C-13. Is the PROSPERITY Gospel GOOD or BAD? An old farmer once said that Christians should at least be as smart as a cow. For even a cow knows that when he eats hay he should spit out the straw. In other words, when we hear the word of God taught and preached to us we should discern and keep that which is good and throw out that which is bad. But how can we know what is good for our soul and that which is bad for our soul? When in doubt follow and obey what Jesus said and taught keeping everything in BALANCE. And just because one doctrine a church denomination or church movement teaches is in error does NOT mean that everything they teach is in error. We all need to take care to not throw out the baby with the bathwater as the old saying goes. Let us KEEP what is good and throw out the error. Now while I do not believe in the prosperity message as a whole I do believe God desires to meet all our NEEDS and many of the same principles that the prosperity preachers teach are indeed found in the Bible. Before we dive into the Scriptures ask yourself if your goodness or kindness is better than the goodness of God? What I mean by this is that a GOOD parent will provide all the needs of their children. Even the needs of disobedient children are provided or should be provided by their parents. So then, does God supply all our needs because we give money to a church denomination or because we are his children and God loves us? Please read Matthew 6:19-34. “Lay NOT up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye is single, your whole body shall be full of light. 23. But if your eye is evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Or you cannot serve God and money) 25. Therefore I say unto you, Take NO THOUGHT for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than them? 27. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28. And why take you THOUGHT for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: (The word thought here speaks of worrying and being full of anxiety. Jesus also teaches us to be wise as a fox. So being wise to plan things out is, indeed, taught in the Scriptures. We are to be good stewards of what God blesses us with) 29. And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30. Wherefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31. Therefore take NO THOUGHT, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32. (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. 33. But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. 34. Take therefore NO THOUGHT for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” So the balanced teaching of this passage of Scripture is to have faith and trust God for our physical NEEDS of food, clothing, and shelter. The focus is to NOT worry and be anxious about whether or not you will have enough food to eat or enough money to buy a new pair of shoes because your shoes are wearing out. God knows that we have need of these things. Jesus teaches us to not lay up treasure here on the earth but rather we are to focus on the kingdom of God and we will lay up treasures in heaven. And if our eye is single and focused on the kingdom of God then our whole body will be full of light. But if our eye is on the things of the world to serve money, then the light in us will be DARKNESS and great will be that darkness. Now let us read 1 John 2:15-17. “Love NOT the world, NEITHER the THINGS that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is NOT in him. 16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, (Envy, covetousness, greed) and the pride of life, is NOT of the Father but is of the world. 17. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever.” This present world is as a vapor that passes in a moment and our entire lifetime is as a vapor compared to eternity. Please read James 4:13-17. “Go to now, you that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14. Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appear for a little time, and then vanishes away. 15. For that you ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16. But now you rejoice in your BOASTINGS: all such rejoicing is EVIL. 17. Therefore, to him, that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin.” I sincerely believe that God supplies all our needs according to HIS riches in glory and if we have a need God will meet that need. Consider the widow who had only a little oil to cook with but she esteemed others more than herself and through the famine in the land that bottle of oil never ran dry no matter how much she poured out the level of the oil in the bottle never changed. Please read 1 Kings 17:8-16. “And the word of the LORD came unto him, (Elijah) saying, 9. Arise, get you to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you. (Here we see that God provides for his prophet and servant) 10. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray you, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray you, a morsel of bread in your hand. (Just enough to supply his NEED) 12 And she said, As the LORD your God lives, I have NOT a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. 13. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as you have said: but make me thereof a little cake FIRST, and bring it unto me, and after make for you and for your son. (As we esteem OTHER more than ourselves God is always FAITHFUL to provide all our NEEDS.) 14. For thus says the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth. 15. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: (She believed and trusted God’s word) and she, and he, and her house did eat many days. 16. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Elijah.” Now the balanced teaching here is to NOT be lazy and not work to make a living. When I myself am asking the question “Is the prosperity gospel good or bad?” I am speaking of two things. The first thing is, “Is it right in the eyes of God for ministers of the gospel to accumulate great wealth to consume upon themselves like some pastors are doing in the church of today?” And the second thing is “Is it right in the eyes of God for church denominations to build mega worship centers that are more like country clubs with gymnasiums and massive utility bills?” I commend those pastors and leaders who are coming out of megachurches to disciple those in the fellowship to become pastors themselves over smaller groups of Christians. I mean how many people can one pastor effectively be a good shepherd over before some of his sheep start falling through the cracks so to speak? Now when it comes to the flock I do believe that God mightily blesses some Christians so that they can bless others. The money God gives to THEM is in their OWN power to give or to not give to help others. So if a Christian that is not a pastor is blessed to have a 5 million or 10 million dollar home then praised God. And if some Christians already have great wealth and they are called to be pastors and they choose to keep their great wealth for themselves then that is fine as well. But when a pastor lives in immense wealth OFF of the tithes and offerings and the gifts of the flock then I personally do not believe this is a good thing in the sight of Almighty God. I believe this is what the Bible calls FLEECING the flock so to speak. Please read 1 Peter 5:2-4. “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; NOT for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3. Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. 4. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away.” So then, when God blesses a congregation and large amounts of money start to flow into the treasury of the church’s storehouse, then appoint men full of the Holy Spirit to distribute that money to the POOR and needy. Lay up treasure in heaven as opposed to building a huge church building to impress or outdo other pastors. And definitely, do NOT consume the church’s finances upon yourself being filled with greed which is filthy lucre. Please read Titus 1:10,11. “For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, especially they of the circumcision: 11. Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.” Titus 1:7. “For a bishop (Or pastor) must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, NOT given to filthy lucre;” 1Timothy 3:8. “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, NOT GREEDY of filthy lucre;” Or those appointed under the pastor as his helpers must not be given to GREED and filthy lucre to consume God’s money upon themselves. Please read Matthew 16:24-27. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him DENY HIMSELF, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26. For what is a man profited, if he shall GAIN the WHOLE WORLD, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” The Bible ITSELF teaches us that godliness having CONTENTMENT is great gain and NOT that great GAIN is godliness. Please read 1Timothy 6:4-12. “He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, 5. Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth SUPPOSING that GAIN is godliness: from such WITHDRAW yourself. 6. But godliness with contentment is a great gain. 7. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9. But they that WILL be RICH fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. (Some Christians are just simply BLESSED and whatever they set their hands to do turn to gold so to speak. Their wealth is NOT motivated by GREED. And again they are NOT pastors of a church living off God’s money claiming that a laborer is worthy of his hire. That is like working in a bank and helping yourself to a little extra cash that is NOT YOURS, reasoning in yourself that you are a good worker and you deserve a raise. That is called EMBEZZLING. That money that the sheep are giving to the CHURCH does NOT BELONG to you and you will be judged by your WORKS) 10. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have ERRED from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11. But you, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are also called, and have professed a good profession before many witnesses.” I mean the teaching in the NEW Testament under the NEW Covenant is pretty straightforward when it comes to money and how to use the wealth if so be God has blessed you with great wealth. And the teaching in the New Testament is also very explicit when it comes to the LEADERS of the church being EXAMPLES for the sheep to follow. I pray that those Christians being deceived by prosperity preachers and teacher to sow SEED MONEY into their ministry, to obey the words of Jesus that he gave to his disciples, to WITHDRAW yourselves from such who pervert God’s word. There is NO shame in being POOR. Here the words of Jesus our Lord and Savior. Please read Luke 6:20-25. “And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, BLESSED be you poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. 21. BLESSED are you that hunger now: for you shall be filled. Blessed are you that weep NOW: for you shall laugh. (The treasures of the just are laid up to the righteous in the world to come.) 22. Blessed are you, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. 23. Rejoice you in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. 24. BUT WOE unto you that are rich! for you have RECEIVED YOUR CONSOLATION (In this PRESENT world). 25. WOE unto you that are full! for you shall hunger. WOE unto you that laugh now! for you shall mourn and weep.” My heart grieved when I heard a pastor BOAST that he has been a BILLIONAIRE for a long time now. I mean how much is enough? Please read Mark 10:23-25. “And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have RICHES enter into the kingdom of God! 24. And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answers again, and said unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in RICHES to enter into the kingdom of God! 25. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a RICH man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Now, some Christians caught up in the prosperity message, will argue that Jesus also says GIVE and it shall be GIVEN back to you and they quote Luke 6:38 but they avoid what we just read in Luke 6:20-25 where Jesus says WOE to them that are RICH. Let us read this famous prosperity verse that is memorized by every prosperity teacher and their followers. Luke 6:38. “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Now ask yourself the question. Since Jesus is WARNING the RICH is this passage of Scripture, would it not seem logical that Jesus is speaking TO the RICH to give GENEROUSLY from their wealth that they ALREADY have and that men shall give it back to them and even more so for your giving to the POOR? I mean after everything Jesus says about how HARD it is for a RICH man to enter into the kingdom of God it does not sound logical to me for these words of Jesus in verse 38 to be intended to mean that Jesus is teaching us HOW to become RICH. Why would Jesus teach us how to become RICH so that it will be HARD to enter into the kingdom of God when SCARCELY or HARDLY a RICH man enters into the kingdom of God? Verse 38 is teaching us how to be GIVERS so that we know that we can trust God to provide for our needs. And if we are faithful in the small things then God will increase our blessing for the PURPOSE of being able to give MORE. Matthew 19:23. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily (Or TRULY) I say unto you, That a RICH man shall HARDLY enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus goes on to teach us that whatsoever we do to others we do to Jesus and that when our deeds to others are GOOD we will receive a reward in the world to come. BUT if we are SELFISH and do NOT do good deeds to others WHEN you know that the Holy Spirit is leading you to help others then Jesus will say depart from me and be cast into the lake of fire unless you confess your sin of disobeying the Holy Spirit. In other words, Jesus is warning Christians of the danger of GREED and how the more money you make the more you want to hold on to that money as your provider. Matthew 25:31-46. “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32. And before him, shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats: 33. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35. For I was an hungered, and you GAVE me meat: I was thirsty, and you GAVE me drink: I was a stranger, and you TOOK ME IN: 36. Naked, and you CLOTHED me: I was sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came unto me. 37. Then shall the RIGHTEOUS answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we you an hungered, and fed you? or thirsty, and gave you drink? 38. When saw we you a stranger, and took you in? or naked, and clothed you? 39. Or when saw we you sick, or in prison, and came unto you? 40. And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily (Or TRULY) I say unto you, Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me. 41. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42. For I was an hungered, and you gave me NO meat: I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink: 43. I was a stranger, and you took me NOT in: naked, and you clothed me NOT: sick, and in prison, and you visited me NOT. (To me, this speaks of MINISTERING to the sick and helping those who fall into sin to HELP them recover themselves from sin. This is why I say that MEGA churches are simply TOO big to effectively MINISTER to the sheep that are HURTING and that NEED help.) 44. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we you an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto you? 45. Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you did it NOT to one of the least of these, you did it not to me. 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Luke 1:52,53. “He has put down the mighty from their seats and exalted them of low degree. 53. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the RICH he has sent empty away.” Now I personally do not believe that God is against rich people, but rather opposes GREEDY and SELFISH RICH people like the parable of the rich man and the poor sick man Lazarus. Jesus is against the rich, in that, they do NOT ESTEEM others above themselves, they lack compassion and the love of God is not perfected in them. And if and when they do give they do it for the GLORY of men and thus they have their reward in THIS life and PUNISHMENT in the world to come. Please read Luke 16:19-25. “There was a certain RICH man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, (Representing the POOR and the SICK.) 21. And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the RICH man's table: moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. 22. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the RICH man also died and was buried; 23. And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25. But Abraham said, Son, remember that you IN YOUR LIFETIME RECEIVED your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but NOW he is comforted, and YOU are tormented.” Matthew 5:3. “BLESSED are the POOR in SPIRIT: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” A Christian can be RICH and still be POOR IN SPIRIT having a GIVING heart to reach out to help the POOR. But the track record so to speak shows us that FEW rich people give away MORE wealth than they consume upon themselves. Please read Luke 10:25-37. “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how read you? 27. And he answering said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; AND your neighbor as yourself. 28 And he said unto him, You have answered right: this do, and you shall live. 29. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor? 30. And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32. And likewise, a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. (The priest and the Levite represent the MINISTERS, the PASTOR, and the LEADERS of the church who are supposed to be EXAMPLES to their flock.) 33. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34. And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. (Even though this common man was busy with matters that needed to be attended to he ESTEEMED OTHER more than himself and took the time to take care of the injured man himself and brought him to a place when he could PAY someone else to care for the man until he got back from doing what matters that he could no longer postpone) 35. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever you spend more, when I come again, I will repay you. (He had GENUINE COMPASSION for those in NEED) 36. Which now of these three, think you, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? 37. And he said He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do YOU likewise.” I have heard prosperity teacher MISQUOTE verses by taking them OUT of their context to try and support their perverted prosperity doctrine. For example, they will quote only part of James saying, “You HAVE NOT because you ASK NOT…” and then they will say that you have to CALL prosperity into existence. Let us read the whole CONTEXT of James 4:2. Please read James 4:1-7. “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even OF your LUST that war IN your members? (Speaking of the war between the old carnal man of the flesh and the new inner man created in Jesus Christ. The old man desires the things of the world and the new man desires the things of God) 2. You lust and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not. 3. You ASK, and RECEIVE NOT, because you ask AMISS, that YOU may CONSUME IT upon YOUR OWN LUSTS. 4. You adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5. Do you think that the scripture says in vain, The spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy? 6. But he gives more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resists the proud but gives grace unto the humble. 7. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” In other words, RESIST that evil spirit to ENVY and LUST after the things of the WORLD and the Devil WILL flee from you. Can you not see dear children of God how the prosperity message has PERVERTED the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ? Please read Deuteronomy 15:9-11. “BEWARE that there be NOT a thought in your wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and your EYE be evil against your POOR brother, and you give him NOTHING, and he cries unto the LORD against you, and it is SIN unto you. 10. You shall surely give him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give unto him: because that for this thing the LORD your God shall bless you in all your works, and in all that thou put your hand unto. (So it is NOT you’re giving to the CHURCH so the LEADERS can consume your gifts upon themselves but rather it is our giving to the POOR that God shall bless. Start demanding ACCOUNTABILITY of your prosperity pastors. And if they cannot pay the electric bill at the church and they beg you for more money, then tell THEM to SELL one of THEIR possessions to pay the electric bill.) 11. For the POOR shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command YOU, saying, You shall open your hand wide unto your brother, to your poor, and to your needy, in your land.” Again this passage of Scripture is NOT teaching us to give to RICH pastors to make them RICHER but rather we are commanded to give to the POOR. I have heard prosperity teachers say that you cannot out-give God and if you give to God he will return what you give a HUNDREDFOLD. Please read the CONTEXT of one of these hundredfold verses. Mark 10:28-30. “Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have LEFT ALL, (Not just give SEED money to the church but they LEFT EVERYTHING) and have followed you. 29. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that has LEFT house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, 30. But he shall receive a hundredfold NOW in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” Now, did the Apostles of Jesus LITERALLY receive HOUSES? Or rather did they receive the HOSPITALITY to be welcomed into the house they ministered the Gospel? Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord how the prosperity teachers twist the Scripture DECEIVING their OWN SELVES. The early first-century church did not have any church buildings that they built. They assembled together in house churches. Later they met in the catacombs secretly because of the heavy persecution. It is believed that the first church was built in 230 AD by the Roman church. And the more money the Roman Catholic Church received the BIGGER their church became. GREED set in among the leaders. And the GREED among SOME leaders has continued to this present day. SOME church denominations have become like businesses and it is the LEADER who prospers while the flock SUFFERS. When did the disciples of Jesus ever SELL the Gospel of Jesus Christ? NEVER! Please read the words of Jesus saying FREELY you have RECEIVED so FREELY GIVE and watch how prosperity teachers have twisted this passage of Scripture to say that a laborer is WORTHY of his hire. Matthew 10:8-15. “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: FREELY you have RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE. 9. Provide NEITHER gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, (Nor jet planes, nor Rolls Royce’s, nor semi-trucks filled with musical instruments for a praise and worship team, nor executive luxury buses for your hired staff) 10. Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his MEAT. (The NECESSITIES of food, shelter, and new shoes, if your shoes wear out, from walking and preaching the gospel along the WAY everywhere the Holy Spirit leads you to preach the Gospel. Since when does meat mean a 5 million dollar home?) 11. And into whatsoever city or town you shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy;(The gospel was to the JEW first) and there abide till you go thence. (Not in a luxury hotel) 12. And when you come into a house, salute it. 13. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.” Please read Luke 10:7,8. “And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. 8. And into whatsoever city, you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:” That does NOT sound like Jesus meant the laborers of the Gospel are WORTHY of multimillion-dollar homes to consume upon their lusts while there are so many poor and suffering people in the world. Again I am not speaking to Christians who have been blessed by God in ways APART from the money and gifts that are given to the CHURCH for the things pertaining to the ministry of the gospel, feeding the poor, and helping the needy. Having a multimillion-dollar jet is NOT a NEED it is a LUST of the FLESH. I do not see any wrong is selling books if so be the selling price of those books does not exceed the cost of publishing those books. NO excuses! I mean you are asking your flock to give sacrificially and believe God so practice what you preach and believe God that if you GIVE your books away that men will give back to you pressed down and running over. That is just my own personal opinion. I am only giving you food for thought. You can count it as persecution or you can count it as a message of LOVE not wanting you to perish in the lake of fire. Please read the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:19-27. “Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. 20. Wherefore by their fruits, you shall know them. 21. Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the WILL of my Father which is in heaven. 22. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? (These are TRUE BORN AGAIN Spirit-filled Christians because no devil will obey the name of Jesus being used by a NON-believer. You remember the verse where the devils said Jesus I know and Paul I know but WHO are YOU?) 23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. 24. Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26. And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them NOT, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” Please read Ezekiel 34:7-11. “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 8. As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds FED THEMSELVES, and fed NOT my flock; 9. Therefore, O you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 10. Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; NEITHER shall the shepherds feed themselves ANY MORE; for I will deliver my flock from their MOUTH, that they may not be meat for them. 11. For thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.” Please read the pleading words of Jesus for you to repent. Revelation 3:17-22. “BECAUSE you say, I am RICH, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18. I counsel you to buy of ME gold (Lay up treasure in HEAVEN) tried in the fire, that you may be RICH; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him, and he with me. 21. To him that OVERCOMES will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Now to you who have been deceived by the prosperity message let us now examines some of the prosperity verses in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God which you just read in this study about giving to the POOR. Please read another famous prosperity verse taken out of context. Proverbs 3:9,10, but let us read down to verse 14. “HONOR the LORD with your substance, and with the firstfruits of all your INCREASE: (The INCREASE is that which is left over after your LIVING has been taken out of your wages.) 10. So shall your barns be filled with plenty, and your presses shall burst out with new wine. (The following verses are like the Lord knew that some would abuse his word for GAIN and filthy lucre.) 11. My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: 12. For whom the LORD loveth he corrects; even as a father the son in whom he delights. 13. Happy is the man that finds wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 14 For the MERCHANDISE of IT (Wisdom and understanding) is BETTER THAN the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.” So then, seeing that the context of Proverbs 3:9,10 is teaching us that the merchandise of WISDOM and UNDERSTAND is BETTER THAN the merchandise of gold and silver then it is hard for me to imagine that our barns being full and our presses bursting out with NEW wine means becoming filthy rich beyond one’s wildest dreams to consume upon one’s OWN LUSTS. First of all this verse says HONOR the Lord. So how do we honor the Lord with our MONEY? By giving to the POOR, NEEDY and NOT to build big fancy church buildings and to make our Pastor GREEDY for more and more money. Yes, I believe that some of the sheep are to blame for the GREED of the pastors for not speaking out when they felt that something was just not quite right about the prosperity message. I am guilty as well for not speaking up sooner. The straw that broke the camels back so to speak was when I read about the excessive extravagant spending in some of these prosperity ministries. I read where one of the prosperity ministries spent $261,498.00 for 68 pieces of furniture which average out to $38,845.56 per piece of furniture. Here is a quote from that website with a link to that website. The emphasis is mine. “There is nothing wrong with being wealthy. I love it when Christians are rich. That should mean more money to fund the mission. But there is a line to how much money we as leaders should spend on ourselves. I don’t know where the line is, but it is somewhere before the ministry purchasing million-dollar homes for us and our kids. That line is somewhere before purchasing us a $10 million private jet. The line is somewhere before the ministry spending $261,498 for 68 pieces of furniture. That equates to $3,845.56 per item. That line is somewhere before spending so egregiously that the U.S. Senate investigates us.” The false promise of the prosperity gospel Below is another link to how the prosperity message is negatively affecting Christians. https://www.9marks.org/journal/prosperity-gospel/ Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Jesus said we have one that will judge us, the WORDS that he spoke. John 12:48. “He that rejects me, and receives not my words, (Or he that rejects the words or teachings of Jesus rejects Jesus and he) has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” Let us all be careful to NOT throw the baby out with the bathwater so to speak. Let us KEEP what is good and throw out the ERROR. Let us eat the hay and spit out the straw. While some word of faith teachers have been led astray by greed this does NOT mean that all they teach is in error. Many of the principles they teach are sound Biblical principles. Please read the study “DEFENDING THE WORD OF FAITH MOVEMENT!” Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus. So, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading >>>D-0. THE BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of JESUS!<<< And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading >>>C-0. THE TRUE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH!<<< This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century. So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament.
To learn more TRUTH, then please return to
VERSES USED TO TEACH THAT JESUS PREEXISTED!
To me, the best way to know the ONE true God in ONE person is to know who Jesus TRULY is according to the WHOLE word of Almighty God. So please read ALL of the studies under the heading >>>N-0. WHO is JESUS ACCORDING to the BIBLE?<<< and you will see that the Bible itself teaches us that Jesus was CREATED by his God and Father. And if you have any questions related to the correct meaning of certain verses of Scripture on this subject of who Jesus is please read all the studies under the two headings >>>U-0. VERSES used for THE TRINITY!<<< and >>>V-0. VERSES used to TEACH that Jesus PRE-EXISTED!<<< These two headings have ALL of the studies that I have on who Jesus truly is according to what the Bible itself teaches us in simplicity. I compiled these three headings to make it easy for my readers to send just one, two, or three links to those you desire to help understand what the Bible itself teaches concerning who Jesus is in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. If you have any questions, please feel free to write to me. My contact email is MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail .com. Thanks again for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God.
Your Brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
RETURN to HOMEPAGE at
The end. Please pause or turn off the reading aloud feature on Microsoft Edge browser. Click here to learn HOW to use the Microsoft Edge reading aloud feature.
Always be faithful to share, to preach, and to teach the whole gospel of Jesus Christ! |
|
|