The BLESSING is for us as believers!!!!

The Following is a conversation between myself and the person who posted the previous video, I have changed names because I do not want to cause strife, I simply want to present the ideas that have bound so many Christians.

aDaughterOfYaHWeH: "i don’t want to step on anyone's toes... but John Piper isnt right about the prosperity gospel... i mean there are some people that are on the extreme end of things but he is wrong about what those people preach he has misinterpreted it... there is no such things as "the prosperity gospel" it is the word of God that’s what i follow... God's word is FULL of blessings, promises, health, wealth (doesn't just mean money), Joy, etc ... not Destruction, grief, and pain... Jesus said that "the Thief comes to Kill, Steal, and Destroy, but i have come that you might have LIFE and have it more abundantly." I put things in my life into 4 categories - Kill, Steal, Destroy, and Life... the loss of a loved one is not in the latter column it falls under the responsibilities of the thief... and Job, the person people love to use as an extreme example of "suffering for God" got not just what he had before back but got more than DOUBLE what he had before the thief stole from him back ... God blessed him abundantly...
Anyway... sorry Alicia it just bugs me when people make out the people that teach the Word of God to be the spawn of satan... the church is just so blinded today... and just wanted to let you know, dont believe everything people tell you about the "health, wealth, etc" group... my dad is a preacher and i can tell you he is not the spawn of satan he preaches the Word of God and these preachers are not what people try to make them out to be... dont listen to everything you hear... im one of those "health, wealth, prosperity" people.... but i dont call myself that... im a WORD person.... it just makes me cry how people have been so deceived about this and told that it is from satan.... is following the word of God of satan? ... "


Friend: "First off thanks for the message! I understand your feelings about it. I'm guessing you saw the video I put on my friend's wall last night? We started talking about Joel Osteen and I opened up about not agreeing with the gospel he preaches down in Texas. I feel like I've been saturated for years with Joel's smile and promise for success as a Christian. We talked about how Joel deliberately preaches the good news of Christ centered on blessings or prosperity. Is being blessed what the Gospel is all about? I'm not saying (and I don't believe John Piper is saying this either) that God does not bless those who come to Him, whether in this life or eternally. But it's the fact that he and other pastors I've listened to focus on this and not much else when making a case for Christ. I've heard them say, come to Christ today and you won't have problems anymore, you'll be victorious in all you attempt, you won't have sickness, God will make you successful in life, and so many other things. That is what bugs me.

And You're right in saying that God's Word promises eternal joy (not the same as happiness) to those who are obedient to Him, and over and over He says that His followers will be blessed. But blessed according to the way we desire to be blessed? The Bible says we are faint of heart, not naturally good and that we're not naturally selfless but rather self-absorbed - all a part of our sin nature. John Piper believes that by "blessings" God does not mean the things we desire for ourselves but rather what He wants to give us so that in turn we might use those blessings to give Him glory. Things that He has perfectly ordained, not stuff that He throws at us because we've been faithful in our actions. I do not believe in any way that by opening my life to Christ last summer I was doing so because I thought God would make me successful or that He would bless me by taking my problems and pain away. I did it because He is Truth and how could I refuse that? This is what I feel John Piper is getting at. What he is against is the teaching that authentic religious belief and behavior in a person will result in material prosperity. He feels that too many are teaching materialism disguised as theology. I feel the same way. I believe that too many are sending out a false message that coming to Christ will bring you material blessings. Then what happens to the least of these (Matt. 5:40) or the "poorest of the poor" Piper mentions in his message? What they are hearing is a gospel preaching that they will no longer be in their distressed position if they just become Christian. THAT is what John Piper is against. Not that blessings don't come to us, but that blessings have no bearing on our moment of salvation nor should that be the bribe for us to become Christian. I feel that people who consistently preach that blessings are the point of salvation are not speaking God's Word, and that's what John Piper is getting at.

Take a look at David's psalms. He went through severe depression and yet, Paul describes him as a man after God's own heart in the book of Acts. The prosperity gospel teaches that if David placed his faith in Christ, he shouldn't be depressed. Were his blessings a measure of how pleased God was with him? He was cherished by God and yet God allowed Him to be as sad as he was - just look at the laments in his psalms! But was God glorified through David? Yes, time and time again. I feel like the prosperity gospel preached by Joel Osteen says that God does not want me to be sick, or to struggle or to have burdens. He says a Christian who has lots of faith will not have to endure these things. That is a huge reason the prosperity gospel is a turn off to me and why I agree with most of what Piper has to say on the issue. Because, obviously, I trust that Christ is sovereign and that He has a perfect plan for my life, and yet do I still deal with sickness, mental and physical? Do I still have struggles and problems? Of course I do!

So there is my issue with the prosperity gospel I am against and what Piper is talking about. Not saying that there aren't blessings to be had, but I feel like we have to be careful in how we attribute those blessings to say, our salvation. It's the materialism I feel like so many evangelists are obsessed about that really bugs me.

Phew... so I know that was a lot but I don't want you to think that I think you or your dad are the spawn of Satan, or that anyone who teaches that God gives freely to those who ask according to His good will are blasphemers and not reflecting God's Word. Definitely not true. The issue is where those blessings take effect, and point blank they should not be the reason we follow Christ nor should we not be satisfied until we are abundantly blessed. I really really hope I was able to explain myself a little better than John Piper's video conveyed - I would love to talk to you more about this if you want."



aDaughterOfYaHWeH: "... I don’t know who you’ve been listening to but I know the ministers I listen to (my dad, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Hagin, John Osteen, etc) don’t make promises that life will just be a utopia if you come to Christ, no when you come into the Kingdom you will still have to face the circumstances of the world and when you are serving God is when the storms come, not because God is trying you, but because Satan is trying to get you to quit and give up. (1 Cor. 4:12, 2 Cor. 4, 2, Timothy 3:12). Satan doesn’t want you to be out there with the knowledge of who you are in Christ and the authority that you have through Christ. (2 Cor. 2:14, Luke 10:17-20, Ephesians 6:10, Hebrews 2:14, 1 John 4:4, Acts 1:8, 1 John 5:4). He wants you to lie back and accept what he sends your way as just being from God; this is where the church has been so deceived. God is a GOOD God and he IS NOT a man that he should lie, he cannot go against His nature, if he did so he would be the same as the god of this world (Satan, 2 Corinthians 4:4), but I know He is not and I know what He has promised me in his word. (2 Cor. 1:20, John 8:2, Joshua 21:45, Galatians 3, 2 Peter 1:4, 2 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 8:17, Matt. 8:16-17, Job 36:11).Not only do I follow this because it’s what I was taught or “oh, that’s just your opinion” I follow it because it is God’s word and I have seen these promises in action! (Isaiah 1:19, Matt. 7:11) You may not believe that this is real and that ministers who promise health, wealth, etc are just giving people false hope, but if that is so then Bible is full of stories where people were given “false hope.” For example, in 1 Kings 17 the prophet Elijah is, by these arguments, giving a poor widow false hope in a time of famine. You may remember this Bible story; it is where the widow is about to cook the last meal for her and her son and then die, because it is all she has left – “So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” But she said, “I swear by the LORD your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again!” So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her son continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah.” (1 Kings 17:10-16) Even later in this passage we see the fruits of her faith and sacrifice when her son dies, he is raised from the dead!
Just because you haven’t seen these things doesn’t mean they aren’t real, just as I have not seen your brain doesn’t mean it’s not real, that is why it’s called faith. (Hebrews 11). True faith trusts God, remaining unmoved when the storms of life come and when the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy. (John 10:10). For example, remember the parable of the man who built his house upon the Rock? (Matt. 7:24-29). True faith knows that God is El Shaddai (Covenant name of God, literally translates meaning “the many breasted one”), the God who is more than enough, the God that meets all our needs! (Gen. 17:1, Gen. 28:3, Gen. 35:11, Gen 49:25, Exodus 6:2,3) Saying “God, whatever your will is let it be done..” doesn’t require faith if you are going to stand by and accept whatever comes your way as simply being God’s will, when it doesn’t even line up with the Word of God. How is that different than the world? The phrase “Que Sera, Sera” ring a bell? “Whatever will be, will be, the future is not ours to see…” that’s the world’s attitude; it shouldn’t be a Christian’s attitude towards life! But according to many unbiblical arguments by Christians that should be a “holy” Christian’s attitude. Now, when things come your way in the categories of death, destruction, etc you know that that is not of God and you have authority to stand firm and trust God that no matter what happens he WILL bring you out on top and Victorious! (1 Cor. 15:57). That is what the Bible teaches us and that is what these ministers teach, the Truth of God’s Word, not the religion that has just been accepted as truth.
As for David being a man after God’s own heart, yes he was. He dealt with depression? Yes, he did, however, God did not allow him to remain depressed, he was delivered from depression! (Psalms 40). That is what God desires, to deliver us from the burdens of life that weigh heavy on us. As for David being able to place his faith in Christ, well he couldn’t do that because Christ had not yet come into the world, we are under a new Covenant, we have the ability to pray in the name of JESUS, David didn’t have that opportunity so he couldn’t put his faith in Christ. (Jeremiah 31:31, 1 Cor. 11:25, 2 Cor. 3:6, Hebrews 8:8, Hebrews 8:13, Hebrews 9:15). Now, David wasn’t perfect, yes he was a man after God’s own heart, but he committed Adultery and Murder! The stories given to us in the Bible are given as examples, sometimes as warnings of what we should not allow ourselves to do. David’s life is a story of how bad decisions can cost you. David Chose to stay behind from the battle, which put him in the position to see Bathsheba bathing, he then Chose to fall into lust and Chose to sleep with her, and then Chose to cover up his infidelity by trying to get her husband to sleep with her so that people would think that She was bearing her husband’s child, when that failed he Chose to have her husband placed on the frontlines and killed. Because of all of these choices he was not allowed to build the temple. (2 Samuel 11). Did God do this to David? Was this God’s will or Divine plan for David? No, it wasn’t but David made the wrong decisions and it cost him the work of God. Now, David was a man after God’s own heart because David worshiped the Lord with all of his might he wrote psalms to the Lord and sang to the Lord. So, no the things David dealt with were not God’s will for David, they were a result of his choices and sins. (2 Samuel 12). As for us having a sin nature, that is the old man. The Bible says that we are a new creation, the old things have passed away and all things have become new (2 Cor. 5:17-21), so no I don’t have a “Sin Nature” that doesn’t line up with the Word. I gave up my “Sin Nature” when I asked Jesus into my heart, I was given a new nature, Christ was made sin so that I could be made the righteousness of God, the nature of Christ now resides on the inside of me!(2 Cor. 5:21, Galatians 2:20, Galatians 5:24) Now, we still have our fleshly desires that we have to control, but if we fill our spirit with the Word of God, our Spirit is Strong and we have control over the temptations of life that try to draw us astray. (Galatians 5:13-25).
The purpose of wealth, if you really listen to these ministers, is not for personal gain, but for reaching the World. “But thou shalt remember Jehovah thy God, that it is he who giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day.” (Deut. 8:18). It costs money to go on missions trips, it costs money to feed the poor, it costs money to reach the lost, it costs money to build churches, its costs money to build children’s homes in foreign countries and in the US. All of these things require “wealth” to get the job done. I don’t know how many times I have heard Kenneth Copeland say, “I am not attached to the money in my bank account. If God asked me today to take all my wealth and give it to someone, I wouldn’t hesitate! Its already His!” Not only does he say this he practices it. I can’t tell you how many times he and his ministry have purchased houses for people who lost theirs in a terrible disaster or how many times he has purchased tents for ministers in Africa or how many times he has reached out to other works of God and given financial aid and assistance as well as prayer! They helped buy a water filtration system, clothes, fabric for the Nuns who run the orphanage, and various other things this ministry needed, because God spoke to him and told him to do that, because they are blessed they are able to be a blessings and a light of the love of Christ to so many others just as they were for Los Mexicanitos Orphanage in Mexico City. How awesome is that to be the vessel through which God meets people’s needs and to see the look on their face as they praise God for meeting their needs beyond what they could even ask or think! (Ephesians 3:20) What a powerful way to reach people! That is the purpose of Wealth, not to see who has the biggest house or the most expensive car, but to reach the World! When you are operating in this way and with this attitude that is when the blessings are manifested in your life, because you have allowed yourself to put God’s Word first and thus opened the door for Him to bless your life so that you can bless others!
Why am I so confident that health, wealth, etc is for me as a believer? Because that is what God’s Word says, “Christ purchased our freedom [redeeming us] from the curse (doom) of the Law [and its condemnation] by [Himself] becoming a curse for us, for it is written [in the Scriptures], Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified);To the end that through [their receiving] Christ Jesus, the blessing [promised] to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might [all] receive [the realization of] the promise of the [Holy] Spirit.” (Gal. 3:13-14)
What is the Curse? Read Deuteronomy 28. Here are a few selections from that passage…
"You shall not prosper in your ways."
"Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land."
"You shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you."
"And they (the curses) shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things."
"Therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of all things; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you."

What is the Blessing? Here are some verses from Deuteronomy 28 as well…
"And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you."
"The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow."
"The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you."
"And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath..."

Notice that sickness and disease is not listed anywhere as a blessing. Yet, it is listed as a curse. That means it's never God's will for you to have it--unless your conception of God is that of an abusive father. Unfortunately, lots of Christians think that way--and they sincerely believe they're walking in the "deeper spiritual life" by doing so.
Now, more specifically, what is the Blessing of Abraham? Well the Bible says that “Now Abraham was extremely rich in livestock and in silver and in gold…But Lot, who went with Abraham, also had flocks and herds and tents. Now the land was not able to nourish and support them so they could dwell together, for their possessions were too great for them to live together.” (Gen. 13: 2-6). "Assuredly I will bless you and bless you, I will increase you and increase you." (Hebrews 6:14).
“It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it…What the wicked fears will come upon him, But the desires of the righteous will be granted.” (Proverbs 10:22,24)
"If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasantness and joy.” (Job 36:11)

Well, I could go on but I really have other things to take care of and I am sorry it has taken me so long to respond. If you have any questions feel free to ask me, however I don’t want to start a never ending argument about who is right and who is wrong, I simply wanted to send you a response based on the Word of God and not simply personal opinion. I know what the Bible says, and not only that I have seen it in action! I have seen people who came into our church with what looked like impossible debt that they couldn’t even tithe, I’ve seen them take hold of the message of Faith and the Word of God, begin to tithe and sow and rise up out of what looked like impossible circumstances to complete deliverance financially and also in other areas of life. “Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Malachi 3:10). I’ve seen people come into our church living in the projects in what was a family curse and cycle feeling like there was no escape for them and their children and watch them begin to put the word into action and rise up to where they now owning their own houses and cars and have put the days of lack behind them and have gone on to be a witness to others in those same circumstances! “And Jesus said unto them, "Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, `Remove hence to yonder place,' and it shall remove. And nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Matt. 17:20) You can’t tell me that this isn’t real! I know it is, I’ve seen it with my own eyes in the Word and in action! Unless I find something contrary to this in the Bible (which I highly doubt that I will), I will continue to follow the Word of God and put my Faith in what He has said in HIS Word! So anyway this is what I know to be true and I’m not going to get into an argument, I will just continue to walk in love and live life according to the Word of God!
“Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” (3 John 2)"


It is saddening to think that there are so many Christians who believe the way this friend of mine does, they are living life under the Curse, rather than under the Blessing. They present an image of Christianity that is not true to the Bible. Because of the image given by many of the christians today, the world sees christians as weak people who live life broken, depressed, sick, etc. and i mean, how is that different than how the world lives? So, if that is what Christianity is, well then you can keep it! I could live the exact same way not folliwing God, if that's true Christianity! But, thank God it is not! True Christianity is so different from what these people present! True Christianity causes you to be an overcomer! Victorious in EVERY walk of life! That is how true Christians live, not a life of suffering, poverty, sickness, and disease!

"If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasantness and joy.” (Job 36:11)

Until next time,
Wishing God's Best and His Blessing upon you in everything you set your hand to!

aDaughterOfYaHWeh