10 Reasons Why You May Be a Prosperity Preacher

10 Reasons Why You May Be a Prosperity Preacher

1) You think owning expensive homes, cars, planes, jewelry, having plastic surgery, maids and butlers, and traveling to exotic places of the earth (for fun not ministry - and taking a boatload of people with on your ministry’s dime)… is your God given right because you preach the Gospel.

2) You think having $700 ties, $5000 custom made suits and $1000 plus shoes is your God given right because you preach the Gospel.

3) You use every Old Testament feast, day, new moon, new year, Sabbath, breakfast meal and lunch break to create new teachings to get New Testament believers to give to your ministry.

4) You tell New Testament believers every one of the above hair-brained schemes is a “new revelation” from God - and they had better order your “new revelation” teaching (cd/dvd or even mp3 download) or God will not bless them. 

5) You tell yourself you’re the now super-duper anointed vessel of the hour because you preach those hair-brained schemes.

6) You tell yourself you’re the now super-duper anointed vessel of the hour because you made an appearance on TBN or had an article written about you by Charisma Magazine.

7) You tell yourself you’re the now super-duper anointed vessel of the hour because you paid for a full-page ad in Charisma Magazine.

8) You have a posse/entourage of yes men and women bigger than most rock stars and Hollywood celebs.

9) You hassle and pressure your members to give to your building program so you can have a bigger building than the prosperity preacher down the block (though it’s not needed).

10) You would rather have a good word given to you from “the Donald” (as in Trump) rather than from “the Christ” (as in Jesus: Lord of Lords and King of Kings).

New recession threatens the globe as debt crisis grows

New recession threatens the globe as debt crisis grows

Europe's escalating debt crisis has cast a black shadow over the world's fragile recovery, threatening to tip large parts of the global economy into a deep downturn and even outright recession.

The OECD's index of leading indicators for China, India, Brazil, Canada, Britain and the eurozone have all tipped below the warning line of 100, with the pace of the decline in Europe exceeding the onset of the Great Contraction in early 2008.

Professor Simon Johnson, a former chief economist at the IMF, rattled nerves earlier this week by warning the world is "looking straight into the face of a great depression".

The grim data is coming thick and fast. Japan's machinery orders fell 8.2pc in September as the post-Fukushima rebound lost steam and the delayed effects of the super-strong yen began to bite. Export orders have been declining for eight months. "Outright contraction is possible in the quarters ahead," said Mark Cliffe from ING.

Exports in the Philippines dropped 27pc in September, the sharpest fall in two years. Korea's exports have showed sharply, caused by a 20pc slide in shipments to Europe. Manufacturing has been contracting for the past three months.

Christine Lagarde, the IMF's chief, warned in Asia that "there are dark clouds gathering in the global economy. Countries need to prepare for any storm that might reach their shores". She said "adverse feedback loops" are at work as financial stress and economic woes feed on each other.

China's carefully managed soft landing has turned uncomfortably hard, with ripple effects through the commodity markets. Spot iron-ore prices have dropped 30pc since July to $126 a tonne. Copper prices have fallen 20pc since August.

Barclays Capital said the risks of contagion to China has become serious. The bank is monitoring the country's "key high frequency data" for early warning signs of the sort of sudden crash in metals demand seen during the Lehman crisis.

China had the firepower to respond to the 2008 crisis with blitz of credit that helped lift the whole world out of slump, a feat that cannot easily be repeated if there is a second shock.

The IMF said loans have doubled to almost 200pc of GDP, including off-books lending. This is an unprecedented level of credit growth, twice the intensity of the Japanese bubble in the late 1980s.

The authorities are trying to deflate the excesses slowly with higher interest rates and reserve ratios. This is proving painful. Yao Wei from Societe Generale said prices of new residential property fell 14pc in October. Railway investment collapsed by 40pc as the insolvent railway ministry struggled to cope with $300bn of debt. Highway construction dropped 2pc.

Europe is in a deeper, more intractable crisis. Industrial output buckled in September with falls of 4.8pc in Italy, 2.7pc in Germany, and 1.7pc in France from a month earlier as the effects of the debt crisis – as well as fiscal contraction and prior monetary tightening – finally hit with a vengeance.

EU commissioner Olli Rehn slashed growth forecasts from 1.6pc to 0.5pc next year, warning "that recovery has now come to a standstill and there's the risk of a new recession unless determined action is taken". This did not stop Brussels sending a letter to Italy calling for yet more fiscal cuts to meet it is balanced budget target by 2013.

"It is imposing pain for pain's sake, and it is going to cause creditors to collect even less on their Club Med debts than if austerity were abandoned. Even in the early 1930s they weren't as bad as this," said Charles Dumas from Lombard Street Research.

Humayun Shahryar from the hedge fund Auvest said the eurozone faces a "major economic collapse", perhaps with double-dgit falls in GDP. "European banks are massively over-leveraged and almost every one is worthless if you mark to market. This is going to be worse than 2008 because they have run out of bullets. The sovereign states are not strong enough to stand behind the banks," he said.

Professor Johnson said the EU authorities had made a serious mistake by raising capital ratios for banks to 9pc rather than forcing them to raise fresh capital. "That will lead to a further contraction of credit."

Banks have already taken drastic steps to cut their loan books rather than raise money in a hostile market, earmarking over €700bn for the next year. There will be knock-on effects for the rest of the world. European banks account €2.5 trillion cross-border loans to emerging markets.

In the US, the economy has held up better than feared so far but faces a fiscal shock early next year. Tax write-offs have pulled capital expenditure forward into late 2011, flattering the picture.

Payroll taxes will rise automatically from 4.2pc to 6.2pc in January. Dumas said the combined fiscal squeeze could be as much as 2pc of GDP, heavily "front-loaded" in the early months. "Sharp recession is likely," he said.

"The credit spigot has been turned off in the US," said Chris Whelan from Institutional Risk Analytics. "Almost every bank is still running down its loan book, so we are facing a slow motion credit-crunch."

Fiscal and monetary stimulus has disguised the underlying sickness in the debt-laden economies of the West over the past two years. This heavy make-up has at last faded away, exposing the awful visage beneath.

It is a delicate moment. The risk of a synchronised slump in Europe, the US and East Asia is bad enough. What is chilling is to face such a possibility with the monetary pedal already pushed to the floor in the US, UK and Japan.

Worse yet is to do so with Europe spiralling into institutional self-destruction, allowing its debt crisis to metastasize because EMU has no lender of last resort. That is an unforced error we could do without.

A Message to His Holy Highness the Worshipful Bishop Rev. Dr. Apostle Grand Poobah – By Lee Grady

Jesus just wasn’t into titles. We shouldn’t be either.

I am often asked if I have a title, and my answer doesn’t satisfy some people. I travel a lot, so I don’t consider myself a pastor. All kinds of labels have been pinned on me: Reverend, prophet, apostle … even bishop. Once I was introduced to a church as “Dr. Grady” and I almost crawled under my seat. I only have a college degree. There are no letters after my name.

I tell people: “You can call me Lee. Or if you want to sound formal, you can say, ‘Brother Grady.’”

“Jesus is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Son of David, the Prince of Peace and the Apostle of our Confession. Yet when He came into this world He laid aside His heavenly glory and took on the lowly name of Jesus.”

Today it seems we’ve developed a title fetish. For a while everyone in charismatic circles was becoming a bishop (and some were installed into this office with rings, robes and funny-looking hats). Then the same guys with the pointy hats started calling themselves apostles. Then the prophets got jealous and started calling themselves apostles too! I knew one lady who, not to be outdone, required people to call her “Exalted Prophetess.”

Now the latest fad is requiring church folks to address certain people as apostles. (As in, “When Apostle Holy Moly arrives, please only address him as, ‘Apostle,’ and then make sure he is seated in a private room while his two adjutants, wearing dark glasses, guard his door.”) They’ve even invented an elaborate theology to go along with this ridiculous rule. It suggests that you can’t receive the true anointing from a man of God if you don’t honor him with the right title.

Sounds so very ooo-ooh spiritual to the naive. But it’s garbage.

Jesus didn’t play this religious game, especially when he was around the Grand Poobahs of His day—the long-robed scribes and Pharisees. After accusing them of loving the best seats in the synagogues, He pointed out that they loved to be called “Rabbi” by men (see Matt. 23:7).

Then He warned them: “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. … the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (v. 8-12, NASB).

People have quibbled over these words for centuries, insisting that ecclesiastical titles are not the problem; pride is what Jesus was rebuking. I would agree that Jesus was going to the root sin. But He was also asking these title-crazy guys if they’d be willing to ditch their labels and act like normal people.

When I was in China several years ago, I met some amazing leaders who had planted thousands of congregations. They had also spent a lot of time in jail for their faith, and they’d been beaten with iron rods for preaching the gospel. They were the bravest apostles I’ve ever met. But when I asked them if they used “apostle” as a title, one guy said: “We believe in those roles in the church. But we prefer to call each other ‘brother’ or ‘sister.’”

That settled it for me. A few years later I met Iftakhar, a Pakistani apostle who has oversight of 900 churches. He also has two scars on his arm from gunshots fired by Muslim extremists who have put a price on his head. When I asked him how I should address him, he smiled and said, “Iftakhar.”

If these two giants of the faith—and true apostles—don’t require to be addressed with titles, then Your Worshipful Grand Master Rev. Dr. Bishop Jones (who claims oversight of maybe four churches) shouldn’t wear his ministry role around his neck like a tacky neon name badge.

If people can’t see the anointing on your life through your character, then don’t cheapen the gospel by wearing a title you don’t deserve.

I’m not saying people shouldn’t use reverend, minister or even bishop to identify their roles in the church. But can we please dispense with the insecurity, and the childish “I’m more important than you” appellations, and get back to the simplicity of the gospel? Let’s get over ourselves!

Jesus is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Son of David, the Prince of Peace and the Apostle of our Confession. Yet when He came into this world He laid aside His heavenly glory and took on the lowly name of Jesus. He wore no fancy robes. He demanded no titles. He did not come to be ministered to, but to minister. If we want to serve Him honorably, we must forsake our need for fame and cast our crowns at His feet.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. His most recent book is 10 Lies Men Believe (Charisma House).

1973 PROPHECY - THE VISION by David Wilkerson

David Wilkerson 1973 Prophecy becoming True ?

Pastor David Wilkerson (May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011) . claimed to have received a vision in 1973 regarding the future of the United States, subsequently published in a book called The Vision. What he saw was America having a total economic collapse. He saw martial law and this was in 1973. He said there were fires that were burning and couldn't be put out in New York City. He said it would be an extremely violent time. Last thing, he said he thinks he would be alive when this happens. Some of the subject areas of this reputed prophecy were: "Worldwide recession caused by economic confusion"; "Nature having labor pains"; "A flood of filth and a baptism of dirt in America"; "Rebellion in the home"; and "A persecution madness against truly Spirit filled Christians who love Jesus Christ". There is a coming worldwide economic confusion. It will strike Europe, Japan and the US, then all other nations. There are lean years ahead. There will be a move toward a worldwide, unified monetary system. (This was years before the Euro -- every European nation had its own system). Floods, hurricanes and tornadoes will increase in frequency.

There will be a fall in moral conduct. Topless women will appear on television, followed by full nudity (something that had never been done in 1973) Adult, X rated movies will be shown on cable television.

"BANKS ARE CLOSED" WORD FROM DAVID WILKERSON that is simliar to my recent dream

I posted this because it reminds me of a dream I had just last week. It also makes me think about whats going on in GREECE. It was similar to this vision. I dreamt all the money stopped. Years ago a friend I know had a dream about everyone going to the banks but they were all closed and everyone was panicking.

David Wilkerson’s Word:    

It's about to happen---very soon, one nation, and I'm speaking prophetically--if I've ever heard anything from God in my life, I heard it-the nations,...Very soon a European or North African or Eastern nation is going to default on it's international loan and when that happens, within two weeks, Mexico is going to default. Mexico owes $100 billion ---80% of it to American banks---and here's what is going to happen: about two weeks after the first country goes bankrupt, (we're going to survive that, because most of that (money of the first country) is owed to European banks---German, Swiss and French banks---) but a second country is going to go down, probably Argentina or Brazil, and we'll kind of live that down and say: "Well, maybe it's not going to hurt," but two weeks after the first country goes down, Mexico's going to default on $100 billion. 

And when the banks open the next day at 9 in the morning, $15 billion an hour is going to be withdrawn from our American banks---they're going to be running our banks---the Arabs---All the Latin American countries, they're going to be running our banks--and before the day is over, the U.S.A is going to have to declare a "bank holiday." 

SIX MONTHS OF HORROR: 

And we're going into six months of the worst hell America has ever seen.  There's going to be chaos.  Not even the National Guard's going to be able to quiet it down.  We're going to have to call out the whole U.S. Army. 

Now I've had visions recently for I've been in New York City and I was in Macy's in a vision and I saw people walking around stunned because they couldn't get their money out of the bank. 

Now I'm going to give you a word of advice.  The first country goes bankrupt---I've documented this and I've got it sealed in an envelope, and I'm going to call all my friends and I'm telling you---this is the first time I've said it in a public meeting like this---but the first country that bellies up, you go get every dime you have---church get your money out of the bank--because there's going to be a bank holiday and you won't be able to get a dime for six months. Now, of course, there's going to be -restored, but the nation will never be like it is again. 

There's going to be fear like we've never known---judgment at the door. When I was at Macy's Dept. store in a vision and I watched people walking around stunned, they didn't know what to do, they didn't know what was happening; then a bunch of people walked into Macy's and suddenly went wild and began to steal and within an hour everybody---I saw the spirit of everybody in the store---they were robbing and stealing---they raped Macy's and destroyed five floors---Macy's was raped and ruined in a period of an hour or two. "      

WHAT IS THE TRUE CHURCH - by EJ Ouellette

Recently, a woman came to me telling me she had some computer problems. Although I like to keep it a secret she had found out somehow that I work on computers. This is not knowledge I normally like to let out. Unfortunately it brings out all the people who want their computers fixed for free. Nonetheless this woman seemed like she knew what she was talking about as she told me her hard-drive was broken. Her hard-drive? Rarely can I tell when the computer is broken down without first diagnosing the problem that it's a hard-drive. She obviously must know a lot about computers or why else would she immediately have pointed out the problem. Intrigued by her request I said "okay" and to drop it by sometime. When she showed up at my door she had the whole computer which kind of shocked me. She told me it was a hard-drive! In case you don't know what a hard-drive is, it's about the size of your hand, silver and fits inside the computer case. I asked her "I thought you said it was the hard-drive?" She looked at me like I'd lost my mind and by the look on her face I would say she thought maybe I didn't know anything about computers at all. I looked back at her perplexed but not sure what to say. I told her "you said the hard-drive was broken" she pointed to the big-box on the floor and said "there it is, the hard-drive"! It was then I realized that she was calling the case that housed the motherboard the power supply and the hard-drive, the hard-drive itself. A smirk came across my face that I could not hold back. She had been severely misinformed, somehow she been told by some computer illiterate that the case which housed the hard drive was in fact the hard drive itself. It was hard to keep from laughing.

       A couple of weeks ago while I was in prayer the Lord brought back this humorous scene. He spoke to me clearly “This is like my church. The church is a living organism that is sometimes housed by a building and sometimes not. Over time the deception has come over the true church and they have been taught that is no longer the 'people' (Organism) it’s now the ‘building’ instead. This deception has caused many people to stumble. People now defend a useless building and call it a church. The church is only and has ever been a ‘people’.”

     It was as clear as a bell when he said it. I thought of words spoken to me many times "I heard he left the church" this statement always bothered me because it made no sense at all. How could someone leave himself? I mean how is it possible that I can be the church and leave the church at same time? Am I the only one with a brain? Secondly when arm-twisting preachers guilt you into giving to 'the church', they mean the people right? Not the building? Did Satan himself perpetrate this lie? There seems to be no other answer to me. Satan is the author of falsehoods like this. He has now even duped the true church into believing the church is a building, or even a denomination. Many times in the past the Lord has spoken to me. "My church wears shoes"

     Next you'll be telling me Jesus turned the water in to grape juice!

BECOMING A LEGEND-does GOD have a plan for your life?

THE ANGER OF GOD DREAMs by Ej Ouellette

I threw myself out the bed right on the floor and right onto my knees. Unless you’ve ever experienced anger of God you probably don’t know what I’m even talking about. There is nothing more frightening than God’s anger.

I was staying at a friend’s place in one of her spare bedrooms. It was a huge room very tastefully decorated with its own fireplace. It had more room than I could ever use and I felt special whenever I stayed there. The owner of the house informed me that her sister was coming to stay with her gay lover and would I mind moving to the other spare bedroom, which was a tiny little room with a single bed.

The owner of the house was a professing Christian and I found it difficult to understand how she would let her sister stay here with her gay lover. Nonetheless I moved my stuff into the small room. That night I had this horrible dream. The anger of the Lord was all over me and I thought He was going to kill me. When I awoke I fell down upon my knees and begged God to forgive me for whatever was that I had done to make Him so angry.

He spoke with an angry boldness that I was not accustomed to. “I sent a great prophet to these people and they have dishonored My prophet greatly. They honored the sexually immoral above God’s honored prophet. Surely I cannot let this go unpunished”.

If you knew me you would know that I don’t think of myself as some great prophet but merely some man trying to make it in life. I don’t honor myself above others but often honor others above myself. I knew this was God. I’ve experienced God’s anger in the past and once it was even directed towards me.
Dream 1998

I was in a very low point in my life and I kept on saying without my realizing it “I quit”. I said this a number of times over a period of a few months. I think I had pretty much given up on my life and my call with God. One night I had a dream. It was the first time I’d ever experienced God’s anger. In the dream I was trying to fix something with a screwdriver, and my hand slipped and I scraped my knuckles and hurt myself. The skin was torn and blood was coming out and I began to cry and said the words, “I quit”. It was then I began to feel the anger of the Lord come from behind me. Without warning I felt a blow to the left side of my face from behind. I thought God was going to kill me. In the dream I began to repent crying out for mercy. When I awoke my jaw was frozen shut. I had to eat through a straw for a week and it took over a month before I could partially open my sorry mouth. I finally stopped saying I quit!

ATHEIST COMES BACK FROM THE DEAD amazing testimony of Ian McCormick

AMAZING TESTIMONY! FULL VERSION 44MINUTES!

Author Blasts Televangelists in Fictional 'The Church of Jezebel'

The Christian suspense novel The Church of Jezebel, Hijacking the Gospel is fictional. However, theauthor says his book is based on the real life corruption and cult side of some televangelists and churches.

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(Image: Derik R. Girdwood)

Girdwood doesn’t name anyone in particular in his book, but he told The Christian Post that in his writing he eludes to three or four televangelists and specifically what they have said or have written in books they've authored.

“Some churches and televangelists seem to speak in what’s called ‘spiritualese.’ One example would be ‘seedfaith.’ Basically, they’re asking for money and if you give money you should have this expectation of 100 percent return in some way,” said Girdwood, 59, a Michigan-based attorney.

“I think that is a faulty reason for a Christian to give. We give out of compassion. We give out of love. We give out to support a church, but I think that seed faith is not a good principle for tithing or giving.”

Secondly, Girdwood sees a problem with televangelists who teach “word faith,” which is the “name it and claim it” type of preaching in which church members are encouraged to visualize their desires as if they were already received.

“I think that standing on the word of God is a good thing, but I think that if we think it’s going to eliminate God’s sovereignty, then I think we are going to be sorely mistaken,” he said. “We can name and claim anything we want, but ultimately it’s up to God. God isn’t a vending machine.”

Order Online: The Church of Jezebel: Hijacking the Gospel

The third problem area that Girdwood addresses in The Church of Jezebel by way of fictional storytelling is “faith healing.” Again, he said he believes God has the final say on who does or does not get healed.

“I don’t think there is any dispute that people like Benny Hinn, or Kenneth Copeland, or Kenneth Hagin, generally promote a lot of that stuff,” Girdwood said. “These type of televangelists only care about how much money they can get, how big of a church then can build, how many networks or how many radio stations they can get on. [Also,] what kind of car they can get or how many mansions they can get. I really think it’s a perversion of the Gospel.”

The Church of Jezebel follows the story of Christina, 18, who attends a megachurch and starts attending a Bible college. She is also “easily awed by the power of the dynamic speeches.”

“She has a real heart for God,” Girdwood said of Christina. “She’s excited to join this Bible college and church. It’s somewhat of a legalistic and overly spiritualistic type of church. She has some confrontations with her father over her faith and over this church.

“She winds up giving her total obedience to this church and Bible college only to find that they really don’t care about her at all and they will use her in any way to increase the church’s wealth,” he said.

Girdwood told CP that one of the reasons he wrote the book was because of what he witnessed his wife going through before she died from cancer a little more than seven years ago.

“She was a very devout Christian. She leaned more toward the legalistic church. She didn’t see a doctor because maybe she thought her faith was strong enough to overcome it. She didn’t see a doctor until too late,” he said. “Seeing some of the things through her eyes and my eyes and watching the televangelists on TV...”

“It got to the point where [I thought] somebody should write a book because there is a lot of good people with good hearts who want to really please God. Then, they find themselves joining or tithing to a church or televangelist that really doesn’t care about them.”

“It’s unfortunate that sometimes good people end up getting abused and manipulated by some of these churches and televangelists,” he said.

Girdwood said he knows that he is not the only one that feels that way about some ministers and churches.

“When Jesus would criticize people in the Bible or criticize things it was mostly the church leaders that he criticized. He dined with the sinners and the tax collectors, and everybody else. He had compassion for them. I don’t think too much has changed. There are many, many good churches, but there [are] a lot of bad ones, too,” he explained.