"Money, it's a gas; grab that cash with both hands and make a stash...I'm in the hi-fidelity first class traveling set and I think I need a Lear Jet."--Pink Floyd, Money
Pat Robertson "speaks to money" and indeed it comes. But not from angels or the heavenly realms. Rather, it comes from the pockets of all those well-heeled and empty-headed admirers that hang on to Robertson's bizarre ramblings like wash on a clothes line.
Fred K.C. Price drives a Rolls Royce because, according to the charismatic preacher, Jesus Christ and his disciples showed him the way to live the good life here on earth. Kenneth Copeland "named it and claimed it and we got it. We blabbed it and grabbed it and still got it. Hallelujah! And our bills are paid!" zedekiahlist.com
And John Avanzini marvels at Christ's wardrobe that, according to the preacher, would've been the Pierre Cardin and Yves St. Laurent of his day: "John 19 tells us that Jesus wore designer clothes. Well, what else you gonna call it? Designer clothes-that's blasphemy. No, that's what we call them today. I mean, you didn't get the stuff He wore off the rack. It wasn't a one-size-fits-all deal. No, this was custom stuff. It was the kind of a garment that kings and rich merchants wore. Kings and rich merchants wore that garment." wordpress.com
For the record, chapter 19 of John's gospel details the Roman soldiers dividing up Christ's clothing at his crucifixion, most likely for souvenirs rather than for any monetary value the garments may have possessed. John's gospel never mentions where Jesus shopped and purchased his clothes so we don't know whether Christ wrapped himself in Gucci or Giorgio Bissoni of his day, or in the ancient world's equivalent of T.J. Maxx.
However, we do know that Christ spent a great amount of his time during his ministry in ancient Israel
Christ went on to say that "the pagans run after all these things" (Matthew 6:32) and if those "things" were the things that pagans embraced 2,000 years ago, then they are the same things that modern pagans embrace. That raises an important question: Are those who are known as prosperity preachers in the modern church the equivalent of the greedy and idolatrous pagans that Christ denounced? In the words of an unknown philosopher, "if the shoe fits, then wear it."
And so, it fits Rev. Price who cruises Hollywood Blvd. in his Rolls Royce, bought and paid for by his lemmings who fill his Los Angeles, Ca. church every Sunday to be inspired by deep thoughts such as this one: "You can talk about me all you want while I'm driving my Rolls Royce that's paid for, and I got the pink slip on it. Bad mouth me all you want. Don't hurt me in the least. Doesn't bother me. It's a whole lot easier to be persecuted when I'm riding in my car and I got the pink slip than it is when I'm riding in a car and owe my soul to the company store." Frederick K. C. Price | Apologetics Index
And the shoe fits mega-prosperity preacher-celebrity star Joel Osteen who instructs his growing flock to stop waiting for the kingdom above to come and instead, build themselves an earthly one. But don't call Osteen a prosperity guru because that's not what he claims to be.
However, if it looks and quacks like a duck, then it's probably a duck. From an interview with the Christian Post, Osteen reveals his true colors: "You know, I don't consider myself a...I don't really know what the prosperity gospel is. The way I define it is that I believe God wants you to prosper in your health, in your family, in your relationships, in your business and in your career. So I do...if that's the prosperity gospel then I do believe that." Does Joel Osteen Consider Himself a Prosperity Preacher? | Christian Research Network
While God may want us to prosper financially and do well here on planet earth, he also wants his servants such as Osteen to preach the genuine gospel of salvation by faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ rather than preach irrelevant and unbiblical gospels.
These were the instructions that Christ gave his disciples shortly before he returned to heaven: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:18-20)
One of the things that Jesus taught his disciples was that money was a false god that many worshipped as an idol. Here's what Christ stated: "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (Matthew 6:24)
Osteen however, serves money by making wealth accumulation the major part of his message. In fact, he spends so much time instructing his followers to pursue wealth through a thinly disguised prosperity-positive confession message, that he can't distinguish between genuine Christianity and the counterfeits. During an April 29, 2012 interview with CNN's Ashley Lillough on the program Situation Room, Osteen declared Mormonism to be genuine Christianity: "Mormonism's a little different, but I still see them as brothers in Christ."
Osteen is one of those false prophets that the apostle Paul warned would appear in the last days and become popular by telling folks things they want to hear: "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2Timothy 4:3-4)
The Prosperity Gospel is an abject myth because it doesn't work. It is a con game played by garishly-dressed ministers who wrap themselves in opulent luxury while their followers often struggle mightily just to make ends meet. In fact, these ministers prosper mainly because they're able to convince their followers to send them lots of money.
Stop and think about this; if the prosperity gospel really works as promoted by ministers such as Copeland, Price and Osteen, then why do they continually ask their followers to send them the cash? Because the prosperity gospel doesn't work.
You can name and claim wealth and material goodies all you want, but that's not going to happen. And you can command God's angels to bring you the bacon--green style--but that's not going to happen. You can have faith in your own faith and really be convinced that you can acquire whatever your greedy heart desires simply by believing that, but that's not going to happen either.
What is going to happen is that your wallet will be lighter because you'll be financing some entertainer-con artist-preacher's Rolls Royce or his vacation home in Machu Picchu , Peru
For too many years, too much of Christendom has been populated by too many foolish and biblically ignorant folks who have gotten stuck with empty promises and equally empty wallets because they willingly allowed themselves to be fleeced by slick-talking prosperity preachers.
But the Prosperity Gospel thrives only because it offers the utopian promise of quick and easy cash or material goodies through some spiritual formula. Pat Robertson claims that in order to obtain prosperity, one need only learn God's spiritual laws. If that sounds like religious science, it is. Nowhere does the Bible reveal any such laws that anyone can learn to make themselves rich. Rather, the Bible condemns the love of money as greed and equally condemns anyone who teaches that the Gospel is just a spiritual means to the prosperous end of opulent wealth.
The apostle Paul was well acquainted with the prosperity preachers of his day and he warned early Christians to keep their focus on the cross rather than on money. Paul wrote: "If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain." (1Timothy 6:3-5)
Paul's admonishment is a spiritual rebuke against preachers who hang guilt trips on those who fail to prosper because somehow they just don't buy into the prosperity message. Thus, one of the worst forms of blasphemy against a Holy God is to pervert his message by claiming that He condemns people who fail to obtain the so-called good life here on earth. If there truly is a good life here on earth, it is found only in eternal life through Christ and not in material possessions.
Paul continued: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (1Timothy 6:6-10)
If the Bible clearly condemns greed as just another form of idolatry, then why does the Prosperity Gospel continue to flourish? For two reasons: (1) Many professing Christians simply don't know what the Bible teaches regarding money, and (2) the false Prosperity Gospel sprang from a teaching Christ gave concerning asking and receiving from God that was taken out of context.
Here's what Christ said: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find it; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door will be opened."(Matthew 7:7-8)
Though that sounds like Christ encouraged us to ask the Heavenly Father for money and material goods, that isn't what he meant. Then just what did he mean with those statements? He meant that we are to ask the Father for the gifts of wisdom, knowledge and discernment concerning spiritual affairs, and we are to offer intercessory prayer for others. If Christ was truly teaching the prosperity gospel, then why did he end his teaching with this statement? "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:11-12)
Christ clearly taught that we are to pray for the salvation and needs of others. The foundation of the Gospel is built on self-sacrifice and generosity towards others. However, the Prosperity Gospel inverts the genuine biblical gospel by making ourselves the main recipients of God's blessings. If Christ truly promoted the Prosperity Gospel then that would've been consistent with His other teachings. However, in an earlier teaching he debunked any notion of a prosperity gospel with this message: "So do not worry, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink'? or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well."(Matthew 6:31-33)
Sadly, prosperity preachers and their adherents don't seek God's kingdom nor his righteousness. Rather, they only seek the rewards that come from the kingdom and God's righteousness. Even worse, these false teachers present a phony Christ who came not into this world in the form of a humble servant to take away our sins by His death on a Roman cross, but rather to show us the way to the good life in a fallen world.
If the Prosperity Gospel is truly biblical and meant for God's people, then Christ's disciples and the early apostles were completely ignorant of it. That means that either they didn't understand what their Lord taught in regards to money and wealth, or they understood it completely and recognized that the love of money was nothing but greed.
In his epistle to the early church at Ephesus kingdom of Christ
Do not be partners with whom? With prosperity gurus such as Gloria Copeland, the wife of Kenneth Copeland. Here's what she teaches in regards to wealth accumulation, which, if true, would put nearly every financial consultant and wealth counselor out of business: "You give $1 for the Gospel's sake and $100 belongs to you; give $10 and receive $1000; give $1000 and receive $100,000. I know that you can multiply but I want you to see it in black and white and see how tremendous the hundredfold return is." Prosperity Gospel - Another Gospel
Who do you give the $1, $10 or the $1000 to in order to get your fabulous return? To God? No, to Gloria and Kenneth. But don't waste your time sitting by the mailbox (or going online with your bank if you have direct deposit) waiting for that check with the fantastic return because it's not coming. You're far better off giving that money to a reputable charity or to someone truly in need rather than to some charlatan that uses the bible to get into your wallet or bank account.
Meanwhile, Joel Osteen, who repulses at being considered a modern version of one of those money-changers that Christ evicted from the ancient Jewish Temple, has this advice for you:"God wants to increase you financially by giving you promotions, fresh ideas and creativity...It's going to happen...suddenly your situation will change for the better...He will bring your dreams to pass...you must start boldly confessing God's word, using your words to move forward in life, to bring the great things God has in store for you." Joel Osteen and The Prosperity Gospel
But first, show him the money. Send your dollar, or $10, or $100 or whatever. And buy Joel's books because they provide a great education on how to get rich without getting an education or working hard and investing wisely. In fact, if Osteen or K.C. Price or Kenneth and Gloria Copeland can do it, then so can you. If you can buy yourself some TV time and start a direct mail campaign--who knows?--the sky's the limit. It's a great way to get rich without really trying and it's like buying the winning lottery ticket every time.
P.T. Barnum was indeed correct. There are suckers born every minute. Too bad for him that more of those suckers found their way into churches instead of into the circus. If he could do it all over again, I'm sure that Barnum would've bought himself a bible and a $6,000 Armani suit and let the good times roll on the backs of those suckers
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