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Tag Archives: false teaching

A Good Example Of Pringle Teaching Dishonestly

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by Nailed Truth in Pringle's Behaviour, Pringle's Doctrine/Gospel, Pringle's Influences, Pringle's Language, Pringle's Methods

≈ 7 Comments

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c3, c3 church, c3 cult, c3 global, c3 iglobal, C3i, c3i global, c3iglobal, ccc, ccc global, ccc oxford falls, cccglobal, ccci, cult, deceit, deceitful, deceitfulness, deception, deceptive, false, false teacher, false teaching, global, lies, lying, Phil Pringle, Pringle, tithe, tithes, tithing

Before tackling this article, please read the following:

Pringle Mocks Corrector

More Christians in his church should tell Phil Pringle to “stick to the bible”. The topic of money is a common message preached at C3 Church. While we do not hear the faithful gospel preached of Christ and Him crucified, it is impossible to escape C3’s ten minute money-grubbing message. People need to face the facts. Phil Pringle has an unhealthy obsession with money and making up fables.

He clearly does not put his faith in God. Rather, Pringle puts faith in his works and finances. Question Pringle’s prosperity gospel and there is a good chance you will be labeled, criticised, ostracised, demonised or even isolated by the leadership. The tithe doctrine specifically is Pringle’s golden calf. In the past, the tithe has been called by C3 leadership the “foundation” or “cornerstone” to every believers life.

This false doctrine is both binding and destructive. This keeps poor Christians in C3 stuck in their poverty. This false doctrine has divided families and churches. Still, Phil Pringle conveniently refuses to examine the historicity and the biblical truth of the tithe. This doctrine helps no one except the false and deceptive ministry of Phil Pringle. Yet he insists Christians must tithe.

In a Sunday night sermon titled ‘Financial Excellence Part 2’ (22/05/2011), Phil Pringle slandered (blasphemed) God. He did so by putting words in God’s mouth. Pringle unashamedly went out of his way to mislead his congregation on his false tithe doctrine. Phil Pringle invented his own theology to convince and intimidate his congregation to continually financially support his ministry.

Before you read and listen to this segment of Phil Pringle, we wish to warn you of following deceptive  methods false teachers like himself use on Christians.

WARNING 1: Always hold the pastor accountable to the words he uses. If he his playing with words, DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM.

WARNING 2: If a pastor is wrongfully confusing what God is saying to what he is saying, DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM.

WARNING 3: If a pastor does not read the biblical text to justify his  claims, DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM. (i.e., if he tells you a biblical story and hi-jacks the biblical narrative for his own means.).

WARNING 4: Always check what the pastor is saying in the NAME of God to what God actually says in His Word.

WARNING 5: Always make sure that the Pastor is using biblical reasoning to teach you and NOT emotional manipulation (e.g., guilt, group intimidation).

Below, Pringle breaks all the rules of how a pastor should teach, behave and rightly approach biblical texts.

PRINGLE PLAYING WITH WORDS

In the below transcript you will see Pringle mislead the congregation by calling his financial insights to the bible a “bible study”. How can Pringle call what he taught a “bible study” when  he never read the texts in Joshua and Genesis? He never even gave biblical references. This was not a bible study. (A bible study actually involves the pastor explaining what the bible means by reading it and handling the contexts of what is said correctly.)

Throughout the below segment, Pringle kept redefining what the tithe was in very obscure ways. He does this to convince Christians that the tithe is biblical. Ask yourself: is the tithe continually defined by Pringle as ‘a tenth’ or something else? Does it keep changing itself meaning to suit Pringle’s theology or agenda?

PRINGLE PLAYING ‘GOD-AND-SWITCH’ AS IN ‘BAIT-AND-SWITCH’

To actually grasp what Pringle is doing in this segment of teaching, please watch the video at the bottom of this article (one minute in).

Good preachers clearly distinguish when God is speaking through the scriptures. They make sure that their voice is separate from God’s so no man is confused between a man’s words and God’s Word. Not so with Pringle. Pringle at one point speaks as though God is saying something through the scriptures. However, the listener can get easily confused over either God or Pringle speaking to you.

It was incredibly difficult to transcribe this video. In particularly when Pringle said,

“If you give me that [Jericho] then the rest of the land is yours. That’s the first fruits, that’s the tithe. That’s the tree in the garden for Adam.”

Was Pringle telling us this or was he telling us this is what God was saying in the book of Joshua?

PRINGLE AVOIDING THE BIBLE AT ALL COST

Using the books of Genesis and Joshua, Pringle starts arguing his case for the tithe. He AVOIDS reading these texts to support his argument. Instead, Pringle hi-jacks the narrative, lies about God saying things He never said and makes stuff up according to his personal pet theories.

If Pringle read out Genesis 2-3 or Joshua 6-8, then any hearer would realise that the tithe is not even mentioned in these ancient documents. You don’t think Pringle knows this? And what he says isn’t new. The sermon ‘Financial Excellence’ is based off his book ‘Keys To Financial Excellence’. His teaching has been expanded and extracted from his book ‘Keys To Financial Excellence’:

Pringle’s Curse Attack Gets A Wiki-Whack

Phil Pringle not only makes up his own theology in regards to the city of Jericho being a tithe, he also teaches that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and evil is the tithe. Once again, if anyone was reading Genesis 2-3, they would see that Pringle is not honest in handling the God’s Word.

PRINGLE’S MESSAGE

Below is part of the transcript we just critiqued and the video.

“So here’s the Lord saying, “You’re robbing”. You’re taking something that belongs to God. It’s the tithe. You’re sticking it in your pocket. [Inaudible] Bless me. It aint gonna happen.

There’s a guy called Achan in the scripture. And look- If I’m stirred up about anything to do with this message, it is this point I’m making right now. Because, here’s the thing, Achan- does anybody know who Achan is? Achan?

Ok. Here’s the picture. Real quick little bible study.

Joshua comes to Jericho. God says, “March around the thing- seven days. Seven days, seven times. Shout. PHEOW! The whole thing will collapse. But,” he says, “that city is the tithe.”

“Don’t touch anything in the city.” It belongs to God. The whole lot. It was ‘under the ban’ was the literal words. Devoted to destruction. “If you give me that then the rest of the land is yours. That’s the firstfruits, that’s the tithe. That’s the tree in the garden for Adam.”

It’s the firstborn of every animal born on the earth. It’s the first. It’s the tithe.
‘kay. So everybody does it.

“Phew! Don’t touch it! Don’t touch!” Achan sees a big lump of gold. He says, “I’ll take that”. Puts in his back pocket. Goes into his tent. Digs a hole. Puts it in. Hides it in a couple of garments. [Inaudible.] Digs a hole. Hides it.

The next- they’re ready to go to the next town, Ai. Little town. A-i. That’s a little name, three thousand people, bam! Just go up there. Josh is- says ‘Oh, we wont even send the whole army up. We’ll kill these guys in no time at all’. Bam! So he goes up. They get defeated.

Israel gets defeated. About thirty seven of their own soldiers die. Achan doesn’t. One of the soldiers. He doesn’t. They come back. Josh is on his face. He says, “God! How did that happen? We took Jericho with big thick walls! Then we got beaten at Ai, by a nobody group!”

God says, “Somebody took the tithe.”

He says, “What do you mean?” He says, “You gotta find out who did this.” So they find out. Do a little investigation.
“Achan. What are you doing?”

“Woah!” … This is why I’m stirred up about it. Because it’s not about just me individually. It’s about the whole church. I’ve a corporate responsibility to the entire Kingdom of God. To the whole body of Christ.” Phil Pringle, Ps Phil Pringle: Financial Excellence Part 2, http://www2.myc3church.net/videos/ps-phil-pringle-financial-excellence-part-2, Sermon (PM), 22/05/2011.

Below you can watch him say this in the snippet about one minute in.

PRINGLE LYING TO PEOPLE ABOUT GOD

Phil Pringle has a shepherds responsibility to handle God’s Word correctly and NOT lie and slander God and His word for financial gain. If anyone did do a “bible study” reading Joshua 6-8 while Pringle preached, they would notice Pringle made up things God never said.

God didn’t say,

“that city [Jericho] is the tithe.”

God did not say,

“If you give me that then the rest of the land is yours. That’s the firstfruits, that’s the tithe. That’s the tree in the garden for Adam. It’s the firstborn of every animal born on the earth. It’s the first. It’s the tithe. ‘kay.”

When Joshua consulted God in regards to his military losing the battle at Ai, God did not say to Joshua,

“Somebody took the tithe.”

Phil Pringle is making God say and teach things God never said. In other words, Phil Pringle is blaspheming by taking the Lord’s name in vain.

Firstly, this false teaching of the tithe goes against the heart of the Father, goes against Jesus and His finished work on Calvary and the Holy Spirit. Why? It is through Christ we find blessing and freedom away from the curse and condemnation of death, God’s Law and His wrath. As Christians we do not receive the Holy Spirit, God’s promise and blessing by our works. The entire letter to the Galatians makes this case. This is blasphemy no matter which way you look at it, again taking the Lord’s name in vain.

PRINGLE USING INTIMIDATION AND CROWD CONTROL 

Pringle lets his emotions run in this portion of his talk. His tone is accusative against Christians for not tithing. If you watch further beyond the transcript, he starts personally confessing his works and his faithfulness to the tithe.

This does not stop Pringle teaching to his congregation that if individuals aren’t tithing, they are accused by God of “robbing,” cursed by God Himself and blocking the progress of his C3 church movement. This is This is why he says,

“I’m stirred up about it. Because it’s not about just me individually.”

The onus is on non-tithers to do what Pringle says or else. His lies mixed with his intimidation is in our opinion bullying. It is of our opinion he is using misleading tactics to force non-tithers in his congregation to tithe, using his own congregation against them. Think of it this way. After this sermon, how would members react to people who say they don’t tithe? After this sermon, do you think non-tithers would dispute this teaching against other members? Do you think they will feel isolated and alone in their thoughts on this matter?

Overall, this is a good example how a false teacher would teach and behave behind a pulpit. Phil Pringle’s false message and deceitful methods are clearly evident in this sermon.

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Is The C3 Movement A “Cult Of Prosperity”?

13 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by Nailed Truth in C3 Ministry, C3 Values, Pringle's Doctrine/Gospel, Uncategorized

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Benny Hinn, Bill Johnson, Brian Houston, c3, c3 church, c3 global, c3 of, c3 oxford falls, c3global, C3i, c3i global, c3iglobal, C3OF, cash, ccc, ccc church, cccglobal, ccciglobal, cult of prosperity, Dale Bronner, erroneous, error, false, false doctrine, false teaching, false theology, fault, faulty, faulty biblical interpretation, finance, finances, John Avanzini, John Maxwell, joyce meyer, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Kenneth Hagin, Kong Hee, mislead, money, Oral Roberts, Pat Robertson, phil pringe, Phil Pringle, Pringle, prosperity cult, prosperity gospel, Rick Warren, T.D.Jakes, The Bankruptcy of the Prosperity Gospel, tommy tenney, yonngi cho

Phil Pringle is heavily influenced by the prosperity cults. He endorses, speaks or works alongside some of the most heretical persons such as Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Brian Houston, Yonngi Cho, Kong Hee, Kenneth Hagin, John Avanzini, Pat Robertson, Oral Roberts, John Maxwell, Rick Warren, Dale Bronner, Bill Johnson, T.D Jakes, Tommy Tenney and so on. The article below addresses false teachers who Pringle either endorses or who is influenced by their ministries.

pringle in league with prosperity cult

The below article uproots Pringle’s false Christianity and does a solid job presenting readers with the facts of scripture. Unlike Pringle, we encourage readers to pull out their bibles (or visit our resources on the left) to do a bible study on this article below.

The Bankruptcy of the Prosperity Gospel: An Exercise in Biblical and Theological Ethics

Study By: David Jones

Download Word Doc

Just over one hundred years ago, the renowned pastor and statesman Charles H. Spurgeon spoke these words to the then-largest congregation in all Christendom:

I believe that it is anti-Christian and unholy for any Christian to live with the object of accumulating wealth. You will say, “Are we not to strive all we can to get all the money we can?” You may do so. I cannot doubt but what, in so doing, you may do service to the cause of God. But what I said was that to live with the object of accumulating wealth is anti-Christian.1

Over the years, however, the message being preached in some of the largest churches in the world has changed. Due, in part, to the rise of several ungodly philosophies and movements,2 a new gospel is being taught today. This gospel has been ascribed many names, such as the “name it and claim it” gospel, the “blab it and grab it” gospel, the “health and wealth” gospel, the “word of faith” movement, the “gospel of success,” the “prosperity gospel,” and “positive confession theology.”3

No matter what name is used, though, the teaching is the same. Simply put, this egocentric gospel teaches that God wants believers to be materially wealthy. Listen to the words of Robert Tilton, one of the prosperity gospel’s most well-known spokesmen: “I believe that it is the will of God for all to prosper because I see it in the Word [of God], not because it has worked mightily for someone else. I do not put my eyes on men, but on God who gives me the power to get wealth.”4

Teachers of the prosperity gospel encourage their followers to pray, and even demand, of God “everything from modes of transportation (cars, vans, trucks, even two-seat planes), [to] homes, furniture, and large bank accounts.”5 By closely examining the faulty theology and errant biblical interpretation of the teachers of this movement, this study will prove that the prosperity gospel teachings regarding the acquisition and accumulation of wealth are ethically incorrect.

The Theology of the Prosperity Gospel

“Theology is important,” wrote scholar Millard J. Erickson, “because correct doctrinal beliefs are essential to the relationship between the believer and God.”6 A corollary to this statement is that an incorrect theology will lead to incorrect beliefs about God, His Word, and His dealings with men. The thesis of this paper is that the prosperity gospel is constructed upon a faulty theology. Consequently, many of its doctrines, including the teachings concerning wealth, are erroneous. While it is beyond the scope of this study to examine in detail all of the specific doctrines of prosperity theology, there are four crucial areas of error relating to their teachings on wealth that may be isolated and examined. These areas are the Abrahamic covenant, the Atonement, giving, and faith.

Prosperity Theology and the Abrahamic Covenant

The theological basis of the prosperity gospel is the Abrahamic covenant.7 While this is good in that prosperity theologians recognize that much of Scripture is the record of the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, it is bad in that they do not maintain an orthodox view of this covenant. Prosperity theologians hold an incorrect view of the inception of the Abrahamic covenant; what is more germane to the present study, however, they hold to an erroneous view concerning the application of the covenant.8

Researcher Edward Pousson best stated the prosperity view on the application of the Abrahamic covenant when he wrote, “Christians are Abraham’s spiritual children and heirs to the blessings of faith…. This Abrahamic inheritance is unpacked primarily in terms of material entitlements.”9 In other words, according to the prosperity gospel, the primary purpose of the Abrahamic covenant was for God to bless Abraham materially. Since believers are now “Abraham’s spiritual children,” they consequently have inherited these financial blessings of the covenant.

Prosperity teacher Kenneth Copeland wrote, “Since God’s Covenant has been established and prosperity is a provision of this covenant, you need to realize that prosperity belongs to you now!”10 Referring to the prosperity theology of Kenneth Hagin, author Harvey Cox wrote, “Through the crucifixion of Christ, Christians have inherited all the promises made to Abraham, and these include both spiritual and material well-being.”11 To support this claim, prosperity teachers such as Copeland and Hagin appeal to Gal. 3:14, which says “that the blessings of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus. . . .”12 While it is not an understatement to say that the problems with this argument are legion, two glaring problems need to be addressed. First, in their appeal to Gal. 3:14, prosperity teachers ignore the second half of the verse, which reads, “That we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”13 In this verse Paul clearly was reminding the Galatians of the spiritual blessing of salvation, not the material blessing of wealth.

Second, prosperity teachers claim that the conduit through which believers receive Abraham’s blessings is faith. This completely ignores the orthodox understanding that the Abrahamic covenant was an unconditional covenant.14 That is, the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant were not contingent upon one man’s obedience. Therefore, even if the Abrahamic covenant did apply to Christians, all believers would already be experiencing the material blessings regardless of prosperity theology.

Prosperity Theology and the Atonement

A second cracked pillar upon which prosperity theology stands is that of a faulty view of the Atonement. Theologian Ken Sarles wrote that “the prosperity gospel claims that both physical healing and financial prosperity have been provided for in the Atonement.”15 This seems to be an accurate observation in light of teacher Kenneth Copeland’s comment that “the basic principle of the Christian life is to know that God put our sin, sickness, disease, sorrow, grief, and poverty on Jesus at Calvary.”16 This misunderstanding of the Atonement stems from two errors that proponents of the prosperity gospel make.

First, many who hold to prosperity theology have a fundamental misconception of the life of Christ. For example, teacher John Avanzini proclaimed that “Jesus had a nice house, a big house,”17 “Jesus was handling big money,”18 and He even “wore designer clothes.”19 It is easy to see how such a warped view of the life of Christ could lead to an equally warped misconception of the death of Christ.

A second error of prosperity theology, which also leads to a faulty view of the Atonement, is the misinterpretation of 2 Cor. 8:9. Without exception, this is the verse to which prosperity teachers appeal in order to support their view of the Atonement. The verse reads, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”20 This problem with this interpretation is, of course, that in this verse Paul was in no way teaching that Christ died on the cross for the purpose of increasing anyone’s net worth materially. In fact, Paul was actually teaching the exact opposite principle.

Contextually, it is clear that Paul was teaching the Corinthians that since Christ accomplished so much for them through the Atonement, then how much more ought they empty themselves of their riches in service of the Savior. This is why just five short verses later Paul would urge the Corinthians to give their wealth away to their needy brothers, writing “that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack.”21 Commentator Philip E. Hughes wrote of 2 Cor. 8:9, “The logic implicit in the statement of this great truth is too obvious for anyone to miss it.”22 Apparently, however, the champions of the prosperity gospel have indeed missed it.

Prosperity Theology and Giving

One of the most striking characteristics of the prosperity theologians is their seeming fixation with the act of giving. Students of the prosperity gospel are urged to give generously and are confronted with such pious statements as, “True prosperity is the ability to use God’s power to meet the needs of mankind in any realm of life,”23 and, “We have been called to finance the gospel to the world.”24 While at face value these statements do indeed appear to be praiseworthy, a closer examination of the theology behind them reveals that the prosperity gospel’s emphasis on giving is built on anything but philanthropic motives. The driving force behind this emphasis on giving is what teacher Robert Tilton referred to as the “Law of Compensation.”25 According to this law, which is supposedly based on Mark 10:30,26 Christians need to give generously to others because when they do, God gives back more in return. This, in turn, leads to a cycle of ever-increasing prosperity.

As Gloria Copeland put it, “Give $10 and receive $1,000; give $1,000 and receive $100,000;… in short, Mark 10:30 is a very good deal.”27 It is evident, then, that the prosperity gospel’s doctrine of giving is built upon faulty motives. Whereas Jesus taught His disciples to “give, hoping for nothing in return,”28 prosperity theologians teach their disciples to give because they will get a great return. One cannot help but agree with author Edward Pousson’s observation that the stewardship of “the prosperity message is in captivity to the American dream.”29

Prosperity Theology and Faith

A final area of prosperity theology that merits investigation is that of the doctrine of faith. Whereas orthodox Christianity understands faith to be “trust in the person of Jesus Christ, the truth of His teaching, and the redemptive work He accomplished at Calvary,”30 prosperity teachers espouse quite a different doctrine. In his book, The Laws of Prosperity, Kenneth Copeland wrote that “faith is a spiritual force, a spiritual energy, a spiritual power. It is this force of faith which makes the laws of the spirit world function. . . . There are certain laws governing prosperity revealed in God’s Word. Faith causes them to function.”31 This is obviously a faulty, if not heretical, understanding of faith. Later in the same book Copeland wrote that “if you make up your mind . . . that you are willing to live in divine prosperity and abundance, . . . divine prosperity will come to pass in your life. You have exercised your faith.”32 According to prosperity theology, faith is not a theocentric act of the will, or simply trust in God; rather it is an anthropocentric spiritual force, directed at God. Indeed, any theology that views faith solely as a means to material gain rather than the acceptance of heavenly justification must be judged as faulty and inadequate.

The Biblical Interpretation of the Prosperity Gospel

As has already been demonstrated in this paper, the hermeneutics of the prosperity movement leaves much to be desired. Author Ken Sarles wrote of the prosperity teachers that their “method of interpreting the biblical text is highly subjective and arbitrary. Bible verses are quoted in abundance without attention to grammatical indicators, semantic nuances, or literary and historical context. The result is a set of ideas and principles based on distortion of textual meaning.”33 Indeed, a survey of the volumes of literature produced by the prosperity teachers yields numerous examples of such misinterpretations. As was the case in the theological study of this movement, an analysis of all such examples of misinterpreted texts would fall beyond the scope of this study. However, it is possible to choose one verse as an example and to examine both the prosperity gospel and orthodox interpretations of the text.

A suitable verse for this study is 3 John 2.34 In this verse, the Apostle John wrote, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”35 This verse is interpreted by prosperity teachers to mean that God wants all believers to “prosper in all things.” Furthermore, their interpretation of this verse makes clear their claim that material prosperity is inseparably linked to spiritual growth. Oral Roberts, regarded by many to be the father of the prosperity gospel movement, claimed at the beginning of his ministry, during a time of search for direction, that God miraculously led him to 3 John 2, which he understood as a revelation of the prosperity gospel.36

Another faith teacher who has built his ministry around this faulty interpretation of 3 John 2 is Kenneth Copeland. Author Kenneth Kantzer noted that “Copeland misinterprets this [verse] as a universal promise,”37 and writer Bruce Barron remarked that “the Copelands use these words so often that they appear to be the key verse of their ministry.”38 A careful study of 3 John 2, however, reveals that this verse is not a carte blanche approval of prosperity gospel teachings.

Those who use 3 John 2 to support the prosperity gospel are committing two crucial errors, the first contextual and the second grammatical. First, con-textually, one is wise to note that John’s purpose in writing 3 John 2 was not to teach doctrine; it was simply to open his letter with a greeting. This is not to say that doctrine cannot be derived from a nondoctrinal passage, for all Scripture is profitable for doctrine, but it is to say that one must be sensitive to the original author’s intent. Therefore, the claim that 3 John 2 teaches the doctrine of prosperity ought to be regarded as suspect at best. Second, one is wise to note the meaning of the word “prosperity” as it occurs in this verse. The term translated “prosperity” is a form of the Greek word eujodovw. This word, which is used only four times in Scripture, does not mean to prosper in the sense of “gaining material possessions,” but rather means “to grant a prosperous expedition and expeditious journey,” or “to lead by a direct and easy way.”39 The wording of modern translations such as the New International Version even reflect this nuance of the word.40 Therefore it is evident that teachers who understand 3 John 2 to teach prosperity theology are misinterpreting the text.

Conclusion

Through this study of the theology and the biblical interpretation of the prosperity gospel, one may discern five clear reasons why this movement’s teachings concerning wealth are incorrect:

1. The prosperity gospel is built upon a faulty understanding of the Abrahamic covenant.

2. The prosperity gospel is built upon a faulty understanding of the Atonement.

3. The prosperity gospel is based upon a faulty understanding of the biblical tachings on giving.

4. The prosperity gospel is based upon a faulty understanding of the biblical teachings on faith.

5. The prosperity gospel, in general, has been constructed upon faulty biblical interpretation.

Aside from these five specific theological and biblical arguments against the prosperity gospel, and without even considering the practical implications of this movement,41 there is perhaps one general, summary reason why the prosperity gospel is a wayward gospel: its faulty view of the relationship between God and man. Simply put, if the prosperity gospel is correct, grace becomes obsolete, God becomes irrelevant, and man is the measure of all things. Whether it is the Abrahamic covenant, the Atonement, giving, faith, or the biblical interpretation of any given verse, the prosperity teacher seeks to turn the relationship between God and man into a financial quid pro quo transaction. As scholar James R. Goff noted, God is “reduced to a kind of ‘cosmic bellhop’ attending to the needs and desires of his creation.”42 This is a wholly inadequate and unbiblical view of the relationship between God and man and the stewardship of wealth.

Note: This article was originally published in Faith and Mission Vol 16, p. 79ff. Published with permission.


1 Tom Carted, ed., 2,200 Quotations from the Writings of Charles H. Spurgeon (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1988), 216.

2 While it is impossible to trace the prosperity gospel back to an exact starting point, there are at least three movements from which it draws its ideas. One is the experience-centered Christianity which was birthed in the mind of nineteenth-century theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher and has come to fruition in the form of the twentieth-century Charismatic movement. A second philosophy that gave rise to the prosperity gospel was the “positive thinking” school of Norman Vincent Peale. Indeed, scholar Harvey Cox wrote concerning the prosperity gospel that “it owed much to the ‘positive thinking’ of the late Norman Vincent Peale.” Harvey Cox, Fire from Heaven (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1995), 272. The third modern movement that has influenced the prosperity gospel is simply the “American dream,” or materialism.

3 For the purpose of this paper, the phrase “prosperity gospel” will be used.

4 Robert Tilton, God’s Word about Prosperity (Dallas, TX: Word of Faith Publications, 1983), 6.

5 David Pilgrim, “Egoism or Altruism: A Social Psychological Critique of the Prosperity Gospel of Televangelist Robert Tilton,” Journal of Religious Studies, 18.1-2 (1992): 3.

6 Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1985), 28.

7 This important covenant is mentioned numerous times in the writings of the prosperity teachers, i.e., Gloria Copeland, God’s Willis Prosperity (Fort Worth, TX: Kenneth Copeland Publications, 1973), 4-6; Kenneth Copeland, The Laws of Prosperity (Fort Worth, TX: Kenneth Copeland Publications, 1974), 51; idem, Our Covenant with God (Fort Worth, TX: Kenneth Copeland Publications, 1987), 10; Edward Pousson, Spreading the Flame (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992), 158; and Kenneth Copeland, The Troublemaker (Fort Worth, TX: Kenneth Copeland Publications, n.d.), 6.

8 Prosperity teacher Kenneth Copeland articulated his movement’s view of the inception of the Abrahamic covenant best when he wrote that “after Adam’s fall in the Garden, God needed an avenue back into the earth;… since man was the key figure in the Fall, man had to be the key figure in the redemption, so God approached a man named Abram. He reenacted with Abram what Satan had done with Adam. . . . God offered Abram a proposition and Abram bought it.” Kenneth Copeland, Our Covenant with God, 10.

9 Pousson, 158.

10 Kenneth Copeland, The Laws of Prosperity, 51.

11 Cox, 271.

12 Gal. 3:14a (NKJV).

13 Gal. 3:14b (NKJV).

14 That the Abrahamic covenant is an unconditional covenant can be demonstrated by four facts. First, the covenant ceremony in Genesis 15 was unilateral. In fact, Abraham was asleep. Second, no conditions are stated in the covenant. Third, in the restatement of the covenant in Gen. 17:7,13, and 19, the covenant is called “everlasting.” Finally, the covenant was confirmed despite Abraham’s continued disobedience and lack of faith.

15 Ken L. Sarles, “A Theological Evaluation of the Prosperity Gospel,” Bibliotheca Sacra 143 (Oct.-Dec. 1986): 339.

16 Kenneth Copeland, The Troublemaker, 6.

17 John Avanzini, “Believer’s Voice of Victory,” program on TBN, 20 January 1991. Quoted in Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity in Crisis (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1993), 381.

18 Idem, “Praise the Lord,” program on TBN, 15 September 1988. Quoted in Hanegraaff, 381.

19 Avanzini, “Believer’s Voice of Victory.”

20 2 Cor. 8:9 (NKJV).

21 2 Cor. 8:14 (NKJV).

22 Philip E. Hughes, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishers, 1962), 300.

23 Kenneth Copeland, The Laws of Prosperity, 26.

24 Gloria Copeland, God’s Will Is Prosperity, 45.

25 Theologian Ken Sarles rightly noted that “the Law of Compensation [is] the bedrock of the prosperity movement.” Sarles, 349.

26 In Mark 10:29-30, Jesus stated, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sister or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life” (NKJV). Other verses that the “Law of Compensation” is based upon include Eccl. 11:1, 2 Cor. 9:6, and Gal. 6:7.

27 Gloria Copeland, 54.

28 Luke 10:35 (NKJV).

29 Pousson, 159.

30 J. D. Douglas, and Merrill C. Tenny, eds., The New International Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 1987), s.v. “faith.”

31 Kenneth Copeland, The Laws of Prosperity, 19.

32 Ibid.,41.

33 Sarles, 337.

34 Sarles says that this is an “often quoted verse” in the prosperity movement. Sarles, 338. Hanegraaff wrote that 3 John 2 was a “classic example” of prosperity misinterpretation. Hanegraaff, 223. Gordon Fee called 3 John 2 “the basic Scripture text of the cult of prosperity.” Gordon Fee, “The ‘Gospel’ of Prosperity,” Reformation Today 82 (Nov.-Dec. 1984): 40. Bruce Barron wrote that 3 John 2 was “the ‘Old Faithful’ of prosperity proof texts.” Bruce Barron, The Health and Wealth Gospel (Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity Press, 1987), 91.

35 3 John 2 (NKJV).

36 For a full account of Roberts’ miraculous revelation concerning 3 John 2, see Barron, 62.

37 Kenneth S. Kantzer, “The Cut-Rate Grace of a Health and Wealth Gospel,” Christianity Today, vol. 29, June 1985, 14.

38 Barron, 91.

39 Joseph Henry Thayer, The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1981), s.v., “eiio86w.”

40 “Dear Friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well” (3 John 2, NIV).

41 There are numerous practical implications that arise from the prosperity gospel view on wealth. While it would take a lengthy treatise to explore and explain them all, three are important enough to be considered here. First, the prosperity gospel incorrectly implies that poverty is a sin. Teacher Robert Tilton even said that “being poor is a sin.” Robert Tilton, “Success in Life,” program on TBN, 27 December 1990, quoted in Hanegraaff, 186. Likewise, Kenneth Copeland wrote that “poverty is under the curse of the Law.” Copeland, Laws of Success, 51. Second, the prosperity gospel “appeals to the poor and the sick to put more faith in the ultimate fulfillment of their desires than in the Word of God.” Sarles, 343. Third, when the prosperity gospel does cause positive changes in a believer’s life, the prosperity teacher gets most of the credit, and when the believer does not experience prosperity, the blame is usually left upon that individual. For example, Robert Tilton offered several reasons why some believers did not experience blessings: “Individuals lacked faith, refused to follow his directions, and criticized Tilton’s ministry.” Pilgrim, 7.

42 James R. Goff, Jr., “The Faith That Claims,” Christianity Today, vol. 34, February 1990,21.

Source: David Jones, The Bankruptcy of the Prosperity Gospel: An Exercise in Biblical and Theological Ethics, http://bible.org/article/bankruptcy-prosperity-gospel-exercise-biblical-and-theological-ethics, Accessed 09/01/2013.

Note: C3ChurchWatch has permission to published this article.

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And This Is How Pringle Restores Fallen ‘Pastor’ (And Prophet) Pat Mesiti?

08 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by jakeelliot in C3 & Pringles Associations, C3 Culture

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pringle mesiti and money

In a previous article, we posted a transcript that revealed Phil Pringle allowing Pat Mesiti to financially con people to give money to Phil Pringle’s ministry. In this con, we pointed out that Pat Mesiti misleads and manipulates people to part with their finances.

Phil Pringle & Pat Mesiti Conning C3 Church To Give Cash

Here is another transcript that further reveals Phil Pringle endorsing Money-Magnet Mesiti to preach on money again at C3 Church in 2006. This critique should highlight how dangerously cult-like the C3 Church movement really is. In this sermon, Mesiti mangles or misses the point of  every scripture. He even claims to speak on behalf of God, (thus elevating himself to the status of infallibility). At the very bottom is transcript. Below is the critique.

IT’S ABOUT MESITI GETTING YOUR MONEY

Below, Pat Mesiti was invited to do an offering talk. That means, Mesiti was invited up by Phil Pringle to financially manipulate people into giving. Mesiti does a brilliant job in selectively replacing the words of God to get people to give money.

Here are some examples.

SAMPLE 1: JESUS WANTS YOU TO DO WHAT HE SAYS: TITHE

Mesiti says, “Jesus said this, that if you love me, do what I say… In Malachi Chapter 3…”

Jesus in a number ways says in John 14, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments”.

The difference is significant. By changing that one word, Mesiti has essentially:

1. taken Jesus’ statement out of context

2. turned Jesus’ statement around to apply something un-Christian so Mesiti can get Christians to do what he wants them to do.

Jesus says the above command FOUR times in this discourse, (John 14:15, 21, 23, 24). It becomes evident, that the disciples at that time had to hear Jesus’ instructions and teachings. Why? They were entrusted with his teachings and commands while he was on earth with them. The word for ‘keep’ in the original Greek in these four passages are tērēsete (14:15), tērōn (14:21), tērēsei (14:23) and  tērei (14:24). Each essentially meanin the same thing:  ‘to watch over, to guard’. Jesus was telling HIS disciples, “If you love me, you will WATCH OVER AND GUARD my commandments/teachings.”

In context, Jesus later explains (emphasis ours),

“Whoever does not love me does not keep my words (logous). And the word (logos) that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:24-26

This instruction was given to the Apostles not us. This is why the Apostles wrote  the gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and their epistles. Pat Mesiti has twisted the words of Jesus for his own un-Christian agenda. Jesus did not say, “if you love me, do what I say” so Mesiti can preach that we are to tithe.

SAMPLE 2: MESITI CURSES CHRISTIANS AT C3

In Malachi 3:8, Mesiti chooses to say, “will a man restrict, will a man block God”. In his attempt to convince people that the tithe is grace orientated, Mesiti tries to convince people that to tithe is to unblock God’s grace. This is backwards Christianity. If a Christian is to work at unblocking God’s grace, then how can one receive grace in the first place?

If Mesiti is elevating the giving of the tithe to unblock God’s blessing/power over his people, than Mesiti’s god is an incompetent god. A powerless god that is dependent on our works. So how can Pat Mesiti say this?

“the tithe, literally is a sign that God is really Lord and master over all. That is the symbol of the tithe.”

To teach that we can UNBLOCK God in our lives through tithing and then teach that the “tithe, literally is a sign that God is really Lord and master over all,” is double speak or double mindedness. The tithe is NOT a Christian teaching. This is heresy. This is legalism.

Furthermore, Pat Mesiti reveals how conniving he actually is to get people to give money. He lets his listeners know that Christians have issues with the teaching of Malachi 3:8-10.

“Now some people might say, ‘yeah, that’s Old Testament that’s under law.'”

Rightly so. Mesiti later refers to Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek prior to the Law, saying this proves that the tithe… is not of the Law? But Mesiti cannot have it both ways. You can’t convince an audience that people ate fish ten years ago by eating bananas. Similarly, Mesiti can’t preach the tithe under the Mosaic Law and then say it never was.

In regards to Abraham’s tithe, God blessed Abraham FIRST and Abraham tithed ONCE. Yet Mesiti is trying to con people to tithe FIRST and CONSTANTLY so they can UNBLOCK God to receive blessings from His hands. According to Mesiti it is the tithe, not God, that “brings you protection” and “opens up the windows of Heaven”.

Has Mesiti not read Malachi 3:8-11? Last time we checked it was GOD who opens the ‘windows of heaven’ and protects us by ‘rebuking the devourer’ not the tithe. (Emphasis ours.)

“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts.” Malachi 3:10-11

It should be clear that Mesiti can’t even read the bible let alone notice his eyes are not on God but on money. He seems convinced that tithing money into a poker-machine-god will result in unblocking the chambers and receiving it’s abundant cash flow and supernatural protection. In this instance, this scriptural rebuke from the Apostle Paul applies to ‘restored pastor’ Pat Mesiti AND Phil Pringle for peddling this shameful message. (Emphasis added.)

“You foolish [pastors]! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you [Pringle and Mesiti]: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing?” Galatians 3:1-4

This then makes us question what Pat Mesiti means when he says, “I want to see people saved.” As a ‘restored pastor’, how can he wish to see people saved if he has no idea what the foundation of Christianity is? He has done a better job cursing and condemning Christians using God’s Law than pointing believers to the saving work of Christ. Mesiti is either lying on stage or he has no idea what he is doing as a ‘restored pastor’ (thanks to Phil Pringle’s mentor-ship).

MESITI MISSING THE POINT

Even every single scripture Mesiti even refers to in this sermon, he misses the point completely. Mesiti says,

“God doesn’t get that concept [of ‘just enough’] …because wherever God does a miracle…listen to me church, the loaves and the fishes, there’ll be 12 baskets left over…for everybody.”

Unfortunately, that miracle wan’t their to demonstrate that “God doesn’t get that concept” of ‘just enough’. The Apostle John explains why he recorded the loaves and the fishes miracle.

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31

pringle mesiti money scamMesiti also missed the point when he referred to the widow of Zarephath. She did not receive the blessing because she tithed or had a ‘God-is-more-then-‘just-enough’ mindset. In Hebrews 11 (the faith chapter), she is obscurely mentioned in verse 35. Hebrews teaches us that “By faith” “Women received back their dead, raised to life again.” This was a woman that put her faith in God through God’s famous prophet Elijah in ancient Israel. Her household was spared from death that fateful day. Later when her son did die, it was by faith that her son was raised from the dead. It wasn’t by works but by faith God favoured her. It was by God’s grace that Elijah was sent by God to her house. It wasn’t by works but by grace and faith she was saved. Mesiti teaches likewise.

From the bible’s perspective, Pat Mesiti is not at all qualified to be restored to be a pastor.

MESITI LIES ABOUT GOD AGAIN

Mesiti twisted the words of Jesus to guilt people into giving money to Phil Pringle and his C3 Organisation.

His constant misuse of scripture leads to this lie of a conclusion:

“We are bringing out tithes, the bible says, unto Jesus.”

This is a lie. The bible does NOT tell Christians to tithe to Jesus. Jesus never tithed. So Jesus could never have taught Christians to tithe. His Apostles never tithed. So His Apostles could never have taught Christians to tithe. How can the scriptures call us to imitate Paul, the way he imitated Christ, if neither of them tithed?

MESITI BLASPHEMING GOD

Pat Mesiti also revealed that the ‘Holy Spirit’ he heard was not of God:

“here’s what I believe the Holy Spirit spoke to my spirit about.

“Tell my people, I don’t understand the concept of ‘just enough’.””

Really? God spoke to Prophet Pat? Yet the Apostle Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, taught this amazing truth from God to believers:

“For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”” 2 Corinthians 8:13-15

Isn’t it odd that Paul was thinking in advance AFTER the Corinths were to give money to the poor church in Jerusalem? Paul says that in the future, the Jerusalem church in their “their abundance may supply your [the Godly givers] need, that there may be fairness.” Fairness? According to Mesiti, they should have more than enough not “just enough”.

The above scripture portrays that Christians are to give freely to brothers so that all may have enough and vice versa. This then fulfills Paul’s use of the old testament scripture above. You will not find Paul teaching the church to tithe or to seek abundant material blessing. Nor will you see Paul teach that what you give, God will be unblocked to bless you back.

Furthermore, Paul says,

“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:10-13

How could Mesiti pit the Holy Spirit against the Holy Spirit who wrote the scriptures? It is of our opinion that Pat Mesiti is blatantly lying to the C3 Church members. How else could he say the following, speaking on God’s behalf?

“and God says ‘I’ll pour open Heaven’ ‘I don’t understand the concept of just…..I wanna pour out abundance.’ But don’t restrict Him.””

Either way, this is serious slander against the character and teaching of God and His Holy Spirit. Mesiti is restricting God by telling people they can restrict God if they don’t give C3 their money. Furthermore, by claiming that God spoke to him or that he was speaking on behalf of God is incredibly dangerous. The fact that he spoke lies against God while claiming he was hearing from God should have made Pringle stand up and tell Mesiti to sit down.

The scriptures say that people like Mesiti and Pringle “in their greed … will exploit you with false words.” The ASV says false teachers in their greed “with feigned words make merchandise of you.” Is this not an accurate desciption of what Mesiti and Pringle are doing?

Don’t you think it is evil that Phil Pringle has ‘restored’ Pat Mesiti back into ministry, yet allowed him to lie about God’s word and slander God’s character? All for the sake so people can give money to Pringle’s church? Why didn’t Phil Pringle stop Mesiti from preaching? Why did he put up with this and endorse this message?

There is much more we could have focused on in this transcript. After reading the transcript below, feel free to comment on other points we missed.

====================================================

Everybody say “10%”

Monday 02 October, 2006 – 15:10 by Hill$ong Squad in Default

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Christian City Church

Oxford Falls

Sunday 1 October 2006

10am service

Pastors Phil Pringle and Pat Mesiti

http://202.125.166.74/ramgen/ccc/01100610am.rm

(Phil Pringle) ….So now we’re going to receive our tithes and offerings ….so I want you to get ready to give.. this morning…and if you need an envelope because you use a credit card for giving.. just raise your hand ..otherwise on a newsletter, there’s a tear off strip…you can fill out your details on that. We have an EFTPOS machine up the back…of if you’re on the internet you can give through the web page there.. up on the right hand side..you’ll find an area there for giving.

I’m going to ask Pat Mesiti just to come and share around the offering this morning. Amen. Give Pat a big hand would ya? (applause) In fact next Sunday morning, I’ve asked Pat to preach here, he’s going to preach about reaching the world. Amen. God bless ya.

(Pat Mesiti) Amen church. You love the Lord? Oh good …(inaudible) You love the Lord? (‘Yeah’)

Jesus said an interesting thing in the bible. I’ll have to give you a little bit…what prompted that thought.

Little while ago I was talking to someone ..and they said…they said, ‘Pat, I’m a Christian.’

‘And so, well, how do you define if you are a Christian?’

And they said ‘well, you know, I kinda go to church.’

And I said, ‘well that’s really cool.’ But, people ..don’t read the bible say really dumb things. And you would agree with that.

Jesus said this, that if you love me, do what I say.

Obedience is really the sign that we are lovers of Jesus. Can I get an ‘Amen’? How many of you are married? Raise your hands.

How many of you husbands have learned to obey your wife? (laughter) We Italians have got it figured out. we say ‘the man is the head, but the woman is the neck that turns him around’. (laughter)

In Malachi Chapter 3, come with me to this awesome passage of scripture. Pastor Phil is a modern day revivalist, would you agree with that?

I really believe that….can we give our pastor a hand, he’s a modern day revivalist. (applause)

And one of the keys to the outpouring of heaven ….we’ve had a lot about prayer ..and today we’re gonna hear about something else and next Sunday I want to really share about getting the salt out of a shaker and making a difference in our world..and can you please bring friends.

I want to see people saved.

But here in Malachi Chapter 3…it shows us this incredible insight into opening up the windows of Heaven.

Not just prayer and telling people and acts of mercy, but God right here says this…he says ‘will a man rob God?’

Now the first thing is ..how do you take away from God?

It isn’t that we go to God ..and take that…because in actual fact, God really enjoys it when you take something of Him into your world.

When you take grace from His throne ..into your world…God enjoys it… can I get an Amen? (‘Amen’)

But here’s the concept…if you look at the Hebrew scripture …it is a picture of a goblet with a lid on it. And the way we rob God is we put a restriction on what God loves to do. Which is what? Blessing.

And it says, ‘will a man restrict, will a man block God.’

Here you say, how have you robbed me? And God says ‘in tithes and offerings’.

And then He says this, ‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse.’ Everybody say ‘all the tithes’ (‘all the tithes’)

Everybody say ‘all the tithes’ (‘all the tithes’)

What is a tithe? Let me explain. The tithe…is 10 per cent. Everybody say ’10 per cent’ (’10 per cent’).

10 per cent.

God says, ‘Bring me what’s mine …bring me that 10 per cent.’ If you’re in a business deal…and someone said to you, ‘you know what….I’m going to let you keep 90 per cent, just give me 10, how many of you think that would be a great business deal?

And God says ’10 per cent’.

Now some people might say, ‘yeah, that’s Old Testament that’s under law.’ Oh, no, no, no, no.

This is pre-law, this is under the Malchizadek priesthood, who is a type of Jesus.

We are bringing out tithes, the bible says, unto Jesus.

10 per cent. Now why 10 per cent?

You see, if God set an amount, it would not be fair, correct? It wouldn’t be fair if God said ‘bring a thousand dollars to the storehouse every week.’ It wouldn’t be fair.

But God is a God who is a just and righteous God.

He said, ‘bring a percentage’, so that the person who’s earning a thousand dollars a week or a hundred thousand dollars a week …I had a gentleman in Malaysia one day say to me this…he said ‘if I bring my tithe to the church every week’ …he said (inaudible) …he said ‘I’d have to be bringing ten thousand dollars a week into the tithe’.

And I said ‘would you like me to pray that you only have to give a hundred dollars a week’? (laughter)

It’s all relevant. Say ‘Amen or ouch’.

See, and here it is, it’s not my tithe, language is so important, it’s His tithe, and the tithe, literally is a sign that God is really Lord and master over all. That is the symbol of the tithe.

Three things it does to you, it brings you protection.

Second thing it does, it opens up the windows of Heaven.

Listen to what it says here. Look at this church.

‘If I will not open up for you the windows of Heaven and pour out for you such a blessing, there will not be room enough to receive it.’

You know as I was driving to church this morning, I always try and prepare my spirit for the offering message, just in case.

I always say honestly every Sunday when I’m in church …I always do ..because…I know Pastor Phil.

But you know I was just preparing my heart, and I said, ‘Lord, if I were to do the offering this morning, what could I say that would encourage people?

And here’s what I believe the Holy Spirit spoke to my spirit about.

“Tell my people, I don’t understand the concept of ‘just enough’.”

God doesn’t get that concept …because wherever God does a miracle…listen to me church, the loaves and the fishes, there’ll be 12 baskets left over…for everybody.

When he taught out from the widow’s miracle ..of the widow’s oil …there..they filled the jars ..and there was so much there…she could have kept pouring today if she was alive. What an amazing thing.

When God does it, He’s a God of more than enough, his name is El Shaddai, the God of plenty, not El Cheapo, the Lord, the Tightwad. (laughter)

How many of you thank God for that?

And I want us to understand that this morning.

Let’s bring all the tithes, not half of it, a quarter of it, all the tithes ..and God says ‘I’ll pour open Heaven’

‘I don’t understand the concept of just…..I wanna pour out abundance.’ But don’t restrict Him.

Father, we thank you for our ability to be able to give to you. I thank you for this House, I thank you for what you’re doing. I thank this House, your building, we’re working with you.

Lord I ask you to bless every tither, every obedient tither …as they bring your store out of every offering, in Jesus’ name.

If you need an envelope this morning, please raise your hand.

If you want to give by credit card, at the back of the room there is an EFTPOS machine there, if you’d like to give through EFTPOS machine.

If you’re writing out a cheque, please make it payable to Christian City Church.

God bless you church as you give.”

Length of offering sermon..7:05min

Source: Hill$ong Squad, Everybody say “10%”, http://hillsong.bigblog.com.au/post.do?id=75194, 02/10/2006. (Accessed 14/11/2011.) *Cached link: http://web.archive.org/web/20070430064824/http://hillsong.bigblog.com.au/post.do?id=75194.

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Phil Pringle & Pat Mesiti Conning C3 Church To Give Cash

02 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by Nailed Truth in C3 & Pringles Associations

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If a leader or teacher is misleading a congregation to tithe, this should inform you that they are either:

1. A false teacher. Or

2. an unqualified teacher.

Pat Mesiti and Phil Pringle can fall under either category.

At the bottom of this article is an old transcript of Phil Pringle allowing Pat Mesiti to con people to give money to Pringle’s organisation. Pringle allowed Mesiti to  manipulate people to give money to Pringle. Pringle did not correct Mesiti’s content or conduct. He allowed Mesiti to mangle many scriptures and have him use greed and fear to convince people to give up their cash to Pringle. In the process, Pat Mesiti publicly misled the members of Christian City Church.

MESITI’s MISLEADS

Mislead 1: The Statement God Never Made

“… God said to Adam and Eve, he said ‘you can have any tree you want, except that one there, that’s mine.’”

God said that? We encourage you to read Genesis 2 and 3. This is blasphemy. Phil Pringle and Pat Mesiti had no problem lying about God. God said nothing about the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil being His in Genesis. They made this up to convince people to give them their cash.

Mislead 2: Mesiti Witnesses Against His Own False Theology

Later, Mesiti says (emphasis ours):

“Little while ago I was speaking at a church, this was quite awhile ago actually ….(laughter)….we won’t go there…..anyway….”

He is alluding to Hillsong. The fact that he was speaking at Hillsong tells us this was before his fall, (hence why he does not talk about it). Mesiti then slips this (emphasis ours):

“And I get there and the worship’s going on …and then they receive the offering…and the Holy Spirit says to me…”I want you to take that 2 and a half thousand dollar cheque and put it in the offering”….and I said ‘Lord, this is all I’ve got’.

All Mesiti has got? In slipping this, he has undone all that he is trying to do: convince C3 Church members that they need to give money to God so “your barns will be full.” How can he teach that God wants people to give him cash so he can bless them financially back? He isn’t practicing what he is preaching. Why did he have no money? He continues…

“Within a month’s time …I was at a meeting..and a man came up to me and said….’this is not for the ministry….this is not for any of the ministries you’re involved with …this cheque is for you…and he gave me a cheque for $25,000 US….”

Is this simply band aid cash before he was publicly exposed visiting prostitutes? His heavily edited and faulty account only proves he is a false witness to his own false theology. In fact, when you read the entire script below, he exposes his own false theology.

Mislead 3: Teaching The Bible Says Something When It Doesn’t

Pat Mesiti later said:

“We’re the pearl of great price. God never argued….Jesus never debated the issue. He just did it. And we in turn are asked to value something. One of those things we’re asked to value…is the House of God.”

We need to understand that the Bible talks about the House of God being Christ and His Church (the church being the people). Not so with Pringle and Mesiti. They often define the ‘House of God’ being the building.

Not only does Mesiti force people not to question his teaching by forcing obedience on them, Mesiti and Pringle provide the illusion that God or the bible says “we’re asked to value… the House of God.”

Really?

You will not find this teaching in the bible that we are to value a physical building known as a ‘House of God’. This is another lie to get Christians to give money to Phil Pringle’s organisation.

THE FLATTERY

Mesiti flattered Pringle before the C3 congregation. Notice how Mesiti links the favour of God to Phil Pringle’s apparent material success. Is this how a Christian measures God’s grace?

“You know, Pastor Phil being number one on the podcast does not surprise me, because how many know the favour of God is on this man of God? Can you give me a good ‘amen’?”

Mesiti acknowledges how much Pringle’s teaching impacted him and his life, mangling Psalm 133 in the process. So much so, he seems to link Pringle as a Messianic figure.

“… After being under his teaching – under his ministry, means the favour of God is on us, because whatever falls on his beard, the oil (PP: “ooh!”) coming down from the beard of our Lord, did you like that? (PP “more oil, more beard”).”

The favour of God is on Pat Mesiti because he was under the teaching of Phil Pringle (and Pringle’s oily Messianic beard)? Pringle did not correct this bible garble.

THE GREED

Mesiti also mangled the scripture Proverbs 3:9. Mesiti said,

“I’m going to ask you to honour the Lord, value the Lord with your offering, and bring the Lord his firstfruits… your barns will be full.”

This is biblical incompetence on Mesiti’s part. Proverbs is written to Jews who were under the ordinances of God. If they obeyed the commandments of God, God would indeed materially bless them as a nation. If they didn’t, He would curse them. However, Mesiti’s use of this passage is inciting people to give money so they can get. This is the greed factor that prosperity preachers often use to motivate people to give money to them. Pringle did not correct this bible garble.

THE FEAR-MONGERING

The church is grafted into the promises of Israel revealed in Christ – but the Church is not Israel. The Law was designed to point out to Israel the fact that none can fulfill it’s requirements. Only one man perfectly honoured the Lord and His Laws and that was Jesus. What Jesus accomplished was far greater than material success. Jesus did not promise believers material blessings but something greater: eternal life.

Because Christ freely gave Himself, so we can freely receive His salvation, we are called to freely give NOT OUT OF COMPULSION. Scripture clearly calls us to give cheerfully through what He has done on our behalf. (2 Corinthians 9:7.) 

Instead of allowing the gospel being the motivating factor, Mesiti binds and curses the congregation by placing them under the death and condemnation of the Law, offering no freedom in Christ. By reading a portion of Malachi 3 telling Christians to tithe, the association is connected to the fact that if one does not tithe, the believer is cursed. This is not Christianity and is a false theology that destroys people. Pringle did not correct this bible mis-application.

THE DECEITFULNESS OF PAT MESITI AND PHIL PRINGLE

In closing, Pringle endorses the teaching and mentions this in his prayer to his ‘god’,

“People who have got debts they can’t manage…are gonna find ways out of it. But Lord the foundation of your prosperity in our life…is the tithe. So father as we bring this sacred finance to you …we thank you Lord that it unleashes power and principles into our world that are unstoppable.”

Sacred finance? This is Pringle’s god and not Christ. What Pringle calls “sacred finance”, Jesus opposes saying, “The deceitfulness of riches choke the Word” (Matt 13:22). According to Pringle, these “sacred finances… unleashes power and principles into our world that are unstoppable”. Really? And the bible says that where?

According to Pringle the monetary tithe is “the foundation of your prosperity in our life”. To pray such a thing to a God is disgraceful. At least Pringle is honest that Jesus is not his foundation.

In the end, did Pat Mesiti message on money choke the Word? Yes it did. Did Pringle endorse Mesiti’s unbiblical teachings that choked God’s Word? Yes he did. With this in mind, it is best to know not to trust Pat Mesiti or Phil Pringle when there is a bible in front of them. They are not qualified to preach.

Below is the full transcript of the giving sermon.

Everybody say ‘firstfruits’ (firstfruits)

Wednesday 30 August, 2006 – 17:30 by Hill$ong Squad in Default

views (189) | rating *oooo (2 votes)

(Phil Pringle) “We are going to receive our tithe and offering right now, as everybody could get ready to give.

Pat Mesiti is going to come and encourage us with our giving this morning. Thank you very much Pat. God bless you.

(Pat Mesiti) Morning church. (Good morning) Are you excited? (yeah)

You know, Pastor Phil being number one on the podcast does not surprise me, because how many know the favour of God is on this man of God? Can you give me a good ‘amen’?

And you know, after being under his teaching – under his ministry, means the favour of God is on us, because whatever falls on his beard, the oil (PP: “ooh!”) coming down from the beard of our Lord, did you like that? (PP “more oil, more beard”).

I was thinking of growing my moustache, but I’d look too much like my mum. (PP:laughter) and my mum wouldn’t really approve.

Turn to the Word now, now that I’ve got your attention.

Church, if you need an offering envelope, please raise your hand.

If you’re giving by credit card – before you fill anything out, can you just let me share for 2 or 3 minutes from the Word of God, because we can just go through the same old motions, you know, of oh, this is my tithe; I’ll just write it out…

And you know, if you want something (inaudible) God before, you’ve got to do something you haven’t done before.

And….that’s how I’ve worked.

And I want to read a passage of scripture from Proverbs Chapter 3:9….it says this…

Honour the Lord….can you all say that with me ‘honour the Lord’ (honour the Lord) with your possessions (with your possessions) ..and the firstfruits (and the firstfruits) of all your increase (of all your increase) …..don’t repeat everything or we’ll be here all day.

But honour the Lord, that literally can be translated there to mean this… value the Lord with your possessions. (PP:’wow’).

Now that’s not talking about the tithe; we get to that in the next portion.

But value the Lord, do you value, do I value the Lord?

You see, I’ve discovered in life that one of the principles of life is this. You can tell how much you value something by the price you’re willing to pay. (PP: ‘that’s the truth’)

So to the guy who says to the girl, ‘honey, I’ll climb the highest mountain, swim the deepest ocean, cross raging rivers, but if it’s raining on Sunday can you get your own way to the restaurant.’

Doesn’t really value.

And then I’ve discovered this about value, that in the absense of value, you’ll always argue price.

When you value something you don’t argue over price, you see, the Lord never argued the price of what it would cost to redeem our soul.

And we are here as recipients of God’s value towards us.

We’re the pearl of great price. God never argued….Jesus never debated the issue. He just did it.

And we in turn are asked to value something.

One of those things we’re asked to value…is the House of God.

Can I get an ‘amen’?

And God says in His Word; He says ‘bring the whole tithe’.

Notice it doesn’t say ‘give the tithe’. It says ‘bring it’.

Because, this may be a shock, but titheing isn’t giving; you can’t give back to God, what’s already His.

You can only take it from him.

And you see, there are some things that God has reserved for Himself, which brings us to the second portion, that says…’and with the firstfruits, ‘everybody say ‘firstfruits’ (firstfruits) …that’s the first portion…it goes way back, way back, way back into Genesis.

This is not law, this is Genesis. This is pre-law, where we get the covenant of marriage from.

And God says ‘honour me…bring to me…the firstfruits…the first portion…the tithe.’

I’ve often wondered, when I’ve read the book of Genesis; when God said to Adam and Eve, he said ‘you can have any tree you want, except that one there, that’s mine.’

I wonder if there was ten trees in the garden.

Folks this morning…I’m going to ask you to honour the Lord, value the Lord with your offering, and bring the Lord his firstfruits, and watch this, here’s what he says……everybody say ’so’ (so) …so your barns will be full.

A little while ago……..how many of you liked that bit in the scriptures?

You see God never asks you to give something where he doesn’t fall back. God is El Sheddai, the God of plenty, not El Cheapo the Lord, the tightwad…

Amen?

Little while ago I was speaking at a church, this was quite awhile ago actually ….(laughter)….we won’t go there…..anyway….

But I remember I was speaking at a church and I received a cheque from a corporate function I spoke at …and the Lord said to me…”I want you to put that in the offering tonight”.

And I went….’but I’ve already tithed and I’ve already given to the building fund ..and I need this’.

And God says ..”well, I need it too”.

And I’m arguing with God and then I got to church late, hoping that the offering would be over with….(laughter).

Don’t laugh at me…some of you do that…

And I get there and the worship’s going on …and then they receive the offering…and the Holy Spirit says to me…”I want you to take that 2 and a half thousand dollar cheque and put it in the offering”….and I said ‘Lord, this is all I’ve got’.

And God said….”well, that’s all you’re gonna have”

He said…”now you have an option……you can keep what’s in your hand..and I’ll keep what’s in mine….or you can let go of what’s in your hand..and I’ll let go of what’s in mine.”

(PP:’powerful’)

Within a month’s time …I was at a meeting..and a man came up to me and said….’this is not for the ministry….this is not for any of the ministries you’re involved with …this cheque is for you…and he gave me a cheque for $25,000 US….

So I got 100 fold ….and the exchange rate…..(PP:’amen) (applause)

Come on church…let’s receive our tithes. I’m gonna hand over to Pastor Phil ..to pray over the offering.

Let’s be generous this morning. Let’s bring our tithe..and let’s bring our first fruits to the Lord. Pastor Phil?

(Phil Pringle) Wonderful, thank you sir, God bless you. Amen. Folks let me pray for you…while you bring your tithes and your offering to the Lord.

Father, we thank you right now as we stand here. People who are trying to buy their homes in Sydney, feeling that the prices are high ….are going to find very real opportunities…for them to break through into a whole new era of living.

People who have got debts they can’t manage…are gonna find ways out of it.

People who are having arguments in their houses over money issues….

Father…you’ll bring solutions.

People will find their way to manage their finances better.

But Lord the foundation of your prosperity in our life…is the tithe.

The opening of windows over our lives…the opening of opportunities and blessing comes from what we’re doing right now.

So father as we bring this sacred finance to you … we thank you Lord that it unleashes power and principles into our world that are unstoppable.

So thank you for the blessing Father on every gift given right now in Jesus’ name..and everybody said ‘amen’.

God bless as you give folks.

Go ahead ushers, thank you.

If you’re on the internet ..watching today …you can go to the upper right hand corner of your web page and you’ll find a giving area.

And those of you who use the EFTPOS machine…you’re welcome to do so at the end of the service.

If you needed an envelope for your giving…because you didn’t have a newsletter….there’s a tear-off section on that you can get…but if you need an envelope…please make sure you get a hold of one….to fill out the details of your credit card if you’re using a credit card for giving.

Thank you.”

Length of offering talk – 7:50 min.

Source: By Hill$ong Squad, Everybody say ‘firstfruits’ (firstfruits), http://hillsong.bigblog.com.au/post.do?id=65489, 30/08/2006. (Accessed 14/11/2011.) *Cached link: http://web.archive.org/web/20070502235421/http://hillsong.bigblog.com.au/post.do?id=65489.

NOTE: SCREEN GRAB WAS TAKEN ON THE 14/11/2011.

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Johann Tetzel Eat Your Heart Out | Andrew Kubala tramples on the blood of Christ at Presence 2012

28 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by plebchristian in Sermon Reviews

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

2012, andrew kubala, Andy Kubala, believe tv, bible twisting, blasphemy, buy salvation, c3 church, Chris Pringle, christian mccudden, Daniel Gorter, deception, discernment, eat your heart out, eisegesis, false doctrine, false teaching, fleecing, get smart conference, heresy, Johann Tetzel, John Bevere, Kong Hee, Mark Kelsey, miracle, myc3churchreview, Oxford Falls, Phil Pringle, Presence Conference, prosperity gospel, scripture, seed offering, sermon review, sow a seed, Steven Furtick, Sydney, trample on blood of Christ

Credit goes to C3CW for getting me access to the footage from Presence Conference 2012. Cheers.

[I apologise in advance for the occasional skipping. Its a little bit of a rough edit, but everything’s there.]

Here is my next review on the C3 Church movement. The theme of this review is ‘the price of a human soul’. I review Andrew Kubala’s statements at Presence Conference 2012, namely, that we can sow a financial ‘seed’ offering for the salvation of our loved ones. I point out that no amount of money can buy salvation, and that the redemptive price of a human soul is the blood of Jesus Christ ALONE shed on the cross. It is ONLY by Christ’s sacrifice that sinners are saved; this one offering accomplished salvation once for all and is never to be repeated.

Please share this video with anyone you know who attends a C3 Church affiliated with Phil Pringle or Andrew Kubala, especially if they attended this year’s Presence Conference 2012 (April 10-13, Darling Harbour Convention Centre, Sydney)

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