The first chapter of Hebrews describes two supernatural ministries that are available to us today: the ministry of Jesus and the ministry of angels. Jesus’ ministry is much greater, but the angels play an important part in our lives.
“But to which of the angels has He ever said: ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool’? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:13-14)
This verse defines the role of angels. They are ministering spirits. We, being born-again, are the heirs of salvation. We continue now into chapter 2, verse 1: “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”
What have we just heard? Angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for you.
“For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation...” (Hebrews 2:2-3)
The word salvation means “deliverance, preservation, healing, and soundness.” This verse at least in part refers to the deliverance from temporal evils that comes by angelic help. We shouldn’t let this vital information slip from our consciousness: the angels are ministering spirits sent to minister for us. How are we going to escape the things the devil has set for us if we neglect the deliverance that comes by ministering angels that are here to minister for us?
In Exodus chapter 23 we see that God had assigned the angel of the Lord to go before Israel and to bring them to the Promised Land. There is no doubt the angel of the Lord was capable of doing that if they would cooperate with the angel and be obedient to God’s Word. Here are the instructions that God gave them beginning with verse 20: “Behold, I send an angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him and obey his voice; do not provoke him, for he will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in him. But if you indeed obey his voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My angel will go before you and bring you into the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.” (Exodus 23:20-23)
There was no doubt the angel of the Lord was able to do that and there was no doubt that their adversaries were in trouble. But you will notice He said, “do not provoke him.” “Don’t provoke the angel, for he will not pardon your transgressions.” What provokes an angel? When people talk contrary to the Word of God, they provoke their angel. When they are not obedient to the Word of God, they provoke angels.
He'll Give You the Land
I’m sure you remember the story when Moses sent out twelve spies to spy out the land. He didn’t send them to see if they were able to take it, but to see it and plan how they would take the land. But ten of the spies brought back an evil report saying they were not able to take the land because the people were stronger than we are. They even said, “we were as grasshoppers in their sight, and so were we in our own eyes.” What they said was exactly contrary to God’s Word.
God had assigned an angel to keep them in the way and lead them to that place that He had prepared for them. They didn’t obey the Word of God, and they didn’t cooperate with the Holy Spirit or the angel concerning this matter. Consequently, all who were twenty years old and older at that time died in the wilderness and never made it to the Promised Land. Ask yourself this question: Was it God’s will for them to go to the Promised Land? Yes, absolutely. He had given them the land and said go in and possess it. But they didn’t agree with God and His prophetic Word. Evidently, they didn’t believe in angelic deliverance to keep them in the way and lead them to the place He had prepared. So, they provoked God and they provoked the angel of the Lord.
“They didn’t agree with God and His prophetic Word.”
In Numbers 21:5-6 it says, “And the people spoke against God and against Moses: ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.’ So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.” The fiery serpents were in the wilderness – all of the wilderness where they traveled. But they didn’t bite the people until they began to say they were going to die in the wilderness.
These people had supernatural help but through the words they spoke, they provoked the angel, and he would not pardon their transgression. The people had said, “we are all going to die in the wilderness” and God said to them, “...As I live, says the Lord, just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you.” (Numbers 14:28) So they established their judgment by their own words. They could have had supernatural help by their words by getting in agreement with what God said. But they provoked the angel of the Lord and died in the wilderness even though it was not God’s will for them in the beginning.
Several years ago in Dallas, Texas, I was driving down the freeway confessing the Word of God and praying in the Spirit. This had been going on for about fifteen minutes. As I began to exit the freeway, I came upon a car that had stopped and blocked the way I was to turn, so I stopped. Another car, coming off the freeway, hit the back of my car at 60 miles an hour. The gas tank burst, and gasoline went everywhere, but there was no fire.
When my car was hit, I felt as though pillows were all around me. The angels were surrounding me as in Psalm 91:11. He had given His angels charge over me to keep me in all my ways. Verse 7 says, “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.”
Begin to believe and confess this scripture. Apply this promise from the Word of God to your life daily for divine protection.
The Angels are Here to Serve Us
Notice what the angel said to John in Revelation 22:8-9: “Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant...”
The literal Greek says, “The fellow slave of yours I am.” In other words, the angel said, “Don’t worship me. I’m your servant.”
“…I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book...”
The angels are here to serve us and bring deliverance in time of danger. How are you going to escape the snares of the enemy if you neglect so great a deliverance that comes by the ministry of angels?
When Daniel was in the lion’s den, an angel shut the lion’s mouth. (Daniel 6:22) When Peter was in prison, an angel woke him up and led him out. (Acts 12:7)
Psalm 103:19-20 gives us insight into what gets the attention of angels: “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.” Angels do God’s commandments; and God’s commandments are His statutes – His Word.
The angels are also involved in the Mark 11:23 faith principle: He shall have whatsoever he saith. If you are saying, believing, and not doubting in your heart, then the angels are helping bring to pass your desires that agree with God’s Word. It seems that angels can’t work on your behalf if your words are contrary to God’s Word.
Your words either bind or loose your angels. When you say, “Nothing ever works for me; I never will get out of debt,” you didn’t give your angels an assignment. They hearken unto the voice of His Word, but you didn’t give voice to God’s Word.
If you hold your Bible up to your ear, you can’t hear a sound. But the scripture says that the angels hearken to the voice of God’s Word, and you are the one that must give it voice. You give God’s Word voice by saying what God said in His Word about you regardless of the circumstances you face in life.
For instance: You should say, “Blessed be God, I have given and it is given unto me – good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. I have abundance; there is no lack. My God meets my need according to His riches in glory. The Lord is my Shepherd, and I do not want. I say, in the name of Jesus, that every disease, germ, and virus that touches my body dies instantly. No weapon formed against me will prosper, and whatever I do will prosper. I have the mind of Christ and the wisdom of God is available to me. I am far from oppression – I have no fear of terror for it shall not come near me.”
“Supernatural help is available today by speaking God’s Word after Him.”
When you make the Word of God personal to you, the angels that have been waiting for you to give voice to God’s Word will hearken to your voice. Supernatural help is available today by speaking God’s Word after Him.
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11) NIV
Things to Remember
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Angels are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for you.
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They are here to serve and protect you in time of trouble.
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The angels of God do His commandment. They hearken unto the voice of His Word.
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Your spoken words will either bind or loose your angels in your behalf.
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Voice your desires in agreement with God’s Word.
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By speaking God’s Word after Him you are giving audible voice to God’s Word and your angels will respond accordingly – if it is spoken in faith.
Charles Capps
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