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| RICHARD ROBERTS |
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DAILY GUIDE TO MIRACLES from Oral Roberts Ministries Tuesday, December 14th, 2004 www.orm.cc Victroy Is Coming! Richard Roberts Oral Roberts Ministries www.orm.cc "I have often heard people say, 'When I plant my seed, something always goes wrong.' Have you experienced that? I certainly have. I can't tell you how many times I've planted a seed and the enemy came to try to steal my harvest (Mark 4:14, 15). I believe with all of my heart that when you sow a seed to God, satan comes to discourage you and make you feel like you're defeated. Maybe your car breaks down, a loved one gets sick, or things start to look bad financially. The devil's goal is to make you feel like the well has run dry. He wants to make you blame God and wish you had never planted a seed at all because it didn't work. If the devil can get us to give up and decide we're never going to plant another seed in faith, then he's got us right where he wants us. When it looks like the well has run dry, you and I have two choices: We can blame God and quit saying, 'It's over for me. I'm never going to sow seed to God again.' Or we can believe the Bible in spite of what's happening around us and continue to give—maybe even double up on our giving! Galatians 6:7,9 says, Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.... Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. If you're discouraged because you've planted seed and planted seed and you've not yet reaped the harvest, I'm telling you with all of my faith that, according to the Word of God, your harvest is on the way. Refuse to quit and give in to the pressure of the enemy because victory is coming!" ON DOCTRINE NOTE: Richard Roberts attempts to defend and support the "Seed Faith" or "Giving and Receiving" doctrine created by his father, Oral Roberts, in order to provide the funding for the Oral Roberts Ministries, and he attempts to use the Scripture as his foundation. But like many of his other claims, troubling issues remain when the Scriptures that he use are examined. Richard Roberts employs Mark 4:14-15 as a foundation for his claim that Satan comes to steal the harvest from the seed that a person has planted in order to obtain their miracle. What must be understood, is, that the seed to which he refers is money given to the Oral Roberts Ministries, of which Richard Roberts is a major part. The seed is to be your "best seed" or the largest amount of money that a person can possibly give, or perhaps, the largest possible amount of money that a person cannot actually afford to give but is still given because it is thought that God will grant special favor under those circumstances. Given that reality, does Mark 4:14-15 say anything about money being the seed that is sown or that it is the harvest provided by God as a result of money being sown (or given to the Oral Roberts Ministries) that Satan comes to steal? The passage is quoted as follows: "The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts," (NKJV).The troubling questions about the nature of Richard Roberts' claims are confirmed in the first sentence of the Scripture that he uses as his foundation. He makes a comparison between the "Seed Faith" teaching and the Scripture that is completely unfounded, and should be clearly apparent to the person who reads the verses. First, Richard Roberts defines the sower as a believer who wishes to have a harvest, defined as the satisfaction of certain felt needs, desires and longings. The Scripture defines the sower in a much different manner, "He answered and said to them: 'He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man," Matthew 13:37 (NKJV). Second, Richard Roberts defines the seed being sown as money given to a ministry like his, but the first statement in the Scripture that Richard Roberts uses defines the nature of what is being sown, "The sower sows the word." The reality is, that the "word" is the gospel message and it is that gospel message that is the seed being sown, Luke 8:11, Matthew 13:19, and not money given to a ministry. Despite what Richard Roberts says, the sower is not some believer giving money to the ministry of Richard Roberts hoping to plant a seed which will result in a miracle, and the seed being sown is not money given to the ministry of Richard Roberts. The sower is Jesus Christ and every other believer who proclaims the gospel message. Jesus Christ is the ultimate origin of the seed of the gospel message, which He has also given to those who are charged to spread His word to the nations, Romans 10:14, Matthew 28:18-20. In the verses, the sower is not sowing out of his need or for his own benefit, but for the benefit of the individuals to whom the seed is directed who are the ones who have the need of salvation. Third, Richard Roberts claims that the "seed" being sown results in a "harvest" which becomes the possession of the sower, but the sower can loose possession of that "harvest" if Satan comes to devour it. In other words, what God provides, Satan can take away. Richard Roberts uses as his foundation for that assertion, verse 15, ". . . Satan comes immediately and takes away . . ," (NKJV). Richard Roberts attempts to connect his assertion that the "seed" planted results in a "harvest" that Satan can steal, but verse 15 makes no such claim. The sowing is the presentation of the gospel message that enters into the understanding of the listener, and what Satan steels is the effective reality of that message in the life of the individual, because the message never penetrates into their understanding. The seed being planted is the gospel message, but it does not always sprout and it does not always produce a harvest. For those from whom Satan steels "the word that was sown in their hearts," the loss is not a "harvest" consisting of the fulfillment of their temporal wants and desires, but the loss of the seed of the gospel message that they never comprhend and results in the loss of their eternal soul. In Richard Roberts "Seed Faith" teaching, the seed is claimed to be money planted in order to receive a "harvest" of whatever might be desired, such as a hundred-fold return on the money given, cancellation of debt, healing of a broken marriage, physical healing or any other type of desire that a person wishes to be fulfilled. Then, he states that it is the "harvest" that Satan steals. But the Scripture states something completely different. Verse 15 states that it is not the harvest that is stolen by Satan, but it is the seed itself (the gospel message) that is stolen prior to any "harvest." Richard Roberts twists the meaning of the word "seed" to mean the "harvest" and not the means by which the harvest of salvation is obtained, which is the Scriptural definition. What Richard Roberts is actually advocating is "Simony," which is the attempt to obtain the power of God for a person's own use by purchasing the right with money. The term received its name because of the attempt of Simon the sorcerer to do exactly the same thing, Acts 8:9-24. Richard Roberts is trying to defend the "Seed Faith" doctrine, because it is the means by which his ministry receives its monetary funding. He attempts to make a connection with the seed of the gospel to the "seed" of monetary giving, and then asserts that Satan's theft of understanding the value and meaning of the gospel message is the same as stealing the "harvest" which is the fulfillment of the desires and wants of an individual that are claimed to be granted by God as a result of the money given to Richard Roberts' ministry, and is considered to be the same as giving to God. Ingrained in Richard Roberts' "Seed Faith" teaching is a very deep undercurrent of cold indifference to the damage being done in the lives of people by presenting claims that are not only not supported by the Scripture, but the Scriptures used deny any reality in relation to what is being taught. Richard Roberts promises a future fulfillment of what he claims, indicating that God is not satisfied with gifts that might have been given over and over again to his ministry, because the harvest has not yet been realized, but God just might be satisfied if a person doubles the money that they have already given, "Or we can believe the Bible in spite of what's happening around us and continue to give—maybe even double up on our giving!" How convenient that God's requirement might just result in double the amount of money being given to Richard Roberts. The reality is that Richard Roberts is claiming that failure to receive the harvest from God or the theft of it by Satan is always the fault of the giver, and so he forces a guilt trip on the person who may be trying to obtain the results of their giving out of desperation. Not only does he claim that it is the fault of the giver if they have not received their own personal wants and desires, it is also their fault if they are sowing their "seed" on behalf of another person, such as a father, mother, husband, wife or child, who is on the verge of death. If the person is not healed, it becomes the fault of the giver who may not have given enough money or may have allowed Satan to steal the healing meant for a loved one. It is quite a shrewd plan to convince people to part with their money by means of coercion by guilt, and at the same time make the giver believe that they are giving by faith according to the plan of God. A person would do well to believe the Bible, but what the Bible says in Mark 4:14-15 is not the same as what Richard Roberts says, so, there is a serious problem of credibility. If Richard Roberts is going to be the authority, then the Scripture must be rewritten to reflect the new Richard Roberts Version (RRV), but if the Scripture is going to be the authority, then the discerning believer must make some serious decisions in relation to the erroneous claims of Richard Roberts. |
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