Satan’s Triple Attack on the Gospel of Power

By Patricia Backora

After coming across numerous testimonies of how Christians renounced their

participation in the Charismatic movement as a grave error, my eyes were opened to
how satan is happily hitting three birds with one stone. Before I show what
constitutes the deadly weapon the devil is using against the Kingdom of God, what
are the three motives of satan?

1. Weakening God’s people by robbing them of the Holy Ghost power of God and
deceiving them as to the source of sickness and disease (satan)
2. Attacking God’s program for winning souls in the earth (the true Gospel of Jesus
Christ) by spreading his own gospel of lies and branding it as Christ’s own Gospel
3. Ruining Jesus’ reputation in the earth and rob God of glory

I have observed and read about a few ridiculous examples of bizarre practices
associated with Pentecostalism: habitually wailing at the altar to appear spiritual,
making nonsensical noises and jerky motions in worship, preaching emotional
messages with little or no reference to scripture, giving gimmicks, angel feathers and
gold flakes descending from the ceiling, people barking like dogs, etc. It makes me
wonder: How could anybody be so gullible, unless the sad truth is that so many have
grown bored with the simple, unadorned gospel found in the Scriptures: Christ died
for our sins, was buried, rose again, ascended back to the Father, and sent down the
blessed Holy Spirit to empower His disciples for service. The great glad news is
summed up in these words: Christ came to destroy the works of the devil (I John
3:8). Which begs a question: What exactly are the works of the devil Christ came to
destroy?

Before the Fall of Adam, God’s world was a perfect creation, one with which He was
well pleased (Gen.1:31). But after the Fall of Adam, human beings were doomed to
sufferings of various kinds: death, sorrow, pain in childbirth, and difficulty in earning
a living (Gen.3:16-19). Diseases also crept up in the human race. The entire creation
was affected by the curse of sin which resulted from Adam’s rebellion against God
(Rom.8:20).

Many deny that sickness is a work of the devil, in their eagerness to claim it as a
blessing from the hand of a loving Heavenly Father. Their focus is how suffering
great pain could possibly become a catalyst of spiritual growth when borne patiently.
When the devil afflicts a child of God, though, he isn’t out for their spiritual
betterment. He’s ministering death to that one by degrees, and wearing him down
by inches. In Luke 16 Jesus said of a woman he healed of a crippling affliction: And
ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, WHOM SATAN HATH BOUND,
lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? If that
woman’s condition was a blessing sent from the hand of God to help her grow in
grace, then what business did Jesus have, breaking the Sabbath Day to set her free
from that so-called gift of suffering?

Some contend that God is interested only in our spiritual healing, at least until we
get to heaven. The supernatural stuff can wait for later, because it just doesn’t gel
with our technologically advanced culture. Did Jesus heal all who came to Him
during His own earthly ministry?
Matt.8:16: When the even was come, they brought unto him (Jesus) many that were
possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed ALL that
were sick:
VERSE 17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

This one passage alone ought to forevermore settle the controversy as to whether or
not physical healing is included in the atonement Christ made for us on the Cross.
Within the context of Christ’s healing ALL that came to Him for healing, this precious
passage is mentioned as being fulfilled: Isaiah 53:4-5:

Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and
with His stripes we are healed.

Many will admit that Christ setting people free from non-physical problems such as
psychic bondage to satan, emotional torment or spiritual oppression is a crucial part
of what He provided for us. But there seems to be a mental block where it concerns
the realm of VISIBLE miracles of healing on the body.

Acts 10:38 says: How God appointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and
with power; who went about doing good, AND HEALING ALL THAT WERE OPPRESSED
OF THE DEVIL (not by God); For God was with Him.

In the above examples, nowhere does it say that Jesus healing all was limited only
to inner afflictions of the soul.

It is widely believed that miracles ceased with the deaths of the original apostles.
But where did Jesus say that was supposed to be the case, that the early Church was
to be filled with the power of the Holy Ghost and our modern church didn’t really
need it? Instead, Jesus says in Mark 16:17:

And these signs shall follow THEM THAT BELIEVE; In My name they shall cast out
devils; they shall speak with new tongues, They shall take up serpents, and if they
drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; THEY SHALL LAY HANDS ON THE
SICK, AND THEY SHALL RECOVER.

Does this verse only promise that emotional or spiritual sickness would be healed? I
don’t think God limits Himself to being the Christian’s psychiatrist. Didn’t He create
the outside as well as the inside?

Beloved, are you one of those who believe? Or does that precious promise pertain
only to those called to the office of “apostle”?

James 5:14: Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders (not just the
apostles); and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the
Lord.:
VERSE 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him
up, and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.* * * * *The word for
“save” as used in this passage is sozo in the Greek, which means “to make whole”.
VERSE 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may
be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Notice, sickness and being forgiven of sin are mentioned in the same context.
Spiritual healing does not compete for God’s attention with physical healing. God is
well able to perform both at the same time. Jesus Himself asked some skeptics who
challenged His authority to heal and forgive sins: Which is easier? To tell a crippled
man his sins are forgiven, or to tell him to rise up and walk (Luke 5:23)?

Satan makes God’s people sick when they fail to resist him, and sometimes sickness
is hereditary, the result of poor diet, etc. But other times the cause of sickness and
disease is personal sin, and repenting of that sin can be the start of physical, as well
as spiritual, healing.

In Acts 2:17 the Apostle Peter reminds his listeners of a promise made back in Joel
2:28. In the last days God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, and His people
would prophesy. Now, if Peter lived in the last days, where does that leave you and
me? We surely aren’t in the first days, are we? Where, oh, where, did Jesus ever
say that His offer of Holy Ghost power would expire? If His offer of being saved from
sin and its consequences still applies to us today, then who can say we no longer
need the power of His indwelling Spirit to serve Him and live in the Spirit? Are we
inherently more virtuous than the first century believers were? I seriously doubt
that. If we no longer can rely upon the power of the Spirit to help us lead holy lives,
then what is there left for us to rely on except our own weak flesh? Perish the
thought!

The difficulty arises because a lot of very sincere, faithful people pray for healing and
it doesn’t come immediately. I have read of various saints who were able to pray and
see others healed, and yet suffered terribly in their own bodies, some eventually
dying of their illness. I honestly don’t know why that is the case, but whether in this
life or someday in heaven, all of God’s dear children will eventually be made whole.

Truth taken to extremes turns into heresy. Boldness is called for when God leads,
but sanctified common sense is also necessary where the source of the “leading” to
do something hangs in doubt. When Christians are pressured by preachers or well-
meaning friends into giving up their prescription medicine “as a step of faith” that is
dangerous presumption and a sovereign God is bneing put to the test. Well-meaning
Christian parents have allowed their sick children to die rather than permit them to
receive modern medical treatment. Our Lord gently leads, and as long as we willingly
follow, He doesn’t have to prod us along. Jesus Himself said in Luke 5:31: They that
are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. Jesus is not against the
doctoring profession, though it has often been maligned as being only fit for
unbelievers.

Even though our Lord has done marvelous things for so many, the healing ministry is
downplayed or dismissed altogether as being only for the dawn of the church. Many
have been badly hurt by “healing meetings” where every trick is pulled out of the
bag to get the offering bags filled up, and so many truly sick people are ignored
while hypochondriacs or psychosomatic sufferers are prayed for. Plenty of skepticism
can be hidden under all the shouting, clapping, and emotive music, as people are
“slain” by the “evangelist” to put them on the floor in a fog of delusion. Feelings of
euphoria generated by happy music or a clever program can easily mislead folks into
thinking that their migraine headache is gone forever, never to return.
The most unscrupulous preachers know that the crowd is more inclined to be
generous with donations if lots of excitement is drummed up and a good show is put
on. There have even been cases of “plants” seating themselves in wheelchairs to bilk
the faithful into believing a real miracle has happened when the preacher heals his
“lameness”.

The most outrageous thing I read about was of a well-known preacher who walked
up to a lady to tell her God had healed her intra-uterine cancer. Only problem was,
“she” was a “he”, dressed and made up to look like a gorgeous lady. As the
televangelist turned to the “woman”, warnings were being screamed into the
televangelist’s ear that a stooge was in the wheelchair, and for him not to approach
her. “God’s” radio frequency had been discovered by a magician investigating the
televangelist, and evidence supported his suspicion that a bug was planted in the
preacher’s ear. I saw a bug in some preacher’s ear myself once, and wondered why
the preacher was wearing a hearing aid, if he knew how to get folks healed? The
source of the voice reportedly sounded an awful lot like his own wife, who had helped
“greet” new arrivals at the door, asking them for details about who they were, what
ailed them, and where they lived.

Despite the hijinks going on, sometimes people do get healed at healing crusades,
but only because it is God Who does it in response to people’s faith toward Him. But
many more people go home still sick, crying and disillusioned after devoting their
time, their love, and their money to the preacher prancing on the stage.

I read recently about the “Toronto Blessing” and the crazy histrionics it causes which
supposedly brings glory to God. Gold dust (fairy dust?) later proven to be colored
plastic flakes was gently discharged from the ceiling. Another time it was angel
feathers, proven to come from a chicken (named Gabriel?).

TV comedians poke fun of Charismatic excesses. Unbelievers ask questions that are
hard and painful to answer. They wonder why we still cling to a “tired old myth”, and
why we “pledge allegiance to a Book”. How can anybody be so narrow-minded?

Aside from the fact these greedy fishers for funds hinder the salvation of souls
through their sordid example, many Christians now proclaim that they are “ex-
Charismatics”. Some have repented so deeply of their earlier experience that they
claim that speaking in tongues is not for us today. But Jesus said that “those who
believe” would be able to do that. Jesus did not say “those who believe during the
first or second centuries only would speak in tongues.

When we pray in the tongues of the Spirit, our spirit prays, unhindered by the
limitations of our vocabulary or intellect.

I Cor.14:2: For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto man but
unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh
mysteries.
VERSE 4 But he that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth (builds up)himself; but
he that prophesieth edifieth the church.* * * * Except for the exercise of the gift of
tongues with interpretation delivered to the church as a message (ICor.12:10;14:13)
tongues are exclusively for our private prayer time.
Romans 8:26: Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities”: for we know not what
we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered.
VERSE 27:And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because he maketh intercession for us according to the will of God.

How can we imperfect humans, even the most intelligent among us, presume to
think that we are able to pray perfectly well using only our native languages? There
are problems and situations we are unaware of, and matters on God’s heart unknown
to our conscious minds. If the early church needed to pray in the Spirit, how much
more do we need this blessing to get us through this life victoriously!

Satan has brought unjust disrepute upon the true Gospel of Christ by sneaking
perverted doctrines of devils into the church. He has succeeded in turning many
away from Christ because of greedy ministers of deceit spreading dangerous heresies
to get a quick buck. At the same time satan has persuaded formerly joyful Spirit-
filled believers to renounce that precious Baptism of the Spirit as being a theological
error! But substituting carnal “church programs”, fleshly zeal, and religious tradition
for the power from on High is just as futile as dressing up a dead corpse to make it
pass for a living person. You can’t go far in a car unless you first power it up with
the fuel specified by the manufacturer of the car. It is the unction from on High
which gives power to serve Christ in a lost and dying world.

I John 2:20 But ye have an unction (Gr. chrisma) from the Holy One, and ye know
all things. * * * * *The Greek word “chrisma” means unguent, or anointing, in
reference to being anointed by the Holy Spirit. How can anyone try to serve Christ
and claim they don’t need this precious anointing! How dead I felt toward Christ and
the things of the Lord before my own Baptism in the Spirit.

Before His departure, Jesus’ final instructions to the church were:

And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of
Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

So Jesus told His disciples that they are to tarry in Jerusalem for His power before
going out to serve Him. This experience is not the same as being converted. Earlier,
in John 20:22, Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, “Receive ye the Holy
Ghost.” It was only He left that the Holy Spirit in His role as Comforter came to
empower the disciples for service, as Jesus promised He would (John 16:7). The
initial salvation experience and the infilling of the Holy Spirit to empower for service
are two different blessings.

If salvation were synonymous with the Baptism of the Spirit, then why, after
breathing the Spirit into them earlier, would Christ instruct His disciples to tarry in
Jerusalem to receive power after His departure (which is what they did in the Book of
Acts after Christ’s ascension to heaven).

Much, much more is at stake than the fact old ladies have eaten cat food to provide
yachts and mansions for fancy preachers. The devil has maligned our dear Savior’s
Name in the earth because of those carnal clowns, and unless they repent their
damnation will be great (2 Pet.2:3) These selfish fraudsters have turned many
unbelievers away from receiving Christ. MANY SOULS WILL SPEND ETERNITY IN
HELL BECAUSE OF RELIGIOUS RACKETEERS GREEDY FOR GAIN! And, to God’s
heartbreak, many Christians have thrown the baby out with the bath water and
renounced the Holy ghost power they so desperately need to stand in this evil day. It
is like a bride who has received as a wedding gift from Her bridegroom the most
precious thing he had, and because others have given it a bad reputation she hands
it back to him.

May God restore the glory and the power to His hurting church in these last days.
Amen.