During
our recent prayer conference, our Youth Minister’s Mother and longtime
family friend, Erlene Burton, purchased me a book and laid it on my
desk. Though it was a few days before I read it, the book was to change
my life. “Under Cover” by John Bevere should be required reading for
all who aspire to be in ministry of any capacity.
The body of Christ in America is cursed with a spirit of witchcraft,
masquerading as Christian religion. This curse can and must be
reversed, because for the most part, it is self-inflicted. How you may
ask? I Samuel 15:23, “Rebellion is witchcraft.” Did you get
that? All over our land, churches are splitting, dividing, name calling
with great invective. What a sorry spectacle we are to a lost world that
only wants God, not our petty likes and dislikes, personal tastes and
prejudices. What we are offering the lost is a religious exercise,
packaged and characterized by our own traditions and ideas of how to do
church. Our liturgies are old, staid and void of God, even though we may
be loud, emotional and contemporary. Is it fresh? God is moving around
the world, but without exception, every American pastor I know that is
aggressively pursuing a move of God is under great fire in his
congregation.
The
grumblings are not coming from the world, but from rebellious church members,
who will not have change. These rebels have so hardened their hearts, and are
not aware they are cursed because they have lost the reverence and fear of
God. They are ignorant of the fact they are fighting God, not man, because
they have habitually ignored the whole counsel of God in His Word!
Little wonder, though, that it begins in the home with children rebelling
against parents, wives against husbands, employees against employers, citizens
against government, church members against the pastor. BUT, pastors/ministers
have rebelled against those over them in the Lord and we see a vicious cycle
of rebellion, and rebellion is witchcraft. (Rom.13:1-5)
We’ve sown it and we are reaping it. A demonic invasion. But this is one
repentant dude who is determined to reverse the curse. HOW? Make apologies to
people in authority who hurt me and change my attitude. See, you're the only
one who can free you. But submission is SOOO liberating!
This message is hard to swallow, but it is God’s Word for His church in this
hour. This message is dividing FWC because some folks just don't intend to bow
to the Word of God. No matter, rebellion IS witchcraft and we will deal with
this issue or it will deal with us. We are bewitched and losing relevance in
this world. Our rebellious attitude is a major reason for this debacle. It is
so difficult to deal with because it masks itself as religious piety. Hear me
dear reader, there is life and death in how you respond to this message.
Religion will kill you, but relationship will free you. Cast off the
unfruitful works of darkness and step in to the light, for rebellion is
witchcraft, no matter how religious we appear.
