.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Proviso Probe

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

RELIGION, Bill Winston & his ministries [FP]

What do people know about Rev. Bill Winston?

Winston's bio reminded me of someone else. What other American figure had great TV presence, came from the South, went into the military as an officer and then became an IBM sales rep?

Winston ministries seem to place a whole lot of emphasis on getting rich.
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"--Matthew 4:8-10

Doesn't Rev. Bill Winston's pitch sound more like the Devil's pitch than God's?

posted by Carl Nyberg at 8:23 PM

39 Comments:

  • Carl you are right. Read your Bible and see what it says about the type of people who will become popular in the end times. Mr. Bill Winston may be an abomination.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:08 PM, September 19, 2006  

  • "Touch not my annointed," saith the Lord.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:31 PM, September 19, 2006  

  • choose, what are you trying to say?

    By Blogger Carl Nyberg, at 10:16 AM, September 20, 2006  

  • Carl,
    Choese your battles "Christian" quote sounds like a threat to me. I guess Islamofacists also should include Christianofascists too.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:28 AM, September 20, 2006  

  • Winston's flock is very faithful. Right now they want to buy him a plane so he doesn't have to deal with commercial flights to get to his other church in the south. Why doesn't he just concentrate on his ministry in the Chicagoland area I asked one of his faithful. I was told he needs to have this other church as well. They are truly brainwashed.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:56 AM, September 20, 2006  

  • I don't know if Mr. Bill Winston is one of God's annointed. However, most of what I hear he preaches is in direct conflict with the Scripture passages I have read.

    If he preaches the Gospel of prosperity, he is missing the boat. Look at the life Jesus and his disciples led. It was not one where they looked to prosper.

    False prophet or/and false teacher? You be the judge.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:49 PM, September 20, 2006  

  • Be careful about who you follow. Bill Winston's church in the past and they may still be doing it, was giving away $50,000 to members of the congregation - like a lottery- I beleive on a monthly basis, but you had to be a tithe paying member. There is something wrong with that. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH HIS MINISTRY, CAN YOU SAY JIM JONES?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:11 AM, September 28, 2006  

  • Yall need to stop hatin on ths man he aint doin noting but good dont get mad cause he blessed "Favor aint Fair" he got his you better get yours. You got a problem take it up with God cause thats who gave him everything he has and I warn you becareful what you say about God and his children. If God be for me than who can be against me

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:16 AM, September 28, 2006  

  • He gives away the money to the members to help them pay for bills and debts howdoes he know who yoy are if your not a member.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:18 AM, September 28, 2006  

  • If you have a problem with I just said you can emial me. Im 16 years old and I have the fire of
    GOD in me and I love a good discussion. Wrestlejock22@aim.com

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:34 AM, September 28, 2006  

  • This is to all those who bow down to mediocrity and accept poverty, sickness, and death. It is time out for finger pointing and playing the blame game. Most importantly let us all take responsibility. We all have a part in this. Dr. Bill Winston is an example of the glory of God on Earth. If you take away the money, the four walls of the church, the suit and tie it will still point to Jesus and the grace of God. The question is, who are we looking at God or man? There is a thirst for God's redemptive power like never before and God is working through Dr. Winston. God Almighty would like to be apart of all our lives and manifest who he is through us too. For God so loved the world that He gave....John 3:16. Oh and we're discussing a mere $50,000. What is man that You are mindful of him.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:18 PM, September 28, 2006  

  • Whats all the fuss about?

    You very well should choose your battles wisely. Matter of fact, unless you have been under Pastor Winstons teachings, you should not assume anything.

    What I have heard so far is people saying that all of his teachings are about money. You are so wrong about what Pastor Winston teaches.

    What he teaches about is that God does not want you to be poor, he wants you to be rich in health, sprit, emotionally, mentally, pysicially and financially!

    Yes I know that people are poor in this world, and you just might want to blame God. But be wise, and understand that the Bible says "That the poor will be amoung you always". So use faith and get understanding to find out what the bible says about being rich.

    Even Jesus walked in faith and understood the (sowing and reaping) principles to get rich, just read the Bible and you will notice, that wise men brought monetery gifts to Jesus. As a matter of fact, Jesus even had a treasurer named Judas, which stole from him. You may ask why would a poor man need with a treasurer. Well thats becasue Jesus wasnt poor at all, he was rich in health, sprit, emotionally, mentally, pysicially and financially!

    Ill end by saying to Mr. Nyberg, most of your writings have been on point and somewhat accurate until now. I would advise you to go to the church yourself,(Living Word Christain Center) and listen to the entire message, with understanding. Once you do that come back with a report.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:50 PM, September 28, 2006  

  • The truth. Jesus was rich in the fact that everything on this earth already belonged to Him. He didn't need any more money than what He needed to survive on as a Human, and what He didn't have, He performed miracles to get. To suggest that because He had a treasurer, He must have been earthly rich is quite a leap! Girl scouts have treasurers. Are they rich? As for Mr. Winston: I once heard Mr. Winston try to make his case (using the book of Daniel) that God prefers dictatorships. In fact, both Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar (in the book of Daniel) consulted with Daniel and sought his advice and interpretation of their dreams. In fact, Daniel governed and so did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Trust your soul to no man; only trust God through Christ. Test everything that is said in light of the entire collection of the scriptures of God. If you have not read them all, then get busy--and get you a concordance and use that too. Be a sheep only to Jesus. Never be a sheep to a man. Jesus you can always trust to give you the truth.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:58 AM, October 05, 2006  

  • Dear Mr. or Ms. Anonymous,

    Although we are not in the process of arguing, I must share the truth with you!

    What you may or may not know, is that Jesus in fact did not own anything on this earth, when he came to earth as a man. For Adam (the owner) had given/turned everything over to Satan (the devil), due to the fall.

    Nevertheless, Jesus comes on the earth as a man, to get back/restore/redeem what the devil took from Adam, which includes man's soul, and many other earthly blessings, which Adam originally owned.

    First, I would submit to you that when the wise men gave monetary gifts to Jesus (it wasn’t small change), look in your Bible Concordance.

    Secondly, I would submit to you that I can prove throughout the Bible that Jesus was rich, whereas both God and Jesus spoke often about how to have/obtain financial prosperity.

    You are absolutely right when you say "trust your soul to no man, but to God!" This is why I can speak boldly about financially prosperity and show you scriptures that indeed back up what I say. In which I would be more than happy to share with you.

    Jesus is the good Shepherd that we should all follow, however, some people will misinterpret what Jesus said about prosperity, and think that Jesus wants us to be poor. Which we know that is not scripture, so if you find it, show me.

    Finally, Jesus prayed to God, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Well, let me end by saying this, The Bible explicitly details heaven as a place paved with gold. (By the way I didn’t write that)

    Finally, let’s use wisdom and get our inheritance in sprit, health and wealth, so we can go throughout the world and finance the Kingdom of God!

    If you don’t know, it takes money to spread the Gospel throughout the world. Money isn’t bad if you know what to do with it, and not let it be your God!

    The Bible says "the Love of money is the root of evil”, so in actuality you can love money and not have a dollar. Therefore, if you have money you can, love God, pay your bills on time, give to the poor, and set up an inheritance for your children’s, children’s, and give to the Gospel. (Not that bad,when you have good intentions!) And then it get's better, because you can still do all of this without being broke. Isnt that good news? I would pick being financially prosperous any day, especially following the principles of seed time and harvest. (Food for thought, read Malachi 3:10 (Old Testament) & Luke 7:38 (New Testament); If you don’t believe me try paying a bill with no money, and see how far you go!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:05 AM, October 06, 2006  

  • Dear Truth, I bring this message out of love. What blessings did the devil take? After Adam, Abram (Abraham) was blessed, Job was blessed, Noah was blessed, Isaac was blessed, the whole tribe of Israel was blessed, Solomon was blessed, and many others were blessed before Christ came to earth. Satan can only do what God allows, no more.

    If you can prove Jesus was earthly rich with money, then do so. I shall show you otherwise. If Jesus was rich, He wouldn’t have needed to perform a miracle to feed the thousands would He?

    “Matthew 14:15 That evening the disciples came to him and said, "This is a desolate place, and it is getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." 16 But Jesus replied, "That isn't necessary-you feed them." 17 "Impossible!" they exclaimed. "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish!" 18 "Bring them here," he said. 19 Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. And he took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and asked God's blessing on the food. Breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave some of the bread and fish to each disciple, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and they picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. 21 About five thousand men had eaten from those five loaves, in addition to all the women and children!”

    If Jesus was earthly rich with money, he wouldn’t have told Peter to go and fish for a coin to pay taxes would He?

    “Matthew 17:27 However, we don't want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a coin. Take the coin and pay the tax for both of us."

    “Matthew 19:21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 But when the young man heard this, he went sadly away because he had many possessions.”

    Why did Christ ask the young man to sell his possessions? Because they meant more to him than love--love for his fellow man, or love for God possibly. But, one thing for sure, those possessions meant more to him than God did, because he didn’t do what Christ asked! God takes a second seat to nothing, not possessions, not family, not friends, not pastors.

    Do we follow Christ for love, or for money? Motives, which only God truly knows is critical here. The very essence of God is love. There is nothing wrong with being blessed, just as long as the love of blessings is not our motive. We must simply love God and others, and he will bless us. I don’t pursue or worry about blessings, yet I’m blessed in everything that I do. I pursue God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and in doing so, I pursue love. Mammon is not my goal. Love (like the love God has for us) is my goal.

    “Matthew 19:23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 24 I say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

    Why is it hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven? Perhaps it is because they may lose sight of what is really important in this life—love for God and your fellow man, and trusting Christ for the better life after this one. Perhaps it is because many who are rich foolishly begin to trust in their money more than they trust God. Perhaps it is because many who are rich may value this life more than the next because they feel that their Heaven is here.

    “Malachi 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!”

    In Malachi, the tithes were food, not money. And we all know that food spoils when it sits too long. The food fed the priests and the people. Therefore, it was never meant to be collected and kept in the temple. The temple was only a distribution point.

    I will submit to you that it does not take a lot of money to spread the true Gospel. It takes each one of us to reach out to another and share the truth, and show them the love that Jesus commanded us to show. That’s what spreads the Gospel. It is spread by word of mouth and action. It is spread by everyone, not just pastors. We are all ministers. When people see our love, they understand. People need to see the Gospel working in our lives.

    I’ve studied the books of the bible from cover to cover. I truly understand that God is love, and to be in His presence, we must love others and deny ourselves (love them just as much as we love ourselves).

    “Matthew 16:26 And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?”

    Is anything on this earth worth more than any soul? I say with conviction, NO!

    “Luke 7: 38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.”

    To read Luke 7:38 and only look at the fact that the lady put expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet is missing a major point. She had many sins, and she was forgiven, so she showed him much love. You see, love is the key.

    “Luke 7:47 I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love.”

    Not saying that you are, but I’m saddened because I see a lot of people seeking God for earthly gain, and Pastors taking advantage of people for earthly gain. Pastors should preach for only one reason—love. We should seek God for two reasons: Fear (because He can make us vanish in an inkling), and Love (because He loves us enough to forgive us many times over—His love is unfailing).

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:07 AM, October 07, 2006  

  • With multiple blessings do I send this 2 you, blessings of peace, health, love and prosperity! It’s so much I could say but not enough room to say it, but I try to end by saying this;

    You asked, what blessings did the devil take? Well I’m glad you asked that!

    The devil took authority of the whole earth away from Adam, (which God originally turned over to authority to Adam), but due to Adams disobedience to the will of God he lost his authority. That is why later on in the Bible, in (Luke 4:6) the Devil took Jesus up on a mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the earth, and stated “All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them, for that is delivered unto me: and to whomsoever I will I give it…. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine…, but Jesus knowing scripture, stated to Satan Get thee behind me Satan, for it is written , Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Consequently, Jesus came back to take the authority back away from Satan, with his death on the cross, and the taking away of the sins for you and I.

    Now, you stated the devil only does what God allow. I would submit to you that the curse can only do what we allow. That is why it is good to know what authority we have as believers, and know how to use it. If conflicts come in a situation; we have the power of life or death in our tongue! Now it’s up to us to enforce what Jesus has already done. Case in point, God does not kill people, but the curse does, God gives us power to restore life.

    Jesus death was not in vain, it was too restore everything back to the believer, including wealth!

    Lastly, I would submit to you that Jesus did not have a treasurer because he was a girl scout; he had a treasurer because he was rich, so rich that Judas stole MONEY from him. Jesus was rich, Look at (Matthew 2:11) and it says "And when they where come into the house ... and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him (Jesus) gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. (And contrary to popular belief it was more than three wise men, for the Bible never said it was three, the artist made that up.)

    Some more food (scriptures) for thought about wealth, and I can give you many, many more if you want, but each of these scriptures are designed to enlighten us about the concept of prosperous living in our spirit and while we live on this earth,

    Deuteronomy 8:17-18
    Deuteronomy 8:18
    Deuteronomy 28:1-17
    II Corinthians 6-11
    II Chronicles 20:20
    Proverbs 3:9-10
    Matthew 6:30, 33
    III John 2
    Luke 6:38
    Philippians 4:19
    Psalms 68:19

    Additionally, you may want to look in your Bible dictionary to define what a tithe is, because a tithe is defined as a tenth of your earnings; now an offering is something different, which may consist of your money, time or talents.

    When Jesus approached the rich young ruler, he told him to give up what he had and follow him. The rich man didn’t do that because he loved his possessions more than Christ, for had he done so, there where many blessing on the other side, including wealth. God never leaves you bound with affliction and heartache, that’s the work of the enemy. Remember what I told you about money; Let no man be your master only God, because God gives us all things to richly enjoy!

    You are right when you mention that all of the persons in the Bible where blessed in wealth! So why are you so confused when it comes to Jesus? Jesus did miracles to show the love of the father, and show that when you have lack, you can pray to the father (God) in Jesus name, to supply your needs. However, contrary to what many may believe Jesus was not poor. He left his heavenly kingdom to come here to save man. (Well, if I was living in a place made with gold, I would be poor coming down to this earth becasue nothing can compare to the glory of the Kingdon of Heaven)! You didn’t argue that point!! Read Revelations 21:18-22 about the New Jerusalem, “And the building of the wall of it was of jasper, and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass, and the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all matter of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx, the sixth, sardius, the seventh, chrysolyte, the eight beryl, the ninth, a topaz, the tenth, a chrysoprasus, the eleventh, a jacinth, the twelfth, an amethyst, and the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.”

    Finally, I would submit to you some understanding on what the Bible says concerning the rich entering the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is salvation coming in you, in essence its God living in you, Jesus said “the kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or, lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20:21) However, Kingdom of heaven is a place.

    The Bible says "that it is easier for a rich man to enter the eye of a needle than it is to enter the kingdom God". Here’s understanding, the eye of a needle was a gate to a big city used to come in and out of the city (check out the history section). For it was stated that when people came through that door on a camel you had to take off your packing’s/possessions off the camel, to get into the city, and once you got through the gate, you can put it back on the camel again. Well the ungodly rich always had a hard time understanding that if you are rich, you can take off your belongings, enter the gate to salvation (the Kingdom of God), meaning not TRUSTING IN THE WORLDS WAY TO GET YOUR BLESSINGS and God will restore you by your faith, and bless you up to a hundred fold. (See: 2 Samuel 24:3, Matt 19:29, Matt 13:8, 23, Matthew 19:29, Luke 8:8, Mark 4:20, Mark 10:28-30)

    I do not seek God for fear, but for faith that his world is true, for the Bible says that he has not given me the sprit of fear, but of love, peace and a sound mind...........

    Bless you, and remember in all you’re getting get understanding... Proverbs 4:7

    I invite you to Living Word Christian Center (Deplanes and Roosevelt Road in Forest Park, IL) on Wednesdays, at 7pm and Sundays, at 7am, 9am, 11:15am, to listen to the whole entire message and hear for yourself.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:32 PM, October 08, 2006  

  • Truth, you have to be willing to hear the truth. Peace and blessings to you. The bible says wisdom will prove itself to be true by what results from it. This will be my last comment on the subject. Time will tell if what Mr. Winston is preaching is true. The proof will be in the fruit. Either everyone of his followers will become wealthy, or he will become wealthy at their expense. I just feel for the many who seek wealth above love. Remember, God is love. Listen to me: God has blessed me with much more than what I need. I own three properties, 3 cars (two BMWs), and I'm no where near living paycheck to paycheck. I retired from the Air Force and was blessed throughout my military career and I have a pension for the rest of my life. I attend a bible church, because it teaches the truth, with no spin. I embrace the freedom of Christ. Therefore, I am a slave to no man. No man controls my life, only God does that. Truth, If I've studied the whole bible, how can I not know what a tithe is? I know this: It is not required anymore. Paul told us that if we rely on the law, we must follow the whole law, and if you do, you are doomed because the law will only show you how guilty you are. At my church, the senior pastor has a doctorate (just like Mr. Winston), yet he demands that we call him by his name. He does not teach tithing because it is no longer a requirement. You can do it if you like, but it is not required. Ephesians 2:15 "By his death he ended the whole system of Jewish law that excluded the Gentiles. His purpose was to make peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new person from the two groups."

    Love fulfills the law. If you do not fear God, you'd better read the teachings of Paul--too many times to count! If you don't fear God, you will not respect him properly. I fear and love him. I trust him, with everything. Is it not unusual to fear and love someone? When I was young, I feared and loved my mother. My fear of her formed the basis of my respect for her, yet, I love her dearly.

    Listen Truth, I don't trust wealth at all, yet I have it. I'm not as rich as Mr. Winston, but my wealth didn't come from other peoples' giving either.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:41 AM, October 10, 2006  

  • Trust in God, and not in your own understanding. The mysteries of God concerning wealth, has been revealed to us, according to the scriptures. Therefore, we both have heard the truth but will we accept it?

    I am glad to hear you are prosperous, but originally you stated that Jesus was poor and God did not want to make us rich (wealthy). I will rest my case by saying; obviously the Lord has been good to you and me, with blessings of financial prosperity. Therefore, we now have come to a conclusion that wealth is alright, as long as you do not allow it to be your god, which is what I originally stated.

    Deuteronomy 8:18, says But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto they fathers, as it is this day.

    Job 36:11, if they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures

    Proverbs 10:22, the blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow with it

    PSALM 35:27, its says the Lord takes pleasure in the prosperity of those who serve him.

    In PSALM 115:14, The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children.

    Philippians 4:19, But my God shall supply all you need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

    Haggai 2:8, The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts

    Deuteromomy 6:9-10, And thou shalt write them upon the posts of the house,..., when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto they fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildest not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full

    In 3 John 2, Jesus sums it up by saying "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy should prospereth."

    As you see it is the will of God that we live a prosperous life, in our sprit, body, mind, health and wealth!

    You stated that you studied the Bible backwards and forwards, however you can still learn something that was never revealed to you before.

    Jesus never told me to fear him, but he said to love him, for love caseth out fear, the fear that spoke about is not correct, for if I fear him, its the fear of reverance, in the fact that I love him, the fear you said (because He can make us vanish in an inkling) is not scriptural. Therefore, I chose not to believe that, but only what the word of God says.

    I love him because he first loved me, (for John 3:16, says that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believed on him, shall not perish but have everlasting life) that’s called AGAPE (unconditional) love, that conquers all; whereas it protects me from evil and seals me unto the day of redemption.

    You said your Pastor does not believe in tithes, well according the bible tithes still exist, we thithe not beceause of a commandment, but due to a covenient!

    Proverbs 3:9-10, says "Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thing increase: So shall they barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine"


    I will certainly rest my case, by repeating your last comment; you have wealth but don’t trust in it, which is what I have been saying all along.

    You said "Listen Truth, I don't trust wealth at all, yet I have it. I'm not as rich as Mr. Winston, but my wealth didn't come from other peoples' giving either".

    Don’t fight it, there's nothing wrong with wealth, that God gives us!

    But be careful of how you insinuate that Pastor Winston is doing obtaining his wealth by doing something wrong, because unless you know for sure that he’s doing something wrong, you shouldn’t say so.

    You actually settled my case for me...

    Stay blessed.........

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:08 AM, October 11, 2006  

  • OK, one more time.

    Truth. You stay blessed as well. Remember, I never said that riches were wrong. I just said that Jesus was not earthly rich, which is supported by the scriptures. I was trying to make a point that the pursuit of riches above all things is wrong and coming to God for prosperity is wrong. I was trying to make a point by showing that I don’t chase riches and I don’t pray for riches, and I don’t tithe for riches, yet I’m blessed with more than I need. I give from the heart. There is no minimum or maximum. All I can say is that as we read and study more, the Holy Spirit will teach us the straight truth. Any intelligence that I have about God comes from His spirit, not from man. Men can tell you anything. Don’t believe what any man says without testing it against the scriptures and discernment of the Holy Spirit.

    Job 32:8 “8 Surely it is God’s Spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent.”

    Who knows God better than His own spirit? Who can teach you better than He? Will He lie to you? Of course not!

    I Corinthians 2:10 “But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by his Spirit, and his Spirit searches out everything and shows us even God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know what anyone else is really thinking except that person alone, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.”

    Richly preachers are an abomination to the lord. To take the tithes and offerings given by the faithful and use them for any form of vanity is wrong. Believe that. Show me someone in the bible who preached themselves to riches.

    Jesus did not need riches because the world and everything in it already belongs to Him.

    Deuteronomy 10:14 “The highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God.”

    As for fear: Deuteronomy 10:12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires you to fear him, to live according to his will, to love and worship him with all your heart and soul,”

    II Corinthians 7:1 “Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete purity because we fear God.”

    Hebrews 12:28 “Since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.”

    Revelation 14:7 "Fear God," he shouted. "Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all the springs of water."

    I Peter 2:17 “Show respect for everyone. Love your Christian brothers and sisters.* Fear God. Show respect for the king.”

    These are just a few. I know you’ve read many other instances where the prophets told us to love and fear God. Believe me, if you don’t fear God now, you will fear him when you stand in His presence one day. Everyone that came face-to-face with him was fearful, and they should be. None of us are sinless. None of us are perfect, as He is. Thank Him that we have Christ who will act as our advocate.

    Tithing requires more in-depth discussion than what we have here. I use to believe that I must tithe, but the Holy Spirit showed me different. Again, there is no minimum or maximum on my giving. Most preachers still teach tithing because they would rather control your giving as opposed to letting you give from the heart, and most of them live lavishly with the money given to them by their followers, instead of giving it all to help the people (the church) and the needy. Most teach in a way that places them firmly in control of your lives, when Christ gave us freedom from that.

    II Corinthians 3:14 “But the people’s minds were hardened, and even to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, a veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. 15 Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, then the veil is taken away. 17 Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom.”

    Truth, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for you to study the whole bible.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:24 AM, October 13, 2006  

  • I suffered through the ridiculous brain dead repetitions of the Bill Winston Biblical miniseries for over a year. It is a bore.
    The guy starts the service with a "praise and worship" spectacle that borders on a Las Vegas hype show. Then he has a "giving message" before the regular sermon. It's always about the "windows of heaven" pourin' outa' blessin'. Yoda yoda yoda. Then comes the main message. More "tithes and offerings" agendas laced into some simplistic rapathon glorifying his style, his politics, his marriage. Honestly! If one of these guys showed up half-drunk with a cigar and said "I've had it!" I think that would be more Christlike, by the mere honesty of it all.
    Sadly, the man is milking the "Black man's inferiority syndromes" just like many milk the "shame of Whiteness". All the Sad Illusions of unreality. He pushes "striving for excellence" but a sense of self-reliance through faith in G-d is just too easy. He has managed to make a contrived science out of something so beautiful that it becomes some nauseating inner software program that needs tweeking and servicing, week to week and day to day, as it grows and wreaks it its accompanying vruses.
    But this insures the overpriced lifestyle of Bill Winsome as he cajoles, prances, and screams "give" to either plants or easily suggestible robotons who jump up literally put money in his hands, or run to his multi-flagged corporate altar with their little attempts to give their way to financial stardom.
    He even preaches. "Giving up ... " By not giving to the poor who don't know how to handle money, but giving to the rich who will make good use of it, according to the reversal of the Word of G-d, per "Prophet Bill." Quite frankly, the whole thing would be hilariously tolerable if it weren't so sad.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:22 PM, October 15, 2006  

  • Thanks for the last gut level honest commentfrom anon. Oct 15th. It was estute and humorous. Of course I say that because I totally agree. I have been a Christian most of my life. I find it very hard to find a good church and don't go most of the time. Perhaps it's time we step back and view how we look not only to the world perishing but to our Lord whose idea this whole thing was. G-d be merciful to us all in these last days. In Him, Lily

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:14 PM, October 16, 2006  

  • Your evidence is in the word of God!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:30 PM, October 21, 2006  

  • My name is Nicole and I've been reading the comments on this site. What a shame to have the constant back and forth about wealth. Is it a competition to see who knows the word more than the other? Really! Money and financial wealth, as mentioned in the Bible, continues to be a bone of contention in the masses, and as it would seem between Christians as well! And that is exactly what the enemy wants.

    Anonymous, are you a born-again believer? I was trying to understand your overall position, since near the end you seem to turn on pastors and their preaching on the tithe. While there have been, and are, some less than saintly pastors who are clearly out for your hard earned dollars, there are indeed some upstanding Godly saints who are sharing the truth of the gospel. My most respected pastors are TD Jakes, Creflo Dollar, Charles Stanley, Joel Osteen, and of course, Bill Winston.

    I believe that Bill Winston is one of those great preachers who is filled with the Holy Spirit, and articulate in expressing the message to his congregation. Having said that, not everyone will "get it", so to those individuals who find him or any other pastor insincere or false I say, keep searching for a pastor/church that you feel comfortable with/in, but refrain from ignorantly mocking a man of God without a biblically sound foundation for your argument .

    Regarding your comment on the big musical production called praise and worship, I quite enjoy it. Mind you I've been to some churches here in Canada that go a bit too far for my comfort level, but the energy in the room is electric. We dance and lift our hands in praise, and sing to upbeat (albeit repetitive) songs worshiping the Lord. Put it this way, would you rather be in a solemn church with no energy, chanting monotonous verses, listen to a dull message with no contemporary relevance, only to leave empty and unaffected? Sorry, but that's not for me. I expect more out of my pastor, his church and his message. I expect the Holy Spirit to fill the room in an atmosphere of praise and speak to me through the preached word, whatever the topic may be.

    Back to the pastors, all of them preach prosperity, and as well they should. Now, studying the Bible as you have, you know prosperity not only entails finances - most people don't know that. They immediately point fingers and ignorantly mock the pastor as soon as the topic of money or tithing comes up. It may just be that whenever they've listened to a particular pastor via television, radio, internet or visited a church on a particular occasion, finances may have been the topic of the message. But let me tell you that I have purchased a good number of tapes, CDs and videos from Pastor Winston's ministry, as well as the others I've mentioned, and they are certainly not all on wealth, but cover all facets of life, including building godly relationships, restoring health, overcoming fear, increasing our faith, prayer and fasting, the list goes on and on. As a matter of fact, I just finished listening to Pastor Winston's CD series entitled "The Blessing of Abraham - Redeemed from Poverty", and yes it had to do with finances, but more important than just the money aspect, it was about changing the way we think about wealth, and knowing who we are as children of God. You most likely haven't heard that message, but I would encourage you to order it. I'm certain you'll gain a different perspective on your current way of thinking.

    I feel that prosperity should definitely be preached, and often, in order to drill it into our heads how important it is to be good stewards of our finances in order to glorify God. For example, look at the manner in which some of these sports and entertainment celebrities overindulge and squander their wealth on “stuff” and “bling”, things of no value to anyone else but themselves. Do they tithe? Do they give freely with the right motives? We don't know for sure, but I'm thinking most often than not, they don't, but who am I to judge, right? I’m not saying that they can’t enjoy the fruits of their labour, but the excess is a slap in the face of the world’s poor and hungry. So that’s were we come in, and if it takes our tithe to help our churches reach the world’s needy, then that’s what we ought to do without questioning our pastor’s motive.

    If we are God's children created in his likeness, and Abraham's seed sharing in his inheritance, and joint heirs with Christ, as the word clearly states, we are supposed to be rich, and yes materially! Abraham's wealth was material. He was uber-wealthy, with wealth in his day that most in this lifetime will never see. There I said it! Why should God's people be poor and live in lack, when the devil's own are thriving in abundance? Is that backwards or what! That's insane and I'm not going to sit back and accept that, nor should any pastor, an ambassador of the Holy God ever preach less than to their flock - that would be incredibly irresponsible, selfish and unscriptural. The long and short of it is that we're caught in a battle between good and evil, and as a child of God, I'm on the winning team. The devil has already been defeated!! In what battle does the winning team ever end up with less than the losing side! Think about it!

    People just need to stop being so holier-than-thou and super-righteous, and understand the word that God has spoken. For centuries, people have overanalyzed God's word trying to understand and justify with the limited human mind, making a mockery of God and his word. Sadly even Christians or so-called Christians can be blamed for this as well, challenging each other unnecessarily. Not to mention with the numerous versions of the Holy Bible out there, it doesn't make matters any easier. If God said it, it is already done! The word says, “…let God be true and every man a liar.”

    The word of God is infallible, it is truth, and it is life. We, who are called Christians, are to be followers of Christ and live as he instructed through the word of the Father, anything less would be disobedience and the consequence is the curse. We have the entire Bible as an instructional manual to live by, not just the New or the Old Testament, picking out the verses that justify what we want to believe. The whole Bible is saturated with principles for victorious living, and yes, it includes money and having lots of it so that we can do more to advance the kingdom of God.

    By the way, Anonymous, you mentioned that we don't need a lot of money to spread the gospel. While your one on one approach in spreading the gospel is admirable, and we should all be as eager, I disagree. There are millions of people in the world that have never heard the name Jesus, or the gospel. I believe that the more contributions the church receives from our giving, the more people we can reach in the name of Jesus, not to mention help the poor, the homeless, the sick, the widows and the orphans, here at home and across the world. We can provide food and water, supplies, housing, medical care, transportation, and missionary needs, etc. Your view may be local and intimate, however, this new age that we live in has afforded us more opportunity to do more, for more, faster, and unfortunately this requires a faithful contributions from people like us to do our part for the greater good.

    We just have to trust that our pastors and their administrators will appropriate all received funds in the manner acceptable and pleasing to God. Remember, we will all stand before God at the appointed time to give an account of our lives. Pastors and teachers of the word will be judged more harshly than the rest of us, indeed having to answer for every word preached, every penny received and managed, and every action taken in the name of Christ Jesus. Our responsibility is to be obedient to the word of God. We must pay the tithe with a joyful heart, give offerings and give alms. Remember Jesus said "...render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and render unto God what is God's." Taxes belonged to Caesar as he represented the government of the day, just as we pay taxes to our governments today. The tithe belongs to God, then, now and always. God doesn't need it, we know that, but he expects us to give it to him. Listen, He only asks that we give him 10%, we get to keep the remaining 90%. Not a bad deal when you consider it. Won’t you give it a try? You'll find that tithing 10% of all income you receive will give you more satisfaction and peace than you've ever known. Plus, from a world perspective, you can claim all your giving on your income tax for the year, you’ll see the difference it makes. Just try it - there's something that happens when one is obedient to God's instruction.

    So, a final thought for you Anonymous is though you have read the Bible front to back many times, you may have missed the intention of the tithe as God instructed. May I respectfully suggest that you pray, fast, and search your heart, asking God to reveal the truth about the tithe to you? Be certain that you indeed hear from the Holy Spirit and not another source. Listen for that small voice deep within for guidance, and measure the leading you receive with the word of God, because no instruction He gives you will ever be contrary to His Perfect Word.

    Lastly, about this topic, its ok to be financially wealthy, just as long as you have control over your finances, and your finances don’t have control over you. The enemy’s purpose is to steal our joy, kill our dreams and destroy our lives and our destiny, and without sufficient funds in our bank accounts, he can easily break our spirits until we’re no earthly good. Thankfully, God has already predestined his children to be abundantly wealthy in every area of our lives, and because of the faith we have in the word of God, we believe and know with certainty that the devil is defeated and we are blessed!

    The battle is won in Jesus’ name. Amen.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:33 AM, January 05, 2007  

  • ,to anonymous

    i see you enjoy being under a pastor who doesn't want to ruffle anyones feathers. Don't call me pastor or doctor, why is it that you show more respect to someone who studies medicine than someone who studies the word of God? You don't have to tithe, come on,i guess because murder was in the law i shouldn't worry about committing it today. besides, tithing didn't get introduced with the law. Abraham tithed to melchizedek way before the law was given to Moses. you keep talking about love, but jesus said if you love Him, you keep His commandments, not try to find some scripture that will give you a way out of keeping them.

    God was a prosperity preacher. "Whoever believes..." profit:"will have everlasting life." "give..." profit: "and it shall be given to you." "Obey..." profit: "...and all these blessings shall overtake you."

    Isaiah 48:17 "...'I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go."

    stop trying to impress people with how much you've been able to get without doing it His way.

    stop trying to impress people with your self-called intelligence. We're not impressed and I don't think God is either.

    by the way, this is only my second time on this site and i don't know who you guys think ya'll are. You act as if though you are some kind of watchdog. Give me a break! Ya'll should be out doing something productive for the kingdom. I can't even believe i spent all this time addressing this nonsense.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:28 AM, July 06, 2007  

  • What is being said here is so sad. Why would God want us to be rich? Being rich in this world is of no profit. It just gets us entangle in the things of the world which are here today and gone tomorrow. Why did Jesus say, sell all you goods and give to the poor, more than once. Why did he exalt the poor widow? Jesus wants us to trust in him, not the things of this world.
    One more comment, I have been to Pastor Winston's church on a few occasions. I have a good friend who worked for the church for a few months. In my opinion Mr. Winston's conduct is a disgrace to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to all the saints who willing lived on very little in order to give to others and preach the good news. Emphazing wealth and giving 10% has made him a very rich man while many of the people in the church are poor, even some who have ended up in shelters because of giving 10% to that church. I pray that Jesus will have mercy on his soul and shine his light on him to bring him to repentance.
    -Mary

    By Blogger Mary, at 10:47 PM, July 10, 2007  

  • Seems to be too much scripture out of contect Mr Anonomous. Yeshua sent Peter to get the cion from the fishes mouth because Judas the treasurer was not with them. It was just Yeshua and Peter.And as for the feeding of the 5000(rember that that is plus women and children)you tell me of a local baker who can knock out between 5000-10000 loaves in a modern day bakery let alone in the countryside on a wood burning stove. First time I heard Bill Winston he was telling his flock: pay your bills on time, pay of your debts, dont waste money on designer goods that you cant afford, pay your tythes to God, save a bit every month,dont keep getting in debt,etc. etc. etc. And from what I have heard of his testemony, he followed after God and His Kingdom, so surely it cannot be Bill Winstons fault when God blesses him.He is one of the new generation of pastors that truly have a real understanding of the FULL GOSPEL! It is every christians DUTY to lead the lost to the cross; grow a backbone; repent for embracing poverty and pretending that poverty is a sign of holyness; it is pure laziness in rgard to beleiving the scriptures and to making the commitment to God to let Him take control of your life andbless you. the responsablity that Bill Winston carries is matched only by the blessing that God has placed upon his life. As for me and my family, we have stepped over the line and are now willing to take on the same responsabilities as Bill Winston i.e. commitment to God and commitment to mankind. Ron H from the U K.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:26 AM, September 06, 2007  

  • Well i think it is so sad all you so Called christains are so busy crucifying a man called Bill Winston with your mouths. All that tells me and the rest of the world you are jealous of our brother in Christ Jesus and his wealth and prosperity.Where the hell is your love.It says if you dont love your brother then u cant say you love GOd.Stop judging him if he is from God you cannot stop him and if he is from Satan that is not for you to judge. I suggest you pray and if his heart is not right before GOd/Jesus God will correct those he loves. If he in fact has step off the so called line of what the church should hear. in a sermon , who are you to say that . he never ask for money...It is written let the weak say they are strong . let the poor say they are rich for what God has done...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:18 AM, October 14, 2007  

  • Brothers and Sisters, regardless if we agree with Bill Winston or not we must be praying for our leaders and pastors out on the forefront.
    Jesus is returning for a church without spot or wringle, and strife is something we cannot afford to be meddling with.
    Love
    your Brother in Christ

    By Blogger Kane O'Dricoll, at 6:00 AM, January 12, 2008  

  • You speak as if people of God are supposed to be broke.

    Why, when it comes to the Things of God and People of God--we are not to have more than enough.

    As People of God, we are to live life abundantly to win people to The Lord Almighty.

    And have(experience) heaven on earth like the Bible says? I choose what the Word says over what any human says.

    God bless!

    By Blogger Unknown, at 12:51 PM, March 02, 2008  

  • Guys, all the scriptures and quotes and arguments have been said. But even though we are inheritors of all things, it is NOT about the cars, the nice houses, the desires, or anything...those things are fine [I say this admittedly currently flat broke, but believiny my way out] but to be able to be an influence to the world. How terrible is it that we can go and preach the gospel to sick, starving children in Africa, and tell them that God loves them, but most denominations won't lay hands to deliver them, think its "God's will" for them to be in that state [THEN WHY ARE YOU PREACHING TO THEM?!?!?] and all we do is feed them pouridge and give them a few huts and maybe small buildings. The wealth was never supposed to be in the hands of the world, because they horde it and squander it. You think that God wants HIS resources in the hands of some moronic rapper or rock star squandering it on drugs? Money is a defense, just as wisdom is. Do you realize now how many innocent people are being killed in Mexico because all the MONEY is circulated in DRUGS and the government can't even equip their police force to combat this? That is NOT God's will, and frankly, it SHOULD be the church's charge to HAVE the finances to do these things. All things were created by him and for him.
    I'm not saying there haven't been a few swindlers but they don't stay in that position very long. Like it or not, KCM has over 65 million VERIFIED instances of people receiving Jesus Christ of their lord and savior mostly over the television broadcast. People that have been suicidal or worse have somehow tuned into theirs or others broadcasts on TELEVISION, the most effective mass communication means known to planet earth thus far, and hear the WORD of GOD. And yet, people argue against this? If anything SHOULD be on radio, television, and given FIRST CLASS TREATMENT, it's not sex drugs and rock n' roll it IS the word of God. Period. We have a charge to use Godly principles to obtain wealth by sowing nad reaping and utilizing kingdom knowledge not just to provide ourselves a better living, which God desires for all His children to be blessed, but because God HAS to have us as the conduits for his resources and will. He is the head, WE are the BODY. The head commands, the body obeys, if we so choose.
    We seriously need to stop squabbling over all this and all these stupid stupid denominations [A house divided against istelf cannot WHAT?] and at least come together as one body to amass our resources to do the great good. I find it appalling that even in a town of less than 10,000 there are over 60 different churches. One book...it's a joke and a smear to the name of God. THERE ARE NO PRIVATE INTERPRETATIONS OF THE BIBLE. Even if we disagree we should ALL be unbiased and open to the possibility that ours is the wrong one, and even so, we should work together MUCH better. Even naturally, if the Body of Christ could pool all its resources, we could truly change the world for the better. Jesus is not a God of bake sales and gimmicky signs to draw people into church. He performed miracles, healed the sick, raised the dead, and THEN people came to HIM. If I see one more "Hell: Caution Contents May be Hot" or some other MORONIC slogan to try and be cute and get people to come to church, instead of the raw power of God, I'm going to cry. The church as a whole is the joke that Satan intended for it tobe all along. It's time we wake up.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:02 AM, March 23, 2009  

  • religious folks dont believe in prosperity (mainly from southern church backgrounds). the greek word for religion is relitio which means back to bondage. you decide!

    By Blogger Gil, at 6:41 PM, April 15, 2009  

  • the bible says that you will know them by their fruits. ministries that are feeding people (in everyway) are always going to be financially blessed. their vision is larger.

    By Blogger Gil, at 6:43 PM, April 15, 2009  

  • god wants to expand his kingdom just as satan wants to. the word says that you will be shown before great men. god bless dr. winston.

    By Blogger Gil, at 6:47 PM, April 15, 2009  

  • harvest are plentiful and laborers are few. you cant replace laboring with talking too much. shut up man and get with it. god has big things for you and i to do.

    By Blogger Gil, at 6:50 PM, April 15, 2009  

  • im going to tackle the true issue at hand. many black christians feel as though ministers (particularly the black ones) should be religated to poverty. for way too long, blacks have visionally lack and shortage on massive scales. so when we see a cutting edge pastor such as dr. winston, creflo dollar or leroy thompson preaching on being redeemed from lack and shortage, it offends us because it challenges us. we as a race of christians have to be re - conditioned with gods correctly devided word that jesus restored us from that curse when his blood was shed on calvary. adam made death our consciousness on every level. so here jesus is the second adam giving back to gods people everything the devil tricked eve and adam out of, their inheritence! the trick is when must now acquire this spiritual and physical substance by faith. if you are not taught about our redemption from sickness, poverty and death (i.e dead works, early physical death and so on), how will you have the god kind of faith to take and snatch it away from the true oppressor? Anthony Gilmore

    By Blogger Gil, at 7:07 PM, April 15, 2009  

  • Prosperity = in Spirit(to know the love of God in all its fullness)
    Soul(to have a strong, renewed mind
    growing in the wisdom of Christ)
    in health(it is good to be well and able at all times. It is good to have a long, happy marriage and
    fruitful family, it is good to see all of the different countries of the world. It is good to produce clean family shows/films on TV and Theatres,radio,posters,magazines, etc.
    It is good to PROSPER IN ALL FACETS OF LIFE AND IT IS THE WILL OF THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
    As you americians like to say; go figure!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:38 AM, April 20, 2009  

  • My dear friends, why haven't
    I heard much about the word
    Compassion. One of the main things
    About Christ was how he was
    Moved by compassion for hurting broken
    People. The times
    that I visited when I was in
    Great turmoil regarding my Mother's
    Bout with a heart condition, I
    Found no balm of Gilead, but rather
    Another message on prosperity.Obviously
    The Lord took me through the valley
    Of the shadow of death, but Mr.Winston
    Had no message of faith,hope and Love
    To bring me comfort. I can not judge him,
    But I tell you what; I do not recommend him
    If your going through pain and suffering.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 1:43 AM, June 30, 2009  

  • BILL Winston is a great man of God who through his outreach ministry and television lives program on GOD TV is changing lives by the uncompromised Word of God in INDIA.Because of his teachings inspired by the holy spirit I have come to realize the "Good News" of the gospel that God wants us Whole and Well in every area of our lives spiritually,mentality and physically and ALSO FINANCIALLY.and applying God's word really,really works.So to all who oppose him I would say please stop being critical and please ascertain facts before u pass judgement.GOD BLESS BILL WINSTON REGARDS India

    By Anonymous Nina, at 11:32 PM, July 06, 2009  

  • If you don't want to hear Bill Winston preach, I suggest you turn him off! That is what that little remote is for! I believe every word he says. Amen

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:12 AM, December 16, 2009  

Post a Comment

<< Home