Breaking the Barriers of Bewitchment
Study Text: Acts 8: 9 - 13
Introduction:
Bewitchment is one of the common Satanic barriers used against people from fulfilling their God-given purpose and destiny in life.
To bewitch is to charm a person and spiritually control him using Satanic powers. Evil powers like witchcrafts or sorceries are used to charm, to enslave, or to mislead a person. This evil power can be used on a person, a place or a property.
Many people now are behaving just like the Samaritans in the scriptures above. The people of Samaria were under so much suffering but they never realised it. They were under blindness and Satanic elusion but they didn’t know. They were praising the very man who was destroying them.
They did not really know who Simon was. He was sapping them dry but they believed he was delivering them. It is the same thing with a lot of people today.
Simon was destroying them properly and thoroughly but Satan was ensuring that they were blinded to it.
The people of Samaria ignorantly hailed their enemy. They called their friends, enemies and called their enemies friends. This is what bewitchment is all about.
In Samaria, destruction had already settled over them, sadness was everywhere in the city; unclean spirits had already possessed so many people. Nevertheless, they went about normally. They thought Simon was the answer to their problems whereas he was the problem.
Slowly, ironically, they were dying and praising the man who was destroying their lives. They were bewitched, but all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit located Simon and declared him as a Satanic agent.
We have a lot of people going about looking normal and respectable but inside, they are bewitched. They are spiritually influenced by the power of witchcraft, and are spiritually blinded to such Satanic influence.
We shall be discussing the topic under three subheadings:
1. The Meaning of Bewitchment
2. The Manner of Bewitchment
3. The Manifestations of Bewitchment
1. The Meaning of Bewitchment:
Bewitchment can be described by one or more of the following:
1. It is an act of wickedness to entangle and spiritually control innocent people using Satanic powers.
Wicked people issue curses on good and innocent people. It does not matter whether you have committed an offence or not before they decide to curse or charm you. The mere fact that you are walking on the path to make progress in life makes you their target.
2. It is an act of enslaving people and making them to operate under an evil control.
They would not listen to good counsel. They are always involved in errors and doing the wrong things. Usually, their minds are closed to the truth. Galatians 3:1
3. It is an act of captivating people's mind and making them to experience continuous confusion of the mind, and loss of self-control by forcing them to obey a strange and evil command.
Consciously or unconsciously, a bewitched person walks in accordance with evil commands and directives under the irresistible influence of the powers of darkness.
4. It is an act of evil oppression making the victims to experience all forms of evil occurrences continually.
He may be having continuous accident, frequent sickness, loss of income, loss of position, loss of reputation, affliction with diseases and pains, and so on.
5. A land could be bewitched. Once a land is bewitched, no business will prosper there until the bewitchment upon it is broken.
If a land is bewitched, even if you plant crops there, they will not do well. The reason many people find it difficult to complete their houses is because they are building them on bewitched lands.
6. A house too could be bewitched.
Immediately people get into such houses, they become broke, or begin to experience various Satanic attacks, because it is bewitched.
Immediately some people enter into a particular place, their prosperity would be swallowed. Such a place is bewitched.
7. A town or village could be bewitched.
A good example in the Bible is Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, an unrepentant witch who bewitched a whole nation. 2 kings 9:22.
This makes the people living there to experience various set backs and failures in life, and all the prosperous people there would only succeed if they run away. If they remain there, they would die like paupers.
8. A marriage could be bewitched.
Immediately after the wedding, there will be no money or business. Progress would stop, every good thing would stop and bad things would start to happen. The marriage has been bewitched.
Bewitchment is therefore a very wicked satanic weapon that a believer should not treat with levity.
It is the product of the work of Witches and Wizards that has turned some people to nonentity in the streets. They have held up many people from progressing.
Such people can only be set free in Jesus’ name.
2. The Manner of Bewitchment:
There are various Satanic intermediaries that bewitch. They get their powers from various sources. These powers include:
1. Sorcerers Acts 8:9. Examples are witch doctors, voodoo men, false prophets and priests in marine powered churches.
2. Witches and wizards. 2 Chronicle 33:6; Exodus 22:18; Deuteronomy 18:10.
These are in the churches, schools, work places, and residential neighborhoods. There is a proliferation of them everywhere.
3. Diviners.
They see visions and prophesy, not by the Holy Spirit, but by evil spirits. Acts 16:16.
4. Enchanters.
They cast spells on people.
This makes their victims to misbehave or to believe in a wrong way as a right one.
5. People that have familiar spirit. 1 Samuel 28: 2 Chronicle 33:6.
These are demonic powers that are used in carrying out Satanic supernatural activities.
6. Occult people.
These are people in various occultic groups and secret societies with Satanic powers to influence others.
7. Magicians who use strange powers and strange mirrors.
Some of them hide under religious activities. They burn incense and candles and carry out all sorts of religious rituals.
8. Necromancers.
Deuteronomy 18:11.
They consult the dead to get power to bewitch others.
3. The Manifestations of Bewitchment:
There are several manifestations that could served as evidence of bewitchment. Some of these include:
1. When a person blindly clings to sin, inspite of warnings.
2. When a person is spiritually handicapped to use his or her divine weapons.
3. When a person is suffering from mind confusion and not fully in control of his or her actions.
4. When a person is exhibiting stubborn disobedience to godly counseling and instructions.
5. When a person frequently makes unexplainable mistakes.
Such a person cannot explain why he does some things. He cannot justify his actions.
6. When a person is operating under different demonic powers and influence that are beyond his or her control.
A bewitched person is somebody who is struggling against a force he cannot understand and cannot master.
7. When a person is under the bondage of the spirit of the devourer.
He or she does not know what happens to his or her money. He or she just knows that the money comes in but does not know what is happening to it.
8. When a person is experiencing series of bad dreams.
Some of these are attacks, resistance, robbery, sexual assault, evil covenant and evil fellowship.
9. When a person has completely lost the joy of the Christian life, that is, the joy of salvation.
He or she gets tired of the Christian Life and feels that life is better as an unbeliever.
Conclusion:
Bewitchment is a serious bondage in the lives of the captivated victims.
Only the revelation of the truth of the Word of God, back up with fervent prayers under the power of the Holy Spirit can bring genuine and permanent deliverance .
