Separating Occult Practices from True Worship in the House of Prayer.
Collin English Dictionary defines occult from the Latin word occultus — (clandestine, hidden, secret) as “knowledge of the hidden.” In common usage, it refers to knowledge of the paranormal as opposed to transparent and measurable knowledge.
Fortune telling and prophetic utterances are a major part of both traditional African religions and the mystery religions of the ancient world. The fortune-telling priest as the oracle of the deity played a major role in determining the life trajectory of many young men and women in traditional societies.
The prophetic utterances of the priest/prophet became a major attribute of African independent churches — drawing many semi-literate Africans to the Christian fold. For them, there is a thin line between the practice of prophetic utterances and fortune telling. For instance, the statement, “To you, it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it has not been given” (Matthew 13: 11) said to the disciples by Jesus has been twisted and interpreted to mean secrets in the realm of the occult.
Thus from seeking knowledge of the Holy to the knowledge of the profane, many African Christians can hardly separate practices in the realm of the occult from the more acceptable predictions of the prophets in prayer houses.
Thus, the average African church attendee is predisposed to accept hook, line, and sinker whatever “the prophet” commands him or her to do. The popularity of these ‘churches’ with the people is such that attendees who are cult members no longer have to go out of the church to visit their old cult masters; they find ready substitutes in their local assemblies.
The houses of prayer have been transformed into the strongholds of occult practices. They come under different names masquerading as a church.
Think about it. In gatherings wrongly called churches, a lot of the unthinkable happens. Take, for example, a recent video clip that went viral showing a queue of women taking turns to be violated openly by the “prophet.” It is appalling, to say the least. In another media coverage, under-aged children are kept in captivity for the prophet to do unprintable things with the people and the media refer to the gatherings as churches.
At what point did light and darkness converge in the church? If not, when are true leaders of Christ’s Church taking up the challenge to check the ugly trend?
Excuse me! How long shall we keep quiet and watch vampires rubbish the name of Christ and his Church? If the true church leaders think it is not their duty to call these messengers of hell to order, then the government would have to step in and regulate practices in prayer houses and worship centers across the nation.
One is not surprised at what is happening — they are to be expected in light of biblical prophecies — but one is worried that things will get so terribly bad — I mean the church will get so smeared beyond repair unless true leaders in the church speak out in condemnation of such practices.
It is observed that whereas relevant biblical prophecies are generally ignored, some self-professed prophets are given to projecting their reading of trending political activities in their country — as prophecy. They are prone to prophesying who becomes the next president. False prophets apparently, continue in their antics even when their previous “prophecies” had proven to be mere gimmicks.
Prophecies in the Bible are given to alert believers about what must come to pass — serving as a warning and the guiding posts to act appropriately as they witness their fulfillment.
The Lord Jesus warned: “when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel — let the reader understand…” (Matt.24:15).
The above was part of Christ’s reply to his disciples’ questions as to when Jesus will return to establish his kingdom.
“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3).
Here is what he said about the time and age preceding his return:
“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matt.24:10–13).
Gullible attendees of prayer houses need to be educated and to understand the Gospel. And why are more and more people turning to the occult and spiritual darkness? Here is why believers must flee from them.
Understanding Occultism.
At creation, God deposited a part of Himself in man. His breath, image, and likeness — form the basis of fellowship with humankind as the crown of His creation.
Thus the spirit in man is higher than the spirit in other living beings — in fish, mammals, birds, and all creeping things. The breath of God in him endowed him with the intellect to reason and to choose.
Humankind was called to make a choice — between obedience to God’s command and adherence to the adversary; to key his spirit either with the Spirit of God or the spirit of the prince of the air (Eph.2:2).
Job 32: 8 says: “But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty (Holy Spirit) that gives them understanding.”
The man had what it takes to discern the mind of God and take the right decisions. Mankind’s unique position was its ability to relate and communicate with God. In addition to the intellect — to reason and choose, humankind has demonstrated capacity for creativity in arts and breakthroughs in science and technology— manifesting God’s image and creative essence.
So, man was able to communicate freely and to fellowship with God in Eden.
But with the fall, man lost fellowship and the ability to relate to God. Man died. Humans evicted from Eden became spiritual battlegrounds for light and darkness. Human nature was profoundly impacted by the power of the prince of the air - held captive and permanently tuned to the enemy’s channel. It is “the spirit that “works in the children of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:2).
The children of disobedience — all descendants of Adam and Eve — need to be liberated. Liberation comes with the gospel for those who respond to the truth of Christ's death and resurrection. Jesus took on the penalty for human disobedience. He died so that humankind may live. But the individual still has to make the critical decision — accept or reject God’s offer of salvation through His Son.
Meanwhile, life goes on. The individual is either under the influence of the Spirit of the Almighty or the power of the prince of the air. On one hand, are those with understanding — creative ingenuity — making waves in scientific and technological breakthroughs; on the other, are those suffering the consequences of disobedience — perpetuating evil, wickedness, and wars. They steal, kill and destroy.
The inspiration of the Spirit of the Almighty is seen in the struggles with brute human force in communities around the globe.
Though divided and separated by time and space — evolving as distinct cultures, humanity is united in one direction— self-preservation and community building.
Community building is key to all civilizations. It is enlightened self-interest informing the social contract between governments and the governed. Yes, self-preservation is the mother of community preservation — no community, no family; no family no individuals. It can also be said that without individuals, there is no family, without family, there is no community and a nation.
When two cultures meet with differences in core value, we speak of culture shock or a clash of civilizations. Religion underpins community values and a sense of belonging. It is critical to the creation of a strong sense of oneness and the bond between families in the neighborhoods and in all human societies. Call it the social glue if you will.
Religion seeks to recreate the lost fellowship between humanity and the Creator.
Notwithstanding the differences in people's traditions and cultures, all cultures independently agree it is wrong to steal and murder fellow humans. Community makes laws ostracizing people from society who threaten the peace and security of others. Those who commit lesser offenses suffer varying degrees of punishment to serve as a deterrent.
However, no society survives or is sustained purely by the exercise of state powers using force. Here religion plays a big role. Both the fear of the visible and the invisible are tapped to enforce compliance. It is the sum of what is called civilization.
All civilized societies, though separated by location on different continents and corners of the earth, are one in legislating against antisocial tendencies.
Feeling threatened, humans did seek out help outside of themselves. They seek protection from powers greater than human power. The Spirit of the Almighty inspired them to understand how inadequate they are. Wisdom taught them to look up to the Creator — the invisible Almighty.
Humans have had to grapple with the problem of protecting themselves from fellow humans. Man is vulnerable, man needs help. The Old serpent exploits man’s efforts at getting help. The deceiver and father of lies is at work again and again.
Yet the hunger after the Creator is alive in mankind — crying to be satisfied by no other than the Creator Himself.
But like in Eden, the enemy offers fake answers to human hunger and thirst — fake food, fake drink, fake covering, fake shelter, fake power and religions through the occult. It is a descent from the spiritual heights to the abyss of materialism; from light to darkness, transparency to the opaque, and from true worship to rituals and traditions.
We have to separate religion and rituals from Christianity. Religion and rituals are external symbols of spiritual realities expressed in Christ and Christianity. They are a pointer to Christ — the way, the truth, and the life. They are not the end in themselves.
Scripture says “God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
God is the source of life, though invisible to humankind. Christianity is relational. It is about the restored relationship between humanity and the Creator. The prodigal son is coming home.
Worshipping God means loving Him with heart, soul, mind, and strength. Repeat: It is of the heart, soul, and mind!
Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).
Bread in the Scriptures is a symbolic representation of God’s life-sustaining provision — the true source of spiritual life. Only Christ can satisfy the longing — hunger, and thirst of a soul.
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:16).
Christ is the way to all the blessings of the covenant of grace. He is not only true but the truth itself. He is the sum and substance of all the truths of the gospel.
Occultism and other religions are presented as an end in themselves — it is the catch — the lie.
