sgys banner books

Fleecer’s Fleeced

By Gary Amirault

This year seems to be a harvest year, and the harvest was indeed plentiful. The leading Christian ministries headquartered in the United States were fleeced of hundreds of millions of, no not wool, but millions of your hard earned dollars. It seems their tickling ears just couldn’t resist a rumor floating around the Christian financial community that a Philanthropic organization headed by an Evangelical was offering a matching fund program which guaranteed them a doubling of their, (or should I say your) money. By being able to drop names like Rockefeller, Billy Graham, etc. as references, John G. Bennett was able to convince the financial officers of the leading Christian organizations to invest hundreds of millions of believers money into a fund called New Era.

New Era, an interesting name considering John Bennett had many connections Evangelicals would term “New Age.”

It seems Mr. Bennett had concocted what was known in the investment field as a “Ponzi scheme.” The idea is to take the money the latter investors give to pay off the earlier investors. Then the news goes out that this thing really works. Greedy people looking for a quick dollar are usually the only ones who fall for such a scheme.

An accountant from one of the Christian Colleges saw through this scheme and recommended his college not participate. They rejected his suggestion. He followed up on his hunch, reported his finding to the proper federal authorities and the hammer came down. It was a scam.

A partial list of those Christian ministries who were fleeced are:

  • James Dobson’s Focus on the Family
  • Pat Robertson’s 700 Club
  • Bill Bright’s Campus Crusade
  • Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship
  • World Vision
  • Youth For Christ, International
  • Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship
  • Salvation Army
  • Walk Through the Bible Ministries
  • Young Life
  • Moody Bible Institute
  • Christian Broadcasting Network
  • Wheaton College
  • Chapel of the Air

. . .and the list goes on and on and on. The government estimates as much as $550 million dollars were involved. Surely these ministries will throw the blame onto anything other than themselves.

The American church, as I mentioned on the audio tape entitled, the Church is a rich prostitute, owns over a trillion dollars of real estate, stocks, bonds, etc. It’s gathering and use of this money is on extremely unscriptural grounds.

In the last Dew I recommended some of you to ask for names of ministries in foreign countries that you can personally help without Tentmaker becoming a middleman. Can you now begin to see why I recommend this method rather than the ones being use by the above listed ministries? The god of Mammon rules in the American church, I don’t care what anyone says. It reigns supreme.

Handling finances is perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of the Christian walk. It is easy to get duped. This area is the area of ministry I hate the most. I know I am just as capable as falling into these pits as well as anyone else. I have shared some of that on a tape, Plates, Buckets, Bags, and Envelopes. I sure don’t have all the answers on the subject of the proper way to manage ministry money.

Many ministers do the best they can and still fall short just like the rest of us. Fortunately, we serve a God of mercy. Some ministers, unfortunately too many, are in ministry purely for self-gain. These stars will all eventually fall. At least one of the ministries involved in this “Ponze scheme” will be out of business next year due to their loss.

Please do not let these kinds of events stop you from giving. If you do, you will fall into the same pit. Rethink the whole concept of what is a ministry, how should it be supported, how can you be the best steward of what our Father has given you to invest.

One suggestion that might be helpful is this: Jesus said if you see someone hungry, feed him. He didn’t say send the money to a ministry headquartered in a nice posh office building on prime real estate that will only be able to send less than 10% of your dollar to the hungry one. (Because their salaries and expenses and profit-making schemes that fail have eaten up all the rest.) Give the dollar directly to the hungry one. Give him Christ the True Bread at the same time. Enter into your ministry, the ministry of reconciling the whole world … one at a time.

I encourage you once again to write for addresses of those overseas who desperately need you. Your dollars personally invested into the poorer countries of the world will reap a return far greater than “Ponze schemes.” A dollar plowed into Africa or Asia will do far more than what a dollar can do invested in many American ministries. Please pray about writing for those addresses.

——————————–

Giving to true, New Testament ministries is important. That is, ministries where Christ alone is magnified and all involved  simply see themselves as mere servants of His (2 Corinthians 1:9; 3:5; 4:5). And, where His pure Word, in His holy fear, nothing left out, is declared in His love (Ezekiel 3:4; Ephesians 4:11-15; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 4:2-5; 1 Peter 4:11, etc.). Also, the feeding, maturing, and tending to of Christ’s sheep is transpiring and the winning of lost souls – Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:47; 1 Timothy 4:6, 16; 1 Peter 5:1-6, etc.).  Much More Fascinating information here Stewardship

De-Funding the WolvesLocal Church Revenues | Wise Kingdom Giving

Sign up for free email devotional HERE… The Moments with My Master email devotional is sent out for the edification of the body of Christ.

Revelation Bombshell! PREP THIS!!!! [podcast]

 

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Abiding

7 Ways to Forgive [podcast]


PRAY

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” Matthew 5:44

LOVE AND DO GOOD TO THE OFFENDER

“Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” Romans 12:9

REFUSE TO SPEAK EVIL OF THE OFFENDER

“Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.” Romans 12:14

RELEASE THEM FROM YOUR PUNISHMENT

“Recompense (repay) to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Romans 12:17-19

DON’T CELEBRATE THEIR FAILURES

“Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: 18 Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.” Proverbs 24:17-18

TREAT THEM THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED

“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” Luke 6:31

STOP DWELLING ON THE PAST

“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.” Isaiah 43:18

The blessedness of being merciful to others:

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Matthew 5:7

The only way to prevent holding a grudge, is to simply forgive them – as God freely forgave you through the infinite price Christ paid for your sins on the cross, of which you don’t deserve (Psalms 103:10).

“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.” James 5:7-9

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:30-32

Being kind and forgiving towards others becomes simple as we look in the mirror and declare with Paul the apostle: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.” (Romans 7:18)

“He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” Psalms 103:10

Forgiveness becomes easy when we look in the mirror to see the person (us, me) who needs God’s mercy more than any other person alive on the earth! Memorize Ephesians 4:32 now. KJB

“For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” James 1:20

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.” Colossians 3:12-14

Forgiveness Quotes

Forgiveness is ultra important to God. If you don’t forgive all others, you are not forgiven of your own sin and are as sure for hell as if you were already there. If you refuse to forgive you damn your own soul, non-negotiably. irrevocably.

“Forgiveness does not mean what happened is okay. It means not letting what happened take any more of your happiness.” Michelle Maros

“There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” Bryant McGill

“Love is an act of endless forgiveness. Forgiveness is me giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me. Forgiveness is the final act of love.” Reinhold Niebuhr

“Holding a grudge doesn’t make you strong; it makes you bitter. Forgiving doesn’t make you weak; it sets you free.” unknown

Forgiveness | Fresh Start with God | Making Peace with God

Support | STORE | Podcasts |

Join Us

We saved a place for you to receive our weekly newsletter.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

Continue Reading

Abiding

Christ’s Non-Negotiable Original Gospel Imperative [podcast]


“He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” Matthew 12:30

It’s one thing to claim we are with Christ and He with us, and it’s another thing to prove we are with the Savior by adhering to His words. Jesus told us that those who are “of God” hear and obey His words (John 8:47).

If one chooses not to love Jesus enough to obey His stated terms, such a man has rejected the Son of God for the love of sinful self and will perish in his own corruption (Matthew 22:37-40; Luke 9:23-24; 14:33; 17:33; John 14:15; 1 John 2:3-6, etc.).

“Repentance is to TAKE SIDES with God against yourself. It is a CHANGE of attitude toward SELF, toward SIN, toward GOD, toward CHRIST that is so REAL that it RESULTS in a changed life. It is raising the WHITE FLAG in SURRENDER to God and turning to Christ as your only LORD and Savior. Repentance is NOT a work … works are the fruit of repentance (Ephesians 2:8-10).” Trent Austin

Only the counterfeit will get upset at this Gospel message because such a rebel wants nothing to do with taking personal responsibility for his sin, the denial of self, the crucified life to be set apart, holy, and having the Savior reign!

Notice how Jesus knits the denial of self, the daily cross, the putting off the deeds of the body, of keeping under the body (the iniquitous fallen nature) with the destiny of the eternal soul.

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?” Luke 9:23-25

Jesus made it clear here that the cross is an original Gospel essential, an absolute imperative to eternal glory with Him!

Each of us proves exactly who we love the most by the way we are living! – God or self!

Everything that is happening in your life now is being allowed by God in order to get you down low into the death and burial with Christ. Read 2 Corinthians 4.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 

Support | STORE | Podcasts | ChristologyBe Ready in the Morning [podcast]The Sure Mercies of David [podcast]That Repentance and Remission of Sins should be Preached [podcast] | At His Feet | Modern ChurchPeace with GodThe Cross | Christ-Centered Podcasts |

Join Us

We saved a place for you to receive our weekly newsletter.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

Continue Reading

Articles

The Book of Proverbs Alexander Scourby [video]


Support | STORE | Podcasts | Jail/Prison MinistryMexico Mission here | All Ministry Updates | 100’s of Christ-centered Podcasts | Bible Books Narrated | Bible Study Helps | The Book of James Narrated [podcast] | The Book of Revelation Narrated [podcast]Colossians Overview [podcast]

Join Us

We saved a place for you to receive our weekly newsletter.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

Continue Reading

Categories

donate button round
sgys-books01

Trending