Is the Prosperity Gospel Really “You’re Best Life Now”?
Posted : 22 Feb, 2020 02:06 PM
**HELPING THE POOIR INSTEAD OF HELPING YOURSELF IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL**
Matthew 25:31-36 below strongly implies that every **BORN FROM ABOVE**, **CALLED * and **CHOSEN** saint will be helpers of the poor and needy!!
Matthew 25:31-36; 41-43: Jesus says: When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all His angels with Him, He will sit on his **GLORIOUS THRONE**. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on the right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.{The **NEW JERUSALEM** with its **NEW HEAVEN and **NEW EARTH**} For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. II needed clothes and you clothed me, I was in prison and you came to visit me'"!... "Then He will say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me!'"
James 2:14-17,24: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If someone says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is **DEAD**. You see that a person is considered rigtheous by what they do and not by faith alone! James 1:27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world!
Matthew 19:21: Jesus says, "if you want too be perfect, go sell your possessions and **GIVE TO THE POOR** and you will have **TREASURE IN HEAVEN**. Then come, follow Me!"
Acts 4:32: All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but **THEY SHARED **EVERYTHING** THEY HAD**!!
Acts 2:44,45: All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to everyone who had need!
2 Corinthians 9:6-9: Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for **GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER**. And God is able to **BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY**... As it is written, "They have **FREELY SCATTERED THEIR GIFTS TO THE POOR**; their righteousness **ENDURES FOREVER**!
Luke 12:33: Jesus says, "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a **TREASURE IN HEAVEN**that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For **WHERE YOUR TREAURE IS**, there **YOUR HEART WILL BE ALSO**!"
Ephesians 4:28: Work, doing something useful with your hands, so that you have **SOMETHING TO SHARE** with those in need! {**TO EARN ETERNAL HEAVENLY REWARDS AND NOT TO BECCOME PROSPEROUS**!!}
Luke 3:11: Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same!
**SHOULD GOD'S SAINTS ALSO GIVE TO THEIR POOR ENEMIES**??
Luke 6:29,30,35,36: Jesus says, "If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to anyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back... Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting anything back. Then your **REWARD WILL BE GREAT**, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful. just as your Father is merciful!"
Romans 12:20,21: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink... Do not be overcome by evil, but **OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD**!
Luke 14:33,34: Jesus says, "When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be **BLESSED**! Although they cannot repay you, you will be **REPAID AT THE RESURRECTION** of the righteous!"
Romans 12:13: Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Matthew 6:1-4; Jesus says, "When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets, to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will **REWARD** you!"
**WHY DID THE LORD PICK CORNELIUS AS THE FIRST GENTILE TO BE SAVED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT**?
Acts 10:3,4: Cornelius saw an angel of God, who came to him and said. "Cornelius!" Cornelius stared at him with fear. "What is it Lord," he asked. The angel answered , "Your prayers and **GIFTS TO THE POOR** have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter!"
And so those who do not help the poor and who give 10 percent of their money to a church which has nothing in their budget for the poor are in **BIG TROUBLE** and were never **CALLED** **CHOSEN** and **FAITHFUL** followers of Jesus and the commands of the New Testament!
**ARE WE COMMANDED BY JESUS TO PREACH AND TO TEACH THE POOR**??
Luke 4:18: Jesus says, "The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, Because he has anointed Me **TO PROCLAIM GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR**!"
Luke 6:20: Jesus says, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God!"
James 2:5: Listen: My dear brothers: **HAS NOT GOD CHOSEN THOSE WHO ARE POOR** in the eyes of the world **TO BE RICH IN FAITH AND TO INHERIT THE KINGDOM** He promised to those who love Him?
Is the Prosperity Gospel Really “You’re Best Life Now”?
Posted : 24 Feb, 2020 10:32 PM
**HELPING THE POOIR INSTEAD OF HELPING YOURSELF IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE"
You have to be in a position where you can help others, otherwise if you're so poor you can't help anybody, that's not good. So, everybody needs to help themselves too. The book of Proverbs says "Get wisdom." What is Wisdom? It is the "knowledge of the Holy one." That's from Proverbs. A wise person loves himself. That's in Proverbs too. Wisdom profits you. You are the sole beneficiary. So, you got to have some degree of self love if you want to be wise, if you want to go to heaven, or if you want to help others. If you can't love yourself, you can't love others.
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7
^ That's written in red letters by the way. And Jesus didn't put an asterisk there. There's no small print that says, "You can ask anything except such and such." So, don't call it "Prosperity Gospel." Just call it Gospel. And if you want prosperity, ask for it and God will give it. Everyone who asks receives. That's in the Bible too.
Is the Prosperity Gospel Really “You’re Best Life Now”?
Posted : 25 Feb, 2020 05:15 AM
**IS THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL SATANIC? *ARE THERE MANY **ETERNAL HEAVENLY REWARDS** FOR FAITHFUL AND LOVING SERVICE!**?
Prosperity theology sometimes referred to as the **PROSPERITY GOSPEL**, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, or seed faith, is a religious belief among some, who hold that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one's **MATERIAL WEALTH*.. Prosperity theology teaches that if humans have good faith in God, He will always deliver security and **PROSPERITY**.
**BUT WHAT DOES GOD'S WORD SAY**??
Acts 4:32: All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but **THEY SHARED **EVERYTHING** THEY HAD**!!
Acts 2:44,45: All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to everyone who had need!
I Corinthians 10:31-33: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the **GLORY OF GOD**. Do not cause anyone to stumble, even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not **SEEKING** my own good {Like the PROSPERITY GOSPEL}but the good of others!
Luke 18:20-25: Jesus said to the rich man, "You still lack one thing. Sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have **TREASURE IN HEAVEN**. Then come, **FOLLOW ME**. When he heard this he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle then for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God!"
NOTE: In addition to eternal life Jesus also promised the rich man eternal **ETERNAL TREASURES IN HEAVEN**
**JESUS PROMISES **ETERNAL REWARDS** OR **TREASURES IN HEAVEN**, NOT EARTHLY REWARDS, FOR HELPING OR SHARING WITH THE POOR AND NEEDY** AND ALL OTHER GOOD DEEDS!!
Matthew 6:1-4; 19-21: Jesus says, "When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets, to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will **REWARD** you!"... "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves **TREASURES IN HEAVEN**, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your **TREASURE** is, there your **HEART** will be also!"
I Timothy 6:5-10 There are people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to **FINANCIAL GAIN**. {Like the Prosperity Gospel of Joel Osteen} But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing in the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, **WE WILL BE CONTENT WITH THAT**. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the **LOVE OF MONEY** is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs!
I John 2:15-17: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world. love for the Father **IS NOT IN THEM**. For everything in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever!
James 2:5-7: Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be **RICH IN FAITH** and to inherit the kingdom He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you! Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are the not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of Him to whom you belong?
James 5:1-5: Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the Last Days. Look!! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you!
I Timothy 2:9,10: I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with excessive braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God!
Hebrews 13:5: Keep your lives free from the love of money and **BE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE**, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you!"
Matthew 6:31-34: Jesus says, "Do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans {And the *PROSPERITY GOSPEL*} run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But **SEEK** first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own!"
Luke 16:13: Jesus says, "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money!"
2 Corinthians 6:10: We are poor, yet making many rich; having nothing and yet **POSSESSING EVERYTHING**!
2 Timothy 3:1,2,5: But mark this. There will be terrible tines in the last days. People will lovers of themselves, **LOVERS OF MONEY**.... lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people!
I Timothy 6:17-19: Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be **GENEROUS AND WILLING TO SHARE**. In this way they will lay up **TREASURE** for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, do that they may take hold of life that is truly life!
Luke 14:33,34: Jesus says, "When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be **BLESSED**! Although they cannot repay you, you will be **REPAID AT THE RESURRECTION** of the righteous!"
Romans 12:13: Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Ephesians 4:28: Work, doing something useful with your hands, so that you have **SOMETHING TO SHARE** with those in need! {**TO EARN ETERNAL HEAVENLY REWARDS AND NOT TO BECCOME PROSPEROUS**!!}
Luke 3:11: Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same!
Luke 6:29,30,35,36: Jesus says, "If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to anyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back... Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting anything back. Then your **REWARD WILL BE GREAT**, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful. just as your Father is merciful!"
Romans 12:20,21: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink... Do not be overcome by evil, but **OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD**!
Revelation 22:12 Jesus says, “Behold I am coming soon! My **REWARD** is **WITH ME**, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done!”
Matthew 16:27: Jesus says, “The Son of Man is going to come in His Father's glory with His angels and **THEN** He will **REWARD** each person according to what he has done!”
Luke 11:33,34: Jesus says, "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a **TREASURE** IN HEAVEN** {Not Treasures on Earth} that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your **TREASURE** is, there your **HEART** will be also!"
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Hebrews 11:1,6: Now faith is being sure of what we **HOPE FOR**, and certain of what we **DO NOT SEE**.... And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He **REWARDS** those who earnestly seek Him!
Daniel 12:2,3: Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise and impart wisdom will shine like the brightness of the heavens and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for **EVER AND EVER**!
It is interesting to note that there are over 30 verses in God's word for helping the poor and only 2 verses for helping pastors and teachers and zero verses for paying for church buildings for the early churches were all in peoples houses!
Philemon 1:1,2: To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker... and to the **CHURCH** that meets in your **HOME**!
Colossians 4:15: Give my greetings Nympha and the **CHURCH** in her **HOUSE**!
Romans 16:3,5: Greet Priscilla and Aquila... Greet also the **CHURCH** that meets at their **HOUSE**!
I Corinthians 16:19 Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord and so does the **CHURCH** that meets at their **HOUSE**!
Acts 20:20: Paul said, You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and **FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE**!"
Acts 5:42: Day after day,{**EVERY DAY**} from **HOUSE TO HOUSE**, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah!
Matthew 5:31-36; 41-3: Jesus says: When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all His angels with Him, He will sit on his **GLORIOUS THRONE**. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on the right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.{The **NEW JERUSALEM** with its **NEW HEAVEN and **NEW EARTH**} For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. II needed clothes and you clothed me, I was in prison and you came to visit me'"!... "Then He will say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me!'"
And so those who do not help the poor and who give 10 percent of their money to a church which has nothing in their budget for the poor are in **BIG TROUBLE** and were never **CALLED** **CHOSEN** and **FAITHFUL** followers of Jesus and the commands of the New Testament!!
Is the Prosperity Gospel Really “You’re Best Life Now”?
Posted : 25 Feb, 2020 06:30 PM
Silver, I agree with some things you’re saying. It is true God gives some people a greater ability to create wealth. But sometimes the responsibility to use wealth properly doesn’t always come along with the ability to create it.
Read Paul’s instructions below
1Tim 6:17Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy. 18Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share, 19treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
There’s nothing wrong with wealth. Some OT&NT Saints have been wealthy. Wealth is a gift from God to be used for his glory and helping the poor brings glory to God. No one is saying everyone has to be poor.
But I think you’re confusing the Prosperity Gospel with the Gospel of Christ. That’s quite evident from the following verses you’ve quoted out context. For example, you quote: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7 If you had conducted a complete Bible study you might have gone on to read the cross references in Luke 11:13So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Jesus it’s clearly not preaching the Benny Hinn or Oral Roberts prosperity gospel.
Then you say, quote:
“That's written in red letters by the way. And Jesus didn't put an asterisk there. There's no small print that says, "You can ask anything except such and such." So, don't call it "Prosperity Gospel." Just call it Gospel. And if you want prosperity, ask for it and God will give it. Everyone who asks receives. That's in the Bible too.”
End quote
Silver, surely you’ve been on this site long enough to check the context of a given verse. Jesus is not saying to ask for just anything. If this is so, then why does Jesus pray, “...not my will but yours (the Father) be done...”? Further, Paul’s prayer request to have a “thorn in the flesh” removed wasn’t granted. In fact, Jesus came to Paul directly and denied Paul’s request!
And once again you confuse the Gospel of Jesus with the heretical prosperity gospel. They’re not the same!
I noticed you’ve also introduced the modern psychological misconception of the theory of “self-love” into the contexts of a verse or two you’ve quoted. The Bible never teaches these theories in the same manner that they are presented in secular psychology texts.
Is the Prosperity Gospel Really “You’re Best Life Now”?
Posted : 27 Feb, 2020 07:00 PM
**HELPING THE POOIR INSTEAD OF HELPING YOURSELF IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL**
Matthew 25:31-36 below strongly implies that every **BORN FROM ABOVE**, **CALLED * and **CHOSEN** saint will be helpers of the poor and needy!!
Matthew 25:31-36; 41-43: Jesus says: When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all His angels with Him, He will sit on his **GLORIOUS THRONE**. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on the right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.{The **NEW JERUSALEM** with its **NEW HEAVEN and **NEW EARTH**} For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. II needed clothes and you clothed me, I was in prison and you came to visit me'"!... "Then He will say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me!'"
James 2:14-17,24: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If someone says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is **DEAD**. You see that a person is considered rigtheous by what they do and not by faith alone! James 1:27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world!
Matthew 19:21: Jesus says, "if you want too be perfect, go sell your possessions and **GIVE TO THE POOR** and you will have **TREASURE IN HEAVEN**. Then come, follow Me!"
Acts 4:32: All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but **THEY SHARED **EVERYTHING** THEY HAD**!!
Acts 2:44,45: All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to everyone who had need!
2 Corinthians 9:6-9: Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for **GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER**. And God is able to **BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY**... As it is written, "They have **FREELY SCATTERED THEIR GIFTS TO THE POOR**; their righteousness **ENDURES FOREVER**!
Luke 12:33: Jesus says, "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a **TREASURE IN HEAVEN**that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For **WHERE YOUR TREAURE IS**, there **YOUR HEART WILL BE ALSO**!"
Ephesians 4:28: Work, doing something useful with your hands, so that you have **SOMETHING TO SHARE** with those in need! {**TO EARN ETERNAL HEAVENLY REWARDS AND NOT TO BECCOME PROSPEROUS**!!} Luke 3:11: Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same!
**SHOULD GOD'S SAINTS ALSO GIVE TO THEIR POOR ENEMIES**??
Luke 6:29,30,35,36: Jesus says, "If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to anyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back... Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting anything back. Then your **REWARD WILL BE GREAT**, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful. just as your Father is merciful!"
Romans 12:20,21: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink... Do not be overcome by evil, but **OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD**!
Luke 14:33,34: Jesus says, "When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be **BLESSED**! Although they cannot repay you, you will be **REPAID AT THE RESURRECTION** of the righteous!"
Romans 12:13: Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Matthew 6:1-4; Jesus says, "When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets, to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will **REWARD** you!"
**WHY DID THE LORD PICK CORNELIUS AS THE FIRST GENTILE TO BE SAVED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT**?
Acts 10:3,4: Cornelius saw an angel of God, who came to him and said. "Cornelius!" Cornelius stared at him with fear. "What is it Lord," he asked. The angel answered , "Your prayers and **GIFTS TO THE POOR** have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter!"
And so those who do not help the poor and who give 10 percent of their money to a church which has nothing in their budget for the poor are in **BIG TROUBLE** and were never **CALLED** **CHOSEN** and **FAITHFUL** followers of Jesus and the commands of the New Testament!
**ARE WE COMMANDED BY JESUS TO PREACH AND TO TEACH THE POOR**??
Luke 4:18: Jesus says, "The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, Because he has anointed Me **TO PROCLAIM GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR**!"
Luke 6:20: Jesus says, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God!"
James 2:5: Listen: My dear brothers: **HAS NOT GOD CHOSEN THOSE WHO ARE POOR** in the eyes of the world **TO BE RICH IN FAITH AND TO INHERIT THE KINGDOM** He promised to those who love Him?
