Deliver Us from Evil: The Saga of Chris Brown PART II…

‘But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.’

This is my personal account of one such deliverance I’ve participated in within the past year where an unclean spirit of anger was at the root of a gentlemen I had a chance encounter with at my Baptist church:

I had finished reading Pigs in the Parlor and had even gone through deliverance sessions with my wife where we confessed every dark secret we could think of to one another.  The purpose of the confessions was to bring about a fuller ushering in of the Holy Spirit in our individual and married lives.  It’s not that we had crazy secrets from one another – we just desired to experience a greater manifestation of the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Fast forward a few months to a different setting.  In particular, a Baptist setting where such things as the fruit/gifts of the Holy Spirit and deliverance are not readily accessible or accepted by “churched folk.” 

I recall seeing a young man at the beginning of the service that I didn’t recognize; yet something was drawing me to him – compelling me to find out his name.  The service went on per our usual Sunday morning until altar prayer.  When the call came, the young man went up to the front and asked for prayer. 

As the prayer ended and people returned to their seats one by one, I noticed that he did not.  I also recall an urge of the Spirit directing me to do something from Pigs in the Parlor which I knew was a step towards someone being delivered from an unclean spirit.  But I turned into Moses as I avoided and tried to ignore the direction. 

“Why would I do that?,” I asked.  “People will wonder what I’m doing.  Besides, I’m not a licensed minister – they wouldn’t even let me get up there to help,” I rationalized.  “What if nothing happens and I look foolish?,” I posited.

After several more prompts, though – I got over myself and did as I had heard the Spirit say to do:  get a trash can.  Trash cans are used during deliverance sessions at times to catch anything that may come up as the person and the unclean spirit separate.  An unclean spirit (“spirit” as referred to by the Greek word pneuma  which stood for “air” or “breath” in the Greek language, as well) will often exit through the mouth of a person which can be accompanied by a release of phlegm.

So to catch any such releases, I placed a trash can at the feet of the young man who by this time was having trouble speaking coherently – which positioned me right in the thick of things!  Through fragmented sentences, he had been able to express that something was in his life that he knew oughtn’t be there which he could no longer tolerate. 

Before I continue with my story, I feel as though I have to reiterate this – the church that I attend is NOT known for exorcisms by ANY means.  This brother did not come seeking anyone out to deliver him per say – but he knew that he needed help and had come to the Church (the term which translates as “a called out people or assembly” from the Greek word ekklesia) to get it.

While my wife had not come up with me, my son’s godmother who is a prophet and licensed minister was already on hand.  She was attempting to deal with another situation that had jumped off which left me to assist the associate ministers who were both praying and attempting to constrain him at this point  (I would later find out that people in the congregation wrote this gentlemen off as being drunk).  To gain some type of spiritual perspective in the matter, I began speaking in tongues  but in the excitement of the moment nothing came to me until I turned to my son’s godmother and asked “What should I do?”

She immediately did what I should have known to do in this circumstance – she asked the unclean spirit what its name was.  The young man, who was just as thrown off by what was happening as the rest of us, answered with his own name at first.  But when prompted “In the name of Jesus, demon – what is your name?!!”  – his face contorted and he doubled over to the ground. 

The young man growled.  At this point, I began demanding that the spirit come out in the name of Jesus as well.  With every point of my finger that served as an exclamation to my demand, he seized.  As I began calling out other spirits, my partner asked again “In the name of Jesus – what is your name, demon?!!”  In time, though the young man spoke, he did not give us his name again but instead snarled: “AAANNNGGGEERRRR!”

Once the confession of its name came out, the rest was downhill.  This young brother was ministered to through prayer onsite and followed up with by my son’s godfather (also an ordained minister) for the next few weeks.  I recently went to an MLK prayer breakfast where I encountered this brother in Christ again – only this time, he was delivering the prayer which set the tone for the event.  And trust me when I say, he spoke such with an authority that set up an atmosphere for the Spirit to move that many preachers and pastors don’t yet operate in! 

THIS is the hope that I have for Chris Brown – as he is my brother in Christ as well.  As are you.  But we must first get over ourselves, seek out the literal and practical acts of Jesus and His disciples which can and are being carried out today… and get that trash can!  Jesus Himself said we who believe in Him would do greater works than He did within the three years of His earthly ministry.

WE will do a work greater than He by faith through the Holy Spirit.  But we have to stop standing around looking up to God to make all things right for the “harvest is great but the labourers are few.”  WE must act as the regents of earth He created us to be for the advancement of His Kingdom – rooting out the darkness of this world with the light of Christ.  This is REAL, people!  Once we begin expressing the power of God’s Spirit and name through mighty signs and wonders, then people like Chris Brown can seek us out that they might be freed from unclean spirits such as, but not limited to, anger. 

Until then, we will continue to hear about their tirades and failures through the grapevine.  Until then, they are living in captive fraudulence – held in bondage within a cell that Christ not only possesses the keys to, but has opened up to set all captives free.

To end, Chris Brown must be edified and delivered in the same manner as this young man that I was blessed to encounter.  But for him to seek the Lord out in a new way, WE must teach and be taught to accept and minister in the same way… rather, in the same LIGHT.

‘Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you…’ – Ephesians 4:31 (emphasis added)

‘But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.’ – Colossians 3:8 (emphasis added)