Is greed a sin? Absolutely. Is having money a sin? Absolutely not.

Does God desire to bless His people financially? When you study the Old Testament, the Lord always promised financial blessing to His people who would follow Him, not money, wholeheartedly. Starting with Abraham, and Abraham was loaded. However, even though Abraham had money, money didn’t have him, God had him. Abraham was willing to offer even his own son. Most right-minded fathers would give all their money to spare their son. Abraham didn’t even hold back his own son from God. Another episode in Abraham’s life that proved that you can have money without money having you is: remember when he was willing to give Lot the better looking land? Abraham wasn’t out to scrap for every last dollar. He wasn’t chasing money. He was chasing God. But, it seemed like money was chasing him. Interesting enough, the difference between Abraham and born again believers is that we have the indwelling Holy Spirit inside of us, not just that but we have a clearer revelation of God’s love manifested in the person of Jesus Christ. How much more can we walk in the reality of: Possessing money without money possessing us.

When the Law was given to the children of Israel, the Lord spent a lot of time promising them many material blessings if they would just follow the Lord wholeheartedly. God didn’t just tell them to follow Him and promise only spiritual blessings. He included physical blessings as well. The last I read, we are under a better covenant that what Israel had. Some would argue, 1) that the spiritual blessings of the New Covenant are what makes the New Covenant better. 2) And, it seems like the early church didn’t celebrate mansions, but celebrated martyrdom. To counter that, the Word of God teaches us that our God doesn’t change. The same God who desired His people to be financially blessed in the Old Covenant, has not changed in the New Covenant. When Jesus died on the cross, He didn’t die to abolish the blessings of obeying the Law. He came to abolish the curses from disobeying the Law! Secondly, if it wasn’t for the mansions, and rich believers, the church wouldn’t have had places to meet. Historically, they met in large homes! Jesus displayed the Father as one who loves to give good things to His Children! Then, Jesus taught His disciples to pray that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven! There is prosperity, not poverty in heaven! Therefore, God’s perfect will for His people is prosperity, not poverty!

Yes, Martyrdom did take place often in the early church. Yes, persecution was rampant! Persecution is promised by Jesus! I’m not saying that persecution is non-existent in today’s world, and it should be something we ought to never expect. But, you know what: what really propelled the persecution, was the jealousy of the religious & insecure leaders. Maybe, we aren’t be persecuted as much, because we aren’t prospering as much! Hitler persecuted the Jews because of how successful they were, if they were poor peasants, he wouldn’t have to bother. If they were his slaves, he wouldn’t have to bother.

Another thing about persecution is: I believe that what our forefathers fought for, we have the right to enjoy. Because of what Martin Luther King fought for in the civil rights movement, I don’t have to fight the same battles, because He fought and won. Our forefathers who shed their blood, fought for a cause, and because of the price they paid, I don’t have to pay the same price, but their ceiling is my floor. In Korea, many missionaries shed their blood as Martyrs. Today, if you go to Korea, you will see the world’s largest churches, you will hear the greatest preachers in the world, you will see millions of believers, and you won’t be killed for it. A price was paid. Regardless of his policies, having an African American president in office is mind-blowing thought. However, if Martin Luther King was alive today, he wouldn’t want His people fighting the same battles, but he would be so proud of having an African America as the U.S. President! What the early church fought for was heaven on earth! There is a lot more heaven on earth in Korea than before! Because they raised the “heaven on earth” percentage, there is no persecution! Now, there are places in the Middle-East, where the “heaven on earth” percentage is really low, so believers are being persecuted and martyred, but we must fight and pray for heaven’s percentage to grow!

The problem that many Christians have with prosperity comes from a: Scarcity Mentality. They believe that there are not enough resources on earth for everyone to live blessed, so if a pastor is driving a nice car, that means that many children in Africa are starving! They think that if a Christian is living in a mansion, that means that ten thousand Haitians will go to sleep homeless! This is saying that there are not enough natural resources! Haiti & Africa however are full of natural resources! In fact, before Haiti made it’s covenant with Voodoo, it was one of the most prosperous nations in the whole Caribbean. The reason people in Haiti & Africa & other third world countries are suffering from poverty is not because Americans are living luxuriously! (Hosea 4:2-4): “All this cussing and lying and killing, theft and loose sex, sheer anarchy, one murder after another! And because of all this, the very land itself weeps and everything in it is grief-stricken—
animals in the fields and birds on the wing, even the fish in the sea are listless, lifeless. “But don’t look for someone to blame. No finger pointing! You, priest, are the one in the dock.”

The Bible tells us that God delights in the prosperity of his servant! If I am serving God, I believe that there should be prosperity in my life! Prosperity is spiritual, relational, and physical! Jesus said that if we would seek first the kingdom, that all these things would be added unto us. I notice that Jesus didn’t preface the word “things” by saying, “only spiritual things.” We seek after the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all these things will be added to us as God’s people! I believe that any third world country, will see a change in their economy, not by getting foreign aid! But, by getting heaven’s aid! By turning to the Lord! By repentance! By truly serving God! By praying! Remember, the Word of God tells us that “If My people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land.” That’s a promise for revival! However, notice that revival doesn’t just involve spiritual blessings (the forgiveness of sins), but physical blessings as well (the healing of their land). I believe this is a key to spiritual & physical prosperity, and because it is a key from the Word of God, it will work anywhere! The Word of God doesn’t just work in America, it works anywhere, anytime, to anyone, who will work it properly!

Some would attack the prosperity message by saying, “What about all those evil people who are prosperous? Are they blessed by God?”

1) True prosperity is not just having a lot of money. If someone is a slave to Satan, and they are a walking billionaire, they are still not prosperous!

2) David too pondered this question, and he expressed his confusion in the Psalms. However, their prosperity is very short-lived. David’s prosperity however was eternal (by the way, as a servant of God, he did walk in prosperity).

3) Satan is the god of this world. But, there is a new kingdom on the scene! Satan’s puppets should have be having all the money in the world! But, there must be a wealth transfer! The Kingdom ambassadors are the ones who need to be taking the finances away from the drug dealers, the mafia, the adult industry, etc. The Church must arise! Again our prayer must be that heaven comes down to earth. In heaven, it’s the saints who are prospering, not the evil-doers who are in the business of Satan! The reason why Jesus told us to pray this is because it is our battle to see heaven come to earth!

When believers are living prosperous lives, for us to hate on them, is like a pastor of a small church hating on all the mega-church pastors, saying that the reason his church is small is because all the other mega-churches in his area. First of all, there are plenty of fish in the sea who need to be brought in! The harvest is plentiful! There are countless number of souls that ought to be coming into that small church and get saved so that church becomes a mega church as well! Just like there are plenty of souls that need harvesting, our God has plenty of resources to bless His people. Secondly, the Kingdom of God needs every small church to become a mega-church because of a massive revival hitting the land! In the same way, every believer ought to become prosperous! Why? Thirdly, Mega-churches can do a lot more than struggling small churches! They can build huge buildings! Take real-estate from the kingdom of darkness! They can send more money into other nations to spread the gospel. They can invade the airwaves for the Kingdom of God through television! A prosperous Christian can do a lot more than a Christian who is struggling financially! If you are a hater of prospering Christians, I would like to ask you to stop hating and start participating! Instead of judging the prosperous believers, I’d like to humble myself to learn from them, and apply the same keys that they applied from the Word of God.

When we go into these other nations that are poor and struggling, should we go down to their level, or call them up to our level! As I was in Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, I was convinced that this was not the perfect will of God for His people. A man we met there told us his story of how he escaped Haiti and came to the United States illegally to make a living and support his family back home in Haiti, with hopes that he would make money and even be able to move his family out. When he was deported back to Haiti, his family wept, because he was their only hope! In Haiti, they know that there is greener grass on the other side! They know that their nation is in shambles! It’s full of crime, pollution, poverty, and the life-span is really low! Is this heaven on earth? It sounds more like hell on earth!

It is Scriptural, that God wants his people so blessed, that others will turn to God out of a jealousy. This is what Paul prophesied would happen with the Gentile Church and the Jews. That the Gentile Church would be so glorious, that the Jews would be jealous. If the Gentile Church dropped to the level of the Jews and embraced religion, etc. That wouldn’t bring the Jews to jealousy and ultimately to the Lord! Again, are we called to drop to the level of a poor, struggling nation, or are we to call them up to where we are? Regarding stirring up the jealousy of the Jews, there’s not many things that can stir up their jealousy like financial prosperity upon the Gentile Church! Of course, just financial prosperity is not what will win them over, but it could be one of the factors!

Could a pastor really call his flock to a higher level if he comes down to their level? What if he just talks about how he feels and acts just like they do? It might make the congregation feel better about their own sins, but it won’t call them up to a higher level of holiness and power! The pastor must be at another level of holiness, intimacy with God, and character, and then call the flock to his level! If a believer has broken out of poverty and is living in financial prosperity, shouldn’t he or she be an example and call others to break out of poverty and live in financial prosperity as well?

Some people think poor people are holy and rich people are contaminated. That is an overstatement! That is an ignorant statement! Traditionally, churches have kept their pastors dirt poor, and carried the mentality, “we will keep the pastor holy and humble through poverty!” They equated poverty to holiness! Yes, the Bible says that the poor of this world are rich in faith. Being rich in faith is the greater blessing than being rich in money. But, that verse didn’t command people to be poor. It was a passage that warned people of despising the poor! That was the main purpose of that verse! It wasn’t telling everyone to be poor and stay poor! It was telling you how to relate to the poor. That same book (James), talked about taking care of orphans and widows, it gave instructions on how to relate to these people, it didn’t command you to become one of them!

Now, let’s say you start off by doing a first-class job as the manager over that restaurant. You are in constant communication with the owner, tapping into his priceless wisdom and getting more acquainted with his perfected vision for Chick-Fil-A. You are leading this restaurant into rapid increase. People are raving about it! Things are running smoothly. You look around the restaurant and all you see are sunny, smily faces!

But, one day, a burglar walks through the doors. Now, he’s not your typical burglar who comes in with a pistol, mask, and a trench coat. He’s wearing a three piece suit, sporting a rolex, has his wavy hair styled, and teeth that are un-naturally white. Undoubtably, charisma exudes from him, but at the same time, you sense that something is not right with this man.

He walks right into the kitchen, and starts ordering all you around. When you confront him about what he’s trying to pull, he confidently tells you that he has a better way for you to run the restaurant, and if you follow his pointers, it’s going to make you richer and more powerful than even the owner.  Instead of calling the cops, or commanding the burglar to leave, your family decides to let him order everyone around. The burglar is now the puppeteer and you and your family are being controlled and manipulated as this intruder is pulling the strings. Now, with all this going on, are you still the manager of the restaurant?  No.  Should you be?  Yes.  Why?  Because from Day 1 of the restaurant, you were given the authority by the owner.

Now, when the burglar came in, and you let him take the stirring wheel of the restaurant, he started ordering the workers to start putting rat poison in the chicken sandwiches and laxatives in the sodas. He has dictated that you make all the sandwiches free, and the workers have to work merciless twenty hour days.  Your restaurant has now become a dysfunctional hellhole!

Consequently, the way your restaurant is running, is so far from the original will of the owner. People are falling dead in your store. People are lining up in droves to use the bathrooms, while holding their tummies, with faces that have “birth pangs” written all over it. The workers don’t have warm smiles, but look like zombies. This was not the vision of the owner!

Now, in the back corner of your restaurant, a woman just witnessed her husband foam at the mouth and drop dead because of the rat poison. As she wails for her husband of twenty years, she turns her face and sees a picture of the owner, hanging next to her on the wall, and she hysterically curses the owner of Chick-Fil-A, calling him names that aren’t appropriate to include in a Christian book. Other’s catch on to her fire, and in concert, they begin saying vicious things about the owner, while throwing their drinks, ketchup, fries, and sandwiches at his picture.

Wait a minute! Stop and think objectively with me. Whose responsible for all this mayhem?  Whose responsible for this restaurant going from an excellent, well-kept business, to a horror movie? Is it the owner? Or, is it you- the manager’s fault, for allowing the burglar free access and obeying the burglar mindlessly? Objectively-speaking, should direct our wrath towards the owner or the burglar- who is the one achieving his three-fold purpose to kill, steal, and destroy lives and the restaurant?

Now, let’s translate this story into spiritual reality. The Biblical truth is that God is the owner.  The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1)(Corinthians 10:26). In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).  Who did He appoint to be the manager or the one in authority over the earth?  Well, He gave it to the family of mankind, specifically to Adam (Genesis 1:26)(Psalm 115:16).  Who is the burglar?  It’s Satan (John 10:10).  Satan came into the restaurant called earth, and deceived Adam and Eve.  He started commanding them around, telling them to run their lives on earth not according to the will of the Owner, but in a different way, and tricked them into doing by promising that they would become more powerful as the result, even to the level of God.  Satan tricked them by saying, that conformity to the Owner’s plan was actually depriving them of a more prosperous life and business. As we know the story, Adam and Eve sadly switched allegiance, and turned their back on the God- who gave them the earth, and they turned to obey Satan- who is a thief, a liar, and a destroyer.

Does Satan own the earth?  Nope.  Is Satan the rightful manager?  No, we- the family of Adam are.  But, is Satan in charge?  Unfortunately and illegitimately, yes. Satan is the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), and according to Jesus, Satan is the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11).  How did Satan get to be in charge like this?  He made Adam and Eve his servants by obeying him because here is a definite spiritual law: Who you obey is your master (Romans 6:16).

Now people on earth are dying left and right.  And the people are blaming the Owner, but it’s not his fault.  Why doesn’t the Owner just come in and take over the earth, and drive out the burglar?  Isn’t God a good Owner?  Isn’t God an all-powerful Owner? Yes!  But, He is a God who chooses not to lie.   Liars don’t honor their words.  They flippantly claim one thing, but act in totally contradiction.  God is not like that.  He is a God of integrity.  If we were at Pizza Hut, and I gave you my slice, and when you went to use the bathroom, I invaded it and devoured it myself before you got back, would that make me a trustworthy man of my word? God gave the earth to the family of man, mankind has been given the rightful authority to the earth by God. Therefore, even though He created the earth,  He doesn’t not just butt into the affairs of the earth, but when He moves on the earth, He moves through the permission of man.  Why?  Here is another definite spiritual law:  God does not lie, for He is a God of integrity- who honors His Word.

So, how would this world get back on track to the Owner’s original plan? God would become a man in the person of Jesus Christ…

How was Adam and Eve supposed to take dominion over the earth?  It was through their words.  They were made in the likeness of God, and God releases His power through His words.  When Satan came to the garden through the serpent, Adam should have exercised his authority and rebuked the serpent and the devil and commanded it to leave him and his wife.  Adam was given dominion.  Why?  Perhaps it was God’s love that just wanted to bless Adam and Eve and humanity with something beautiful.  Why was Adam given dominion?  Perhaps God knew that there would be an evil creature in the garden named Satan who needed to be shut up and casted out.  No human being loves living dominated.  Why?  We were not created to be dominated, but to dominate.  Not in the sense of suppressing people, but reigning in life and victorious/glorious kings and queens.  We know the story, Adam failed to exercise his authority, and Satan exercised his trickery and Adam obeyed Satan and therefore became a slave the Satan, and Satan became the illegitimate God of this world.  By obeying Satan’s petition, Adam delivered the kingdoms of the earth to Satan.  Now, the rightful manager is without much power, and the illegitimate manager is running the show.

So how is God going to get mankind back on track.?   He’s not going to just bombard the earth again and snatch it back.  He’s going to still honor His Word.  Satan thought he had God in the perfect trap, because Satan knew that God gave the earth to man, and that God doesn’t lie.  So, Satan knew that he was now the god of this world.  Satan knew that the heavens were God’s territory, but the earth was the territory that God gave to man, and God wouldn’t act upon the earth unless man gave him permission.  But, now man was under the choke hold of Satan.  But, after the sin, God comes to Adam, Eve, and Satan, and gives a prophetic word saying that the seed of the woman will crush the head of the Serpent/Satan.  The only way Satan can loose his grip on the earth is if a man gets a grip on God and invites God to intervene on His behalf.  God was aware of this reality as well, but in His wisdom, He was not intimidated by it at all.

God needs man’s permission to execute His will on the earth.  But, because Satan has such a strong grip on people, they are all living in such gross sin.  They are so far from God.  Satan wants people disconnected from God, so they cannot invite God to execute His will on the earth.   But, God finds someone named Noah.  Noah starts speaking on behalf of God as a prophet.  Noah declares the judgment is coming.  Noah’s declarations of faith, gives God permission to unleash the flood on the earth.  Noah is a rightful family member of Adam, and the earth was given to Adam’s family by God.

Still Satan has a strong grip on people because humans have received a sin nature after the fall.  That sin nature is Satan’s leash that He uses to control people.  Again, mankind has sunk low into sin.  But, God finds a man named Abraham, and Abraham is a man who is willing to obey God.   Another spiritual law:  Agreement brings access.  When Adam came into agreement with Satan, he gave Satan access into his family.  When Abraham came into agreement with God, he gave God access into his family.  Abraham and God come into a blood covenant.  That is a relationship of the closest degree.  A covenant is a binding agreement.  A covenant is the most serious agreement.  With that covenant, Abraham gave God access into the earth again.  What happens when God is given access?  Blessing!  Abraham’s life is blessed in every way.  What happens when you come into agreement with God and give Him full access?  A blessed life!  God promises that through Abraham, His covenant partner, a special seed would come forth, and that seed would bring blessing upon the whole earth.  How?  He was going to bring people into agreement with God again.  He was going to bring people into a covenant with God again.  Wherever and whenever Satan was given access, curses fell on the earth and humanity.  But, God promised Abraham that there would come a channel of God’s blessing to the world through His seed.  Of course, God was thinking about sending His Son to become a man, to join Adam’s family, so He could rightfully kick out the devil and bring order and restoration to the earth.

Abraham and his descendants needed to give God permission to bring forth His Son.  How?  Their words.  So, God leads prophet after prophet to prophesy or speak words about Jesus.  Just as Noah’s words brought forth the flood.  The words of the prophets brought forth Jesus.  When we speak, we give God permission and access.  Just as God’s words brought the earth into creation.  As humans created in the will of God, our words bring a creative work on the earth.  Two important facts about humans:  One, we are the rightful heirs of the earth, so we have received authority from God over this earth; two, we are made in the image of God so our words carry power.   God finds a very special woman named Mary, who would also come into agreement with God and give Him access to fulfill the prophetic words spoken about the Messiah through her womb.

Jesus comes to the earth, God is here, but He is here legally.  He has not broken integrity.  He’s given the earth to man, and guess what, He’s now a man in the person of His Son Jesus.  So a family member comes in, but this family member is different from all the others.  The others have been controlled so long that they didn’t know how to take authority over the enemy/intruder.  Not Jesus.  He’s casting out demons.  He’s exercising authority, and He refuses to obey Satan, so Satan has no access into his life.  He’s totally walking in obedience to God, so He gives God full access through His life, and everywhere He goes, people get blessed!  He speaks to the people about the Kingdom of God- which means that the rightful owner is not going to tolerate this tyranny and illegitimate ruler to rule anymore.  He declares that He came to seek and save that which was lost.  He is getting those who obey Him, to do what He does, and preach the Kingdom and bless people.

Before, the burglars troops used to enslave and control people, but this man Jesus is binding them and ordering them around.  All the others from Adam’s family notice that something is different about this man.  He preaches, but his message has demonstration of authority.  One day, while Jesus is in the wilderness, the burglar offers to him the entire store.  Satan had control over the earth.  But, if Jesus bowed down to Satan, he would have fell under Satan’s authority just like Adam.  This was a trap you see!  Jesus saw right through it.  He was after taking back the earth all right, but it’s not going to be by obeying the burglar, but the Owner.  Jesus preached the Kingdom of heaven and the Kingdom of God.  Heaven is God’s domain, it’s where God’s will is done.  The earth was supposed to be heaven on earth, through Adam’s submission and partnership with God.  It fell from that original purpose.  Jesus came to restore it.  The Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed was near, was that the Owner is coming back on the scene and instituting His will and dominion again!  How is that possible?  Didn’t God give the earth to man?  Yes.  But, Jesus-the Son of God, had become a man so had complete legal access to restore order.   Jesus is teaching those in the store who have been brainwashed and controlled so long by the illegitimate ruler, and He teaches them how the store is supposed to operate- we have the sermon on the mouth and the law of love.  He modeled how life was supposed to be on the earth according to the design of the owner.   He taught and trained people how to release the Owner’s will into the store again.  Jesus had a supernatural weapon.  Demons, sicknesses, sorrows, poverty, hopelessness trembled and left at the release of this weapon.  This weapon is called the anointing.  That weapon would be given to everyone who confesses the Lord Jesus.

The burglars needed to find a way destroy this man who was destroying them.  They hated the Owner and wanted to destroy His work.  The burglar saw an open invitation from a man named Judas, who had been obeying him and stealing here and there.  Then the burglar saw an open invitation in the religious leaders.  That door was named jealousy and hatred.   He orchestrated a plan to kill Jesus through them.  Sure enough the plan succeeds.  Jesus is hanging on the cross.  Demons and the devil are rejoicing!  It looks like Jesus is going to die.  What Satan didn’t know was that He would die taking upon Him all the sins and sicknesses of humanity as a substitute.  He dies.       Not just Jesus, but the power of sin died.  Today, people don’t go to hell because of their great sins, but their rejection of Jesus.  But, that’s not the end of Him.  When He dies, He goes to the place where Abraham and those like Him were locked up.  He frees them and they can follow His lead to heaven.  No man was able to go into heaven.  No man knew the way or could make the way.  Their sin disqualified them.  But, Jesus was qualified.  He knew the way and made the way.

Now, those who say yes to Jesus, who broke out of Satan’s system, can also break out of Satan’s system.  It’s called salvation.  They get that secret weapon that Jesus had.  They can go back to the words and ways of Jesus revealed in the Gospels and learn the ways of the Owner and how to extend the Owners will into the earth.  Now, God is so pleased, because His will is being accomplished.  Mankind is managing the earth while being in right relationship with Him.

Jesus talked about faith saying it was like mustard seed (Matthew 17:20).  Jesus said that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, it would move mountains.  Faith seems so simple and it is easy to underestimate, but it can do a whole lot more than you think it can!

Faith is not just: believing!   Faith is: believing to a point that you act according to your beliefs!  Faith is trusting God.  FAITH = Belief + Supporting Actions

Some say that they believe that believers have authority to heal the sick, but they never pray for the sick.  They don’t have supporting actions; therefore, they don’t have real faith that believers have authority to heal the sick.

Some say that they believe that they believe God is their Provider, but all they do all day is complain how broke they are.  They don’t have supporting actions.

Some say that they believe that they are the righteousness of God in Christ, but they are always doing unrighteous things.  They don’t have supporting actions; therefore, they don’t have true faith.

At Walmart, they sell pregnancy tests.  It is 99% accurate, and all that the woman has to do is, pee on the stick, wait three minutes, and you will then get the results.  How does it work?  The stick will examine the urine, which reveals the woman’s hormone levels.

Faith and Pregnancy have many similarities

One, it starts with a seed. (Luke 8:11) Two, conception happens before delivery.

I remember reading a book by Dr. David Yonggi Cho, and he had been praying for a certain chair, desk made from a certain type of food, and a bicycle made in the USA.  He knew that He knew that he had received it.  He was absolutely sure of it, “Now, Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not yet seen.”  He had the assurance all right.  He was so sure that He told his congregation, the Lord blessed me with three new furniture pieces. He said, they are in here, and pointed to his stomach.  The conception happened before the delivery.

By the way, it’s important to note that he wasn’t using His faith for His greed.  He was in love with Jesus, and wanted these things to be added to him, because he was seeking first the kingdom.

How can we test if we are pregnant with faith?  It’s not by peeing on a stick and examining our hormones.  It’s by praying and examining our actions by the help of the Holy Spirit.

We ought to check to actions of our lives, and it will tell us something about our faith.  If the actions of your life sucks, it’s because your faith sucks.  Jesus told Peter, “I prayed for you that your faith would not fail.” (Luke 22:32) Why didn’t Jesus pray for Peter that He wouldn’t be a failure, but instead prayed that His faith wouldn’t fail?  Because Jesus gets to the root of the problem.  In Jesus’ eyes, people are failures because they faith fails.

If you are failing in an area of your life, it could be because your faith is failing in that area.  Some people are successful in one area of their life in God, but not in another.  I could think of a good number of men of God- who have incredible success in healings, signs, and wonders; but they are failing tremendously in the holiness.  Their faith might be strong when it comes to the promises of God regarding their authority over sickness, but there is failing when it comes to the promises of God regarding their authority over sin.  Or, it could be the other way around.

But, if you are failing in something, it could be because you faith is failing in that area.  That’s why we need to study the Word and claim all the promises, not just one or two.

I’m convinced that a bitterness problem is really a faith problem.  Lust problems are really faith problems.  Stress problems are really faith problems.  Issues with pride, ego, and greed are really just issues with your faith. The problems in churches are quite often the result of the weak faith of the church members.  Almost always, those who have drug problems, really have a faith problem. Sometimes, health problems are really rooted in faith problems.  Sometimes, financial problems are really rooted in faith problems.  The list goes on and on!

So you could either spend all your energy trying to fix your bitterness, stress, pride, lust, greed, addictions, and get your body healed and finances prospering, or you would seek to grow in faith in God and His Word!  People have problems because they have a faith problem.  Once you get in the Word with the Holy Spirit being your private tutor, and you start believing and confessing God’s Word over anything and everything else, and you start renouncing the mindsets and the words that are contrary to the Word of God, your faith in God will get fixed.  Once your faith in God gets fixed, your life will get fixed.

Jesus came and made abundant life available by His grace (John 10:10).  That abundant life in Christ is going forth like a Cable TV signal from the cross of Calvary!  However, only those who have satellite receivers can pick it up.  That satellite receiver is your faith!  How much does this service cost?  Its paid for by the blood of Jesus!

When Jesus came, our battle was and is no longer against flesh and blood.  Jesus never killed anybody.  But, Jesus came to destroy the work of Satan.  Before Jesus came, no one had the power the cast out demons with great authority and success.  The only way to fight evil B.C. was through killing evil, demonized people off.  But, when Jesus came, the way to defeat evil was getting to the root of evil, and casting out demons and breaking Satanic strongholds.  Jesus spent his 3 years of ministry successfully fighting three things: sickness, sin, and Satan and his demons.

In the New Covenant, God tells us through His Word that there are three things we have victory over, He’s given them into our hands, and as Jesus was victory over those three things, so are we, as Jesus had authority over those three things, so do we.  Now, it’s our responsibility to step out in faith and fight against those things without being intimidated.  When the Israelites were intimidated and refused to fight for what God had promised them, they went without it.

Our weapons are not of this world.  The way we fight against these things are with spiritual weapons such as: faith, prayer, worship, the Word of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

When Jereme Nelson met with our church staff, he shared with us that the Lord wants us to be fully developed in every area, not just one. That is why He will take us through different seasons. In the different seasons there are different graces to do different things. For example, I believe that the Lord took us through a season of intercession and we knew how to mourn in prayer and there was a grace for it. But, that’s not the only thing the Lord wants to teach us. He wanted to teach us about the joy of the Lord, so there was a season of refreshing and the new wine, and there would be a grace for that. During the season of refreshing, you could be stubborn and insist on mourning, but there is no grace (or divine empowerment) for that anymore. During the season of refreshing you could soak for hours a day and it would be good. But, I believe that the Lord is taking many people into a season of deep study and love for the Word of God, and there will be a grace for it!

So, you can try soaking two hours a day, but there won’t be too much grace there. But, if you get in the Word for two hours a day in this season, there will be much grace. The Lord doesn’t just want people who can pray, soak, dance and worship, but people who have the Word of God deeply imbedded in their hearts. He wants us to be equipped for every good work, not just one. (2 Timothy 3:17) I used to be so strict with myself, and I’d be like: Ok, I’m fasting three days a week, I’m praying three hours a day, and I’m going to read the Bible for 1 hour, and listen to a teaching for 1 hour. I would do it religiously, and it wasn’t easy. But, I don’t think that’s what God wants from His kids.

Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30) Instead of us coming up with our own draining, training program, He wants us to be led by the Holy Spirit in His training program. How does the Holy Spirit want to train your right now? Is it praying? Is it interceding? Is it studying the Word? Ask God what He wants you to be doing now. The old saying goes, “Where God guides, He provides.” I do believe that if we get with His training program for our lives, and we can discern the season we are in, we will experience divine empowerment (or grace) to go through the season, and we will get the most out of every season! Do you see the difference? If you start applying this, you will definitely experience the difference. I have. I don’t pray and intercede for many hours like I have done for many years. I don’t have to condemn myself for it either. Why? There is a time for everything. Just because I don’t pray for five hours a day anymore doesn’t mean I love God less. If I’m going with the discipleship program of the Holy Spirit for my life, that’s the best thing I can be doing right now. I’m so thankful that the key to growing as a Christian is my relationship the Holy Spirit, not my own wisdom and effort.

The blood of animals helped ease the conscience of the people so that they can move on and not drown in guilt, but ease their conscience and re-embark on the mission to obey the Lord. (Lev. 17:11): “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’

The blood of Jesus, being a perfect blood, being a complete blood, will even more so cleanse our conscience (our hearts), that place where guilt likes to dwell.  Our conscience has dead works in it (our hearts remember the past sins that we worked).

Our past sins are “dead works” for a few reasons:

1) The sinner who committed those sins is dead with Christ on the cross.

2) Those sins don’t own you anymore, you don’t have to obey it like before.

3) Those sins of the past are not alive in God’s record books, they have been killed or eradicated by the blood of Jesus.

Because the blood of Jesus has washed away the past sins that dwelled in my heart, and the paralyzing guilt has been expelled by a greater power (the blood of Jesus), now I can serve God wholeheartedly!

Jesus didn’t come so we would worry about our sins all the time, even though that’s what many Christians do. Jesus came so that we wouldn’t have worry about our sins anymore!  So we can serve God without anything (like guilt and depression) holding us back!

When we talk about the message of the cross, we are majoring on the majors of the Scriptures, not the minors.  When Paul hung out with the Corinthian church, ministering day after day, month after month, for a year and a half, Paul taught the Corinthians the Word of God (Acts 18:11).  As he taught, many people came to the Lord (Acts 18:10).  What did he teach?  How did he teach?

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.  For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2)

Paul’s secret: Not eloquence or education, but Jesus and the cross.

The secret to Paul establishing a powerful church in Corinth was not because he was the most eloquent speaker, and he mastered the art of preaching.  He was simple in his teaching and simple in his delivery.  While his ministry style was simple, the effect of it was profound and impressive!  It’s sad when a preacher tries to do and be the opposite, by to be so profound, but the results are simple- and unimpressive.  Paul didn’t try to be a powerful speaker, he only tried to accurately share the testimony of God- Jesus and the cross, and that made him powerful.  You can try your best to be naturally powerful, but if you just do what God wants you to do, and say what He wants you to say, you will be supernaturally powerful.

Paul’s secret was not his skills in communication, but his simple teachings about Jesus and the cross.  Paul’s secret was not all the degrees he had and books he read, but it was that he was passionate about Jesus and the cross.

Paul’s mistake: Trying to be profound.

We learn from our mistakes don’t we?  Paul made a mistake when he was in Athens, Greece.  He went there and preached a philosophical message- which he hoped would be relatable.  Paul quoted from their poets, seemed to be very in tune with Greek Culture.  Paul sounded more like a college professor than a simple street preacher.  Ultimately, when Paul was in Athens, he tried to be profound, but his impact was simple and unimpressive.  Yes, a few souls came to Christ, but that was not normal for the early church.  Paul’s ministry was marked by him going into cities, see revival breakout like a wildfire and then, he would establish a church to keep the fire of the Spirit burning.  That fire would grow and spread even after he left.  That never happened in Athens, no church was established. Paul wasn’t going to make that mistake in Corinth.  He simply preached about Jesus and the cross.  For 18 months, Paul just talked about Jesus and the cross.

1. The Message of the Cross is for Everyone

Wait, isn’t the message of the cross for unbelievers?  I used to think that the message of the cross was just for those who weren’t saved, and it was to get them saved.  I thought preaching the message of the cross was basically showing people the door, and once they got saved, or walked through the door, there was not much need to show them the door again.  I was so wrong!  If it was just for unbelievers would Paul have preached it for 18 months to the Christians in the church?  Nope.  The message of the cross is for believers and non-believers.  It’s the message for everyone, because it is God’s testimony.  The message of the cross tells unbelievers what God did so they could go to heaven, but it also tells believers what is available for them right now on earth.   The message of the cross instead just the doorway into God’s house, it’s the menu for believers- through it we see what we can order!  The message of the cross is the will of your inheritance, and you can claim everything on that will.  The message of the cross is the title-deed to your promise land.

2. The Message of the Cross is God’s testimony

In Corinth, Paul declared the “testimony of God”.  What is a testimony?  It’s a personal and true story.  When I share my testimony, I share my true personal story.  Paul declared God’s testimony, which is God’s true personal story.  God’s story is a passionate romance novel, the object of His romance is humanity, so He created us to know His love, but man fell into sin, and God showed his love by sending His Son, who would die for the redemption of man on a bloody cross.  The only reason you and I have a beautiful testimony, is because God first had a testimony-which climaxed at the cross.

3. The Message of the Cross is foundational

For 18 months, Paul preached and taught on the cross.  Why? It is a foundational teaching, and we all know that if you want to build a big building, the foundation must be strong.  A weak foundation cause a building to crumble in the face of a disaster.  Why do so many Christians crumble in the face of adversity and calamity?  Why do some Christians get so high in their gifts and ministries, but then, they fall and fall hard?  Quite often it is a weak foundation.  Paul was a master builder (1 Corinthians 3:10).  He knew what the secret to a strong foundation was for Christians, it’s the message of Christ and the cross.  So, do you want a strong foundation?

4. The Message of the cross is powerful

The message of the cross is powerful. It’s a powerful foundation and produces powerful Christians.  “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) What actually took place on the cross and what that means for us today is God’s message, and it releases God’s power in our lives.  Are you a powerful Christian or not?  The reason why we lack God’s power, is really because we lack God’s message- or God’s Word in our hearts.   Sometimes, we think that the secret to the Spirit’s power is having hands laid on us by the hot shot evangelist, or some big named person, or getting on a plane to fly to a certain Christian Mecca.  While I’m not opposed to those things, let’s not miss what this verse is saying to us: The power is in the message, specifically, the message of the cross.

This class is designed for just that, to establish a firm foundation, and impart the power of God into your life.  As you get a greater revelation of God’s love story- which crescendos at the cross, your life’s story will become more and more powerful.  The more you understand and believe God’s story, the more powerful your story will be.

Being saved?

Let’s pay attention to the wording, “being saved”. What’s that all about?  Aren’t we saved or not?  Didn’t Jesus say you are for me or against me?  Isn’t a person a citizen of the Kingdom or not?  Yes.  All those things are true and Scripturally proven.  Why does this verse say “being saved”?

Salvation is two fold, it is something that happened, and something that is happening.  When we got born again, through faith in Jesus, the penalty of sin was broken off of our lives!  But, the power of sin, still needs to be broken off right?  Did you become Mr. Perfect the day you received Jesus Christ?  I don’t know about you, but after the penalty of sin was broken off or my life, the power of sin was still pretty active.  As Christians, we have been saved from the penalty of sin- which is an eternal hell.  However, we are being saved from the power of sin- it’s a process, the Bible calls it:  sanctification.

Sanctification comes from the combination of two Latin words: Sanctus- which means “holy”, and Facere- which means “to make”.  Sanctification is to make holy. When we got saved we have been made righteous- which means we are in right standing with God.  However, as saved people, we are being made holy- which means were are being made more and more like Jesus in our expression.  Your position changes in a moment-from sinner to righteous, and hell to heaven, from enemy of God to child of God; but, the expression of your life is being changed or saved.  Once you have had your position changed, now the Holy Spirit has come into your life to change your expression.

Some people claim that their position changed, but their expression never changes.  Quite often, that tells us that their position hasn’t changed, and they are just deceived.  If you position really changed, the Holy Spirit now comes into your life.  By the way, we can’t receive the indwelling of the Spirit without a change of position- a sinner and an enemy of God cannot have the Spirit of God, but a saved person who is not righteous and a child of God can have the Spirit of God.  When the Holy Spirit comes, He changes our expression.

As people who are being saved- or sanctified, or purified- what do we need to empower that process?  The message of the cross! “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)-NIV The more we understand and believe the message of the cross, the more we will experience the power of God that will make us more like Jesus in our everyday expression.  In the creation account, when the Holy Spirit hovered over the earth, and God spoke, “Let there be light” there was a creative power released, and the Sun was formed.  The same thing happens in the heart of every Believer- who has the Holy Spirit hovering over their hearts.  The word of God, the message of the cross will come, and creative power will be released, and Christ-the “Sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2) will be formed in us (Gal. 4:19).

Believe the Message

“For it is written, “I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE,
AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.”  Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 2:19-21) The message of the cross has saving power, to save a person’s eternal position and the Christian’s earthly expression.  However, it is only powerful to the person who believes the message.

In this class, we will teach the Word of God- the message of the cross.  But, if you don’t believe what is taught, then, all you will get out of this is a brain-load of information, and it will bring very little transformation into your life.  But, if you do believe, you will experience the power of God, and you will never be the same.  I will try to accurately share God’s story about the cross.  I don’t plan to ramble my own thoughts and ideas, and if I do, I don’t expect you to believe it with your heart and respond with an Amen.  But, if you see for yourself, that what comes out of my mouth is indeed straight from the Word of God, then believe it and respond with an Amen- which is saying, “I agree.”

The following will be the 2 main questions we will seek to answer in this course: What actually happened at the cross of Christ, and what does that mean for me today?

This is what the Lord spoke to me, “Because it is the heart that I seek, it is the heart that I see.  I died on the cross, not to change the exterior of man, but to change his heart.  It is the heart of a man which will cause him to ascend or descend in my kingdom.  I am seeking the hearts that are loyal towards me.”

Not everything that we do is from the heart.  I’ve done many things grudgingly, have you?  Not everything we say is the overflow of the heart (even though often times it is), but in our culture, sarcasm has become a way of life, too many times we say things that aren’t from the heart, that there becomes a disconnect from our own hearts.  So, when we do want to speak from our hearts, we can’t.  We end up living superficial lives, being ruled by flashing thoughts in the mind, and mere impulses of the flesh, and the mimic-ing of others, without living from our hearts.  If we are disconnect from our own hearts, we cannot have intimacy with the Lord, because that intimacy is not a physical one or a mental one, but one that exists in the core of our hearts

When it comes to our relationship with the Lord, doing things for Him, and saying things to Him, which are not from the heart, doesn’t capture Him, because He is not captured by outward ceremony, actions, and sayings, but by our hearts.  He is moved by the movements of our heart, not mere lip-service, acts of obligation, or stern religiosity.  Jesus didn’t die on the cross for heartless-but-righteous robots.  Nope, He died for our hearts.  He’s not concerned with what comes out of our shell, but our core.

So, Jesus condemned the pharisees for worshipping with their lips, but having a disconnect in their hearts.  Paul talked to the Corinthian church that giving financially ought to be done with joy, not a grudge.  James warned against double mindedness, which is opposite of living from the genuineness of our hearts.  James also talked about the power of fervent prayer- which is prayer from the heart.  Jesus praised Nathaniel for being a man without deceit in his heart- there was not a disconnect between his actions, his words, and his heart; they were all in unity.  Paul talked to the Roman Church about how the key to salvation is confessing with the mouth and believing in the heart that Jesus is Lord, again, we see that there must be that pure connection, not contradiction, between the mouth and the heart.

On that day we stand before Jesus to give an account for our lives, it won’t just be our actions that are brought to the table, but our hearts.  We could have sacrificed much, but if the sacrifices weren’t packaged with a heart of love, then, there will be no eternal profit given.  Because it’s the heart that He seeks, it’s the heart that He will see.

The precious thing about children is that they will tell you what is in their heart.  Children are direct.  Children have their actions, their words, and their hearts working together without contradiction. As kids become adults, some of them will have their actions do one thing, their words say something else, and their heart being totally disconnected from what they are doing and their heart totally rejecting what they are saying.  It was about the kids that Jesus said, “such is the kingdom of God.”  Kingdom people ought to be genuine people.  Kingdom people say what the mean, mean what they say, do what they say, say what they do, and their hearts convictions are in-line with what they do and say.

Every person of faith had their actions, their words, and their heart working in harmony, not discord, when the conceived their promises from God.  David’s heart believed that the Lord would give Goliath the victory, his mouth spoke it, and his actions were in complete agreement to his heart and his lips.  Abraham believed in the promises of God, and although he wasn’t perfect, his actions supported his hearts belief, and his words were in line with his heart’s belief and actions- he was calling himself- the father of many nations, and Sarah- princess.  If we want to be people of faith, we need to get those three components in unity with each other.  If we don’t, our faith won’t work.  Jesus taught us that mountain moving faith is released when people speak without doubt- again, that means it is released by people who are genuine, not those who always speak what they don’t really mean.  People of faith are genuine people, not those who say a butt load of things that they don’t really mean and have deep convictions about.

That’s one reason why the Lord tells us to be “slow to speak” and “thou shalt not lie”, is because every time we speak something that our hearts don’t agree with, it damages our vehicle of faith- and if that vehicle breaks down- we are in trouble.  That’s the vehicle that has been chosen by God to take us to our destiny.

A person of integrity is a person who is united in their actions, words, and heart.  Are we training ourselves to be people of integrity?