DOES GOD WANT YOU POOR?
Ps 35:27 – Let the Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.
Do we believe in prosperity? Not precisely, but we do believe in a God who gives His people prosperity.
Some have taken the vow of poverty, and this is not Biblical.
To some, prosperity is a curse word in their theology.
One preacher said, “God uses poverty to teach us,” which is contrary to the truth of the Word: God uses His scriptures to teach His people. If there is one thing poverty can teach, it is that poverty is bad and one should never be poor!
Look at what God’s word teaches us about poverty:
2 Cor 8:9 – 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.
Jesus carried the curse of poverty on the Cross so that we can be made rich. Because the context here is financial, it is clear that God’s will for you is not to be financially poor; rather, it is to be rich.
Being “rich” means to have enough and much left over to help others in need. See how God defines being rich: 2 Cor 9:8 – And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
Being truly rich is to have an abundance to do every good work, and notice how the word “abundance” appears twice and the word “all” appears four times.
POVERTY IS A CURSE WE ARE REDEEMED FROM
Now, if you have a Christian background, then talking about prosperity in church is controversial:
In those days, when you asked who a good Christian is, this is typically the answer you would get – “He has nothing to his name, brother. He only has two sets of dresses and a pair of rubber slippers. He walks everywhere he goes – doesn’t own a vehicle, and no talk of jewelry and expensive clothing!!” This has led us to believe that a nice house or expensive dresses and jewelry are not for us, and that living in poverty is the highest level of “blessing” and godliness.
Beyond all question, poverty is a curse.
Read Deut 28:48. Here are 5 signs of poverty according to this verse –
1 – Hunger
2 – Thirst
3 – Nakedness
4– Lack in every way
5 – Dying by the hands of evil men
At the Cross, Jesus carried the curse of poverty and consequently all the 5 signs of poverty:
1 – Hunger: Jesus had not eaten for more than 12 hours on the day of His crucifixion.
2 – Thirst: On the Cross, Jesus cried out that He was thirsty, and they gave Him vinegar.
3 – Nakedness: He was stripped naked.
4 – Lack in all ways: He had nothing – not even a tomb for His burial.
5 – Dying by the hands of evil men: Jesus died by the hands of Romans.
Gal 3:13 says that Jesus became a curse on the Cross to give us the blessing of Abraham, which includes financial riches and prosperity (see Gen 13:2).
THERE ARE 4 FINANCIAL LEVELS IN LIFE
1 – LEVEL 1 – BARELY ENOUGH
For the people of Israel, life in Egypt was summed up in “barely enough.” In Tamil, there is a phrase to describe that state – “anda oru gudisai, ara vaithu kanji”.
This poverty, for more than 400 years, formed in them a mental bondage aimed at keeping them in poverty forever. Even after God delivered them out of Egypt, they would often complain and say things like, “We will go back to Egypt”—it had become a mentality.
One famous preacher said – There is no poverty on this bountiful earth created by a generous God – it only exists in the minds of some people.
Point to Ponder: Poverty is a mindset.
->This pet dog was tied to a 10 ft long leash for a long time. Every time it tried to move beyond 10 ft, the neck strained, and it hurt the little dog, so it quit trying. After many days, the leash was untied, but surprisingly, the dog didn’t go beyond 10 ft. It was not chained to the pole – it was now chained to its mentality.
->This was called The Millionaire Experiment. Many years ago in the United States of America, for the sake of research, a millionaire was put in a homeless situation, and the homeless person received one million dollars to see if money fixed the homeless man’s problem. Within a short time, the person who had been a millionaire but was made homeless had an idea for a new business. He became a millionaire again from scratch. The homeless person wasted most of the money he was given by living a wasteful life and ended up back on the streets again. It was concluded that being a millionaire is more about your mindset than about your money.
2 – LEVEL 2 – JUST ENOUGH
This is seen in the wilderness: the people of Israel were provided with just enough food for one day. Every day, they were to go out and gather manna for the day and be satisfied. God was teaching them how to believe in Him for everyday supply, but this is not where He intended for them to stay forever.
He did not bring them out with a mighty hand to have “just enough”! He wanted them to have a land flowing with milk and honey, and if it hadn’t been for their poverty-mindset, they would’ve come out of the wilderness in a matter of a few days and entered into the Promised Land! God did not want them to stay at the “just enough” level.
3 – LEVEL 3 – MORE THAN ENOUGH
This level is when you have enough for your needs, and you can give to others in need.
Read what Paul writes in Eph 4:28 – Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
God wants you to be in a position where you not only pray for their needs but also give them your resources and help them financially in their time of need. Don’t get stuck in “just enough,” but in “more than enough.”
4 – LEVEL 4 – MUCH MORE THAN ENOUGH
Isn’t it amazing how God doesn’t just stop at “more than enough” but “much more than enough”?
Let’s read 2 Cor 9:8 again – “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”
Notice the word ABUNDANCE. It is from a Latin word – ABUNDARE –
AB means “off” or “away from,” and UNDA is “a wave.” So ABUNDANCE carries the meaning of waves of water overflowing the banks of a river – (Karai purandu odum alaigal). God wants your finances to cross the limits and have an overflow.
The verse says that we ought to have an abundance for every good work. What does this “good work” refer to? Eph 2:10 says that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works prepared for us. So “good works” refers to God’s calling on our lives. God’s calling on our lives is always bigger than us—bigger than our resources, talents, and experience—so we need an “abundance” to fulfill it. Big calling, big finances! That is why God wants us to reach a level of “much more than enough”.
→A couple in the scrap metal business wanted to build orphanages and Bible colleges in India. Someone sold them WW1 batteries at 2 cents a pound, and they filled the Godown with them. One night, he saw a specific battery in his dream, which he took as a sign from God. The next day, he searched for that type of battery, and he found them in the middle of the pile. When he took it to a nearby expert, the expert said it was no more than a regular bike battery filled with lead. But this man of God insisted that they open it up, and when they did, to his joy, the battery was filled with silver, and he had a storage godown full of those, which were now worth $1000! God had given him the provision needed for their big vision and ministry.
Beloved, you may be in any of these first three levels of finance. I urge you to get into the word and be built up in your faith, to reach out and come to the level of “much more than enough,” and I believe it will happen soon, in Jesus’ name!