MPGC41- THE CURSE OF POVERTY HAS BEEN BROKEN - PART 2
The life that we have in Jesus is to be an abundant one at every level. We are not saved so that we can become poor here on earth, living our days in futility and frustration. Jesus has set us free from poverty.
God desires that each of us enjoy sufficiency in all things so that there is no area where we are poor. When this is the case we have the means to do every good work that God has prepared in advance for us to walk into.
In part two of this study we'll look at what abundance, prosperity and blessing mean as well as what God's provision for us includes. We are meant to live and give from God's supply. As we receive light on these things it will be exciting as we start moving towards the life God has for us.
The Curse of Poverty Has Been Broken - Part 2
UNDERSTANDING ABUNDANCE
Day 1- It's impossible to know and understand abundance until you first acknowledge your need. In these verses God shows Israel the state of her need. What was the cause?
Jeremiah 30: 12-14
Day 2- The consequences of sin are poverty and destruction. But God offers Israel (and us) pardon and provision.
Jeremiah 33: 6-8
God can cure what man can't and he goes to the bottom of our problem -- sin. When sin is dealt with then health, balance and abundance can be restored. Notice in the next verse of Jeremiah 33 that God wants his people to be a showcase to the world!
Jeremiah 33:9
We don't glorify God when we are sick and tired and poor.
Day 3- God is working on our behalf to give back what sin has robbed from us. Through our relationship with God and the study of his word, the Holy Spirit can give us revelation about the abundance God wants to give us.
1 Corinthians 2: 9-12
Apart from the Holy Spirit we can not have this revelation.
1 Corinthians 2:14
Day 4- It is through the Holy Spirit that we can receive the mind of Christ and with this mind we can appreciate and discern all that God has freely given to us.
1 Corinthians 2:15-16
As you go through this study I pray that you can break free from a poverty spirit and see that God has abundance for you so He can be glorified.
UNDERSTANDING ABUNDANCE -- THE RIGHT ATTITUDE
Day 5- Man usually uses his abundance for his own selfish ends. But what is God's abundance to be used for?
2 Corinthians 9:8
Day 6- Jesus outlined the wrong attitude towards wealth in the parable of the rich fool.
Luke 12: 16-21
So the questions to ask ourselves are:
Are we seeking the extension of God's kingdom? and
Are we rich towards God first?
Day 7- Paul gives us this solemn warning about our motives.
1 Timothy 6:9-10
Notice it isn't money itself at the root of evil but our love of it.
All covetousness is idolatry -- a worshiping of things in this world.
Colossians 3:5
Day 8- When wealth is sought by unethical means, what happens?
Proverbs 28:8 / Jeremiah 17:11
Day 9- What happens when we put our trust in the wealth that we have?
Proverbs 11:7, 26, 28
What should we do instead?
Jeremiah 9:23-24 / 1 Timothy 6:17
Day 10- It's wrong to use our wealth selfishly.
Proverbs 11:24 / Proverbs 23:4-5
Day 11- We need to check our attitude towards the poor.
Proverbs 21:13
Being casual or selfish in our attitude towards the poor is wickedness.
Proverbs 29:7
Day 12- But when we give to the poor it is like lending to the Lord.
Proverbs 14:21 / Proverbs 19:17
And what will giving to the poor help us to avoid?
Proverbs 28:27
Day 13- Remembering the poor is an essential part of the gospel. Here is a picture of the man or woman who fears the Lord and acts with integrity towards those with needs. Make a list of what God promises to all who remember the poor.
Psalm 112: 3-6 , 9
UNDERSTANDING ABUNDANCE -- FAITH
Day 14- Abundance is provision God gives to his children because of his grace to us but it can be received only by faith. What two things are we required to believe when we come to God in faith?
Hebrews 11:6
Day 15- What is the only basis for living rightly related to God?
Romans 1:17
Whatever living we do apart from being dependent upon God --( or living by faith in him) is sin.
Romans 14:23
Day 16- In this life of faith giving must come first. Faith acts in obedience to God's word without waiting to see the promised result. What is the promise in this verse?
Luke 6:38
God gives us abundance so that we can give freely. If we wait till we can "afford it" we are not giving in faith.
Day 17- In the message of these two verses, sowing (or planting) is the same as giving and reaping (or harvesting) is the same as receiving.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 / Galatians 6:7
Responsible sowing (or giving) is when we select the best soil, make the best preparation, choose the right time and sow the best seed.
LET GOD ADD THINGS UNTO YOU
Day 18- Make sure your priorities are straight. If we take care of God's business what does he promise us?
Matthew 6: 28-33 (especially verse 33)
Day 19- Don't grab for abundance but let God add it unto you in his own way and time. We don't have to chase them we just need to obey God. If we obey what will follow?
Deuteronomy 28:2
The KJV (King James Version) of this verse reads:
"And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God."
Let God overtake you with blessings!
Day 20- God's blessing is not only what is out in front of you but it's also what is not overtaking you from behind. For example: you just start to get ahead and your car breaks down. If we are not obedient to God and living in dependence upon Him what is a sure result?
Deuteronomy 28: 38-45
All of this non-productivity, disappointment, and disaster spells poverty!
Day 21- The truth is, that God wants the whole world to see his children and say, "They are a people blessed by the Lord."
Malachi 3:12
Our lives are to reflect the nature of God. Why?
Genesis 1:27
To be able to reflect God's nature we must live as God here in this world. This means serving him with a whole heart in obedience. What is the result?
Deuteronomy 28: 1-14
Our vows to God should not be vows of poverty but of priority. We are to live by God's priorities. Then his provision can come in many ways. It can come in a the form of a bumper crop, twin calves born, a net of fish that doesn't break or finding exactly what you need at a great price. God extends himself to us in limitless possibilities.
PROVISION -- THREE LEVELS
In the Bible we are given three pictures of provision. First there is insufficiency. This is where we don't have enough to meet our needs. The groceries we need cost $50 and we only have $40.
The second level of provision is sufficiency. This is where we have just enough to meet our needs. The groceries cost $50 and we have just $50.
The third level of provision is abundance. We have enough for our needs and enough left over to give. The groceries cost $50 and we have $75.
Day 22- God wants us to live at the level of abundance. Why?
Acts 20:35
Day 23- How is it that we have the ability to produce wealth?
Deuteronomy 8:18
All wealth and honor come from Him.
1 Chronicles 29:12
Day 24- To be able to enjoy our wealth and possessions and be happy in our work is a gift from him.
Ecclesiastes 5:19
And for these good things we should acknowledge that ALL of it comes from the Lord.
Hosea 2:8
Day 25- What is the warning in this verse?
Psalm 62:10b
Why?
Deuteronomy 8:11-17
And in forgetting God earthly riches can choke out the spiritual riches of God.
Mark 4:7, 18-19
WHAT DOES GOD'S PROVISION INCLUDE?
Day 26- True success is when each of us is succeeding in what God has commissioned us to do. This means God's provision will look different in different lives but it will cover ALL AREAS of our life. This prayer said by the Apostle John gives us a picture of how God would want life to be for his children.
3 John 2
Here is the KJV (King James Version) of this verse:
"Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. "
The word prosper in Greek means to have a successful journey and to accomplish what we intend to do successfully.
We are prosperous when we accomplish what is ours to do for God's purposes.
Day 27- As we said earlier, Jesus was not poor. His ministry was an example of abundance (feeding huge crowds of people, paying taxes, healing and helping everywhere). He wants us to do the same.
Matthew 10:8b
The Lord sends us out to give, not to get, and this is operating in abundance.
Day 28- We can operate in abundance without being wealthy by the world's standards. But it's not living in poverty, want and failure.
Luke 22:35
Day 29- The key to God's provisions are held in his promises. And the key to receiving these promises is in knowing Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:2-4
In verse 4 we see that....
It's through these promises that we become partakers in the divine nature:
Psalm 82:6
..... and are delivered from the corruption that is in the world.
Psalm 91:3
Day 30- ALL of God's promises are a believer's inheritance. When we believe what God says in his word, we "legally" own it. So at our conversion we are legal heirs to God's promises. But until we put our feet on those promises we won't get them. Here is a good example of this. Read:
Joshua 1: 2-3
In verse 2 the Lord is speaking to Joshua the new leader of the Israelites. Depending on the Bible version you are reading verse 2 says.....
-"I am giving the land...."
-"into the land I am giving them..."
-"into the land I am about to give to them."
This means that legally the Lord was giving the Promised Land to the Israelites. They owned it all.
[NOTE: In a kingdom the king owns all the property. He can give it to whomever he wills.]
Even though everything was legally theirs, verse 3 tells what they actually had to do to get it. They had to go and set their feet on the property and fight for it. Only then would their claim to the land be actualized. So it is with us.
Day 31- God's promises to us are an expression of his grace (unmerited favor) towards us and through them he makes himself available to us. ALL of his promises are the expression of his will towards us. What can we do when we know God's will?
1 John 5:14-15
Knowing God's will is the vital truth in our walk of faith. In 1 John 5:14 the word "confidence" in Greek means "freedom of speech."
Day 32- God wants us to get what we pray for!
Matthew 7:7-8 / Matthew 21:22 / John 14: 13-14 / John 15:7
Jesus actually challenges us to ask and receive. Why?
John 16:24
Day 33- But in the life of faith, we'll often receive the promise NOW while we wait for the outworking of it in the FUTURE.
Mark 11: 23-24 / Reread 1 John 5:14 - 15
Day 34- God's promises are available NOW through Jesus. Satan wants us to think they are off in the future somewhere. If we think this way we will fail to appropriate our blessings NOW.
2 Corinthians 6:2
Remember God's name is "I AM" (Exodus 3:14). He lives in the eternal NOW!
Day 35- This verse tells us how we are "to put our feet on the promises of God.
2 Corinthians 1:20
For every promise God has made, He wants us to come to him in the name of Jesus and claim it so that he can say, "Yes"! Then we say "Amen" and it's like putting our feet on the promise. It settles it.
Jesus is the one and only channel that these promises are made available to us. Therefore ALL of God's promises are made available to you and me through our faith in Christ.
In Romans 3:23 we learned that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." So how do we give the glory due to God? By believing his promises we give him back the glory that sin has robbed.
Day 36- The good news for us is that the fulfillment of God's promises don't depend upon us or our circumstances. It only depends upon His power and our meeting His conditions! God works in such a way that He gets the glory. The more difficult and impossible a situation looks like the more glory goes to Him. Our faith is to be in God alone. Reread:
Mark 11: 22-24
In the NIV (New International Version) it says in verse 23:
"If anyone says to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, IT WILL BE DONE FOR HIM!"
Day 37- Real faith in God refuses to be influenced by our circumstances. Sometimes the odds of something happening are so slim that it's easy to waver in believing that it could happen. Elijah was faced with 1:450 odds. Read this story and see how God beat those odds.
1 Kings 18:20-39
Day 38- These verses in Luke give us a picture of how God deals with us. We find God's leading for us, and we follow it. Then, when we get to where He is taking us, we find everything is ready for us.
Luke 22:7-12
Paul found this true as well.
Ephesians 2:10
Day 39- God wants us to depend upon Him for EVERYTHING, -- for all things that we need.
Luke 22: 35
As He provided for the disciples then, so He will provide for us now.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF GOD'S PROVISIONS FOR US?
Day 40- According to this verse what is the purpose of God's provision?
2 Corinthians 9:8
God gives to us so that we'll be able to do all that He asks of us -- "to abound in every good work." As the NLT (New Living Translation) says, "So you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others."
Day 41- To get a clear picture of abundance and sufficiency read what happened when Bezalel and Oholiab set about constructing the sanctuary of the Lord.
Exodus 36: 2-7
Notice Verse 5 -- "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done." That is sufficiency and abundance.
Day 42- If God owns it all and He gives it to us to carry on "every good work" then Satan has no claim to wealth at all. He is a thief.
Haggai 2:8
In the next study we'll look at getting out of poverty by giving and by work. We'll also study how we are to appropriate God's promises.
Next Study: MPGC#42