I was two years old when my parents divorced.  The man that I cannot call father didn’t care enough about me to stay around and I have never met him to this day.  My mother met another man, married him and he adopted me.  His name was Bill and he is who I call father. 

I hope this does not sound bitter because I am not and have never been.  The man who adopted me could not have loved me any more if he was my biological father.  I actually am grateful in a way that all of this worked out this way. 

Now I have been adopted by another Father.  My heavenly Father.  I am blessed more than some because I can truly say I have three fathers.  One did not really love me.  One loved me as much as man can.  And the last loves me more than any man can.  My Father, God, wants the best for me.  He wants me whole, and healthy.  He wants me fed and sheltered.  He wants me to rest in peace and to find joy in all things.  He wants me to prosper. 

In this ongoing series in which I am trying to develop a battle strategy against our adversary, I have presented some areas that I believe he is deceiving us.  This is the next one I will address.

A false gospel of the pursuit of happiness and wealth.  I just listed some things that I truly believe our Father wants for us all but as I said here, I believe the enemy has twisted and distorted Gods word and has either deceived or collaborates with many people who teach the so called ‘prosperity gospel’.  I think this is very dangerous weapon the enemy has unleashed.  This ‘gospel’ teaches that God wants us, above all else, to be happy, healthy, and prosperous. 

We are being taught that God is my father and as a ‘Kings Kid’ (Fred Price, Kenneth Copeland, and others) there is just no way He wants anything less than the best for us.  What does the Word of God say?

3Jn 1:2  Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

These guys teach from this that God wants us to prosper financially.  Is that what is being said here?  When I read that short letter that John wrote I find that it seems to be about Gaius being commended for his walk, his ministry, and his love.  His soul was prospering and I believe John meant that he wanted him to prosper in his work and walk with God.

Joh 10:10  “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

They want us to believe that Jesus was telling us that we all should live in mansions and drive Rolls.  Is this the abundant life?  I thought life lived in joyous communion with God through the Holy Spirit was the abundant life. 

Luk 6:38  “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure–pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

This is the part of the lie that is the most dangerous and for anyone with any degree of discernment, it should be obvious.  Everyone of the leaders that claim that this verse teaches that giving money will get you more money in return, also tell you how much it will take and who is supposed to get your money.  And it is always them.  Not a missionary in your church.  Not a charity that feeds starving children.  No, you have to send them your $999.00, and you have to do it in the next twenty minutes or the windows of opportunity for this special blessing will be closed in heaven.  At least until next week. 

But did you notice that this verse is right in the middle of a lengthy discourse on true LOVE.  Love is what we are to give.  Love is what we are to sew.  Love is what will be poured back in our laps; pressed down, shaken together, and running over. 

Mar 10:30 but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age

Here is where we get that hundredfold blessing.  Send in ten dollars and receive one thousand.  Wow.  God is so good.  But wait, is this really happening every time we give?  It doesn’t in my life.  God gives me back a hundred fold blessing all the time.  But it is not money very much at all.  Look at that verse again in context.

Mar 10:29-31  Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. “But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”

Those that forsake all for Christ’s sake will be blessed a hundred fold with a lot of what they forsook.  Even persecutions.  Did you hear that from the televangelist? 

I could keep on and on.  Every scripture used to propagate this deceptive message can be proven to be taken out of context.  We are ‘Kings Kids’.  And God does want us to prosper.  But He wants us to prosper in the mission laid out for us.  And that is to advance the Kingdom by invading and overthrowing the enemy’s territory.  This false ‘gospel of prosperity’ is a major stronghold that we must take down.  We can only do this by rising up against this false teaching and exposing those who proclaim it for who they are. 

If we do not, someone is going to lose their standing as a ‘Kings Kid’.

Love you all

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This entry was posted on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 4:02 pm and is filed under Discernment, Prosperity Gospel, Sowing and Reaping, Spiritual Warfare, Strategy and Tactics, Word of Faith. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 comments so far

Sabrina
 1 

Sonny, not sure what response you wanted for this one, but this is what I thought of when I read what you wrote.

I used to want God to bless me with a lot of money and when times are tight it makes the temptation of wanting more money even harder to resist. I pray and remind myself that God is blessing me everyday in other ways, more important ways. He forgives me when I mess up, He loves me no matter what, He takes care of me and my family, protects us and gives us joy in each other. God even saved my fish tonight! ( Barracade swallowed some food that I gave him and it was to big and he could not move. Me and the kids prayed. We love our fish. :jump: ) He stands with me on all things. He is truly an awesome God.

I believe God does want us to prosper, but not just with the “pocket book”. He wants every part of our lives taken care of and He wants us to want that, not just the money part. He wants us to love each other, be patient, and kind. He wants us to spend time with Him, not a lot of money or the idea of it.

Do I think everyone does that? No, of course not, but most people I have met get so obsessed of how much they have and how can they make more it starts to control their lives. They work more to make more. They start buying things they don’t really need and wondering about the next thing to buy. They stop spending as much time with God.

Matthew 6:23-24 says this, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (NKJV)

Mammon definition from answers.com: (Noun)
1. Bible. Riches, avarice, and worldly gain personified as a false god in the New Testament.
2. Often mammon Material wealth regarded as having an evil influence.

I write this because I read this verse when I start drooling over money again. I remind myself that I am going to Heaven, poor or rich, as long as I obey God. I remind myself that God has taken care of me and my family another day. I remind myself that I have a pastor (in LA) that knows something about cars and was able to fix mine for just the $30 part instead of a professional fixing it for parts and labor (est. $440). See how God can take care of us in things besides just adding to the “pocket book?” We saved over $300 to fix the car! That’s a blessing to me and it had something to do with the check book! :D

Matthew 6:33-34 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble “. (NKJV)

I read this to remind me that God will take care of me, and what seems wrong today, can be, and will be, fixed tomorrow. One day at a time, one prayer at a time, everyday if need be. It will be fixed. God gave me that promise. And He always keeps his word.

With love and prayers to all. :love U:
Sabrina

October 20th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Sonny
 2 

I am not looking for any kind of response but what you feel like saying.

This post is about the lies of those who would say that God wants you rich and happy. That is all and it is wrong.

Your faithfulness and service to God is what allows Him to determine what and how much He can bless you with.

If He is blessing you then you can be assured that you are doing some of what He wants. But the danger behind these teachings that the Word of Faith guys put out is to those who fall into their trap.

Thanks for your continued input. Keep it up.

Love you

October 21st, 2008 at 12:08 am
 3 

Sonny

As you and Sabrina have mentioned, I think it’s imperative in discipleship to drive home the truth that defining the blessing(s) of the Lord in merely monetary terms no doubt misrepresents the Scriptural witness.

We must broaden our understanding of what it means to be “blessed.” As you both have well said, part and parcel to the blessed life is a faithful relationship to God (in Christ by the Spirit) and, in turn, a faith-filled, loving embrace of the “other” (our neighbors) as the “love of Christ compels us” (2 Cor. 5.14 NASB) in all areas of life.

Peace

October 21st, 2008 at 12:44 am
Tammy
 4 

Sonny,
I agree with you. For years I have heard the scripture (Luke 6:38) misrepresented.
I grow tired of hearing sermons that twist the scripture. I am thankful that God
is using you to challenge our denominational world view. love U

October 21st, 2008 at 6:16 pm

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  1. Would Jesus Frequent Starbucks? | A Sonny Disposition    Oct 22 2008 / 12am:

    [...] rates, thus profiting from the abuse of the righteous who only wanted to get closer to God.  See this post and think about what Jesus would do if He showed up at some of these ‘ministry’s’ [...]

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