The Word For The Day – February 22, 2009

Today’s scripture is II Corinthians 8:9 (KJ)

9 - For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you, through His poverty, might become rich.

This is yet another scripture that is highly misunderstood not only in the Body of Christ (the Anointed One and His Anointing) but in the world.  The people who have misunderstood it have led millions to remain in poverty in a false sense of humility.

True humility isn’t going around saying “poor pitiful me, I must be bringing glory to God in my poverty.”  That is a bunch of bull!  Would you, as a parent, want to keep your child in poverty?  I think not!  Poverty is a curse!  And, if we are smart enough to know that, don’t you think God knows poverty is a curse?  God does not get glory by anyone’s poverty.  That is a line the devil sold Christians to keep them from using wealth to aid the Kingdom of God in destroying the power of the devil on earth.

Godly humility is leaning on God’s ability not your own and giving Him credit for everything you have and do.  God gets no glory out of you being sick, broke and depressed.  In fact, when you allow Satan to keep you in that state, you are giving glory and power to him, which is exactly what he wants.  His whole plan is to be above the Most High God.  That’s why he got kicked out of Heaven in the first place.

Jesus did not become poor by earth’s standards.  He became poor by Heaven’s standards.  You see, from Heaven’s standards of wealth, the earth is poor.  Heaven is made up of streets of gold and I’ve never heard of a city on earth that paves its streets in gold, have you?

When Jesus was here on earth and preaching to the 5,000 (which, by the way, that number only included the men not the women and children) on the hill, the disciples came to Him and said to send the people away to get food because they were hungry.  Jesus, knowing their mindset and that they would assume He meant to purchase food, told the disciples to feed them themselves.  They replied by asking where they could get enough food for the multitude.  They didn’t ask if there was enough money in the Jesus Christ Evangelistic Association treasury to pay for it.  They asked where to buy enough to feed everyone.

Now, logic tells us that if they weren’t concerned about having enough money to feed the 5,000 men and the probably 10,000 women and children with them, Jesus couldn’t have been poor financially.  Jesus chose to use the fish and the loaves to feed everyone because He wanted to demonstrate how to use faith to get answers instead of our own resources.  He wanted to show that God is not limited by our limitations.  He wanted us to know that we are not limited by earth’s resources if we look to god for the answers.

If God wanted us poor then why did He prosper every major Godly person in the Bible?  He made Abraham so rich that the people nearby asked him to leave because they were concerned that the land wouldn’t support them all.  His son, Isaac, was rich!  Jacob was rich!  Joseph ended up rich!  Job was rich and even wealthier after the trial he went through, which, by the way, only lasted a few months.  David was rich!  Solomon was rich!  And, so was everyone who obeyed God and His commandments.

The disciples were not poor, either.  They were all diligent businessmen and all were successful in their own line of work.  Jesus didn’t have poor people working for Him.  That is a complete misconception!  The truth is that by earth’s standards, Jesus did very well!  He had wealthy people donating to His ministry all the time and no one back then thought anything of it because the Jewish people knew it was God’s desire to bless them financially.

If God didn’t want people to prosper then why are there so many scriptures promising prosperity if you obey God’s commands?  The whole idea that God would want His people poor is simply a lie of the devil.

People in this day and age fuss and fume over preachers who are wealthy so let me clear that up for you.  In the first place, Jesus commanded each of us in the Body of Christ to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.  We will all be held accountable for what we do or don’t do with that command.  God knew we weren’t all called to be preachers, though, so He called some of us to be in the work place to use our money to support those who are called into full time ministry.  It costs money to go to obscure places around the world to tell them about Jesus.  It costs money to go on TV all over the world to reach the lost and teach the Body of Christ how to live by faith so they can be successful in the ways of God and be supportive of those going around the world.

Another thing, according to the Bible, preachers should be the wealthiest people around if they are doing what God has told them to do and are applying the principles of His Word to their lives.  God promised to bless and prosper those who seek Him and His ways first.  We should be more concerned if they aren’t prospering!  Now, if some preacher is on TV begging for money, don’t send it. 

However, if the minister is simply offering you the opportunity to give, then lilsten to what the Holy Spirit tells you to do because that person is a faith person and they aren’t looking to you for their income or resources.  They are looking to God.

The people who give into ministries have an understanding of God’s principles of sowing and reaping so they aren’t interested in your opinion anyway.  They’ve gotten a revelation of what God can and will do if they obey Him.  You are doing those people a diservice by feeling sorry for them and you are insulting God and His ways by criticizing and holding back your money.  You are also robbing yourself of being blessed.

The Bible says to give and it will be given to you (Luke 6:38).  People who give into a faith based ministry that is obeying God, are applying the Biblical laws of prosperity to their lives so they can not only prosper themselves but help others as well.

How can you possibly be an effective help to others in need if you don’t have the sufficiency to take care of yourself?  How can you be a real blessing to others if you won’t allow God to fully bless you?

Instead of praying for just enough to get by on, pray for exceedingly, abundantly above all you can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20) then you can use it to bless someone else!  If you only pray for enough to take care of yourself and your family, you’re being selfish!

Think about how great it would be if you are standing in the line at the grocery store or in a place like Target or a clothing store and someone in front of you doesn’t have the money to buy enough food to feed their family or buy clothing they desperately need and you offer to pay for it to help them?  Can you imagine how great that would make your day as well as theirs?  It would make you feel so good on the inside!  I know because I’ve done it and it always fills me with joy to have done so.

So, step out in faith and dare to let God prosper you like never before so you can bless others!  Don’t let Satan con you into just getting by.  God has better things for you if you will allow Him the opportunity!

Have a blessed day and may God empower you to prosper in every area of your life.