Yesterday, I was listening to a pastor/businessman talk about his ministry and how he claims that God has blessed his business because of his involvement in the ministry. Together with me in the conversation was a man who had been struggling financially for several years who could not seem to decide if he wants to serve the Lord or concentrate in chasing his goals of professional success. The pastor/businessman said something that really made unbearable a headache I've already been experiencing during the day. He said something to this effect, "How can wealthy and powerful people listen to me preach about the Gospel if I am a 'nobody' by their standards? If they will not see that my God is able to bless in a tremendous way, they will not listen to me." He also believed that the line from the Lord's Prayer that said, "Thy kingdom come, thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven" means that what God intends to give us in Heaven (e.g., a comfortable life, wealth untold) He also intends to give here on Earth.
First of all, when you witness to an unsaved, the issue is not about his happiness but of his need for Jesus' righteousness to be placed on him. If my message is that God intends to give you things you want in life that's why you need Him to be in your life, then I need to be a wealthy soul-winning Christian. And if I will be witnessing to people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, I must be sure that I've amassed wealth more than what they have before I go to them. But because the real message is that man, with all of his sins, have failed to reach God's required standards for him to be fit for Heaven, and that only Jesus' sacrifice can both erase the penalties of our sins and give us the perfection that Heaven demands, I need not be the person that prosperity preachers demand I be. Here's one BIG truth--- if we will be biblical with our Gospel message, everyone, and I mean every person living in this world (rich and poor, powerful and powerless) will need to listen to us, even if we are the poorest person on the face of this earth.
Secondly, to say that God's will is that we start experiencing on Earth what He plans to give us in Heaven is clearly an assertion without biblical basis. Jesus' promise to His disciples was tribulations (John 16:33). He stated a very scary life--- that we will be "lambs among wolves" (Luke 10:3). I don't believe that this will be our experience in Heaven. This statement also tells us that we can have a taste of Heaven on Earth. This makes Heaven unexciting for us when the truth is "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Cor. 2:9) and that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.." (Rom. 8:18).
Thirdly, the pastor/businessman's statement brings to the heart of Christians a wrong motive for serving the Lord. Remember the person with me who has been struggling financially for years? He got really excited in serving the Lord for he now expects that all of his financial woes will be turned around once he starts with it. Service to the Lord must be done out of gratitude for the salvation He gave us which, in the first place, we don't deserve. That's what happened with the disciples and the apostle Paul. Their gratitude moved them to spend their lives in serving the Lord, even to the point of death. I always ask this question to people, "If obedience and faithful service to our Lord yields material blessings, then why were the disciples and the apostle Paul not rich people considering that none among us now can probably match their obedience and faithful service to our Lord?" Think about that, please, especially YOU who preach a prosperity message.
Now, am I saying that God does not bless materially? My answer is, He may, if He chooses to. We should understand that God's blessings to man will depend on what He sees man needs the most. If He feels that what we need more is peace of mind, then that is what He'll give you. If He thinks that what we need is to be more patient, then patience is what He'll give us . And if He feels that the blessing you need is material, He'll definitely give that to you. What I am saying is that material blessings are NOT "automatic" when you obey Him. I know a lot of faithful Christians who are not that financially blessed compared to less faithful Christians, but I believe are blessed with other things which are far more better than any financial blessing. Is it God's will that ALL of us be rich? My answer is a big "NO". His will is that all of us receive the fruits of the Spirit.
It saddens me to think that because of the prosperity message, people are given a wrong reason for coming to God for salvation. Church attendees of churches with preachers that preach this distorted message are probably false converts. All the while, because these church-goers were made to believe that all they needed to do to get to Heaven and receive the blessings untold from God here on Earth is a simple prayer, they think that when they die, they'll be allowed entrance right away to Heaven when the truth is, they'll never even get near the gate. This places a big responsibility to us who have understood the real issue. Let's convince them to go back to the biblical message before they create another false convert who will unknowingly make a smiling walk to Hell.
First of all, when you witness to an unsaved, the issue is not about his happiness but of his need for Jesus' righteousness to be placed on him. If my message is that God intends to give you things you want in life that's why you need Him to be in your life, then I need to be a wealthy soul-winning Christian. And if I will be witnessing to people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, I must be sure that I've amassed wealth more than what they have before I go to them. But because the real message is that man, with all of his sins, have failed to reach God's required standards for him to be fit for Heaven, and that only Jesus' sacrifice can both erase the penalties of our sins and give us the perfection that Heaven demands, I need not be the person that prosperity preachers demand I be. Here's one BIG truth--- if we will be biblical with our Gospel message, everyone, and I mean every person living in this world (rich and poor, powerful and powerless) will need to listen to us, even if we are the poorest person on the face of this earth.
Secondly, to say that God's will is that we start experiencing on Earth what He plans to give us in Heaven is clearly an assertion without biblical basis. Jesus' promise to His disciples was tribulations (John 16:33). He stated a very scary life--- that we will be "lambs among wolves" (Luke 10:3). I don't believe that this will be our experience in Heaven. This statement also tells us that we can have a taste of Heaven on Earth. This makes Heaven unexciting for us when the truth is "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Cor. 2:9) and that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.." (Rom. 8:18).
Thirdly, the pastor/businessman's statement brings to the heart of Christians a wrong motive for serving the Lord. Remember the person with me who has been struggling financially for years? He got really excited in serving the Lord for he now expects that all of his financial woes will be turned around once he starts with it. Service to the Lord must be done out of gratitude for the salvation He gave us which, in the first place, we don't deserve. That's what happened with the disciples and the apostle Paul. Their gratitude moved them to spend their lives in serving the Lord, even to the point of death. I always ask this question to people, "If obedience and faithful service to our Lord yields material blessings, then why were the disciples and the apostle Paul not rich people considering that none among us now can probably match their obedience and faithful service to our Lord?" Think about that, please, especially YOU who preach a prosperity message.
Now, am I saying that God does not bless materially? My answer is, He may, if He chooses to. We should understand that God's blessings to man will depend on what He sees man needs the most. If He feels that what we need more is peace of mind, then that is what He'll give you. If He thinks that what we need is to be more patient, then patience is what He'll give us . And if He feels that the blessing you need is material, He'll definitely give that to you. What I am saying is that material blessings are NOT "automatic" when you obey Him. I know a lot of faithful Christians who are not that financially blessed compared to less faithful Christians, but I believe are blessed with other things which are far more better than any financial blessing. Is it God's will that ALL of us be rich? My answer is a big "NO". His will is that all of us receive the fruits of the Spirit.
It saddens me to think that because of the prosperity message, people are given a wrong reason for coming to God for salvation. Church attendees of churches with preachers that preach this distorted message are probably false converts. All the while, because these church-goers were made to believe that all they needed to do to get to Heaven and receive the blessings untold from God here on Earth is a simple prayer, they think that when they die, they'll be allowed entrance right away to Heaven when the truth is, they'll never even get near the gate. This places a big responsibility to us who have understood the real issue. Let's convince them to go back to the biblical message before they create another false convert who will unknowingly make a smiling walk to Hell.
