Joseph Prince, a preacher of Health & Wealth False Gospel Vs Billy Graham, a preacher of True Gospel, Part 1 – By Rev George Ong (Dated 24 July 2023)
The “Drag” Show
Although Joseph Prince preached yesterday,
he didn’t offer a clue as to why
he had allowed the “Drag” show
to be held at New Creation Church,
at The Star Performing Arts Centre.
If you were to browse through the following links,
at the end of this section,
you would come to the conclusion that
any true evangelical church
would have nothing to do with such shows.
But what is worse is that
it is being shown in the same venue
as New Creation Church holds its Sunday worship services.
Joseph Prince claims that
he is constantly preaching about Jesus.
He also claims that he talks to Jesus very often.
Did Jesus tell him that it is okay to allow this show
in New Creation Church?
If Jesus were alive today,
would Jesus have allowed such shows
to be shown at His (Jesus) Church?
Let me tell you that
there is a possibility that Joseph Prince
may try to misrepresent
what I am trying to achieve in his saga.
I have seen how Joseph Prince
misrepresented his critics time after time
in his sermons and books.
(Please believe me
as I have viewed tons of Joseph Prince’s videos
and read 5 of his main books at least twice.)
The last time I highlighted this
was in my last article that was featured on 21 July 2023,
regarding the issue about God sending sickness to chastise us,
when he wickedly misrepresented his critics’ views
by casting them as child-abusers and sadists.
So, I am never going give Joseph Prince a chance
to misrepresent me,
that regarding this issue,
I have a crusade against LGBT,
or that I don’t love them.
Jesus had modelled for us
that we should love every person,
even the prostitutes and the tax collectors,
the most despised people during that time.
So, it is not a question
about loving or not loving these people.
We should love them and never to despise them.
But while we love them, any believing Christian
will never agree with their values or lifestyles.
We don’t resort to changing their values and lifestyles.
But the “Drag” show portrays a certain lifestyle
that Christians should have no business to be involved in.
What is unacceptable is
such shows that contain immoral and corrosive values
are being shown in the church.
If New Creation Church allows it
right at the doorstep of the church,
there would definitely be a rippling effect
of Christians, being corrupted or influenced by such values.
What is most damaging
is that the testimony of the Christian Church in Singapore
as the carrier and protector of Christian values
would be marred permanently.
That’s the point I am making.
Please browse through the following links:
Drag queen shows in churches are desecrating holy places. This blasphemy must stop
By Caroline Farrow, 8 March 2023
Republicans across the country push legislation to restrict drag show performances
By Shawna Mizelle, CNN
Published 11:09 AM EST, Sun February 5, 2023
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/05/politics/drag-show-legislation/index.html
Christian Employees Rally Against Google’s ‘Pride and Drag Show’
12:02PM EDT 6/28/2023 JAMES LASHER
https://www.charismanews.com/us/92690-christian-employees-rally-against-google-s-pride-and-drag-show
Lawmakers’ Condemnation of Kids at a Texas Drag Show Is Just More LGBTQ Discrimination
Diversity is an asset, not a threat. So what is this conservative reaction to an all-ages drag show really about?
by Polly Anna Rocha, Jun 28, 2022, 10:55am CDT
A Drag Queen Show at School
Hank Unplugged: Essential Christian Conversations
https://www.spreaker.com/user/hank-hanegraaff/a-drag-queen-show-at-school
RuPaul’s Drag Race
https://www.youtube.com/@rupaulsdragrace/videos
All Stars 8 Lip Sync For The Crown
Spoiler alert! All Stars 8 LIVE Winner’s
Drag Queens of Comedy (Compilation)
RuPaul is an American drag queen, singer and actor known for such TV shows as ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and ‘RuPaul’s Drag U.’
UPDATED: MAY 13, 2020
https://www.biography.com/celebrities/rupaul
RuPaul’s Husband, Georges LeBar, Prefers to Be Out of the Spotlight After Nearly 3 Decades Together
By Amanda Prahl
Published on 5/17/2023 at 4:00 PM
https://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/who-is-rupauls-husband-georges-lebar-46665792
Joseph Prince Preaching Again Despite Being On Sabbatical
A strange phenomenon has happened again.
Joseph Prince appeared again in person to preach yesterday.
This is the first time I have heard someone,
who had announced himself that he is on sabbatical
but keeps coming back to work.
And when he comes back to work,
he doesn’t even bother to explain why.
So far, Prince has preached a total of 7 times:
5 times live and twice on video,
since he went on sabbatical.
The odd thing is Prince hasn’t given any explanation
why he has to preach again and again,
even though he is on sabbatical.
Is it because the reasons
are too embarrassing for him
to reveal to the public?
Since he did not explain why, let me hazard some guesses:
First, he has changed his mind about taking a sabbatical, but he is too embarrassed and proud to admit it.
Second, he feels that the preaching standard of his Pastors is not up to the mark, and that’s why he has to come to the rescue.
Third, he thinks he is so indispensable that he must be the one preaching on Sunday, or the church may just collapse.
Fourth, he is such an anxious man that he does not really know how to rest and relax, when, ironically, he has been preaching to his congregation that they must learn to rest and relax. This is a case of not practising what he preaches.
Fifth, he is such an insecure man that he hasn’t learn to ‘Let Go and Let God,’ which, ironically, is one of the emphases of his preaching.
Sixth, he is so addicted to preaching that he just cannot stop preaching even though he is on sabbatical.
Seventh, he has been so used to the gallery that he cannot do without it – the cheering and enthusiastic crowds that keeps his goose bumps going.
Let’s see if Prince would explain himself
the next time when he comes up again on pulpit.
If he still chooses to remain silent,
than I can safely assume, that perhaps,
at least, one of my guesses is right.
Joseph Prince, a preacher of Health & Wealth False Gospel Vs Billy Graham, a preacher of True Gospel, Part 1 – By Rev George Ong
This is Part 1 of the Article.
Part 2 will be featured probably, within a week.
(This article was also sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) office, and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.)
In a weekly Sunday sermon aired on YouTube yesterday, on 23 July 2023, Joseph Prince said;
Please click here to view the 30-second video:
“You know,
both of them has got to do with
Health and Wealth.”
“And by the way, if you meet Christians,
and they are professors of theology and all that,
whatever they are, you know,
the test that
they are walking with the Lord,
they are truly holy,
is that there’s a joy,
there’s a happy heart,
the blessing of Asher will be there,
and health will be there.”
Up till today, Joseph Prince has been unrepentantly
preaching his Health and Wealth Gospel.
He does it again yesterday.
That’s not what is shocking.
What is appalling is that
he made the following statement:
“the test that
they are walking with the Lord,
they are truly holy,
is that there’s a joy,
there’s a happy heart,
the blessing of Asher will be there,
and health will be there.”
One of the marks, Joseph Prince says,
that makes a truly holy person
and proves that he is walking with the Lord
is that he must be healthy.
This is a totally unbiblical statement.
We must press Prince for the scriptural text
that he has used to prove this assertion
beyond any doubt (if he has any).
By making the above statement,
Prince is definitely saying
that many men of God,
who was/is afflicted with sickness
are not walking in holiness and with the Lord.
And the worse is,
he is also saying that the Apostle Paul,
wasn’t truly holy and walking with God,
because Paul wasn’t a healthy man,
as he was afflicted with sickness from time to time.
In ‘The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels, by Gordon D. Fee,’
Gordon Fee wrote:
“More troublesome yet
are Paul’s own physical illnesses and sufferings.
His own body was weak, or sickly (2 Corinthians 10:10).
Indeed, he says he always carried about in his body
the death of Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:11),
and the context makes it clear
that he is referring to his bodily weaknesses.
Outwardly he groaned (4:16),
longing to replace his present earthly tent
with the heavenly dwelling (5:1-2).
He preached in Galatia
as a direct result of illness (Galatians 4:12-15),
which almost certainly
was some kind of ailment of the eye.
Whether or not this was also
his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7),
there can be little question
that the problem
for which he thrice sought deliverance
was a physical one.
Some, to be sure,
have suggested that the “flesh” here
is Paul’s sinful nature
and that some “person” (=messenger) from Satan
was attacking his sinful tendencies.
But that is to play havoc
not only with this text and its context,
but also with Paul’s theology
of life in the Spirit (Galatians 5; Romans 8).”
Joseph Prince has shot himself in the foot.
By saying that only healthy people
can qualify to be truly holy
and one who walks with God,
he is also saying that Paul,
whom Gordon Fee had pointed out
was assailed by sickness,
wasn’t holy and wasn’t one who walks with God.
What an evil accusation!
Anyone, such as Joseph Prince,
who says that of Paul,
the foremost of Jesus’ disciples,
who wrote most of the New Testament scriptures,
must be a heretic.
And his constant claim
that Paul is his mentor
whom he had learned all his grace theology from
is proven to be one big lie.
Besides Paul, I can quote the many other godly men
who were powerfully used by the Lord
even though they have been afflicted with sicknesses.
But I can’t do it because of the length of this article.
What I can do is to show you the many examples
of sickly people, who were used by God
for His powerful purposes
that was quoted by Billy Graham (please see below)
that would demolish
such an irresponsible and false statement
of Joseph Prince;
and what Martyn Lloyd-Jones said of John Calvin.
In ‘An Exposition of Ephesians 1, God’s Ultimate Purpose,’
Martyn Lloyd-Jones said:
“Then there is the fight against physical conditions
such as ill health.
If you read the lives of the saints,
you will find that the men
who have accomplished most in this world
have often been men who have had a great fight
with some physical weakness or illness.
Count up the number of volumes
under the name of John Calvin, for instance.
All these Commentaries on the Scriptures,
and the other works,
were produced by a man
who was a martyr through-out his life
to asthma and to chronic indigestion,
and who died at the age of 55.”
It is a pity that John Calvin
didn’t live in this present day.
Or, he could have learned a thing or two
from the healing guru, Joseph Prince
about healing and enjoying the blessing of long life.
He could have claimed healing for his life,
and he could also have lived much longer than he did at 55.
Half in jest.
Next, Joseph Prince’s false Health and Wealth Gospel
is contradicted by none other than Billy Graham.
In a short video, Billy Graham said;
Please click here to view the 30-second video:
“That tragedy in your life.
That problem in your life.
You thought it was a tragedy
you thought it was by accident.
It might have been sent by God
because you see your body is not so important
as your soul and your spirit.
Your body is temporary;
it’s going to go to the grave.
But your soul, your spirit will live on forever.
And God is interested in saving your spirit
and sometimes He allows your body to suffer
in order to bring your spirit to Himself.”
Billy Graham taught that
God can send tragedy to your life
and allow your body to suffer
in order to save your spirit.
This goes head-on against the teachings of Joseph Prince,
who teaches that God will never send sicknesses
or tragedies to your life.
Billy Graham is a known figure to many, even unbelievers.
He is not only one of the greatest evangelists,
but he is also a good teacher,
who has written many books,
not just on evangelism but also on Christian living.
In his book, ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham has laid to bare
the superficiality, shallowness and falsity
of Joseph Prince’s Health and Wealth Gospel.
He has exposed Joseph Prince’s false teaching
and refuted them point by point.
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“The Popularity Cult
In some churches and religious television programs,
we see an effort
to make Christianity popular and always positive.
This may be a comfortable cushion
for those who find the hard facts too difficult.
Within the New Testament,
there is no indication
that Christians should expect to be healthy, wealthy,
and successful in this present age.
(George Ong’s interjection:
What Billy Graham has pinpointedly highlighted
is what Joseph Prince has been preaching all along
– this false Health and Wealth gospel.
Prince’s constant refrain in this false gospel is that
with the blessing of salvation will also come the blessings of health, wealth, success,
long life, youthful and even good looks, etc.)
Jesus said,
“If the world hates you,
keep in mind that it hated me first” ( John 15:18).
Christ never told his disciples
that they would get an Academy Award
for their performances,
but He did tell them to expect to have troubles.
This age is interested
in success, not suffering.
(George Ong’s interjection:
What Billy Graham has pointed out
is what Joseph Prince has been promoting.
He merely talks about success
but hardly teaches on suffering.
Do you know that Joseph Prince
has never preach a single sermon on suffering
in his 30 odd years of ministry?
This is what was stated
by many Ex New Creation Church members;
people like Andrew Tan (20 years), Yvonne Tan (20 years),
Lindsay Lim (18 years), Aaron Khoo (11 years)
and Dr Chris Kang (2years),
who stated publicly that
they have never heard Joseph Prince
preached a single sermon on suffering.
during their many years in the Church.)
“Good” people do not escape suffering in this life.
The Bible lists in Hebrews 11 the heroes of the faith,
both Jew and Gentile,
who were tortured, imprisoned, stoned, torn apart,
and killed by the sword.
They didn’t wear designer jeans
but went about in animal skins, destitute and tormented.
Those early believers wandered in deserts,
crossed mountains, and hid in caves.
They were the homeless of that time,
without even a cardboard shelter.
In America today, being a Christian
is sometimes equated with having good health.
(George Ong’s interjection:
Joseph Prince pushes this even further.
Not only does he teach that believers
will automatically enjoy Health and wealth,
he also asserts that
they can also even enjoy perfect health
– the perfect health of the Lord Jesus.
What a wild claim!)
Some popular nutrition and psychology publications
recommend that a sound body
may require a strong spiritual life.
Many of these writers lean toward
a hybrid of Eastern religious thought
and humanistic psychology,
but others have been biblically sound.
I believe that exercise and proper eating habits
are very important,
since the Bible says that the body is God’s holy temple,
but I don’t think that superbodies
equate with committed Christian discipleship.
Some of the greatest saints I’ve known
have been those with physical infirmities.
(George Ong’s interjection:
Right here, Billy Graham brings out
the gross error of Joseph Prince,
when Prince stated that
good health is a mark of holiness
and proof that one is walking with God.
On the contrary,
Billy Graham said that sickness was a mark
of some of the greatest saints whom he knew.)
Joni Eareckson Tada is a living example.
Joni cannot walk and has only limited use of her arms.
God has used her to touch millions of lives
as a result of her handicap.
She is a greater testimony to His love
than many others who have strong bodies.
“For physical training is of some value,
but godliness has value for all things” (1 Timothy 4:8).
(George Ong’s interjection:
Joseph Prince must humble himself
(as I had always pointed out
that the key problem in his life is his pride.)
and learn from Billy Graham.
Prince must repent from his teaching
that only healthy bodies can be used by God.
But as Billy Graham has pointed out,
a sickly body can have a greater testimony
and impact of God’s love
than those with strong and healthy bodies.
Joseph Prince has to acknowledge the fact
that God can use sickness in our bodies
for His purposes and His glory.)
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“Nancy Bates, one of our researchers,
is an example of overcoming circumstances.
She has a delightful sense of humor
and is a joy to be around.
Nancy was struck by a car when she was seventeen,
and her back was broken.
She is a paraplegic.
And she is a contagious Christian.
(George Ong’s interjection:
During yesterday’s sermon,
one of the issues that Joseph Prince preached on
is that believers should be happy.
Friends, it is all too easy to be happy
in the context of Joseph Prince’s Health and Wealth,
and no-suffering Christianity.
But for someone like Nancy Bates who isn’t healed
of a major sickness or physical disability,
and has to live with it for the rest of her life,
that is an entirely different story
– that is something that we should all emulate.
Joseph Prince has to confront the issue
that if the same thing like Nancy Bates had gone through
were to happen to many of his church members,
can they still put on a smile and be happy?
Chances are they couldn’t.
This is because Joseph Prince
has been preaching and feeding them the lie
that God will always heal them
of their pain and sicknesses.
And when sickness strikes,
they may all be devastated.)
When the Apostle John recorded Christ’s message
to the church in Smyrna, he wrote,
“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.
I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison
to test you, and you will suffer persecution…
Be faithful, even to the point of death,
and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).
Mysterious as it appears to be,
true faith and suffering frequently
go hand-in-hand.
You seldom have one without the other.
(George Ong’s interjection:
Going by what Billy Graham has written
that true faith and suffering go hand in hand,
Joseph Prince’s portrayal
of a suffering-free Christianity
is a false gospel that must not only be rejected,
but contended.)
I think of my dear friend, Corrie ten Boom,
who has gone home to be with the Lord.
One incident in her last years comes to mind
after reading the previous passage
from Revelation (Rev 2:10).
After being a prisoner in Ravensbruk,
the infamous women’s concentration camp,
Corrie traveled throughout the world,
telling her story of suffering and joy.
For thirty-three years,
she never had a permanent home.
When she was eighty-five years old,
her supporters provided her
with a lovely house in California.
It was a luxury she never dreamed she would have.
One day, as her friend and movie director,
the late Jimmy Collier, was leaving her home,
he said,
“Corrie, hasn’t God been good
to give you this beautiful place?”
She replied firmly,
“Jimmy, God was good
when I was in Ravensbruk, too.”
(George Ong’s interjection:
Wow! What a glorious reply from Corrie ten Boom.
Friends, this is the kind of lady
that all believers should emulate.
Please ask the people,
who attend New Creation Church,
whether they have ever heard Joseph Prince
sharing such stories with them.
Because of the way
they have been brought up
by the kind of sermons that Joseph Prince preaches,
that God is good only if they have
Health and Wealth, success, long life, good looks, etc,
and when suffering hit them,
most of them would not be able to cope.)
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“The Christian life is a battlefield.
The antithesis is the wealth-and-health theology,
which says that we deserve
God’s material and physical blessings
just because we are His children.”
(George Ong’s interjection:
Billy Graham had pertinently stated
that the Health and Wealth theology
that Joseph Prince teaches
‘that we deserve
God’s material and physical blessings
just because we are His children.’
is the antithesis of the Christian life.
Since it is the antithesis of the Christian life,
Joseph Prince’s Health and Wealth Gospel
cannot be the Christianity that Christ has started.
It is Pseudo-Christianity!)
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“When Jeff Steinberg limped onstage,
the audience seemed to suck in its breath.
His body was tragically misshapen,
and it was difficult for him to walk.
His head was disproportionately large for his body,
and he held a microphone
with the hooks he used for hands.
But his smile was bigger than his disability.
Jeff Steinberg had a song and a slogan
that was uniquely his:
“I’m a masterpiece in progress.”
Instead of focusing on his physical problems,
he looked at the gifts God had given him
and used them fully.
He could laugh, he could sing,
and he could tell about God’s love.
(George Ong’s interjection:
Joseph Prince should humble himself
and learn from Billy Graham
when he quoted Jeff Steinberg
– that despite his serious physical condition,
he can still have the joy of the Lord.
Friends, it is not the ‘cheap, cheap’,
‘happy, happy’ Christian
that God must make me healthy and wealthy,
that Joseph Prince dished out
during yesterday’s sermon.
Please listen to the sermon yourself on YouTube.)
We don’t have a magic shield
to protect us from problems.
Ultimately, it’s our attitude that counts
– attitude toward ourselves and toward God.
We can turn burdens into blessings,
or we can let those burdens bury us.”
“Joy is one of the marks of a true believer.
This is not a gushy emotion or a forced grin,
but the security of knowing God’s love.
I read a news story about soldiers in the Persian Gulf
watching videotapes from their families back home.
In a gloomy tent, sipping coffee
to ward off the morning chill,
the soldiers listened in silence
as one wife held herself erect
and sang a gospel hymn
that her husband could think of
whenever he felt alone.
Joy is not just jumping up and down
when your team makes a touchdown,
it’s that deep, abiding emotion
that gives a lonely soldier’s wife
the ability to reach out to an equally lonely man
and touch him with God’s presence.
The ability to rejoice in any situation
is a sign of spiritual maturity.
Paul sang and shouted his way through his trials.
His greatest victories came out of his persecution.
To the Romans he wrote,
“We also rejoice in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering
produces perseverance…
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution? …
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer” (Romans 5:3; 8:35; 12:12).”
I remember visiting an elderly man
who spent most of his life in China as a missionary.
He had always enjoyed good health
and was an unusually strong man.
His deep dedication to Christ
and the love between him
and his wife made people love and admire him.
However, he contracted cancer,
and it spread to many parts of his body.
I went to minister to him,
but, instead, he ministered to me.
There was a joy and radiance about him
that I have rarely seen.
He got up out of his bed
and walked me to the car when I left.
I shall never forget my last glimpse of him.
With a great smile and cheery wave, he said,
“Keep on preaching the Gospel, Billy.
The older I get, the better Christ is to me.”
When we are so wedded to the world
that we lose sight of eternity,
we can lose our joy.
My father-in-law, Nelson Bell,
held on to the things of this world so loosely
that when he died and we opened his closet,
there were only two suits hanging there.
Things were not that important to him.
In my travels, I have found that
those who keep Heaven in view
remain serene and cheerful in the darkest day.
If the glories of Heaven were more real to us,
if we lived less for material things
and more for things eternal and spiritual,
we would be less easily disturbed by this present life.
(George Ong’s interjection:
Again, Joseph Prince ought to learn from Billy Graham,
not to keep harping so much
about what is for the Christian on this earth
– my wealth, my health, my physical looks, etc.
Not that these are wrong in and of themselves,
but what should also be emphasised,
with equal force,
is the spiritual and the eternal,
which Joseph Prince hasn’t.)
A friend told me about stopping
on a street corner in London
and listening to a man play the bagpipes.
He was playing “Amazing Grace”
and smiling from ear to ear.
My friend asked him if he was from Scotland,
and he answered,
“No sir, my home is in Heaven.
I’m just traveling through this world.”
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“Divine Healing: Truth and Consequences
When little Erika was on life-support systems,
hundreds of people were praying for her healing.
Instead, the Lord took Erika to be with Himself.
At the same time, in another hospital,
Ron Stokes was in intensive care after a severe stroke.
Hundreds of people all over the country
were praying for Ron.
He recovered, and as a result
of caring Christian friends, accepted Christ.
Why did God cure Ron and not Erika?
Were prayers any less fervent
or the faith of loved ones
any weaker in one case than the other?
No, not at all.
Does God heal today?
Of course, He does,
but not always.
(George Ong’s interjection:
You had better listen to Billy Graham
rather than Joseph Prince
who teaches the rubbish
that not only every believer can expect to be healed,
but they also can enjoy the perfect health of Jesus.)
He can heal in response to prayer and faith;
He can heal through the skill of physicians
or the effectiveness of medicines.”
“Ruth has a friend in England, Jennifer Larcombe,
who had developed multiple sclerosis.
She prayed for healing,
but continued to get worse.
She was besieged by people
who told her that if everything was right
between her and the Lord
she would be healed,
otherwise, she must have some secret sin
which she hadn’t confessed.
This advice was devastating to her,
because she loved the Lord with all her heart.
Finally, the British publishers, Hodder & Stoughton,
asked her to write a book about her experiences.
The book was eventually published
and was called Beyond Healing.
(George Ong’s interjection:
Joseph Prince had better learn this lesson
that the Christian life goes beyond
his oft-delivered teaching
that every believer must be healed.)
Ruth was asked to write the foreword,
and when she read the manuscript
she was deeply moved.
Clearly, when God said no to Jennifer,
He gave her another ministry.”
James said,
“And the prayer offered in faith
will make the sick person well” (James 5:15).
And, yet, James himself was beheaded.
He trusted God, whatever the outcome.
Soon after James was put to death,
Peter was arrested and put in prison.
The believers prayed earnestly for Peter,
and the night before he was to be brought to trial,
an angel rescued him (Acts 12:5.11).
In that situation God said “yes” to Peter.
Christians know that God answers prayer in three ways:
yes, no, and later.
The apostles of Jesus illustrate this beautifully.
After Pentecost, the early church was persecuted severely,
but they trusted God in all circumstances.
All but one of these apostles died as martyrs,
but they were as faithful in their deaths as in their lives,
understanding that death is the believer’s translation
to the presence of the Almighty.
Divine healing or deliverance from death
is in His hands.
Sam was a devoted Christian
who discovered that he had cancer of the mouth.
As the dreadful disease developed,
multiple operations took so much of his tongue and face
that soon he had very little face left.
His wife took him to a healing service
and when they returned
she told everyone triumphantly
that Sam had been healed.
It would be impossible to imagine
what went on in Sam’s mind
as his suffering became worse.
He hated to have anyone see him,
and yet his wife would invite friends and neighbors in
and announce that Sam was healed.
Instead, he died.
In such a case
an unrealistic faith in divine healing
can be another form of denial:
a belief that comes from disbelief
in our own mortality.
(George Ong’s interjection:
Joseph Prince would love to boast of the many
who were healed through his ministry.
But even if people were healed,
is it through the power of the Holy Spirit or Satan?
Friends, there are also many who have died
despite being prayed for by Joseph Prince.
But in such a situation,
Prince would act like a typical church mouse
who remains so quiet
as he is so afraid that people
would find out about those,
who weren’t healed under his ministry.)
Christians should have another view of divine healing,
and that is to acknowledge God’s ability to heal
– but to be willing to accept
a yes or no answer.
Job was God’s great example of this belief
when he said,
“Though he slay me,
yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15).
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“The Remarkable Amy Carmichael
In 1956 I was in India
and visited the Tinnevelly district of South India
where Amy Carmichael had lived.
Amy was the first missionary
to be supported by the Keswick Convention
and a woman who wrote forty books
during her lifetime.
She labored in the land of her adoption
for over fifty-six years,
never once returning to her home in England on furlough.
I had the honor of visiting the place
where she spent the last twenty years of her life,
bedridden due to a leg injury from an accident.
It was a modest little room, with red tile floor,
very few pieces of furniture,
and an enormous bird cage outside the window
where she could watch the birds.
She had ministered
and written from her bed for all those years,
and I had a feeling of awe being shown the premises
by the woman who had cared for her.
As I stood in that simple place,
the presence of Christ was very real.
Amy went through the valley of the shadow
and in spite of pain and physical weakness
caused a great light to be spread around the world.
It was during those years
she did most of her writing
– books that still bring blessing
to millions across the world.
Elisabeth Elliot has recently written her story
in a challenging book
entitled A Chance to Die.
All Prayers Answered
Christians in desperate situations
search the Scriptures
for the many wonderful promises of God.
One of our favorites is the statement
made by Jesus that
“You may ask me for anything in my name,
and I will do it” (John 14:14).
We claim that promise
and ask the Lord to heal our loved one.
But what happens if healing doesn’t come?
It’s easy for Christians to feel guilty
or believe our faith is weak
if we pray for healing and it doesn’t take place.
Believers throughout the ages
have had to face the fact
that God does not heal everyone
who prays for healing.
But our lack of faith
does not determine God’s decision on healing.
If that were so,
He would have to apologize
to all of His great servants
in the Hebrews 11 Hall of Fame.
Look at that cast of characters:
Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson,
Jephtah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets!
All of these received great deliverance from God
and endured incredible hardships through faith.
What happened to them?
“Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others
were chained and put in prison. They were stoned;
they were sawed in two; they were put to death
by the sword. They went about in sheepskins
and goatskins, destitute, persecuted
and mistreated” (Hebrews 11:36.37).
Even though God was pleased
because of their faith,
they didn’t receive much of the world’s pleasures.
Why?
Because God had a better destination,
a heavenly city, waiting for them.
It was not because of lack of faith
or as a punishment for sin
that these men and women of God
were not delivered from suffering and death.
We have the faith to believe
that God has a special glory
for those who suffer and die for the sake of Christ.”
(George Ong’s interjection:
Well said, Billy Graham.
How I wish Billy Graham were alive today,
so he could call Joseph Prince up
and give him a strong rebuke
for teaching the doctrinal nonsense,
regarding his Health and Wealth doctrine.)
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“Comfort and prosperity
have never enriched the world
as much as adversity has done.
Out of pain and problems
have come the sweetest songs,
the most poignant poems,
and the most gripping stories.”
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“Suffering is often
the crucible in which our faith is tested.
Those who successfully come through
the “furnace of affliction”
are the ones who emerge
“like gold tried in the fire.”
“Some of the godliest people
I have ever known
were men and women
who had been called upon
to endure great suffering
– perhaps even being invalids (one who is sickly or disabled)
for many years.”
(George Ong’s interjection:
What Billy Graham has described
only proved that what Joseph Prince said
that good health is a test
of whether Christians are walking with the Lord,
and whether they are truly holy,
is pure rubbish that ought to be
chucked down the rubbish chute.)
“Dr. Edward Judson, at the dedication
of the Judson Memorial Church in New York City, said,
“Suffering and success go together.
If you are succeeding without suffering,
it is because others before you have suffered;
if you are suffering without succeeding,
it is that others after you may succeed.”
(George Ong’s interjection:
If Billy Graham had brought up
the importance of suffering in a Christian’s life,
why has Joseph Prince
not preach a single sermon on suffering, till today.
Well, the reason is that he wants to continue
to use his feel-good and a no-suffering Christianity
to attract people and more people and more people
into his camp.
But as you can imagine,
such carnal people
who are looking for a Christianity without a cost
aren’t true Christians in the first place.)
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“We read in the Scriptures that the early church
was filled with the Holy Spirit.
They had no church buildings, no Bibles,
no automobiles, no planes, no trains,
no television, no radio.
Yet they turned their world “upside down” for Christ.
They instituted a spiritual revolution
that shook the very foundations of the Roman Empire.
They were young, vigorous, virile, powerful.
They lived their lives daily for Christ.
They suffered persecution and even death gladly
for their faith in Christ.”
“We are not surprised that the early Christians
rejoiced in suffering,
since they looked at it in the light of eternity.
The nearer death,
the nearer a life of eternal fellowship with Christ.
When Ignatius was about to die
for his faith in A.D. 110, he cried out,
“Nearer the sword, then nearer to God.
In company with wild beasts, in company with God.”
The Christians of the early church believed that
“the sufferings of this present time
are not worth comparing
with the glory that is to be revealed to us”
(Romans 8:18 RSV).
Thus, they could regard present difficulties
as of little consequence
and could endure them
with patience and cheerfulness.”
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“My wife was talking with a young Christian
who had just arrived in this country
from a regime hostile to Christianity.
The woman was suffering from culture shock.
She told Ruth,
“I think it is more difficult
to remain a deeply committed Christian
in the midst of prosperity
than under persecution.”
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“When David Livingstone
returned to his native Scotland
after sixteen difficult years as a missionary in Africa,
his body was emaciated
by the ravages of some twenty-seven fevers
that had coursed through his veins
during the years of his service.
One arm hung useless at his side,
the result of being mangled by a lion.
He was speaking to the students
at Glasgow University
and the core of his message
to those young people was this:
“Shall I tell you what sustained me
during the hardship and loneliness of my exile?
It was Christ’s promise,
‘Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end.’”
That promise is ours as well.”
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“Most people can’t face the fact
of their own deaths twenty-four hours a day,
and need to pretend, at least for a while,
that the situation may be just a bad dream.
We may respond to someone’s denial by avoiding it.
Many people who have been told
they have just a few weeks or months left have lived
to laugh at the diagnosis years later.
A Christian may have complete confidence
that God has healed him or her,
despite medical reports to the contrary.
A realistic answer,
given with gentleness and love, might be,
“We know that God can heal, and He does.
But we don’t know
what He has in store for you or for me.
Let’s trust the doctors for treatment,
and continue to pray for healing,
asking for God’s will.”
(George Ong’s interjection:
What a godly counsel by Billy Graham
on how we should approach the situation.
Let me share a real incident.
When I was pastoring,
a friend from another church
contracted terminal cancer.
Frankly, my leading of the Holy Spirit
tells me that he would not be healed,
and would be taken to be with the Lord.
But I have no courage to break such news to him.
In retrospect, I regretted for not telling him,
even though it is one of the hardest things
to say to a sickly person who wants to live.
At least, I could prepare him for what is coming.
Then, came this so-called prophetic guy,
who came and give the prophetic word
that my friend will be healed.
Because of this prophetic word,
my friend clung on so dearly to this word.
But he wasn’t healed. He died.
The sad thing is that in the days before his death
he was still pathetically struggling to live.
After he died, I had to conduct his funeral.
When he passed away,
I paid a visit to the hospital,
and this so-called prophetic guy also turned up,
perhaps to alleviate his guilt
of giving the wrong word.
You know what he did.
He just came and took a mere look at my friend’s body
and then he quickly rushed off.
What an irresponsible person
for giving someone a false hope!
Let me tell you that Joseph Prince
is an even more horribly irresponsible person
as compared to this prophetic guy.
Joseph Prince may boast about the many
who are healed under his ministry.
But there are also many who have died
after being prayed by him.
Praying for the sick to be healed is not wrong,
but what is fatally wrong
is to tell everyone
that believers will not only be healed
but they will also stand to enjoy
the perfect health of Jesus,
which is the core teaching of Joseph Prince.
This is tantamount to giving believers false hope.
Joseph Prince would be the first to claim credit
when someone is so-called healed or become successful,
But he would also be the first person
to run for cover
when someone isn’t healed and even died,
or when someone Prince said had succeeded
had actually become a financial failure
– a case in point is none other than the Founder of Hyflux.
Friends, this is the kind of man you are dealing with.)
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“Today we are confronted
with so many voices telling us how to live.
We are told how to look young,
stay trim, keep healthy,
have a good image, think positively,
make more money, have more friends.
All these are reasonable ambitions,
but they indicate that we are trying desperately
to cling to this present world.
The truth is, life is transitory.
“What is your life?
You are a mist that appears for a little while
and then vanishes” (James 4:14b).
The psalmist said,
“Each man’s life is but a breath” (Psalm 39:5).
If we want to make the most of life,
we need to face the fact that it is going to end.
My father-in-law, Dr. L. Nelson Bell,
wrote many years ago,
“Only those who are prepared to die
are really prepared to live.”
The uncertainty is not the dying,
it’s the preparation.”
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“When Bill Borden, son of the wealthy Bordens,
left for China as a missionary,
many of his friends thought he was foolish
to “waste his life,” as they put it,
trying to convert a few heathens to Christianity.
But Bill loved Christ and he loved people!
On his way to China
he contracted a disease and died.
At his bedside they found a note
that he had written while he was dying.
It read:
“No reserve, no retreat, and no regrets.”
Borden had found more happiness
in his few years of sacrificial service
than most people find in a lifetime.”
In ‘Enduring Classics of Billy Graham,’
Billy Graham wrote:
“Gretchen’s Story
Gretchen was a woman
who had her comfortable world
disintegrate in one blinding moment.
Without her faith in God,
she might have remained for the rest of her life
hidden in a dark room.
As she told her story,
she was sitting on a California patio,
the brilliant sun
emphasizing her cruelly disfigured face.
It was obvious from the blank socket
where one eye should have been,
the reconstructed nose,
the scarred skin,
and the missing arm
that she had been in some hideous accident.
And yet her beauty was evident.
The transcendent glow of her inner strength
was not artificial.
Gretchen’s world changed one morning in 1982
when a drunk driver forced her car into a fatal spin,
hurtling it across the freeway,
where it exploded into a burning inferno.
Her mother was instantly killed,
and Gretchen was miraculously saved
from burning to death.
Before that dreadful day,
Gretchen had led a sun-filled life.
Beautiful, wealthy, with an attentive husband,
she seemed to be living every girl’s dream.
In the following nightmare,
she lost everything but gained much more.
She was in a coma for six weeks.
When she finally understood
that her face was virtually gone,
she did not want anyone to see her.
Television was her companion,
and it was during one
of her more than seventy operations
that she saw one of our Crusades
and gave her life to Christ.
After seven years of seclusion,
she realized that she could not stay in hiding.
She knew God had saved her for something.
She began to volunteer at a rehabilitation center
where her own disabilities
gave her the credibility to reach out to others.
When asked about her greatest joy,
she answered,
“It’s waking up in the morning
and knowing that nothing is an accident.”
If you have read through what Billy Graham had written,
you would have noticed
what Billy Graham taught
is diametrically opposed
to the Health and Wealth Gospel of Joseph Prince.
This goes to show
that while Billy Graham preached the true Gospel,
Joseph Prince is preaching the false Health and Wealth Gospel.
Who do you trust?
Billy Graham – one of the greatest evangelists
that the world has ever produced
or Joseph Prince, the great deceiver?
Rev George Ong