The Vagaries of a False Gospel

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. (Corinthians 11: 13 – 15)

I want to start this post with an alarmist statement. Most of the preaching we are hearing nowadays does not stem from the Bible or even God. Though they may quote a lot of scriptures, the Bible to most is like the law snippets a lawyer will use to defend his client from facing justice even when he is clearly guilty. Though there may be adequate evidence pointing at his guilt, the lawyer will hunt for legal loopholes and precedents to help his client escape justice. And I am not sorry to say that most of what we hear from pulpits, and especially from radio and TV preachers is of that nature. But it is sadder because the ‘success’ of these fraudsters has made many other preachers imitate them.

A world has one clear need, the plain unadulterated Gospel. Nothing else has the capacity to meet that need. And that need was necessitated by the fall of the first man, meaning that the solution must necessarily deal with that.

Sin is the problem with the world. Anything and everything else stems from that. It is surprising that we are preaching other interventions without addressing the fallen nature of man. It is sad that we are parading success that has no relationship with victory over sin. It is shocking that a successful Christian is viewed outside the sin parameters. And it offends God that His people are being conditioned to expect things instead of victory against sin from their relationship with Him.

Poverty is a product of the fall. Insecurity is a product of the fall. Drug and substance abuse is a product of the fall. Divorce is a product of the fall. Sexual immorality is a product of the fall. Sexually transmitted diseases are a product of the fall. Greed is the product of the fall. Extremism is the product of the fall. In short the human condition is the product of the fall.

A social gospel seeks to intervene without addressing the real issue. It is at best a cosmetic change that is not only short lived but has the capacity to inflict worse damage.

I am reminded of this girl who had plastic surgery to get a man. And she became too beautiful to resist. They got married and got a child. And the man was shocked. That child could not be theirs. He went to the hospital to complain and they showed him proof that that child had not been switched at the hospital. But the child did not resemble the mother at all. It was then that the truth came out. His wife had changed her appearance. He took her to court for false pretenses and won damages. The millions the girl spent to hook a man were less than she needed to release that man.

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: (1Peter 3: 3 – 5)

A gospel that aims at the externals is similar to the case of that girl. It will be found out.

But it is worse. I will equate it to a hunter who cuts elsewhere instead of the head of the animal he intends to kill as it becomes more dangerous. I remember once when more than ten men spent most of the day pursuing and being pursued by a cow they had knocked inconclusively in a slaughter house. The knock did not kill it. It cut loose the ropes binding it and became the hunter. It would chase one team as the other chases it. Then it would change direction and those chasing it would become its target. It was comic to me as a child especially because those were the toughs of the area. Or one time we wounded a snake that it couldn’t run and we decided to burn it alive. It became wild. But it also became something else. It literary started glittering all over its scales. And because it couldn’t move it started biting anything in its path, even the live coals that were burning it.

More recently I saw a YouTube video of some men who were slaughtering a camel making a similar blunder. They cut substantially but did not finish the job. Again the bleeding camel became wild. It picked one of them and threw him as one would a rag doll.

That is what we do when we preach a gospel that does not address the human condition from the root. And the human condition is the fallen nature of man, SIN.

I need to state that the main problem Jesus had with the Jews in Bible times is the same we are replaying with a cosmetic gospel. They expected a Christ who would solve their social problems. They expected a Christ who would deal with the Romans conclusively. His miracles, though appreciated by them did not meet the threshold of what they expected their messiah to do and be. Remember they once tried to make Him king by force. And why? So that He would have no option but confront those Romans and free Israel as they had seen His power. There are some who argue that Judas’ motive in betraying Jesus was to push Him to a corner that He would have no option but to release that power He had demonstrated as He had lived among them.

Christ came to save His people from their sins. Any other thing He did was secondary to that as opposed to being the main assignment. Remember this?

Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. (John 6: 26 – 29)

You see the temporal has no capacity for solving an eternal problem. Getting all those things you have ever desired will never deal with the sin problem.

That financial breakthrough may increase your expectation of things from God, but it will not increase your faith in God because faith in God is proved and driven by obedience. Most preachers equate faith with the size of our expectation basket as opposed to the reality of God in one’s life. You see a basket that only receives goodies from God may actually be receiving from the god of the world. God is not a slot machine that is activated by whatever we think faith is.

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. (Hebrews 11:8)

Faith must be connected to obedience. And obedience is guided by God’s revelation. And the clearest revelation can be found in God’s word, the Bible. It is therefore a fallacy when a congregation builds their faith on the motivational presentations of their favorite pastors.

For me motivational speech and the Gospel are for the most part on opposite sides of the spiritual values spectrum. Motivation seeks to lift me to the highest levels of human effort and achievement (even when we use God to take us there) whereas the Gospel leads me to the abhorrence of human effort due to the limitation it imposes on my growth heavenward. Motivation helps me aim high and find fulfillment once I get there but the Gospel leads me to acknowledging, appropriating and allowing what God has done for me to run my life.

I am an encourager and will also state that encouragement and motivation are totally different though they may appear similar. Encouragement draws from God, His word and revelation and leads to obedience. Motivation spurs human effort.

Let me give an example of a depressed person. Motivation will guide him to see the best out of his situation and build on it. Encouragement helps him reconnect to God, deal with his sin and seek to know God’s will so that he will walk therein.

God’s presence spurs the pursuit of holiness. We can’t speak of God’s presence without visibly seeing the reality of holiness on those who have come into that presence. It is therefore a fallacy when someone speaks of sensing God’s presence whereas their sinful lifestyle is untouched.

How does God’s presence effect holiness? I am sure someone is asking.

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple…. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. (Isaiah 6: 1, 5)

That is not the only instance.

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. (Luke 5: 8)

We see the same with Ezekiel, Paul, John, Job and many other Bible characters. Simply speaking encountering God clearly shows us for who we are with respect to who God is. Our sin and sinful leanings are exposed. We can’t experience God without acknowledging His holiness.

It then leads us to see our worthlessness in view of that awesome holiness. It leads to despair like we see in Isaiah and Peter. We realize our unworthiness in view of that holiness.

But then we receive the welcome like we see when we continue in the two saints I have highlighted. God does not expose our sin to condemn but to deal with it. He will in inviting us to Himself start dealing with our sin because it is then openly visible to us. In His presence nobody can have any excuse for his sin. Only a cry of despair can come out of anybody in that presence.

But it is also a cry of hope. That presence draws from us the highest desire to be like the Holy One we have encountered. The invitation then is an irresistible one since it resonates with that craving in our hearts.

It is a pain because it is an impossible quest from the human direction. And no wonder that it starts with a cry of despair. But it is also a cry of desire because seeing God shows me what I should be. That vision resonates with every strand of my being as that is what I was originally created like and for.

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: (Colossians 1:16)

No wonder the cry of despair! I am able on seeing or experiencing God’s presence see what I ought to be; what God had created me for. With that view I then see how far I have fallen from that design and how rotten I really am to have fallen that far.

And I also need to add that I do not come to that point because I am a robber or rapist or any other despicable sinner. Job had a testimony from God Himself concerning his righteousness. Yet see what he says after encountering God.

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42: 5, 6)

It brings Romans 3: 23 in focus.

That is why it is followed by an invitation; an invitation into that presence.

But it is not an invitation to relax as if we have gone on a holiday. It is an invitation like He gave to Adam; to join Him in running His creation. His aim is that we become His partners. Look at this.

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8: 19 – 23)

God is inviting us to reconcile creation to its original intent that was foiled by sin. And He will do that through those who have reconnected to that purpose. And this takes us to another observation of those who came into contact with God’s presence.

God Himself dealt with their sin. We see again and again God doing something to show that He has dealt with the sin of this penitent and desperate person in His presence. Of course with Calvary we know that Christ has conclusively dealt with sin though it does not lessen its impact on each one of us. We therefore must need to allow Him to deal with our sin.

It is after that cleansing that He commissions one to His ministry. With some He showed a need as He did with Isaiah. With others like Moses and Jeremiah it was a commission. But the conclusion is the same; God is calling a person to His ministry.

We then get to holiness. Most people think holiness means the absence of sin, or sins. Though there is a relationship, sin is not the only thing holiness deals with.

My definition of holiness is ‘Someone or something set apart for God’s exclusive use’. How that deals with sin is easily understandable. That sin is not the target of holiness is not difficult to see.

The fourth commandment says we keep the Sabbath holy. Of course it does not mean that other days are sinful or that we are allowed to sin on the other days. Again Israel was God’s holy people. And the same logic applies. They were not less sinful than the other nations. What it means is that God had chosen them to display His love and dealing with His creation. Like He said to Abraham ‘Through you all nations will be blessed’. That they failed in their mandate of being God’s holy people is the reason they have to go through chastisement; simply because they remain God’s set apart people, people God uses to demonstrate who He is to the unbelieving world.

Our holiness is therefore related with the assignment God has for us. It is determined by how we perform that commitment. Apart from that commission we are just common, however well we do our Christian duties. Again I will take us to the scripture I quote most in my writing.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7: 21 – 23)

These people are doing all the right things, even godly things and things we expect God to reward. But they are called workers of iniquity. If highly effective ministers can be called workers of iniquity, what really does God require of us?

Holiness, I will say. A commitment to do only what He has committed to me, however menial it may appear. A commitment to pursue only the information He requires of me, however un’cool’ that might appear. A commitment to pursue the only call He has given, however unrewarding it might be. A commitment to do what He asks me to, however dangerous it might be. A commitment to go to the places He has ordered me, however foolish it might appear.

I will need to be sold out to God’s agenda for my life irrespective of what the entire world thinks. I will need to be sold out to His revelation however much it will cost me.

Again Biblical examples are best. Abraham was willing to appear a fool to his world to respond to God’s call. Noah to me exemplifies this aspect of holiness because he made an ark longer than a football pitch to prepare for a flood at a time rain had never fallen on earth. I wonder whether I would be that obedient. But that is what holiness entails.

But it brings in another aspect. What has God specifically said concerning me? What order does He have for me? You see it really does not matter what I do or how I do it. What matters is what I do in obedience. That is what we have seen in the Matthew passage.

I hope we appreciate the urgency we need to develop to clearly know what God expects of us. This is because where we will spend our eternity depends on it. These people we see are not only visible but also effective ministers according to their confession before God. Incidentally God does not dispute their CV. He simply tells them that they were disqualified because they did not pursue their assignment. Their wickedness did not result from adultery or theft or misappropriation of church finances. In fact God did not have any problem with their ministries as they simply could not prophesy unless they could hear from Him. They could not perform miracles unless God was with them. But He calls them workers of iniquity all the same.

That is a chilling thought. That all these years I have spent in ministry could be discarded even when it is evident to all that God is with me. That I could be the motivation for ministry for most; that I could be the ‘father’ to ministries all over, yet be sent to hell just because I might have been too busy doing ministry to listen to the still small voice directing me to a very insignificant or probably rest from all that ministry.

But it goes farther than what I do. It directly affects what I have and what I do with it. Again we see another aspect of judgment in Matthew 25. People go to heaven and hell depending with what they do with what they have. And this is with respect with the disadvantaged. Again it will not depend on the tithes and offerings one gave or did not give. It will not depend on the church buildings one erected or did not erect. It will not depend on the missions one went to or did not. It will simply depend on our response to the needs around us.

As someone involved in ministry to the disadvantaged, I will still emphasize the need for clear guidance just as it is with the assignment God has for us. This is because there are people who have perfected the art of presenting themselves as needy when they aren’t. There are people who are landlords yet make lots of money as beggars. Many NGOs raise millions for the needy yet only a pittance gets to the needy situations. They will drive those guzzlers when you are convinced that you gave to a really needy situation.

Where and how do you give? Should you give directly or by proxy? Who do you give? What qualifies the need?

‘I was hungry…’ is what Christ uses. Giving to someone other than Christ is therefore sin. Not giving to Christ is also sin. How then do I know who among the needy represents Christ? That is the game breaker question each of us is confronted with.

As I have said in the book ‘The Road to Sodom’, the real needs rarely if ever parade themselves. The really convincing are many times not actual needs. And I speak this from experience. Being involved with orphans, widows, refugees and persons with disabilities has given me interesting experiences. But it is worth noting that it was response to a need I thought was created that I got into this kind of ministry.

We must be able to clearly hear from God to distinguish between the needs we ought to meet from the needs that are not our responsibility. And this goes beyond whether the need is genuine or not. For His own reasons God sometimes will stop us from meeting needs that we think ought to be met. Clear guidance from heaven is the key to effective ministry among the needy.

You see it is impossible to do everything. I can’t feed the hungry, provide water to the thirsty, host the homeless, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prisons and at the same time take the Gospel to the ends of the world and disciple believers.

I must know my assignment and do it properly for me to expect a reward. Passion alone is not enough. Zeal alone is not enough. Commitment to a structure that does those things is not enough. It is what I do with the assignment God gives me that determines my success or failure, my getting to heaven or hell.

And this is where the false gospel becomes most dangerous. It seeks to transfer the responsibility to hear and respond to God to another, the pastor or any other superstar. He is the one to tell you what God wants to do with you. He is the one to tell you what God wants with your money and other resources. He makes you more attached to the structure (or preacher) than to God. Then it will be irrelevant what God wants or says. Then you will pick the envelope or pledge before getting to the prayer closet. In fact the closet will be discouraged. Even what is taught as prayer is really a structured way to make you feel as if you have prayed when you have not had any communion with God. You therefore feel so fulfilled in your spirit when God is never near those things you are doing.

This reminds me of the Pharisees and scribes. They were so set on obeying God and seeking His word that they failed to know when the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst them. They got lost in their traditions and spiritual structures that the head of that structure came and left without them knowing.

This is what we are in danger of when a preacher or teacher becomes my means to accessing revelation. And it is worse because we may discover too late to rectify. This is because it will cause more pain and regret than those ruthlessly wicked characters who established in their hearts long before that they were headed to hell as the world was enough enjoyment for them. Imagining all the enjoyments you denied yourself and sacrifices you made then you are treated like the one who wallowed in sin his whole life?

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (John 10:27)

Christ did not intend for us to listen to Him through proxies. And I am saying this as a minister, with more than enough of requests to help people hear God especially concerning ministry and vocation. My responsibility is not to hear for them but to guide them into accurately hearing that voice for themselves. Usurping God’s position will certainly get me more than enough in material support, but it gets me in the way of God’s revelation to His people.

And it the same with giving. Many preachers want to teach you how to give instead of connecting you to the source of all those blessings you enjoy. You see not only has God given you all that money (or material wealth) you have, He seeks to make you a partner in as far as the use of those resources are concerned.

God is not only interested in the tithe. Everything you have is His and He is entitled to determining how you use it. Like I mentioned in my post on giving, teaching tithing is many times teaching rebellion as we are telling people that God is only concerned about the tithe and so I can do anything I want with the 90%. I will therefore be feeling very fine even as I abuse what remains after tithing.

It is essential that God directs my use of every single coin I have, whether I have earned or received as a gift. And there is no shortcut.

Why is the false gospel so attractive? You may be asking. The false gospel is cheap and inoffensive. It ties very closely with what flesh wants. It does not harass mammon, the god of this age. The false gospel is for the most comfortable. It is only the end of time that will show how costly it is.

A false gospel does not confront sin, at least not radically. Provided one does the right things, gives the right offerings, they may as well enjoy the kingdom. But sadly to speak it is not God’s Kingdom.

The Gospel is costly. Knowing God’s will is costly. Doing it is worse. And that is what is required by the Gospel.

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

Knowing God’s will require all I have.

It is all too easy to soothe our consciences by having a conspiracy between me and a ‘man of God’ to avoid the sacrifices required by a vibrant relationship with God. Then I will feel alright because I have done all the right things as prescribed by the said man. I may even exceed them to be safer. And this I can easily do by extending a very generous hand so that I am constantly in his prayers. This is far much cheaper than asking to know what God would have me do as He might tell me what He told the rich young ruler or even ‘worse’.

David is one person who was solid in his pursuit of God. Though there is no evidence that he had a personal encounter with God, relying for most on prophets and scriptures, he rarely did anything without asking God for direction. Again he never ascribed much to his effort even when he was most successful. Two things he was described by; that he fought the Lord’s battles and that he was a man after God’s heart. And this incident brings that out clearly.

In 1 Samuel 30 they come and find that their town has been razed and everything and everybody they owned stolen by the Amalekites. They weep until they have no more tears to shed. In that discouragement they turn their blame on David and want to stone him. But David finds his strength in God. Then, instead of coming up with an action plan as the boss he calls the priest and asks the obvious (to us). Should we go? Will we overcome? All this in the midst of the stoning threat! God asks him to go ahead and assures him of victory. Only then does he call his army to arms.

Along the way some men become too exhausted to go on and are left with the stores. Of course like God had said they were able to find complete victory and rescue everything. But as they went back they came across the ones who became too tired to continue. As is usual the army decides that the tired ones will be given none of the spoils because they did not fight. And this is where David stands out.

Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike. (1Samuel 30: 23, 24)

To David God was the victor in that battle. All the rest were just recipients of that victory.

And that is why we see him setting apart most of the spoil from his victories for building God’s temple. It was not debatable that it all belonged to God.

This is completely different with how his predecessor viewed his victories as we see him even deciding what to do with the spoil even after God had given a clear order on the same. That he could listen to the army and act contrary to God’s clear order gives us that distinction. Again Saul personalized the spoils he got whereas David dedicated them to God. It therefore dies not come as a surprise to us why he was rejected or worse still received no communication from God when he desperately needed it that he had to resort to a witch. Though David sinned grossly, we do not fail to see him pursuing God’s will to the end of his life.

But David also makes it possible for us to see the place of servants of God. God sent prophets to him severally, but it is clear that he never sought God by proxy. He did not send priests or prophets to pray for him. They came to him directly from God as he had done the duty of seeking God’s face in private. We see him consulting them for the monumental decisions; should I go to war and how, should I build the temple etc. For the most part he used the scriptures to guide him. Psalms 19 and 119 give us a brief of how dependent he was on the scriptures for direction. Goliath did not require extra revelation as the scriptures were clear on his blasphemy. Even the incident I have mentioned about sharing spoils fell in that category.

But it is important to note that his was a pre-Calvary existence and Christ through His death, resurrection and ascension established a new covenant by sending the Holy Spirit to His church. He therefore wants to have a closer and more accurate walk of faith from us because that is the reason He released the Holy Spirit to those who respond to Him. The only thing He has not done is diminish the place of scripture in our walk of faith. Though I will require revelation, it is important that for the most part the scriptures form the complete revelation from God. He will speak to specific situations through inspiration or His servants but those will be the exceptions. My walk of faith will require a commitment to know Him and His will by building my faith through immersing myself in His word to know His will. I will also need to develop my relationship with Him through developing a vibrant prayer life that should be guided by the scriptures themselves and not necessarily as arranged by experts on prayer. And finally I will do everything He shows me through those two. That is how David operated.

Does God want to speak to you? Will He speak to you? Where is the problem when you cannot hear Him speaking to you?

Will you establish in your heart that you will do whatever He tells you to do? This is because God does not speak just so that we hear. He speaks to those who will obey. And that is the reason we see Him remaining quiet when Saul is desperately seeking to hear from Him because Saul treated God’s voice  the way we treat what we hear from our media outlets. Obedience is the only attitude that will cause God to speak to us, and clearly so. There is a worse curse to want to hear from God if the hearing will not result in obedience than just doing things our way without bothering to know what God says.

For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it. And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you. Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn. (Jeremiah 42: 20 – 22)

This does not mean that there is any safety in not seeking to know God’s will just like the law says that ignorance is not defense. Just that hearing and not obeying is adding open rebellion to our ignorance. We openly rebel against God as those captives we see in Jeremiah 42.

I will give an incident in David’s life to show us why proxy is not a very safe way to access revelation.

That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee. And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? (2Samuel 7: 2 – 5)

It is possible for even the holiest amongst us to speak from our experience instead of revelation. It is possible for prophets to assume they have heard what they have imagined.

Our only safeguard is scripture and a close relationship with Christ where I have enthroned Him in my heart and am sold out to His agenda.

The last danger of the false gospel that I point out is the transfer of the responsibility of dealing with God to a proxy. And that is what makes it a false gospel for some. Someone might be preaching sound doctrine yet fall into that category because he makes his congregation dependent on his messages or messages delivered his way. He behaves (or his people believe) that they can only access God’s message through him. Only he can present God’s message in such an understandable way.

Having preached in various settings from crusades to seminars for close to thirty years; and having written several books and booklets as well as having over a hundred blog posts and probably more messages through the cell phone, I can tell you that the greatest satisfaction and fulfillment is the confession of someone who has been touched, even transformed by a message I have shared. It is even more gratifying when the person confesses that the message was God’s clear answer or voice in their situation. It enables me to know that the effort I expended in listening to God for the message was worth it. But it also challenges me to listen even better when God gives me a message.

The problem will occur when I become a consultant of God’s voice. That I am the person who can accurately hear God’s voice so there is no need for others to seek to hear it since I can hear it much more easily. They therefore transfer their responsibility to listen to God. And they are willing to pay us a premium to handle that responsibility for them.

I will therefore become a partner in their irresponsibility. It becomes even worse for me because I will start enjoying all that appreciation.

As a result it becomes very attractive for me to manipulate those who have willingly submitted to your spiritual sensitivity. You will then discover that they are already manipulated from the time they transferred their responsibility to grow and know God to you. They will then become more loyal to you than they are to God and His word. It really never matters whether you are a fraudster or whoremonger as long as you continue handling that responsibility of hearing from God. Interestingly they do not ask themselves which God you are hearing from if your life is contrary to His word probably because they have assumed that your anointing is beyond God’s word.

What is God’s remedy?

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; (Ephesians 4: 11 – 14)

A minister is to prepare God’s people to connect to, grow in and serve God. Our role as ministers is not to hear for people but to train them to hear clearly from God so that they can properly represent Him to the world.

If you are that kind of pastor I really thank God for you. If your sermons are meant to make people uncomfortable in their spiritual inertia, you are serving God properly.

But if people fail to come to church when you are not preaching, you might be thinking that you are successful because you are so desirable, but the truth is that though you might be preaching the soundest of doctrines you really are a gospel fraudster since you have diverted their attention from Christ to you and your presentations.

If you are a Christian that must hear so and so to really understand what God has for you, shame on you as you really are living in denial. Christ called you to have a walk with Him, and not through proxy. If you Bible is opened where your ‘prophet’ directs you, I really pity you because chances are that those are not the places God wants you to read. It is only that you are a captive to a man, (I need to add that though I use man, very many of these fraudsters are women)

Why did God give the Bible to us?

Will you read yours?

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (John 17: 17)

We can’t be sanctified by the word we do not value enough to spend time with.