Dealing With The Spirit of Poverty, Part 6
June 1, 2018
We’ve been talking about the Law of Sowing and Reaping, and how
it is so integral to the Law of Prosperity.
As noted last week, it is the absolute antithesis of the Spirit of
Poverty. Let’s see how far we can get in
today’s discussion in understanding the poverty mindset and the spirit that
drives it.
Matthew
6:24:
"No man can serve or be in bondage to two different
controllers and opposing systems of [mind] control: for he will rather detest
and persecute the one and be consumed with desire for the other; or else he
will adhere to and care for the one and detest and think in opposition to the
other. You cannot serve and yield to God [and His mode of thinking and
operating], and at the same time be in bondage to [and have confidence in] the
Spirit of Poverty and Avarice." (RAC Translation and Amplification)
Poverty
and avarice do go together. The spirit of poverty is part of the curse
that came upon mankind and the world as a result of Adam and Eve's partaking of
the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil -- God's holy portion in the Garden,
reserved to Himself.
The
Spirit of Poverty & Avarice was born when Adam & Eve ate of the Tree of
the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They
robbed God of His portion. They went
from a divinely-supplied economy to a work-based economy where they had to
engage in hard, painful toil and sweat just to eat.
See Genesis 4:5-8: Abel brings "the
firstlings of his flock, and the fat thereof." This is the first,
the best of what he has. The term "and the fat
thereof"
in the Hebrew is a metaphor for the absolute finest.
Cain,
on the other hand, "brought of the fruit of the ground an
offering." The
Hebrew word used here for "offering" is minchah: a bloodless,
costless donation or tribute. He didn't bring the firstfruits of his
harvest: he brought that which was left over, that which wouldn't cost him
anything or take away from his own supply.
Consider
the following:
1. The
Spirit of Poverty is totally self-centered. It only thinks of its own
needs or desires.
2. The Spirit of Poverty
is Avarice. It is the personification of greed. It is never
satisfied with "enough."
3. Corollary to greed is
hoarding. People driven by this spirit have the need to store up
"for emergencies" -- but not just normal "storing
up." They hoard, they gather to excess, they put away extra food,
extra groceries, extra money, extra tools and supplies, extra anything,
to the point that things spoil, they rot, and they decay in storage.
Luke
12:15-21: And
he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he
spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought
forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do,
because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and
build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my
soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat,
drink, and be merry.
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth
up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
4. The Spirit of Poverty is totally driven by the Fear of
Death. The Fear of Man works hand in hand with the Spirit of the Fear of
Death to keep one from appearing to be in need or dire straits to those around.
5. The Spirit of Poverty robs people financially. It is a
thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy. It deprives them of trust in
God and in His Word.
6. The Spirit of Poverty causes Christians to short-change God at
every hand. When they tithe, they tithe on the "net"
rather than the "gross" paycheck, and then wonder why their money
never increases or multiplies to more than supply every possible need.
They only see the actual amount of what they get to deposit in the bank or
receive in cash instead of recognizing that the money deducted for payroll
taxes, insurance and social security is still part of their income. Thus,
when they pay their tithe, they make God wait in line until the taxes are paid,
their life insurance or health insurance is paid, and their social security
retirement has been paid.
Because this isn't money they get to spend -- at least right now
-- they treat it as though it isn't income. It is a relatively small
portion of their total income, but it is still part of it. Hence, they
cheat God of a portion of His money. It isn't any different than Adam taking
one bite of one piece of fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and
Evil. He didn't take the whole tree: just one bite of one piece of
fruit. The curse came nonetheless.
7. The Spirit of Poverty brings and promotes doubt and
unbelief. It tricks you into doubting God's Word; and specifically,
Matthew 6:30-34.
8. The Spirit of Poverty stands in direct opposition to the
promises of God. It opposes the Blessing of Abraham. It opposes and
exalts itself above the name, the authority, the power, the character, the
personality and the very essence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
II Corinthians 10:4-5: For the weapons and
instruments of our war and executed actions [against Satan] do not have their
origins and [weak, impotent] operation in natural flesh and human abilities,
but they are skillful, potent and powerful – like dynamite – through God to the
demolition and extinction of all fortified and guarded places of opinions in
opposition,
Bringing down violently and demolishing (to total extinction)
all mental reasonings and thought processes, and every mental barrier or arrogant
and self-elevated attitude that justifies itself in opposition to the knowledge
of God; bringing into captivity and making a prisoner every perception of the
intellect and every mental purpose or determination to the compliance and
submission of Christ and His anointing [in the same way that He complied with
the will and desire of the Father]; (RAC Translation and Amplification
Let
me pause momentarily to talk about something that is still very real in the
body of Christ and how it cooperates with the spirit and mindset of poverty.
There
is a doctrine that has permeated the body of Christ during the past roughly 150
years that is rooted in the Fear of Death.
It is the “Tribulation/Rapture” theology. Because of the Fear of Death, many Christians
fear a period commonly referred to as “the Great Tribulation,” despite the fact
that there is no such phraseology anywhere in the Word. Based on a misunderstanding and
misinterpretation of some things that both Daniel and John witnessed, this
so-called “tribulation” period could last anywhere from 3 ½ to 7 years.
Because
of the pictures that John draws in the book of Revelation folks draw the
conclusion that there is no way they could survive a period like that. They fear death because they’ve been
contaminated by that spirit and fail to take into account the first chapters of
Revelation which draw a crystal clear picture of an overcoming Bride who is
able to overcome, and as a result they look for a “Rapture” event that will
snatch them out of the ongoing doom and gloom.
They
neglect all the pictures that John uses in wrapping up the book of Revelation
as he talks about a very victorious Bride of Christ. They ignore John’s statement, which reads as
follows:
Revelation 19:6-9: And I heard as it
were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as
the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth. Let us be glad and
rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and
his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should
be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the
righteousness of saints. And
he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the
marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings
of God.
Are
you seeing it? “Let us be glad and rejoice and
give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come and His wife hath made
herself ready!” What did she
have to do to make herself “ready?”
Overcome Satan. Overcome all the
pressures (Greek: thlipsis
- tribulation) that come upon the world.
Overcome the three families of Fear.
Overcome their flesh. Walk in
love and purity. Be the true representation
of Jesus Christ’s counterpart and other self.
OK. Enough of my digression. Back to our list of characteristics.
9. The Spirit of Poverty rejects the fact that Jesus' death on the
Cross cancelled out its very existence.
10. The Spirit of Poverty revels in want, in need, in doing without,
in living an austere, sub-normal life on the bleeding edge of death.
Before
we continue this list, let’s reprise Jesus’ statement in Matthew 6:24.
Matthew 6:24: "No man can
serve or be in bondage to two different controllers and opposing systems of
[mind] control: for he will rather detest and persecute the one and be consumed
with desire for the other; or else he will adhere to and care for the one and
detest and think in opposition to the other. You cannot serve and yield
to God [and His mode of thinking and operating], and at the same time be in
bondage to [and have confidence in] the Spirit of Poverty and Avarice." (RAC Translation
and Amplification)
Before
we try to finish the list of characteristics that describe the Spirit of
Poverty, let’s touch on perhaps what we can describe as the root of this spirit,
and that is a Spirit of Deception.
Jesse
Duplantis has a phrase the Holy Spirit has given him which accurately describes
the results that come from the Spirit of Deception – “Genetically Altered
Bible” or “Genetically Altered Scripture.”
We
have a term for this. We call it
“philosophy.”
One
of the ways in which the Spirit of Deception works is to get folks to focus on
the traditions of man. Perhaps the best
description of the “Traditions of Man” is this:
The
traditions of man are nothing more and nothing less than the accumulation of
ideas formulated from one generation to another (and passed on down throughout
the generations) derived from experiences which resulted from the contamination
of doubt and unbelief, and resulting in personal failure to see and experience
the promises of God established by His Word.
Let
me put it another way.
Let’s
say that someone a hundred years ago prayed for healing from some particular
disease or affliction. Their prayer was
contaminated with doubt or unbelief, and the confession of their mouth
following their prayer for healing was an expression of hope that God would
hear their prayer and perhaps feel kindly enough towards them to grant them
their request.
They
didn’t receive their healing. They told
their friends or family members that “it must not have been God’s will.” The friends or family members took that
statement as Truth and began to repeat it; and when they themselves needed
healing and failed to receive it because of negative confessions or expressions
of doubt, “it must not have been God’s will” became etched in stone.
Subsequent
generations picked up on it and repeated it.
It became a tradition and a doctrine which subsequently became embedded
in the teaching and preaching of ministers.
And
it was a flat-out lie which completely ignored all of the Scriptures containing
God’s promises of healing, deliverance, restoration and wholeness.
That
same kind of tradition got picked up in the lie that “God doesn’t want you to
prosper and be in health.” In III John
2, the word translated “prosper” is the word eudoo, which means: to
succeed in reaching, to succeed in business affairs. The lie is part and parcel of the mindset and
Spirit of Poverty. That lie is what has
led many to vow a vow of poverty because they believe that God wants them
“humble,” as though poverty has something to do with true humility.
Take
a look at some of the things Jesus said, as well as both Paul and Peter. Let’s begin with an event in which Jesus was
confronted by the Pharisees:
Matthew 15:2-3: Why do thy disciples
transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they
eat bread. But he answered and said unto
them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
Matthew 15:8-9: This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far
from me. But in vain they do worship
me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mark 7:8-9: For laying aside the
commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots
and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject
the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Colossians 2:8: Beware lest any man
spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after
the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
I Peter 1:18-19 (NASB): Forasmuch as you know
that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver and gold,
from your empty and profitless manner of living (vain conversation, KJV) which
came by keeping the traditions of your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of
a lamb without blemish and without spot:
Still more territory to cover so let’s see if we can finish this
up next week.
For those of you
who’ve participated during the past three years in our Monday night Healing
Prayer Conference Call, this is just a reminder that the calls have resumed on
a once-a-month basis, the first Monday of each month. If you have a need for healing, or you have
friends in need of healing, here is the number to call: (712) 775-7035.
The Access Code is: 323859#.
At the same time, in
case you are missing out on real fellowship in an environment of Ekklesia, our
Sunday worship gatherings are available by conference call – usually at about
10:45AM Pacific. That conference number
is (712) 770-4160, and the access code is 308640#. We are now making these
gatherings available by Skype. If you
wish to participate by video on Skype, my Skype ID is regner.capener. If you miss the live voice call, you can dial
(712) 770-4169, enter the same access code and listen in
later. The video call, of course, is not
recorded – not yet, anyway.
Blessings
on you!
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Temple, Texas 76504
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CapenerMinistries@protonmail.com
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