QUESTION: WHAT IS BIBLICAL PROSPERITY?

Short Answer: Biblical Prosperity is Father God, Son and Holy Spirit making their home in a believer's life.

"Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23 NIV).

If God is not in one's life here now on earth, how is it possible for such a person to inherit eternal life in Christ?

Yet many claiming to be Christians have chosen other gods, especially mammon, above having God's presence in their lives.

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money" (Matt 6:24 NIV).

Despite Christ's warnings, many pulpits messages are about prosperity and most people go to church with the expectation that their attendance and active participation will result in financial success and good health.

2.  HOW DID SO MANY GET IT SO WRONG?

"Here is another story Jesus told: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away" (Matt 13:24-25 NLT).

Satan, the archenemy of human beings, and his minions (demons and human agents) have been actively promoting the message of greed for centuries. However, the urgency and intensity in the last 110 years have been unprecedented.

Prior to 1906, apostate Christianity (comprising most of the orthodox churches at the time) preached that the Holy Spirit had stopped His work of empowerment with the death of the apostles i.e., the gifts of the Holy Spirit had ceased. 

Therefore, imagine its (apostate Christianity) shock when the Holy Spirit manifested, just like He did on that first Pentecost morning after the ascension of Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior, into the heavens, on a gathering of believers (not denominational church leaders but ordinary persons holding onto God's word that the work of the Holy Spirit in Christ's church was ongoing until He (Christ) comes again for His Bride) at Azusa Street, Los Angeles, California, in 1906!

Within 3 years, that outpouring of the Holy Spirit that started at Azusa Street had reached the whole world and the Pentecostal Movement was born. This worldwide outpouring of the Holy Spirit confirmed that churches who had been preaching the unbiblical doctrine of cessation of the work of the Holy Spirit were enemies of the gospel of Christ.

The fear in the kingdom of darkness was palpable. Satan was livid. His kingdom was under threat as millions of churchgoers became born again and received the Spirit baptism.

Satan and his cohorts decided to create a counterfeit Pentecostal Movement to oppose the wave of the Holy Spirit. They began to work on those believers in the emerging Worldwide Pentecostal Movement who had mistaken the gifts of the Holy Spirit as being personal. Their pride in their achievements opened the door for the infiltration of seducing spirits and greed-based doctrines. Satan's tares (weeds) to sabotage the Pentecostal Movement grew rapidly as more and more people flocked to churches espousing health and wealth, later dubbed prosperity theology or prosperity gospel.

Soon enough, churches preaching Christ-centered messages like the cross, repentance, holiness, death to self, suffering, etc began to lose members while those ones emphasizing prosperity grew exponentially.   

From that time to now, the counterfeit Pentecostal Movement has been sabotaging the gospel of Christ once for all delivered to the saints. Just like the wheat and the weeds (tares) coexist in the Lord's parable in Matthew 13:24-25, so is the Pentecostal Movement (good seed) coexisting with the counterfeit Pentecostal Movement (weeds or tares).

The counterfeit Pentecostal Movement has a symbiotic relationship with world governments and businesses. It is so rich and so influential and its promotion of greed, which appeals to the flesh, is so captivating that its followers number in the hundreds of millions.

3.  THEOLOGY OF THE COUNTERFEIT PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT

The central plank of the Counterfeit Pentecostal Movement is worldly prosperity. Worldly prosperity also goes by the name of health and wealth gospel or the gospel of success or the seed-faith gospel. Whatever name it goes by, it will always be a false gospel.

Let us examine the theology of the counterfeit Pentecostal Movement:

• God's will for His children is that they have financial success and good health.
• Positive confession of one's desires bring them from the spiritual realm into the physical realm, i.e., with faith, just like God, one can speak one's desire into existence.
• Poverty and sufferings are not for children of God. People are poor because they are unfaithful in their giving.
• Tithes and large offerings are catalysts or seeds that activate faith and make all things possible. The more one gives, the more the blessings.

4.  THE PROMOTERS OF WORLDLY PROSPERITY

There are many Pastors, general overseers and televangelists, especially those with large followings, sometimes numbering in the millions, who are promoting this false theology in one form or another.

Often alighting from big SUVs, having flown first class for those without their own well-appointed private jets, they enter big church gatherings dressed resplendently: gold wrist watches and trendy shoes matching bespoke suits.

They are adept at playing to the carnal senses of their followers. Who in such gatherings wouldn't like to be like preachers who present themselves, judging by their utterances, to have inherited both the earth and heaven? Is it a surprise that most of their followers lust for worldly things and detest cross-centered messages?

Though they (pastors and general overseers promoting the prosperity theology) claim to be messengers of God, they are God's enemy in reality. They are leading millions away from the Kingdom of God. In my opinion, they have done the greatest harm to the gospel of Christ in the last 110 years.

"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed" (Gal 1:8 NKJV).

If those skilled in the word of God have fallen, how can a newborn in Christ survive in most of the 21st century churches that have made greed the center of worship and Christian practice? Imagine a newborn in Christ attending a church where most of the members have been fed on greed laced with Scriptural verses taken out of context.

Can he or she survive?

5.  CHRIST'S TEACHING ABOUT WORLDLY PROSPERITY

1. What greater warning could the Lord Jesus Christ have given about the dangers of wealth/money than this?: "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth (Matt 6:24 NRSV). Yet in many church gatherings, the emphasis is mostly about money.
   
2. If money was that important for ministry, why did the Lord Jesus Christ tell the rich young ruler to sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor? Why didn't He ask him to sell his possessions and bring the proceeds to His ministry? What stopped the Lord from asking him (the rich young ruler) to erect a place where He (the Lord) would be teaching the people?
   
   
3. During the temptation of our Lord, Satan told Him that he will give Him the kingdoms of the world if he would worship him.

"Then Jesus said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve" (Matt 4:10 NKJV).

See our Lord's response. But what are the worldly prosperity preaching pastors and general overseers doing if not worshipping wealth, and teaching their followers to do the same, when most of their sermons are about money and blessings for those who give liberally?

4. Christ used the story of Lazarus (Matt 16:20-31) to warn about living in the moment (carnality or pandering to the flesh) without the thought of what comes next.

"for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’"
(Luke 16:28-31 NKJV).

He also used the story to teach on the importance of studying the Scriptures (Moses and the Prophets); hearing the Scriptures, not signs and wonders, is the basis of our faith.

"So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ"
(Rom 10:17 NLT).

6. REASONS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS HAVE BEEN DECEIVED

1. GREEDY HEARERS: The primary reason many have been deceived by these promoters of falsehood is because they themselves have given in to the lusts of the flesh and the eyes and to the pride of life.

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world"
(1 John 2:15-16 NKJV).

2. HYPNOTISM: Some leaders in the counterfeit Pentecostal Movement have hypnotic powers. They are aided by demons to hold audiences captive. In addition to having demonic powers, they act as conduits for the transference of spirits to their ever-increasing audience. It is dangerous to attend such churches; believers should not just walk into any church or gathering without first seeking God's face.

3. LIES: In addition to teaching false doctrines, some of these worldly prosperity preachers use their surrogates to come out in gatherings to make false claims of healings and to give testimonies of financial success that is the reward for faithful tithing.

4. MANIPULATION: Many leaders in the counterfeit Pentecostal Movement have what we call 'gift of the gab.' As natural born communicators, their confident and persuasive delivery can wow any audience. Because they know how to spin tales and to  entertain, they can keep their audiences glued to their seats for a long time. They can persuade them to open their wallets and give to whatever causes they are promoting or have been hired to promote. Those with the gift of the gab are in great demand by churches hoping to raise funds for one project or the other.

7. THE HOLY SPIRIT INDWELLS CHILDREN OF GOD

Christ did not tell us to depend on others for the interpretation of the Scriptures. Those who have believed have the seal of the Holy Spirit (Father, Son and Spirit are in residence because each believer is a temple of God): Therefore, a faithful believer who sets her mind to it can interpret the Scriptures and be able to differentiate the Voice of God from that of strangers (Satan and demons).

Remember all the Jewish temples were destroyed, even the first Temple that God's glory filled.

"And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the   cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD"
(1 King 8:10-11 NKJV).

From the day Christ died and the veil in the Temple was torn, Christ became the High Priest of the New Covenant and all who believe became priests with the privilege to enter the Holiest place of all: God's presence.

"and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever Amen" (Rev 1:6 NRSV).

I plead with you in the name of God to stop listening to these purveyors of death. If you are truly born again, you have the seal of the Holy Spirit. If you are not born again, all you have to do is repent, confess and believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior and you will receive the seal of the Holy Spirit.

"But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in   those days; And they shall prophesy" (Acts 2:16-18 NKJV).

God has poured out His Spirit to all who believe. Why don't you start by surrendering your all (life, etc) to Him and see if Father, Son and Spirit will not make their abode in you.

After God in His mercy visits you, please remember to help others escape by pointing them to God and not to yourself. The enemy will surely come to try and manipulate you into thinking God's presence in your life came about as a result of your effort. He may also nudge you into trying to monetize your spiritual gifts.

Please do remember this warning then: Flee from all selfish thoughts and never give in to the desires of the flesh.

7.  PRAYERS

Father God, hear the prayers of your children. Preserve them from the evil one and bring to their remembrance all that they have read in this newsletter in the day you visit them so that they don't become puffed up and create an opening for the evil one to infiltrate their hearts, in Jesus name, I pray.