We were talking about angels. The lesson in our Sunday school class was on Luke 2 when the angels announce the birth of Jesus on the hillside. The shepherds were minding their own business on the hillside, sitting out with the sheep.

Unlike David who watched his sheep on that same hillside alone, there were several. I wonder what there thoughts were on before they were suddenly interrupted. Were they wondering, like David, when their opportunity to escape this low level job would arrive. Were they thinking, “there has to be more to life than this?” Were they looking up?

I think they must have been, because suddenly . . .

. . . the unimaginable happened. An angel appeared to them. And they were shocked, startled, “sore afraid.”

This was an experience completely outside of their wheelhouse. They weren’t religious big wigs. They were shepherds, they spent their time out with animals, unclean and unable to enter the Temple unless they went through a purification process first.

They were just some guys sitting out by some sheep.

But they must have been looking up because they saw the angel before he spoke. The first thing the angel had to do was to reassure them saying, “Fear not.”

This was the passage my co-teacher was sharing with our third grade class. As I was listening, I thought “Maybe I should tell them about the angel I heard singing in church,” and as the thought crossed my mind, I smelled a very strong floral perfume and felt the presence of the Holy Spirit.

I’ve mentioned in other articles that this is one way the gift of discerning of spirits works for me, there will be a scent identified with a spirit. It can fulfill different purposes, but in this case, it was a confirmation, a “Yes, tell them.” This is the story.

Hearing Angels Sing

It was Father’s Day 2014. My church normally has a choir at their 9:30 service that sings throughout the year, but at times they will have different groups of people sing that maybe don’t want to make a year long commitment. On this day, they invited all men in the church to be part of an all men’s choir for Father’s Day so there were a number of people who didn’t normally sing.

I watched the morning choir practice. I’ll be honest, it was a little rough . . . still good . . . but rough. They started the run through of the Doxology acappella and I happened to be recording . . . And I heard an angel sing.

I looked, but I didn’t see anything. I could hear a high, clear voice that came in. If I didn’t know that there were no instruments playing, I would have thought it was a horn. These are the words they sang.

Praise God from whom all blessing flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heavenly host:
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

“Praise him above, ye heavenly host.” On that day, an angel accepted the invitation and stepped in to join in the song. I told this story in my Bible study one day when we were talking about angel encounters. One man jokingly said, “Yes, you thought we were good, we just always have angels singing with us.”

After he said that I thought, “Maybe he is right.” I was looking up and around trying to see what I imagine an angel would look like, but maybe the angel was one of the guys standing in the choir. The Bible says that “many of you have entertained angels unaware.” (Hebrews 13:2)  After all, it was essentially an “all call.” One didn’t have to be a member of the choir or attend practice before that morning, it was just a step up and come as you are. Maybe this angel had listened to the choir sing week after week and took this opportunity to be a part of it.

Singing Glory to God

They sang the Doxology twice during the practice. The first time, the angel began singing in the middle of the song. The second time it sang the entire way through. Below are recordings of both.

Quite a few people come to this site to find answers on how to develop the gift of discerning of spirits or how to know if they have the gift of discerning of spirits. Personally, I think that if one is asking this question it is either a gift that you already have that needs to be exercised and developed or it is one that God wants to give you. Paul tells us to desire the greater gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31) and that we are to develop them through training. (2 Timothy 1:6)

So how do you start developing your gift of discerning of spirits? Let’s use these videos as a learning exercise. Sometimes as I’m watching a video, I can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit through the video, there is a transference of sorts. (You can also discern other not good spirits through videos or songs, but let’s focus on the good first.)

I don’t know if you will be able to sense something in these videos, but in case you will, first pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into wisdom and understanding and to increase your awareness of His presence and acts.  Next, take stock of your current environment. What are you hearing, sensing, feeling, smelling, and thinking right now. This is your baseline. After you have taken your assessment, watch these videos.

This is the first. Keep in mind what I’ve told you about the situation. It is a group of people with a mixed level of musical talent and there are no instruments playing. Listen carefully at the beginning of the song and listen to the quality and the tones.

Did you hear it? Did you hear the voice of the angel come in?

This is the second run through.

The angel sang all the way through, and it seems to me like the voices of the men were stronger as well. There is more power in this song.

Angels Are Around Us

There has been such a presence of God in these weeks leading up to Christmas, it seems like so much “more” this year. My challenge to you is to be aware, look up, and watch for what God is doing around you. Be a part of these God happenings and be ready to partner with his ministering angels.

The Holy Spirit is moving.