72,000 Angels on Call: Heaven Has No Shortage of Staff

Sermon outline

Believers are never alone: God has assigned angels to protect and minister to his heirs, so open your spiritual eyes, refuse fear and take your place in a high place.

1. They that be with us are more

   The servant was still a child in the things of the Spirit, but Elisha saw into the supernatural. You are in the world but not of it, born from above, chosen, consecrated and a shining trophy to the Lord. He has put his Spirit inside you and his angels around you, even though you cannot see them with natural eyes.

   Illustration: About two years earlier, on a weekend in the mountains, Brother Cliff took a photo as he came out from washing his face. When it was downloaded that night it showed a ring of fire with a huge winged angel standing over it, and the Lord told him the angels of the Lord were with him.

   “It's just that you do not see with these eyes. But that does not mean to say, they are not with you.”

   • 2 Kings 6:14-20
   • John 17:16
   • John 15:19

2. What angels are: ministering spirits sent for you

   The Hebrew word for angel means one dispatched as a deputy, messenger or ambassador, and the Greek word means to bring tidings. Angels are ministering spirits sent to the heirs of salvation, with you when you sleep, wake, pray and travel. Jesus said little children's angels always behold the Father's face; children grow up, but their angels stay with them.

   Illustration: Some of you have one angel, some two, some ten, some fifteen, some more.

   “You are protected 24-7.”

   • Hebrews 1:14
   • Matthew 18:10

3. Entertain strangers: angels come in ordinary clothes

   We expect a figure in white with two wings, but God may send an angel in an ordinary dress or suit, so be careful how you treat visitors at church and at home cell. God has also sent you an angel in the form of your pastor. Nazareth missed Jesus because he came as a carpenter's son teaching forgiveness rather than as a warrior against Rome, and he could do few miracles there.

   “God sometimes send you an angel dressed with normal clothes.”

   • Hebrews 13:1-2
   • Mark 6:3-5
   • Matthew 5:39

4. Twelve legions and one angel: the power you walk with

   When Jesus was arrested he said he could pray and receive twelve legions of angels, which he reckons at about 72,000. You are in Christ and can pray the same way. One angel struck down 185,000 Assyrians in a night, so 72,000 angels could strike more than thirteen thousand million. Heaven is not short of staff.

   Illustration: Government departments and corporations that blame delays on 'a shortage of staff': we carry that mindset into prayer, but heaven is not like that.

   “You think there is a shortage of staff in heaven? No, absolutely not.”

   • Matthew 26:53
   • Isaiah 37:34-36

5. He shall give his angels charge over thee: take your station in a high place

   Read Psalm 91 with understanding: you need not fear the terror by night or the arrow by day, because angels have charge over you. Because you have set your love on him, God sets you on high, and that is your station, not a low place. He is not preaching what God will do but what has already been done: you were healed 2,000 years ago, crucified, buried and raised with Christ, and now seated with him, so we pray from the heavenly realm, not up to it.

   Illustration: Doctors retesting believers and finding that cancer or HIV is gone, and asking what church they come from.

   “It's your station in life to be in a high place.”

   • Psalm 91:1-14
   • Deuteronomy 28:13
   • 1 Corinthians 3:21
   • Matthew 8:17
   • Romans 6:4-6
   • Ephesians 2:6

6. Religion cripples faith: speak to your mountain

   As a young believer he read Kenneth Hagin, went to Bible school and was treated as mad in a religious church, until the pastor gave him E. W. Kenyon's books. A special plant needs special soil, and a new creation cannot thrive in a religious garden. We already speak to inanimate things all day, so speak in faith to the sore foot, the empty wallet or the old car, as Jesus spoke to the fig tree.

   Illustration: Grapes are grown in Cape Town, not Durban. And we already talk to a broken shoe, a driver who cuts in front of us, or a rum and raisin ice cream.

   “Not every plant will grow in every garden.”

   • Hebrews 4:12
   • Mark 11:23
   • Mark 11:20-21

7. Money with a mission

   Money in a believer's hands has a spirit and a mission, the kingdom of God. Don't squeeze it or give it grudgingly; keep it neat and handle it with respect, and more will come so you can give more. Think bigger. He tells the church that the ministry sowed R60,000 that month, paid a R100,000 deposit on a new building and almost paid off R100,000 of lights.

   Illustration: He calls Cliff forward and hands money to a man to show that the power of God touches money in a believer's hand.

   “Money in the hands of a believer is money with a mission.”

   • Romans 12:2

8. Get into a home cell: the time is short

   Pointing to Matthew 24, and stressing that he is giving an opinion rather than a date, he says there may be a window of 15 to 20 years to preach freely before a one-world government ends freedom of worship, when home cells will become the underground church. Home cells are about lives and evangelism, not snacks. The church is on television to spread the gospel, not for fame; endure hardness and stand firm.

   Illustration: People think home cell means 'biscuits and cakes, samosas, duff cakes and queen cakes', but it is about the evangelisation of the world.

   “The shepherd does not give birth, but sheep give birth to lambs.”

   • Matthew 24:36
   • Matthew 24:24
   • 2 Timothy 2:3
   • 2 Corinthians 5:18