Paul's Hardships

Just look at all the hardships Paul went through.  Doesn't seem like he lived his best life then.  It does look like he had LOTS of hardships though!  Just like Jesus said about his followers.

They were poor!  They owned nothing!  Read there in 2 Corinthians 6, Paul's own words!

Look what the late David Wilkerson had to say about the prosperity gospel:

"Satan's gospel is 'gain is godliness'.  In this day and age of success and prosperity preaching, do you wanna hear what the gospel says???  Are you interested???  Here it is from the words of our Master Himself...."
    "BLESSED ARE YOU POOR, For yours is the kingdom of God.
    Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled.
    Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.
    Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake."
    Here's what the gospel says about people in these modern times in the church who's seeking after material things...from the lips of Jesus Himself!...
    "BUT WOE TO YOU WHO ARE RICH, For you have received your consolation.
    Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger.
    Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep.
    Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets!!"
    "The gospel of gain despises poverty.  It rejects and despises the poor.
    Listen to what James said..."But you have despised the poor"!!
    "For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool,"
    "This is a gospel of partiality to the prosperous and successful and it's an indictment against the poor to whom Jesus ministered.  It exalts prosperity and success.  James said are you not partial?  Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be RICH IN FAITH and heirs of the kingdom?..."
    "And for you preachers of the gospel who try to tell me that He became poor that we can become rich in houses and lands, you don't know your Bible!  There it is, it says "has not God chosen the poor RICH IN FAITH"!!
    HOW BLIND IS THE CHURCH TODAY!  HOW BLIND!  Is this the gospel for a dying world?!..."gain is godliness, faith is for prosperity, poor people lack faith, Christ became poor so that we could become rich in material goods"?  "He came to give us abundant life"...Is abundant life supposed to be worldly goods?!  NO!...that's ETERNAL LIFE!"

    ~David Wilkerson

AMEN!

Jesus said that in this world we will have tribulation, but to take heart because He has overcome the world. Jesus said a servant is not greater than his master. He said if they persecuted Him they will persecute us. Jesus said take up your cross and follow Him.