Minister of Public Works and presiding bishop of Outreach Ministries International Winners’ Cathedral, Juan Edghill, has declared that he will not be destroyed by public attacks, telling his congregation that although he has been “bitten by a snake,” he will not die.
Delivering a sermon at the church last Sunday, Edghill used the image of a venomous snake to describe what he suggested were public attacks against him.
“I’ve been bitten by a snake publicly, but I will not die,” Edghill said. The Minister and bishop continued: “So, a venomous beast has bitten me. I’ve thrown it in the fire.”
The remarks appeared to draw from the biblical account of the Apostle Paul, who was bitten by a venomous snake after surviving a shipwreck, but suffered no harm.
Edghill has been facing mounting calls for his resignation after the 87-year-old MV Barima vessel sank on July 18, leaving 73 people confirmed dead, 30 still missing and 76 rescued. One of the rescued persons later died.
Nevertheless, Edghill used the moment to send what he described as a message of love, not hate, to those who had spoken against him.
“I love everyone. I love everyone, even those who had evil to say about me,” he said. Edghill said he was choosing not to allow hatred to take root in him, despite the criticism he said had been directed his way.
“I’m sending love to everyone who found it convenient, fashionable, to say something evil about me,” he told the congregation.
He added: “I’ve asked God to ensure that no hate…” In one of the strongest lines of the sermon, Edghill said external attacks would not define who he is.
“What’s around me does not define me. What’s inside of me defines me,” he said. Turning his attention to those he believes are waiting to see him fall, Edghill said they would be disappointed.
“So, all those who are looking for me to swell up and die because a venomous beast has bitten me, I want to tell you, keep looking, because I would not die,” he declared.
He added that what God has placed inside of him cannot be destroyed by outside attacks.
“What God has put in me, the venom of a beast cannot penetrate,” Edghill said.
The sermon also came against the backdrop of a protest outside the church earlier that morning. Edghill acknowledged that some members of the congregation may have been unsettled by the demonstration but said he did not engage the protesters.
“I know some of you are scared. There was a protest at the church this morning, and I’m sure some people were scared of that. I didn’t even say a word to anybody,” he said.
He also noted that the protest was being circulated on social media.
“They were publishing it on Facebook,” Edghill said. But the bishop ended that section of his sermon with a firm declaration: “No beast. No venomous beast.”
