The Word of God and the New Covenant – Part 3

Kenneth E. Hagin seems to have helped to popularise the use of faith for finances and faith for healing.  But he often adds, as a side note, that faith can be applied for anything else the Bible says we can have, such as the baptism in the Holy Spirit.  I suppose Hagin and others have focused on finances and healing, because they had those needs in their lives.  But there’s something significant about finances and healing: they are physical, tangible blessings that can easily be identified and verified.  I suppose the problem with applying faith for spiritual things, is that they are largely invisible and intangible.  Although, the effects of spiritual blessings will manifest themselves in one way or another in the physical.

The problem with spiritual things is that Christians often mentally assent to possessing them – without actually having faith; then when they don’t experience them, they pretend that they have them.  There seems to be a fear that if you admit to not having various spiritual blessings operating in your life, then you’re a spiritual failure: you’re not praying enough, you don’t have faith or there’s sin in your life, you’re not serving God, you lack sincerity, etc.

I think lack of understanding of spiritual things also plays a part in this.  We all know what a thousand dollars would look like; we know what to expect when someone is healed from a life threatening illness.  But many people don’t really know what the baptism in the Holy Spirit looks and feels like.  So I suppose some people would go around acting like, and proclaiming, that they’re baptised in the Holy Spirit, when they are not.

The charismatic church sets itself apart from other Christian movements, by emphasising the fact that they are more passionate about God, they earnestly seek to know Him and are keen to make a positive difference in this world.  But much of this exuberance is nothing more than religious zeal.  I can’t help but think that this religious zeal is often fuelled by sheer desperation.  It seems to me that the charismatic movement attracts a lot of people with issues.  I can’t help but think that there’s a fine line between spirituality and madness, sometimes – there’s this focus on things that are intangible and invisible.  Faith often becomes another thing for the charismatic church to obsess over – without actually possessing it and applying it.

I’m keen to return to Word of Faith, but whereas I feel that spiritual blessings were something of a side note with the likes of Kenneth Hagin – I want to bring those things to centre stage.  Perhaps its unfair of me to make such a statement, as I believe Hagin did teach a lot on what the Bible says about spiritual things.  I also admire Hagin and am grateful to him for presenting to the world the notion that faith can actually be applied practically to a person’s life to fulfil a tangible purpose.  Before Hagin came on the scene with his fresh perspective on faith – faith was nothing more than a religious ideal – just a religious term that was bandied about in church, but had no real power to achieve practically anything.   But I do feel that Word of Faith does tend to be too heavily oriented towards finances and healing.

Hagin suggested that believers find all the verses that tell us who we are in Christ. Such verses will include words such as "In Him", "In whom", "through Him", etc. Most of these verses are found in the Pauline Epistles.  Then, read those verses and confess them as belonging to you. Every believer can apply such promises to their lives - this is a firm foundation, because it is not only the Word of God - it is also the New Covenant. Hagin actually wrote a mini-book called In Him which was a collection of such verses.

The Word of God and the New Covenant – Part 2

When it comes to the Word of God, I believe we should look to Christ, who is the Living Word. Using the formula of the Bible being the Word of God and we can have anything it says – a believer could use Exodus 31:1-5 to obtain the craftsmanship skills of Bezalel or Daniel 1:17 to attain wisdom and understanding of visions and dreams, becoming ten times better than the people around you. If indeed a person was strongly led to become a craftsman, for instance, perhaps they could look believe in Exodus 31:1-5 and make it their own. But are they available to every believer?  Typically, a person would only seek after those things they feel strongly led towards – it’s their destiny.  But I feel that things like this could also become something to seek on a baseless whim.

I don’t think we can always just take a Bible text relating to another’s blessing and try to make it work for us. Notice how the Bible doesn’t say that Daniel or Bezalel made an effort to seek those blessings?  Perhaps there’s a clue here?  It seems likely that God simply chose to bless those people in that way, without them having to seek it.  Whereas, in the Bible we do read of men and women of God seeking God for something: such as Hannah for a child and Solomon for wisdom. The Bible does tell us what we ought to seek, in verses such as Matthew 6:33 and 1 Timothy 6:11.

 

³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Matthew 6:33

¹¹ But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

1 Timothy 6:11

Notice how these texts point towards the spiritual rather than the material?  I believe herein lies the clue.  We also have the Words of Jesus giving substance to this notion.

 

¹⁹ "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰ "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

Here is another verse along these lines, for good measure.

 

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Colossians 3:1-2

Ephesians 1:3 says "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ."  So it would be good to get a degree of comprehension as to what every spiritual blessing is.  It’s also worth pointing out that many issues we experience in this world have their root a spiritual, or at least mental and emotional, cause.  So it’s important to seek spiritual blessings and promises, by faith.

I’ve already mentioned what I call The Four R’s: remission of sin, redemption, reconciliation and righteousness.  1 Timothy 6:11 tells us to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.  1 Timothy 6:12 tells us to, Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life.  I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that laying hold of eternal life is mentioned after fighting the fight of faith: it seems to me that maintaining eternal life, the life of God, is a vital aspect of our application of faith. We also have James in James 1:5-8 telling us to ask God for wisdom, by faith, when we need it.  I believe there’s a key here: being honest with yourself and acknowledging before God those things that you know you need – but lack; having an attitude of faith, that you already receive it, knowing that God’s Word promises the provision of it.

The Word of God and the New Covenant – Part 1

I believe there is something viable about Word of Faith, which I believe is adherence and trust in the Bible as God's Word, but I do seek truth and balance.

I believe it could be important to tell the difference between the Word of God and the New Covenant.  The Bible includes various books of the Bible, which include prophesies, The Torah (The Old Covenant), historical accounts and The Gospel (The New Covenant).  We see various genealogies in the Bible, such as Matthew 1:2.

 

¹ The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.  ² Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;

Matthew 1:2 KJV

The Word of God spells out to Noah the dimensions of the ark: 300 cubits by 50 by 30. The Word of God tells us that Solomon was made the wisest and richest man that ever lived. The Word of God says that a woman caught in the act of adultery, should be stoned to death.

But I don’t believe that these are promises or rules that apply to all who believe in the New Covenant: such promises would include remission of sin, redemption, reconciliation and righteousness (I call these “The Four R’s”); when 2 Peter 2:4 says “great and precious promises” – you can be sure it includes these.

We can also look at some Old Testament verses as applying to the believer in Christ: such as “by His stripes we were healed” (Isaiah 5:5). The Old Covenant is a foreshadow of the new and better covenant, which fulfils the old.  This is why many Christians have testified to being healed when believing and confessing this statement from Isaiah 5:5 – its talking about Jesus’ sacrifice.

There’s a tendency amongst Charismatic Christians to endlessly create analogies concerning popular Bible verses and many believers can be very “creative” when it comes to the Bible.  For instance, Deuteronomy 28:5 says, “Blessed shall be your basket and your store (kneading trough).” At first glance this appears to be a promise that Israel would have enough to eat. But charismatic preachers will tell you that this is an analogy that God will make you rich, or some such thing. Met needs - yes; lavish wealth - I'm not so sure.

I suppose there is something analogous about Deuteronomy 28:5 – I do believe God is for us and wants His children to have their needs met and do well in life.  But I suppose we all have different ideas about what constitutes “abundance”.  It has a lot to do with a person’s socio-economic upbringing and situation, which is what determines their expectations.  Typically, the average person living in the U.S.A. will have a different perspective on the concept of abundance than something living in, say, Bangladesh.  Despite the Bible indicating that we should not seek wealth, it doesn’t stop some people from making it very clear to God, the very things they want – just in case God’s idea of abundance doesn’t quite match our expectations.  The concept of what constitutes a “need” also needs to be considered: some people hold fast to certain things being needs that desperately need to be fulfilled, when in actual fact, they are not needs at all, but simply things desired.

I am certainly not against abundance, or even what could be called “lavish wealth”.  We see in the Bible that people like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were exceedingly blessed with material things.  I think when it comes to abundance and provision, we should, by faith, trust in God that He meets our needs – without getting too specific about it and without worrying.  I think the degree to which God blesses a person with wealth has a lot to do with His will for their lives: some people are meant to have a large ministry, whilst others might be entrepreneurs, with a multinational enterprise.  Other than that, abundance has a lot to do with the actual person: their capacity for things such as faith and wisdom.

The Irony of Faith

When I started reading Kenneth E. Hagin’s books on faith in 1997, I’ll admit that what attracted me to them was the ability to use faith to control my life.

Kenneth E. Hagin’s Faith Teaching

If you read a typical book by Hagin, you’ll notice that he uses a particular, regular style in order to convey his message: a proof text, followed by an anecdote, then an explanation of a principal that ties the proof text to the anecdote. The idea seems to be that as you read the book – you learn the principal, which teaches you the meaning of the Biblical text.

Hagin’s books are full of anecdotes, usually miraculous, life-changing events. Therefore, you often get the impression from reading these books that Hagin experienced miracles on a regular basis. This notion promotes the idea that Christians should be experiencing miracles on a regular basis as well, and they could, you reason, if they followed the principles set-out in Hagin’s books.

There is something exciting about knowing God so well and having such incredible faith that you experience miracles on a regular basis. But people often fail to realise that what you read in Hagin’s books are the highlights of 60 years of incredible ministry. Hagin admitted that he made a lot of mistakes and would sometimes go years without experiencing miracles. I do believe Hagin when he wrote about a certain time, when he was pastoring a certain church, when they would experience miracles regularly. But we still have to acknowledge the fact that miracles are, by definition, rare.

Miracles and Ministry

There is also the matter of Hagin being in full-time ministry: we should not fall into the trap of confusing full-time ministry with everyday life. Ministry is for the purpose of ministering to a group of people, typically from a church platform and pulpit, or perhaps through other media such as television, radio, books and the internet. All Christians have a ministry of reconciliation and are ambassadors for Christ. However, the way an individual ministers to others and the way a pastor ministers to others, are two different things?

People who are not in full-time ministry cannot expect to experience signs and wonders on a similar scale to those of pastors and evangelists. Signs and wonders are for the purpose of bringing people to Christ and edifying those who believe – it is not really meant for personal edification. God can still perform miracles in your life, but it’s usually on a different level than ministry.

The Fear Behind so-called “Faith”

When a believer is exposed to many different miraculous testimonies, it does give the impression that you should be experiencing those things yourself, on a regular basis. You can begin to wonder if you’re praying enough, if you have enough faith, perhaps there is sin in your life. There is something exciting and enticing about the miraculous; the ability claim what you want and control your life is alluring, to say the least.

What I have noticed from my own experience is that the more fearful a person is, the more inclined they are to want to control their life. It would seem that the Word of Faith teaching, as it has come to be known, of the likes of Kenneth E. Hagin, actually appeals more to neurotic Christians than to confident Christians. The more fearful a person is the more confused and gullible they are – the more likely they are to make mistakes, miss out on good opportunities and to be deceived. I know what it is like to be convinced that you need to buy more books on faith so that you can find the “key” that you are missing: there is often a frantic search for a faith “formula” that will give you the power and control that you’re looking for. There is often the thought that if you could just have “this” or “that” – everything would be fine.

Conclusion

The irony of faith is that the more faith you have, the less inclined you are to try to control things. The more faith you have, the more you trust in God and in life to make things work for you. The more faith you have the more you are able to relax, consciously, and allow things to happen without your need to consciously control them. When you have faith, you can relax in the confidence that when something needs doing, when a decision need to be made, it will happen. Faith welcomes the unexpected and does not panic when things happen that aren’t included in your original plan.

The “Harvest” Mentality – Part 1

There seems to be a “harvest” mentality amongst many Christians, even grace Christians: this is based around various Bible verses that promise wealth, particularly Galatians 6:9.

⁷ Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸ For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. ⁹ And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Galatians 6:7-9

During the Word of Faith stage I went through for several years, I got caught-up in a “harvest” mentality: I became convinced that I would reap a harvest of wealth, power and miracles – if I developed a certain level of faith and adhered to certain principles and formulas. I was told that faith came by the Word of God, which is based on Romans 10:17. So I assumed that the Bible was the Word of God and I had to understand it and study it in order to have faith. I was told that faith and conviction was the same thing, so I needed to know what was right in scripture, I had to rightly divide the Word, so that I could have faith. After all, how could I be sure of something that I did not even know what right or wrong or did not even understand?

So I thought that I had to have answers for everything and that I needed to persuade other people to see things from my perspective. However, this caused me to be overbearing and highly opinionated at times and to desire after control and influence. If I could have this type of “faith”, I assumed, and then I would be able to reap a “harvest”. Can you see how the wrong concept of faith as portrayed by the institutional church, enmeshes with the neurotic temperament, and thus, compounds it? No wonder the world tends to look upon Christians as being unpleasant and opinionated people.

The church, of course, was also quick to seize upon the concept of tithing as a means of reaping a harvest. This “harvest” mentality stirs-up the fantasies that people have as they feel encouraged to think about all the things that they will reap from God for their obedience and faith. It sort of makes it all worth it because they are also upholding a vision of God that is angry, demanding and judgemental.

When You Fail to Reap…

All the while, when you do not reap your “harvest” you are told to persevere and to have faith and not to lose heart (as Galatians 6:9 seems to encourage). It is little wonder that a large component of the preaching we hear in church is what I call pep-talks. It really boggles my mind how Christians will allow preachers to intimidate and patronise them – all because they believe that the person on stage behind the pulpit is closer to God than they are; that the pastor knows more than them and that they hold all the answers to an abundant life. I used to love listening to Joyce Meyer, but now; I wince when I hear the way in which she patronises people. I think she means well and she does teach some true and amazing things – but in amongst all the good stuff is an awful lot of intimidation.

I think you can reach a point when you suddenly realise that you are not going to be the next Billie Graham or Benny Hinn, you’re not going to have your own intercontinental jet plane, performing miracles before a huge audience of adoring fans. I think you come to a place in which you get the feeling that it would really be good for your mental and emotional health if you were to climb down from your cloud and embrace real life. I think this reality-check can be too much to bear for some Christians. We would rather hold onto the fantasy rather than to come to terms with the fact that the institutional church has fed us unrealistic expectations, or even lies, all of this time.

The Lust of Sensationalism

Darin Hufford of the Free Believers Network discusses the subject of over-sensationalism in the church in the podcast episode entitled podcast The Lust of Sensationalism. This is a wonderful, long awaited podcast that I feel picks-up from Darin's blog on Spiritual Porn Addiction. This podcast has helped me to come to terms with the sheer wackiness that we simply accept without question in Pentecostal circles. It is sad but true that sensationalism is like a drug to the frustrated, insecure and gullible Christian who is seeking more in life.

Inspiration from the Tribulations of Paul

Recently, the Lord has been showing me something from the tribulations of Paul (not me, the Apostle). Paul was beaten by soldiers, thrown into prison and he suffered a shipwreck – that is enough to put most believers on a serious guilt-trip and pity party! But Paul shrugged it off and called it “light affliction” (2 Cor. 4:17).

Paul said in 2 Cor. 5:14 that he was compelled by the love of Christ in what he did. That same love today compels us today. There is no need for us to engage our over-active imaginations to conjure-up clever ways to serve God and do something wonderful for Him. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” God already has a plan for our lives and He has already figured out the good works that He will work in us to perform. All we are called to do in this capacity is to simply yield ourselves to the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Even when Agabus the prophet told him in Acts 21:11 that he would be captured if he went to Jerusalem – Paul still went, obeying the unction of the Holy Spirit within, even when Agabus had shown him what would happen. I don’t read anywhere in my Bible that Paul immediately pleaded with God to change the situation; he didn’t call down fire from heaven to smite his enemies; Paul did not ask God to “make the crooked paths straight” (Isaiah 45:2); neither did Paul “speak to the mountain” as Word of Faith says we should do according to Mark 11:23. The reason why many Christians use faith formulas to control circumstances is that they are afraid of getting hurt. Paul had reached a place whereby he was not concerned about himself; his trust was so strong in God that he chose to simply follow peace and leave the little details and the comfort levels to God.

I used to use faith declarations to “wrap myself in cotton wool” figuratively speaking. But my efforts were simply useless in trying to control God and change his plans for my life so that it led me in a straight and smooth path. But I have come to see that the pain and struggle attributed to the circumstances of life is not so much the circumstances themselves – but the fear, confusion and sense of powerlessness which they evoked in me as I resisted them and attempted to understand them so that I could control them.

So much emphasis has been placed on the use of faith to control a believer’s standard of living and prosperity levels. But nowhere do we see Paul trying to establish his wealth through faith and confession of scripture. Paul said that we were to not pursue money in 1 Timothy 6:9-10. In 1 Timothy 6:11 we are told what we ought to pursue: righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. It is then in the following verse 12 that we are told to “fight the good fight of faith” – this fight of faith has a lot to do with the pursuit of all of those godly virtues that we see written in verse 11. In Hebrews 13:5 Paul says that anything other than contentedness was covetousness. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11 that he had learned to be content with what he had.

¹¹ Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little.

¹² I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want;

¹³ for I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power.

Philippians 4:11-13 TLB

Paul did not freak-out when he was in prison, he did not try to figure out what hidden sins had caused this tragic event; neither did Paul kick himself for not reading the right books, using the right formulas and applying the right principles in his life. No, Paul simply obeyed the compulsion of faith and love in his heart, without knowing exactly what was round the corner. Paul reached a place with God whereby he did not question God’s love for Him and his right-standing by faith in Christ. Paul just allowed himself to be led by the Holy Spirit and just flowed with the peace that was in his heart.

Nowhere in the Bible do we read that Paul used faith declarations or scriptural confession to control circumstances and to preserve his safety during his travels. We can only glean from the Epistles that Paul’s primary focus was on who he was in Christ and what He had accomplished for mankind through His death, burial and resurrection. Paul did not try to get God to promise him specific things and to promise that no harm would come to him during his ministry. If we hold onto the notion that the stronger our faith is then the safer our journey will be – we will inevitably conclude that we don’t have enough faith or that we are not praying enough and so on. Paul did not pray in advance of his journey to the various churches that God would manifest specific spiritual gifts and miracles – he just went with the flow as the Holy Spirit led him without quote knowing what He would do and when He would do it.

The Answer to Life Is – Stop Thinking! – Part 2

Bertie Brits teaches that great faith as spoken of in the Bible is not the result of believing God “for something”. Word of Faith has created the illusion of “great faith” as being a competition between Christians as to who can “believe God” for the biggest, most expensive and most extravagant things – as a means of proving their faith, holiness and devotion to God. I have come to see that Word of Faith, rather than being a means of “building God’s kingdom”, has become a means whereby neurotic Christians seek to safeguard their lives and build a sense of security through the pursuit of material wealth and position.  In his book, “Mastering Your Emotions”, Pastor Colin Dye asserts that people seek to appease their wants through the pursuit of people, power and possessions. Great faith, Bertie Brits teaches, is simply being convinced of the finished work of the cross. It is Jesus who makes our faith great – not material abundance and the like.

Christendom has become divided in that some Christians believe that God wants them to be rich, whilst some believe that God wants us to experience lack and hardship – each goes to extremes to refute the other. It is not so much a matter of figuring out how rich God wants us to be – but simply being reassured of the goodness of God, His love and acceptance of us, and His power to deliver and restore. So you see it is a matter of thinking. We are not to expend time and effort trying to “believe God” for things or to prove our worth to God. No, we are to simply be convinced of His love for us and that His grace is sufficient for us. This assurance is true faith and it brings a great deal of peace. It is in this state of peace, love and lack of fear that the Holy Sprit is best able to lead us and guide us. When we are experiencing union with God through faith as the Bible promises us – we are not required to figure things out for ourselves, make plans and decisions, we are simply required to obey without thinking.

God has given us a free will so that we can have our own opinions. For instance, some people like rock music whilst others prefer jazz; opinions and preferences such as this are what make us unique and give us character. These opinions are fine until they become interwoven in the fabric of our own carnal wants. Thinking can become a means of judging others as we put labels on them and dictate how they should be, what they should believe and how they should behave.

We are all born with an innate self-preservation instinct: it is this, I believe, which is what the Bible calls the “carnal nature” or “lower nature”. This lower nature functions via information gained from the senses, which it uses to protect itself from harm and loss. The lower nature operates through fear, which is logical reasoning, thinking based on limited human perception and reasoning. This thinking simply gets in the way of God. Without this thinking – we would be fully surrendered to God.

Thinking, decision making, apart from God was the very thing that created separation from God in the first place when the very first sin was committed in the Garden of Eden. Some see freewill thinking as a gift, a blessing – I am inclined to believe that is actually more of a curse. Holy Spirit would be able to move in me freely if it were not for the mass of thoughts, opinions and judgements that I have amassed over the years.

The Answer to Life Is – Stop Thinking! – Part 1

“The Answer to Life Is – Stop Thinking!”

This statement was made right at the end of The Free Believers podcast entitled Involuntary Spirituality 5^th December 2009. To really understand the context of this quote you would ideally need to listen to the whole of the podcast.

This quote really struck a chord in me because I have come to the conclusion that it is our thinking that gets in the way of God. I have been an anxiety sufferer for most of my life and I can personally vouch for the fact that it is unnecessary thinking which causes probably most of the suffering in life.

After pursuing Word of Faith teaching for ten years, courtesy of Kenneth E. Hagin, I have come to the conclusion that we cannot use faith as a means of telling God what to do: how and when He should bless us. Neither can we use faith to avoid challenging circumstances and difficult people. I cannot use faith declarations to build “great faith” so that I can make life go just the way I want. I think it is absurd now to think that I actually believed I knew what was right for my life, more than God did. I felt that I had to use faith declarations and prayer to “remind” God of what I wanted and felt was most important and beneficial for my life.

We superimpose our thoughts onto everything we experience in life. If something “bad” happens in our lives we tell the story of how God does not love us, or that we are being punished for our sins or whatever. When something “good” happens in our lives, we can tell the story of how it was our diligent praying, fasting and serving in the church which merited God’s favour and blessing. Without our thinking – “we” would be out of the picture; life’s circumstances would occur without us seeing the need to attribute a “good” or “bad” label to them; without the need to associate what happens in life to our behaviour and actions. There are consequences for our actions and no amount of "no condemnation in Christ" can negate that. If a person puts his hand in a fire they are going to get burned. But we cannot say that the sickness of a loved one was caused by our not praying enough.

The Bible says that we have already been “blessed with every spiritual blessing” (Eph. 1:3); been given “a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1.7); we have already been made partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4); and a myriad of other wonderful blessings that point towards a new nature and life in Christ.

The Apostle Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20). Verses such as this have been used as the very foundation of the teachings of people such as Norman Grubb who teach about our union with Christ: He lives His life through us. Surrender to Christ is vital for this exchange to take place. It is not so much our actions and behaviour that hinders this union – it is our own thinking.

Word of Faith and the Concept of Effort and Reward

One of the biggest problems we face in the church is that the leaders don't take into consideration the mindset of those people who come to the church. Many people come to the church as a last resort, because the pressures of life have made them neurotic. As such, they are inclined to seek to do things to gain the approval of others. For most of people's lives, God is just the subject of after dinner conversation. But when a person gives their life to the Lord, and perhaps has an "experience", God suddenly becomes a reality to them. Therefore, their efforts will be inclined towards seeking God's approval.

The Concept of Effort and Reward

The Gospel is the good news about how we don't need to perform in order to gain the approval of God and others. From an early age we are conditioned with the concept of effort-and-reward. We often find ourselves subconsciously compelled to do certain things, without knowing precisely why. The reason for this is that we believe that doing those things will gain us approval. Look at the state the church is in because the church still continues to imply that Christians must do something in order to please God. Does it help, or does it cause struggle, pain and wasted time and effort?

Not every Christian is a chronic people-pleaser - but many are. There are believers who are not compelled to tithe and commit to acts of charity in the church, when they hear the pastor preach - but many are.

It still bothers me that Word of Faith teaching did very little to mitigate the consequences of highly covetous people getting hold of the teaching and trying to use it as a get-rich-quick scheme; to read dozens of books with the idea of extracting principles and formulas that would enable them to gain control over God and get blessed how they want and when they want.

Is There any Benefit in Following Word of Faith?

In retrospect, I suppose we needed to go through that in order to learn those mistakes. Kenneth E. Hagin was just excited about sharing his revelations and breakthroughs with the world and to refute long-held Christian traditions that didn't work. I actually have a lot of respect for Hagin: he faced an enormous amount of resistance from fellow believers who refused to accept that God still performs miracles today and that He wants to bless His people.

There is certainly a need for balance when it comes to Biblical prosperity. I don’t adhere to the notion that God wants all of His people to be poor and to struggle financially with the belief that one trial after another is doing a good work in us. Neither do I hold to the unrealistic assumption that God wants all of His people to be extravagantly wealthy by Western standards. I do believe that God wants His people to do well in life, to get their needs met and to prosper. But problems arise when we attempt to fill emotional voids in our lives by the pursuit of wealth. This is what the Apostle Paul was addressing in his letter to Timothy.

⁶ Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

⁷ For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

⁸ And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

⁹ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.

¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

¹¹ But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

¹² Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:6-12 nkjv

In verse 11 we read what we ought to pursue as believers: righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. These are, of course, spiritual things. Once we secure these spiritual treasures – we will have all of our material needs met as well.

³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Matthew 6:31-33 nkjv

In 1 Timothy 6:12 Paul states that our fight is that of maintaining faith. This faith is with the purpose of keeping hold of the manifest presence of God (eternal life) within us, which brings us fullness of joy like nothing in the material world ever can.

I have to admit that ten years or so of reading most of Hagin’s books, actually did very little to help me. I was, and still am to an extent, a very insecure person; the promise of extravagant blessings and miracles in return for strictly obeying principles and formulas – was not exactly what I needed the most during that time – and never will be. What I really needed was the assurance that God loved me – just the way that I was; without any threats of curses, punishments and ex-communication from God if I failed to meet those strict standards and if I failed to confess the Word in the correct manner.

Seek to Enter into Rest

When we become Christians the first thing, the very first thing that we need to work towards is entering into rest: getting away from the concept of effort-and-reward, keeping rules, fulfilling standards, and meeting certain conditions and so on. That said - we ought to veer away from even a hint of anything in the way of rules, laws and principles. Otherwise, the effect can be devastating on many people.

It is difficult to not feel stirred-up by a motivating message that seems to promise wonderful rewards for the believer who is willing to “go all out for God”. But to an insecure Christian a message that is meant to motivate and challenge can become an oppressing obligation and an indication that they are not valued by God just the way that they are. As far as I am concerned – I have had enough of these motivational speeches in church – I just want to hear the good news of the Gospel being preached; I just want to know what the Lord Jesus Christ has already done for me and how that affects my life now.

Grace Can be a Stumbling Block for Others

Did you know that grace can be a stumbling block for others? If you go around telling other people what the grace of God motivates you to do in such a way that you make a rule or standard out of it - it re-introduces the law. It is good to encourage other people by giving them your testimonies. But if believers are not secure in the assurance that they are loved apart from their works – they are likely to feel jealous and to figure out what they can do to merit the same kind of favour, blessing and ability from God.

Let's get away from post-righteousness works that are really none of our business and focus on what Jesus told the Body of Christ to take responsibility for and seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Is Faith a Ticket to Health and Wealth?

Speaking from experience, you'll find that many people have come into grace only as the result of religious self-effort. This also incorporates Word of Faith and all the other extremes that came out of the charismatic movement. Joseph Prince cites Kenneth E. Hagin (Word of Faith) as being one of his main Bible teachers.

I have found that many people come to Christianity as a last resort and because they have unmet needs. I see it as gears: you start off with rules, and then move onto works and then move onto pursuing faith principles and formulas as a means of making God bless them how they want and when they want.

Sure, God wants us to be well and to meet our needs, but life can condition the subconscious mind to believe that something external to Christ and the love of God - can make you happy. This typically shows itself in the pursuit of people, power and possessions. The Word of Faith teaching can be seen as being the key to getting everything that a person needs.

Many believers have found after years of frustration and trying to repeat Bible verses - which WOF simply does not work. If declaring verses of scripture accompanies blessings, then it is the expression of a heart that knows the love of God and is secure in Christ. Affirmations are not a formula to get what you want from God.

Some believers, feeling cheated by misleading and extreme teaching, have gone to extremes in the other direction: they have completely rejected any teaching that asserts the believers right to healing and financial prosperity.

I tend to "pitch my tent" as it were, somewhere in the middle of these extremes: I believe that God still heals today and that He will meet our needs - but I don't believe that Christians can demand what they want from God; neither can they expect extravagant blessings and miracles. I have also noticed that the concept of wealth to someone living in a wealthy country, such as a member of the G7* group of countries, is completely different to the concept of wealth on a worldwide scale. The Bible speaks of vats overflowing with wine and bumper harvests of crops - not driving expensive sports cars, living in mansions and aspiring to be a member of the board of directors in your place of work.

Perhaps God does want to bless you extravagantly – He did with Solomon. But it is not our place to demand such things. Another factor to consider is that it often takes time to manifest certain things: it takes time and effort to build a career, business, relationship or ministry.

Jesus Himself said to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things would be added unto you (Matt. 6:33). He did not say to seek righteousness first, and then seek material provision. No, He said to seek after righteousness. Why is this so? I believe it is because knowing that we are right with God, loved by Him just the way that we are, and brings a sense of security that:

• Subdues the selfish flesh nature, bringing peace and mental clarity.
• Eliminates the desire for those things we once thought we need in order to be happy.
• Brings a sense of complete trust in God, that He will meet your needs, regardless of circumstances past and present.

There are many Christians who attempt to "believe God" for things, when they have no foundation of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). Nowhere in scripture does it say to believe God for "things" - only to believe in a person - Jesus Christ.

Bertie Brits' teaching is centred strongly on this concept of believing (trusting) in Jesus, not things. I find Bertie’s preaching refreshing after ten years or so of frustration with Word of Faith teaching. It really is so much simpler and less time consuming to believe (trust) in Jesus, rather than trying to claim promises, sow seed and all of the things associated with “believing God” for things. Everything from healing to financial provision comes to us based on our being persuaded of God's love for us - that is why we are told to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

* The G7 countries are: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and United States.

Guilt and Condemnation

The most harmful aspect of sin for a Christian is likely to be the sense of guilt and condemnation that it brings. If a believer forms a moral code by which he lives by, if he does not adhere closely to that list, he is likely to experience guilt and condemnation.

If a believer is taught that the only way he can be blessed by God is if he remains sin free – he will live with a sense of an impending curse whenever he does something wrong. This conviction does not come from the Holy Spirit – it comes from the believer himself. The Bible says that the only sin the Holy Spirit convicts the world of – is not believing in Jesus:

⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

John 16:7-11

In the future, when you sin, and you will sin, just notice the way that you react when you do. Do you get anxious about it? Do you feel guilty and ashamed? Do you believe that the more guilty you feel then the more you will please God with your attitude? Do you wrack your brains trying to figure out why you did it and what you can do in the future to prevent it from happening again? Do you wonder how long God will put up with your behaviour? Do you wonder whether or not God will curse you?

If so, then don’t.

Punishment for Sin or Natural Consequences?

Jesus has dealt with sin once and for all; He paid the price to set us free from the slavery to sin and the punishment of sin:

²⁴ who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.

1 Peter 2:24

¹³ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), ¹⁴ that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Galatians 3:13-14

Does this mean that we should continue sinning? What sins are believers “allowed” to get away with committing?

If Jesus has set us free from sin and its consequences, one of the biggest considerations when it comes to sinning is the affect our actions will have on ourselves and others. Some believers might ask, “Well, is it alright to steal?” The Ten Commandments say that we should not steal.

Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf so that we don’t have to. But if we steal then because there are laws in place, the law-of-the-land, which prohibit us from doing so. Therefore, there are often natural consequences when we sin. A believer could tell the story of how these negative consequences mean that he is being punished by God for his sins.

The truth of the matter is that there is no punishment for sins: Jesus bore your sins and the punishment for those sins – on the cross! Jesus took away your sin so that there is no longer any sin for the Father to see (Matthew 26:28).

If a person sins and suffers negative consequences as a result, it is not because he is being cursed; it is because he is experiencing the natural consequences for his actions.

The Ten Commandments say that a man should not commit adultery. There is no law against adultery is there? However, adultery can become legal grounds for a divorce. In relation to adultery, we ought to consider the affect an affair will have on our own family and that of the other person. Is it worth risking a family break-up just for an affair which won’t bring you satisfaction anyway? Think of the affect it will have on your children and the money you might have to pay for an acrimonious divorce and the alimony you might have to pay.

Anything that is not according to God’s will for your life will not satisfy you. This is one of the best ways in which we can know the will of God for our lives. It is common sense really.

You Cannot Sin if you are in Christ

Did you know that if you are in Christ – you cannot sin? Yes, that’s right – you cannot sin! Hallelujah! Don’t just take my word for it – look to the scriptures and see for yourself:

⁹ Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

1 John 3:9

⁹ The person who has been born into God's family does not make a practice of sinning because now God's life is in him; so he can't keep on sinning, for this new life has been born into him and controls him--he has been born again.

1 John 3:9 TLB

⁹ People conceived and brought into life by God don't make a practice of sin. How could they? God's seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It's not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin.

1 John 3:9 MSG

This verse does not say that believers in Christ should not sin – it says they cannot sin. It is no longer a case of trying to keep rules and do good works in our own effort; no, it is all about receiving the new nature that God has now imparted to us, because of what Christ has done for us.

Now, the only commandment that we need to keep is that we abide in love (John 13:34).

Many Christians find this obligation very difficult. They need not because the Bible says that they are not burdensome (see Matthew 11:30, 1 John 5:3). God has already imparted His love to our spirits (Romans 5:5).

2 Corinthians 5:17 says that we have been made a new creation: we have literally been re-created in the likeness of Christ; our old nature has been stripped away, our sins done away with (Romans 6:6-7).

We have been made partakers of the divine nature by faith:

² Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³ as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the Divine Nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

2 Peter 1:2-4

The Illusion of Wealth and the Fear of Missing Out

³³ "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Matthew 6:33

³³ Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Matthew 6:33 MSG

I believe some people are terrified of missing out on something in life. We look to other people to establish what normal is, and what is excellent and what is above average. We then aim for excellent or above average or somewhere in between.

The truth is that we don't want to lose out on something in the game of life that we can have and enjoy. We don't want to be cheated, outsmarted and left behind - missing out on something good that could be ours. Oftentimes, if we see someone else with something that we feel will bring us pleasure – we want it.

People Hate “Average”

The truth is that we hate the thought of being average. In a country that has a high proportion of prosperous people, so-called average when compared to a world scale, would actually be considered rich. Despite this, the average wage earner in a prosperous country would never consider himself to be rich. It amazes me just how much the classification of “middle class” has gradually expanded over the years to encompass more and more people. It seems that hardly anyone would call themselves “upper class” – as if they would be considered haughty to do so. However, we should be honest and call those who have substantial wealth as being “upper class”.

Comparison with Those in Our Environment

Rather than looking to people of other nations with whom to compare the quality of their lifestyle, many people just look to those people in their immediate vicinity. This can result in a person feeling hard done by, when in actual fact, he has all his needs met and would be considered wealthy in comparison with people from less prosperous nations.

We often content ourselves with the fact that perhaps we will never be totally happy; perhaps we will never be all that he hoped to be. But at least if we can have, and be, just that bit more than the average person or those in our community - then we will have something decent.

This causes us to constantly compete with, and compare ourselves with, other people around us. The people who we compete with, and compare against, are often those people who influence us the most and whom we aspire to be like.

We then work to surround ourselves with people who accept us the way we are; people who we feel we have something in common with; people who can understand us and relate to us - and we with them.

We then seek to avoid those people whom we do not get along with; people we don’t seem to understand; people who perhaps reveal aspects of ourselves that we do not like and wish to avoid.

The people whom we surround ourselves with, then become our world, as we deliberately seek to filter out the people who seem to make life difficult for us. The problem with this is that it can make our perspective on life very narrow as we establish the boundaries of our life, according to what we believe are good and acceptable to us. To an extent, people can almost become like carbon-copies of their friends and relatives with whom they surround themselves with.

Therefore, if a person is naturally competitive and everyone around him has, hypothetically speaking, a ‘C’ class car – he will naturally seek to own a ‘D’ class car. This, he assumes, will make him feel as if he has something that is better than his peers. Prosperity can therefore become the “norm” for those people whose environment constantly bombards their senses with the images of prosperity.

The Illusion of Not Having Enough

The truth of the matter is that people who live in wealthy nations such as the U.S. or U.K. – do not realise just how wealthy they are on a world scale. What might seem like poverty to someone living in a wealthy nation could easily be seen as being rich to someone living in a poor country. If a person lives in a house made of brick – that is a far cry to those millions of people who are living in mud huts in the third world.

Some people might complain that they cannot buy the latest plasma T.V. set. Whilst there are some households that don’t even have a regular supply of electricity. This might seem like an extreme comparison, but it is the truth and I feel it brings things into perspective.

Wealth Indicator Variables

If you search for the term “Wealth Indicator Variable”, you will find documentation which attempts to asses the overall wealth of a household. What might be surprising to some people is that the criteria for assessing wealth includes what could be seen as being the most basic of household items, such as a refrigerator, radio, television, oven and so on. Why, a house or dwelling having walls is even a criterion. You can read more about “Wealth Indicator Variables” here and here.

The Christian Prosperity Message

It is important for Christians to read each verse of the Bible in the context in which it was originally written. For instance, when we read the Old Testament, we need to bear in mind that the Messiah had not yet come. Therefore, some of the things that we read might no longer be relevant to us. For instance, those verses threatening condemnation are not for us who are in Christ (see Romans 8:1-2).

There are certain rituals, such as tithing, which were relevant to those who were under the law, that is, the Jews. But we are no longer under the law but under grace (Romans 6:15). Therefore, the tithe is no longer required from the New Testament believer. Now, we are to give as we purpose in our heart according to love – not as something that is required of us (see 2 Cor. 9:7).

The promises of prosperity in the Bible were typically written to those people whom we would consider to be “working class” in modern terms. These were typically farmers, fisherman and the like, who depended upon a harvest of crops or a good catch of fish in order to survive and to look after their families. Therefore, when the Bible says something like your barns will be filled with plenty (Proverbs 3:10) – it literally meant that a person would be blessed with a good harvest.

I remember reading in a book by Kenneth E. Hagin entitled Biblical Keys to Financial Prosperity in which he addresses this point of the meaning of “rich” in the Bible. Hagin says that it means a “full supply”. That does not mean that God will make us all millionaires - it simply means that God will meet all of our needs – which is what Philippians 4:19 promises. But nowhere in the Bible are we promised specific things, such as designer clothes or sports cars. The Bible does not promise a celebrity lifestyle when it says that we shall be made rich (see 2 Cor. 8:9)

Prosperity preachers have manipulated verses on abundance and provision to mean all sorts of things in a modern context, such as having a full bank account and so forth. I have heard prosperity preachers say things like, “God hates average”. Have you noticed that the Christian prosperity message is preached mostly by those people who live in prosperous nations?

If a person living in a prosperous nation believes that the quality of his life is average – he could respond to prosperity teaching by believing that God will make him rich in the western world’s interpretation of the word – which totally different to the world as a whole and the Bible’s interpretation of the word. This could lead to frustrated Christians seeking a celebrity lifestyle, believing that they are not rich, when in fact, they are.

God’s Plans or Our Own Plans?

God has a purpose for all of our lives. It is only God’s purpose that prevails over those plans. (See Proverbs 19:21 NIV). There are various other verses of scripture which on the surface, seem to support the notion that we can come-up with any plan we like, and if it is something that will benefit us and other people, then we can confess it into being. For instance, Psalms 20:4 NIV, Proverbs 16:9 NIV.

We need to remember that God has a plan for our lives that we cannot replace with our own plans. What leads to our own plans and desires to come out of line with God, is the impressions that the subconscious mind has gained over the years.

According to the beliefs instilled in the subconscious mind, all sorts of plans and ideas will emerge from the heart of man. Some of the ways that we can know that these are true, is whether they come to pass or not and whether we have a feeling of peace about it or a sense of lust, wanting and a fear that we might not be able to have it. This is what the Bible calls selfish ambition.

³ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Philippians 2:3 nkjv

It is assumed that selfish ambition includes anything which benefits the believer personally. This seems to be an assumption adopted by Christians who attend legalistic churches, were the focus is on helping others, even to the neglect and detriment of the individual.

God does delight in our prosperity, He loves us and He is for us. But this does not mean that we can dictate to God how and when He should bless us. Selfish ambition is therefore any plan which arises from the heart of man, independently of the witness of the Holy Spirit.

The more that a person holds onto their own beliefs, those which are not of God, the more anxious he will feel and the more frustrated he will become about them. Just as following the law brings a person into the curse of the law and wears them out with religion – so following selfish ambition wears a person out so that they eventually become ready to obey God.

A Desire to Fulfil the Law

The previous sentence would sound rather legalistic to radical grace believers. But we can bring all of this into context if we consider that the desire to fulfil the law, especially when we know that Jesus has already done so on our behalf, is born out of pride, selfish ambition and a desire to prove oneself according to what he does or what he has.

The Bible tells us that when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. (Romans 4:4 NIV). We believe that God owes us something when we believe that we can fulfil the law and do something good for God. The Bible tells us that we are justified by faith and faith alone.

¹ Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What were his experiences concerning this question of being saved by faith? Was it because of his good deeds that God accepted him? ² If so, then he would have something to boast about. But from God's point of view Abraham had no basis at all for pride. ³ For the Scriptures tell us Abraham believed God, and that is why God canceled his sins and declared him "not guilty." ⁴ But didn't he earn his right to heaven by all the good things he did? No, for being saved is a gift; if a person could earn it by being good, then it wouldn't be free--but it is! ⁵ It is given to those who do not work for it. For God declares sinners to be good in his sight if they have faith in Christ to save them from God's wrath.

Romans 4:1-5 TLB

Many are the Plans in a Man’s Heart

The Impressionable Nature of the Subconscious Mind

The subconscious mind is what controls the majority of our thoughts, feelings and actions. The subconscious mind gains impressions from the world around us, via our five senses. It has been said that the subconscious mind cannot reason – that is the function of the conscious mind, to reason and to guard the subconscious mind (heart) from wrong impressions. (See Proverbs 4:23).

The subconscious mind does not say, “Don’t impress me with that – it’s negative”. The subconscious mind accepts what it dwells upon consistently. That is why it is so damaging for a child to be told that it is no good and will not amount to anything. The words of others can hurt our self-esteem, especially when it appears that we have nothing of ourselves in terms of ability or possessions in order to refute those accusations.

According to popular belief, the first six years of our lives are the most important in terms of the development of our beliefs and character. It is for this reason that children need to be raised properly, taught the truth and given as much unconditional love as possible.

The Plans in a Man’s Heart

I just thought it was Christians versus the world and that we had to show that we were better than people in the world – those who did not believe in Christ. It was about the Davids defeating the Goliaths who dared to mock the children of the most high God.

But now I’ve come to see that it’s not about that at all. I can see now that I used Word of Faith teaching like a Christian version of The Secret or The Law of Attraction. For those who do not know, The Secret and The Law of Attraction are popular, modern self-help methods for getting what you want through the use of positive thinking and affirmations.

I thought that I could come-up with any plan of my own, which would see me victorious and would be a testimony of God’s power working in me – then I could bring this plan to God and He would anoint it and bring it to pass.

But I have learned that the subconscious mind can come-up with all sorts of plans and hare-brained ideas. If the subconscious mind becomes convinced that a person is overweight – that person can make it their main focus in life to lose that weight, even if it means following risky and dangerous dieting methods. This is the way in which people become anorexic.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Typically, people will become focused on one or several things at a time as being the thing that will bring them freedom and happiness. When people have this solitary focus, they often lose sight of the opportunities, beauty and blessings that surround them.

The Psychologist Abraham Maslow devised a diagram to support his theory of what he saw as being a hierarchy of needs. People tend to focus their attention on getting those needs met which are appropriate to their position in life.

You can find out more about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs at the following link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs

Progression with the Grace Message

Isn't it amazing that as we expose ourselves to a greater revelation of grace, as we listen to a stronger, purer grace message - the shackles fall off and we are freer to discern the truth for ourselves?

I suppose it's like when kids are learning to read: they progress through different levels until they reach the highest level in that range. If someone is at level 3, they are going to struggle with level 4, although they will be able to work through some of it. But level 6 will be difficult for them.

Many Christians are brainwashed into accepting a mixture without questioning it. They simply accept the inconsistencies and adjust their thinking according to how it is preached by the pastor they trust.

When we expose ourselves to a purer grace message, we are able to look back on what we once thought was tremendous and see that it was a misleading mixture of law and grace. I think that's what's happened to me with Joyce Meyer.

I will admit - when I was deeply into WOF, I would have choked on Bertie Brits' grace teaching: if I would hear him preach on not needing to tithe anymore - I would have resisted it. I think it's only now that after I tithed for about ten years, even paid a double-tithe at one point, and found it did not work - that I begin to start questioning things. What caused me to defend WOF so much was the fantastic testimonies, the signs and wonders and such like. I just got caught up with my own fantasies and outlandish, selfish ambition.

Now that I think about it: I believe that God was enlightening me to some really radical grace teaching, even when I did not hear anyone else preach on it. But I suppose I was still caught-up in WOF and mixture at the time and I just ran them in parallel. What I find is that Christian "principles" can be so compelling.

Recently, as I've been sorting through some of my Christian books with a view to selling them: I found that as I flicked through some of them, I felt drawn towards the teaching like a magnet. It seemed good and it seemed true. Romans 7:12 says, "Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good."

So you see, God allows the wheat and the tares to grow together (Matt. 13). I don't know if this parable relates to grace/law in this context - but it seems relevant to illustrate this point. God allows different Bible teaches with different "flavours" to the Gospel message. This allows the Holy Spirit to gently guide us into a greater degree of the truth. This takes time with teaching and personal experience - some of it is painful and difficult it seems.

The Distraction of Word of Faith

My wrong focus with Word of Faith teaching sent me off on a tangent. I felt like I was wondering around in a maze: convinced that the way through was immediately ahead of me, only to find that I had reached a dead-end and would have to re-trace my steps again.

Opportunities would seem to arise, which I would respond to excitedly, only to find that there was nothing in it. I would yearn for those things in the past which I had lost, things which I took for granted at the time, but now saw that they were indeed a blessing from God.

I think my experiences could be likened to Elijah when he ran for his life, because Queen Jezebel threatened to kill him.

¹¹ Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; ¹² and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. ¹³ So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

1 Kings 19:11-13 nkjv

Elijah was so frightened that he ran for his life and hid underneath a juniper tree. Then, when he had eaten and calmed down somewhat, God spoke to Him. Elijah was not distracted by the supernatural phenomena of the fire, earthquake and strong wind. Elijah ignored what was happening around him and waited for the still, small voice of God to give him his next instruction.

We miss out on God’s instructions for our lives when we get carried away with the things around us which we assume must be from God, but aren’t. I believe that even signs and wonders (likened to the fire, earthquake and strong wind) can also become a distraction to us if we are seeking after supernatural experiences more than we are seeking after a relationship with God. Signs and wonders have their place in the Body of Christ – especially when it comes to evangelising areas that are steeped in idol worship. But we really have to be careful that we do not get carried away with signs and wonders so that they distract us from our relationship with God through Christ.

Breaking Down Barns

Two people can hear the same message preached and get different meanings and focus out of it. Kenneth E. Hagin was teaching on how Christians could live prosperous and healthy lives, for their own benefit and so that they could be a blessing to others and to prove that Christian faith works.

But what I saw was an opportunity to control God; to make Him prove to me that I was more special than the rest; to seize an opportunity to heap-up material possessions and money so that I no longer had to rely on a God that I felt had consistently let me down in the past. This concept is conveyed, to some extent, in the parable of the man who wanted to break down his barns and build bigger ones in Luke 12.

¹⁵ And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." ¹⁶ Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. ¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' ¹⁸ So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." ' ²⁰ But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' ²¹ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

Luke 12:15-21 nkjv

The Greek word for “life” in Luke 12:15, is actually the word zoe (G2111) which is the life-giving presence of God. Both E.W. Kenyon and Kenneth E. Hagin believe zoe (G2111) to be the nature of God indwelling man. I believe that it is this experience of the life of God within the soul of man, which produces the experience we know as joy.

John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes includes the following about Luke 12:15.

Luk 12:15 - A man's life - That is, the comfort or happiness of it.

Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible includes the following regarding Luke 12:15.

Covetousness - An unlawful desire of the property of another; also a desire of gain or riches beyond what is necessary for our wants. It is a violation of the tenth commandment Exo. 20:17, and is expressly called idolatry Col. 3:5. Compare, also, Eph. 5:3, and Heb. 13:5.

A man’s life - The word “life” is sometimes taken in the sense of happiness or felicity, and some have supposed this to be the meaning here, and that Jesus meant to say that a man’s comfort does not depend on affluence - that is, on more than is necessary for his daily wants; but this meaning does not suit the parable following, which is designed to show that property will not lengthen out a man’s life, and therefore is not too ardently to be sought, and is of little value. The word “life,” therefore, is to be taken “literally.”

Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible includes the following regarding Luke 12:15.

Inordinate desires. Πλεονεξιας, from πλειον, more, and εχειν, to have; the desire to have more and more, let a person possess whatever he may. Such a disposition of mind is never satisfied; for, as soon as one object is gained, the heart goes out after another.

I suppose the reason for believing God for ability and possessions, was so that if I found that I could no longer control God with my own faith - at least I had my own “nest egg”, which I could rely on later. I decided that I would rely on God so that I could become self-sufficient and I would no longer have to rely on Him anymore.

I suppose this desire for self-sufficiency was born out of a sense of believing that God was mysterious: He would be kind, peaceful, loving and generous the one moment – but as soon as a person did not pray right or they stepped out of line and made a mistake – that was it for them! This misjudgement of God’s character came out of a life of mistakes and disappointments, as well as teaching which mixed law and grace.

Can a Man Control God?

For years, believers have been spoon-fed from the pulpit – without anything they say being questioned by the congregation. Christian, self-help and spiritual authors have raked-in the cash from struggling, frustrated people who are desperate for answers to the issues which beset them.

Unfortunately, when people are confused and desperate – they will accept anything that is put before them. When a person cannot discern the truth for themselves, they tend to latch-on to anything that seems to give them a glimmer of hope.

It is for this reason that any method which promises wealth and the ability to control ones life, becomes extremely popular. What seems to happen is that people read these books which give all sorts of exciting testimonies – then they get carried away with their own imagination, thinking about how they could apply something similar to their own lives. It is little wonder that such books are so popular and so compelling. People read these books, resonate with the teaching and get all excited. They then post stellar reviews on Amazon.com saying how amazing the method is and how it has changed their life already – and they’ve only been reading it a couple of weeks!

This is what happened to me: I would read in a Kenneth E. Hagin book of how God blessed him, or “used” him, in some spectacular way – then I would begin to ponder how I could do something similar. I suppose my own desire to prove myself and seek the approval of God and other people – just got caught-up with the message of faith that I was reading.

My Own Attempt to “Use” Daniel 1:17

I read in a Kenneth E. Hagin book that Hagin would confess Daniel 1:17 each morning on the way to school. As a result of this, God gave him a photographic memory and made him more intelligent than all the other pupils in his class, so that he got straight-As for all his tests.

I decided that I would confess Daniel 1:17 so that I could be brilliant at my job. But the divine ability never came. I believe the reason for this was that I was feeling insecure, as if I could not trust in God. I saw Daniel 1:17 as a “divine lottery ticket” which just might work to give me the sense of security that I was looking for. I wanted to prove that I was better than everyone else, so that I could feel good about myself and look down on “all those ungodly heathens”, which didn’t deserve the blessing and favour of God like I did.

I am still working on this area of my life and I believe it has a lot to do with being able to trust God, whether you are rich or poor, talented or untalented, educated or uneducated; knowing that God will meet your needs, regardless of whether you “deserve” it or not. Like many other people, the cannot of effort-and-reward has become hard-wired into my belief system. The concept of God blessing me and meeting my needs without having to work for it, without having to merit that blessing – is still something I struggle with to this day.

How Word of Faith Works

Kenneth E. Hagin would always say that whatever need you had in life, whether it is healing, finances or whatever – just find those verses of scripture which say you can have it, meditate on them and confess them.

Hagin’s teaching and testimonies would almost exclusively focus on faith for healing and finances. Hagin would also say that the same principle applies to any other legitimate need. But this does not mitigate the deluded, selfish fantasies that frustrated Christians bring before God. An overactive imagination does not help God, but hinders Him. The flesh nature and the divine nature are at odds with one another (see Galatians 5:17).

I just assumed that it was my role to read the best Christian teaching available and to discern the principles and formulas from the teaching and to somehow apply it to my own life. This is where my own imagination and selfish ambition came into play. But I realised after many years that this is not a practical or comfortable way to live the Christian life.

This way of life put a great deal of emphasis on me reading lots of books (the right books) understanding them properly, being able to remember what I had read and then to be able to somehow apply those principles and formulas to my own life. One of the wrong assumptions that can arise out of this process is that you can assume that just because God blessed or “used” another Christian in some way, then God will do the very same, or something similar, thing in your own life. But this is simply not true because we all have different callings, gifts and talents.

Word of Faith operates by finding verses of scripture which often pertain to specific circumstances of a person’s life, then twisting it so that it applies to your own life. It is true that we can apply broad-based Christian concepts to our own life, such as our righteousness in Christ, but just because God gave Abraham, Isaac and Jacob beautiful wives, for example, does not mean that you can use certain verses of scripture to lay hold on the promise of a beautiful wife. Just God gave Bezalel the abilities of a craftsman (see Exodus 31:2-5) – it does not mean that God will give you the same kind of abilities (unless, of course, that is your calling in life.)