The Tribune

By MINISTER KEITH EVANS

Watching the majority of Christian television nowadays is getting to be very annoying. Every superstar televangelist is promising the viewer to cash on to that opulent lifestyle supposedly promised by God.

Send $10 and watch God miraculously transfer $10,000 into your bank account! Send $25 and you’ll get a piece of miracle cloth to heal you of any malady! How about the bottled water for $50, or a good prophetic word on the telephone line for just $120?

I’m flabbergasted at the number of intelligent people still supporting those hirelings on TV begging for your money, while you yourself have bills to pay. Come on! Many come to faith in Christ in hope that everything financially will be met, at least the ones who don’t understand true biblical Christianity.

God made Abraham, Isaac and Jacob rich so He’s going to make me a millionaire, right? We are spiritual Israel, and God promised to bless me because I am spiritually connected to father Abraham. Name it! Claim it! Money cometh!

Go and try to find a scripture where God promises to take all of your problems away. I’ll wait. E-mail me at kenazevans242@gmail.com. And find me one scripture where He promised to give you a new Lamborghini once you get saved. I’ll wait.

We try to bend God’s arm and manipulate the scriptures to sate our carnality and gratify our rotten, sadistic fleshly desires. Gimme, gimme, gimme! Get, get, get! False prophets with these $50, $100 lines never cease to amaze me with their greed, and our people flocking them much to my chagrin. We seem to have the propensity to tolerate nonsensical foolishness.

Let me say to you now that true biblical Christianity isn’t about material possessions, or a large bank account. Mark 10:28-31: “Then Peter began to say unto him, ‘Lord, we have left all, and have followed thee.’ And Jesus answered and said, ‘Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, 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. But many that are first shall be last; and the last first’.”

Wait a minute here, this sounds like we are gonna get rich once we are in Christ. Bible hermeneutics is of most importance here for clarifying the texts at hand. Jesus here is talking about the unity and rapport of the Body of Christ operating as kingdom citizens. This was made a reality in the book of Acts, as we see that the Church was one in everything. There was equal distribution of wealth among the first-century Church, and a commonality within the Church back then. Not today.

Acts 2:43-45: “And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the Apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things in common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.”

The scripture in Acts explains what Jesus said in Mark, meaning that as the Church we’re supposed to share our possessions with one another. Not today! The point is that Jesus isn’t promulgating that we are going to all be reach when we turn to Him. Yes, I know we read about the mega TV televangelists buying private jets and mansions, and eating steak and eggs for breakfast. But our citizenship is in Heaven, not here on earth. To preach prosperity is counterintuitive and unproductive for the kingdom, because it breeds lust and greed.

However, there are some to whom God has given wealth for the advancement of His kingdom. 1 Timothy 6:17-19: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold eternal life.”

The Bible clearly commands that the wealthy show philanthropical benevolence towards humanity. We need to bear this in mind, and imitate good philanthropical works in abundance, not storing up wealth to live an opulent lifestyle. Far too long preachers have contorted the word of God to pacify their congregants and to enrich themselves.

Percontra, the apostles in the book of Acts, preach a pure gospel of salvation, deliverance, holiness and judgement. Will all get wealthy once saved? No! Will some be rich who are Christians? Sure! God is not concerned about our temporary comfort here. We must have a heavenly perspective over an earthly one. How many Christians have riches, but lack rich works? It is a sin to be rich and to not give. God blessed you with wealth in order to be a channel of blessings to others.

If you have doubts about this topic, message me at keithevans242@gmail.com or kenazevans242@gmail.com.