are not of the God family in that sense. And so we understand the distinction here of their creation. They aren't objects of worship. You know, there's confusion in the world, sometimes in the Christian world, regarding angels, and there's angel worship, which is a common issue that goes around. And what do you find in the Bible when you find an angel in someone that has fallen down to, you know, worship that angel? You think of the book of Revelation, the vision that's given to John, that revelation by the angel, and he falls down before the angel, and the angel says, see, you don't do that. I'm your fellow servant. He says, worship God. And so you have these accounts where the angel doesn't receive worship to themselves. They point the individual in worship to God. So as such, we don't pray to angels either. Now Ezekiel chapter 28 also confirms that angels are created beings. So let's turn over there.

Ezekiel chapter 28, of course, this is the account of that one who rebelled, who became the adversary, the one we call the devil. But let's understand who and what he is by creation, because as by God's design and his creation, he was an angel created as the other angel. Sorry. Ezekiel chapter 28 and verse 13 says, you were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering. The Sardis, the topaz, and the diamond. Beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. It says, the workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. Again, this is referring to the angel who actually rebelled and led one third of the angelic realm in rebellion against God. We call them demons, all right, of which he is the chief.

But let's understand, you know, two-thirds remain faithful to God. Those are the righteous angels who serve God and his purposes. But as we understand through this description of the adversary, it says, from the day you were created, he, like the other angels, was created. Unless we think it's talking about a man here, verse 14, you were the anointed carob who covers. So just think about that for a moment. What was his role? What was his position? Well, as it would seem, an anointed carob who covers, it would seem that this one at one point was in the presence of God, a covering carob at the throne of God. You know, you look at the tabernacle and the Holy of Holies in the temple that was behind that veil, the kind of recreation of God's throne room, and you had the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat, which was typifying his throne. And over the shadowing the Mercy Seat were the carobim with their wings outstretched, overshadowing that it would appear this was a role he filled at one time. You were the anointed carob who covers. So we're not talking about a human being here. I established you. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until iniquity was found in you. So again, angels are created beings, like you and I are created beings. We are physical. They are spiritual, okay, so different types of creation. But creation, nonetheless, and they're not like the Father in Christ who are alone uncreated. So there were the two of them in the beginning. And as then as the creation rolled out, there was spiritual creation, and there was physical creation, and there was man placed on the physical creation for God's purpose, ultimately for us to be a part of his family, born, begotten into the family of God. And angels play a role in this process, as we'll see. And while angels are incredible and dynamic spiritual beings, they have a beginning, and they are therefore subject to the sovereignty of God and his purpose. So the question for us today is, why do angels exist?

Why do angels exist? And what is the current purpose of the faithful angels as it pertains to us?

Let's go to Hebrews chapter 1, because here we begin to have the answer revealed.

Hebrews chapter 1. Hebrews chapter 1.

Hebrews 1 begins by establishing the supremacy of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. He's not an angel.

He's not a created being. He is the Son of God at the right hand of God, and is above all power, all authority, above all except for the Father himself. And with that background in place, then Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 14 describes angels in this way. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 14.

He says, Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? He's talking about the angels. He's talking about their purpose.

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

That's an awesome concept. It's an incredible concept, really. And as we look at this verse, there's actually three distinct points that we can understand about angels, three details. Number one, they are spirits. Okay, we understand that clearly. You know, we're physical, we're flesh. They're not. They exist in the spirit realm. Therefore, we don't see them unless they choose to be seen. They have powers and abilities that are far outside of what we experience in our physical state. Yet they can come and go. They can appear before the presence of God. They can be, I'm assuming, anywhere in an instant they choose to be. They're not bound by the physical limitations that you and I are. They are spirit. Secondly, it says they are ministers. They are ministers.

Minister means servant. Okay, that's when you minister to someone, you are serving them.

These angels are servants. They serve. They serve God. They serve God's purposes, God's will. They serve God's creation. Specifically, they serve, as it says, those who will inherit salvation. And thirdly, they are sent forth. They sent forth, which means they operate under direct instruction or assignment from God and Christ. You know, they're not out freelancing on their own, or, you know, having their own agendas. They are there to serve God's will and purpose. And when God says go, they go. And when he says act, they act. And indeed, these who are his faithful servants do such. As such, angels are spiritual servants sent forth by God to assist, to protect, to serve his people, helping them along the way on their journey of salvation, as well as accomplishing God's will in the world. So, like I say, when we get on our knees and we pray, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, things have to move and happen and work for that process to be forwarded. You know, Jesus walked the earth. He says, you know, my father has been working until now and I have been working. And as we'll see also right alongside that, the angels have been working as well to help fulfill what it is that is their purpose to fulfill.

You know, this is another added element of encouragement for those of us who are called by God, knowing we've been given everything we need to succeed. Right? God's given us his Holy Spirit, that which helps to build a mind of God and Christ in us. He's given us his Spirit. He's given us his Son by sacrifice, that our sins might be forgiven. He's given us his Word of life, that we can read it and live it and be blessed. And he's given in service unto us as well his ministering spirits, his angels. Everything we need to succeed, God has designed to be working in our favor for our blessing. You know, it's us really who are the weak link. It is us who are reminded constantly, oh, I need to, Paul Moody, you need to humble yourself before God and you need to you need to make sure you're with the program because there's not anything missing that I say, if only had this, I could accomplish it. We have been given by God what we need. And indeed, that should be a great encouragement to us. And these ministering spirits play a great part of that process. Now, woven into this description is something mentioned just a few verses back in verse 7. So let's go back to Hebrews chapter 1 verse 7 as well as it pertains to the angels. And it says, And of the angels, he says, who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire? A flame of fire. You know, I like that. And describes the angels in action, how they act, how they move, how they respond in terms of what God would send them to. I mean, they are ready and they are instant and they are like a flame of fire, bold, we could say, in their service to God and his purposes. And the angels are sent on a mission. Again, they respond as flames of fire.

And that's just, it's not just like poetic language. It's the literal description of them in action in the Bible. It's also worth noting at this point that the Bible describes the angelic realm as vast in number. There are many of them. Not just a few sprinkled throughout the universe, which is vast. There are many. I won't turn to these necessarily, but you can jot them down for reference. Revelation chapter 5 and verse 11. Revelation 5 verse 11, which says, the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands. You know, literally 100 million plus thousands and thousands. You know, what might that be? 200 million, 300 million, I don't know. But there's a lot. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 22 mentions an innumerable company of angels. It says you've come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, right? The New Jerusalem, the place of the innumerable company of angels, it says. Inumerable. Can't be numbered, at least by perspective. There are many. Let's turn to Daniel chapter 7. Daniel chapter 7, we're going to get a rather fascinating glimpse into the throne room of God.

Let's see what's there.

Daniel chapter 7, here the prophet, is witnessing an incredible vision, again, of the happenings around God's throne. And let's let's pick it up in verse 9. Daniel chapter 7 verse 9. It says, I watched till thrones were put in place, and the ancient of days was seated. God is the ancient of days. He is on his throne. It says his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame. It's wheels a burning fire. You know, it's amazing as you read this description and you realize just literally emanating from God's throne is fire. No wonder his ministers go forth as a flame of fire. This throne was a fiery flame. Its wheels are burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. A thousand thousands ministered to him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. Quite a fantastic scene. Daniel, in vision here, literally saw millions of angels serving God, even 100 million before him. And this was around his throne. How many more were dispersed out amongst the creation? Indeed, there are so many angels. The number is vast. The power is vast. The service they do is vast. Because we can't see them, we tend to forget that they are all around us, carrying out God's will and purpose in this world and in our lives.

Many passages also include descriptions of these angelic beings. You know, what do they look like? Because oftentimes you maybe get this picture of this cute little chubby baby floating on a cloud and it's a, you know, carob or something. Well, that's not what you get in a description of the Bible itself, because there are many different kinds of angels and their descriptions are rather fascinating. I'm not going to take a lot of time on that today. I'm going to allow you to go through and study. Do an in-depth study on the angels. See what they look like. See what their functions are. But I will give you a little, just a little example. The seraphim, what you'll discover, they stand upright, much like a human being, and they have six wings.

You know, three sets of wings and their wings are doing various things as they function.

You know, the carobim, you've heard of the carobim. The carobim have four wings and they have a head with four faces. I've tried to wrap my mind around that, but I just, I don't know, it's a face wrapped around a head, not a mind wrapped around the description, I guess. Four faces. So you got a face like a man, and this is just my interpretation, you know, I'm thinking face like a man, facing forward. That's what I have, so I guess that's my perception, you know. Face like a man, face like a lion, kind of looking the other way. Face like an ox, and maybe on the back, if it's the back, a face like an eagle. You could mix that around or move it around, I don't know what it is, but those are the four faces of the carobim. So I guess you're always facing forward whatever direction you're facing. And again, they've got four wings. It's interesting, this is a speculative, but it's interesting. What is one of the main central fixtures of false worship? When Israel came out of Egypt, what was the idol that was built? Well, it was a golden calf, right? Calf worship. Why is that so predominant throughout, you know, this trail through so many false religions? Well, you know, did we not read that the devil was a carob, a covering carob at the throne of God? And one of his faces is that of an ox. And who wants to be worshipped instead of God? You know, holy cow.

Where does that phrase come from? I mean, again, speculative, but it seems that the one that would want to take worship off God to himself would put himself featured front and center in those false processes. But I digress. But that was carobim. Four wings, head with four faces, a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. The four living creatures are described as full of eyes, you know, just eyes all over, eyes on the back of their head. And what parent wouldn't love that opportunity, you know? Sometimes we tell our kids, I know what you're doing. Oh, I've got eyes on the back of my head. God has angels who have eyes covered with eyes, you know? There's scripture that talks about the eyes of the Lord that roam to and fro across the earth. He's got a lot of eyes God does watching the earth, a lot of beings with eyes watching the earth. So again, we have these unique descriptions in the Bible. Again, God has given his angels important responsibilities. They have individual duties. There's different types of angels with different responsibilities, but something that is common to all of them is to obey God, to serve his will, to be faithful and loyal unto him, and to heed and obey, and carry out his will. This is part of their service. This is all of their service, actually. Psalm 103 reinforces this. Again, just the dedication of the angelic realm to fulfill God's will. Psalm 103, verse 19, it says, The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, you his angels, who excel in strength, who do his word, heeding the voice of his word. Bless the Lord all you his hosts. And oftentimes, angels are called and referred to as the hosts of heaven, the heavenly hosts, right? God is the Lord of hosts, which means he is, you know, the heavenly hosts are that angelic realm. So he says, Bless the Lord, you all his hosts, you ministers of his, who do his pleasure. And so we're talking about created spirit beings here who are numerous, who are powerful, who are active, and who are completely subordinate to God's direction. They heed his voice, they heed his word, and their function is to carry out his will on earth as it is in heaven, to minister to his people the heirs of salvation. Ultimately, to all of mankind, and to respond in what the Bible describes again as fire-like response. It makes his ministers a flame of fire. And I don't know about you, but I'm, I like the idea of having a flame of fire watching over me. Let's take some time to see what these things look like then in action. How is it that the angels have ministered and do continue to minister to the heirs of salvation today? I want to cover three points to the remainder of the message, three ways in which the angels minister to us. Point number one is the angels minister through offering specific protection under God's direction.

They function to offer specific protection under God's direction. Again, I'll remind us of the Psalm that we opened with, Psalm 91 verse 11 through 12, which said, He shall give his angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against the stone. You know, comforting words, comforting words. But what does that look like in practical application? Let's go to Daniel chapter 6. Daniel 6. I love sermons that take me into stories that have sort of been just reduced to children's bedtime stories. They are good stories to tell our children. They're good stories for the adults to remind ourselves of as well because there's so much contained within them to build our faith. Daniel chapter 6, you'll recall here King Darius assigned a royal decree that no one should petition any God or any man for 30 days but him. And of course the penalty for breaking that would be death in the lion's den.

Of course the king was kind of pushed into that corner by certain advisors that had an ulterior motive in mind but he signed the decree nonetheless. Daniel, as you know, he had been brought out of Judah in the Babylon in captivity and now he's under King Darius as we get down the road aways and Daniel prays faithfully three times a day to God. You know, nothing changes simply because of a decree of a king. You know, God is God and he will be worshipped. So upon discovery then Daniel is facing this punishment that even the king doesn't have the power to revoke. You know, he signed the decree and now even he cannot reverse it.

So let's jump into it. Daniel chapter 6 and verse 16. Again, our topic is angels. Daniel 6 verse 16 says, So the king gave the command and they brought Daniel cast them into the den of lions. But the king spoke saying to Daniel, Your God, whom you serve continually, he will deliver you. Says, Then a stone was brought and laid at the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring, with the signet of his lords, and the purpose concerning that it might be, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.

Now the king went to his palace and he spent the night fasting. No musicians were brought before him and his sleep went from him. You know, this guy's in distress. Daniel, he was someone he liked. He was someone that he did not want to deliver to the lions and yet here he was backed into this corner and he is now literally in distress over this faithful man. What will happen to him?

His sleep went from him. Verse 19, Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions, you know, probably just when it was bright enough to see the crack of dawn.

And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, Daniel, servant of the living God, as your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions. Verse 21, The Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever, my God sent his angel. Right? God intervenes for us directly, dramatically, and sometimes the way he intervenes is by sending this angelic help. My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths so that they have not hurt me because I was found innocent before him and also, O king, I have done done no wrong before you. You know, like I say, we kind of boil this down into a children's bedtime story and we had several variations of this when our children were young and one of the stories we read to them at night and what comes to my mind is the visual image of here's Daniel sitting in the lion's den and there's a lion laying next to him, he's kind of resting his head on his lap and Daniel's, you know, petting the lion and the kiddies purring and all these nice things you envision. It truly was a miracle. You ever been to the zoo and seen a lion? You ever see how he looks at you?

Even the zoo lion, you know, they're usually on the other side of some kind of partition or some kind of plexiglass and I'm looking at them and I know how they're looking at me. It's usually like right the back and forth, you know, that glass went up, they're gonna do what lions do.

Right, so this was this was miraculous. This was dramatic. This was God's intervention. My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouth. Verse 23, now the king was exceedingly glad for him and commanded that he should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatsoever was found on him because he believed in his God. Again, clearly divine intervention carried out by one of God's angels. You know, as the story goes on, those accusers of Daniel are brought and they're thrown in there and they don't even hit the bottom of the pit before, you know, the lions do their work. So, miraculous, dramatic, a clear illustration of God's involvement, again, working through one of his servants. I mean, this had to be instantaneous intervention when Daniel was thrown in there, like a flame of fire to appear to act and to save.

Psalm chapter 34 verse 7 states that the angel of the Lord ad camps all around those who fear him and delivers them, delivers them. You know, what a blessing to live under the shadow of that kind of protection, brethren. Never, never take it for granted. We may not speak very often about angels, but they are often a part of our prayers. I know personally I often ask God to set his hedge of protection around certain individuals or, you know, in the midst of certain circumstances. That included in that prayer is, God send your angels to provide protection. Before we head out on a trip and we always pray as a family, set your angels about us as we travel. Bring us safely to where it is that we're going. Tomorrow we're having a few carloads of preteens heading off to pre-teen camp with their families, right? And not just from here, they'll be converging from all different directions. And what's our prayer? God watch over them, protect them, set your angels about them, about the camp, bless the activities, give them journey mercies, guard their goings and comings. You know, these are our prayers and the angels are fully and actively involved in what it is we're asking for. Personally, in my trips to West Africa, if those were dependent upon a zero-risk policy, I would never get on the plane because there's risk all around. There's risk in the environment, there's risk in the culture, there's risk in the food, there's just risk. Darla and I are going to be over in Nigeria for youth camp in August. Then we're going to go by road over to Benin, which is the next country over, French West Africa, because we'll be having a leadership conference combined with Tim Pebbers area, French West Africa area. So we have multiple countries of leaders. We'll have about 50 with leaders and wives. Ben Light will come over, Steve Myers will come over, and we're going to have a conference with the leaders for four days there. So we're going to get a road trip. Darla's going to see some areas she hasn't seen, but we'll have a road trip through part of Nigeria into Benin. After the conference, we'll be going to Ghana with our group from there. So we'll go from Benin through Togo, Togo over to Ghana before we return home. You know, it's just like many of you have ventured through various parts of the world. Don't we have confidence when we know God is with us? And even if something should happen, we know that nothing happens outside of his control, outside of his knowledge, outside of his will or purpose to allow it. So whatever the case, we are in his hands.

There's no better place to be than that. But knowing he has this spiritual army that is going about offering this protection and blessing is truly something that's encouraging.

Darla had 30 tons of hay delivered this week. I tend to groan as I see the guy with the harrow bed come driving in, you know, five ton loads at a time. And he came six times and dropped 30 tons of hay. And it gets, you know, this harrow bed is they pick it up out of the field and it's, you call it a hay wagon, and he's rolling down the road and he pulls up and he delivers it, you know, it lifts up almost like kind of like a dump truck straight in the air and he can stand it up.

And so you have this stack of five tons of hay, multiple tiers, and it's about 14-15 feet high, I would say, the top bales are, 100-pound bales. And so they kind of, he put 20 tons up behind the barn. So if I look like I got a little bit of a tan this week, that was my evening workout, two to three hours each evening, just, you know, I'm kind of low-tech. It's one bale at a time, you know, and into the barn and back for another bale. But strategy is, you know, you tip a tier and you've got 16 bales, I think it is, on the ground one other time, running them in, and the other tier is still looming up here over you.

And I'm thinking about the sermon as I'm stacking hay one evening this week, and I was reminded of a few years ago, a close call I had when I was stacking hay, because I just got to the end of cleaning up one of these tiers that I tipped over, and there was one bale left, and I went and I put it on the cart and turned my back, and I took a step, and I took one step, and immediately right behind me I heard, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, and like two tiers of hay, which would have been a little over 3,000 pounds, and you put them all together, just came over.

And, you know, I was working, I was thinking, well, they look all right, and we glance at them every once in a while. I think God on his throne was going, Paul, you know, and he said to somebody, would you get down there and, you know, in spite of myself? And what was going on over my head? I can't say for sure. I believe there was an angel with one finger, because it only probably a pinky finger, it doesn't take much, right?

If you're an angelic being, holding that stack until I stepped out of the way, just enough to let it go and be a reminder, you know, I'm here. God's here. His angels are here, and we're watching over, and we're interacting. We don't know, brother, when there's been intervention for us.

Sometimes we see the effects. Sometimes we might have a clue. How many times have things happened that we don't have a clue? That one day we'll sit down in the kingdom with one of the hundred million angels, and he might come up and say, hey, buddy, let me tell you about this interesting day in your life. Do you remember? And, you know, you just kind of went on oblivious, and you had no clue, but I was there. And I'll say, well, thank you.

Thank you very much. You know, they are about us. They are God's servants. You know, we have individuals right here in the congregation who literally had a wildfire burning thousands of acres through the woods, raging. They had to evacuate, raged right up to their house, right, Alan Shuri? Yeah, right up to their house. We've seen the pictures, burned the woods, and within inches stopped and went around their house and carried on its way.

You know, I tend to personally believe there was an angel there that just said stop, you know, no further. Maybe it takes a flame of fire to know a flame of fire, but intervention, miracles, blessings, many of these things come through what it is that God does through this spiritual armory. He provides the protection.

And the point is, don't underestimate what God and His angels are doing in the realm that our physical senses can't perceive. They're powerful, they're numerous, and they are at work. 2 Kings 6. 2 Kings 6 and verse 14.

Here Elisha and his servants are surrounded by the Syrian army, physically speaking, you know, it's an impossible situation. Horses, chariots, a military force, an enemy all around. 2 Kings chapter 6 and verse 14. It says, therefore He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, the king of Syria did, that came by night and surrounded the city. And when the servants of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master, what shall we do? So he answered and said, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. You know, open his eyes that he can see something that is beyond the physical senses and yet real nonetheless. Open his eyes that he may see. It says, and the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. He makes his servants a flame of fire, Hebrews 1 says. These chariots of fire were all around Elisha and his servant. They were angelic forces, these horses, these chariots, operating with power and readiness under God's command. And it shows that his protection, his presence, is active even when it's not seen, even if we don't detect it with our senses. He is there.

Point number two, angels function as messengers for God's divine instruction.

Angels function as messengers for God's divine instruction. In fact, the word literally translated angel from the Hebrew and the Old Testament and the Greek and the new means messenger. Messenger. Let's go to Luke chapter one.

Luke chapter one. Here in Luke one, Zacharias is serving at the temple according to the order of his division, and an angel appears to him and delivers a message. He says, guess what, Zacharias?

Your wife Elizabeth's going to conceive, and you're going to have a son. And Zacharias is like, well, look at me. Don't you know how old I am? Don't you see my wife? What do you mean, have a child? And oh, by the way, this is going to be John the Baptist. Notice his response. Luke chapter one in verse 18. It says, and Zacharias said to the angel, How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years. And the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel.

Gabriel. Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, it was sent to speak to you and to bring you these glad tidings. The name Gabriel means God is my strength, or God is great, and he appears to be God's chief angelic spokesman. Indeed, you can find Gabriel on the scene on a number of notable messages that were delivered. Daniel received a vision from God, which he did not understand. Gabriel came to help give an interpretation and to expose many prophetic things to happen.

Seventy weeks prophecy included in that. Here in the example of the father of John the Baptist, here's Gabriel as well, offering encouragement and good news. And he also appeared to Mary, the mother of Jesus, to announce the birth that would come. And so Gabriel stands in the presence of God, and when he is sent with a message, he goes and he delivers. Luke chapter 1 and verse 26, just a little more down the road in the chapter here. Luke chapter 1 verse 26, another message. Now in the sixth month, which would be the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to the city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. He says, in having come in, the angel said to her, rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women.

You know, you'll notice here he begins with words of comfort, words of encouragement, and he did so in his message to Daniel. He did so in his message to Zacharias. You know, this is a good thing.

Verse 29, but when she saw him, she was troubled at this saying and considered what manner of greeting this was. You know, what's the catch here? I mean, understand, it had been a long time without prophetic revelation, without a prophet, without a vision on the scene of Israel up until we come into this time. And now suddenly an angel has appeared to this young woman and said, hey, you're a virgin, but you're going to carry this child.

Verse 30, the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God, and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth the Son, and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest, and Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. The Mary said to the angel, how can this be, since I do not know a man?

The angel answered and said to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the highest will overshadow you. Therefore also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible. And Mary said, behold, the maidservant of the Lord. You know, Mary must have just been an incredibly remarkable woman, very young woman, possibly in her late teens, and here she has this heavy...

what?...load laid upon her. This heavy responsibility, let's say that, and she just responds, I am God's servant. You know, would we all respond in such a way? Behold, the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word, and the angel departed from her.

And so what you'll find surrounding many important announcements in the Bible is that these angelic messengers are present and that they are involved. You recall it was an angel who rolled back the stone from Christ's tomb and announced, he is risen. Words that have echoed through time.

He is risen. Indeed, the New Testament highlights the role of angels at the deliverance of the law and various roles that they have played. Acts chapter 7 verse 38, Stephen references the angel who spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. Of course, that's capital A, angel. That is, the word of the Lord, the one who became Jesus Christ, the pre-incarnate Christ, who spoke to Moses out Mount Sinai and the deliverance of the law. Acts 7 verse 53, Stephen stated that they received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it. Galatians 3, 19, Paul says, the law was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. In Hebrews chapter 2 verse 2 declares that the word spoken through angels was steadfast. So understand, the law was delivered by God. You know, the law at Sinai was delivered by God, but the angels were intermediaries in this process, and it appears in the whole package of the ceremonial law that they were involved in conveying various aspects of that as well. Indeed, there's many examples of these faithful messengers acting throughout the Bible, and they will act. They will act prophetically.

An angel will preach the everlasting gospel to the inhabitants of the earth at the end of the age. The church will preach as long as the church has strength. When the church no longer has strength, there will be two witnesses who will preach the gospel. They will be killed, and an angel will take the everlasting gospel to all the inhabitants of the earth. Another angel will announce the fall of Babylon. Again, an incredible announcement and message. And a third angel will warn against receiving the mark of the beast. All this is found in Revelation chapter 14 verse 6 through 11.

So what we see is that angels are messengers of good news, they're messengers of encouragement, but they're also deliverers of message of warning as well.

Point number three. At times, angels also function to serve the physical needs of God's people.

Angels function to serve physical needs of God's people. Notice 1 Kings chapter 19.

1 Kings chapter 19. Here Elijah had recently defeated the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel by God's blessing. You know, a great victory. The prophets of Baal were slain. God was shown as the God. Elijah was his prophet. What a high! But suddenly word gets back to this woman, right? One woman, Jezebel, who said, Elijah, you're a dead man. And despite all that God had accomplished through him now, Elijah is on the run. 1 Kings chapter 19 and verse 4, it says, But he himself went all day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree, and he prayed that he might die. And he said, It is enough. Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my father's. After experiencing this incredible high, Elijah has sunk into a low. He's in a depression. He's scared. He's tired. He's exhausted. He's hangry. Hangry, I would say. I've been there, right? You mix the jack in the box, Elijah, at the last exit, and now you're under a broom tree, and you're hangry. Blood sugars down, and, God, I just want to die. You know, you get this huge surge of adrenaline, and you get this crash. And we have physical responses that are wrapped into all of these things as well.

But here he is. Verse 5, Then as he lay and slept under the broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals in a jar of water. So he ate, and he drank, and he lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came back his second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, because your journey is too great for you. So he rose, and he ate, and he drank, and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. So here we have the angel's role in providing nourishment to Elijah, to attend to his needs, to meet him where he was at, and to minister to him, not in some great spiritual way. God would do that when he's like, do you hear the still small voice?

And he gets to the mountain, but here the angel's job was a physical ministering to Elijah. He was exhausted physically and mentally, and he served to prop him up again. You know, it's not an isolated incident in the Bible. In fact, if you've ever felt like, boy, I must be kind of a weak person if I need an angel to intervene and just help me in most basic needs. Well, if that would occur, that's a blessing. God's watching over you, but recognize you're also in good company. Matthew chapter 4. Matthew chapter 4. Elijah wasn't the only one to be helped in a moment of weakness by an angel. Matthew chapter 4, beginning in verse 1, then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, and when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights afterward, he was hungry. Now the tempter came to him and said, if you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. Okay, so understand Jesus is at a point of physical desperation here.

Okay, you don't survive 40 days and 40 nights of fasting without divine intervention and help, but even at that, don't imagine that he was robust and strong at this point. He was at... and his flesh was crying out for relief. I mean, the devil would come to tempt him at the point of, you know, this guy is weak and I've got him. Right? So this is a point of desperation. Of course, we know that he was victorious over the temptations. We know that story. I want to jump to verse 11, where it says, then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.

Angels came and ministered to him, to Jesus Christ. The Greek word for ministered in this account is diacono, and it refers to taking care of someone's physical needs. Diacono comes from the same root word that we get the word deacon, or deaconess from as well. It's a servant. It's a servant for the physical needs of others, and it includes spiritual as well. But here, Christ, he didn't need spiritually help, but he needed physically help. He was hanging to physical life by a thread.

And the angels probably brought him food, brought him drink. He's in the wilderness. Let's get him on his feet. Let's make sure he's steady on his feet before we depart. Again, they are ministering spirits, sent forth the minister to those who will inherit salvation. And all throughout God's plan of salvation, these angels have worked to uphold his will on earth as it is in heaven. At key points in salvation history, you find not only God and Christ, you find the angelic realm at work to bring about his will. And, you know, we find a similar account at the end of Jesus' life. Luke chapter 22. Luke 22 and verse 39. This is following the final Passover with his disciples.

They had gone out now. Luke chapter 22 and verse 39. And it says, coming out, he went to the Mount of Olives, as was accustomed, and his disciples also followed him. Then he came to the place, and he said to them, pray that you may not enter into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and he knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done. Verse 43 says, then an angel appeared to him from heaven, strengthening him. Strengthening him. And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly than a sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. You know, the anguish and the distress that Jesus was going through, knowing what lay ahead was so great. He knew what crucifixion was about. He had seen it growing up in Roman-dominated Judea. They liked to crucify people on the common street corners where, you know, people went about their shopping day just to see and fear and know the cost of crossing the Romans. So Christ knew what was coming, and he was in distress, physically, you know, fight or flight. And he was crying out to his father, but I yield to your will. And yet in the distress, the angel comes and strengthens him.

Have you ever been in an impossible situation where it's like there's nothing really you can do, but just to have somebody there is encouraging? I've sat with people in the hospital at near death point, and just you can't take that away. You can't fix it, but you can be with them. Just to have someone hold your hand and to know they're there is encouraging. I mean, what were the disciples doing? They were asleep, weren't they? Christ said, can't you stay awake an hour? Can you watch with me an hour? They were no help. Angel came and strengthened him, encouraged him, probably reminded him, you know, you've got this. God is with you, and you know what? The blessing that will come through what you do will be for all of mankind. Just, he wasn't about to run, but this was encouragement, right? We all need encouragement from time to time. Encouragement for what lay ahead.

Again, this is what angels do. Ministering spirits, offering aid in the time of Jesus' need.

And the Bible's full of examples. You remember the Apostle Paul was on a ship, prisoner bound for Rome, and the ship runs into a storm, and they're tossed about for days. So they're driven, you know, up and down the Adriatic Sea. The ship was coming apart, so they're undergirding it with cables, they're trying to hold it together, they're throwing all the cargo overboard, and the men think they're going to die. And Paul comes up one day and says, you know what? The angel of an angel of God stood by me last night. And he said, Paul, you will go to Rome. It's God's purpose. You go to Rome. You bring the Gospel to Rome. There'll be no loss of life on this boat. And that was an encouragement to them all. You remember Peter in prison, chained between two Roman guards in the middle of the night, and the angel appears. The shackles fall away. The door opens, and it's not like Peter, this is a jailbreak, make a run for it. He's worried about Peter's personal needs. He says, put your sandals on. Put your garments on. Put your cloak on. Maybe it's cold outside, you know, and then we can go. So you see all throughout the Bible, angels not only fulfilling God's will, but interacting with His people, providing support, care, encouragement, and even at times, just a drink of water or a simple need. And, you know, we don't always know even, indeed, when those things have occurred in our lives. Sometimes we know, sometimes we may not know until the day comes that it's revealed. And so protection, provision, messages of hope, messages of encouragement, messages of warning, physical and spiritual support. Brethren, this is how the angels of God minister to the heirs of salvation, and they will continue to do the same for you and me as God wills. We can depend on that. We can take comfort and strength in that, knowing that we're not alone. God is always with us. His Spirit is with us, but He said His angels as a hedge about us as well. Some of it we may be able to detect with our physical senses.

Some of it we will never know about in this life, because, as Hebrews 13 verse 2 tells us, some have unwittingly entertained angels. An angel may have come into your life and done something and been on their way, and you never knew about it. One time we were on a trip as a family out of town. We went, we're heading towards Montana, and we went over Lookout Pass, and the car just died.

Totally dead. You know, no juice, no battery, couldn't even turn it over, and we limped off to the side of the road and popped the hood. And we were there for a while, and cars were just going by and going by, and we're actually on our way to Montana for the Pentecost weekends we used to have over there, right? And finally, it's like, is somebody ever going to stop? The kids were young. Darla found a roll of paper towels under the back seat, and then rolled like three or four sections, and she wrote SOS on the paper towels. We put the kids out there, you know, like, I don't know, what were they, like 11 and three or something, 10 and three, holding SOS. And finally, someone stops. This guy, he's driving a diesel truck, which have two batteries, right? Our alternator had died, and our battery had run until it was out of juice. So he took one of the batteries out of his truck, and he put it in our vehicle, and took our battery, and put it in his truck, and went on the way. And we limped into Missoula, into the parking lot for church, and tried to roll up the windows, and there wasn't even enough juice to do that. But we got there, and you know, Darla says, I think that was an angel. Could be. Could be. Some have unwittingly entertained angels.

Brethren, as God is carrying out his plan to bring many sons and daughters the glory in his kingdom, these ten thousands times ten thousands and thousands of thousands of beings are the messengers and spiritual army by which he is continually moving that plan forward. Take comfort, take cheer, take confidence knowing there is an army that will fulfill what God would have them to fulfill, and his will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.