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	<description>Preserving the Gospel...</description>
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		<title>Prime Real Estate at Starbucks</title>
		<link>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/prime-real-estate-at-starbucks/</link>
		<comments>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/prime-real-estate-at-starbucks/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:14:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[customers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disabled]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[offer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[small]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Starbucks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[table]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tables]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://prayeramedic.com/?p=1339</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is a random post. I am wondering why Starbucks tables are so small? It&#8217;s one of the best atmospheres in which to study (in my opinion), but the tables can hardly accommodate a laptop, let alone a book and a laptop. I have found that the largest table in most Starbucks (which also typically [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2008/07/local-starbucks-closing/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Local Starbucks&#039; Closing'>Local Starbucks&#039; Closing</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2008/11/what-if-starbucks-marketed-like-a-church-a-parable/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church? A Parable'>What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church? A Parable</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://prayeramedic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/disabled-300x220.png" alt="disabled customers table" title="disabled customers table" width="300" height="220" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1340" />This is a random post. I am wondering why Starbucks tables are so small? It&#8217;s one of the best atmospheres in which to study (in my opinion), but the tables can hardly accommodate a laptop, let alone a book and a laptop. I have found that the largest table in most Starbucks (which also typically has an outlet nearby) is the table for disabled customers. I used to avoid sitting at this table because I was afraid I would be stealing it from a disabled customer, but I&#8217;ve come to realize that so long as I heed the advice on the table and offer it to disabled customers, I&#8217;m OK. Yet I still sometimes feel guilty for sitting at this table, even though I know I&#8217;m not really depriving anyone of anything (as long as there are no disabled customers in the establishment at the time).</p>
<p>So this post is simply me pointing out that the table for disabled customers is prime studying real estate in Starbucks coffee shops. Has anyone else noticed that Starbucks tables are about the size of a small pizza? Does anyone else sit at the tables for disabled customers (or am I a heathen)?</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2008/07/local-starbucks-closing/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Local Starbucks&#039; Closing'>Local Starbucks&#039; Closing</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2008/11/what-if-starbucks-marketed-like-a-church-a-parable/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church? A Parable'>What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church? A Parable</a></li></ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Missionary as Vocation</title>
		<link>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/missionary-as-vocation/</link>
		<comments>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/missionary-as-vocation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 21 Feb 2010 11:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Missions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ministry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[missionary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vocation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://prayeramedic.com/?p=1334</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yesterday I posted about how Those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. I just wanted to point out another thought I had on that.
In many respects, the Church today still follows the example of Paul. In areas where the gospel has been established and a large body of believers exists [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/the-customer-isnt-right/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: The customer isn&#8217;t right'>The customer isn&#8217;t right</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/those-who-preach-the-gospel-should-receive-their-living-from-the-gospel/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel'>Those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/10/numerical-growth-as-a-double-standard/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Numerical growth as a double standard'>Numerical growth as a double standard</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Yesterday I posted about how <a href="http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/those-who-preach-the-gospel-should-receive-their-living-from-the-gospel">Those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel</a>. I just wanted to point out another thought I had on that.</p>
<p>In many respects, the Church today still follows the example of Paul. In areas where the gospel has been established and a large body of believers exists to support ministers of the gospel, church workers are paid.</p>
<p>In places where the gospel is not prevalent, missionaries raise their own money (or serve bi-vocationally) and ask nothing from the people to whom they minister. This is the same pattern we see from Paul, and it&#8217;s what the Church still practices today.</p>
<p>Another question is: Are there people in America we are failing to reach because the only ministry model they&#8217;ve encountered collects an offering? Should there be more ministries that ask nothing from those whom they serve? What would this look like? Would it be house churches? Or would it be ministries functioning as extensions of an institutional church? Or perhaps both working together? Just a thought&#8230;.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/the-customer-isnt-right/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: The customer isn&#8217;t right'>The customer isn&#8217;t right</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/those-who-preach-the-gospel-should-receive-their-living-from-the-gospel/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel'>Those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/10/numerical-growth-as-a-double-standard/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Numerical growth as a double standard'>Numerical growth as a double standard</a></li></ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel</title>
		<link>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/those-who-preach-the-gospel-should-receive-their-living-from-the-gospel/</link>
		<comments>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/those-who-preach-the-gospel-should-receive-their-living-from-the-gospel/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:49:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deception]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Teachings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Theology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clergy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Minister]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pastor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[salary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vocation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://prayeramedic.com/?p=1328</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I know that&#8217;s a bold statement, but I didn&#8217;t say it. The apostle Paul did. That is a direct quote from 1 Corinthians 9:14, and it is preceded by saying that this is the Lord&#8217;s command (not Paul&#8217;s). Here&#8217;s the whole passage, in context:
This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/missionary-as-vocation/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Missionary as Vocation'>Missionary as Vocation</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/05/francis-of-assisi-never-said-preach-the-gospel-at-all-times-when-necessary-use-words/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Francis of Assisi NEVER Said, &quot;Preach the Gospel at All Times; When Necessary, Use Words.&quot;'>Francis of Assisi NEVER Said, &quot;Preach the Gospel at All Times; When Necessary, Use Words.&quot;</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/08/preach-christ-or-shut-up/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Preach Christ or shut up'>Preach Christ or shut up</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://prayeramedic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/priest_collar-245x300.gif" alt="priest_collar" title="priest_collar" width="245" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1330" />I know that&#8217;s a bold statement, but I didn&#8217;t say it. The apostle Paul did. That is a direct quote from 1 Corinthians 9:14, and it is preceded by saying that this is the Lord&#8217;s command (not Paul&#8217;s). Here&#8217;s the whole passage, in context:</p>
<blockquote><p>This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don&#8217;t we have <strong>the right</strong> to food and drink? Don&#8217;t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord&#8217;s brothers and Cephas? Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?</p>
<p>Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? <strong>Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn&#8217;t the Law say the same thing?</strong> For it is written in the Law of Moses: &#8220;Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.&#8221; Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn&#8217;t he? <strong>Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a <em>material harvest</em> from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn&#8217;t we have it all the more?</strong></p>
<p><strong>But we did not use this <em>right</em>. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.</strong> Don&#8217;t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? <strong>In the same way, <em>the Lord has commanded</em> that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.</strong></p>
<p><strong>But I have not used any of these rights</strong>. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! <strong>If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it</strong> (1 Corinthians 9:3-18, NIV, emphasis mine).</p></blockquote>
<p>Matthew Henry wrote this in his commentary on v. 6:</p>
<blockquote><p>[Paul] had a right to marry as well as other apostles, and to claim what was needful for his wife, and his children if he had any, from the churches, without labouring with his own hands to get it. Those who seek to do our souls good, should have food provided for them. But he renounced his right, rather than hinder his success by claiming it. It is the people&#8217;s duty to maintain their minister. He may wave his right, as Paul did; but those transgress a precept of Christ, who deny or withhold due support.</p></blockquote>
<p>In other words, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel have the right to earn their living from it. This is the modern day pastor (which corresponds more to the biblical role of elder). Paul chose to serve in bi-vocational ministry, that is, he chose to earn his living from a separate job, that of tentmaking. But that was Paul&#8217;s choice. Paul makes it clear that biblically, ministers have a RIGHT to earn their living from preaching the gospel.</p>
<p>However, Paul also says that voluntary preachers receive a reward for their duties, while those who exercise their right to a salary &#8220;simply discharge the trust committed to [them].&#8221; In other words, their vocation is no better than the local plumber, teacher, tax collector, or nurse. Each of these is commanded to be a full-time minister of the gospel (all believers), but some may earn their living from it as a right, which has clearly been commanded by the Lord.</p>
<p>Paul recognized that as a missionary in his context, bi-vocational ministry was a more effective approach. He willingly sets aside his right to financial support so that people will not think his message is just a fancy speech designed to get money. Some Greek orators made their living by traveling and entertaining audiences with speeches. Others formed schools and charged students for lectures. Paul does not want anyone to think his message is motivated by selfish concerns. But Paul&#8217;s willingness to support himself does not change the Lord&#8217;s command. Ministers of the gospel have a right to financial support, and believers have an obligation to provide that support.</p>
<p>The command is not aimed solely at vocational ministers so that they should run around demanding their support (although it would be biblically warranted if their &#8220;flock&#8221; didn&#8217;t support them), the command appears to target all believers so that they recognize that it is their responsibility to support the work of the gospel.</p>
<p>1 Timothy 5:17-20 says:</p>
<blockquote><p>The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, &#8220;Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,&#8221; and &#8220;The worker deserves his wages.&#8221; Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.</p></blockquote>
<p>Elders here are appointed leaders, not merely those recognized because of their age and experience. Those folks are actually addressed in v. 1: &#8220;Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father.&#8221; In Acts 14:23, &#8220;Paul and Barnabas <strong>appointed</strong> elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.&#8221; <strong>&#8220;Double honor&#8221; in the 1 Timothy 5 passage does not refer to salary</strong>, but this passage does reiterate the point that &#8220;the worker deserves his wages.&#8221; It also establishes that those elders whose work is preaching and teaching are serving in an honorable vocation. It is a respectable career choice.</p>
<p>This becomes even more pertinent as more and more heresies abound and the resurrection of false teachings from the past continues. It is extremely beneficial to the church to have individuals who receive in-depth training in the bible, church history, theology, and practical ministry (counseling, helping people cope with traumatic events, addiction therapy, etc.). There is nothing wrong with this, indeed it is very helpful to the Church. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to go to seminary to learn about church history, biblical languages, etc. Many more don&#8217;t have the opportunity to go, and even more do not have the intellectual capacity to retain this knowledge. This doesn&#8217;t invalidate the education and training, however. A lot of people aren&#8217;t smart enough to go to medical school, but we&#8217;re all glad that we have doctors. The same is true of pastors. They are not better than other believers because of their training, but they are to be respected and should be able to earn a living from their work.</p>
<p>Not everyone is meant to serve in this role. Ephesians 4:11-13 says:</p>
<blockquote><p>It was [God] who gave <strong>some</strong> to be apostles, <strong>some</strong> to be prophets, <strong>some</strong> to be evangelists, and <strong>some</strong> to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.</p></blockquote>
<p>Clearly not all are called to fulfill these roles in the Church. The purpose of these roles is to prepare God&#8217;s people for good works of service, building up the body of Christ &#8220;until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.&#8221; Since this hasn&#8217;t happened yet, we still need people to fulfill these roles. Not just anyone should jump into these roles, either. James 3:1 says:</p>
<blockquote><p>Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.</p></blockquote>
<p>God apparently even has a higher standard of judgment for those who teach His people. This should not be taken lightly. To ensure that not just anyone became an elder, Paul set up standards for them. Hear his words in Titus 1:5-9:</p>
<blockquote><p>The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and <strong>appoint elders in every town, as I directed you</strong>. An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God&#8217;s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, <strong>not pursuing dishonest gain</strong>. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.</p></blockquote>
<p>There you have it, the requirements of an elder and parts of his job description, and a reiteration of the fact that it is an appointed position. Paul also mentions here (and in several other places) that elders should not pursue dishonest gain. This precludes those folks who would serve in these roles solely to make money, or to make it dishonestly (such as through <a href="http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-part-1">prosperity teachings</a>). That would be wrong. But it doesn&#8217;t preclude them from making an honest living from preaching and teaching the gospel.</p>
<p>There are <a href="http://prayeramedic.com/2008/10/biblical-leadership">a lot more scripture passages that we could explore</a>, but this post is long enough as it is. It is a topic that deserves attention, though. And it is one I should have posted at least a few weeks ago before I started shifting some of my terminology on this blog. I apologize for not sharing these thoughts sooner with you, my readers. I know I have written blog posts with the opposite stance in the past, but the clear teachings of the word of God prevail, as explained above. Undoubtedly there will be more discussion on this issue, feel free to comment and read the comments to gain more insight.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/missionary-as-vocation/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Missionary as Vocation'>Missionary as Vocation</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/05/francis-of-assisi-never-said-preach-the-gospel-at-all-times-when-necessary-use-words/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Francis of Assisi NEVER Said, &quot;Preach the Gospel at All Times; When Necessary, Use Words.&quot;'>Francis of Assisi NEVER Said, &quot;Preach the Gospel at All Times; When Necessary, Use Words.&quot;</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/08/preach-christ-or-shut-up/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Preach Christ or shut up'>Preach Christ or shut up</a></li></ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>The customer isn&#8217;t right</title>
		<link>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/the-customer-isnt-right/</link>
		<comments>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/the-customer-isnt-right/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:00:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Christianity 2.0]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[servant]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://prayeramedic.com/?p=1315</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was listening to a podcast on Issues Etc. earlier this week and I was struck by a profound thought. The title of the podcast was &#8220;The Vocation of Minister.&#8221; I&#8217;d normally link directly to it but the site appears to be down as I&#8217;m writing this, nothing will load.
The guest speaker was talking about [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/those-who-preach-the-gospel-should-receive-their-living-from-the-gospel/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel'>Those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/11/weekly-wisdom-20/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Weekly Wisdom'>Weekly Wisdom</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/10/numerical-growth-as-a-double-standard/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Numerical growth as a double standard'>Numerical growth as a double standard</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://prayeramedic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/customer-always-wrong400-300x236.jpg" alt="customer-always-wrong400" title="customer-always-wrong400" width="300" height="236" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1316" />I was listening to a podcast on <a href="http://www.issuesetc.org">Issues Etc.</a> earlier this week and I was struck by a profound thought. The title of the podcast was &#8220;The Vocation of Minister.&#8221; I&#8217;d normally link directly to it but the site appears to be down as I&#8217;m writing this, nothing will load.</p>
<p>The guest speaker was talking about how the word minister means &#8220;servant,&#8221; but most churches today prefer to look to ministers as leaders or CEO&#8217;s, and ministers are all too happy to accept this role. The proper role of a minister is that of a servant, and his chief task is to &#8220;administer&#8221; what God has given, His gifts.</p>
<p>The guest speaker then said this:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;We approach [the vocation of the minister] as a social issue, we look at what the people want. Let&#8217;s look at the word ministry. There&#8217;s an old saying&#8230; &#8216;The customer is always right.&#8217; The customer knows what he wants and if you&#8217;re going to serve the customer, you better give him what he wants or you&#8217;re not going to do business with him. <strong>That&#8217;s precisely wrong when it comes to the church, because the customer is always wrong. And God is always right.</strong></p></blockquote>
<p>In other words, we must approach the vocation of the minister theologically (not socially). A minister of God must often preach God&#8217;s Law and His Gospel to people who don&#8217;t want any part of it. Often people don&#8217;t realize the depth of their sinfulness (including me), and they must hear God&#8217;s Law. Other times the Law has done its work and people have been cut to the heart, then they need to hear the Gospel. The customer (not a good term but I&#8217;m using it simply to make a point) is always wrong. He doesn&#8217;t want what he really needs. I am so often guilty of this. I often want authenticity, community, and whatever &#8211; but what I really need is the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. These other things are secondary to this primary need.</p>
<p>It is too easy to lose sight of Christ as the focal point of our churches when we operate with the assumption that the folks in the pews are right. That&#8217;s how we get mega-churches that acquiesce to, rather than transform, culture. Give the people what they want and you will grow numerically, but <a href="http://prayeramedic.com/2009/08/how-to-measure-ministry-progress">that&#8217;s not how ministry progress ought to be measured</a>.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/those-who-preach-the-gospel-should-receive-their-living-from-the-gospel/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel'>Those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/11/weekly-wisdom-20/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Weekly Wisdom'>Weekly Wisdom</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/10/numerical-growth-as-a-double-standard/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Numerical growth as a double standard'>Numerical growth as a double standard</a></li></ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel – Part 3</title>
		<link>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-%e2%80%93-part-3/</link>
		<comments>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:00:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Deception]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emerging Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Teachings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blab grab]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[false]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[G12]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gospel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jim Bakker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[name claim]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prosperity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steve Munsey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wealth]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://prayeramedic.com/?p=1308</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I am preparing a post on Steve Munsey, but found that I first needed to explain some of the heresies that he teaches, namely positive confession and the prosperity gospel. One of my favorite tunes is a song called &#8220;Wedding Dress&#8221; by Derek Webb. There&#8217;s a line in the song that asks,
And should I read [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-part-1/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 1'>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 1</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-part-2/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 2'>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 2</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/09/john-piper-on-the-prosperity-gospel/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel'>John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://prayeramedic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/bakker.jpg" alt="bakker" title="bakker" width="197" height="300" class="alignright size-full wp-image-1293" />I am preparing a post on Steve Munsey, but found that I first needed to explain some of the heresies that he teaches, namely positive confession and the prosperity gospel. One of my favorite tunes is a song called &#8220;Wedding Dress&#8221; by Derek Webb. There&#8217;s a line in the song that asks,</p>
<blockquote><p>And should I read between the lines,<br />
To look for blessings in disguise<br />
To make me handsome, rich and wise?<br />
Is that really what you want?</p></blockquote>
<p>That&#8217;s a valid question. Does God want me to be healthy and wealthy, as the prosperity gospel teaches? Most Christian leaders condemn the &#8220;prosperity gospel,&#8221; yet observers say <a href="http://prayeramedic.com/2008/10/greatest-challenge-is-knowing-god-not-recession">it is enjoying new popularity in this economically tenuous time, when many people are not prospering</a>. What&#8217;s come to be known as the prosperity gospel began as a staple of fire-and-brimstone preaching in early 20th-century revival meetings. It surged in popularity with television preachers in the 1980s, until scandals revealed that some preachers used money donated for ministry to support their own lavish lifestyles.</p>
<p>Now observers say the prosperity gospel is spreading among churches large and small, denominational and independent, as well as through the ministries of televangelists such as Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyer, Paula White, Steve Munsey, Paul Couch and Kenneth Copeland. These pastors, critics say, encourage their followers to &#8220;sow a seed&#8221; of faith by spending money &#8211; often in the form of a donation to their ministries &#8211; in order to reap prosperity in the future. Please note that I recognize that many people have been blessed through these ministries, but I must point out their participation and support of this misleading and dangerous doctrine.</p>
<p>Many Christian leaders have long condemned the prosperity gospel as aberrant theology, but most did so quietly. No more. In the past year, African-American pastors met at a national conference to discuss a problem they see spreading in their denominations. Critics have even questioned the ministries of such nationally prominent megapastors as T.D. Jakes – whose Potter’s House does extensive outreach to the poor &#8212; and Joel Osteen &#8212; pastor of Lakewood Church, the largest megachurch in the country &#8212; saying their brand of divinely assisted self-improvement is just a vamped-up version of the prosperity gospel.</p>
<p>Listen to these quotes from and about Jim Bakker, after his release from 5 years in prison for defrauding Heritage USA investors:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I&#8217;d always quoted 3 John 2, saying, &#8216;Above all things God wants you to prosper.&#8217; I loved that Scripture. It looks great on a TV screen when you&#8217;re raising funds, and I interpreted it as God wants you to be rich. But when I got to the words of John, I said, &#8216;Now this don&#8217;t make sense.&#8217; So I took the word prosper apart in the Greek and found out it&#8217;s made up of two words-the first word means good or well and the second road. It&#8217;s a progressive word, so it&#8217;s like a journey. So, here&#8217;s John saying, basically, &#8216;Beloved, I want you to have a good journey through life as your soul has a good journey to heaven.&#8217; It was a greeting! <strong>Building theology on that is like building the church on &#8216;Have a nice day.&#8217; &#8230;</strong></p>
<p>I began to look up all the Scriptures used in prosperity teaching, such as &#8216;Give and it shall be given unto you.&#8217; <strong>When I put that Scripture back into its context, I found Christ was teaching on forgiveness, not on money.</strong> He was teaching us that by the same measure that we forgive, we will be forgiven. . . .</p>
<p>I had gotten my sermons from other people. The Bible warns about the shepherds who get their messages from each other. I think today the reason we have another gospel and another Jesus being preached is because men have gotten their sermons from each other and from motivational teaching. A lot of what&#8217;s being taught today is simply motivational teaching with a few Scriptures put to it&#8221; (Source: <em>The Re-education of Jim Bakker</em>, ChristianityToday.com, Dec. 7, 1998).</p>
<p>&#8220;Bakker . . . says he has had a change of heart about the prosperity gospel. . . .</p>
<p>The same man who once told his PTL coworkers that &#8216;God wants you to be rich,&#8217; now says he made a tragic mistake. . . .</p>
<p>&#8216;For years, I helped propagate an impostor, not a true gospel, but another gospel,&#8217; Bakker has said in his 1996 book, &#8216;I Was Wrong.&#8217; &#8230;</p>
<p>&#8216;The prosperity message did not line up with the tenor of the Scripture,&#8217; he said. &#8216;My heart was crushed to think that I led so many people astray&#8217;&#8221; (Source: <em>The prosperity gospel</em>, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, USA, Nov. 18, 2003).</p></blockquote>
<h3>But won&#8217;t God show us more signs and wonders and great prosperity in these last days?</h3>
<p>People keep talking about a great end times revival, when Scripture seems to suggest mass persecution and deception in His name &#8211; the &#8220;counterfeit bride&#8221; of 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Revelation 17:5, the great whore/harlot. The end times will be full of signs and wonders, where people will chase after divine healing, prosperity and health &#8211; but will miss the whole point of the gospel. In Luke 13, when Jesus was going from town to town on His way to Jerusalem, &#8220;someone asked Him, &#8216;Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?&#8217; He said to them, &#8216;Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. . . .&#8217; He will answer, &#8216;I don&#8217;t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!&#8217;&#8221; (Luke 13:23-27). In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says, &#8220;Not everyone who says to me, &#8216;Lord, Lord,&#8217; will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, &#8216;Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?&#8217; Then I will tell them plainly, &#8216;I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!&#8217;&#8221; We cannot chase after signs, wonders, healings and miracles and some sort of end times revival. We must seek Christ alone and doing His will, even if His will does not ask us to operate in the realm of the supernatural. This is not to say that He won&#8217;t ask us to heal and do miraculous things, but as always, we must seek Him first and allow Him to give us direction in these matters. We mustn&#8217;t try to compete with the emerging church, new wine, and  G12/cell church movements, which are heretical.</p>
<h3>Then what is the &#8220;true&#8221; gospel?</h3>
<p>The gospel is so simple, yet it is so common for people to leave out essential elements (or to add things like physical healing or prosperity). We must understand that eternal life is a free gift (Romans 6:23). It is not earned or deserved (Ephesians 2:8-9). No one can earn their way into heaven, because we are all sinful (Romans 3:23). Because of our sinfulness, we cannot save ourselves, we are not perfect (Matthew 5:48). However, in spite of our sin, God is merciful and does not want to punish us (1 John 4:8; Jeremiah 31:3). But the Bible also tells us that God is just, and as such He must punish sin (Exodus 34:7; Ezekiel 18:4). This creates a problem! God loves us and doesn&#8217;t want to punish us, but at the same time He is just and must punish sin. God solves this problem for us in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who came to earth and was fully God and fully man (John 1:1, 14)! What exactly did He do on earth? He died on the cross in order to pay the penalty for our sins and He rose from the grave to purchase a place for us in Heaven (Isaiah 53:6; 1 Corinthians 15:1-6). Jesus Christ bore our sin in His body on the cross and now offers us eternal life (Heaven) as a free gift. This gift is received by faith (Acts 16:31), which itself is a gift from God (Romans 12:3; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 12:2).</p>
<p>In light of all this, Paul says in Galatians 1:9 &#8211; &#8220;If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!&#8221; The true Gospel of scripture is not a gospel of earthly prosperity nor of physical healing. It is a gospel of eternal salvation.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading this three-part series on positive confession and the prosperity gospel. I hope it shed some light on this dangerous heresy. Please read all three posts before trying to argue based on one of them, thank you <img src='http://prayeramedic.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-part-1/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 1'>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 1</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-part-2/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 2'>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 2</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/09/john-piper-on-the-prosperity-gospel/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel'>John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel</a></li></ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Spirituality of the Cross</title>
		<link>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/spirituality-of-the-cross/</link>
		<comments>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/spirituality-of-the-cross/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:42:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Good Reads]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cross]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gene Veith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://prayeramedic.com/?p=1324</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I recently found out that Spirituality of the Cross, a book that has been profoundly helpful to my spiritual walk, is going to be revised. I commented about how the book has impacted me and the author of the book, Gene Veith, reprinted my comment here. I&#8217;m deeply thankful for this book and highly recommend [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2008/07/re-evaluation-of-my-writing-goals/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Re-evaluation of my writing goals'>Re-evaluation of my writing goals</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2008/10/nonreligious-christian-spirituality/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Nonreligious Christian Spirituality'>Nonreligious Christian Spirituality</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/01/the-mystery-of-theology/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: The Mystery of Theology'>The Mystery of Theology</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I recently found out that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0758613032?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=prayeramedic-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;creativeASIN=0758613032">Spirituality of the Cross</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=prayeramedic-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=0758613032" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />, a book that has been profoundly helpful to my spiritual walk, is going to be revised. I commented about how the book has impacted me and the author of the book, Gene Veith, <a href="http://www.geneveith.com/the-emergent-church-meets-the-spirituality-of-the-cross/_4814">reprinted my comment here</a>. I&#8217;m deeply thankful for this book and highly recommend it to all prayeramedic.com readers:</p>
<p><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&#038;bc1=000000&#038;IS2=1&#038;bg1=FFFFFF&#038;fc1=000000&#038;lc1=0000FF&#038;t=prayeramedic-20&#038;o=1&#038;p=8&#038;l=as1&#038;m=amazon&#038;f=ifr&#038;md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&#038;asins=0758613032" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>You&#8217;ll probably hear more about this book in posts to come, <a href="http://prayeramedic.com/2009/12/plenty-of-fluff-little-substance">I&#8217;ve written about it before</a>.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2008/07/re-evaluation-of-my-writing-goals/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Re-evaluation of my writing goals'>Re-evaluation of my writing goals</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2008/10/nonreligious-christian-spirituality/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Nonreligious Christian Spirituality'>Nonreligious Christian Spirituality</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/01/the-mystery-of-theology/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: The Mystery of Theology'>The Mystery of Theology</a></li></ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>I&#8217;m giving up for Lent</title>
		<link>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/im-giving-up-for-lent/</link>
		<comments>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/im-giving-up-for-lent/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:30:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Engaging Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[calendar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lent]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://prayeramedic.com/?p=1319</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today is the first day of Lent, a 40 day season of the historical church year leading up to Easter, also metaphorically corresponding to the 40 days Jesus was tempted while fasting in the desert. Originally, Lent was a period of intense fasting and prayer that believers went through prior to being baptized at the [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/04/do-you-celebrate-easter/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Do you celebrate Easter?'>Do you celebrate Easter?</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img alt="" src="http://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20090223/Lent4.gif" class="alignright" width="343" height="187" />Today is the first day of Lent, a 40 day season of the historical church year leading up to Easter, also metaphorically corresponding to the 40 days Jesus was tempted while fasting in the desert. Originally, Lent was a period of intense fasting and prayer that believers went through prior to being baptized at the Easter Vigil. It then became a period where believers abstained from eating meat and concentrated on prayer. Today many Orthodox and Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays (hence why there are so many &#8220;Fish Fry&#8217;s&#8221; on Fridays and fish specials during this time of year). Other evangelical traditions encourage people to give something up for Lent, in order to focus on scripture and prayer.</p>
<p>The most popular thing people are <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/03/29/no.facebook.lent/index.html" target="_blank">giving up for Lent this year is Facebook</a>. And then of course there is the old joke, &#8220;I&#8217;m giving up giving something up for Lent.&#8221;</p>
<p>Me personally, I&#8217;m giving up for Lent. I&#8217;m going to stop trying to base my spirituality on my own performance. I&#8217;m going to try to stop relying on myself to obtain victory over sin in my life. I&#8217;m simply going to give up, and give it all over to Christ. And hopefully I make this a life-long change.</p>
<p>What are you giving up for Lent?</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/04/do-you-celebrate-easter/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Do you celebrate Easter?'>Do you celebrate Easter?</a></li></ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 2</title>
		<link>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-part-2/</link>
		<comments>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-part-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:00:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Deception]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emerging Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Teachings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[according]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blab grab]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[done]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[his]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jim Bakker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[name it claim it]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prayer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steve Munsey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[will]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[word of faith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[your]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://prayeramedic.com/?p=1296</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As I am preparing my blog post on Steve Munsey, I realized that I must first teach on the issues of positive confession and the prosperity Gospel, two erroneous doctrines that Munsey teaches. Part 1 defines these heresies and gives a simple response to them. This post is a quote from Chuck Smith in his [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-part-1/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 1'>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 1</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-%e2%80%93-part-3/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel – Part 3'>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel – Part 3</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/09/john-piper-on-the-prosperity-gospel/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel'>John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://prayeramedic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/prayer114-224x300.jpg" alt="prayer114" title="prayer114" width="224" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1299" />As I am preparing my blog post on Steve Munsey, I realized that I must first teach on the issues of positive confession and the prosperity Gospel, two erroneous doctrines that Munsey teaches. Part 1 defines these heresies and gives a simple response to them. This post is a quote from Chuck Smith in his book <em>Answers for Today</em>, where he talks about <strong>praying according to God&#8217;s will</strong>:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;We have this confidence in Him, &#8216;If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.&#8217; I&#8217;m so glad that qualification is there! I&#8217;m glad that this Scripture doesn&#8217;t say, &#8216;Whatever we ask we receive.&#8217; I&#8217;m very grateful that He inserted &#8216;according to His will.&#8217; Had God answered all of my prayers, I wouldn&#8217;t be here today. I would have destroyed myself a long time ago!</p>
<p>I have prayed for a lot of ridiculous things that would have totally ruined me. &#8220;According to His will&#8221; keeps a proper perspective between God and me. Any other way would remove the authority of God over my life. It would then mean that I was the master of my fate, the captain of my destiny. My life wouldn&#8217;t be governed by God; instead, it would be governed by me.</p>
<p>If I can demand that God does anything, if I can lay out demands to which God must acquiesce because I&#8217;m demanding it in Jesus&#8217; name; or if I can just make positive confessions and start laying claims to things and, by my positive confessions, create situations and things for my life, then God is no longer in control of my life. I take control by the demands that I make upon God and by the confessions I make of these things. And God becomes the magic genie! I rub the lamp and God must come out to follow my orders.</p>
<p>Not so! God is far too loving for that. He loves you too much to let you run your life. When you put the &#8220;I&#8221; in &#8220;run,&#8221; you&#8217;ve got the true picture: you&#8217;ll &#8216;ruin&#8217; your life when you try to run it.</p>
<p>Paul tells us that we don&#8217;t always know what the will of the Lord is. That&#8217;s one of our problems in prayer. From past experience, I realize that I made so many mistakes in the analyses of my own needs that if God had answered some of those prayers, it would have been absolutely tragic!</p>
<p>What if I were in control? What if God were acquiescing to every confession that I made? People say, &#8220;Be careful not to make a negative confession! What you say is what you get.&#8221; That&#8217;s ridiculous!</p>
<p>David said, &#8216;I know one day Saul is going to kill me.&#8217; Don&#8217;t say that, David! That&#8217;s negative confession. Now it&#8217;s going to happen, because what you say is what you get! And now one day Saul is going to kill you. But Saul didn&#8217;t kill David.</p>
<p>I have a good friend who&#8217;s been saying for years, &#8216;I&#8217;ll be a monkey&#8217;s uncle.&#8217; To my knowledge he hasn&#8217;t become one yet.</p>
<p>&#8216;If I could have things by just making a positive confession.&#8217; &#8216;If God must yield to my demands.&#8217; Do you see what that immediately does? It elevates me to the position of God and puts God in the subservient position. I&#8217;m no longer serving God, but God is serving me and my every whim.</p>
<p><strong>Certainly, the greatest prayer any of us can ever pray is, &#8216;Not my will, but Thy will be done.&#8217; That isn&#8217;t a spiritual cop-out as some people would accuse. It&#8217;s just glorifying God as God and recognizing that He&#8217;s a lot smarter than I. I may think that something is best for me, but He knows what&#8217;s best for me.</strong></p>
<p>Behind every prayer I offer is an understanding with God that if I&#8217;m making a stupid request, He should please not honor it or answer it. I want God to do what&#8217;s best for me or whatever is wisest in each situation. If you accuse me of a spiritual cop-out because I pray &#8216;Thy will be done,&#8217; then you must also accuse Jesus Christ of a spiritual copout-because He&#8217;s the source of the prayer!</p>
<p>If God should come to me and say, &#8216;Chuck, I&#8217;ve been thinking about you lately. I&#8217;d like to do something special for you just to show you how much I love you&#8217;-what would I ask Him for? Oh, what will it be? Let&#8217;s see…I might pay off the mortgage on my house. &#8216;Lord, what about twenty grand?&#8217; No. Before I get that far I&#8217;d stop and say, &#8216;Lord, just give me whatever You want.&#8217; You see, I might be thinking of twenty grand, but He might be thinking five hundred thousand! Why should I cut Him short?</p>
<p>God delights in giving good gifts to His children. He&#8217;s more anxious to give than we are to receive! If you can have the proper concept of God then you can, with confidence, totally cast yourself upon Him and say, &#8216;Here I am, God! It&#8217;s Your problem now! Take care of it. Whatever You want, whatever You wish. My life is Yours. You work out all the details and circumstances. I&#8217;m going to relax and let You do it!&#8217; You won&#8217;t be able to believe those things He desires to do for your life-just because He loves you! No way am I afraid to say, &#8216;Lord, Thy will be done in this situation.&#8217; That&#8217;s all I want.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Without sound biblical teaching regarding prayer, people will be deceived into being ineffective and frustrated in their prayer lives. When we understand how to pray and claim God&#8217;s word and not use His words out of context, we will find ourselves in line with His holy and perfect will.</p>
<p>I personally experienced this when I was struggling with the death of my former pastor, Steve Szoke. I <a href="http://prayeramedic.com/2008/05/god-please-heal-steve-update">wrote extensively about the dangers of positive confession and false teachings about physical healing</a> as I grappled with his suffering and eventual death.</p>
<p>We’ll never understand why some people are healed and others are not, why some notorious sinners enjoy marvelous health while some sincere Christians suffer from chronic illnesses. It frustrates me, but I know that the God in whom I place my hope is a sure foundation. I can’t even begin to relate to what Steve and his family have gone through, but I have a mighty Savior who can. And my job isn&#8217;t to give an answer to the question &#8220;why?&#8221; I&#8217;d be foolish to do so. I am simply to point them to Christ, who has suffered in every way and can relate to them and walk with them.</p>
<p>Look for part 3 tomorrow, the final part of this series, where we will compare the prosperity gospel to the biblical gospel. Also, I will be quoting Jim Bakker&#8217;s book <em>I Was Wrong</em>, sharing wisdom from a man who learned this the hard way.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-part-1/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 1'>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 1</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-%e2%80%93-part-3/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel – Part 3'>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel – Part 3</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/09/john-piper-on-the-prosperity-gospel/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel'>John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel</a></li></ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 1</title>
		<link>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-part-1/</link>
		<comments>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-part-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:00:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Deception]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emerging Trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Teachings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blab it grab it]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dangerous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[false]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heresy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[name it claim it]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steve Munsey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teaching]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wealth]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://prayeramedic.com/?p=1292</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
I&#8217;m gearing up for a lengthy post on Steve Munsey. But there are two important heresies that first need to be understood prior to discussing his teachings. The first danger that many preachers buy into, including Munsey, Joel Osteen and many others, is the &#8220;positive confession&#8221; teaching from motivational business philosophy. It stresses the inherent [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-%e2%80%93-part-3/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel – Part 3'>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel – Part 3</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-part-2/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 2'>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 2</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/09/john-piper-on-the-prosperity-gospel/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel'>John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://prayeramedic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/motivational-speaking.png" alt="motivational-speaking" title="motivational-speaking" width="450" height="384" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1303" /><br />
I&#8217;m gearing up for a lengthy post on Steve Munsey. But there are two important heresies that first need to be understood prior to discussing his teachings. The first danger that many preachers buy into, including Munsey, Joel Osteen and many others, is the &#8220;positive confession&#8221; teaching from motivational business philosophy. It stresses the inherent power of words and thoughts. Each person predestines his own future by what he says verbally and by how well he uses spiritual laws. As such, it is as if we live in a mechanistic universe instead of a personal one. This erroneous doctrine is often taught alongside the prosperity gospel. The &#8220;prosperity gospel&#8221; is the teaching that God will reward signs of faith with health and wealth. It was popularized by a number of preachers during the 1950s, especially by Oral Roberts and his Expect a Miracle television broadcasts. It is also called &#8220;Word of Faith,&#8221; &#8220;name it and claim it,&#8221; &#8220;blab it and grab it,&#8221; &#8220;health and wealth gospel&#8221; and &#8220;positive confession.&#8221;</p>
<p>Let me begin by saying that I am not trying to preach some sort of intellectual legalism in how we must teach, but we must be careful to teach what Scripture is saying about prosperity, not what motivational speakers have to say misusing Scripture to back it up. The Bible guarantees no health or wealth to followers, but it does show we will have joy in suffering and that we will overcome the world. Our treasure needs to be in heaven. I am not saying we cannot accumulate earthly wealth, but if it remains the focus of our preaching it will become the object of our faith. There must be balance, we must teach the entirety of the word of God and warn people of the days ahead as well as encourage them with God&#8217;s blessings.</p>
<p>The basic premise of &#8216;positive confession&#8217; is:</p>
<ul>
<li>God created things by speaking them into existence.</li>
<li>We are created in God&#8217;s image.</li>
<li>Therefore we, too, can create things (or situations) by speaking them into existence.</li>
</ul>
<p>There is great power in our words &#8211; life and death! This teaching is accurate in many respects, but we must also be careful to teach this using Scripture, not Zig Zigler and other business leaders.</p>
<h3>Did Jesus promise to give literally anything we ask for in faith?</h3>
<p>In Mark 11:23-24, Jesus said, &#8220;I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, &#8216;Go, throw yourself into the sea,&#8217; and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.&#8221; On the surface, this verse seems to be saying that God will grant literally any request we make of Him as long as we believe.</p>
<p>However, it is important to recognize that there are limitations on what God will give, which is indicated both by the context and by other texts, as well as by the laws of God&#8217;s own nature and the universe.</p>
<p>Second, all passages should be interpreted in harmony with other clear statements of Scripture. As an illustration, it is clear that God does not promise to heal everyone for whom we pray in faith. Paul wasn&#8217;t healed, though he prayed earnestly and faithfully (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). Jesus taught that it was not the blind man&#8217;s lack of faith that hindered his being healed. Rather, he was born blind &#8220;that the works of God should be revealed in him&#8221; (John 9:3). Despite the apostle Paul&#8217;s divine ability to heal others (Acts 28:9), later he apparently could not heal either Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25) or Trophimus (2 Timothy 4:20). It clearly was not unbelief that brought Job&#8217;s sickness on him (Job 1:1).</p>
<p>Finally, when the rest of Scripture is taken into consideration there are clear conditions placed on God&#8217;s promise to answer prayer in addition to faith. We must &#8220;abide in Him&#8221; and let His Word &#8220;abide in us&#8221; (John 15:7). We cannot &#8220;ask with wrong motives,&#8221; out of our own selfishness (James 4:3). Furthermore, we must ask &#8220;according to His will&#8221; (1 John 5:14). Indeed, on all except God&#8217;s unconditional promises, this &#8220;if it be your will&#8221; must always be stated or implied. This is not a cop-out, it&#8217;s how Jesus taught us to pray!</p>
<p>Look for part 2 tomorrow, which will contain a great quote about praying according to God&#8217;s will.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-%e2%80%93-part-3/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel – Part 3'>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel – Part 3</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/positive-confession-and-the-prosperity-gospel-part-2/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 2'>Positive Confession and the Prosperity Gospel &#8211; Part 2</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/09/john-piper-on-the-prosperity-gospel/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel'>John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel</a></li></ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Speak with Conviction and Authority</title>
		<link>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/speak-with-conviction-and-authority/</link>
		<comments>http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/speak-with-conviction-and-authority/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:00:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Emerging Church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Engaging Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Postmodernism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vlog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conviction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[humor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Postmodern]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[taylor mali]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[typography]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://prayeramedic.com/?p=1289</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is a great poem by Taylor Mali that has been turned into a short video. I saw this at Extreme Theology and thought I&#8217;d share it:

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.
Perhaps some of the reasons that Christian music sucks stem from postmodern nonsense?


Related posts:How do I&#8230; on this blog?Why Did We Stop Using The [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/09/how-do-i-on-this-blog/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: How do I&#8230; on this blog?'>How do I&#8230; on this blog?</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/03/why-did-we-stop-using-the-bible/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Why Did We Stop Using The Bible?'>Why Did We Stop Using The Bible?</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/loaded-with-itunes-gift-cards/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Loaded with iTunes gift cards, but Christian music sucks'>Loaded with iTunes gift cards, but Christian music sucks</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This is a great poem by <a href="http://taylormali.com">Taylor Mali</a> that has been turned into a short video. I saw this at <a href="http://www.extremetheology.com/2010/01/christianity-is-incompatible-with-postmodernity.html">Extreme Theology</a> and thought I&#8217;d share it:</p>
<p><object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3829682&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3829682&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object>
<p><a href="http://vimeo.com/3829682">Typography</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/ronniebruce">Ronnie Bruce</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps some of the reasons that <a href="http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/christian-music-sucks-part-2">Christian music sucks</a> stem from postmodern nonsense?</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/09/how-do-i-on-this-blog/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: How do I&#8230; on this blog?'>How do I&#8230; on this blog?</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2009/03/why-did-we-stop-using-the-bible/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Why Did We Stop Using The Bible?'>Why Did We Stop Using The Bible?</a></li><li><a href='http://prayeramedic.com/2010/02/loaded-with-itunes-gift-cards/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Loaded with iTunes gift cards, but Christian music sucks'>Loaded with iTunes gift cards, but Christian music sucks</a></li></ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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