God wants His people to be poor?

wise seeker · Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2003 7:44 am Post subject: God wants His people to be poor?

Which normal parent delights in seeing his children poor, destitute, naked and sick? None! And neither does God. He delights in seeing His children blessed, be made perfectly whole, and minister like Jesus. Now all this is something that must be made real and true by the Holy Spirit or the carnal mind will not accept it. But God’s word is unchanging:

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:3

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. 2 Corinthians 8:9

Jesus Christ, who made all things, became a man for our sakes that we through His poverty might become rich, spiritually and financially. But Jesus Christ was not financially poor on earth just because He was born in a manger. The three wise man had given His parents expensive gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11) which was at their disposal. Later during His ministry Jesus had his own house. The Bible records:

Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). John 1:38-39

Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities-Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance. Luke 8:1-3

And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Luke 9:58

Yes, Jesus had many of donors who gave to His ministry and He had no place to stay in a local area problem, for the Samaritans cancelled His meeting and He was not welcome in the city as they did not receive him . (Luke 9:52-53) But Jesus who sometimes have as many as 120 people traveling with him bought food for the disciples (John 4: and had a treasurer Judas, who was a thief (John 12:6). And Jesus was also extremely rich as God had anointed Him with the Spirit in unlimited measure and angels ministered to Him whenever needed (Matthew 4:11).

When Jesus was betrayed and arrested according to the plan of God, Jesus could have asked His Father, and He would have provided Him with more than twelve legions of angels, but then the Scriptures would not be fulfilled. Jesus didn’t have a problem turning the water into wine at the wedding (John 2:6-9)or giving Peter and friends net breaking boat sinking loads of fish (Luke 5:4-7).

When Jesus went out to a deserted place with His disciples a great multitude of five thousand men came besides woman and children. So He began to teach them many things and because the hour was late He told His disciples to give them something to eat." And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?" (Mark 6:3) The disciples didn’t have a problem to go and buy something for them to eat?

Yes, the disciples of Jesus, Peter and Andrew, James and John, and Matthew, were not poor. A study of Caperanum, the home of Jesus Christ during His Galilean ministry after He left Nazareth reveals this. Capernaum was also the home of Matthew, the tax collector; Peter and Andrew the fishermen had left Bethsaida and had settled in Capernaum, and there was James and John there in Capernaum also.

Matthew, as the tax collector, certainly had accumulated assets from his duty of tax collection, particularly along the busy Via Maris which brought a great deal of trade to Capernaum, and a tax on products, particularly fish would have given Matthew a substantial income.

The home of Peter has been excavated and is relatively unquestioned. It was a multi-roomed home with two courts, probably two stories with 14 rooms opening onto the two courts. Peter and Andrew, James and John were fishermen, and fish was a productive product on the busy market where caravans transversed from Damascus and Caesarea Maritime on the Mediterranean Sea. Dried fish was sold to be delivered all over the area.

Jesus Christ definitely was not anemic, impotent, and poor like many of God’s people who are bound by religious spirits and in a Satanic cycle of poverty rather than God’s cycle of prosperity unable to get or perform miracles! Yet God’s word is unchanging:

The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. "For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, 1 Samuel 2:7-8

Yes, the LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. God doesn’t have a problem in making His people rich and prosperous. Jesus Christ suffered on the cross intense pain and shame to set us free from sickness and poverty. By His stripes we were healed in every sense of the word. Jesus was made manifest to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3: including sickness and poverty. He is still the great Savior, Healer, Deliverer, Provider and Miracle Worker. It’s Satan, our arch enemy, who wants God’s people to suffer spiritual, physical and financial insufficiency and be sick and weak for he is a thief, a murderer and a destroyer (John 10:10). God’s word is unchanging:

Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day."

The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? "So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound-think of it-for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him. Luke 13:10-17

Yes, the devil kept this woman sick for eighteen years and Jesus delivered her from her bondage. And because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever He can and will deliver any one from any bondage. There are many forms of bondage besides sickness. A person could be physically well but be bondage in his finances. But God who owns the cattle on the thousand hills and all the silver and gold will deliver him from his or her bondage (Isaiah 61:1-5) The lack of money is a great bondage. Contrary to what some people believe money is not the root of all evil. The LOVE of money is the root of all evil! Money is just a means of payment. It’s is neutral. What a person does with money makes it either good or evil. What is important is does a person possess money or does money possess the person?

Now the devil wants God’s people to be blind and ignorant about God’s desires for them to be healthy and wealthy and powerful. The devil is not stupid and he knows that whatever part of the word of God is rejected by God’s people it will not become a reality in their lives. So he causes many religious folks to believe that sickness and poverty are the will of God and that prosperity and wealth and prosperity are from the devil. But all this is nothing but a lie from the father of all lies – the devil. Poverty is like an infectious disease. It is like a virus Satan brings upon the Body of Christ. He has infected many individuals, families and whole churches with the "poverty virus". As a result for them poverty and sickness have literally become a way of life.

But the truth of the matter is that Jesus had died on the cross to give us 100% victory over all things including to set us free from sickness and disease and poverty. He doesn't want us to be even 1% sick or poor. He gave His blood for us. He purchased us. We are His own. That is the reason why Jesus wants us to live a 100% healthy life. Every sickness in our life and poverty is defeated by the blood of Jesus. Jesus gave His blood -- He died naked on the cross -- to set us free from sickness or poverty. Every financial lack in our life is defeated by the blood of Jesus. He wants us to live 100% wealthy and healthy lives. and All we have to do is to receive and confess God's Word concerning our health, healing, blessings and prosperity and to act according to it. God’s word is unchanging:

"And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:18
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. 1 Chronicles 29:11-12

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:11

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17

The power and the glory, the victory and the majesty and all that is in heaven and in earth is the LORD and He has given it to His blood bought children who are to receive it by faith and spend it for the furthering of His kingdom. Poverty and sickness are to be rejected by Gods people as from the devil. They are to seek from God His richest, honor, power and might for it’s God who gives every good thing. Yes, God’s children must take a step of faith and to believe God to reverse and restore all things including their health, wealth, good name and power just like they took a step of faith to be saved. And the good news is that the very moment they pray, God gives them the answer. That very moment God hears them and He commands His angels to bring the answer to them. However they are living in a spiritual warfare where a war goes on and their enemy, the devil, will try to delay the answer from coming through to them. He does this by many means just as Jesus warned us:

"Therefore hear the parable of the sower: "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; "yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." Matthew 13:18-23

Yes through thievery, tribulation, persecution, deceitfulness and cares of this world the devil robs the word of God that is sown in the hearts of God’s people so it becomes unfruitful. He doesn’t want them to stand on God’s word that is unchanging:

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

"As for Me," says the LORD, "this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore." Isaiah 59:21

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. Mark 13:31

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. John 15:7

Jesus came to give us abundance in all things. He restored our right to sit at the royal table together with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. He came to bless us, not to curse us. Prosperity is one of the many blessings God wants us to have. It’s not the only blessing just like Salvation is not the only blessing. God’s has many blessings of different kinds for His people.

It is not God's will for us to be poor or sick because He delights in the prosperity of His servants. God’s word is unchanging:

Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, "Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant." Psalm 35:27

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), Galatians 3:13

By His death and resurrection Jesus has set us free from every curse of the law and every evil thing connected to it. Jesus fulfilled every word of the law on our behalf. As a result we are joint heirs with Christ! We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. And the Word of God is your passport to every blessing heaven has to offer. And heaven offers ... "abundantly above all that we ask or think". And poverty is a curse not a blessing! God’s word is true:
"And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you. Deuteronomy 28:29

"You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for the locust shall consume it. "You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. "You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off. Deuteronomy 28:38-40

Through sacrificing the life of His only begotten Son, Jesus, God has provided our deliverance from destruction caused by poverty and sickness. Poverty and sickness are part of the curses of the law and Jesus has purchased our freedom from the curse of the law. Through lack of knowledge and generational curses many of God’s people have become poor and sick but Jesus Christ is still the Healer and Deliverer. God is on our side and He wants us to be healthy and wealth but it’s the devil who doesn’t want us to believe and receive this truth. Yet God’s word is unchanging;

Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. Psalm 103:1-5

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Ephesians 3:20