THE WORKING OF FAITH IN THE LIFE OF MOSES - Hebrews 11 verses 23 -29

INTRODUCTION

Well people it is the seventh month since I have started blogging, before we go any further we want to thank the Lord in this the seventh month. Seven (7) being the number of perfection or completion. I was rereading the earlier blogs and I was getting so excited and my spirit was being ignited.  So I want to thank God that in the month of
April- We learnt about the UNCHANGING GOD through the life of the Jewish patriarch Abraham.
May - We learnt THE ATTITUDE TO BE through the Beatitudes of Jesus.
June -  We explored the whole area of prayer through TEACH US TO PRAY.
July - We learnt about the master key of master keys HOLINESS without which no man shall see God.
August - What a month of abundance we learnt THE LAWS OF PROSPERITY.  Please keep tithing people it is the least you can do.  It keeps you honest, faithful and accountable.  Just an aside here I cant get it out of my spirit.  You know how we looked at some of the billionaires in this post.  Here it is I was invited to Thanksgiving Dinner.  It was something that I had not planned because I have quite a few things to do and the invitation came just after I had put my weekend schedule together.  However I accepted since someone went to the trouble. I asked for the time of the dinner thinking I would just go in time and do the social thing and just get back to my schedule.  People, these are Jamaicans so I arrive at the appointed time only to be placed in front of the television CNN.  So I say I might as well relax and enjoy the moment.  I have not watched CNN (Constant Negative News I have heard it been described) in years.  As in Jamaica of a few months ago the new American soap opera was going on, the elections.  The Presidential debate was completed the night before so they were giving the highlights.  The clip of note to me, was the one in which Mr. Trump was defending his tax avoidance by carrying forward his business losses.  He stated that this was common among the rich and went on to call a few names one of them being Warren Buffet. Stay with me people I am coming down to my punch line.  Then another news clipping came up with the response from Mr. Buffet stating that he has his 72 tax filings and he has never carry forward anything.  He had a copy of his first tax filing from the age of 13 years old when he paid $7 in taxes (he was a slow starter).  You get it people at 13 years old this man was filing taxes and he said he was a slow starter.  This man is pure class. No wonder this man is a billionaire.  I call him the frugal billionaire. Oh by the way the food was good it was a Jamaican home after all what do you expect, oxtail, curried goat, turkey etc. etc. To get back on track in
September - We learnt about another master key THE PURPOSE OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP for this purpose we have been created.
May the Lord continue to glorify His name and take this blog in the direction He desires.
So here we are in October I hope you will continue to be blessed by reading these blogs, go ahead and write your sermons, share with your friends and spread the love and the word around.

THE BIRTH OF THE WORD

When the word came into my spirit to write about faith. I did not just want to write another post on faith and be part of the mass of material.  So I decided to use Moses as my scriptural illustration.  I can identify with his character like myself he is a "late bloomer". As I was meditating on the word and the life of Moses; I was reminded of a prophecy that I had received in the early days when we held church in a school room. I will not tell you the date because I do not want to date myself.  If you are that interested and you are not on my Face Book page you can google it.  I am surprised that I showed up on google.  I thought no one knew me.  We will not discuss my digital footprint.  It was in this school room that I learned about servant leadership by cleaning the school bathrooms. I also learnt about Submission in my bedroom listening to Pastor John Bevere.  I will share these insights with you as we journey together.
Anyway getting back to the prophecy, the name of the Minister was Pastor David Clemetson, powerful man of God. I mean in those days we had some strong men of the word. I had this prophecy for years just confessing over my life. He really went into me that day.  He left and returned  I remember one of the section of the prophecy was that "like Moses you would be in the wilderness for a season etc. etc." Now that I am writing about it I need to resurrect this prophecy because it is the most accurate prophecy I have had to date. By the way another late bloomer was Abraham he started at 75.  Genesis 12 verse 4
Another aside people I recently had someone tell me that they were retired and was at home watching television and reading the Bible. I said to myself does this person really read the Bible.  As Pastor E.A. Adeboye would say "God is a businessman" you are of no profit  (yes people profit) he kills you.  That is why I love God's retirement plan so much:
Jesus Christ - 33 years old crucified purpose complete - For this purpose was the Son of God manifest to destroy the works of the evil one
Enoch - You are too good for this Earth come home.
Elijah - You ran from Jezebel anoint Elisha and come home in blazing glory, chariots of fire.
Elisha - when he died his bones were still fulfilling purpose, leads us to wonder what we are doing with our living bones.
Aaron - Anoint Elazar and come home.
Paul - I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith, I am ready to be taken out.
John - In his old age wrote the book of Revelation.
Moses - Anoint Joshua and come let me kill you.

CRITICAL DEFINITIONS

Faith - Hebrews 11 verse 1

'Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.'

Simply put your faith is what will bring into being the unseen things you are hoping for.
Now let us look at the measure of faith that has been given to all of us. Romans 12 verse 3

'For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.' 

What you do with the measure that has been given to you is up to you.  A scripture I particularly like is James 1 verses 2 - 3

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

If you do not exercise your faith it will not grow. You cant pray over someone with cancer if you have not had the faith to believe Him for a headache.  That is why one of the significant things about worship is that the level of your worship will be dependent on your experience with this God. You cant worship God as your deliverer when the only major crisis you have had in your life is low battery in your TV remote or the lack of a smart phone for a few hours.
If you do not grow your faith this is what will happen.  The writer of Hebrews admonishing the Christians, Hebrews 5 verses 12 -14

12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Out of the mouth of two (2) witnesses let everything be established you can also read I Corinthians 3 verses 1 - 3.

THE MAN OF THE MOMENT - MOSES

Hebrews 11 verses 23 - 29

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.

24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

Verse 23 - Before we examine the captioned scripture each verse represents a separate time period in the life of Moses. Persons normally gloss over the part played by Moses' parents Amram and Jochebed.  Most persons dont even know their names. But I put it to you it is obvious that Moses came from a household of faith and discernment.  Thank God for discerning and faithful parents.  Exodus 2 verse 2.
Another little gem out of the book of Exodus (there are so many of them; I was rebuked for reading Exodus 15 verses 1 - 11 in a prayer meeting, the head felt that it was not relevant and I read too long Lord help my Holy Ghost) Exodus 2 verse 9 God has a wry sense of humour.  He will get your enemy to pay to look after you and educate you so that you can demolish them.
Verses 24 - 26 - Choosing to be identified as a Jew was a pivotal decision in Moses' life.  He was second in line to the throne in the greatest nation in the known world at that time.  He had everything going for him. It must have been some struggle. He had it all.  What we are all striving after. It took him forty (40) years but he finally made the right decision. He had insight into something most of us dont, even though we have the Holy Spirit. When you partner with God it is a win-win situation. He was certainly being pulled between two (2) worlds, remember the Lord engineered it so that he was nurtured by his mother rather than the Egyptians.  So let us not be fooled he knew his heritage.
Verse 27 -  He certainly fled from Egypt for his life Hebrews says it is faith. Exodus 2 verses 14-15. However, in Acts 7 verses 22 - 25 this is how Stephen through the Holy Spirit interpreted the happenings:

22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:

25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.

So Moses' was in his season but working things his way.  His brethren's were not quite up to speed. After forty (40) years in the wilderness God got Moses' attention with the burning bush experience. You all know it, the bush that was burning but was not being consumed Exodus 3 verses 1 -4. Then God reestablished his purpose Exodus 3 verse 10.  Purpose will keep you alive as the late Dr. Myles Munroe would say.
In Exodus 3 verse 14 we see God answering Moses' question about His name.  He said to tell the people that the I AM THAT I AM has sent him. Now you see why the blog is called THE I AM GOD.
We also have God giving Moses miracles to show the people.  Moses being human wants to be assured that if you are going to be threatened with stoning then you have to have a firm assurance of in whom you believe.
Moses was reticent at first, aren't we all Elijah called down fire from heaven and then ran from a woman's threat. However, once purpose kicked in there was no stopping him.  The rest is history as we would say.
Verse 28 - Covered under the blood. Moses had some ground breaking revelations he did things and went to places where no one had trodden before him.  The final show down in Egypt. The killing of the first born. The blood on the door post signifying the blood covering offered by our Lord Jesus Christ. My very best take away from this chapter though is Exodus 12 verse 36 where it said God gave the children of Israel favour with their neighbours and they spoiled the Egyptians. It is said to date the Egyptian economy has not recovered. Get ready for the coming wealth transfer. You need to prepare yourselves the nations of the world are in crisis.
Verse 29 - The crossing of the Red Sea.  I was listening to a teaching that said if Moses had prayed when they had come to the Red Sea with his stutter the Egyptians would have overtaken them before he had a chance to finish the prayer. Lord help my Holy Ghost. So he just followed God and lifted up the rod in faith.

The feats of Moses are they not written in the annals of history.
Aaron leading the people into idolatry Exodus 32 - now you see why he is not mentioned in the Hall of Faith Idolatry the first High Priest.  King Solomon also.
Moses breaking the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments in anger Exodus 32 verse 19.
Moses hitting the rock out of anger instead of speaking to it as commanded by God, resulting in him truncating his destiny and not entering the promise land Numbers 20 verses 8-12.
Doubt, fear and unbelief resulting in an entire nation (except for two (2) persons) dying in the wilderness. Numbers 13 verses 30-33; 14 verses 1 -11.
Leadership problems Numbers 16 - Rebellion against Moses' leadership.  Moses' prayer Numbers 16 verses 29 -30. Immediate answer Numbers 16 verses 31 -33. A serious man of God is a dangerous human being. Just in case you are saying this is Old Testament let me give you one of the New Testament examples Acts 13 verses 8-12.
One of my all time pearls (you wonder why I like precious stones, I am like my Daddy.  He uses them to make gate posts Revelation 21 vs 21) from the book of Numbers
This is what Daddy commanded Moses and Aaron to do.  It is a command!
Numbers 6 verses 22 - 26

22 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,

24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace

Skip over to the New Testament, that first century Jewish writer (you have gotten it yes, the Apostle Paul) I Thessalonians 5 verses 23 - 24

23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

In the book of Jude 24-25

24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Start ending church by blessing the people dont just send them away.

IN CONCLUDING

These few pages could not grasp the height and depth that is this man Moses.  I hope I have sufficiently titillated your appetite so that you can go and do your own study into at least one facet of his life. Remember no matter how great these men were they all had character flaws. Moses was a murderer, he had anger problems and he stuttered. Zipporah his wife also had to rebuke him.  This brings us back to the fundamental.  There is only one perfect sacrifice that is Jesus Christ no one else could have done what He accomplished. So remember always to keep your eyes on Him.

So until next month this is all from me Raphleta, Lillene's baby girl from up here in the true north.  You be blessed!!

À bientôt

    

THE PURPOSE OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP - Revelation 4 vs 11

INTRODUCTION

I will never forget that night at the Oceana Hotel when the late Dr. Myles Munroe moon walked across the stage singing the late Michael Jackson's "I Am Bad, I Am Bad" the moment was electrifying.  Then he stated "we have a generation that has gone bad and we are wondering why."  He then went on to outline the power of music.

Once again people, I am writing for my pleasure.  This is how I relax.  The research is challenging I get to know the Bible more and I also increase my knowledge of scriptures. Plus I get the next topic even before I have completed one blog.  So, come with me for the ride and enjoy yourselves even as I am enjoying myself. This is what you would call experiential application.  I am sure there is a term for that at Bible school. I will get there. Lord bless my Holy Ghost!!

CRITICAL DEFINITIONS

Purpose (noun) is the reason for which something is done or created or for the existence of a thing.  

Abuse (noun) the abnormal use of a thing.

Music in its simplest form is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound and silence.  The major point we want to extract here is that the word is derived from the Greek mousike - "art of muses'.  The word muse as a verb means to consider something thoughtfully; synonym mull, mull over or meditate. One can safely say music causes you to meditate on what you have heard.  Ever heard yourself humming a song and wondering where it came from? It is the musing.

Praise (verb) to express warm approval or adoration of.   Synonym pay tribute to, speak highly of, eulogize. Elijah on Mount Carmel I Kings 18 verse 36 and Hannah I Samuel 2 verse 2.

Worship (noun) The feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity. Synonym exultation and veneration.  Revelation 4 verses 9-11.

GOD'S ORIGINAL WORSHIP PLAN

There were three archangels in heaven:
Gabriel the Communicator - He delivered the important messages. Daniel 8 verse 16, St. Luke 1 verse 26.
Michael the Warrior - He fought the major battles. Daniel 10 verse 13, Jude 1 verse 9.
Lucifer the Worship leader - He was expelled from heaven because he wanted the glory. This angel fell in love with himself.  Revelation 12 verse 7-9. The late Dr. Myles Munroe  used to say that there are 3 things you do not touch in the kingdom of God; the gold, the girls and the glory. Ezekiel 28 verses 12-18, Isaiah 14 verses 12-14 and St. Luke 10 verse 18.
So if Satan is no longer the worship leader in heaven who or what has taken his place?

WORKING WITH WHAT HE HAS

The Bible states that Satan is the Prince of the power of the air. Ephesians 2 verse 2

Let us look at how God has ordered His business

1. Everything and everyone in the temple should be anointed Exodus 40 verses 9-34. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6vyCIiqNzs
2. Proper order I Chronicles 6 verses 31 -32.  The very thread that was used to sew the ephod of the priest  was specified.  Exodus 28 verses 6-14, I Chronicle 16 verses 4-7, 37-43. The Psalm of David I Chronicles 16 verses 8-36.  Every time I read this passage of scripture I have to read it in its entirety.  Another one is Exodus 15 verses 2 - 21 They are full of gems.
3. In the last days the Lord shall raise up the tabernacle of David - Amos 9 verse 11

¹¹ In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

THE SAYINGS OF JESUS

Let us look at Jesus' take on this whole area of worship. Remember He is the perfect example.  Jesus with the Samaritan woman by the well defining true worship.  St. John 4 verse 23 - 24.

²³ But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
²⁴ God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 

This scripture is loaded suffice it to say that it is no longer about a location and you cant be a true worshipper of the living God if you have not confessed Him as your Lord and savior. This is how the Apostle Paul interpreted it - I Corinthians 6 verses 19-20

¹⁹ What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
²⁰ For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

The Apostle Peter - I Peter 2 verses 5-9

⁵ Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
⁶ Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
⁷ Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
⁸ And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
⁹ But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-23-priority-true-worship-john-423-24

THE SEVEN LEVELS OF PRAISE

They will not manifest in any particular order just be aware that there are different levels to your praise.https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=seven+levels+of+praise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1OxpqJY_xI 

1. YAHDAH - Worshipping with extended hands. To lift hands to the Lord in absolute surrender. Psalm 9 verse 1 and Isaiah 12 verse 1.
2. TEHILLAH - To sing, to laud, a spontaneous new song, a prophetic praise..  It is unprepared, unrehearsed, singing directly to God. Psalm 22 verse 3 and 40 verse 3.
3. BARAK - To kneel, to bow, to show gratitude. Consciously giving place to God. Psalm 103 verses 1 - 5.
4. HALAL - This speaks to breakthrough praise and has its root in the word hallelujah.  To rejoice- act clamorously foolish.  I Chronicles 29 verse 13 and Nehemiah 12 verse 24.
5. TOWDAH - This is sacrificial praise, praise in anticipation before manifestation or reception.  Coming into alignment with the word of God (FAITH). Psalm 50 verse 23 and Jeremiah 17 verse 26.
6. ZAMAR - To praise God with the instruments. Psalm 150 and Psalm 92 verse 1.
7. SHABACH - This is a praise of dominion, proclamation with a loud voice, address in a loud tone, a loud adoration example shout unto the Lord.  Psalm 117 vs 1 and Psalm 63 verse 3-4. 

CONCLUSION

It's no accident that the longest book in the Bible, also with the longest chapter is the Psalms.  It is all about praising and worshipping God.  When we get to the end of the Bible, we see the saints and angels in heaven falling on their faces and worshipping God.  Revelation 4 verses 10-11, 5 verses 8-14, 7 verses 9-11.

¹⁰ The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
¹¹ Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Since worship will be our ceaseless activity and greatest joy in heaven we ought to be proclaiming it now. In fact the Bible says this is the purpose for which we have been created.  There are Christians who are sincere but the worship is man-centred.  Sometimes it's patterned more after the entertainment world than after the Bible.  It draws attention to the performers and not the lord.  On the other hand some go through ancient liturgies without being submitted to God.  St Matthew 5 verse 18 Jesus states "The people honour me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me." We need to be careful not to be led astray. 

Let us come back to worshipping God again.

 à bientôt - see you next month be blessed

THE LAWS OF PROSPERITY - 3 John 2

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. Remember Jesus came to restore the prototype that had been handed over to the devil by the first Adam total dominion over your situations. Adam lacked nothing and had one on one fellowship with God.

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

This story is found in St. Mark 12 verse 41 - 44 and St. Luke 21 verses 1 - 4.
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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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".
4. 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

1. Decide on the amount you need from God. St. Matthew 7 verse 11.
2. The Prayer of Agreement according to St. Matthew 18 verse 19.
3. Lay hold of it by faith as in St. Mark 11 verse 23-24.
4. Bind the devil and his forces in the name of Jesus St. Mark 16 verse 17, James 4 verse 7 and Ephesians 6.
5. Loose the forces of heaven Hebrews 1 verse 14.
6. 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

My question is why have we camped at 10%.  Haven't we read II Corinthians 9 verses 6-8

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	Proverbs 10 verse 22	2	Deut 28 verses 1-13
3	Deut 8 verse 18	4	3 John2
5	I John 5 verses 4-5	6	St. Luke 1 verse 37
7	Jeremiah 32 verse 27	8	I Samuel 2 verse 8
9	Philippians 4 verse 19	10	II Cor 8 verse 9
11	II Cor 9 verse 8	12	St. Matthew 6 verse 33
13	Psalm 75 verses 6-7	14	Isaiah 48 verse 17
15	Isaiah 45 verses 1-3	16	Malachi 3 verses 8-10
17	Psalm 68 verse 19	18	Psalm 122 verse 7
19	Psalm 35 verse 27	20	St Luke 6 vs 38
21	Genesis 1 verse 28	22	Ephesians 1 verse 3
23	Galatians 3 verses 13-14	24	Jeremiah 29 verse 11
25	Ephesians 3 verse 20	26	Deut 1 verse 11
27	Joel 2 verses 25-26	28	Psalm 103 verses 1 -5
29	Psalm 1 verse 3	30	Genesis 12 verses 1 - 3
31	Ecclesiastes 10 verse 19		The overflow
			Genesis 26 verses 12 – 13 Psalm 66 verse 12 Psalm 118 verse 25

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

Links

Pastor E. A. Adeboye -Power to Prosper 

Pastor David Oyedepo -Walking in Financial Dominion 

Dr. Mensa Otabil - Buy the Future 

Dr. Myles Munroe - The Principles of the Kingdom Commonwealth Pt. 1 

Pastor Kenneth Copeland -The Laws of Prosperity 

Top Ten Richest Pastors in the World 

Five Richest Pastors in Nigeria 

Richard Florida - Martin Prosperity Institute  

Deborah Hardoon - Wealth: Having it all and Wanting More  

Forbes Billionaires` List 

Wall Street Meltdown