29.z. “An Angel of the Lord”

 

Matthew 2:13  Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

 Matthew 1:20   But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit

 Matthew 2:19    But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

 Acts 5:19    But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,

 Acts 10:7    When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him,

 Acts 10:22  And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.”

 Acts 12:11    When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

Joseph responded immediately to what the angel said.  I don’t know how God uses His angels but uses them He does.  He is able to send them to convey a message, open locked doors, or allows them to be seen in some physical form.  We know they were created by God and are used by God. The message they convey or the acts they perform are directly from God and for His purpose and will. I certainly do not know how this all works other than to say they are real. We are given examples of acts carried out by angels and the corresponding acts of those who were witnesses to these acts. Joseph took Mary to be his wife, fled to Egypt, and returned from Egypt. apostles were led out of prison, Paul, Peter, Cornelius, Martha, and Mary are examples of angels being used by God for their good. We do well to understand that in all things God is more than able to exceed our needs.  He is not limited in any way. Note that these people were followers and believers who trusted in and relied upon Jesus Christ.  They were not lukewarm in their belief, trusting, following, or reliance. Their hearts, minds, and souls were fixed on Jesus Christ and to honor and glorify Him continually.

“Whom shall I send”

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost”

Exodus 3:4  When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “ Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Genesis 22:1     After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Genesis 22:11     But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Genesis 46:2     And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.”

1 Samuel 3:4    Then the LORD called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!”

1 Samuel 3:10    And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

Acts 9:4    And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

Acts 10:3    About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.”

Isaiah 6:8     And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Mat 4:18  While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.  And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  Immediately they left their nets and followed him.  And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.  Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 9:9     As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

Mark 2:14    And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

John 1:43  The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

There was a Call from God and the reply was “here am I”.  There is a call from Jesus was “come follow me” and the response was “they followed”.  These calls came as these men were in their normal everyday activities.  Their responses would indicate a willingness and even possibly wanting to hear from God.  I am not so sure any of them were sitting around and had a conscious thought “if God calls to me I am going to say here am I”.  I think they were more inclined to believe there was a living God and they had reverence in their heart for Him in such a way that their ears, eyes, heart,  mind, and soul were open.

Here I am – I don’t know what you want but I want you to know I am listening.

Here I am – I know you are God or from God

Here I am – I want to hear what you say

Here I am – I am willing to do what you ask

Here I am – I am willing to go where you send me

Here I am – I want to do what you ask of me

Here I am – lead me, I want to follow you

Here I am – use me

I wonder if our ears are able to hear God calling.  I wonder if we are seeking to hear God speak into our life.  I wonder if we are willing to be led.  I wonder if we would follow.  I wonder if we want to be used by God for His glory and honor.

It is so easy to get caught up so tight in life and things of this world that we have closed our ears and are deaf to God’s calling.  Is our heart so hardened that His call and love falls on a heart of stone and deaf ears?

Many, me included, had hearts hard as stone and were not giving a single conscious thought about God when His word broke through the heart of stone and brought understanding and knowledge of the need for forgiveness and salvation.  What we see many times as a heart of stone no man could change, God, in a moment, softens their heart to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When we think there is no possible way fora lost sinner’s  soul to respond “here am I,, save me” God does the impossible work in their heart and mind so that they see the need.  They are changed in that moment of confession and trust in Jesus Christ.  Never to be the same again.  At least we hope not.

It is an intentional walk with God each day to have our ears open to hear His word come alive into our life.  It is an intentional heart and mind that seeks and desires to hear and be lead by God.

Be intentional in reverence, listening, following, and obeying His call into your life each day.