Grace and peace to you through Jesus Christ who has promised us: "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you." Amen.

Lord God of heavenly hosts, this morning we enter the world of angels and demons. As in any war, the scenes will get ugly at times, especially those that deal with the devil. Yet we can view this war knowing that good will prevail over evil. For this isn’t just a battle between angels and demons, but between you, O Lord, and Satan. It is a battle that Jesus fought – and won – on the cross. Give us this confidence that we are victors through Christ and through his protective angels. Amen.

Hollywood portrays them as "playing in the outfield," "touching people of all ages," and even "working for a guy named Charlie." I'm speaking, of course, about angels. Some of what Hollywood says about angels is true. The Bible teaches us that angels are present everywhere – from major league baseball parks to our living rooms, maybe even sitting next to us in church in that open seat. Certainly, angels are active, touching the lives of people around the world, especially Christians. Having said this, we also need to understand that much of what Hollywood says about angels is suspect at best. For starters, you can be sure, angels don't answer to a guy named, "Charlie." Instead, we know that angels answer only to the Creator.

Sadly, there are many false ideas about angels. Contrary to popular belief, Christians don't turn into angels when we die. The typical stereotype of heaven shows people wearing wings and halos, playing harps, and floating around on clouds as angels. Yet, that's not true at all. Yes, we will be sharing some heavenly real estate. But, we won't be sent back to earth as God's special messengers. Angel is from the Greek word: "aggelo", meaning "messenger."

As His messengers, God has used angels to announce the most momentous milestones in history. Angels filled the Bethlehem sky, to announce the Savior's birth: "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11) Angels were at the empty tomb to verify the resurrection. They said: "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples..." (Mark 16 6-7) God used angels to point people back to Him as their Savior-God.

The Bible tells us these special messengers were created by God somewhere between Day One and Day Six of creation. (cf. Job 38) Sometimes angels are visible to the human eye, sometimes not. And as Hebrews 1:14 tells us: "angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation." This passage also reminds us that God never promises the protection of angels to everyone, only to Christians. That's why it's so important, as the opening verses of our text tell us, to make God our dwelling and refuge, to put our trust exclusively in Him.

Today, on this festival of St. Michael and all the angels, we will be separating fact from fiction when it comes to angels. We will see that God uses His special agents to preserve and protect us. We will thank God for guardian angels. We'll see that angels ensure Christians of safety. Through Christ, these guardian angels also ensure Satan’s defeat.

Before we get too far, we need to answer this burning question, "does God assign one specific guardian angel to each Christian?" The Bible doesn't answer this question directly. But, according to many Biblical commentators, it seems unlikely. That should make sense. With the way some of you play, work, and drive, I don’t think just one angel could be enough to keep you safe. That one angel would probably turn in his wings at the end of just one harried and stress-filled day of following you around. Instead, the Bible speaks of multiple angels guarding us, especially in our sermon text where it says: "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways."

So how many angels are there? Daniel 7:10 puts the angel population at 10,000 times 10,000. If you’re not very good at math, that is 1 million angels. Jesus told Peter that He was able to summon an angel army of more than 12 Roman legions. (cf. Matthew 26:53) Since a Roman legion was about 6000 soldiers, this was an angel army of 72,000 that Jesus had at his disposal. Since the Bible tells us that angels aren't created male and female and don’t have families, they don't increase in number. And since angels don't die, they don't decrease either. Their number remains constant.

 Verse 11-12 tell us that "[God] will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." Thank God for guardian angels. These angels protect Christians from meaningless harm. They ensure our safety. Artists, like Michelangelo with his Sistine Chapel, like to picture angels as being cute little cherubs, little baby angels, or beautiful female angels. In reality, God speaks of his angels as being warriors, soldiers, carrying flaming swords and riding chariots of fire.

Last week I went to see President Bush speak at Pershing Park here in Racine. The Friedens kids who were in front of us enjoyed seeing the police snipers on the rooftops, the armed police in the stands, and the especially the President’s secret service agents with their earpieces and black sunglasses. The angels are God’s secret agents. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, they are with us working quietly, quickly, behind the scenes to protect us from danger – danger we don’t always see coming. It is comforting to know that these angels never go on a break, they never go on strike, and they never ask for a bigger pay raise. Instead, they guard and protect us in all our ways.

Think about that. Do you think that we safely traveled to church this morning by accident? Many of you may remember that a few weeks ago in the beginning of the service there was a smell of smoke. Everyone was uneasy and uncomfortable, myself included. During the singing of the psalm I went into the sacristy to ask the ushers to find the problem. I opened the door and smoke is billowing out. The ushers were there, stamping out the fire. A piece of paper had fallen onto one of the lights that light our stained glass window behind the altar. Do you think it was just by chance that the fire had smoldered for at least 30 minutes before someone found it? I don’t believe so.

God sends His angels to protect us. Do you have any personal angel stories to tell? I do. About 11 years ago, while I was dating Shelley, I was leaving her apartment at WLC in Milwaukee late at night and heading north on Highway 45 to the Seminary in Mequon. Because I left so late, I was driving in blizzard conditions – in a rear-wheel drive Ford Mustang. Not the best car for snow and ice. While I was driving, I must have hit an icy patch and started doing a 360 – right in the middle lane of a three-lane highway, with a cement barrier on the left and a 50-foot embankment on the right. But while I was spinning, I felt safe and calm and like I was spinning in slow motion. My car ended up resting safely pushed up against all the snow that had been piled against the cement barrier. No harm done. I believe that angels were holding onto that car, keeping me safe from getting smacked by oncoming semi trucks or flipping the car or rolling down that embankment.

I simply share this true story to tell you angels are real and are active. They stand on guard, protecting us from meaningless harm. That’s comforting to know that wherever we walk, angels walk with us. We have God's promise. The angels are there shutting the lions’ mouths, like with Daniel; they are protecting from the fiery furnace, like with Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego; and they are ministering to our needs, like with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Sometimes we concentrate only on the problems that plague us – that sudden accident, this serious illness, even that unexpected expense. If we could only see how the angels protect us from the physical and spiritual problems that don't afflict us – the accident we avoid, the sickness we're spared, the car that doesn't break down, the nursing home patient who falls and isn’t hurt, the temptation that doesn't turn up. God’s angels are watching over us. They protect us from physical harm and keep us safe. Maybe if we could see this meaningless harm that God protects us from, we'd appreciate God more. That's why we need to thank God for Guardian Angels. They ensure our safety.

Our second lesson for today reminds us that through Christ, our guardian angels also ensure Satan’s defeat. John tells us that in his vision of heaven he saw: "[There was a] war in heaven. Michael [the archangel] and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him." Michael and his angels overcame Satan and his evil angels through "the blood of the Lamb" of God.

Satan is a fallen angel. He and his fellow evil angels don’t just try to hurt human beings. They try to damn us by keeping us away from God and his Word. They know they are going to hell. But they don’t want to go alone. That is why the Bible warns us: "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

But Satan no longer has any power over us. He was kicked out of heaven. He was then defeated in battle through Christ’s death and resurrection. In a way, the battle between Michael and the dragon is waged to a lesser degree every time a soul is reclaimed from Satan’s grasp. Jesus said, "There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10) Angels are involved in the battle for souls. When the 72 returned with joy over the success of the gospel, Jesus told them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." (Luke 10:18)

The most famous Old West gunfight is probably the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. It featured one of the most famous lawmen in the history of the Wild West – Wyatt Earp. This shoot-out lasted only 60 seconds, but when the dust had cleared, everyone was either dead or wounded except for the hero – Wyatt Earp. He walked away without a scratch.

The most famous spiritual gunfight of all time took place at the "Calvary Corral." The results were similar to what happened at the O.K. Corral. For when the dust of Calvary had cleared and the sun rose on Easter Sunday, only one man was left standing – the Son of Man. The devil had been gunned down. He took a bullet to the head, which crushed his skull and dropped him on the spot. The rest of his gang – the Jewish leaders – were wounded. They were at a loss for words. The very man they had hung on a tree was now back in the saddle. He had managed to escape the most secure prison there is – the grave.

No longer was Jesus riding a lowly donkey. Now he was riding a white horse. Even though Jesus rode into town in humility, he was clearly riding out in glory. Hanging over the back of his horse was the body, bound hand and foot, of the notorious outlaw called Satan. The apostle John pictures this victory in vivid terms in Revelation 20:2,3. In speaking about Jesus he states: "He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, [hell] and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore." Thank God for his guardian angels for through Jesus they ensure Satan’s defeat.

Fellow saints in God’s kingdom, one day we will be singing alongside the angels in heaven. Until that time, don’t forget about God’s messengers, his soldiers, his secret agents who are guarding and protecting us, ensuring out safety. Also, thank God because his guardian angels who through Jesus ensure our safety. On Thursday, I was at the nursing home as Edna Tangerstrom was being called home to heaven. As I had a devotion with Scott and Sue, you could almost sense God’s angels standing on either side of Edna’s bed, guarding and protecting her soul, ready to chauffer her soul to her Savior’s side in heaven.

As the Good Shepherd, our Savior will lead all of us safely through that same dark valley of death. He will make sure we arrive at our final destination safe and sound, escorted by our guardian angels. Amen.

The Lord give us this comfort through Daniel’s vision of the last day: "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. [And] everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be delivered." Amen. (Daniel 12:1)