SORCERY IN THE CHURCH

By Akin Ojumu

Ever since its founding, Christianity has had to fend off attacks from the forces of darkness intent on corrupting its teachings with doctrines of demons. Just as the Church of the First Century battled heretic teachings such as those of the Judaizers and Gnostics, the modern-day Church is confronted with the descendants of these heretic sects.

Judaizers taught that faith in Christ alone does not secure salvation and that to be saved one has to observe the rituals and ceremonies of the Mosaic Law.

The Gnostics believed that there was a higher and secret spiritual knowledge (gnosis) passed down by Jesus, and that only those who have obtained this knowledge would ultimately be saved.

Today, Gnosticism has taken the form of New Age mysticism, transcendental metaphysical occultism, and New Thought esotericism. All these sects teach and practice mind-over-matter techniques which is a belief in the power of the mind and the power of the spoken word. They want to manipulate and shape reality using techniques such as positive mental attitude, positive/possibility thinking, and positive confession.

Wittingly and unwittingly, the vast majority of church folks have embraced these demonic ideas. On a routine basis, pastors teach their congregation the power of the mind, which they have rechristened as “faith.” The “willpower” of the psychics is now relabeled as the “force of faith.” Advocates of these aberrant ideas believe they can alter or determine the course of their lives by merely thinking and speaking it into existence.

Faith in God has been replaced by faith directed at God, which are two totally different concepts. To have faith in God is to accept that God is sovereign over our lives and He alone determines our destiny. Those who have faith in God put their trust in His divine providence and they have total reliance on His character and promises.

Mark 11:22

“And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.””

John 14:1

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well.”

Genesis 15:6

“Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Faith directed at God, on the other hand, is the power of the will and force of the mind. This is the idea that man by sheer willpower, can create their own reality and birth into existence whatever it is they desire, if only they “vividly imagine, sincerely believe, ardently desire, enthusiastically act” their desire, as Paul J. Meyer the president of the Success Motivation Institute puts it.

Faith in God is the faith the Bible teaches. It’s not mystical or esoteric. This is the faith in which we hold on to what God has said in His Word. On the other hand, the faith that is directed at God is sorcery. It is an attempt by man to compel and/or manipulate God to do exactly what they desire in their heart. This is the idea that if a man thinks certain thoughts and speaks certain words, God is bound to respond positively to whatever it is the person has imagined and spoken. A man can make their dream a reality by the process of creative visualization and positive affirmations. Essentially, faith directed at God is not faith in God but faith in faith.

Paul Yonggi Cho, one of the leading champions of faith directed at God, described the power of the spoken of word in this fashion:

“By the spoken word we create our universe of circumstances…You create the presence of Jesus with your mouth…He is bound by your lips and your words.”

“Through visualization and dreaming you can incubate your future and hatch the results.”

Robert Schuller, another advocate of faith directed at God, elevated man to the status of the Creator when he said:

“You don’t know what power you have within you!...You make the world into anything you choose. Yes, you can make your world into whatever you want it to be.”

Norman Vincent Pearle, a highly regarded proponent of this evil, wrote glowingly about the power of the mind:

“Your unconscious mind…has a power that turns wishes into realities when the wishes are strong enough.”

What Paul Yonggi Cho, Robert Schuller, and Norman Vincent Pearle all had in common was the fact they were all disciples of Napoleon Hill. Either directly or indirectly, they were all greatly influenced by Hill. These three men whose ideas continue to reverberate across the Church and secular world today were apprentices of Napoleon Hill and his demonic philosophies which are the cornerstone of the human potential movement and the bedrock of the success/motivation/positive mental attitude seminars that people like Sam Adeyemi and Olumide Emmanuel teach their followers today.

There are many of you reading this commentary who have read Napoleon Hill’s book, Think and Grow Rich, but you had no idea who the man really was and what spirit operated in him. Well, you need to know that Napoleon Hill was a sorcerer who learned the mind-power techniques contained in his books from disembodied spirits. Demons, disguised as Ascended Masters, visited Hill and taught him everything he knew about success and positive mental attitude techniques. 

Napoleon Hill himself admitted as much when he wrote the following in his book, Grow Rich With Peace of Mind:

“Now and again, I have had evidence that unseen friends hover about me, unknowable to the ordinary senses. In my studies I discovered there is a group of strange beings who maintain a school of wisdom…The School has Masters who can disembody themselves and travel instantly to any place they choose…to give knowledge directly by voice…Now I knew that one of these Masters had come into my study…I shall not set down every word he said…much of what he said already has been presented to you in the chapters of this book and will follow in other chapters. “You have earned the right to reveal a Supreme Secret to others,” said the vibrant voice. “You have been under the guidance of the Great School…Now you must give the world a blueprint…” (Source: Napoleon Hill, Grow Rich With Peace of Mind (Ballatine Books, 1967), pp 158-160).

The thing you must understand is that Paul Yonggi Cho, Robert Schuller, and Norman Vincent Pearle were not the only disciples or peers of Napoleon Hill. The man has many adherents and counterparts who are considered God’s Generals today. 

Here are just a few of them and what they taught.

E.W. KENYON – A contemporary of Napoleon Hill in the self-help, self-improvement, and spiritual thought religion. He was shaped by the New Thought Movement of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby. In turn, EW Kenyon influenced Kenneth Hagin.

“You can literally speak health, peace, and provision into being when your words align with the word. It’s not superstition. It’s participation in the divine nature…You’re not trying to be God. You’re cooperating with him. That’s the secret of faith’s confession…Faith must speak because faith without words is like electricity without a wire. It cannot flow…The question is not whether you have faith. It’s whether you’re releasing it through your words. You don’t need to pray for more faith. You need to speak from the faith you already have. Because the power of God in you has always been ready to move. It's waiting for the sound of your agreement.” (Source: What Happens When You Speak Life Instead of Prayers of Fear | E.W. Kenyon Teachings).

KENNETH HAGIN – A disciple of E.W. Kenyon whom he plagiarized in many of his books. 

“Many of us have heard it taught that our words frame our world, but how many of us actually live each moment of our life as if we truly believe that is so? If we truly understood the power in our words, we would pay a lot more attention to what we are saying… Words are containers. What does a container do? It holds or contains something… However, many people don’t realize that their words are containers too, and when they speak, they are pouring the contents of those words out all around them… We live in an environment of our own making – one that we have largely created by our own words. So we need to be careful to create the right kind of atmosphere and to speak the right kind of words, not only for ourselves but also for the sake of our loved ones…” (Source: Kenneth Hagin Ministries).

KENNETH COPELAND – A disciple of Kenneth Hagin who believes he is “I AM” too.

“The words we speak have power. They can bring life or death. They can build up or tear down. They can empower or destroy. Whether they are the words we speak to one another or the ones we think about ourselves, words make a difference… And whatever we set our mind to is what we will receive. If you want God’s goodness, healing, peace, joy and healthy relationships, then begin to proclaim those things.” (Source: Kenneth Copeland Ministries).

Those who believe they can create their own reality with their minds and with spoken words are playing God. That a man can, with the “power of belief” or “power of faith,” command forces to obey their wishes is a notion that usurps God’s authority and sidelines YAHWEH from relevance. Of what use is God if all a man needs to create their own reality or shape their own destiny is to simply think it and say it into existence.

This whole idea of power of the mind and power of word is man making himself the Creator. It is the exact same thing that happened in the Garden of Eden when Satan lured Adam and Eve into rebellion against God with the promise that they would be like God. And a mindset of wanting to become like God is sorcery, pure and simple.