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Monday, November 14, 2011
The Disturbing Greed of the Health and Wealth Heresy
Todd Friel of Wretched TV and Radio is right, this is probably one of the most disturbing things yet from the heretical and greedy Health and Wealth Teachers,(also known as "The Word of Faith Movement", the "Prosperity Gospel", "Name it Claim it' or "positive confession" teaching) In this video, false teachers Leroy Thompson and Creflo Dollar walk and run over the money that people put on the altar and think they can anoint the money with their feet! This video does not show how Leroy Thompson manipulated the people into giving and putting the money on the steps - I saw it months ago, but that video has been removed from You Tube. It seems they are embarrassed by it. It showed Leroy Thompson leading the audience in a claiming exercise by saying (shouting) several times that "money is coming to me" and pulling their greedy hands and arms into themselves, (how selfish! James 4:3-4 condemns this) - by giving to the heretics' "ministry", or tithing to this so called "church", these preachers manipulate people to give by promising them that God will give them 100 fold in return. Later, when it doesn't happen, and people question them, they say, "you don't' have enough faith". They learned the false teaching and manipulation tactics from other false teachers like Kenneth Copeland, the late Kenneth Hagin, and the late Oral Roberts. Other false teachers in this movement are Benny Hinn, Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Jesse Duplantis, Eddie Long, T. D. Jakes, Paul and Jan Crouch of TBN, and many others.
Not only was that the goofiest, weirdest, nuttiest thing I have ever seen; it just oozes with greed and pride, which is part of what 2 Peter warns about in chapter 2.
"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." (2 Peter 2:1-3 NASB)
". . . Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet." (2 Peter 2:10-16)
I honestly don't get it. How can these people be so stupid?
ReplyDeletethey are blinded by pride and greed; it seems to me.
ReplyDelete2 Peter calls those false teachers are "like unreasoning animals" and "they have no knowledge"
Like the foolish person described in Proverbs, it seems to me.
What if, as money is being poured on the altar, someone runs up and takes it, praising God for the money?!?!?
ReplyDeleteI heard this story from one of the two participants of it.
ReplyDeleteMy friend tells the story about one of these "name it and claim it" preachers who had invited him to preach at his fellowship.
After the service it was customary for the visiting preacher to come over to the host pastor's house for an honorary pastoral lunch cooked up by the host's wife.
So while waiting for lunch to be served the host saw that my friend was wearing a Rolex Watch. The watch was a gift to him from some friends of his. Anyway, while sitting there waiting, the host walks over to my friend and puts his hands on his arm and that watch and claimed it in the name of the Lord.
My friend, who does have a sense of humor and a quick wit, took the watch off and gave it to him. The host started shouting and rejoicing and thanking God for the blessing of this watch.
After a few minutes of conversation my friend stood up and walked over to the wall of this house and put his hands on the wall and claimed the house as his in the name of the Lord!
Suddenly there came a deep silence over the host and then in a state of humility he gave back the Rolex watch to my friend.
Another story is even better. My friend told me this story about a well known TBN preacher of the eighties who used to stop in the middle of his messages and feign receiving a "now" Word from God. Each time he would give the same prophesy about God giving back to everyone 100 times the amount of money they would give immediately. He said God said if they got up and gave cash money to God on the altar He would give back to them one hundred fold! People would jump right up and throw cash on the altar. My friend saw this happen again and again and again. This used to annoy him. Finally one time when he did that, feigning a "now" word of God, my friend jumped up and went right up to this man and whispered in his ear that he doesn't believe he believes it is a word from God, just a gimmick of his to get people to give him money.
He said he told him he didn't believe it for a minute and he should stop doing that.
This preacher started arguing with my friend right there while standing next to the pulpit. My friend then said this, "look, I know you have several million dollars in your ministry and personal accounts. I want you to commit to me right now publicly before all these people that you will, as soon as the bank opens, withdraw all your funds from those accounts and give them to me so that I can distribute those monies to charities! If you believe God told you that whoever gives money to the work of the Lord right now and that by giving He will return it back to that person or persons one hundred fold, then you should be more than willing to obey God's Word, too, right now, seeing you will become very very wealthy!
Of course, being called on his bluff this preacher declined to do what he was saying to others God was saying to them to do!
Filthy lucre and greed, that is all that that is all about!
I like these verses as they give us guidance against covetousness:
Act 20:32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Act 20:33 I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.
Act 20:34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me.
Act 20:35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
Act 20:36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.