Sounds pretty absurd doesn't it? Preachers who are enslaved under the 501 (C) (3) won't tell you these truths. Is that because they have to answer to a finance committee or "board?" They don't seem to think they will have to answer to Jesus. They will answer and I believe that Jesus will stay with His truths and His warnings. Gives me the shudders to think about it. The scriptures are very clear. Do you suppose that was why Jesus was so angry with the cheats who were using His Father's house for worldly matters? Is there a lot of difference when preachers use the house of worship to gain money?

If you are a Christian, you live by the New Testament and the teachings from Jesus. Not man-made doctrines that pick and choose between New Testament and Old Testament scripture. They seem to preach whichever serves them best... which is determined by the financial needs of the Preacher and/or his church. The preach-for-cash preachers use a lot of examples from the OT to increase their "take."

This is pretty serious, don't shrug it off...

Jesus was clear when He said it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter The Kingdom of God. He went on to say that all things are possible with God. In other words it can happen but it takes a miracle from God.
Matthew 19: ²³Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. ²⁵ When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? ²⁶But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Jesus said that John The Baptist shines as great as any "star" and this is what John had to say about those with an abundance... I guess you could call that rich?
Luke 3:9 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.” ¹⁰ The crowds asked, “What should we do?” ¹¹ John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.”

THINK ABOUT THAT!

A brief word on the "prosperity doctrine" ... If you believe that God blesses His followers with wealth and material possessions, then you should consider becoming a Muslim... Have you seen Dubai? Wow! Maybe their God is bigger than the Christian's God? If your faith is based on material wealth you should consider the conversion.

Our parents, schools and even churches teach us from childhood that it is important to be a financial success. Most churches and all TV evangelists, teach a prosperity doctrine. That is to teach that wealth and riches come from God and they even go so far as to teach that if you want riches that you should make a covenant to tithe large amounts of money and much larger amounts will be given back to you and it's all from God. WRONG! It is from the god of this world. The lesser god of material, SATAN. Consider this warning truthful teachings from the scriptures and from the true God of all... Not the lesser god of this world. It may be very hard for you to believe that most every, if not all, famous mega church preachers and evangelists are straight from hell.

For a Christian to crave an abundance of material wealth is to trust and worship material wealth more than Jesus. Make no mistake about it! That is idol worship. If you fall for this, you will have eternity to regret it. You see... to spend your God-given time and God-given talent pursuing and keeping material wealth causes you to trust the wealth and not God. Oh yes it does! It's idol worship. Oh yes it is! Our Father in Heaven knows what is best for HIS kids. The Lord's Prayer teaches us to ask for our needs to be met not stored riches. Tremendous wealth may not be something you can handle. From what I have seen that is the fact! We are reminded that it is near impossible for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. www.john33.com/rich-man

I am not saying you should strive to be poor! I am putting things into perspective. Do you serve and trust Jesus or do you serve and trust your wealth and worldly status? Think about it. Have you been unfair with someone to gain more wealth? Have you been fair and thoughtful in your dealings or do you "fudge" and take advantage of anybody, especially the less fortunate? Be honest, eternity is at stake, your eternity.

I have had a number of friends and associates who would always bring up material blessings when God's blessings were discussed. I have actually terminated friendships because of this idol worship. I had no choice! We were not able to agree on anything of a Spiritual nature. We are tested daily and I am tempted to partake of the world but I keep pleading for strength. At the present time I am praying for guidance as I am feeling nervous about the future of this country and I want to have an alternative... I am not getting any feedback and that is strange! It is as though He is saying "trust me and quit asking." I keep saying that I don't have so much left to offer here in this world and to let me come home or do something! I feel totally useless here... kind of like a sheep waiting to be slaughtered. Jesus reminds us that whatever they did to the Master should be expected for the student. It's just that I am not as strong as my Master. I want to have an alternate escape route:) Then when I am absolutely sure that I have nothing left to offer in HIS service, someone asks, someone comes with a problem, someone needs an answer. Then I smile... as small as it seems, I offered a word from the Holy Spirit. Did it cause the earth to shake? No. Did it rock the foundations and cause bells to ring? No. Never the less, when that person in need walks away with the answer, I am left wondering if that small answer to that person's need will grow? Will it cause ripples in the years to come? Maybe so! Will those ripples become a positive matter on the day of my final hearing by the Almighty Creator? Maybe so. Maybe it was that one act that tilted the scales in my favor? I hope it is not that close but who really knows? Who really knows anything? Certainly not I! I am simply called to deliver the goods when Jesus calls on me. I will try! I will do my best as insignificant as it may be.

I know some folks want to tell me that it is not my works that get me to heaven. In the paragraph above I indicate that a good deed might tilt the scales in my favor. Some will believe that faith alone without good works gets you to heaven. It takes both! We are saved through faith and HIS grace but we earn our admittance into the Kingdom by the good works that result from being "saved" or "born again." If you have any doubts about that you are not reading the bible enough. One of many: James 2:17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

These matters are so simple yet so complicated. About January of 2010, I was wrestling with the "Rich Man" revelation. Jesus was so kind to explain to me, in the Spirit, that HE had withheld riches from me many different times. Many times I was severely disturbed because extremely strange things would happen to deny me enormous, financial success... HE went on to explain to me it was because HE loved me and I would not have handled the prosperity in such as manner that I could see the Kingdom. He went on to tell me that nobody else does either! That may be hard for many readers to understand or even believe. It is fact. It happened and it was direct from Jesus. I also had the feeling that HE was going to teach me how to accomplish the things of material success and use it to help HIS "Little Ones." I was in the shower, praying and asking HIM for the secret and HE told me; "You don't make deals like that with God." No further explanation. I had to accept that as the answer. If HE wants me to be able to use the skills HE has given me for financial gain and then use them in a particular Godly sanctioned way, HE will have to simply make it happen. It is not for me to engineer, make covenant and do... it will simply come to me from HIM and I will know it. In the meantime I am simply to trust HIM in all these matters.

If I told you how many times that tremendous financial gain had been denied me you would not believe me. I wouldn't blame you for not believing me either. Some of the times I was simply shown to say "no" to the opportunity and I obeyed. Sometimes strange things would happen to "kill" the deal. A few times I had created money making companies only to have been cheated out of them. One such occasion I was cheated out of (about) six million dollars... which was my part of a business I had started and a family member cheated me out of my share. That business went on to bankruptcy and a horrible ending for the one who cheated me. Another time the same thing happened but I have no way of knowing what the amount was but the person who cheated me out of the millions ended up in financial ruin. These things happened several more times. I have made the statement many times that I would not want to face the fate of any person who cheated me. It was not something I wanted or prayed for, nor did I delight in their horrors but I did see it happen. Strange! It appears that the Lord was taking care of me and I didn't even know it at the time!! (It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God) Jesus meant it and HE protected me from becoming rich. Even though I had achieved it and almost had it, it was never delivered. HE allowed me to have what I needed and raise my family in abundance but never rich. I never wanted the riches, it was always the challenge and an independent, free way of life. I was never money motivated, just to be a free spirit, living life as I chose. HE gave me that!

Any questions? Go to the scriptures for answers, you probably won't get the truth from the typical church/pastor. In my daily routine I hear people bragging about their church and how Godly their church is... then I hear about the lives of the persons making those claims and I see how flawed they are. "Judge the tree by the fruit it bears." Then I look at the practices of the pastors and the "board." Again I ask; any questions?

Remember; There will be many preachers in hell too! Just because a man-made institution gave them a degree does not make them anointed by God. Be careful out there! There is hell to pay! Preachers are judged with a heavy expectation for righteousness. Maybe it would be better if many preachers had chosen to do something else?

Your friend,

John (Darryl)
www.john33.com