Last week, megachurch pastor Bill Winston said that there is a "spirit of division" in the Body of Christ, as shown by racial tensions within churches.
Winston delivered a sermon last Friday at the Living Word Christian Center's 2021 International Faith Conference in Forest Park, Illinois, Christian Post reported. He warned his audience that many Christians continue to behave "fleshly" even after they have been redeemed.
"The enemy has created a spirit of division, and racism is division [and] prejudice. Once I come into Christ, I have a brand-new identity," he said.
"Most cities on Sunday morning are the most segregated time in the Body of Christ. ... Because of that, we have been somewhat carnal," he added.
In pointing out that this shouldn't be the case among Christians, he provided a foolproof illustration.
He said that when one has a heart transplant, blood is needed, and the patient won't generally care about the blood donor's race.
"When the blood comes [for a blood transfusion], the people don't say, 'Whose blood is that? Does that blood come from an Indian?' No, they don't say that. They say, 'Give me that blood,'" reasoned Winston. "The man inside me is God. I am God's child ... in the plan of God."
Moreover, much as people see the internal structure of the body to be the same across all races, Winston argues that every member of the Body of Christ, regardless of ethnicity, should also be perceived to be equals in Christ. He also maintained that God-given opportunities are available to everyone, regardless of appearance and skin color.
"So, I can get me a check too. ... Whatever you can get, I can get it too," he said.
He then warned of the consequences of ignoring or not addressing church dispute and conflict.
"This thing comes in the Church. The world creeps in the Church, and as long as [the enemy] can keep the Church there, he can keep the Church from the miracles," he said.
He reminded his audience that the beginning of a miracle is spiritual, not physical. Without these miracles, he said, people may be prevented from achieving life breakthroughs.
"You are not from this world. ... You were born from above," he said " Act like you are from home. Talk like God."
In Charismatic-Pentecostal circles, that means to take authority over the course your life.
"I don't care what the situation looks like," he continued. "We have been programmed to operate in this human-logical-that-makes-sense world. And as a result of that, we've seen no miracles. The whole earth is waiting for you to manifest. The enemy's job is to keep us in a place where we won't grow up."
Winston adds that one way Christians can fulfill their destiny is by not being embarrassed of the Gospel.
"You got to be unashamed of the Gospel. You were made for this," he said. "You weren't made to sit back and cry about it and talk [about] how bad it is. You're made to do something about it."
He then encouraged speaking and proclaiming things from the Word as God has stated them, regardless of what any man, no matter their status, may say.
"Let God be true, and every man be a liar...If you talk like God, God's going to back it up," he said.
Winston is credited with founding the 20,000-member Living Word Christian Center in Tuskegee, Alabama, as well as the Tuskegee Christian Center.
