Biblical Prosperity in Perspective 16

The Importance of Maintaining a Good Report, Part One

by Pastor John Hamel

In our last lesson we saw from the Bible how angels are used of God to bring supernatural prosperity to Believers.  The angels of God hearken to the voice of God’s Word when Believers commission them in the Earth.  Although angels will not bring money, the angels of God will indeed cause money to come to the obedient tithe payer and generous offering giver.  

We saw the importance of commissioning the angels with the words of our mouths to “Go, in Jesus’ Name, and cause the money to come in.” 

In this lesson we will continue studying the importance of speaking faith-filled words while we are expecting wealth to come.  

In the Book of Numbers, chapter 13, we find Israel continuing to wander in the wilderness.  They wandered in circles for years because they just could not seem to stop murmuring and complaining and start saying what God said about them.  God kept warning them to stop that foolishness but few were they who would listen.

At one point the Lord spoke directly to Moses and told him to pick out a total of twelve men, one from each Tribe, who were to spy out the Land of Canaan.  That was the land God promised to them.  

Moses told those twelve to see how many people were living there, what they lived in, whether they were strong or weak, if there was a wall around the city, if the land was producing crops and if the area was wooded.  They were also to bring back a sample of whatever kind of fruit they discovered.  The twelve men did as Moses instructed.  They were gone for forty days.  When they returned they reported back to Moses and Israel as follows.

Unbelief Always Keeps an Evil Report

“And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.  Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.” (Numbers 13:27-28)

The children of Anak were actually giants.  They were a powerful tribe.  Human women and fallen angels had actually conceived them. (Genesis 6:4)  This is where Goliath came from whom David faced.  These must have been some whopping giants because Goliath was about thirteen feet tall with six toes on each foot and six fingers on each hand.  Notice how the spies immediately focused on the giants they saw with their eyes and not the land and the protection that God had promised them.  This is what many Believers do with the giant of poverty.  They focus on the giant and not God’s promise of wealth.  They complain like the spies did.

“The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.” (Verse 29)

Some of these other tribes were made up of giants, as well.  Again, notice the focus on giants, giants, giants.  Giants here.  Giants there.  Giants, giants everywhere.  Instead of coming back and talking about the abundance that was in the land that flowed with milk and honey, the focus was on the giants.  

Again, too many Believers today do the same thing, focusing on the giant of poverty and not on the promise of provision.

Faith Always Keeps an Excellent Report

“And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” (Verse 30)

Notice Caleb.  His was the voice of faith.  He jumped up shouting, “Not only can we do it, we can do it well.  Let’s get ‘er done.”  That is what faith does.  It speaks.  It speaks in line with the will of God.

“But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.” (Verse 31)

Notice the men who saw what Caleb saw.  Theirs was the voice of fear.  They jumped up shouting, “Not only can we NOT do it, if we try, those giants will whip the fire out of us.  Let’s stay out of there.”  That is what fear does.  It speaks.  It speaks in line with the will of Satan.

Recently I asked a man a question.  “What is the difference between a man who says ‘I can’ and a man who says ‘I cannot’?”  He answered, “I’m not sure.  You tell me.”  I told him, “There is no difference.  They are both right.  

If you say you can, you can.  If you say you can’t, you can’t.  Words have power.” 

“And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone … is a land that eateth up the inhabitants … there we saw giants … we were in our own sight as grasshoppers … All the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night … Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said … Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! … And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? … And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.” (Verses 32-33, 14:1-4)

Now granted, these giants were mighty big indeed.  Og, King of Bashan, was at least 18 feet tall. (Deuteronomy 3:11)  Regardless, God told Israel to take the land and He promised that they were supernaturally equipped to do so.  Caleb was fired up and ready to do so.  He knew his God was bigger than some 18-foot half-man half-demon, fallen freaks.  He knew he had a Covenant with a God Who is bigger than any giant.  

However, his fellow spies were not so sure.  In spite of all the miracles they had seen God perform on their behalf in the wilderness, they refused to believe.  That is exactly what to call it, too, refusal to believe.  They did not lack the faith to obey God.  When God tells you to do something, He gives you the tools to do it.  They refused to use the leverage of faith against the weight of the giants.

Their fear-filled words spread like a cancer.  Ten of those spies infused approximately six million individuals with the cancer of fear.  They convinced everyone that the Word of the Lord was not true and that it was time to look for new leadership.  I have seen people do this today.  They say, “Time to get rid of the Pastor and take over this operation ourselves.  He’s the one who got us into this stinking faith mess and now it’s time for him to go.  Time for someone to lead us in the way we want to go.  We’re going back into the world and we’re doing things our way from now on.”

That is the last thing in the world a congregation wants to do to their Pastor when it seems that faith is not working.  That’s rebellion.  It is so important to never speak against God’s Word.  It is so important to never speak against God’s appointed leaders, particularly when those leaders are getting direction right from the Throne Room.  

Pastors do not lie prostrate on their faces before the people and pray, “Tell me your will and I’ll let the Almighty know immediately.”  

Pastors lie prostrate on their faces before the Almighty and say, “Tell me Your will and I’ll let the people know immediately.  Anyone who doesn’t want to follow my lead, I’ll remind them why You led me to put those Exit signs up over the doors.”

Notice back in verse 32 that the ten spies brought what the Bible refers to as “an evil report.”  They said, “Not only will those giants eat our lunch, they’ll eat us for lunch.”  They were describing what they saw.  They were describing what they heard.  They were describing how what they saw and heard made them feel.  They were operating completely in the flesh.  That is what unbelief does.  Unbelief describes what it sees and hears and feels.  Faith describes only what it believes, not what it sees, hears or feels.  Jesus marvels at both unbelief and faith.  How is He marveling at you?

Some Church people do what the ten spies did.  They speak fear all the time and it spreads like a cancer throughout the congregation.  The Pastor has to continually fight back the people’s fear from the pulpit.  The unbelieving ones base their evil report on the sense realm and not on the Word of God.  They say things like, “I’m just being honest when I tell it like it is.  I don’t have enough money.  I never do.  I’ve never been able to pay my bills and I simply cannot see how tithing is going to change that.  How can I finance World Revival when I don’t have anything to begin with?”

The Bible calls that an “evil report” because it is contrary to what God says.  God said we are well able to conquer the giants of poverty.  God said we are redeemed from the Curse of the Law.  Poverty is a curse of the Law. (Deuteronomy 28:15-68)  

God said that Abraham’s blessings of material and financial wealth are ours. (Galatians 3:13-14, 29)  

Because this is what God said, this is what all Believers should say.  Israel refused to say what God said.  Because of this, it took them 40 years to do something that God expected them to do in 40 days, possess the Promised Land.  

Maintaining a good verbal report, a Biblical report, will keep you from prolonging the prosperity process as well.

In part two of this lesson, we will continue with the importance of always maintaining a good verbal report in order to be financially empowered to reach the lost world with the message of Christ.

Be blessed … John and Barbara Hamel

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