Brian

WOW!! What a testimony — powerful and to the point, pulling no punches. May I ask how long it took for the LORD to tell these things to you? You’ve written quite extensively, and I am imagining you had to scribble quickly to get it all down, or did these revelations take place over the course of a few hours (or longer, perhaps, derived from lessons learned over the course of events)? Thank you. Praise the Lord!!

Brian

Isn’t God good? Isn’t He wonderful? I mean, you were frustrated by so many things, but yet through all of that fog, you could see that the Lord had a message for you. And not just “any” message, but He gave you very specific, detailed words to share with His people. Not only have you fulfilled an awesome purpose, but now you have this awesome testimony. Praise the Lord!

I had something similar happen this week — not as momentous as your revelations, perhaps, but it did have significance when the Lord spoke to me when He wanted to lift a weight from the shoulders of a dear, burdened friend who had been struggling for some time.

Brian

Hi Justin, more about the issue with my friend, Mary-Lou. She had been through a lot of personal troubles (depression, resisting social interaction, being laid off from her job, and then her husband ran off.) The trouble occurred over a period of 2.5 years, and she began over-eating and snacking compulsively (she had had a problem with weight control before the troubles happened.)

Things just kept getting worse for Mary-Lou. I was one of the only people who had not given up on her; others said they wanted no part of her pity party. Thankfully, she did not turn to alcohol or drugs, but food was her outlet, specifically foods that are high in sodium and trans fats. I don’t think there was enough pizza in the world to satisfy her. At times, her place was a complete mess, with cardboard boxes from food (ordering in, etc.) scattered everywhere. Her blood pressure was very high and medication was not helping her.

It dawned on me that this was no ordinary problem, but one that had assumed total control over her. At first I tried to rationalize my way through it, thinking that visits to weight-control places might give her some incentive, or maybe she needed to get out and meet people, etc. But, it was apparent that there was no purpose for her except to eat as much fattening food as she could get her hands on. I couldn’t understand why she allowed herself to be so miserable.

One day when I was over there, I asked for a glass for some water, and she said to help myself. Fine. So, I went to the cupboard, and when I opened the door, I saw no less than 20 huge jars of peanut butter on the shelves. At that point, I knew the Lord needed me to do something. That food was there because she had no choice. I recalled services that a friend (Jonathan) had attended, at a church where they discussed demonic deliverance, with the belief that the things that most would say are not demonic, actually are. Jonathan said he saw people delivered from all sorts of unbelievable substance abuse, habits, anything that kept people in chains. It became very clear to me that Mary-Lou was being controlled by a demon. But, I still hedged, thinking that there was more to this than that (it seemed rather silly to think that Satan would use peanut butter and pizza to enslave somebody.) Jonathan told me about some books that had been recommended to him, and while they are online for purchase, I couldn’t wait for an order to be delivered. So, I didn’t do much of anything, and I sort of drifted back to thinking of other ways to get help.

And then, a day later when I was meeting with the Lord, He said to me, “Why did you not trust me completely? Is my sacrifice not good enough for you? Why are you shutting me out?” I talked with the Lord at length, and I knew that I had missed a very valuable opportunity. So, I called Mary-Lou and asked if I could see her again. “Not bloody likely, Charlie!”, she yelled (driving me to my knees again), as it was obvious that she was not receptive to anything. But then she called back to tell me that I had forgotten my gloves, and to come back and get them any time.

I arrived to find Mary-Lou slathering peanut butter on eight slices of toast, with more bread in the toaster oven (I tripped over pizza boxes when I walked in.) I had had enough, and I told her exactly what I believed the problem to be (and you can imagine the scoffing; I thought I was going to be wearing that peanut butter.) Then, I simply seized the opportunity and said that this nonsense is going to end very shortly. Jonathan and I had agreed in prayer earlier, and I spoke directly to whatever this “peanut butter demon” was (in the name of the Victorious Savior), and commanded it to become loose, to come out, to return to its pit, and never to return. There was a struggle (to put it mildly), but then, eventually, Mary-Lou became quiet and then shed some tears and asked me to leave. I did so, but when I got home, there was a message from her, to thank me. I called the next day and the change in attitude was dramatic.

That was on Dec. 2nd of 2006, and now, one year later, Mary Lou has her life back in order.

What prompted me to share this was when I read your notes, when you were told, “Have you forgotten my beloved Son who has conquered this world? Remember now that I AM the victorious King, and all kingdoms will one day bow to me!” That reminded me of the experience that led up to the confrontation, and of the victory. Praise the Lord!

Brian

Oh, yes! I knew it was a peanut butter demon. God told that to me earlier, but I refused to listen at that point in time. “There is no such thing — get real and stop being delusional”, I thought to myself. But, then Jonathan told me that the pastor at the church that he attended saw dozens of people delivered from nicotine demons, demons of fear and doubt, gambling addictions, etc. Then, it began to fall into place: the devil will do anything, and use anything, to keep people away from THE TRUTH. He does not want anybody to get saved and to serve the Lord. And one of his best ways to achieve that goal is to make people think their problems deal with personal neurosis or insecurity, when the truth is that he is has almost sealed their fate.

What better way to pre-occupy someone who is prone to making bad food choices than to enslave her with copious amounts of peanut butter? Silly as it sounds, I had to face it as being true, and then when the Lord had those choice words with me in prayer (also known as a “stern rebuke”), I felt ashamed, disgusted with myself, and foolish. If He could go to hell and take away the keys of life and death, why was I letting my pride stand in the way of believing Him? Actually, it also made me afraid, wondering somehow if I had allowed myself to be influenced by the demon’s power. That’s why I knew something had to be done immediately.

After I explained the situation to Mary-Lou (and I did so in a very kind manner; I was not accusatory or critical), I could see that the resistance was stronger than ever and there was no denying that this demon was not happy about losing its home. The confrontation had begun, and there was no turning back. Even if I had decided to back down a bit, it would have been victory for the devil. “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” … those words were front and centre. Jonathan and I had prayed earlier, agreeing and believing, and we had humbled ourselves before the Lord, thanking Him for the Holy Spirit’s Anointing. But, this was no time to lose traction — I knew the devil knew this was serious business, but I also know the Lord and had been to several deliverance services in the past, too (but not to the same place as Jonathan). So, I knew what to expect.

When I spoke to “it”, I called “it” for what “it” is — a liar that has no business to control a child of the Lord Almighty. Mary-Lou was not saved at that time, and even though some might say she should be saved before being released, there was no chance of that happening. She had to experience the power of the Lord in order for her to believe. I couldn’t see any way around it and it was obvious that she was quickly eating her way into the grave if no intervention had occurred.

I can’t recall how long this went on. Time seemed to stand still, but I would say that I used Authority for about 15 minutes. When I said I thought I would end up wearing that peanut butter, I am not joking. Mary-Lou started throwing things at one point and it was at that point when the demon’s energy level became less. It was as though she saw the facts at the same time as when the demon knew that it had to leave.

That happened one year ago. Things are falling back into place very nicely for Mary-Lou and she now sings in the choir of her church and witnesses to people at retirement homes. Her blood pressure is a respectable 120/80 and she takes great pride in almost being ready to slip into a size 20 dress — her Christmas present to herself, she jokes. We do serve a great, big GOD, don’t we?

Brian

I had read somewhere (can’t recall the name of the book now), that a person has to be saved before being delivered. The feeling is that unless a person has had a born-again experience, then it has no idea of the significance of the other events. Well, maybe that might be true for some examples, but we have to remember that Satan is a crafty deceiver. I highly doubt that he is going to follow suggestions, rules and “apple pie order” as respecting any sequencing of events. His most cunning stunt is to convince people he does not exist and we must remember that he is the father of all liars. So, “snip”, and cut to the chase … I did what the Lord wanted and since He authorized it, the victory is HIS — not mine. I want no praise or recognition for any of this — none whatsoever. My joy comes from knowing that, as unworthy as I am, He used me for His Glory. May He be praised forever.