Manly Slough & The Elijah Challenge in Japan
“I would like to share with you some events that have happened here in Japan these last few weeks and how God is teaching us…
…We have been teaching and training on how the Bible shows us how to exercise authority in healing and casting out the enemy, as taught in Elijah Challenge…
Last Friday as we were getting ready to leave for Ishigaki Island, I received an e-mail from a past friend who stated that she was going to a recovery home because she had been having thoughts of suicide and moments of depression for the last few months. I had been sharing Jesus with her for many years and felt led to call her immediately to find out what was going on.
A little history…this is a woman who was brought up in the Mormon church, was involved in domestic violence from her first husband, and was now what she called a non-believing Catholic. She would go to Catholic services periodically, not because she believed in God, but because she enjoyed the ceremony and the pageantry of the service. Outside of this, she would always declare (with great enthusiasm) that she was an atheist and would scoff at the notion of being or needing to be born again.
For years she would see what God was doing in healings and setting people free, but she always fought against believing in Christ as God.
So after calling this woman up, who lives in the United States—over 5,000 miles away—I was surprisingly able to lead her through deliverance from unclean spirits.
Many events in her past life as a child were revealed to her, shocking her with clarity about these events which had been long forgotten for years—mainly events which had brought bondages by fear, rejection and the curse of witchcraft into her life. It was revealed to her that when she became involved in the occult by playing with a ouija board during her youth, and many other events were revealed as well.
Having renounced the strongman and other areas in which she needed to be set free, she became what she described as feeling clean (but empty) and she knew when each spirit left her. During this time, she felt many different sensations (not needing to get explicit), even to the extent of tasting some very bad things upon their leaving. She was delivered from the “spirit of heaviness”, depression and much more.
I do realize the images that many people may have when the word “deliverance” is brought up, but this was all done over the phone in a soft voice, not loud but one with authority.
I understand the nature and process of deliverance and have been used by God on many occasions in the past as He has taught and demonstrated in Scripture, but I would have to say this was the first time the Lord did so through me over a distance of 5,000 miles.
In the long run she recognized her need, and through repentance and prayer she was born again. When I informed her that she was now born again, she laughed and said she would never have considered becoming born again! She now had joy and praised God for what He had done. All glory to Jesus! “Everything is so much brighter now, it’s like someone turned the lights on.” How many times have we heard that?
When we put Jesus as our main focus in life and lift up Jesus in praise and worship, He will bring people who are in need of healing and deliverance to the Jesus who is in us. There is no coincidence with God regarding the people He brings into our life. Even if they are over 5,000 miles away!
“….they recognized that they had been with Jesus” Acts 4:13
“the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20.