PROTECTED BY AN ANGEL OF THE LORD

PROCLAMATION

“When they had gone, an angel of The Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.  ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.  Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill Him.’ ”  Matthew 2:13 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew.  After the birth of Jesus, there came wise men, the Magi, from the east to worship Him. (Matthew 2:1-2)  When King Herod heard these things he was disturbed.  He gathered together the chief priests and the scribes and sought information from them regarding the place of the birth of Christ.  They told Herod that the prophets said that Christ would be born in Bethlehem and the Magi told him the exact time of His birth based upon the time the star appeared.  Herod told the Magi to let him know the exact location of the child so that he could go and worship Him, but he really wanted to kill Him. (Matthew 2:4-8)  The Magi left Herod and went to the place where the Christ-child lay.  They worshiped Him and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Afterwards they left and returned to their country by a different route, having been warned by an angel of The Lord not to go back to King Herod. (Matthew 2:12)  Joseph, Mary’s husband, was also warned about King Herod by an angel of The Lord and he took Mary and the Christ-child to Egypt. (Matthew 2:13-15)  The Christ-child was protected from an unseen danger by an angel of The Lord.

APPLICATION

It is clear that in this verse, and in this chapter, the “angel of The Lord” was protecting The Christ-child.  It is also clear that as believers we have angels watching over us. (Matthew 18:10)  When we are under attack, there are a host of angels surrounding us and ready to come to our defense. (2 Kings 6:17)  We have guardian angels who protect us from dangers seen and unseen.  If we are a child of The King, then we have His protection day and night.

PROTECTION BY AN ARMY OF ANGELS

PROCLAMATION

“When the servant of the man of God got up and went out…an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city…‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered.  Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’  And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’  Then The Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.’  2 Kings 6:16-17 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

The king of Aram was at war with Israel (2 Kings 6:8) and after conferring with his men, he sent horses and chariots to surround the city where Elisha was. (2 Kings 6:8-14)  When Elisha’s servant woke up and went outside, he saw that they were surrounded by an army with horses and chariots, and he was afraid. (2 Kings 6:15)  It was then that Elisha told him not to be afraid and he prayed that The Lord God would open his servant’s eyes and allow him to see the army of angels, horses and chariots that were protecting them.  When Aram’s army attacked Elisha, he prayed to The Lord to strike them with blindness. (2 Kings 6:18)

APPLICATION

Even when we are in what appears to us to be a hopeless situation, The Lord God protects us.  He sends unseen angels to fight our battles, and to stand between us and our enemies.  He has the power to slay them or to render them helpless and unable to harm us.  When The Lord God is with us, He is more than all the world against us. (Romans 8:31)  And as believers we know that He is always with us.  He said that He would never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)

THE LORD WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS TO GUARD YOU

Proclamation:

“If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge’ and you make The Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.  For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”  Psalm 91:9-12 (NIV)

Explanation:

Bible scholars disagree regarding the human author of this psalm, some attribute it to Moses while others attribute it to King David.  However, it is clear that it is a messianic psalm of life written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  It reveals the perfect place of protection for us, under His wings.  This psalm spells out the protection will provide for us.

Application:

If we want The Lord God to be our refuge and our dwelling place, we need to pray and ask Him for that.  Some things we have not because we ask not. (James 4:2)  He will protect us from all hurt, harm, and danger.  He will command His angels to guard us in our going out and coming in.  He will rescue us because we love Him.  He will protect us because we acknowledge His name.  He will answer us when we call Him and be with us when we are in trouble.  He will also grant us a long life and salvation. (Psalm 91:14-16)

WE HAVE GUARDIAN ANGELS

Proclamation:

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones.  For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 18:10 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of The Lord Jesus, The Christ, which were recorded by the Apostle Matthew as Jesus was speaking to His disciples.  "These little ones" refers to believers.  Here Jesus makes it clear that each believer has a guardian angel, although it is not clear if an angel has more than one charge or if we have more than one guardian angel.  Because we have our own free will, we like sheep occasionally wander off and stray from The Word of God.  It is not the desire of God that any should be lost.  Jesus was sent to earth to save the lost sheep. (Matthew 18:12-14)  Each of us is important to Him, and there is rejoicing when a "lost sheep" is found. 

Application:

We should be encouraged to know that each of us has a guardian angel.  God loves us and has made provisions for our care and protection.  The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus was for our salvation from the penalty of our sins.  It does not matter what it is that we have done, we can be forgiven and welcomed back into the sheepfold.  Just because we are lost in sin, we do not have to stay that way. We all fall down, but we do not have to stay down.  If we want to get up then we have to accept His help in order to get up and out of sin.  Not everyone who is living in sin wants to stop.  There are those who are living in the darkness of sin that actually love what they are doing. (John 3:19-20)  But for the believer who has stumbled and fallen back into sin and is now lost in darkness, there is an angel waiting to show them the way.  There is joy in heaven when one of us, like the "lost sheep" is "found" and returns to the sheepfold and follows of The Word of God.  However, our guardian angels can only help us if we want to be helped because we have the free will to choose darkness or The Light. (Joshua 24:15)

HEAVENLY PROTECTION

Proclamation:

“If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make The Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.  For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;” Psalm 91:9-11 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm was written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by an unknown human author.  The psalmist states that those who know The Lord and love Him and follow His word will be protected by His angels.  No harm will come to them or their home.

Application:

Those of us who trust in The Lord will be under His protection.  He will assign guardian angels to watch over us and to protect us.  Believers will have not just one guardian angel but angels will be assigned to us and “they” will protect us. (Psalm 91:12)  As the song says, "O to be kept, by Jesus ..." He can keep us safe from all hurt, harm, and danger.