He came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. Let’s not forget that many of those martyred were expecting martyrdom. And that there are those for whom such a calling seems to be true.
Christ tasted death for all of us. The idea that we are living in continuous suffering and sacrifice is, in my opinion, a mistaken ideology. Let’s not forget that the apostles also saw and performed many miracles, and won many to Christ. I think that living such experiences would change a man so much that they would not even notice the minor temporal privations experienced.
It is a mistake to assume that we are to experience the pains the apostles experienced if we are not also to experience the joys. If I could participate in the miraculous healing of thousands, if I could witness dead children being restored to their mothers, if I could see the releasing of hundreds from the bondage of demonic influence, I would probably be so transformed beyond any sense of myself that I would feel as Paul did – better for me to go, better for them to stay.
I am beyond certain that the apostles were so filled with the presence and experiences of the Lord and His Spirit that they too were so full of the joy of the Lord that they also lost much of the sense of self, and that suffering was not even noticeable in the face of the manifested displays of the Lord’s glory.
The error in the prosperity message is that the prosperity is for us to live high on the hog. The Lord DOES want us prosperous, so that we can do His will in the earth with that prosperity. He is looking for those he can trust with wealth, so that it is spent on the lost. Wealth in the hands of the just will further the Kingdom.
I’m prospering in health and in career, and I thank the Lord for it, and look to share my prosperity with others.
You are correct to say that the Lord tells us problems will come. But He also tells us that he has purchased our victory over those things.
]]>No. But following Christ involves suffering.
”What about “more than conquerors”? Is that for later only? Heaven?
I will not cheapen Christ’s sacrifice by acting like there is no deliverance in it.
The Olsteens got the prosperity message wrong. But I’m living it, and it works.”‘
Did it work for the apostles who were poor were persecuted and all killed except for John?
]]>I have no interest in listening to the Olsteens and the perversion of the prosperity message.
However, I am not really interested in hearing a similar inaccuracy about how this life is all about suffering and pain.
This is nothing more than the reverse side of the same coin – a type of smug piety that enjoys reminding everyone to get back under the bus for Christ.
What about “more than conquerors”? Is that for later only? Heaven?
I will not cheapen Christ’s sacrifice by acting like there is no deliverance in it.
The Olsteens got the prosperity message wrong. But I’m living it, and it works.