What Has Happened To Our Preaching In The 21st Century

[Rev.L.J.Malbro]

What's really going on? Many of our 21st Century preachers has strayed away from preaching sound doctrine. Many focus on preaching all about prosperity and not preaching what the bible teaches. I do agree that the bible talks about being prosperous. The bible also states clearly that believers are going to suffer. I disagree with preacher that tell you, if you are struggling, suffering, or going through vavious trials then you are not living right. It's many scriptures that support those who are in the will of GOD will suffer. One bible character that testifies to that is JOB and even JESUS himself.

[Yuri Solomon]

Malbro, I can truly appreciate what you are saying here, but it does raise a question: how is prosperity defined in scripture? Can a Christian be broke financially and yet prosperous by God's definition?

[Melvin Chentlen Jr.]

I agree with you. There is to much preaching on prosperity and healing. In the book of John 6 Jesus ask the question In verse 25 Why are you following me? We should be preaching Jesus not what he can do for us, but what he has already done.

[Apostle Helen Kennedy]

Preacher - and even ME!!! In May of this year, the Lord directed me to resign my secular position. In August, he released me from the pastoral ministry, which my husband and I started 8 years ago. Living on a widow's pension, that was merely enough to cover housing expenses - not "bread and butter," I knew that I was going into the furnace of faith testing. While on my face, God told me "you're not here because you've done wrong; I'm preparing you for where I'm taking you, and you've got to know that you "don't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." That was on Monday, June 2, 2008. He still has me in Deuteronomy 8:1-3 six months later. Thank God for joy unspeakable and full of glory. When I come out of this furnace - all you should see, hear and be touched by is JESUS!!!

[Yuri Solomon]

The Paradox of Abundant Life
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (Luke 12:15)

How often it is that Christians say, “if I had more I would do more reverend.” And in some sense this is proper and well intended. However, few times do we consider that if God wanted us to have more in our current state and condition, God would have given it to us, as He did Solomon who never sought material things and was in fact commended by God for not asking for riches or wealth? Could not this somewhat sincere desire be full of waxed over cracks of covetousness. In the Old Testament covetousness is understood by the prohibition of desiring what belongs to one’s neighbor; however, under the New Covenant is not the higher spiritual understanding to be satisfied in the perimeters of life God has afforded you. As the author of Hebrews put it, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Does not our God own the silver and the gold, the cattle on a thousand hills, even the world and they that dwell therein? Is He not the God that gives the power to get wealth? Has He not promise that in His appointed time the wealth of the wicked shall be turned over to the righteous? In short, God is all sufficient? The fact is God does not call us to operate in His kingdom out of our excess but out of that which we have. Paul writes, “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”

The fact is the call of God to help others will always cost a man that which he cannot spare. We often want to do for Christ and help others out of our abundance; however, such is not the nature of sacrifice. Jesus Christ had no abundance of lives to give; He only had one and He gave that life. Jesus says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” The paradox of abundant life is that it flows from the sacrificial death of a single life, that death has exponentially increased the worth of the life given. Contrary to popular belief today, life abundantly does not consist in an abundance of things, but an abundance of lives touched by giving all that one has to those who have not. Yet the “all” here is never quantified materially; rather, it is all of the spirit of Christ’s sacrifice which now indwells every saint, to hold back nothing for self, to regard nothing as his own, but to go unto death, even the death on the cross for the sake of his beloved brethren. In this right, one can be broke and bankrupt of this world’s wealth and give so richly to as many as are needful. The mindset of Christianity is not to have much to give, but to give as much as one has. For all that one has has been given him to give.