The church doesn’t have the luxury of discussing and debating history outside the canon of scripture when there are folks who need salvation, deliverance, healing, and prosperity.

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The Church should be an emergency room for the spiritually wounded, a therapeutic outlet for spiritual healing, and a kitchen for the spiritually hungry BEFORE it is a bastion of intellectual debate.

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In other words, FIRST THINGS FIRST! The Church should emulate what Jesus did in His earthly ministry and what the Apostles continued in the first century Church.

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If what you’re discussing doesn’t contribute to making disciples, maturing believers, and multiplying ministries, it should not be a high priority.

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© 2012 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head (Luke 9:58). This scripture is frequently abused by folks who rail against what is commonly called the “prosperity gospel.” We must consider the context of that statement. Jesus had nowhere to lay his head…in Samaria! The Samaritans would not receive Him because they felt slighted because Jesus had His face set toward Jerusalem

⁵¹And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, ⁵²And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. ⁵³And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51-53).

The above scripture is usually trotted out to make the case for a poor, homeless, vagabond Jesus. You can similarly make the case that Jesus, Himself, had a house

³⁸Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? ³⁹He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. (John 1:38-39).

Why would Jesus say, “come and see” regarding another man’s property?

We must dispense with the lie that poverty=piety. Paul wrote that we are to have all sufficiency to abound to every good work

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (2 Corinthians 9:8)

We cannot abound in poverty! In order to represent the Kingdom and to do Kingdom work, we must be equipped with the means to do so!

Another refuge for the anti-prosperity religious crowd is the rich young ruler, whom Jesus was dealing with the fact he was yoked to his money (money was, in fact, his god), not earthly riches, themselves.

²¹Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.²²And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.²³And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! ²⁴And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! (Mark 10:21-24)

Jesus never commanded anyone to take a vow of poverty or expected anyone to give up anything without compensation. In fact, He promised that there would be abundance in store for those who sacrificed for the Gospel of the Kingdom:

²⁹And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, ³⁰But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30, Emphasis mine)

The Kingdom of God is not merely about “pie-in-the-sky-in-the-sweet-by-and-by” it is about wholeness, completion, nothing broken, nothing lacking!

Beside salvation, Kingdom provision includes deliverance, healing, and material blessing. Do you actually believe God wants you to be in lack in your earthly life? If so, then I’ll pray fervently for you…and for all whom you teach!

Yes, we are not to look to the world for our supply or heap up treasure here, but we can have the earnest expectation of divine provision and earthly abundance that we may FLOW THROUGH to our brothers and sisters in need.

If you decide to opt out on any Kingdom benefit, that is your decision. However I will RELENTLESSLY teach that God has abundance for you, NOW, not just in heaven.

© 2011 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

Let me ask you a question, do you have any children? If so don’t you want the best for them? Isn’t their prosperity and health a reflection of your upbringing? If the answer is yes – and God is a better Father than you or I could ever be – surely God wants the best for us!

Religion has distorted Scripture to the point where prosperity is viewed as profane. In Mark, chapter 10, the Lord was not establishing a doctrine in telling the rich young ruler to sell all his possessions, he was speaking contextually to what the young man was yoked to; that is, his wealth. There is no instruction to take a vow of poverty or that wealth, in and of itself, is sinful.

Now, I’m not one of these pastors looking to fleece his flock; rather I’m blessed with a wonderful standard of living that is a blessing from God (I grew up poor – raised by a single mother with two siblings). And the Kingdom principles that God’s Word has imparted to me, I share with others, and EVERY one who has applied them ha seen an increase in their standard of living.

Bottom line, Poverty IS NOT God’s will for His children.

© 2011 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

The devil’s power ends with the Kingdom of God and the earthly dominion of man, which Jesus came to restore. Because we are His emissaries in the earth, we are to be equipped with all sufficiency (spiritual and natural) to accomplish every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8), to have the expectation of material blessing (Mark 10:29-30), and to have abundant life (John 10:10). Prosperity not taught is just as bad as prosperity out of context. Biblical prosperity is part of the Kingdom Citizen’s benefits package and MUST be taught in its proper context!

© 2011 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

Love And Grace – Lesson 10 Of The Love Walk (Part 3), a video teaching Series by Bishop Derrick Day

Love And Grace – Lesson 10 Of The Love Walk (Part 2), a video teaching Series by Bishop Derrick Day

Love And Grace – Lesson 10 Of The Love Walk (Part 1), a video teaching Series by Bishop Derrick Day

I just read this quote by Pastor Joel Osteen that absolutely warmed my heart:

“There is a religious – I call it a spirit or something that says we have to be poor and broke and defeated and sad to show people that we’re really humble, and that we really love God. And I don’t believe that. I believe God wants us to be examples of what it means to live for him. And that our money is to be a blessing to others.”

These are the words of someone who understands Kingdom prosperity.

Good HAS triumphed over evil. This has been the case since Jesus came out of the grave. Indeed, Good is superior because evil is simply the absence of Good.  However, we will only see the manifestation of it WHEN THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM (Matthew 24:14) is preached!

What do I mean? Many are preaching salvation. But salvation is the door to the Kingdom. Many are preaching baptism, which is an outward display of your allegiance to King Jesus. Many are preaching healing and prosperity, but these are manifestations of Kingdom citizenship.

The Gospel of the Kingdom is rooted in Love and demonstrative of God’s Power! It is the Gospel of wholeness and completion; nothing broken, nothing lacking!

Jesus said in Matthew 18:11 that He came to save THAT which was lost. The “THAT” is His Kingdom and the dominion of man as His regent. Until we begin to exercise this dominion, we are like police officers in a convenience store who witness a robbery and opt to do nothing about it!

Jesus said in Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” That means we have some work to do!

Jesus is talking about the COMPLETE Gospel. Not some piecemeal “gospel.” Not what ”Dr. FeelGood” preaches. Not what the hellfire-brimstone crowd is preaching. Not what the healing and prosperity crowd are preaching!

The whole Gospel for the whole man!

This is something that I am very passionate about. We must be about the business of winning and discipling souls for the Kingdom, showing them the love of Christ that they may experience the power of God.

Then we will see good triumph over evil — in this present world

© 2010 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)