"Have You Ever Seen An Angel?"
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Hebrews 1:13-14, 2:5-9

Introduction: The whole idea of the supernatural is interesting to many people. It isn’t difficult to understand why; we are curious about what we don’t understand. Because the supernatural world is beyond us, we want to know more about it so that we can understand it better. This can be healthy, in that we fear things less when we understand them more. But it can also be unhealthy, as the saying goes: “Curiosity killed the cat.” Our curiosity can sometimes lead us into things that aren’t good for us.

EX. When I was in college, I was dating a girl whose brother owned a satanic bible. I was curious to know what might be in a satanic bible, so we talked about whether or not we wanted to get it and look through it. In the end we chose not to, because we didn’t think it would help us in any way.

As we continue in our series on “Angels,” it is not unhealthy to pursue this subject so that we can understand it better. God wants us to know about angels, that is why God had the writers of the Bible talk about angels almost 300 times in the Old and New Testaments. So this morning we are going to talk about how and why angels are seen, and how they are organized.

I. The Presence of Angels- (Genesis 16:7; Numbers 22:23-35;

Luke 1:26-31, 2:8-12; Hebrew 1:14; Exodus 23:20-21; Acts 12:6-10)

Last week we talked about how the normal state of an angel is invisible, but God created them to be able to become visible as well, when necessary. God created angels so that they can take on flesh, and move from the glory of heaven, to earth, and then back again. Angels can appear, and then disappear. God has certain functions for which angels will take on flesh and become visible. So let’s talk about some of them.

a. Messages- One such reason is to bring a message from God to His

people. This is a quite common reason for angels to come to the earth. In the Old Testament, Genesis 16:7-9, we read- “7 The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, ‘Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?’ ‘I'm running away from my mistress Sarai,’ she answered. ⁹ Then the angel of the LORD told her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’” We know that the angel was visible because Hagar could see the angel, and speak to the angel. And the angel had a message from God to Hagar to return to Abram and Sarai.

Another place in scripture we see this happening is the book of Numbers, chapter 22:23, 31, 35- “²³ When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road. ³¹ Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. ³⁵ The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.” First of all the donkey sees the angel, but Balaam does not. Balaam beats the donkey to cause it to continue on the journey. Finally, God allows Balaam to see the angel, and the angel gives Balaam the message that he is to change his plan.

Let’s look at one more passage where an angel is sent to bring a message from God; this is probably one of the best known passages; Luke 1:26-31-

“²⁶In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." ²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” Here we have the angel Gabriel coming to Mary to tell her she would be giving birth to the savior of the world, and that she was to name him Jesus. I’m sure that God knew that something this big would require a visit from an angel to get Mary to believe it to be true.

b. To announce an event- Another reason angels come is to announce

an event that will occur or has already occurred. In Luke 2:8-12, we see an example of this…⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Here the angels aren’t flesh and blood, but they are visible, and they are announcing that Jesus the Christ, the savior of the world, has been born.

c. To serve people- A third reason angels come is to serve people. In

Hebrews 1:14, we are told, “¹⁴Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” In this verse it talks about angels coming to minister (which we will talk about more in a couple of weeks), but also that they come to serve God’s people. In a more specific example, we see God speaking to Moses in Exodus 23:20-21, “²⁰ ‘See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. ²¹ Pay attention to him and listen to what he says…’” The angel is serving Moses by helping to bring him to the place God has for him to go, and also serving him by giving him counsel along the way.

And we see this in Acts 12:6-10. “⁶The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. ⁷Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. ⁸Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. ⁹Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.” The angel was serving Peter to help him escape from jail, and when the need to serve Peter was over, the angel disappeared.

II. Angel Encounters- (Hebrews 2:6-7; 1 John 4:1-3, 6)

Along with angels coming to the earth in the Bible, in history, we are equally

curious about whether or not angels still come to the earth today. You might have even heard of stories of angel encounters. These stories can become another source of information. So it is important for us to be able to evaluate the experiences that people have had with angels. How can we know whether these experiences are true or made up?

a. In line with the Bible- In his book “Angels Around Us,” Douglas Connelly

gives us this criteria: The primary question needs to be, “Does this experience go along with what the Bible teaches about the nature and ministry of angels?” Last week I alluded to how Muslims believe that the archangel Michael gave the Qur’an to Muhammed. This would not be in line with biblical teaching, for a book other than the Bible to be given from God; a book which in many ways contradicts the Bible. This too is why Joseph Smith’s claim that angels led him to golden plates which contained the Book of Mormon is also a false claim. The Book of Mormon

contradicts the Bible in many places and in many ways.

Another reason to discount stories from Christians who say they have had angel encounters is that they too don’t mesh with what the Bible declares. For example, one person claimed that an angel protected him during a series of robberies in his neighborhood. He said that one night he came home from work, and there was a dog he had never seen waiting by his house. Out of kindness he let the dog into his house. Late that night the dog was aroused and started barking. The next day he learned that several houses around him had been burglarized, but his house was skipped. He never saw the dog again after that. He was convinced that this dog was an angel. But there is never a biblical reference of an angel coming in the form of an animal. Since scripture is all we have to go on, we must use it as our main guide for understanding angel visits!!

But if a story correlates with the scriptures, we must treat it seriously, and consider it to be a valid angel visit. EX. Like the story of a lady who was hospitalized in the ICU. This lady had been in a serious car accident and was not expected to live. But one day the lady told the nurse she was going to live. “How do you know,” the nurse asked? The lady answered: “There has been an angel sitting at the foot of my bed all day.”

You hear this story, and wonder if it could be a valid encounter. When evaluated with scripture, the answer would be yes on several accounts. First, the angel appeared to her as a personal being, just as in the Bible. Second, the encounter was totally unexpected. There was no mind manipulation involved. Third, the angel was there to protect her and give her a message of comfort from God.

b. Understanding God’s providence- But there is a second factor to consider

in our evaluation process, and that is understanding God’s providence. What I mean by this is that God actively exercises His care over us as His children. God is personally concerned with each of us. And because of this, God at times will intervene directly in a believer’s life. There is no explanation for the event other than to say that God did it. That is a miracle. As Hebrews 2:6-7 says, “6But there is a place where someone has testified: ‘What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 7You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor.’” But God also intervenes directly with the use of angels. These angels are a supernatural source of protection, direction, or comfort. And when we hear of angel stories, this criteria is helpful in determining truth or fiction.

For example, the story of a woman named Robin who gave birth to a baby with a serious chromosomal defect. The baby was immediately sent to another hospital for treatment. Robin was very worried because she was alone in the hospital, and separated from her baby. The next morning Robin says a nurse named Jan came to her room. As Robin shared her fears and concerns, the nurse tried to encourage her by letting Robin know that she too had had a child with a similar defect. As Robin looked at Jan, she saw that Jan was able to live a normal life, and this gave comfort to Robin. In time, Robin tried to seek Jan out again, Robin discovered that there were no nurses by the name of Jan who worked there. Robin believed Jan had been an angel sent to encourage her. The truth is, Jan was a messenger of God, but not an angel. Why? Because as an angel, she would not have said that she had had a child with the same problem, since angels don’t have children.

This story fits the criteria of God’s intervention, but doesn’t mesh with scripture.

c. Emotion- And then there is a third criteria that the scriptures tell us is

involved when we encounter an angel, and that is emotion. An angel will invoke a powerful emotional response. Usually it is fear. Often in scripture we hear the angel tell people to not be afraid. These powerful angels can bring fear to those who see them. But sometimes it is not the emotion of fear, but of calm or comfort. So when people talk about seeing an angel, but the experience is not an emotional one, we need to doubt that this encounter is true. Angels are magnificent beings, and cannot touch our lives without leaving powerful emotional imprints behind.

We need to evaluate these experiences. As John says in 1 John 4:1-3, 6- “¹Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world… ⁶We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.” If someone has a visit from an angel, they will speak of God, and they will give glory to God. In Jan’s visit to Robin, there was no spiritual message, and no giving glory to God!

Conclusion: A visit from an angel will always result in praise and glory to God. So as we go to the question of the sermon title, “Have you ever seen an angel?” My response is, NO. If I ever do I can know that I have… based on the many disclosures the Bible gives to help me know when this is true. But even more than seeing an angel, I am thankful that angel visits can teach you and me several things: First, that we can bring a message from God to another. This is one of the primary purposes of an angel. If we seek God in prayer, read God’s word, and try to listen to the voice of God, we too will have a message from God to speak to others. Second, that as we see angels announcing an event, we too need to speak of God’s work in this world. Maybe you know of a miracle that has happened; proclaim it to others. LAST SUNDAY I announced that Natalie accepted Jesus. This was an important announcement to make. Third, angels are created to serve others. As we see this example in angels, and in Jesus Himself, we too need to be willing to serve others. I pray that we would go from here this morning, knowing that God can and does intervene into our lives with angels. Take with you the criteria to evaluate these claims. But more importantly, take with you that attitude of service, and praise, that was in Jesus, and is in God’s angels. Amen.