How the Youth Suddenly Became Interested in Spiritual Things

 

One night at a youth camp, I suggested to the teenage guys in our dormitory, that we have a moment of prayer together before lights-out.

As we did so, one of the guys coughed, then coughed some more, and more—until it became quite distracting.

Several of the guys, including him, hadn't seemed all that interested in Christian things—so they assumed he was being deliberately disruptive and rebellious.

"Shut up ______!" one of his friends snarled at him, embarrassed by his apparent disrespect.

But his coughing only became more uncontrollable.

Instantly, I jumped up from my bed where I was sitting:

"That's a spirit of nicotine, I hope you know!" I exclaimed, as I ran towards him.

"I command this spirit of nicotine to come out, in Jesus' Name!" I said.

The young man jumped down from his bunk-bed and ran straight out onto the verandah, coughing ferociously as he went.

I followed him out. The spirit began to roar loudly, thrashing the young man about violently.

My second-cousin, who was at the camp to help, grappled him, with one or two others—and even though my second-cousin had been an A-Grade Rugby League player, and was putting his whole weight on him to restrain him, the spirit was so strong it was lifting their feet off the deck.

It looked as though the teenager—and everyone else with him—could potentially be thrown off the verandah onto the ground one storey below.

"Let's get him down to the ground," I said.

As the young man was being led down the steps, the spirit kept putting-up such a fight—those who were holding him were being shoved from side to side.

In a couple of minutes, with one strong, final groan, the spirit left: the young man was relieved, and free.

He then mentioned to us that he'd been in a fight at school; and now, he said, his cigarette craving was all gone. His face looked light and at peace.

Meanwhile his friends were standing on the deck above, watching—but none had dared come downstairs. One of them held a broomstick in his hands—in case he’d had to defend himself, he said.

And just like that, without the need for any gimmicks, the youth were suddenly interested in spiritual things.

𝐈𝐈 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝟏𝟎:𝟒

𝟒 (𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 [ᴘʜʏsɪᴄᴀʟ], 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬;).

𝐋𝐔𝐊𝐄 𝟏𝟎:𝟏𝟕-𝟐𝟏

𝟏𝟕 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐣𝐨𝐲, 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞.

𝟏𝟖 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧.

𝟏𝟗 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐈 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲: 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

𝟐𝟎 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮; 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧.

𝟐𝟏 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐞, 𝐎 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐬: 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨, 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫; 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.