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PROPHETIC MESSAGEBrother Bear’s Bully Pulpit
The Lord would say unto a certain caustic-tongued preacher who has failed to grow in theknowledge of My Love: I warn you not to hurt My precious lambs out in the pews, or overthe air. You have taken liberties with the tender hearts of my beloved children, even thosewho cannot discern truth from error. They stand in awe of you, and latch onto your everyword. They are too afraid of you to question anything you say, for many of them areimmature and not yet well-trained in the Word of God. “Brother Bear”, you have allowed pride and presumption to enter into your life. You haveeven placed yourself as judge over My people who are suffering trials of deep humiliation,although I said in My Word: Who are you to judge another (Romans 14:4)? And, with thesame measure you judge, you shall also be judged (Matthew 7:1-5). Repent of this haughtyattitude, or I shall have to allow you to experience some of the same adversity you despiseothers for enduring.You condemn as slothful the poor, even those who set their affections on things above andcan truthfully say their inheritance is not of this world. But I said “Blessed are ye poor, foryours is the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20).” But you have reviled the poor (James chapter 2), although My Holy Word makes it clear thatI have chosen the poor of this world Who genuinely love Me and rely on Me. These people,so despised by you, have been blessed with an extra measure of faith (verse 5). Thoughpoor in this world’s goods they are heirs of My eternal Kingdom. Yet you lump them alltogether as leeches on society, worthless bums who produce nothing and “are just a drain
 
on church resources.” You even take a grudging attitude toward keeping a church pantry forthe needy and really think feeding the saints ought to be limited to “spiritual food”, althoughJesus divided the loaves and the fishes for a huge crowd as an object lesson to teach them Icare for the poor and the hungry. Your real concern is that “spiritual bread” costs lessmoney to break to your flock than material bread. But James said: “What good does it doto speak a blessing over your needy brother or sister, unless you also demonstrate practicalconcern for their bodily needs (James 2:15-16)”?You’re being inconsistent, aren’t you, Brother Bear? You say spiritual food is moreimportant, so preaching the Word to hearts is a much more valuable task to the Kingdom of God than feeding hungry mouths. Still, you set at nought the spiritual contributions madeby the poorer saints, just because they aren’t paid for serving the Lord in dollars and centslike you are. But their blessed deeds of devotion are infinitely more precious in My sightthan filthy lucre is to you. My Son gave His all to enable people to render such service toMe.I have saints nation-wide and worldwide who are poor in this world’s goods but rich in goodworks, and already have treasure laid up in heaven. They pray for your ministry, amongothers. A few of them even fast, and when these humble souls do eat, their food isn’tnearly so fine as yours. Some of them sing in the choir, or help out in the nursery. Someteach Sunday School, or visit the sick. And you’ve got the gall to categorize all poor peopleas worthless bums!You lambast your people for their overindulgence in fine food and other luxuries. Yet youlook down on casually dressed folks and say they don’t have enough self-respect to “dressfor success” to help them focus on becoming “prosperous”. Just what do you mean by that?Most likely you would even have despised My appearance, for I was not so smartly deckedout as you. And guess what? I supplied the wine for a very special party, and evensampled some of it myself. I was accused by ascetic religious leaders of being a “winebibber and a glutton”. I consorted with harlots and publicans, and, most shocking of all, I wore a beard and sandals, definitely not in keeping with your code of “conservativevalues”. You would indeed have considered Me, the Son of God, just another lazy hippie bumbecause the day came when I quit toiling in My carpenter shop and became an itinerantpreacher who went forth to spread the Good News of the Kingdom of God, living strictly byfaith in My Father’s provision. You would call Me irresponsible because I quit My secular jobbefore I had saved sufficient funds to finance My ministry for the forthcoming fiscal year.And what would you have thought of John the Baptist? With his humble garment andshaggy hair, he was hardly an advertisement for your “success gospel”, which the churchborrowed from the world to conform the church TO the world! That unpolished prophetwould have been whisked out of your air-conditioned, sanitized sanctuary before he got aword in edgewise. Rather than preaching the Gospel of Get he said: “Let those who havefood or extra clothes share with those who have none.” Jesus told the rich young ruler to “sell all that you have and give to the poor.” THEN, “come, follow me.” Neither Jesus norJohn ever jetted around in champagne luxury to tourist traps, such as you’ve done in thepast. Instead of saddling their congregations with a burdensome mortgage in the name of  “Christian commitment”, they held church under the open sky.You roar against the worldliness of the saints, but what is more worldly in My sight than toChristianize the most lucrative of the world’s values? You worship at the altar of monetaryprosperity. You condemn adultery, pornography, and juvenile delinquency, but what aboutcovetousness? Don’t you covet the “firstfruits” of other people’s paychecks, and compete
 
for first dibs on what your “targeted donor pool” sets aside for TV ministries? And then youturn round and lampoon poor people for “living below their privileges”. You contemptuouslyview such souls as unworthy of My Love. You think just because they’re strugglingfinancially they must be suffering My punishment for sin in their lives. Just what do youdemand of them? What do you think they must do to live on a par with their so-calledprivileges? Become just like you, a man whose angry face and angrier tongue belie yourpleasurable circumstances?People on public assistance are one of your favorite targets. Leeches on society, you callthem. Welfare queens. People looking for an easy ride! But look at yourself, with all yourshameless appeals for money, money, money, and ever more money. Your kind are thebiggest welfare recipients of all, but it’s respectable because you do it in the name of  “God”!! You commit yourself to exorbitant purchases “for the kingdom of God”, then go crying andbegging on TV, expecting your “partners in ministry” to bail you out of a debt you incurredwithout first consulting them. Have you ever once tried the same tonic you prescribe forothers, tightening your belt and “being a responsible steward”? Must your ministry alwaysrun on the latest technology, or are you just keeping up a prosperous front? Why not justpostpone your next luxury cruise to the Lands of the Bible, or make your old suit do anextra year? How about a little macaroni and cheese instead of all those fancy restaurantmeals? It won’t kill you! How about driving a used car to make it easier to catch up on yourbills? Won’t a cheaper watch tell you it’s time to start your service? I am no respecter of persons. I think religious opportunists fishing for funds in fancy attire have much more toapologize for than jobless people in faded denims!Now the shoe’s on the other foot! How does it feel to be on the receiving end of correctionfor a change? If you think you’re above being reproved through My humble mouthpiece, youare failing My test of humility and need to seek My forgiveness for pride as well.How dare you treat My precious children like scavenging dogs! You have never once walkedone mile in the shoes of the people out in the pews! No, not since the days of your youth;especially not since your rise to nationwide prominence as an “expositor of the Word of God”!What practical use do you make of your Bible? You wave it above your head to show yourunderlings who’s boss, then you glare menacingly at them and lay into the “laity” (a man-made distinction in My Body). You turn the House of the Lord into one vast woodshed tobeat My poor people who must struggle from paycheck to paycheck so you can skim the “tithes” off their gross income, plus offerings. That amounts to bondservice to you, theirrich overlord. Many of them cede to you at least one-seventh or one-eighth of their after-taxes take-home pay BEFORE they even put food on their own tables to feed their ownfamilies! How does THAT square with My teaching that I would rather have mercy thansacrifice! And even though I never ONCE commanded New Testament saints to tithe onmoney, you threaten them with My retribution if they don’t!Have you ever once really gotten to know one of your poorer listeners, either in yourpalatial sanctuary or out in TV Land? Do you even know how ordinary folk live, or has youraffluence blinded you to the way everyday people must struggle to survive? Do you knowwhat it is to set aside your own well-being and carry the sorrows of the afflicted, like theGood Shepherd does? More than one of your listeners has suffered devastating healthproblems, or is struggling to raise children alone as a single parent. Many a poor womancries herself to sleep at night because she’s lost her husband to death or divorce, or perhaps
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Patricia Backora

Thismessage addresses a problem in the lives of many angry, arrogant preachers I've observed. The Lord is concerned about hollering TV preachers who use fear and anger to CONTROL people so they'll keep themselves (and their wallets) in HIS organization. If you listen to some of these TV preachers, you'll figure out for yourself who's guilty of manipulating the people of God with guilt.

reply10 / 26 / 2010
brother_matt1611

hello sister, i read your post or most of it any ways... all though i was unable to figure out what brother bear you are refereeing to??? can you please clearly what brother bear you are refereeing to... and maybe even a url link that others may be able to check out your accusations... thank you

reply10 / 25 / 2010
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