1) God loves all people and desires to bless them in every way. He also wants His people to love others as He does and be sensitive to their needs. 2) We limit God's goodness and blessing to us because of our disobedience. Sin separates people from God. Sinful habits, irresponsibility, and laziness cause people to waste God's good gifts and bring ruin upon themselves and their children. 3) But God's love and blessing are much more than material benefits. Our greatest good is to come to know Him, walk in His ways, and grow into the likeness of Jesus Christ. 4) God uses many means to accomplish these ends, including discipline, material limitations, and even physical disabilities. 5) There are religious leaders today who teach that God's desire is that all his people become "prosperous," and by this they mean have a flood of material blessings. They often wear expensive clothes, drive fancy cars, and encourage people to donate generously to their ministry. The limitations I see in this message is illustrated by my first points. The dangers I see are the following: - People become materialistic and selfish. The focus comes to be on how they can get more for themselves. - As a result, they are not encouraged to see the needs of those around them or even those in other countries who suffer from wars, natural disasters, and medical epidemics. - People easily forget that God's desire is not our comfort but our holiness, our spiritual maturity, and our love for Him for who He is and not just for what he gives us. - Jesus lived a perfect life and knew God's blessing, and through His life and death has been a source of blessing to us all. Was He "prosperous?" He "had no place to lay his head," was murdered at a young age, and buried in a borrowed tomb. He was sensitive to the needs of the poor. - Paul founded churches, wrote the basic theology of the Church, and lived a life that has inspired millions to love and serve God. He spent time in jail, suffered shipwreck, and knew both "how to be abased and how to abound," with few personal possessions. Yet his letters are full of his joy (note Philippians as an example). Was he "prosperous?" He called others to follow his example. He said all who would live a Godly life in Christ Jesus would be persecuted. Asking God to free him from an affliction, the Lord told him, "my grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness." He asked his followers to be sensitive to the needs of the poor.

Thus, Gloria, I think we need to review the above as we listen to messages of "the prosperity gospel," however we understand this term.