The Spirit of Poverty – Part 2: Root Causes

Last Wednesday I posted the introduction to the workshop on the spirit of poverty that was led by Bill Axtell as a part of New Life Valley Ministries.

Today I want to cover the first root cause of this condition. Here are Bill Axtell’s words:

One of the roots of the spirit of poverty is – the spirit of fear

These are some of our most common fears:

• fear of failure
• fear of commitment
• fear of want or need
• fear of insufficiency
• fear of rejection
• fear of injury, sickness, or pain and suffering

The enemy keeps us so bound up in fear that we cannot function effectively for the Kingdom of God.

Because fear is often brought on by having an idol in our lives, here are five questions to help identify any idols you may find in your life:

1. Does something have my affection or attention more than God? (See the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22:1-19)
2. Am I afraid of losing something or giving it up?
3. Does my protection of something cause conflict in my life personally and with others?
4. Does it interfere with the fruit I bear?
5. Where do I have the most invested?

Next week we will look at the question “How do you get control of your life?” Great question. Bill has great answers.

See you then!

Darlene