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2 Peter 2:3
And through
covetousness shall they with feigned words
make merchandise of you: whose judgment now
of a long time lingereth not, and their
damnation slumbereth not.
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Why Aren't You a Millionaire Yet?
At
first glance, at least on the surface, the
prosperity gospel seems to work (for those who
promote it). Those who teach and promote it
seem to be proof of the power of "living by faith"
but when examined at its core, most people in their
lust for wealth overlook the constant begging for
money, the constant fund-raisers, and the incessant
direct mailing and advertising campaigns which allow
these "examples" to live their lavish life styles.
The
worst part is
that people are led to believe that it is God that
blessed them with this prosperity simply because
they were living "in the faith". Naturally, to
continue the deception and gain even more wealth,
the average man is told that he is 100% guaranteed this
kind of life by the Bible itself. They are
further led to believe it is those with insufficient
faith who are living in poverty and lack.
Furthermore, people are led to believe that if
someone will throw their last dollar or "give what
they can't afford" to this particular ministry, then
it is only then they will be "blessed" by God and
they too will find the prosperity they want.
According to one televangelist, Jesse Duplantis, the
very first thing Jesus came to do was to eliminate
poverty! According to his own teaching:
“Would you like to know why some people, including
ministries, never get out of poverty? Its not
because they aren’t smart; It’s not because they
don’t have windows of opportunity. It’s because
they’re not anointed. If you’re not anointed,
poverty will follow you all the days of your life.
His (Jesus') first objective was to get rid of
poverty”
According to this kind of teaching those who are
poor, or choose to give up their wealth for a life
of service stand no chance of being anointed, and
will certainly not get into the kingdom of heaven!
Jesus says exactly the opposite! Which
will you believe?
Mark 10:24-26 "And the disciples were
astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again,
and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for
them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom
of God! 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. And they were astonished
out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then
can be saved?"
Job 34:19 "How much less to him that accepteth
not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the
rich more than the poor? for they all are the
work of his hands."
Remember the rich young ruler? I seem to
recall that Jesus admonished this young man to get
rid of his wealth in order for him to have riches in
heaven. Remember, this young man had kept the
commandments but he still didn't "get it".
Look at his response when Jesus told him to go and
sell all he had.....
Mark 10:21-22 "Then Jesus beholding him loved
him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go
thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the
poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and
come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he
was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for
he had great possessions."
The truth is that the average man in the pew is not
guaranteed (no matter how much faith he has) that he
will become a multimillionaire simply by obeying the
scriptures and having faith. There is nothing wrong
with wealth! There is absolutely nothing at
all wrong with having GREAT wealth! The
problem comes, however when wealth is being preached
as an irrefutable part of faith!
Those who preach such things are preaching a lie.
Think for a moment: Do YOU personally
think it's ok for
preachers and teachers to drive a Rolls Royce while
demanding more money from a widow who has to scrape
together the bus fare just so they can make it to
church on Sunday? Do think THAT is a godly,
Christian thing to do? Do you think that widow
lacks faith? James seemed to indicate it
is not the widow who has the problem:
James 2:14-17 "What doth it profit, my
brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have
not works? can faith save him? If a brother or
sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And
one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye
warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not
those things which are needful to the body; what
doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not
works, is dead, being alone."
According to one Word Faith Teacher, Fred Price:
"Financial prosperity is just as much a part of the
Gospel as anything else. …And I'm going to tell you
something right now. I'm with the Apostle Paul in
Romans chapter one: I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ; …I'm not ashamed of prosperity. I'm
not ashamed that Jesus bought and paid for me to be
wealthy.... Let me just tell you from the heart of
God, preachers are supposed to be rich."
He says: "That’s the reason why I drive a
Rolls Royce."
Preachers are supposed to be rich? Name
one Apostle who was. Paul worked making
tents and even referred to his lack:
Philippians 2:30
"Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto
death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack
of service toward me."
1 Corinthians
4:9-13 "For I think that God hath set
forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to
death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world,
and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's
sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye
are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and
thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no
certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our
own hands: being reviled, we bless; being
persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat:
we are made as the filth of the world, and are the
offscouring of all things unto this day."
2 Corinthians
6:9-10 "As unknown, and yet well known; as
dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not
killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor,
yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet
possessing all things."
Does that sound rich to you? "...as
having nothing" ... "....no certain
dwellingplace" ... "we both hunger and thirst and
are naked..." This certainly isn't the picture
of today's teaching about being "blessed" is it?
I wonder what happened to Paul? Was he somehow
out of the will of God? Was he "blessed"
or not? Was Jesus "blessed"? Not
according to today's Word Faith teachers!
Matthew 8:20 "And Jesus saith unto him,
The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have
nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his
head."
Have you ever noticed, the only ones getting rich
are these television ministers who live in
multimillion dollar houses, own huge yachts, have
private jets, and wear the most expensive suits,
watches and jewelry they can find? How
did they get this way? Examine it for
yourself and use your intellect to think about it!
They got rich at YOUR expense!
According
to their theology, though, if they weren’t rich and
prosperous, they would not be blessed of God!
This is yet another contradiction between their
theology and the clear written Word of God!
1 Timothy 6:5-6
"Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and
destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is
godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness
with contentment is great gain."
According to the Word of God, these are men of
"corrupt minds" and you are instructed to "withdraw"
yourself from them!
Continued >>
