What is the gospel to the poor?

The gospel to the poor is that Jesus has come and they don't have to be poor anymore!

Not very many poverty-stricken people have ever heard the whole gospel. Most of them have heard that they are supposed to live a meager existence. That is what the missionaries who preached to them believed!

When I was in Africa, the Lord told me that He is holding the body of Christ in every nation responsible for winning their own lost. It takes money to finance a revival. How can they believe for any prosperity in Africa or India, where drought and famine have become a way of life? That is a major part of my calling. I'm responsible for teaching the nations to observe to do all that Jesus commanded.

There are always some missionaries who will become upset about it. They'll argue, "You can preach abundance in the United States, but don't come to Africa and preach it." Or, they tell me, "It won't work in El Salvador;" "It won't work in Nicaragua," etc.

But when you are preaching the Word of God, it works. God could care less whether anyone listening has a dime or not. He didn't base His gospel on what government happens to be in power at the time. All God is looking for is faith!

There is enough undiscovered wealth in the poorest nations of this world to turn their poverty into abundance if they would just believe the gospel. If there wasn't, God is more than able to put it there.

The Kingdom of God Produces "Things"
Abundance and prosperity are important to the kingdom of God because it is affected by them. Jesus said that if you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added to you. You can't tell me that the kingdom of God isn't affected by prosperity or it wouldn't produce things.

Poverty is an evil spirit.

I remember one of my junior high school teachers telling my mother something that has marked my thinking all these years.

He said, "I was raised in deep poverty. I fought my way through high school and through a college degree to get away from it. But," he said, "I don't care how hard I try and how hard I work, I still smell that poverty. I can't get away from it."

I remember thinking, "I wonder why he still smells poverty?" It was because the spirit of poverty was still with him. Many rich people are operating under this spirit. It drove them to become rich.

If the spirit of poverty can compel a man to become wealthy, it will drive him to keep his wealth as well. You would think a person who was raised in poverty would be motivated to get others out of it.

But they won't turn loose of what they have. They are afraid they will lose it and end up poor again. That same spirit of poverty is still dominating them today, even though they are wealthy.

This is why we need to fully understand what the Word says about prosperity!