Sermon
LRH: Order in Our Giving - 9
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Do you want to build your faith? Do you desire
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to have a true encounter with God through His Word?
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Then listen to Logos Rima R with Rev.
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Dr.
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Joseph Balbin, Head Pastor of Harvest Chapel International Kumasi. He
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is a seasoned man of God, and a teacher of
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the Word in its truth and simplicity. Make time with
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us each and every Monday to Friday at 2 p.m.
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on Spirit 88.3 FM as we encounter the Word of Truth.
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God richly bless you.
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And you say....
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Welcome to Logos Rima R with God's servant, Rev.
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Dr.
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Joseph Baalbin, Head Pastor of Harvest Chapel International Kumasi. And now,
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to today's message.
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Let's take our confession, Joshua 1 verse 8.
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This book of the Lord shall not depart out of
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my mouth.
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But I shall meditate in it day and night, that
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I may observe to do according to all that is
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written in it. For then I will make my way prosperous,
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and then I will have good success.
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Amen.
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Why don't you take your seats in his presence. Turn
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to somebody and say, remember the Lord your God.
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Hallelujah.
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Hallelujah.
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We want to continue with our discourses on bringing order
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into our given life.
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Hallelujah.
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Let's pick it up from Deuteronomy chapter 7, even though.
Deuteronomy 7 chapter mention
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8 is where we are going.
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Once again, the backdrop helps you a lot, isn't it,
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to understand. So let's quickly, if I may teach in
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the impromptu, I said we want to read through.
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There are 26 verses there.
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If I'm able to do that, I look at the timing,
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maybe about seven minutes, we should read through all.
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And then we'll pick up the lessons later. It says,
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when the.
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Lord your God, follow me, brings you into the land, listen,
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which you go to possess. This was before, this was
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the second reading of the law before Moses was buried
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by God.
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Amen.
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And now he's recapping all that God had said, all
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that God had done. And at the centrality is the word.
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That's what Jesus was literally doing in the Sermon on
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the Mount.
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As I said, the values. It has to change. It's words.
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The power of words. There's life. There's death in it.
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And God is speaking life-giving words to them.
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Listen.
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He said, when the Lord your God brings you into
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the land which you go to possess and has cast
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out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Gergashites,
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and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and
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the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier
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than you, verse 2. And when the Lord your God
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delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and
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utterly destroy them.
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You shall make.
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No covenant with them, nor show mercy to them. Three,
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nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not
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give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter
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for your son.
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For they will turn your sons.
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Away from following me to serve other gods. So the
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anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and
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destroy you sadly.
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But thus you shall deal with them.
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You shall destroy their altars and break down their sacred
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pillars and cut down their wooden images and burn their carved.
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Images with fire. Six, for.
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You are a holy people to the Lord your God.
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The Lord your God has chosen you to be a
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people for himself. a special treasure above all the peoples
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of the face of the earth. So you're not going
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to imbibe the value systems of the world, where the
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spirit of Mammon is what is leading and driving people
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to the detriment of the chase for God. And then
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he says, what profit shall it be to a man
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if you shall gain the whole world and lose your soul?
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And like he told that rich man who decided to
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destroy his barns so that he could build bigger ones.
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And then he says, I'm going to take my time
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and enjoy. And he said, Jesus was looking at him.
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God said, you fool. Today, your life and your soul
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will be required. You will be required to come and
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join me and keep an account. And whose possessions will
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they be? And you look around and all the rich men,
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all the rich men, they are dying.
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And you are saying that minus me. No. It's the
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value system.
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God is not saying that. Look at what God did.
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God is not anti-wealth.
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No.
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Else he couldn't be boasting that the silver and the
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gold is mine. And all the cattle on a thousand hills.
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Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen.
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So he says, for you are a holy people to
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the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen
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you to be a people for himself, a special treasure above.
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All the peoples on the face of the earth.
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Seven, the Lord did not set his love on you
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nor choose you because you were more in number than
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any other people. For you were the least of all peoples,
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but because the Lord loves you and because he would
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keep the oath which he swore to your fathers. The
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Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and
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redeemed you from the house of bondage from the hand
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of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
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Therefore, know that the Lord your.
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God, he is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant
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And mercy for a thousand generations with those who love
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him and keep his commandments. You love God, you bring time, talent,
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and treasures on board, and you serve him. Not some
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of the days of your life, but all the days
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of your life. You will know that he has redeemed
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you from a certain bondage.
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Hallelujah.
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And he repairs those who hate him to their face.
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You think God is just God, love, love, love, love.
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Listen to him. God is thoughtful. Look and listen to God.
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Moses says, and he repairs those who hate him to
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their face, to destroy them.
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He will not be slack with him who hates him.
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He will repair him to his face.
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Therefore, because of what I have said, you shall keep the.
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Commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you
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today to observe them.
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Then it shall come to pass.
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Because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them,
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that the Lord your God will keep with you the
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covenant and the mercy which is swore to your fathers.
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13.
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And he will love you and bless you and multiply you.
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He will also bless the fruit of your womb. Are
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you reading it? And the fruit of your land. Your
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grain and your new wine and your oil. What is
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God doing? Increasing their wealth, giving them wealth, bestowing it.
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He said it's undeserved. I will do it for you.
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You don't have to deserve it. He said you are
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special to me not because you were numerous. I just
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love you, period. Look at where you are coming from.
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There were two or three of us on the streets,
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but God handpicked you and saved you. Hallelujah.
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Hallelujah.
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He says, and your grain and your new wine and
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your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring
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of your flock in the land of which he swore
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to your fathers to give you. So you understand it.
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God is not anti-wealth.
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Let's go on.
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He said, you shall be blessed above all peoples. There
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shall not be a male or female barren among you
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or among your livestock. And the Lord will Take away,
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because you need this health. You need health vitality. You
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need vigor to enjoy the blessings.
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Look at God. As if he knew. Hallelujah.
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And he's telling us, even when you have created the world,
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you need peace of mind to be able to enjoy it.
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You need health.
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And like Mammy was preaching this morning, before the doctors
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tell you, you can't eat this, you can't eat that,
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you can't eat that.
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Hallelujah. Amen.
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And the Lord will take from you all sickness and
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will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of
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Egypt which you have known. But I will lay them
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on all those who hate you. 16.
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And you shall.
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Destroy all the peoples whom the Lord your God delivers
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over to you. Your eyes shall have no pity on them,
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nor shall you serve their gods, for that will be
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a snare to you.
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17.
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And if you should say in your heart, these nations
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are greater than I, How can I dispossess them? You
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shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember
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well that what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh
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and to all Egypt, the great trials which your eyes saw,
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the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the
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outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out,
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so shall the Lord your God do to all.
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The peoples of whom you are afraid. Hallelujah.
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Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet among
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them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you,
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are destroyed.
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21.
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You shall not be terrified of them, for the Lord
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your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.
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Hallelujah.
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And the Lord your God will drive out all those
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nations before you little by little.
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Little by little. Little by little. Hallelujah. And you will
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be unable to destroy them at once. Amen.
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So we are on track. Turn to somebody and say
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you are on track. Little by little we will get there.
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Hallelujah.
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If we continue to serve and to repose faith and
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trust in God and obey the commandments and bring time, talent,
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and treasure and serve, serve God with a childlike heart
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and attitude and see what God will do in your life.
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Hallelujah.
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He says you will be unable to destroy them at
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once lest the bits of the field.
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Become too numerous for you. God of process. Now 23,
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we're going to 26.
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But the Lord your God will deliver them over to
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you and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed.
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24.
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And he will deliver their kings into your hand and
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he will destroy their name from under heaven. No one
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shall be able to stand against you until you have
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destroyed them.
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25.
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He shall bend the carved images of their gods with fire.
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He shall not convert the silver of gold that is
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on them nor take it for yourself, lest you be
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snared by it, for it is an abomination to the
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Lord your God. 26, nor shall you bring an abomination
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into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it.
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You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for
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it is an accursed thing.
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So that is seven. That's the background.
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Now let's go to chapter eight. This is the chapter
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of concern for this morning. It says, Every commandment, underline
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verse 1, every commandment which I command you today on
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the pathway, how to get into the world, divine world,
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it has no sorrow to it, which I command you today,
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you must be careful to observe that you may live
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and multiply. And go in and possess the land of
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which the Lord swore to your fathers.
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Verse 2.
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And you shall remember that the Lord your God led
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you all the way these 40 years.
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In the wilderness. Number one, to humble you. Number two,
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to test you.
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To know what was in your heart. Whether you would
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keep his commandments or not.
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So he humbled you.
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Allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna, which
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you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that
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he might make you know that man shall not live
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by bread alone, but man lives by every word that
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proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Your garments, now listen,
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take note of this miraculous intervention. He said, your garments
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did not wear out on you for 40 years. 40 years,
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40 years, because there were no shops in the wilderness.
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What did God do? Change of clothing, continue. Can you
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wrap your mind around it?
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Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did
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your foot swell these 40 years.
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Hey, they wore one cloth for 40 years, and it
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was still new. Why?
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You should know in your heart that as a man
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chastens his son, So the Lord your God chastens you.
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Discipline. Therefore you shall keep.
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The commandments of the Lord your God to walk in
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his ways and to fear him.
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Seven.
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For the Lord your God, now listen, is bringing you
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into a good land.
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A land of.
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Brooks of water, of fountains and springs that flow out
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of valleys and hills.
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Eight.
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A land of wheat and barley. Of vines and fig
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trees and pomegranates. A land of olive oil and honey.
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Nine.
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A land in which you will eat bread without scarcity.
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In which you will lack nothing. A land whose stones
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are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.
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Ten.
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When you have eaten enough food. He said, ask for
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this one. God has done it already. And he will
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do more. But you, the problem about the wealth thing,
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it is not God.
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It is we. It is we.
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He says, when you have eaten enough food, then you
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shall bless the Lord your God for the good land
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which he has given you. That's divine expectation when you
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come into wealth. But beware that you do not forget
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the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments, his judgments,
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and his statutes which I command you today.
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12.
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Lest. When you have eaten and have food and have
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built beautiful houses and dwell in them. And when your
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heads and your flocks multiply and your silver and your
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gold are multiplied and all that you have is multiplied.
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When your heart is lifted up and you forget the
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Lord your God who brought you out of the land
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of Egypt from the house of bondage. 15. Who led
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you through that great and terrible wilderness. in which were
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fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was
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no water, who brought water for you out of the
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flinty rock.
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16.
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Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your
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fathers did not know, that he might humble you and
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that he might test you to do you good in
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the end.
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Then you say in your heart.
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My power and the might of my hand have gained
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me this wealth, and you shall remember. the Lord your God,
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for it is he who gives you power to get well,
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that he may establish his covenant, which is sworn to
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your fathers, as it is this day, 19. Then it
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shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord
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your God, and follow other gods, and serve them, and
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worship them. So now you are saying, when Jesus said,
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it's not possible for you to serve God and my mom.
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By so saying, He was saying there's a spirit behind
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the chase for wealth.
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But hold on, the wealth is mine. So if you
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chase me, you have chased wealth. If you chase me
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for me alone, that is a surety and a guarantee
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for your life to be blessed. So why go and
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chase money alone at the exclusion of God? Because when
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you have God, you have all the wealth. Turn to
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somebody and you are a heir of God. Turn to
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another person. You are a head of a very rich, very,
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very rich person. Isn't that what the scriptures say? But
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it's a process. What did he say? Little by little,
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little by little.
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You come in. Hallelujah. Amen.
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And before he brought them, we are reading all the tests.
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He said, to look you, I need to know what
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is in your heart, whether you be loyal. Some of us,
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when the little blessing, immediately you landed that good job,
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off you go.
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You didn't know God. You don't know God.
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Then it shall be if you by any means forget
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the Lord your God.
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Now listen to him.
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And follow other gods and serve them and worship them.
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Listen to God.
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I testify against you this day. You shall surely perish.
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You shall surely perish. You won't have the liberty and
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the joy to. And sometimes I see some people in church.
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And when they say they are blessed. I say you
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are blessed and you are not happy. And you are
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not serving God.
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I find it.
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I can't understand it. You are blessed by who? God.
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You say it. And then you walk away from serving
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at the altars of God. When I see somebody like that,
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because you don't know.
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You don't know God. Then it shall be.
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If you by any means forget the Lord your God
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and follow other gods and serve them and worship them,
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I testify against.
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You this day.
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You shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord
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destroys before you, so shall you perish. Because you would
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not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.
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You would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord. Amen.
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So can we go to one? Can we just do one?
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Just let me, if not, I guess, if I start
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in there, we'll take, we'll take. The whole commandment, it
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says that, verse 1. Yes, every commandment, let me use
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the ESV. He said, the whole commandment that I command
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you today, you shall be careful to do that you
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may live and multiply and go in and possess the
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land that the Lord.
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Swore to give your fathers. Hallelujah. Amen. Amen.
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So when you see, so he says that the first
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thing he talks here about is that you must know
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the Lord and what he stands for.
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Amen.
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What? A committed devotion. life will reveal to you. You
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can't walk with God for long if you don't know God.
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God has a set of ideals. And that's what the
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Bible tells us.
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His story.
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God has a blueprint why he created the world. He
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didn't create the wealth that he has created in Genesis
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when Moses told him all that God. He didn't create
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it so that we will begin to idolize the worship
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of wealth to the exclusion of God. So that is
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why he will say the silver and the gold, they
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are mine. And he's trying to tell them, look, all
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that we read, I will give it to you.
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But it's to be used for my purposes. It is
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my wealth. Hallelujah. Amen.
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So God has his values, ideals, and principles that are
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enshrined in the word. God is a holy God. God
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is not a man. God is not a man. God
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is not a man.
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Yeah, church. God is not a man. You never can
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serve God on your terms. Hallelujah.
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And he wants all his children to learn these values
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and principles and practice them.
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Hallelujah. Amen.
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And as I said, many children or citizens in the
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kingdom don't yet understand and appreciate it.
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Amen.
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Abraham will say the possessor of heaven and earth. You
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know why David was able to give him all? And
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then when you look at 1 Corinthians 29, verse 10,
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go in and David talking about God.
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Let me read it.
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And then 1 Chronicles 29, verse 10. Somebody who knew
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God so much. And then we'll read it and continue
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on from verse 1 on Wednesday. 1 Chronicles 29, verse 10.
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Listen to David. Listen to David. Verse 11. Verse 11.
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Yours, O God, is the greatness and the power and
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the glory and the victory and the majesty for all
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that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours.
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Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted
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as head above all. Twelve, both riches and honor come
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from you and you rule over all. In your hand
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are power and might. And in your hand it is
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to make great and to give strength to all.
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In your hand. In your hand.
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Both riches and honor come from you and you rule
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over all. In your hand are power and might and
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in your hand it is to make great and to
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give strength to all.
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13.
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And now we thank you our God and praise your
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glorious name. This was the occasion when they were raising
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money for Solomon to build the temple. And then The
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people are giving and he's just exalting God. Now verse 14.
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Listen further to him. He said, But who am I
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and what is my people that we should be able
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thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you
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and of your own have we given you. The wealth
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that you have, that small pocket money, is it God's?
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Think about it. God is challenging our thoughts. That's what
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we are talking. Jesus is talking about the value system
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of the kingdom citizens is different. We all in him
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will live and move and have our being. Anything, even
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the pocket money, it is yours.
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It is God's.
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So when you come and then you hear the promptings
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and then it says that give, you just don't hesitate.
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You may debate it, but ultimately you just rally your
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mind around this truth. For all things come from you
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and of your.
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Own have we given you. Period. Hallelujah.
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And you will never know these things if you are
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not a disciple of God.
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You are not born again.
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You don't have the Spirit of God living in you.
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You will hear these things.
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Therefore, you are going to most likely chase after the
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Spirit of Mammon. You will never accept that it is God.
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It has taken His breath. That has brought you into
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the world. You will never admit it. And you will
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become very, very tight-fisted. Even though you are in church,
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you hear all the preachers. But when it comes to giving,
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I'm sorry, God minus me. And then you walk away.
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And God is shaking his head and looking at you
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and smiling.
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Hallelujah. But who am I? Let's go. Verse 15.
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This is one of the most sobering verses that you'll
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find in the Bible. It says, For we are strangers
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before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our
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days on earth are like a shadow, And there's no abiding.
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You will die. You are dying. We are all dying.
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But thank God we will be raised again. Say a
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big amen. That is the hope of the believer. We
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will be raised again.
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Say amen.
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When I look at the story in Genesis of Adam
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before God brought Eve.
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What does the Bible say?
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The Bible says that God put Adam to work.
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To sleep.
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So you understand why the Hebrews sometimes when you die,
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they say he is asleep. If God could raise and
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rouse Adam from sleep, he will rouse you up and me.
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Say amen. We are not dying. We are going under anesthesia.
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Hallelujah.
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And we will appear in the next world. When we
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wake up, say amen. And we will smile. When Adam
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woke up, what did he see? And what was the
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first thing he said? Bone of my bones and flesh
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of my flesh. She shall be called woman.
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Hallelujah. Amen.
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I told you, but it says, Hallelujah.
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Amen.
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Oh, Lord, our God, all this abundance that we are
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provided for building you a house for your holy name
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comes from your owner.
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And it's all your own. Seventeen. I know, my God. Now,
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this is very, very key.
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I know, my God, that you test the heart and
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have pleasure in uprightness. Other versions say that you test integrity.
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I don't have. God has blessed you. When you hear, oh, oh, oh,
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the fundraising. Minus me.
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And then when they put it on their platform and
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it shows up in your WhatsApp and then delete. Send
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back to sender. God is testing your integrity. And he says,
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in the uprightness of my heart, I have freely offered
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all these things. And now I have seen your people
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who are present here offering freely and joyously to you. Eighteen,
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O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers,
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keep forever such purposes and thoughts forever. The thoughts that
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he has just gone through. Thoughts in the hearts of
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your people. Know that we are strangers. We are so generous.
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We are dying. And God is testing our hearts with
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the spirit or with the mammon. Whether we go chasing
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the spirit of mammon. Or just like David will say.
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As the deer panteth after the waters. So my soul
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panteth after thee. So my soul panteth after thee. All
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your life, all your time, talent, you just want to
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please God. I was glad when they said unto me,
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let us go into the house of the Lord. And
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if you are driving, you are just driving at next speed.
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I want to be in the presence of God. If
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you are walking, you walk a little and then you
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trot a little. I need to get to the house
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of God and go and render service to God. Raise up!
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That's somebody who has met the Lord.
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The king of kings, you are serving God and you
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are foot shuffling.
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You are an usher.
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We are almost through with the service before you come
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and stand at the gate that I'm coming to usher.
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Keep forever sad purposes and thoughts in the hearts of
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your people and direct their hearts towards you. 19, grant
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to Solomon my son.
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A whole heart.
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That he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes,
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performing all, and that he may build the palace for
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which I have made for you.
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We are building something.
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God has commissioned us to build this temple, this sanctuary
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in this city, and that's what we've been doing. But
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it's going to take wealth, our time, our talents, our treasure.
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It is when we bring them, when you come and
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I come, then God begins to multiply them. So we
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can do the work of a rise up on your feet.
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We'll continue on Wednesday.
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This broadcast was proudly sponsored by the friends and partners
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of Harvest Japan International Komatsu. Thank you for listening to
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Local Shreema Hour with Reverend Dr. Joseph Baobi. We believe
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that as we act on this word, God's power will
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transform your life. Join or visit us for our in-person
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family service at Harvest Chapel International, close to McLean Hotel
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and on the Sunset Road, this and every Sunday at
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7 a.m. for our key service, 8.30 a.m. for our
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Bible study, and 9 a.m. for our English service. You
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can also join us this and every Wednesday for our
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amazing midweek teaching service at 6 p.m. and on Fridays
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for our prayer solution service, also at 6 p.m. Remember
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that all our services are streamed online at Harvest Chapel
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International Kumasi on our Facebook page and YouTube pages.