The Prosperity Message (Part Two)
Submitted by Clay Sikes

I recently received an emailed from a friend searching for answers to the unfortunate state of his finances. He informed me of his faithfulness to tithe, often sacrificially. He embraced the teaching that promises tithing to be the solution to financial problems, yet his finances continued to get worse. My friend wanted to avoid the supposed 'curse' of not tithing as is so often taught in churches today, so he continued to diligently obey this Old Testament law. To answer his question, I shared my testimony and what I found to be truth in this area, as I too had experienced years of financial devastation, all the while tithing money, jewelry, and anything else of value to move the hand of God on our behalf. Nothing worked! I continued to seek God and what follows is what I feel God revealed to me. Test it!

As long as I obeyed the law (of the tithe) I forfeited the grace (Galatians 5:1-4) to hear God. Without an ability to hear there was little opportunity to know where or if to plant. I found that when I obeyed the law in my giving it required no faith and produced no joy. Something had to be wrong, and as a continuing confirmation of my dilemma, my financial situation went from bad to worse. What on earth could God be saying through these tragic and foreboding circumstances? The answer was not at first clear, but as I continued to seek God with all of my heart a sudden truth emerged. "Only that sown under the direct unction (instruction) of the Spirit can bare fruit. Any sowing done outside of the direct leading of the Spirit of God WILL NOT PRODUCE, and that done in strict obedience to the law will cause God's grace (to hear) to be forfeited. My tithing, instead of helping, seemed to be hindering. Then I found this scripture; "But if you are led of the Spirit, you are not under the law" (Galatians 5:18). Sons are led of the Spirit (Romans 8:14), while religious folks obey the law. Anything not done by faith IS SIN! My giving was not producing as the doctrine so eloquently teaches.

Let me clarify these circumstances a little further. There was a time of greasy grace in which there was some sparse evidence of God responding to my legalistic giving, but as I reached an age spiritual accountability and a higher level of spiritual maturity, this type giving bore no fruit. In fact, it seemed to drain what few resources we had. The word tells us that "The traditions of men make the word of God to no affect," and a major church tradition (tithing) was coming face-to-face with the reality of my own financial devastation. Could it be that my legalistic giving was hindering God's provision? After all, the modern day prosperity message was tethered to the tithe, yet a mild inner voice kept whispering, "the letter of the law kills, while the Spirit gives life." How could this mild inner persuasion overturn what Christian TV and Pastor Astor were telling me on a continuous basis? After all, they were spiritual giants and most pew-sitters like me lived among the pygmies.

Finally, when my situation got so bad that food became the primary focus, I began realize that God was indeed saying something that would require change. I remembered something the Holy Spirit had said several years earlier; "Anything growing will change, be open, be flexible, be willing to change." Growth and change are virtually synonymous terms, and just as stagnancy is an indication of a rut, so too is change an indication of growth. God kept pounding on the door of my heart: He didn't need my money - He needed by willingness to seek Him, hear Him, and obey Him.

When we obey God by seeking and following His will, we cannot stop His provision from flowing into our lives (Matthew 6:33) because the greater (putting God's will first), always includes the lesser (our needs being met). Putting God first, by seeking Him, spending time with Him, hearing Him, and obeying Him, will always release His provision into our lives.

Here is what I learned in these real life situations: When provision becomes our primary objective (Matthew 6:32), paganism occurs and God naturally falls into second place. By sheer force of nature we violate Spiritual law. At this point, God's provision all but disappears and the NEED for money increases our QUEST for money. The pressure from this situation causes most of us, because of our indoctrination to the world's system, to hotly pursue money instead of repenting, returning to God, seeking Him with all of our hearts, and resting in the Lord (Isaiah 30:15). The NEED/QUEST syndrome has sent many Christians headlong into a giant financial tailspin. It is interesting to note here that in the world's system people seek things; it God's Kingdom people seek God.

Ministries, Churches, and Christian businessmen alike have felt the brunt of this tailspin, and because of the pressure that this situation produces, many of these entities begin to pursue money to an even greater degree, sending themselves even deeper into the world's system, a place where God's blessing cannot be found. As I found myself in exactly this situation, I would cry out "Why God?" His answer amazed me as I continually repeated the question, and just as continually He repeated His answer - "My mercy!" Yes, you are reading this right; as I pleaded my case about my very bleak financial situation, the Father would tell me it was being allowed as a result of "His mercy." God will allow in His wisdom what He could have prevented in His power. In every situation we face in life we will either focus on what God is saying or upon the problem. Most of us, if we are honest, must admit that our focus is often upon the problem, and as long as that is the case the problem will persist. We must change our thinking to achieve a changed result. We must focus upon what God is saying. When the Lord is truly our Shepard, we will not be in want.

In His mercy, God allowed this dreadful situation to persist as long as I resisted changing my old religious mindset about the tithe. It takes a strong word to break a stronghold, and in my case it took a desperate situation to cause me to look outside of my normal sphere of spiritual influence. Thank God, this strong word has now propelled me into a whole new testimony; one is which obedience and God's abundance are synonymous terms.

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