New article from Charisma News highlights the "God wants us all rich" theology...

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For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. -- 2Corinthians 8:9 (ESV)

https://www.charismamag.com/spirit/spiritual-warfare/39492-do-you-need-to-break-off-financial-curses

The levels of greed within the apostate church today never cease to amaze me. The audacity to leverage the word of God to essentially whore Him out to the highest bidder reveals the sobering fact that these people simply have no fear of God before them. These are wolves of the highest order mauling the sheep of the Lord hoping they can squeeze another dime out of them before they die in their jowls. People used to reflexively ask me if I thought God wants us to be poor to which I would reflexively answer "well no"" The truth is beloved if that is the question on your heart than the answer is a resounding yes. If money has become your god, then of course Almighty God would rather you poor and dependent only upon him. The above linked article is from Mark Virkler, whose bio claims he has authored 50 books and helped to establish over 250 churches. If that is truly the case then God help the countless victims of Mark Virkler as we once again reason together:

"In this Canadian survey, 68 percent say they "worry a lot about their financial situation" and in this U.S survey, it is 64 percent. So how do I overcome fears and worries about my finances? I wish financial freedom was automatic, but it isn't. The Israelites had to fight to receive the promised land that God said was theirs (Deut. 6:3). In this case, our promised land is "the ability to get wealth" (Deut. 8:18b). We too need to fight to see this kingdom reality manifest in our lives." -- Mark Virkler

We see the underpinnings for his false argument right from the start. Marl Virkler believes EVERY Christians is supposed to be rich. Within his foundation are multiple assumptions and errors. Yes the Israelites had to fight to possess their Promised Land but that was actual land, not money. This was the fulfillment of a covenant God made with Abraham, not the church. The notion that our Promised Land is the ability to get wealth is simply contrived from the wickedly deceitful heart of Mark Virkler and certainly is not found in the verse he cites:

You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. -- Deuteronomy 8:18 (ESV)

Once again we see God referencing the covenant that He made with them -- not us. Now, is this statement still a universal truth? Absolutely. The actual purpose of this verse though is to reinforce the need to never forget where our blessings come from and that our obedience is required. Either way, there is no guarantee that everyone becomes rich.

"Jesus went from riches to rags so that we could go from rags to riches (2 Cor. 8:9--read entire chapter). Financial blessing is one of the 12 great exchanges that took place on the cross. We are going to explore seven prayers which open the door to financial freedom. I experience kingdom blessings when I: 1) believe God's promises are for me, 2) align with them, 3) receive and act on God's wisdom concerning steps to take and 4) passionately pursue them (Jer. 29:13; Prov. 8:17; Matt. 7:7). Remember Daniel, who prayed 21 days and received his breakthrough (Dan. 10:2-5)? Elijah prayed seven times for the drought to end and received his answer (1 Kings. 18:42-43). Since we are encouraged to pray as Elijah did (James 5:16, 17) I have no problem praying repeatedly for the same thing and acting in obedience to what God is telling me." -- Mark Virkler

This is biblically criminal in its rank ignorance. When you want to excuse your greed you might turn to a passage such as 2Corinthians 8:9 but in doing so you miss such a grander picture of what God is actually saying. The entire context of the chapter does not help his glaring call to avarice either; despite his admonishment to read it. The chapter is a directive to give generously, not take at will. Using local churches as his example, Paul then comes to the verse in question, which is our key verse for today. For through His grace, Jesus Christ traded in His wealth to become rich so that we might be able to trade in our poverty to become rich. Only the depraved mind sees this in carnal terms of the dollars and cents of this mortal coil. Only the depraved heart cannot see that Jesus is not speaking about carnality but about eternal kingdom matters. Christ being the Son of God once resided in heaven, rich beyond our mere understanding of rich and poor. He chose to give that up to take on the poverty of our fallen humanity. Then within that poor undertaking, He accomplished what no one else could -- he defeated sin so that we might be reconciled back to the Father and enjoy the richness of eternal life. I pity the likes of Mark Virkler who cannot grasp these eternal truths and is left jockeying for a new car or some trivial bauble that will rust and fade away with the mere passage of time. The spirit Mark Virkler is operating in is Laodicean and can be found in the rebuke of Jesus to that church in Revelation:

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. -- Revelation 3:17-18 (ESV)

Do not fall for the Laodicean spirit of Mark Virkler. Do not chase the riches of a world that will still leave you eternally impoverished. Without Christ we are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. He left everything to bring us true wealth in heaven. Hallelujah to His name! Financial blessing is not an exchange that took place on the cross and it is beyond unseemly to even teach such. Jeremiah 29:13 has to do with seeking God with all of your heart and has nothing to do with money. The same goes for Proverbs 8:17. Matthew 7:7 is "ask and you shall receive" and once again Virkler boils everything down his transactional view of the god he is trying to sell. Daniel's and Elijah had nothing to do with monetary gain of earthly wealth. Virkler now explains He will do several blog posts regarding seven prayers he wants to share and their titles alone reveal the true nature of his wicked heart in these matters:

Repentance--changing my attitude about money.

Breaking off financial curses.

Forgiven, cleansed, renewed.

Erasing negative cellular memories concerning money.

Healing negative pictures of past financial mishaps.

Receiving revelation concerning my giftedness and call to creatively serve mankind.

Celebrating financial freedom with thankfulness.

Wow. To Mark Virkler, repentance is about changing your attitude about money. How disgustingly sad. Also, there are no such things as financial curses. No one can curse who God has decided to bless. Whores like Virkler always try to couch things as wanting money just to serve others but we know the real game going on here. Before closing, he offers up the first two prayers:

"Repentance: Changing My Attitude about Money - Lord, I repent for my sins and the sins of my ancestors for harboring ungodly beliefs about money. I repent for believing it is wrong to have wealth when others are in poverty. The truth is that You have provided more than enough resources for everyone. Your watchful care, personal guidance, angelic intervention and creativity within each heart release Your financial provision into our lives. You do this for me. You do this for others. I repent for believing money is evil and thus to be avoided. In reality, money simply magnifies what is in a person's heart. You said, "Blessed are the pure in heart." Thank You that Your Spirit has purified my heart, allowing me to see You and receive from You (Matt. 5:8). I repent for believing that money will disrupt my spiritual life, for it is You and You alone whom I allow to influence my spirituality. I have chosen to receive Your wonderful counsel in the cool of the day (Isa. 9:6; Gen. 3:8) as I encounter You in my quiet time. It is You who keeps me on track and reveals dangerous attitudes and actions which I am to avoid. You have given me unique gifts and a passion to multiply talents, mastering area after area. Every vocation and skill I have is part of my spiritual life, and taking time to master every area You place before me is part of my spirituality. In no way is it secular. So I will take the time to master each area, acknowledging these areas are part of Your kingdom. I repent for believing I am not gifted enough to be prosperous. The truth is, it is the hearing and obeying of Your voice that causes blessings to be released in my life (Deut. 28:1-14). Your wisdom and anointing overcome every natural limitation. You have placed within me a vision for my destiny (Gen. 12:1-3, Prov. 29:18). You have instilled the passion and gifts to bring it forth (Rom. 12:6). I honor and receive each of these and know that by following them, financial blessing will flow. Thank You, Lord." -- Mark Virkler

I reprinted the entire "prayer" so you can see the level of deception Virkler is working under. One sure test of a doctrine is that if it cannot be preached throughout the entire world then it is false by definition. You cannot ask someone in a third world country to pray this silliness. Do you think that Christians in China stop to think wealth is wrong? It is not of course. The love of wealth is what is wrong. The rich young ruler went away sad because he worshiped money over God. The issue is not in believing money is evil but in not realizing that the desire for it is. Money can and often does disrupt one's spiritual life. Virkler himself realizes that this entire pursuit is carnal, or secular, so he vehemently insists it is not. Because it is important to understand how to not abuse the bible for your own gain, let us examine the various scripture references he throws out there. He claims the following two verses are about God placing a vision inside of him for his destiny:

Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." -- Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV)

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. -- Proverbs 29:18 (ESV)

This is so sad. Neither of these verses have anything to do with God placing a vision inside of us for our dream destiny thingy. The proverbs verse is dealing with the word of God. If we do not read it we are likely to disobey it. If we try to use it for our own ends, such as Mark Virkler, we will easily be exposed by the light of the Gospel. The Genesis verses are regarding the call of Abram -- not the call of Mark Virkler. It is meant as historical narrative not to be applied to our lives. God does not have to give us a vision beloved because He has already given us His Word. Look at how deceived he is beloved. By throwing out verse fragments he does not handle correctly, he believes that financial blessing will flow. Here is his second "prayer."

"Breaking Off Financial Curses - I break all word curses (hexes, incantations and witchcraft prayers) spoken over me by myself or others concerning money. I bind and rebuke all evil spirits that connected with these experiences and gained a foothold in my life. I break all agreement with any imaginations of financial lack. Poverty has no place within me! Demonic forces, be gone now in Jesus' name! I declare that the lack the enemy envisions for me will not prevail over the ability of Almighty God to bless and prosper me!" -- Mark Virkler

It is pathetic that prosperity to Virkler has been boiled down to the trinkets this fallen world has to offer him. There are no curses beloved spoken over our lives that can compete with the Holy Spirit within us. It is superstitious paganism that believes this nonsense. Now, does that mean that we should all be rich? Of course not. Was Jesus rich when He walked the earth? No He was not. Were the Apostles? No they were not. Were there rich Christians throughout history? Or course there were. God wants us to pursue Him not money. The transactional god that Mark Virkler bows down to is not the God of the Bible.

Think about the heartache Virkler is setting people up for. There are always victims of false teaching beloved. How many will read this tripe and pray these prayers only to see nothing materialize in their lives? Countless numbers I would imagine. When they are done decreeing and declaring what they have no power to claim, they will inevitably choose one of two paths. They will either blame God or they will blame themselves. Either way, their entire faith is wrecked.

There is nothing wrong with money beloved and God is the source for all blessings. The question today is at what level will you serve Him? Will you serve him as a millionaire? Heck, that's easy! Will you serve Him in the working middle class? Struggling from check to check? Will His joy still be your strength? What if you lived in abject poverty? What if you were homeless? What if you were a part of an underground church? What if you were persecuted for your belief? These are the realities for many of our brothers and sister across this world and articles like this are a slap in the face to them. Do not follow hucksters like Mark Virkler beloved. Enjoy the richness of eternal life no matter what poverty we encounter in this world.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- December 3, 2018

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.