Donald K. Stewart, Contributor

Stewart

Something very strange happened in a large Papimento-speaking Pentecostal church one bright Sunday morning in 1995, somewhere on the beautiful Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba.

I had been invited there to conduct a week of meetings on spiritual warfare, running from the Tuesday evening until the Sunday morning, when we had a most frightening, dramatic climax, right there in church.

After speaking for about 15 minutes declaring the redemptive, delivering power of Jesus Christ, I remember making a passing mention of sex-spirit demons which gain control and often manipulate people's sex organs, desires, cravings and promiscuous behaviours, frequently producing or reinforcing addictive perversions.

It was then that 'all hell broke loose', at least for a full-bodied, distinguished looking woman in her late 50s, located at the back of the building, two pews away from the church door. It seemed like some violent, invisible hands had suddenly and mercilessly thrown her across the bench, where she proceeded to flutter uncontrollably, like a mullet fish on dry land.

The host pastor (Pastor Tom) along with my Jamaican colleague (Keith) and some strong young men from the church quickly lifted her to an adjoining prayer room, where they remained with her for the rest of the church service. It was only at the close of this explosive service that the magnitude of what we had just experienced became clear to us.

Cold and stiff

Pastor Tom reported that by the time they had carried her to the prayer room she was already getting cold and stiff; rigor mortis was setting in, even before she was dead. Someone, however, realised that 'a spirit of death' was at work desperately seeking to destroy her life, and instantly they rebuked and expelled it from her body, in Jesus' name.

It was also discovered that she had been sexually-abused by an older relative when she was a little girl of about 5 or 6 years old. This woman had been living in misery for over 50 years of her life, being brutally tormented by the wicked sex spirits that had subsequently entered her body and had occupied it undisturbed, until that frightful Sunday morning.

Can you understand why, in the light of their impending exposure and expulsion, the demons would desperately, passionately plead "Please, just let me kill her first"?

It was summer 1998, thousands of kilometres away, in the city of Dodoma (the political capital of Tanzania, Africa), that we witnessed another mind-boggling, nerve-jerking phenomenon.

A team of nine from Jamaica had gone to partner with Pastor Boaz Sollo of Endtime Harvest Church for two weeks, traversing the length and breadth of the Dodoma province, proclaiming the Gospel message in towns and villages.

One Sunday evening, some members of the team proceeded to pray with a witch doctor's wife while I carefully held her months-old baby in my arms. It wasn't long before the demonic spirits in the mother began to foam, scream, shout, kick and vomit through their victim, that the identical responses occurred in the body of the 'harmless', little baby resting in my arms.

It was clear that both mother and baby had been earmarked for death by the diabolic forces within. As we exercised our authority over the evil spirits, casting them out in Jesus' name, it was not difficult to hear the frantic pleas of the distressed, departing demons echoing throughout the atmosphere, "Please - just let me kill her first!"

Some of you might be thinking (and saying) to yourselves that these strange things can only occur in far away countries and in uncivilised, superstitious cultures - certainly not in enlightened, present-day Jamaica. Permit me, at the risk of becoming unpopular (by shattering some of those false notions), to highlight a few recent, local cases of 'near-suicides' for your serious contemplation and response.

In Davyton, Manchester (1987), a group of intercessors from a prominent Charismatic church had been meeting there for their first spiritual retreat. While, on the Sunday afternoon, we were praying with a demonised high school teacher (in her early 30s) she suddenly voiced a need to use the restroom.

Even after sending two other ladies to accompany her, I still heard the voice of the Lord firmly instructing me, "You, go yourself!" Having ignored the initial mental struggle, I quickly obeyed - only to discover the two ladies locked in battle with our teacher friend, trying to prevent a 'suicidal' act of her diving headlong into a waterless bath tub.

The demons, who had been resident inside her body for several years, were now discovering that they were about to be evicted. You can understand, then, why they would violently scream "Please - just let me kill her first!"

Strange things happening

In the Chapel Gardens of the University of the West Indies (Mona campus) another strange thing happened one Thursday in December 1989. A first-year student, attached to Mary Seacole Hall, had desperately requested prayer because she knew that some unwelcome, sinister forces had taken control over areas of her life, even driving her on to a 'suicide' path by attempting to jump from an upstairs balcony in her hall, the previous night.

We had a battle on our hands that lasted from a little after 10:00 a.m. until about 3:00 p.m., during which several valuable lessons were learnt and precious experiences gained. When, in the final stages, the Satan-inspired demons yielded to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, you can guess what was the pathetic plea ... "Please - just let me kill her first."

The setting is Stewart Town, Trelawny, at a prominent boarding school, one Sunday morning in 1990. Over 100 young women had come forward either to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour or to recommit their lives to him. The atmosphere was one of awe and expectancy after a visiting speaker had shared her testimony of being marvellously set free from demonic bondage to live a life of victory.

Without any hint or warning, dozens of these students were suddenly 'pushed' to the floor and rolled around in their immaculately-white church dresses, violently screaming for deliverance as the demons turned up the heat in their bid to destroy these precious lives.

Set free

I recall one student, in particular, who was so intent on throwing herself to her death from the ledge of the auditorium, that several teachers were unable to restrain her, until we added our support, and she was eventually set free. What do you suppose those demons were saying as they were being cast out?

Space does not permit me to speak of the ten young people at a 1998 crusade in Spanish Town who were almost killed by demons on the platform, or of the three teenagers at a 13-15 years old 2003 camp held in Malvern (St. Elizabeth) who were delivered from 'suicidal' spirits one Wednesday morning - or the countless other 'life saving operations' that I have personally witnessed.

Let me challenge all Christians, particularly leaders, to reconsider your stance on spiritual warfare and to seriously get involved in rescuing lives, since there is, in fact, a thief who has come to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).

Donald K. Stewart (D. Min.) is pastor of the Portmore Lane Covenant Community Church. He also has a ministry of casting out demons. He may be reached at covcomoffice@colis.com