REALLIFE STUDY GROUP
"Angelic Encounters!"
ICEBREAKER: If you won $250 what would you do
with it!
CONFESSION:
Under God's command I commission the angels to bring breakthrough to my
family and to the family of God in this region. In Jesus name I release the
angels to restore whatever has been lost or whatever the enemy has stolen from
me. I do not worship angels but I do thank God for sending them to strengthen,
comfort, protect and deliver godly revelation and provision.
DEFINITION:
Angel:
Messenger, Spirit servants created by God
OUTLINE: Angel Facts
By the
word “angels” (i.e., “messengers” of God) we ordinarily understand a
race of spiritual beings of a nature exalted far above that of man, although
infinitely removed from that of God—whose
office is “to do him service in heaven, and by
his appointment to succor and defend men on earth.”
Mention
the word “angel” and you
get many images. A good child, people in Heaven with harps, Guardian Angels
The Nature of Angels
Angels are
termed “spirits,” as in Hebrews 1:14
Hebrews
1:14 – “Are not
all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”
Job 38:4-7
describes the angels worshiping God as He was creating the world – “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off
its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On
what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone - while the morning
stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7). So, although the Bible does not specifically
say when God created the angels, it was sometime before the world was created.
Whether this was a day before, or a thousand years before, we cannot be sure.
Their number must be very large and innumerable
Hebrews
12:22 – “But
you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living
God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly.”
Their
strength is great. Descriptions from
Psalm 103:20, Revelation 5:2, and Revelation 18:21 use the term “mighty”.
Their activity marvelous
Isaiah
6:2-4 – “Above
him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces,
with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is
full of his glory.’ At the sound of their voices the
doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.” (Isaiah’s vision of the Lord)
Their appearance varied according to circumstances, but was
often brilliant and dazzling.
Revelation
10:1, 2 – “Then I saw
another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a
rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery
pillars. He was holding a little scroll,
which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left
foot on the land.”
Angels are
spirit beings (Hebrews 1:14), so they do not have any essential physical form.
It definitely seems that angels have the ability to take on human form. In
Genesis 18:1-19, God and two angels appeared as men and actually ate a meal
with Abraham. Angels appear as men many times throughout the Bible (Joshua
5:13-14; Mark 16:5). The angelic creatures described in Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 10,
and Revelation 4-5 appear quite unusual. So, angels have some form of “spiritual body” but
likely we are currently incapable of truly understanding their form. Angels
also have the ability to take on other forms, such as human, in order to appear
to us in a manner we can understand. Whenever angels did appear to humans in
the Bible, it resulted in fear, amazement, and wonder (see Daniel chapter 10).
They are Immortal
Luke
20:36, Holy - Matthew 25:31, Wise - 2 Samuel 14:17, 20
They possess emotions
Luke 15:10
– “In the same way, I
tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one
sinner who repents."
If they
didn’t have emotions, they wouldn’t be able to be happy when somebody gets saved like we are.
Office of the angels.
Of their
office in heaven we have only vague prophetic glimpses, as in 1 Kings 22:19;
Isaiah 6:1-3; Daniel 7:9, 10; Revelation. 6:11,(all visions of Angels and Jesus
in Heaven) that show us nothing but a never-ceasing adoration. They are represented
as being, in the widest sense, agents of God’s
providence, natural and supernatural, to the body and to the soul. In one word,
they are Christ’s ministers of grace now, as they
shall be of judgment hereafter according to Matthew 13:39, 41, 49; 16:27;
24:31.
Angels Duties and Order
Angels
have duties of, toward both believers and unbelievers. They are concerned in
human things.
Ministry
of, toward believers:
They Guide
Us
Genesis.
24:7 - "The
LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and
promised me on oath, saying, `To your offspring I will give this land’--he will send his angel before you so that you can get a
wife for my son from there.
They
Provide for Us
1 Kings
tells us of an Angel that came to feed the Prophet Elijah as he was running for
his life.
1 Kings
19:5–8 – “Then he lay down under the tree and
fell asleep.
All at
once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." He looked around, and there by his head was a
cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and
then lay down again.
They
Protect Us
Psalm 34:7
– “The angel of the LORD
encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”
Ps
91:11-12 – “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee
in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy
foot against a stone.”
Matthew
18:10 – “Take heed
that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in
heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
Acts
12:13-15 – “And as
Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran
in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her, Thou art
mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his
angel.”
They
Deliver Us
Daniel 6:22
– “An Angel
protects Daniel while in the lions den.”
Comfort Us
Acts 27:23,
24 – “An Angel
tells Paul that his the people on his ship will not perish during a dangerous
sea voyage.”
Ministry towards unbelievers:
Destruction
Genesis
19:1, 13 - “The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was
sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them
and bowed down with his face to the ground, because we are going to destroy
this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has
sent us to destroy it."
Persecution
Psalm 35:5,
6 – “May they
be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away; may
their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.”
Angels were even involved in the life of Christ.
Announce
His conception - Matthew 1:20, 21
Herald His
birth - Luke 2:10–12
Sustain
Him - Matthew 4:11
Proclaim
His resurrection - Matthew 28:5–7
Accompany
Him to heaven - Acts 1:9–11
Do Not: Worship Angels, Pray to Them, or Seek Them
·
Worship
of Angels was one of the false doctrines being taught at Colossae.
(Colossians 2:18)
“Let no man
beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels,
intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his
fleshly mind.” (Colossians 2:18 KJV)
·
John,
in the book of Revelation, was told not to worship angels
“And I fell
at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy
fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship
God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10 KJV)
·
We
are not to pray to angles: Jesus is our mediator to God; not angels.
·
It
is not wrong to ask God to send his angles to protect us; but it is wrong to
seek angels- This will draw our minds off of God and to his creation.
Satan disguises himself as an angel of light
2
Cornithians 11:14 – “And no
marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”
TEXT: Acts 12:1-17
STUDY GROUP QUESTIONS:
1.
Do
you have any angel stories? Explain
2.
There
are at least 250 to 300 scriptures that reference angels. Identify a Bible
story with an angel in it.
3.
Tell
us something a fallen angel masquerading as an angel of light might say to you.
4.
Identify
some of the different things angels do.
5.
What
do you think your angel looks like and what might your angel wear?
6.
How
did God use an angel to help Peter in Acts 12?
How do you think you would respond if an angel showed up to give you a
message from God?
PRAISE REPORTS & PRAYER REQUESTS:
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ACTION POINT:
This week I choose to be more spiritually aware of God's presence and
the presence of His angels in my life.