Demon casting out demon

Jerald Toh Wee Meng. That's the name of the man.

Uncle John, Chai Joo & I were looking around for seats at the Orchard Meridian foodcourt when we stumbled upon Ong Boon Aun (Japanese sector), Wilfred Goh (Hospitality sector) & Jerald Toh (IT/Media sector). See... that's the usefulness of doing database administration... It makes (not just helps) me remember names & surnames, etc. *Big grin*.

Somehow, after I had closed my eyes for like 3 seconds & said my grace before eating, these Account Managers (AM) began talking about going to church. I found out that Boon Aun & Jerald were Christians, currently attending New Creation Church (also called 'The Rock'). In fact, they had just invited Wilfred over on Sunday! Somehow despite how 'lukewarm' I may feel about myself as a Christian, it still sparks me up a bit whenever I hear of someone being invited to church! It was like "Tada! There's an opportunity!" rang in my mind. Marvelous... terrific... Thank God for the openness of Wilfred.

After a short while of eating & chatting, I turned towards Jerald & asked how long he's been a Christian. He told me - about 4 years. Somehow... & I really mean somehow... he began a remark that he's probably one of the people in this world who had the weirdest experience of becoming a Christian. He basically just walked into a church one Wednesday afternoon & told the pastor that he wanted to be saved.

At first, I thought to myself, well... It not that weird... June Loh from Christ Methodist Church also walked into church by herself one day, began attending the services & later decided to become a Christian. So far, I think she's growing okay in the Lord. But wait... Jerald Toh was different. And I really mean different. Here's an account of his story...

From young, Jerald had the supernatural ability to see demonic spirits around him. It was only later in life that he realised that it was this coin with a square-hole in it, that caused this demon possession in him, at a very young age. I think it was because he found this coin & chose to keep it with him. He said that when he found it, it was black in colour. However, after some time when he kept it with him, it turned gold... pure gold in colour.

He began seeing evil spirits all around, on the streets, while riding a bike, walking with friends, at altars in his friends' house, etc. He said that the demons that he saw around seemed to come in threes, taking on all sorts of shapes & sizes. Anything from how a little kid can draw a demon, to a real physical image of a person (e.g. a deceased individual). However one can imagine it, it could look like that... coz its all about human imagination.

On top of having this supernatural ability to see such 'things', Jerald was also very rich. He doesn't know where all the money came from, but it just seemed to keep pouring in. My guess was that perhaps its the Devil's way of continually trying to keep him within its grasp. Afterall, the love of money is the root of all evil.

I was shocked to hear that (before he became a Christian) when he walked, he could see a little demon perched on his back. He could even see its shadow while walking. Surprisingly, his GF could also see that shadow. I wonder why. When it rained, he was never afraid coz there was always something covering overhead. He never got wet outside. Never. I asked if he ever tried swimming & he said that he did... once. The moment he went into the pool, he jumped out coz he saw many, many dead bodies floating in the pool! It shocked me... maybe many people died in the pool before. He grabbed his clothes & left the pool.

Later on in life, he realised that he had a very high ranking demon inside him. He shared that even demons have ranks. With it, he could command demon(s) out of his friends' houses. He wasn't afraid when he ran into demons on the street. He just told them to go & they did. Boon Aun & I were so shocked that our mouths were just open, as we listened to his sharing. He didn't seem to look like he's making up a story. His face was so calm & true to what he shared. Back in my mind, I was glad that Wilfred was there listening to this. It would be a good testimony to encourage him, especially when he's going to their church this Sunday.

Jerald then stumbled upon a girl whom he liked & wanted to date her out. To our surprise, he said that she wasn't a Christian, but her favourite book is the Bible. We couldn't understand why... In fact, how can a non-Christian find the Bible as his / her favourite book, when he / she wouldn't even want to believe in Jesus. He found that strange too, but I guess God works in strange ways at times. And you know what? That girl made him memorise scripture verses whenever he wanted to date her out! I was utterly shocked! Never had I heard such an odd happening!

But it turned out for the good, as slowly these verses began to speak to Jerald. I don't know how, but over time it did. I'm not so sure what else happened in between, but soon after, he decided that he wanted to become a Christian, so he walked into a church (I can't remember which church) one Wednesday afternoon & spoke to the pastor.

After hearing his story, the pastor told him to go back & come back on this date, Friday the 13th, which was 2 days away, so that a group of church people could pray for him. I can't remember why the pastor said that. Anyway, so Jerald went home & for the next 2 days, he fell sick, vomitting lots of water, feeling weak, etc. On the Friday, he called the pastor & told him that he couldn't go to church coz he was sick & weak. The pastor simply said "l'll see you in church" & hanged up the phone.

Jerald wasn't sure how, but he managed to draw himself out of his home & went to the road to call a cab. Strangely, there was already a cab waiting at the road! Nobody called the cab & neither did he. So he got in & the cab driver just drove off, bringing him to the church. And Jerald didn't even tell the cab driver where he wants to go! Furthermore, he was still vomitting in the cab & the driver didn't even say anything! Upon reaching the church entrance, Jerald got out of the cab, holding two bags of vomit & the cab driver just drove off. He didn't have to pay for the trip! I thought that it was shockingly amazing! It was like an angel giving him a ride! God literally brought him to the church!

Jerald walked slowly (he was still sick & weak) towards the church entrance. Just as he walked through the entrance, he stood up & suddenly realised that he was okay & started wondering why he was carrying these two bags of vomit! He couldn't remember why he was carrying these vomit!

The pastor brought him into the church & a group of people began praying for him. After the session of prayer, the pastor asked him what does he see. Jerald said that he saw a dark cave & the demons in it... but one escaped. And he heard a voice that said "I'll be back". He didn't turn back to his ways after that. Now if he sees a demon, he no longer sees them in all sorts of shapes & kinds, but he sees them as one kind of image. I'm still quite confused about this, but that's not really the most important point to me.

Through this testimony, I felt encouraged that God still works in His own special way. It doesn't matter how man tries to intervene. God has His way of getting His plan done. It encouraged me further because God could even make such 'difficult' people in messy circumstances change & turn around. There's really nothing that He cannot do.

Later in the afternoon, I e-mailed Jerald & told him that I felt encouraged by his sharing. Honestly, to me, he doesn't even look like the kind of guy who would be troubled by such happenings in his life. He seems to have a straight looking face, seldom smiling, yet confident in speech & stance. Never did I realise that he went through so much in his life.

I told Jerald in my e-mail that everything happens for a reason & God allowed such things to happen so that he can see His work in his life. I encouraged him to share his testimony & give God the glory. Indeed, it was truly an inspiring testimony. Before I coincidently met up with these AMs during lunch time, I thought I was in quite a bad state in my Christian life. I just didn't know what to do about myself. I feel lost & perplexed at times, especially when I begin to brood about it. But from hearing this testimony, my heart felt lifted & encouraged because I'm sure God has His plan for my life, even how He plans to grow me through my experiences in life, be it big or small. In the end, Jerald's testimony brought glory to God & I praise Him for the work that He is doing in all our lives.