| The 100 Fold Return - Part 1 |
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In modern times it is common place to find churches and preachers that have built very lucrative ministries based on the premise that it is biblical to expect a
100 fold return on investment, monetarily speaking, on the amount that a ‘believer’ invests or ‘sows’ into the kingdom of God which loosely translated
means the preacher’s bank account.
I once was a sower that failed to realize even a 10 fold return, on the contrary the return I experienced was of the negative kind: meaning I lost a lot of
money. So I decided to study up on this topic and determine for myself what I was doing wrong to have experienced results that were quite the opposite of
what I was told to expect by many exalted authorities on the subject such as Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland and Robert Tilton to name just
a few. As far as I knew I was doing everything right – I bought their books and read them from cover to cover. I played their teaching cassettes every moment
I could, in my car and at home. I prayed constantly that God would supply all my needs according to His riches in glory as promised in the book of
Philippians. I tried to convince myself day and night that I was believing God for my miracle which I believed would come in the form of a check (preferably a
big one). To be honest I don’t think I really believed that God would actually send me checks and cars and homes like He had done for Oral and the two
Kenneths and Robert and other giants of faith.
I must confess that I became heavy laden with guilt (and debt) when the promised results were not forthcoming, I felt it must be because I was sorely lacking
in faith. Before Jesus rescued me from an almost certain early exit from this world I had an affinity for consuming copious amounts of alcohol. And since I
then felt that I wasn’t good enough for God because He did not answer my prayers, I once again resorted to assuaging my guilt by drowning it in a bottle,
actually bottles of liquors of various colors and varieties. Thanks be to God, and to Jesus Christ who once again did not forsake me but brought me through
safely through some very troubling times. In December of 1993 I gave up alcohol and have been dry ever since. Since that time I have been studying the
Bible and would like to share with you what I discovered about this GIVING TO RECEIVE or SOWING SEED business that has become a multi billion dollar
industry, particularly in North America.
The alleged scriptural basis for these teachings in all their variations are the following two scriptures:
• Matthew 19:29
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall
receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
• Mark 10:30
But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions;
and in the world to come eternal life.
There is a big difference between reading the Bible and studying the Bible. STUDYING means to READ first and then MEDITATE on what you have read,
that is roll it over and over in your mind till such time that what you have read with your eyes becomes revelation in your heart and mind. This is the only way
to understand the Word of God which otherwise will forever remain a mystery to you even if you read it everyday. As I have meditated in God’s Word for over
a decade now I have come to realize that what Jesus taught in the above scriptures is quite the opposite of what the Seed-faith, Word of faith, cast your
bread upon many waters crowd has been teaching us all these years.
Let’s look at Matthew 19:29:
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall
receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
So who is it that would receive an hundredfold according to Jesus? Those who have forsaken one or more of the following for His name’s sake and for the
sake of the gospel:
• Houses
• Brothers
• Sisters
• Fathers
• Mothers
• Wife
• Children
• Lands
The principle that Jesus advocated in the above scripture was that He (Jesus) had to come first for the believer. That taking up the cross and following Him
means placing greater value upon Jesus than upon material things (houses, lands); as well as valuing a relationship with Him beyond any human
relationship; be it brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children. Now as far as I have been able to determine not one of the so-called Faith-Seed
crowd has actually forsaken anything – they all have houses (more than one and mansions at that), they have lands, they have wives and children and
mothers and fathers. We have heard stories of some of them having ‘lost’ everything but losing everything, materially speaking, is not the same as
‘forsaking’ everything. So if they have not done any forsaking by what right do they expect a hundredfold return? Did Jesus not stipulate that the hundred
fold return was meant only for those who had forsaken both material things and earthly relationships?
Now let me discuss what the actual return hundred fold return is supposed to be as defined by Jesus in Mark 10:30
But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions;
and in the world to come eternal life.
What will the hundredfold return be?
• Houses
• Brothers
• Sisters
• Mothers
• Children
• Lands
• Persecutions
In all my years of sowing seed the ‘return’ that I was promised to expect invariably focused on the material part, that is, I was told to expect a return in the
form of money, of houses, lands etc. As far as I remember I was never taught I should also expect a hundred fold increase in my family size, that is, I could
expect a hundred brothers, a hundred sisters, hundred mothers, and a hundred children. I was also not taught that my PERSECUTIONS would increase a
hundredfold. Leaving aside, for the moment what it means to have a hundredfold more brothers, sisters etc., let me focus on the fact that Jesus clearly
stated that you can also expect a hundred fold increase in persecutions. Biblical persecutions are not mild reprimands; no they can be severe and
oftentimes they are deadly, countless believers have been persecuted to death! The stoning of Stephen is a vivid example of deadly persecution.
Now go and bring out all the books and tapes that you might have collected over the years from ‘preachers’ that promote this hundred fold return business.
Can you find even one instance of these preachers telling you that if you sow your seed into their ‘ministry,’ you may end up being persecuted to death!
That is a part of the hundred fold return, is it not? So are these self–proclaimed ‘men of God’ and ‘women of God’ giving you the whole counsel of God?
Obviously they are not! So are they lovers of God or lovers of filthy lucre? Do you think that if Jesus or Paul or Peter or John or Isaiah or Jeremiah were
around today, they would be living in multi million dollar homes in exclusive gated communities in Beverly Hills? Promising returns in the form of material
things is not Biblical, it is anti–Biblical! Biblical, fruits and Biblical returns have nothing to do with money or material things. Galatians 5:22–23 describes for
us the kind of fruit, the kind of return that believers can and should desire.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
In part 2 I will examine in detail on what exactly hundredfold return means. I will investigate if Jesus or any of the apostles actually advocated returns in the
form of material things?
Part 2
100 fold return on investment, monetarily speaking, on the amount that a ‘believer’ invests or ‘sows’ into the kingdom of God which loosely translated
means the preacher’s bank account.
I once was a sower that failed to realize even a 10 fold return, on the contrary the return I experienced was of the negative kind: meaning I lost a lot of
money. So I decided to study up on this topic and determine for myself what I was doing wrong to have experienced results that were quite the opposite of
what I was told to expect by many exalted authorities on the subject such as Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland and Robert Tilton to name just
a few. As far as I knew I was doing everything right – I bought their books and read them from cover to cover. I played their teaching cassettes every moment
I could, in my car and at home. I prayed constantly that God would supply all my needs according to His riches in glory as promised in the book of
Philippians. I tried to convince myself day and night that I was believing God for my miracle which I believed would come in the form of a check (preferably a
big one). To be honest I don’t think I really believed that God would actually send me checks and cars and homes like He had done for Oral and the two
Kenneths and Robert and other giants of faith.
I must confess that I became heavy laden with guilt (and debt) when the promised results were not forthcoming, I felt it must be because I was sorely lacking
in faith. Before Jesus rescued me from an almost certain early exit from this world I had an affinity for consuming copious amounts of alcohol. And since I
then felt that I wasn’t good enough for God because He did not answer my prayers, I once again resorted to assuaging my guilt by drowning it in a bottle,
actually bottles of liquors of various colors and varieties. Thanks be to God, and to Jesus Christ who once again did not forsake me but brought me through
safely through some very troubling times. In December of 1993 I gave up alcohol and have been dry ever since. Since that time I have been studying the
Bible and would like to share with you what I discovered about this GIVING TO RECEIVE or SOWING SEED business that has become a multi billion dollar
industry, particularly in North America.
The alleged scriptural basis for these teachings in all their variations are the following two scriptures:
• Matthew 19:29
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall
receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
• Mark 10:30
But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions;
and in the world to come eternal life.
There is a big difference between reading the Bible and studying the Bible. STUDYING means to READ first and then MEDITATE on what you have read,
that is roll it over and over in your mind till such time that what you have read with your eyes becomes revelation in your heart and mind. This is the only way
to understand the Word of God which otherwise will forever remain a mystery to you even if you read it everyday. As I have meditated in God’s Word for over
a decade now I have come to realize that what Jesus taught in the above scriptures is quite the opposite of what the Seed-faith, Word of faith, cast your
bread upon many waters crowd has been teaching us all these years.
Let’s look at Matthew 19:29:
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall
receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
So who is it that would receive an hundredfold according to Jesus? Those who have forsaken one or more of the following for His name’s sake and for the
sake of the gospel:
• Houses
• Brothers
• Sisters
• Fathers
• Mothers
• Wife
• Children
• Lands
The principle that Jesus advocated in the above scripture was that He (Jesus) had to come first for the believer. That taking up the cross and following Him
means placing greater value upon Jesus than upon material things (houses, lands); as well as valuing a relationship with Him beyond any human
relationship; be it brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children. Now as far as I have been able to determine not one of the so-called Faith-Seed
crowd has actually forsaken anything – they all have houses (more than one and mansions at that), they have lands, they have wives and children and
mothers and fathers. We have heard stories of some of them having ‘lost’ everything but losing everything, materially speaking, is not the same as
‘forsaking’ everything. So if they have not done any forsaking by what right do they expect a hundredfold return? Did Jesus not stipulate that the hundred
fold return was meant only for those who had forsaken both material things and earthly relationships?
Now let me discuss what the actual return hundred fold return is supposed to be as defined by Jesus in Mark 10:30
But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions;
and in the world to come eternal life.
- When will the hundredfold return be made available? • Now in this time – the present day not in the future.
What will the hundredfold return be?
• Houses
• Brothers
• Sisters
• Mothers
• Children
• Lands
• Persecutions
In all my years of sowing seed the ‘return’ that I was promised to expect invariably focused on the material part, that is, I was told to expect a return in the
form of money, of houses, lands etc. As far as I remember I was never taught I should also expect a hundred fold increase in my family size, that is, I could
expect a hundred brothers, a hundred sisters, hundred mothers, and a hundred children. I was also not taught that my PERSECUTIONS would increase a
hundredfold. Leaving aside, for the moment what it means to have a hundredfold more brothers, sisters etc., let me focus on the fact that Jesus clearly
stated that you can also expect a hundred fold increase in persecutions. Biblical persecutions are not mild reprimands; no they can be severe and
oftentimes they are deadly, countless believers have been persecuted to death! The stoning of Stephen is a vivid example of deadly persecution.
Now go and bring out all the books and tapes that you might have collected over the years from ‘preachers’ that promote this hundred fold return business.
Can you find even one instance of these preachers telling you that if you sow your seed into their ‘ministry,’ you may end up being persecuted to death!
That is a part of the hundred fold return, is it not? So are these self–proclaimed ‘men of God’ and ‘women of God’ giving you the whole counsel of God?
Obviously they are not! So are they lovers of God or lovers of filthy lucre? Do you think that if Jesus or Paul or Peter or John or Isaiah or Jeremiah were
around today, they would be living in multi million dollar homes in exclusive gated communities in Beverly Hills? Promising returns in the form of material
things is not Biblical, it is anti–Biblical! Biblical, fruits and Biblical returns have nothing to do with money or material things. Galatians 5:22–23 describes for
us the kind of fruit, the kind of return that believers can and should desire.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
In part 2 I will examine in detail on what exactly hundredfold return means. I will investigate if Jesus or any of the apostles actually advocated returns in the
form of material things?
Part 2
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