Originally posted by Deetermined
Nice post, ahnggk!

By the way, which mission group do you belong to?

Any pictures, stories or links you can give us regarding the work you're involved in might be a good motivator for all.

Matthew 6:1-4

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

It's very tough finding a missions group that is centered on the teachings of Jesus that will NOT justify keeping of wealth (material prosperity) through the Old Testament scriptures. I've only known one - HeartCry Missionary Society.

Do you really want motivation? If the teachings of Jesus wasn't enough, you'll be in for a tough time. What if you had to be the last man or woman standing for God, would you stand?


@halfoldman

The intention and the reality are miles apart. I'm not sure what Christians at the giving end can do about that really, except to demand more accountability. They could fly over and personally hand over what they can carry to a poor family, but that's not sustainable.

Pray hard and have faith

Luke 11:9-10
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

But Jesus is addressing the righteous. The righteous prays a different thing. They only pray for the fulfillment of God's will and to the revelation of truth. They will never pray for a bigger house, better job, better business deals, good wife/husband, etc. They don't even pray for God to make them richer so they can give more..

They pray for God to send them PERSONALLY to unreachable places where none others dare go. They would pray for these opportunities (for the Kingdom) even if it means leaving their homes, their jobs, their esteemed careers, even their families, their security, their comfort, even at prospect of extreme danger. They only pray what God wills, they love God so much they pray nothing of themselves or even their close relatives (loved ones).

How many Christians actually pray these kinds of prayers?? But I tell you, it's powerful, it works, especially if you take the steps to truly follow the teachings of Jesus.

Originally posted by Deetermined
I'm assuming that you've been able to make all of this happen in such a short period of time because your young, single and without children?

Yes. Not sure if 30 still young. And with women, I'm a failure!!

It will be tough finding someone to marry now, especially going places where it's potentially very dangerous and exposure to poverty, diseases, etc.

Will be tough raising a kid in such conditions too. I'm really not sure if I'm up to the challenge of raising kids and making sure they don't end up tangled up in this world and ending up in hell. I can't bear the thought of bringing a soul into this world and into hell. Especially now that I know these things. My accountability will be infinitely bigger!

But really, my hats off to those who will follow Jesus to the end despite having a family of their own!

I know it's gonna be a lot more difficult!!

@Itisnowagain

You should be praying for the rich. Matthew 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

True. And if God really wants to save them, one thing is sure to happen, they will be parted with their wealth, and their wealth goes to the poor (not to the elites which is the work of satan)

Again, the only thing holding back tyranny at present is the Christian influence on the world. Subtract the Christian influence and we would all be starving and slaves to barbarians. As we teeter on the edge of this type of tyranny, we can see what would happen if Christians were removed from the influence on world events. It would be easy for the average person to miss the truth behind this last paragraph as they enjoy the benefits that faith has brought to the world. Believe me, a day is coming when this influence will be taken away. When it is, the world will descend into the fire of hell over night. Say what you will, but keep an eye out for the Spirit being removed from this Earth shortly before Christ returns. The book of Revelation tells this story clearly. One man then sets all things right and makes his enemy a footstool

This is it right here. Now imagine what happens when the Restrainer is removed. Revelation speaks clearly about this. The Son of Perdition will be revealed. The Restrainer is within us, when He withdraws it is because He is coming back in the flesh. During this time period, earth will not be a very pleasant place to be. Much as we try we cannot provide for all the earth, we're not God. It's not christians that need to love God it's the world. If the entire world would love God then no one around the world would starve. The failure is not on believers, the failure is on those who do not believe. They have a choice to make and that choice is coming sooner than most people realize. We can't save everyone, we can't even save one person, we're not the Savior.

Right now, the only way that I would go to such radical lengths for Jesus, so as to give up a secure job, all my money, and all relationships (if that were necessary), was if an angel came down from heaven and spoke words into my ear.

...Or if the apocalypse began in a very big and undeniable way.



Before one jumps into the deep-end of the pool, one should know how to swim. Otherwise.......gulp.

Giving up all your money is one of the most advanced, most difficult lessons of them all.

If I happen to have the desire, the internal spark, the energy and the will-power to move myself to the spiritual path, I would certainly be practising the basic lessons until I have nearly mastered the basics, before attempting the most advanced lessons.


Actually I might dabble with the advanced techniques while working intently on the basic + intermediate lessons.


IF I struggle with the basic and intermediate lessons, what chance do I have with the advanced lessons?


Another example of an advanced lesson would be to offer a 24+ hour fast....But if I get tested and it reveals in the meantime that I strike out at others with a sharpened tongue, the fruits of the fast become rot that is not acceptable to Heaven. I should have invested all my energy in first overcoming the impatience and anger before offering the fast.




---

From reading through your other ATS posts OP, I fear if God doesn't follow through with your expectations and bring calamity you may become stressed out + isolated in a strange land, exactly like Jonah:


Jonah 3:10 - "God...relented and did NOT bring on them the destruction he had threatened."

Jonah 4:1-11 - " But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”
But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”


--------
-(I would never email information about coincidences if I suspected the possibility of a similar radical outcome by any) (not saying that it is you).
-'nine'veh

Originally posted by Phantomfire707Another example of an advanced lesson would be to offer a 24+ hour fast....But if I get tested and it reveals in the meantime that I strike out at others with a sharpened tongue, the fruits of the fast become rot that is not acceptable to Heaven. I should have invested all my energy in first overcoming the impatience and anger before offering the fast.

It's alright to be angry as long as it's for the right reasons.

And Jesus did get angry on Mark 3:1-6 and John 2:13-16. Prophet John addressed the crowd as 'brood of vipers'. Often, the anger was directed to the 'believers' who were the Pharisee, Sadducee, and Samaritans then. They 'preached and knew' the scriptures according to Jesus. Today's mainstream Christianity is very much the same!

Let's not even bring up the message of salvation with John the Baptist as it still concerned with how you treat material things and how you treat the 'least of your brethren'!

How else was Jesus was crucified, prophet John, and his disciples martyred?? How else were they able to have a huge crowd following them and have only few remain later??

Do you think they were preaching the same way and the same message our pastors and priests do today?

Do you think it was the unbelievers that persecuted them??

If Jesus came today under a different name, preached the same exact things he preached 2000 years ago, who do you think will persecute him??

Do you need an angel to come down to you that what Jesus teaches is true?? The facts are all around you.

Go to google. What are the things you search for?? Best rated SUV?? Best rated places. Do you even search for all the crazy things happening around the world?? The % of world population who's NOT living a life as you do. You need to wake up! You are living in a fantasy world which will be all over soon!

When Jesus comes for Earth, for your soul. He will look at his creations, the Earth, the plants, the animals, the people we have neglected, then He will turn his eyes to those who abused his creations.

You were all believing a lie. This is no longer the time to be nice. This is no longer the time to play safe.

Do you follow what every Christian what every Pastor, tells you, how to act, how to behave? Have you been following God and his Spirit at all??

What needs to be done has to be done!

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000I dunno what story you bought into that all christians are rich but that's not true at all.

I was speaking of percentage and demographics. Why would I have even bothered mentioning and getting estimate of percentage, North America, Europe, etc when it could be as easy as all Christians around the world, 100%??

Please read all the links I'm posting. Don't just glaze over my posts, you're just humiliating yourself.

Instead of worrying about people on the other side of the world where you're not at and can't reach, worry about the people you can get to and reach in your vicinity.

You can if you believe and pray and trust in the Lord. I prayed to God to send me places where others not dare go and God moved circumstances for me in miraculous ways. I didn't have to do anything but pray and believe.

I live in a 3rd world country. We are poor by global standards, I've lost most my life savings. I have nothing under my name but a small amount of money. We don't get VISAS as easily as Americans or Europeans as our country is suspected terrorist haven. If you think it's hard to go places, what about me???

Have you actually sincerely prayed such for God to use you to reaching out to the lost in the Ends of the Earth, no matter what the consequences, no matter how desperate and ravaged the place is?? Or are you afraid that God will actually fulfill that prayer?

It's not our job to fill all the bellies in the world with perishable food, but with the Bread of Life, feed them the Word of God so that they may live and live more abundantly In Him.

Good luck feeding someone with the Bread of Life who's dying of starvation. Haven't you read, often Jesus fed the multitudes first before delivering the Gospel. he cared for people's needs as well. Jesus did rebuke going after food that spoils but why would he feed the people first with physical food?

We only need to give enough... ...Not to make people rich or give beyond the basic needs like food and clothing.

Besides, parting yourself with wealth is one of the truest demonstration on who your allegiance is, is it to money/material possessions or God alone. The highest is parting with your very life itself - are you willing to risk your life for God, to go places everyone is too afraid to go. Those people, who would bring the Gospel to them?

Just thinking of the OP question again, and wondering if one couldn't also say:

If everyone loved God, nobody would die.

If prayers came true for healing consistently, nobody would die.

So one could reduce the argument on starvation to misery and death in the world, and also in the families of every religious sect, well-fed or not.

Yet all have sick people eventually, and despite prayers, people die.

So one conclusion would be that God only listens sometimes and when it suits Him, or God simply doesn't listen at all, and probably doesn't exist.

What is quite true then is that prayer is not a science or a given, and therefore no proof for any supernatural power.

Perhaps it works more on an individual level, where even God's unpopular decisions can be seen as a part of a wider plan.

Originally posted by halfoldman
So one conclusion would be that God only listens sometimes and when it suits Him, or God simply doesn't listen at all, and probably doesn't exist.

What is quite true then is that prayer is not a science or a given, and therefore no proof for any supernatural power.

Perhaps it works more on an individual level, where even God's unpopular decisions can be seen as a part of a wider plan.

edit on 31-8-2012 by halfoldman because: (no reason given)

What made the prayers of Jesus so powerful is because all the subject of his prayers are only for the fulfillment of the Will of God in this world. Not just because he is the Son of God.

Of course true Christians are to be called Sons of God. But again, the Sons of God will only pray for the fulfillment of God's will. They will never ask for a bigger house, newer car, beautiful wife, better job, friendly neighbors.

Even if God did give you a bigger house through your prayers. It doesn't necessarily mean that you are receiving it as God's favor or even blessing. It may even be a curse. God is cursing with material things because you chose these things over Him, over his Will. These things will eventually blind you from the truth.

Matthew 13:14-15

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’[a]


We can see the prophecy still being fulfilled today. The financial stability, the political stability, the relative peace of their lives, has hardened the hearts of many. They can't feel what others (most of the people around the world) feel. They wouldn't leave the comfort and peace of their homes, their lives, their dreams to fulfill the Will of God. They wouldn't want lose their life for the sake of God.

They chose to save their lives. But choose to save your life and you will lose it.

God won't preserve you in eternity into the heavenly realms. How you do on Earth, I guarantee, you will do the same in Heaven.

What will only keep you from sinning in Heaven is a new body that is not corrupted. It would not thirst, it would not hunger, and it would not lust. If are attached to your wealth on Earth. You will do the same in Heaven and will run the Universe dry and dead in your lust for other-worldly possessions. God won't allow this anymore.

I read through your OP and subsequent posts and picked out a few points that I'm having trouble with.

Originally posted by ahnggk
Do Christians need to care for these people?? YES!
Are they sinning buy ignoring these very poor people?? YES!

Do you think those very poor children deserved their fate?? Do you think they were too lazy?? THEY NEVER GOT A CHANCE IN THIS WORLD, THEY WERE BORN VERY POOR!! THEY CAN'T EVEN THINK OTHER THAN THEIR VERY SURVIVAL, TO QUENCH THEIR THIRST FOR FOOD AND WATER. They can't even be bothered what 1+1 is!! Would you deny the chance to help them if you could and would rather just live it out and enjoy things for you'll only have ONE life and indeed, that will be your fate!
But it's our, my, you, every Christian's fault. We Christians are to be Blamed! Stop blaming God but start blaming us!!

Christians, if you believe in eternity,then why are you working your worldly livesthat is nothing but a fleeting instance??

LOOK! If all that 600 million Christians who owns 35% of the world's wealth decide to work for the least of their brethren 100% instead of working their lives for their own little empires, their leisure, their hobbies, recreation, upgrading their gadgets, dinner parties, etc..

Where do you think your money/wealth/salary comes from??

It's not through your hard work but simply because God allowed you to receive money. In reality, even the unbelievers are covered by this rule, they just don't know it... But Christians should, but what they do with their money/wealth they really don't own??[/color]

Can you even tell, all that we have and earn come from God. But nothing comes to those who is oppressed by poverty, war, corruption, etc... What would these people think?? That God is unfair, He plays favorites??

You are saying that hard work doesn't provide money and wealth, God is the one who provides the money/wealth. You said that God is being merciful by providing for Christians and non-Christians alike.

Then you go on to say that it's everyone's fault that children are hungry and people are poor and that Christians
are to blame and the money they worked hard for should go to help provide for the poor and hungry. You even say to stop blaming God. That it's the Christians fault for 'ignoring these very poor people.'
Who's really ignoring these poor people?

If, as you say, God is merciful by giving you wealth because he choses to,--whether you work or not ( God=money, not hard work ) then why doesn't God provide for everyone? Why is anyone poor or hungry?
If God wanted everyone to be fed and wealthy, wouldn't he provide for everyone? Why is it the Christians fault if God doesn't provide for everyone? Why are you suggesting that Christians give money that they earned ( God=money, not hard work?) to help provide for the poor and hungry if God is the one who allows you to receive money and God was merciful ( by giving money/food) to some, and not to others?



God allows some people to receive money.
God doesn't allow some people to receive money.
You must work hard to give money to those that God doesn't allow money to.
You don't receive money because of hard work, but only through God who allows it.

So, why doesn't God allow money, wealth, and food for everyone?
If he wanted everyone to have money, wealth, and food, surely he would have allowed it in the first place.
It can't be everyone's fault that people are poor, and hungry if food and wealth only come to people through God who allows it. It's not the people's (Christian or not) fault if God doesn't allow it, right? So, who's fault could it be?



I totally agree that everyone should help out those in need, but the way you presented your post, it just doesn't make sense to me. I'm not being rude or trolling, I just don't understand the logic in your post.

Originally posted by virraszto
I totally agree that everyone should help out those in need, but the way you presented your post, it just doesn't make sense to me. I'm not being rude or trolling, I just don't understand the logic in your post.

It should make sense once you realize not every hard work/hardships in this world result in wealth/money. The World created by humans is unfair, it creates much inequality, much suffering, hardships, deceits, lies, you name it!

I was born in a poor country, we used to be poor. I've seen very poor people on a constant basis.

Not everyone will be given opportunity to get a decent job. Not everyone will able to go school, they either doesn't have enough money or is threatened by death if they do so. Many will work in slave labor conditions. The same job in North America for example will be paid 20 times less in other parts of the world. Even if we factor in cost of living. The same job in North America will let you have a lot more.

Not everyone is gifted with a high IQ. Not everyone will be smart enough to get out of desperate situations. They have been malnutritioned from birth because their parents are very poor or worse, dead, they can't think of anything but their basic survival.

So tell me how could these people grow a brain, get smart, get out, get a decent job and earn as much as you do?? If you have solution, do tell. We could spread the message to these very poor people and help themselves out of the situation!!

And yes, people get all crazy on any idea telling them to part with their wealth and that wealth will kill you. But to Christians, you profess to believe Jesus and Jesus is telling the exact same message, but you choose to hold on to your wealth, to your possessions...

Who is really your God?? Have you really confessed Jesus?? By the way things are going, most 'Christians' who believe they are, aren't. They've never been born of the Spirit. They were still the same 'creatures' who lusted for the things of the flesh, money, power, status! They could only speak in tongues... ...And whose tongue? The devil's tongue?? A changed creature would HATE these things!!

God wants to reach out to these very poor people so he allowed those have the ability to make money to receive money. But what do they do with the money God has given them?? They keep it because they believe sit it through that God will save them.

They are too afraid to get out there, even ask God to send them out because of the mortal risks. Didn't God commanded us to be 'the light of this world'? That doesn't mean you buy the biggest and the brightest house out there!!

God did not tell that 'you can sit and relax while I'll be the light of the world'. The responsibility is ours, the accountability is ours. The unbelievers hate and curse our God because of our hard hearts, our laziness to do the Will of God.

You have to praise the unbelievers for they know the darkness around the world. What about the Christians?? They chose to ignore things to take it all in God's hands and enjoy the world despite all the darkness in the world that they will be later held accountable for.