Greed,,,good?

   John Adams

 

 President of the United States of America March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801

John Adams, stated, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, (GREED)  ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.”

 

 Greed,,,good?

 

 The devil is a liar and so is Gordon Gekko. Most of us have heard of the devil, Satan, Lucifer, and ole slew foot, but you may be a little confused of just who Gordon Gekko is – he is the fictional character in the movie, “Wall Street” played by Michael Douglas, Katharine Zeta Jones’ husband, One of he infamous lines in the movie was when Gordon said,  “Greed is good”.

 There are varied philosophical arguments that indeed, greed is good, but I am here to testify – greed is a thief, murder, and a destroyer – just like Satan. In fact, I would say greed is sin. The bible tells us, “Open thy mouth,   judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. Pro 31:9. Greedy people are not concerned with the poor and needy – not at all. To concern themselves with the poor and needy, they might actually find themselves caring about somebody else’s situation and condition, than they might find their conscious begin to nag and haunt them until they do something.

Greed is glorified as a son of capitalism, but I declare greed is a spawn of the devil himself. The bible declares that God loves a cheerful giver and if HE loves a cheerful giver, would it not be prudent to believe that at the least, God hates greed?

Satan has tricked and deceived even the elect of God – God fearing men and women are greedy – not lending without expecting payment in return – this is against the bible

The bible is not silent to greed, in fact, if you will study the scriptures you too will discover what God has to say about greed and greedy people – the church should not only be last accused of greed, greed should never enter the mind of a believer and the church. It is the prophet’s job to see sin in the church, the motives behind the leadership and to pray and believe God to move in an auspicious way and rectify and cleanse the temple:

Joh 2:15  And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;

Joh 2:16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.

Joh 2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous (Greedy), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

(2Ti 3:2 KJV)

 

Gekko = supplanter = to take by force or trickery

Gordon = “great hill”

Can you imagine going to church, loving your church and all the while, your church’s doctrine is not of God – it opposes the gospel?

The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. Psalms 37:14 KJV

 

First things first, the wicked referenced in the latter verse of scripture is not necessarily heathen people (non-Christians), but there are wicked (twisted) people in the church as well.

 

Can you imagine going to church, loving your church and all the while, your church’s doctrine is not of God – it opposes the gospel? This happens all the time and in fact, in this day of the “mega church” it is even more prevalent. Churches all over the world are compromising the true gospel for the sake of building their congregations, their kingdoms, if you will, and their personal fortunes. This is nothing new – you can study history and find greed and corruption in religion from the annals of church/religion history. We expect to be attacked, rebuffed, persecuted and castigated from the world but not from our church, and if you follow all the teachings from the pulpit lockstep and in order, you won’t experience any of the negative things just mentioned. However, if the Holy Ghost shines the light of truth to you and you see that your church is out of line with the Word of God, not simply your opinion and your personal beliefs’, and you know that you know your church is leading people in the wrong direction with twisted (perverse) doctrine, you have a few choices:

 

You can PRAY for the leadership and the church – that God would correct the leadership and consequently the direction of the church. But this choice/option is one that requires you to be FULLY persuaded that God is not only able, but willing to answer that prayer, and you must submit yourself to HIS will and his TIMING. – NOT YOUR OWN WILL AND TIMING!

 

It is not advisable to speak your concerns and disagreements with the leadership of your church for you are now placing your trust in man and not God to handle this delicate salutation and in so doing you will have marked yourself in the eyes of those you spoke to.

 

It is definitely not advisable to speak or GOSSIP your concerns to others in the ranks of leadership, members of the congregation, and certainly not those who occasionally attend services – THIS IS PURE AND SIMPLE GOSSIP, and will lead to disunity, disloyalty and ultimately disenfranchisement from any leadership role present or future of your church – you will be correctly known as a trouble maker and be guilty of church spitting. I refer you to read;

 

“Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core”. Jude 1:11 KJV

 

The church is God’s church, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. Matthew 16:18.

 

If your church is wrong and twisted, God will do his part as you do your part – pray for your church – that is your part.

 

Finally, if you can’t follow the steps listed above to resolve your conflict with your church or it’ leadership, LEAVE and shake the dust from your feet and never look back. If you are right and they are wrong, you will be better off not going there anymore and God will deal with HIS church. Trust God will lead you to the right place to worship and support –  HE will do it for HE is more interested in you than you are in HIM.

 

Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

Psalms 37:15-16 KJV

 

The life of the church and as a Christian is NOT a popularity contest regardless of what some ministers preach in regards to the “Favor Doctrine”.  I know personally churches that want to be “popular” and they want to be considered a “mega-church” – this is their goal this is their passion. There is not a single word or doctrine in the bible that teaches that our goal should be to build a “mega-church”! This is man using the world’s system to bring about their (mans), desire to be somebody – to be popular in the world and in religion pure and simple. Many will dispute this and call me small minded, poor and needy or doctrinally incorrect. Let me say this,

“If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified” 1 Peter 4:14 KJV.

&

“For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing”. 1 Peter 3:17 KJV

&

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

Romans”.  8:31 KJV

I am not against a church that is called and blessed of God even if that church is considered to be a “mega-church”, but that should not be the focus and the goal of the leadership. The goal of the church is to make disciples. Any forthcoming blessing(s) whether it be prosperity, enlarging congregation or expanding outreach programs such as a missions outreach or radio and television should be a consequence of a Spirit filled church. The church should not be purpose driven, but purpose giving – purposely giving and giving and giving until:

 

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:

Ephesians 4:13 KJV

 

Good “Sunday” Morning

“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple”. Psalms 27:4 KJV

 

Are you in the house of the Lord today? If you are a professing Christian and you are not dead, than there is very little reason you could offer God as an excuse for not being the the assembly. You may have a great and convincing excuse in the ear of man, BUT God is the judge of the heart – HE knows the very thoughts and intent of your heart and mind – HE can’t be fooled HE can’t be manipulated.

 

David loved the Lord and he declares his love in Psalm 27:4 and David did not simply make these confessions of his love, he backed them up with action – he worshipped God with all his heart and BODY. His praise and worship of God was not just a matter of the invisible, the spirit, but a matter of the physical as well, his body – so much so that his wife despised David in her heart.

 

And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looking out at a window saw King David dancing and playing: and she despised him in her heart.

1 Chronicles 15:29 KJV

 

We should loves our spouses as Christ loved the church but our love for God comes first, and only as we love God can we love our spouses, children, relatives, and neighbors as we should. When you love the Lord you will inherently worship and praise him. If you do not have a sincere desire to go to church there is something missing in your walk with the Lord. We need to inquire of the Lord and ask HIM to reveal to us why we have no burning passion for HIS presence, to obey HIS Word, to follow and walk after the Spirit. We need God and we need God to deliver us from that anti-christ spirit that would hinder our fellowship with God and HIS people.

 

Let’s look at this subject from a perspective of BENEFITS. There are people who need to know, “what’s in it for me” – this praise and worship, this fellowshipping and going to church – what good does it do, what will it do for me. The bible declares,

 

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart”. Psalms 37:4 KJV

There you go, if you delight yourself in the Lord, HE shall give you the desires of your heart – Praise God! The study of the word “Delight” reveals a glorious meaning – the word “delight” means to be pliable in the hands of God, therefore, if we become pliable in the hands of God, if we allow HIM to be LORD of our lives and not just our Savior, HE will give us the desires of our heart. God is good all the time every day every minutes of your life. Consider this, if you can’t seem to find anything to worship and praise the Lord for, how about your breath, and how about the beating of your heart. Go to church and be show the Lord you are thankful for HIS benefits today and HE will manifest HIS love to you, AMEN.