CHARLO, New Brunswick, September 24, 2023 – If money were cancer, how much would you want?

God asked me that a few days ago when I was mulling over how much money I didn’t have. My answer, of course, was that I wouldn’t want very much, if any.

I got my wish.

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Ministers of Satan have infiltrated every sizeable Christian organization in the world. In fact, most of these organizations were founded by Satan’s ministers. The smaller independent churches, street ministries, and YouTube ministries don’t work directly for Satan but still do his dirty work. You’ll know them by how they ask for money – that they ask for money – for preaching God’s Word.

“You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Jesus faced the same problem back in the day. The synagogues and the temple were fully infiltrated by ministers of Satan. Had they not been, they wouldn’t have opposed Jesus, and Jesus would have chosen his disciples from their ranks. But he didn’t take even one of them as a disciple. He chose instead common labourers and tax collectors and ladies of the night, people who had no connection whatsoever with organized religion. He chose what was despised not only by the religious rank and file but also by society in general.

Jesus himself was despised for his background, trade, and appearance. He was especially despised for his poverty. When he emerged from his forty-day fast in the desert, he had nothing but the clothes on his back. Everything he had from that point onward was given to him, not because he asked people for it but because God’s Spirit worked through people to want to give it to him. This process of God’s Spirit working through people to give free-willingly also occurred during the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness, when the children of Israel gave their jewelry and other precious belongings without being guilted or commanded to do so. The same free-will process occurred during the building of the second temple after the 70-year exile in Babylon. Free-will donations were the source of all Jesus’ wealth and sustenance during his ministry years. God provided for him, either through other people or through miraculous events like the gold coin in the fish’s mouth. Jesus never begged and he never requested donations.

This is one of the main ways to discern who are truly sent by God – they will never ask for money for preaching and teaching God’s Word. They won’t guilt you into giving. They won’t tempt you into giving. They know God will provide for them because he’s promised he will, and he does. Knowing that God will somehow provide for them, God’s true ministers have no need to ask for donations or for tithing. They also understand that “freely ye have received, freely give” are not just words on a page but a directive with the weight of a command. We have received God’s grace and Spirit for free; we didn’t pay for them. Whatever we’ve learned by virtue of having receiving God’s grace and Spirit, we therefore have no business in selling.

God is not for sale.

The extent of Satan’s infiltration in the worldly church is now more or less complete. It is impossible for Satan to infiltrate God’s Kingdom on Earth, but he’s taken charge of the worldly church. This should not be surprising to us, since Jesus did tell us that the world is under Satan. The synagogues and the temple were also under the control of Satan in Jesus’ day.

These are hard truths that most Christians reject. They will defend their worldly pastors in their worldly churches and continue to prop them up with weekly donations and other funding streams. If you tell those Christians they’re providing Satan with pocket change, they’ll shrug and curse you and maybe even up the amount they’re giving. Still, scriptural truth remains scriptural truth: You cannot serve God and mammon. Anyone who expects money in exchange for teaching God’s Word is not sent by God. We have received God’s Spirit without cost, we should share it without cost, even if we ourselves have to pay to share it. God will reimburse us.

Satan’s ministers sell God’s Word, whether overtly or through expectation, whereas God’s ministers teach God’s Word for free. These are critically important distinctions and guidances. Those who work for Satan charge for their services, and their earnings are their reward (their only reward). Those who work for God don’t charge for their services, but God provides for their needs and their reward is in Heaven.

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So now I ask you what God asked me: If money were cancer, how much would you want?