*** Warning – the following essay contains some graphic & disturbing photos, as well as some words that will hopefully disturb you ***

 (The setting is a dusty road in Africa.  An American preacher, dressed in suit and tie, opens his Bible and begins to address the crowd)

 “I’m here this morning to tell you that God is calling you up higher in your life.  God has great things planned for you.  All He’s asking of you this morning is to believe it – to believe that He has great things in store for His children.  He’s asking you to claim His promises, to stand on the truth that He is a good God who wants to bless you.  Praise be to God… give the Lord a hand clap this morning”

“How many in here believe that God wants to give you good things today, tomorrow, and for the rest of your life?   How many of you believe that if you would just trust in the Lord with all of your heart, that He will cause you to prosper beyond your wildest dreams?  Make no mistake, my brothers and sisters:  the Lord wants to bless you this day.”

“Remember, my brothers and sisters, what that great prophet Moses said to the people of God, and take it to heart this morning.  He said in Deuteronomy 28 that if you will hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, if you would observe and do all his commandments, that all His blessings shall come on thee, yes and even overtake thee.  You will be blessed in the city and in the field.  Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your cattle.  Your basket and your store will be blessed.  Can I hear an Amen?  Is anyone out here this morning who loves the Lord?”

“Indeed, Moses said that you will be blessed coming in, and blessed going out.  Your storehouse will be blessed, and all that you set your hand to will be blessed.  Yes, my brothers and sisters, ‘you will be blessed in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.  He will open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand.’  Is anyone catching a vision for the prosperity which God intends to rain down on you?  Hallelujah.  Let’s give the Lord a hand clap this morning.”

“Oh, the Lord is good… I can feel Him in this place.  Brothers and sisters, believe on the Lord this morning.  The Lord has good things in store for you.  He has promotion in store for you in your work.  He is saying to you this morning that if you would only believe in Him, He will strengthen your marriages and your families.  We need to expect great things from the Lord today.  We need to choose to be happy.  We need to expect that we will be happy, healthy, and whole, for that is the Lord’s will for you.  Brothers and sisters, I have no doubt that you are facing some difficult situations in my life.  I want you to know that I’ve been there.  Why, just the other day my car broke down on the side of the highway, and when I went to call for help, I realized that I had left my cell phone on the counter at Starbucks.  But I called out to the Lord, and He provided a friendly motorist who came to my aid.  Brothers and sisters, the Lord is telling you today that you can choose to be happy, even in the midst of your difficult circumstances.  It isn’t easy, but we know that in Christ, all things are possible.” 

“We’re going to collect our tithes and offerings in a minute, and I want to tell you that this collection is not because I need your money.  Yes, I believe along with the apostle Paul that ‘God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.’  We know God will provide.  No, this collection is for your benefit, for we know that a man shall reap what he soweth, that ‘he which soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.’  Beloved, I wish along with the Apostle John that ‘above all things thou mayest prosper and be in health.’  And this is the Lord’s path to prosperity – ‘give and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.’  Test the Lord in this.  Give what you have, and see how the Lord blesses you.  See if He will not ‘throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’”

“The Lord wants to prosper you today in every way – relational happiness, promotion at work, financial windfall, a happier home.  Trust Him in this.  Enlarge your vision, and see for yourself how He blesses His children.  Amen.  Let’s give the Lord another hand clap this morning.”

(end story)

Listen to the words of Jesus, as recorded in Luke 16:19-26:

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.  At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.  In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.  And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’”

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Write a comment