“Replacement!”

“Replacement!”(Mt.12:43-45).
The Nigerian born Samuel Ajayi Crowther was the first African to be consecrated bishop of the Anglican Church. Crowther is remembered for telling African priests not to take away anything from our people without a replacement.
This is the spirit with which the male converts of the Aladura Church, an African Independent Church saw in the Holy Book an alternative source of power. When these men were first converted into Christianity, they abandoned their charms, amulets, etc. These were objects of power which made them “real men” in the African sense. They were regarded by the unconverted as “women, calling themselves men” since they had no spiritual powers again.
However, when these men read the Psalms, they discovered that the Psalms combined with other names of God and some portions of the Old Testament gave them powers that superceded charms and amulets.
The African is not just “notoriously religious;” like any other human, he is a spiritual being.
The physical stands only when it receives strength from the physical. This physical man without his spiritual alterego is helpless.
As it is, the spiritual universe contains good and evil. These two are diametrically opposed to each other and are engaged in a perennial combat.
Since the physical being is of necessity sustained by the spiritual, the physical must of necessity be full of the spiritual; be it good or evil spirits.
When light contends with darkness, light must prevail. “Evil spirits, or demons are cohorts of the “Fallen angel.”
Any soul inhabited by an evil spirit is a tormented soul. When the Spirit of God frees such a soul from demonic control, there should be no rejoicing yet!
Without a replacement, the battle is not yet over! This is the sense in which Bishop Crowther told his African priests not to take without replacement. This is the sense in which the Aladura Church discovered the Psalms as a stronger potent to replace their African charms and amulets.
The Lord Jesus Christ says, “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first…”
Therefore my friend, there are two options: Either there is an evil spirit in you which should be exorcised. If that is so, it should not end with the exorcism. You need the clean house to be replaced with the Holy Spirit. Maybe evil seems to thrive because replacement has not been given its due place! On the other hand, if the Holy Spirit is in you, then glory be to God. In which case you should pray like David, “Cast me not from your presence, O, LORD. And take not your Holy Spirit from me.” Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.