Prosperity Gospel

Welcome to today's episode of the Reflective Spaces Ministry Podcast. I'm Tammy Toney-Butler, Healing Evangelist and host. But we all know who the host of this show is, and that's the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, come have your way in this time that we have together. May they see you, Jesus. May they not see me. May they hear you and not me. May spiritual eyes be open and ears so they can hear clearly and let it resonate in their spirit, man. For we worship you in spirit and truth. Let me only utter the words that you want me to say, Lord Jesus. I only want to speak your truth. No emotions, no feelings, just your truth in the message you've laid on my heart. In the powerful name of Jesus, we pray and declare all things. Amen. Today's message was laid on my heart pretty profoundly. the other morning in my alone time with the Lord, where I sat and sought His presence, clarity over something that was concerning me, weighing on me heavily, even in my spirit man. I just couldn't be settled with things that I saw or that I've been seeing in some of the congregations. Some of the assemblies where they come together to worship God. Things that have grieved my spirit. And I'm sure some will say are controversial. But I'm here to shed light on something that means so much to me. It is keeping. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, pure and without contaminant. It is the love of Jesus that heals, that restores, that redeems, that breaks off the bondage from his people. Spiritual darkness, where many are alive today but are dead spiritually, walking around carrying debris from the past, from trials, hurts, sorrow, pain, childhood trauma, childhood adversity, the remnant of poverty, of racism, of oppression. And how can we as evangelists charge for what God, Lord Jesus, gave us for free by his work on the cross at Calvary, where he shed his blood, was beaten, his flesh ripped open, thirty-nine stripes, so that we can be healed. Do we blasphemy Him? Do we hurt Him? Do we grieve the Spirit when we do things that aren't in line with His Word? When we preach things that aren't necessarily the truth? Or when we do things in the pulpit without thought or understanding, or without truly seeing the spiritual significance. Are we like the people in the temple when Jesus tossed the tables at the money changers? Are we doing things on the altar from the pulpit that are not from God that are of this world and not of the kingdom of God. It can be so subtle. We can be easily deceived, but our spirit knows the truth and it weighs on you. Your peace goes away. There's confusion and chaos. None of that's of God. Only peace is of God. So I ask you, as I read these words that the Lord laid on my heart, that you just ponder what it means for you, what it means for your congregation. What is God speaking to you now? Is this a gentle correction? A time to change course? Realize the old ways are gone and the new way is here? Not compromising, not tolerating things? That should never be tolerated. I mean, this message spoke to me. I'm an author. What am I doing with the knowledge that God so freely gave me? Do I charge for it? Do I want to line my coffers? Do I want to be like it says in Matthew six, nineteen to twenty one? Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doeth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doeth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Are we charging for knowledge that God so freely gives us, downloads to our spirit, I know that every book that I've been graced to write for the Holy Spirit, for the truth of Jesus to reign and be put out there for his sheep, because my people perish for lack of knowledge and I don't want them perishing on my watch. Are we charging those that have no ability to pay? for the very thing that could set them free and light them on fire for Christ and set them out as disciples? Are we holding back what God gave us, the knowledge that he downloaded to us? Are we? Are we? Are we? I know that as a ministry, we need funds to operate. And I know books cost money. Mine do. This message spoke to me so much that he gave to me that I went back and put every price point on Amazon and through Kindle, through the publishing at the very cheapest I could for it to still be offered on those platforms. And not one penny more. Not one penny more. And I strive that every center I go to, every place I'm asked to go to, every shelter for healing, every recovery center, in the jails, in the prisons, wherever I am sent by God Almighty, if the door opens, I pledge within my heart that I will provide copies of His books free for all those that come to me and need them, especially if they are survivors. of childhood trauma, of adversity. Many that I work with have had a transactional love, especially as human trafficking survivors, to where they had to do something to earn the love from somebody else, from the trafficker, from the controller, the predator, or the child. What you had to do to earn daddy's love And we as Christians cannot show that kind of love, that worldly fleshly love. We have to show the love of Jesus to the congregations, to the people, because it's the love of Christ that breaks the yoke of bondage off. And I know this isn't a word that's going to be tasteful for some. It's not for everybody's palate. They're not going to want to dine of it. But I have to put it out. as an oracle, as one that speaks what God calls me to speak in the hour He calls me to speak it. For who am I but merely a sinner that Christ set free? Who am I to decide a price tag for the knowledge that He so freely gave me and died so that I could give out to the world? Those things that he gave me, the gift of freedom, of peace, of restoration and redemption from shame, fear, guilt, self-loathing, regret, and coping through various addictions. He set me free and I'm on a pathway to set others free. So it breaks my spirit when I see things that just shouldn't be. And this is the word that he downloaded to me. Religion binds, relationship frees. Let not religion put a false burden on us. Let not religion put a false burden on us. Let it be removed and cast into the sea, that spirit of religion. Religion tells you, you must tithe a certain amount or places you in an environment where you feel that you must give a certain amount. Man looks on the outward appearance, but I look on the heart. I look at the inner man. And what is the heart posture that you have when you're giving? Do you know you can tithe from your heart? Do you seek me with your whole heart? Do you love your neighbor? Do you tithe with seeds of love? Prosperity in God's kingdom is not just about money. It's about tithing the gifts that God even gave us, giving those to others, giving freely from our heart. And yes, it's about giving, you know, our ten percent of our tithe or or whatever the Lord lays on our heart when he lays it upon us, because everything we have is from the kingdom of God so that that we can be beacons of light in a dark world and support those organizations, those ministries, those community outreach centers that are out there being the hands and feet of Jesus. And I am not taking away from that. But when we use the altar to peddle goods, to peddle goods that the Holy Spirit gave us for free, I question, is that of God? Or is that for our own benefit? And these are issues that I struggle with. Do you tithe with seeds of love? Tithing is not just money, it's from your heart, because out of your heart flows rivers of living water. Are you tithing your knowledge to others, building the kingdom? Or are you storing up treasure for yourselves where the moth doeth destroy? Do you have books lined up waiting on them to be purchased when you know some people need the resources but have no ability to pay? How did they get the knowledge I so freely gave you if you do not give them that book? Many of them are struggling to pay rent, to put gas in their cars, food on the table, and they don't have the funds, especially the ones that are on the streets or incarcerated or the homeless to purchase some of these items. Are we as leaders giving them out to those that are most in need? Are we storing them up, waiting on someone to purchase what God gave us for free? I don't remember in scripture that Jesus charged to heal anyone. I don't remember that. I remember that he set people free and they were profoundly changed. And then they sold everything and they followed him. And they realized that he was the source of everything because put first the kingdom of God and all else should be given unto you. And they knew that he came to do the will of the father and to show them the father, Abba father. So we have to ask ourselves these questions. Are we becoming like the world? Are we? Remember, I will supply all you need. Tithe your talents to others, for I gave you your ability to write, to sing, to dance. All gifts come from me. Put first the kingdom of God and all else shall be given unto you. Do not store up treasure, even knowledge, but give, give, give. Everything. Everything. I gave to you. I want you to freely give to others. I need you to be different from the world. Don't be entangled by the ways of the world. Give and give and give. And see the position of your heart as you do that. Freely give and look what will happen. Look what will happen. And yes, that may mean that you're tithing. That may mean that you're tithing. That may mean that you're giving. But I believe that there is a message there that is powerful, powerful for us to understand and relate to. And the Lord also placed on my heart to read just this little bit of scripture from this book. And to point to this scripture, I remove all false burdens placed on me by people, leaders, or churches in the name of Jesus. First Thessalonians two, six is the reference there. I remove all heavy burdens placed on my life by the enemy in the name of Jesus. let your anointing break the enemy's burden from off my neck and let every yoke be destroyed isaiah ten twenty seven remove from my shoulder from every burden psalm eighty one six i cast my cares upon the lord first peter five seven i cast my burdens upon the lord and he sustains me Psalm fifty five twenty two. Let every yoke of poverty be destroyed in the name of Jesus and let every yoke of sickness be destroyed in the name of Jesus. Let every yoke of bondage be destroyed in the name of Jesus. Let every unequal yoke be broken in the name of Jesus. Second Corinthians six fourteen. I destroy every yoke and burden of religion and legalism on my life by religious leaders in the name of Jesus. Matthew twenty three four. Let every burdensome stone be released from my life in the name of Jesus. Zechariah twelve three. And I take upon my life the yoke and burden of Jesus. Matthew eleven thirty. And I was reading out of the book Prayers That Route Demons by John Eckhart. That is what the Lord has placed on my heart for you today. It may not be a popular message, but it's one that we have to ask ourselves and I have to ask myself. And so I've made a commitment and I know God's going to supply that I'm going to give out as many books on healing as I can for free. I'm going to do it and God's going to provide for it. I just know it. I just can't charge for what Christ gave me for free. I can't do it. I just can't do it. And I know the changed lives will speak for themselves and folks will pay it forward and tie them to our ministry so that we can continue to get the books and resources out to those most in need. And I don't want to be standing behind a pulpit. And the first thing I do before I acknowledge God is hold up a book and ask for people to purchase it. And make sure before I start a message or God's word that I'm putting the focus on that. I just can't do it. I was convicted in my spirit at some things I saw and at many places I've gone recently and the Lord's had me go to many different churches or places of worship. I'm just asking you during this time to stop and pause and pray and see what message God has for you this season. The world has changed. There's so many that are victimized, survivors of trauma, many, many. There's parents that are parenting in survival mode that have never dealt with the things that happen to them as children, never. We are ministering to a different world and we need to give them the tools that they need to be able to see Jesus, find his love and remove any hindrances and blockages from them receiving the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's that love that sets them free and breaks the yoke of bondage on. And that's the message that he has for you today. Where do we draw the line in the sand? As far as the prosperity gospel, where do we draw a line in the sand? Where do we do that? And that's the message he has for you today. And I'm going to continue to examine myself and reflect and make sure that everything I'm doing is what he wants me to do. Glory be to Jesus. Glory be to Jesus. Glory be to Jesus.