- [Narrator] The angelic ministry has been around
for a very long time.
No, don't do it.
When we pause to think how wonderful the angels are,
we may feel that we ought to make a little statue
and bow down to worship them.
In a sense, that must have been the way
the apostle John felt when he was
given all the tremendous insights he recorded
in the Book of Revelation.
Read what he wrote.
"Then sayeth unto me, see thou do it not
"for I am thy fellow servant
"and of thy brethren, the prophets.
"And of them, which keep the sayings of this book,
"worship God."
Revelation 22:8-9.
So not only does the Bible say we must not worship angels,
but it also says that angels do not want to be worshiped.
The Apostle Paul also spoke to the matter of angel worship.
"Do not let anyone who delights
"in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you.
"Such a person also goes
"into great detail about what they have seen.
"They are puffed up with idle notions
"of their unspiritual mind."
Colossians 2:18.
So if anyone tells you,
"We should worship angels."
Don't listen to them.
They are completely wrong.
His teaching is in direct opposition to God's word.
The anointing cannot replace the services of angels.
Jesus Christ was born of the Holy Ghost
and he had the holy ghost anointing without measure,
yet he needed the service of angels.
I am glad to let you know that Jesus believed in angels
and he enjoyed their ministry.
Even as the son of the most high God.
He knew no sin,
yet he needed the services of angels even before his birth.
An angel announced his coming
and the angel said unto her,
"Fear not, Mary, for thou has found favor with God
"and behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb
"and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus."
Luke 1:30-31.
When he was born, a mighty host of angels came
amongst the shepherds and declared his arrival.
Luke 2:8-14.
"Now there were in the same country,
"shepherds living out in the fields,
"keeping watch over their flock by night
"and behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them
"and the glory of the Lord shone around them
"and they were greatly afraid.
"Then the angel said to them, do not be afraid,
"for behold, I bring you good tidings
"of great joy, which will be to all people.
"For there is born to you this day
"in the city of David a savior who is Christ the Lord.
"And this will be the sign to you.
"You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths
"lying in a manger.
"And suddenly there was with the angel
"a multitude of the heavenly host,
"praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest
"and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men.'"
When, and as a result of the news of his birth,
an angel advised Joseph to flee to Egypt
with the baby Jesus in order to fulfill the prophecy.
Matthew 2:13-15.
"When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared
"to Joseph in a dream.
"'Get up," he said,
"'take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.
"Stay there until I tell you,
"for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.'
"So he got up, took the child
"and his mother during the night and left for Egypt
"where he stayed until the death of Herod.
"And so was fulfilled
"that the Lord had said through the prophet,
"'Out of Egypt I called my son.'"
After the devil left Jesus on the Mountain of Temptation,
angels came and ministered to him.
Matthew 4:11.
"Then the devil left him
"and angels came and attended him."
Angels were there with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Matthew 26:53-54.
"Do you think I cannot call on my father?
"And He will at once put
"at my disposal more than 12 legions of angels,
"but how then would the scriptures be fulfilled
"to say that it must happen in this way?"
One of the most pronounced events at resurrection
was the angelic operation that rolled the stone away.
"There was a violent earthquake,
"for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven
"and going to the tomb,
"rolled back the stone and sat on it."
Matthew 28:2.
The stone was placed there permanently.
There was no thought of it ever being moved.
I can not tell what type of equipment was used
in placing the stone there,
but an angel came and rolled it away.
Two angels were later seen
at the head and foot where Jesus was laid,
symbolizing the two chair booms
that would be put around the mercy seats.
John 20:12.
"And saw two angels in white
"seated where Jesus's body had been.
"One at the head and the other at the foot.
"At ascension, the angels were again present,
"comforting the men and declaring
"that Jesus shall come back again
"the same way he was taken up."
Acts 1:10-11.
"They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going,
"when suddenly two men dressed
"in white stood beside them.
"'Men of Galilee,' they said,
"'Why do you stand here looking into the sky?
"This same Jesus who has been taken
from you into heaven will come back
"in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'"
I want you to please understand this.
Jesus was sent after the order of Moses.
Acts 3:22.
"For Moses said, 'The Lord, your God
"will raise up from you a prophet like me
"from among your own people.
"You must listen to everything he tells you.'"
Moses was prophesying in those days of the coming Jesus.
So Jesus came after the order of Moses
and we have come after the order of Jesus.
As a result,
since angels were present during Moses's ministry
and angels were present during Jesus's ministry,
we are to be ministered to by angels as well.
Moses was told by God,
"Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way
"and to bring you
"to the place that I have prepared."
Exodus 23:20.
There are things prepared for us in this generation also,
but we do not have any hope of getting there
without acknowledging the ministry of angels.
They are the heavenly forces made available to us by God
to bring His plan and purpose for our lives to pass.
God has prepared His manifold wisdom for the last days.
And we are going to walk in it.
You cannot afford to be grounded or stranded in this period
when the church has taken off on a flight.
The Lord has said by the mouth of the prophet,
"That my people are destroyed from the lack of knowledge.
"Because you have rejected knowledge,
"I also reject you as my priests.
"Because you have ignored the law of your God,
"I also will ignore your children."
Hosea 4:6.
Sing for joy.
Angels are joyful.
Is it possible that angels have long faces
or are despondent?
I don't believe so because of Luke 15:10.
"In the same way I tell you
"there is rejoicing in the presence
"of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Every moment of every day,
someone in this world is being rescued.
Somewhere, someone is discovering God.
What a wonderful time angels must be having.
They are overjoyed at the possibility
of sinners accepting Jesus as their personal savior.
When we consider that angels dwell
in heaven with God and serve Him in holiness,
they have great cause indeed for joy.
They make the word of God effective.
The angels, those fiery forces of heaven,
are the performance company of God.
They follow the word of God to make it produce.
Revelation 19:11-16.
"And I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse
"and He who was riding it is called faithful and true,
"trustworthy, loyal, incorruptible steady.
"And in righteousness, He judges and wages war
"on the rebellious nations.
"His eyes are a flame of fire
"and on His head are many royal crowns.
"And He has a name inscribed on him
"which no one knows or understands except Himself.
"He is dressed in a robe, dipped in blood
"and His name is called word of God.
"And the armies of heaven dressed in fine linen,
"dazzling, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
"From his mouth comes a sharp sword,
"His word, with which He may strike down the nations
"and He will rule them with a rod of iron.
"And He will tread the wine press
"of the fierce wrath of God,
"the almighty in judgment of the rebellious world.
"And on His robe and on His thigh,
"He has a name inscribed king of kings and lord of lords."
According to the Bible, His name is the word of God.
And the army of heaven followed the word.
The phrase, the Lord of Hosts will perform it
appears often in the Bible.
The phrase is used if a remarkable prophecy is issued
that cannot be explained by humans.
Mary was told that the Virgin must conceive
and bear child named Emmanuel
and that it would be done by the Lord of Hosts.
God employs angels, His hosts,
to carry out his will.
This has been a short overview
of the wonderful subject of angels.
We've just touched on a couple of the qualities
that angels possess.
Is this a significant study?
It is, in fact, especially in the time we live in.
It is my sincere conviction that in these last days,
we will see more angels, see more of their work,
and see more of their influence
than at any other time after revelation.
There are going to be incredible things happening
and we don't want to be blinded to or skip
what God is doing in our time
because of our unbelief or unconcern.
There is a lot loaded for this era we live in.
Angels are an essential
and relevant part of God's package for the redeemed.