Читать книгу Destroying the Spirit of Poverty - Jane Turner - Страница 4

In 1981, my husband Walter and I received Jesus into our hearts as our Lord and Savior. That was the good news! The bad news was that many things in our lives were in shambles, including our finances.

As soon as we learned about tithing, we began to put that into practice in our lives. Fortunately for us, our pastors were generous givers. From observing the example of their lives, we learned how to tithe and even give beyond our tithe. We thought that our financial problems would soon begin to disappear. After all, we were obedient to God’s Word in the area of tithing and giving, right? Wrong!

After several years of tithing, giving, and confessing God’s Word over our finances, we still did not see any breakthrough in our financial situation. We began to seek God for His wisdom and understanding. As we did this, God started showing us strongholds, both in our own minds and in the heavenly or spirit realm, that had to be pulled down in order for us to walk in His blessings.

As believers in Christ, we have legally been delivered from poverty and lack through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. You may think it is God’s will for you to be poor, but that is not true. Be willing to search out the Scriptures for yourself and find out God’s will for you in the financial realm.

2 Corinthians 8:9 says,

“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.” Galatians 3:13-14 says, “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’) that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus...”

Deuteronomy, chapter 28, lists the blessings of Abraham and the curses of the Law.

The blessings of Abraham include being prosperous and blessed by God in everything you have and do. The curses of the Law include being cursed by God; everything you have and do will be taken away from you and you will be in constant need and lack. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law according to Galatians 3:13. The blessings of Abraham belong to those who are in Christ Jesus through His complete redemptive work. The New Testament is God’s will to the believers in Christ both yesterday, today, and forever. Testament means “will” or “covenant.”

The Apostle John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes this to the Church (Body of Christ) in 3 John 2, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” This is God’s will for us as born-again Christians. The Apostle Paul, under divine inspiration, said this to the cheerful givers in the Body of Christ, “And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always, and under all circumstances and whatever the need, be self-sufficient (possessing enough to require no aid nor support) and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation” (2 Corinthians 9:8 Amplified Bible).

It is evident from the New Testament, which is Jesus’ will and covenant to born-again Christians, that it is God’s will for believers to prosper and be in health and that they should be a blessing to His kingdom.

There are many other Scriptures in the New Testament which speak of God’s abundant provision for the giving believers in Christ. Do not let religious tradition tell you that it is God’s will for you to be poor. Mark 13:7 (Amplified Bible) says, “Thus you are nullifying and making void and of no effect (the authority of) the Word of God through your tradition, which you have handed down.” Be like the people Paul ministered to in Berea who were “fair-minded… in that they received the word with all readiness and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).