Secrets of the gospel of prosperity
In these days, it is very common to find someone saying “God is blessing your business right now, He is making you fertile so that you may produce, and He is directing favour to you, Put your hand on the TV set or touch where you are filling pain, God is working, He is solving all your employment problems, I can see He is preparing a partner for youâ€
I am not saying it is bad to get a partner, or a promotion or a good job, It’s just that, all those things are not part of the gospel. They are not supposed to be over emphasized since none of them contain salvation. They point to the world while salvation point to heaven. This a satanic snare to make people so taken up with what is in store for them in this world while forgetting the second coming of Jesus.
The Pentecostal gospel presents a theology of distorted vision of God and the Christian life. God is the supplier of financial prosperity, health, and victory when the believer uses their faith. Pentecostals holds the concept that God's children should "eat the best, drive the best, and wear the best." little emphasis on suffering of Christ, the cross, self-denial.
The Pentecostal pastors give messages in their churches over different members that God is going to make them millionaires, make them super anointed, give them a world wide ministry, or give them great fame! As a result the members
are hooked on their wonderful pastor who prophecy good things even though over the years none of the prophesies ever come to fruition.
This type of gospel can not be true because it is not universal; it is so discriminative and selective. A pastor can spend a whole sermon telling his followers how God is going to make them rich thus excluding those who are already rich for the all of the sermon. It can not be true since it can not be applicable to all Christians irrespective of their class, education, and social context. It is so un fair to tell congregants that they all of them will be like Bill Gates if they continue to sow their financial seed.
People come up the front and give testimonies of how they bought plots, or got the visas. These convince others that God’s plan for them is prosperity too. Words like “you will be fulfilled and given in abundance†are common in this gospel. It is also important to note that many who once deceived others of what God has done for them have come up to repent after they left Pentecostalism.
God is seen as a no-lose lottery in the sky, a cosmic money machine in which you put in a coin and wait for millions while your “casino buddies†(in this case your fellow Christians) whoop and holler (or shout “Amen†) and wait for their turn in line. In this sort of system, God’s reason for existing is to give what we want, if we had no needs, God would probably just disappear after all.
This gospel, when approached from the prosperity posture, prayer degenerates into coercions, where in “name it and claim itâ€, believers become devoted to forcing God until he agrees to do what they want. This gospel also attempt to arm twist the Almighty into increasing comforts and underwriting life styles. It is a gospel of selfishness by selfish beings.
“Faith†becomes a crowbar to break down the door of God’s reluctance, rather than a humble attempt to lay hold of his willingness. God is treated as an object, a tool, and a means to an end. God’s blessing on financial giving is turned into money – back guaranteed whereby he is obligated to do precisely whatever we want him to do. Many have developed that phrase “confess and posses†They forget that confess has its roots in the word repent (not claim), which is a total misuse of the word.
For you to understand clearly the nature of this new gospel, let me present some quotation from major Pentecostals pastors who preach there gospel from the prosperity point of view.
A famous Pentecostal pastor, Charles Fill More, of the Unity School of Christianity had his re-edition of psalms 23 as below;
“The lord is my banker; my credit is good. He makes me lie in the consciousness of omni present abundance; he giveth me the key to his strong box (treasury), he restoreth my faith in his riches; he guideth me in the path of prosperity for his name sake. Yea, though I walk in the very shadow of debt, I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me, He prepares a way in the presence of the collector, He fills my wallet with plenty, my measure runneth over, surely goodness and plenty will fall me all the days of my life, and I shall do business in the name of the lordâ€3
Every thing in the passage above has to do with the believer’s happiness, prosperity and good health. Is that the same message which Apostle Paul preached? Did Jesus preach money? Though the answers may be no, It seems like Fill more had never read that Paul and Timothy got sick at some time and they many times suffered at the hands of poverty.
Pastor Creflo Dollar also used Psalms 23 to preach his prosperity and health gospel, he said;
“Some thing good is gonna happen to you, your cup is going to flow over in the coming year, the unemployed, unmarried – something good is going to happen to you. God is going to lay down a table in your frontâ€4
It is the same story with pastors from poor countries, In his sermon entitled, “you are the next in line†Pastor Robert Kayanja, probably most known for his many unfulfilled prophesies had this to preach;
“The new season has come, in fact you are the new season, the force of God is going to visit you and throw you into the center where everything happens. You are the next in lineâ€5
Anita Oyakhilome wrote in the Rhapsody of Realities, November 2008 that “you have to understand the evil, hardships, and harsh economic conditions in the world are not set against you… In the midst of recession, economic downturn, inflation and disaster, God has ordained your promotion and promotion. He has already planned that you’ll be a success irrespective of what going on in the world around you†Such statements cast a big stone of doubt whether such pastors are aware that the Bible talks about poor Christians. What do they have to say about the majority poor in churches?
It is not surprising that during the Pentecostal worship services, pastors speak while breaking in their words; the “believers†shout “Amen†and “Hallelujah†in all the breaks. They are totally taken up by the promises of the riches to come. Little do they know that they are listening to the gospel according to the almighty dollar.
Take the example below of a prayer by Bishop T.D Jakes; it is a typical example of the gospel according to happiness. It was entitled “ My prayer for you todayâ€.
“You will find favour with someone you don't expect ...Amen.
You will be too relevant to be ignored...Amen.
You will encounter GOD and will never remain the same ...Amen.
The grace for completion will come on you, you shall be blessed till the blessed call you blessed ...Amen.
The mouth saying ''Amen'' to this prayer shall laugh forever ...Amen.
Very very soon and I say very very very soon, GOD is going to do a miracle and lift u up for GOOD.â€
The prayer above contains some good to hear words which every person would like to be fulfilled in his or her life. This is why many people cross over to the pastors who use such words in their worship services and the pastors who preach about the true salvation fight to get followers. Remember the bibles says “In the last days…people will gather for themselves preachers who speak what they want to hear†It is by no surprise that such a prayer became so popular in the Christian circles, no wonder the prayer circulated so far fast through mail.
These preachers are not afraid to relate God’s Holy anointing with materialism, popularity and prosperity, they claim that if you have a new Prado you are ‘anointed’ and ‘blessed’ therefore they preach to everyone giving them envelopes that there blessings are nigh.
This spirit of dominionism and materialism does not see Jesus Christ as Lord but as means to material objectives and healing, the gospel is twisted to a materialistic view as to control the minds of many of those who are badly in need of financial gains. There is no longer any doubt about what you are reading, you just need to tune on your radio or television set to discover how the gospel is no longer in regard to the cross but to material gains
The Bible does not have kind words for people who use religion a way of getting rich, it says “…evils suspicions and constant arguments from people whose minds do not function and who no longer have the truth. They think that religion is away to become rich.†Timothy 6:5. Such people existed even in days of Paul and the apostle had to call them ‘people whose minds do not function’ which shows how dangerous that kind of gospel can be to a Christian.
In Uganda, many major Pentecostal celebrations are held; one of this is the National Celebration. In these events Pastors collects millions and millions of shillings through offering from the poor followers. However before the events, many people are used to give testimonies on radios and television so as to induce others to attend. These testimonies are most of the time materialistic; words like ‘when I attended I bought a plot and got obtained a visa’ are common. Others give testimonies about their supposed change of health. It is just absurd that little about the cross or the second coming is mentioned in these testimonies.
Then the materialistic teaching of sowing the seed, this teaching is one of the major reasons why Pentecostals churches are always full with members. Followers are drip-fed on these teachings. This requires followers to give part of their earnings to the church in offerings and tithes in turn for the promised blessings.
The expected dividends on these are divine blessings. With a church full of young company executives and businessmen, every service guarantees enormous revenue expecting God to turn on his tap of blessings. Others give cars, generators, musical equipment and chairs to the church. Returning to God is not bad but if it is done while expecting blessing then it turns out to be a sin.
However the biblical gospel is plain and clear, it stresses the death of Christ for our salvation and our need to follow and accept Christ, and it’s never about money and health. The gospel of wealth and health not scriptural, It has its roots in Satanism
I am not saying it is bad to get a partner, or a promotion or a good job, It’s just that, all those things are not part of the gospel. They are not supposed to be over emphasized since none of them contain salvation. They point to the world while salvation point to heaven. This a satanic snare to make people so taken up with what is in store for them in this world while forgetting the second coming of Jesus.
The Pentecostal gospel presents a theology of distorted vision of God and the Christian life. God is the supplier of financial prosperity, health, and victory when the believer uses their faith. Pentecostals holds the concept that God's children should "eat the best, drive the best, and wear the best." little emphasis on suffering of Christ, the cross, self-denial.
The Pentecostal pastors give messages in their churches over different members that God is going to make them millionaires, make them super anointed, give them a world wide ministry, or give them great fame! As a result the members
are hooked on their wonderful pastor who prophecy good things even though over the years none of the prophesies ever come to fruition.
This type of gospel can not be true because it is not universal; it is so discriminative and selective. A pastor can spend a whole sermon telling his followers how God is going to make them rich thus excluding those who are already rich for the all of the sermon. It can not be true since it can not be applicable to all Christians irrespective of their class, education, and social context. It is so un fair to tell congregants that they all of them will be like Bill Gates if they continue to sow their financial seed.
People come up the front and give testimonies of how they bought plots, or got the visas. These convince others that God’s plan for them is prosperity too. Words like “you will be fulfilled and given in abundance†are common in this gospel. It is also important to note that many who once deceived others of what God has done for them have come up to repent after they left Pentecostalism.
God is seen as a no-lose lottery in the sky, a cosmic money machine in which you put in a coin and wait for millions while your “casino buddies†(in this case your fellow Christians) whoop and holler (or shout “Amen†) and wait for their turn in line. In this sort of system, God’s reason for existing is to give what we want, if we had no needs, God would probably just disappear after all.
This gospel, when approached from the prosperity posture, prayer degenerates into coercions, where in “name it and claim itâ€, believers become devoted to forcing God until he agrees to do what they want. This gospel also attempt to arm twist the Almighty into increasing comforts and underwriting life styles. It is a gospel of selfishness by selfish beings.
“Faith†becomes a crowbar to break down the door of God’s reluctance, rather than a humble attempt to lay hold of his willingness. God is treated as an object, a tool, and a means to an end. God’s blessing on financial giving is turned into money – back guaranteed whereby he is obligated to do precisely whatever we want him to do. Many have developed that phrase “confess and posses†They forget that confess has its roots in the word repent (not claim), which is a total misuse of the word.
For you to understand clearly the nature of this new gospel, let me present some quotation from major Pentecostals pastors who preach there gospel from the prosperity point of view.
A famous Pentecostal pastor, Charles Fill More, of the Unity School of Christianity had his re-edition of psalms 23 as below;
“The lord is my banker; my credit is good. He makes me lie in the consciousness of omni present abundance; he giveth me the key to his strong box (treasury), he restoreth my faith in his riches; he guideth me in the path of prosperity for his name sake. Yea, though I walk in the very shadow of debt, I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me, He prepares a way in the presence of the collector, He fills my wallet with plenty, my measure runneth over, surely goodness and plenty will fall me all the days of my life, and I shall do business in the name of the lordâ€3
Every thing in the passage above has to do with the believer’s happiness, prosperity and good health. Is that the same message which Apostle Paul preached? Did Jesus preach money? Though the answers may be no, It seems like Fill more had never read that Paul and Timothy got sick at some time and they many times suffered at the hands of poverty.
Pastor Creflo Dollar also used Psalms 23 to preach his prosperity and health gospel, he said;
“Some thing good is gonna happen to you, your cup is going to flow over in the coming year, the unemployed, unmarried – something good is going to happen to you. God is going to lay down a table in your frontâ€4
It is the same story with pastors from poor countries, In his sermon entitled, “you are the next in line†Pastor Robert Kayanja, probably most known for his many unfulfilled prophesies had this to preach;
“The new season has come, in fact you are the new season, the force of God is going to visit you and throw you into the center where everything happens. You are the next in lineâ€5
Anita Oyakhilome wrote in the Rhapsody of Realities, November 2008 that “you have to understand the evil, hardships, and harsh economic conditions in the world are not set against you… In the midst of recession, economic downturn, inflation and disaster, God has ordained your promotion and promotion. He has already planned that you’ll be a success irrespective of what going on in the world around you†Such statements cast a big stone of doubt whether such pastors are aware that the Bible talks about poor Christians. What do they have to say about the majority poor in churches?
It is not surprising that during the Pentecostal worship services, pastors speak while breaking in their words; the “believers†shout “Amen†and “Hallelujah†in all the breaks. They are totally taken up by the promises of the riches to come. Little do they know that they are listening to the gospel according to the almighty dollar.
Take the example below of a prayer by Bishop T.D Jakes; it is a typical example of the gospel according to happiness. It was entitled “ My prayer for you todayâ€.
“You will find favour with someone you don't expect ...Amen.
You will be too relevant to be ignored...Amen.
You will encounter GOD and will never remain the same ...Amen.
The grace for completion will come on you, you shall be blessed till the blessed call you blessed ...Amen.
The mouth saying ''Amen'' to this prayer shall laugh forever ...Amen.
Very very soon and I say very very very soon, GOD is going to do a miracle and lift u up for GOOD.â€
The prayer above contains some good to hear words which every person would like to be fulfilled in his or her life. This is why many people cross over to the pastors who use such words in their worship services and the pastors who preach about the true salvation fight to get followers. Remember the bibles says “In the last days…people will gather for themselves preachers who speak what they want to hear†It is by no surprise that such a prayer became so popular in the Christian circles, no wonder the prayer circulated so far fast through mail.
These preachers are not afraid to relate God’s Holy anointing with materialism, popularity and prosperity, they claim that if you have a new Prado you are ‘anointed’ and ‘blessed’ therefore they preach to everyone giving them envelopes that there blessings are nigh.
This spirit of dominionism and materialism does not see Jesus Christ as Lord but as means to material objectives and healing, the gospel is twisted to a materialistic view as to control the minds of many of those who are badly in need of financial gains. There is no longer any doubt about what you are reading, you just need to tune on your radio or television set to discover how the gospel is no longer in regard to the cross but to material gains
The Bible does not have kind words for people who use religion a way of getting rich, it says “…evils suspicions and constant arguments from people whose minds do not function and who no longer have the truth. They think that religion is away to become rich.†Timothy 6:5. Such people existed even in days of Paul and the apostle had to call them ‘people whose minds do not function’ which shows how dangerous that kind of gospel can be to a Christian.
In Uganda, many major Pentecostal celebrations are held; one of this is the National Celebration. In these events Pastors collects millions and millions of shillings through offering from the poor followers. However before the events, many people are used to give testimonies on radios and television so as to induce others to attend. These testimonies are most of the time materialistic; words like ‘when I attended I bought a plot and got obtained a visa’ are common. Others give testimonies about their supposed change of health. It is just absurd that little about the cross or the second coming is mentioned in these testimonies.
Then the materialistic teaching of sowing the seed, this teaching is one of the major reasons why Pentecostals churches are always full with members. Followers are drip-fed on these teachings. This requires followers to give part of their earnings to the church in offerings and tithes in turn for the promised blessings.
The expected dividends on these are divine blessings. With a church full of young company executives and businessmen, every service guarantees enormous revenue expecting God to turn on his tap of blessings. Others give cars, generators, musical equipment and chairs to the church. Returning to God is not bad but if it is done while expecting blessing then it turns out to be a sin.
However the biblical gospel is plain and clear, it stresses the death of Christ for our salvation and our need to follow and accept Christ, and it’s never about money and health. The gospel of wealth and health not scriptural, It has its roots in Satanism
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