The Soul Redeemer: From Victim to Victory (14 page)

Casie came around the corner right at that time, and asked, "And what business would that be?"

"Fortune Telling, you thief!" 

Nicole and Casie looked at each other and nodded.  They knew that they were not speaking with the woman, but with a demon.  Nicole said, "In Jesus' name we are the authority here.  I recognize you spirit of Python or Divination.  You will not enter this place and make accusations.  You are free to either go back out that door or you can be bound and gagged while you are here so that we can have a conversation with your host."

Immediately the woman's eyes rolled back in her head and her whole body jerked and went rigid.  The next second, she went limp and would have fallen onto the floor except that Casie quickly grabbed a chair that was nearby and put it under her.  She fell into the chair and when she opened her eyes and looked around, she asked, "Where am I?" 

"Inside the Samaritan Inn," Casie answered.

"Oh yes.  I saw the sign out front and that's the last thing I remember."

"Can I get you anything?  A glass of water or iced tea?" Nicole asked.

"No thank you.  Time is short and there is something you need to tell me.  I am not supposed to be here talking with you and I will be severely punished for this, but there is Someone calling to me and I can't resist Him and I can't seem to access Him either.  I need a medium.  Can you help me?"

This time when Casie and Nicole looked at each other they smiled and said, "Yes we can!" simultaneously.  Then Nicole said, "Come with us." 

They led her up the stairs to the tiny apartment in the back of the Worship Center.  It was sparsely furnished, but there was a couch, two chairs, a table and a coffee pot.  

When they were seated, Casie said, "I'm Casie and this is Nicole.  What is your name?"

"Yes I know who you are.  I have been aware of your activities here for some while.  I have seen that the God you serve is more powerful than mine.  I will be punished for admitting that also.  But forgive me, my name is Zera."

"Zera, you spoke of time being short.  What did you mean by that?" Nicole asked.

"I am a servant of a most high principality.  My master is Death.  He can be very amiable and kind, even rewarding when I obey him; but when I disobey, his punishment is more than severe.  He owns my body and can take over at any minute, so please tell me the message from your God before it's too late."

"I thought I recognized Python when you first came in," Nicole said.

"Yes, Divination is a servant of Death," Zera answered.

Casie said, "You are right that our God is more powerful than yours.  He is the creator of all things including your gods.  Yahweh came to earth in the form of the man Jesus of Nazareth to restore the broken relationship He had with men and women through sin and death because He loved them and all of us so very much…and that includes you, Zera.  He willingly became the sacrifice and gave up His life on the cross, shedding His blood so that every sin, every chain of His enemy would be broken.  After Jesus died, He rose again on the third day, overcoming the power of your master, Death."

There was a slight movement of Zera's head and flicker in her eyes, and then she spit out, "Jesus was no god!  He was nothing more than a man!  All this God talk makes me sick!"  And she began to retch.

Nicole said, "In Jesus' name you will stop retching and will not defile this place!"

She stopped and sat up a bit higher, looking back and forth between them with defiance in her eyes.

"We will not speak with you," Casie said to this demon.  "We will only speak with Zera.  Go down and allow her to come back out."

Again, there was a slight movement of her head and Zera said, "Yes, I'm here."

"Zera, do you know what your name means?" Nicole asked.

"Yes.  It is Hebrew and it means 'seed.'"

"You're Jewish?" Casie asked.

"Yes.  You are wondering how a Jewish girl has ended up as a witch."

Nicole answered, "Actually I have seen this before.  It seems to me that Satan has tried very hard to rob the Jews of their rightful relationship with God.  And that explains the Spirit of Unbelief we just encountered."

"My family has been a part of the occult for as far back as we have been able to chart," Zera said.  "The spirits are very strong in us.  I don't know why I'm even here putting myself in this position.  I am going to be very sorry, it's just that when the Voice calls to me and I try to find it, I can't."  Her eyes took on a faraway look and then suddenly, she jumped up like a scared rabbit.  "In fact I have endangered you and the Inn by my coming.  I will go now and try to make this right." 

As Zera moved toward the door, Nicole stepped in front of her and said, "Wait!  You spoke the truth earlier when you said that our God is more powerful than yours.  You don't need to appease him in any way for our sakes because our God will protect us."

Casie added, "Zera, if you will stay and if you want to become free from your master, we can show you the way and the Lord God will protect you as well.  In fact, this is the message you came for, isn't it?  The Voice you hear is Jesus.  He is calling you to come to Him and His love.  If you will call out to Him to save you, you can become free of the slavery and bondage you are in through Jesus.  But you would also have to be willing to renounce all other gods and masters and choose to love and serve only Jesus."

Nicole suddenly blurted out, "Hey, I know who you are.  You are the witch that I've been praying for!  I have prayed that God would show you His power and that you would be willing to allow Him to save you for over five years!"  The joy in her spirit at the way the Lord had answered her prayers overcame her and she reached out and hugged the surprised woman.  "I'm so glad to finally meet you!"

Zera sat back down like she was stunned.  Love was the last thing she had expected to find here. 

Casie said, "Zera, it is no accident that your name means seed.  You have been carrying the seeds of death, fear, unbelief, divination, witchcraft, the occult, and probably many more Satanic seeds throughout your life as they have been passed down from generation to generation. 

"Another part of the message God has for you is that these are seeds the enemy of your life has sown as a counterfeit of the real seeds that God created you to carry; seeds of life, love, faith, hope, joy, peace, deliverance and freedom.  He wants you to know that He loves you, and that in His power, He will set you free from your evil master so that there will be no more slavery, no more punishment, no more fear.  If you will let Him.  He has plans for you, for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope."

Nicole opened the Bible and turned to Jeremiah 29:11.  "Zera, you can read God's message to you for yourself."

She took the Bible and read through verse 13.
 "
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the
Lord
, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
 
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart
."

When she was done, Zera said, "This sounds good, but it can't be that simple.  You don't know the things I've done.  I don't know why your God would want me."

"It is not easy, but it truly is that simple," Nicole said.  "God has already chosen you, and me and Casie.  None of us deserve God's love, mercy, forgiveness or grace, and yet He freely gives it to every one who chooses Him.  But it has to be your choice.  I won't lie to you.  It will probably be the hardest thing you've ever done and the fight of your life.  It's a process, but God's Word is true that if we seek Him with all our hearts, He will be there for us.  Jesus came to destroy the work of the devil, and that means in your life as well as mine." 

"I discern that you both have stories to tell," Zera said.

"Every one does, Zera," Casie replied.  "But today is the time for the deciding and making of your own story." 

"What I will tell you," Nicole said, "is that we have both been under the influence of many evil spirits.  The way that we overcame them was through surrender to Jesus Christ and obedience to Him.  Revelation 12:11 says,
'And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony...
'  The blood of the Lamb of God delivered, healed and protected us.  As we share the testimony of the power of the blood with others, it seals that work in us and it offers hope to others like you. 

"Zera, if you choose Jesus, the tables will be turned and you will no longer be their servant.  You will have authority and power through Jesus' name and His blood over Death and every other spirit." 

Zera was quiet.  Casie asked, "Can we pray with you Zera?"

"I'm not ready for that yet," she said as she lowered her head.  Then she hopefully looked up at them and added, "Maybe I can come back and visit again sometime." 

"We would like that," Casie replied and Nicole agreed.

Zera stood up and said, "I will consider the message from your God.  Thank you both for your time and for talking with me.  You have shown me great kindness when I know I don't deserve it.  I feel that I should tell you that I have spoken many curses over you, cast spells on you and your families, and yet I have seen none of them come to pass.  It is like they just fall to the ground and melt away into nothingness.  And now I'm glad that they didn't work."

This time as she moved toward the door, Nicole and Casie let her walk through it.  They followed her down the stairs, and at the front door Zera stopped and turned to look them both in the eyes as she thanked them again.  And then she was gone.

"Wow!  What just happened here?" Nicole asked as she and Casie stared at the closed door.

"I don't know but I need to sit down," Casie responded.

They went into the empty dining room and sat down.  Trudy and Jana, the girls behind the bar came and sat down beside them. 

"Are you guys ok?  We were praying for you the whole time you were up there."

"We’re fine.  Just amazed that God brought her here," Casie explained.  "He is definitely calling her out of Satan's kingdom.  I sure hope she listens!  I can't believe the love I already have for her."

"I hate the fact that she left without being set free.  I'm afraid that she'll be so severely disciplined that she'll die without knowing Jesus, or that she'll wander further into bondage.  We definitely need to step up prayers for her.  In fact let's pray right now," Nicole said. 

The four ladies held hands and lifted Zera's spirit up into the presence of God as they prayed.  They prayed for her until they felt released.  But there was something else that was going around in Nicole's mind. 

"I know that every inch of this property and Inn has been spiritually cleansed and that the Holy Spirit lives here," Nicole said as she was trying to explain what she was feeling.  "And yet, after the meeting with Zera, I feel that we need something more.  I don't know if it's added spiritual security or what." 

"I think I know what you mean," Casie said.  "It's like the battle for her soul is so great that there needs to be a place that is totally safe from the eyes, ears and intrusion of the enemy."

"YES!  That's it!"  Nicole's eyes lit up in excitement.  "We need a room that is sound proof and bullet proof.  A place free of seeker, scanner and eavesdropping spirits.  A place that is set apart for the work and ministry of healing and deliverance and where the only spirits that are welcome are God's Spirit and His angels."

Trudy asked, "Isn't this whole place like that?"

Casie answered, "Yes it is, however as people come and go, many of them bring in things such as spirits that are attached to them, so we are in a constant state of house cleaning.  In a place like Nicole is talking about, it would be set apart and always spiritually ready for whatever God was doing."

"There may be many different situations where extra security measures are necessary, or even times when someone needs extra care for a couple of nights," Nicole agreed.

In that moment, Nicole and Casie looked at each other with the knowing.  "I think we just found the function of the upstairs apartment," Casie said.  Nicole smiled in affirmation.

L
ate that afternoon
when the bar and dining room was cleaned up and the rest of the staff had gone home, Nicole and Casie sat alone on the patio sipping iced tea and contemplating the day.  Nicole said, "It's even better than I thought it would be."

"What?  The Inn?"

"No.  Well, that's part of it.  But I'm talking about Jesus coming to Samaria.  He said He was coming and He did.  He's here and He's doing more than I could even think or imagine!" Nicole said.

"It is amazing watching God answer prayers for people.  And so quickly!" Casie said.  "I feel like we are living in Bible times like when the Holy Spirit was doing all kinds of miracles through the apostles."

Nicole said, "And this is just the beginning.  I can't wait until the restaurant opens and we get business in the hotel.  I wonder why we haven't had anyone stay overnight yet?"

"It's only been open to overnight guests for a week, Nicole," Casie reminded her.  "And we haven't really advertised.  Don't worry, all in God's time."  

They finished their tea, locked up the Inn and said goodnight.  Nicole looked at her watch.  Jake wouldn't be home for at least another hour.  She was tired, but was restless and decided to take a walk through town with Jo.  Maybe some exercise would help her mind to slow down a bit, and it would be good for him too.  He had been sleeping under the oak tree all day. 

Across the street from the Inn was the Banning Building which housed several businesses; a tax service, a gift/fishing and tackle shop, and a Chamber of Commerce.  A few weeks prior, a very disturbing new occupant had moved into one of the empty units; a palm reading and massage therapy business.  A massage business wouldn't have been such a concern in and of itself, but pared with the occult, it bothered her a lot.  It felt as if the unclean spirit that had left the Inn had taken up residence in the Banning Building when this business moved in, and it was taunting God.    

As she walked past it praying that God would show her how to pray, Nicole distinctly heard, "
Stop.  Climb up the side of the building.
" 

She did stop, but she shook her head in disbelief as if there was a bad connection somewhere in there.  She looked around to see if someone might have said the words or if anyone else had heard what she did, but there was no one close by.  Deciding that she must have been mistaken, she continued walking. 

After just a few more steps, she heard the words again, and this time a little louder.  "
STOP.  Climb up the side of the building.
" 

Nicole stopped again and looked around, then looked up at the building.  It was a two story brick building with several windows on the ground floor and on the second level as well. 

"Lord, is that You?  What in the world is going on?"

"
Climb up the side of the building
."

"Jesus, ordinary people don't climb buildings.  Spider man does, but he's a comic book character!  I don't even qualify as an ordinary person because I am terrified of heights.  Surely you are not telling me to climb this building!" Nicole reasoned.

There was no voice that answered her this time, just a pounding inside her body as her heart responded to the command.  She knew that she was being told to do the impossible. 

As she visualized herself climbing the wall, she wondered what would happen if someone saw her!  She could see it now....The six o'clock news would report,
"A crazy lady was taken into custody this afternoon after being rescued by the local fire department.  The charges are attempted breaking and entering into a business through a 2
nd
story window of a brick building.  Witnesses say that she had climbed up the side of the building without help of any kind and was caught
looking into the window
.  They also said that she is known for doing obnoxious things like praying for people and expecting results.  There is a possibility that she'll be admitted to the psychiatric unit for evaluation…."

"That's it, isn't it Lord?" Nicole realized as she stood there looking up at the building.  "You want me to look inside the window!" 

Before she had time to think, she went over to the side of the building and placed her hands flat against it.  "Lord, if this is really You telling me to do this, then give me strong hands and feet and a capable body."

"…
By my God I can leap over a wall."
  The verse in Psalm 18:29 that she had read just that morning came to her mind.  She heard Jesus say,
"I'm not asking you to leap over the wall, just to climb it.  Put one hand up high, then one foot up.  Then the other hand and the other foot…."

Nicole looked at Jo.  He looked back at her as if to say, "If we're going to be here awhile, I'll just go take a nap."  He slowly walked over to the shade near the entrance to the building and gradually let himself down with a sigh, and then laid his heavy head between his front feet.  He looked at her one more time then closed his eyes. 

"Ok then Lord.  But You're going with me!"  Nicole reached up as high as she could with one hand and one foot, then the other hand and foot, and she began to scale the wall.  It was not hard at all!  Why had she thought it would be impossible?   It was so easy that she wondered why people weren't climbing walls all the time.  But then she remembered that it was easy only because she had ignored the fear and stepped out…rather up…on faith.  It would be nearly humanly impossible, but this just proved that with God all things are possible when He says to do them. 

Nicole looked up and saw that she was nearly to the window and that there was a small ledge under it.  When she reached it, she hoisted herself up onto it and willingly chose not to look down.  She was doing exceptionally well and didn't want to invite fear to make her dizzy.  She did look inside the window and almost jumped when she saw that there was a man and woman inside.  She clung more tightly to the bricks and the thought came to her that she didn't need to worry.  The Lord had gotten her to this place and He would protect her and make her invisible if necessary.

The dimly lit room looked like a small café, and on the brick wall behind the bar in the midst of shelves full of liquor was a red neon sign that said "Rosie's Bar and Grill." 

Nicole had no idea that this was here!  The room was filled with round tables covered in red checked table cloths, and over in one corner stood a pool table.  She saw an old jukebox standing at the end of what appeared to be the skeleton of a salad bar cart and wondered if Dean Martin's sexy voice filling the air as he sang
Everybody Loves Somebody
was due to that ancient artifact.  The thought that crossed her mind was that Gary and Ray would not be happy to have another establishment serving alcohol in town.  Did they know about it?

Nicole noticed the lack of people and realized that the business must not be open yet.  She turned her attention back to the two people in the room.  The man was sitting at a round table with his back almost to her, but she could see just a bit of the side of his face.  The woman was standing behind him, rubbing his shoulders. 

As Nicole watched, the Lord said,
"Listen to them."
  She was ready to argue because logically, there was no way she could hear them speaking, but then she remembered that there was nothing logical about any of this!  So Nicole quieted her own thoughts and concentrated on watching and listening. 

She clearly heard the woman say, "They are almost in place.  He wants us to try another angle first for several reasons.  We haven't been able to test the subject yet, and if we can buy some more time it would work out better in the long run."

The man reacted in anger as he jumped up and faced the woman.  "We don't have any room for error here!  I say forget the testing and let's just do it!" he ordered. 

"Calm down Daemon," the woman said as she turned him back around and pushed him into the chair.  She continued to rub his shoulders.  "The biggest reason we need to do it this way is that we need information.  This plan will give us opportunity to get the downloads we need."

"I don't want this thing botched up, or there'll be hell to pay!" said the man.

"Don't worry; it's practically a foolproof plan."

"It's the 'practically' that worries me."  Then in resignation he asked, "When is the first strike?"

The woman replied, "Tomorrow."

The voices faded until Nicole couldn't hear them anymore, and suddenly she found herself back on the sidewalk in front of the building looking up at it just as she had done before she climbed up it, and Jo was still sleeping in the shade of the doorway.  What had just happened here?  Had she just scaled a brick wall and looked into the building like she thought she had? 

And why had she not heard about Rosie's Bar and Grill?  That wasn't something you could hide in a small town like this!  She went to the door of the building and found it unlocked.  "Stay here, Jo.  I'll be right back."  Just as Nicole stepped inside the hallway, Heather, the Chamber of Commerce lady stepped out of her shop.

"Hello Nicole.  What brings you here?"

What should she say? 
"Hey Heather.  I was just climbing up the wall outside, and when I looked in the window I saw the new bar and grill upstairs.  Just thought I'd go up and check it out." 
No, that wouldn't do….

"Hey Heather.  I thought I heard that there is a new bar and grill upstairs called Rosie's.  I thought I would go check it out."  She hoped that sounded ok.

Heather looked surprised.  "I think you must be mistaken.  There's nothing upstairs except a lot of junk.  It's just storage.  Did they specifically say that it was upstairs?  I haven't heard of a Rosie's around here, or a bar and grill, but you know that new businesses are always coming and going in the old gas station down the road."

"I'm pretty sure they said upstairs, and in this very building."

Heather had always been very helpful, and today was no exception.  "Well I have a key.  Let's go up and look around," she said as she pulled her keys out of her purse and locked her door.

"It doesn't look like anybody's been up here lately," Heather said as they climbed the dusty staircase.  "I'll have to ask John to clean the stairs next time he's here."

"Is there another entrance to the upstairs?" Nicole asked.

"Nope, this is it."

They reached the top and Heather unlocked the one and only door.  Nicole stood looking into the large room filled with boxes, old furniture and other stuff that looked like it hadn't been touched in a long time.  The musty air indicated that nothing had been aired out in a long while.

"No Rosie's Bar and Grill here," Heather said.  "It sounds like a nice idea though."

When they exited the building, Jo was right where Nicole had left him.  "Thanks for humoring me, Heather.  I appreciate it."

"No problem.  I was just thinking that we really should clean out that room.  It looks like a fire hazard," Heather said.  "See you later."

"Yeah.  Have a good night," Nicole replied.  "Come on Jo.  Let's go to the park.  I need to sit down and think for a minute."

Jo's ears perked up at the word "park."  He lazily stood to his feet and stretched, then trotted after Nicole to his favorite play ground, hoping that there would be some children that he could follow around for awhile.    

Nicole sat on the bench, glad that there was no one in the park to talk to.  She knew what and who she had seen inside that window.  She knew what she had heard.  She didn't understand it, but she remembered every word of it.  She knew she had been there looking in and listening.  And she knew that she had climbed a building! 

Maybe the question was, had it been her body or her spirit that had climbed it?  And if it was her spirit and not her body, had she been transported to an entirely different place as she climbed?

Nicole believed that things like this were possible.  She believed that God had created the human spirit with the ability to travel outside the physical body to another location with the help of the Holy Spirit under His guidance and direction, to be used for Him and His purposes.  The apostle Paul said
, "I know a man in Christ who…—
whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows
—… was caught up to the third heaven"
(2 Corinthians 12:2). 

She also understood that Satan had taken advantage of this ability and perverted it just like everything else he did.  Astral projection was one of the things he used to further his own evil plans and purposes. 

So she believed that it was possible that she had climbed up a building in her spirit with the help of God's Spirit for His specific purpose.  And it didn't really matter whether she had done it in her spirit or her body, and it didn't matter which building it had been.  What did matter was that God was trying to tell her something and she was getting lost in the supernatural way that He had been relaying the message to her. 

"I'm sorry Lord.  What is it that You want me to understand?  I know what they said, but it just doesn't make sense to me."

All was quiet.  Hummm.  A plan and a strike.  What was this about?  Who was being targeted?  Still no answer came.  Nicole went home and prayed.  She asked for covering and protection over anyone and anything that came to her mind.  Then she left it in the Lord's hands.  God would reveal everything in His time and way.