A PROBLEM CHILD!                  DFO 1664         11/83
--Comments on an Interview.

         1. THAT SPIRIT IS REALLY TRYING TO COVER ITS TRACKS, THAT'S FOR SURE! So it's a very deceitful spirit, but in spite of all its attempts to be good to keep from getting caught, it certainly reveals itself every now & then with fits of rage & outbursts of various kinds & a bad spirit about things. But it also shows that he CAN be good if he wants to bad enough & tries hard enough, but at the same time, unless he gets rid of that, with it always lurking there, it's apt to burst forth again & is a constant risk or at the very least a problem.
         2. (TO HIS SHEPHERDESS:) I WONDER IF YOU ACT TOO FAMILIAR WITH HIM, TOO PAMPERING? You seem a little too familiar with him, & "Familiarity breeds contempt". You can't be a good leader & be too familiar, especially in the case of women leaders with men. To keep their respect you've got to keep them at a little distance most of the time.
         3. THIS SORT OF ABSOLUTE NON-STOP TALKING IS RATHER CHARACTERISTIC OF SOME FORMS OF MENTAL DISTURBANCE when they just talk & talk & talk. Now I talk a lot too but I usually take others into it & want some response & ask questions, but he seems just completely filled with himself. It tells something about him, that he's really full of himself & more nostalgic for his childhood, talking, talking, talking about himself. Talking a lot can also be a cover-up sometimes too.
         4. HE'S NOT REALLY TELLING THE THINGS WE REALLY NEED TO KNOW, LIKE WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIM? Why did he have to go to the mental hospital? What were his behavioral characteristics that caused them to have to put him in a mental hospital, three times he says, & see psychiatrists for weeks at a time?--And had to go to a psychiatrist from the time he was 11 years old! It must have been pretty serious. (Maria: Yes, he's attributing all his problems to shyness & introversion.) You wouldn't send a guy to a psychiatric hospital for that! He's not really describing any of his peculiar behaviour that landed him there. o
         5. HE SEEMS TO ALMOST BLANK OUT SOMETIMES. How did he know these things about spirits? If he had nothing to do with them or didn't know anything about them, how did he know that candle flames get long when there's a spirit in the room? It sounds to me like he was quite into that sort of thing. I never heard that before. Where did he get those ideas about candles & flames & spirits & things?
         6. HIS PARENTS' ACTIONS WERE TYPICAL OF THE WAY YOU TREAT A MENTAL PATIENT, YOU TRY NOT TO CROSS THEM, try not to offend them, nearly always humour them to try to keep the peace, lest you have some kind of an explosion if you cross them or anything. Apparently they were scared stiff of his behaviour. That's really strange that the parents would have been so afraid to ask him questions or cross him or anything. He must have really had mental problems & they were afraid to upset him. They were super friendly to any kind of friends he brought over, probably because they were just trying to humour him no matter what kind of friends he had, hippies, druggies & whatnot!
         7. IT'S A TYPICAL CHARACTERISTIC OF SOME FORMS OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR, THEY TALK INCESSANTLY ABOUT THEMSELVES. It's like nothing could have pleased him better than to have her sit down & have him talk about nothing but himself.
         8. THE QUESTIONER MUST BE REALLY ON THE BALL WHEN THEY'RE TRYING TO FIND OUT THINGS ABOUT PEOPLE--ASK QUESTIONS. Like interviewers on TV, they keep firing questions at them to find out this & that. She should have asked him why his folks sent him to a psychiatrist, & why they had to send him to a mental hospital. What did he do? What was wrong with his behaviour? When you come to parts of people's story where you need to know items in greater detail, you need to stop them and ask them.
         9. THAT'S ALWAYS A SIGN OF ABNORMALITY, UNCONCERN ABOUT OTHERS & SELF-CENTEREDNESS. It's just amazing to me nobody ever found it out before!--All his experiences with psychiatrists. I mean he was really a problem case!
         10. MAYBE IT'D HELP IF THEY'D COME RIGHT OUT, FLAT OUT & TELL HIM THE THING THAT'S BEEN CAUSING ALL THE TROUBLE IS A REAL THORN IN THE SPIRIT, so to speak, a messenger of Satan that's been buffeting him, a real annoyer, sort of a besetting spirit, a spirit that's really tried to ruin him.
         11. (MARIA: IS HE ACTUALLY DEMON-POSSESSED?) YOU'RE NOT POSSESSED UNTIL YOU CAN NO LONGER CONTROL YOURSELF, until your own spirit is no longer dominant & you're under the complete or total control of another spirit. (Maria: I don't think you've ever brought that point out before. We've always been a little hazy about Christians, that they can't be possessed, but we've never really brought out what possession actually is.)
         12. YOU CAN CERTAINLY BE ANNOYED BY PESTERING SPIRITS just like you can be tempted by the Devil, just like the rest of the Devil's pests! (Maria: In other words, you can even have a spirit trying to speak through your mouth but not be possessed?) Yes. You can even have the wrong spirit speak through your mouth sometimes & inspire you to say the wrong things.--But not necessarily be completely possessed.
         13. IT'S A TEMPORARY THING, LIKE FLYING OFF THE HANDLE IN A RAGE SAYING THINGS YOU'RE LATER SORRY FOR & that you know you shouldn't have said. He seems to be a lot like that. He does things & says things on the spur of the moment that he knows afterwards he shouldn't have & then he says he's sorry.
         14. IT'S KIND OF LIKE KAROL'S CURSE, IN "GOD'S CURSES!" (No.1647), an annoying little devil that brings a thing like that as a hinderer, hindering spirits. It's the evil spirit that brings such curses, but she had to take a specific definite all-out stand against it & a special prayer, & I think they had some fasting too, didn't they, to get rid of it?
         15. (MARIA: BUT EVEN IF HE WASN'T IN HIM POSSESSING HIM, HE WAS THERE. Maybe he can be IN you, but not POSSESSING you, because look at the spirit that tries to talk through him. It's sort of like we wonder whether it's INSIDE you or on the OUTSIDE, but maybe that's not the distinction to make? That's not where you should make the distinction, whether it's just sort of an external or internal pest.)
         16. THE DISTINCTION, THE DIFFERENCE IS AS TO WHAT DEGREE YOU ALLOW HIM TO CONTROL & RULE OVER YOUR LIFE. It's like Grandmother used to say about temptations & evil thoughts, "You can't keep the birds from flying over your head nor those thoughts from going through your mind. It's the voice of the Devil. But you can sure keep them from building a nest in your hair!"--In other words, roosting there & entertaining them full time & letting them take over. You just have to keep resisting & fighting until they see you're not going to surrender or give up, & they give up & go away & leave.
         17. APPARENTLY HE'S BEEN PESTERED BY THAT THING FOR A LONG TIME, MAYBE SINCE HIS CHILDHOOD. They just need to have special prayer & exorcise the situation & get rid of the spirit once & for all. It's not that it possesses him or that he's filled with an evil spirit, because he obviously has a GOOD spirit & loves the Lord & is trying to serve the Lord the best he can, but that little mischievous devil just keeps bothering him & makes him do things & say things he shouldn't, & hurt other peoples' feelings.
         18. OF COURSE IT'S THE OLD STORY THAT THE DEVIL HAS TO HAVE A PLACE TO GET IN & WE LET THE ENEMY IN SOMETIMES through our own sins, our own shortcomings, our own vices, selfishness, jealousy or bitterness, murmuring, all kinds of ways to let the Devil in, & apparently sometimes he has indulged in some of those things to where he's just sort of sometimes let the Devil have his way.
         19. MAYBE HE'S WHAT THE BIBLE CALLS A LITTLE FEEBLEMINDED.--1Thes.5:14. As a result he never really matured, he sort of stayed like a child, childish, he's still quite backward & childish. And you almost have to treat him like a child, humour him up to a certain point like a child & not expect too much of him to really have feelings of adult responsibility.
         20. IT'S REALLY A HANDICAP, which requires a certain amount of tolerance & indulgence & humouring, but only up to a certain tolerable point beyond which he shouldn't be allowed to go & things he shouldn't be allowed to get away with, just like a child.--Just like a child whose parents sometimes will sort of humour him & let him get by with a few little things as long as he doesn't get too rowdy or rambunctious or noisy. But when he goes a little too far & really presses their patience to the limit, then they've got to take a hand, a firm hand & really sit down on him & make him obey.
         21. HE'S ALMOST LIKE A LITTLE BOY THAT JUST NEVER GREW UP, WHO IS RETARDED. In a way he's definitely handicapped. He's been self-centered & spoiled so many years. It just isn't exactly his habit to think about others or to be unselfish & thoughtful of their needs. (Maria: That's really a habit, isn't it? It's also a habit that you have to cultivate, to be UNselfish.) Yes, definitely.
         22. (MARIA: SO SCHIZOPHRENIA THEN IS NOT DEMON POSSESSION, OR IS IT?) Well, like everything, it's sort of to what degree? It's like the camel's nose. You keep letting that thing in off & on just like Mother Eve's sister-in-law did until finally it just took over. She said she knew she was allowing it to come in & do those freaky things, but by & by she realised that it had taken over & she no longer had control & she was under its control instead of able to control it. It was controlling her, & that's what I'd call full demon possession, when they no longer have any self-control but the demon can just come & go at will & do whatever it wants or make them do whatever it wants.
         23. PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY SUSCEPTIBLE TO SPIRITS MUST BE VERY PRAYERFUL, LIKE WOMEN. Women were made to yield & surrender. That's why they make such good mediums & such good wives & good spiritual channels, which is fine as long as it's the right spirit. But they also often are easily overcome by evil spirits because of their spiritual sensitivity & natural proclivity to yield & surrender. So people who are of a very sensitive spiritual nature have to be very cautious that they don't yield to the Enemy & the WRONG spirits.
         24. (MARIA: CAN A PERSON BE PESTERED BY EVIL SPIRITS BUT ALSO BE HELPED BY GOOD SPIRITS AT THE SAME TIME?) Oh, I think so!--By all means! I have no doubt about that. I don't doubt that all those years the Lord was trying to protect him, obviously. (Maria: But at the same time, some of the bad ones must have gotten in too, like when they showed up in some of his work.) Yes, when he's in the wrong spirit, in the wrong mood, & out of the Lord's Spirit.
         25. HE CAN BE VERY INSPIRED OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, but then if he gets upset or goes off on a tangent or somebody aggravates him or something, he gets very easily into the wrong spirit. This is very typical of people who have mental problems. They get very easily upset, very easily aggravated, annoyed, inclined to a tantrum or a rage very easily, often very nervous largely because they are rather weak in the spirit & susceptible to spiritual influences, so the only way they can avoid being influenced by the wrong spirit is to stay very close to the Lord & very full of HIS Spirit. Let the Light in so brightly that the darkness finds no place to hide & will flee away!
         26. HE JUST NEEDS TO KEEP FULL OF THE WORD & THE LORD & THE HOLY SPIRIT & BUSY WITH THE LORD'S WORK & not allow the Devil to throw him a mickey & get him off the track. Apparently he can't take liquor, so I think he just almost ought to be forbidden to drink, because it was through drink that he had some of his most severe problems.
         27. HE'S A VERY PRECIOUS VESSEL OF THE LORD AND OBVIOUSLY HAS A VERY PRECIOUS GIFT AND TALENT FROM THE LORD that has for years manifested itself even since his childhood, which shows it was a gift, for "every good and perfect gift cometh down from above" (Jam.1:17), and therefore he just needs extra special care and handling and lots of TLC, Tender Loving Care and patience & guidance & to be kept under very strong positive spiritual influence & a firm disciplinary hand that won't put up with any foolishness but will still be patient & realise that he's almost retarded and needs to be treated almost like a child or a teenager.
         28. HE APPARENTLY NEVER GOT OUT OF THAT VERY DIFFICULT & HARD-TO-DISCIPLINE TEENAGE STAGE, due to his problems & mental difficulties & all. He never seemed to outgrow it, & only the Lord has been able to help him overcome it.
         29. HE REALLY NEEDS TO STAY CLOSE TO THE LORD & THE LORD'S PEOPLE & IN THE WORD & TO REALLY RESIST & REBUKE THE DEVIL when he tries to come in like a flood, & ask the Spirit of God to raise a standard against him!--Isa.59:19. Resist him so he'll flee from him (Jam.4:7) when he has those temptations to be irritable & out of sorts & ugly & say & do ugly things. He sort of unfolds like a little flower to a dear motherly sympathetic soul & that's the kind of personal attention & nurturing that he really thrives on, & he really eats it up & seems to need it & he really needs to be loved.
         30. HE'S NOT ALWAYS VERY LOVABLE, AS SOME OF HIS GIRLS HAVE FOUND OUT. He can be real mean & cantankerous & even cruel & has been known to even abuse them when he's angry, but he needs to resist that evil spirit & just give no place to the Devil!--Eph.4:27. That's a good Scripture because that shows you can sometimes give the Devil place & room to operate & get in without necessarily being taken over, completely taken over or possessed. You can just give him so much territory. But believe you me, he'll sure use it, whatever he can get ahold of, including his tongue & his sharp critical spirit & violent abuse of others etc.!
         31. HE NEEDS TO KEEP VERY VERY HUMBLE & TRY EXTRA HARD TO BE SWEET, because he's not seemingly naturally very sweet to others & that's been his main problem, his being unable to get along with other people, & he admits it. That's why he's really got to work on it. If he's going to be of any use to the Lord & if his talent is going to be used, he's got to be completely yielded to the Lord & not keep letting the Devil in to influence him & his talent & his behaviour. He's got to do his best to behave himself & be on his best behaviour to try to be a good boy, so he doesn't let the Devil in & throw him & lead him astray. We'll just have to try to use a lot of love & patience & give him a chance & wait & see & hope that he makes it & can be used for the Lord along with his talent. He has been for years & I don't see why he couldn't be again. So praise the Lord! TYJ! Jesus never fails!--If he'll give Him a chance!
         32. HIS CO-WORKERS HAVE JUST GOT TO RECOGNISE THAT HE'S HANDICAPPED & RETARDED SPIRITUALLY, an immature babe, & they need to treat him as such, be very patient & loving & very teaching & with firm discipline.--But nevertheless not let him get away with anything without reprimand & correction.
         33. SO THEY'RE JUST GOING TO SORT OF HAVE TO TAKE HIM WHERE HE'S AT, AS A GREAT BIG BABY, & they're just going to have to baby him & not expect too much of him, but maybe he's growing a little. Maybe with a little more time & tender loving care he'll grow a little, maybe even grow out of it. Meanwhile we'll just have to sort of prune it & dig around it & dung it & give it another year to see if it won't do better & be more fruitful.--Lk.13:8-9.
         34. I ALWAYS FOUND THE BEST WAY TO GET ALONG WITH MENTAL PATIENTS WAS TO HUMOUR THEM AS MUCH AS YOU COULD, WITHOUT LETTING THEM GO TOO FAR. But there always comes a place where you have to call a halt and put a stop to something just like with a little child, and usually if you put your foot down firmly and they know you mean business, then they'll simmer down. But you have to be definite & firm about it & very clear about it, what you will put up with & what you won't stand, set down very clear lines of limitation & requirements of obedience. Warn them in advance what you won't put up with & how far they can go, & tolerate no further, let them know you really mean business and you're going to enforce it, just like you would with a little child.
         35. I'M SURE WITH THE LORD'S HELP, IF HE'LL GIVE THE LORD A CHANCE, THE LORD WILL HELP HIM MAKE IT, but it'll take the Lord, he can't do it on his own. He has to have a lot of help, but he has to be willing to be helped & obey & give some cooperation to his helpers. Amen?--And try not to be an insufferable trial that nobody can stand!--Amen? GBAKY & help YOU not to be that way!--Amen?--In Jesus' name, amen!--ILY!--D.

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