This is a post that has been on my heart for a few weeks now. I have gone back and forth in my mind about whether or not I should write it. But, I can't get it out of my head, so here goes.
I have serious issues with the Gospel of the Highly Favored. If you don't know what I'm talking about, the Gospel of the Highly Favored (my title) is a message that has us at the center and God as the one who shows us His favor in the form of material things like new houses, promotions, new cars, more money, etc. Some have called it the prosperity gospel to use perhaps a more familiar term. There are a few pastors/leaders who are proponents of this gospel. I have heard some of their teachings and read some of their thoughts on their message and why they do what they do. And, to be honest, I have yet to be swayed by anything they say. The more I read, the more I disagree.
It finally came to a head a few weeks ago. I felt that it was my responsibility as a pastor to speak against false teachings that may be out there about who God is and what His word says. Now, I'm no expert on the Scriptures. There are men and women far more versed than me on what God's Word says. However, I do know that what comes out of the "highly favored" teachers mouths is not the Gospel that is found in the Scriptures.
Yesterday I listened to one of these teachers. I listened to a youtube video while I was working on some things. It was a 27 minute long message that he gave to his church. For 26 minutes he told story after story with some Scripture mixed in. The Scriptures were taken out of context to support his ideas. The last minute he finally mentioned Jesus. You read that right. For 26 minutes he rambled on not once mentioning Jesus, the cross, the resurrection, or a new life. He took the last minute to do that. But, you know what? The Jesus he mentioned was one that wanted to give you a new house, new job, promotion, more money, etc. The Jesus he told people to invite into their hearts was not the Jesus of the Bible; it was a Jesus of this teacher's own design.
Now, I'm not saying that God will not bless us with material things. I'm not saying that we are not highly favored by God. But, we are not highly favored in the way that this teacher talked about. Here's an example from Scripture of why this type of teaching is wrong. In Mark 10 there is a story of a rich young man who comes to Jesus to justify himself. He asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to follow the commandment. The rich man confirmed he had done that since he was a boy. But, then Jesus had something else for him. He told the young man, "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me" (Mark 10:21). The rich young man thought he was already favored by God because he was rich and had followed the commandments. Well, he was partially right. He was favored by a god, his money. His money was his god and that is why Jesus told him to sell everything and give it away. And, what was the man's reaction to this? He walked away sad. He couldn't sell everything he had because he loved his money too much. Jesus offered him something better, but the rich young man was too content with his material possessions.
Now, here is where it gets interesting and how it relates to the prosperity teachers of today. The disciples couldn't believe what had just transpired. They said, "Who then can be saved" (Mark 10:26)? Now, why would they ask this? To the Jews of the first century, a man who was rich was highly favored by God. They thought that those people had an automatic ticket to heaven because their wealth showed how much God loved them. But, Jesus squashed that idea quickly. He said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God...With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God" (Mark 10:25, 27). Jesus wanted the people to know that to be highly favored by God is to know the One he sent. That's it. It's not about worldly wealth or possessions. It's about having a new life that is characterized by forgiveness of sins, the grace of God, and living for Him so that you might lead others to Him.
The Jesus the above teacher from youtube taught was a Jesus for the rich young ruler. The rich young ruler would go to that church. He would love it because it would justify his attitude and love for his money. But, according to the words of Jesus, he would be just as lost as he was in the first century.
In Psalm 44, the sons of Korah express their frustration over feeling abandoned by God. They use the words "rejected", "humbled", "devoured", "scattered", "reproach", "crushed", etc. Does this sound like a people who feel highly favored by God? They feel rejected by God, but read how they end this Psalm, "Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love" (Psalm 44:26). They didn't ask for a new house or a new car (they didn't have cars back then). They asked for God's salvation. They acknowledged his unfailing love for them. They were satisfied with that.
The Gospel of the Highly Favored is no Gospel at all because the word "gospel" means "good news." The Gospel of the Highly Favored does not bring hope. Here's why: let's say you watched one the above teacher's telecasts. Let's say that everything sounded great to you because you were down on your luck. Your whole life could defined as "hard times." You needed a breakthrough and this teacher promised a God who would do that for you. So, you prayed the 5 second prayer at the end of the telecast to accept this Jesus into your heart. Now, let's say your situation did not get better. Let's say it got worse. Let's instead of a promotion, you lost your job. Let's say instead of a new car, your car got repossessed. Let's say instead of a new house, you are evicted because you can't make rent and are now homeless. Where does that leave you? Do you still want that Jesus you just prayed to? That Jesus you thought you were accepting was a Jesus who was going to change your situation. You thought that Jesus was going to make this life way better, but instead it got worse.
Let's compare this to the Jesus of Scripture. The Jesus of Scripture promises suffering. The Jesus of Scripture says the road is narrow. The Jesus of Scripture says that if you want to follow him, you have to take up your cross daily and follow him after you deny yourself first (Luke 9:23). The reason he says this is because he also says this world is not our home. The Jesus of Scripture promises fulfillment and satisfaction, but he won't do it the way the world does it. He wants to be the one who satisfies us. He says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6). Before that he says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).
Jesus did not come to change your situation here. He may do that. And, you might be blessed financially because of him. But, your situation here is not his main goal. His main goal is to change you not your situation. He wants to make us all children of God (John 1:12-13). And, when we are children of God, God sees us like he sees Jesus, perfect. He loves us like he loves Jesus. He shows us grace upon grace. He shows us his unfailing love and never ending mercy. I'll take that over being "highly favored" here because all the things we know here, we can't take with us. But, we can always take Jesus with us.
The Gospel of the Highly Favored (again, my title) is not the Gospel. It's not life-changing. It's not eternity changing. It won't even change you. So, if there is no real power in it, why listen to it? Why support those who teach it? I'd rather deny myself, take up my cross, and follow the real Jesus.
