Of Demons & Angels

There’s an evil spirit under my bed…!!!! Or so I thought when I was shaken silly last night just as I was about to fall into slumber. I began to pray aloud in tongues. Binding & rebuking demons, commanding the shaking to stop. And it did. So I relaxed & was about to snooze when my phone rang. It was Andy, my 15th floor neighbour, asking me where I was & why I hadn’t gotten out of my apartment. Huh? I got dressed in lightning speed & grabbed my laptop, passport, GPS & mosquito repellent in the dark. In crisis relief management, I was taught to have my rations bag ready for evacuation. Let’s just say that I was half ready. I left my rations bag in the dark while trying to ‘escape’ from my apartment. Upon reaching ground, many other residents were already out. Some were without shoes. Andy & Nita headed off downhill with their cat, Moggie. I was waiting for Lenny, my brother in Christ on the 15th floor too. Then I got a call from TV Smith, “Chaad, are you at sea??? There’s been tremors all over Penang & KL, are you alright?” “Chaaaaad! My bed shook & I’m evacuating now. I’m fine. What’s happening?” He replied, “Earthquake, Chaad. I’m online & will update you soon. Be safe ok? I gotta alert the rest. Bye, Chaad.” “Byeee…thanks, Chaad!” By now, I really don't care if it was the demons that were under my bed or if I were in need of deliverance. It can't be so coincidental that the earthquake that triggered the tsunami fell on the day after Christmas & this earthquake I'd just experienced, happens to be a day after Easter. Perhaps God is reaffirming something... Tell us, When shall all these things be? And what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? And Jesus answering them began to say, Beware that no one deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I AM, and shall deceive many. And when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled. For it must happen, but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be earthquakes in different places, and there shall be famines and troubles. These things are the beginnings of sorrows. But take heed to yourselves. For they shall deliver you up to sanhedrins, and in the synagogues you shall be beaten. And you shall be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. But whenever they lead you away and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what you should speak or think. But speak whatever shall be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speaks, but the Holy Spirit. And a brother will betray a brother to death, and a father his son. And children will rise up against their parents and will cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake, but he enduring to the end, that one will be kept safe. But when you see the abomination of desolation, that spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let him who reads understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. And let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not turn back again in order to take up his garment. But woe to those with babe in womb, and to those who give suck in those days! And pray that your flight is not in the winter. For in those days shall be affliction, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never shall be. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, whom He has chosen, He has shortened the days. And then if anyone shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ! Or, lo, there! Do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will give miraculous signs and wonders in order to seduce, if possible, even the elect. But take heed; behold, I have told you all things beforehand. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of Heaven shall fall, and the powers in the heavens shall be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He shall send His angels and shall gather His elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven. And learn the parable of the fig-tree: when her branch is still tender and puts out leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, at the doors. Truly I say to you that this generation shall not pass away until all these things occur. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father. Take heed, watch and pray, for you do not know when the time is. As a man going away, leaving his house, and giving authority to his servants, and each man's work to him, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Then you watch, for you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, at evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or early; lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all. Watch. Mark 13:4 – 37 Anyway, the perceived 'demons' had come from an incident during the day. I got a phone call from Ken asking me to pick him up from Damansara Utama to Jalan Ipoh. Ken had never asked me for favours & I reckoned it must have been really urgent so I went. We haven’t seen each other for quite some time so we did some catching up. When we got to the car showroom, he asked me to be in there with him. I asked him what’s the story or if he had wanted me to negotiate with the sales people. Then he briefed me about his suspicion of dishonesty in the sales girl handling the purchase of his car. He had been waiting 3 months & no car. He was just uneasy about the deal. Hmmm.....I'd just been dragged into battle. So we entered this massive showroom. The sales girl wasn’t in. We were invited to the manager’s room. It must have been a good one hour of argument with the manager to maintain our intentions of buying the car but not getting the car. In the course of his dealings with this sales girl, Ken was offered other colours & make to substitute for the non-availability but even when he compromised on accepting a different model, he still didn’t get his car. Upon checking with other showrooms of the same manufacturer, it was confirmed that the particular model/colour in question was indeed in production. To our horror, the manager showed his system’s records that Ken’s order had been cancelled on 7th March! Of course, here I was, not knowing the full story, insisted that it made no sense to have a cancellation after being made to wait for 3 months. Throughout the 'arguement,' I noticed the manager's tie, was filled with tiny crucifixes. Could he be a Christian too? I'd rather be volunteered that information as I'd been insinuating that he was a Liar, Liar, pants on fire kind of bloke. I suggested to have lunch first as the sales girl was being summoned to return to showroom. On our way to lunch, Ken mentioned that the sales girl had told him that she had transferred the order to another dealer in order for him to get his car. I flipped. He didn’t want to get her into trouble. It was a clear case of CRIMINAL BREACH OF TRUST. Then I made it known to him that we, as Christians, should uphold righteousness & honesty in the workplace & in all our dealings. The consequences of the sales girl’s actions, will cause others to have a very bad view of Christians. To have him keep quiet, meant that he was advocating the crime! I felt bad for him at the same time as he had sold his car & was without transport for the last 3 months. So we committed it to the Lord. We prayed & asked for wisdom in handling this issue as I precipitated the matter earlier by implying that the manager was lying to customers. We asked God to clothe us with the armour of God, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the gird of truth, the sandals of peace & the sword of the Spirit which is in the word of God as we prepared ourselves for the spiritual battle ahead. There was no way Ken would be getting a car in the way things were heading. Even if he received a refund, he would have to waste time in booking & waiting for the delivery of the car from a different showroom. It was a no-win situation. We asked God to help us get the truth exposed & obtain the car by honest means. We asked for His presence to guide the deal according to His will. This brings to mind, the time when Elisha was going into battle. And the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that you do not pass such a place, for the Syrians have come down there. And the king of Israel sent to the place of which the man of God told him and warned him, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. And the heart of the king of Syria was enraged for this thing. And he called his servants and said to them, Will you not show me which of us isfor the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king, but Elisha the prophet, who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom. And he said, Go and spy where he is, so that I may send and bring him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. And he sent there horses and chariots and a great army. And they came by night and surrounded the city. And the servant of the man of God arose early and went out. And, behold, an army surrounded the city, and horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! What shall we do? And he answered, Do not fear, for those with us are more than those with them. And Elisha prayed and said, I pray You, Lord, open his eyes so that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And they came down to it, and Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, I pray You, strike this people with blindness. And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 2 Kings 6:8 – 18 ‘Those with us’ clearly depicted the warring angels that surrounded & protected Elisha. We have been given charge of angels to war & battle on our behalf as they protect us. And it shall be that we walked into the manager’s room in the presence of the sales girl & Ken proceeded to tell the truth as a God-fearing Christian. I just agreed to not say anything. When the sales girl started to confess that it was her boyfriend, a used car dealer, who cancelled Ken’s booking for him & wanted to snitch the sale, the manager immediately picked up the phone to order a unit of Ken’s desired model with the manufacturer with great urgency. The order was reinstated. Battle control terminated. The Lord was clearly present in the room with us. Victory belongs to Him. Ken will finally get his car in a week.