A facebook post 4 years ago.
I came in a bit late in church today and missed the first part of the message 😁🙈 but God’s word is powerful nevertheless and part of the message our pastor shared today is something i used to be guilty of.
I used to believe that it’s God’s will for my life is to be in abundance in every aspect. Health, wealth- you name it. That he wants me to be prosperous and live a long trouble free life. I even went as far as sharing testimonies in churches and talks about the power of positive thinking and how God wants us to be the head in everything we do and that anything we want is just a prayer away if we follow God and trust in him. He will give us anything for the Heavens and the Earth are His.
Oh was I so wrong… Sure God wants to bless us but on His terms and by His grace and not because we declared it positively. His Word never promised us a life long of health, wealth and happiness… But He did promise us Grace.
Earlier our pastor talked about being a smart cunning and good steward of God and part of it was the prosperity theology and poverty theology.
Poverty Theology teaches that the lesser you have- the closer you are to God.
Prosperity Theology which teaches: the ‘holier’ you are, the richer you will be. And this has become so popular with many Christians (or ‘so called christians)
So which is right? None. Both are so wrong and we must only follow and believe the Gospel of Christ. Because it is not what we have or don’t have, it is only because of who God is that we are saved. And the only way we can be closer to Him is by His grace which He soooo freely gives to those who belive in Him.
This message spoke strongly to me because I used to be guilty of believing and even sharing the prosperity Gospel but the Prosperity Gospel is no gospel because it offers mankind only worldly things and is only using God to get to their real god which is wealth.
As Christians we are not called to ask God to be rich and prosper but to die to our old sinful self and abandon any wordly desires and follow and focus only on God.
God gives us favor and blesses us financially not to improve our standard of living but to improve our standard of giving.
Believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior offers us so much more than any worldy wealth- He offers us the gift of eternal life. And Just knowing that He loves us even though we dont deserve it is worth more than anything we can ever ask for on this earth.
Let me close this by encouraging you to ask God for discernment and wisdom. Always check everything with God’s word and if it goes against it then it is not the way to go. If we are not saddened or angered by prosperity gospels then we need to check ourselves and what is in our hearts. If your pastor or life group leader is only preparing you for this life and not the next then you are in danger.
Matthew 6:24 ‘You cannot serve both God and money’
Choose wisely.
If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:3-10
Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Luke 12:15
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21