Oh, hello.   I was just going through my entries in my journal on important angelic events.  Oh, I’m an angel.  Yes, the real deal.  Now I know the proper thing to do is to introduce myself by telling you my name…for we all have names.  I am sure you all remember my friends Gabriel.  But for the rest of us, we pretty much remain nameless.   In that part in God’s Word that your Pastor Dave just read – the part about “An angel of the Lord opened,” well, I’m the “an angel.”   Yes, really.  Oh, I do see the flicker of doubt in many of your eyes.  You go ahead and doubt.  I’m used to it.  Perhaps you aren’t used to hearing from angels these days.   

            Yet down through the ages we angels have helped, prodded, pulled and spoken on God’s behalf in many situations.   I know, we don’t always “look the part.”  In God’s Word, in the book of Hebrews it says that a lot of you have entertained us angels without ever knowing it.   And you know, Gabriel and others of my friends did not always introduce themselves by telling their names first.  They said things like:  Do not be afraid! Or  Your wife will bear you a son!  Or Your prayers have been answered.  Or You will bear a son.  And oh, the Host of Angels said this, and I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget: We bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.   Wow!  It was amazing.  They got a really great assignment.  Now, don’t get me wrong!  I feel I received a super assignment myself.  I, also, was counted worthy by God Himself.

And hear this…there are others, just like yourselves – whom God also counts as worthy!   There are many.  But right now I speak of the original disciples.   You see, when God walked on this earth in the person of Jesus, He spent most of His time with His disciples, loving and teaching them about Himself.  Even though they didn’t understand and surely didn’t “get it” that Jesus is the Messiah – God knew their hearts.  God knew their hearts and He counted them worthy for His Kingdom – and to grow His Kingdom.  God trusted these men with His message of new life – that is salvation.…which begins right here on earth! 

God’s message has not changed in all these years.  This is a very personal message from God to each of you.  His message continues to be that Scripture has been fulfilled in the person of God’s Son Jesus – through His death, burial and resurrection.  You see, when you people respond to the message with repentance for your sins, then your sins are forgiven – actually they are taken away.  The Holy Spirit enters you and  your eternal life begins.   Now, as an angel, I only know this in theory.  I know in theory what the song in Revelation (Rev 5:9f) says that you, the redeemed, get to sing.   This is to say that you get to know and experience His message in Jesus Christ through the personal and life-changing experience of being saved by Him!

All this is exactly what Peter and John and the other Apostles were sharing through healing, and preaching and teaching the people of Jerusalem .  God worked through the Apostles in these many signs and wonders, you might know them as miracles, that made the people there want to draw closer to the Apostles and yet would not, but they still did. 

And speaking of a wonder, a miracle really.  Wow, did Peter change!  Impulsive, unstable, and self-absorbed Peter.    At the time, I did not understand why Jesus called him the Rock.  And I really did not understand when Jesus wanted to build anything on Peter, especially His Church.  It’s amazing what a little Holy Spirit will do for a person!   I guess that’s why Jesus is the Messiah and I’m – well, I’m the “an Angel.”   

You see, the people have been deeply impressed  and touched by the words and works of Peter.  They recognize him as a man of God and a worthy apostle of Christ.  They believe that just by being close to Peter they could be healed.  They feel this is being in God’s very presence.   So the people of Jerusalem brought their sick relatives, friends and neighbors, to the Apostles.  They laid them on beds and mats on the ground in such a way that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.   Some of you probably think this is, well, ooh, superstition!  But, remember another one that is in God’s Word.  Remember the woman whose faith was blessed when she but touched the hem of Jesus’ garment.  She was healed!  She was healed immediately!  God’s power will not be held in.  Sometimes it just spills outs.  And that is exactly what was going on in Jerusalem .

Before that, the thing is, the High Priest and Council already told Peter and John and the other Apostles not to heal and teach and preach this message.  But, God had told them to do otherwise.  So-o-o, they kept doing exactly what God told them to do.  And the Church keeps growing, and growing.  By the thousands!  It was a wonder to behold!  I have to tell you, though, the High Priest became angrier and angrier.  You see, it started because word about Jesus spread, then the “Jesus movement” spread.  And the Apostles wouldn’t listen.  Then it turned personal for the High Priest.  After all no one was standing about hoping the High Priest’s shadow would fall on them!  

            So what do the Jewish leaders do?  They arrest the whole bunch of the Apostles.  They throw all of them in jail – yes, under lock and key and guard.  Talk about your crowed prisons.   Not a good place to be – no matter the time, place or year.  This is when I come in!   Don’t get me wrong.  My task was not so much to remove the Apostles from their suffering, as it was to get them back on God’s task of preaching and teaching and healing.

            So-o-o-o I, “an Angel of the Lord,” appeared to the imprisoned Apostles during the night.  I opened the prison doors and I led them out.   When I had them outside I gave them God’s instructions.  I wanted to say “Do not be afraid.   But the look on their faces told me they were not afraid.  There was a look of awe to be sure, even expectation.  But no fear!  What I did say was, “Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life.”  They were to continue to tell the people about salvation in Jesus!

            You see, God’s purpose is not going to be stopped.  Not by persecution, not a dark, dangerous, and locked jail, not by jealousy.  So at daybreak, Peter and John and the other Apostles “entered the temple … and went on with their teaching.”  Now, I admit to a bit of angelic curiosity.   So I decided to stick around a little while.  I knew the Apostles were glad to be out of jail. Who wouldn’t be?  I knew they were excited to share about Jesus again and to “tell the full message of the new life.”  But I was curious if that excitement would waiver with the real threat of more jail time or other persecution and harm … or worse.

            It was right about this same time that the High Priest and all the Jewish leaders were meeting – talk about your committee – to decide the fate of the Apostles.   They sent to the jail to have the Apostles brought before them.  Obviously, the temple police had to report back – with fear and trembling – that while the prison was quite securely locked AND the guards standing at their posts – for, that is the way I left it…alas the Apostles were not inside.  I felt sorry for the temple police.  And I wrote down at the time, “Every one was greatly perplexed.”  Even though it was not my assignment, I was just about to tell the temple police, “Do not be afraid.”   And it was right then that a person who liked to monitor others’ activities, came in to say that the very men in question where “in the temple and teaching the people!”  

So once again the temple police go out to fetch the Apostles.  And once again, the Apostles are brought before the Council – this time without force.  But this time there was fear!  Not the Apostles.  But the temple officers.  You see, the Apostles were doing a great job being good witnesses for Jesus.  They were indeed taking the message of salvation to Jerusalem .  And the people were listening.  They liked the message and the healing.   The temple police sensed a change in the people.  They instinctively knew they could not get rough with the Apostles this time, for fear of their own lives.

            I, personally, found it very interesting at the time, and now that I’ve thought about it, even an insult - that the High Priest did not make a fuss or any reference at all to the Apostles’ escape in the first place.  Perhaps it was out of embarrassment?  Maybe they just did not want to know the truth about another miracle?   But I could have told the High Priest he was wasting his breath when he said to the Apostles, (and I wrote it down so not to forget) “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this Man’s blood on us.”   Yea, like they were on vacation when Jesus was crucified!

It was Peter who first spoke up!  He answered that they “must obey God rather than any human authority.”   You do understand that you today, even believers in Jesus are supposed to obey civil authority, except when it comes in conflict with the commandment of God?   Anyway, then Peter again accused the Jewish leaders of murdering Jesus.  Then he proclaimed Jesus’ resurrection!!!   Wow!  It was wonderful to hear Peter say this.  But, as you can imagine, Peter’s words were met with murderous anger.   Some in the Council even called for the death penalty. 

            And – that - is - when the Holy Spirit stepped in through the voice of one of their own...one of the Council…another Pharisee.  Rabbi Gamaliel.   Rabbi Gamaliel was so respected by the others.  Of all of them, he was the one to derail this rush toward death!  I was so glad I stayed.  But the High Priest became angrier!  But, I have to say, I didn’t agree then, and I don’t agree after all these years with everything Rabbi Gamaliel said.  For many things not of God do succeed.  After all, Satan succeeded in taking one-third of my personal friends to his devilish camp.  And they are still there.  And you humans have just had a fifth anniversary where pilots succeeded in crashing their airplanes into several buildings in your New York and succeeded in killing thousands.  And now there is a yet another war going on which is succeeding in killing more, and succeeding in grieving you and succeeding in grieving God.

            Granted, it was the good Rabbi’s words that convinced the Council not to want to be found fighting against God in killing the Apostles.   I am glad about that.  But hear this.  Even though the Council was convinced by Gamaliel not to punish the Apostles, they still allowed them to be beat – flogged – whipped!    You humans have a habit of doing this.  Pilot did the same with Jesus.  Pilot pronounced he did not find any guilt in Jesus.  Then he physically washed his hands of the entire nasty deal.  Yet, he still allowed Jesus flogged to within an inch of His life.  And he allowed Jesus to be hung on that tree.  No, I don’t understand. 

            Anyway, after the Council weighed in with that unjust punishment of the beating of the Apostles, then they again wasted their breath!  They told Peter and John and the other Apostles not to speak in the name of Jesus.  They let them go! 

I have to tell you, it brought angelic tears to my eyes when the Apostles did NOT hold a grudge.  Instead they rejoiced as they left the Council.  They rejoiced!  They rejoiced that they had been counted worthy to suffer shame, dishonor and disgrace for Jesus.”   And you might remember reading in God’s Word, that at one point in Jesus earthly ministry, He asked James, another disciple, and John if they were able to drink the cup (of suffering and punishment) that He was soon to drink (Matt 20:22f).  They answered, without true understanding, that yes, they were able.  Well, that is exactly what happened.  Exactly!  Undaunted by the persecution and beating, guess where they went.  These worthy Apostles walked right back to the temple, and into homes, teaching and preaching and healing. 

So I tell you now what the Apostles said to the people of Jerusalem .   The message is just as important today for you as it was then.  Do you have Jesus in your life today?  You either do or you don’t!   If you do have Jesus, then He counts you as worthy to share and tell others about Him.  He wants you to go, tell the full message of this new life of salvation in Jesus Christ, where you live, where you work, where you play.   He counts you as worthy, knowing you might suffer, be ignored, talked about (behind your back), ridiculed, even physically harmed.  But God knows your heart and trusts you with His message.  If you do not yet know Jesus as your savior, it is not too late.  This personal life-changing experience can be yours, too.  You can claim Jesus as the Savior of your life He wants to be.  After this service, I encourage you to talk to your Pastor Dave or your Pastor Janet.  You have a living hope, a future.  God has a plan for you.