God’s Messengers

Introduction

We worship the one and only almighty God. He is the all powerful, knowing, loving, and all wise Creator. We as believers rest and take comfort in the wisdom in the providence of our Father in heaven. He took Saul a man who had devoted his life to the persecution of Christians and transformed him into a man named Paul, a great Apostle of Jesus Christ. Hatred is an extremely powerful emotion within each man that temporarily blinds a person of love and affection. Saul was consumed by anger and hatred and was causing great harm to the early Christian church. However, nothing is impossible for our Lord and Savior. He can transform any man consumed by hate to a God-loving, God-centered man like the Apostle Paul.

God’s love is without limits and is available to all mankind. God’s gift of eternal life is available to all who believe in the one true Almighty God and the sacrifice He made with the death of His Son for the forgiveness of all of man’s sins.

We were all created by the one, true and Almighty God. Our God is a jealous God who will not tolerate any worship by his people of any other god. Any worship by his people of any other god will result in punishment that will be endured to the third and fourth generation. The worship of another god would include the worship of idols or the worship of any other thing (e.g. money) that would prevent you from worshiping the one and true Almighty God.

God communicates with man in a number of different ways throughout each day. One of the most frequent ways God speaks to man is in a still small voice as He whispers a message into the hearts of men. He may speak to us in a dream that you are able to remember the next day or he may speak to us through others. It is not uncommon for God to communicate to us in a conversation with others, hearing a song, reading a book, or recalling a scripture verse.

Angels were created by God as spiritual beings for the purpose of worshiping God, acting as messengers, following His commands, and protecting all of His creation. Angels are servants of God and should not be worshiped in any way and at any time.

God created countless numbers of angels before the formation of the heavens and earth for the sole purpose of worshiping God and fulfilling His desires. Job 38:6–7 reads, Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for Joy? Angels shouted with joy as they witnessed God creating the earth and the universe. Even though angels are spiritual beings and normally cannot be seen they still have the ability to be to seen and appear as men. Just to name a few sightings; angels did appear at Jesus’ grave, they appeared to the shepherds in the field at Jesus’ birth, and they appeared to Abraham as men near to his tent. God created angels as eternal beings that carry with them the wisdom of the ages.

There are angels that are assigned for the purpose of protecting each of us through our daily lives. Psalm 91:11 reads, For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. Angels provide protection from physical harm and will give believers the strength to accomplish difficult tasks when walking in God’s will. An angel following God’s commands released Peter from his chains; unlocked irons gates and lead him to escape his heavily guarded prison cell.

Angels also vary in appearance, size, strength, and may be assigned to specific responsibilities. For example, angels are assigned to each child for their protection. There are also archangels that are higher in status as Michael the Archangel who is assigned as the protector of Israel. It is believed another Archangel is Gabriel who has been responsible for delivering important messages.

Luke 1:26–28 reads, And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth. To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said. Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

There is little detailed information about the angels and their specific duties and actions that they take on a daily basis protecting the believers. They are powerful spiritual beings that are able to carry out God’s directions. Angels are able to express emotions with rejoicing in their worshiping God. Our focus is to pray each day for God’s direction and allowed our minds and souls to be open to His direction.

Lucifer was a beautiful and powerful angel that rebelled against God. He was known as the light bearer because he was one of the brightest lights in Heaven.

Ezekiel 28:17 reads, Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Lucifer became proud because of his beauty and his pride lead to his rebellion. His free will allowed him to choose sin and lead many more angels into sin with him.

Revelations 12:7–9 reads, And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Satan is certainly the god of this world and he and his fallen angels have a major hold on what men do and think. However, Satan cannot move without God’s permission and he must have God’s permission before placing any undue pressure on any one man. Man’s biggest weaknesses are related to pride, ego, materialism, money, and lusts. Satan’s sin of pride and the resulting rebellion against God is the same sin that men struggle with today. God may allow Satan and his fallen angels to test man for the purposes of strengthening him as a believer. God may use trials and temptations to increase mans’ understanding of his weaknesses, to develop positive behaviors traits, to strengthen his ability to say no to temptations, and to address new challenges with the truth. Satan is able to prevent a man from thinking clearly and seeing the blessings from living a Christ-centered life. Many men of today are focused entirely on self and are consumed by Satan’s pride. The idea of letting go and placing all of your trust in God to control your life seems impossible to the man of today. The truth is that simply praying for God to enter your life and asking for the forgiveness of your sins is all that is required to spend eternity in heaven with God.

Unfortunately, both Adam and his wife Eve fell victim to Satan’s persuasions and sinned against God. The result has been that all of mankind since that time has been subject to and struggled with the fallen nature of sin. The Apostle Paul struggled with sin and realized that he was a carnal man and that he was completely depended on Jesus Christ for salvation.

Romans 7:14–18 reads, For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

The Apostle Paul and all of mankind are under the influence of Satan and are only able to break free from Satan’s grasp with a complete surrender to living a life committed to Jesus Christ.

Today man lives in a world that is influenced by Satan and his demons in many different ways. His strategy is to deceive people into believing his lies, divide people into becoming enemies, and to destroy people by creating ideas and opinions that leads to hate and death. Man has many weaknesses (e.g. pride, greed, lust) that can be easily used by Satan to confuse man into believing that he has experienced some type of disrespect, been lied to, or cheated out of what rightful belongs to him.

Today man is living in a world that is in the middle of a battle between Satan (evil) and God (love). Man is required to make daily decisions to follow God and His commandments or Satan and his deceptive lies. One of Satan’s common lies today is that God wants man to accumulate great wealth and live in a mansion. The truth is that God asked the rich young ruler to give all his wealth away and follow him. The truth is that God wants all men to open their hearts and ask for the forgiveness of all their sins and receive God’s Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will come into a person’s life and live with them and direct their paths. Man’s primary purpose in this life is to follow God’s will for their lives.

The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity and has always existed as part of the Eternal Almighty God. The Holy Spirit lives within a Christian and provides spiritual growth, wisdom, conviction, transformation, inspiration, and protection. A Christian’s seal of salvation is completed by the Holy Spirit as a Christian is reconciled to God for eternity.

Angels were created by God as Spirits that exist for the purpose of serving and glorifying God. God has used angels in a number of different ways to carry out His will from the time of creation until today. Angels have acted as messengers, protectors, and comforters throughout the Old and New Testament. They have the ability to communicate with us through our thoughts, emotions, and impressions. They are concerned about explaining miracles and other issues that are difficult for us to understand and may make us fearful.

Background

A Christian believes that the Holy Bible is the inerrant word of God. They believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They believe that God sent His only Son to die on the cross for all of man’s sins. A Christian has prayed for the forgiveness of all his sins and asked God to take control of his life. They believe there will be a judgment day where man will be held accountable for all of his sins. Those who have made a decision to become a Christian and have turned control of their life over to God will be allowed to enter heaven.

Man is in a fallen state due to the sins and decisions made by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Their decision to listen to Satan and their pride of life has had a profound effect on man’s relationship with God. Since that time man has been forced to till the land and work hard to provide enough food to survive the seasons, disease, and physical weakness. Tilling the ground to produce food is difficult work and will be accompanied by some weeds and thorns. Raising a family has always been difficult and requires our continual attention to pull out the weeds and thorns that have been planted by Satan. Women have been forced to endure the pain of child birth and work hard to provide food and clothing for the family. God has continued to allow man to use his free will in making decisions. Consequently, this relationship has been dependent on man’s willingness to obey God’s commandments, worship, and thank him for his many blessings.

A person who has made the decision to become a Christian will have the opportunity to grow, be blessed by God and have angels surround them for the remainder of their life. Although we may not see them they are around us under God’s direction as we travel through our lives. Angels are actively involved in a Christian’s life by providing for specific needs that are determined by God. Hebrews 1:14 reads, Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Angels are sent by God to encourage, strengthen, and protect the Christian with God’s blessings. Once we make that decision to become a Christian we are under the watchful eye of many angels that can respond in any number of different ways and in any number of different situations under God’s direction. Angels are also messengers from God that can communicate messages of comfort, peace, love, warning, and judgment.

Angels are also greatly involved in the daily lives of men and will show great joy when a sinner is found and returned to the community of believers.

Luke 15:7 reads, I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance,

God’s focus is on the sinner and bringing him to the saving grace and knowledge and belief in Jesus the Christ.

The Apostle Paul also provides instruction on the importance of the Holy Spirit and how he makes it possible for God to hear our prayers.

Romans 8:26 reads, Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercessions for us with groaning which cannot be uttered.

The Holy Spirit is able to communicate with the Trinity in ways that is not available to man.

The believer has a great deal of resources available to him with the Holy Spirit that lives within him and the angels that are waiting to serve him with the delivery of messages, carry out God’s direction and provide comfort if needed. Prayer is extremely important due to the fact it allows the Holy Spirit to open communications with God the Father to relay the believers every request. Without prayer the Holy Spirit is compromised and God’s angels are not used. A Christian who has a powerful prayer life will have a group of angels around him to meet his needs and a Spirit and Soul that will be sealed with the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus returns he will judge all of mankind. Each and every Christian’s name will also be listed in the book of life. This book lists the name of every person that has turned from rebellion against God and has placed their complete trust in God and has asked for the forgiveness of all of their sins in complete humility. Satan and all of his demons will be casted into the lake of fire for all of eternity.

Revelation 20:15 reads, And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The Apostle Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 4:13–18, But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

The Apostle Paul explains that Jesus will bring with Him at the final judgment all the Christians that have died in the past.

2 Corinthians 5:6–7 reads, Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

The Apostle Paul explains in these verses that Christians are either serving the Lord in this life or serving the Lord in heaven. When a Christian dies they go directly to heaven and wait for the final judgment.

Luke 23:42–43 reads, And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

The thief while hanging on the cross pleaded with Jesus to have mercy on his soul. The thief realized that his soul would live on after his death and that he needed to be prepared for judgment. Jesus explained that those who have true faith and ask for forgiveness will go immediately into heaven after their bodies die.

Each Christian is unique and each Christian follows a unique path prepared for him by God. In addition, each Christian’s life is composed of works that are either Christ centered or self centered. Some Christians are involved in more sin than other Christians. Consequently, we all must appear before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:10 reads, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

1 Corinthians 3:13–14 reads, Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

We will all stand before the judgment seat and account for what we have done with our lives. Have we been faithful to our Lord and Savior and followed His commandments? Were we concerned about the lost and worked to make a difference in other’s lives? Did we use our blessings from God to make a