Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley says that accusations brought forward by a former protege are false.

Stephen Powell says he "had a great honour and privilege in my life to be able to travel with Todd Bentley and his team around the world for many years. And, I love Todd," he says through tears in a video posted online. However, he says, there are deep sexual sins in Todd's life "which have not been addressed."

Powell now leads a ministry in North Carolina called Lion of Light Ministries. In his emotional post, he says that Bentley “has an appetite for a variety of sexual sins, including both homosexual and heterosexual activity.”

Bentley led a ministry called Fresh Fire Canada until 2008 when it was shut down after it was revealed he was having an affair with a staff member. Bentley separated from and divorced his wife, Shonnah, and eventually married the staffer, Jessa.

Powell says he believes that Bentley had a genuine conversion experience and loves the Lord, but says he also believes that Bentley "is terribly deceived.

"I believe that Todd has a perverse sexual addiction that He picked up when He was a young man through his dark demonic childhood and through him being abused as a kid," Powell says before revealing that "Down through the years Todd has made sexual advances toward (and in some cases engaged in sexual sin with) a number of different men and women outside his marriage, many of them interns and/or students under his leadership care in the church."

Powell says that he has witnessed some sins over the years, but that it was this summer that most of them began to come to light. He says others have come forward and told them about their own experiences.

"I had never been made aware of this level of serious sin and what I would call 'abominable practices' up until this point with Todd in all the years I’ve known him. My conclusion as to why things are being manifest now is that God is exposing them to be dealt with."

Powell has taken the allegations to those on Bentley's ministry team, including Rick Joyner. Powell claims that several ministry partners, including Joyner, and Bentley's wife, have been covering up Bentley's actions.

Joyner was part of a 'healing team' which restored Bentley to ministry and helped him start Fresh Fire USA in 2009. Joyner is on both Bentley's accountability team and Fresh Fire USA's board of directors.

Joyner responds calling allegations 'witchcraft'

Rick Joyner shared a video response on Facebook, saying that he knows about the allegations. However, Joyner says he has no authority over Bentley, despite being listed on Fresh Fire USA's website as a board member and on Bentley's accountability team.

“When people come to me with pressuring, manipulating, especially threatening if I don’t do something their way, or in their time, I know that’s the devil,” Joyner says. “That’s in Scripture, counterfeit spiritual authority which is called witchcraft. That is not the Holy Spirit. We’ve got to start recognizing what is from the Holy Spirit and what is not.”

Powell tells Charisma News, though, that he never threatened or pressured Joyner.

Bentley responds but post now taken down

Bentley responded with his own Facebook video, however that has since been deleted. Charisma News reports that in the video Bentley says "My accountability team has asked me to come forward and address the recent allegations that have been posted to the world now on social media, Facebook.

"This has already been dealt with behind the scenes, but because an associate has now decided to address the world, I must now have to come public.

"Recently, accusations have been circulating about me and my wife, Jessa. These are by a former associate. The majority of these accusations are absolutely not true. Not all, but the majority. However, there are some that are true, some that even are partial truths. Much are exaggerated and are based on personal speculation.

"In 2013, ... I wasn't involved in any whatsoever adulterous-type affair. There has been no sex outside of my marriage connected to this incident. Over the last six years of text messages now, since 2013, these messages have come up. I had them with associates, interns. They were sexually suggestive. Some of these texts in nature were just outright inappropriate to have these conversations, even about Jessa, things that were in our marriage bed. ... These sins were despicable."

Bentley's post has now been removed from his page, but a number of other posts asking his followers for prayer remain.

Bentley also specifically denied claims of "those homosexual acts. They are gossip, they are swirl, they are speculation, hearsay and they are without any real evidence,” he says. “As far as let the accusers come forth. Let them name names. Let them meet with me, with Rick. With whoever is on my leadership. I would love to be able to look in the eye of the people making the claims.”