The lesson this morning is in
Matthew chapter 4. And my subject is ministering
angels. We don't often talk about, probably
don't often think about the angels. But it gets this time of year
and you go by and you see angels plastered on everything. You
start thinking about these angels. I look as they're represented
in these statues and things around, and then I look at how the angels
are represented in the Scriptures, and I suppose with that on my
mind, when I read this, it just kind of jumped off the page at
me. But after his temptation of the
devil in the wilderness, it says in verse 11, Matthew 4, verse
11, it said, Angels came and ministered unto him. What do we really know about
angels? Very little. Very little. I know by Hebrews
chapter 1, verse 14, that they are ministering spirits. Now, I know that they can take
upon themselves visual form, because he said some have entertained
angels unawares. They came up to them and walked
right up to them as men. And they saw them as men just
like the angels that went down into Sodom to talk to Lot and
deliver Lot and his family and warn them of God. They appeared
as men. And often in the Scriptures,
angels appeared as men. But angels are ministering spirits. They really don't have a form.
They are ministering spirits. And then he describes them And
I just can't vision a spirit having a form. But these angels,
he describes them, some of them, like the seraphims, having wings
and covering their eyes, having eyes and things like that. But
I think these descriptions is more for our learning than it
is an actual form that they have. They're ministering spirits.
And then I know by several other accounts that some at least have
names. These angels have names, just
like the sons of men have names. He talks about our names being
recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life. They have names. On one
occasion, Gabriel comes down. We'll talk about that here in
a few minutes. Michael is another one he mentions
in the Scriptures. And Lucifer. Don't forget that
Lucifer is an angel. Son of the Morning. His name
was Lucifer. And then I know that they differ
a little as to their station. He calls some of them archangels. So evidently, they have different
stations, different purposes. They serve different things. And some are called archangels. And these angels are involved
in the more serious things, in the more, I don't know any other
word to use than that, serious things like the end of the world. The gathering in of God's elect,
the angels are the reapers. He sorts the wheat from the tares,
these angels do. He sends them. And I know this about the angels.
Some of the angels were subject to fall, the same as men. They had a station to which they
were charged, and God held them responsible for whatever it was
that he charged them with. They were charged with these
things. There was a time when God told the angels the same
as He told Adam, of all the fruit of the garden you can eat, but
don't eat of this tree. He gave those angels instruction
as to what they were here for, their being and what they were
to serve. And this is where Lucifer questioned
God. and caused his fall out of heaven. But some were subject to the
fall, and then others he calls elect angels. Are you even aware that God has
elect angels? When Paul charged Timothy with
the offices of being a bishop and a pastor and a preacher,
he charged him before God before the Lord Jesus Christ, and what
else did He say? Before the elect angels. You can find that over in the
book of 1 Timothy 5, verse 21. But what I want you to see primarily
in the lesson this morning is that all of the angels minister
to Christ. They all minister to Him. They
were created by Him. I don't know if you've ever thought
about that. When were the angels created? He doesn't really say.
He doesn't really say. I don't know. I just know that
He created them. Now listen to this. Colossians
1, verse 16, it said, For by Him were all things created,
now listen, that are in heaven, and that are in earth. Visible and invisible, whether
they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,
all things were created by him and for him. And whatever else
angels do, their primary service and reason for being is to minister
to the Son of God. That's why they were created.
He was appointed of God as our mediator, as the mediator of
the everlasting covenant of grace. And upon that appointment, God
charged all things, He gave all things into His hands. And creation
was given into His hands, and He created these heavenly beings
for the same reason that He was appointed, assurity. And so in
Hebrews chapter 1, He calls them ministering spirits sent forth
to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. And whatever
it is they do, they serve the purpose of Christ, even those
that are fallen. Even those that are fallen. The
devil is God's devil. And he can't do anything except
Christ give him permission to do it. He said, has thou considered
my servant Job? Well, yeah. But he said, you've
got him hedged about. Hedged about with what? With
these heavenly beings. They couldn't touch him. They
couldn't touch his body. They couldn't touch his holdings.
They couldn't touch his family. He couldn't touch anything about
Job because God hedged him about. But God gave him permission.
And ministering spirits sent forth. Who sent them? They sent
forth. They don't just fly around at
random. You know, these movies we watch
always got these angels on their own mission. They're always going
out and doing things. looking down at men, and pitying
men, and running here and running there, and flying around at random.
Angels don't fly around at random. They're sent. They're ministering
spirits sent forth. That's what the Scripture says.
They're sent forth. Why are they sent forth to do?
To minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. So that
in ministering to us, they minister to Him. They minister. No matter who
they are ministering to, they are ministering to Him. Because
they are sent of Him. An angel. Listen to these scriptures. An angel appeared to Mary's troubled
fiancé. Joseph. He was worried. There
is this young Jewish maiden that he is going to take as his beloved
bride. And she turns up pregnant. And
he's troubled. How'd God comfort him? He sent
an angel to him. Isn't that right? The angel of
the Lord appeared unto Joseph and comforted him. It was an
angel who brought the good news to Zacharias the priest that
his wife Elizabeth, who was married, was now going to have a child.
And he was going to be a son. And he was going to call his
name John. And he was going to be the forerunner of Christ.
God announced that by an angel. Sent an angel down to talk to
that old priest. The angel Gabriel was sent to
tell Mary that she'd be a child of the Holy Ghost and bring forth
the Son of the Highest into the world. And then as her pregnancy
went on and she delivered this child, there were shepherds that
said abiding in the field. About the time of his birth,
an angel of the Lord came down And he said, unto you this day,
this day, in the city of David, is born a Savior, Christ the
Lord. And then it said in just an instant,
suddenly, upon this exclamation, this declaration by this angel,
suddenly it said, the heavenly host, all of the angels begin
to cry out and say, glory to God in the highest and on earth,
good will toward men. The angel. After the wise men
left, the angel of the Lord came to Joseph again and told him
not to go back to Israel because Herod sought to kill him and
send him down to Egypt. And then when Herod died, the
angel of the Lord came back again. God sent him again. He said,
now go on back to Israel. Herod is dead. And you could just go on and
on and on. I'm telling you, now that it's on your mind, when
you read the Scripture, notice how many times God sends forth
these ministering angels to men and speaks to them about the
good news of Christ. And then also the opposite is
true. They ministered to us by ministering
to Him. Huh? Sure they did. They ministered
to us by ministering to Him. Where would we be without Him?
There'd be no church. There'd be no hope. We'd be without
God in the world, same place He found us, apart from that. Now, in the light of what I've
just said to you, listen to what He says in Hebrews 1, verse 6
concerning this Christ who has come and manifested His glory. Listen to this, when He bringeth
in His first begotten into the world, He saith, and let all
the angels of God worship Him. Worship Him. You remember on
some occasion, these must be glorious beings because all of
the saintly men of God, these men, anointed of God as prophets
and so on, that have met up with these angels, fell down at their
feet, and those angels said, don't worship us. Don't worship
us. We worship Him. You worship Him.
There's just one worthy of worship. These angels. Turn with me to
Matthew chapter 18. These heavenly beings ministered
personally to Christ in His time in the flesh as a man, this time
of weakness, this time of humility. But they also ministered to Him
in His resurrected glory, not personally so much as indirectly
as they ministered to those for whom Christ died. Now watch this,
Matthew 18, verse 10. This has to do not so much with
the birth of Christ, but who He is and what He is going to
accomplish. Now listen to what He tells His
disciples here. He said, take heed, Matthew 18,
verse 10, that you despise not one of these little ones, For
I say unto you that in heaven," watch this now, their, T-H-E-I-R,
their angels, created of God to minister to their needs, ordained
of God for this purpose, they always behold the face of my
Father which is in heaven. Indirectly, they still minister
to him. even unto this day. And then
the Lord rebuked Peter. You remember when they come to
get Christ? And He's coming forth out of
that garden, and this big band of soldiers come, and Judas with
them, and a high priest servant ran over there toward Christ,
and Peter jumped out and jerked that sword out. He wasn't trying
to cut off his ear. He was trying to cut off his
head. He just missed. But he cut off the servant's ear. And
the Lord picked up his ear and put it back on. And then he turned
to Peter. You know what he told him? He
said, Peter, do you not think that I could pray right now and
my Heavenly Father would send ten legions of angels? What's about to take place is
about to take place on purpose. That's the reason I'm not resisting.
I don't fear them. And they have no power except
that power. Oh, Pilate. You remember Pilate?
when he got frustrated because the Lord wouldn't answer his
stupid questions, and the Lord looked at him, and he said to
the Lord, he said, well, don't you know I've got power to crucify
you or set you free? He said, you didn't have any
power at all, except it were given to you. That's what he's
telling Peter here. This is purpose to God. And if
I want it, if I want it, All I'd have to do is think about
it, and my father would send ten legions of angels down here.
There'd be nothing left of this little band of men. Nothing left. There's a purpose bigger than
our immediate physical being and welfare. And it's for this
purpose alone that God will restrain His angels. Otherwise, His angels
step in. There's no telling. I tell people
all the time, I lived a wild, rebellious, young life. I ought
to be dead. There's no reason other than
God's purpose of grace that I'm still standing here alive. I've
been in situation after situation where I ought to be dead. Why
ain't I dead? Because he sends forth his angels. That's why. That's exactly why. And nothing can harm or cause
want or threaten his children in any way except it be for their
good and the glory of his name. No army, no government, no nation,
no power under heaven can secure you more safely than God. And
to accomplish that purpose, he chose the angels. The angels,
they're ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those. Now
in the Old Testament, he sent forth angels to carry the message
of God to men. He no longer does that. He doesn't
speak through angels. He speaks through preachers now,
and you know what he calls them? Angels. That's right. Read the
book of Revelation. Those stars in his hand, he said,
these are the angels of the churches. Ain't that what he said? That's
right. They are ministering spirits. And so are these men. They minister. Oh, let this heart take comfort,
seeing His angels ministering to Him. And all through the Old
Testament, we've got examples of angels ministering to those
who shall be called of God, and primarily to the prophets. But
having a full canon of Scripture, we don't need that any longer.
And you can read about that over in Revelation 1, verse 20, those
stars who are angels. They were pastor-teachers of
the seven churches. He goes on to name the churches. Some of you have maps in the
back of your Bible. If you go there in your maps,
you can see these. These were actual places, actual churches.
Ephesus and Smyrna and so on. Pergamos. Thyatira and Sardis
and Philadelphia and Laodicea, they were actual churches. And
they had real pastors and real problems and God ministered to
their needs with His angels. And these angels were ministers.
They were ministers, men called of God. It doesn't actually say that
they brought bread to Him here in Matthew chapter 4. But that's
what I had vision. He was hungry. He hadn't eaten
in 40 days. At the end of this fast, these
angels came and gave him bread. These angels gave bread to God's
son. And that's the same thing his
ministers do. They bring the bread of God and
give it to his son. That's what they do. They minister.
They minister. What do we really know about
the angels? Let me give you four things that the Scriptures teaches
us about the angels. First of all, and I've already
mentioned this, they reverently wait at the throne of God to
carry out His will in the redemption of His people. Their angels do
always stand before the throne. All God has to do is that. And
they're gone. And whatever trouble, he's gone. They were and they are actively
engaged in every aspect of this work of redemption. They were
engaged in this work with the prophets. It brought them the
Word of God. They were engaged in the incarnation
of the Son of God. They announced His birth. They
witnessed His birth. They sang the glory in heaven,
glorified heaven. They were involved in the good
news of the forerunner. They were involved. You can go
on and on and on. They were at his death. And they
were at his resurrection. And they were on the cloud with
him when he ascended back into glory. And now they stand in
his presence in heaven. The second thing I know about
these angels is that as angels in camp round about God's people
to protect and preserve them from all God and His church are
one. Now, just let that sink in. That's
the truth that will bring you some comfort. Christ and His
church are one. They're one. They're joint heirs
with Him. And as such, what's said of Him
can be said of us. God said, He giveth His angels
charge concerning thee. Ain't that what He said? That's
that verse Satan threw up at Christ. Well, that verse is true. What he said is true. He giveth
his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they
shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against
a stone. That's as true of his church
as it is of him, because he and his church are one. They're one. I've already told you about Job
and gave you that example. Got him hedged about. Well, what
do we fear? Huh? What is it that makes you
tremble? What is it that makes you fear?
Is death, is that what makes you tremble? The beggar, when
he died, you know what it says? It said the angels cradled him
up and carried him into heaven and laid him in Abraham's bosom.
Is that what you're afraid of? My soul, think about it. Think
about it. What do you fear? Do you fear
suffering? In the midst of his soul agonizing
suffering, believing himself to die before he'd ever get to
the cross, the angels of God came down and ministered to him
and strengthened him. That's what it said. What do you fear? Do you fear
the gathering in of God's elect He said, my angels are the reapers.
He said, don't you reap. Don't you go around putting people
in and out of the kingdom of God. I'll send my angels, and
they'll take care of that. They'll take care of that. They're
the reapers. They'll separate his wheat from
the tares. What do you fear? Do you fear
for your own children that are living in Sodom? God sent His
angels even to Sodom to deliver that righteous man alive. The angels of God encamp round
about God's people to protect and preserve them. And then thirdly,
we also know that they attend the worship of the saints. They
attend this worship because they desire to look into these things
for which they were appointed. They look into them. You know,
you thought last Wednesday there was just a handful here, didn't
you? Huh? Listen to this. Turn with me
to Hebrews chapter 12. I don't know if you've ever even
really thought about the angels attending the worship of God's
saints. But in Isaiah's vision, when
he saw the glory of Christ, he saw angels up above the mercy
seat, didn't he? I'm sure he did. They were right
along in this worship of God. Listen to what Paul tells us
about our worship here in Hebrews 12, verse 22. He tells us earlier, he said,
you've not come to Mount Sinai. That's not where we're at. We
didn't come up here to the giving of the law and to fear and trembling
and all of those. That's not how we've come to
worship. But we've come unto Mount Sinai, verse 22, and unto
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable
company of angels. If you could see them, If you
could walk outside and see them, you couldn't see the end of them. Isn't that what innumerable means?
You can't number them. They'd cover this planet. There's
no way you could see the end of them, y'all. God's heavenly
host. To an innumerable company of
angels, to the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn,
which are written in heaven. And God the Judge of all and
to the spirits of just men made perfect. Let me show you another
verse. Look a few pages over here in
1 Peter 1. Peter had already laid the foundation
of our hope. Now he moves on to show us what
this salvation includes and how it came to be. Now watch this,
verse 9. receiving the end of your faith,
even the salvation of your souls, of which salvation the prophets
have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that
should come unto you. Searching what, or what manner
of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify,
when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and
the glory that should follow. unto whom it was revealed that
not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things
which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the
gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven,
which things," see that? The angels desire to look into
them. That's why they accompany all
true worship. They're hungry to hear. They're
hungry. They're fascinated. Fascinated. These creatures who are lesser,
lesser in glory. He was made a little lower than
the angels. He talked about becoming a man. He took not on him the nature
of angels, but the seed of Abraham. He was made a little lower than
the angels, but he was crowned with glory. Huh? That's what
made Lucifer angry. Do you know when Paul declared
the great mystery of godliness in the person of Jesus Christ
that he made this declaration as proof? He was seen of angels. Ain't that what he said? Huh?
He become a man and we saw him on this earth. And he was raised
and he was seen of angels. They bore and do bear an irrefutable
testimony to the person and work of Christ, and they long to know
more. And then the last thing I know
about angels is that they rejoice every time a sinner is brought
to true repentance and faith. They rejoice. Huh? Here's this multitude that
you can't even see out here, and if you could see them, you
couldn't see the end of them. And here's this poor beggar,
this poor sinner, that God has chosen from all eternity and
created these beings to serve His every need. And don't you
know they wondered as they served His need as a sinner and protected
this man as a sinner, why is God protecting this rebel? Why
is God sending us down here to save him? Because He saved him
in Christ, whom these angels serve. That's why. And they come
in, and when they see the work of God in this man, all they
can see is the outward evidence of it. But when they see that
work of God in his heart, and see this old proud sinner broken
and seeking the Lord, the angels rejoice. That's what it says. They rejoice. Over in Luke chapter
12, verse 8, he said, also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess
me before men, him shall the Son of Man, now listen, confess
before the angels of God. And now what he said? Confess
his interest in you, and his favor toward you, and his oneness
with you, and his love for you, his eternal love. But he that
denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
And then look at Luke 15, verse 10. He said, likewise, I say
unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God
over one sinner that repented. Now, I didn't say all this this
morning to encourage you to worship angels or to try to find some
hope in angels. That's the kind of thing Paul's
religion does. Paul describes it over in Colossians
2.18, talks about the worshiping of angels intruding into those
things which he hath not seen. These kinds of people, they are
vainly puffed up and have fleshly minds. But I said these things
to show you the great ends to which the Lord has gone to glorify
His Son and His saints in them. And this sovereign King, John,
orders an army of innumerable angels, and he sends them forth
to minister. And we just fear every little
thing. Oh, the clouds, the sky clouds
up a little bit. Oh, let me run and hide. Hide
from what? Hide from what? Who's running
things? Oh, beloved, we encompassed about
all the children. The old prophet Elisha, the Syrian
king got aggravated and come down, he was going to wipe him
out. And he snuck in at night. That's how the enemy always comes.
He sneaks in. He snuck in of a night. And they
were down in this valley in a tent. And he surrounded him up on the
ridge and camped all the way around him. And that old servant,
he laid asleep there and lashed his feet all night. And he got
up that next morning, went outside, and he looked up. And there was
the enemy. I mean, they were hanged. And
he run back in and he started whining to the old prophet just
about his head. He said, Lord, open this young
man's eyes. He said, they that be before
us are more than those who be against us. Now open his eyes
and let him look again. He went back out and all around
that army was an innumerable army, chariots of fire, a great
army surrounding that army. He said, now you can rest. You know, we want to think about
the things of salvation. We look at them in such a minute,
little way. These things are magnificent.
They're glory beyond your wildest imagination. The ends that Christ
has went to serve and to minister to us. To minister to us. You think about that. He didn't
come to be ministered to. He came to minister. That's what
he said. And what a marvelous way he did.