Circuit Teaching International
- Teaching the Nations
| Breaking Poverty Bonds by Ivor Lewis (Adapted by permission from a book by Dr. G. William (Billy) Schuetz of Team Outreach International) | |
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1. The gospels contain more verses on money than on any other subject.
2. One out of four verses in Matthew, Mark and Luke deals with money.
3. Jesus spoke more on finances than on heaven and hell combined.
4. There are five hundred verses on faith, five hundred on prayer and two thousand verses on finances in the Word of God.
5. Those things which God places the greater emphasis on in His Word we need to look at very seriously.
6. Let us consider together why God speaks so much about our finances.
Read Proverbs 27:23.
1. God calls His leaders to know the state of their flocks.
2. The Hebrew meaning of this verse is to know the sheep from every viewpoint.
3. Special surveys have revealed that only 20% of God's people in the average North American church give financially.
4. In other parts of the world this percentage is down to as low as 3-5% and even as low as 1% in some places.
5. This is an abnormal state for God's people.
6. In some places the giving percentage is as much as 40% and even higher.
7. This, however, is still below what God expects of the flock.
Read 1 Corinthians 16:1,2.
1. The norm is that every believer be a liberal giver as God has prospered him.
2. Our Father is an extravagant God who has generously blessed us with everything in Christ.
3. God has proved His generous, giving heart by giving up His own Son for our salvation.
4. God has called us to be like Him and He imparts His generous nature to us.
5. As He has so freely given to us, we can freely give to others.
Read Luke 16:13.
1. If we are not using our finances for the things that God calls us to, then our finances are not under His lordship.
2. Money becomes our master, rather than the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. Jesus must be first in every area of our lives. He alone is Lord. Matthew 6:33.
4. When we give our lives to Jesus we give everything to Him, including all of our finances.
5. As we give we are being trained to put God first in everything. Deuteronomy 14:23.
6. As we give, we also break the hold of money over our lives.
Read Malachi 3:6-12.
1. Verse 8. When we are not giving what God requires of us, God calls us robbers.
2. Verse 6. God does not change. He challenges us from His Word to give. Deuteronomy 16:17.
3. Verse 10. He promises an abundant blessing for us if we will obey His Word.
4. Remember everything we have belongs to Him. That is what it means to call Him Lord.
5. So whatever He asks us to do with His money, we should be free to do. It is not ours, it is His.
6. It is clear then why God calls us robbers, if we do not give what He requires of us.
7. Verse 11. God says that if we are robbing Him, there is a devourer who will rob us. His name is Satan.
| Illustration In Ethiopia, there was a lady who was attending a church convention. A special offering was taken every day to help send out evangelists. She felt that the Holy Spirit was telling her to give her only cow into this offering. She agreed with God that she would give the cow, but every day as the time for giving came during the convention, she thought of the different things she could buy if she sold the cow. Soon the convention was over and she never did keep her promise to give the cow to the Lord's work. The week after the convention her cow got into her neighbour's grain store and ate much of the grain. She was taken to court and had to pay for the grain eaten plus the court costs. This expense came to exactly what the cow was worth if it was sold. The lady had to sell many things and even borrow more from friends to pay these expenses. The next week her cow died. The lady repented to the Lord for not obeying Him in her giving and testified in the church about the importance of obeying God in everything. |
8. The devouring of our finances is not God's desire for us. He wants to bless us.
9. Verses 10,11. He promises to deal with the devourer and to open the floodgates of blessing for us if we will give in obedience to Him.
| Illustration The story is told in China of a Christian farm of 500 people who were challenged by God to give 10% of their produce one year. The next year God so blessed them that they were guided to increase their giving to 20%. Every year they were so blessed that they were able to increase their giving by another 10%, so that after nine years they were giving 90% and living on 10% of their yield. Normally one acre would support one person in China at that time. This community of believers, in obedience to the Lord, were able to give 90% of their produce away, although they only had 43 acres supporting 500 people. |
10. Here is a picture of the abundance that God is able to supply for those who will obey Him in giving.
11. Verse 10. God challenges us to put His Word to the test. By giving we will see His floodgates of blessing opened.
Read Proverbs 11:24.
1. One must never accuse God of planning, purposely placing someone in, or dooming anyone to a life of poverty.
2. People are free moral agents. If they do not decide to hear, be taught, and respond when teaching is available, they themselves create the world that they live in.
3. We cannot outgive God. The more that we give the more we will receive.
4. Let us respond to God's Word. Give and see His increase in our lives.
| Memory verse Proverbs 11:24, "One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty." |
| Teacher's notes Responsibility of the shepherds. Read again Proverbs 27:23. 1. Many pastors are neglecting the flock in the area of giving. 2. We should not be satisfied with being below standard. 3. One pastor said that since the national average was 20%, he was content with the fact that 30% of his flock were giving. He was wrong on three counts: a) He measured his church by a national average rather than the Word of God. b) He did not consider the potential of being a much greater blessing. c) He is saying that he is happy with 70% of his congregation being thieves. 4. We will be held accountable for keeping truth from the people that would have released them individually and corporately into God's blessing. 5. As shepherds of the flock, do we recognize that; a) those who are not giving faithfully are robbers? b) being unfaithful in a little will block one from much? Luke 16:10. c) being unfaithful in giving of worldly wealth will block one from receiving the true riches of the kingdom? Luke 16:11. d) that one who is not giving faithfully does not have Jesus as the complete Lord of his/her life? e) Satan not only comes to steal and kill but also to destroy? f) this is the church's greatest hour of opportunity and it does require finances? 6. As shepherds of the flock we must teach, we must exhort and we must pray until the whole church comes into the liberty of giving. 7. Leaders have to be an example in giving. Remember you only reproduce what you are. |
Read 3 John 2.
1. John is expressing God's desire for us. God wants us to be prosperous.
2. The Greek word for prosperity here, means to have help sufficient for one's journey.
3. God wants us to have, in abundance, everything we need to complete the journey that He has called us to in life.
4. Different people will have different journeys to make and so they will require different resources.
5. But God remains the same. He wants to bless His children and see us complete the race He has called us to with joy. Matthew 7:9-11.
Read Deuteronomy 8:17,18.
1. Some people think that money is evil, but it is not money that is evil, it is the love of money. 1 Timothy 6:10.
2. God created wealth and He gives people the ability to gain it.
3. Notice in verse 17 that it is not man's cleverness that gains him wealth. God gives the ability.
4. As we apply the principles of God's Word in our lives, God will prosper us. It does not matter what culture we come from.
5. In every culture God gives some individuals a greater ability to create wealth, but then He also gives them a greater responsibility as to how they handle that wealth. Luke 16:1,2.
Read Ephesians 4:28.
1. God makes takers into givers.
2. His purpose in prospering us is not for us to waste it all on ourselves.
3. God wants to bless us to make us a blessing. 2 Corinthians 9:8.
4. He wants to meet our needs abundantly, and He wants us to be able to give to others and to the work of His kingdom.
5. It takes big finances to advance the work of the kingdom in the earth.
6. God gives His people the privilege of being channels of the resources needed for His work.
7. It is not the unbeliever who will give to the work of God.
8. God wants to prosper His people to prosper the work of His kingdom. Zechariah 1:17.
Read John 10:10.
1. Here is God's desire for us expressed again. He wants us to enjoy abundant life.
2. But Satan does not want us to prosper in God's work.
3. Satan is working all the time to rob us of God's blessings and destroy our effectiveness in serving God.
4. Prosperous people are effective people and prosperous people will make a prosperous and effective church.
5. It is clear why Satan is working to keep the church in poverty.
6. Thank God that Jesus said He had come to give us abundance. He has made a way for us to walk in God's prosperity.
Read 2 Corinthians 10:4,5.
1. Satan builds spiritual strongholds of poverty over nations, churches and individuals.
2. These strongholds attack the minds and hearts of people to build patterns of poverty thinking.
3. This oppression of the mind has many different masks and concepts.
4. One false concept is that poverty has some mysterious refining qualities.
a) Some believe that it is spiritual to be poor.
b) The question to ask though is; if poverty is so spiritual, why does God not live that way?
c) Before sin entered the Garden of Eden, it was a world of abundance.
d) Jesus showed God's desire to abundantly bless us by all the fish and bread that was left over in feeding the 5000.
5. Poverty mentality only sees and thinks in subtraction.
a) If I give this I will only have this much left over.
b) God's Word says that if I give, God will multiply back to me.
c) We are not to think in terms of subtraction, we are to think in terms of multiplication.
d) The little boy who gave his fish and bread did not see a subtraction, he saw an abundant increase.
6. Poverty mentality draws one's focus onto conditions rather than onto the Word of God.
a) It disguises itself as wisdom, claiming to look at things practically.
b) It actually sees things through the eyes of unbelief.
c) We are not to focus on our lack, we are to focus on the promises of God.
7. Poverty can come from a spirit of covetousness and greed.
a) It may look like a concern for waste and extravagance.
b) But there is another motive behind it.
c) Judas appeared to be concerned with the waste of expensive ointment poured on Jesus. John 12:4-6.
8. A poverty spirit can drive people to indebtedness.
a) Satan wants to bind the finances of Christians and churches so that they cannot move with God's plan.
b) Debt can squeeze one's ability to give freely and so stop the flow of God's blessing.
c) Christians must be careful that they are not driven to purchase beyond God's plan and timing for them.
9. The poverty stronghold stops people from giving to God's work.
a) It will bring many lies about why you should not give your finances into the church.
| Illustration In one part of Africa some muslims and hindus were giving as much as R5000 into their dead religions each month before they came to Christ. However, once they were saved they only gave as little as R20 into the offerings. |
b) The devil will not resist generous giving toward his works.
c) But Satan's spirit of poverty will strongly resist giving towards God's works.
d) It will present many reasons why believers should not give and why Christian leaders should not challenge people to give.
Read Luke 10:19.
1. Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan. 1 John 3:8.
2. He has given us authority now to break every stronghold of the enemy. 2 Corinthians 10:4.
3. We must pull down this spiritual stronghold that binds people in misery and hinders the work of God.
4. God's desire is to prosper us and the work of His church. Jeremiah 29:11; 33:9.
5. We must not give in to the traditions of men; false, unscriptural concepts, fear, pride and intimidation.
6. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. Matthew 16:18.
7. This stronghold can be torn down in Jesus' name.
| Memory verse 3 John 2, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." |
| Teacher's notes God's source of prosperity for the church Read Matthew 17:27. 1. Most churches struggle for sufficient finances when the answer is right there in their midst. 2. It is through simply increasing the percentage giving factor of the people. 3. Jesus could easily have just produced a coin. If he could produce it in the mouth of the first fish that his disciples caught, he could produce it in his own hand. 4. But God wanted to teach us a principle. 5. The first principle is that God does not do anything independently of His body. He works through His people. 6. Secondly, He wanted to show us where to find the financial supply for the needs of the church. 7. We need to go fishing for souls and in the mouth of every fish there is a coin. Matthew 4:19. 8. The supply for the work of the church is found in every fish that comes to Jesus. 9. We are not to force the coin out of their mouth. They may bite your hand. 10. We are to teach and encourage them to give generously. 11. We are not to feel embarrassed about challenging the people to give. It is God's plan. 12. As we will see in the next lesson, giving will bless the people. 13. We are withholding God's blessing from the people if we do not teach them to give. 14. As ministers, we have a solemn responsibility and obligation to keep back nothing that would be profitable for the people. |
Read John 8:32-36.
1. The one Greek word "free" in these verses means: to be freeborn as a citizen.
2. The other Greek word "free" means: to be totally free, to have one's entire spiritual, physical, and economic state free.
3. Having made us freeborn citizens of His kingdom, Jesus wants us to be completely free from all of Satan's bondages.
4. This includes economic freedom from the bonds of poverty.
5. Verse 32. Jesus said that the truth of His Word would set us free.
6. He says in His Word that He will prosper those who meditate on His Word. Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2.
7. He also says in His Word that faith comes by hearing His Word. Romans 10:17.
8. Faith will rise in our hearts to break the bondage of poverty, as we meditate on and apply God's promises to our lives.
Read Proverbs 3:9,10.
1. What a picture of prosperity, barns overflowing with abundance.
2. Notice that there is a condition to this promise.
3. The condition is that we honour God in our giving.
4. In fact, God says that the more we give, the more He will bless us. Luke 6:38.
5. This condition to God's promise of abundance, is actually the key to breaking the spiritual bondage of poverty.
6. We can meditate on God's promises and we can pray against the spiritual strongholds of poverty, but unless we start giving, this bondage will not be broken.
7. As we give we release God's promises to work in our lives.
8. Now, as we pray, poverty bonds have to release their grip and God's abundance is released.
9. As this bondage is broken in our own life, we have a release in heavenly places to come against poverty in our church and over our nation.
Read 2 Corinthians 8:1-4.
1. Servants of God with good intentions have gone into many areas of the world and taught the people that they were too poor to give.
2. Unknowingly they brought a lie from the enemy that has kept the people in the spiritual bondage of poverty.
3. The people were trained into an attitude of having to receive, rather than having to give.
4. In His Word God challenges everyone to give, whether rich or poor.
5. In fact, the one person that Jesus commended for giving the most was a poor widow who put a few cents in the offering. She was commended for giving out of her poverty. Luke 21:1-4.
6. We are never too poor to give.
7. Verse 3. Paul commends the Macedonian church for giving beyond their natural ability to give.
8. Verse 2. They gave generously in extreme poverty.
9. We all have something that we can give.
| Illustration A pastor of a very poor congregation in South America was convicted by the Lord to challenge his people to give. He repented for not teaching the people to give because of their extreme poverty. As he began to teach on giving, the people responded and brought what they could. A little corn at the start and some eggs. Soon they prospered and they brought money. In a short time this same poor church was giving over a million dollars into missions alone. |
10. We are never too poor to give. As we are faithful to obey the Lord in giving, He will increase us to give even more.
Read 1 Corinthians 9:7-14.
1. Everyone who works expects to receive a wage.
2. Those that work at preaching and teaching the Word are to look for financial support from those to whom they minister the Word. Luke 10:7.
3. Verse 14. God gives us this as a command; that we support those who minister to us.
4. Verse 11. Those that minister the spiritual seed of the Word are to receive a material harvest of support.
5. We are to ensure that all their travelling expenses and costs of ministry are well looked after. Titus 3:13,14.
6. And we are also to ensure that their own personal needs are met.
Read 1 Timothy 5:17,18.
7. The double honour that Paul is talking about in verse 17, he qualifies in verse 18.
8. He is talking about ensuring that those who minister the Word are abundantly blessed financially.
9. As God's people take this command seriously, the poverty that hinders God's servants from ministering effectively will be broken.
Read Philippians 4:14-19.
1. We will be blessed spiritually as we meet the financial needs of those who minister the Word to us, because these servants will be released to minister more effectively.
2. Verse 17. But we are also going to be blessed financially, because there is a crediting to our account.
3. Every time we give, there is a law of sowing and reaping that is released.
2 Corinthians 9:6.
4. Something is credited to an account in our name that is more dependable than the account we could have in any financial institution in the world.
5. For this reason Paul says that he is challenging the people to give to his financial needs when he brings the Word to them.
6. Not only will his needs be met, but the needs of the people will be met also.
7. Verse 19. Now that they have given, they can claim this wonderful promise of God's abundant supply.
8. The more we give, the more is credited to our account and the greater is the return that we receive. Luke 6:38.
9. The greater the return that we receive, the more we have to give and the greater is the increase. 2 Corinthians 9:8-11.
10. Instead of poverty, the law of sowing and reaping releases God's abundant prosperity to us and to God's work.
Read Psalm 18:37,38.
1. Let us pull down the stronghold of poverty and crush it under our feet.
2. Repent for believing the lie that you were ever too poor to give.
3. If you have taught that people were too poor to give, then repent now of that also.
4. Repent of the times that you have not given generously in obedience to God's Word.
5. Repent of getting so far into debt that you are hindered in your giving.
6. Covenant with God now to get out of debt and to give extravagantly as He would direct you.
7. Come against the strongholds of poverty now and pull them down in Jesus' name. Matthew 18:18.
8. Rejoice in the Lord by faith and thank Him for your financial freedom. Psalm 35:27.
| Memory verse 2 Corinthians 9:6, "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." |
| Teacher's notes Receiving the tithes and offerings. A. How NOT to take up the tithes and offerings: 1. Do not apologize for having to disturb the service. 2. Do not apologize for having to take the people's money. 3. Do not just signal the ushers and take the offerings without telling the people what you are doing. 4. Do not bring unscriptural prayers like, "please God bless all who were unable to give today." B. Put high priority on the taking of the tithes and offerings: 1. As an act of worship, it is an important part of the service. 2. Do not rush it, but give it ample time. 3. Use many verses from Scripture so that the people understand the importance of it and their faith is built up. 4. Testimonies of breakthrough in giving and receiving have a good influence. 5. Bring a prayer of blessing over the offerings. 6. Make sure the prayers are in line with God's Word. 7. Consecrate and hold the offerings up before God. 8. Remember that the spirit of mammon is broken by giving as the declaring of God's lordship over mammon takes place. 9. Rejoice, bless, proclaim blessing and prosperity! |
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