In the first edition of this series of Breaking the Poverty Spirit, we looked at the devastating consequences of those who did not receive or respect who God had called them to be.

Resulting in the disastrous impact, that had on them and those close to them. In this week’s edition of this series, we will look at Jesus words in Matthew 6:19 – 24. Let’s start with verses 19 – 21, writes Pastor Paul Kauri of The Arepua Gateway Assembly of God Church.

Priorities

20“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Matthew 6:19-21

Let me paraphrase v.19 this way, ‘Storing up wealth on earth, trusting in it as security for your future is like investing into a car that’s full of rust with no locks on the door. How could one, be so dumb?!’

I should say too that, the building of wealth is not evil and neither is it the point Jesus is making here. The Bible is full of people whom God blessed with great wealth and resources and these were greatly used by Him.

The key line is verse 21 – ‘where ever your treasure is there the desires of your heart will also be’. Whatever YOU treasure – will have YOUR heart. So I ask you this – What has your heart at this present time? What are your priorities? Where do you invest most of your time, money, focus and energy? Are those your goals, or did the LORD instruct you about them?

To Break the Poverty Spirit as Matthew 6:25-34 prescribes, is doing more than just trusting the LORD, knowing that God sees us as more precious than birds and flowers. As the world’s wisest and possibly wealthiest man who ever lived said, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding SUBMIT to God in all your ways and He will direct your paths.”Prov3:4&5. It’s not enough to Trust God, we must also Submit to Him.

Perspective

22 “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! Matthew 6:22-23

Your eye is how you see the world, and as the old question goes, ‘is the glass half full or half empty?’ – whatever your answer, your right! Your answer only reveals your perspective of the world. It reveals whether your eyes are good (glass is half full) or bad (where’s the rest!?). When you struggle to celebrate another person’s achievements – another teams win, or another churches growth, or another businesses success – then you have an unhealthy eye.

Here’s another way of looking at this point:

When Moses was lacking confidence to lead Israel, the LORD asked him, “what do you have in your hand?”. A stick was the answer. He led Israel for 40 years. Did you see it?

Let’s try another:

Goliath had all the finest weaponry and armour fit for a mighty warrior, including an armour bearer. David had a sling in his hand. Yet, we know who won the battle and the war. Did you see it this time?

Ok, one more.

When Jesus wanted to feed 5000 men, excluding the women and excluding the children (possibly 10,000 to 15,000 people) a little boy gave Jesus his lunch, two fish and five loaves.

After everyone was full, there were 12 baskets of leftovers!

Surely you saw it this time?! No? Are you reading with eyes closed?!

Ok, here it is:

An old man with his stick plus God equals – Amazing!

A teenager with his sling plus God equals – Wow!

A little boy with his packed lunch plus Jesus equals – Everything Is Awesome! (cue - Lego Movie music)

God used what was in their hand! A healthy eye is thankful for what they have! An unhealthy eye complains about what they don’t have! The key is God! God plus dirt equals ‘WOW’, I mean Adam. A bad eye ultimately can’t see God, a good eye sees Him in everything and responds like the boy with his lunch.

A Poverty Spirit is always racked with the feeling that there is not enough, complaining about what they don’t have instead of being thankful for what they do have. Breaking this poverty spirt is to thank God always with child-like faith.

Position

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. Matthew 6:24

The position that God has in your life is determined by you. To hate Him is to embrace or love the poverty spirit. The older brother of a poverty spirit is the orphan spirit, so to reject a loving heavenly Father is to welcome an orphan spirit and his brother poverty. However, to be devoted to God or hold onto Him means you are no longer defined by the brothers, instead you have become His son, you are a member of His Royal Household, you are the son and daughter of a quadrillionaire times infinity! He takes ordinary everyday items like sticks and stones in the hands of ordinary people and rewrites history. That’s my Dad.

This portion of scripture is often misinterpreted to mean, ‘One or the Other’ either ‘God or money’ or as some perceive, pursuing God at the expense of wealth. And in the attitude of a person’s heart, God is the ultimate pursuit. However, scripture reveals, along with the lives of many throughout history that the pursuit of God brings with it the resources, finances, people and help to achieve what God has called us to do. It is God backing His kids, who are doing His will! That’s what it means to Serve God and use money. Money is our servant not our master as long as God is our pursuit, seeking first His kingdom and righteousness.

To break the poverty spirit (and his brother orphan) is to embrace the Son, Jesus Christ, and God our Father, submitting to His will and rearranging our priorities around Him, and positioning Him as LORD of your life.

I pray that you break free from orphan and poverty and embrace Jesus, the Son of God. He is only a prayer away.

God bless.