When
searching for a preacher, church or denomination
that is scripturally correct, check for these
things. After looking over this page, see the
other topics/links at the bottom.
Is The Doctrine
Materialistic?
1. Is the doctrine based in
materialistic promises? In other words, are they
promising that if you are "in-tune"
with God that you will be rewarded with an
abundance of wealth?
Are they teaching that your
faith will manifest itself in the form of
material blessings?
Are they telling you, your
problems will be over and everything you desire
will be provided, everything from a husband/wife
to a new car or a bank account that will solve
all of your problems?
THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO
UNDERSTAND...
I am NOT saying that God WILL NOT or CANNOT do
these things! I am asking, is that
the carrot that they are dangling before you? Is that
the primary message? (I typed this in color
because there will be somebody out there who will
try to twist my meaning)
Material things are NOT the
reason to become a Christian. God may or may not
choose to provide an abundance of money or
material things. These things may not be in your
best interest. Or the time may not be right. This
is quite evident when Jesus taught His disciples
how to pray, The Lord's Prayer... Matthew,
chapter 6.. beginning vs 8.
8"Therefore
do not be like them. For your Father knows the
things you have need of before you ask Him.
9In this manner,
therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed
be Your name. 10Your
kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is
in heaven. 11Give
us this day our daily bread. 12And
forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
13And do not lead
us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil
one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and
the glory forever. Amen.
Jesus said, "For your
Father knows the things you have need of before
you ask Him." In other words, you don't
really know what to ask for. You'll notice in the
prayer above Jesus taught us to ask for "Our
Daily Bread" not an overabundance or riches
galore. The "debts" referred to are
"sins" not monetary obligations.
"Forgive us for our sins, as we forgive
those who sin against us."
I hear it every day! Rich TV
Preachers telling you how to have riches beyond
your wildest dreams! They brag about their luxury
jets and fabulous lifestyles. It makes me ill!
These phoney pitch-men are filthy rich and you
are buying into it! These people may or may not
realize they are of Satan! The important thing is
that YOU don't follow them! There is a lot of
truth in their teachings but it is a 'twisting'
of God's principles to wrongly
use the methods or base your spiritual goals on
the promise of material things.
God Tests Us...
God has deliberately denied
many material things to me to test me and to
elevate my dependance upon Him. This requires
faithful understanding. Do not buy into a faith
that is based in material blessings. Many times
material possessions are the reason for failure
in the spiritual realm. Trust God not your own
earthly desires. Of course it is perfectly fine
to ask that your needs be met but not to
accommodate a lavish lifestyle that is placed
before God.
There was a long period of
time that God withheld most all material things
from me. Everything I did was successful but He
wouldn't allow any money to come my way. It was
amazing! I would make things happen and
accomplish the task but NO MONEY! Every success I
had resulted in poverty. At this writing I am
still not well-off or out of the jungle. I still
live day-by-day. I guess I had a lot to learn
about humility and my "superior"
attitude, which I was not even aware of.
Until that period of time,
when I was returning to God, I had never known
how to fail! Everything I did was successful and
making money and material things of this world
came very easy.
However, in 1980 I backslid,
I walked away from God and when I finally asked
to come back into His favor, 10 years later, He
taught me a few lessons. He gave me a spanking
that lasted over a decade. I am still not allowed
the material success that I am capable of. He
keeps me humble and working for Him.
If this sounds bad, it is
not! I have grown spiritually and all of this
seeming failure in the materialistic world is an
answer to prayer. I prayed for eternity with Him
and He seems to be saying, "Material wealth
will only come between me and my mission for
Him." Perhaps someday I will be blessed
financially once again but if not??? I'll trust
Him. He is answering my prayer to be with Him in
eternity and just because I don't understand how
He achieves that, I will not question Him... Read
the Book Of Job
- It is almost my biography!
Learn From The Book Of
Job...
Even though God allowed
Satan to strip Job of all his material wealth,
Job remained true to God. Satan's argument with
God was, that if God removed Job's wealth he
would curse God. Job was reduced to poverty and
his health was severely impaired. Job could not
understand why God would allow it.
Never-the-less, Job withstood the test and passed
with flying colors!
Sometimes, financial
problems can be the catalyst that brings us to
God or the test that elevates us in the Kingdom
of God. Perhaps it comes as a health problem or a
relationship with a loved one. Whatever the test,
hang tough and trust God, even though the going
gets tough!
Whatever you do, don't allow
material blessings be the factor that determines
your relationship with God. Don't fall into the
fold of those materialistic preachers who teach
the doctrine promising financial gain by
belonging to their cult. It may seem to work but
the blessing may be coming from Satan! I've seen
it! You don't want it!
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