With the way the economy is right now with many churches and ministries in serious financial trouble, we see more and more of the continuous madness of televangelists, preachers, pastors, and ministers begging and pressuring viewers and congregants to give them money. These preachers say that since the economy is in such a bad shape, we as Christians are actually supposed to give more money instead of less, with the promise that in return we will receive greater blessings of financial miracles and prosperity from God in these challenging days. They tell you to trust in God for your financial miracle provision, and yet they themselves do not trust God, but continue in their greed to beg and pressure you to give them more and more money. It is therefore no wonder that they make up all sorts of false promises and clever lies to get hold of your money:
In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. 2. Peter 2:3 NLT
The Bible also warns us never to give money under pressure:
You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. 2. Corinthians 9:7 NLT
Spiritual leaders are supposed to trust God for their provision and be givers instead of takers, just like the apostles in the first Christian Church in the Bible book of Acts did, setting the example as they trusted God to be able to help the poor and the needy with the money they received from the congregants.
All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need. Acts 4:32-35 NLT
The modern Christian Church has made the church a marketplace where it sells all sorts of Christian merchandise like books, CD’s, and DVD’s with Bible teachings, studies, and revelations among other things, justifying it as ways to provide for the ministry. The Church also charges for conferences, seminars, concerts, and even for food and beverages.
Did we ever think about the fact that Jesus Christ NEVER charged anybody for His teachings? As matter fact Jesus Christ said, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8 NKJV) and therefore He will cleanse the Church from those who involve themselves in these malpractices as He did in Temple in His days here on earth.
Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be called a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves!" Matthew 21:12-13 NLT
Jesus Christ always trusted the Father to provide for Him in order for Him to freely give it to the people. Just think about the time Jesus miraculously multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish for thousands of people. He trusted the Father for a miracle to give food free of charge to the people!
Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat."
But Jesus said, "You feed them." "With what?" they asked. "We'd have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!" "How much bread do you have?" he asked. "Go and find out." They came back and reported, "We have five loaves of bread and two fish." Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed from those loaves! Mark 6:34-44 NLT
Why then do we as Christians not follow the example of Jesus Christ (He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. 1. Peter 2:21 NLT) and trust Him to give us the means in order for us to give it away free of charge? Or, are we like the disciples who in their natural unbelieving mind said: "We'd have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!"
Wouldn’t God provide for what He has meant for you to do in obedience to His will and call regardless the economic woes? Isn’t everything possible for God, even when it seems humanly impossible, as Jesus stated in Matthew 19:26?
"Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." Matthew 19:26 NLT
God will never allow you to do something that He won’t support and provide for; otherwise you will be laboring in vain. It is time to STOP THE MADNESS, repent for doing it your own way and making a business out of the Gospel, obey God, and blessings will follow!
Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Psalm 127:1 NKJV
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