We followers of Jesus in America need greater understanding concerning the ways and tactics of evil. The bottom line is, you have a creator who loves you and an enemy who hates you and wants to destroy you. If you’ve never been involved in a deliverance session or at least studied about how to …
We followers of Jesus in America need greater understanding concerning the ways and tactics of evil. The bottom line is, you have a creator who loves you and an enemy who hates you and wants to destroy you. If you’ve never been involved in a deliverance session or at least studied about how to help someone who is in the grips of evil get free, then to put it plainly, there is a serious gap in your discipleship process. It’s like playing a football game blindfolded. You owe it to yourself to learn more (you might begin with some of my past blogs on the subject).
As our teams travel around the world, it is quite normal to encounter spiritual warfare and demonic manifestations. This is not medieval and it’s not psychosomatic. It’s real. Jesus gave his disciples “authority to cast out demons” when he sent them out (Luke 9-10). It’s time you wielded that authority too. Our team will do better if you do.
A couple of stories from this past week may help you decide to delve into the subject. The first from Mwanza, Tanzania as shared by World Racer David Stothart. Please also watch the video that follows and share your thoughts.
We go to the first house and it was a lady from our pastor’s church. We all assumed that we were there to encourage her in some way so we begin to talk to her and she tells us about her daughter.
This woman’s family had been deeply affected by witch craft for generations. Her own mother is a witch-doctor and has been training the granddaughter in with-doctery for awhile. The witch-doctor that trained the grandmother had killed the mother’s husband, brother-in-law and her firstborn child through witch doctor ways. What?! And now the daughter was becoming involved in it through the grandmother.
Pastor told us that last time she had been around people who were worshipping God the demon inside her manifested and tried to kill her by choking her with her own hands. So now we know that we are dealing with a demon possessed woman. We ask the daughter a ton of questions but have to leave because of time. So the next day we bring some praise songs and try to see if what the pastor is telling us is true. We pour ourselves into it but nothing happens. She tells us she wants to be delivered but we run out of time again and so we ask her to come back again.
This time we dive right into a salvation prayer for her after she tells us she understands who Jesus is and his sacrifice for her. After this Pastor takes over and tells Amanda and Kerry to help pray and tells me to sing some worship songs to bring the Spirit to our situation. He says a few words to her in Swahili and she falls to the floor stiff as a board. Here’s the dialogue as translated by pastor:
Girl: (whining and crying)
Pastor: In the name of Jesus leave!
Girl: I am going but I was sent!
Pastor: Who were you sent by?
Girl: (says a name in Swahili)
Pastor: (looks at the mother) who is that? Do you know them?
Mother: yes that is her grandmother…
Pastor: (prays some more in Swahili)
Girl: (calms down and stops thrashing…finally wakes up and sits up)
By this point we were all asking her if she was ok. She had come in with bad stomach pains saying that it felt like something was wriggling around. And her eyesight had become worse since yesterday. After the demon left she had no more pain and could see completely clear! Bwana asufiwe (praise God)!
We of course had tons of questions and pastor answered most of them. The only conclusion I can come to is that God is way more awesome and mighty and sovereign than I thought. He is a God who cares so much for his people that He cries when they are hurt, shows them his creation in the most beautiful ways and even gaurds their very lives. Praise God you guys.
The second story comes from Haiti this past week. In the video below, 14-year-old Nehemie shares her story
of being delivered from voodoo. Pastor David Douchard and others in their community in
Carrefour, Haiti are heroes in so many ways.
thanks for passing this on Seth… and being real about what is real… praise God for this technology that can pass on stories so readily too… funny thing is… this stuff happens here (US) all the time… we’re just really decieved and it’s masked under different vices. none the less it’s warfare… thanks again… and look forward to more you have to impart regarding this area…
All I gotta say is HECK YEAH, God is more powerful. We just witnessed some deliverance while in Haiti this past week… with one of our own team members (Contrary to popular/ridiculous belief, Americans are not immune to demonic oppression/possession). Mwanza, Tanzania is beautiful on the surface (I helped build a Bible school there overlooking Lake Victoria there in ’02), but like most of East Africa, lives under spiritual darkness. A lot of what’s in Haiti has been transplanted from that part of the world over time, but God is certainly taking it back with authority! Bwana asifiwe indeed.
YAY for the power of our Almighty Savior – at whose name every devil and evil spirit must obey! We are indeed in a war – and SO much of life makes sense when we understand this as the backdrop, the context. We Americans are largely blind to it because we’ve fallen prey to the enemy’s first lie of “oh, that kind of stuff isn’t REAL-that’s just hocus-pocus jumbo.” We are so naive. Bwana asufiwe for the way Haiti and Africa (and other nations) are being reclaimed for Christ!
Thanks Seth. The American church mostly gives lip service to the reality of the demonic. We read novels and stories like the demoniac in Mark 5 and affirm how powerful God is. In my life that hasn’t been enough. What touched hardened perspectives were the times I prayed with some addict or overseas soul and sensed the warfare we paint pretty pictures about. I also believe by the way Christians can be possessed which puts me in controversial theological space. Demons inhabit a body not the soul or spirit. That explains in part the behaviors we see in others and ourselves from time-to-time. Deliverance for a Christian is part of the daily vigilance of faith. And the sad conflict between so many “followers of Jesus” is driven in large measure by unclean houses of the heart.
What to do when surrounded by believers that only give this lip service? Thanks for this blog community that gives me encouragement even if it is a recognition of things I would prefer didn’t exist.
It seems our default mode in this nation (US) is an intellectual one rather than a spiritual one.
Great post! I have come up against evil spirits before, and I have seen demons cast out of people before. I look forward to saving those in need while on my World Race.
No matter what I come up against, nothing can touch me because I serve the most high God.
Boy, are we ever aware of that here in Haiti.
Haiti is of course a haven for all sorts of voodoo/witchcraft, and though it was far beyond my Lutheran upbringing, I remember when I first came here 25 years ago thinking that every American Christian needed to come here because the warfare is more in your face here- so it is harder to deny and rationalize away.
The last month that David and i have been here, we’ve had encounters with voodoo priests in our dreams and we’ve had to take authority over satan’s attempts to sidetrack the work of the Kingdom here. Last night David ‘yelped’ in his dreams. David is not a dreamer, and the pain and fear in his voice concerned me. I woke him up and he told me later that he had seen a voodoo priest at our gates doing a sacrifice (in his dream) and when he tried to fall back asleep, he was fighting fear. That is so ‘un-David’ and he knew it was a spiritual attack. He took authority over it and God gave Him peace to get the sleep he needed. We battle daily here not against flesh and blood, but against spirits and powers that seek to influence and inflict flesh and blood.
God’s Kingdom prevails- but only when we take up the weapons of our warfare. We’ve created a 24 hour prayer room here- but we still need ‘covering’, so appreciate those of you who will cover us in prayer. Jesus is seeking to make His home in Haiti.
thanks for passing this on Seth… and being real about what is real… praise God for this technology that can pass on stories so readily too… funny thing is… this stuff happens here (US) all the time… we’re just really decieved and it’s masked under different vices. none the less it’s warfare… thanks again… and look forward to more you have to impart regarding this area…
All I gotta say is HECK YEAH, God is more powerful. We just witnessed some deliverance while in Haiti this past week… with one of our own team members (Contrary to popular/ridiculous belief, Americans are not immune to demonic oppression/possession). Mwanza, Tanzania is beautiful on the surface (I helped build a Bible school there overlooking Lake Victoria there in ’02), but like most of East Africa, lives under spiritual darkness. A lot of what’s in Haiti has been transplanted from that part of the world over time, but God is certainly taking it back with authority! Bwana asifiwe indeed.
YAY for the power of our Almighty Savior – at whose name every devil and evil spirit must obey! We are indeed in a war – and SO much of life makes sense when we understand this as the backdrop, the context. We Americans are largely blind to it because we’ve fallen prey to the enemy’s first lie of “oh, that kind of stuff isn’t REAL-that’s just hocus-pocus jumbo.” We are so naive. Bwana asufiwe for the way Haiti and Africa (and other nations) are being reclaimed for Christ!
Thanks Seth. The American church mostly gives lip service to the reality of the demonic. We read novels and stories like the demoniac in Mark 5 and affirm how powerful God is. In my life that hasn’t been enough. What touched hardened perspectives were the times I prayed with some addict or overseas soul and sensed the warfare we paint pretty pictures about. I also believe by the way Christians can be possessed which puts me in controversial theological space. Demons inhabit a body not the soul or spirit. That explains in part the behaviors we see in others and ourselves from time-to-time. Deliverance for a Christian is part of the daily vigilance of faith. And the sad conflict between so many “followers of Jesus” is driven in large measure by unclean houses of the heart.
What to do when surrounded by believers that only give this lip service? Thanks for this blog community that gives me encouragement even if it is a recognition of things I would prefer didn’t exist.
It seems our default mode in this nation (US) is an intellectual one rather than a spiritual one.
Seth,
Great post! I have come up against evil spirits before, and I have seen demons cast out of people before. I look forward to saving those in need while on my World Race.
No matter what I come up against, nothing can touch me because I serve the most high God.
Boy, are we ever aware of that here in Haiti.
Haiti is of course a haven for all sorts of voodoo/witchcraft, and though it was far beyond my Lutheran upbringing, I remember when I first came here 25 years ago thinking that every American Christian needed to come here because the warfare is more in your face here- so it is harder to deny and rationalize away.
The last month that David and i have been here, we’ve had encounters with voodoo priests in our dreams and we’ve had to take authority over satan’s attempts to sidetrack the work of the Kingdom here. Last night David ‘yelped’ in his dreams. David is not a dreamer, and the pain and fear in his voice concerned me. I woke him up and he told me later that he had seen a voodoo priest at our gates doing a sacrifice (in his dream) and when he tried to fall back asleep, he was fighting fear. That is so ‘un-David’ and he knew it was a spiritual attack. He took authority over it and God gave Him peace to get the sleep he needed. We battle daily here not against flesh and blood, but against spirits and powers that seek to influence and inflict flesh and blood.
God’s Kingdom prevails- but only when we take up the weapons of our warfare. We’ve created a 24 hour prayer room here- but we still need ‘covering’, so appreciate those of you who will cover us in prayer. Jesus is seeking to make His home in Haiti.