[wanabidii] Fw: Fetish priest was feared in his village, until Jesus changed his heart

Fetish priest was feared in his village, until Jesus changed his heart

On Thursday, October 23, 2014 1:02 AM, "ANS@Assist-Ministries.com" <ANS@Assist-Ministries.com> wrote:

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: assistnews@aol.com Wednesday, October 22, 2014 Fetish priest was feared in his village, until Jesus changed his heart By Mark Ellis Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (ANS) -- In his fetish shrine - filled with inanimate objects of worship - he served as mediator between the living and the dead. Many feared him in the village, until God's Word brought transformational change. Fetish priest in Togo "Nicolas was the head of his village and owned all the renowned fetishes of the region, which each have an idol attached to them," says Pastor Ebo*, who is affiliated with Faith Comes by Hearing (FCBH). "He was known to be one of the most wicked animists of the region." In West Africa, fetish priests perform rituals in these shrines to gain favor from their gods. Their rituals are sometimes performed with money, alcohol, animals, and in some locales, human sex slaves. "If a person didn't respond properly to the fetish priest's request, they were asked to kill their own family members in order to provide the blood required to feed the idols. Because of that, Nicolas was highly feared," Pastor Ebo says. Yet Pastor Ebo felt led to reach out to the dreaded priest. "Despite my concerns, God told me to talk to him about Christ. I visited his son and he took me to see Nicolas who was suffering from an abscess in his right armpit." Apparently, Nicolas couldn't find relief for his malady from his many idols. Pastor Ebo t ook his "Proclaimer" to the visit, a digital device dedicated to playing God's Word in their language. "I introduced myself and told him that God sent me to talk with him," he reports. "I quickly started playing the Proclaimer," which he had set to play in the first Epistle of John. What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life - and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was from the Father and was manifested to us. After playing God's Word for a few minutes, Pastor Ebo shut off his Proclaimer, and he began to share his hope in Jesus Christ. Suddenly there was a dramatic change in the wicked priest's countenance. Nicolas became silent, held his chin, and started sobbing. MORE     See all ASSIST News articles at www.assistnews.net Mark Ellis is a senior correspondent for ASSIST News Service and the founder of www.Godreports.com.  He is available to speak to groups about the plight of the church in restricted countries, to share stories and testimonies from the mission field, and to preach the gospel. mark@Godreports.com ** You may republish this story with proper attribution. Send this story to a friend. Note to our subscribers: It you really appreciate what we do through ANS and would like to make a donation to help us continue with this unique news service, you can do so in two ways. First, just go to our secure site at www.assistnews.net/assist/donations.htm, where you can sign up for a monthly gift or a one-off contribution (tax-deductible in the US). Second, if you prefer to send a check, just make it out to ASSIST, and mail it to ASSIST, PO Box, 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609, USA (also tax-deductible in the US). Thank you so much for caring! Dan Wooding ASSIST News Service is Sponsored By