Advance: A Story of Victory
SETTING THE STAGE
JOEL:
This is a story of God’s victory and God’s grace. It takes place in the little mountain community of Hart Flat, where my parents own some property. My wife Rece and I live in their guest cabin, for now. We are having a home built in Bakersfield – land of Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and a growing spiritual revival that threatens to displace those country heroes with the ultimate hero – Jesus. But I’m getting way ahead of myself. We didn’t write this little tome to tell the tale of a town. We just want to share a piece of our own story. Perhaps nothing here is earth-shattering or unique. If you seek to serve Jesus while being active in society, you may see yourself reflected at times. Fair warning – there are demons in this story. And not figurative ones, at least we don’t think so. We’ve had to wage real spiritual warfare. Some of you may be skeptical about the spirit-realm. We respect that. After all, this isn’t a thriller (though there are thrills) or a horror story. When the victor is Jesus, it’s very nearly irrelevant who the combatants are. At the end of recorded time, we will all be waving white flags; some of us just choose to do it while we still have a choice.
But let’s start with Hart Flat; we have to start somewhere. My mother shared in her forward about how God decided to give her the desire of her heart: a little place in the mountains. My folks bought this property (two cabins and five acres, with a bubbling creek to boot) about three years ago and already it has become a wonderful spiritual retreat. Visiting missionaries have stayed here. Their church elders have all day meetings with fireside praise and prayerful deliberations on how best to do God’s business, with God’s nature all around them to remind them Who is in charge. ... In the first days of living here, it didn’t look like a retreat though. The main cabin was in dire need of first aid. The man who lived here was ill in his last days in residence. He and his wife had cats who had the run of the place. The cabin smelled bad; the furniture was tattooed with scratch marks. The floorboards were giving way. But my dad is a visionary. He sweated and toiled, with a lot of help from friends and family. Most crucially, the house was prayed over. This is a practice that my folks have always employed when they move somewhere new, but this cabin may have been a particularly good target for anointing. In the early days, some of us had a palpable sense of evil walking through this once and future oasis. I am pleased to tell you that today, the Holy Spirit welcomes everyone who comes through the gates and this place is a place of peace. A peace hard-won. *·
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God has a way of upending our expectations. After Rece and I were married in San Diego (where we met) we carved out a nice little life for ourselves. I had a good-paying position with a company I had helped to build, called Media AllStars (promotion for high school sports-teams). Rece was a hairstylist at an upscale salon. We were both followers of Jesus. But following Jesus is a calculated risk. Jesus loves to bless his children, but sometimes when you follow him you actually have to follow him somewhere. To our mutual befuddlement, God put it on our hearts that we may end up in Bakersfield – my hometown. This was a touch pill to swallow. We had a life going in San Diego. Rece especially felt rooted there.
After much prayer and deliberation, I left my post at Media Allstars. At that point, I stood with Isaiah: “Lord here am I. Send me.” ... Even to Bakersfield. For four months, I was out of work. I struggled mightily with whether I had made the right decision, but deep down I knew I had. In February of 2007, we sold our house in beautiful San Diego (a story of challenges and faith in and of itself) and set out for Buck country. To accommodate our house hunting, my parents loaned us their guest cabin in Hart Flat (a 20-30 minute drive from Bakersfield). *·
What a hunt it was too! I think we looked at every single housing development in Bakersfield. When we made our decision, and we were in agreement, that was when the fear set in. Suddenly the Damascus Road was bumpy. The burning bush was flickering. “Can we really afford it?” “Is this really what we want?” In the midst of my questioning, I made a little trip to the Hart Flat creek. It was there, in the middle of our Lord’s glorious nature, that He started a work in my heart that – as you will see – makes up an important part of this testimony. I had my bible with me and I opened to the book of John, to John 2 – the miracle at Cana.
But the point of that miracle is not Jesus’ endorsement of alcohol. The point, I’ve come to believe, is that Jesus loves to bless us. He yearns for it. This world is tough and we face tough things, but there are times for celebration too. Jesus’ first miracle was not the healing of a leper or the restoration of somebody’s sight. Rather it was at a party. How strange. As I prayed down there by the creek, I could sense God’s Spirit communicating this idea: “Let me bless you with this home.” “Let it be a sanctuary for my presence.” I remember the prayer time vividly, because the Holy Spirit (the Blesser-In-Chief) then turned my eyes toward unsavory things in my own life. ...S
If you follow Christian writing, you may have heard this termed “every man’s battle.” Lust. It is corrosive, corrupting, and worst of all enticing as… – well think about where it leads you. As a Christian young person, I’d grown up listening to youth pastors’ sermons about the dangers of lust. But things don’t seem so dangerous when you’re wrapped up in them, do they? I think many Christian men think of this as trivial sins. Literally noone gets hurt, right? I’m gaining ground in this area, but I can feel the past convicting me even as I write this. Down by the creek, saturated by the presence of God, I made a fresh decision to give Him all of me. His promises are great and his salvation is free, but he lets us choose how free to be. I wanted to walk into the fullness of his promises.
Lust was a lizard on my shoulder. Let me explain. In CS Lewis’ extraordinary book about heaven and hell The Great Divorce, there is a character who wants to leave hell and enter heaven but he’s prevented from doing so because he will not give up this pet he’d picked up: a scaly lizard perched on his shoulder. His demon. His friend. There is a dramatic scene in the book where an angel tries to forcibly remove the lizard, but the claws are too entrenched. “God, what are my lizards?” I prayed. “What are my demons?” Lust was the first answer. The other lizard was my obsessive seeking of man’s approval, or rather the fear of my fellow man’s disapproval. Down at the creek, in a still small voice, Jesus said: “I can release these lizards.” To Jesus, detracting the lizard’s claw is as simple as snipping a hangnail. I kind of thought, “You’ve gotta be kidding? It’s really that easy!” It seemed to good to be true. But I chose to believe Him. Jesus reached down and lifted these tormentors from me. I could feel his presence and his hand. When I started praying, I was praying through these burdens. But after this wonderful time of prayer I knew that these burdens were gone. They were released. Even now, I claim this victory.
I should say, there is a degree of awkwardness in writing this, but the message is: Men, sexual lust is overcome-able. We are not prisoners of our flesh. We are spiritual beings. There is a place for intimacy; it’s called marriage. But even for the single guy, just know God does not give us more than we can handle. Jesus raised himself from the dead. He is stronger than our petty lusts. ·
When I was granted this victory at the creek, it came with a word from the Lord that I am not to take the credit. God’s spirit told me, “This is from me, but it is also due to your parents’ righteousness.” I saw then that God’s favor was on me as the beneficiary of a righteous line. Now, this is available to everyone because of Jesus, but I owe a debt of gratitude to my Mom and Dad and to their parents. I believe that the veil was lifted just a little bit as I sat there by the creek. I saw that this property that my parents have been given stewardship over is holy ground. This is a place where people are going to be blessed, where people are going to come to know the Lord. Broken lives are going to be restored here. I got a vision of people sitting where I was sitting, and walking around this property ... “in the coolness of the garden” with the Lord. I could sense His presence in the particles in the air around me, and infusing me as well. With a stunning casualness, I began to speak in tongues. This is an area that continues to cause controversy in the Body of Christ, and to be honest, I have struggled with it myself. But it was real. This is an imperfect analogy, but I kind of got the notion during this extraordinary time of prayer that I was in “God’s candy shop.” Just a regular customer, who pops in from time to time, buys a treat and leaves. And God was saying, “Don’t worry about it! We have great dentists here in heaven! Have it all!” At this point, I’ll hand the reins over to my wife Rece, who had her own time of prayer at the Hart Flat Creek.
“DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE”
RECE:
Hello, this is Rece Davies. Sheesh. I wasn’t sure how to begin. “Down by the riverside.” That’s how I refer to praying at the creek at my in-law’s place. I joined Joel in prayer during the time he described, but it was also kind of a private thing for each of us . I was sure God was whispering, “Sorry but this house in Bakersfield just isn’t going to work out. ... Is that okay?” That was the place I was at. That place of: “Yes, its okay if it doesn’t work out.” I mean, we’d left our home in San Diego. We’d both left our jobs. It had to work out. But sometimes we forget that God isn’t just toying with us or having a laugh at our expense. I don’t know. I went down to the creek thinking, “Okay, Rece. God’s going to say ‘no.’ This fantastic home we’d found at a reasonable price is probably not in the cards. We’ll find a different home. There will be rats and it will cost half a million dollars, but that’s okay. God’s in charge.
My prayer place by the creek is this beautiful spot where a large rock has a plateau perfect for sitting. The sun hits your face just right. You have a lovely view of the water. And, in the midst of my growing dejection, I sensed God speaking to me. He was saying, “I want to give you the desires of your heart.” I thought, “Really?!” Like, “You’re kidding, right, God?” The message I received was, “I absolutely want to bless you with this new home but only if you bless others.” I laughed to myself: “Ah, there’s the rub.” By admonishing me to bless others, the Holy Spirit had hit upon a sensitive area (He does that). I mean, I love people, but in my marriage with Joel sometimes I set up too many boundaries. I want to make sure that we have time together. So, that made me a little nervous, I mean I don’t want our house to be the “party house” (as in relatives and constant company). And here God was, telling me: “I am willing to be involved in this process supernaturally, but I want you to be involved in My process. I am going to give you this home, but its not just about you and Joel. I want you to bless other people with the blessings I give to you.”*· At that moment, in that peaceful atmosphere, I was filled with gratitude. Really, God was giving me a double blessing: this great house and the supernatural removal of strongholds in my own life. God was going to help me break down the boundaries I had set up. Living the God-life entails responsibilities, but I just knew that God was saying YES.
JOEL:
This was March 2nd, 2007. As Rece was seeking out wisdom “down by the riverside,” I was reading in Proverbs. 2:1-6; My son, if you will receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to skillful and Godly Wisdom, and inclining and directing your heart and mind to understanding – applying all your powers to the quest for it; Yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek Wisdom as silver, and search for skillful and Godly Wisdom as for hidden treasure; Then you will understand the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of our God. For the Lord gives skillful and Godly Wisdom, from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
Walk in wisdom. This is the message that I needed as Rece and I were stepping out in faith during this season of our lives. Walk in wisdom. The sins that I was struggling with, and the boundaries and human pride that affect us, all of these things shrink in relevance as we pray for God’s guidance. Because He wants to see us mirroring Him. Jesus spent his entire time on earth in communion with the Father, so that every word out of his mouth was a word of “skillful and Godly Wisdom.” And every action was sound. That miracle at Cana; I don’t think that Jesus walked into the wedding party thinking “this is it, folks. ... Today I make my big debut.” I think that He just knew what was needed and he provided it.
This house and these changes in our lives were marks of God’s favor. If there is favor in my life, I want to walk in it. If the water is coming out wine, crank that spigot. Another message that I felt like God was laying on my heart had to do (again) with my parents. The favor that I was experiencing was, in some sense, due to their faithfulness. My mom and dad were the models for Rece and I as we were contemplating the move to this new house. For my parents, the property at Hart Flat was an example of God giving them the desire of their hearts. But, by the same token, my parents were eager to share the blessing ... Rece and I staying in their guest cabin was just a preview of what the Hart Flat property could become. My parents had visions of a Christian retreat here in the mountains. As I thought over these things, I looked around me, breathed in the mountain air. A waterfall caught my eyes. For a moment, it seemed to be rushing wine.
A VICTORY CONFIRMED, THEN HEARTBREAK.
JOEL:
The job situation was handled very smoothly. It so happened that my dad’s company was already thinking about creating a new position in the field, a kind of goodwill ambassador to the customers.*· The company, Fleet Card Fuels, was conceived as a family business so I was a natural fit. It was also a company where most of the employees followed the Lord. I’ll never forget one morning there, in my early days on the payroll. It was shortly after that amazing prayer time up at Hart Flat where the Holy Spirit convicted me of the sin of lust, and began to show me the blessings in store with this new house. This particular morning Fleet Card was hosting a meeting on city transformation. A few of my dad’s friends and business associates had newly arrived back in Bakersfield after visiting Argentina, where God is doing amazing things: City-wide revivals. Some people have been interested in mimicking that success in Bakersfield.S
So, that’s how my new job started: with a prayer meeting. The prayer was led by a couple of gentlemen who had witnessed God’s move in Argentina. When I stepped up to receive prayer, this fellow who did not know me, spoke in the Spirit. He said, “This thing that you have been worrying about. ... It is finished. You are a man of purity.” Wow. So, here we were. New environment. New city. New house on the horizon. And I was willing to be transformed inside and out.
RECE:
Joel was really excited about joining his dad’s company, but I had left this fabulous salon in San Diego where I worked as a stylist. I had been there for years. It was really like a family. Plus, I felt like I had a ministry to my co-workers and clients. I was particularly close to this one male stylist there who is a non-believer. A homosexual, in fact. God had really put him on my heart while I was there and I was so eager to see him join the kingdom. Being taken away from all of that was hard, but Joel and I were in agreement that God wanted us in Bakersfield. So, as soon as I got a chance I was more or less going door to door to salons, in the hopes that God would provide something similar to what I had in San Diego. Joel helped me type out a resume (thanks, honey).
Like I said, I applied everywhere. Within about a week, I heard back from three prospective employers who were extremely enthusiastic about my resume. I interviewed with each one, and they each offered me a job! I was so overwhelmed. I went from not having a job and really missing my “home” salon (I still do miss them) to having my pick of the litter! I accepted a job at the place where my sister-in-law gets her hair done. The owner there is a believer, so it just seemed perfect. I was hired with the understanding that I would work my way toward my own chair, but in the meantime this Christian lady wanted me to help with marketing and with attracting a younger clientele. I was stoked about having that level of responsibility. There was just one eensy bitsy complication.
During the interview in which I was basically hired on the spot, the owner (who knew that I was still a pretty new bride) asked me if I was trying to get pregnant. I thought, “well, that question is just the slightest bit, um, illegal.” I answered, “Well, I’m not not trying.” Uh oh. On my first day of work, I struck up a conversation with the receptionist there, who immediately started dishing on the owner. This nice, Christian lady was apparently just a little bit nutty. She would get in these strange moods. I started to panic a bit inside because I had given up two other potential jobs. Then the receptionist asked me, “So what do you and your husband think about having kids someday?” I said, “Well, we’d love to have kids someday. I mean, we’d love to have kids today if possible.”
The next day, I got a call from my new boss. She told me not to bother coming in because I wasn’t going to be a reliable employee. She felt like I was trying to get pregnant and that I had lied about it. She didn’t want an employee who was going to take maternity leave mere months after starting work. I was dumbfounded. By that time, of course the other jobs were filled. So, I went from having three jobs (potentially) to having no job. That was a definite dip in the roller coaster.
But the thing was, I really was trying to get pregnant. In fact, I had taken a pregnancy test that morning. And ... I sort of thought maybe it was positive. The vertical line was pretty clear, but the horizontal line was so hazy that I wasn’t sure it was really there. That night, I went to a Bible study led by my sister-in-law. I mentioned everything that had happened that day: getting fired, maybe getting pregnant. ... She said, “Maybe? So, it was a positive test, right?” I said, “Well, I don’t know, it was really hazy. I mean, I don’t really think it was positive. ... It really wasn’t positive.” Joel’s sister, whose name is Anna, told me: “Rece, you might want to think about trying the test again.” Anna has two kids. She knows about pregnancy tests. I was trying not to get Joel’s hopes up, or my own. I was a little non-committal about taking a second test. The first test, meanwhile, was still sitting in the bathroom back at the Davies’ guest cabin. I went back that night and took a second look. This time, I could tell. It was definitely a full-on positive. I still wanted to be extra-sure, so I took another test the next day. Yep. We were having a baby. It’s funny in retrospect. The Monday before the first test, I was praying about starting a family. I prayed, “Lord, if it’s your will, even today let it happen.” I didn’t know it, but I was pregnant even as I prayed.
This was all a wonderful answer to prayer, but you may have noticed that this chapter is titled “heartbreak.” As it turned out, I was only pregnant for seven weeks. The miscarriage happened on Easter. I was feeling strange, like something bad had happened. I prayed, “God, if I have lost my child, please make it crystal clear so that I don’t have to have this heartbreak stretched out.” I didn’t want any more false hope. The next day, a Monday, I began to bleed heavily and Joel took me to the emergency room. The time in the ER was excruciating. We waited for four hours. Each moment I thought, “Is this the moment that they could have saved our child?” I saw people go in before us and I thought, “Are they favoring some people?” I felt especially angry and confused watching the pregnant women and the women with small children, knowing that some of these children were conceived out of wedlock. “God,” I thought, “Why? Why us? Why me? I’ve done all the right things.” We wanted so badly to have a child.
They did finally call us back. They had to get a room ready for us with all of the correct equipment. The doctor took our blood and did an ultrasound. The cervix was closed, which he said was a good sign. I did not even want to listen to that little shot of hope. I just knew in my heart at this moment, like a mother does, that we had lost our child. The more tests we did, the grimmer the outlook was. Finally he asked me if I had passed anything in my blood clots that looked like a tiny piece of meat. I shuddered, but I just said “No.” The doctor suggested before we left that it could just be a very early pregnancy. I thanked him and smiled weakly and we went home. The sadness that I felt is something that maybe only another mother can relate to.
The next day, our future, my child came out of me while I was in the bathroom. I was tearful and disoriented, thinking “What do I do? Do I bury it?” Joel was at work and I was in the Davies’ guest cabin by myself. It was just me and this strange, sad death. I disposed of the miscarried fetus, but I couldn’t quite let go of the child who was already born in my heart. I would be around Joel’s niece and nephew and I would start to cry. When I was alone in the cabin, I would just sit and stare at the walls. I wouldn’t shower; wouldn’t clean. This exciting move, mine and Joel’s burgeoning spiritual awakening, the city transformation coming to Bakersfield ... those things were no longer terrible important to me. It was a real test. And that’s when the spiritual warfare began ...
JOEL:
I would like to share briefly where my head and heart were at when Rece and I endured this loss, Rece of course in a way that I cannot imagine. It began with us becoming parents-to-be. I had the dad-to-be buzz; I was beaming. All of the classic emotions fought for prominence. Fear about what kind of father and provider I would be, concern over the health and safety of the baby, the amazement at creating new life, excitement as we embarked on the adventure of parenthood. But mostly I was so blessed to see how happy my wife was to be pregnant. We had been trying to get pregnant for a few months. I knew that Rece couldn’t wait to be a Mom. With all of the changes in our lives, and with everything that Rece had to leave behind in San Diego, I was so happy that a new child would be a part of our new story in Bakersfield. Looking back, in a strange way, I saw getting pregnant as a way for us to establish some stability with all of the changes going on around us.
The first few weeks were a whirlwind. We contacted everyone we knew and told them the good news. We started to buy baby books and to plan out our new lives as parents. At about week seven, when Rece started to feel some pain and discomfort, I didn’t grasp the meaning of it at all. I had no experience being the spouse of a pregnant wife, and I had saved myself sexually until we were married, so I just assumed that it was a part of the process. Rece’s concern was rising though, as the pain went on. Around Easter she started to have some bleeding. I saw the pain and the fear in her face, and on the outside I let her know that I was available and that I loved her, but inside there was this powerlessness. This was a situation that I could not fix. When Rece told her doctor about the bleeding, he instructed her to go to the emergency room as a soon as possible.
What followed was the long and stressful wait that Rece detailed in her part of this testimony. There was an iffy diagnosis. The ER doctor seemed to want us to feel like it was going to be okay. I was fearful, but I continued to display strength as best I could. We prayed hard, but the following day Rece miscarried.
After Rece called me to tell me, I went straight to numb-mode. My mind couldn’t process. I stared at my computer screen and just had no idea what to do. I went in to talk to my boss Gary, whose family has been through this. He said some encouraging words, and let me go home. As soon as I saw my wife I just embraced her and held her.
There was shock, then sadness. Rece’s grieving process was longer for obvious reasons – the child was literally a part of her. But we both chose to believe that God was still in control. Our time together became more meaningful and more frequent. But, of course, in our vulnerability the devil pounced. ...
SPIRITUAL WARFARE
RECE:
During the period just after my miscarriage, it began to feel like reality itself was askew: especially the reality of the guest cabin. We’d heard things about the prior owners which we won’t go into, because they may have been just rumors. Suffice it to say that my in-laws have had to work hard to make the Hart Flat property the spiritual retreat that it is today. So, I don’t know what exactly was happening in the spirit, but I remain convinced that something evil was trying to take up residence there. It began by taking advantage of my vulnerable state. I mentioned the period of depression. It was harsh. I always overslept, waking up sometimes just to eat. I had nightmares constantly. One particular dream stands out, because it seemed so incredibly real. I was laying in bed, trying to get to sleep. As far as I could tell I was still awake, but I began to hear noises. Specifically, I heard a sharp, clear zipping sound. I was home alone. It repeated: ZZZZZZZzzzip. ZZZZzzzip. The picture that came into my mind’s eye immediately was that of a body bag. And it continued: ZZZZzzzzip. ZZZZzzzzip. I began to panic, but instead I reached for my earplugs (I wear earplugs when I sleep). Although my earplugs were now in, the sipping sound continued. Slower this time: zzzzzzzzzzz – zzzzzzzz – zzzzzzzziiiiip. I turned to look toward the bathroom and a large, dark shadow emerged from there, then lurched toward the bed. I turned over and began to speak in tongues. As I was speaking in tongues, I woke up, and realized that I had just had a dream. Yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had actually just happened. I decided not to stick around the cabin that day. I jumped out of bed, took a lightning-quick shower, and before you could say “boo,” I was in my car and racing toward Bakersfield. Later I spoke with Joel’s sister Anna about the incident. Anna said, “Hmmm. I’m not an expert, but that sounds like something spiritual.”
The miscarriage, the nightmares, and the body bag dream had all happened in the downstairs of the cabin. It has two floors. We moved our stuff upstairs and started avoiding the downstairs. Around this time, I was given a reprieve from all of this strange drama. My friend Anna came to stay with me. Just as a side note, I might mention that the name Anna (meaning favor or grace) is a name that follows me for some reason. It is my middle name, it is Joel’s sister’s name, and it is the name of one of my best friends. So, if you get the Annas confused, you’re not alone. This particular Anna came to visit me at a particularly good time. Joel had a business trip that he couldn’t get out of. Even worse, the trip fell right smack dab on our anniversary. And I was nursing this new grief, and I was beginning to think that the cabin had demons. ... Much harder to get rid of than rats. Anna’s spring break was then, so she said, “I’d love to spend it with you.” She decided to stay for five days and it was wonderful (although not without its challenges, as you’ll see).
I went to pick her up on a Monday. Anna had been going through some spiritual warfare of her own, largely connected to a bad relationship that had just ended. It really seemed to me like God had set up the visit. We moved her stuff in, rested a little, then she sat next to me on my bed and began to dish about this relationship. As she talked, I was meditating on the Holy Spirit, ready to give wisdom if God made anything clear to me. Before she finished talking, I got a really specific word from the Lord, so I shared it with her. Then we prayed and we both cried. I fixed dinner and made up her bed and we both went to sleep. The next day she told me that although the word from the Lord was definitely apt, the conversation itself was a little frightening. She sensed the presence of an angry spirit that night, especially while I was sharing. As I shared, the spirit just got progressively angrier. Anna was sure that there was something demonic in the room that night, and that it was recoiling from the activity of the Holy Spirit.
The next night, Anna and I attended a Bible study on spiritual warfare. As it was getting dark later that evening, we both sensed a dark spirit. At first, we didn’t say anything to each other about it. We just talked about God’s goodness and how far we had each come. But as we were going to sleep, I got up for one last trip to the restroom for the evening, and I just turned to Anna as I was getting up. I turned and said, “Do you feel it?” We both did. I started to become confused and scared, thinking something horrible had happened to Joel. Anna was also getting disoriented. But we re-grouped spiritually and decided that we were just going to pray with a vengeance. We prayed for the holy armor of God. We sang songs. We prayed for the world’s leaders. I could sense the dark spirit subsiding. At one point, began to see into the spirit. There were flashes of light like you get when metal clashes against metal. Warfare. This was the battle. We were not about to back down. We went to sleep at 4 AM.
Joel came home on Thursday of that week. We shared our adventures and he said a word over Anna’s life. There was victory in that word. That’s what I mean when I say it was a wonderful visit – full of wonder.
JOEL:
I had my own issues while Rece and Anna were claiming Hart Flat for the Lord. As Rece mentioned, I was on a business trip. My friend Berk from work, also a believer, joined me. I would like to say that I never again struggled with lustful thoughts after that time by the creek, but I found myself wandering back into familiar territory. After having received spiritual release, I knowingly invited the lizard over for a romantic dinner for two. As I drifted to sleep, the old patterns of shame re-wove themselves into my mind’s tapestry. God, forgive me.
Remarkably, a conversation with Berk (a brother in the Lord) the next day turned to Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” I had been thinking about Paul’s famous tongue-twister about doing what he ought not do and not doing what he should do, but I had not been thinking about the victory of the cross which means that we get to live without sin or shame (not that anyone is without sin, but that’s the end-game). We are not under condemnation, we are under grace. Living in Christ is a privilege, not a burden. Later that evening, as those familiar lustful thoughts and feelings crept in, I just said: “No. I am not going to go there.” No condemnation. I was learning.
The next day, as I walked into the seminar room to listen to a guy in a tie talk about oil futures (actually just my cup of tea – Texas tea that is – but I won’t bore you), I prayed “God, please take over. Let this trip be to your glory. Open the floodgates.” It sounds strange to say this, but at that moment I felt like this regular old business trip could become a Holy Spirit retreat. I took scads of notes as the guy talked, thirty pages worth. However, only about 3% of that was on oil futures. The rest had to do with how I can use my business acumen for the glory of the kingdom. My dad and I, along with my brother-in-law had just started a business called Kingdom Legacy. The purpose of Legacy is to invest in people’s dreams. If a fellow believer has an inkling that he or she can take their calling to the next level – whether it be construction work, or catering, or a consultant firm or whatever – that’s where Legacy steps in. We say, if you are willing to give this over to the Lord, we are willing to seek Him right alongside you and help you in any way we can, including financially. It’s an exciting prospect. That evening, I was too high on Legacy and oil futures to think about anything untoward. I slept soundly. This reminded me of an oft-forgotten spiritual principle: if we focus more on God and discerning His will and less on just trying not to sin, we may find that we actually don’t want to sin. Who has the time?
On the plane headed back to Bakersfield, I picked Berk’s brain regarding his own dreams for himself and his family. It was a chance for a deeper friendship, and also for some prayerful direction as to whether Berk, already a member of the “kingdom” could be a partner with Kingdom Legacy. When Rece and Anna came to meet me at the airport, I was so excited. I was bursting with ideas. I had been listening to the Spirit, but also to some innovative businessmen at the conference, and Tony Robbins books on my ipod. So Rece laughed as all of this poured out from me: scripture insights, Tony Robbins’ insights, a new design for earphones that I was cooking up. ... There may have been some jet lag involved.
Meanwhile, Rece and Anna had had a dramatic week. I joined Rece in praying over Anna’s decision to break up this destructive relationship she had been in. As I shared with her, I really felt the Holy Spirit leading me in what to say (and what not to say). The following day Rece and Anna went wine tasting in Paso Robles. I had a rewarding day at work. I was still flying high from the conference. I really felt like the burdens of the past month or so were starting to lift. I felt truly blessed. The next day Rece drove Anna to Burbank. I talked to Rece when she got back. She was starting to feel lighter as well. She still had some sadness of course, but she felt like she had turned a corner. Still, there was this matter of the bedeviled cabin.
We were spending less and less time in the downstairs of the cabin. That night was no exception. We had moved our nighttime things upstairs. We pray every night before we go to sleep. That night, as we prayed, we both felt nervous, like we were being spied on. This just emboldened us. I began to pray with power: “Jesus, we know that it is finished! Whatever this is, it is the last gasps of a dying soldier on the wrong side of the war.” We weren’t praying, “O gee, Lord, this is so hard. Please take care of this for us.” It had been taken care of. We only had to claim the victory. We prayed through “the armor of God.” When I heard myself saying “the shield of faith,” something struck me in a new way. Our protection is our faith! We didn’t win the victory, but if we just have faith that it has been won, we can walk in it. Now.
It was during this prayer time that Rece and I started to become convinced that there really was a demon hanging out in the cabin. We envisioned it as a little gremlin, like Dobby from the Harry Potter films. This little guy was running around making mischief, but in a way he was really kind of pathetic and almost ... cute. This is probably not the healthiest view to take of the spirit-realm, but the point is Christians don’t have to be frightened when faced with demonic attack. In the Lord, even the most ferocious dragon can become like a little Dobby.
As we prayed that night, I felt like maybe I should try out my new prayer language. It still felt awkward, but Rece and I began to pray in tongues together. The sight must have been strange, but I thought to myself: now, this is marriage. This is what it means to be united in spirit.
“RECEIVE IT, MY DAUGHTER”
RECE:
That was a Saturday, so we had church the next day. We went to church feeling fairly victorious and even more ready to receive from God. We slipped into church a few minutes late, and sat next to this wonderful, ebullient African-American woman. She smiled at us as we moved in next to her. Somehow that smile told us that it was going to be a fantastic service. The worship was just wonderful. Around the end of the worship time, the pastor led us in a time of prayer. He said, “I want you to put your hand on the shoulder of someone next to you and give them a blessing.” I put my hand on Joel’s shoulder. Our new friend put her hand on mine. We were all praying softly and praying in tongues when suddenly this woman yelps; “GOD!” and begins to speak a word over me. “GOD!” she says, “She is your creation! You love her! You love her so much and you have such dreams for her life. You want to pour out blessings on her.” I looked up and we were both crying. To you, these words might sound like a generic occurrence in the church, but I really needed to hear that I was an acceptable vessel for God’s blessings. I didn’t have the smoothest childhood, to say the least. My relationship with my dad especially has been strained over the years. I fell from grace in the area of sexual purity before I met Joel. As I was listening to these encouraging words in church, it began to dawn on me that none of that mattered now. God was going to bless us and that was that.
JOEL:
That was wonderful. That time of prayer in church was pivotal, I think. While Rece and our new friend were praying and crying, I had my hand on Rece’s shoulder. My mind was solely on God, though. When I did receive a word, I wasn’t sure if it was for Rece or the black lady next to her, or the girl in front of us, but the word was this: “Break it. Break it. Break it. It is broken. It is finished. Receive it. Receive it. Receive it. Receive it, my daughter.”
The minister’s service was on Ruth and Boaz. He talked about God’s provisions and the true meaning of “Providence.” We learned that when God reaches out to us, sometimes he reaches out with miracles, and sometimes with everyday providence (“Give us this day our daily bread”). Ruth experienced God’s favor, God’s invisible miracle working-hand. Although life was not always easy for her, she kept the faith. Boaz was the incarnation of that faith, and an emblem of God’s working with both hands. He sought her out and accepted her and loved her just as she was.
As Rece and I listened to the story of Ruth and Boaz, keenly attentive to the fact that Providence was most evident just at the moment when a less faithful servant may have given up the faith, we noticed uncanny parallels to the last six month of our lives. Despite tragedy and spiritual struggles, God’s favor had sustained us. I thought back to our life in San Diego: our worldly successes, our wonderful friends, our well-attended and well-known church (and not by coincidence – it is a wonderful church). As I reflected on the times of plenty, I realized that too often I had been quick to take the credit. I would extend credit to the Lord, but inside I would be meditating on my own faithfulness and righteousness. The humility of Ruth was a reminder to me that all favor is due to the Lord. Ruth was not a San Diegan; she was a Bakersfield girl. The pastor spoke candidly about conversations he had had with his young sons, who might notice a girl and say: “Hey, she’s the one I want. She’s hot.” He would remind them, “Hell’s hot.” The woman to look for is “the woman of character.”
The pastor also spoke movingly about Boaz’s prayer (Ruth 2:11,12). It is a beautiful prayer for his new friend Ruth. As it turned out, Boaz was the answer. I thought of my Mom and how she prayed for Rece and I as we were contemplating the move to Bakersfield. She prayed that we would have a free place to live, then the Lord prompted her to offer the guest cabin for several month. This was a true sacrifice, because they like to leave it open for pastoral retreats and the like. The point is that my Mom was the answer to her own prayer.
SEX AS SPIRITUAL WARFARE
JOEL:
Our spiritual receptors were highly alert at that point. That morning, the revelations came hot and heavy. After the worship service, we went to our young marrieds Bible study. The leader, Tiffany, spoke on three different kinds of love: fraternal, sexual, and platonic. Tiffany said something strange that nevertheless resonated deeply with Rece and I. It was this phrase: “Sex is war.” The idea is one that can be easily misconstrued. Naturally, she was not advocating sexual violence. What she meant was that the sexual arena, where the spiritual man is highly engaged, is particularly vulnerable to the Holy Spirit, but also to lesser, darker spirits. Sex is spiritual warfare. With that in mind, a husband and wife must make sure that they are fighting for the same side.
The “sex is war” concept marked a distinct turning point in our story, but I will let the suspense build for now. Our immediate action after the church service was to invite Tiffany and her husband Michael to lunch at the guest cabin. There they shared their story with us and we began to share some of the particulars of our story, including this strange spiritual activity that we were sure was happening there on the property. Our friends strongly suggested that we anoint the house with oil. Furthermore, Rece and I should anoint each other with oil, bearing witness to the consecration that God had brought to our union and to each of us as a son and a daughter of the King.
The idea made absolute sense to Rece and I. After our friends left, we began to pray together and I prepared a small vial of oil (full disclosure: it was actually Canola oil on a paper towwel). As we began to enter into the Lord’s presence, I noticed that Rece was strangely resistant. We were re-engaging our ambition in moving here, trying to move past this spiritual hiccup and move into our dreams. Rece, who responded with enthusiasm to the advice of our friends, was getting spiritual cold feet. What she wanted to say was “I’m not sure I really deserve this.” Instead she said nothing, but she did agree that something was amiss.
Joyce Meyer talks about “mind-binding spirits.” As Rece and I were praying and talking about our dreams, Rece seemed to be under the influence of a “mind-binding spirit.” It was then that my mind went back to the church service and that word: “Break it. Break it. Receive it my daughter.” As I moved my thumb, wet with oil, down her forehead, I spoke with reverence. I said, “You are a daughter of the King. You are a queen of the kingdom. Accept your destiny, daughter. You are loved and revered.” I then placed my palm on her chest, claiming the breastplate of righteousness. I recognized that my beautiful wife is also someone with a hurt heart. So I asked God, “Heal this heart.” I then put oil on both of our hands and prayed. “God, heal these hands. Make them instruments of righteousness.”
It was in that moment that we realized that my battle for purity and Rece’s battle against the past were, in effect, the same battle. Each of us had “soul ties.” We were wed to these old ideas and people from our past, effectively blocking the holistic, spiritual meaning of “wedding” to each other. For Rece, purity meant a “second virginity.” As we realized that we really were clean, and that our commitment to each other and to God was total, we were free to face whatever forces that might come against us. The word that Rece received was “advance.”
After we had prayed for each other, we prayed for the house. We anointed the doorposts with oil. Then we invited my parents to join us (it was, after all, their house). Together, we re-claimed Holy Spirit ownership over the guest-house and the whole Hart Flat property. As we prayed over each room, anointing the doorposts with oil as we went, we felt a strong wind at our backs as if the Holy Spirit was monitoring our progress and “cleaning house” as we went along.
RECE:
The forces of evil that were trying to claim that cabin seemed to be weakened after the anointing and our prayer of blessing with Joel’s parents. Many of my past soul-ties were broken, particularly having to do with former sexual partners but also in my strained relationship with my Dad. Joel’s dad said a “father’s blessing” over me. This was not meant in any way to supercede my own dad’s involvement in my life. It was just something that I needed. And, in fact, my relationship with my Dad has grown by leaps and bounds since the blessing.
Joel and I still weren’t quite ready to move our things back downstairs, which may have indicated that there was a crack in our spiritual resolve. In any event, that Wednesday after the hardcore prayer marathon, I was getting ready to leave the house. When I passed by the downstairs bathroom, I actually heard a whisper that said: “So, you’re moving out. It’s mine now.” Boy was I peeved! I answered: “No way! We claimed the victory!” Then I scuttled upstairs to finish getting ready. So, I hadn’t quite fully claimed the downstairs of the house. I was sending this minion a mixed message.
That evening, Joel and I went to a Bible study. I shared what had happened that day. Our brothers and sisters bolstered us saying, “You are on the right side. That little demon has no place in that cabin.” Then they said some additional prayer for us. Joel and I talked and decided that if the gloves weren’t off before, they are now. After all, we have the full armor of God. What have we to fear?
That night, we slept downstairs. We pinned a note above the bed claiming God’s ownership over every inch of that cabin. Then, just to really get the devil’s goat, we made love. We had never prayed during sex before. This time we fully acknowledged the mystical presence of the Holy Spirit in the union of man and woman. We prayed and we dedicated our lovemaking fully to the Lord. I want to say that I heard the demon scream, but there was nothing so dramatic. However, after that night we stopped having spooky experiences there and every one who has entered the guest cabin since then has attested to the sense that God is there. After, I told Rece that we conceived and that it was a boy. I wasn’t sure if I actually believed it myself… but it was just one of those things that I couldn’t not say. (editor’s note: 9 months later Rece gave birth to a beautiful baby boy Richard Noah Davies)
I spent the next day in fasting and prayer down by the creek, where this whole adventure had been inaugurated. It was a heavy weather day, windy and surreal. The consistency of the rushing water reminded me of God’s faithfulness in every situation. I turned to Him. “God, my soul is tired,” I confessed. “Give me rest.” My prayer was met with a rush of calm and serenity that I can’t describe. I walked back to the cabin; walked past a small altar that Joel had erected to commemorate God’s victory there; walked through those doors and sensed the Holy Spirit’s assurance: “Welcome home.”
AFTERWORD:
MOVING ON
JOEL AND RECE:
It’s been a many months since we first composed this “testimony.” We now live in our very own home in Bakersfield and the Davies’s guest house has been restored to its old function. Our new home includes an indoor salon where Rece will work her hair-styling mojo. The most magnificent addendum to our story is our new edition, NOAH. We did the math, checked and re-checked, and we have determined that he was definitely conceived that night. He is such an incredible joy.
Joel’s parents have continued to host church-friends, pastors, and believers who need a spiritual retreat – both in their home and in the legendary “guest cabin.”
Rick has begun the process of purchasing additional property to serve the mission of spiritual retreats in Hart Flat. They will now add a “Hospitality House” off-site from their current property. The mission statement for this house envisions “A comfortable mountain home ideal for pastors, missionaries, marketplace ministers, and government officials to get away for a time of contemplation, relaxation, and study. It will be a place for small visioning, teaching, planning retreats, and gathering together for outreach and fellowship”
The city renewal in Bakersfield is slowly taking shape as churches around town have hosted nights of concentrated prayer during the week and council members and city politicians have joined with the believing community in finding practical ways to implement the “kingdom of God” in real time: addressing drug dependency, gangs, poverty and other social ills.
As we move into the next stage of our lives, with our new family, in our new home-town, we echo the refrain that animates our testimony: ADVANCE.
by Joel and Rece Davies with Jon Davies
forward by Lorraine Davies
· Joel’s notes say “explain more” I dont know if that’s a note to me or himself
· This is where I would like a new page (or so) from Joel on the story of the reconveyance and the house hunt
S Joel’s notes say “more on the transition – give a human illustration on what God was doing (father/son) not really conviction”
· Joel wants to expand on this concept with the example of Miles Mcpherson and his deliverance from cocaine. Joel also wants to insert a few thoughts of “freedom from the fear of man”
· This footnote should be included in the actual book: The quotation marks are not meant to represent God speaking in an audible voice. These were Rece’s impressions of what God was saying to her. We are treating them like “quotes” as a matter of style.
· Joel would like to expound on his position at Fleet
S Joel is concerned about the relevance of the Bakersfield revival. There is an allusion in the opening paragraph to Bakersfield revival, and I think it helps to root the story in a larger context. I would suggest keeping the comment unless you feel strongly that you wouldn’t have mentioned it. The relevance is really to the prayer meeting itself
