“Pastor, my project supervisor is a man of God, yet he behaves like he’s not a Christian. Is it possible for the devil to use a man of God as an obstacle for one’s progress?”

Ofcourse, the devil can use a man of God who isn’t fully yielded to the Spirit of Christ yet. Any man of God that still walks in the flesh can easily be corrupted by the deceptions of the devil. Galatians chapter 6 reveals a very powerful secret on how to identify a man that walks in the flesh. Let’s see how scriptures put it:

Galatians 6:
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap corruption; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Did you see that? If that man of God does things that starves his spirit but pleases his flesh, then the possibility of corruption by the devil is very high. Let me show you a few scriptural instances of men of God who were influenced by the devil:

– PETER

Matthew 16:
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Did you see that? Jesus communicated a highly spiritual information to his disciples and he expected them to spiritually discern his statement; however, Peter was in the flesh that day and Satan used that as an advantage to corrupt his will and emotion. Thank God it was Jesus, because I keep wondering how a natural man would have overcome that emotional blackmail from Peter.

Have you ever attempted to do something but stopped only because someone presented an emotion that you didn’t want to be responsible for? That’s what happened to Jesus that day. Many destinies have crashed due to emotional blackmail. It’s clearly one of the tools that Satan uses to hinder believers from making enviable progress. Bishop Oyedepo’s wife was sick, yet he was traveling around the world preaching. Imagine that he had endured the emotional blackmail, his ministry would have ended – taking care of his wife.

So Jesus understood that it wasn’t Peter that was talking at that moment, and so he rebuked the devil that was using Peter. Peter got corrupted by the devil because he sowed in the flesh, and so it became necessary to rebuke the devil so that Jesus’s progress would not be hindered.

If you know that your project supervisor – who also is a man of God, sows to the flesh, then his hindrance would most likely be demonic. And if that’s the case, you have to take authority in the name of Jesus and rebuke the devil.

Note that I didn’t say “rebuke the man”, because you can’t actually rebuke another man. God didn’t give us power over man, rather He gave us power over principalities and powers. Peter’s mind was restored after Jesus rebuked the devil, so I expect your project supervisor to be normal after you do the same.

However, let’s consider the second instance before we draw a conclusion.

– JUDAS

John 13:
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”
22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.
23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”
25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.
27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”

We know the story of Judas and how he betrayed Jesus. Although he was also part of the twelve disciples of Jesus, but he sowed to the flesh. And because he sowed to the flesh, Satan could enter into him.

Many people believe that Judas had to betray Jesus by prophecy, but what we may not have realized is that if Judas didn’t sow to the flesh, God would have needed to find another person to do what Judas needed to do. So in picking the twelve, Jesus was very meticulous. He knew Judas wasn’t perfect, but he picked him because he would serve His purpose.

By the way, it was from Jesus that I learnt that we establish relationships based on our purpose, not based on emotions or anything else. Why would anybody employ someone who would sell him out? Yet, Jesus did exactly that, because he knew that his purpose would not be actualized without being sold out by someone close to him. So I know that my accountant may be stealing my money, but I’d endure because there’s a greater purpose ahead. The temporal loss cannot be compared to the eternal gain ahead.

Perhaps you’re wondering how Judas’s case relates to your situation, the depravity from your project supervisor may be a necessary hindrance that should reveal a greater glory. One of the ways you’d discover this is to revisit the things that God had told you in times past.

As I conclude, no matter who is against you, always remember that all things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to His purpose.

I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

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