“Prosperity Preachers”
I think pastors need to be careful not to create division instead of unity, confusion and doubt instead of faith and truth, and not rightly dividing the truth of God's Word, making sure you do not have your eyes on men that would allow other spirits to come in and lead you down this path… Do not be like pastors in the book of Jeremiah 2:8, 12:10, 23:1-2.
This video that's going around on youtube and this site first deals with the sensual (flesh, carnality of men) to cause their human nature to rise up (Rom 8:1-12) and goes on to manipulate visually and audibly, for 8 minutes and 1 minute with fast moving scriptures going across the bottom of the video of men and woman of God. The pastors and saints who may not agree with these preachers are being judged,and millions follow and have drawn closer to the Lord because of their teachings. This video is very persuasive and can lead people into agreement that have not yet discerned truth for them selves…I feel it hurts the body of Christ and the Lords saints....It truly saddens me to watch this dissension.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odBHI8tE2_k
Jesus is Lord of my life and my finances. JESUS is Lord!
Before, I began to truly trust the Lord I believed a lot of what pastors were saying in regards to “The Prosperity Preachers” and their teachings until I started operating and understanding Biblical principles and spiritual laws. I started tithing, giving offerings and began giving of myself surrendering all to the Lord, then I began reaping what I was sowing into the Kingdom of God, now I understand how God’s Kingdom works. I use to attend a Church that use to persecute the body of Christ quite often in regards to prosperity teaching and I believed what they were saying, until I began to examine more closely that the Church I was attending was not doing hardly any out reach or building the Kingdom the way some of the Prosperity Preachers are doing. So I started some of my own research going into Pastors online ministry sites to analyze what they were doing for the Kingdom of God. I began to see a repetitive cycle which was not much, in comparison to the churches operating in these principles of seedtime and harvest. I began to pray for understanding and what was revealed was that the preachers that have a problem need to really self reflect and look at how there operating and teaching their flock and stop judging. These Churches ask their flock to tithe and give offerings, but how much is really going to building the ministry. What I am witnessing in these mega ministries is that some pastors are no longer receiving a salary from the Church. They receive income from there sermons on tapes and books they write. Now the churches that are not doing these things to bring other income in for their ministry, seem to be the ones complaining about the prosperity preaching. I don’t seem to see ministries that are growing and doing Great thing’s in the name of GOD persecuting one another it seems that they have grasped the principle of seedtime and harvest and there the ones teaching their flock how to do the same.
I have no problem with ministries that utilize it’s wealth to advance God's Kingdom through various outreach and self-help programs, going into all the world building schools, Dream Centers, churches, digging wells feeding and clothing the hungry and a host of other things that I see some wealthy ministries doing. “God has instructed us to be good stewards over our wealth that He has blessed us with.” Now we may never know whether some Pastors fall into covetousness we can only pray they are being transparent and honest with the wealth that GOD has entrusted them with for the growth of his Kingdom.
From my understanding of the Bible we are suppose to die to the flesh and the things of this world i.e.… satans world system and begin operating in Gods system and Kingdom principles such as seedtime and harvest and sowing and reaping. I chose to surrender all areas of my life including my finances to the LORD. It took me losing everything to wake up to God’s spiritual laws and Kingdom principles. But the LORD has restored me and continues to bless me in so many ways. I sow seeds of LOVE, money, food, time everything I can into ministry and different organizations it’s amazing how these principles of seed time and harvest, sowing and reaping work when you line up and learn to truly, trust God. I see this working in others lives as well. We must always fight the good fight of faith and Trust. The Lord is faithful and He will open the flood gates of Blessings. The Lord is my provider and my sustainer. When the whole body of Christ really begins to believe that also they’ll trust enough to tithe and give offerings to help grow the Kingdom of God such as these prosperity preachers are teaching and they’ll begin to reap a harvest as well. Prosperity is not all about money.
"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." (Genesis 8:22)
I had to first learn and understand my covenant with the Lord and what I inherited as a child of GOD. I sought to learn the principles of seed time and harvest. I see these pastors reaping a harvest from the seeds they’ve sown and planted based on the Biblical principles they teach.... I also feel if a doctor, attorney, actor etc. can have the prosperity which is given to them from satan why wouldn’t our Heavenly father give more to the Pastors and his children who are spreading the Gospel and building His Kingdom. We’re the ones doing the Lord’s work in a major way in these last days I think it’s time for the whole Church to step up.. Now, I don’t have any statistics or anyway of monitoring whether they’re balancing how much they should keep for themselves to justify their financial abundance or whether they are falling into covetousness. I’ll leave that for God to judge that’s not my place and I will not block my blessings for propagating dissension in the body of Christ. Pastor’s need to realize how they hamper their own growth by the things they speak.
Honestly, how could they go into other countries and build churches ,houses, feed and cloth the poor and be in one city one day another city the next and travel the world the way they do spreading the gospel without money. In the Old Testament Abraham, King David, Joseph to name a few were blessed by the LORD with abundance. Now, I may not always agree with the delivery in which they convey their message but, I must say the principle of seedtime and harvest and sowing and reaping truly work, and I think some have mastered the principle. It is the responsibility of the pastor to share truths with their flock. I also notice how important it is for pastors to balance their sermons with other truths, such as standing in faith and how obedience is required to reap some of the other promises and blessings that are promised through out the Bible.
How long are we in the body of Christ going to let Satan continue to keeps us in bondage cheating us out of our inheritance. We are heirs with Christ.
Now there are other teachings in the Gospel that I may not like the way the message is being relayed. But there will always be moments in our church when our pastor may express something in the Gospel and we may say, I can’t believe he said that, that way. No one is perfect and if the flock is reading the Word daily the Lord should will give them discernment. Just think if every time a pastor said something the way we didn’t like and we changed churches and turned our back and found another church. Now it would be different if their preaching is of false doctrine.
Now, how can the body of Christ have a problem by Gods children prospering when you can see the spirit of a pastors life and its flock growing, prospering in different areas of their life by sharing what they reap. We have to begin to re-examine how the ministries that aren’t growing are spreading the gospel and it truths. We hope that they are not keeping their flock and ministry suppressed in lack because there pastors haven’t figured it out. We can’t persecute the ministries who have learned to operate in these principles. I won't be the judge and especially, when I hear the testimonies from others in the body of Christ who have chosen to truly trust the Lord and his promises by following these principles. These principles of "seedtime and harvest" that these so called “Prosperity Preachers” teach seem to work. They are also doing great things for the Kingdom of God. We can’t be mad at their growth their being blessed for serving the Lord we are all entitled to growth so we mustn’t limit our growth by our spoken words. However, I do believe that all ministries small and large are important to the Body of Christ and the growth of the Lord’s Kingdom.
Scriptures according to the promises I apply to my life below :We can choose to meditate in scriptures such as these being good stewards or we can choose to operate in the ways of the world living in sin, disobedience and not being good stewards. Then I will have to pull those scriptures on disobedience, covetousness and the such etc. But let’s look at the promises for being good stewards at this time...
God Bless all my brothers and sisters
Give, and it will be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38.)
Praise the LORD!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord. Who delights greatly in His commandments His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.(Psalm 112:1-3)
And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (Deut. 8:18)
The LORD knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. (Psalm 37:18-19)
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work. (2 Corn. 9:8)
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Corn. 8:9.)
Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. (Psalm 35:27.)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, He anoints my head with oil, and my cup runneth over. (Psalm 23:5)
The blessing of the Lord makes me rich and He adds no trouble to it. (Proverbs. 10:22)
As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.(Eccl. 5:19)
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.
The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. (Psalm 34:8-10.)
God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work. (2 Corn. 9:8.)
But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. (Luke 12:31.)
The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the righteous (Proverbs 13:22.)
I am like a tree that is planted by the rivers of water. Everything I do shall prosper. (Psalm 1:3.)
And let us not grow weary while doing well, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Gal. 6:9.)
My God supplies all of my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19.)