OVERCOMING THE POWERS OF THIS AGE. Pt.1

SPIRIT OF SEDUCTION

On 5th of August 2007, it was reported in an online news blog that five University students in Nigeria embarked on an apocalyptic journey seeking for rapture in the forest. They were members of a fellowship that taught extremes and deceptive ideas. From oral report, some of the students who belonged to this group were taught unscriptural esoteric practices and they delved into certain dimensions of spiritism. Some were taught that they could be in two places at a time. Some of them intentionally missed tests&exams because they believed they could be in the hostel and they'll appear in class to write exams at the same time. They had food recipes for hearing into the spiritual realm. Surprisingly, a chunk of their devotees were drawn from various campus fellowships, people who were fed by the word of God but were fascinated by extra biblical knowledge. They opened up to the spirit of seduction and they were deceived. The spirit of seduction is one demonic spirit you and I will have to combat in this age if we'll remain on track in our walk with God. What some disdained yesterday has become the norm today because of deception. It always start as a harmless idea till it snowballs into what cannot be handled easily.

The word seduction is from the Greek word "Planaho". The word that best describe it is 'deception'. It denotes causing someone to wander and be led astray. There are uncountable numbers of seducing spirits that has been released into the world today, deceiving people and making them believe lies. Unfortunately, they are already operating in the church among believers. Many years ago, when LGBTQ was uncommon and detested by many believers, a sister sent me a video about how it will be accepted through subtle deception. It was predicted then that what the church( believers) was against ( LGBTQ), she will embrace through the workings of this demon(Paraphrase). Today, that prediction has come to pass. There are believers who stood against LGBTQ years back but now are drumming support for its permissiveness in the society and church. They're telling us that God made some persons that way and we must accept them. This is not ordinary brethren. This age is the most dangerous to live in because on daily basis, the enemy is trying to make us belief lies and accept it as truth.

How can you prevent this spirit from gaining a foothold in your life? The answer is in Proverbs 4:23, "GUARD YOUR HEART above all else, for it determines the course of your life", NLT. Seducing spirits captures the heart of people through what they hear and see continually. The moment you expose yourself to the wrong stuff, you'll be seduced. Be careful; people can seduce you without your realizing what is happening to you. Sometimes, another factor that makes seduction to take root in people's heart is undue craving for power, the esoteric and extra biblical knowledge. There are folks always trying to seek some special knowledge and supernatural experience. It is just a matter of time, they'll be deceived. I once met a guy who was once a member of a Holiness preaching church, a conservative one at that. When I inquired to know why he changed to Islam, he replied by saying the search for the truth led him into Islam. Same happened to a pastor who decided to carry out a research on African Traditional Religion, he ended up as a fetish priest( 'babalawo' in Yoruba). That's seduction at work. The moment a man's heart is not in alignment with simple truths of scriptures, this spirit will take over. From today, don't listen or watch just anything on your radio and t.v. All magazines are not for your consumption. Social media is awash with intentional propaganda to deceive many. Guard your heart!