Often, the Church has ignored the plain language of Jesus revealed in scripture. An example of that can be found in Luke 4:18, NLT. In Luke 4:18, Jesus, quoting from the prophet Isaiah, says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.” And what many a minister does is…move on. They overlook this statement. I don’t want to do that. I want to pay attention to what was actually said by Jesus, don’t you? Yes, we should listen and learn from the Savior. And within Jesus’s statement is hidden a truth. What truth? What God actually anointed Jesus to do — preach the Good News to the poor. What?! You may be asking. Yes, Jesus was actually anointed to bring deliverance to the poor from poverty. That’s what I’d like to talk about in this post.
In Luke 4:18, Jesus, quoting from the prophet Isaiah, says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.” And what many a minister does is…move on. They overlook this statement. I don’t want to do that. I want to pay attention to what was actually said by Jesus, don’t you? Yes, we should listen and learn from the Savior. And within Jesus’s statement is hidden a truth. What truth? What God actually anointed Jesus to do — preach the Good News to the poor. What?! You may be asking. Yes, Jesus was actually anointed to bring deliverance to the poor from poverty. That’s what I’d like to talk about in this post.
“You aren’t under man’s thumb. No! You’re in your Father’s hand.”—Scott Wallis
My opening statement begs the question: What Good News did Jesus bring to the poor? Was it, as many in the Church have supposed, to offer those who are poor the hope of heaven? No! We know what Jesus’s gospel was by what He preached. In the sermon on the Mount, we know what Jesus actually preached. What did Jesus preach? Was it about prosperity? Yes, and no. Jesus didn’t use a worldly lens to determine His reality. Rather, He provided humanity with a kingdom mindset to overcome our worldly context. That’s why those hearing Him were shocked by what He said…His context defied humanity’s dark reality. What do I mean?
In Matthew 6, Jesus is preaching the Good News to the poor. This entire chapter is about prosperity…albeit, from a kingdom mindset. Let’s explore what Jesus said. In Matthew 6:1-4, NKJV. Jesus teaches about almsgiving. Almsgiving is about helping the poor. Right there, we have the beginning of our own deliverance from the poverty mindset — we are called to give to the poor. In Luke 12:33, NKJV, we learn the why behind the what in Matthew 6:1-4. What does Luke 12:33, NKJV, say? “Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old”. When Jesus was teaching about almsgiving in Matthew 6:1-4, He was, in reality, providing the kingdom secret to having a heavenly wallet. Don’t you want that? If you were poor, had been stolen from, and robbed throughout your life, wouldn’t you want to know how to gain a heavenly wallet? I sure would!
After teaching about gaining a heavenly wallet, He turns His attention to prayer. Again, He has not changed His Good News to the poor. What Jesus teaches in Matthew 6, NKJV is plain: pray in private and you will be rewarded publicly. God sees us, knows us, and wants to provide for us. We don’t have to beg humanity to be delivered from our poverty. No! Our Father in heaven is our provider. Someone who was poor would immediately know what Jesus meant: You aren’t under man’s thumb. No! You’re in your Father’s hand. Again, for a poor man who had always been subservient to the rich man, that brought great hope — my provision isn’t based on my poverty. Rather, my provision is based on my Heavenly Father’s prosperity. Jesus brings kingdom context to the poverty mindset.
Then, Jesus teaches on fasting. What does Jesus say about fasting? Plainly, fast in private to be rewarded in public. So, fasting matters to the poor how? Jesus, preaching to the Jewish people, who knew about the benefits of fasting, had fasted the wrong way for the wrong reason — to be publicly seen — to obtain sympathy from people. Isaiah confronted Israel over the same issue hundreds of years before Christ: “ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.” Isaiah 58:4, KJV. Isaiah, as with Christ, point to the same thing: “Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.” Isaiah 58:7, NLT. The issue wasn’t the fasting; rather, it was meant as a way to seek God. As with almsgiving and prayer, fasting yields a tangible reward — His provision. God rewards us openly as we seek Him privately.
Matthew 6 is about receiving kingdom provision, God’s way. It’s about seeking God’s kingdom first: “seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [things the Gentiles seek] will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33, New Heart English Bible. Jesus set forth His practical approach to receiving God’s provision in Matthew 6 — almsgiving + prayer + fasting. That’s how we seek first God’s kingdom. That’s how we receive kingdom provision.
That begs the question: Why did Christ spend so much time preaching and teaching about receiving God’s provision if it wasn’t important? Truth is, receiving God’s provision is important. Jesus taught His people how to receive His provision, His way. Why did He teach us to receive God’s provision? As with the Jewish people, to establish God’s covenant in the earth. God gives His people power to get rich to establish His covenant in the earth.
The very first supernatural power God gave to His people was the power to get wealth. In Deuteronomy 8:18, NKJV, we read, “you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” Powerful! Yes, it’s God’s will for His people to have money and the power that money brings. To not believe that would be foolish in the face of so much scriptural proof. Rather, the Church has been the same lie for centuries: it’s God’s will for you to be poor or it’s God’s will for you to have just enough to get by. Ridiculous. Foolish. Devilish.
The Devil uses the same regurgitated lie he used on the first woman in the Garden of Eden: “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” Genesis 3:15, NLT. Notice, Satan introduced the concept of lack where there wasn’t any lack. The Garden of Eden was paradise. Mankind lived in the realm of super abundance, surrounded by more than enough. Yet, Satan brought mankind his poverty mindset, the same mindset that still enslaves much of the Church and world today.
God is, was, and always will be a provider. God doesn’t have an issue with us having wealth. No, He wants His people to have wealth. Jesus taught us how to have wealth. And He showed us how to have wealth God’s way, by seeking first His kingdom and righteousness. For what purpose? To establish His covenant in the earth. What covenant? Obviously, the New Covenant. That’s why the Church needs wealth: to establish the New Covenant in the earth.
The world seeks money. Yet, God freely gives money to those who seek Him first. Everything the world is seeking is given to those seek God first. Why then, do many believers never seek God’s kingdom first? Because we’ve been taught the wrong thing — work, work, work (which, I do believe in work, work, work) — and haven’t been taught what Jesus taught — seek, seek, seek. Seek God’s kingdom through almsgiving. Seek God’s kingdom through prayer. Seek God’s kingdom through fasting.
Jesus’s recipe for wealth: almsgiving + prayer + fasting. And hard work. As Jesus said in John 4:36, NLT. “The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!” Just in case you didn’t know it, harvesting crops is hard work. And there’s a lot of work to do to reap God’s harvest. Yes, God pays well. He gives money to establish His covenant in the earth and He gives things that money cannot buy — rewards and benefits for serving Him.
As the Psalmist and Prophet, King David, said, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.” Psalms 103:2-5, KJV. “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalms 34:1, NKJV. Let us bless the name of the Lord!
Let us pray!
Posts
Comments
Post a Comment