Togo is along the southern coast of West Africa (encircled pink area)
Hosted by Rev. Atati Agbessimé
The Elijah Challenge Basic Training was hosted by Christ for the World Ministry (Ministère Christ Pour Le Monde) for the pastors and leaders of the city of Lome. The Church does have a presence in this capital city in the south right off the Atlantic Ocean, but up north in this small sliver-shaped country there are many unreached towns and villages dominated by witchcraft and sorcery. Moreover, Isl–m is threatening with its “silver and gold.”
The Elijah Challenge provided training which enables these pastors to reach these areas of great spiritual darkness with the gospel of Jesus Christ. When servants of God are trained to heal the sick and cast out demons as Jesus taught and commanded his disciples in the gospels, the harvest can be great. We see this brought out clearly in Acts. The power behind witchcraft and sorcery cannot compare with the power and authority given to present-day disciples by the Lord (Acts 19). When disciples are properly equipped to preach the gospel and heal the sick using this power and authority, the Great Commission in Togo can be fulfilled. Unresolved questions revolve around the readiness of the Church for battle in terms of integrity and the resources needed to reach the unreached areas.
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The climax: Evangelistic Healing ServicesDuring three evenings of evangelistic healing services, the trained disciples healed many infirm people. On the first evening, thirty people testified that the Lord had healed them. Among these testimonies were totally blind eyes seeing and people suffering from severe strokes able to get around unassisted.
On the second evening, among many other testimonies, one man shared that he had come to the meeting with a heart condition which caused severe pain. When the car in which he was riding to the service went over a hole, even the slight jolt caused pain in his heart. But at the meeting he testified that he felt well and and his heart was strong.
On the third evening, I posed them the following question: how do we know that the power and authority given to us is in fact from the Most High God in heaven? How do we know that the power behind witchcraft is not in fact from a greater source?
The evangelistic healing service on the third evening
The difference between witchcraft and the power of the Most HighThe Most High God dwells in the highest heavens. He therefore by definition has authority over demons under Him, in particular over the type of earthbound demons whose action is afflicting people on earth below. When Jesus was baptized in the Holy Spirit at the Jordan River, the Father gave him divine authority—God’s authority—over demons. How did Jesus deal with demons with this authority? He commanded them directly, rebuking them and ordering them to leave. Demons were forced to submit and obeyed his commands.
How do sorcerers treat someone who is being tormented by demons? They might tell the sufferer to buy a chicken at the market. The sorcerer would then slaughter the chicken and prepare a meal from it. Later he would eat the chicken. What is the purpose or meaning of this? The chicken is essentially a sacrifice offered to the demon. If it is pleased with the sacrifice, then it might stop afflicting the victim, at least temporarily.
Sorcerers have no authorityWhat we learn from this is that witchdoctors do not have authority over demons. Because of that they must resort to sacrifices (or fetishes or incantations and the like) to help their patients. A moment’s thought, moreover, will reveal that the demon who receives the sacrifice is necessarily greater than the sorcerer who offers it. In Hebrews 7 Scripture also teaches from Abraham’s tithe offered to Melchizedek that the lesser (Abraham) is always blessed by the greater (Melchizedek). Demons, therefore, have in a sense greater authority than sorcerers. The power behind witchcraft, therefore, could not be from God or from a source greater than God.
God has given His authority over demons to His servants. To drive out demons they do not offer sacrifices or prescribe fetishes or incantations—actions none of which involve the use of authority. In contrast, when Christ’s disciples drive out demons, we speak directly to them and command them to leave in Jesus’ name. They obey our commands, thus proving that our authority does indeed originate from the Most High God in heaven above who has all authority.
“Heal the sick to prove that our God is the only true God”On the third evening, I told the people that we would heal the sick and cast out demons by exercising the authority given to us from on high. The testimonies of people healed and set free by the use of authority would be the proof that our power is in fact from God and that we are His servants. We prayed to God and asked Him to release His power and authority through His servants.
After that the infirm came forward and the trained disciples laid hands on them and exercised authority over the infirmities and demons. Soon people were being healed of their afflictions and came up to the stage to testify. Below are photos of some of them testifying of what the Lord had done for them.
ConclusionThe Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the Most High God in heaven, and He has entrusted His power and authority to us to heal the sick and cast out demons to demonstrate that there is no other God. The adherents of Isl__m, Hinduism, Buddhism, sorcery, witchcraft, and the New Age cannot perform such miracles; this proves that their beliefs and gods are false.
