Founder and General Overseer of Peace Chapel International, Bishop Bright Michael Adofoh, and General Overseer of Freedom Chapel International, Apostle Francis Amoako Atta, have advised Christians to shun commercial prophets and pastors and rather be committed and remain loyal to what God had ordained for them.
Consequently, the two popular men of God cautioned Christians, and Ghanaians at larger, to refrain from patronising the sale of so-called anointing oil, holy water, handkerchiefs and other “odd items” from pastors and prophets in the country because, according to them, the practice is “satanic.”
Speaking on GTV on Monday, December 8, 2014 in Accra, both Bishop Adofoh and Apostle Amoako Atta stressed that in the spiritual realm, objects like talisman and lately anointing oil and holy water are given to establish contact with demons for a breakthrough.
The two men of God bemoaned the ascendancy in reported cases of their colleague pastors and prophets selling holy water, oil, handkerchiefs and all sorts of “weird items” for breakthroughs, warning the populace not to get close to such practices since they were not acceptable in the sight of God.
According to them, all those who desire breakthrough in life should “faithfully seek the face of God” through constant prayers and by living righteous lifestyles that would glorify the creator of the world, God, “and you shall be blessed abundantly in return by God.”
They insisted that all those who get rich through ungodly practices like the purchase of oil and water live to regret since their wealth and breakthrough are be short-lived.
They admonished Christians that patronised the sale of oil, handkerchiefs and holy water to quickly ask for forgiveness from God so that they could prevent the possibility of calamities befalling them and their families.
The men of God also explained that the sale of these items by pastors for breakthroughs in life had been a worry to them for over two decades now. “…and it is against this background that we [Apostle Amoako Atta and Bishop Bright Michael Adofoh] have decided to come out boldly to condemn the phenomenon now, following the recent death of four people through the ‘mad’ rush for holy oil and water in Accra,” the two men of God said.
They, therefore, entreated pastors to preach salvation to win more souls for the kingdom of God which is near and stop misleading people with getting fabulously rich overnight.
For his part, Bishop Adofoh said to have a successful life “was to cherish what God had ordained for us," and therefore called on men of God to look for other gainful employment apart from doing the work of God.
That, according to Bishop Adofoh, would enable Christians not to depend solely on the revenue generation of their churches to make ends meet.
Meanwhile, the General Overseer of the Bethel Kwabenya Prayer Ministry, Prophet Douglas Nana Tih, is also reported to have called on Christians to avoid buying “so-called” anointing oils and concoctions for solution to their problems.”
“Rather Christians should put their hopes and faith in the Lord for the resolution of their troubles,” he advised.
Prophet Douglas Nana Tih asked Christians to be mindful of false pastors and prophets who were misleading people into believing that such items could resolve their problems.
“These so-called men of God prepare some concoctions, anointing oils and many other things to swindle the congregation in believing that their problems would be solved through that,” Prophet Nana Tih said, adding that “Jesus did not sell any anointing oil to any of his followers.
General Overseer of the Open Arms Ministries in Kumasi, Apostle Kofi Nkansah-Sarkodie, also bemoaned the upsurge of false prophets and pastors in the country.
According to him, under the guise of helping people with spiritual protection some self-acclaimed men of God sell anointed oil and holy water at exorbitant prices to unsuspecting Christians.
To this end, Apostle Nkansah-Sarkodie warned these false men of God to stop the habit of exploiting Christians to enrich themselves.