But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ([h]This is a desert road.) So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Acts 8:26-21.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
I involve My angels in the ministry of salvation. From the beginning I have sent them with messages, to work great acts of deliverance, and to fight with you in conquering enemies. They are My angelic host—intensely loyal, intensely committed, of high intelligence, filled with My love, burning with zeal for Me, and beautiful in form and feature. They are of a heavenly substance that you do not find on earth but they are substantial and strong. They can take hold of your hands, as they did for Lot and his family, Genesis 19:16, they can lift you up and fly you quickly to other places, as they did for Ezekiel, Ezekiel 3:12-13, Ezekiel 8:3, and they can strike down whole armies, as the angel did that I sent in answer to Hezekiah’s prayers for deliverance from the Assyrians. 2 Kings19:35. They are made of My breath and spun light. They emit light, a soft white light that emanates from their very being. You will notice that when they come into dark places, such as the prison cells when they released the group of apostles and later Peter alone their presence filled the dark place with light. They have the light of Heaven in them. When you call in the holy angels you are bringing days of Heaven to the earth. And Jesus is the fulfillment of the ladder joining Heaven with earth upon which the holy angels descend to earth and ascend back to Heaven, as Jacob saw in a dream and Jesus confirmed to Nathaniel. And now that you are each My house and a gate to heaven as temples of the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 3:16, the angels are ready to be released to earth through you just when they are needed to minister to you.
“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14. Yes, they are. Another gift I give to you along with Jesus. And I have given each of you a guardian angel that is uniquely yours.
You will find in the book of the Acts of the Apostles and in the book of Revelation that angels take an active role in the ministry of evangelizing and of getting the Word to those who have a heart for Me but have had no appropriate instruction. Soon after the fulfillment of Pentecost, when the Jewish leaders threw a group of My apostles in the public jail, I sent an angel to let them out and he told them, “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.” Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak and began to teach. Acts 5:20-21. And I sent an angel of Mine to Cornelius to tell him to go get Peter. And I told Peter to go with the men from Cornelius and he and all his family got gloriously saved.
And finally when the church has been taken out in the rapture an angel of Mine will finally get to preach the gospel, “And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.” Revelation 14:6-7.
“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10. They have great joy when people get saved. Why? Because they love Me and know that gives Me joy. Involve My holy angels in your ministry.
And for those who love Me and are heirs of salvation they have a special love which is My love communicated to you through them as agents of My healing love.
And at the sound of the trumpet and the voice of the archangel, you will be caught up to meet the Lord Jesus in the air. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. And guess who catches you up? “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” Matthew 24:31. Do you remember it was angels who carried Lazarus to Abraham’s bosom (paradise)? And in John’s visit to Heaven in the Book of Revelation it is the angel escorting him who lifts him up to the high mountain to gaze upon the descent of the Holy City Jerusalem. “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.” Revelation 21:9-10.
I give command to My angels to guard you in all your ways. They cover you and lift you with their pinions and they are My angelic host. They surround Me as well. I do not have wings, you are in My image and you do not have wings. The clouds are My chariots and on the wings of the wind I take flight. In Psalm 91 when I talk about covering you with My pinions, or talk about the shadow of My wings, I am speaking of the angels with which I surround you who are always obeying My command to guard you. “Bless the LORD, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word! Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, you who serve Him, doing His will.” Psalm 103:20-21. Be aware of so great a salvation. And they will obey My Word in your mouth if you will speak it.
You will also see that when the angels carry you I also often bring in the Spirit lifting you up as well. The prophet Ezekiel experienced this in his amazing ministry, “Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me, “Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His place.” And I heard the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another and the sound of the wheels beside them, even a great rumbling sound. So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away.” Ezekiel 3:12-13. And again, “He [the angel] stretched out the form of a hand and caught me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the idol of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw in the plain.” Ezekiel 8:3-4.
And today we will look at another miracle that involves an angel of Mine sending out Philip to evangelize and being transported in the Spirit as well. We are still considering Philip, one of the seven men chosen to distribute the provisions, who was now launched out into ministry preaching, healing, and teaching—a Spirit filled man doing the works Jesus did and greater.
We left off yesterday with Philip in Samaria preaching the Kingdom and the Name of Jesus and healing the lame. Peter and John heard about this great awakening and came to impart the gift of the Holy Spirit—the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And after they had done so and solemnly testified and spoken My Word, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. Acts 8:25.
And then another miracle of the continued works of Jesus, but this time a greater work because during Jesus’ life on earth He had not yet died on the Cross for your sins and been raised by Me from the dead and glorified, so no one could yet get born again and receive the fullness of the Spirit until He was glorified and poured Him forth on believers. He explained that, “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:37-39.
Now after Peter and John had left Samaria, an angel of Mine spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) So he got up and went.” Acts 8:26-27. Now from Samaria to Jerusalem was about 40 miles and then from Jerusalem down to Gaza on the desert road was 50 miles. This would have taken at least a day for Philip to walk. My angel took him down in the Spirit in a matter of minutes. And then I gave Philip supernatural strength to run alongside a chariot. Like when I strengthened Elijah to outrun Ahab’s chariot as it started to rain at Elijah’s prayer to Me.
And on that road where My angel flew Peter, there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. He was not Jewish but, like Cornelius, he was seeking Me in My Word which at that time was only with the Jewish people. But, because of his important position in his government, he was able to obtain an Isaiah scroll, which he was reading. Acts 8:2-28.
Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” Now My Holy Spirit in Philip and on him is giving him directions. He leads you who are My children and inspires you with what to say to preach Jesus. So Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” Faith comes by hearing and hearing My Word, but how can they hear except someone preach and how can one preach unless he is sent by Me? I have equipped you and you have been sent. Jesus gave you your marching orders, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:21-22. And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:
“He was led as a sheep to slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. In humiliation His judgment was taken away; who will relate His generation?
For His life is removed from the earth.” Acts 8:29-33.
The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” That was the invitation Philip needed. Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. Acts 8:34-35.
As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And that was another miracle, there were no bodies of water on that desert road, but there was one there just when needed. And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” He was all in. It does not take long to tell people about the good news of Jesus. Peter had not spoken very long to Cornelius and his household when My Spirit fell. As soon as they heard in Jesus their sins were gone that was enough. And when you witness to others you will find the same. My Spirit will tell you what to say and My angels will guide you to the right people and the right people to you.
And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.
A very great event had taken place that most people knew nothing about at that point. I sent Philip there for one man who had a heart to know Me and had come a long way to seek Me. And he was gloriously born again. And he returned to his country and then he took up the call and evangelized a nation starting at the top in the leaders and going down from there. And a prophecy of David in his song recorded for you as Psalm 68 was fulfilled by Philip that day, “Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth, sing praises to the LORD, Selah. To Him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient times; behold, He speaks forth with His voice, a mighty voice.” Psalm 68:31-33.
And then Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea where he made his home. You will find Paul staying with him twenty-one years later in Caesarea and by then he has four daughters who were all prophets. “On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses.” Acts 21:8-9. And by then he had earned the office of “evangelist,” one of the ministry gifts I give to you to build up the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-12.
And how about you?
So you see as he came down to the desert road to Gaza lifted by the angel in the Spirit, so he was taken to the next place that needed him to share with them the good news of Jesus, of the Kingdom, and of he Name of Jesus. What an honor it is when I give you the opportunity to share that—to preach, heal, and teach. What you have received as a gift, give as a gift. I will take care of you and one of the ways I do is by sending the holy angels.
I love you. Know that I am with you, in you, and surrounding you with love and compassion. I surround you with favor as a shield. Go therefore!