By Ken Fletcher
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9
For many years there has been a certain stigma in the Church regarding the word, “rich”. In many Church circles the idea of Christians becoming rich has been labeled a no-no. There are many who feel that if one would be godly or pious, one must be poor or at least not have much in the way of material things.
There seems to be many degrees of, what I call, “Lack Mentality” in the minds of Christians. Among the many who suffer from a “Lack Mentality”, there are those who do not necessarily think one should be extremely poor but that one should only have just enough to get by. Many feel that to have too many material things will cause one to backslide or become worldly. Where does this kind of thinking come from? God, or the devil? Does God want Christians to be poor or stay at a lower financial status? No! Absolutely Not!
God’s will is expressed throughout the Bible concerning wealth. He is the originator of the concept, “RICH.” He says that wealth and plenty is good. Our heavenly Father is a RICH God and His heart’s desire is for us to be wealthy on the earth. After all, He is the One who put the riches here on earth for us in the first place.
Obviously, when we go home to live with our Father in heaven, we will not need to preach about healing and prosperity; we will be surrounded by an atmosphere where tremendous abundance thrives from the throne continually. In the City of Gold there will be no enemies to hinder God’s perfect will for us. Thank God! Hallelujah! It will be wonderful when we get over there. But, that is then. We need to understand that, right here – right now, prosperity belongs to the body of Christ. That is us! Praise God!
Our heavenly Father has provided wealth and riches for us on the earth. He created them for us in the beginning. (Read Genesis chapter 1 and 2). Our Father is not opposed to us having and possessing wealth, He IS opposed to us BEING COVETOUS. We are NOT to love riches or money. You are aware, of course, that one could actually be covetous when they are poor and have NO money. So, It is NOT the wealth and money that God does not want us to have. But, the LOVE of riches and money is what He despises. Look at Luke 6:33 NASB, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” These are the Words of the Master, Jesus our Lord.
As Christians, what is our primary purpose on the earth? What should wealth mean to us in this present day? Jesus commanded the church to go into all the world and proclaim the good news to every person. (Mark 16:15) This is the primary reason that we, as Christians, remain on the earth after we are saved. We are ambassadors from another world. Our citizenship is in Heaven.
Our job here, as the body of Christ, is to carry the message of eternal life to this generation on the earth. Always remember this, dear friend, YOU CANNOT SEPARATE BIBLICAL PROSPERITY FROM THE GREAT COMMISSION! Material wealth in our hands, then, is vital to the process of propagating the gospel to the lost in our generation!
I have noticed that the enemy stays very busy trying to convince believers that they should not expect to be wealthy. Why? His purpose is to keep the Church poor and in lack so that there will not be enough money to maintain local Churches, print Bibles, send missionaries, produce gospel literature, build Bible schools, pioneer new Churches, and all of the other things that are necessary in furthering the Kingdom of God on the earth.
The devil knows (as we should know) that MONEY IS POWER. He wants to keep wealth in the hands of evil men. Remember this: Those that control the finances on the earth influence many others. We can certainly observe this in many areas. One of the most apparent areas where mega-wealth is used to negatively influence people is in the entertainment industry–movies and TV shows, etc. Money used wrong tears down mankind. But, money used right builds up, lifts and blesses mankind.
“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22) “Rich” is a Bible word! God said it, not me! The will and blessing of the Lord is to make you rich! Now, I think that I need to clarify this word, “rich”, before we go any further. It does not necessarily mean everyone should be a multimillionaire. Let’s look at what “RICH” really means. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “rich” as meaning: “Abundantly supplied, high value, high quality, plentiful or ample, bountiful, having possessions in abundance, etc.”
To be rich, then, is having abundant provision to carry out whatever God called you to do and to have plenty left over to give. God’s riches are peaceful, enjoyable, glad riches; “….he addeth no sorrow with it.” Hallelujah! Realize this, friend, God wants you to have nice things and have plenty. He wants you to be a witness to the people around you, so THEY CAN SEE that HE IS A GOOD GOD WHO WANTS HIS CHILDREN AMPLY TAKEN CARE OF AND HIS WORK ON THE EARTH PROPERLY FUNDED! Just as any good earthly father wants his children amply taken care of, how much more our GOOD HEAVENLY FATHER WANTS HIS CHILDREN BLESSED MATERIALLY!
In 2 Corinthians 9:11, it says: “Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.” Notice here that God wants you to be “rich in everything”. He wants you to have an abundant supply of everything! Praise God! Why? Because He wants to use you as a river of blessing to a lost and hurting world.
Look at this verse again. “Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.” The word, “bountifulness” here actually means, “liberality”. Our heavenly Father wants us to be abundantly supplied in everything so we can be liberal givers. Now, notice what happens because of the blessings of the Lord; “…which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.” Being rich in everything, we are able to be liberal givers and that causes people to give thanks unto God! Hallelujah!
We are simply vessels of blessing through which our heavenly Father can touch people. God gets all of the praise! Bless His Name forever! He is such a good God and He wants to bless people in the material realm!
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)
Jesus carried the curse of poverty for us on the cross. Jesus “became poor” (took poverty) on the cross of calvary. It was the great substitution. We are no longer under the curse of poverty. We are free! Gal. 3:13-14 says: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.“ Prosperity is part of the blessing! Hallelujah! It’s A RICH GOSPEL! WE ARE BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING TO THE EARTH!
Some may ask: “How will God prosper me?” He can prosper you through many, many different avenues. Frequently, God will give one and “idea”. Many great enterprises have simply started with a thought; AN IDEA! Open your heart to God’s ways and direction. Be humble before the One who knows everything there is to know. Seek His wisdom and direction. Never seek after the wealth. The riches come along with God’s Divine wisdom. (Read proverbs 8)
Possibly, things are not as you would like for them to be right now financially and materially. Many have written me saying how they have had such a strong desire to do more financially for the Kingdom of God. These dear ones ask us to agree in prayer with them for increase – and, of course, we do. We believe in the Word. We know that God will make you rich if you obey His Word! Listen my dear friend, regardless of where you may be financially right now, you can exercise your faith in the area of prosperity. You can come out of poverty and lack! Thank God, yes you can!!
How do you get started? You should begin to tithe and sow seed or planting (giving) into the Kingdom of God (which is obeying God’s Word). Start out in obedience and in faith, even if it is only a small amount. Pray and ask God where to give and how much He would have you to sow, and then follow His leading faithfully. It may take a little while for you to begin to see the Word of God working in your finances, but if you won’t give up – if you will stay with the Word and do what God says, it WILL absolutely come to pass in your life! He said, IT WILL COME TO PASS! The Word will work for you! Hallelujah! GOD WANTS YOU RICH!
As you know, lack and poverty brings bondage. Begin to proclaim your liberty over the bondage of lack. Don’t just stand by and let the devil hold out on you! He has no right to be involved in your finances as long as you’re obeying the Word! Stand your ground. Speak to that mountain of debt – tell it to move on out of the way! Use your authority in Christ! I’m telling you, the devil is scared of you because of the Greater One inside of you!
Dear friend, you need to say this over yourself regularly: “I am blessed. I am free from the curse of poverty because Jesus has set me free. My heavenly Father’s gospel is A RICH GOSPEL and I am His child. I am prospering! I am being greatly blessed financially so I can be a great blessing financially! Ideas, money, favor, and deals are coming to me! Praise God! God is blessing people through me!” Believe that! Hallelujah! Bless you! KF
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