Somebody recently asked me a question―Does obeying God bring spiritual health and financial blessing? To answer that question, in my humble thinking, we need to separate the two things of spiritual health from financial blessing, because they have nothing to do with each other. I am totally against the demonic health, wealth and prosperity false gospel being preached by Pat Roberson, T.D. Jakes, Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen, Oral Roberts, Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn and countless others nowadays. Lazarus was a beggar, but he is the good guy in the story (Luke 16:19-31). David said he never saw the righteous begging for bread (Psalms 37:25), but he never saw Lazarus! Jesus was poor. His parents couldn't afford a lamb, so they bought some turtle doves instead (Luke 2:24). When a famine came to the land of Israel, Elijah begged a widow for food (1st Kings 17:7-16. The Bible says “a poor man is better than a liar” (Proverbs 19:22), which suggests that sometimes doing the right thing either makes or keeps one poor.
Obeying God does not bring financial success. Often it brings the opposite. 2nd Timothy 3:12 says we will SUFFER persecution for living godly in Christ Jesus. When a believer chooses not to live in willful sin with the heathen world, and we raise a banner for Jesus, the world will hate and reject us (John 15:19; 7:7). The early believers were stoned, run out of town, murdered, sawn in pieces, hid in caves, et cetera (Hebrews 11:37). I read a couple weeks ago that 11,500 Christians have been murdered since 2015 just in Nigeria. Of course, some of those include unsaved Catholics who profess to be Christian, but the people killing them don't discern the difference between true and false Christians―they just kill anybody who dares to name the name of Jesus!
Greedy Televangelists Belong In Prison
In my humble opinion, Pat Robertson belongs in prison! The 700 Club take in $670,000,000 a year on average, by deceiving people with the LIE that God will bless them in exchange for a donation. Millions of Americans give their money to Pat Robertson in their woeful ignorance, being coddled by the TV and seeing poor people living in a new trailer home that The 700 Club bought for them. In one episode, a woman in a third world country was given a water filtration system by The 700 Club so she could drink clean water. Aren't they such nice people? Oh how generous they are! People are extremely gullible, easily taken advantage of. More than anything else, The 700 Club is cleverly scripted and choreographed just right to pull the heart strings, and it works. Sadly, such deception is legal. The 700 Club claims to have clairvoyant powers to heal people through the TV. Folks, that is NOT the power of the Holy Spirit, it is a familiar spirit (a demon).The greatest things in life are not things! Jesus said that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, the wonderful things which God has prepared for them that love Him; "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit" (1st Corinthians 2:10b). These wonderful things are THE TRUTHS which the indwelling Holy Spirit gives to us. I am continually overjoyed with the truth, that I am a born-again child of God, that I am on the winning side in Christ Jesus, that God has promised me “all things” (Romans 8:32b), and that God has made me “joint-heirs with Christ” the only begotten Son of God (Romans 8:17). Literally, God has adopted us as if we are the Son of God Himself, bestowing all the SAME blessings and rights to us as Christ has, all because we received Christ as our personal Savior. What an awesome deal! Best of all, anybody can have it ALL FOR FREE, just by believing the Gospel!!!
The Greatest Things In Life Are Not Things
There are many Biblical principles on money, and it is an important and intriguing subject; but the two most important truths, I think, anybody can learn is that everything we own already belongs to God as Christians (1st Corinthians 6:20); and also that the love of money is the root of all evil (1st Timothy 6:10). Too many Christians are covetous, having no interest in soulwinning. I think it is important that every Christian learn that a person can be in utter poverty and still be 100% right with God. Financial blessing is not an indicator of God's blessings. Most saints are found among the poor and lowly people of this world, not among the rich and famous. You see, rich people already think they have a little heaven on earth, so they have no interest in the things of God.I get sad when I think about Brother Lester Roloff's dilapidated plane crashing in 1982. Thousands of billionaires could have bought Brother Roloff a new safe plane, but rich people don't care about funding God's servants. I just checked Mark Zuckerberg's net worth, which is presently at $70,000,000,000. Mark professed for many years to be an atheist, but now claims to believe in God, boasting of how wonderful Buddhism is! Kindly said, if Mark died right now he would split Hell wide open. The Bible warns in James 2:19, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” You don't get your sins forgiven by believing in God.
Unfortunately, Mark still rejects Jesus Christ as his Savior. Of America's 2,000,000 Jews, one-third are professed Buddhists! Buddhism is a false religion, having no tenets except to be nice to everyone. No one who followed Buddhism ever got to Heaven!!! You are a guilty sinner dear reader (Romans 3:10-23), and sinners are not allowed into Heaven (1st Corinthians 6:9-10). Therefore you need a Savior! His precious name is Jesus (1st Peter 2:7; Acts 4:10-12). The Savior died on the cross for your sins and mine. He was buried. After three days Jesus physically resurrected from the dead (1st Corinthians 15:1-6). Anyone who comes to God as a needy sinner, receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for their sins, is immediately and permanently and forever saved. Thank you Lord!
Look at John the Baptist. The guy had nothing, literally. He ate bugs, wore the hairy skin of camels and drank water (Matthew 3:4). John lived off the land and didn't need a penny to survive. John was a strange fellow with whom the average person could not even relate. When a group of men went out to visit John, they weren't impressed (Matthew 11:7-8). God hath chosen the poor things of this world rich in faith (James 2:5), and warns that most rich men won't enter into Heaven (Matthew 19:24). It is interesting that the one thing people seem to desire the most in churches today is money, and that is the last thing God wants us to have, lest it destroy us (1st Timothy 6:10-11).
Time And Chance Happens To Everyone
God loves you so much dear reader. You may be unemployed. A tornado may have just destroyed your home. Your child may have died. Your car may have blown a connecting rod in the engine. Maybe your house burned down and you didn't have fire insurance. It could be that your spouse divorced you (as mine sadly did in 2006). You may have lost your home (as I did because of the divorce). None of these things has anything to do with whether or not you are right with God, or whether the Lord loves you or not. LIFE HAPPENS!!! Life often is anything but fair! Why does a crack addict mother have the privilege to bear children that she doesn't want, but the godly Christian woman's womb is barren? I don't understand why God allows that. In fact, it makes me angry at God sometimes, but I choose to TRUST HIM no matter what (Job 13:15). Here is a beautiful MP3 sermon by Pastor Jack Hyles titled: 'You Can't Reason With God.'What saith the Scripture? Ecclesiastes 9:11, “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” That one Bible verse explains so much! It doesn't matter how wise, wealthy, talented, skilled or strong you are―time and chance happens to everybody!!! Yes, there is such a thing as luck! That is why your child may have been killed by a speeding car right after you got laid off from your job, despite the fact that you serve the Lord faithfully; but the ungodly atheist abortion doctor down the street, enjoyed Christmas with his healthy children and received a big bonus at work! That is how life works!!! Life is not fair, but God is! I won't put God on trial because I do not understand Him. Obedience to God doesn't guarantee happiness here on earth, but the Lord promises “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28b).
“There is nothing in this world that is eternal except this Book that I hold in my hand.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “Forever Settled In Heaven”
Great article!!!😊
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