In some Christian circles today there is a huge emphasis on the demonic realm and “deliverance” ministries.
There are books written, sermons preached, conferences attended and spiritual away weekends devoted to the subject.
TB Joshua was a so-called prophet of God in Nigeria. A large part of his ministry was exorcism. This “man of God” laid his hands on the faithful and rebuked the demons. There was the usual vomiting, crying and falling. He exorcised the demons of alcoholism, depression, poverty, sickness and whatever other bad spirit you may have unknowingly had.
I was in a car accident when I was 10 years old and as a result walk with a bit of a limp. A few years ago a well-meaning Christian asked if he could pray for me. I agreed as prayer is always a good thing. However, in his prayers he attempted to rebuke the Spirit of infirmity in me and demand my healing from God. I stopped him mid-prayer and said thanks but no thanks.
God permitted, according to his good purposes, the accident I was in and I’m sure God would have healed my limp by now if he wanted to. The irony of this brother’s prayer was that he was rebuking an “evil” spirit, but it was something that God permitted in the first place (Romans 8:28). He was calling good, evil.
Another example of this type of thinking is that in many churches there are all night prayer vigils aimed at achieving so-called spiritual “breakthroughs” where believers seek to “breakthrough” Satanic stronghold in their lives.
The list goes on.
Demon behind every bush
The danger of these kinds of deliverance ministries is to be simplistic, hyper-spiritual and treat every problem as demonic.
Rather than the struggling believer undergoing biblical counselling, or fostering repentance, or growing in godliness, or even taking medication; the pastor simply exorcises the appropriate demon or prays for the suitable breakthrough – leaving the unsuspecting believer with the same problem the next day.
Of course, the opposite error of ignoring the spiritual realm is also widespread – but that’s not my concern today. Satan and his demons certainly do exist and they certainly do seek to destroy precious people made in God’s image.
Satan may seek to destroy or harm people through demonic possession; but more often, it’s much subtler.
Ephesian 4:26-27 says something very interesting:
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity/ foothold to the devil.
In other words, by you sinning in anger, speaking harsh word, or acting in cruel ways, you give Satan an opportunity, an influence, or a foothold in your life that he will exploit to cause you and others harm.
World War 2
The Western Allies in World War 2 launched the largest amphibious invasion in history when they assaulted Normandy, on the coast of France, on 6 June 1944.
The Ally invaders were able to establish a beachhead as part of Operation Overlord after a successful “D-Day”, the first day of the invasion. The operation gained a foothold, a beachhead, a base, which the Allies gradually expanded over the coming months, leading to the liberation of Europe from Nazi control.
It started with a beachhead, a foothold, a base.
When we allow unrepentant sin in our lives we give the devil a beachhead, a foothold, a base.
Pornography is a perfect example.
A small, curious glimpse at internet porn intrigues and excites, but it ends up capturing the mind, heart and will – leading to a destructive porn addiction. The same is true for anger, jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness, drug use and alcoholism – it starts small, but ends big.
Adultery starts with a small thought and a small cup of coffee, but ends big with broken families.
Satan uses our sinful natures against ourselves to tempt, harm and destroy.
You don’t necessarily need to be demon-possessed to please Satan, you simply have to ignore Jesus and the gospel. In other words, you stop repenting and believing.
Christian people can’t be demon-possessed, but they can give Satan an opportunity to wreak havoc in their lives and families.
How do we deal with evil spirits today?
We are not obsessed with Satan and demons because Jesus has triumphed over them by his death and resurrection.
We don’t ignore the reality of the spiritual realm either: there is a powerful, evil being who wants to destroy you and your family.
The best protection is therefore to trust and obey the One that’s even more powerful than Satan, our Lord Jesus Christ. Cf. Ephesians 1:15-23
The proponents and practitioners of deliverance ministries should spend more time pointing people to Jesus and less time trying to be hyper-spiritual and dealing with every challenge as demonic.
The proponents and practitioners of deliverance ministries should realise that living in a fallen world is difficult and, rather than spiritual “breakthroughs”, our thinking and worldviews needs to be transformed by the gospel (Romans 12:1-2). Casting out alleged demons left, right and centre is the easy way out and a dereliction of the pastor’s difficult duty to apply God’s word to believers’ lives.
The proponents and practitioners of deliverance ministries should stop deceiving the people of God under their care and start pointing people to Jesus, while faithfully and patiently teaching the whole counsel of God.
Lord, please deliver us from deliverance ministries.
Hi Andre Visagie,
Thank you for your kind reply.
Yes indeed the focus must always strongly remain on Jesus Christ. May God bless his holy name.
God will always use the most unlikely persons called to this holy work. The evidence inevitably emerge after the calling.
We will know the called ones by their works. Not by their words.
Anyone can use the Word. Can they bring the Word to life ?The great works of healing and generosity increase peoples faith in God. It is also evidence that the Holy Gospels are true. Jesus Thought the called ones to use Miracles as evidence of the Word.
The Christian world has been crying for hundreds of years for the Gospel truths to manifest in their lives.
They were lied to, they were told that they have tooo little faith.
Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Dear Sciencewatch.
Thank you for your cut and paste comments and thank you for referring me to TB Joshua’s Dstv channel and website. However, I can assure you that I have watched TB Joshua numerous times. I unfortunately cannot see any similarities between TB’s ministry and the biblical gospel that calls people to repentance of sin and persevering faith in Jesus.
Jesus died to experience punishment that should be ours because of our rebellion and transgressions. Jesus experienced the full wrath of God so that all who trust in him don’t have to. Through faith in Jesus our sins are forgiven and we are declared righteous before God. We may have difficulties in this world, but our hope is in heaven. This is the gospel according to Romans chapter 3 & 8, yet this is absent from TB’s ministry.
I could list numerous non-biblical emphases of SCOAN. Even if the sick are healed, that is not an authentication of the rightness of TB’s ministry. Pharaoh’s magicians could imitate Moses’ miracles too. (The healings that Jesus’ and the Apostles’ performed were very different from TB’s, but that’s an article for another day.)
I would commend you to keep your focus on the real, anointed, man of God – Jesus.
PS According to Eph 1. every Christian has every spiritual blessing in Christ. The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to every Christian and He is certainly not at the beck and call of the pastor or so-called “man of God”.
Posts Tagged ‘Celestial Church Of Christ’
INCREDIBLE! A Prophet’s Prediction About TB Joshua
Posted in Biography, tagged A prophet’s prediction, Celestial Church Of Christ,Emmanuel TV, Pastor TB Joshua, Prophet Adewole, Prophet TB Joshua, Stanton University, synagogue church of all nations, TB Joshua, Yorkshire City University on October 14, 2009 | 36 Comments »
An intriguing story from Nigeria’s ‘Streetwise Magazine’ detailing a prophecy given by a famous Nigerian prophet 15 years ago, and how it is remarkably coming to pass in the life of Prophet TB Joshua…
T.B. Joshua means different things to different people. To some clerics who are envious of him, he is an agent of Satan, a magician or an occult healer. To many intellectuals, he is an intriguing marvel, a wonder man of the 20th century. To the thousands who have been healed and delivered through him, he is a gift to mankind. Yet, in spite of all these, the question remains – who is Prophet T. B. Joshua? Is he an ambassador of Jesus Christ or of the devil?
God only reveals His top secrets to those He loves. He revealed the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to Prophet Isaiah. In the same vein, Jesus Christ revealed who Prophet TB Joshua is to His beloved servant, late Prophet (Dr.) Akin Adewole, shepherd of the Celestial Church of Christ, Opopo Igbala Parish, Ikola Road, Ipaja, Lagos sometime in 1995.
The following excerpts from the press release which Prophet Adewole consequently issued on the ‘Man in the Synagogue’ in 1995 can be said to put to rest the seemingly endless controversy surrounding who T. B. Joshua is.
“I was attending to people in my office one day when three journalists entered; the three of them came from three different media houses. They asked, “Prophet Sir, we see and know you to be one of foremost Prophets of God in Africa today. Millions of people are looking forward to your comments because you are the only prophet who has never commented on the subject?” At this point, before they mentioned what they really wanted and the man in question, our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me from the Altar in my office on a golden, very beautiful and mighty chair. He commanded me not to join fake, jealous and envious prophets to say blasphemy against a fellow messenger of God.
‘The Man in the Synagogue is mine. He is your spiritual colleague. He is not fake. His power is not mixed. I do as I please. You are all working for my glory on earth. Do never disown or desert him. Truly he is young in age, but my spirit in him is pure and great. His grace is special. Many will fall through him, while others will rise through him also. Advise him always like a son, friend and colleague and do not judge him at all because God is the only judge. I reveal this to you because you fear, adore and do my wish always. I love you’ – and He disappeared.
I then turned and faced the three men again. And I started telling them all God told me about the man, Temitope Joshua, in the Synagogue, Egbe, Lagos. They were marvelled and become embarrassed. Then one of them said, “Daddy, we believe you, but we want you to see him conjure with his hand. He is using mixed powers. Two other top prophets and the head of witches have promised to test and punish him.” I told them that all the witches and prophets on earth cannot even face an anointed man of God. I even warned them not to join the unbelievers that are fighting God through his prophets. After that they left”.
A more factual account from someone who has visited the Church of the Synagogue is written by Professor Willem Ouweneel, a prominent Dutch theologian who holds doctorates in biology, philosophy and theology. He lectures in Universities in Switzerland, Holland, South Africa and Germany. He is of Brethren background but is thoroughly satisfied of the genuineness of the miracles and vindicates the theology of Prophet Joshua.
Are you satisfied the healing miracles are genuine?
Absolutely.
One cannot watch the above videos without being convinced of their authenticity. Apart from which I saw healing miracles for myself when he prayed for the sick.Four of the seven members of our team also received healings.
What sort of a man is he to speak to?
He is extremely humble and continually gives the glory to God.
What is the attitude of the church members?
They display the fruit of the Holy Spirit to an extent that I have rarely seen before. One has a sense of being loved, there is a sense of joy, of peace, gentleness, temperance, faith and meekness.
Did the church members you spoke to know much about the bible?
Yes, our whole group was surprised at the sound scriptural knowledge of those we spoke to.
How do you know he is not an occultist?
I have been involved in the deliverance ministry for over 30 years. I have written such books as “Demons Defeated” which has been translated into many languages and “How To Cast Out Demons And Break Curses”. I have also taught on deliverance in many countries.
I carefully watched the ministry of Joshua and I am totally satisfied that he is casting out demons in the name of Jesus Christ. As Jesus said “satan cannot cast out satan”.
He constantly casts out demons by the power of God. He constantly upholds the name of Jesus Christ, gives glory to God and his preaching is biblically inspired. The work of the Holy Spirit is clearly evident among the church members.
Also one of the above videos shows a dead man being raised by the power of God.
Science Watch;
Wow ! Wow ! Once again Science is put to shame. View The TB Joshua 2016 Korea miracles on YouTube and Dstv CH360. The evidence that GOD “so loved the world” cannot be disputed. What greater modern day evidence of GODS love for the world through Jesus Christ.
Science has brought is much suffering through medicine and Evolution. Look at the powerful, practical solutions Jesus is demonstrating in 2016.
Prophet TB Joshua critics fail both in Nigeria and elsewhere?
Yes, as a result of this the Religious Monitoring Group have investigated Joshua and the Synagogue, Church of All Nations and have concluded that he is a man of God and that his work is of the Holy Spirit.His chief critic was denounced by this watchdog group as morally bankrupt and an adulterer who has political ambitions.
The overseas critics are relying on hearsay evidence and none of them have personally visited the Synagogue, Church Of All Nations.
The healing only takes place when the Holy Spirit is welcomed in any church. The Holy Spirit first examines the Heart of the Pastor, then does the work that the Pastor asks for.
It is written; “As God sent me, so send I you”.
Jesus showed that he is the solution to every human problem, that he came for that practical reason. So that the evidence can increase our faith, so why is miracles and wonders not seen in our churches. Pastors shift the blame for no healing onto other peoples faith. Jesus showed that everyone was healed because their faith was demonstrated by the fact that they came to him. That is more than enough faith. Everyone has enough faith for stunning miracles when they come to church for help as shown also by the Holy Apostles work and now I see Jesus Christ’s Full power relived on Dstv Ch390.
Their website is http://www.emmanual.tv
The holy Spirit cannot be fooled into action. It first searches our Hearts. Are our Preachers and Pastors Hearts ready ?