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THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS
By Johnny Tatum
TO BELIEVERS
(Part II)
5. Delivering
Angels have a specific ministry of delivering (releasing) believers.
Apostles In Prison:
In Acts 5, we learn that Holy Spirit was filling the [internal] spiritual needs of the elect and drawing those individuals to the Lord God through the spread of the Good News of Messiah Jesus. The number of believers was increasing so much that the high priest and his associates were filled with jealousy, so they put the apostles in prison.During the night an angel of the Lord came down, opened up the gates of the prison to let the apostles out:
But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, "Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life." (Acts 5:19-20)
Early the next morning, the apostles went right back out to the Temple and they taught the people. The officers asked How could this have happened? We found the prison all locked up, the guards were still guarding, but the prisoners were gone. We know what happened — God sent one of His angels to deliver the apostles.
Notice:
Do you know another reason why I love that account? The Temple officials would have been the Sadducees who did NOT believe in the existence of angels. God does have a sense of humor; He sent one of His angels to deliver the apostles from the Sadducees!
It is impossible for believers to be trapped in any situation where God cannot get them out [if He wants to], as reflected in the following modern day testimony —
Sundar Singh In Tibet:
A man named Sundar Singh (famous Indian missionary) was ministering in Tibet and proclaiming the Good News of Messiah Jesus, which is illegal due to the Buddhist stronghold. The Dalai Lama (chief priest of the Buddhist community) put Sundar Singh in prison. A Tibetan prison is just a deep, dry well into which an individual is thrown, the top is locked, and the prisoner dies there.When Sundar Singh was thrown into the hole, he broke his arm and some of his ribs, and he landed on a pile of previous victims' bones. Immediately Sundar Singh prayed specifically Lord, I know that I can never be trapped in a situation where You cannot get me out if You want me out; so if You want me out of this death hole then send Your angels.
As he was finishing the last word, he heard a noise, which sounded like a key going into the metal lock. And then he heard a voice saying Take the rope as a rope fell down into the prison hole. Sundar Singh could not grab the rope because his arm was broken, so he tied his foot in the rope. He was lifted out, and when he looked around to thank whoever freed him, as you can imagine, nobody was there.
Do you know what Sundar Singh did? He went right back to the place where he had been the day before, and he started preaching again. The Dalai Lama came out and said [in Buddhist] What the hey? How could that have been? He was down in the bottom of the well, the top was locked, and I have the only key. We know what happened — God sent an angel to miraculously deliver Sundar Singh.
Peter In Prison:
In Acts 12, we read about a similar situation. Herod Agrippa I (grandson of Herod "the great") was a king-sized wimp (weakling, coward). He persecuted a lot of the believers; in fact, he killed the apostle James (brother of John), which pleased a lot of the unredeemed Jews. So Herod said Okay, I am a tough guy, and he put Peter in prison to prove just how tough he was. [Obviously, Herod remained a wimp.]Peter was sleeping between two guards, he had two chains on him, and there were guards at the door; obviously, Peter was not going to get out. However, there were two things going for Peter. First, as we have already seen, it is impossible for a believer to be trapped in a situation where God cannot get the individual out if He wants to. Second, as we read in Acts 12:5, the church (the body of believers) was fervently praying for Peter.
That night, Peter was asleep when suddenly an angel awakened him:
And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and woke him up, saying, Get up quickly." And his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." (Acts 12:7-8)
Peter stands up and walks; however, do you know what Peter was thinking? This is NOT real; this is a dream! And then, all of a sudden he realizes Wait a minute, this is really happening. What happened? An angel was sent by God to deliver Peter.
6. Delivering God's Answer To Prayer
Angels have a specific ministry of delivering God's answers to believers' prayers.
Please Note:
Angels do NOT answer prayer. God alone answers prayer, so we do not pray to angels. Angels are just messengers in the prayer-answering process.In Daniel 9 and 10, we read that Daniel addressed God in prayer, and God sent His angels to deliver His answers to Daniel.
While I was still speaking in prayer, then the [angel] Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision. (Daniel 9:21-23)
[An angel of God] said to me, "O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. (Daniel 10:11-12)
In Acts 12, we read that the church was fervently praying to God for Peter's release from the hand of Herod:
So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. (Acts 12:5)
The Lord sent His angel to deliver His answers to their prayers.
Note:
Prayer moves God to direct His angels. Specifically, prayer seems to trigger a connection between the Godhead and the angelic Messengers [from God]. However, having said that, know that God will stubbornly bless believers even if they do not pray or if they do not follow the internal protection through Holy Spirit; He will send His angels to protect believers [externally].
7. In Death
Angels are watching, revealing, guiding, protecting, delivering, and delivering answers to prayer to believers in their lifetimes in this world. However, did you know that the angels also have a specific ministry to believers in death?
In Luke 16, we learn of two men: (1) a rich man who had everything he needed, and he ate good food and drank good wine. (2) A man named Lazarus who begged outside the rich man's door for crumbs (actually, garbage); Lazarus wanted to eat the rich man's garbage.
Lazarus would have been a gross looking creature, because he was a leper (one having an infectious, horrible skin disease). Lazarus was not very significant in the scheme of things on earth; in fact, his life began and ended as just another leper in the Land.
Though it seems he was not very significant to man, Lazarus was highly significant to God. How do we know that? When Lazarus died, God sent His angels to take Lazarus to paradise:
Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried." (Luke 16:22)
Talk about a first-rate travel plan!
You say that an angel ministering to a believer in death does not happen anymore? I do not know about that. Consider some modern day accounts by believers, as follows:
Reverend William Kendall:
[As he was dying he said] Why, heaven has come down to earth; I see the angels, and they are flying through the house.A Woman:
I can see the angels; can you see them?A Woman In France:
[She died after much suffering, but her end on this earth was peaceful] I see two angels coming for me.Grandmother Of A Well-Known Evangelist:
I see Jesus; He is holding His arms out to me. I see Ben (her late husband), and I see the angels coming for me.A Man In Germany:
I see Mary (his late daughter), and I see angels coming for me.Maybe, like Lazarus, we are not very significant in the scheme of things here on earth, and maybe we are not of much value to anybody else; however, we are of value to God. He sends His angels to care for believers in death — to take believers to heaven.
8. In The Future
As we saw in our Creation And The Bible Reveal The Glory Of God study, God has his protective canopy of eternity (the condition in which God exists) over us, and we live in this little blip of a physical universe. However, when a believer leaves time and goes into eternity [future], he will leave this blip in one of two ways:
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Messiah will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Illustration:
GOD SENDS HIS ANGELS
John Paton In New Hebrides:
John Paton was a missionary to a tribe in the New Hebrides (a group of islands in the South Pacific). Before going, Paton learned all about the culture of these savages [and he might have been sorry he did…]One night he and his wife were in their little lean-to house on the beach and they saw the natives, who were painted up and dressed in their killer garb, drawing near and dancing. Based on his sociology studies, Paton knew what that meant — the natives were going to kill them. [I suppose these savages dance first to make what is to come next more enjoyable -sic!] Immediately, John and his wife started praying, and right in the middle of their death dance, the savages suddenly stopped chanting and left.
After a few months, John started visiting the tribe again. About a year later, the chief of the tribe became a biblical believer, and when that happened Paton told the chief I need to ask you something. Do you remember that night about a year ago when you were dancing around in your paint and chanting; you were going to kill us right? The chief said Oh yes, that is what we do; before we kill, we dance. Paton asked Well then, why did you not kill us? The chief said You have to be kidding! With all of those men on your house? Paton said There was no one there. It was just my wife and I. The chief said We saw hundreds of the biggest men we have ever seen and they were holding up swords like this [indicating an enormous sized sword]. And when they jumped up from behind your house, we realized that we did not want any part of anybody who can jump like that!
Missionary To Cannibals In The Congo:
Another missionary was sent down to the Congo to minister to cannibals. [What a great ministry that would be — to cannibals; you could not ask What's eating you? -sic!]The missionary lived in a safe place on the edge of where the cannibals lived. However, one day, though he did not want to, he had to make an unavoidable trip right through the heart of cannibal country. The missionary got on his horse, and he made the trip without seeing anything unusual and without experiencing any problems.
When the missionary arrived at his destination, the man awaiting him said We do not believe you made it, because there were about 25 ambushes set up for you along the 50 mile route you traveled. Then one of the natives came into the room, and the missionary asked the native Why did you not ambush me? The native responded What? Those two men who were wearing those shining clothes and who were riding with you — one in front and one in back — were the biggest men we have ever seen; and they were carrying those semi-automatic weapons!
I do not know what happened, but it sure seems to me that God sent His angels to protect His own. Furthermore, I believer He still does.
As we have seen, angels are involved in every aspect of believers' lives even when they leave this little blip of earth. And no matter how believers leave this world, the angels will be there for them. Again, angels enjoy their ministry to believers, because they love what God loves, and God loves His children.
Do you want to be intimately loved by the Creator God — the One who created you — and to be recognized in the heavenlies as one of His children? Would you like to have the assurance of God's internal protection through His Holy Spirit serving your spiritual needs and God's external protection through His angels fulfilling your physical needs in accordance with God's will?
Simply acknowledge:
God, I confess I am a sinner and I deserve to go to hell because of my sins. But I believe that when Messiah Jesus took my sins upon Himself and when He died on the cross, He was paying the penalty for my sin. And when He rose again, He rose to give me eternal life.
From the moment that you trust in Messiah Jesus as your Savior, you can know that God will guide you internally through His Holy Spirit and externally through His angels' ministry to believers of guiding, watching, revealing, protecting, delivering, delivering answers to prayers, and ministering in death/in the future. As Psalm 139:5-6 says —
You have hedged me behind and before and laid Your hand on me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is too high, I cannot attain it
.
Next:
The Ministry Of Angels: TO UNBELIEVERS
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