CONTENTMENT

Written in 2013
by Tony Alamo
aka Bernie Hoffman

Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah; Peninnah was rich with children, and Hannah had none—she was poor in children, until Samuel was born.

First Samuel 2:7-10 says, “The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: HE bringeth low, and lifteth up. HE raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and HE hath set the world upon them. HE will keep the feet of HIS saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of Heaven shall HE thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and HE shall give strength unto HIS king [not an ungodly king, but King David, the apple of GOD’S eye, only a king who believed GOD’S WORD and loved GOD’S WORD with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength1], and exalt the horn of HIS anointed”.

This was the prayer of thanksgiving to GOD by Hannah, the mother of the great prophet Samuel, to whom she had just given birth. She was the second wife of her husband, Elkanah. Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah, had many sons and daughters, as GOD delights in this (“Be fruitful, and multiply” [Genesis 1:28]). However, 1 Samuel 1:5 says, “But the LORD had shut up her [Hannah’s] womb.” Verse 6 states, “And her adversary [the other wife] also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.” Year after year she went up to the house of the LORD and prayed to have a child, and if a son, she would give him to the service of the LORD. She would weep and not eat. So you can imagine, after so many years of being taunted by Elkanah’s other wife, how thankful she was at the birth of her son, Samuel.

After the birth of Samuel, we see that “Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in THY salvation. There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside THEE: neither is there any rock like our GOD. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a GOD of knowledge, and by HIM actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: HE bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up” (1 Samuel 2:1-6).

These are not poems like so many false preachers, teachers, and prophets would have you believe. They are historical Bible truths, which apply today and always will.2 There are poor and rich in every field, and experience has shown me that the Bible is truthful. The righteous in GOD’S eyes will always prevail.3

Paul, the great apostle, knew how to be poor and how to be rich. Philippians 4:11-13 states, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through CHRIST which strengtheneth me.”

Many people think they are of CHRIST. They think they are Christians, but they don’t know the first thing about Christianity.4 The country and the world have gone down the drain, and they don’t know it. True Christians don’t pay any attention to the economy or to the people who say they are going to straighten things out. My suggestion to you is to do as JESUS, the GOD-man teaches. JESUS is the WORD of GOD.5 HE never teaches to seek the old or new president for guidance. If you put your trust in man, you will wind up on skid row in the soup line or worse. GOD says in 1 Chronicles 16:11, “Seek the LORD and HIS strength, seek HIS face continually.” Verse 10: “Glory ye in HIS holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.” If the people of the LORD would seek HIM instead of any other person, most of their problems would be over, but it involves more than prayer.

Before I was saved and became a Christian, I made a lot of  money and lived a pretty luxurious lifestyle. After I received the LORD, and GOD gave me my wife, Susie, she began teaching me the ways of the LORD.

The LORD let me do one more promotion. It was for the singer, Jim Hahn. We wound up calling him “Rouvaun.” After he became the star in the “Casino de Paris” at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada (around three months after I began managing him), and after signing him to RCA Records, I sold him to a holding company.

I bought a home on a small mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Zuma Beach, around five miles north of Malibu. All this was against Susie’s will. I bought it from a friend of mine, so I foolishly thought that it was an open door from the LORD. It was too far to drive every day to Hollywood, where we were looking for a church or direction from the LORD. Susie kept telling me we had to sell the house and get a small place in Hollywood. She said we would save at least six hours a day, and that time could go into soul-winning.

She kept reading the classified ads, and got really excited about a two-story house for sixty-five dollars a month. She said, “Come on, Tony, let’s go look at it!” She said, “Even if we don’t live there, we can store all of our furniture there.” It was an old, old, two-story shack, unpainted and leaning to one side. Hippies had been living there. Long snakes were painted on the wall, and it had a dirt floor and cracks in the walls that you could see through. She said, “Tony, we could fix this place up.” I said, “Susie, if you think I’m gonna move in here, you’re crazy!” She told me later that the minute I said that, she knew we were going to live there. Susie told me that in the ministry, people of the LORD have to keep their expenses down. That way, all the money can go for soul-winning. She said, “It’s only sixty-five dollars a month! We can always do that and without worries!” She added, “It’s of the LORD!” So, I did it.

I’m not a carpenter, a carpet layer, or any kind of craftsman, but I helped Sue put the place together. You really cannot pay any attention to what other people do. You must cut expenses if you want to survive. No one ever gave us big bucks. We nickel and dimed it all the way for years. If you fear GOD, you’ll keep HIS commandments, and you will not go broke, lose your house, lose your car, or lose anything else. I’m so happy that GOD gave me a smart woman who taught me to survive in any economy.

We started winning souls in that shack. Our first church was a small house on Carlos Avenue in Hollywood. It was a former narcotic dope den. We preached a message in that house and all the hippies living there got saved. They began receiving the Baptism of the HOLY SPIRIT. They got hungry like everyone does, so we had to bring in food for these new Christians. We had already spent all of our money, so Sue and I went to grocery stores. We told store managers that we had won many hippies to the LORD and they didn’t take drugs any more. We invited them to come to the services seven days a week, twice on Sundays, and asked, “Do you have any day-old bread and maybe vegetables or a bag of beans so we can feed them tonight?” Most of the time they would give us something to take back.

The police wondered what was going on with this converted dope den. They thought that the young people were on some weird, new drug when they (the hippies)  received the Baptism of the HOLY SPIRIT and spoke in new tongues. This was the beginning of our ministry that brought many souls to salvation.

Many trials, tribulations, persecutions, and years later (now it’s over forty years later), we’re still going, and we’re still trusting the LORD from day to day. Yes, I too, like Paul, have learned how to be rich and how to be without. The LORD sometimes gives and sometimes allows things to be taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.6 Scale down, play it safe. You’ll be surprised—you don’t need luxury.

JESUS said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of GOD…. Except a man be born of water and of the SPIRIT, he cannot enter into the kingdom of GOD” (John 3:3, 5). Repent of your sins and forsake them. JESUS shed HIS sinless blood as a sacrifice for our sins, in our place, so we could be born again and reunited with GOD. Get your soul saved and begin your new spiritual life by saying this prayer:

Prayer

My LORD and my GOD, have mercy upon my soul, a sinner. 1 I believe that JESUS CHRIST is the SON of the living GOD. 2 I believe that HE died on the cross and shed HIS precious blood for the forgiveness of all my former sins. 3 I believe that GOD raised JESUS from the dead by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT 4 and that HE sits on the right hand of GOD at this moment, hearing my confession of sin and this prayer. 5 I open up the door of my heart, and I invite YOU into my heart, LORD JESUS. 6 Wash all of my filthy sins away in the precious blood that YOU shed in my place on the cross at Calvary. 7 YOU will not turn me away, LORD JESUS; YOU will forgive my sins and save my soul. I know because YOUR WORD, the Bible, says so. 8 YOUR WORD says that YOU will turn no one away, and that includes me. 9 Therefore, I know that YOU have heard me, and I know that YOU have answered me, and I know that I am saved. 10 And I thank YOU, LORD JESUS, for saving my soul, and I will show my thankfulness by doing as YOU command and sin no more.11

After salvation, JESUS said to be baptized, fully submerged in water, in the name of the FATHER, and of the SON, and of the HOLY SPIRIT.12 Then study the King James Version Bible, and, for your benefit and the benefit of others, do what it says.13

CHRIST and GOD the FATHER now live in you through the HOLY SPIRIT. There is a way you can receive a fuller portion of the divine nature of GOD in you. The more the divine nature of GOD lives in you, the more you will be able to stand against the temptations that have so easily moved so many millions of Christians away from salvation. Pray for the baptism in the HOLY SPIRIT.14 For instructions on how to receive the baptism in the HOLY SPIRIT and to receive more of GOD’S holy nature, ask for our literature or call. For without holiness, no man shall see GOD (Hebrews 12:14).

The LORD wants you to tell others of your salvation (Mark 16:15). You can become a distributor of Pastor Tony Alamo’s Gospel literature. We’ll send you literature free of charge. Call or email us for more information. Share this message with someone else.

If you want the world saved, as JESUS commands, then don’t rob GOD of HIS tithes and offerings. GOD said, “Will a man rob GOD? Yet ye have robbed ME. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed THEE? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed ME, even this whole nation [and this whole world]. Bring ye all the tithes [a ‘tithe’ is 10% of your gross income] into the storehouse, that there may be meat [Spiritual food] in MINE house [souls saved], and prove ME now herewith, saith the LORD of HOSTS, if I will not open you the windows of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of HOSTS. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of HOSTS” (Malachi 3:8-12).

English Alamo Literature

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footnotes:

1. 2 Sam. 5:10, 6:14-15, 1 Kings 15:3-5, Psa. 17:8, 18:1-3, 89:19-37 return

2. Psa. 105:8, 119:89, 160, Isa. 40:8, Mal. 3:6 Matt. 5:17-18, John 17:17, 1 Pet. 1:23 return

3. Josh. 1:8, 1 Chron. 22:11-13, Psa. 91, Prov. 10:6, 11:30-31, Jer. 17:7-8, 1 Cor. 15:57, 2 Cor. 2:14, 1 John 5:4-5, Rev. 2:7, 11, 3:21, 15:2, 21:7 return

4. Matt. 10:37-38, Mark 16:15-18, Luke 9:23-25, 10:27, 14:26-33, John 3:3-8, James 2:14-26 return

5. John 1:1-3, 10-14, 1 John 1:1-3, Rev. 19:11-16 return

6. Job 1:21, 1 Tim. 6:6-10 return

Prayer footnotes:

1. Psa. 51:5, Rom. 3:10-12, 23 return

2. Matt. 26:63-64, 27:54, Luke 1:30-33, John 9:35-37, Rom. 1:3-4 return

3. Acts 4:12, 20:28, Rom. 3:25, I John 1:7, Rev. 5:9 return

4. Psa. 16:9-10, Matt. 28:5-7, Mark 16:9, 12, 14, John 2:19, 21, 10:17-18, 11:25, Acts 2:24, 3:15, Rom. 8:11, I Cor. 15:3-7 return

5. Luke 22:69, Acts 2:25-36, Heb. 10:12-13 return

6. I Cor. 3:16, Rev. 3:20 return

7. Eph. 2:13-22, Heb. 9:22, 13:12, 20-21, I John 1:7, Rev. 1:5, 7:14 return

8. Matt. 26:28, Acts 2:21, 4:12, Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:14 return

9. Matt. 21:22, John 6:35, 37-40, Rom. 10:13 return

10. Heb. 11:6 return

11. John 5:14, 8:11, Rom. 6:4, I Cor. 15:10, Rev. 7:14, 22:14 return

12. Matt. 28:18-20, John 3:5, Acts 2:38, 19:3-5 return

13. Deut. 4:29, 13:4, 26:16, Josh. 1:8, 22:5, 2 Tim. 2:15, 3:14-17, James 1:22-25, Rev. 3:18 return

14. Isa. 28:11-12, Joel 2:28-29, Luke 3:16, 11:9-13, John 1:29-34, 7:37-39, 14:15-29, 15:26, 16:7-14, Acts 1:1-8, 2:1-18, 32-39, 5:29-32, 19:1-7, Rom. 5:3-5, 15:13 return