There is a curious passage in Acts of the Apostles chapter 16. Let’s explore this a bit, in light of the happenings around us as we await the Return of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ! “It happened that as we were on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination [that is, a demonic spirit claiming to foretell the future and discover hidden knowledge], and she brought her owners a good profit by fortune-telling” (Acts 16:16, AMP). There is a terrible hunger now in the Body of Christ to know what the future holds, search for mysteries, and increase personal bank accounts! Many conferences are organised with these three case points, under the guise of doing it for the Lord! These are the days that call for discernment on our part so as not to get hooked by the ‘high-sounding nonsense’ that is being peddled around as God’s Word! This slave girl kept following Paul and Silas everywhere they went, interrupting their message to the people. This may sound good as we see today in most Churches. Those who operate with this spirit make it look as if they are promoting what is being said and or encouraging the speakers through remarks, shouts, songs, or even claps; but it is all to distract from what God is speaking through His servants: “She kept following us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Great High God, and they’re telling us how to be saved” (Acts 16:17 TPT)! The demon in her was not saying ‘people should listen to them’ but just to distract the people from completely giving their attention to what Paul was saying!
Someone once said, that to reinforce a lie, you tell a little bit of truth! The same thing is happening in our time! Just like Paul, we must be able to discern when a half-truth is being spoken! So many pulpits today weave falsehood with the truth of God’s Word, and if you are undiscerning, you swallow this evil food being dished out. And this dulls your spirit as time goes on! For instance, many songs and messages today rarely point to the awesomeness of the Almighty God but rather reduce His greatness to a familiar level, where the listener believes he can sin and get away with it. The songs celebrate self and the advancement of self with a sprinkling of ‘Jesus’ or ‘God’ in them! The pews are filled with lifestyles that are sprinkled with a little bit of godliness but steeped in the world and its systems! Programs are organized based on the trends of the happenings around us and not based on what God wants! Sir/Ma, that program you are organizing, on whose command are you doing it? The fees you are charging for subscription, entry, etc., on whose authority are you doing so? You insist that you have bills to pay. True, but He that called you, is His hand too short to care for you? Because of these that you do, you have to sprinkle a little lie, and sensationalism into your messages to attract an audience to grow your pocket. Don’t be deceived, you are operating with the same spirit that the slave girl in Acts 16 is operating with! Stop, and ask God for help before it is too late. The Return of the Master for His saints is near and He will come like a thief in the night! For the rest of us, this is the time to ask the Lord for salve to anoint our eyes so we can see clearer (Revelation 3:18), so we are not swept away by the strong winds blowing from hell: “For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised” (Hebrews 10:36 AMP). God bless and keep you until His appearing, in Jesus Christ name, Amen!
