HAS HEAVEN GONE BANKRUPT?

Yes, quit looking around,  I am the one asking the question. And for clarity sake, I shall ask again, has heaven gone bankrupt?  My question stems from the recent happenings in our churches. The fact that the church of God has metamorphosed from a house of prayer and worship into a place of trade, money laundering, money doubling and a den of thieves and armed robbers, all in the name of seed sowing and ministry. To put it mildly, our churches are now branded 'sow seed ministry'. Anywhere you turn, the song is the same; sow seed! 

Yesterday, as I hopped into a taxi, I was greeted by the coolest cab-man I've ever met. From all indications, he looked educated, calm and collected. His demeanor shows that he is 'born-again', and to further validate my assumptions, he was playing a sermon from his car's  DVD. The preacher went on and on, on the subject of giving and sowing seed in other to activate God's blessings. I found out later that the topic for consideration was 'Respecting the Oil'. He said that a lot of people have prayed for years, placing demands on the altar without answers because the alter does not know  and recognize them. "That you cannot even remember what you have brought to the altar as an individual because you've made it a habit of bringing infinitesimal things before the altar" .

 The Pastor went further in stating that if you have bled on the altar as a result of your giving, you will not forget such an encounter in a hurry, neither will the altar  forget you. He talked about how he gave his three cars to God all in one day. Now, according to him, that is the kind of giving that the altar will never forget. The question that immediately came to my mind was this, where then is the place of the widow's  mite? In giving to God, is it about the quantity or quality of the gift? Quality in this sense must have to do with the heart with which you are giving the gift. A man might give a Billion Dollars but in the sight of God, it had no weight neither does it hold any meaning. Are you giving as an act of worship or for show? Are you giving because you've been cajoled to give? Remember, God loves a cheerful giver!

Upon discussing this subject (gift of three cars to God in one day) with my office assistant, he simply asked me this question that you're about to read, he said,  "so na God go dey drive the three cars be dat ba?" . The question which is more rhetorical, got me thinking. For a second, I stopped to ask myself, but God doesn't  need the car or any other material thing. How then can I give and say boldly, I've given to God? I think by giving to the needy, one gives to God. Or what do you think?

This particular preacher said a lot of things that I did not agree with and if I were to be listening to him live,  I would have protested, because in my opinion, most of his postulations and teaching are not Biblical. Now here the part that will shock you my friend, he said, you claim that you've brought gifts to God's altar and you cannot remember, is it God that receives gifts from different sources at the same time that will remember what you've given? (paraphrased, but I tried as much as possible to state the contents as exactly  as possible).

It was at this juncture that I was forced to ask the Cab-man who this preacher was. With an air of pride, he immediately supplied me the name of the Pastor and even told me the name of their church in case I've been blessed listening to the sermon and would want to start worshiping with them. If you are itching to hear his name, I'll have to disappoint you. I can't share that piece of information here... lol! But to give you a hint, he is 'pastoring' one of the churches rocking the capital city of Nigeria and goes by the following titles: REV. DR. ...

Some time ago, I read in a bulletin where a pastor categorically stated that God is not moved by the amount of prayers we've prayed or by the tears that we've dropped, but that what moves God is our sacrifice. He quickly cited the account of King Solomon and his 'thousand' sacrifice. He went further to share the account of a woman that was in her 40s and was still single, who came for his 'singles program' and after hearing his sermon on giving,  went and closed her account and brought it to the church as sacrificial seed. That same week, a man came from the US and told her that she is his wife, and within some months, he came back to Nigeria and they were married. It is stories like this and more that prompted me to ask if heaven has gone bankrupt? Because everyone tells us to give to God, even when it is evident that such money is  being used for personal aggrandizement.

Dear Church member, it is glaring that you love God passionately; 'am sure He is aware of that too, but I want you to bear in mind that God is not a respecter of persons and unlike humans, you cannot buy His heart at any cost imaginable. The saying that everybody has a price does not apply to God. I want you to know that we are living in the last days, in fact, the end is upon us and we do not know it. 'Pastoring' has become a very lucrative venture, every Tom, Dick and Harry now goes with the title, Reverend, Apostle, Prophet this and that. Friend, God is more interested in our souls not on what we have to give. He accepts the giver before his gift(s). God does not need your little pennies to stay financially afloat. He is a rich God. He said: The silver and gold is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills are mine... Strive daily to live a life pleasing to Him, that is all that matters. Learn to give as an act of love and worship and nothing more... One of the ways to demonstrate your love for God is to give to the needy, the destitute, the widows and the orphans around you. Sowing seed to God's altar doesn't necessarily mean bringing it to the Church. Read Matthew 25: 32-46.

To you my beloved Pastor/Minister, I Know you love the good life, God wants that for you too! But chase not after the good life. Rather, concern yourself with the King's business, for when you do, The Kingdom's treasury will service your every need! But chase thou after the things with pecuniary value, then, thou shall die like a common slave without an inheritance. (The Word of the Lord, as delivered by Pastor PEREZ OKAFOR-OKEZUONU of The Potter's Clay Citadel Ministry *PCCM)

#LegallyBlunt    @perez_Hatri