When you make God out to be different from who he actually is, he is bound to disappoint. Christians are losing faith in God every day because preachers are misrepresenting him. And God is not obligated to live up to the expectations that preachers have set him up to. That’s why many churches and preachers and theologians have been inadvertent agents of the devil; not because they necessarily planned for it that way but because they have presented their distorted version of who God is to Christians.

Some prominent preachers I know will call Christians, traitors or weaklings, who have been disappointed by God not living up to their expectations (expectations often set by these same charismatic, tongue-talking, sleek used car salesman type pastors). As a result, people begin to doubt themselves and their faith because they don’t get the same results that these men of God claimed that God would give them.

Misdirection is the central secret of all magic. It is a form of deception in which the attention of an audience is focused on one thing in order to distract its attention from another. When preachers teach you that a particular way is the will of God while they take advantage of you in some form, you have fallen victim to misdirection. Let us examine this thesis further. Have you come across Christian programs like "Give me a husband or I die” or “Anointing for Financial Breakthrough”. There are a plethora of conferences, seminars and books that present topics like these daily, in one form or the other and in your face all across Nigeria. Making christians feel like they are somehow inadequate because they are not married or that they must not have faith because they are not rich is creating a lot of problems and breeding unrealistic expectations from the God of the Bible. Jesus talked about those who were born Eunuchs, those who were made Eunuchs and those who chose to live their lives like Eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom. Paul suggested that Christians should be unmarried like him. Christians marrying out of church pressure are a major contribution to the growing dissatisfaction, separation and divorce in Christian marriages. Concerning money, Jesus said, “Be careful to guard against all forms of greed, because even if someone is rich, his life does not consist in what he owns.” Apostle Paul said, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want”. These are outdated messages in the church that have been updated by new ostensibly biblical doctrines.

These seemly innocent doctrines work to the advantage of preachers by creating an itch that only they are positioned to scratch. So they make Christians believe that God wants them to be instant millionaires or that He will make them an instant success in their field or some other blessing. So by taping into their listener's greed and showing that God will satisfy it, pastors make themselves the “drug-dealers" of God’s blessing. So when asked to give sacrificially, church people give but not for the sake of the Kingdom. How many modern day Nigerian Pentecostal Charismatic Christians would give sacrificially if the only reward was that someone else would give their lives to Christ. Few really care about other people getting saved anymore, but they give so that God can bless them. Some Christians will go as far as to borrow to give while being egged on by their preacher, brainwashed that somehow if the man of God has spoken the blessing, God has spoken it. Cultivating unrealistic expectations and inspiring false hope through testimonies while fleecing the congregation on a weekly basis in the name of God, preachers have enriched themselves immensely. The New Pentecostal Charismatic christian is no less brainwashed than a Boko Haram terrorist who believes he’s going to get 70 virgins in heaven after taking theirs and other innocent lives.

Christianity today is so much about personal desire. And when God doesn’t answer the prayers of brainwashed church goers, they resort to lying, stealing and cheating to look the part, living hypocritical lives so that they appear like they are living up to the expectations taught by their pastors. Pastors and born again christians in Nigeria have become some of the worst people to do business with. After scamming you, they would come to Church to give testimonies. True story: a friend of mine, Benjamin, was at a church convention in Enugu. There, Benjamin and his wife saw their friend go up stage to give a testimony about how God had blessed her with a N163million government contract after sowing a sacrificial seed of N1million into the ministry the previous year. Benjamin and his wife met up with their friend after service and congratulated her heartily for such a great breakthrough. A few months later, he found that his friend, the woman that gave the testimony, had impersonated his company to get the contract she testified about and now the FIRS is asking him to pay N8million in taxes; taxes for a contract he did not execute. Two years going, with millions of naira spent on legal fees and sundry, Benjamin is still fighting for his innocence. Sometimes I feel there’s going to be a special kind of hell for many of today’s Christians and pastors. God have mercy on us all.

Preachers now teach Christians different formulas to receive from God: 5 steps to walking in your divine inheritance; 7 Mysteries for getting God to answer your prayers and so on. It is weird because these are not the examples Jesus gave us, neither are they the examples shown to us by the Apostles of God in the Bible. It's as if God is a genie in the lamp and His sole purpose of existence to grant us our wishes. Contrary to this, Jesus was actually setup by God to be tempted of the devil in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1). After being hungry for 40 days and nights, his first temptation was to turn stone to bread. Apparently, having the spirit without measure, he could do this but did not. He did not let his appetite get the better of him. And even though he had the power to change his situation, he was not going to be led by the devil but by God. The Spirit of God does not always lead you into financial breakthrough or plenty, preachers who tell you otherwise are charlatans.

Some clever theologians who have re-framed the gospel make it difficult for people to argue against them. This, because they use the claim to the blessings of God as the basis of fleecing their audience. Because they are specially anointed to heal, bless, prophecy etc, if you give them an offering, God will release the blessings in his hands for you. Thief! To argue against them like I have done would seem to suggest that God cannot or does not heal, or cannot or does not provide, or cannot or does not bless. And these will be untrue, because God does heal, provide and protect, gives spouses and a whole range of other blessings. However, the level of importance or sometimes relevance of these blessings is highly misplaced. We have put the cart before the horse and have begun seeking blessings before the Kingdom of God, with many churches foolishly ratifying this un-Christlike approach. Furthermore, the ways in which many popular preachers say God blesses and many of the methods by which they say he does it are unbiblical at least and sometimes downright diabolical. On one end of the spectrum you have the really prideful preacher who speaks with an outstanding level of cockiness which he calls boldness. His words are law; God spoke it himself and therefore cannot be refuted. On the other end, there’s the soft spoken but equally dangerous preacher who convinces you by his seeming humility. Selling poison loudly or softly doesn’t make it less poisonous is all I’m saying. "Godliness with contentment is great gain" has been changed to “pride and financial success is great gain". Church is also where you get the “Do you know who I am ?" syndrome. I am Bishop so and so. I am deaconess so and so. I am chief so and so. God spoke to me in an 18-hour long vision, therefore I am something special. What remarkable humility? What outstanding meekness, right?

Unfortunately, Pentecostal Charismatic preachers are the biggest quasi-legal scammers I know. These days, I am personally wary of any person who introduces himself to me by any Christian title such as Deacon, Deaconess, Pastor, Bishop, Prophet etc, especially among the Nigerian community in America. Immediately my mind thinks thief and untrustworthy. Sadly, I have been proven right too many times. I have stories and I know that I am not the only one but I gain nothing by publicly discrediting these people. There are obviously good, honest and godly Christian leaders out there too but all I am saying is, be alert.

A successful pastor in the capital city of Nigeria once wrote me and said, it’s church people that are forcing pastors to act like big men because if they don’t behave like that, church members will disrespect them and grace will not flow. First of all, that’s a load of bull. This puts those pastors in the company of King Saul, who disobeyed God and blamed it on the people, and Adam who ate the forbidden fruit and blamed it on the woman. This is not good company to be categorized with. I implore preachers to go back to the Bible, to first of all live by it and then preach what it actually says and stop this gospel that makes them out to be superstar celebrities of some sort. They should stop setting God up to disappoint his people because in many cases, he is not who, what or how they say he is.

Everyone who wishes to serve God and is not benefitting from the on-going global scam of false christianity should go and read their Bibles, especially the New Testament as it pertains to the followers of Christ. Some of you are swayed by my argument but I hope rather that many more of you will be skeptical. Because if you are, it should make you search out the truth from the Bible by yourself and then you’ll know the truth for yourself and not some misguided misinterpretation. If you don’t, somebody else, most probably the preacher who is currently scamming you in your church is going to give you another seemingly sound argument. This may cause you to be confused or fall into their deception all over again. There are no spiritual grandchildren in Christ Jesus, we all are joint heirs in Christ and have direct access to God. Don’t believe me? Read your Bible.

I believe in Christ and I believe there is a real God of the Bible; He has just stopped attending church service because many of the people who claim to represent Him have replaced Him with themselves.

http://saharareporters.com/2014/11/24/christianity-false-hope-adetoye-oremosu

Another best seller by Adetoye Oremosu.

Sooo on point! I can't agree less.

@frosbel you too much and you have nail the problem properly
The expectation of been getting married to a very rich (not an average) man as postulated and preached by our pastors is what is making most gurls that are ripe for marriage not getting marry.

You are right. Port-harcourt has the greatest number of churches in Nigeria and the greatest number of 419ners and thieves. All these sow seed pastors annoy me

Let him that have ears, hear.

CyracksMrBlogger:
You are right. Port-harcourt has the greatest number of churches in Nigeria and the greatest number of 419ners and thieves. All these sow seed pastors annoy me

Shebi Port-harcourt is in Nigeria? Come and see churches on the streets of pretoria, you'll be afraid.

I visited MFM on Bloed street Pretoria, just last sunday cos they had a thanksgiving service which I invited myself and fiance to...somewhere during service I became bored as they were trying to entertain and me I needed prayers jor so I thought to myself if I need entertainment I'll go to Hillsong Church...

Anyways, we made to leave, on getting outside, someone else was just behind us, so we cldnt drive out. Looking up, just 500meteres apart, there were up to 5 churches o...all Nigerian Pastors, competing for space on that street...I was shocked!.

God is not an author of confusion I said to my fiance...definitely he cldnt have called all these many pastors to start churches in close proximity like that abeg to be competing for space and loud speakers to attract other people to their church.

Thanks for sharing, I'm still personally seeking the truth...

sunnshyn:


Shebi Port-harcourt is in Nigeria? Come and see churches on the streets of pretoria, you'll be afraid.

I visited MFM on Bloed street Pretoria, just last sunday cos they had a thanksgiving service which I invited myself and fiance to...somewhere during service I became bored as they were trying to entertain and me I needed prayers jor so I thought to myself if I need entertainment I'll go to Hillsong Church...

Anyways, we made to leave, on getting outside, someone else was just behind us, so we cldnt drive out. Looking up, just 500meteres apart, there were up to 5 churches o...all Nigerian Pastors, competing for space on that street...I was shocked!.

God is not an author of confusion I said to my fiance...definitely he cldnt have called all these many pastors to start churches in close proximity like that abeg to be competing for space and loud speakers to attract other people to their church.

Thanks for sharing, I'm still personally seeking the truth...

Very sad.

In fact , most of them see it as a business venture, they are in it for the money while some previously genuine ones have followed the bandwagon of greed and covetousness , hardening their hearts and convincing themselves in the process that it is part of the Gospel to steal money from the gullible, itching ear, pastor worshipping sheep.

It is realy great and he writes the truth, very sad that christianity is a business and not a lifestyle in nigeria.

The Negroes never really forgot the days when they were led by the sons of God, the Elect. The glorious times before the kings died. Those times will come again, and this time the kingdom will last forever.

They see in the gods of men today the Men of God of old. Unfortunately it is not the same thing.

sunnshyn:


Shebi Port-harcourt is in Nigeria? Come and see churches on the streets of pretoria, you'll be afraid.

I visited MFM on Bloed street Pretoria, just last sunday cos they had a thanksgiving service which I invited myself and fiance to...somewhere during service I became bored as they were trying to entertain and me I needed prayers jor so I thought to myself if I need entertainment I'll go to Hillsong Church...

Anyways, we made to leave, on getting outside, someone else was just behind us, so we cldnt drive out. Looking up, just 500meteres apart, there were up to 5 churches o...all Nigerian Pastors, competing for space on that street...I was shocked!.

God is not an author of confusion I said to my fiance...definitely he cldnt have called all these many pastors to start churches in close proximity like that abeg to be competing for space and loud speakers to attract other people to their church.

Thanks for sharing, I'm still personally seeking the truth...

I don't think you'll find the truth in this thread. If you're looking for truth listen to a truth preacher, like Joseph Prince.

Joshthefirst:
I don't think you'll find the truth in this thread. If you're looking for truth listen to a truth preacher, like Joseph Prince.

Evidence that truth remains subjective. How 2 people claiming to be led by the same invisible being end up on different paths and with different doctrines remains a perplexing puzzle.

Isn't it obvious? Believers look in the Bible and see themselves.

Churches are like businesses now with the leading pastor as executive chairman, his wife as executive vice chairman, children as directors, members as customers.

By the way how did the title of pastor's wife as 'first lady' started from. It's now the official title of some pastors wives.

TheShopKeeper:
Churches are like businesses now with the leading pastor as executive chairman, his wife as executive vice chairman, children as directors, members as customers.

By the way how did the title of pastor's wife as 'first lady' started from. It's now the official title of some pastors wives.

Have you seen how some of the church first ladies talk to other men in leadership and men in general . Also , this arrangement is prone to cause friction, errors and division. I have seen it happen too often to count.

True! True!! True!!!

Joshthefirst:


I don't think you'll find the truth in this thread. If you're looking for truth listen to a truth preacher, like Joseph Prince.

Joseph Prince?!

its hard not to love your zeal frosbel.alot of people have many questions puzzling their poor minds, alot live in fear, some use threats for those who dare to bare their doubts-cause the threats also is the base of their fear.18yrs of formal education and i'm just as easily bound in shackles of the sermons of mortal men-not free to question, doubt or protest? i'll rather not live then, than live unfree.