43 - Elvin - "Why do I continue to suffer when churches like Hillsong and Lakewood keep prospering?”
“Hi Michael. I’m sorry to bother you, but I have lost all hope. I don’t know how to give it up. I feel good every time I hear your messages but as soon as I come to my calling at the shop, I lose my encouragement instantly. I deal with difficult people all the time. I haven’t paid myself in 3 years and I just can’t understand if this is the will of God. Michael I gave up everything to follow him not to get rich but to be obedient to him. But I’m struggling financially. I don’t have much business experience but I have heard many encounters in his word for the situations I was in but it didn’t last. I feel numb inside and I don’t know what I desire. All I know is the truth which you speak but I don’t know how to get there. God seems very cruel since I have been born again, and I know it’s not true, but I can’t help it but to dislike him. And it’s not about money at all, it just seems unfair when churches like Hillsong and Lakewood keep prospering.”
Trading Up: Exchanging Earthly Treasures for the Kingdom
Often, like what happened to our brother Elvin in today’s recording, our walk with God begins with a distorted view of who He is and how He works. We are bombarded with opinions, often shaped by a worldly perspective that equates godliness with financial gain. But the Christian life, in its truest form, is an exchanged life. It's a trading up of earthly treasures for the eternal riches of the Kingdom of God.
The old covenant, with its emphasis on external blessings for obedience, has passed. Deuteronomy 28, with its promises of peace and prosperity for adherence to the law, no longer applies in the same way. Jesus ushered in a new covenant, a kingdom within us, brought about by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him,” Jesus declares in John 14:21. This intimate relationship with Christ is the true treasure.
This kingdom living requires a shift in perspective, a willingness to forsake earthly pursuits for eternal ones. It means storing up treasures in heaven, where "moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal," as Matthew 6:20 tells us. It means echoing Paul's words in Acts 24:16, “So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” It's about recognizing that true wealth lies not in what we possess, but in needing the least because we are satisfied by spiritual abundance.
This exchange may feel costly. Jesus himself said in Luke 14:33, “Unless a man gives up everything he has, he cannot be my disciple.” But this giving up is not a loss, but a gain. It’s exchanging temporary possessions for eternal life, earthly happiness for true joy, worldly success for a kingdom purpose. It's choosing to lose our life in this world to find it in Christ.
This journey requires surrender, a willingness to say, "Lord, I can't do this, but I trust You." It’s desiring God and His kingdom more than anything this world offers. It's humbling ourselves before Him like a child, confessing our discontentment and our misplaced desires.
If you are willing, God may strip you of everything in this life so that you can find the only life that is real: kingdom life, Christ living in your heart. It is a costly exchange, but one that yields immeasurable and eternal rewards, for those who believe it by faith.
