“There’s a lot in the Bible about spirit oppression that we just overlook because it’s uncomfortable,” Locke shared. “The Holy Spirit indwells the holy, holy of our body, but there are still demonizing spirits that try to destroy the work of the spirit within us, and because we don’t recognize that the church is in a floundering mess of no victory in America.”
Locke Shares Recent Story of Woman Healed From Tormenting Demon
Locke concluded his sermon by telling a story about a recent encounter he had with an older Christian woman at one of his speaking engagements. The older woman and her husband listen to Global Vision Bible Church’s live streams and heard his Wednesday night sermon on deliverance from evil spirits. She asked the pastor if he’d pray over her because she has struggled for years with what she now believes is a demon tormenting her, resulting in chronic neck and back pain.
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Locke shared that he started praying for her to cast the demon out in Jesus’ name. Those around them witnessed the demon choking her and making her vomit, until it eventually left her body. Locked said that she stood up and shouted that her back and neck were straight, saying, “I never felt like this in a long time. It worked!” To the pastor’s surprise, he said, “It did!” Then he told the tent full of people, “Yes it works! There’s power in the name of Jesus!”
Autism Faith Network’s President Speaks Out
Tonya Nash is a public health consultant who founded the Autism Faith Network (AFN) in 2016. Nash started AFN to come alongside places of worship and help them become more accessible for those who struggle with autism. According to their website, AFN has served 35 churches, with over 10,000 people learning more about autism within their place of worship.
Nash and her husband have two sons who both have autism. The mother took to Twitter to express how Locke’s words not only offended her as mom who has children with autism, but as a Christian as well.
“I was minding my business last night, reading tweets about the Bills vs Chiefs game when the below tweet caught my attention,” Nash’s tweet said. “It’s been a while since I’ve done a faith-based Twitter thread, but Greg Locke’s comments have compelled me to speak up. Put on your seatbelts!”
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Calling out the pastor’s words, Nash said, “Greg Locke’s comments are the very reason why I started @autismfaithnet. His statements are HIGHLY OFFENSIVE to me as a Christian AND mom of TWO sons with autism, with one that also has a rare form of epilepsy. My boys mean EVERYTHING to me. It would be easy to write a post about how amazing they are, assuring everyone that neither one of them has a demon. But I think it’s more important to highlight another point. Some may say, ‘That man is known for controversial statements. Just ignore him.’ That may be true. However, he said out aloud what some Christians secretly think, which is reinforced from pulpits all over the world.”
“How many churches do you know that have a ministry for those with disabilities and their families? Churches have all kinds of ministries,” Nash wrote, listing a few of them. “Singles Ministry, Divorce Ministry, Senior Ministry, Grief Ministry, Prison Ministry—and all of these are important! However, 1 in 4 adults have a disability, 1 in 26 persons will develop #epilepsy, and 1 in 44 children have been diagnosed with #autism.”
