The Spirit of Religion

CALL TO PRAYER

By: Stephen Osei Kuffour

Date: 16.04.2023

Title: The Spirit of Religion

Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. (Revelations 2:4-5 NKJV)

After being in Church regularly for a long time, it will reach a point where it becomes a routine. This is the point where if one is not vigilant, your love for God and His work may diminish but you will still be in Church and work in the Ministry because it has become a routine (Religion). That’s when Religious Spirit sets in. Religious Spirit is subtle but slowly destroying the Church. If you consider many Ministries, you will find out that there are many people who claim to be Believers but are not in good terms with a brother or a sister in the same Ministry. Some are even Church leaders.

Although they have heard the message of forgiveness several times, it has become normal to them, and they have hardened their heart. Those who may have been in that Ministry for a long time will even become familiar with the Spiritual Leader and his messages to the extent that they won’t take them seriously. Sadly, they forget that the message is from the Lord and not from the man of God.

Such people are mostly unfruitful and won’t do any work to support the growth of the Ministry and the Kingdom of God as a whole. However, when a new person joins the ministry and he/she is working zealously, these lazy Believers will gossip and criticize the serious ones. They will then be asking questions like, “When did he join the Ministry? We are the pioneers of this Ministry, this is not how things are being done here, etc.” This is the same thing the Pharisees and Sadducees were doing to our Lord Jesus (Mark 2:16, John 9:16, Mark 7:5).

In Ghana where I come from, it is believed that about 75% of the population are Christians. What does this tell us? It means Ghana is a Christian country and the majority of the leaders of the various Government and private institutions are Christians. However, if the Accountant General does his yearly Audits, there are always some finances lost that could not be accounted for. These people are always present in Church every Sunday and even give big Offerings and Tithes but will not repent from their evil deeds. In the minds of such people, once they have given part of their stolen and corrupt monies to support the Kingdom, the Lord is happy with them.

The Spirit of Religion drives many away from the Kingdom and hinders its growth. It is therefore very important to deal with this subtle but dangerous Spirit. One key is to continually examine yourself and make changes (2 Cor 13:5-7). If you have lost your first love, you need to go back to what you used to do before (Rev 2:4-5). Most people were zealous when they first heard the Gospel and gave their lives to Christ; they used to be on fire for Christ. However, we have allowed the world, its pleasures, and the cares of this world to take the first place in our lives. Beloved, this is the time to go back to your first love (Rev 2:4-5). Another important key is to spend regular time in the presence of God through prayer and reading the Word. The more we consistently spend time with the Lord, the more our love for Him increases.

Beloved in the Lord, Religious Spirit is a dangerous evil Spirit that is slowly hindering the growth of the Church. It is very subtle because the people who are influenced by such Spirit are deceived to think that they are pleasing the Lord. However, their love for the Lord has diminished. We can deal with it by examining ourselves and spending regular time in the presence of God. Don’t be deceived! Be vigilant because this subtle Spirit can influence you irrespective of how long you have been in the Ministry.

Prayer Point:

Let’s thank God for His Word today. Let’s ask the Lord to help all Believers to be conscious of the religious spirit. Let’s take Authority over every form of Religious Spirit in the Church and cast it out of the Church in Jesus’ Name.

God bless you all