This year’s Greater Works Conference —1st August-5th August— a conference by ICGC, an evangelical, Charismatic Christian church in Ghana is ongoing at their newly built auditorium. The conference crowns an annual prayer and fasting dubbed 40days of power. Speakers for this year are the host Mensa Otabil, and two regular guest speakers, Matthew Ashimolowo and Tudor Bismarck.
One of the speakers, Ashimolowo, during his first session, preaching from Ruth 3:3 on “Stepping Into Your Significance” drew ten statements from the text and quintessential of Ashimolowo’s ministry, he called for “seeds” after the sermon: $100.00 for “exponential increase” and $240.00 for a “24hour turnaround”. Encouraging the congregation to give, he noted the cedi equivalent of $240.00 —Ghs1824.00— “may look big in somebody’s eye but is not comparable to what God will do for you.” He also gave the option of sowing $340.00 for both blessings: “because you want your blessing to straddle within the two.”
What’s going on here? A bargaining for God’s Blessings? Here is a modern day John Tetzel. Those familiar with the ministry of Ashimolowo will know he is a good story teller when he is taking “seed offering.” He always laces his appeal with testimonies of unidentified persons who experienced a blessing after sowing a seed.
The most startling statement for me in all of this is Ashimolowo boldly declaring “”I believe I carry a grace that pushes people into a dimension of uncommon wealth creation.” What grace is this? What gospel is in this? When over a thousand Christians gather to hear a preacher, this is what they hear? In a facebook post, a friend asked; “How is it that one can pick 10 of the highlights of a christian messsage at a christian gathering, and none convicts the hearers of sin, exalts Christ, commends Christ to sinful men, and proclaims the gospel message?”
When Christ handed the great commission to his disciples and by extension to all believers, they were sent out to “make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe all that [he commanded them] (Matthew 28:19-20). They were not sent to push people into a dimension of uncommon wealth creation. Paul charged Timothy to do one important thing: “Preach the word” (2Timothy 4:2). What Ashimolowo is doing is not preaching the gospel: he is ripping people off. He is making merchandise of the gospel. And as usual, he will have victims fall for this.
Many preachers have made wealth creation their gospel which is no gospel at all. It is a false gospel. A gospel premised on greed and covetousness ( 1 Timothy 6:3). In the Bible, this transactional giving —giving money to receive blessings–is rebuked (Acts 8:19-20). Sadly, what Scripture rebukes has become the model for many so-called Christian ministries. All around us the word of God and his blessings are up for sale by preachers who merchandise the gospel.
Any minister who ties the blessings of God to money must be avoided. He is putting up blessings for sale. He is a false teacher teaching unsound words (1Tim.6:1-10). What about Christian generosity you may ask. Giving is Christian. So give to support Christian ministry. Give for the cause of the gospel. Give to the poor and needy. However, your blessings are not tied to your giving.
Grace and Truth 
My brother, God bless you! This is the hard truth that many preachers fail to let their members know and because the members themselves fail to read and study the Word, they “purchase” whatever is “sold” to them.
There is no conviction of sin and exaltation of our Lord at almost all of these conferences.
The church has over the years gradually settled for entertainment to attract people which is an error!
May the Lord continue to show us His mercy and grant us the grace to read and study His Word like the Bereans, or even more than them, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
It’s really a burden to see what the church is going through these days because the Gospel is not being preached.
God bless you Sir! May the Lord raise more young people like you, to continue to speak the truth as it is, about the Word and the deceptions of the enemy that has seeped gradually over the years, into the church!
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God bless you sister for making the time to read and to comment. Truly, the church is seeing very difficult and perilous times and we pray the Lord will protect his church as he has promised to build his church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it
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