Experiential Truths of Spiritual Warfare

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Churches preaching too little out of the word – leads to prosperity teachings and mixed messages Posted: 21 Mar 2011 06:03 AM PDT I have not posted anything lately because I am still trying to figure out where to actually begin writing again. Many things have happened in my life recently that have been diverting me and so I have been less preoccupied with keeping the blog updated. I went to my local church a few weeks ago, only to be presented with a re-hash of the same old prosperity gospel message I heard the previous time. The message is basically this: faith through tithing can bring a blessing into our lives. No doubt it can, but not all Christians adopting this strategy can expect a blessing. Why is that exactly? I belong to this church, but I rarely attend its services. When I have on rare occasion, it angers me because I see good people who are ignorant of the true gospel message. They believe what has been passed down to them, from others who have been taught the same message. There was a sermon not to long ago where I actually heard the pastor trying to explain what he meant by the concepts he had introduced from the word. He began clarifying concepts like faith and that it should be combined with tithing so that members of his flock, listening to his sermon would be able to take that information, simply apply it to their lives and become financially successful. I can't tell you how stunned I was when this pastor began trying to expound Heb 4:2 "For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith." His translation made used the words "did not profit them" and he went on to explain, using dangerously faulty reasoning, that faith is of no value to us when it is not combined correctly with tithing.  In this example the word profit is interpreted to mean financial gain, as though the paying of money over to the church and having faith, were sufficient requirements to bring a blessing. Later this pastor began rambling on about how elements of teaching can be integrated like food ingredients to produce a cake. My intrigue grew, as his own mouth was declaring that it was "the mixing bowl" which was used to combine the ingredients, such as flour, eggs and water, with a "bladed tongue", as though Satan was making a mockery of his explanation. The dangers of these teachings is that they mix streams of truth, subtley altering the teachings presented in the new covenant message.  The point I am trying to make, is that Satan is not an idiot and he does not only play the liar, he is also the master mixer of truth.  This means that in any sermon or teaching, or news article or passage in a book, ninety-nine truths will be used to float one lie, or ninety nine lies will be used to support one truth.  The reason Satan is so successful in dominating minds, is that believers are continually presented with evolving mixtures of truth from Christians in positions of authority.  Those entering the faith or who do not abide in God's word fall prey to the subtelties of deception because they have not yet learned discernment.  We are not taught discernment in the congregation, neither are we taught wisdom.  These things come with the maturation of faith.  We cannot expect to grow in wisdom and avoid deception without keeping faith with God, which comes about as a daily sacrifice to read his word. After this sermon was over, I stood up and made my way to the stage where the pastor begin chatting with a few members of his congregation. I was upset by what I had heard, so I waited until he was free and then introduced myself and asked if I could discuss with him points he had mentioned in his sermon.  He reminded me that he spent a large part of his month travelling and that he would not be able to see me for another three weeks.  I agreed that I would happily wait for his return.  He suggested I speak to another pastor in the congregation who then stepped forward to speak to me.  When I explained to him that I did not want to speak to this pastor, but to him alone, he began telling me that his pastor was his second in command, so to speak, and that I would have to approach him first about this issue.   I began to get the impression that he was trying to make himself unavailable to me and I felt that this was wrong. This man has an international ministry with TV evangelism reaching hundreds of thousands of people weekly.  At this point I almost began to feel that I was speaking to some politician, business executive or high ranking official , not a mere church pastor.   I went home with an odd feeling about this man and I began to ask myself why I felt this way about him.  Perhaps because of his leadership he now sees himself to be above his congregation.  I ask myself why is it that the tithes are always gathered directly after the praise and worship and not at the end of the service.   Could it be that the euphoria generated after praise and worship has a positive influence on opening up wallets as well as hearts? I always have had the feeling that the original church of Jesus Christ is a church of utmost humility.  I feel that there would never have been any obstacle in meeting with Jesus or Paul, or any other of the Saints for that matter.  They would have taken time out to hear the questions and discuss issues of faith with even the poorest of their congregations.  It would be interesting to hear your views about the prosperity gospel teaching and how it has helping you in your lives.

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