Confronting the Spirit of Poverty
Message Summary:
In today’s message in our series, Kingdom Economics, Pastor Pascale Williams taught us that as Christians we are called to steward our lives actively and diligently. God expects us to put in effort and work the land of our life. However, one of the detriments to experiencing blessings in our lives can be the lies we believe about money, finances, prosperity, and abundance. These lies can be motivated by a spirit of poverty and lack. These lies can keep us in bondage, trapped in a place where we always struggling and never quite arriving. It feels like a cycle we can’t break, a cycle where we never quite reach shamar, the place of abundance. We have to address these hidden lies and the agreements that we have made with them. These lies tell us that we will never arrive in the land of blessings and must be content with just getting by. These hidden agreements act like a puppet master pulling strings in our lives. We believe them and we don’t question them. And because we don’t question them, we experience the detrimental affect of them in our lives without even realizing it. These lies form a box around us that contains our lives and keeps us from experiencing the higher levels of prosperity that God wants to experience. Why? Because we become content to believe the lies, never questioning them, so we never strive to think or dream outside of the box.
The first lie is that we don’t need to understand what the word of God has to say about money and prosperity. You need to know what God has to say in his word about your finances and material resources. This is God’s truth regarding your blessing.
The second lie is the vow of poverty. This lie tells us that it is honorable and godly to be poor. This does not align with the truth of God’s word. God does not view poverty as being more spiritual. Poverty is not to be desired.
The third lie is that prosperity and abundance are available, but only to a select few. This lie tells us that God’s financial favor is selective. This is not true! The word of God tells us that prosperity is God’s will for all of His children.
The fourth lie is that Jesus was poor, so we must be poor like Jesus. Jesus was not poor! If you read your Bible, you will know that Jesus had finances and resources, so much so, one of his disciples was a treasurer!
The fifth lie is you need to wait until you get to heaven to be blessed, always waiting for blessed “someday.” No, the Bible tells us that God wants us to be blessed here and now so that we can bless him, bless others, and even bless our enemies.
The sixth lie is the desire to want more is greedy or worldly. A healthy and godly desire to strive for God’s best is not greedy or ungodly. Don’t be content with anything that is less than what God wants for you.
The seventh lie is that we can’t afford to give our money away. But God’s word has told us that God always blessed the generous giver and those obedient to tithes and offerings.
The eighth lie is “Who do you think you are?” This lie tells us that we are undeserving and we need to stay in our place. Occasional blessings do not stick. But God’s word tells us that if we belong to God and are his child, we have every right to the blessings he has promised.
The ninth is to leave to the people who know what they are talking about when they talk about money. This lie infers that we can’t understand the principles of money management. But God said that he has given us all wisdom and knowledge! We can learn anything we need to!
The tenth lie is that it is totally permissible to borrow what you cannot pay, as long as you pay the minimum. But God does not want you to spend your life in bondage to others, selling your future away.
The eleventh lie is to take your chance and gamble your future on a chance, like a lottery. God’s future for you is much more secure and stable than luck and chance.
The final lie is a shortage mentality. This lie makes you believe there is never enough for you, and there never will be enough. So, you have to learn to live with the way things are and be content to settle. God’s word tells us that God is a God of overflow. There is always more than enough for you!
Your enemy does not want you to experience freedom from these lies. You must ask God to help you identify the lies you believe about debt. But if you are educated, doing all the steps and you STILL feel “the chains and the bondage” of debt, lack, and insufficiency (especially if there is a generational pattern in your bloodline), you may need to confront and break away from the spirit of poverty. Your belief system around these lies can create a barrier, so you must confront the lies in order to experience the freedom of enjoying God’s blessings here and now. Speak God’s word over your life until you experience a breakthrough and victory over the lies of the spirit of poverty and lack.
Scriptures:
[Hebrews 4:12 NKJV] 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
[John 8:44 NKJV – Jesus describing Satan] 44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
[Ezekiel 37:12-14 NKJV] 12 "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 "Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 "I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD."
Discussion Questions:
What does a “spirit of poverty” look like to you?
Have you ever experienced a lack in your life, and how did it make you feel?
How does a spirit of poverty keep you in bondage?
Do you struggle with any of the lies Pastor Pascale described? Which one(s), and why?
How can you break out of the poverty mindset?
Life Application:
Over the next week, as you study the key scriptures, ask yourself the following question: Which of the lies that Pastor Pascale describes do you struggle with personally? Ask God this week what truth from His word can combat that lie at work in your life. Speak God truth over your life and let abundance flow in!