West Africa: A seed planted by radio

West Africa: A seed planted by radio

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When a man named Tazeem was listening to the radio one day, he heard a Christian share the gospel in his own language.

The message was about God’s love for people, forgiveness in Jesus and the power of prayer, and it deeply encouraged him. He wanted to know more, but never found the radio broadcast again. Nevertheless, he started to share the message he had heard with others in his village.

On one of those occasions he met an elderly woman who sometimes would sing praise songs to God. This was not common in a Muslim community. When she heard Tazeem share the message he had heard on the radio she smiled broadly and said: “So now there are two of us here, and you can worship God together with me. From now on you are my son!”

Neither Tazeem nor his new friend owned a Bible. But the woman – whom he affectionately referred to as ‘Old Mother’ – had learned some of the chronological storytelling from a brief exposure to church planters in another community. The two of them began working together to share what they knew of God’s Word with their friends and neighbors. They had a very simple message: “Come to Jesus. This is the right way. Just come!”

One day, the mother of the sheikh in the town began to manifest demonic spirits. She was taken to the witch doctors, and then to the Muslim marabouts who read the Qur’an to her, but to no avail. In a brief moment of lucidity she exclaimed: “I must go to the home of Old Mother and her boy!” And with that one brief sentence she ran from the sheikh’s home straight to the Christian woman’s house.

The demonized woman, however, was deeply in the clutches of the enemy. The moment she crossed the threshold of the Christian’s home, her body froze and she collapsed helpless on the floor. For eight days she lay on a sleeping mat, unable to move. She did not eat, speak or use the latrine. She was in a fixed position while Tazeem and ‘Old Mother’ prayed. Then suddenly, on the eighth day, the evil spirits left her. She stood up and spoke, and the faithful Christians began to minister to her needs.

Word went throughout the village instantaneously: “The sheikh’s mother is healed! The spirits have been defeated!”

The sheikh heard the news and came running. When he saw his mother eating and in her right mind, he immediately collapsed to his knees and begged Tazeem to teach him about his God. And that day, both the sheikh and his mother became followers of Jesus.

The news spread quickly, and people from the village began to flood the Christian woman’s home, seeking healings and deliverance from evil influences through the power of her God. The little hut looked like an outpatient clinic, a hospital for body and soul.

But the Muslim leaders in the area had also heard about the sheikh’s ‘betrayal of Islam’, and they brought together a committee to deal with him. They armed themselves with spears, knives and guns, and set out to find the Christian sheikh. Luckily, he was warned in time and found sanctuary in the police station. When the police wanted to arrest the murderous party, he stepped forward and said: “Please, do not arrest them. I have already forgiven them! As long as they do me no harm, I do not want to take them before the magistrates.”

Today that former sheikh is planting churches, and those churches are multiplying. In that area of 70 villages, there are now 17 small churches with about 125 new Christians. Persecution is still present, but there is a foothold of the gospel in this challenging place.

Source: Tazeem, interviewed by Jerry Trousdale for his book ‘Miraculous Movements’

Joel News – Inspiring stories on the advance of God’s Kingdom around the globe today, delivered once a week in your mailbox. We cover all continents and serve mission-minded Christians in over 100 nations.

https://www.joelnews.org # 1207,  March 23, 2021

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When my Tumour Disappeared

When My Tumour Disappeared

One Village Woman’s Story

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A woman shares her testimony of the Lord’s healing and redemptive power in her life. Names, locations and sensitive details have been protected for security purposes.

My name is Loukya. I was born and brought up in a family that followed a traditional Asian religion. I am married and my husband, Naathim, farms.

Since I was born and brought up in a non-Christian family, I practiced all of the rituals according to our doctrines. Since my childhood, my parents taught me all the religious customs. I remember those days when my parents would offer prayers, especially to one goddess whom they believed was powerful.

When My Tumor Disappeared

Woman Stops Worshipping Her Goddess, Falls Sick

When I turned 25, I got married and started a new life with my husband. He never compelled me to worship the gods, so I did not perform any kinds of rituals in my house for one year.

While everything was going well in my family life, one day I became sick and began to suffer from a headache and other illness [weakness and nausea]. However, I did not take my bad health seriously.

As the days went by, my headache started to develop day by day, and I became more ill. By that time, my husband took me for several medical checkups, and I was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

My husband did not tell me this. Everyone in my family visited me at the hospital and encouraged me with their lovely words, [saying] that within a week I would be all right. The doctor said to my husband that I had to undergo a major operation immediately, which would cost us a huge amount. While my husband was sharing these issues with an elder brother, I found out about my brain tumour, and I became afraid.

Enveloped in Darkness

That particular evening, I started to think about my past behaviour and how I had not worshiped any gods for the last year. I thought to myself, That could be the reason I got ill, and now I am going to die. I had no hope for my life. I felt heavy darkness surrounding me, and death was following me. Those days were a bitter experience in my life.

“I thought to myself, That could be the reason I got ill, and now I am going to die. I had no hope for my life.”

About two weeks later, I was admitted to a private hospital and got general medication, which gave me a little relief for the time being. Then my parents took me with them to live in their house. My husband was also with me. With the help of local villagers, I went through naturopathic treatment in my mother’s village.

In those days, my husband happened to meet with a witch doctor who advised him to memorize some sacred words and chants by which I could be cured. One evening, the witch doctor visited me at my mother’s house, chanted some mantras and gave me some handmade medicine. Early in the morning, my husband would recite some mantras for my healing, but nothing seemed to help. Nothing could heal my disease; rather, my problem started to increase every day.

When all hope had vanished, a group of women [from Women’s Fellowship] came to visit our village. Their names were Hafiza, Paavai, Sabrang and Tamarai. They shared with me about the name of Jesus and gave me some literature to read.

Given Hope to Live

Tamarai told me about how Jesus died on the cross of Calvary for the redemption of mankind. Then I started to share my personal problems with her, saying, “For the last nine months, I have been suffering from a brain tumour. I have gone through several medications, but nothing could heal my disease. Rather, every day it is developing. I have lost hope of living on this earth.”

“They gave me hope to live in this world.”

That particular moment, Hafiza and the other sisters joined their hands and prayed for me and assured me I’d be in their daily prayers. They gave me hope to live in this world. To my amazement, the whole day I had no headache, and my faith began to grow.

Faith Blossoms Into Love for Jesus

From time to time, the sisters visited me and prayed for me, and they conducted weekly prayer meetings. As days passed by, the Lord healed me, and my husband and I opened our hearts to Jesus and began attending the church in our village.

When Loukya went for a checkup, the doctor couldn’t find any tumour on her brain. Today Naathim and Loukya are strong in their faith, and they’re faithfully involved in their church.

When My Tumor Disappeared

Hundreds of women missionaries are bringing hope to women like Loukya. These women missionaries have prepared themselves in Bible college, they understand the tragedies faced by women in Asia, and they know the One who can help. More women missionaries are ready to be sent out, and you can partner with them to impact the lives of women like Loukya.

Learn about sponsoring women missionaries

Source: Gospel for Asia
http://www.gfaau.org/news/articles/when-my-tumor-disappeared/

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Deliverance and Freedom  by Colin Warren


Deliverance and Freedom


The Rev. Dr Colin Warren wrote as a Uniting Church minister and former Principal of Alcorn College in Brisbane and Founder of Freedom Life Ministries.  He ministered with teams who counselled and prayed with the sick and afflicted.

 

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Renewal Journal 4: Healing

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____________________________________

Jesus Christ is Lord. He reigns.

We can respond for healing and deliverance

in the power of his Spirit.

____________________________________

Christ has paid the price to set us free, but many Christians are not free. They are bound by compulsions or problems such as fear, grief, hurt, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, anger, lust, hate, sickness, or other emotional disorders.

Yet, many Scriptures promise freedom. Here are some:

‘So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed’ (John 8:36).

‘For freedom Christ has set us free’ (Galatians 5:1).

‘Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom’ (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Many people in need of counselling, however, are not free. Why are there so many Christians who are not free? Does it mean that we cannot take these Scriptures literally? Or is there another answer? Our experience has shown that freedom is possible and we can take the Scriptures at face value.

The answer lies in taking Jesus seriously. The Christian church in many places, particularly in the western world, has not accepted the threefold task given to it by Jesus, that is to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons (Matthew 10:78; Mark 6:13; Luke 9:12).

The area that most often needs attention to set people free is the area of the emotions. Paul’s prayer in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, ‘may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Our whole being is involved.

This can be represented by three concentric circles. The inner-circle represents the spirit, the core of our being. Outside of that the middle circle represents the soul consisting of mind, emotions and will. Outside of that again the body is represented by the outer circle.

When we accept forgiveness obtained for us by Jesus on the cross and open our lives to God, God the Holy Spirit enters and dwells at the core of our being. No evil spirits can enter the core of our being when we are born of the Spirit of God. They can, however, afflict us to a lesser or greater degree at the levels of our soul and body. A result of that affliction is that we lose the fullness of freedom offered by Jesus.

All is not lost, however. Jesus gave power to the church to remove the offending intruders. This power was given to the twelve when he sent them out and also to the seventy-two who came back rejoicing because the demons submitted to them (Matthew 10:78; Luke 10:17).

Can a Christian be demonized?

The answer is both yes and no. Demons cannot take over the spirit of a Christian. They can, however, invade the soul and the body. Many beautiful Christian people have problems in the areas of their emotions, minds, wills, and bodies. These are areas that evil powers can invade. This robs many of God’s people of the total freedom obtained for them at such cost by our Lord. This state need not continue because Jesus gave the church power to remove demons and set the captives free.

A common false idea is that a person can only be demonised as the result of deliberate involvement with the occult. Evil powers or spirits have other opportunities to oppress a person beside occult involvement. Some of these need to be understood so that we can minister God’s healing and deliverance to the oppressed.

These ills or oppressions do not always involve demonization, so we need to avoid the opposite errors of seeing demons in every situation or of ignoring them altogether. We cannot attribute all pain, sickness, infirmity, or other ills to demonic spirits. Ministry in this area requires the use of gifts of the Holy Spirit including discernment of spirits, and words of knowledge and wisdom (1 Corinthians 12:810) coupled with training in this spiritual field to ascertain if spirits are responsible.

Demonic oppression may be caused in many ways.

1. Deep hurt in interpersonal relationships.

A woman confined to bed with severe pain was referred to us by her doctor. She did not respond to pain-killing drugs and had experienced severe emotional distress. After receiving counselling, which included casting out several spirits, she was able to leave her bed. Approximately two weeks later she asked for further counselling. On that occasion she was set free from other spirits which included those of infirmity, pain and sickness. Immediately the major areas of pain left her. When I met her approximately four weeks later she was free from pain, was filled with a new joy of living and was seeking to help others in need.

If we allow fear, anger, hurt, grief, loss, hate, bitterness, jealousy, rejection or other emotional areas to fester in our lives, or if through circumstances we cannot control they gain a foothold in us, that can allow evil powers to oppress us with a spirit associated with that particular emotion.

2. Inherited problems from forebears.

These may be seen as having only a genetic base. Yet they are often also of a spiritual nature. I have frequently found that such things as sickness, as well as other disorders, have come because of an ancestor’s involvement in behaviour which has passed on a curse to future generations.

One such case is of a successful business man whose life was made difficult by internal physical problems requiring three operations. When he came for prayer several spirits were oppressing him. These were bound to the truth revealing that his grandfather’s relationship with people involved in Luciferian rites had given Satan permission to oppress this man. When the spirits were cast out his condition healed and he was able to have a much closer relationship with God in his prayer and devotional life. This is just one of many such cases.

3. After severe accidents or sickness.

Sometimes people are vulnerable to oppressing powers of evil after serious accidents or illness. Spiritual forces of sickness, grief or infirmity may find entry.

A woman in her late sixties had been totally deaf in one ear and partially deaf in the other. When she was twelve years of age abscesses had burst in both ears leaving her hearing seriously impaired. At first I thought that her physical impairment was an automatic result of the abscesses. However, I was constrained by the Holy Spirit to bind and cast out the spirit of deafness. She subsequently went to her specialist and had further tests. These confirmed that her previously totally deaf ear was now hearing.

4. Deliberate sin.

Probably the most prevalent area of deliberate involvement and continuing addiction applies to sexual sins. If a person is habitually involved with such things as pornographic literature or videos, sex outside of marriage, or masturbation, those actions give unclean spirits legal right to afflict the person in that way. We have ministered to many people with these problems whom God has graciously set free.

5. Transference from another person.

Given certain conditions a person can be infected with spiritual oppression affecting someone else. An example of this is when a person is in a fear provoking situation with someone who has a spirit of fear oppressing him or her. This can be the condition in which the spirit of fear multiplies and infects the other person also.

6. Involvement with the occult.

We are experiencing large numbers of people who have had a deliberate openness to or involvement with the occult. One example is of a seventeen year old girl who from the age of ten had been gradually getting deeper into occult things. This addiction led to Satan worship with its ugly rituals and sacrifices including eating the flesh of things sacrificed. She was trapped into something she could not escape, thinking there was no power that could deliver her. She came for help and claimed Jesus as her Lord. The spirits were then cast out and she has learned how to live a victorious Christian life and helps others to be set free.

7. The result of a curse.

Curses may not be just empty words. Demonic oppression can be the result of a curse placed on a person either deliberately or unwittingly by someone else where harm is intended and declared against another.

We ministered to a man in his late twenties who from earliest childhood had sexual desire toward males. He had never allowed this desire to be gratified but had suffered greatly from it. He had no desire for women. We have discovered many times that this so called genetic problem was in reality a spiritual problem. In his case, after three unsuccessful attempts to help him, we were told through a word of knowledge to pray and fast for some days. It was then revealed that the problem was the result of a curse on the family from a former generation. Such was the strength of the curse that we were told it would be two years before he was completely free, even though prayer ministry with him was successful.

8. Oppression by astral travel.

Invasion may occur by those involved in astral travel who deliberately seek to enter another person. This requires the breaking of spiritual, emotional and physical ties, and the doorways to the spirit need to be sealed to prevent reentry.

A university student came for counselling because she had the eerie feeling that she was being watched when she was in her home. As we prayed a name was given to one of the team. The student knew that the person named was involved in astral travel and had taken an unnatural interest in her though she did not encourage him. Through prayer, authority was taken over this spirit, the chains binding her to him were broken and the doorways of entry were closed and anointed with the anointing oil of the Holy Spirit. She had no further trouble.

These problems have all been dealt with on many occasions through prayer and deliverance ministry by teams sensitive to the Holy Spirit. People can be set free.

Freedom from principalities and powers

Our western worldview of rationalism has hidden from us the real meaning of much of Scripture. This is being rediscovered now.

An example is Ephesians 6:12, ‘For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.’

We have not understood the significance of this for winning the world for the kingdom of God. Many Scripture passages indicate there are hierarchies of demonic powers. I have described how evil spirits may be cast out of people and this sets them free to be the persons God created them to be. However, if we are going to carry out the great commission under the authority of Jesus to whom all authority has been given in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:1820), then we will need to use the means God has given us to do so. That will involve waging war on the principalities and powers of evil including conflict with world authorities of Satan and the territorial spirits controlling demonic powers over countries and cities.

The Holy Spirit convicted our church of this some years ago. We entered into prayer for eighteen months before God have us the names of the principalities and powers over our city. Then, after a day of prayer and fasting we were told by the Holy Spirit to have a further week of prayer and fasting. At the close of that week God revealed the names of these powers and how to bind them. This was done.

Since that time many people came inquiring about salvation and for counselling. The Lord has taught us that although it took the whole church to be in prayer for eighteen months before these strong spirits could be bound initially, those Satanic powers need to be bound daily.

All Satanic powers were totally defeated by Jesus’ atoning work on the cross. If we do not take advantage of the victory Jesus won then we as a church are not using the weapons God has given us in the power of the Spirit to win the world for Christ. This is why Jesus spoke of binding the strong man and plundering his goods (Matthew 12:2829). As we bind these territorial and ruling spirits God’s power is able to pierce the darkness and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit brings many into the kingdom of God.

Caution! Do not attempt to bind principalities and powers until the church has had sufficient prayer and God the Holy Spirit has given permission and instructions. The degree of prayer required will vary with the strength of the powers being bound. This varies with each situation, hence the need to be guided by the Holy Spirit. These powerful forces can cause great affliction to the unwary.

Real freedom through the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit will come when the church fulfils its threefold commission given by Jesus to preach the kingdom of God, to heal the sick and to cast out demons.

Jesus Christ is Lord. He reigns. Just as we can respond to his reign for our salvation, so we can respond for healing and deliverance in the power of his Spirit in our lives and in the world.

© Renewal Journal 4: Healing (1994, 2011)
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Renewal Journal 4: Healing – with more links to healing blogs   

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Renewal Journal 4: Healing – Editorial

Missionary Translator and Doctor, by David Lithgow

My Learning Curve on Healing, by Jim Holbeck

Spiritual Healing, by John Blacker

Deliverance and Freedom, by Colin Warren

Christian Wholeness Counselling, by John Warlow

A Healing Community, by Spencer Colliver

Divine Healing & Church Growth, by Donald McGavran

Sounds of Revival, by Sue Armstrong

Revival Fire at Wuddina, by Trevor Faggotter

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