Apache Reservation (pt.4)

            The parsonage on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in Dulce New Mexico was only about 200 feet from the church building.  I was up early one Saturday morning on my way over to the church when I heard a drum beat coming from the sanctuary.  Although we did have a set of drums on the podium, the drum beat I could clearly hear did not sound like anyone playing those drums. I could also see that there were no cars in the parking area so I knew no one was there to be practicing on the drums. The sounds I heard coming from the church were more of a rhythmic or ceremonial type beating.

            As I drew nearer the church, the drum beat continued and became more and more obvious. However, when I unlocked the front door and stepped into the church, the beat stopped.  After walking through the church to see if anyone was there, I walked back out the front door. Once outside, the drum beat resumed.  My curiosity certainly stirred, I decided to walk around the building to see if I could locate where the sound was coming from. Climbing over a small barbwire fence, I walked through the waist high weeds that covered the field behind the church.  I could still hear the drum beat; it continued to sound like it was coming from the sanctuary.

            Once back in the church, the drum beat again ceased.  I was still not sure exactly what was happening.  I had planned on going into the sanctuary for a time of prayer so I decided I could pray and ask the Lord for some insight as to what the drum beat was.  When I went up on the platform area, I noticed the two plants placed on either side of the pulpit had been moved. Most likely one of the women who cleaned the church each weak had moved it while vacuuming. 

   When I picked up the first plant to move it back to its proper place on the platform, I noticed a yellowish power on the carpet underneath where the plant had been setting. It looked like it was placed in a sort of circular pattern that corkscrewed until it ended in the center of the circle. Unsure of what this was, I moved over to the other side to move the other plant to its proper place. To my amazement, I saw the same swirling pattern of yellow powder where the second plant had been sitting also. Still not seeing anything particularly alarming, I brought out the church vacuum and cleaned up both patterns of yellow dust. 

            Once I was finished vacuuming, I resumed my planned time of prayer, walking back and forth across the platform praying for the Apache community and for the ability to reach more souls with the love of Christ. As I crossed behind the pulpit, I then noticed movement at the back of the church.  Looking up and then down the center aisle, I saw a dark figure that seemed to just appear, as if it came out of the wall that separated the sanctuary from the nursery. I had not turned on the sanctuary lights so it was fairly dark. Now staring at the dark figure, I could see a robed being with a hood over its head. With arms extended in front of him, I noticed one hand seemed to be holding a bowl, the other what appeared to be a knife.  I found myself frozen in place with a jolt of fear running through me. As they say, the hair on the back of my neck was standing up. 

            I do not know how long I remained in the terrified state, but it was long enough for the dark figure to advance a few feet down the aisle towards me.  I was aware of a glare coming out from under the hood that appeared to be two very ominous eyes staring out, seemingly striving to intimidate me.  It worked!  I was petrified! I had seen apparitions of demonic beings in my spirit, but what I was seeing that day I saw with my natural eyes. It was a demonic manifestation.                    

Although it seemed like hours that I stood frozen in place watching this dark specter,  it was probably only a matter of seconds before I sensed the Lord encouraging me. With that encouragement I began to quote scripture. “Greater is He who is in me than He who is in the world”.  “No weapon formed against me shall prosper”.  I quoted the Lord’s words as recorded in Luke saying “ I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you”. The more I quoted the word, the more the Spirit of the Lord rose up in me and gave me confidence.  I felt like Popeye eating his spinach, as if spiritual power was beginning to not only fill me, but to flow out of me.

            As I continued quoting scripture, I noticed the demonic spirit stopped its progression down the aisle. This was evidence to me of the power of the Word of God that was present. Encouraged by the Word and by the demon’s hesitancy, I stepped down off the platform and began marching up the aisle towards him, continuing to quote scripture as rapidly as I could.  The spirit then began to back up. I could not see feet moving because of its robe, but it was clearly moving backwards.  When I had come to within about fifteen feet of it, before my eyes he vanished into the nursery wall.                  

Although the Lord gave me victory that day, chasing this demonic spirit out of the sanctuary, I also recognized that I had only just won a battle, and not the war. The Bible tells us that after Jesus rebuked the Devil, that he “left Him for a season”.  The Lord seemed to be impressing on me that we had only just begun to battle the demonic forces that had run wild not only on this reservation, but also in this church for years.                    

Recognizing this, I went back to the parsonage that day and contacted a group that I called “my praying ladies”.  This group of true prayer warriors was comprised of six women in the church. We had been praying together for weeks and I quickly recognized the warrior mentality of these native ladies that feared no demon or darkness.      Betsy and I set up a time to come together and pray against this darkness that had been oppressing the church for many years.                                                                                                                                               When we came together that week, we met in a large room that was used as the fellowship area just off of the kitchen. I shared my experiences that week, including the drum beat, the yellow powder, and the demonic manifestation at the back of the church. The ladies looked at each other with that sort of look that says “I know what that is.”  They recognized the drum beat as being a ceremonial manifestation by the demons using the traditions of the native culture to intimidate and dominate those of us praying in the church.  The yellow powder they informed me was also a ceremonial practice the shamans, practiced, letting corn starch slip out of their hand as they swung it in a circular motion. When I had returned to the church the day after I had vacuumed up the yellow powder, I again found the power, again in a swirling pattern, under the plants.  (The teenage son of one of the local shamans attended our youth rogram.)   

When I described the demonic being I saw at the rear of the church, we all recognized the symbolic items of blood sacrifice the demon had in its hands. All these things pointed towards what was clearly a very overt and outright assault on the current ministry we were all a part of. Once we recognized what we were up against, we bowed our heads and began using the tools the Lord had given us to defeat the enemy. We began to pray and plead the blood of Christ.  We prayed with passion and confidence, again quoting many verses.  After “submitting ourselves to God” we recognize the Lord’s encouragement to as that verse continues “resist the Devil”. It was once we did this that the Demons again seemed to step out into the open and reveal themselves.       

We were all sitting around a table, with me having my back to the open room. I was sitting in a sort of office chair that was on wheels. As we prayed, I suddenly felt the chair being pulled out from under me. It began rolling backwards across the room. Since I had been leaning over the table with my head down on my arms crossed, I was pulled backwards onto my face, with my feet extending out in the direction the chair had gone. It did not stop once I was on my face. I could feel something wrapping itself around my ankles and dragging me backwards.        

I was first aware of the response of my praying ladies when I heard shouts and authorative commands coming from either side of me. The ladies had seen this assault, seen me being dragged backwards with no visible force to do so. They had jumped up and in the spirit of true warriors they had gone after the demons who were attacking their pastor.  They began binding the demons, claiming the Word of God, and demanding that they release their pastor. The intensity of their prayers alone must have frightened these dark spirits. Soon I was free of the demon’s grasp. Once back up on my feet, we all entered into a time of praising and worshipping the Lord. The demonic attacks in Dulce did not stop, but the fear and intimidation they strove to bring was drastically reduced. We knew the power of the Lord was there with us, just as we knew that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against rulers of darkness, against spiritual wickedness in high places”.