Another lie of the prosperity teachers is in relation to "giving." They all say, "Now it is wrong to give just to get BUT if you give, you WILL GET!" This reasoning is worthy of the famous line the Indians used in the western movies: "You speak with forked tongue, white man."
Listen, if we have any thought or anticipation whatsoever about receiving anything when we give, then we are giving to get. Jesus said, "...lend, hoping [thinking] for nothing again" (Luke 6:35).
Luke 6:20 49 contains some of the most important teachings of Christ. In the area of giving Jesus says that giving to our friends, church, or family is not Christian giving because even "sinners also do the same" (vs. 33). Giving to these is normal to even carnal men, and is expected of a Christian. A Christian deserves no reward, recompense, or pat on the back, for giving to friends, family or church (Luke 6:32, 17: 8 10). Christian giving is giving to the poor, our enemies, those who hate us, use us, strike us, steal from us and beg mercy from us (Luke 6: 27 32; Matt. 25:41 46).
Now Jesus does state in verse 38, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom, For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." But in light of the context of the entire passage we realize that the giving Jesus is talking about is to the unlovely, poor, and sinful, not our friends, family or church. We also realize that this scripture clearly says that men (the enemies we have helped) will be the ones giving something to us for the things we have done for them. And this something will go into our BOSOM (HEART), NOT OUR WALLET!
The key to what will be given back to us "good measure and running over" is found in the preceding two verses. "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: GIVE, [mercy, love, and forgiveness to your enemies] and IT [the same mercy and love] ...shall men give INTO YOUR BOSOM [HEART]" (Luke 6:36 38).
These charlatans who are trying to turn the giving love of our Jesus into a give to get materialistic gospel deserve to reap exactly what they have sown. If they want to preach a gospel of physical, worldly prosperity, then give this world to them for they will never see the inside of the gates of heaven unless they repent! "But woe unto you that ARE rich! for ye have received your consolation" (Luke 6:24).
God has His whosoever, and Satan has his whosoever. God has His domain and things; Satan has his domain and things. The "things" you are pursuing in your life are the testimony as whether you are plugged in God's grace and influence or Satan's gospel of self. It's that simple.
The things you and I pursue testify to which WHOSOEVER we are! "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin [the I want] unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" (Rom. 6:16). "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing [Luke 6:36 37]: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Gal. 6:7 9).
Let's talk about reaping since the prosperity gurus talk about it so much. Satan continually inspires these false teachers to play upon the word "things" in passages like "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you: (Matt 6:33), and "What things soever ye desire" (Mark 11:24).
A simple, shallow study of Matthew 6:31 34 definitively shows that the phrase "all these things" mentioned three times in that passage refers ONLY to food, drink, and clothes the necessities of life! This is a far cry from the riches of this world many try to put into this scripture.
One more thing. I can not leave Matthew 6:24 34 without telling the real point Christ is trying to make. We have heard the phrase "all these things shall be added unto you" so many times it seems to be all we can see in this passage.
The passage is predicated by verses 19 23 which talk about how careful we must be about what we perceive as light or truth. Jesus is telling us one of the greatest principles He ever taught.
The understanding of these verses is found in the word SEEK in verse 32. "For after all these thing do the Gentiles seek [strive for]." When we read verses 24 34 as a whole, we see that Christ is CRITICIZING THE SEEKING of earthly things, even things so simple as food, drink, and clothes! This is awesome scripture! Jesus uses the word "Gentiles" meaning the unsaved and states that they SEEK earthly things. By implication, Christ is saying that those who STRIVE FOR earthly things are UNSAVED!
Then He tells the children of the Father, "But seek YE first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness." Now, the word "first" can be somewhat misleading here as one might assume there is a second and third thing we should "seek," but the use of the word "first" here means O N L Y or solitarily!
This is demonstrated to be true by verse 24 which is where the whole thing begins. "No man can serve two masters...Ye cannot serve [seek] God and mammon." The things of this world can not be striven for AT ALL, not even the simplest things to sustain physical life as food, drink, and clothes! "Therefore I say unto you, TAKE NO THOUGHT [don't be anxious] for your LIFE, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on" (vs. 25).
Jesus tells us this because true life is not physical. It's spiritual. As we stated earlier, according to Luke 12:15 Christ came to give us abundant life which is eternal life, not carnal, physical prosperity! Earthly prosperity kills reliance upon God (Matt. 19:23 24; Pr. 30:8 9). "Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" (vs. 25).
We have so often taken this passage only as a promise that God will supply our physical need (and He will) that we've missed the main point. It is not so much a promise but an exhortation to die to SELF and physical things and SEEK those things that accompany salvation (Heb. 6:9; Col. 3:2).
Some interpret this passage to mean that God is promising to meet our physical greeds which is blasphemous! Others say God is promising to meet our physical needs, not our greeds which is true. But even this is not the real message.
Let me illustrate. In Luke 10 Jesus comes to the house of Mary and Martha. Mary spends all her time worshiping and fellowshipping with Jesus, but Martha is off being careful and troubled about the meal of the day. Martha complains to Jesus how Mary is not helping out, but Jesus tells Martha that SHE is the one in the wrong because only "ONE THING IS NEEDFUL: and Mary hath chosen that" (vs. 42). The one and only needful thing Mary had sought was fellowship with Jesus. And she chose it over lunch, food simple, physical, life sustaining food. She was obeying Matthew 6:25.
You see, Jesus does promise to meet all our needs, not our greeds; but what is our truest need? Is it a better home? Is it a job, food, clothes, marriage, friends? Or is it an intimate relationship with Jesus?
Our physical bodies do need care, and God has promised to give it so don't worry about those needs. But in light of eternity the spiritual need for a saving relationship with Jesus far outweighs any earthly need and God will supply this need, also. "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:19).
If I were to supply your need by my riches, I'd do it according to my bank account. That is the "natural" way of thinking. When prosperity teachers refer to this verse in Philippians, they also think naturally and try to make it sound like this: "God will pay your bills and give you so much money to get the things you want because you're a King's kid. Just believe and you will receive."
But this is apostate teaching.
Philippians 4:19 says God will supply our need by Jesus. In other words, just as I would carnally count my physical wealth by my bank account, God tells us His riches is JESUS. By giving us Jesus (who is eternal life) we become spiritually and truly rich! To have Christ living within us placing us in fellowship with God is the ultimate need of every human being! Like Mary, we need to choose the one and only needful thing, JESUS. When we do that, we "are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power" (Col. 2:10).
The promise of Matthew 6:24 34 is the promise of fellowship with God through total trust, love, and solitary SEEKING of God. The words "all these things shall be added unto you" are not promising material betterment. That phrase is simply saying we should trust in God and He'll take care of the rest famine or feast, fiery furnace or lions' den, in prison or free, clothed or naked.
The physical things of life the Gentiles (sinners) seek after are irrelevant in light of eternity, and if we begin to seek the physical, we will be guilty of trying to save our own lives. "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:34 37). This verse is not talking about martyrdom but SELF DENIAL OF THE PHYSICAL COMFORTS AND AMBITIONS OF THIS LIFE!
My friend, the carnal man lusts after the things of this life. Many so called faith ministries today are appealing to sinners telling them they can have their carnal DESIRES by making friends with God. This is such a damnable, Satanic con job that it should make every true believer down right mad!
The prosperity teachings are like this. A man wants to get on the freeway to prosperity but can't because he is only on a side street. Someone comes up to him and says, "Listen, to get on the freeway to prosperity you need to find the on ramp, which is God. Just seek or look for the on ramp of God first, and you'll then get where you really want to be on the freeway of prosperity. But remember, it's wrong to give to get there but if you give, boy, will you ever get there."
Can you see the sin in this? The seeking of things directly or indirectly is SIN. Only a demonically warped mind would try to turn Matthew 6:33 into the ticket to prosperity. Talk about a thief and a robber coming in the back door God, have mercy!
Seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness is the on ramp to eternity and the OFF RAMP FROM THE LUSTS OF THIS WORLD. We seek it not to get the things the sinners are seeking after but to have peace with God, and that supremely and only. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (Mat. 6:34).
Are those who teach prosperity faith teachers or charlatans? Scripture calls them "...men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content" (I Tim. 6:5 8). See also Phil. 4:11 13.
Contentment is perhaps the greatest feeling we can have. Ultimate contentment comes only through the close child parent relationship we are to have with Jesus Christ. One of the most assuring scriptures in the Bible is Hebrews 13:5 6, "And be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." When we have that relationship with our heavenly Father, we truly have all we need, all we could want, and are perfectly content.
There are two groups who are not content. First, there are those who are not saved and do not have a relationship with God through His indwelling person and power grace. Second, there are those who are saved but are frustrating the grace within through concern or over involvement with this life. Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God" (Gal. 2:20 21).
How often have we stated this principle in this book, yet here it is again. It's through death to self that we receive more grace from God. Will we have faith in God or faith in self? We can not serve both. And if we try to serve both, we will be very discontent.
When we try to have true and false faith together, believing in God yet still trying to control things and circumstances ourselves, we only frustrate or short circuit the flow of God's grace which is our source of contentment.
Let me ask a personal question. If you have a lack of contentment is it because you are unsaved? Or because, as a Christian, you are operating by the world's materialistic system part of the time and Christ's free love and grace the rest of the time? Let go and let God take FULL control of every situation, for regardless of the physical situation the joy of the Lord will be your strength (Neh. 8:10). That joy only comes in its fullest through a contented surrender to the will of God in one's life.