Hi Friends, MANY PREACHERS deliberately do that! Watch them. Jesus instructed us to "BE VIGILENT" and only a small percentage of Christians and Pastors do that!
I give you fair warning that many of you will be disappointed at some Discoveries you will make on this Page but Relieved at other Discoveries you will make herein. As Jesus' Servant (I could wear titles if I wish to but choose not to) I am 100% Committed to GRACE and TRUTH. Not a Tainted Gospel. I am glad you came to this Page as it can "Set You Free" from so much Confusion AND Exploitation. So come with me and I will commence this Article with Words from the Apostle Paul that Most Christians are ignorant of to this Day. Things could have been different and were certainly meant to be. Just like Proverbs cautions us to "BEWARE of the Harlots waiting to Seduce you on Street Corners"...... Paul explicitly Warns us about two other kinds of SEDUCTION Spiritually Speaking. One concerns MONEY and the other concerns FALSE TEACHING, so I'm not here to approve any Culprit you may happen to like (Jesus calls them Hirelings) and this will work out to your GOOD not your detriment because I Serve No Hidden Agendas. Is that OK?
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (ESV)
For such men are False Apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as Apostles of Christ (Sent Ones). And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an Angel of Light. So it is NO Surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as SERVANTS of RIGHTEOUSNESS. Their End will correspond to their Deeds.
Kenneth Copeland from KCM Ministries was good at that. He had Christians fooled for years – including Pastors – but the Guy is NOT actually Born Again as many suppose. He was attracted to the ‘Prosperity Gospel’ in the first place, Not Salvation. I heard their Testimony years ago. ALL the Emphasis was on Money and Wealth.
Now he is Older, he shows up as Evil as he has been under his GUISE and even Unbelievers say how SCARY and Evil he is. So much so that even an Atheist was compelled to Comment “Now I’m Convinced that Demons do Exist!” So he is Not a Good Advert for Christianity. That’s for Sure.
Kenneth Haigin was Exactly the Same as Copeland, Heavily into ‘Prosperity Gospel’ and MAJORED in it.
Something you should also know is Kenneth Haigin actually Plagiarised a lot from EW Kenyon who used Christian Science stuff in his Writings. That is a Cult that Denies Reality etc. and has No Place in Christianity. Neither does NEW AGE Cultish stuff that Bill Johnson has adopted and promoted. Dangerous Stuff - keep Your Kids out of there. Inform and Protect them.
Haigin has Deceived Many because he too was a False Prophet. And he even brought God’s House into DISREPUTE because he Behaved Very Strangely like Copeland. I’ve seen Video Shorts of him on YouTube, Laughing like a Hyena – Totally Out of Control. They have portrayed God’s House as a CIRCUS. It’s absolutely terrible!
They have also TWISTED all manner of Scripture Verses to FIT their Wicked Prosperity Gospel and have Damaged Many Christians. Joyce Meyers is another False Teacher who Twists all manner of Scripture to her Gain. Many Christians are Waking Up to her Bribes and Ploys now and referring to her as "GREEDY JOYCE"
Yes Friends, Their Motives are NOT the Holy Spirit at work but the Opposite. Sorry. It is EVIDENCE of who they Really Were in the first place. So if you like them and have a problem with that, you really need to take that to The Lord because others also can deceive you, like Bill Johnson’s Bethel. Be Informed.
How is it that Jesus Cautioned us about People in the World being WISER (more discerning) like Decent Living People, who Protect their Families, for instance? And sad to say, Pastors are accustomed to owning their Flocks, running their Local Churches like Kindergartens through the Years – when it comes to Spiritual Things, not passing on Jesus and Pauls Warnings and Instructions, to PROTECT them. And that has made for a LOT of Spiritual Casualties, believe me!!!
Even Costi Hinn (Nephew of Benny Hinn) who Repented and was Led out of WOF (known as the Word of Faith Movement Benny was high up in) went public about his Uncle's Ministry - the true nature of it and Benny's Motives. In fact, he refers to his whole Family as the "HINN EMPIRE"
Sorry to say that. Benny, you liked so much,
Sorry to say, as Surely as Looks can deceive (all those lovely Songs of Worship he led, seemingly looking so holy) he Never Healed anyone AND he not only made himself Filthy Rich but ALL his Family Members too like Joyce Meyers has. Costi has forsaken all the Affluence (which is Unbelievable) when he Married a lovely young Christian Woman, and lives like Everyone Else. So grateful for his Testimony.
Next I will take you to exactly how Scriptures are MISQUOTED concerning Tithes and Offerings through the Years by the Local Church System and Even Worse through Shameless Charlatans - mostly Televangelists with Mega-Churches you often see on 'Christian TV'
Part of what I Tackle for you will be the So-Called Grace Tithe teaching that is totally fallacious and is founded on Shifting Sand and many Pastors don't want to debunk it when they find out the Truth because they could lose their Income if they do:) But some do, and their Families fellowship with the Home Church Movement instead, where Christians share Simple Fellowship in Each-Other's Houses instead; Everyone Participates; they all Share Scriptures; there is much better Spiritual Growth.
These Simple Home Churches are Patterned more closely to the Fellowship the EARLY CHURCH had (in reality) Believers attending them experience more PEACE, more JOY and they show more STRENGTH as God's Children. They are out of all the Domination; Extremism; Lifeless Doctrines and Instabilities like Puppet Masters; End-Time Deceptions; Godless Behavior; Socialistic Gospel and New Age Agenda that have infiltrated and become the Characteristics of Most Churches these days. Honestly, it's getting that way now, it's Safer to Fellowship in a Home Church than a Local Church. No offence if yours is exceptionally Good:)
The Preachers Favorites for Extracting Tithes and Offerings regardless of
how Low your Income may be or Certain Hardships.
When you tell Pastors you discovered Tithes are for JEWS Not for Us, they will say Oh but it isn’t a Law Tithe but a Grace Tithe because Abraham gave Tithes before the LAW was introduced AND we do the Same by Grace.
But there’s a few things we need to keep in mind here. Nothing is by Grace when it’s IMPOSED (you’re forced to do it) the Pastors get quiet Bossy about it, INSISTING that “You Pay Your Tithes”
Plus “We are Not under the Law but under Grace in Christ” and They are Making a Law out of it!
Quite often, when you bring up Abraham, saying he actually gave from the Spoils of War, not his Income, and he gave the other nine tenths to the King of Salem. But it was Only the ONCE. No other time on record.
They will then say that Jacob gave Tithes too. Well if you read that Story for yourself in Scripture, you will see as I did, that it was Jacob’s Idea just like it was Abram’s Idea AND he actually gave God a Bribe and said “I will do this if you do that” (he made a Deal with God) and there’s No Record of him keeping it. And Scripture says that "The Lord is not given to Bribes!"
So as you see, they have a Very Weak Argument there.
Plus ALL Tithes were given IN PRODUCE they were Never given as MONEY.
Also, this might be new to you as it was for me: a very highly qualified and Experienced Theologian (Trained in Scripture) informs us that ONLY Israelites who Farmed the Land were expected to Tithe.
The Reason: So all the Levites who had income AND the POOR could be FED.
Enlightening, isn’t it?
As for the other Old Testament Scripture they bring up:
Malachi 3:8-12 Malachi prophesied in the time of Nehemiah and Ezra when they came to Jerusalem for a Work of Restoration. Ezra was sent to Rebuild the Temple and Nehemiah was sent to Rebuild the Walls and when he went to make a Report about the Progress, the Levites (Priests and High Priests) took ALL the Tithes to Tobiah the Ammonite, an Enemy of Nehemiah’s, in his absence.
So as you can see, this part of Scripture when read in Context has nothing whatsoever remotely to do with Christians. It's like those Pastors don't even read their Scriptures Correctly AND with Televangelists, it's absolutely Engineered in Spinning their Web of Deception.
It was a Call to Repentance, addressed to Wayward Levites!
The Levites were meant to take the Tithe (Produce) to the Storehouse for their Own People of Israel who were in Need. Just like Governments these days, have a Social Welfare System THAT was God's Welfare System. And if anything, it shows how if the true principle were applied Today, it should be something like, Ministries or Churches should make sure People with Low Income and those who are Poor are Helped in some practical way rather than burdened in any way and taken advantage of.
And that's where New Testament Giving COMES IN rather than Old Testament Tithes for Jews. OK?
The Mosaic Tithe was the only Tithe that CAME (past tense) with a Blessing. And Malachi was writing to People who were still Under the Mosaic Law in Israel.
These Verses are Not what the Mega Churches and some Local Churches make them out to be.
And certainly not for where we are Today!
Even the 10 Commandments Israel lived under, when you look at each one of them, were for How they Live and Relate with God and How they Behave toward Each-Other AND Reflected GOD's NATURE: He would not Lie or Steal, He would not bear False Witness about anyone. And Jesus has given just 2 Simple Commandments to Believers to "Worship The Lord with ALL our Heart, Mind and Strength (not half-heartedly OR to be living half by what HE has to Say and half by what Preachers have to say, right or wrong) AND Treating others as We Wish to be Treated (not being Offensive OR causing harm to Others in anyway) Jesus SIMPLIFIES Things in 2 Simple Commands in God's Covenant with BELIEVERS - Not Tying us up in Knots like So Many Preachers do.
So many Expectations on us, when the Apostle Paul NEVER did that. Rather, he said that "We should Not be Burdened in any way" and when it came to GIVING GIFTS "We should decide how much we wish to give and can afford to" in Helping our Fellow Christians NOT Lining Preacher's Pockets OR Funding Buildings and Electricity Accounts OR Preacher's Privileges with Wealth and/or Luxuries - placing us at a Disadvantage in Keeping Our Families.
The Apostle Paul who delivered half the New Testament (Counsel of God for Christians) actually Paid his Own Way in Ministry and Concerned Himself with How Others were Cared for. NOT Placing Demands and/or Unrealistic Expectations on Believers OR having the ENTITLED Attitudes that Preachers have Today. He Always concerned himself about what he could GIVE OUT to Believers not what he could GET FROM them. And in fact, he Counselled them to Beware of False Preachers who would Seek to Take Advantage of them Financially and how to recognise that.
Yes Paul, the Greatest of Apostles Never told Christians the things Pastors and Televangelists tell us Today. What an Absolute Nerve they have. Take Your Counsel from The Lod with Scriptures in Context NOT Violated, Friends. Paul, our Father in the Faith, had strong words to say about Preachers Coercing their way to Your Pockets, so Do be Aware that some Preachers are such Devils and are BEST AVOIDED altogether - you need to be Out of there in No uncertain terms. In fact many Christians have actually given up the Faith because of them. They will Answer for that!
In the main, Churches have become such a Curse these days (for Various Reasons stated on this Page) I say to some of you "Are you Sure that's where you want to spend your Sundays after your Working Week? Would you not be better Worshipping The Lord Together at Home and having Quality Time as a Family? Kids especially need that. They have Schooling that Separates them from their Parents and then again for half days or two "Services" on the Weekends. I see Simple Home Fellowship with fellow Christians as a more Godly Practice for Many Years now.
Mega Churches and Local Churches are a Deviation from the Early Church Pattern. Permissive Will (because God honors the Heart of a Believer) rather than Perfect Will of God (the way HE wants things for Believers) Do you understand?
This should make you better Informed when Pastors or Televangelists
Threaten you with the Malachi Verses Etc.
Clearly Speaking, Joyce Myers – and other Preachers – are in direct Violation of Scripture, when they place these types of Demands on You. And mark these words, you should think of that as coming from Preacher’s Flesh (Carnal Human Nature) rather than from the Spirit of God, and show your Contempt when it is Due by your Absence. Once again I say “You should be Out of There” – not help yourself to more of that stuff – it so often proves to be Toxic to Believers and you are well justified in Exiting that System. It’s strongly Institutional and your Spiritual Walk with Jesus is better without it. JESUS said “Follow ME” not the Preacher “My Yoke is Easy and My burden is Light. And you will find Rest for your Souls” (rather than placing Preacher’s Demands on You) PEACE to You Friends. Needless to say, be Careful when Preachers quote Scriptures Out of Context. Now you know!
While I'm at it, I will not only say it is time for Preachers to Stop
making Demands on Christians and Acting as if they Own Them,
I will bring the following to your attention:
Did you know (most are not aware of this) for at least 4 decades I've known of, many times a Christian decides they love Jesus and like Bible Study, so they think it would be a "Good Idea" to go to a Bible School and "Become a Pastor" but nice as that may seem, Paul says in Ephesians 4:8-15 that "Jesus CALLS Some to be Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers to equip Believers in their Roles of Ministry to Each-Other so the Body of Christ becomes like Jesus (in full stature)" So taking on a Pastoral Role whatever, is not something we Choose or Decide, it's a Heavenly Calling only He can give and His Spirit Trains you daily (1st hand) for that, and it is Not Overnight (1 or 2 Years in a Bible College) with a Piece of Paper with a Ribbon at the End of it. I can Assure You.
Also unknown to the Majority of Christians, did you know that many Unemployed Christians choose to go to College and "Become a Pastor" for an Easy Income, doing something they like. Some of these People are Avoiding Employment they don't like AND some are Mercenary - they want Lots of Money. That's how-come there are So Many Rip-Off Merchants who run Churches, especially Megachurches. Yes just like Copeland, some of those are Not even Born-Again (Saved - Believers in Jesus) and have spotted a "Good Opportunity to make a Lucrative Income" that pays better than MLM (the Multi-Level Marketing Industry)
So is it any wonder the Words of the Apostle Paul at the start of this Article Speak Loud and Clear to Christians TODAY? My word Yes. No wonder there are so many Culprits "In the Ministry" MORE than Ever Before - believe it or not!
The Church was never meant to be a Business or Career.
So please don't take offence for "The Church" that I say these things and be Naïve because you did want to know about Charlatans in the Church. You just found out WHY and Jesus still calls them "Hirelings" they're Super-Greedy and Dangerous Spiritually, sometimes introducing stuff from Cults like Mormon and Christian Science; Mysticism; Eastern Meditation; Norman Vincent Peale philosophy (he did Not follow Jesus) and other Power-Thinking Trends in NEW AGE Stuff that Conflicts with what Our Christian Faith stands for. These things are so Wide-Spread since NAR (the so-called New Apostolic Reformation) has Infiltrated Christian Churches Worldwide now. Different to their Name, they're anything but stable and countless Christians have been damaged by some of their Practices I won't go into here. But NAR has it's roots in the Old Latter-Rain Christian Cult. And Gnosticism that are definitely at Cross-Purposes with the Holy Spirit and Scripture. Also NAR likes to Influence Governments and Media which isn't a good thing.
Plus They LOVE MONEY in no Small Way. They DO take advantage. Most of the Worst Preachers and Televangelist Charlatans are in NAR. It's an Evil Agenda. Do be Informed!
"God Hates Mixture" What does the Spirit of the World have to do with the Holy Spirit?
Nothing Whatsoever - They Don't Mix! But NAR tries to Mix Them. Be Careful. Baptist Churches are about the most Scripture-Loving Churches I've known through the Decades who will Not put up with that but Pentecostal Churches are riddled with their Influence in some way - so I would Avoid them All.
I have some more Scriptures to cover shortly that are Misquoted from the
New Testament in relation to Tithes and Offerings.
Stay with me Friends. I am a JESUS BELIEVER and a BELIEVER’S ADVOCATE.
These Times are Stressful enough without Wilful Greedy Preachers.
Reckless Greedy Politicians and Greedy Commercial Pressure
Is quite enough without Greedy Preachers added to the Mix.
They should Practice Restraint – if they were really Godly they would!
And can I say: Honestly Friends, there is So Much that can Protect you in Scripture, if you read Your Bibles much more often. If you don't and you leave it to your Pastor to quote Verses, you grow spiritually weak. And if you leave it to the Televangelists to quote them for you, that is extremely Risky! Besides, when you're Reading Scripture, The Lord can speak to you, and give you Precious Insights. You can develop a Closer Relationship with Him. Wouldn't that be Nice? You can also Prayer-Read with Scripture, this gives you more Content for your Prayers when you don't know what to Pray and make your Prayer-Life richer. I have a Website with Inspiring Scripture Pictures and INSTANT ACCESS to 20+ Bible and New Testament Translations to make Scripture more Interesting and Inspiring to Read because Some Translations (according to your preference, the ones you find you like best) go to Inspired In Christ HERE I have Audio Versions as well.
It prevents you from finding Bible Reading boring. That's often because you don't know where to read. There is also a Bible Website I discovered that has a Topical SEARCH BAR you can place certain Words OR or Few Words for your Enquiry and it will bring up a whole Extensive List of different Verses of Scripture (closely matching your search) that can be SO ENRICHING because they have been placed there from Christians who really Enjoy Reading Scriptures and some of them Walk Really Close to Jesus. This can give you a sense of Fellowship, even though Names or User Names are not used. It comes up with a list of References for your Personal Search instead of having a Page of alphabetical Topics. And you do have the option to clicking on any letter of the Alphabet above the Search Bar and it will take you to a Page of Extensive Topical Listings. That Website is called Open Bible HERE Christians won't be so vulnerable to Charlatans or Deception if they know their Bible and their God Well.
I am presently working on this Page!