OUT OF THE UT OF THE DEVIL`S EVIL`S HANDS

M E X I C O
O UT OF THE DEVIL ’S HANDS
May 24 | Emilio Martinez
ADVENTIST MISSION Inter-American Division
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milio [eh-MEE-lee-oh] was 15 years
old when his mother died. His father
had left the family when Emilio was a
baby, and his brothers and sisters were
married. He was an orphan, alone in his
home and alone in the world. He missed
his mother, and often wished he could
talk to her, feel her comforting arms,
hear her assuring voice just once more.
But she was gone.
A few weeks after his mother’s death,
Emilio’s aunt visited him. “Your mother
has a message for you,” she told him.
“What did she say?” Emilio asked
eagerly. He knew that his aunt dealt
in spirit worship, and he did not like
the spirit worships that his mother had
taken him to. But he was eager to talk
to his mother.
“I think the family has been cursed,”
his aunt said. “I can lift the curse, but I
need your help. Bring your brothers and
sisters to my house for a séance.” Emilio
did not want to attend a séance, but he
felt he had to obey.
Unseen Evil
At the séance furniture floated above
the floor, lights blinked off and on,
and terrible screams came from unseen
visitors. He wanted to run, but he
couldn’t move.
From that day on Emilio often felt a
strange, heavy presence dragging him
down. Demons in the form of animals
appeared in his house and ordered him
around. A voice often talked to him. The
voices and the visions terrified Emilio,
who just wished that they would go away.
Over the next year Emilio discovered
that if he drank enough alcohol, he would
pass out and the demons could not trouble
him at night. During the day he smoked
marijuana to escape the demons. His life
was in constant turmoil, and often he
wished he could die rather than live in
this private hell.
Jesus to the Rescue
One day while watching television,
he saw a program about Jesus. Emilio
wondered whether Jesus was the answer
to his miserable life. He found a bookstore
and bought several books about Jesus. He
read them eagerly and discovered a deep
hunger to know God.
He visited the church that his mother
had once attended and stayed through
several services to hear the sermons. He
felt a little better there than he did at
At age 17 he was afraid to live alone
any longer. He told his brother what he
was experiencing, and his brother invited
Emilio to live with them. A woman
suggested that Emilio buy a Bible and
memorize several psalms that he could
repeat when the demons tormented him.
It helped, at least for awhile.
Then he had a dream in which a man
in shining clothes urged him to read
the Bible and there find the peace he
was searching for. Emilio began reading
the Bible every day. As his faith grew
FAST FACTS
One-fifth of the population of
Mexico, more than 22 million people,
lives in and around Mexico City.
About 22,000 Adventists live in this
region—a ratio of one Adventist
believer for every 1,000 people.
Pray that God will use the
believers to reach out to their
neighbors, coworkers, and family
members for Christ.
Deliverance and a New Calling
Then one night as he cried out to
God for deliverance, God answered in a
powerful way. God called him to share
his experience with others. Emilio started
with his family, the same ones who had
joined him at the séance four years earlier.
In time they all gave their lives to God,
and today they are united as a family in
Christ. They lead several small groups in
their homes where they study the Bible
with anyone who will come.
Emilio works with a new church plant
in the heart of Mexico City, an area
plagued by drugs and demon possession.
He has found a ministry to those who still
suffer from demon possession.
“I thank God for never letting me go,
even when I didn’t know Him,” Emilio
says. “He rescued me from the powers of
evil and gave me a ministry to help those
who struggle with demons.”
Your mission offerings help plant
churches in the heart of the devil’s
territory, lighthouses in the darkness of
Mexico City and throughout the world. à
MEXICO
Over the next year Emilio discovered that
if he drank enough alcohol, he would pass
out and the demons could not trouble
him at night. During the day he smoked
marijuana to escape the demons.
he asked God to deliver him from
the demons. God answered his prayer
through a new friend, Julian.
Julian became like a father to Emilio.
The two talked for hours, and Julian
explained the danger Emilio was in. The
two studied the Bible together. Emilio
accepted Jesus as his Savior, but still the
demons tormented him. Even on his
baptismal day the demons urged him to
run away. Emilio asked Jesus to rebuke the
forces of evil, and he found peace. But he
did not experience instant deliverance
from the evil ones. He prayed often and
long, and God impressed him that he
must renounce everything that put him
on the devil’s ground and embrace the
promises of God and the power of Jesus.
www.AdventistMission.org
home. An idea formed in his mind, and
as he left the church he bought statues of
several saints, hoping that these would
drive the demons away. But it didn’t work.
Emilio visited other churches,
hoping to find deliverance from the
demons, but he found no peace from
the voices and the visions. He sank
into a deeper depression.
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