The Believer's Success and Prosperity.
Despite
the large followings...the waterfront mansions...the mountain villas,
the multimillion dollar jets...the fleets of luxury cars...the thousand
dollar tailored suits...the charismatic demeanor of the pa-stars and
the tel-evangelists...the preachers who claim to hear from God for the
pew-warmers...the multimillion dollar income of ministries...the height
one may obtain on the hierarchy scale of religious denominations...it
is no indication of spiritual prosperity or success. In actual fact is
is indicative of spiritual deception, manipulation and control to
further man-made kingdoms.
The measurement of a believer's success and
prosperity is evidenced by the accomplishment of Christ's work of the
cross and resurrection working in the believer's daily life as they
share the gospel of Christ's mercy, love and grace in living. When we
are totally submitted to God and the work of the cross, we are released
from the religious system because it is based on the world's system way
of doing things. To be submitted to God we cannot be under religious
domination or control. When we are under the influence of the religious
worldly system we accept the deception it spawns as truth.
Because the religious system is based on the world's
system of doing things it obscures the work of the cross and the Gospel
of Jesus...the Gospel of Grace...the free work of the cross. Through
the work of the cross you can be free from the bondage of religion.
When God's people are free from the religious system
they will be free from its manipulation, control, judgement,
condemnation and its selfishness. We will be strengthened by grace not
to bow down to the religious idols of worldly success, popularity,
wealth, power, control, pleasure and comfort. But...we will be
successful by God's definition of success...which is the application and
manifestation of what Christ finished work accomplished in our lives as
He works through our lives as the Community of the Redeemed for the
salvation of the Community of Humanity.
The fact that some Christians have a lot of finances and they are very wealthy is not an indication of whether they are deceived or not. If it was then King Solomon, King David, Arbraham and Job must have been the greatest imposters who ever lived yet God says David was a man after God`s own heart, Job was a man that was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil, and the Bible says that God made Abraham wealthy.
ReplyDelete2 Chron.9:20 And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon.
22 And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
1 Chron 29:28 And he (David) died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.
Gen. 13: 2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
Job1: 3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
After Job came through his trials he had twice as much as this.(Job42:10)
What determines whether they are deceived or not is what are they teaching. Are they teaching this false grace message that is sweeping our churches today that God`s grace is so amazing and wonderful that eventually in the end everybody is going to be saved. Or are they teaching that the only way you can be saved is by coming to Christ and believing on Him as the Scripture says believe on Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.(Acts16:31) To be saved you have to act on what Christ as said. It doesn`t come automatically.
I know a lot of people that rail against some of those preachers on internet that have lots of finances but when I examine their doctrine it is miles apart from Word of God. I also know of a lot of preachers that preach against this prosperity doctrine but a lot of their doctrines are far off.
So whether a person has a lot of finances or not is not indication of being deceived but what I look for is what are they teaching.
Each one will have to stand before God in the day of judgment and answer for what he has done with the finances that God as entrusted him with.
Here is what Paul says in 2 Cor.5:9-11
9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
So if the terror of Lord is going to be great against those Christians who misuse their finances how much greater will it be against the ungodly?
I realize that I have to stand before God too and answer. My pension may not be as great as a MLA or the premier of a province but I have to answer for how I invested my time and finances in the kingdom of God.
Hubert, some 90% of the finances flowing into the coffers of religious organizations is consumed by selfish expenditures on man invented projects, the spiritual elite's lifestyle and on keeping the religious wheels in motion.
DeleteDid Solomon, David, Abraham and Job get their riches by receiving money as tithes and offerings and spending it on their own indulgences? Your ignorance of contextual settings is so affluent it begs pitying you. I will not insult you with further explanation of the difference in being rich by honest diligence in working and dishonest means by which your spiritual heroes manipulate and bastardize the gospel for the sake of money by robing the deceived believers who believe they are raising money for the gospel's sake.
It is for this very reason these preachers will have to stand before God and answer for how they used the finances God entrusted to them. The preacher who is on a salary and just making ends meet will also have to stand before God and give an account. They won`t lose their salvation but they will surely lose their reward. That why the scripture says in that day there will be weeping and nashing of teeth in Matt. 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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