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The Purpose-Driven Life,
by Rick Warren is a book I highly recommend.
He has amazing truths in it, and I am so
excited to see that it has been a best seller for a
long time. Truly,
God is using it to bring people back to focusing on
Him.
But just like a wonderful chicken dinner has
bones that must be discarded, so does any human work.
I am sad to say that after reading this book,
it seems to me that Pastor Warren has been influenced
by some very immature people who said they were faith
people, and so has concluded that the faith message is
wrong.
That is the purpose of my writing this
brochure. I
have been a partner with Kenneth Copeland Ministries
for over a decade at this writing, and I am extremely
happy to see that God is working to correct Pastor
Warren. Let
me quote from this book,
Page 76 ~ “Will you make pleasing God the
goal of your life?
There is nothing that God won’t do for the
person totally absorbed with this goal.”
This is a strong truth verified many, many
times in the Scriptures, and this is the heart of the
faith message. So
he’s on the right track.
PLACES
HE’S MISTAKEN
Page 23 ~ “He (God) planned
the days of your life in advance, choosing the exact
time of your birth and death.”
No, God knows by foreknowledge when you will
die, but He doesn’t decide when that will be.
God’s will is for each of us to live a long
life. (Psa. 91:16,
Prov. 3:2, 16, 4:10, 9:11, and lots more!
Gen 6:3, 120 years!)
When we die is up to us. There is an excellent
mini book by Fred Price, called The Truth About
Death. He
gives many Scripture verses to prove this point. Phil.
1:22 and Heb. 11:35 are two, plus the ones above.
Page 50 ~ “The abundant life has nothing to
do with material abundance.”
I like that Pastor Rick wants to get our minds
off of wealth and possessions and onto God. But God does want us to have lots of good things.
What the book says on pages 50-51 is good, but
incomplete. Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, Job and Hezekiah were
each very rich! The others who weren’t apparently did not want to be rich.
It’s up to you. Here are some verses for optional study:
Matt. 6:33, Rom. 8:32, I Tim. 6:17,
III John 2, II Chron. 16:9,
Psa. 23:1, 34:8-10, 35:27, 37:4, 84:11,
112:1-3, 145:19,
Prov. 10:24.
Near the bottom of page 54, he says that we are
to praise God just because He deserves it. This is
true. However, you need to know that when we worship
God with all our hearts, we are in a position for God
to bless us ~ to help with a problem, reduce a pain,
heal…. The same message is on pages 64 and 66 also.
Page 56 ~ “Spiritual maturity is becoming
like Jesus in the way we think, feel and act.” This
is true, but again, incomplete. John 14:12 says that
we should be doing the same works that Jesus did! As
we grow in our relationship with God, He will teach us
how to heal the sick and even raise the dead.
Page 81 ~ near the bottom, please cross out the
words “pain, sickness.”
Acts 10:38 and Luke 16:13 make it clear that
sickness is a work of the devil.
In III John 2,
God wants us to be in health.
That’s why Jesus healed all who would let
Him. Gal. 3:13, “Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law.”
Deut. 28:61 says that all sickness and disease
is included in the curse of the law.
So Jesus’ death paid for us to be well,
Isa. 53:4-5, Matt. 8:16-17. It doesn’t make
sense to turn around and put sickness on us after
paying so much to get us well.
Page
98 is more of this same subject.
Pain or problems are part of the curse,
Rom. 2:4, “The goodness of God leads to
repentance.” The
Bible does not say you will never have any trouble.
But it says that faith is the victory that
overcomes, I John 5:4.
We are to live by faith,
Rom. 1:17. We have an enemy and we are to use
our authority against him and win!
Page 110, Job’s admirable declaration is
good, but wrong in the last line ~ “The Lord has
taken away.” God
didn’t do it, Satan
did. Job
didn’t know. Job 42:1-3.
Page 162, the last three lines, cross out the
word sinners twice, and insert the word humans.
What he’s saying is good, but when we were born
again, we became new creatures. Sin doesn’t dominate
us any more. II
Cor. 5:17.
Page 173 ~ What he is saying about the
self-absorbed life is absolutely right.
But God has already paid for us to be wealthy.
II Cor. 8:9, Gal. 3:13, 29, and Deut. 28:1-14.
And a study of the O.T. word peace will open
your eyes to more! I have written a brochure called Who
Qualifies for Prosperity? Briefly, let me list the
qualifications for you. Seek God (not wealth) with all your heart ~ close to
desperation; much time in the Word and private prayer,
praise, meditation in the Word, confessions of faith;
and any disobedience or step out of love will nullify
your faith and set you back.
No, it is not easy!
He says we expect the Christian life to be like
heaven on the earth.
Here are two verses which show that it can
be. Matt. 6:10 and Deut. 10:12-13.
Page 193 ~ at the very bottom, write in the
word, Persecution.
Also, page 198, about two inches from the
bottom in the Bible verse, underline the suffering
words and write in persecution, not sickness.
Page 196, “Of those who love God and are
called. This
promise is only for Christians.” That is only partly
right. It is for those who obey Him, John
14:15, 21, 23. God is not working everything for good
to those who are lukewarm Christians, just going
through the motions and who are not seeking God with
all their hearts.
This will also clarify what’s on page 195.
Page 196 bottom, underline the three hammers,
and then write people below it.
On page 197, he lists several things that God
may bring into your life to mold you. Please write in the margin, not sickness or disaster.
Page
274, 2/3 down, “referring to his own weakness, which
God refused to take away.”
Cross out this phrase.
Thorn in Scripture is people, like a
pain in the neck. Num. 33:55, Josh. 23:13, Jud. 2:3, and more.
God wants to exalt us, James 4:6, 10, I Pet.
5:6, Matt. 23:12 and more.
“My grace is sufficient” is power.
I Cor. 15:10, and it’s our choice, Heb.
11:35. Paul was delivered, II Tim. 3:11.
I have written a brochure called, If Healing
is always God’s will, then what about Job, and
Paul’s thorn?
It will help you more.
An excellent companion book would be Gloria
Copeland’s Blessed Beyond Measure.
She shows us lots of Bible verses proving how
much God wants to prosper and bless us. God wants the
world to see how good our God is to us, and then they
will desire to be in on it! |
