John the Baptist also taught on giving. John said, "He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise." This is the wisdom of God. Should you give a coat to a man who has a closet full of coats or to a man who has none? what if a man with a closet full of coats stands behind a pulpit and praises you before the congregation for your generosity and promises you a closet full of coats if you give to him? The man without a coat is homeless and needs a bath and can neither praise you nor promise you a hundredfold increase. Now who will you give your coat to? Do you know that there is a Biblical curse upon those who give to the rich? See Proverbs 22:16. You should never give to someone who has more than you have. If your pastor has a nicer car or home than you have, you must no longer give him offerings. Notice who John said to give to, John said to give to the poor. Didn't John need the money for his ministry? Apparently not. I guess camel hair clothes and wild honey don't cost very much. I have been to an evangelistic service where the preacher arrived in a chauffeur driven limousine. It was a wonderful meeting. Where are the John the Baptists, men who will serve the Lord and honor God with a simple lifestyle? John did not ask for offerings for his ministry. Preachers should follow John's example. God's work does not need much money. Jesus likes to hide in simplicity. The simple act of obedience to share the gospel with your neighbor or co-worker can save a soul from loss. The little things that you can do are important and they cost nothing. The "Big Ministries" that need the "Big Bucks", well, God bless them, but they won't be getting anything from me. Second Peter tells us that the Christian faith shall be evil spoken of because of preachers who make merchandise of God's people. Our beloved Savior, Jesus, has been given a bad reputation because of these milkmen peachers, but you and I can wash our Lord's feet. We can wash Jesus' feet by serving Him and ministering to others without charge. Oh, it is not wrong to give nor is it wrong for a minister to receive an offering. But we should give to those who trust God to supply their needs; ministers who do not ask for money. We should give to those who minister the word and live a simple lifestyle. By the way, please don't send any offerings my way for it is a disgusting, shameful, and disgraceful thing for a minister to teach on giving and then to receive an offering. ---Tim
I was going to a fine church. They had a new building and month by month there was much pressure to pay the bills. The congregation was encouraged in various ways to be very sacrificial and we were assured that God would reward our faithfulness by opening the windows of Heaven and shower upon us His blessings. One visiting pastor compared our congregation to a herd of cows and said, "If the congregation isn't milked of all the money they have each service they will stop giving just as a milk cow will go dry if not fully milked each day." We all gave until it hurt. One dear brother cautioned me not to come to church with any money in my pockets for I would surely lose it before the end of the service. I paid my tithes and gave offerings, special offerings, building offerings and evangelistic offerings. Our giving was for a great purpose and there was joy in working toward our common goal. I worked overtime with the joy of knowing that my long hours would enable me to give more to the church. One sunday the joy all seemed to evaporate; however, when the pastor's son, who was a minister in the church, showed up to church in his brand new Caddillac. (I guess if you preach that God prospers the faithful giver you need proof that God is prospering you; that is, if you suppose that worldly gain is an indication of godliness.) I drove an old VW at the time with over 200,000 miles on it. Shortly after this I visited another church a few times when I was in a different city on business. One Sunday the pastor said, "You people that drive old junky cars with Jesus bumper stickers on them make us Christians look bad. Either get a new car or get rid of the Jesus bumper stickers." I had some Jesus bumper stickers on my old car so now I had to park real far from the church so as not to embarrass the brethren. I wanted to tell the pastor that the reason I drove an old car was because I had been milked dry so that others could drive a Cadillac, but he was a very busy man so I just parked far from church. I have heard so many messages on giving that if I didn't know better I would assume that money was the central theme of the Christian church. For many pastors it is their favorite topic. (You could say it is their bread and butter.) I am always saddened that every teaching on giving ends with the congregation being asked to give a generous offering to God by giving an offering to the preacher.
John the Baptist also taught on giving. John said, "He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise." This is the wisdom of God. Should you give a coat to a man who has a closet full of coats or to a man who has none? what if a man with a closet full of coats stands behind a pulpit and praises you before the congregation for your generosity and promises you a closet full of coats if you give to him? The man without a coat is homeless and needs a bath and can neither praise you nor promise you a hundredfold increase. Now who will you give your coat to? Do you know that there is a Biblical curse upon those who give to the rich? See Proverbs 22:16. You should never give to someone who has more than you have. If your pastor has a nicer car or home than you have, you must no longer give him offerings. Notice who John said to give to, John said to give to the poor. Didn't John need the money for his ministry? Apparently not. I guess camel hair clothes and wild honey don't cost very much. I have been to an evangelistic service where the preacher arrived in a chauffeur driven limousine. It was a wonderful meeting. Where are the John the Baptists, men who will serve the Lord and honor God with a simple lifestyle? John did not ask for offerings for his ministry. Preachers should follow John's example. God's work does not need much money. Jesus likes to hide in simplicity. The simple act of obedience to share the gospel with your neighbor or co-worker can save a soul from loss. The little things that you can do are important and they cost nothing. The "Big Ministries" that need the "Big Bucks", well, God bless them, but they won't be getting anything from me. Second Peter tells us that the Christian faith shall be evil spoken of because of preachers who make merchandise of God's people. Our beloved Savior, Jesus, has been given a bad reputation because of these milkmen peachers, but you and I can wash our Lord's feet. We can wash Jesus' feet by serving Him and ministering to others without charge. Oh, it is not wrong to give nor is it wrong for a minister to receive an offering. But we should give to those who trust God to supply their needs; ministers who do not ask for money. We should give to those who minister the word and live a simple lifestyle. By the way, please don't send any offerings my way for it is a disgusting, shameful, and disgraceful thing for a minister to teach on giving and then to receive an offering. ---Tim
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