Many people are drawn into satanism, witchcraft, sorcery, the occult and the like because of the intrigue that the evil one gives it. I’ve been there. Others act out the manners of these ungodly things, not realizing how dangerous they are. Even Christians fall into the behaviors of evil out of uncontrolled emotions, reactions to other persons behaviors, or even selfish greed through manipulations. The Word of God has warnings against such things:
“‘A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.’” (Leviticus 20:27)
“For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.” (I Samuel 15:23a)
“‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:31)
“‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.” (Leviticus 20:6)
“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)
“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
- idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions.” (Galatians 5:19-20)
“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,
11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.
12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD; because of these same detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.
13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.” (Deuteronomy 18:10-14)
These are but a few Scriptures that clearly reveal the dangers of pursuing any of these ungodly practices in our lives. God will not be mocked! He alone is God! He is Sovereign over all the world, including the evil one and the demons he manages.
Prior to my being born-again by faith in Christ alone, I was involved in satanism and witchcraft. My primary motivation was seeking to communicate with the dead. This was both exciting and very scary; it was more like I was seeking to be dead with the dead! God rescued me from myself and the evil one, Satan, who had his hands on my throat.
While on mission teaching pastors of unregistered churches throughout Russia, myself and my team where constantly being cursed by babushkas who were involved in the occult. These seemed to be everywhere we made our way afoot. Even Russian Orthodox Priests used evil manipulations against their parishioners by telling them that we American mission workers would eat their children.
While conducting a prayer conference in a new Baptist church down in the village of Via Corona Jalisco, Mexico many years ago, the only other church was a Catholic church. This Catholic church allowed their people to exercise practices of witchcraft along with the church. Apparently, the Catholic leaders had heard that I had delivered, by the Blood of Christ, a citizen of Via Corona from twenty years of possession. They could not help him. “If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.” (Matthew 12:26)
In retaliation, and to cause me to become weakened in my effort with the struggling Baptist work, the Catholic church held a gathering right across the narrow street where I was teaching in a back yard. They had a sound system; I did not. They were loudly playing strangely rhythmic music, while chanting curses against the white man. I seemed to be the only white man in the village at the time. I became very ill.
“But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the [a]similitude of God. 10. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:8-10)
I have been in ministry 42 years, and in those years, I have either been manipulated or attempted to be manipulated by church members or Christians from other Christian groups multiple times. Manipulation is a form of witchcraft; it is evil, of the devil. Often it comes through seemingly sweet and caring words, words of praise toward you, which silently and selfishly curse you into submission to another’s desire for you to give them something of yourself. These things happen within the LORD’s church than you think. Thankfully, I am generally able to recognize it when I hear or read it.
If a pastor or church leader is not careful, he may inadvertently attempt to get volunteer church members to do something for the church. Words are either tools for the LORD, or they are tools for the devil. Be careful what you speak.
When the Bible speaks of curses or cursing, we often only think of swearing obscenities, but this is only a small portion of what curses mean in the Bible. Cursing in the Bible is not just speaking evil of someone, but evil coming upon on someone. If you speak cursing’s upon another, biblically speaking, evil comes upon them in some way. Be careful choosing your words in anger or resentment. God is strongly displeased when we speak loosely chosen words from emotion. A good rule of thumb is: “Speak when Spoken through” by the Spirit. Pray On!