(ThyBlackMan.com) Books such as Pigs in the Parlor by Frank and Ida Mae Hammond and Tony Evans’ The Battle is the Lord’s have helped me develop a different lens as I view and interact with various spiritual activities in my life; activities that I had once “soul-ly” attributed to people. These books helped bring forth a better appreciation and application of the following scripture:
‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’ – Ephesians 6:12
These descriptions in Ephesians are unclean spirits which rear their ugly heads in our lives in subtle ways that cause us to hate on and act out viciously towards one another – judging the flesh versus judging spiritual strongholds that accost and attach to a person.
The Battle is the Lord’s provided a practical illustration of an unclean spirit that manifests itself as the most familiar of “human” conditions: anger. Reacting in frustration is natural to humans as emotional creatures; but such emotions can open our spirits up to elements that feed off of and escalate natural expressions into supernatural possessions.
I know this personally because of a pet peeve that I have with technology. It bothers me when technology has “technical difficulties.” Having earned a degree in Computer Engineering, I understand and appreciate how 
technology works… but this same understanding gives way to impatience when it doesn’t work properly. Having expressed this out loud on many occasions, the enemies that I battle began to take note of and exploit it.
Just as a sports team or warfare unit studies their opponent, my spiritual enemies have taken the time to know me and study my habits. I don’t get approached by women throwing themselves at me to tempt me away from my wife – it’s too obvious. Besides, I’ve readily spoken out about my desire and intended dedication to my wife before I even knew who she was. From an enemy standpoint, why even waste the resources and “manpower”?
But stalling the technology I use?!! That became a backdoor Trojan worth exploring. And explore them they (the unclean spirits dedicated to the ruination of my life) did. As a student, if anything could go wrong with a project, it seemed I attracted every anomaly unknown to man. This caused me great frustration and self-doubt.
As a young adult I’ve gleefully smashed electronic devices to pieces after replacing them due to sudden inoperability. I have cursed out and punched/broken laptop screens in anger.
That anger never spilled over into other areas of my life, though – just in all things technological. Since then, I’ve been able to rein in that anger – having bound it up and cast it out in the name of Jesus. I can now recognize the ploys and prompts as they arise and laugh at the efforts in peace as I speak the fruit of the Holy Spirit into my own spirit; choosing to sow and reap Its peace and longsuffering instead of grapes of wraiths:
Grapes of Wraiths
a.k.a.
Gripes of Wrath
Gripes of wrath are sown
As grapes of wraiths to uproot
Fruits of the Spirit.
~
I’ve had televisions turn off on me for no apparent reason. My cable has gone out which took one to two months for Comcast to resolve on each of TWO occasions because of a series of coincidental lapses and oversights. But I have handled them all with a surprising peace – as I’ve reaped the benefits of the Holy Spirit that dwells within me.
But what’s all this have to do with the saga of Chris Brown, you ask? My experiences have also afforded me the insight to spiritually discern (another gift of the Holy Spirit according to 1 Corinthians 12:8-10) anger in others – particularly in Chris Brown.
Chris Brown’s tirade this week on Good Morning America solidified for me that we ought not focus all of our attention on his immaturity and lack of self-control but on an unclean spirit of anger. Aside from my own personal battles with it, my wife and I have seen it attach itself to younger Black men and women at my church as well. We have heard first-person accounts from youths who have cursed and threatened other students and adults with what they have expressed as an undercurrent of rage. Rage that stems from backdoor Trojans ranging from parental abandonment to poor self-esteem.
However, the worldly cause – while relevant in the overall solution – is not as important as the spiritual source. We have focused too much of our energy in psychotherapy, counseling and medication. As a people of God and followers of Christ, we should be binding up strongholds according to Matthew 18:18 for those whom we don’t know and casting out demons for those who are seeking out deliverance so that we can “loose” or “set captives free” – that they may have life and have it more abundantly in the name of Jesus (Luke 4:18-19 and John 10:10):
Captive Fraudulence
Sin has a captive
Audience that’s adapted
To its fraudulence.
~
But the Hammonds and Luke 11:20-21 tell us that though a strong man can be bound by one stronger than he, sometimes it is but only for a season before he is loosed and free to bring about destruction again. Even after a person has been delivered, they must fill themselves with the Spirit through studying and internalizing the Biblical scriptures. Otherwise, should the spirit return, it can “make the last state of a man worse than the first” – having found their former place of resident evil roomier for more spirits to enter after it has been swept and garnished as the latter half of the scripture in Luke states.
As such, it would appear that since Chris Brown has not been properly delivered, the unclean spirit of anger behind him assaulting Rihanna showed its malevolent presence once again this week.
A person must be scripturally educated on their spiritual stronghold(s) while it is bound so that s/he may come to the realization that they need to be delivered – seeking out freedom by their own free will. Upon hearing the words of Jesus as it related to the burdens and yolks they were under, people swarmed Him for spiritual healing from their demonic possessions.
For those that may still write this off as a speculative entry in Chris Brown’s case or a subjective blog referencing my own examples, I would like to provide one more example which asserts the presence of anger as an unclean spirit which exists in this world to be continued in Part II of Deliver Us From Evil: The Saga of Chris Brown.
Written By Reggie Legend
Can find more about this writer over at; http://www.steelwaterspoetry.com/blog
Also available as a Keynote Speaker – Book him Today; Speakerwiki – Reggie Legend
