Reply To: Welcome to Invicta University!
Hi everyone at IU!
My name is Boaz VanLanen, and I am from Wisconsin. I work as a professional freelance videographer. I am 25 years old. If I was me a year ago, I never would have thought I would ever enroll in deliverance classes. I was born again on March 19, 2022 after a miraculous and supernatural encounter with God.
I was born and raised in Upper Michigan. I grew up in the pentecostal church. My parents were both Christians, and I don’t think I would be here typing in this forum if it wasn’t for them praying for my salvation. Unfortunately, the church we attended became corrupt. This drove me away from God.
My whole life I loved music. Since I was 7 I wanted to play the piano and I received lessons. But then I was introduced to hip hop music from a friend when I was around 13 years old. It made me feel whole, and I started composing, producing, and creating hip hop beats. Later on I started rapping and writing lyrics that were very vulgar and distasteful. I actually wrote songs that blasphemed God, with many other demonically influenced lyrics. I would listen to rappers with satanic album covers that would rap about witchcraft, self harm, suicide, cults and rituals, and very depressing emo lyrics that would also blaspheme God. I actually worked my way up in the underground music industry, and had contacts and collaborations with various underground hip hop artists. However, when it seemed like I had one step forward, I went 3 steps back. When a popular artist in the genre wanted to work with me, it somehow fell off and he stopped speaking with me for no reason. Later on, I truly believe this was God looking out for me. When I was born again, I cut ties, burned and deleted the music I used to listen to.
Then last year I met my wife (girlfriend at the time). She had severe epilepsy, and because of this we ended up living together unmarried. She would have seizures either once a day, or every other day. These seizures were intense, and kept her from working, swimming, driving, living alone, and many other activities that normal people could do. She was prescribed expensive medications that didn’t work. We worked with the keto diet, which was originally intended to help reduce epilepsy. The diet actually did reduce them to some extent, but the seizures still continued. One day, she looked at me and said she was so tired. She wanted to die because of her condition. Then I heard a loud voice in my spirit say “Pray for her.” I wasn’t even a christian, and I was baffled to even hear that. But there weren’t any options for us, so I asked her if I could pray for her. After she agreed, I laid my hand on her and started praying. I didn’t know much of what I was doing, but I started commanding epilepsy to leave her body in the name of Jesus. She immediately started convulsing, and probably had 4 or 5 seizures in a row. Previously when she would have two seizures in a day, which was rare, she would be so weak that she couldn’t even lift her hand up. As I was praying, it almost felt like God was speaking through me, saying things that I wouldn’t have been knowledgable in. If I could describe it, it felt like fireworks were coming out of my mouth. After she had multiple seizures, her body went completely limp. I actually thought she died after all of that. But then she arose, and felt light as a feather. She doesn’t remember anything that happened after I started praying. She was running and jumping around the house after these 4 or 5 seizures that would’ve probably made her bedfast for 2 days. I was so baffled that I couldn’t speak for the next 30 minutes when she kept asking me why I was acting weird (because she doesn’t remember what happened). She has been seizure-free ever since! That night, I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ and walked away from my sinful lifestyle. We eventually got married shortly after this, and we both love the Lord very much.
This experience threw me into deliverance first hand, and ever since I’ve felt called into this ministry. I believe this is what I need to do, and so many people and Christians need help and guidance in this area. So this is why I’m here, and I cannot wait to take next step in my journey with the Lord.
I look forward to meeting and talking with more of you! God bless you all in the name of Jesus Christ.
-Bo