At the close of a week-long meeting in a church in Lagos, Nigeria, the pastor was counseling people in the open church hall. The last person on the line was a woman who said she only came for prayer from the pastor. Well, the pastor asked her to kneel down while he stood up praying. While praying, the pastor entered into a trance and saw himself sleeping with the woman. In an
instant, he came out of the trance while the woman was still kneeling down, but he was wet in his pants. The woman smiled sheepishly and said, “Pastor, do you know I can get pregnant with that?” The pastor was speechless and dumbfounded. He later ran to narrate his bizarre experience to an elderly pastor, who prayed for him to be set free from witchcraft manipulation.
This true story and many others call for concern and seriousness on the part of the church leaders concerning witchcraft in the church. It is getting to alarming proportions now. The gate of hell that cannot prevail against the church is using another strategy; if you can’t beat them, join them’. And they have joined the church in large numbers. They have infiltrated, penetrated and in some
cases, permeated the local body of believers.
Though many sincere and well-meaning Christians and leaders may not be too comfortable with this subject, the reality is that witchcraft operations are fast gaining ground in Pentecostal, charismatic, orthodox, and mainline churches. Either because of fear of losing members or because many leaders are turning the blind eye to this malaise today. From my experiences, both as a pastor and church consultant, I have come to understand the destructive role that witchcraft operations are playíng in the downfall and retrogression of churches.
A certain church was afflicted with unimaginable poverty. People were sick, poor, and in abject squalor. If you are financially okay before you join the church, you will become poor once you become a member and you are contributing money. The pastor was concerned and started months of serious fasting and prayers. The Lord revealed the identity of four women who were using the offering box as their meeting table in their witchcraft coven. Therefore, whoever drops an offering into that box will become and remain poor. The pastor was instructed to call the women and sternly warn them of the imminent judgment of the Lord if they continue to afflict the church with poverty. Amazingly, they confessed, repented, and were delivered. The church returned from poverty to prosperity.
Even though it is against the law of the land to accuse anyone as a witch, the spiritual reality is that witchcraft operations are the reasons for the majority of the crisis bedeviling our churches today. It is a spiritual problem that must be spiritually addressed.
In my next writeup, I will discuss the ‘Foundation and Basis’ of ‘Witchcraft in the Church’.
shalom!
#pstnath.
Jesus is Lord.