Faith and Finances: Your Beliefs About Christian Prosperity

The age old question remains... how is your faith and finances, and your belief about Christian prosperity?

Some still believe it is better to be poor and humble, than rich and humble.

But then a lot of people don't believe you can be rich and humble!

Would you be interested in finding out what Kenneth E. Hagin, a pastor, found out about being prosperous and humble?

Praying for prosperity and having faith in God to claim what you want and need?

Then please read an excerpt from his book below....

The subject of prosperity is currently so misunderstood in the church world that I feel I must comment on it.

The Lord Himself taught me about prosperity. I never read about it in a book. I got it directly from heaven.

It blessed me and my family so much I want to share it with you.

I was born and raised Southern Baptist, and the first church I pastored was Baptist.

When it came to pastors, we Baptists had a little saying: "Lord, You keep him humble, and we'll keep him poor."

We thought we were doing God a favor. We thought that was the way it ought to be....

And some way or other, we young preachers swallowed whatever our elders said about prosperity; we didn't take the time to examine the Word of God on the subject.

We Were Taught That If You're Humble You're Poor

And it's a characteristic of holiness to live on Barely-Get-Along Stree, 'way down at the end of the block, right next to Grumble Alley.

We were taught that if you're a Christian, you ought to go through life - especially if you're a preacher - without anything, with the soles of your shoes worn out, the seat of your pants worn out, and the top of your hat worn out. And drive an old car with fenders flopping. That's being humble and holy! That's honoring God!....

I pastored nearly 12 years. We had faith for healing for ourselves and our children, but we had no faith for finances. We always struggled financially, both as a family and as a church, in every pastorate.

I Look Back, Turn My Face Away In Shame That I Was So Stupid

We'd finally make it through some way or another, by kicking and clawing, bawling and squalling, fasting and praying. It would look like we never were going to make it, but we would. God had mercy on our stupidity and ignorance and helped us in spite of ourselves.....

I'd gotten hold of that Scripture that says, "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." (Isa. 1:19), and I quoted it to God. I reminded Him that I had earned $1,200 less than my pastorate had paid me. I reminded Him that my clothes had worn out and I was on foot, without a car.

I kept saying, "Lord, You said right here in your Word, "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land," and I am sure not eating the good of the land. My children are not adequately clothed. My children are not adequately fed. We are not adequately housed. I know the problem is not with Your, because You don't ever change. Where is the problem?

The still, small voice of the Lord spoke to my spirit, my innermost being.... "The reason you are not eating the good of the land is because you don't qualify. You are obedient, but your aren't willing.....

Don't Tell Me It Takes A Long Time To Get Willing!

I know better! I made a little adjustment down on the inside of me, and I got willing in ten seconds!

I said, "Now I'm willing. I know I am willing. You know I am willing..... Now I am ready. I am ready to eat the good of the land, because You told me that being willing is all I lacked."

"Yes," He said, "I know you are."

The next thing the Lord said to me was, "Your trouble is, you don't practice what you preach!"

Now, that was a low blow!......

I protested, "Lord, You've hit be a low blow! Lord, I do practice what I preach.... "

"Your trouble is, you preach faith, but you don't practice faith," He replied.

I came to my defense. I said, "Why, Lord, You know I do! In all the years since I got my healing, I've never really been sick. I've always received my healing, and children have always received healing."

"Yes," He said, "You practice faith when it comes to healing, but you use your faith only for healing, salvation, and the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Faith for finances works just like faith for healing, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, or salvation.

He continued, "Now, if it were healing you needed for your own body, you would claim it by faith and go out and publicly announce you were healed.... Now, you see, you have to do the same thing when it comes to finances.

"All right, Lord, I'll do that." I saw I wasn't exercising faith in finances at all. We hadn't known we could exercise our faith for finances, so we did without. We struggled through. We barely made it.

..... The Lord Said, "I'll Have To Correct Your Theology A Little"

So the Lord said to me, "Go back to the Book of Beginnings." (I knew He was talking about the Book of Genesis.)

He said, "You know I made the world and the fullness thereof (Ps. 89:11)?"

"Yes."

"You know I made Adam?"

"Yes."

"You know it says in the 50th Psalm that '... every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills' [v. 10]?"

"Yes."

"I says in the Old Testament that the silver and the gold are the Lord's [Hag. 2:8].

"Yes, I know that."

He said, "It's mine because I am the Creator and I made it. But then I turned it all over to Adam.

"I said, 'Adam, I give you dominion over all the work of my hands.' That meant Adam had dominion over the cattle of a thousand hills. He had dominion over the world and the fullness thereof. He had dominion over the silver and the gold.

Then the Lord said, "For whom do you think I made the cattle of a thousand hills? For whom do you think I made the world and the fullness thereof? For whom do you think I made the silver and the gold?.....

I Had Never Heard Anybody Preach This

This was brand-new to me - a revelation!

The Lord said. "Now, the world can build a dance hall, a honky tonk, a beer joint, or a theater, put neon lights all over the front of it, and dress it up nicely. But if you want to dress up the church, people say, 'Ohhh, nooo!' I expect my people to have the best place in town to meet in!"

The Lord said, "I,m not witholding adequate food and clothing from your little children!".....

"The money you need is down there on earth; it's not up here in heaven. And I am not going to rain any money down from heaven, because I don't have any American dollars up here. And if I did rain any $20 bills down, they would be counterfeit.... You see, the silver and gold are down there one earth where you need it.

..... "Then what should I do?" I asked.

He replied, "In the first place, .... don't pray about money anymore; that is, the way you've been praying. Claim whatever you need."

I Never Had Heard Anybody Say That About Money

That came as a shock to me. I guess my mouth fell open and my eyes bugged out.

The Lord continued,..... "Claim it because it's down there on earth... say, 'I claim ........,' naming whatever it is you want or need."

People will argue. "Well, I can believe that God will meet our needs, but that's getting too far out when you start talking about wants!" that's just what I said to the Lord. "Now, Lord, I can believe that You want to meet our needs - but our wants?"

He replied, "You claim to be a stickler for the Word. In the 23rd Psalm that you quote so many times, it says, 'the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not WANT.'

"It says in the 34th Psalm, 'The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger; but they that seek the Lord shall not WANT any good thing.' (v. 10).

Claim Whatever You Need Or Want

"Say, "Satan, take your hands off my finances.' Then say, 'Go ministering spirits, and cause the money to come.'"

He said, "Well.... angels are....'ministering spirits, sent forth to minster FOR them who shall be heirs of salvation' [HEB. 1:14]."

I answered, "Lord, I thought that said 'to minister to.'"

"No, it doesn't say they'll minister to you; it says they'll minister for you."

Can you see what He was saying? Turn your order in! Send the ministering spirits out to get it by saying, "Go, ministering spirits, and cause the money to come."

.... I said, "Lord, I thought the Holy Spirit is supposed to do what the Word said He would do: dwell in us and teach us."

....This is the way the Lord explained it to me:..... "Of course the Holy Ghost infuluences you. On the other hand, angels who are good spirits, are also on earth. If you'll tell them to go cause the money to come, they will go and influence people for good...."

Then the Lord instructed me that after I once claimed what I needed, that was to be the end of the matter. I wasn't to pray or do anything else. If I thought about the situation, I was simply to stay in faith and say, "Thank God for it. It's working."

If You Receive A Revelation From God Prove It Out First...

Before you start preaching or teaching it. Don't proclaim it until you prove that it's in line with the Word and with experience. That's what I did with this controversial revelation concerning finances.

Kenneth Hagin went on to claim $150 a week, which is what it would take to provide for his family and then for himself as he traveled around the country to different churches.

At one particular church in east Texas, he told the mininster of the church not to make any pull for money for him from the congregation. Of course the minister thought Kenneth Hagin would'nt get much money if he didn't, and said that it was their custom to take up a pledge offering.

But Mr. Hagin was adament about this, and told the minister to just past the plate around and this is what the minister did. Since the meetings were going so well, the minister asked Kenneth Hagin to stay longer.

This request came in the middle of the week and he agreed to stay until the middle of following week. So he went back to the Lord and changed his request from $150 a week to $200 a week. When his last day arrived and the meetings were over, the pastor of that church offered Mr. Hagin $240.15, and said he had never seen anything like that, and didn't know where the money had come from.

He Went To Another Church And Claimed $150 A Week

This congregation consisted of 45 people which included the minister and his family and Mr. Hagin, but at the end of three weeks, he was given $750 and a new set of tires for his car.

He tested this revelation through out the small churches across the country and came to one conclusion; God's Word really works. He states that...

"It took all the faith I had back in 1950 to believe for that $150. After feeding my faith on the Word of God and exercising it for the past 30 years, I can now believe God as easily for $1 million as I could then for $150."

The author, Kenneth E. Hagin ministered for almost 70 years after God miraculously healed him of a deformed heart and an incurable blood disease at the age of 17. Even though he is no longer with us, his ministry is still here at: http://www.rhema.org/

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