Just wondering about some things?

Check out this website:

http://www.elijahlist.com/

In addition to all the ads for income they even have a place where you can donate to them...
https://www.elijahlist.com/donations/donation.php


Ok...so what I am wondering is at what point are we not trusting in God for provision and at what point do we perform our human responsibility to make an avenue through which God can bless us with His provision.

 I am not against them doing what they feel comfortable in allowing on their own website.

The above website is an example of commercial endeavor coupled with the traditional 'donate' model. 

How much does it cost for a domain name and a web hosting service for a year?

 And how much time does it take a webmaster to maintain the entire package? 

You would be surprised, not very much at all.

 The monetization of all the ads and sponsored links brings in more then enough to maintain the site.

I am seeing more sites caving into the monetization of their websites, good Christian websites.

Which makes it all the more rewarding to me personally when I click on a link and there is nothing to be seen to draw in funding from any visible source.

I try hard to keep this site from any distracting attempts to put the touch on anyone's wallet.

I am not alone in this thinking about all of this.

 I recall sitting in the pew the day that Pastor Chuck Smith triumphantly declared that Calvary Chapel had just purchased the radio station KWVE.

 He told, joyously, all of us,

 "Now we won't have any more commercial interruptions, just worship and teaching of the Word of God.

 Everyone was cheerful and clapped about that because Calvary had to purchase air time on a nearby commercial station (KYMS) with the typical radio station commercial interrupts.

If you listen to KWVE today...well you get the point.

 Somewhere along the line he must have sold out to the $$$ aspects out of necessity...

But it is still a great radio station!

There is a big juggling act to perpetuate things that all of us do in the name of Christianity.

 There is one man that I have the deepest respect for in this area.

Never have I seen him put the touch on his congregation.

 He has an offering basket in the back table of his services and never even mentions it.

 The man is a man of God who I have seen give away $$$ to others after his own needs are barely being met.

 From my vantage point he has always truly trusted in God for his provision.

 His personal life is a testimony to Godly giving!

 As you can well imagine this man has deeply effected me by his living example of giving, in fact it is truly humbling.

When I was Mustard Seed Faith's roadie I found out that the band played in places where big offerings were taken on their behalf and the pastor of the church would hand Oden Fong an envelope for playing at his church.

 We all would go out to eat and Oden would open the sealed envelope, in it would be just a check for $15.00. 

It had to have cost around $300.00, back in those days, in travel expenses for the band to play at that church and the pastor took full advantage of the band.

 He used the band to promote his own ministry.

 This actually happened to all of the Maranatha bands, even some big names that you would be amazed to find out had taken full advantage of the early Jesus People bands.

Greed in ministry is never supported by Jesus Christ, never. But ample provision is.

Which brings us back to my question, at what point are we crossing the provision line?

I have worked next to Benny Hinn's home for around 15 years and I worked on that small industrial building on Dyer in Santa Ana where TBN got it's humble start.

 I have personally witnessed TBN going from barely having enough to having way to much $$$. 

Today Benny has to be guarded by Black Water security because he is worth so much etc.

 And TBN has amassed real estate and assets all over the place.

 Is this what Jesus desires in ministry?

I am more comfortable with just being a 'tent maker' like Paul and doing what I can out of my own resources and allowing the blessing of Google for providing our site and bandwidth to us.

 To seek for gain beyond this is not something that I am comfortable with.

To be fair, others have been called to amass $$$ to distribute as the Holy Spirit directs, I am not in that calling...nor would I want to be.

What I do here is not something that I desire to be taking $$$ from others for.

 There will be accountability in one sense.

Lets look at just a few examples of God's "Blessings."

Genesis 26:12-13
12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.

 13 The man became richer and richer, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.

Genesis 24:34-35
34And he said, I am Abraham's servant.
35And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become rich: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and male and female slaves, and camels, and asses.

Genesis 24:1
1And Abraham was now old, and advanced in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

Job 1:20
Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart.The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

Pastor Chuck Smith would tell us kids,way back when, "The calling of God is the enabling of God. When God guides God provides."

I add to that a saying that I heard or read somewhere once, "God does not call the qualified, He makes those whom He calls qualified."

For any of us to stress over what God has called us to is so foolish.

 To try and make a way for ourselves and not trust in the Great 'Way Maker' is just wrong!

To sit there and try and figure out a way to "monetize" ourselves in ministry is wrong.

Pastor Chuck Smith told us kids, "What you have to do to create a ministry is what you have to do to keep a ministry."

I know of very large ministries that some men have built that need to use every avenue of fund raising to perpetuate themselves. 

They even hire 'experts' at fund raising to guide them in their carnal appeal to the sheep for funding.

 You know them, the ones who are always sending you email with special offers etc...

I am wondering if, in fact, it ever was the intention of God to have them build such large ministries.

 I once told some men of God, during one of our Desert Ministry weekends, "If it were possible for God to die, and He did die, I believe that the large ministries would continue on as they are, unchanged by it."

They don't actually need God's help, they have built the machinery to gather in funds without Gods help. 

So nothing changes if it were possible for God to die.

My pure logic has always been that if God freely gives to us salvation and eternal life along with His Word, then how can we justify ever 'marketing' these things?

Seems to me that if you were poor you could not purchase any of the things that are being marketed. You would be hindered to have access to the seminars, CDs, DVDs, Bible cruises,etc.

Matthew 10:8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

If anyone will benefit from what God has invested in anyone's ministry, it is only because of what God has invested in them. It is something that comes freely from God in essence. So then, how can anyone think of marketing what God has invested in them?

If a book that someone has written will "Bless" me and help me in my walk with God, then it must contain Words from the Holy Spirit in it, right?

 Because certainly the words of earthly mankind will not benefit me over and above those of the Holy Spirit.

Does the Holy Spirit charge us $$$ to receive from Him?

Then how can we justify selling His Words to us to others?

Deuteronomy 8:3He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

So important that God "Humbled" them to get the point across!

Matthew 4:4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "

The person of the Holy Spirit speaks what He hears the Father speak and freely speaks to us what He hears.

John 7:38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

The Holy Spirit is that living water within us that flows out to others.

 Are we to charge admission for the flows benefit to others?

Should we come up with differing schemes to monetize the flow?

Acts 1:16and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus—

Notice that Peter does not charge anyone for this information and nor did King David when he spoke for the Holy Spirit. 

Should we charge for what the Holy Spirit speaks through what we teach or write?

There has been a hugh compromise in the trusting God for provision department these days. Seems like everyone in ministry is on the take in one way or another in very subtle ways and some not so subtle.

It is only every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God that we are to live by...and by our food bread.

Matthew 4:4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "

I don't live by your word, nor do you by mine, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God. 

I don't expect to pay for Words from the mouth of God that ministers package and promote.

Now on the other hand, there is a practical side of all of this.

 There are legitimate needs in ministry, such as paper and labor for bibles to be provided to others.

 Means of conveyance for Gods Word to reach others.

 Buildings to meet in and maintenance of them etc...

And of course if a man of God dedicates his life to the ministry, he and his family have financial needs that must be addressed so that he can perform his ministry.

There must be a balance.

 Unfortunately most don't want balance.

 A lot of ministries get wealthy and all the principles of those ministries get wealthy.

 The whole family floats on the ministries marketing tools. 

And they usually live above the level of their congregation economically.

Greed in ministry is something to be feared as men of God. 

It is way too easy to convince ourselves that God is blessing us as we continue to market what God has intrusted to us, seeking to increase our $$$ intake anyway that we can.

I choose to stop the nonsense. 

You won't find anything of God to buy from us, but you will always have free access to anything here.

 Let others market the Word of God that the Holy Spirit has given to them...we have no desire to store up wealth and to live as rich men do.

Matthew 6:26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Luke 12:17-19 (New International Version)
17He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '

20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

"May you always have Just Enough."

I truly am thankful for the wonderful blessing that Google and staff freely extends to us for providing this blog space, asking nothing in return from us.

 The law of sowing and reaping is working for them...

Luke 6:38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Do we take, or do we give in ministry?

Here is what apostle Paul had to say:

Paul said in I Cor. 9:18 "that I preach the gospel without charge", II Thess 3:8-9 "we did not eat any one's bread without paying, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you. It was not because we have not that right, but to give you in our conduct an example to imitate." Jesus told His ministers when He sent them out "Freely you have received, freely give".

I believe that Pastor John Courson has it right.

You can listen to his Bible studies for free or you can choose to purchase them, but he leaves it up to you how you access his studies.

David Sloane
Shekinah Christian Fellowship
Truth seeker

John 8:32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.