EACH time I write articles which border on exposing deception, I have had numerous responses in feedback and a particular question has always featured prominently.
With the deep emotions that accompany religion, the exchanges for and against have always been laden with emotion.
The primary motive of this scope of writing has been to redirect the Christian worshipper towards true worship in the face of a flood of false, trickery, deceitful and outright demonic doctrines.
Wherever I go and in my inbox, I have always had one question popping up and that is: You accurately show that there is deception in the church today but why don’t you dwell much on what exactly constitutes the truth?
It has always been my desire to point out the biblical truth regarding prophets, apostles, prophecies and miracles and have often times weaved it in the pieces which expose deception yet there remains that question.
It would appear each time I set to write a standalone piece on what constitutes a true prophet there would be, in the news, some gargantuan deception; deception looming so large that it feels unjust not to highlight it.
A living example recently week has been miracle pastor, Paul Sanyangore of Victory World International Ministries, who claimed on radio that he had walked on water.
Paul Sanyangore also made headlines last year after he allegedly ‘anointed’ condoms for a woman to use in her matrimonial home.
Sanyangore is also famed for ‘killing’ congregants before resurrecting them last year.
The recent incident that has set tongues wagging is said to have happened last week at a swimming pool in Glen Lorne and the video and pictures have gone viral.
Sanyangore said his team invited him for a swim but he was unable to swim. He said, naturally, he does not swim. “I don’t swim and my team invited me for a swim. “I told them I can’t swim and I had to show them what I can do,” he said.
A picture widely circulated shows Sanyangore walking in a swimming pool with people rushing out of the pool in fear of the act.
This miracle follows hard on the heels of a similar controversial miracle by South African Prophet Shepherd Bushiri who reportedly claimed to have walked on air in a video recording widely condemned by many.
Now, it must be clear that there is a desperate attempt by the ever mushrooming prophets and apostles to lure people through the use of miracles and most of the miracles are embarrassingly stage managed.
We continue to see demons that only wait to manifest before cameras and only speak the convenient English language; demons that are well behaved before they are called out and sit in line waiting for their turn.
Just last week there was a stampede, with more than three pastors claiming to have healed the mad man whom we saw being helped in Zimbabwe by Walter Magaya.
A West African preacher splashed pictures of Garikayi Zindi on his website claiming to have healed the man. Also, Pastor Chris’ website alleged the mad man had been healed at his church.
The confusion and deception has just gone out of hand. It is against this background that one realizes that there is more need to point out deception first before highlighting true worship.
To these pretentious con preachers, it is a matter of increasing their church numbers and consequently their bank balances with more membership.
Back to the bible, it is simple to any student of the bible that the fashion in which miracles are being performed by these modern preachers are at absolute variance with the bible.
To begin with, miracles, throughout the bible, were meant for unbelievers, for heathens so that they could believe.
Even as he healed the lame and the blind, Christ Jesus intended that through the miracles, those who did not believe would believe.
There is no practical purpose a miracle serves to people who are already purported believers in God (Jehovah).
More importantly, each time a miracle was performed in the bible, there would be a genuine need to meet.
Jesus Christ never turned water into wine for the fun of it. He never multiplied a few loaves of bread and fish for the sake of it. He did not walk on water ‘just to show people what I am capable of doing.”
Jesus Christ never calmed a raging storm to simply display his miracle working prowess. He never ascended from the Mount of Olives for the fun of it.
Miracles always occurred in the context of a genuine need. This whole business of pastors recording themselves walking on air or water indicates the desperation these men have reached in trying to win congregants.
True Christianity is not advertised for using these gimmicks. Unfortunately, technology has become an accomplice in the subterfuge methods being used to deceive the gullible into flocking to these churches.