Did God Say That?

BEWARE OF PROSPERITY GOSPEL MERCHANTS

By Ezekiel Kimosop

We are now in the season when all manner of "prophetic" proclamations  concerning the New Year, 2020 are made by some charismatic preachers.

While it is important to trust God and pray for His blessings in the New Year, we should do so in the knowledge of the truths revealed in the word of God.

Some prosperity teachers are known to cash in on innocent followers by demanding the planting of "new year seed" in exchange for "prophetic blessings" from God.

I once heard a popular American Word of Faith televangelist claim that a gift of dollars equivalent to a particular magical number coined by the preacher would guarantee the giver prosperity.

The studio line was soon jammed up with calls from people who were pledging their gifts.

Did God so speak through this preacher? Of course not!

The man is part of a group of billionaire prosperity teachers who live large. His financial empire, complete with a private jet and several mansions, is estimated at hundreds of millions in US Dollars.

Do not be deceived by these merchants of Mammon.

Here is why...

One such false prophet is mentioned in Jeremiah 28:1-17. Hananiah is described as a prophet from Gibeon (Jer. 28:1). This confirms that he once spoke the mind of God. He may not have been a billionaire but he shares one attribute with modern false teachers: they misrepresent the mind of God at the altar of convenience.

Hananiah the prophet departed from God and wilfully and knowingly spoke a lie in the name of God and contradicted the message of God by Jeremiah and other prophets who spoke in the past!

Jeremiah 28:2-4 says "“Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two full years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the LORD'S house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 And I will bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the LORD, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon’” (NKJV).

Hananiah chose to speak the very words that were music to the ears of the people of Judah who were under the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians.

Unfortunately, Hananiah was not sent by God in this case. He was being populist rather than true to his calling as a prophet!

His fate was sealed...

A few months later, God struck him dead in accordance with His word by Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 28:15-17 says, "Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have taught rebellion against the LORD.’”
17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month" (NKJV).

Here is the truth...

No preacher, "prophet" or "apostle" has authority to determine what the future holds for believers. This is a matter that exclusively lies in the mind and heart of God to whom we should unreservedly submit our future.

Again, prosperity cannot be exclusively measured by financial or material increase and neither does God bless His people in the same manner in any given season.

Even in years or seasons of adversity, God's faithfulness does not change. It does not depend on the prevailing circumstances. The Bible declares in Lamentations 3:22 that His compassions fail not.

Malachi 3:6 says, "For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob."

God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent (Numbers 23:19). He is the Father of lights and in Him there is no variableness neither shadow of turning (James 1:17).

Whether we prosper financially or not, God is eternally faithful to His covenant people. He will never forsake us.

Scripture affirms this truth in several passages of the Bible and we certainly don't need a declaration from a self-appointed "prophet", soothsayer or diviner who presents to us a different gospel.

As we look forward to 2020, let's keep our focus on Christ for He alone is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

He alone holds our future.


Shalom




© Ezekiel Kimosop 2019