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>I am opposed to their message of the individual's creative capacity as it
>undermines the sovereignty of God and His divine Providence.

Jesus said in Mark 11:23-24
"For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall *say* unto this mountain,
Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his
heart, but shall believe that those things which *he saith* shall come to
pass; he shall have whatsoever *he saith*.
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray,
believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

The sovereignty of God never goes against His Word: I John 5:14-15:
"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing
according to his will, he heareth us:
And if we know that he heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have
the petitions that we desired of him."

Jesus said in Mark 9:23:
"...if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth..."

Jesus said in John 15:7
"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you."

John 16:24
"Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that
your joy may be full."

Psalms 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the
desires of thine heart."

  But, as we
>encourage faith and do believe that God can do anything, it is possible for
>us to fall prey to such ravening doctrines which corrupt the Biblical
>principles of faith.

The above scriptures should satisfy what God desires for us to have as long
as it is in line with His Word.
>
>I guess one of the most bothersome tenets of the WoF movement that I find is
>their equation of prosperity with God's blessings.

This is a misrepresentation of Word/Faith theology. We believe what Jesus
said in Luke 12:15: "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life
consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." At the
same time, Jesus did promise that all of our needs would be met. Matthew
6:33 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you." What things? The things that are necessary
in this life. (See verses 25-32) 

  Some of the greatest
>Christians I have ever known are humble people who do not possess material
>wealth.

Genesis 13:2: "And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold."

Genesis 26:12-14: "Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same
year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.
And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
For he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and great store
of servants: and the *Philistines envied him.*"

Genesis 30:43 (Regarding Jacob): "And the man increased exceedingly, and had
much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses."

This is in harmony with Proverbs 13:22 "A good man leaveth an inheritance to
his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just."

Job 42:12 "So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his
beginning: for he had 14,000 shppe, and 6,000 camels, and 1,000 yoke of
oxen, and 1,000 she asses."

  The pioneers of this great Pentecostal message were often poor, de-
>pending exclusively upon the provisions of God from day to day.  Thank God for
>the accounts of those who had no groceries and a saint or some unknown visitor
>showed up with a bag of food.  Thank God for Sis. Oma Ellis's journey across
>America on a single tank of gas because she had no money to fill up her tank.
>Thank God for Bishop Morris E. Golder who ministered as a young evangelist in a
>single suit, sleeping on timber pews or even the grass.  It is this type of
>sacrifice that has brought us to the great place where we now stand.

Phil.4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in
glory by Christ Jesus." Remember, God is El Shaddai, the all sufficient one,
not El Chepo!
>
>WoF would brand these people 'blessingless.'

No. We have missionaries in countries with famine and poverty. It doesn't
matter the condition of the surroundings, the Word will work no matter where
you live. If God said He'd supply, and David said in Psalm 37:25 "I have
been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor
his seed begging bread." Because people live poverty lives, does this mean
that this is God's desire for them when His Word said they could have more?
Yes, we are content in whatever state we find ourselves in with Christ.
However, when you're child is starving, is this God's will. No!

  They didn't drive fine cars, where fine clothes, or rent fine condos, but
they were sold out to God and His great mission.  They were people of faith,
and God always supplied their
>NEEDS!!!
>
My point exactly. Matthew, just because people don't have the finest, I
agree with you, doesn't mean that they are not blessed of God. I drive a
nice car, wear fine clothes, and live well. But I didn't start there. I
don't compare my Spirituality with what I own. I measure my Spirituality
with my Personal relationship that I have with Jesus Christ. Unfortunately,
Word/Faith theology has been somewhat misunderstood. Let me give a few more
scriptures for your examination. Listen to what the Word says:

"But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee
power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant with thee." Deut.8:18

Purpose of Prosperity? Ephesians 4:28 "Let him that stole steal no more: but
rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that
he may have to give to him that needeth."

Establishing God's covenant on the earth and giving to those in need! Those
are God's purposes for prosperity!
It's absolutely tragic how foreign that is to most people's thinking. I've
actually heard people say, "I don't need much prosperity. I'm a simple
person with a simple life. So I just ask God for enough to meet my needs."
They think that's humility, but it's not. It's unbiblical actually.
They could ask God for thousands, take out just enough to meet their own
needs, and give the rest. But that doesn't even occur to them because when
it comes to money, they've been brainwashed by a world that says if you have
it, you have to keep it!
Without realizing it, what these people are acutally saying is, "All I care
about is meeting my own needs. I have no ambition to help meet anyone else's."
We are to give to the poor, both in Spiritual and financial ways.

Prosperity to a fool will destroy him. Prov.1:32 We're talking about
prosperity for God's people. What does the Word have to say about this...

Proverbs 3:9-10 "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits
of all thine increases:
So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out
with new wine."

Psalm 35:27 "Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous
cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath
pleasure in the prosperity of his servant."

Psalm 112:2-3 "His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the
upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his
righteousness endureth for ever."

Proverbs 10:15 "The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of
the poor is their poverty."

Haggai 2:8 "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts."

(Note: When the Children of Israel left Egypt, what did God ask them to
borrow from the Egyptians? Look it up: precious jewels. Question: Did they
return them? No. Why? Because it belongs to God, not to the world! Why is it
that drug dealers, pimps, hollyweird people, can drive, live, and eat the
finest, and the people of God are condemned if they have nice things? Hmmmmm)

Mark 10:29-30
And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that
hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or
children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
But he shall (not might) receive an hundredfold (when?) *now* (when?) *now*
(one more time, when?) *now* in this time, houses, and brethren, and
sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions (and
believe me, they come from religious folk): and in the world to come eternal
life." (Emphasis mine)

I Timothy 6:17 "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not
highminded; nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth
us richly all things to enjoy..."

II Peter 1:3-4 "According as his divine power hath given unto us *all
things* that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him
that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by
these ye might be partakers of the *divine nature*, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust."

I think I've given enough scripture for consideration. Also, don't make the
mistake of "spiritualizing" all verses speaking about prosperity in it's
proper context. Yes, God does want to bless His people financially. The
purpose is given above. Why do many go without and live on "barely making it
by street"?

Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..."