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experience, following Jesus, Gloria Copeland, Joel Osteen, joy, Kenneth Copeland, peace, positive thinking, prosperity gospel, Robert H. Schuller, thought life, Victoria Osteen, Word of Faith
(Picture taken from https://florentflora.files.wordpress.com/2012/02)
Actually, the Bible gave us some good advice as to how we could stay in God’s peace continually. But oh, on our own we might find it pretty difficult to follow what Paul told the Philippians as he said,
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. (Phil 4:6-9 KJV)
It seems to me that ‘Positive Thinkers’, esp. of the Christian kind, took part of these verses and gave them a completely new meaning they originally did not have. Just giving you a few examples in the form of quotes here.
You never suffer from a money problem, you always suffer from an idea problem. […] Our greatest lack is not money for any undertaking, but rather ideas. If the ideas are good, cash will somehow flow to where it is needed. (Robert H. Schuller)
If you want peace in your life, give peace to others. Walk in love. Be quick to forgive and overlook offense. […] If you will keep your words in agreement with God’s Word, they will change your natural circumstances. (Gloria Copeland)
In the same sense you can hear Gloria Copeland’s husband saying,
By getting the Word deep into your spirit and speaking it boldly out your mouth, you release spiritual power to change things in the natural circumstances. (Kenneth Copeland)
Give voice to the ‘Word of Faith’ and you can manipulate everything you want to have changed in your life. Some readers might remember this direction of misusing God’s Word… Well, I could have quoted another couple here. Maybe, I should?
If you want to reap financial blessings, you have to sow financially. […] It’s God’s will for you to live in prosperity instead of poverty. It’s God’s will for you to pay your bills and not be in debt. (Joel Osteen)
I think everyone can see the contradiction of what had just been said here: You ‘sow’ your money into such preachers’ (financial) interests and then you shall yourself live in prosperity?? Alas, the opposite is true. Only those who preach the prosperity gospel get rich at the expense of those who ‘invest’ their tithes and donate. 😦
When you have an optimistic attitude and you believe that God is guiding you, that you will find the good things in your life and that you will lead to good relationships and good people in your life. And you can make the most of what he’s given you. (Victoria Osteen)
This quote above is even unbiblical. Jesus told us that there were NO good people on earth since “No one is good except God alone.” (Lk 18:19 ESV) Furthermore, our Lord promised those who followed Him a good deal of problems, including persecution, even through their own families.
If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. (Joh 15:18-20 ESV)
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. (Mt 10:34-36 ESV)
Some might already think, ‘That’s all very well, but what is the answer to why Positive Thinking does not work?’ Brothers and sisters, it is so simple. These Bible verses from Philippians speak of spiritual life and tell us to direct our thought life toward eternal things which NEVER perish, or in Paul’s words, “we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor 4:18 ESV). All good things come from above, from our God of love, right? So, if we, for instance, focus on these things we have experienced with Him – no matter how much or how little it was – “the God of peace shall be with” us. This is a promise!
If that is not positive, I don’t know. The errors in reasoning Positive Thinkers make are that they apparently drop God in the first place. Instead, they rivet their thinking and doing on people and on earthly things which both perish. Whether it is money, success, happiness, health, relationships, jobs, etc., these things are NOT eternal and therefore we cannot remain in a positive mood when we focus on things that are subject to change. However, God alone Who is Spirit is eternal and HE never changes! As we focus on Him and the spiritual life He provides in the Holy Spirit, we are rewarded by Him with continued peace. Dear reader, that is biblical!
Prayer, supplication, thanksgiving, thinking about these positive things we experienced because God has been in our lives, that will finally make us happy, or rather joyful as Paul repeated several times,
“Rejoice IN the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (Phil 4:1 ESV – emphasis added)
Outside of the Lord and His Spirit, this kind of permanent joy will never, never, never be found!!! May Satan not deceive us with these aforementioned ‘lovely lies’ that have permeated many churches and have thus found their way into many Christians’ minds and hearts, too.
Whether this particular blog post means that I will keep posting articles, I don’t know. Just lately as I would be able to spend more time with God, He gave me two confirmations about future preaching the gospel of Christ, signs that were accompanied by deep joy and peace. The number for preaching of the gospel is 27, and the number for Christ is 777. At first I found these numbers last week on my bank statement in the total sum. Unexpectedly, the day before yesterday as I looked at the only building close to the public outdoor pool in Fürth, I suddenly detected the house number, which was 27. 😉 The license plate of the only car that stood in front the house displayed as its only number 777. That really made me grin!! 🙂 Also, God seems to give me now more revelations in a pretty short time than He did before. Nonetheless, I am still hell-bent on listening to His guidance, so I try to not rush on ahead of Him regarding my conclusions.
Please note: Short responses are welcome, lengthy deliberations only if they were Spirit-led. False spirits will be rejected just as phony comments will be deleted.
Entering the Promised Land 
This is what I needed. Thank you a lot. I remember a sermon not long ago mentioned tithing and that you would be blessed if you did. He mentioned also that in tithing you are putting your treasure in heaven. So that your heart will also be in heaven. However I do not agree because as a born again Christian, GOD himself is my treasure so my treasure is already in heaven so putting my heart there as well.
I think that goes along with what you said and so I agree with you. This is getting a bit long so I will stop here.
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You’re very welcome, Fred. No need to worry about the length of your comment since all was very well put! ⭐ What I had in mind, too, when writing this note beneath my post was that people could pray and wait on God before starting to write something which is not that helpful for others.
I am glad to see that God leads you, Fred! 🙂
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Susanne, as I read your article about the false gospel of positive thinking, the prosperity gospel, I heard the Lord speak this same passage to me that He has spoken many times to us both,
We have a strong city from our enemy and we abide there as we keep our minds focused on what Christ has done and is doing in our spirit led lives. We enter that city and abide there by faith in HIM ALONE, not the power of our own reasoning!
We put our trust in Him, not the power of our soulish world centered minds.
What Jesus taught is the exact opposite of this “name it and claim it” mob of false teachers who focus on their own wealth…
Yes, BLESSED are the poor, the hungry the hated who are IN Christ, not the rich. the full and the popular who are in this world system and these false churches of worldly men and women. These seemingly “unblessed” things is what HIS disciples can expect in this world! We can have our reward in worldly acclaim, comforts and riches now in this fleeting life or we can have our reward in the spirit both now and in eternity if we abide IN Christ and focus on HIS Father’s kingdom. As for me, my kingdom is NOT of this world.
Thank you for sharing the TRUE gospel of Christ with us, dear sister. ⭐
Michael 🐻
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You’re welcome as to my sharing of the gospel, Michael. 🙂
For me it is also important to know that we see the poverty of our own spirit (old nature) as the gospel of Matthew says,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3 ESV)
As you rightly said, “we put our trust in Him”, something we will only do as far as we have come to know our own poverty (i.e. complete helplessness) as to spiritual things and regarding our natural circumstances. Finally, only as we abide in Him and His love, we will bring forth the fruit God wants to see (Jn 15:4-9). Any other fruit man might appreciate at first taste will be destroyed instead.
Susanne 🐱
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Yes, “blessed are the poor in spirit,” those who KNOW that they are spiritually bankrupt unless the Spirit of Christ abides in them. Well said, my dear sister, who knows the humbling hand of our Father as well as the joy of our Lord.
Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1Pet 5:5-7, ESV2011)
It is a blessing to be getting to know you IN Him, dear Susanne. ⭐
Michael
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Yes, Michael, HE cares! Better than any human being ever could. But oh, how long I needed to really begin to trust in God, especially in His unfathomable guidance! 😉
Your are a blessing, Michael! ⭐
Susanne 🐱
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Thats why I call em crazymatics and funny costals
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You made me grin, Ken. Thanks! 🙂
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Ken, and to think it all started there right near you with “seed faith”!
Arg!
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Yea I know–I thought it was strange that Dad gave me this job at ORU–but at least I do not work for ORU BUT A COMPANY CONTRACTED TO ORU and a secular one at that!
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What is oru?
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Legitimate question, Fred. ORU = Oral Roberts University, which is in Oklahoma where Ken Dawson lives. It seems he somehow stepped into the lion’s den. 😉
If you like, see http://www.oru.edu/.
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Oh I visited that when I went down to Rhema well saw the praying hands for oru. At least I think that was oru. Thanks
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You’re welcome, Fred.
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Your job situation, Ken, reminded me of what Paul wrote here,
“Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.” (Col 3:22-25 ESV)
Okay, today we do not call workers and employees ‘bondservants’, but sometimes many of these worldly jobs bring the thought of ‘modern slavery’ to my mind. It is anything but easy to serve the Lord by obeying Him first if you are surrounded by worldly people, or even worse, by Christians who believe in another gospel than you do. Even if the differences are sometimes not that apparent, it is sooo easy to get (subliminally) influenced by the wrong spirits, especially when these believers are very kind toward you.
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Ken, your job situation reminds me of Daniel and his three friends taken captive to Babylon. A position certainly neither of them wanted to have! But it was God’s providence that took them there. If that was your case, it may very well be an opportunity to shine the true light of the Gospel in a place where the false light of Lucifer abounds.
I once read an article about the connections between ORU, Freemasonry and Luciferian beliefs, and it gives me the creeps. The campus is full of symbols that point to such cultic beliefs, and this is anything but Christian.
But again, if the hand of providence had led you there, God is with you like He was with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. (Aside: funny most of us remember their Babylonian but not their Hebrew names. I had to look them up!) You may at one point find yourself confronting the idols and facing threats, just like Daniel and his friends had to do. God is powerful and will protect you if you stay true to your faith. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
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Carina, I once worked in the a Freemason’s lodge (though not for them), so I know what you were talking about. After only a few months Jesus came into my life and less than one year later I finally left this luxurious but spooky mansion.
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Hi dear sis,
First of all, I’m glad God brought you back for this post. 🙂
In my view, the worst thing about the “prosperity gospel” is the idolatry it causes. It makes ME, in my old, unrenewed self, the center. I retain the “kingship” and do not allow Christ to be Lord. My soul, with its thoughts, emotions and will, becomes more important than Christ and His mind, His heart and His will for me. It’s the old “You will be gods” lie of the garden of Eden. The Almighty, Most High God becomes the “genie in the bottle”. He exists to satisfy MY desires, to make ME happy, fulfill MY dreams.
You and all your commenters have said it very well. HIS ways are higher than ours… and will usually take us to the places we didn’t want to go to in order to create His Son’s character in us. To get us to see that what HE wants and dreams for us is completely different to what we expected (we have a view of “success” that is so twisted!) and that we are to say Yes and Amen to the cross, because Christ experienced the cross, He was perfected in obedience through suffering so who are we to think we should be exempt?
There’s a huge difference between faith (Christ centered, seeking GOD’s face and His Kingdom) and presumption (it’s all about me), between the filling of the Spirit and drunkenness which leads to lawlessness. Drunkenness is one of the spirits ruling this hour.
Today we received Habakkuk 2.
vv. 4 and 5: “Behold, as for the proud one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the righteous will live by his faith.
Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man,
So that he does not stay at home.
He enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
And he is like death, never satisfied.
vv. 15 and 16: Woe to you who make your neighbors drink,
Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk
So as to look on their nakedness!
You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.
Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness.
The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you,
And utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
Sorry for my lenghty post.
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Hi Carina,
The problem with all these distorted gospels is that the lies are not that obvious. Even Satan did not lie consistently when he claimed Adam and Eve would be gods. Later in God’s perfect time, yes, BUT not by obeying the devil and not at that time! Just as Jesus repeated as He was confronted with the Jews,
“Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” (Jn 10:34-36 ESV)
This is one of these spiritual mysteries of the New Covenant that we should appear as lowly servants on this earth, yet at the same time we can already enjoy divine life in the Spirit, a life where this God-given divinity that springs from Christ’s Spirit in ours can be both experienced and enjoyed.
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That’s a profound truth!
Yes, indeed we have received divine life since the Holy Spirit, who is God, lives in us.
But our enjoyment in practice of that divine life depends on us following the example of Messiah Immanuel, who kept surrendering to the Father, who was fully submitted to His authority, to the point that He, Jesus, did not say a single word that the Father was not dictating, and did not do a single work He was not seeing the Father decreeing from Heaven.
The subtle perversion of this false gospel of positive thinking is that we want the power of being a child of God without the submission part. We want to be kings without accepting affliction as a necessary part of the package.
We want the wine but don’t abide in the vine. And without Him, we can do nothing!
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True, Carina!
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Susanne and Carina, well said! I have loved reading this exchange between the two of you. It is interesting how the humility of Christ leads the way as our example of what God’s children should be walking in not only in this life, but even in heavenly places! When John saw the ascended Christ at the right hand of the Father what did He see? Did he see an all powerful Lion? NO!
Yes, he saw an Lamb and not only that, but One that had been slain! Susanne, you so rightfully pointed out that Satan wants us to do the very sin he is guilty of, to grab the gold ring and become high and exalted ones in the Church above our brethren. THIS is where the sin in these false leaders and their quests for power and wealth plays right into his hands as they provide an example not of the Lamb, but of the wolf/serpent that rules as the prince of this world. Finally, this last scripture to put things in focus.
May we always seek the lowest seats among our brethren in Christ’s humility.
Bless you both IN Him,
Michael
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Amen to your prayer and Scriptures, Michael! ⭐
Glad you liked our exchange, my brother. 🙂
Every blessing,
Susanne
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This was wonderful, Susanne.
Anything that removes Christ from the center of our vision, focus, or heart- no matter how well intended, is a spirit of anitchrist indeed.
Thanks for this. I really gleaned from it.
David
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Deep truth in a few words. Very well put, David! ⭐
Thank YOU for the encouragement, too! 🙂
Blessings,
Susanne
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I agree, David. Have you ever thought that a Christian’s focus on evangelism or doing good works for the poor might be such that it occludes Christ from being center in his life and that these very “good works” and building an “effective ministry” in them could become an idol and actually antichrist in nature? Have you ever wondered how Jesus could say to practicing Christians who claim Him as Lord, “I never knew you” (Matt. 7:21-23)? How could the One whom the omnipotent God has shown all things NOT know one of the ones whom He died for? I have wondered about it and I found the key is in the Greek word translated “knew” or “know.” It is the word “ginosko.” Of this word Mikelson’s Enhanced Strong’s Dictionary tells us that it means more than a casual knowing through our five senses.
You see, our works must be inseminated into us by the Spirit just as He inseminated the seed of Christ into Mary. As she yielded herself to the will of God, the Spirit “overshadowed her” and she conceived. We must also be overshadowed.
Jesus could say, “I only do the works that I see my Father doing.” Even as the very Son of God, His words were not done from His own fruition as something He believed to be good, for He knew that “none is good, except one, that is, God.” The forbidden tree of knowledge in the garden had a “good” side as well as an evil one. The only things that we “being evil” (Matt. 7:11) can do that are acceptable to our Father are those works destined by HIM that we should walk in them under the anointing of HIS Spirit. We who believe are the temple of God and the antichrist is alive and well and he most often manifests himself in the uncrucified souls of Christians! Remember Paul’s dire warning about the antichrist…
By the way, a very important book on this subject was written about four centuries ago by Joseph Salmon titled, “The AntiChrist in Man.”
http://www.awildernessvoice.com/AntiChristinMan.html
Dear Father, please make the work of the cross of Christ go to the very core of our beings that we might truly walk out this life by the power of your Spirit only. Amen.
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Amen to your prayer, Michael.
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So true, Michael…. SO well said.
I have often been dismissed from more than one fellowship because I insist that christians try not to “do good” but rather just “be” with our Lord.
I think on how Jesus told the pharisees they were white washed tombs.. clean on the outside but filled with death on the inside… and how Jesus said they should have allowed the Lord to work on the inside… and only THEN not neglect the latter.
Every aspect of our expression to those around us, if it is not resulting from an overflow of the Life flowing from our communion, I am personally convicted- is dead religion… just a mask.
On the other hand… there is nothing in this realm that can compare when the Lord places a stranger on our spirit and leads us to give some aspect of His love to them.
This took a looooong time for me to even start to allow Him to do… mostly because I saw no image of His unconditional love in my life. It was harder than it needed to be for me. I was so chastised and condemned by christians, because I denied the outer works of the flesh until it was the Spirit that would lead my as I felt Father’s love and ONLY that reason. But I could not get one person to just love me for who I was and despite my shortcomings. So so long I just did not have that love from others, and certainly not for others… and was convinced that if it was not flowing from His heart, it was just dead works for me to do anything.
As a result, for many years I was called many things from other Christians, but none of them what the Father called me. I determined to look to nothing but HIM and He alone as all the source of my worth, and to dare to accept He loves me without fault.
Eventually I began to feel His love more than the rejection of others… and attempt to walk more in the revelation of His love in order that like Paul and those willing to do for the Good news to share can say
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”
I still have a very long way to go, though….. a LONG way to go lol
God bless you, my big brother
David
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The “prosperity” gospel is particularly outrageous to me. Not only is it unbiblical. It undermines the true Gospel of Christ.
Always glad to hear your voice, Susanne.
Much love,
A. ❤
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Yes, Anna, it is outrageous to me, too. The prosperity gospel is absolutely this-worldly and only serves the egotistic (old) nature of those who proclaim it.
I am happy you could even”hear” my voice, dear Anna! 🙂
Much love to you,
Susanne ❤
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