God's Samurai: Spiritual Lessons Learned in Japan

John's house at left

Late August 2019 my sons John (27) and Owen (28) and I sat at a table in John’s small home next to the Japanese Holiness Church where he’s an associate pastor, in the city of Sakado, near Tokyo.  Owen and I laid hands on John as I rose and prayed Ephesians 10:11: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

“I’m seeing a vision of myself clothed as a samurai,” said John.*  Joy!  Gratitude!  My tears flowed.  Just moments earlier John had been freed from two demons that had troubled him for years.

John’s journey to spiritual health was—like Owen’s (described in the July 2015 blogpost Treasure!)—arduous.  They shared commonplace sins of my youth (Psalm 25) and some spiritually dark generational influences still being discerned.  Both sons were, of course, troubled by the divorce of their parents; John’s living abroad (since 2013) made processing harder, plus his plate was full with language learning and work.  John was skeptical about the enemy’s role in the divorce; I discerned intellectual disdain as I had with my husband (see January 2019 blogpost Demonization and Healing).  And in spite of numerous open-hearted exchanges, something simmered and sometimes surfaced: my sense of being accused.  Relationships are complex; my intent is not to blame but to show how the enemy works.

Accusations are a hallmark of satanic influence.  Writers in both Old Testament (Zechariah) and New Testament (John, in Revelation) refer to Satan as an accuser.  Peter Horrobin, in Healing Through Deliverance, writes: “So what happens in the demonic realm if we start criticizing and judging people instead of accepting them?…we open ourselves up to doing the enemy’s work of being an accuser…our cooperation with the enemy invites a demon to overlay our personalities with its particular characteristics and job function.”  Horrobin is quick to point out that the presence of a demon is not an excuse for sin; we have free will.  “But,” he notes, “it will be a struggle to be set free without real repentance and deliverance.”

John at his church

How can I help John? I wondered.  His call and commitment to Japan had inspired many, his gifts honored by both teachers and peers.  My sense of urgency grew as his plans to marry Makiba, a lovely Japanese woman, solidified; “It will likely happen this year,” he told me in February.  “I’ll be coming!” I said.  Two months later, during a time of worship, God called me to spend extended time in Japan.  I’ve never heard the audible voice of God, as did Moses on the mountain or Paul on the road to Damascus, but I know when he speaks to me.  “My sheep hear my voice,” said Jesus, “and I know them, and they follow me.”

Following is not always easy; obstacles strewed my path: questions about my motivations (from John; indirectly from his father), life distractions, spiritual fatigue and discouragement.  But finally, with John’s warm welcome, I flew to Japan seven weeks prior to his wedding date of August 31…eager to see his work, meet Makiba’s family (she’d visited us in Mexico a year and a half earlier), learn a little Japanese, and help folks at John’s church with English—an offer he’d endorsed: “Most members who want to improve their English are your age, Mom.”

The early days were tough!  Grateful for John’s willingness to have me in his home, I tried to honor his routines, etc.  But two strong personalities now lived in close quarters!  In spite of my efforts at cultural appropriateness, John found fault with things I did—from how I placed my shoes outside the living area to the the ways I addressed others, and even leaving a shopping cart briefly unattended in a grocery store.  Argh!  “John is more Japanese than the Japanese,” quipped John’s close friend with whom I joked about this.  I discerned bondage to cultural mores; the expectation of perfection in Japan is entrenched and it can wound.  Within a week of arrival, sensing heavy spiritual oppression, I thought I can’t stay in this house!

Recognizing Satan’s effort to remove me (!), I asked for prayer support from Owen, who said: “Trust what God shows you, Mom.”  John and I forged ahead, tackled our conflicts, and laughed at how similarly stubborn we are.  But when I suggested we pray together, he said matter-of-factly: “I haven’t been praying lately in the traditional sense of the word.”  Hmm.  He reflected briefly, recognized something was amiss spiritually.  He was taking daily doses of online classes with Jordan Peterson; I listened in sometimes.  “Peterson is wise in many ways, but should not replace your communion with the Lord,” I cautioned.  

At Yokohama Baptist Church with friend Yuki

A number of John’s parishioners and friends opened their hearts and homes to me; they praised John’s language fluency and commitment to Japan.  I felt parental pride, and longed even more for John’s freedom and strengthening of spirit!  Two dear women began praying for me and for John (these treasured friendships continue by email).  When Owen arrived ten days before the wedding, we were buoyed by one another’s faith that John’s deliverance was at hand!  I went to Yokohama for awhile to give them time together.  When I returned the spiritual battle intensified.  Owen and I prayed and pressed forward: “This needs to be dealt with prior to your marriage, John!”  Three days before the wedding John said courageously: “Let’s do this now.”

With friend Marina at Sakado bus station

Deliverance work is best done in pairs—by believers who’ve asked the Lord to search their own hearts, who are humbly dependent on God, gentle in helping seekers identify unconfessed sin and/or unhealed wounds, and confident in commanding demons in the name of Jesus to disclose their job function and to leave when they have no grounds to stay.  John notes the relevance of “identifying past sins and their root motivations,” adding: “Prior to deliverance, I couldn’t have imagined some of the ways in which my past decisions had been negatively affecting my attitude and behavior.” 

Seeking healing for ourselves and helping one another is part of maturing in Christ.  Satan keeps us from this aspect of discipleship through fear and lack of knowledge; my own prayer a couple decades ago was God, please don’t call me to such work!  But he did call me, and he may call you!  See resource links in my previous post and/or feel free to contact me at jan.engle.lewis@gmail.com.  Meanwhile let’s persevere in prayer for those in the household of faith struggling with spiritual oppression, love them, and not take offense when accused, remembering as did David in Psalm 69: “The Lord…does not despise his own that are in bonds.”

The samurai of old waited on a person of rank and were trained in military tactics and strategy, an apt image for followers of the way of Christ.  Paul wrote: “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with [—the word of God, petitioning prayer in the Spirit, persevering alertness, per Ephesians 6] are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (II Corinthians 10:3-5, NIV)

*John’s vision included a white tiger next to the samurai, facing the same direction; he came to see the tiger as representing his soon-to-be wife: “The point of the vision, I think, is that God has called me and Makiba to serve the Lord in a way that makes use of the good already present in Japanese culture.”