There has, in recent times, been a rather sustained campaign waged by the media, especially among some of the operators in some of our leading internet news sites, aimed, I think, at running down some of our leading Pentecostal pastors.

Some of the internet newsmen and commentators whom I dub ‘’internet warriors’’ tend to be sometimes irreverent, sceptical and excessively fault-finding and so they do not hesitate to sex up or slant news concerning these great men of God to portray them in very unflattering light.

The main targets of some of the unjustified attacks are Bishop David Oyedepo, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Matthew Ashimolowo, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and to some extent, Pastor Chris Okotie. The main plank in this campaign of calumny is to portray these priests as a set of clever rouges that uses gimmicks to fleece millions of their gullible congregation of billions of Naira to enable them to live a luxurious, if not obscene, lifestyle. The approach is sometimes not too direct. It is subtle and consists of insinuations, innuendos and efforts to amplify rumours, twist half-truths, create doubts in the minds of their mammoth followers and impute dark motives to the actions and statements of these men in order to show that they are not real men of God but some Smart Alecs out to undo the millions of men and women that see them as representatives of God on earth.

Members of the congregations of these men’s churches are often portrayed as naive, foolish, bewitched, gullible and pitiable men and women who allow themselves to be mindlessly exploited by these men to sustain a lavish lifestyle of personal jets, designer clothes and other creature comforts. Today, I want to come out boldly to say that I am a member of the congregation of Bishop David Oyedepo’s church. I worship at the Nyanya, Abuja branch of the Church. I want to say it out loud that I am happy to be ‘exploited’ by Oyedepo.

As part of this mischievous campaign to run these men down, you read some news media irreverently referring to them as the ‘’richest pastors in Nigeria or Africa’’ as if the media concerned are on the stable of Forbes magazine rating the fortunes of these servants of God when we ought to be reading about the most impactful pastors in Nigeria or Africa.

If it was not deliberate mischief, they ignore the monumental impact these church leaders are making building nursery, primary and secondary schools and universities across the nation, founding hospitals, establishing outreach programmes and sending missions that are helping millions of the poor, widows and orphans. Some of these churches buy lands and sell at subsidised rates to members, permanently removing them from poverty. The Living Faith Church, pastored by David Oyedepo for instance, is set to build the single largest housing estate in Africa in Ota, a programme that will astound many because of its sheer size and sophistication.

Critics of these men do not see all these. It is the jets they see. They say these men are not an imitation of Jesus Christ; that they ride in personal jets. Contrary to the belief of some ignorant, I want to point out that the Lord Jesus did not in any way glorify poverty. He identified with, and felt compassion for, the poor but he never said that you have to be poor before you can worship God. And it is not hard to see why the Lord did not glorify poverty. Poverty is such a terrible disease that it sometimes kills. See how many Nigerians die of easily preventable illnesses and diseases because they are simply too poor to do what is necessary. We should note that hen the occasion demanded it, Jesus rode on a donkey which was the Hummer jeep of his time. And when he was hung on the cross, it is reported that people cast lot for his robe which indicate that the robe he put on was quite an expensive one which the bidders did not want to let go to rot in the grave just like that. It is not blasphemy to say that if Jesus lived in our time, he will not hesitate to use jets to reach the far flung corners of the earth with his message of liberation.

Those who claim to love some of us who sit under the teaching of these men so much that they are trying to champion our’ liberation’ from their ‘exploitation’ should be pursuing something else because we are not complaining. We are happy at our ‘exploitation’ and will willingly allow ourselves to be ‘exploited’ more and more for we know the benefit of our exploitation. We have been taught the benefit of giving for the sake of God and have seen the reward so it is no going back, no withholding. If our giving makes our spiritual fathers fabulously rich, we are gratified.

I think the mistake some of the critics of successful Pentecostal preachers make is that their poverty mentality makes them see the possession of a jet or a fleet of them as a luxury and not as instruments meant by the church leaders to accomplish their goals. These men are busier that many presidents of nations in Africa and in some parts of the world. This is the truth.

The problem also is that there are many who mistake poverty for virtue. This is wrong. A poor man will not go to heaven just because he is poor nor will a rich man get there because of his riches. It depends entirely on the quality of life one lives, whether or not one’s life is lived according to the rules laid down by God. There is absolutely nothing evil in a man of God having fabulous wealth if such possessions are legitimately or honestly got. What is more, priests or pastors are representatives of God on earth. They should be an example to people of what God wants his people to look like.

The whole aim of our new birth is to live a very prosperous life; to prosper in our health, in our finances, in our career, in our family life and in everything that we do. I even doubt if without financial well being any one can worship God to the best of his desire. Wealth and riches can assist us to worship God better.

The truth of the matter is that some of these men do not become rich essentially by the tithe, prophet’s offering, sacrificial offering, seed and other gifts which we give but by reason of the wisdom God gives them to make wealth and by dint of their hard work and frugal lives. One of the success secrets I know about these extraordinary men of God is that they do not drink expensive whiskeys and champagne; they do not smoke expensive cigars; they do not womanise, they do not patronise night clubs and point- and- kill joints where they waste their fortune on deadly foods and their strength on women of easy virtue; they do not over eat and they do not over dress.

Add to a disciplined lifestyle the fact that these men are extremely frugal and exercise a great deal of financial intelligence. I heard that one day a church member gave a gift of a very expensive shoe to Oyedepo and when he asked and was told of the price he demanded that the shoe be taken back and exchanged for the cash so he can better use the money to do the work of God. I heard another story that during the formative years of the Living Faith Church ministry, Oyedepo despatched his deputy, Abioye to found the Maiduguri branch of the church. He approved for Abioye, a modest sum of money and instructed him that the money should not finish and that he should not write to headquarters requesting for more money! It was therefore left for Abioye to figure out by using his God-endowed creative ingenuity, how to live within his means yet accomplish the goal for which he was sent. And let us never forget that these men work extremely hard for God to bless the work of their hands. With these attributes and personal lifestyle, which are according to the laid down rules of God, it is impossible for God not to bless them because God said he will bless the work of the hands of those who live according to his tenets.

My firm belief is that if what these men do is according to the laid down principles of God then their personal success and congregational growth will endure but if what they are doing is from some demonic power and from the wisdom of men, sooner or later their empires will collapse. And if it is discovered tomorrow that Oyedepo and all what he has been teaching us are not of God, I will acknowledge to myself that I have truly been hoodwinked and apologise to those that I may have misled. But for now, I will continue to make myself and members of my household available for ‘exploitation’ by Oyedepo. I think that rather than been diminished by his exploitation I am gaining a lot from his teachings and observances and therefore have no cause whatsoever to want to leave following him and emulating some of his ways.

http://www.transparencyng.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5098:im-happy-to-be-exploited-by-oyedepo&catid=59:guest&Itemid=37

You've said it all God bless you

MAYOWAAK:

There has, in recent times, been a rather sustained campaign waged by the media, especially among some of the operators in some of our leading internet news sites, aimed, I think, at running down some of our leading Pentecostal pastors.

Some of the internet newsmen and commentators whom I dub ‘’internet warriors’’ tend to be sometimes irreverent, sceptical and excessively fault-finding and so they do not hesitate to sex up or slant news concerning these great men of God to portray them in very unflattering light.

The main targets of some of the unjustified attacks are Bishop David Oyedepo, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Matthew Ashimolowo, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and to some extent, Pastor Chris Okotie. The main plank in this campaign of calumny is to portray these priests as a set of clever rouges that uses gimmicks to fleece millions of their gullible congregation of billions of Naira to enable them to live a luxurious, if not obscene, lifestyle. The approach is sometimes not too direct. It is subtle and consists of insinuations, innuendos and efforts to amplify rumours, twist half-truths, create doubts in the minds of their mammoth followers and impute dark motives to the actions and statements of these men in order to show that they are not real men of God but some Smart Alecs out to undo the millions of men and women that see them as representatives of God on earth.

Members of the congregations of these men’s churches are often portrayed as naive, foolish, bewitched, gullible and pitiable men and women who allow themselves to be mindlessly exploited by these men to sustain a lavish lifestyle of personal jets, designer clothes and other creature comforts. Today, I want to come out boldly to say that I am a member of the congregation of Bishop David Oyedepo’s church. I worship at the Nyanya, Abuja branch of the Church. I want to say it out loud that I am happy to be ‘exploited’ by Oyedepo.

As part of this mischievous campaign to run these men down, you read some news media irreverently referring to them as the ‘’richest pastors in Nigeria or Africa’’ as if the media concerned are on the stable of Forbes magazine rating the fortunes of these servants of God when we ought to be reading about the most impactful pastors in Nigeria or Africa.

If it was not deliberate mischief, they ignore the monumental impact these church leaders are making building nursery, primary and secondary schools and universities across the nation, founding hospitals, establishing outreach programmes and sending missions that are helping millions of the poor, widows and orphans. Some of these churches buy lands and sell at subsidised rates to members, permanently removing them from poverty. The Living Faith Church, pastored by David Oyedepo for instance, is set to build the single largest housing estate in Africa in Ota, a programme that will astound many because of its sheer size and sophistication.

Critics of these men do not see all these. It is the jets they see. They say these men are not an imitation of Jesus Christ; that they ride in personal jets. Contrary to the belief of some ignorant, I want to point out that the Lord Jesus did not in any way glorify poverty. He identified with, and felt compassion for, the poor but he never said that you have to be poor before you can worship God. And it is not hard to see why the Lord did not glorify poverty. Poverty is such a terrible disease that it sometimes kills. See how many Nigerians die of easily preventable illnesses and diseases because they are simply too poor to do what is necessary. We should note that hen the occasion demanded it, Jesus rode on a donkey which was the Hummer jeep of his time. And when he was hung on the cross, it is reported that people cast lot for his robe which indicate that the robe he put on was quite an expensive one which the bidders did not want to let go to rot in the grave just like that. It is not blasphemy to say that if Jesus lived in our time, he will not hesitate to use jets to reach the far flung corners of the earth with his message of liberation.

Those who claim to love some of us who sit under the teaching of these men so much that they are trying to champion our’ liberation’ from their ‘exploitation’ should be pursuing something else because we are not complaining. We are happy at our ‘exploitation’ and will willingly allow ourselves to be ‘exploited’ more and more for we know the benefit of our exploitation. We have been taught the benefit of giving for the sake of God and have seen the reward so it is no going back, no withholding. If our giving makes our spiritual fathers fabulously rich, we are gratified.

I think the mistake some of the critics of successful Pentecostal preachers make is that their poverty mentality makes them see the possession of a jet or a fleet of them as a luxury and not as instruments meant by the church leaders to accomplish their goals. These men are busier that many presidents of nations in Africa and in some parts of the world. This is the truth.

The problem also is that there are many who mistake poverty for virtue. This is wrong. A poor man will not go to heaven just because he is poor nor will a rich man get there because of his riches. It depends entirely on the quality of life one lives, whether or not one’s life is lived according to the rules laid down by God. There is absolutely nothing evil in a man of God having fabulous wealth if such possessions are legitimately or honestly got. What is more, priests or pastors are representatives of God on earth. They should be an example to people of what God wants his people to look like.

The whole aim of our new birth is to live a very prosperous life; to prosper in our health, in our finances, in our career, in our family life and in everything that we do. I even doubt if without financial well being any one can worship God to the best of his desire. Wealth and riches can assist us to worship God better.

The truth of the matter is that some of these men do not become rich essentially by the tithe, prophet’s offering, sacrificial offering, seed and other gifts which we give but by reason of the wisdom God gives them to make wealth and by dint of their hard work and frugal lives. One of the success secrets I know about these extraordinary men of God is that they do not drink expensive whiskeys and champagne; they do not smoke expensive cigars; they do not womanise, they do not patronise night clubs and point- and- kill joints where they waste their fortune on deadly foods and their strength on women of easy virtue; they do not over eat and they do not over dress.

Add to a disciplined lifestyle the fact that these men are extremely frugal and exercise a great deal of financial intelligence. I heard that one day a church member gave a gift of a very expensive shoe to Oyedepo and when he asked and was told of the price he demanded that the shoe be taken back and exchanged for the cash so he can better use the money to do the work of God. I heard another story that during the formative years of the Living Faith Church ministry, Oyedepo despatched his deputy, Abioye to found the Maiduguri branch of the church. He approved for Abioye, a modest sum of money and instructed him that the money should not finish and that he should not write to headquarters requesting for more money! It was therefore left for Abioye to figure out by using his God-endowed creative ingenuity, how to live within his means yet accomplish the goal for which he was sent. And let us never forget that these men work extremely hard for God to bless the work of their hands. With these attributes and personal lifestyle, which are according to the laid down rules of God, it is impossible for God not to bless them because God said he will bless the work of the hands of those who live according to his tenets.

My firm belief is that if what these men do is according to the laid down principles of God then their personal success and congregational growth will endure but if what they are doing is from some demonic power and from the wisdom of men, sooner or later their empires will collapse. And if it is discovered tomorrow that Oyedepo and all what he has been teaching us are not of God, I will acknowledge to myself that I have truly been hoodwinked and apologise to those that I may have misled. But for now, I will continue to make myself and members of my household available for ‘exploitation’ by Oyedepo. I think that rather than been diminished by his exploitation I am gaining a lot from his teachings and observances and therefore have no cause whatsoever to want to leave following him and emulating some of his ways.

http://www.transparencyng.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5098:im-happy-to-be-exploited-by-oyedepo&catid=59:guest&Itemid=37

And here we have it. Stockholm syndrome at its finest.
I just wonder what those people in those times considered horses, carriages, palanquins and ships to be if they thought donkeys were hummers.

MAYOWAAK:

There has, in recent times, been a rather sustained campaign waged by the media, especially among some of the operators in some of our leading internet news sites, aimed, I think, at running down some of our leading Pentecostal pastors.

Some of the internet newsmen and commentators whom I dub ‘’internet warriors’’ tend to be sometimes irreverent, sceptical and excessively fault-finding and so they do not hesitate to sex up or slant news concerning these great men of God to portray them in very unflattering light.

The main targets of some of the unjustified attacks are Bishop David Oyedepo, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Matthew Ashimolowo, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and to some extent, Pastor Chris Okotie. The main plank in this campaign of calumny is to portray these priests as a set of clever rouges that uses gimmicks to fleece millions of their gullible congregation of billions of Naira to enable them to live a luxurious, if not obscene, lifestyle. The approach is sometimes not too direct. It is subtle and consists of insinuations, innuendos and efforts to amplify rumours, twist half-truths, create doubts in the minds of their mammoth followers and impute dark motives to the actions and statements of these men in order to show that they are not real men of God but some Smart Alecs out to undo the millions of men and women that see them as representatives of God on earth.

Members of the congregations of these men’s churches are often portrayed as naive, foolish, bewitched, gullible and pitiable men and women who allow themselves to be mindlessly exploited by these men to sustain a lavish lifestyle of personal jets, designer clothes and other creature comforts. Today, I want to come out boldly to say that I am a member of the congregation of Bishop David Oyedepo’s church. I worship at the Nyanya, Abuja branch of the Church. I want to say it out loud that I am happy to be ‘exploited’ by Oyedepo.

As part of this mischievous campaign to run these men down, you read some news media irreverently referring to them as the ‘’richest pastors in Nigeria or Africa’’ as if the media concerned are on the stable of Forbes magazine rating the fortunes of these servants of God when we ought to be reading about the most impactful pastors in Nigeria or Africa.

If it was not deliberate mischief, they ignore the monumental impact these church leaders are making building nursery, primary and secondary schools and universities across the nation, founding hospitals, establishing outreach programmes and sending missions that are helping millions of the poor, widows and orphans. Some of these churches buy lands and sell at subsidised rates to members, permanently removing them from poverty. The Living Faith Church, pastored by David Oyedepo for instance, is set to build the single largest housing estate in Africa in Ota, a programme that will astound many because of its sheer size and sophistication.

Critics of these men do not see all these. It is the jets they see. They say these men are not an imitation of Jesus Christ; that they ride in personal jets. Contrary to the belief of some ignorant, I want to point out that the Lord Jesus did not in any way glorify poverty. He identified with, and felt compassion for, the poor but he never said that you have to be poor before you can worship God. And it is not hard to see why the Lord did not glorify poverty. Poverty is such a terrible disease that it sometimes kills. See how many Nigerians die of easily preventable illnesses and diseases because they are simply too poor to do what is necessary. We should note that hen the occasion demanded it, Jesus rode on a donkey which was the Hummer jeep of his time. And when he was hung on the cross, it is reported that people cast lot for his robe which indicate that the robe he put on was quite an expensive one which the bidders did not want to let go to rot in the grave just like that. It is not blasphemy to say that if Jesus lived in our time, he will not hesitate to use jets to reach the far flung corners of the earth with his message of liberation.

Those who claim to love some of us who sit under the teaching of these men so much that they are trying to champion our’ liberation’ from their ‘exploitation’ should be pursuing something else because we are not complaining. We are happy at our ‘exploitation’ and will willingly allow ourselves to be ‘exploited’ more and more for we know the benefit of our exploitation. We have been taught the benefit of giving for the sake of God and have seen the reward so it is no going back, no withholding. If our giving makes our spiritual fathers fabulously rich, we are gratified.

I think the mistake some of the critics of successful Pentecostal preachers make is that their poverty mentality makes them see the possession of a jet or a fleet of them as a luxury and not as instruments meant by the church leaders to accomplish their goals. These men are busier that many presidents of nations in Africa and in some parts of the world. This is the truth.

The problem also is that there are many who mistake poverty for virtue. This is wrong. A poor man will not go to heaven just because he is poor nor will a rich man get there because of his riches. It depends entirely on the quality of life one lives, whether or not one’s life is lived according to the rules laid down by God. There is absolutely nothing evil in a man of God having fabulous wealth if such possessions are legitimately or honestly got. What is more, priests or pastors are representatives of God on earth. They should be an example to people of what God wants his people to look like.

The whole aim of our new birth is to live a very prosperous life; to prosper in our health, in our finances, in our career, in our family life and in everything that we do. I even doubt if without financial well being any one can worship God to the best of his desire. Wealth and riches can assist us to worship God better.

The truth of the matter is that some of these men do not become rich essentially by the tithe, prophet’s offering, sacrificial offering, seed and other gifts which we give but by reason of the wisdom God gives them to make wealth and by dint of their hard work and frugal lives. One of the success secrets I know about these extraordinary men of God is that they do not drink expensive whiskeys and champagne; they do not smoke expensive cigars; they do not womanise, they do not patronise night clubs and point- and- kill joints where they waste their fortune on deadly foods and their strength on women of easy virtue; they do not over eat and they do not over dress.

Add to a disciplined lifestyle the fact that these men are extremely frugal and exercise a great deal of financial intelligence. I heard that one day a church member gave a gift of a very expensive shoe to Oyedepo and when he asked and was told of the price he demanded that the shoe be taken back and exchanged for the cash so he can better use the money to do the work of God. I heard another story that during the formative years of the Living Faith Church ministry, Oyedepo despatched his deputy, Abioye to found the Maiduguri branch of the church. He approved for Abioye, a modest sum of money and instructed him that the money should not finish and that he should not write to headquarters requesting for more money! It was therefore left for Abioye to figure out by using his God-endowed creative ingenuity, how to live within his means yet accomplish the goal for which he was sent. And let us never forget that these men work extremely hard for God to bless the work of their hands. With these attributes and personal lifestyle, which are according to the laid down rules of God, it is impossible for God not to bless them because God said he will bless the work of the hands of those who live according to his tenets.

My firm belief is that if what these men do is according to the laid down principles of God then their personal success and congregational growth will endure but if what they are doing is from some demonic power and from the wisdom of men, sooner or later their empires will collapse. And if it is discovered tomorrow that Oyedepo and all what he has been teaching us are not of God, I will acknowledge to myself that I have truly been hoodwinked and apologise to those that I may have misled. But for now, I will continue to make myself and members of my household available for ‘exploitation’ by Oyedepo. I think that rather than been diminished by his exploitation I am gaining a lot from his teachings and observances and therefore have no cause whatsoever to want to leave following him and emulating some of his ways.

http://www.transparencyng.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5098:im-happy-to-be-exploited-by-oyedepo&catid=59:guest&Itemid=37

Nice write up and advertisement for the fact that religion is the opium of the masses.
A drug that makes you see no evil,and hear no evil as long as the evil is commited by Daddy pastor.

The Living Faith Church, pastored by David Oyedepo for instance, is set to build the single largest housing estate in Africa in Ota, a programme that will astound many because of its sheer size and sophistication.

Where can I learn more about this project?
Could you post up some links to information, please?

At last somebody has come up with some facts to say Good things about the men of God. God bless you. Evil continue because Good men do nothing. Criticism is welcome, but it should be based on facts. Only God knows what nigeria would have become now, if the gospel of christ was not preached. I am sure nigeria would have been worse than this, but let us thank God for raising up men of God in our nation to assist the less priviledge one, widow,orphan, jobless people, sick,oppressed and the disadvantage individuals. Let us focus on the good things these men of God are doing instead of criticizing them.God bless you.God2man. f God are doing instead of criticizing them.God bless you.God2man.

MAYOWAAK:

There has, in recent times, been a rather sustained campaign waged by the media, especially among some of the operators in some of our leading internet news sites, aimed, I think, at running down some of our leading Pentecostal pastors.

Some of the internet newsmen and commentators whom I dub ‘’internet warriors’’ tend to be sometimes irreverent, sceptical and excessively fault-finding and so they do not hesitate to sex up or slant news concerning these great men of God to portray them in very unflattering light.

The main targets of some of the unjustified attacks are Bishop David Oyedepo, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Matthew Ashimolowo, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and to some extent, Pastor Chris Okotie. The main plank in this campaign of calumny is to portray these priests as a set of clever rouges that uses gimmicks to fleece millions of their gullible congregation of billions of Naira to enable them to live a luxurious, if not obscene, lifestyle. The approach is sometimes not too direct. It is subtle and consists of insinuations, innuendos and efforts to amplify rumours, twist half-truths, create doubts in the minds of their mammoth followers and impute dark motives to the actions and statements of these men in order to show that they are not real men of God but some Smart Alecs out to undo the millions of men and women that see them as representatives of God on earth.

Members of the congregations of these men’s churches are often portrayed as naive, foolish, bewitched, gullible and pitiable men and women who allow themselves to be mindlessly exploited by these men to sustain a lavish lifestyle of personal jets, designer clothes and other creature comforts. Today, I want to come out boldly to say that I am a member of the congregation of Bishop David Oyedepo’s church. I worship at the Nyanya, Abuja branch of the Church. I want to say it out loud that I am happy to be ‘exploited’ by Oyedepo.

As part of this mischievous campaign to run these men down, you read some news media irreverently referring to them as the ‘’richest pastors in Nigeria or Africa’’ as if the media concerned are on the stable of Forbes magazine rating the fortunes of these servants of God when we ought to be reading about the most impactful pastors in Nigeria or Africa.

If it was not deliberate mischief, they ignore the monumental impact these church leaders are making building nursery, primary and secondary schools and universities across the nation, founding hospitals, establishing outreach programmes and sending missions that are helping millions of the poor, widows and orphans. Some of these churches buy lands and sell at subsidised rates to members, permanently removing them from poverty. The Living Faith Church, pastored by David Oyedepo for instance, is set to build the single largest housing estate in Africa in Ota, a programme that will astound many because of its sheer size and sophistication.

Critics of these men do not see all these. It is the jets they see. They say these men are not an imitation of Jesus Christ; that they ride in personal jets. Contrary to the belief of some ignorant, I want to point out that the Lord Jesus did not in any way glorify poverty. He identified with, and felt compassion for, the poor but he never said that you have to be poor before you can worship God. And it is not hard to see why the Lord did not glorify poverty. Poverty is such a terrible disease that it sometimes kills. See how many Nigerians die of easily preventable illnesses and diseases because they are simply too poor to do what is necessary. We should note that hen the occasion demanded it, Jesus rode on a donkey which was the Hummer jeep of his time. And when he was hung on the cross, it is reported that people cast lot for his robe which indicate that the robe he put on was quite an expensive one which the bidders did not want to let go to rot in the grave just like that. It is not blasphemy to say that if Jesus lived in our time, he will not hesitate to use jets to reach the far flung corners of the earth with his message of liberation.

Those who claim to love some of us who sit under the teaching of these men so much that they are trying to champion our’ liberation’ from their ‘exploitation’ should be pursuing something else because we are not complaining. We are happy at our ‘exploitation’ and will willingly allow ourselves to be ‘exploited’ more and more for we know the benefit of our exploitation. We have been taught the benefit of giving for the sake of God and have seen the reward so it is no going back, no withholding. If our giving makes our spiritual fathers fabulously rich, we are gratified.

I think the mistake some of the critics of successful Pentecostal preachers make is that their poverty mentality makes them see the possession of a jet or a fleet of them as a luxury and not as instruments meant by the church leaders to accomplish their goals. These men are busier that many presidents of nations in Africa and in some parts of the world. This is the truth.

The problem also is that there are many who mistake poverty for virtue. This is wrong. A poor man will not go to heaven just because he is poor nor will a rich man get there because of his riches. It depends entirely on the quality of life one lives, whether or not one’s life is lived according to the rules laid down by God. There is absolutely nothing evil in a man of God having fabulous wealth if such possessions are legitimately or honestly got. What is more, priests or pastors are representatives of God on earth. They should be an example to people of what God wants his people to look like.

The whole aim of our new birth is to live a very prosperous life; to prosper in our health, in our finances, in our career, in our family life and in everything that we do. I even doubt if without financial well being any one can worship God to the best of his desire. Wealth and riches can assist us to worship God better.

The truth of the matter is that some of these men do not become rich essentially by the tithe, prophet’s offering, sacrificial offering, seed and other gifts which we give but by reason of the wisdom God gives them to make wealth and by dint of their hard work and frugal lives. One of the success secrets I know about these extraordinary men of God is that they do not drink expensive whiskeys and champagne; they do not smoke expensive cigars; they do not womanise, they do not patronise night clubs and point- and- kill joints where they waste their fortune on deadly foods and their strength on women of easy virtue; they do not over eat and they do not over dress.

Add to a disciplined lifestyle the fact that these men are extremely frugal and exercise a great deal of financial intelligence. I heard that one day a church member gave a gift of a very expensive shoe to Oyedepo and when he asked and was told of the price he demanded that the shoe be taken back and exchanged for the cash so he can better use the money to do the work of God. I heard another story that during the formative years of the Living Faith Church ministry, Oyedepo despatched his deputy, Abioye to found the Maiduguri branch of the church. He approved for Abioye, a modest sum of money and instructed him that the money should not finish and that he should not write to headquarters requesting for more money! It was therefore left for Abioye to figure out by using his God-endowed creative ingenuity, how to live within his means yet accomplish the goal for which he was sent. And let us never forget that these men work extremely hard for God to bless the work of their hands. With these attributes and personal lifestyle, which are according to the laid down rules of God, it is impossible for God not to bless them because God said he will bless the work of the hands of those who live according to his tenets.

My firm belief is that if what these men do is according to the laid down principles of God then their personal success and congregational growth will endure but if what they are doing is from some demonic power and from the wisdom of men, sooner or later their empires will collapse. And if it is discovered tomorrow that Oyedepo and all what he has been teaching us are not of God, I will acknowledge to myself that I have truly been hoodwinked and apologise to those that I may have misled. But for now, I will continue to make myself and members of my household available for ‘exploitation’ by Oyedepo. I think that rather than been diminished by his exploitation I am gaining a lot from his teachings and observances and therefore have no cause whatsoever to want to leave following him and emulating some of his ways.

http://www.transparencyng.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5098:im-happy-to-be-exploited-by-oyedepo&catid=59:guest&Itemid=37

As much as l agree and celebrate your point am somewhat in a state of discomfort with the framing of the topic as the word "exploit" was used becos theres no "exploiting" taking place in the first place. Great job

I can understand where the writer of that article is coming from; but this line -

MAYOWAAK:

The whole aim of our new birth is to live a very prosperous life; to prosper in our health, in our finances, in our career, in our family life and in everything that we do.

- No. That is not the 'whole aim' of our new birth. Romans 8:29 perhaps provides us with an answer: God wants to conform us to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. It does not matter whether believers are rich or poor, whether we enjoy poor or good health, whether or not people have a 'career', etc. True, Jesus did not glorify poverty; but He certainly did not set material riches as evidence of a good relationship with God.

At best, these things (prosperous life, health, finances, career, family life, etc.) are a means, and not an end in themselves. 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and ____ shall be ADDED.' The addition is is not the "whole aim".

That said, there's quite a lot to commend in the OP.

wordtalk:


- No. That is not the 'whole aim' of our new birth. Romans 8:29 perhaps provides us with an answer: God wants to conform us to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

To be comform to the image of his son. I've never heard any matured language like this on Nairaland . Grace be upon you

@Poster,
beautiful write up
Great courage
@joagbaje
Amen o!