Today we wrap up a three-part series looking at ‘Breaking the Poverty Spirit’, writes Paul Kauri, lead pastor at The Arepua Gateway Assembly of God Church.

In part one of this series the focus was on the way we think about ourselves and the danger of leading with a pauper perspective of ourselves and the devastating impact it has on those around us. The key point was knowing who God says you are, knowing our “identity” in Christ.

Throughout history the issue of our identity has always been challenged but in the last 100 years this challenge is guised with intellectual prowess flooding our education systems, influencing our parliament chambers spurred on by all mainstream entertainment with misguided information on this very issue of identity.

It should come as no surprise that Satan’s first attack on Jesus, was to question his identity; “if you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread”, Jesus’ response needs to be shouted from the rooftops! He never addressed the first part of Satan’s lie, because there was nothing to address. Jesus knew who he was, and he also knew that Satan knew. Instead, he addresses the temptation of bread by saying, “it is written …”

Wow, a simple answer to a huge lie. This ought to be our response in all of life’s issues, to go back to what is written in God’s Word.

In part two we looked at where we invest our resources, time, energies and our finances. We looked at the priority we place on wealth, our perspective on what we have, and the position that money has in our heart, leading to this question, “Am I a slave to money, or does money serve me in my surrender to God?”

If the central point in part one was Identity, then the central point in part two is Purpose. When we accept that the origin of our existence is intrinsically woven into an intelligent designer, Jesus, by God’s design, then it means that our Identity can only be defined by Him (not our past, our circumstance, our family or our culture)

When this key issue of Identity (which stems from Origin, ‘where did humanity come from?’) is settled in our hearts, then it immediately sets us up for a wonderful relationship with an All-Powerful, All-Knowing, Always Present Being, who chose to reveal himself through Jesus, and invites us to partner with Him, in all that He is doing!

Tania and I personally have experienced, on many occasions, the Father’s supernatural provision when He invited us to partner with Him – Identity and Purpose.

We wrap up this series in today’s edition focusing on all that we have received in Christ – that’s called Inheritance.

I want to make this statement clear, that, all that we have received, is in Christ! He’s not the reason for the inheritance, He is the Inheritance – when you receive Jesus, you inherit all His Life, all His Love, all His Peace, all His Joy, and when we are mature, all of heavens resources are at our disposal, and when this age is over – we will get to live at His place! (He’s been setting up His crib for us for the past 2000 years!)

It is common problem to start this walk in Christ, then be distracted by the blessing, till our purpose in doing things for the Lord is to pursue or maintain the blessing instead of our relationship with Christ himself.

I recall a season when one of our teenage sons reached the stage where he was more interested in hanging with his friends than his father! I was missing our times together and I yearned for those moments with him. But there were brief moments when he gave me attention and I would treasure them deeply, brief as they were. However, I noticed that the only time he gave me attention was when he wanted something from me, often it was money. He wasn’t after me, he was after what I had. I was grieved.

I’ve noticed that we can unknowingly have this same attitude with our Heavenly Father, when our prayers are full of requests, asking God to bless the very ministry He has called us to. Now scripture encourages us to make our request known to God, being anxious for nothing but to bring everything before Him in prayer and with thanksgiving. But caution needs to be heeded here; if all our interaction with God is based in the fulfilment we get from ministry, instead of our Maker, then we are in danger of pursuing the blessing that comes from the inheritance instead of The One who is the Inheritance.

The ‘Poverty Spirit’ and his brother ‘Orphan Spirit’ are working hard to lure people away from their identity as sons and daughters in Christ. They know that if people don’t know who they are in Christ, then their life will lack meaning giving them no purpose in life.

But we are sons and daughters of God, responding to the invitation from God to join Him in the great work He is doing and when we respond accordingly to His invite, He allows us access to all of heavens resources and as Jesus said, “ask of Me anything in my name, and I will do it” – John 14:14 (the context for this verse is obeying and doing the will of the Father).

I’m reminded of a story of a father and son who loved to collect art, some of the finest in the world, Van-Gogh, Picasso, Monet, their relationship blossomed with their collection of fine art, as the art world took note of their growing passion.

When the nation went to war, the young son enlisted. When the dreaded news came, his son had died in combat, the father mourned deeply. Some months later a soldier visited the father, he was one of the men his son had saved. The soldier had drawn a picture of his son and wanted to give to his father as a gift. The father wept over the picture gazing intently at the detail of his son’s face, then giving it central place in his house re-organising all the priceless artwork around the picture of his son.

In time the father too passed away and the world’s art community were a buzz with talk when they heard of the auction to sell their priceless collection.

At a packed art gallery, the auctioneer welcomed everyone, each person had their eyes on the highly valued pieces. The auctioneer began the proceedings with a piece of art that was not listed in the manifesto, the picture of The Son. People were annoyed by the waste of time for such a pitiful item drawn by a ‘nobody’. Yet the auctioneer announced that by instruction of the deceased owner, ‘The Son’ was to be the first item auctioned. When he asked for an opening bid, the room fell silent. “Will anyone give me $100?” sighs of disgust and frustration was all one could hear. Finally, a voice spoke up, “I have $10 – it’s all I have. I worked for this man almost all my life and I know he loved his son. If you would take $10 for it, I promise to give it the place of honour in my house that my master gave it in his house.”

“$10 going once, going twice, third time … sold! to the man at the back” – to this announcement the people were relieved looking forward to the real auction.

Shocked filled the room when the auctioneer made a second announcement,

“the auction is now closed”.

“What?? What about the Picasso and Van Gogh pieces?!”

“We are under clear instruction...” he replied, “that whoever takes The Son … gets it all.”

That message is still true today, whoever receives the Son, receives everything!

He’s only a prayer away.