MIDNIGHT CALL

TRUE STORY

THIS NIGHT, the foggy amber light from the hurricane lantern seems to be powerless against the darkness that had engulfed the community. Darkness was so natural to this village that several legends and superstitions were woven around it. Children were told about certain ghosts who seize crying children's voices at night. Pounding and sweeping were forbidden in the night. It was believed that only the lazy women and children would go to the stream to fetch water at nights. Folktales were told about a seven-headed ghost who attacks people on bush track to the stream at night. It did not really matter that the menfolk could go to the stream for a cool swim after the day's farm work – women dare not.

THIS PARTICULAR NIGHT had another kind of darkness. Darkness did not just come as a result of the sunset; there was a kind of heaviness in the atmosphere.

By the time darkness enveloped the community, two women, living in the same house, married to two brothers, had finished the day's chores. Dinner of porridge yam, garnished with vegetables and spice leaves, was served. After dinner and some storytelling, prayers for the night were rendered. Prayers had always followed the same pattern. This night's pattern was not different – thank God for the day and the food; forgiveness for sins committed; prayers against witchcraft attacks, burglaries, prayers for their husbands in the city, children at boarding houses and distant relations in distant lands; then the prayers are summarised and concluded by the eldest person present. This night's prayers had a kind of drowsiness about it. The women knew the heaviness that hung over the night’s prayers was not just about their physical tiredness, but they each kept mute about it. Finally, they retired to their different rooms for the night. Their husbands, who owned retail shops in the city – thirteen kilometres away – were not expected back that night, it was not yet weekend.

Few minutes to midnight, the younger woman, a nursing mother who had fallen asleep soon after dinner, suddenly sprung out of bed as if automated by an unseen switch; walked round the sitting room, muttering unintelligible words. The older woman was startled out of sleep by the rumblings and the commotion.  As she staggered out of her room, ready to rebuke the younger woman for disturbing the peace, what she saw, left her fixated and speechless.

"Jesus..." she muttered to herself and quickly cupped her mouth as if a ghost would seize her voice.

"Sarah..."(not her real name), the woman called out to the younger woman, "please talk to me...what is happening...don't wake the children".

It was now obvious that Sarah was displaying what the older woman described as the early signs of insanity.

Sarah continued her drama. Changing from singing to dancing and saying something about a particular neighbour and a member of her local church being a witch. She had Talcum Powder all over her face. Even in the dark, her white face stood out like a local television horror movie character. The older woman knew she was up against powers that were far beyond her. Within seconds, fear, drops of sweat, more fear, heart pounding, were her harrowing experience. For the remaining part of the night, it was a battle of holding Sarah down, keeping breakable substances away and trying to appeal to Sarah's reasoning. Minutes went into hours and hours went into what seems like eternity.

At a point Sarah bolted towards the door, ready to get out into the thick darkness. By this time the children were up. The oldest of the children was just about ten. The older woman's thoughts began roaming, thinking of who could help.

Their house was situated on the outskirts of the village. The older of the brothers, a calm peace-loving man who would not want to get involved in family land-tussles, had built his house away from the family compound. This made their home too far from their next neighbours. Even if their neighbours were close by, the older woman was not just ready for the scandal a rumour of Sarah’s insanity would generate in the village.

The next thought was that of going to the District Pastor of her church. Unfortunately, the District Headquarters was about ten kilometres away from her village - in a community which was even more rural than her village. She was caught between the choices of leaving Sarah in the house, going through a ten kilometre wood at midnight to fetch the pastor or drag Sarah along with her through the woods. None of the options was practicable. What made it worse was the fact that the longer she stayed without a decision, the crazier Sarah became.

Although the older woman's husband was an Elder and a Bible Teacher and the younger woman's husband a Deacon in the same local assembly, they have never been confronted with such a dimension of spiritual situation. “She better do something right away or get her defence against witchcraft allegations ready by morning”. She knew she will certainly be accused of making her 'fellow wife' mad.

Then the solution dawned on her. According to the older woman's testimony, she suddenly remembered her District Pastor's teaching about the name that is above every power.

She started calling out the name...

"Jesus...Jesus...Jesus"; she called out; this time not out of fear, but driven by the urgency of having a miracle.  The younger woman must be delivered before the demons overpower her and get Sarah out of the house.

"Jesus, please do not disgrace me" she continued praying. That was her level of understanding. Thank Goodness, God was not waiting for the correctness of her prayers.

With each call of that name, Sarah became calmer and the older woman became bolder. As she became bolder, the name of Jesus on her lips became louder. Suddenly, the younger woman was quiet, seated and sober.

Just then, the sound of the first cockcrow was heard. The women fell asleep together in the sitting room. As she slept off, the older woman's only words were 'thank you Jesus'.

Sarah got her deliverance just by the NAME; without a pastor or any of those people we call ‘Deliverance Ministers’.

THE TRUTH IS THAT THE NAME OF JESUS IS NOT FOR MINISTERS ALONE. YOU CAN EXPERIENCE THE SAME DELIVERANCE POWER IN THAT NAME.

NOTICE SOMETHING about this true story: the devil does not give warnings before striking. You better have a defence you can deploy in seconds. Before the incident, the women had depended on their husbands and pastor, but when the devil came knocking, the pastor and husbands were not there to help. If you do not have Jesus for yourself, you could be embarrassed by Satan.

There is only one name that Satan is afraid of. There is only one name that change situations and turn them around for good. The Bible says in The Acts of Apostles 4:12 "There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them" - (NLT). Also in Philippians 2:9-11 "...God raised him (Jesus) up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

However, not everyone who mentions that name gets the results the name can offer. There is a case in the Bible where the name of Jesus even turned against the people who used them. The Acts 19:13 - 15 "A team of Jews who were travelling from town to town casting out evil spirits tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus. The incantation they used went like this: "I command you by Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!" Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. But when they tried it on a man possessed by an evil spirit, the spirit replied, "I know Jesus, and I know Paul. But who are you?" And he leaped on them and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and badly injured."

If you are not a child of God, the name of Jesus will not bring the desired result. The only way the name will work for someone who is not yet a child of God, is to call that name for mercy in repentance.