| The 100 Fold Return - Part 2 |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Continuing where we left off in part 1, Let’s take a brief look again 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.
In the above verse Jesus makes no mention of any type of sowing. He makes it quite clear that the hundredfold return was available only to those who had
forsaken something. Is forsaking or giving up something the same as sowing seed? Not in my book!
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.
Whereas Copeland etal. Have made lucrative multi million dollar industries out of promoting this ‘sow a dollar and reap a hundred dollars’ doctrine, far from
being Biblical it is anti–Biblical; for neither Jesus nor any of the apostles ever taught their disciples to expect or hope for any sort of material returns in this
life. Jesus taught us to “lay up treasures in heaven”, not for us to us to go treasure hunting on earth. The hundred fold return that He promised for us “in
this life” consisted not only of houses but also of brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and persecutions. Have you ever heard Oral Roberts teach
that you should expect a hundredfold increase in your family size or a hundredfold increase in persecutions? So what exactly did Jesus mean that if you
forsake houses or families for His sake, you can expect a hundredfold increase in the number of houses you have as well as brothers, sisters and so forth?
By the way, for those who might have given up a wife; take notice that Jesus did not say that you can expect a hundredfold increase in the number of wives
(or husbands)!
All that Jesus meant was that those who give up material things and families for His sake will have access to a hundred times more material things and family
members than what the person forsook. If you give up your own house and family God will make available for you plenty of houses to dwell in and plenty of
people who will be like brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and children to you. Did Jesus say that God would send you the deeds to a hundred
houses if you give up yours? Kenneth Copeland might claim that this is what He said but there are plenty of other scriptures that can guide us into
understanding that Jesus’ definition of the hundredfold return does not include material things or money. Where else in the NT do we find mention of a
hundredfold return?
Mark 4:8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some
an hundred.
Why is it that the seed-faith, word of faith, plant your seed crowd always insists that the SEED that you need to plant must be MONEY or material things?
This whole doctrine has so many serious flaws in it that it makes me wonder why I ever fell for it. Upon introspection I can only conclude that we are
indoctrinated right from birth to think in a worldly way; our parents and family, our teachers, and society in general hammer it day and night into us that
SUCCESS means MONEY. These charlatans disguised as preachers have successfully used this mentality to make gullible people think that this is what the
Bible also teaches. So sub-consciously we all feel that if we are not successful monetarily then we are failures. However as I have studied and meditated on
what the Bible actually teaches about success as defined by God, it became clear to me that ‘Godly’ success has nothing and I mean NOTHING to do
with money or material things.
Solomon was the richest man in the Bible and the richest man on Earth in his day. Therefore by the modern definition of ‘success’ he was the most
successful man ever in the Bible. But did his riches and wealth make him successful according to God or was he the biggest failure in the Bible and the
direct cause of the destruction of his own nation? This man ended his days an apostate idolater who turned completely away from God who had so richly
blessed him. He is directly responsible for the division of his nation into two kingdoms immediately following his death. He is directly responsible for the
abominable idolatrous practices that flourished in both Israel and Judah soon after his death and that brought such severe judgments upon both these
nations. This man who was the most ‘successful’ that ever lived was not included in the list of those men and women that God considers to be a success; the
names of many of whom are recorded in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11. Yet people who were destitute, who were absolute failures according to
the world are to be found amongst these heroes of faith.
Hebrews 11:36-38 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned,
they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted,
tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
At this point I would like to define a few terms that will make it clear to us that terms such as ‘Seed’, and ‘Sowing’ and ‘Hundredfold Return’ do not Biblically
mean what the advocates of the ‘Prosperity gospel’ make them out to mean.
Mark 4:8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some
an hundred.
• Who is the sower? Mark 4:14 “The sower (Jesus) soweth the word. But what do the false prophets teach; that the believer (not Jesus) should be
sowing seed which they define as money not the word of God.
• What is the seed? Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Once again the seed is the word of God not money and it is
planted in the heart of the believer not in the televangelist’s bank account.
• What is the fruit? Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 5:23 Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law. The fruit that springs up thirty, sixty and hundredfold is not money or material things as falsely promised by
these wolves in sheep’s clothing.
So according to the Bible, the one that does the sowing is Jesus; and what he sows is the Word of God. Does the believer provide the seed or is it Jesus
who has the seed? So what does the believer provide? He provides the good ground of his heart in which the Word grows and produces fruit! Does the fruit
have anything to do with money or material things? Are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance monetary
rewards? If you do not have the peace that passes understanding in your heart the last thing you should be chasing after is material gain–it will surely
destroy you even if you become the richest person on Earth.What other evidence maybe presented that proves that neither Jesus nor the apostles ever
advocated material gain as godliness?
The following scriptures pretty much speak for themselves so I have not expounded upon them in detail but only added a few comments here and there.
• Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
through nor steal.
• Luke 18: 22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the
poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. 24
And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier
for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. At this point I would like to give you an example of how
these ‘name it and claim it preachers’ twist the word of God to suit their nefarious purposes. I once heard Kenneth Copeland teaching that in the above
scripture Jesus was not really referring to a needle as in needle and thread. No what he meant was that in Jerusalem there was a narrow gate into the city
through which camels could not easily pass through; they had to bend down to make it into the city. First of all any gate into a major city such as Jerusalem
would have had big doors and no matter how narrow it was it would surely be big enough for a camel to easily pass through. Secondly if all it took was for the
camel to bend down slightly to get in does this interpretation not negate the teaching of Jesus that it was not just difficult but it was impossible for a rich man
to enter into the kingdom of God; that it was only a miracle of God that could free such a man from the snare of riches so that he could believe unto
salvation. Read the rest of Luke 18 and see for yourself what Jesus was really teaching and if it lines up with Copleand’s teachings.
• Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye
shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Jesus taught that we should not even think about our material needs much less
spend time and money praying about them or sowing material seed that we may reap material rewards.
• 1 Timothy 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. According to God’s word, food and clothing is all we need to be fully
content – beyond that we need neither to pray for nor concern ourselves about material things.
• Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee. If we truly followed God instead of filthy lucre, we would be truly content with what we have and not run ourselves ragged
trying to chase the imaginary pot of gold at the end of rainbow.
• 1 Timothy 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in
destruction and perdition. If we follow God’s will we will spend our time studying, praying, and fasting; material things will hold little or no value for us. If we
follow our own will then we will always be chasing worldly riches; and the pursuit of such riches will destroy us as surely as a moth is destroyed by the flame
to which it is so fatally attracted.
One scripture that I wish to expound on a bit more in detail is Luke 6:38 which is frequently quoted by the ‘name it and claim it’ crowd.
Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your
bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. This scripture is invariably used to justify collection plates in
churches, camp meetings and on TV with the inference that if you give your money to the ‘man of God’ who is encouraging you to sow your seed; you too
will be the beneficiary of monetary gain that will be given into your bosom by other men. Is this what the scripture is teaching? Let’s look at a Biblical example
in which there are both givers and receivers.
Acts 4:34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of
the things that were sold, 35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
In this wonderful picture of how the early church conducted its affairs, we find a multitude of believers not tithing or sowing seed but forsaking all and being
perfect examples of the type of disciples that Jesus mentioned in Matthew 19:29. On the other hand we see the apostles who had previously forsaken all and
were now receiving their hundredfold reward that men were giving into their bosom. This is an accurate Biblical picture of both giving and receiving; of what it
actually entails. What we discover is the following: That those who were giving had no expectation of any material returns; they certainly were not expecting a
hundredfold return, and neither were the apostles making them any such promises. The givers did not consider that which they were giving as ‘seed’ that
they were planting in the hope of a bountiful material harvest. Also notice that they did not give a ‘seed’ or a ‘tithe’, they gave everything they had and they
did it willingly; without anyone having to persuade them that they would receive a hundredfold return on their investment. Those that were receiving did not
keep nor had any desire to keep that which they were receiving for themselves. They did not consider it a reward for seeds sown since they themselves had
forsaken everything for Jesus’ sake in the past.
When men did come and give into their bosoms as Jesus taught in Luke 6:38, did the apostles consider the money and material things to have been given
for their own personal use or for the benefit of the whole church? Did they set up corporations, numbered companies, various bank accounts and
foundations; did they hire lawyers, and investment bankers, and management firms to manage this vast wealth that was being given into their bosoms? Did
they turn around and acquire vast real estate holdings including multi million dollar mansions for their abodes not to mention beach front cottages and winter
ski chalets? Did they use the monies thus acquired to build ‘churches’ costing tens of millions of dollars; the only purpose served by such buildings being
that their fans could gather there once or twice a week expecting ‘miracles’; preferably of the monetary variety? Did they set up vast telephone networks and
publishing companies so people could call in 24/7 and order and pay for (they call it LOVE OFFERINGS) their latest and greatest teachings on how to
‘unlock the windows of heaven’; so that God could shower the ‘sowers’ with dollars bills? When I see Benny Hinn sitting there with piles of prayer requests
several feet high and wide; it makes my stomach churn. A real man of God does not have time for such charades; what real men of God did in the Bible has
been plainly shown in the book of Acts and let me focus on that for a moment before I end this study.
Acts 4:34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of
the things that were sold, 35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
The above scriptures make it abundantly clear that in the days of the real church there were plenty of sincere and genuine people who did not value any of
their material possessions but rather desired to use their material wealth to benefit the whole body of Christ. They did that which the young ruler had been
instructed by Jesus to do; to sell all and give to the poor. They sold everything and gave the proceeds to the apostles expecting nothing in return. The
apostles on the other hand did not consider these proceeds to have been given for their own personal use; they did not think of the monies as their
hundredfold return! All the monies and material things that they received they distributed right away; they kept none of it for their own personal use. So little
a value did they place upon material things that they did not even want themselves involved in the accounting or distribution of what amounted to tens of
millions at today’s rates. Acts 6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the
word of God, and serve tables. 3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom,
whom we may appoint over this business. 4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
The above scriptures make it abundantly clear that the apostles considered their business to be PRAYER and MINISTRY OF THE WORD not the
business of counting money and making distribution of it. If material aspects of ministry are as important as modern day charlatan preachers make it out to
be would the apostles have given up such an important business to other men to oversee and conduct? For the apostles real riches meant prayer and
ministry of the Word; they did not think it reasonable to consider anything else to be of higher priority. “It is not reason that we should leave the word of
God, and serve tables.”
In conclusion I will say that if those who make merchandise of their flocks for the love of filthy lucre are able to quote ten scriptures to support their ungodly
teachings; then I can quote a hundred scriptures as EVIDENCE that the Truth is the exact opposite of what is taught from these pulpits and TV screens.
Finally, if the fruits of the Spirit; love’ joy, peace that passes understanding in particular are not being manifested in your lives then what you need to do is to
sell everything you can including your homes so that the cares of this world will no longer choke the Word in your life. Live in a smaller house or in an
apartment, make do with one car or none at all, have less clothes, TVs, DVD players etc. and you will soon find that you do not need as much money as you
thought you did; and you will have more time to spend in prayer and in studying the Word which is where you will discover the true riches that bring forth
everlasting fruit. Remember the warning that the apostle Paul gave to young Timothy:
• 1 Timothy 6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw
thyself. 6: But godliness with contentment is great gain.
No matter how they disguise it, these con artists are teaching in one form or another that (material) GAIN IS GODLINESS. This teaching appeals to the
naturally avaricious nature of human beings; and most of us fall willingly for these pernicious lies. If we can convince ourselves that our greedy natures are
actually ‘godly’ then we don’t have to feel guilty about chasing the American dream (nightmare in reality!) As noted in the above scripture, God defines
GAIN as godliness with contentment; and for material contentment all that any of us needs is food and raiment. Chasing any other material goals will
only bring discontentment and disillusion and will surely shipwreck our faith; so let’s avoid such traps lest these doctrines of men drown us in perdition.
Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
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.
In the above verse Jesus makes no mention of any type of sowing. He makes it quite clear that the hundredfold return was available only to those who had
forsaken something. Is forsaking or giving up something the same as sowing seed? Not in my book!
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.
Whereas Copeland etal. Have made lucrative multi million dollar industries out of promoting this ‘sow a dollar and reap a hundred dollars’ doctrine, far from
being Biblical it is anti–Biblical; for neither Jesus nor any of the apostles ever taught their disciples to expect or hope for any sort of material returns in this
life. Jesus taught us to “lay up treasures in heaven”, not for us to us to go treasure hunting on earth. The hundred fold return that He promised for us “in
this life” consisted not only of houses but also of brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and persecutions. Have you ever heard Oral Roberts teach
that you should expect a hundredfold increase in your family size or a hundredfold increase in persecutions? So what exactly did Jesus mean that if you
forsake houses or families for His sake, you can expect a hundredfold increase in the number of houses you have as well as brothers, sisters and so forth?
By the way, for those who might have given up a wife; take notice that Jesus did not say that you can expect a hundredfold increase in the number of wives
(or husbands)!
All that Jesus meant was that those who give up material things and families for His sake will have access to a hundred times more material things and family
members than what the person forsook. If you give up your own house and family God will make available for you plenty of houses to dwell in and plenty of
people who will be like brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and children to you. Did Jesus say that God would send you the deeds to a hundred
houses if you give up yours? Kenneth Copeland might claim that this is what He said but there are plenty of other scriptures that can guide us into
understanding that Jesus’ definition of the hundredfold return does not include material things or money. Where else in the NT do we find mention of a
hundredfold return?
Mark 4:8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some
an hundred.
Why is it that the seed-faith, word of faith, plant your seed crowd always insists that the SEED that you need to plant must be MONEY or material things?
This whole doctrine has so many serious flaws in it that it makes me wonder why I ever fell for it. Upon introspection I can only conclude that we are
indoctrinated right from birth to think in a worldly way; our parents and family, our teachers, and society in general hammer it day and night into us that
SUCCESS means MONEY. These charlatans disguised as preachers have successfully used this mentality to make gullible people think that this is what the
Bible also teaches. So sub-consciously we all feel that if we are not successful monetarily then we are failures. However as I have studied and meditated on
what the Bible actually teaches about success as defined by God, it became clear to me that ‘Godly’ success has nothing and I mean NOTHING to do
with money or material things.
Solomon was the richest man in the Bible and the richest man on Earth in his day. Therefore by the modern definition of ‘success’ he was the most
successful man ever in the Bible. But did his riches and wealth make him successful according to God or was he the biggest failure in the Bible and the
direct cause of the destruction of his own nation? This man ended his days an apostate idolater who turned completely away from God who had so richly
blessed him. He is directly responsible for the division of his nation into two kingdoms immediately following his death. He is directly responsible for the
abominable idolatrous practices that flourished in both Israel and Judah soon after his death and that brought such severe judgments upon both these
nations. This man who was the most ‘successful’ that ever lived was not included in the list of those men and women that God considers to be a success; the
names of many of whom are recorded in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11. Yet people who were destitute, who were absolute failures according to
the world are to be found amongst these heroes of faith.
Hebrews 11:36-38 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned,
they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted,
tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
At this point I would like to define a few terms that will make it clear to us that terms such as ‘Seed’, and ‘Sowing’ and ‘Hundredfold Return’ do not Biblically
mean what the advocates of the ‘Prosperity gospel’ make them out to mean.
Mark 4:8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some
an hundred.
• Who is the sower? Mark 4:14 “The sower (Jesus) soweth the word. But what do the false prophets teach; that the believer (not Jesus) should be
sowing seed which they define as money not the word of God.
• What is the seed? Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Once again the seed is the word of God not money and it is
planted in the heart of the believer not in the televangelist’s bank account.
• What is the fruit? Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 5:23 Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law. The fruit that springs up thirty, sixty and hundredfold is not money or material things as falsely promised by
these wolves in sheep’s clothing.
So according to the Bible, the one that does the sowing is Jesus; and what he sows is the Word of God. Does the believer provide the seed or is it Jesus
who has the seed? So what does the believer provide? He provides the good ground of his heart in which the Word grows and produces fruit! Does the fruit
have anything to do with money or material things? Are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance monetary
rewards? If you do not have the peace that passes understanding in your heart the last thing you should be chasing after is material gain–it will surely
destroy you even if you become the richest person on Earth.What other evidence maybe presented that proves that neither Jesus nor the apostles ever
advocated material gain as godliness?
The following scriptures pretty much speak for themselves so I have not expounded upon them in detail but only added a few comments here and there.
• Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
through nor steal.
• Luke 18: 22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the
poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. 24
And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier
for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. At this point I would like to give you an example of how
these ‘name it and claim it preachers’ twist the word of God to suit their nefarious purposes. I once heard Kenneth Copeland teaching that in the above
scripture Jesus was not really referring to a needle as in needle and thread. No what he meant was that in Jerusalem there was a narrow gate into the city
through which camels could not easily pass through; they had to bend down to make it into the city. First of all any gate into a major city such as Jerusalem
would have had big doors and no matter how narrow it was it would surely be big enough for a camel to easily pass through. Secondly if all it took was for the
camel to bend down slightly to get in does this interpretation not negate the teaching of Jesus that it was not just difficult but it was impossible for a rich man
to enter into the kingdom of God; that it was only a miracle of God that could free such a man from the snare of riches so that he could believe unto
salvation. Read the rest of Luke 18 and see for yourself what Jesus was really teaching and if it lines up with Copleand’s teachings.
• Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye
shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Jesus taught that we should not even think about our material needs much less
spend time and money praying about them or sowing material seed that we may reap material rewards.
• 1 Timothy 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. According to God’s word, food and clothing is all we need to be fully
content – beyond that we need neither to pray for nor concern ourselves about material things.
• Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee. If we truly followed God instead of filthy lucre, we would be truly content with what we have and not run ourselves ragged
trying to chase the imaginary pot of gold at the end of rainbow.
• 1 Timothy 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in
destruction and perdition. If we follow God’s will we will spend our time studying, praying, and fasting; material things will hold little or no value for us. If we
follow our own will then we will always be chasing worldly riches; and the pursuit of such riches will destroy us as surely as a moth is destroyed by the flame
to which it is so fatally attracted.
One scripture that I wish to expound on a bit more in detail is Luke 6:38 which is frequently quoted by the ‘name it and claim it’ crowd.
Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your
bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. This scripture is invariably used to justify collection plates in
churches, camp meetings and on TV with the inference that if you give your money to the ‘man of God’ who is encouraging you to sow your seed; you too
will be the beneficiary of monetary gain that will be given into your bosom by other men. Is this what the scripture is teaching? Let’s look at a Biblical example
in which there are both givers and receivers.
Acts 4:34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of
the things that were sold, 35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
In this wonderful picture of how the early church conducted its affairs, we find a multitude of believers not tithing or sowing seed but forsaking all and being
perfect examples of the type of disciples that Jesus mentioned in Matthew 19:29. On the other hand we see the apostles who had previously forsaken all and
were now receiving their hundredfold reward that men were giving into their bosom. This is an accurate Biblical picture of both giving and receiving; of what it
actually entails. What we discover is the following: That those who were giving had no expectation of any material returns; they certainly were not expecting a
hundredfold return, and neither were the apostles making them any such promises. The givers did not consider that which they were giving as ‘seed’ that
they were planting in the hope of a bountiful material harvest. Also notice that they did not give a ‘seed’ or a ‘tithe’, they gave everything they had and they
did it willingly; without anyone having to persuade them that they would receive a hundredfold return on their investment. Those that were receiving did not
keep nor had any desire to keep that which they were receiving for themselves. They did not consider it a reward for seeds sown since they themselves had
forsaken everything for Jesus’ sake in the past.
When men did come and give into their bosoms as Jesus taught in Luke 6:38, did the apostles consider the money and material things to have been given
for their own personal use or for the benefit of the whole church? Did they set up corporations, numbered companies, various bank accounts and
foundations; did they hire lawyers, and investment bankers, and management firms to manage this vast wealth that was being given into their bosoms? Did
they turn around and acquire vast real estate holdings including multi million dollar mansions for their abodes not to mention beach front cottages and winter
ski chalets? Did they use the monies thus acquired to build ‘churches’ costing tens of millions of dollars; the only purpose served by such buildings being
that their fans could gather there once or twice a week expecting ‘miracles’; preferably of the monetary variety? Did they set up vast telephone networks and
publishing companies so people could call in 24/7 and order and pay for (they call it LOVE OFFERINGS) their latest and greatest teachings on how to
‘unlock the windows of heaven’; so that God could shower the ‘sowers’ with dollars bills? When I see Benny Hinn sitting there with piles of prayer requests
several feet high and wide; it makes my stomach churn. A real man of God does not have time for such charades; what real men of God did in the Bible has
been plainly shown in the book of Acts and let me focus on that for a moment before I end this study.
Acts 4:34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of
the things that were sold, 35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
The above scriptures make it abundantly clear that in the days of the real church there were plenty of sincere and genuine people who did not value any of
their material possessions but rather desired to use their material wealth to benefit the whole body of Christ. They did that which the young ruler had been
instructed by Jesus to do; to sell all and give to the poor. They sold everything and gave the proceeds to the apostles expecting nothing in return. The
apostles on the other hand did not consider these proceeds to have been given for their own personal use; they did not think of the monies as their
hundredfold return! All the monies and material things that they received they distributed right away; they kept none of it for their own personal use. So little
a value did they place upon material things that they did not even want themselves involved in the accounting or distribution of what amounted to tens of
millions at today’s rates. Acts 6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the
word of God, and serve tables. 3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom,
whom we may appoint over this business. 4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
The above scriptures make it abundantly clear that the apostles considered their business to be PRAYER and MINISTRY OF THE WORD not the
business of counting money and making distribution of it. If material aspects of ministry are as important as modern day charlatan preachers make it out to
be would the apostles have given up such an important business to other men to oversee and conduct? For the apostles real riches meant prayer and
ministry of the Word; they did not think it reasonable to consider anything else to be of higher priority. “It is not reason that we should leave the word of
God, and serve tables.”
In conclusion I will say that if those who make merchandise of their flocks for the love of filthy lucre are able to quote ten scriptures to support their ungodly
teachings; then I can quote a hundred scriptures as EVIDENCE that the Truth is the exact opposite of what is taught from these pulpits and TV screens.
Finally, if the fruits of the Spirit; love’ joy, peace that passes understanding in particular are not being manifested in your lives then what you need to do is to
sell everything you can including your homes so that the cares of this world will no longer choke the Word in your life. Live in a smaller house or in an
apartment, make do with one car or none at all, have less clothes, TVs, DVD players etc. and you will soon find that you do not need as much money as you
thought you did; and you will have more time to spend in prayer and in studying the Word which is where you will discover the true riches that bring forth
everlasting fruit. Remember the warning that the apostle Paul gave to young Timothy:
• 1 Timothy 6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw
thyself. 6: But godliness with contentment is great gain.
No matter how they disguise it, these con artists are teaching in one form or another that (material) GAIN IS GODLINESS. This teaching appeals to the
naturally avaricious nature of human beings; and most of us fall willingly for these pernicious lies. If we can convince ourselves that our greedy natures are
actually ‘godly’ then we don’t have to feel guilty about chasing the American dream (nightmare in reality!) As noted in the above scripture, God defines
GAIN as godliness with contentment; and for material contentment all that any of us needs is food and raiment. Chasing any other material goals will
only bring discontentment and disillusion and will surely shipwreck our faith; so let’s avoid such traps lest these doctrines of men drown us in perdition.
Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
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