Billy Joe Daugherty - Gods Protecting Angels

CONTENTS

The Function of Angels

We need to understand the function of God's angels in the earth today for two primary reasons:

1. To be delivered from fear. Second Timothy 3:1 says, "...In the last days, perilous times will come. The Amplified Translation of this verse says, "But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear]."

Luke 21:26 says of the last days, which we are in, "Mens hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken."

2. To know how to activate the ministry of angels. There are certain things you can do in prayer, praise and faith that will cause the angels to go to work for you. This is evident in Psalm 91:912:

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place,

No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.

In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

During the Persian Gulf crisis, a news commentator read Psalm 91 from The Soldier's Bible on network news. One of the good things to come out of the Persian Gulf crisis was the revival it ignited in several lands, because of many testimonies about God's protection.

Who is your refuge today? What is your shelter? In whom are you trusting ? Scripture says angels keep those who:

Make God their refuge.

Trust in the Lord.

Have confidence in God.

Know Him.

Love Him.

Dwell with Him.

The protection of the angels comes when these conditions are met. God says, "I have given My angels the responsibility of guarding, protecting and delivering you," because the word keep means "to guard, protect and deliver."

Angels Are Secret Service Agents

The angels of God have an assignment to do much like the Secret Service does for the president of the United States. The Secret Service is an organization of men and women who watch over, guard and protect our president. Whenever he goes anywhere, these agents are present. They have guns under their coats, and in many cases, other concealed weapons should they be needed.

When President Ronald Reagan was shot, we saw the Secret Service agents go into action. One Secret Service agent threw himself over the body of the president. When there is danger in a particular area, the Secret Service, through their intelligence measures, attempt to identify the degree of danger. There have been times when they have advised our presidents, "Don't go to this region at this time, because of the conditions and our inability to secure your safety in that environment."

Think about this in terms of the angels who watch over you. No one curtails the activities of God's angels, except the words that come from your own mouth, which we will discuss in more detail in chapter 4.

After Jesus was born, it was an angel who warned Joseph in a dream to take Mary and the baby and flee from Bethlehem to Egypt. Everything in the natural looked beautiful, but an angel spoke to Joseph in a dream and said:

"Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

Matthew 2:13 ,16

An angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph again in a dream after Herod died.

"Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Childs life are dead."

Matthew 2:20

Angels not only stand in the way to keep evil from you, but they will also speak to you so you can avoid it. Many people have received "guidance" words from angels for protection, such as roads not to travel, situations to avoid, circumstances that are coming of which they have no natural knowledge. These angels are sent from God.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that angels are servants to those who are saved.

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

Hebrews 1:14

Ministering spirits are "serving" spirits for divine purposes. The angels aid those who are heirs of salvation in the earth.

You have secret agents working for you. Have you recognized their operation in protecting and guarding you?

Releasing the Ministry of Angels

The ministry of angels is released through prayer and giving of your firstfruits unto the Lord.

Angelic Intervention for Cornelius

An angel of the Lord came unto Cornelius because of his prayers and generous giving of alms, even though he was unsaved at the time. He didn't know about salvation. All he knew was there was a God, the God of Israel, and he chose to believe in Him.

Let's look at this account in Acts 10:1-8:

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,

A devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.

About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!"

And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, "What is it, lord?" So he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.

"Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter.

"He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do."

And when the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually.

So when he had explained all these things to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Angels know addresses, last names, first names and nicknames. They know where you live!

The next day after Cornelius' angelic visitation, Peter had an open vision and a divine visitation letting him know that it was okay for him to speak to the Gentiles. According to the culture and tradition, it was illegal for Peter, a Jew, to speak with the Gentiles. At first Peter had a struggle with the idea of preaching to the Gentiles, but God showed him that He has no prejudice and that Peter should not either.

Peter went to Cornelius' household and preached the word of the Lord. All who heard his words, even though they were Gentiles, were saved, and the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them.

In these last days, we are going to see the involvement of the ministry of angels in the salvation of our loved ones. The angels didn't preach the Gospel, but they directed Cornelius to the person who could preach it.

Angelic Guidance for Philip

A similar situation happened with Philip in Acts 8 when an angel spoke to him and said, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza"

(Acts 8:26).

Philip obeyed and went to the desert region.

Then the Holy Spirit told him to go to the chariot that was passing through that region and interpret the Scripture to the Ethiopian eunuch, a man of great authority.

Acts 8:35 says Philip "...preached Jesus to him." As a result, the eunuch was saved and Philip baptized him in water. (v. 38.)

The angels of God always work in cooperation with the Holy Spirit and in agreement with the Word of God.

Angel Brings Message to John on Isle of Patmos