- [Narrator] Who receives the services of angels?
Number one, those who know and serve God.
Angels help those who know and serve God.
What makes the scope very large?
Do you have a knowledge of God
by virtue of being related to him
through his son Jesus Christ?
If you do, you have been born again.
You are on speaking terms with God.
The channels are open.
God can now give you spiritual manifestations
such as the visitation of angels.
Anytime you hear of something good coming your way,
something beneficial, you may ask yourself,
I wonder if I will get it.
I wonder if I am eligible.
Perhaps you raise these questions in your own life.
So we need to consider closely
who receives the services of angels.
As we begin this video,
we must keep the sovereignty of God in mind.
He can not be made to jump through a hoop.
Even if we think we have satisfied
some list of requirements.
He is God, not us.
His understanding is perfect, not ours.
And we know that with his perfect understanding
of our lives and needs,
he is bringing all things together for our ultimate good.
Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to his purpose."
What we will be looking at in this video then,
are some general characteristics of people or situations
for whom or in which God has afforded
angelic involvement in the past.
There is no foolproof formula for obtaining angelic help,
even pagans, people who are anti-God,
sometimes receive angelic aid.
Do you remember the warning
given to the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar?
Given those cautions.
Are you longing for the things of God?
Do you hunger to get to know him better?
Maybe you hear this verse, for example,
"I rejoiced with those who said to me,
let us go to the house of the Lord."
Psalm 122:1. And you reply.
"Yes, let's go."
This is proof that you are looking for God
and all that he has for you.
If you know God, you will probably serve him as well.
But suppose to your utter amazement and dismay
that the government has just passed a law
that means you can no longer pray to God.
Would this change your prayer routines?
You might exercise yourself by recalling that verse
which speaks of going into a closet to pray.
If it were suddenly forbidden to pray,
one might think it would be a good time
for prayer in the closet.
This is not true service to God however.
In fact, this law was passed during Daniel's time.
The entire story is told in the sixth chapter of Daniel.
Did Daniel go to his walk-in closet
and pour out his prayers to God there?
But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed,
he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room
with its windows open towards Jerusalem.
He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done
giving things to his God.
Daniel 6:10.
"It is true that Daniel was cast into the den of lions
because he had broken the King's law.
But there he met an angel and felt at home
as we had observed before."
You see, Daniel served the God with dedication
his whole life.
As one might expect, we find many similar examples
in the records of the scriptures
concerning the servants of God who were visited by angels.
Mary, the human mother of our Lord was one such person.
She loved God.
She really loved him.
We read of her love and reverence for God
in the magnificent Luke one verses 47 through 55.
"And my spirit has rejoiced in God my savior,
for he hath regarded the lowest state of his hand made it,
for behold, from henceforth all generations
shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty has done to me great things.
And Holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him
from generation to generation.
And he had shooed strength with his arm.
He have scattered the proud
in the imagination of their hearts.
He have put down the mighty from their seats
and exalted them of low degree.
He have filled the hungry with good things
and the rich he had sent empty away.
He have holpen his servant Israel
in remembrance of his mercy.
As he spake to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his seed forever."
God has chosen her for all time
among all the women of the world
to be the mother of the baby Jesus.
This readiness in turn would bring her bad talk,
embarrassment, and even the possible loss of her fiance.
But Mary was pious and Mary saw an angel.
Ezekiel was another illustration of the ones who served God.
Some people refrain from reading his book
because they do not feel it has anything to say to them.
In reading it however, we weep with the prophet
over the sins of the people of God.
And at the same time, find our hearts warmed as they tune
into his great love for God.
And Ezekiel saw angels.
Do you remember Cornelius's story?
He was a Roman Centurion based in Israel.
What kind of person was he?
The Bible states that he and all his family
were devout and God-fearing.
He gave generously to those in need
and prayed to God regularly.
Acts 10:2.
Cornelius meant business with God.
He was not just playing and wasting his time
until he could return to Rome and enjoy the good life.
He realized that God was worthy
to be sought with all his heart,
and Cornelius saw an angel.
Number two, those who need God's special help.
People with special needs
have often received angelic service very beautifully,
wonderfully and dynamically.
Think of Joshua.
He found himself at the top of the Israeli army.
Although he had some military command experience
under Moses, he had never alone carried the entire burden
of leadership responsibility.
He knew that he needed help and that God was his only means.
Are you surprised that God came to Joshua's aid?
Would you expect a God to call down from heaven:
"Sorry, but you are alone"?
No, of course not.
Our heavenly father wants to meet us
at the point of our need, whatever that may be.
In Joshua's case, it was for military planning.
And that is exactly what Joshua got.
How was that support and guidance given?
By the presence of an angel
as seen in Joshua 5:13 through 14.
Now when Joshua was near Jericho,
he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him
with a drawn sword in his hand.
Joshua went up to him and asked,
"Are you for us or are you for our enemies?"
"Neither," he replied.
"But as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come."
Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence
and asked him,
"What message does my Lord have for his servant?"
No wonder Joshua was able to lead the people
to a great victory.
Peter and the other apostles offer another example.
They found themselves in prison
because they loved God openly
and served him by preaching the word loyally.
The Jewish religious leaders didn't like that.
They sent them to prison, but they were shocked.
Why? Because Acts 5:19.
"But during the night, an angel of the Lord
opened the doors of the jail and brought them out."
Acts 5:22 through 23.
"But on arriving at the jail,
the officers did not find them there.
So they went back and reported.
'We found the jail securely locked
with the guard standing at the doors.
But when we opened them, we found no one inside.'"
Some folks might respond,
well, that was a long time ago.
I don't think God works like that today
to deliver his saints.
Oh, but he does, my friend.
The renowned Indian evangelist Sadhu Sundar Singh
was imprisoned in Tibet for preaching the gospel
in that far off country.
The Lama had confined him,
and to make sure he did not go out,
the Lama personally kept the key on his belt.
But an angel came and he did not need the key.
The next day, the Lama was looking for his prisoner,
but he was nowhere to be found,
as Sadhu Singh needed to get out
and God sent an angel to execute it.
Are you convinced angels are aware of our needs
and are fully commissioned by God
as He directs to meet those needs?
Many sick people have seen angels during their illness
and have regained health.
At other times, people who preached
have seen angels in the pulpit.
Angels come in times of great pressure and great need.
I would like to leave you with a clear understanding
that God has fulfilled
and can fulfill special needs through angels.
However, I also feel the need to remind you
that God with a higher purpose in mind
does not always work as we would expect.
Peter, Sadhu Singh and others, for example,
have been miraculously freed from bondage,
but many other godly people have not.
Read Hebrews 11 to see what I'm referring to.
Consider all the many Christians who, even as you read this,
suffer for their faith in parts of the world,
where there is no freedom of worship.
In all these situations, we must have the attitude
of the three young Israelites
who refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar's golden image
and therefore face the prospect
of being thrown into the fiery furnace.
They told Nebuchadnezzar that they knew
that God could deliver them and that they thought he would.
Daniel 3:17.
"'If it be so our God who we serve is able to deliver us
from the burning fiery furnace.
And he will deliver us out of thine hand, oh king."
Then they said, 'But even if he does not,
we want you to know, your majesty,
that we will not serve your gods
or worship the image of gold you have set up.'"
Daniel 3:18.
You see, they were prepared
and ready to accept the possibility
that God might not decide to deliver them.
And even if that happened,
they would not worship Nebuchadnezzar's idol.
Perhaps you have thought to yourself,
I know God, I serve him with all my heart.
From time to time, I have special needs.
If so, it seems obvious that you also fit in with the people
who received angelic help during the biblical age.
I can not say how or when,
or even if God will send you angelic help,
but I know he can.
I know he has done so in the past.
And that is just one of the many things
that make Christian life so exciting and adventurous.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord, all praise and glory belong to you.
Our constant, invisible, only true and living God.
You are the revealer of all secrets
and the source of all wisdom and knowledge.
And you are all the secrets of the universe,
but you give to us to know the secrets of your kingdom.
Thank you for listening to us when we pray
and for understanding when we ask you,
for having sent us your word and entrusted your truth to us.
We commend you for having revealed the true knowledge
of God's mystery, Christ himself,
in which all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge are hidden.
As you have answer Daniel,
Lord, send your word to give us understanding
in Jesus name, amen.