ANGELS UNWARE
ANGEL’S UNAWARE
Sunday, December 1, 2024
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
I was driving on I-10 returning from my Thanksgiving visit with Shanna and Trey. I started praying, Lord Jesus what do you want me to preach tomorrow? I instantly heard, “Angel’s Unaware.”
Heb. 13:2: Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Oh Joy! I love teaching on angels, the “Glory” of Jesus Christ, the Father, the Holy Spirit, and their Holy Angels.
“There is one particular season during the year when angels emerge from their veil of obscurity and assume an active role in the lives of mortals. Yes, they are active continually, but at Christmas time, mortals are seemingly more aware of their presence.
Their radiant likenesses suddenly appear in public places, and we catch glimpses of their shining wings here and there among the throng. Sometimes we see or feel a fleeting ethereal touch as they pass us on the streets; or we catch the echo of their dulcet voices in a breath of song.
At Eastgate church, if you listen, you can hear angels singing every Sunday and every time we gather to worship.
During the Christmas season, pictures of angels come to us through the mail, and their very presence lends a heavenly aura to the familiar joys of the season. All this, of course, is because Christmastime has come again, and Christmastime is Angel-time to all who love its story. Children become starry-eyed with wonder as, in countless school and church pageants, they don white robes and wings and portray angels in various ways ---singing, blowing trumpets, playing on instruments, kneeling in adoration, or standing guard around the baby King.
Even we who are less childlike find ourselves thinking and singing about angels, though often unawares, for there is scarcely a Christmas song which does not include them, so whether we join in the stirring:
Hard the herald angels sing,
Glory to the new-born King! (Charles Wesley).
Or in the majestic strains of ‘Adeste Fideles:’
Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Oh, sing, all ye citizens of Heaven above! (John Francis Wade).
Or if, we turn to the meditative ‘O little Town of Bethlehem:’
Glory streams from Heaven afar,
Angel hosts sing, Alleluia! (Phillips Brooks).
We are sure to the meet the angels again and again! They all are uniting in voicing their praise to God for the manifestation of His love for men in the sending of His only begotten Son to earth to be our Redeemer.
Truly, the angels played a noble and important part in the outworking of the wonderful plan of the incarnation. We feel the sense of wonder given by the Holy Spirit each time we read the Biblical account of the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. The Holy Bible is filled with stories of angels as the Lord’s ministering spirits and messengers to mankind. Perhaps they were more openly manifested on earth at the time of Jesus’ birth than any other period in the history of man.
First there was Gabriel…just the thought of the great archangel appearing suddenly in the temple at the Altar of Incense, causes us to catch our breath in awe. No wonder Zacharias was amazed and startled! And we recall the most celebrated of all angelic visitations --- Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary of the coming of the Messiah. Thousands of artists have attempted to portray the visitation. Musicians have tried to capture it in sound; writers and preachers have sought to paint it with words; but its ineffable beauty and glory elude human description. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to recreate this scene in our hearts! Nor must we overlook the importance of the special angelic visitation to Joseph, for it was the angel who banished Joseph’s doubts and fears. It was the angel who prepared him to accept his honored role of father/guardian and provider for the little “Son of the Highest.”
Then there were the shepherds who were keeping watch in the field.
We can all picture that sublime scene; the open glory of the Lord, the angel who with clarion voice announces the birth of Jesus… the great multitude of the heavenly host who praised God and felicitated mortals!
Angels kept watch over the Holy Babe as He lay in the manger in Mary’s arms, and mingled their adoration with that of the shepherds and the Magi. Perhaps it was one of the angels who warned the Magi in a dream not to return to Herod, lest they endanger the life of the Child. And we know that it was at the word of the angel that Joseph was warned to flee to Egypt with the Christ and His mother.
Angels certainly would have accompanied them and protected them during the hazardous journey. After several years had passed and the time had come when it was safe for them to return to their own land, it was an angel who directed Joseph and led them to Nazareth.
In the Christian preaching of the gospel, angels must be remembered and honored for their faithful ministration to our Savior. The Father committed to them great responsibility, not only in connection with the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem, but also toward every soul in whom He is born again. We, too are the object of their care for we also are “born from above” (AMP).
Heb. 1:14: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Angels are not just to be relegated to Christmas day--- but for every day. We are to be aware of their presence. As we speak the Word of God into the atmosphere according to the Will of God, the angels continually perform the Word. We have a responsibility to decree God’s Word to send angels on assignment.
Many Christians forget about the Holy Angels as soon as the Christmas season has passed. The world system easily believes in demons and the dark side of mankind; but even many church leaders scoff at the reality of the ministry of angels.
The church as a whole remains both uninformed and indifferent to the presence and power of angels in relationship to the redeemed. A few years ago before we started the new church building, we studied the ministry of angels for two years on Sunday evenings.
There is evidence that angels are more active in the world today than they have been at any other time since the birth of Christ. Tim Sheets had a vision of legions of warfare angels released just days before the October 7, 2023, “fierce war season.”
I had a dream while I was in Kerrville. Some of it I am not prepared to share, but I was on a high level government assignment. I had secret service men escorting me. I knew on awaking the “secret service” were angels assigned to ensure I completed the mission. It was so secret and sensitive that others were not allowed to go with me.
Frances Metcalfe wrote in 2012: “In the closing day of this dispensation, they (the angels) will come into even closer proximity and more open association with men. Spiritual men and women are becoming more and more aware of this, and among the enlightened we find many who have had blessed experiences in regard to angels. The Holy Spirit has opened eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand and been made willing to know what the Father would have us to know concerning angels.”
Many of the saints at Eastgate Church have had blessed encounters with angels, seeing them in the services during worship, during the ministering of the Word and during ministry time as we minister to one another. I have shared through the years unrestrained visions without intimidation of scorn or mocking of angelic encounters. Some would charge me with spiritual pride or boasting. I see it as humility of being willing to be transparent and subject oneself to mocking and ridicule in order to speak and reveal the supernatural presence and visitation of Heaven on earth.
Are you willing to face the scorn and ridicule of the world, your neighbors, and your family as well as the church leaders and be transparent about visions and revelations from the realms of the Holy Spirit? Are you willing to stand before your church and be judged by visions and revelations? Because once we are strong enough to deliver, we will face down all the above or we will cower down. We are all to be judged by the words we speak and give in the House of the Lord. I make Eastgate a safe place where people are not intimidated.
Surely with all the signs of the times, all, even the lost and backsliders realize we are nearing a climatic period in God’s Time and that He has sent forth His angels to prepare us, and to assist us through the portentous days we are now in. All glory and praise be unto our God! We have become increasingly aware that He has given His angels charge over us, and over each of His elect. Indeed, we feel the heavenly host often closing in around us, covering us as with clouds, shielding us from the diabolical forces now being released in the earth by the Archenemy of Jesus Christ. What comfort and assurance this brings to our hearts!
Perfect submission, perfect delight.
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending, bring from above,
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all-the-day long. (Fanny Crosby).
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Eastgate Church Ministries, 10115 West Hidden Lakes Lane, Richmond, TX
Scripture from K.J.V. unless otherwise noted. I entered into the labors of Frances Metcalfe, Ladies of Gold, Volume 2. Dream given to Carolyn Sissom; song writers noted in body of sermon. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those who I entered into their labors.