When searching
for a 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.
We
all have a lot left to learn and I know I still
have a lot to learn but I am far enough along to
see through these preachers who preach-for-cash.
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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