Our God is the creator and giver of all things. Since the foundation of the earth, He has been working in secret on our behalf, to bring into manifestation the riches of His glory into the lives of all humanity. And that’s one of the main purpose for your salvation – to display God’s glory on the earth (Ephesians 1:17-18).
Paul once told the Ephesians that he was given the calling by God, to reveal the pathway for us into these things. That was an important theme in most of his writings.
But unfortunately many believers in Christ today, have been mislead by the religious traditional teachings of men, to believe that it’s God’s perfect will for them to live in poverty. No, God never uses poverty or sicknesses to teach anyone anything. Those are the works of Satan.
On the contrary God desires to see all of His children prosperous on the earth. He wants to see everyone of His children rich in this life on earth (Romans 4:17 and 3 John 2-4).
Paul told the Ephesians:
“I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.”
Ephesians 3:9 NLT
Jesus also declared to the early disciples that:
“…The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, “ ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’ ”
Mark 4:11-12 NIV
God’s plan for the prosperity of the righteous are continually being revealed, to those who desire to know about them. We saw last week how Adam and Eve missed an opportunity, in the garden of Eden to continually experience heaven here on earth. The moment they opened their hearts into sin, they lost that opportunity. Jesus finally came to restore that missing opportunity back to us.
We saw also last week how the servant with the one talent in the Parable of talents, missed an opportunity given to him by his master to prosper. In that Parable Jesus called that servant with the one talent – “worthless” (Matthew 25:26). In as much as God never created a worthless human being; He however does expect all of His creations, to be fruitful and multiplying here on earth.
In Mark chapter 11:12-26 we can read about Jesus cursing the fig tree also, because it was unfruitful and worthless. Even though it was not the time for it to bear fruit; Jesus expected to find the evidence of the ability to bear fruit on it. God expects to find an evidence in your life as a Christian of fruitfulness, increase and multiplication. Just as Jesus called the servant with the one talent “worthless”; we can say the same thing also about the fig tree.
In the same manner God expects every human being on the earth, to be making strides in life towards increases and multiplications. You are in this world to do exploits with the opportunities, that Adam and Eve missed out of. Don’t live your life out on earth, without fulfilling the mission that God has placed on your hands.
Seek God to find out what is yours
The revelation of these things often comes to us in the spirit, and by the Spirit. But it is still the primary responsibility of each believer in Christ, to tap into each one of them by faith. God has many things stored up for each one of us. But apparently the Body of Christ has not fully grown up maturely, to even start asking God for them. God is waiting on you to start asking Him, about the greater things that were designated for your life, since the foundation of the earth.
He said:
“Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).”
Jeremiah 33:3 AMPC
Great things are available to those who will ask for them. God doesn’t just dish out of His goodness to those, who have not been prepared to take responsibility for them. When we seek God’s face, we will find Him. He desires to give us all everything, that had been kept for us since the foundation of the earth.
Paul said:
“Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]–”
Ephesians 3:20 AMPC
The Lord has great things for you in the coming year. But these great things are available only for those, who have positioned themselves for their manifestations. Many Christians needs to get matured enough in handling most of the things, that are going to start happening from the beginning of the coming year here on the earth.
There is so much abundance of blessings and favors available to you in the coming year. But whether you get blessed or favored in the year depends solely on you. God has done His own part. Don’t get caught spiritually unprepared for the overflow.
God doesn’t give riches to spiritual babies. Those who had been saved for a long time, but who are still desiring the spiritual milk or the elementary things of God’s Kingdom are babies (see Hebrews 6:1-12). It’s time for you to grow up in the love of God, so as to be able to handle the things that are coming your way. It’s going to be a glorious ride with Jesus.
The scriptures says:
“Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
Hebrews 5:13-14 NIV
You can’t be aspiring for greater things in life while your spiritual life is stale. If you are believing God for greater things, it’s time for you to start desiring the spiritual meat of God’s word. God will give you spiritual meat of His word, in training you to discern good and evil. It will help you in identifying the acceptable, good and perfect will of God for your life (Romans 12:2).
Paul once told the Galatians:
“My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,”
Galatians 4:19 NIV
God is waiting on many of His children to grow up into maturity, about who they really are in Christ Jesus. Many are still struggling with the realization of who they are. They’ve heard about it, but their faith is not pressing into the realization of it.
Identify the spiritual veil that may be hindering your prosperity
This is because the enemy has put a veil, over their spiritual eyes of understanding, into the reality of this truth. A veil is used often by Satan to block the spiritual eyes of the believers, from recognizing what belongs to them; even when their blessing is just underneath their noses.
Many have missed out of their promotions, financial prosperity, healing, relationships and much more because of these religious veils. Satan knows how to use dead religion, that often masquerades in the guise of spiritual things, to hinder God’s children from what rightfully belongs to them. That’s why you need the meat of God’s word, to beat him to his game. Don’t give him a chance anymore.
It is only in Christ Jesus that, the veil can be removed. Paul mentioned this to the Corinthians when he wrote:
“But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:14-18 NIV
You may have been reading the scriptures religiously on a daily basis, but religious traditions can keep you away from experiencing the law of freedom in what you are reading. Instead of seeing the light out of your situation, Satan will use the religious traditions and teachings of men to keep you in those bondages. He will use the spiritual veils to block a believer’s eye of understanding, in using his faith to eat the spiritual meat that the law of liberty gives to him.
But once that religious veil has been removed, the only thing left for you to start seeing is the Lord’s glory. The law of liberty in Christ Jesus will guide and lead you into it.
I want to help you this week in identifying some of these religious veils or teachings, that are hindering the prosperity of most Christians today. In understanding the tricks of Satan today, we will need to go back to how Jesus pointed them out for us while on the earth.
Nothing has really changed in our world today, in comparison to the spiritual principles of that time. It is still the same evil that existed during Jesus’ time, that we are still seeing daily in our world today.
Satan is not finally bond yet. He is still the god of this world. But his time will finally come to be bond by just one angel from God (see 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Revelation 20). The style of Satan may have changed; but it is still the same modus operandi, that he has in place today against God’s children. Nothing that the enemy does is new.
The dead religious teachings that are being used today, to hinder the prosperity of the Lord in the lives of many; were very much around during the time of Jesus also. They were used by the religious leaders of His time, to hold on to their religious and political powers. And it’s common to find Church doctrines today which are being used by some, to perpetuate their hold onto religious and political powers, within the Church and their communities.
The three major groups that were identified by Jesus, saw His ministry as a direct threat to their powers. That has not changed today also. The preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ with signs and wonders, is a threat to some of these groups today. The only thing is that Satan has given them different labels.
The three major groups and their teachings today
Nothing has really changed in the way, that Satan operates against the Body of Christ today. And the enemy will never change in his tactics. Jesus directly warned us about them in the scriptures, as He spoke with His disciples:
““Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.””
Matthew 16:6 NLT
And again on another occasion He said:
““Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.””
Mark 8:15 NIV
Wherever Jesus says “watch out” or “be careful” in the scriptures; it’s very important for us to pay particular attention to those things. These are the things Satan is still using today to hinder the spiritual growth of many Christians. Dead religious works and beliefs are his slow and gentle poisons against the power of God in a believer’s life.
Now there were three main religious groups, that Jesus encountered during His ministry on the earth. They were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Herodians. Some other ones also existed; but these three were the major ones that He warned us about.
It is interesting to note that their basic philosophies still exists with us today — we simply call them by different names.
In the two scriptural texts above Jesus made references to the teachings of the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Herodians. In doing this He compared their teachings to the yeast or the leaven (Matthew 16:11-12).
Yeast (leaven) is forbidden to be mixed with any sacrifice to the Lord throughout the Old Testament. This is because it is a symbol of evil and corruption, which does has the ability to spread and pollute whatever it is being mixed with. It represents the characteristics of evil being mixed up with good.
In Luke 13:21 Jesus compared it with the growth of the Kingdom of God in the life of a new believer. In this scripture text however it symbolizes the good changing the evil. But typically yeast is a polluting agent.
These three major groups has their own teachings, various understandings and interpretations of scriptures. And among various groups of believers in Christ all over the world today, you can easily identify stereotypes of the religious groups from the time of Christ. Their teachings are spreading around today also, just as in the time of Jesus.
In many cases their teachings today resembles, those of the three groups that Jesus identified for us in the scriptures. In reality any doctrine or teaching that seeks to take away the freedom, which you have in Christ from you is of the Devil (Galatians 5:1).
The Holy Spirit filled believers in Christ needs to be able to identify these spiritual veils or yeasts, so as to avoid them and prevent them from hindering their ability to prosper with the blessing of the Lord.
The yeast of the Pharisees:
is the legalistic and the hypocritical (Luke 12:1) attitude today, of Christians towards the teachings of Christ. It has everything to do with the believer in Christ, who values his association with the evil of the world more than his life in Christ Jesus.
It is the hypocritical lifestyle of the believer, who still lives in accordance with the way of the world, while still trying to be relevant with the Church. What these types of believers do, is to spread the evil and corrupt doctrines of prosperity from the world within the body of Christ. And oftentimes the innocent immature believers in Christ Jesus, are the ones that falls as preys for their teachings. You need spiritual meat to be able to handle them with the love of God.
They are the Christians who like to pay attention to the dictates of the law, without the Spirit of God to give them an interpretation of the law in itself. They do have a veil over their spiritual eyes of understanding, concerning the blessing and prosperity of the Lord. This is why many of them are struggling with biblical prosperity today.
Their interpretation of the law without the grace of God, has become a veil over their spiritual eyes of understanding. They do like to put up a legalistic attitude towards the power of God to save, heal and deliver.
Outside the Church they do live, talk and act like the people of their world. This has often hindered their spiritual growth and walk with the Lord. Many of them have been saved for long, but they are still living like spiritual babies concerning the things of Christ.
They are too legalistic to grasp the Spirit of the law of liberty in Christ Jesus, so as to apply it to every situations that the enemy brings into their lives. They are therefore limited because of this, in what they can receive from the Lord.
The legalistic Christians (or the Pharisees) of today do like to interpret the word of God, just as it is written without the Spirit of God, to help them in applying it into their real world lifestyle. They will point out what the word of God says to others; but they themselves are not following it.
But according to Paul:
“He (Christ) has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
2 Corinthians 3:6 NIV
The letter of the law without the Spirit is a spiritual veil that is hindering the prosperity of the legalistic Christians today. They like to make long lists of what to do and what not to do, so as to prosper. Amazingly enough they often have made their own lists of dos and don’ts, but they themselves never live according to their own set standards of rules.
They for example do have a rule for tithing, as the only way through which the blessing of the Lord flows into the life of a Christian. But you will be surprised to find out that many of them, are not even consistent in paying their own tithes to their local Churches.
Tithing is of God. The Lord wants us to tithe, if we want the windows of heaven to be opened into our lives. But tithing is not the real foundation of your commitment to God’s Kingdom. Your covenant by the blood of Jesus is that solid foundation.
The Pharisees or the spiritual legalists of today, makes a rule about tithing. And it may seem to the unaware believers in Christ, as if it is the only way that the blessing flows into their lives. But it is not. Their spiritual veil is blocking them from seeing offerings, alms giving, seed sowing and much more; as sources through which God can pour out of His goodness upon the believer’s life.
The major problem with the legalistic group and their spiritual veil, is their misunderstanding and misinterpretation of God’s word and grace. They are struggling to be spiritually balanced in God’s grace. They are hearers of the word, but not necessarily the doers of it.
The Sadducees:
These are the skeptical Christians, who often do like to question the power of God for the supernatural. Many of them today see poverty as God’s will, or as the Christian cross for the believer who lives in poverty. They do believe more in medical science for healing, than to trust in the word of God; as the foundation for their physical healing and deliverance.
The Sadducees of today do trust more in the Babylonian system for financial prosperity. They are the Christians who will rather trust in the financial system of the world, to help them with their financial troubles; instead of trusting in the promises of God for their prosperity. They are always looking for the easiest pathway out of their difficulties in life, by following the patterns of their world, instead of putting their faith in God.
Some of them do claim to believe in the power of God to heal, deliver and prosper. But in practice you can easily identify them. Just like some teachings of the Pharisees today, the Sadducees around you don’t practice what they claim to believe in.
Whatever they do believe in from the scriptures are often modified to fit into their own belief system. They are the group of believers today, who are redefining what is sinful and what is not among Christians, so are to fit into their political and social world views.
That’s why many of them today are politically and socially active; but not for the word of God as a pivot for their spiritual lives. That’s why during the time of Jesus, the Sadducees were more aligned with the Herodians, than with the Pharisees. The Sadducees of the modern world loves to be politically relevant in the world, rather than to the teachings of the Kingdom of God.
The Sadducees of our world today believe that, it is okay for Christians to live in anyway that they like, as long as they are not being a threat to others around them. To them sinning is okay, as long as it is socially and politically acceptable.
Jesus once told them in the delusion of their minds:
“Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?”
Mark 12:24 NIV
These words of Jesus still describes them in our world today. The Sadducees of this modern world do not pay attention to God’s word. They are mostly swayed by their feelings. And just like in the time of Jesus, they have no faith in the power of God for prosperity. They will rather be swayed by their personal feelings, to do anything (even illegally) to prosper themselves.
The Yeast of Herod:
Is basically in our world of today a direct reference to the Christian teachings, that are specifically aligned to the political and social correctness of the world. Their goal today is to be politically and socially relevant to their world. These are Christians who like to be seen as a group to be reckoned with in the society. To them nothing is really spiritual. Their political influences and alignments are more important to them than their Christian lives.
Such believers often sees the government and political leaders, as the only answers to their prosperity; instead of using their faith in God. In our world today these are the believers who will always put the political leaders and their views above God’s word. They literally worship politicians. The Herodians during the time of Jesus once said to Him:
“They (Herodians) came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”
Mark 12:14 NIV
The Herodians of this modern world are always “swayed” and influenced by their political views, more than the Spirit of the word of God. They will often attend Church gatherings solely to advance their political and social objectives. Politics and their social lives has become like a veil, which covers their heart from hearing God’s voice in leading and guiding them into prosperity.
And just like in the time of Herod of Judea, the Herodians of today do yearn to see God perform miracles, only on their own terms and timeline. Anything outside of their political and social worldview is often opposed by them, even if it agrees with the teachings of Christ. Their teachings or “yeasts” are basically anti Christ, or against the anointing to save, heal, deliver and prosper.
Jesus warned us about them in the scripture text above (Mark 8:15), because He was well aware of what Herod was planning against Him.
The Herodians and the Sadducees of today are often skeptical of the power of God to heal and deliver. They will rather put their faith in the doctors, instead of what the scriptures says to them about healing and deliverance. That’s why they are often aligned with one another.
The prosperity of the Lord is far from them, because their faith is solely based on what the government or the Babylonian system can give to them. To the Herodians of today being a Christian is a tool for political and social relevance.
The Herodians of the time of Jesus once came to tempt Him about taxes. They wanted to know if He acknowledged Caesar as their emperor. Their question to Jesus was no different from the type of question that the Herodians of today will ask a committed follower of Christ. But Jesus responded in a manner that caught them unprepared:
““Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” His reply completely amazed them.”
Mark 12:17 NLT
If you want to put them on their spot today; you’ve got to deal with them just as Jesus did. The Herodians of our world today are still struggling to understand biblical prosperity. Their understanding of godly prosperity is still veiled; just as that of the Pharisees and Sadducees of today.
Where do you stand?
You may have been unconsciously putting on any one of these veils over your heart, in understanding biblical prosperity. It’s never meant to be about you. It’s all about God’s plan and desire to bless all humanity. It’s time for you to get rid of the “yeasts”, that are veiling your blessing and prosperity. Start putting your faith into action to tap into what God has placed in your hands, to prosper yourself and the world around you. It will give you the joy and satisfaction in life that you can’t get anywhere else.
Finally, take this word of advice from David in guiding and leading you in the coming year:
“I am a friend to all who fear you (Lord), to all who follow your precepts.”
Psalm 119:63 NIV
Start looking for friends around you, who really love Jesus and do practice what they believe.
