INTRODUCTION
3 John 2 - Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
I am sure you are wondering what was my vow from the last blog. It was nothing earth moving. Simply stated "God if you would be with me I will keep myself. All I ask of you is:
1. A hairdresser- The principle of the laying on of hands. I wanted no unsaved in my head.
2. A dressmaker - I am unique in my taste in clothes.
3. A good church - Once I cotton on to a church working a serious vision my tomorrow would be okay.
1 and 2 went well number 3 was a major challenge.
Now lets look at the Laws of Prosperity; let me state at the outset that I am a tither. When I became saved it was one of the first doctrine I was taught. You get saved and you tithe; it is in the Bible. Amen, pass the collection plate. It was a part of the doctrines of the Charismatic Renewal. When the prosperity gospel got out of hand, people started merchandising the gospel; you were warned to be careful of those who had gone off the deep end but that did not affect your tithing. It was a part of your financial blessing
Malachi 3 verses 8-10.
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
I served under a Pastor for nine (9) years and never heard him preach on tithing once. Yet the growth of the church was exponential and we never lacked anything. We called ourselves the church of Acts. I remember I was the one, being a member of the Finance Department when I moderated or got a chance to bless the offering spoke about tithing one of my favourite scripture of that era was Psalm 35 verse 27 even the Sunday school class sung it -Ron Kenoly and The African Children's Choir - The Lord Be Magnified.
27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
However, in recent times I have been meeting persons who are in transition going from church to church trying to get the Pastor's hands out of their pocket books. I dont have to introduce the topic it is the first thing that comes up when I invite people to church. "is it a money, money church". I just had a lady asked me this a couple of days ago. I had to advise her that her family would enjoy the fellowship.
Prior to this I met a lady who had been in transition for a number of years one of the reason being she was a pensioner and felt she could not tithe on her income. I almost told her if it could not meet your need it is your seed. But I am learning to bridle my tongue and speak a word in season. I took it to my prayer closet. The person is now anchored in a fellowship. The Lord will bring it to completion.
Being human we tend to develop coping mechanisms one such in this case is the multiplication of housing fellowships and prayer lines. In this setting there is more freedom of worship, sharing of the Word and prayer. As it was in the beginning.
CRITICAL DEFINITIONS
Enough of me, what is this law of prosperity? Is there any such thing as the doctrine of prosperity - La Message de la Prospérité: There are physical laws and there are spiritual laws. It does not matter if you want to believe them or not. They are there you jump off a building without a parachute you hit dirt. The law of gravity, what goes up comes down. When you speak about precepts, principles, statutes and laws you go to the book of Deuteronomy and Psalm 119.
Psalm 119 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.
18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
29 Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.
So let us now define the word prosperity. The most palatable definition I found was on Wikipedia.org - Prosperity is the state of flourishing, thriving, good fortune, or successful status . Prosperity often encompasses wealth but also includes other factors which can be independent of wealth to varying degrees such as happiness and health. Instead of happiness I would put joy, happiness is circumstantial.
However, let us look at a number of Bible characters so we can assess the shortcomings of the captioned definition.
Abraham- The richest man in his days, he had 318 servants and defeated 5 kings at once. Genesis 14 verse 15.
Isaac - He became greater than his father Abraham. Genesis 26 verses 13-14
Jacob - He became exceedingly great. Genesis 30 verse 43.
Job - He was the richest man in the east - Job 1 verse 3.
Joseph - He was thrown in a pit, became a slave, thrown in prison and ultimately became the number 2 citizen to the greatest nation in his time. Genesis 39 verses 1-3, 23 and 41verse 40.
Isaiah - He walked naked for 3 years. Isaiah 20 verse 3
Jeremiah - He was a prophet who never had a convert and was thrown in the dungeon Jeremiah 37verse 16 and 38 verse 6.
Ezekiel - He had to sleep on the ground for over 1 year and cook with dung. Ezekiel 4 verses 4 - 15
King David - He was anointed as king at 16 years of age, became king at 30 years of age to only half of the kingdom the rest was to come later. Prior to that he had to run for his life for 13 years, living in caves and acting as a madman. I and II Samuel.
Solomon - Richest man in the old testament. In his days iron was like stone.
II Chronicles 1 verse 10
Enough of the old testament let us look at the new testament.
John the Baptist - Lived in the wilderness wore animal skin and fed off locusts and wild honey. For his dedication he lost his head.
St. Matthew 14 verse 10-11.
Apostle James - He was killed
Acts 12 verse 2.
Stephen - Stoned to death.
Acts 7 verse 59 - 60.
Apostle Peter - Placed in prison.
Acts 12 verses 5 - 17.
Apostle John - Cast off to the Isle of Patmos after being boiled in oil The book of Revelation.
Apostle Paul - His resumé is found in
II Corinthians 11 verses 16-33. Floggings, stonings, beatings, robbers and prisons just to cite a few.
Jesus - He owned the whole world and never had his name on a piece of real estate while he walked the Earth. He never lacked anything. He was crucified.
St John 19 verse 1- 18.
The punctuation to the whole matter is
Hebrews 11 verses 32 - 40.
What are the shortcomings of the definition ultimately your success is not based on your status or money but on the will of God for your life. Maybe you should be praying for grace to lose your head when you are praying to be a divine financier. I could stop here, however let us continue a little further.
THE SAYINGS OF JESUS
Let us take this discussion to the new testament as one man of God said one should pay close attention to everything Jesus said because He is the only perfect example. As I have already stated I have never had a problem with tithing and the prosperity gospel; there are always exceptions to any rule but I am now crossing path with people who are saying it is not for today. It is old testament not new testament. The people have a point you are flying an aircraft and the members of your congregation are having serious challenges. That is not New Testament gospel The most interesting scripture I have been introduced to is
Hebrews 7. The comparison of the priesthood of Melchisedec and Jesus. This has caused me to examine my beliefs and I am looking and I am seeing nowhere in the new testament that Jesus says you are to tithe. I have heard another minister that he asked God why
Malachi 3 verses 8 - 10 is not in the new testament and he says God told him that he puts it where he wants it. I suppose this is in line with
Psalm 115 verse 3-
3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
In St Matthew 14 verse 17 - Jesus began by saying "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand". In St. Matthew 5 - He started laying out the principles of the kingdom.
In St. Matthew 6 verse 25 - 34 he dealt with our physiological (basic) needs according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs and listen to verse 33 - the key to kingdom living
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
This is the framework for new testament beliefs. Let us go straight away to the book of Acts to see this kingdom in operation.
Acts 2 verses 42 -47
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
The verse above is the strategy for church growth.
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
I watched the late Dr. Myles Munroe illustrating this principle under his Principles of the Kingdom teachings it was profound. It did not say everybody was rich it said all needs were met. Nothing missing nothing broken.
Let us take it a little further Acts 4 verses 32 - 37
32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
In those days people sold things and laid it at the feet of the men of God. They did not merchandise handkerchief and oil. The provision follows the vision.
Then we had Ananias and Sapphira who thought they could lie to God. They were killed Acts 5 verse 1-11. God is not after our money God is after our heart.
I Timothy 6 verse 10 - It is not money that is the root of all evil it is the love of money.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Highlights of Jesus' Teachings
This discourse would not be complete if we did not look at the behavior of the Pharisees, the rich young ruler, the widow's mite and the parable of the unjust steward. One of the first thing we need to rid ourselves of is poverty thinking. Jesus had a Treasurer. St. John 13 verse 29
29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
St. Luke 8 verses 2 - 3 - People ministered to him out of their substance
2 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
3 And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.
1.Jesus' warnings to the Pharisees.
These guys had taken tithing to the ultimate level. They tithe everything. St. Luke 11 verses 37-42
42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
I always wondered of what effect is a person's tithe when their soul is going to hell. For God sent his son not for your tithe but that your soul may be saved. He that winneth soul is wise. Jesus did not say you were not to tithe but He said you are to ensure the more weightier matters have been taken care of the fact that you are saved and your relationship with the people.
2. The story of the rich young ruler
We will look at the version in St. Mark 10 verses 17 -27, the story is also found in St. Matthew 19 verses 16 - 26, and St. Luke 18 verse 18 - 29.
21 Then 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.
Unfortunately, the rich young ruler missed a very significant lesson. Jesus was not after his possession or making him poor. Jesus was proving his heart, whether he possessed the money or the money possessed him. He said he was keeping the commandments but he had overlooked Exodus 20 verse 3 - "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." And Deuteronomy 6 verse 4 - " Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:"
He was young and very successful obviously had some money management skills. Jesus could use him to replace Judas who was skimming off the top. So the rich young ruler looked at his wealth and walked away from the most significant partnership that he could have ever had in his life. What was at stake the returns - thirtyfold, sixtyfold or one hundredfold in this life and one hundredfold in the life to come. What are you walking away from today? St. Luke 16 verse 13 says
13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
3. The widow's mite
42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
This story illustrates three (3) points about giving
- There seems to be a lot of noise in churches about the big givers. They have received their reward. Jesus is illustrating that it is not about the amount of your offering it is about the heart. In my experience it is not the big gift that builds a ministry it is the consistent giving of the many. People who have caught the vision and have purposed in their hearts to come along side.
- It is a matter of proportions. Other people gave out of their plenty. The widow gave all she had. It was sacrificial giving. God loves these widows. The story of the widow of Zarephath who gave the prophet Elijah her last meal and ate for the rest of her life. I Kings 17 verse 12 - 16. It is a set up! Who is God setting up for a blessing.?
- The widow gave in faith, trusting in the provisions of God. St. Matthew 6 verses 25 - 34
4. The parable of the unjust steward
This story is found in St. Luke 16 verses 1 - 13
3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
We can dwell on all the negatives and say how wicked and thief the man was. Jesus did not rebuke him. He commended him for his foresight. We are to be wise in our financial affairs. The unjust steward leveraged his position in order to make provisions for his future. Dr. Mensa Otabil - Buy the Future
8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
THE LAWS OF PROSPERITY
I had come across Dr. Creflo Dollar on television by chance and was watching him for a number of Sundays not only because he is a fantastic teacher of the word but mainly because I was wondering if what I was seeing was really true. There was a major shift in his sermons. I had tuned out from early 2000. Could not take the money sermons. In fact I was talking to a gentleman recently who was telling me about a Creflo Dollar Conference he went to in Atlanta, Georgia and I mentioned the shift to him and he said not only a shift a major shift. However, back to my story, this particular Sunday at the end of his sermon Dr. Dollar mentioned something about the Laws of Prosperity and Pastor Kenneth Copeland in a brief statement. This thing stuck with me I could not get it out of my spirit. There is an old saying where I come from "Man with raw meat seek fire." (If you have a problem you will try to find a solution to that problem) So I went to one of my favourite places seeking, the library. I did not find the book called the Laws of Prosperity but
I found "The BLESSING of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10 verse 22". So I read the book and all through it I kept saying but this is not what is being taught. People are just being taught to tithe. Then I listened on YouTube over six (6) hours of teaching..
The man says the doctrine is not for everybody. He speaks to walking in love, forgiveness, getting rid of fear, trusting God in every area of your life, the authenticity and efficacy of God's Word. Many people in the Charismatic circles still dont believe in divine healing; yet people like myself take it as par for the course. In fact we practice preventative medicine -get the healing scriptures and confess 3 John 2 and Isaiah 53 verse 5 etc. nothing missing, nothing broken. Many people still dont believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues it is all over the book of Acts. Does that prevent the rest of us who do from exercising our gifts? No! Be it unto you according to your faith.
So I went after the book called The Laws of Prosperity. I could not find it on Amazon.com. So I wrote KCM Canada and they sent me a copy. It is a small book only 120 pages. You should get a copy.
Giving
The book speaks to four (4) major areas of giving
- Tithing according to Deuteronomy 26, Hebrews 3 verse 1 and Hebrews 7 verse 8. So my Brethren you are not doing it based on the old order but based on Jesus being your High Priest.
- Giving to the poor. Proverbs 19 verse 17 . "He who giveth to the poor lendeth to God". and St. Matthew 6 verses 3-4. Alms giving.
- Investing in the gospel. St. Mark 16 verse 15- Assisting in the fulfillment of the great commission if you cant go yourself. St. mark 10 verse 29-30. If you partner with Jesus one hundredfold return with persecution, and eternal life. People are going to talk. The byline of Miracle Arena is "The Gospel is free but the logistics are expensive".
- Giving as a praise to God Psalm 118. That is why the Israelites had so many offerings. Some were just to say thanks for His many blessings.
So there is nothing earth shattering about the following list. These are things that we all do from baptism except for the tithe. What I have seen Pastor David Oyedepo do is break down the giving in terms of your natural parents (Honor your father and your mother....only commandment with promise), spiritual parents etc. The only itch seems to be the tithe we have not even discussed first fruits. Deuteronomy 26 and Proverbs 3 verses 9 - 10.
Heavenly Withdrawal
Having followed the above principles it is now time to make a heavenly withdrawal by following these steps
- Decide on the amount you need from God. St. Matthew 7 verse 11.
- The Prayer of Agreement according to St. Matthew 18 verse 19.
- Lay hold of it by faith as in St. Mark 11 verse 23-24.
- Bind the devil and his forces in the name of Jesus St. Mark 16 verse 17, James 4 verse 7 and Ephesians 6.
- Loose the forces of heaven Hebrews 1 verse 14.
- Praise God for the answer. Philippians 4 verse 6.
Nothing earth shattering nothing to bombard you and distract you from the full gospel
With it shall come persecution
Since doing this research on prosperity I have come across a number of things the first was a video with Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo defending the private jet of Pastors which lead me to an article in Forbes Magazine about the ten (10) richest Pastors in Nigeria. So I researched this and found out that the richest was Pastor David Oyedepo with the grand sum of US$150M. The latter calls Pastors Kenneth and Gloria Copeland his spiritual parents. I was a bit disappointed when I saw the amount because I thought finally we had the richest man in the east. If we are going to be the head then let us be the head. Lord help my Holy Ghost. How much did King David put towards building the temple? Have we surpassed him?
Financial Prosperity in Perspective
I recently came across an article in the Toronto Metro Newspaper that a new survey from the Martin Prosperity Institute had indicated that the richest 1% of the earth population which controlled the wealth had gotten richer and the other 99% had gotten poorer. May that not be your portion in Jesus' name. I did not need them to tell me that. I was excited you actually have an institute measuring prosperity. You see "the children of this world are wiser in their ways" not arbitrary. I was excited so I went and read the article
Quoting - There has been increasing concern over rising inequality and the growth of “the 1 percent” of super-rich people who sit atop the global economy. Although the world’s 1,826 billionaires make up just 0.00003 percent of the global population, with a combined wealth of more than $7 trillion in 2015, they wield incredible purchasing power.
The combined wealth of the world’s billionaires is comparable to Japan’s entire economy, the world’s third largest, and make up nearly 10 percent of the total economic output of the entire world. The world’s 50 wealthiest billionaires control $1.6 trillion, more than Canada’s economy, while the top 10 control $556 billion, roughly the economic size of Algeria or the United Arab Emirates.
There is also an article out of the UK by Oxfam entitled Wealth: Having It All And Wanting More which spoke to the lobbying activities of the various groups represented by the billionaires especially Finance and Insurance and Pharmaceuticals. These groups spend billions of dollars on an annual basis on their causes especially taxation and budget issues. Who are the people who pay as they earn?
Reference is made to the global financial crisis. The American people are still paying for the existence of these companies that cant be allowed to fail but the executives have gotten richer while the investors are getting poorer. There was a fantastic documentary on You Tube about the Financial Crisis called `Inside Job` by Sony Pictures.
There are two books that I would recommend for any investor. They are not complex books but they are very profound. They are `Enough Bull` and `Smoke and Mirrors` by Canadian author David Trahair
CPA, CA.
My curiosity was picked, so I had to hop over to the Forbes Billionaires List as I was scrolling through, the first thing that jumped out at me was that these people had either created something, added value or inherited the wealth (inter-generational blessing reminds you of someone in the Bible). As one man of God says, God just gave Bill Gates a Window, he is the richest man in the world, what are we doing. I am still looking for a born again believer on the list.
I decided to go through their profiles on Wikipedia.org, wonder of wonders three (3) of these billionaires had come together and decided that they would be giving away at least half of their wealth because of an example set by a family who had sold a house and donated half the proceeds to charity.
The Gates have decided to eventually give away 95% of their wealth.
I was reminded of the time when I was watching a review of the book called "The Secret" I think Oprah Winfrey had endorsed it so it became popular. I sat there and was waiting for the eureka moment for the big secret to be revealed because, as all the persons were talking all I kept saying in my mind was yes what is the secret all you are saying is in the Bible. So this donating of your substance is in the Bible we looked at it in the book of Acts. "The Children of this world are wiser in their ways than the children of light."
The world systems are skewed.
CONCLUSION
6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
8 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:
In fact read the whole chapter.
Then we as people of God are having problem with the 10%. The 10% was old testament we have a new and better covenant. While we are haggling over 10% the world has moved on to 50% and up to 95%. They can live off 5%. We are haggling over, if we should be giving this God, the creator of the heavens and the Earth 10%.
The churches that have camped at this law needs to start giving people the full gospel and start working the works of God, so that the fear of God can return to the church. When people come into the church we are to surpass their expectations. We should be so on fire that they are ignited. Then you will have people leaving money under your door, calling you on the phone and cheques in the mail. Try it as it was in the book of Acts.
As for me and my house we have our 31 prosperity scriptures one for each day and some. Let me share with you:
1
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Proverbs 10 verse 22
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2
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Deut 28 verses 1-13
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3
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Deut 8 verse 18
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4
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3 John2
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5
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I John 5 verses 4-5
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6
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St. Luke 1 verse 37
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7
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Jeremiah 32 verse 27
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8
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I Samuel 2 verse 8
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9
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Philippians 4 verse 19
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10
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II Cor 8 verse 9
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11
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II Cor 9 verse 8
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12
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St. Matthew 6 verse 33
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13
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Psalm 75 verses 6-7
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14
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Isaiah 48 verse 17
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15
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Isaiah 45 verses 1-3
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16
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Malachi 3 verses 8-10
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17
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Psalm 68 verse 19
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18
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Psalm 122 verse 7
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19
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Psalm 35 verse 27
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20
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St Luke 6 vs 38
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21
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Genesis 1 verse 28
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22
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Ephesians 1 verse 3
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23
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Galatians 3 verses 13-14
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24
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Jeremiah 29 verse 11
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25
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Ephesians 3 verse 20
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26
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Deut 1 verse 11
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27
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Joel 2 verses 25-26
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28
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Psalm 103 verses 1 -5
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29
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Psalm 1 verse 3
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30
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Genesis 12 verses 1 - 3
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31
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Ecclesiastes 10 verse 19
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The overflow
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Genesis 26 verses 12 – 13
Psalm 66 verse 12
Psalm 118 verse 25
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I have my prayer and I am working the word. See you in the kingdom!!!
This is me Lillene`s baby girl coming to you from Brampton, Ontario
À bientôt
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