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Unbenanntes Dokument
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"Christian, we want your blood!" They looked at me with dark and angry eyes. Blood was dripping from their hands. Their deep and ugly voices penetrated the silence of the night as they called upon the devil on this abandoned midnight graveyard. Driven by some evil forces they had started to cut their arms, filling a fallen gravestone with their blood. Now they wanted mine. I was delivered to their mercy and the only weapon I had to fight with were my naked hands that were folding for prayer.
"Jesus Freak, we want your blood!" they said again as they saw me pray. My eyes starred at the razor sharp blades of their knives. I had entered the camp of the enemy. I had set foot into the devil's territory to engage into a spiritual battle only one side could win. And now there was no turning back. Dressed in black leather, armed and dangerous, they were head and shoulder above me. I had come alone and unarmed. There was no way out, no back up plan, no route of escape. There was only this stirring in my heart and the deep desire to keep them from selling their lives to the devil this night. It was the battle for their souls that had driven me out to this place as they were searching for the meaning of life in all the wrong places.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall freedom had come to East Germany. And with this came choices. The Communist dictatorship was gone. Their ideology had collapsed under their feet. Their belief system was scattered along the rubbles of the Berlin Wall. With all the new liberties people now enjoyed many didn't know what direction to turn and where to go. The dictatorship had been a challenge to many. But so was this newfound freedom. And more than once people had become prisoners of their own choices.
In spite of the new privilege of freedom a gang in town had decided to give their lives to the devil. They claimed God was dead and Christians were weak and hypocrites. They felt misunderstood by society, abandoned by their politicians and let down by many authority figures of the Christian church. Emptiness was ruling their hearts and the devil was right there to fill the void. They were hunted by the desire to find meaning and purpose in life. After years of oppression and dictatorship they believed that the now so easily accessible world of the occult would promise them a sense of power and greatness. They were searching for answers and needed to fill the ever- increasing emptiness in their hearts. But they had turned to the wrong god. The devil could never have the power that God had shown to me all through the years. The only thing that could truly save them was to experience the reality of God and the life changing power of Jesus Christ.
There was this stirring in my heart, that could not let me sleep in peace that night while those young men were heading down the path of destruction. At midnight they wanted to worship the devil on a cemetery at the outskirts of town. In hope to rise to greatness through the power the devil was promising those who would bow down to worship him (Matthew 4:8-9) they wanted to challenge God himself, not knowing that in the end they would lose the fight. Seeing them mislead and deceived, my heart was crying out for them. I just couldn't let them do this. As absurd as the thought seemed to me I felt as if God was urging me that night to head out for this graveyard. I had no idea what to expect and what he would want me to do. But I trusted that he would lead and guide me, give me the words to speak and keep his protecting hands over me.
A passage from the Bible crossed my mind in those moments, as I could not stop my feet from walking to this midnight graveyard:
"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Ephesians 6:13-18
I had entered the cemetery and walked down the dark path as their deep voices grew louder and stronger calling out the name of the devil. It was a scary moment. But I knew that my strength in God would not depend on my muscles, body or size. But on God on my side. This would make the difference. And then I suddenly stood before them in the middle of their ritual. They looked at me with grim suspense wondering who I was and what I was going to do. With the wax of a burning candle they had painted a pentagram on an overturned gravestone. They were cutting their arms and filling it with their blood to bring a sacrifice to the devil. It was a frightening scene. We starred at each other. Still not knowing what God had wanted to me do, I just sat down next to the gravestone, folded my hands, bowed my head and started to pray.
Suddenly they stopped their actions and starred at me in utter surprise. I had not spoken a word so far but those dark figures realized what was going on. Somebody had come to interrupt their ceremony and to challenge them. But he had not come with arms and guns to raise a fight but to silently sit at the gravestone to pray. A Christian in the middle of their Satanism ceremony? Alone? Unarmed? Was he just too weak to fight or bold enough to appear without weapons? For a few moments I read the surprise and confusion in their eyes. But confrontation between the different powers we were serving this night was now inevitable. "Christian we want your blood" someone finally spoke up. Their dark and angry eyes penetrating me as I kept focusing on the knives in their hands. There was no way out. Any physical battle fought would not leave me a chance to leave alive. But the battle God had called me to fight that night was of a different kind.
"Christ, your blood is stronger!" I prayed as I pleaded to God to keep them from giving their lives to the devil that night and to keep me safe at the same time. Tension filled the air. Frustration rose in their eyes. "Christ your blood is stronger." I prayed, over and over again still facing their knives. Suddenly I felt like a wall of protection being set up around me. "Christ, your blood is stronger!" I had never enjoyed living behind a Wall, but this time it was a different wall that I felt was set up around me. God was there. And I could feel his presence. Their hands still clinching the knives sunk down as if somebody stronger had put them down. Puzzled and confused they looked at me, then looked at each other. They were eager to continue their ritual but what should they do with this Christian still sitting at their gravestone praying? They could not get rid of me. And as it seemed they could not get close to me either. God in his mercy and faithfulness kept holding his protecting hands over me.
"Satan empower us" they continued to call out.
"Christ your blood is stronger." I prayed.
"Satan, answer us!"
"Christ your blood is stronger"
They continued to shout to the devil but their voices remained unheard. There was no more answer. In the presence of Jesus Christ the devil had left the camp.
"He is not coming!" someone suddenly spoke up. "Maybe we shouldn't be doing this." There was an awkward silence. Then they stopped their ritual and picked up their knives.
"May you realize that Jesus Christ is stronger." I said to them as they began to leave this midnight graveyard.
"Wherever you go from here, remember that Jesus Christ is stronger! With him we are more than conquerors and nothing can separate us from His love!"
I realized that this was the first time I had actually spoken to them. Until then I had only knelt at the gravestone praying to God. And yet they had stopped their ritual, gotten up and left. It could hardly have been me they feared. I was just a teenager at this time, alone, unarmed and without any plan. Something much stronger than the confrontation between me and them had happened that night. They had come to worship the devil and they had encountered the power of the living God.
* * *
To this very day I have kept those guys in my prayers. Wherever life may have taken them by now I am still interceding for them. It is my prayer that God may have continued to draw them close to Him and opened their hearts and lives to the truth they had started to encounter this night; - that Jesus Christ is stronger and in Him we have the victory!
May God bless you very much.
Michael <><
IMPORTANT NOTE !!!
People involved in the occult can be dangerous and unpredictable. The story I have shared with you is NOT meant to encourage anyone to witness their faith by seeking out similar situations that could put someone at risk or danger. Rather I want to witness through this testimony of God's love and faithfulness, guidance and protection I had experienced. I had followed a stirring in my heart and God had been merciful and kept me safe that night. I am deeply grateful for God's protection but caution anyone to be extremely careful (preferably trained and never acting alone) when witnessing to people in the occult.
With other words: "Do Not Try This At Home!" :-)
Copyright 2003
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