Kingston, Jamaica…[Nigel Coke/IAD]
“Jamaica needs to move from the power of man to the Power of God in order to be rescued from the clutches of supernatural power,” were the words of instruction to the Government and people of Jamaica. The words were spoken by Pastor Samuel Telemaque, Sabbath School and Personal Ministries director for the church in the Caribbean Union, at a Prayer Conference on Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Kencot Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica. The prayer conference was held under the theme “Expanding God’s Kingdom on the Wings of Prayer,” and was organized by the Adventist Layperson Services and Industries (ASi) Prayer Ministries (Jamaica Chapter).
In his presentation, designed to bring spiritual and emotional healing to all present at the conference, Pastor Telemaque said “money, education or status cannot fight the devil. The church through Prayer, the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Spirit can fight the spiritual warfare that the country is facing at this time. He said “no politician or handout can stop the current wave of crime and violence. What is needed is the word of God to fight the stronghold of the devil.”
Commenting on Ephesians 6:12, Pastor Telemaque said, “The church must deal with supernatural things. The Government can fight natural things, but spiritual things are for the church through spiritual weapons, as supernatural battles are fought with supernatural power.” Pastor Telemaque lamented the fact that government can only capture criminals, but not the demons that control them. They can build prisons, but only God can turn prisons into churches.
He said, “we are not fighting the government, drugs users, gunmen or people in general, but the devil, who is the real enemy of mankind”.
In bringing greetings to the congregation, the president for the church in the West Indies Union, Pastor Patrick Allen, said that in recent times there have been talks about the church not doing enough in light of the upsurge in crime and violence over the past months. However, he said that had it not been for the churches’ involvement in communities and through earnest prayer, Jamaica would have been ten times worse than what it is today. He argued that the media has not been able to highlight the work of the church at all times, but that does not mean that the church is not actively involved in addressing the current crime situation. He told the church members not to be discouraged by these remarks as “it may appear awkward and weak, but the church fights its greatest battles on its knees”.
The conference, which started on Friday, Oct. 21, ended on Sunday morning Oct. 23, with a prayer and consecration service. It included seminars and presentations on how to use the Bible in prayer, methods of prayer in evangelism, prayer ministry and church growth and a prayer walk, which saw members of the church going out into the community of Kencot and its surroundings two-by-two, greeting and praying with persons with whom they came in contact.
