TOPIC: FREE OR FEE?
TEXT: MATTHEW 10:8
“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE.”
The scripture made it clear in James 1:17 that “every good and perfect gift is from God.” Jesus also said we can have nothing except it is given to us. All these scriptures and our main text made it known that man cannot boast to have anything for himself or herself except through God.
The power that is at work in you that you are manifesting today, was given to you by God. Are you using it to bring glory to His name? Or are you ascribing the glory to yourself by charging people to pay for it? Many miracle workers are in the world today, some are working for God while some are working for themselves. If you are favoured to be manifesting the GENUINE gift of healing, deliverance, and so on, do not think that it is by your power or by your doing; it is God that is at work in you! God is the only one that can heal and deliver no human being can do that. God is just using you as the channel to do His great work, “faithful is he who calls you who also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 4:24). You are called to be the vessel or the channel to get the thing done, so do not ascribe the glory to yourself by charging people for healing. “FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE”. Jesus made it clear that anytime we heal, cleanse leprosy, deliver, cast out demons etc, we should not charge money for it because it is given to us freely and we should do the miracles freely. Come to think of it, if you are not the one doing the work as 1 Thessalonians 4:24 made us to know, then why are you collecting money for it? Some “miracle working pastors” have turned their “victims” to ATM MACHINE! They have removed the “R” from “FREE” and made it to become “FEE”. If you don’t pay for the “miracle” they will not pray for you, they charge exorbitant prices for the so called miracles that they do. They keep exploiting these vulnerable people in the name of miracle. This is a great sin against God, exploiting innocent people in the name of God! Commercialising the name of God and bringing insult to that great name that we all adore! These so called “ miracle working pastors have their various ways of exhorting money from people, some would say “ sow a seed if you want a change in your situation”, “call in to this programme and pledge … and experience a 24 hours miracle.” This is not right, you don’t need to compel people to “vow, sow, or pledge” before you can pray for them. Instead of placing a price or condition on them, let it come from their hearts that “God if you do this for me, I will do that in return”. Don’t think for them and don’t lure them into giving before you can deliver to them what God has sent to them through you. When you do the work of God diligently, it is then that God will bless you bountifully. He will surely reward His people by blessing them; His blessing makes riches and adds no sorrow with it. If you want to make yourself rich by exploiting people through “miracle”, I pray you will not end up like GEHAZI and JUDAS ISCARIOT. If you have been charging for prayers and deliverance, from now on you need to stop and ask God for forgiveness. That miracle that God is doing through you is meant to be given freely because FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, AND FREELY YOU MUST GIVE!
