Today I will continue my current series entitled, REASONS WHY NOT TO FEAR! Reason #11: You Have Angelic Protection! (Part 2). I talked to you about angels yesterday. We learned that Jesus said he could call on the Father and over 50k angels would show up. We saw how angels protected Elisha when he was surrounded. We learned that David made it clear that angles literally encamp ‘round about the believer. I like to teach by both precept and example. Today I am going to share personal examples, from my own life. I shared briefly yesterday, but I will add to it today. Let’s get into it.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Angels are real.
a) My paternal grandmother was a praying woman. I don’t remember much about her, because she died while I was young, but the little I remember, and the stories my mother told me about her, have left a lasting impact on my life. As an example, I know I get my desire for Missions-work from her. Although she did not have much, once a year, she got a group of women together, they gathered up as much as they could, and they cooked for all the prisoners in the Jail of my home town in the Dominican Republic. Decades later, RIPMinistries does the same. She had a heart for people and I am thankful I am living out that legacy.
Although I was raised in Brooklyn, my mother and I visited the Dominican Republic every year. We almost always stayed with my maternal grandmother, not the paternal one. However, this particular night, we were staying with her. I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Back then, I had to relieve myself in a pan. As I walked out of the room where my mother and I were sleeping, to walk to the room where I could go to the bathroom, I had to pass the living room. It must have been 2am or 3am. My grandmother was in the living room, on a rocking chair, talking to an angel. It was pitch black outside and, for the most part, in the house as well. But that room (the living room), looked like it had 20 lights turned on. There was light emanating from the angel. I never said anything to my mother or grandmother about it. But years later, when I gave my life to Jesus, I asked the Lord about it. He confirmed that, yes, it was an angel my grandmother was talking to. I saw this angel with my own eyes. When you see something with your own eyes, it’s hard to doubt it from then on.
b) Another incident I will point to is something else that happened in the Dominican Republic. This time I was 16 years old. I was with a group of friends and we all decided to ride our bikes to the river. The one we chose to go to is part of the way up a mountain. So we had to ride our bicycles up the mountain for a good distance, before we turned, and rode down into the area where we could access the river.
Once we made the turn to do down, the decline was very steep. Most vehicles that go down this particular decline have to apply their brakes the entire way. We had to do the same with our bikes. However, as we started to go down, the brakes on my bike snapped. I was traveling down the decline as fast as the bike could go. My friends were looking at me. They were calling out and yelling for me to do something. There is a sharp right turn at the bottom of the decline, and it was obvious that I was NOT going to make the turn. At the end of turn, there is a stone that is about 20 ft. high. It is so high that it has things painted on it and it is almost like a small billboard. I was heading for the stone, full speed, not knowing what to do, with all my friends watching and yelling, when all of sudden, just before I hit the stone, my bike was gently placed on the ground, on its side. Just like that. I was wearing shorts and sandals. But I had no cuts, no bruises, no scapes, and no injuries. It was as if the bike was picked up briefly and then gently placed down, with me on it. I got up shaking. All my friends saw it. They could not explain it. Neither could I. This is one of the reasons why they called me, “El Santo,” or “The Saint”. Years later the Father revealed to me that He used an angel to protect me that day.
c) I will give you one last testimony. This time I was 17 years old. I was back in Brooklyn for my senior year of High School. I attended one of the worst and most dangerous schools in NYC, Thomas Jefferson High School. My school was referred to as JEFF, which people said stood for, “Just education for fools.” I was smart. I could have attended just about any High School in the city. But since I was robbed at gunpoint when I was 11 years old, on an NYC public bus, I decided to never take public transportation to attend school again. I was basically traumatized as a child, so I decided to attend my local schools, no matter how bad they were, because I knew the people there.
On this particular day, I noticed that a group of young men were in my school that did not belong there. They were not students of my school, and it was clear that they were there to do wrong. One of them noticed my leather bomber jacket. As I went into one of my classes, I heard him point at me and say something about my jacket. This was bad. There were too many of them to do anything about it.
When that class was over, sure enough, they were waiting for me. It was about 20 of them. As I walked towards the stairwell, I could see they were following me. When I got to the stairs, I had to decide whether or not to go UP or DOWN. Although my next class was on the floor below, I chose to go UP, because I had seen people kicked in the head as they walked DOWN the stairs.
I had a knife in my jacket. I don’t know what I was thinking. I pulled the knife out and I had it ready in my right hand. I started to go UP the stairs when I felt a small tug backward. One of the thugs grabbed my backpack and he attempted to yank me backward. He wanted me to fall backward, so they could jump me. However, miraculously, the two straps on my backpack snapped perfectly, and at the same time. The thug fell backward into the others. Several of them fell on the stairs. As I turned around, I saw a tremendous fear in their eyes. They all took off as fast as they could. Foolishly, I thought they were afraid of the knife. But I did think it was strange because it was 20 of them and only one of me.
Years later, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that an angel was standing behind me. He played it back for me, like a movie. I was able to see the angel, in the stairwell, and then see the reaction of the thugs. God made it clear that he protected me with angelic protection. He also made it clear that He did so because my mother and grandmother were praying for me. In the case of my paternal grandmother, God told me that while she was dead, her prayers were still valid, and they were still being answered!
2. When you have confidence in angelic protection, the confidence it gives you becomes a witness to others.
a) When you have experienced angelic protection, and you believe in the power of angels, it helps you develop a confidence that is not shaken or broken.
b) The stories I gave you were from my early years. Fast forward to any of my several stints in Iraq, and I can tell you that I had tremendous confidence, because I believed in the power of angels to protect me. I would sleep soundly as we flew on helicopters all over Iraq. Even in the early years, when it was very dangerous. The people who were with me know I was so confident in God’s protection over me, that when it came time to split up into several helicopters, many of them fought to be on the helicopter I was on because they believed my helicopter was NOT going down. I used to tell anyone who was with me that PURPOSE and DESTINY were on board and angels were protecting us everywhere we went. My confidence served as a witness and several of them chose to make my God their God!
c) I will close by saying that I am convinced angels are real. I am confident in their power to shield and protect us. My confidence in angels is actually confidence in God. If you are a believer, then what you believe must be seen in your daily routine. This is not a time to cower in fear. This is a time to believe God! Believe in His power to protect you and your household. Enter into God’s rest!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I am a believer and not a doubter. I walk by faith and not by fear. I know You have angels. I know You have assigned angels to protect me and my household. I release my confidence in You and in my angelic protection. I activate my faith. Angels, I command You to establish a hedge of protection ‘round about me, my children, and my children’s children. Fear has no power over me. Coronavirus cannot touch my house. If it does, I declare that it dies instantly. I believe and receive angelic protection and I enter into Your rest. I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
