A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


January 17, 2019

A Testimony: God's Gift Of Grace

     It is not very often that I feel compelled to share a testimony about someone Jesus has brought into our life; someone that Mark and I did not anticipate meeting, nor would have thought could be so gloriously set free. But this is such a story of redemption and hope that I believe everyone needs to hear it.
     Although I doubt that anyone reading this would know this person or his story, I would still like to afford them some privacy and have changed the names of those involved. It is a story of two brothers whose lives have taken decidedly different turns, but who, by the grace of God, are now walking the same path.
     David is the younger brother and had suffered drug addiction to meth for over 35 years. It had cost him much -- marriages, his family, and both self-respect and respect in the community. Sadly his story was far too common in the community in which he lived and grew up. There is a darkness that hangs over the town and, frankly, a principality that controls many such small towns in this nation; and drugs and drug addiction are often what the dark side use to control the inhabitants. David's story is no different than many others who have succumbed to the temptation of drugs.
     Robert is the older brother who had beat his own demons of alcohol in his youth, and had surrendered his life to Jesus, and is happily married to a godly and spirit-filled woman. The two of them, just like Mark and myself, had been called to study and train in deliverance ministry. Robert had been faithfully praying for years for his brother, seeing no improvement, but never giving up. And then one night, the devil came calling.
     Robert received a phone call from David, and he was desperate! A demon was tormenting him in his bed and he was crying out to Robert for help. Robert instructed him to get in his truck and to drive over to his [Robert's] house, praying for him over the phone as David drove. At one point, Robert called Mark and asked if we could come to his house and help him get David free. As anyone who is in Deliverance Ministry knows, it is often more difficult to get family members free than others. We were 45 minutes away but agreed to come. All this while, the demon is attacking David as he is driving, trying to pull his fingers off the steering wheel and battering him about the head.
     By the time we walked into Robert's house, David was sitting there with his head tipped back, nursing a bloody nose. There was a lot of blood on his shirt and it was obvious he had been in both a spiritual and physical battle. Mark asked him how long he had been clean of drugs and he admitted he had used just the previous day. We asked him if he was truly ready to be set free from this addiction, and explained that it was by accepting Jesus and participating with Him and the Holy Spirit that he could be delivered. He said he was just tired of the burden of the addiction and yes, he wanted Jesus to set him free.
     I will tell you that this Deliverance session was not done in our usual mode. We didn't have the time to spend talking to David during our usual "discovery period" to get to know him or try to make him comfortable in the process. We just went right after the legal authority that had given the Enemy the right to tempt him with drugs and keep him in bondage. We led David to remember a couple of happy times in his childhood so that he could see [in the spirit] that Jesus was there with him. Thankfully, he had no problem in seeing or with realizing that Jesus would never leave him nor forsake him. Then, wasting no time, we asked him what was the heaviest thing he was carrying around in his "spiritual backpack". Once we had identified the one event which had opened the door for the Enemy to torment him, we invited Jesus into that memory and David wept as he perceived that Jesus had not abandoned him. He allowed Jesus to walk him out of that realm where his childhood part was being held captive, and he watched Jesus destroy it and cover it with His blood.
     Jesus then, one-by-one, put the spirits of shame, guilt, anger, self-rejection, addiction, etc. under His foot and David saw him send them where Jesus wanted them to go. This probably took 10-15 minutes and you could see the weight coming off David as he wept, continually thanking Jesus for helping him. By that time, we could see that David was exhausted -- both emotionally and physically. So we decided to shut this "emergency session" down for the time being. We bound any other spirits that had been assigned to torment him and poured the blood of Jesus over the victory of that session. We then spent the next 20-30 minutes speaking into David, telling him how much Jesus loved him, and that Jesus had died for him; died to set him free from that 35+ years of addiction to a drug that was destroying the Temple where Jesus wanted to reside -- in David's heart. He wept again, thanking His Savior and surrendering his heart to Him. We then told him how precious he was to Jesus and that it was up to him to continue this journey by walking with Jesus every step of the way. We also encouraged him by stating that his testimony could help others get set free from drug addiction. David declared that he was tired of the drug life and would walk a different path from that day forward.
      It was a beautiful picture to see this man, who an hour before, was bruised and battered by demon's trying to destroy his life, sitting at the table weeping in thankfulness to the Lord and saying he was different now. To be honest, I'm not sure Robert believed that a miracle had taken place because he had prayed for so long for his brother, only to see him promise to stay clean and then slip back into the darkness. So we all watched....
     A week went by and David was still clean. He continued to call Robert, proclaiming his love for Christ and his desire to share what His Deliverer had accomplished in his life. Soon Robert was receiving phone calls from other family members and friends, asking what had happened to David. "He's telling everybody he knows that Jesus set him free"! Two weeks went by and David was still on his "Jesus high", telling anyone who would listen what Jesus had done for him. A month went by, and he asked Robert to do a Bible study with him, and once a week Robert has been discipling David in developing a real relationship with Jesus.
     It has now been over two months and David is still clean, and hungering for more of Jesus. He is still doing a Bible study with Robert each week and regularly reading his Bible. He is telling all of his former drug-user friends that Jesus can set them free and they no longer have to be in bondage. For the first time in his adult life, he has hope that he can make something of himself -- and he wants to share with everyone the Good News of Jesus Christ! In fact, he recently posted this on his Facebook page ... People are placed in your life for a reason. God is working on all of us in many different ways in our life's journey. God chose and prepared my brother [Robert] to be His disciple and to walk in faith. Robert, along with Mark and Pam, destroyed my demons and helped save my soul through Jesus Christ. If your soul is in trouble and your demons are controlling you, I know some people, who know some people, who can help save your soul, too. Trust in Jesus Christ. Amen.  
     I couldn't have said it any better myself. And the best part? I know this isn't the end of David's story. I believe he has a testimony that is destined to change lives! He has defeated the devil in his life -- something no one really believed he could do; maybe not even Robert. BUT, Robert did believe in the healing power of Jesus Christ, so he was faithful in praying for his brother's deliverance, and more than 30 years later, he saw the victory! So, please never give up on your loved one! Because the Enemy is hoping you will. But you should know that the Father will wait out your loved one; wait until he or she is ready to surrender their demons to Him, and then just like David, He will save their soul.
     I am eagerly expecting and anticipating that the hold drugs have held over the small towns in our area will soon be broken, and all because one man continued to pray faithfully for 30 years for his brother. Those prayers resulted in his brother trusting him when he hit bottom and was ready to let Jesus in to heal him. Then that brother, in his thankfulness and gratitude is shining a pinpoint of Light into the darkness in his community. And that's all Jesus needs -- for us to be an instrument of His Light in the dark, and He can work miracles. Just ask David.

1 Peter 5:10   "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."
    
      
     

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful! What an inspiring testimony. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. Dear Pam,Thanx once again,I have a son and a granddaughter that have issues with oppression[demonic] and depression and schizophrenia,I pray for deliverance healing ,and restoration.He is 42 and she is 28 .They both loved the Lord when they were younger and both read the bible and studied the Word and then they both became lost.They both have to take mind numbing drugs that are almost worse than the disease.I ask that you pray for my children,Thank you Michele

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