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God Wants to Meet Your Needs in Style! He is El Shaddai - Not El Cheapo! Ugh

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How pathetically sad. The promises of this verse are so far above the paltry baubles of this earth. Gill's Commentary refers to these riches as "spirituals" instead of mere "temporals." That the sacrifice of Christ has made us kings and priests unto God through His obedience, sufferings and death in His lowly estate. To read this verse in context and come away with such a pitiful reading of this being focused on "finances and giving" reveals the true nature of one's salvation I am afraid. The provision paid for on the cross deals with our sin nature that had consigned us to an eternity apart from our creator until He sent His only begotten Son. Talk about missing the boat! Jim Baker missed by a mile, crashed into the waves of his own greed and started swimming gleefully to the bottom.

"From Provision to Prosperity. Here's my definition of prosperity: You have more than enough resources to fulfill every divine assignment God has for you and enough left to help others fulfill theirs. Prosperity doesn't mean every Christian is going to be a zillionaire. It does mean we should have finances proportionate to our assignments from the Lord and more than enough to be a blessing to others. That means the finances of the farmer in Uganda will look different than those of the person called to reach the Hollywood elite. If you are Joseph in prison, abundance isn't the palace on a hill or the finest chariot. The abundance of emotional health and well-being along with favor got him appointed as the head of all the other prisoners. The same would be true for persecuted believers today. God gives us an abundance to bring kingdom influence to our realm of responsibility. If you think of yourself as a hose through which God's blessings can flow, it makes sense that the inside of a hose would get wet. If God can get money through you, He can get money to youand there will be plenty left over for you. When you place the priority of your finances on God and other people rather than yourself, God will take better care of you on "accident" than you ever could take care of yourself on purpose." - Jim Baker

Baker has been taught so poorly. All of his theological assumptions are simply wrong. The under-argument for every prosperity preacher is this nebulous "divine assignment" theology that apparently requires some cash in order to achieve. When you read the bible however you do not find this teaching of divine assignment tied to a monetary provision. Paul insisted on plying his trade as a tentmaker while spreading the gospel to the world. Note here also that Baker allows the carnal wealth divisions of man to dictate biblical assignment and provision. So if you are a poor farmer in Uganda its not that your poor. It's just that you need to look at wealth differently. I mean c'mon, it's not like you are part of the Hollywood elite! The rest here is simply the old tithing lies repackaged. God can't bless you if you don't first give all of your money away! There will be plenty left over for you! Ugh.

"And remember, His name is El Shaddai, not El Cheapo. God doesn't mind meeting your needs in style; He just doesn't want you chasing after things and giving your heart over to them." - Jim Baker

I separated out this snippet because it was so stark a reminder that people like Jim Baker should be dismissed at face value. God is not El Cheapo? Seriously? God does not mind meeting your needs in style? Tell that to the martyred brothers and sisters in the Middle East or the underground persecuted church in China. If they have a photocopy of a bible chapter they can share they consider themselves rich beyond measure. The notion that unless God is lavishing upon you in style He must be El Cheapo, is staggeringly offensive. Baker than tells secondhand stories of deliverance in the field for missionaries. How their needs were always met. No one doubts these stories as believers but they speak to God's provision, not carnal prosperity. Individual Christians may indeed be gloriously prosperous but the truth is most could not handle it and continue to serve God. Just read your bible! God warns of it over and over again! It is why the rich young man was told to sell all he had before following Jesus. We cannot serve two masters.

"In 2008, my wife and I began leading a church in Powell, Ohio. We went on an all-out ballistic assault, going after divine healing. As a result, we saw some amazing breakthroughs in the area of physical healing: deaf ears healed, blind eyes opened, metal dissolved out of bodies, cancers healed, people getting out of wheelchairs, scars from girls cutting themselves disappearing during worship, HIV and Hepatitis C healed as well as many other healingsincluding several people being raised from the dead. These miracles didn't happen in Africa. They happened in Ohio." - Jim Baker

I hate to be Johnny Raincloud here, but I am not buying this mess. Now hear me out. God can heal. God still heals today. God can choose to do all of the things Baker lists here. Would this great outpouring happen in a church led by a man who so clearly does not follow God? Probably not. If all of these things actually happened than I am sure that Pastor Baker has some proof to offer the dying world. No? Baker is claiming dead people raised, just like his favorite church loves to do, in Bethel Church. They have an entire "dead raising team" that claims 15 resurrections to their credit without one shred of proof. Yet when two-year old Olive Heiligenthal died the entire Bethel church rallied around her for her resurrection, which never came to pass.

"In 2011, the Lord told me to go after breakthrough in finances the way we went after physical healing. I read about 100 books on finances, listened to hours and hours of teaching, studied and meditated on Scriptures and preached an 18-part sermon series on finances. I didn't talk about giving until week 13 because if you don't have the heart conditions right, people try to use their giving as if they were rubbing a genie's bottle." - Jim Baker

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Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to (more...)
 
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