ANGELS LANDING - Zion National Park

ANGELS LANDING

Yesterday we hiked a trail in Zion called Angels Landing.  It was a 5.4 mile hike that climbed a 1400 foot mountain.  I had to hike this one and pray, because I know that angels do land.  All the time, angels land.  We can do nothing about them landing, but we get to choose whether they stay or not.

Before I start, I want you to know what the Bible says about angels.  Hebrews says that angels are here to minister to the heirs of salvation.  That’s us.  Angels were created to minister to us.  Cool, huh!  Psalm 91 says that the angels of the LORD camp round about those who fear Him to deliver them.  So from these scriptures we know that angels were created to minister to and to deliver those who love Jesus and fear God.  We have a host of heaven’s armies camped around us to minister to us and deliver us.  Hallelujah, thank you Jesus!
But what we don’t know is that there are two camps of angels, those who are for us and those who are against us.  There are fallen angels, those who have rebelled against God and have, therefore, become His enemies.  They hate God, and they hate people because we are created in the image of God.  The cool thing is that these fallen angels cannot do anything to us unless we let them.  Let me explain.

Angels do not have bodies.  The only way they can do anything is if they have a body to use.  Good or bad.  That’s where we come in.  Circumstances happen - things we can’t change, and the angels land.  Anxieties, fears, insecurities, worry, resentment, lust, hatred, greed.  Then we have a choice.
Back in 2011, God gave me a parable that made me understand how the Angel Armies work.  If we have a spirit (angel) in our heart, it moves us to do things we would not ordinarily do.  For instance, if we get angry or jealous or pride-filled, these spirits (angels) move us.  We act on what they tell us to do.  When God gave me the Parable of the Raccoon (see the video in Understanding Spiritual Warfare on my blog www.witnesshimnow.com), He gave me the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.  I understood that whatever we bind on earth, is bound in heaven, and whatever we loose on earth is loosed in heaven.  We get to choose the angels who live inside of us.  But have you ever tried to get rid of worry or fear?  How about pride or jealousy or anger?  It doesn’t happen. These spirits landed.  They entered our heart, so now what do we do?  The only way to get rid of an angel who has landed is to confess this as a sin.  Say what?  Worry and fear are sins?  Yes.  We are believing lies.  We are sinning.  We don’t trust that God is in control.  The only way to get rid of the enemy angel (sin) is to go to God without excuse and say, “God, I am guilty of worrying.  I am angry and afraid. Will you please forgive me.”  And He does.  Every time He does, because it is written, “If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Fear leaves.  Worry leaves.  Anger leaves.  Thank you Jesus. Then we ask God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  “God, teach me to trust You.  Teach me to love people.  Teach me to lay down my pride.  Teach me to stop trying to control things, to let go.  Then we call on the angels who are for us.  God, send Your unfailing love.  Give me patience.  Give me kindness.  And then we begin to do those things that God is asking us to do:  Love those who hate us, bless those who curse us, pray for those who spitefully use us.  Wow!  Then we begin to take on the character of God.

Is this not the coolest thing ever!  Choice!  Free will!  We choose.  No one can take that choice away!  No matter what happens to us, no one can take that choice away.  Hallelujah, thank you Jesus.  But let me tell you, there are consequences to our choices.  If we allow the enemy angels to stay in our heart, we need to know that their job - the reason they were created - is to kill, steal, and destroy.  So these enemy angels will use us to destroy others, then they will turn around and destroy us.

I need for you to know - man is not God’s enemy.  The angels who rebelled are God’s enemies.  We have to know the difference.  That’s why 1 Timothy 2 says, “I urge you, first of all, to pray FOR ALL PEOPLE, to Intercede for them, to help them, and to give thanks for them.”  Say what?!?  Yes!  What about those who steal from us and slander us?  Yes.  What about the child molester?  Yes.  What about the murderer?  Yes.  ALL people.

Ephesians 6 says, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and rulers of darkness in high places.” (enemy angels). First, we have to defeat the enemy angels who are in our own heart (resentment, anger, frustration, being offended, etc.), then we pray for, Intercede for, help, and give thanks for whoever caused our resentment, anger, frustration, offense.  We are all in this together.  There is no “US” and “THEM.”   Just US, and we all have the same enemies.  We need the angels who are for us to help us defeat those who are against us.  We cannot do this in our own power.  It is not possible.  This is our warfare.
I am going to give you some of the names of the enemy angels - there are many, and you can probably add to this list.  When God gave me the Parable of the Raccoon, I realized that if I could just name my enemy, I could defeat him.  I put a name to it and confess it as a sin.  Then I watched as God transformed my heart.  Spectacular.  The most miraculous things happen inside of us when we choose to submit to God and resist the devil.  He then has to flee.  Freedom comes.  Hallelujah, thank you Jesus!

SOME OF THE NAMES OF ENEMY ANGELS:

Judgment
Pride
Greed
Covetousness
Lust
Selfishness (all of these are selfish)
​Stubbornness
Rebellion
Hatred
Rage
Worry
Terror
Anxiety
Selfish ambition
Bitter envy
Jealousy
Cruelty
Meanness
Self-pity
Self-condemnation
Feelings of worthlessness
Feelings of failure
Regret
Shame
Guilt
Being offended
Rejection
Abandonment
Unforgiveness
Pain
Sorrow
Infirmity

And the list goes on.  Face Jesus with your heart wide open, and ask Him to show you what enemy angel is inside of you.  When He does, go to Him without excuse, and say, “I am guilty.”  What actually happened is a lie entered your heart, and the only way to get the lie out is to confront it with the truth.  The truth is that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, and God has good plans for us, plans to prosper and not to harm, plans to give us hope and a future.  We have to trust His big, good plan, even when things look bad.  God said, “All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose,\” We are being conformed into His image.  By the time God gets through with us, we will look and act like Jesus.  Wow!  So we begin to count it as an opportunity for great joy when we fall into different trials and temptations.  For these trials will develop endurance inside of us, and when our endurance is complete, we will be perfect, complete, lacking nothing. (James 1)

So here are a list of the angels who are for us.  Unlike the enemy angels, these often wait for us to ask before they come.  But God said in Matthew, “How much more will God give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.”  All of these angels are part of the many faceted wisdom that is our God.  These are all parts of the character of God.  We can see who God really is when we see Jesus.

SOME OF THE NAMES OF ANGELS WHO FIGHT FOR US

Grace
Mercy
Light
Truth
Unfailing Love
Compassion
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Gentleness
Faithfulness
Self-Control
Wisdom
Understanding
Counsel
Might
Fear of the LORD
Knowledge
Justice
Forgiveness
Comfort
Deliverance
Life
Health
Hope
Faith
Gladness
Happiness
Thankfullness
Righteousness
Holiness
Endurance

And the list goes on.  Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights.  These angels are sent to minister to us, to deliver us.

So yesterday we hiked ANGELS LANDING, and I took off my shoes, anointed the ground, and I cried, “HOLY!”

Light and truth and mercy and grace.  Unfailing love.  Let love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and gentleness and faithfulness and self-control enter the land.  Rend the heavens, LORD, and pour out righteousness.  Let the earth open wide and receive.  Let righteousness and salvation spring up together.  Justice!  Mercy!  Peace! Grace!  Light!  Truth!  Unfailing love!  Plants springing up everywhere.  Send Your Word.  Life.  Health.  Hope.  Faith! Steadfast assurance!  Mercy!  LORD, don’t give us what we deserve!  Grace!  Give us Your unmerited favor.  Comfort. Mend. Heal. Set free.  Justice!  What is right and good and just and fair.  LORD, we need You to send Your Holy Spirit, the Spirit that leads us and guides us into all truth. Come, LORD Jesus.  Come.  Set captives free.  Heal broken hearts.  Set at liberty those who are bound.  Comfort those who mourn.  Make the bitter, sweet.  Turn sorrow into gladness.  Turn mourning into joy!  Jezreel!  God plants.  Plant righteousness!  Plant peace!  Plant joy!  Let our hearts rejoice!  Let only thanksgiving and praise live here! Your Kingdom come LORD, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  In Jesus’ Mighty Name.  Come! And the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!”

And so I am doing a new thing.  I am thinking new thoughts.  I am praying new prayers.  I see and hear differently than I did even a month ago. If feels right.  Everything I am doing feels like the heart of my Father.

Blessings, my friends.  May you, too, begin to fight the good fight and win.  In Jesus’ Mighty Name.  AMEN

Terri