11th September 2011


Free #7 – Overcoming The Spirit of Poverty


In a moment I want to relate to you a story from 1995 when Suzanne and I were pastoring The Church at the Carlton in Hamilton. Before I do that, I want to report something of the present status of the Hamilton church (now known as Life Church Hamilton).


  1. The impact and influence of the church is quite significant, and growing, in the city – and although it is a church of just hundreds, it’s reach is considerably more expansive than it’s size. Through three charitable trusts, 44 people are presently employed – the vast majority (36) in the delivery of services to the community. Together, they are responsible for a multi-million dollar budget.


  3. Just in the first 6 months of this year over 120 families participated in parenting courses presented by the church and funded through nine separate contracts with the Ministry of Education. Along with this, Parent Coaches are doing one to one work in homes. And there’s a real flow of creativity in all that they do – just one example: a young woman from the church wrote a program called “Girls with Destiny” which has already been purchased by high schools and is running successfully.


  5. God has given the church much favour with significant national and international ministries; and many events are staged by the church each year equipping and refreshing men and women in leadership and ministry from all over New Zealand. Life Church carries a very strong worship and prophetic anointing – it is not performance-focussed, as all the activity might suggest, rather these folk are completely Presence-focussed and welcome the Holy Spirit invading their worship. This is a very free church.


I wanted to share that to give some context to our story from 1995. In a nutshell, this is a church that is functioning completely free from the spirit of poverty.


  1. Early in November 1995,  a woman who served in our oversight team turned up with a document she had written upon which were listed a number of shattering accusations against the church and our ministry in particular. It covered a wide range of things, every one of which should have been put on the table for mature and transparent consideration.

  2. However, the woman was in attack mode, resigned and left the meeting. Sue and I and the rest of the team were in complete shock and felt so personally slandered that we failed to see the common thread that ran through the list of accusations.


  4. The following day we learned that before the previous evening’s meeting she had already rounded up her closest friends in the church and had divulged her grievances with them and gained their sympathy. (Several years later, we received a letter from this woman seeking forgiveness for the hurt she had caused in the church, and repenting of her sin).


  6. Within a day, we drove to Auckland and met up with Brent Douglas who upon looking at the list of accusations saw the common theme, he told us that every one of these things was telling us what we shouldn’t be doing, what we can’t afford, what we’re doing too much of, or how we should pull back on our plans. In short, Brent said, this is an attack by a spirit of poverty. Then he looked at us (we were pretty beat up) and said, I’m going to take you where Chris Gaborit is holding a School of the Prophets and I’ll ask several proven prophetic ministries to speak over you, without first telling them your present situation.


  8. This began what was to become an eight day encounter with prophets, the voice of God pouring into our lives by many different means. It was a completely healing, restoring and faith releasing week – the prophets confronted the spirit of poverty and the power of limitation and defeat Satan had tried to draw over our lives, ministry and church was broken. Before we returned to Hamilton, Suzanne and I took a prophetic-action against the spirit of poverty. We couldn’t afford to do this, but we went to St Luke’s Mall and bought new jackets, and wore them as a statement that God had given us victory over poverty and put a new mantle on our lives!


  10. Back home, I wrote a Prophetic Declaration (dated 26th November 1995), it was an offensive against the spirit of poverty with six declarations drawn from the prophecies of the previous week - statements of belligerence against a foe that wanted to bring limitation, unbelief, and smallness of mind and vision.


Prophetic Declaration (26th November 1995)

  1. This church is a centre of spiritual authority in the city and nation with an apostolic and prophetic mantle from God for power and influence in the spirit realm.


  3. God is using this church to overthrow an old wineskin.  It will be totally free from religious ways and devils.  It’s warfare, music, revelatory teaching and governmental authority will be at the spearhead of God’s new moves.


  5. God is giving strategies and plans to this church to conquer every adversary, pull down strongholds and breakthrough every door of opportunity for evangelism and spiritual leadership in our city and nation.  The harvest of souls is ready for the Church at the Carlton.


  7. This church will be a place of sending anointed teams into the nation and nations. Teams that will carry the unique anointing and mantle upon this body.


  9. This church is full of people who love to serve.  And God has chosen this church to gather men and women of a faithful heart from north, south, east and west. Great growth will be witnessed as God opens the windows of heaven over us.


  11. This church is chosen for prosperity and release of finances. A harvest of material blessing awaits all who sow. We are a rich church.


Here’s the principle concerning the Spirit of Poverty:


Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. This is our God. ‘The Spirit of Poverty’ works to disconnect our hearts and minds from that kind of God. It is a stronghold of Satan, or construct in the mind of people that establishes a belief-system of limitation, lack of blessing and unbelief.


It is a mind-set and belief-system, promoted by demons, that can ensnare both rich and poor – it has nothing to do with wealth. Jack Hayford: “The Spirit of Poverty is the fear of not having enough”.


One of the Bible’s most powerful statements that declare complete freedom from the spirit of poverty is in Philippians 4:12-13 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. The Spirit of Poverty wants us to say, I can only do the things I can afford, and I must be careful not to do too much in case I don’t have enough for tomorrow. Basically, their message is “you can’t”.


And a person under the influence of a spirit of poverty will almost always confess what they can’t do, don’t have the resources to do, can’t afford to do – and seldom gives God an opportunity to show what he can do through them or for them. But Paul was declaring that whatever God has called him to do, he can do it whether in a season of abundance or abasement. And it is much more than money – it’s about resources of the heart, of time, of strength, of creativity, our emotional and spiritual resources.


1 Kings 17:8 - 16


Here we have an impoverished widow about to fix a final meal for her son and herself. There’s no doubt, this lady is living with severe restraint and limitation. She is in absolutely no position to bless another person, or to give of herself ... short of giving away her last miserable meal.


Enter the prophet – feed me first!


This is God calling her to do beyond her capacity. This He consistently does, calling us into places where a thing can’t be done without Him!


Consider the normal responses here: "I can't give this away", "If I do, I've got nothing", “This is irresponsible, given my situation it’s completely unreasonable.” So how harsh and unfair was it for God, through Elijah, to command a widow woman obviously so lacking to be a channel of supply? (Widows normally totally lacking in those societies).


  1. •Elijah had just witnessed birds, ravens, doing just what he had asked this woman to do. NB: Jesus “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  Matthew 6:26


  3. •Message: Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.  In considering the abundance that’s in the God I trust, it’s nothing for me to do what He asks.


  5. •Before God could release that abundance through her and to her, He has to confront and break her free from the spirit of poverty that gripped her.


  1. •Poverty is not "not having", it is the "fear of not having". It is not greediness or even pride. Notice v13 "Do not fear".


Poverty is that spirit that causes us to hold, clasp and keep close to ourselves. To hold back from actions of faith – even things that we desire and know are good. (It is not the domain of the poor, e.g. Howard Hughes).


The fear of not having is a fear that demons seek to take advantage of and bind it to our soul  OR  It’s an enemy attack upon our minds aimed at getting us to buy-in to an anxiety that stops us believing that we can do the things that God places on our hearts to do … and it touches a range of “resources” far wider than just money.


Gathering sticks for their last meal with the last meagre resources of flour and oil. Elijah asks her to feed him first. She had held on to that little bit of flour and oil for as long as she could, hoping to put off what seemed inevitable.


"give that meal to me first!" - He is confronting the spirit of poverty.


When a person, family, church are bound by a spirit of poverty they are ... resigned to not having, therefore resolved to not giving, or going, or loving, or serving.

... also in relationships (risk of love) ... It's like the spirit of poverty is trying to say "Don't open your hands, your arms, your heart, all it will do is hurt you"


This woman has been "holding on" to her last meagre resources, and Elijah challenges her and says, "Please bring me  ..."  God was purposing to open her closed hand to give, because He wanted to give much to her, and it's equally impossible to put something into the hand when it's a clenched fist.


She responded and opened the hand that had closed around the little she had - and released the fulfillment of  v14  in her and her sons lives.


"So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah (opened her hand to feed Elijah first), and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah."


To overcome:


  1. 1.Because this is first a stronghold of the mind and heart, we overcome as 2 Corinthians 10:4-6. That is, in the power of Jesus name we cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.


  1. 2.Having gone to war in this manner and we find this condition seems “bound” to our mind and heart, deliverance should be sought and demons of fear and lack be expelled.


  1. 3.Following either #1 or #2, we proceed to be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2) … always exalting the word of truth above contrary thoughts and beliefs day  by day.