"Woe to you, Pharisees, because you devour widows' houses" (Matthew 23:14).
We don't know how exactly the Pharisees "devoured" the houses of these widows. They may have urged those poor widows to give their property for "the work of the Lord", telling them that God would bless them for it - and then taken possession of their property and enjoyed it themselves . Thus they would "even rob the widows", as Israel's unjust judges had done 700 years earlier (Isaiah 10:2).
This very same exploitation of poor people is going on in the 21st century too. Christian TV preachers are notorious for getting poor widows and pensioners to give them large sums of money by assuring them, "God will bless you and heal you of your sicknesses, if you give money to my ministry". Since most old widows and pensioners have many sicknesses and other problems, TV preachers know how to exploit this for their own benefit. They use every psychological trick and many emotional appeals and verses from the Bible to squeeze money from these poor people. The poor widows believe these greedy deceivers and send their meagre savings to them. The preachers then use this money to live in grand style themselves - buying private jet planes and property, etc.
This pattern of swindling the poor started in America in recent times, but has now spread all over the world and is now found among many Indian preachers too. Such Pharisees are daylight robbers and thieves.
What a testimony Paul had, that he could say towards the end of his life,
We wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one (2 Corinthians 7:2).
That should be the testimony of every servant of God at the end of his life.
It is evil and Satanic to take advantage of poor believers - in any way.
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Zac Poonen ( - Present)
God called brother Zac Poonen to a new work early on in his Christian experience. The movement is now called Christian Fellowship Churches where the New Covenant of New Testament Christianity is clearly preached.Brother Zac Poonen has written 25 books most of them being on the deeper Christian life. Many of these have been translated into a number of languages and have been circulated widely around the world. He clearly and passionately shares the narrow way of Christian discipleship that is neglected by so many modern preachers.
Recommends these books by Zac Poonen:
Through The Bible by Zac Poonen
The Final Triumph-A verse by verse study of the book of Revelation by Zac Poonen
Beauty for Ashes by Zac Poonen
Zac Poonen is a former Indian Naval Officer who has been in full time ministry in India for nearly 50 years as a Bible teacher and preacher. He holds responsibility for a number of churches in India and abroad. He currently pastors the Christian Fellowship Church in Bangalore, Karnataka.
He has written more than 25 books and numerous articles in English - which have been translated into many Indian and foreign languages. His messages are available on audio and video format.
Like the other elders in his church, Zac Poonen also supports himself and his family through what he describes as "tent-making" and does not receive any salary for his services. He does not receive any royalties for any of his books, CDs or DVDs, that are published by Christian Fellowship Centre, Bangalore.