“The Bible says I wish above all things that you would prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. I believe that,” declares Bishop Clarence McClendon.
—And when I read that for the first time, my heart and soul were grieved beyond my ability to fully articulate particularly for the aggregate tens of thousands which hang on the every word of preachers of his ilk, but also too, I was filled with a zealous rage because of the misrepresentation of the Holy Scriptures to suit the erroneous doctrine of this shepherd.
When my wife showed me the extended trailer for the upcoming demonic propaganda, my mouth was agape and all I could immediately think of was Apostle John's warning of Antichrist's coming (in I John 2:18) and the charge of Jude to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 3), even in the face of fierce, however smiling apostasy. That seductive apostasy is here, for some of the most well known ministers in America today have agreed to star in a “reality show” intended to show that pastors are “human too.”
The prophets of old have been called throughout the pages of the Holy Scriptures, “man of God”, and I like that term because the prophets themselves never escaped the truth that they were still men. True, prophets like Moses, Elijah, Ezekiel, and Daniel (and many others) had astounding ministries but they could not trancend beyond their fallen, sinful limitations. And with that being painfully true they had no need to show their faults and shortcomings for their ministries to be validated—in fact, these men were men of piety and humility knowing full well they were totally unworthy of the awesome God who called them! Isaiah, for example, was so conscious of his sin that when he saw Jehovah high and lifted up, he cried, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5). He thought himself ruined because of his SIN, and though privileged with that blesséd revelation he knew that he was most unlike God in the area of complete, perfect HOLINESS. When Peter saw the Lord Jesus' power even over the fish of the sea the first thing he uttered was, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8)! He, in the face of the Lord's divine authority was faced with his complete unworthiness to even be in Jesus' presence. That attitude is lost among the “preachers of Los Angeles.” Why do they think we should be made aware of the faults we already know they have, faults and shortcomings that they and the misguided producers of this show think are worthy of our viewing time?
Is there any wonder that America is on a collision course with the judgment of a holy and righteous God?
Is this the perspective of Apostle Paul who cried out, “Who will deliver me from this body of death” (Rom. 7:24)? Absolutely not. Paul wanted desperately to be free from this life of death and sin to be with the Lord Jesus who laid up riches in HEAVEN for the Apostle, not these fleeting, fragile baubles and trinkets this world treasures. Apparently, the pastors on this show have glossed over the fact that the Apostles died DESTITUTE, all but one facing agonizing and humiliating martyrdom. Where in this program is the Apostles' doctrine taught to EMBRACE suffering and shame for the sake of Christ (John 15:18-20; Acts 5:40-42; 21:13; II Cor. 11:22-30; Phil. 4:11-12; Jam. 1:2-4; I Pet. 3:14)? Are the saints even now who are languishing in N. Korean, Iranian, and Egyptian prisons simply for being Christians somehow less sanctified, spiritually inferior to these men because they have nothing except for the clothes on their backs? Were those pastors who led worship services in the sewers of Romania during the days of the iron-fisted rule of communism, who ate garbage from trash bins in the dead of night ignorant of fundamental Biblical doctrine? A thousand times, no! The Gospel was the only thing that mattered to those shepherds and their only aim was to please the Lord who bought them with His own blood; they knew perfectly well that love of this world is hatred toward God (Matt. 6:24; Jam. 4:4; I John 2:15-16). Those men joyously went to the gallows, the guillotines, the fiery stakes, the colloseums, albeit with fear, but with praise on their lips and with dignity, and they did not regret letting go of anything and everything this world could ever offer.
When the Lord Jesus began His earthly ministry, He did so in seamless line with His valiant forerunner, John the Baptist, and both of these men thundered before the lost, “Repent!”
John the Baptist, the greatest man who ever lived (according to Christ Himself in Matt. 11:11) clothed himself in camel's hair and the Bible says he ate locusts and wild honey (Matt. 3:4). This greatest of the prophets (Luke 7:28), who had the distinct assignment to prepare men for the arrival of Messiah (Mark 1:7-8), did not minister from gold-covered chariots, nor did he reside in a cavernous, ivory-columned palace—his place was in the wilderness and his life was hard.
If God's will above all is that we should be prosperous and in good health, where was God when John was accosted by King Herod's thuggish soldiers (Matt. 14:3-5)? Where was God when John was martyred simply for speaking truth to power? He was right where He always has been—at the seat of His sovereign power.
Did not John have a greater calling than Noel Jones, or Clarence McClendon, or Deitrick Haddon? Where were his riches? Where was his life of comfort and luxury?
Consider Jesus Christ the King of Glory, the Most High Potentate (I Tim. 6:15) who, having been born in a manger chose His food to exclusively be obedience to the commands of the Father (John 4:31-34). Jesus Christ had every right to every throne, kingdom, empire, and crown the world had to offer, but according to His own words He had no place to lay His head (Luke 9:58). The Lord of Lords was homeless! Surely He knew the Scriptures, especially concerning wealth; did He have a crisis of faith?—It would be heresy to say such a thing.
Every platform was a platform to reach the lost with the Good News, not for self-promotion. John the Baptist spoke only of the Lamb of God. Jesus Christ spoke only the Father's words. These ministers have disqualified this popular endeavour of being of God because the focus is on themselves, and not on Jesus Christ and the urgency of His command to repent—repent, not be prosperous! Repent, not be in good health! I tell you, these men are leading so many astray.
Now of course, God blesses whomever He chooses and it is His good pleasure that His own prosper, but that prosperity is not always with this world's goods and the Bible urges us not to be stumbling blocks to those weaker in the faith (Romans 14:13). Many who are just escaping the iron grip of the hedonism and materialism of present-day American culture will at least be confused by the program's message that is aligned to the philosophy of this culture while trying to live out the truth that in Christ is freedom from that which enslaved them; at the worst, they will be duped into believed that this is the will of God for their lives, not having matured in the Spirit to be able to identify false doctrine.
Every Apostle, and by that I mean those ordinary men who were set apart to walk with Christ (Acts 1:21-25) and be direct, personal recipients of His most crucial teachings all (except one) died horrible deaths. Apostle John, writer of the Revelation of Jesus Christ was a victim of an attempted assassination and was later nearly worked to death on an island called Patmos. These men died broke (by this world's standards) as did millions who followed their example throughout the history of the Church Age. But now, we are to all be in perfect health, and wealthy to boot? God wants holiness far more than He wants us to be healthy! He wants us to be obedient, more than He wants us to be wealthy! The Bible is full of examples of men and women who knew that fact and lived and died accordingly. We must follow the Scriptures, not men!
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8).
“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:29-35).
