An inmate's struggle with darkness
Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2006 12:47 am
Steve, if you’re reading this, I want you to know that your archived lectures are making a difference in ways you won’t even know until you get to "Glory land".
An inmates' struggle with darkness
A few months ago, an inmate asked me if I would do a series on spiritual warfare. As “luck” would have it, I was in the process of outlining Steve Gregg’s lectures on the topic so I agreed. Unfortunately, the inmate that asked me to do it got shipped out to another facility so he didn’t get to take part. But the other dozen or so regulars in my class were also eager to dive into the subject so we pressed on ahead with it anyways. I told them in advance to expect attacks while we go through this study. The last thing the enemy wants is for us to learn how to fight him.
Well, the attacks came. Marriages began failing, adulterous affairs were discovered, guys were getting sent to the hole (solitary confinement) for what turned out to be false accusations, more unexpected transfers, threats on their lives, and just a general sense of spiritual defeat was in the air. But everyone was enjoying the study and they were hungry for more.
There was great enthusiasm as we went through the spiritual offense and defense of the Christian life and I thought about skipping the rest because I really wanted to encourage them to focus on the basics of spiritual warfare. I was a little hesitant to teach the “Bondage and Deliverance” section because I didn’t want them to get too caught up on the extraordinary aspects of spiritual warfare and begin thinking everyone around them was demon-possessed. On the other hand, the only experience I’ve ever had with people that I strongly felt were demonized, have been in the prison environment. So I decided it might just be relevant and useful for them. Last Monday, God showed me just how relevant and useful that part of the series was to this environment.
A few weeks ago, a certain man (I’ll call him Kenny) came to the class for the first time on the very day we began the "Bondage and deliverance" part of the series. He was quiet, yet attentive. During the second session, he broke his silence when we broached the topic of the occult and it’s probable link to demonic bondage. He told the story of how his mother was pretty heavily into Wicca and how he got into it also. He shared some interesting (and disturbing) stories of his childhood and his mother’s dealings with witchcraft. He spoke of these crystals his mother made him carry around in his pocket so that she would know what he was doing at all times and he indicated that she did indeed know many things that she couldn’t have known by natural means. He had a tattoo on his arm he called a “watcher” (guardian) and explained how it was supposed to be his assigned “spirit” that protected him. When he had come to prison this last time, he felt and overwhelming sense of God’s presence that made him bow his knee and submit one evening in his cell. Everyone listened intently to his story and nobody seemed to have any reason to doubt the truthfulness of what he was sharing with us.
This last Monday, we wrapped up this portion of the series by talking about obtaining deliverance from demonic bondage. We were talking about renouncing ties to the occult and were going over the scripture in Acts 19 where the Ephesians burned all their magic books. Kenny, was sitting right next to me as we were discussing it and I noticed the lights beginning to go on in his head. He started talking about some books of his own (witchcraft books) that he needed to destroy when he got home. But he also began sharing about how his wife had often told him that he was like two people, kind of like Jekyl and Hyde. He described things he did in his alternate personality like purposely driving his car into a guardrail at 60mph and other bizarre things of that sort. But the clincher was that she told him that when he turned into this other person, his eyes actually would change color. As he was speaking, I began to become a little nervous that I might actually see a manifestation of this right there and then. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. He told us that he believes he was once demonized, but was delivered from that a little less than a year ago when he submitted his life over to Christ.
But Kenny would go on to share a very disturbing and heartbreaking story about his son (now 16). He told us how he tried to kill his step-mother (Kenny’s wife) when he was just ten years old by choking her with a towel. He told us of his son’s extremely violent fits and assaults on others. He told us that when his son was 14, he was able to pick Kenny up by the throat and lift him off the ground with one hand, almost choking him to death. It took 3 adults to get Kenny loose from his son’s grip.
Kenny is convinced that his son is demonized, and that he (Kenny) himself passed it on to him somehow. He explained to us how his mother (the witch) had pronounced a curse on Kenny’s son telling him he would be 10 times worse that Kenny ever was (I’m not sensing lot of love in this family). It would seem that this curse took hold.
Well, to make a long story short, we all prayed over Kenny and I counseled him to do whatever it takes to humbly reconcile with his son and re-gain the right to minister to him and be a father to him. If indeed he is under demonic bondage, he will need to be open to deliverance and he will need be able to trust Kenny’s sincerity, faith, and love. But most of all, he will need to be able to trust Jesus and in His healing power.
Kenny expressed to me that he recognized the divine appointment here. He came in on the first session of this part of the series and last week (which was our conclusion of the topic) was probably his last week in that facility. He had a court hearing this week and all indications were that he was going to be released. The timing couldn’t have been coincidental.
Anyway, I just wanted to praise God for His meeting this young man with precisely what he needed to give him hope and a sense of direction going forward. I also want to praise Him for revealing to the rest of us His purpose for this whole thing.
Praise you Father !!!!
An inmates' struggle with darkness
A few months ago, an inmate asked me if I would do a series on spiritual warfare. As “luck” would have it, I was in the process of outlining Steve Gregg’s lectures on the topic so I agreed. Unfortunately, the inmate that asked me to do it got shipped out to another facility so he didn’t get to take part. But the other dozen or so regulars in my class were also eager to dive into the subject so we pressed on ahead with it anyways. I told them in advance to expect attacks while we go through this study. The last thing the enemy wants is for us to learn how to fight him.
Well, the attacks came. Marriages began failing, adulterous affairs were discovered, guys were getting sent to the hole (solitary confinement) for what turned out to be false accusations, more unexpected transfers, threats on their lives, and just a general sense of spiritual defeat was in the air. But everyone was enjoying the study and they were hungry for more.
There was great enthusiasm as we went through the spiritual offense and defense of the Christian life and I thought about skipping the rest because I really wanted to encourage them to focus on the basics of spiritual warfare. I was a little hesitant to teach the “Bondage and Deliverance” section because I didn’t want them to get too caught up on the extraordinary aspects of spiritual warfare and begin thinking everyone around them was demon-possessed. On the other hand, the only experience I’ve ever had with people that I strongly felt were demonized, have been in the prison environment. So I decided it might just be relevant and useful for them. Last Monday, God showed me just how relevant and useful that part of the series was to this environment.
A few weeks ago, a certain man (I’ll call him Kenny) came to the class for the first time on the very day we began the "Bondage and deliverance" part of the series. He was quiet, yet attentive. During the second session, he broke his silence when we broached the topic of the occult and it’s probable link to demonic bondage. He told the story of how his mother was pretty heavily into Wicca and how he got into it also. He shared some interesting (and disturbing) stories of his childhood and his mother’s dealings with witchcraft. He spoke of these crystals his mother made him carry around in his pocket so that she would know what he was doing at all times and he indicated that she did indeed know many things that she couldn’t have known by natural means. He had a tattoo on his arm he called a “watcher” (guardian) and explained how it was supposed to be his assigned “spirit” that protected him. When he had come to prison this last time, he felt and overwhelming sense of God’s presence that made him bow his knee and submit one evening in his cell. Everyone listened intently to his story and nobody seemed to have any reason to doubt the truthfulness of what he was sharing with us.
This last Monday, we wrapped up this portion of the series by talking about obtaining deliverance from demonic bondage. We were talking about renouncing ties to the occult and were going over the scripture in Acts 19 where the Ephesians burned all their magic books. Kenny, was sitting right next to me as we were discussing it and I noticed the lights beginning to go on in his head. He started talking about some books of his own (witchcraft books) that he needed to destroy when he got home. But he also began sharing about how his wife had often told him that he was like two people, kind of like Jekyl and Hyde. He described things he did in his alternate personality like purposely driving his car into a guardrail at 60mph and other bizarre things of that sort. But the clincher was that she told him that when he turned into this other person, his eyes actually would change color. As he was speaking, I began to become a little nervous that I might actually see a manifestation of this right there and then. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. He told us that he believes he was once demonized, but was delivered from that a little less than a year ago when he submitted his life over to Christ.
But Kenny would go on to share a very disturbing and heartbreaking story about his son (now 16). He told us how he tried to kill his step-mother (Kenny’s wife) when he was just ten years old by choking her with a towel. He told us of his son’s extremely violent fits and assaults on others. He told us that when his son was 14, he was able to pick Kenny up by the throat and lift him off the ground with one hand, almost choking him to death. It took 3 adults to get Kenny loose from his son’s grip.
Kenny is convinced that his son is demonized, and that he (Kenny) himself passed it on to him somehow. He explained to us how his mother (the witch) had pronounced a curse on Kenny’s son telling him he would be 10 times worse that Kenny ever was (I’m not sensing lot of love in this family). It would seem that this curse took hold.
Well, to make a long story short, we all prayed over Kenny and I counseled him to do whatever it takes to humbly reconcile with his son and re-gain the right to minister to him and be a father to him. If indeed he is under demonic bondage, he will need to be open to deliverance and he will need be able to trust Kenny’s sincerity, faith, and love. But most of all, he will need to be able to trust Jesus and in His healing power.
Kenny expressed to me that he recognized the divine appointment here. He came in on the first session of this part of the series and last week (which was our conclusion of the topic) was probably his last week in that facility. He had a court hearing this week and all indications were that he was going to be released. The timing couldn’t have been coincidental.
Anyway, I just wanted to praise God for His meeting this young man with precisely what he needed to give him hope and a sense of direction going forward. I also want to praise Him for revealing to the rest of us His purpose for this whole thing.
Praise you Father !!!!
