Spirituality And Materialistic

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen. Our beloved Fathers, Deacons, Nuns, and Faithfuls, those who are with us in this Holy Church, and those who are watching us through live streaming, may the Almighty Jesus Christ of Nazareth bless you, guide you, protect you, and deliver you from the snares of the enemy, whether it be visible or invisible, Amen. So are you going to pray for the unity, unification of the Resurrection Day? May the Lord Jesus touch the hearts of all the church leaders, and mainly those who are in the Catholic and the Orthodox factions, and we ask and we pray that they come into agreement in uniting the day of the Resurrection.

And let me say this very humbly, very humbly, with love and humility, historically speaking, the old calendar is more accurate than the new calendar, historically speaking. No hard feelings, but historically speaking. However, we pray more so for this day to be united, where all Christians worldwide celebrate the feast of Resurrection, all together the same day, Amen.

So to my beloved Catholics, I love you, whoever you are and wherever you are, and especially if you are as good looking as me, I love you twice. May the Lord always be with you, guide you, protect you into the truth, who is Christ Jesus. And to our beloved Orthodox and all Christians alike, may the Almighty Jesus Christ of Nazareth make this day a blessed one for the beginning of the Great Lent, and we pray the church to be united, we pray for all this evilness in the world to come to an end, and may the Lord Jesus shine one more time, for he is the light of the world and the sun of righteousness and healings in its wings.

The Gospel of today is according to St. Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 to 11 inclusive. It's Matthew chapter 4 and verses 1 to 11 inclusive. It is the Lord's, after receiving the baptism at the River Jordan by John the Baptist, being filled by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit took him to the wilderness where he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, and at the end of those 40 days, he was hungry.

The tempter, the devil came and tempted the Lord, put him through these three trials. The first one was, if you are the son of God, say to these stones to be bread, and the Lord Jesus replied and said, it is not by bread only man shall live, but by every word that is uttered from the mouth of God. That was the first temptation.

Tell these stones, make these stones to be bread. Second one, the devil took him up into the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, on a high place, pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, he shall give his angels charge over you, and in their hands, they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. Again, the Lord replies and says to the enemy, it is written again, you should not tempt the Lord your God.

And again, the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, all these things I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me. And Jesus said to him, away with you Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve.

Three temptations. If you are the son of God, from this you could tell Satan was not sure if he was the son of God or not, because the Lord Jesus never revealed that to him. So if you are the son of God, make these stones turn into bread.

The enemy attacked the Lord Jesus or tempted the Lord Jesus or put him through a trial in three different ways. And the enemy attacks every single Christian in the same three different ways. One, change the stone into bread.

He is attacking the intellect of the human. And when the intellect yields, it yields into materialism. So the enemy will attack you through the intellect, which leads you to materialistic things.

Second, he took him up on the pinnacle of the temple and he said, cast yourself down from there on a high place. He is attacking the will. And if he overcomes your will, he will lead you into utilitarianism.

Utilizing God for your own benefits. And the third one, he took him on a very high mountain, exceedingly high mountain and showed him the kingdoms of the world and their glory and said, if you bow and worship me, I'll give you all this. Set away with you, Satan.

It is written, you shall worship the Lord, your God, and I'm only you shall serve. He is attacking your imagination. And if he overcomes your imagination will lead into heathenism.

So number one, attacks the intellect to lead you to materialism. Number two, attacks the will to lead you to utilitarianism. And number three, attacks the imagination to lead you into heathenism.

All three answers by the Lord Jesus came from the book of Deuteronomy chapter 8. All three answers to Satan. All three came from Deuteronomy chapter 8. You know, sometimes people think I can't speak in big words. I can, but I don't want to.

Let's speak in simple terms. So what is intellect? What is the will and what is imagination? Materialism, utilitarianism, and heathenism. See, if we use our intellect only, rely on our intellect only outside of God, our intellect, the ultimate it can really do is swim in this realm.

It cannot exceed this realm because the intellect cannot go outside of this realm. And what is this realm? Materialistic. What is this realm? Materialistic.

So if we use our heads all the time, we will end up materialistic beings, i.e. spirituality, we will kiss it goodbye. Spirituality will walk out the door and the window of our life. And this is exactly what the enemy is trying to do against every human being.

The world is all about materialism. Look at the world, how it's acting, how it's behaving, and how it's conducting itself. It is nothing but materialistic approach.

That is why every single human being that lives for the world is dead. Even though they walk, they breathe, they talk, and they see, but they are dead. Why? Because at the end, materialism will lead you into vanity of all vanities.

Nothing was yours, nothing is yours, and nothing will ever be yours. I built an empire, I had a lot of fame, I became a celebrity, I was powerful, I was a king, I was a president, I was a ruler. At the end, the grave is your portion.

Vanity of all vanities. Satan wants to preoccupy every human being, if possible, to take him away from spirituality and bring him into materialistic realm in order to lose God in the end. To lose God.

The will took him up on the pinnacle of the temple. And if you are the son of God, cast yourself down from here. That is the will.

The Lord said, it is written, do not tempt the Lord your God. Do not tempt him. That is the will.

Now, if you allow the enemy to use your will, he will lead you into utilitarianism. Utilitarianism meaning to utilize. You will end up utilizing God to your own benefits.

You'll make God work for you. Not you working for God. You'll make God work for you.

Oh God, can you please heal me? I'm sick. Oh God, please, can I marry that girl over there, please? If you don't mind. God, look, I'm praying.

I passed the exam and if I don't pass the exam, don't expect me to come to the church and pray to you anymore. God, I'm beginning a business. Can you please bless it and becomes a successful one? God, I need this.

God, I need that. And if God doesn't come with the goods, by God, no more. Why should I pray? Why should I go to church? Why should I bother since God does not care about me? Oh, you just made God your worker.

You're the boss, not him. That's the will. He took him on a very high mountain and said, see all these kingdoms of the world and their glory.

I'll give them to you if you bow and worship me. Imagination. I mean, think about it.

He took the Lord Jesus on a very high mountain and showed him the kingdoms of the world. How did he show him the kingdoms of the world? Through imagination. While he was in Jerusalem in Israel, actually in the south where Jericho is, you can't see the whole walls and the kingdoms of the world.

So through imagination, you can go anywhere. You can go anywhere. There is no limit when it comes to imagination.

You can imagine about anything and you can put yourself there. If you want to imagine that you are sitting at this beautiful, you're on this beach looking at this beautiful crystal clear waters, you can imagine that and you'll be there. You want to imagine you're in another country, you can be there in a split second.

Imagination. When Satan infiltrates our imagination, this will lead us into heathenism. We will end up worshipping the creation instead of the creator.

That's what imagination does. And look at people of the world, worshipping creations, not the creator. Because they've allowed the enemy to control their imagination and led them to creation.

I'll give you the kingdoms of the world. And all their glory. Let me tell you the secret.

The moment the enemy lost the Lord Jesus, he is bankrupt. He's got nothing to offer. But he's making you imagine that I will give you everything if you follow me.

But any creation that loses its creator, at all, that creation is bankrupt. So what does Satan got to offer? Nothing. You're going to give me the kingdoms of the world? Stick it on your forehead, Satan.

And all the glory that comes with it, stick it on your forehead if you've got one. I don't want it because at the end of the day, you are not going to make me fall into this imagination that I'm gonna become someone so special, someone so powerful. Look what I'm gonna do.

You begin to imagining things, yet he will get you so preoccupied with this imagination, you will end up a delusional person. Delusional. Maybe you'll have a kingdom on earth.

Maybe you'll have wealth on earth. Maybe you'll have glory on earth. But at the end, it's just an imagination, fantasy.

The moment I go into the grave, what was that all about? That life was about a dream at the awakening, as King David puts it, gone. We need to pray and ask the Lord Jesus, Lord, let this intellect be yours. Let this intellect be yours because I do not wish to end up a materialistic person.

I do not wish to fight against my brother for a piece of land, for a property, for anything that is to do with materialism. Lord, let this intellect serve you. Let this intellect be for you.

You use it as you please, my Lord. And let this will be given unto you so that your will be done in me and not my will. Like the Lord said it in the Garden of Gethsemane, he cried out to his heavenly father and said, Father, let this bitter cup pass me by quickly, but let it be not my will, but your will.

Because I did not come to earth to utilize you, Father, for my own benefits. I came to serve you wholeheartedly. I will not ask anything of you.

One thing I will ask, let your will be done in my life from A to Z because I'm here to work for you, to serve you and no one else. So if the father wishes to break me, let it be his will. Will we thank God when we fail? Will we thank God when our business goes downhill? Will we thank God when we, instead of going right, we left, we took a left.

Will we thank God when I asked for a healing and the illness became worse? Will you thank him? Or are you going to whinge and complain? If you are going to love God for giving you your wishes, you've come to the wrong God. God will give you according to his will, not yours. So you may ask for a healing, but it will never take place.

Thank him. You may ask for a success, but you become a failure. Thank him.

You may ask to go back and be part of the universal church, but the Lord says, no, I still want you outside. Thank him. Thank him.

What are you going to do? Walk away? Or say, let it be your will. These three temptations or trials are to do, the first one to do with the body, the second one to do with the spirit, the third one to do with the soul. S-O-U-L.

And this is the human being. According to Saint Paul, first Thessalonians 5.23. The human being is made out of body, soul and spirit. When the devil said to the Lord Jesus, if you are the son of God, say to these stones to be bred, this is for the body.

When he took him on the pinnacle of the temple on a high place and said, cast down yourself, this is for the spirit. And when he took him on that high mountain and said, I will give you the kingdoms of the world and their glory, this is for the soul. What is the temptation for the body? Lust.

What is the temptation for the body? Lust. What is the temptation for the spirit? False glory. False glory.

What is the temptation for the soul? Greed. Greed. For the body.

If you are the son of God, turn these stones into bread. The Lord said, it's not by bread only a man shall live, but by every word that is uttered from the mouth of God. Now bread, especially if it's Baalbek.

Habib Albi, imagine you have been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, no eating or drinking nothing. How hungry and thirsty are you? Being so hungry, so weak physically, the tempter comes and says, bread, bread, food, food, and I am starving to death. He'll say, yum, yum.

Lust. Saint Peter in his epistle says, there are people, their God is their tummy. Their God is their tummy.

And I'm not talking, standing behind that kitchen table and digging into the food. No. The tummy here is the ultimate pagan God, the false God, meaning when you as a Christian wish to do everything your way, you are now going into a lustful situation.

I want this. I'll do this. And if I don't get this, I will not listen to no one.

What the body wants you give, you have falling into a lustful situation. What is the cure for the lust of the body? Fasting. How do I discipline the body when I make the body fast? I look at that steak and the body says, hmm, but then I smack the body across the head and I say, eat those veggies.

But the steak, hmm, I'll end up being like a sheep eating grass. Come on. What are you going to take? Are you going to replace the steak by some little grass? Body, you're not getting what you want.

Okay. So be quiet and be a good boy or else. The friend calls me and says, yo bro, what's up? Nothing.

What are you doing? The perfect answer, nothing. Can someone please define what is nothing? Is there such thing as nothing? No, it's again, some sort of a fantasy. So what are you doing? Nothing.

You want to go downtown? Come on, bro. The body longing to go downtown the spirit longing to go uptown. So when the body goes downtown, it will drag your spirit in the gutter.

You'll wake up the second day hating yourself for what you've done last night. So the next time your friend, so-called friend, I just wonder, says to you, what are you doing? Say, I'm busy. You want to go downtown? Say, bro, no more downtown.

You want to come up with me uptown? Let's go, bro. No more downtown. I have said to the body, you are not getting as you wish from now on.

I need to discipline you because you are a wild animal. I need to turn you into a pet so I can make you live at home. Not in the wilderness, in the jungle of this world.

Instead of being a vicious animal, a nice, cute pet. My daughter, you may be tempted by looking at another lady and say, look at the way she dresses. Why can't I afford the same? Look at the house.

Why can't I have the same? Look at her looks. Why can't I be as good looking as she is? Say to the body, you are not getting away with it this time. I am the most beautiful in the eyes of my Lord.

So you be quiet, body. Okay? You're not taking me to Istanbul for a facelift. No more swelled up cheeks.

And I heard the other day, duck lips. I didn't know this terminology. I heard it the other day, duck lips.

No more. How are you? Don't you get tired? No, father, this is natural. Has your husband punched you in the face? You look swelled up.

No, this is natural. You like that one, don't you? Say to the body, no more duck lips. Fasting breaks the body, disciplines the body.

You know, the moment you fill it up, the moment you give it what it wants, becomes wild. You start gossiping about this person and stabbing this person and digging beneath this person's feet. The moment you get sick, everyone is a saint except me.

I'm the sinner. I don't want nothing, Lord. I pray everyone is healthy, is good.

I don't want anything. I don't want recognition. Before, I used to fight over being recognized.

Now, I don't care about all that. Don't applaud me. Don't congratulate me.

Don't give me nothing. All I want, Lord, please have mercy on me. I, the sinner, son of David.

Please heal me, Lord. When sickness hits, the body becomes a very good boy. The moment the body is healthy, it will not be submissive even to God.

And then we wonder, why do we go through some troublesome times? Because the Lord is saying to me and you, since you cannot control your body, let me control it for you. I'll put you through the dark tunnels. I'll put you through some hardships to bring this body into a submissive status.

Submissive. Amazing, the moment I'm sick, I become a saint. And the moment I'm healthy, I turn into a sinner.

Incredible. When everything was going fine, I never prayed. And even if I prayed, it was a surface level.

I just brushed through it. When I read the Bible, it was like just reading a newspaper. But when I got into trouble and I'm facing court case and I'm facing this kind of a problem, all of a sudden, my prayer became so deep, so focused.

Because I need help. And I realized only God can. But the moment I'm out of that trouble, I go wild again.

So fasting is to discipline the body. Break it. Now, what is the temptation of the spirit? False glory.

Boasting. Being a boastful person. Pride.

In other words, pride. Pride is the number one enemy of the spirit. Let us not forget, the one who is called by the Holy Bible, Satan, happened to be an angel spirit.

And he was from the highest rank of the angelic orders called the cherubims. He was the highest rank in the angelic orders. And the angels are spirits.

What made this angel fall? Pride. I will lift up my throne above all others and I will make it equal with God. If God is God, then I'll be another God in heaven.

Pride. False glory. He took the Lord Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, a high place.

When you stand on a high place, pride can come. Where is the bishop standing? A high place. You're sitting at a lower place.

And when I'm talking, everybody's looking up to me. Everybody's listening to me. What is that going to do? That temptation is going to come.

Then I'll start thinking, I'm someone very special. Oh, look at how many people come and listen to this good old bishop. And how many millions more are on the social media platforms listening and saying, I've changed.

I've come back. I'm getting closer to the Lord. And then this old bishop becomes like a balloon.

Wow. Look at me. Everybody's looking at me.

Everybody's listening to me. Pride kicks in. Lord, do not tempt.

You're Lord. You're God. You call me a saint, I'll say I'm a sinner.

You call me you're something special, I say I'm a nobody. You call me a king, I'll say I am the donkey carrying that king. And some people, he can't say that.

What's it to you? Don't be a donkey. Oh, I don't mind being a donkey. Why are you upset? Am I calling you a donkey? No, I'm calling myself.

When pride hits, hits the spirit. But you know, this is the most dangerous of all. You know why? Because when the spirit dies, I'm finished.

But if the body dies, no, it can be resurrected. No problem. But if the spirit dies, that's the separation from God.

But the body dies, it's a separation of the spirit from the body. That's okay. That's transition.

But when the spirit separates from God, that's the true death. So Satan tries to kill the spirit by attacking it with pride. What is the cure of pride? Prayer.

What is the cure of pride? Prayer. Every time you pray, you are humbling your spirit before God. Every time you pray, you are humbling your spirit before God.

Because the only way for the spirit to remain humble is prayer. Without prayer, there is pride. But with prayer, there is humility.

And humility leads you to wisdom. And wisdom is to do with spirit. This is why the Lord Jesus, He says, If you wish to follow me, if I say, Yes, Lord, I wish to follow you.

The very first thing I must do in order to put one foot in the path of the Lord Jesus and go forward, the first thing I must do before I step one step forth, I need to die. The Lord says, You want to follow me? Carry the cross. And what is the cross? Death.

And what is death? Self-denial. What is self-denial? Humility. Why? Because He said, Unless your spirit is humble, you cannot ever be wise.

And it takes wisdom to find me. It takes wisdom to find me. It takes wisdom to know me.

It takes wisdom to own me. And I be yours. It takes wisdom.

I will never give myself to someone who is prideful. I'll only give myself to those who are humble. Only humble.

Because I cannot entrust you with my gifts unless you acknowledge that it's only Jesus and there is no one else. The moment you say, I did it as yourself, I did it, I'll walk away. I can't trust you.

Because you is the most dangerous thing ever to have. You can kill you, run away from you and let God be you. So the cure for the body, the lust of the body, fasting, the cure of the spirit, pride, prayer, and the cure for the temptation of the soul is charitable deeds because charities kills greed.

I have millions in the bank account and I am worshipping the dollar sign. Somebody comes and says, I'm hungry. Can you give me five dollars? No way.

Not even a penny. And I've got millions. My dear friend, come here.

What are you going to do with these millions? Again, again, again, my beloved's imagination. You see, I'm going to give you, he showed him the kingdoms of the world and their glory. This is to do with the soul.

Glory, kingdoms. What is kingdoms? Wealth, glory, treasure, pleasure of the world. You see, it's an imagination.

That's all it is. At the end of the day, guess what? The millions are not yours. The millions are not yours.

The Ferrari is not yours. The mansion is not yours. Okay, you've got millions in the account and some have billions in the account.

And the royal family of Saudi Arabia, they've got 1.8 trillion. You would have been much better off with having the camel instead of the Ferrari with gold. You don't want the Ferrari.

Go with the camel, brother. Imagination, worshiping a pagan god, money, pagan god. They've lost their soul to Satan.

You've got millions, billions and trillions. Let's say you're going to spend $10,000 on your breakfast, another $10,000 US for your lunch, another 10,000 for your dinner. You're a eater.

A skinny guy said to the family, so you spend 10,000, you've got 100 million. You spend 10,000, you ate and your stomach is full. What are you going to do? Can't eat anymore.

Okay, you brought very expensive clothing and brands and you did all that. And then what? You're bored. You spent hundreds of thousands on a Lamborghini.

Maybe it's a million dollars. I don't know. And then what? You're bored.

You did all this. You traveled the world. You've got your own private jet.

You've got mansions everywhere. You've got properties everywhere. You go and come and jump and every single day you are in a different outfit.

You've done it all. And then what? The billions are still there. Can you eat it all? No.

What is this kind of imagination that has become extremely sick that you can't even give a dollar to someone who is hungry, naked, living in the gutter? Why aren't you able to give that dollar? Because Satan infiltrated your imagination and said, this is yours. Enjoy it. The biggest lie.

Did you know charitable deeds when you help someone in need, when you reach out to someone in trouble and help them financially, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, did you know this is the only way for you to have a mansion in the next life? Let me make this very clear. Entering God's kingdom, it is only made possible by the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Period.

No one can enter God's kingdom without the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. All glory to His holy and mighty name. Period.

Entering God's kingdom is one thing and having a place in God's kingdom is totally a different thing. To enter God's kingdom, you need the Lord. But to have a place in God's kingdom, it is all dependent on what you've done for the Lord on earth.

I've entered. Am I going to have a little hut or a big mansion? Am I going to be a little star or a mighty star? See, Saint Paul in his epistles to the Corinthians, he says, and a star compared with another one is greater than the other one in glory. He's talking about saints in the end, the second coming.

He said in God's kingdom, all the saints there are not going to be the same in glory. Because the glory they're going to receive was all dependent on how much they've sacrificed for the Lord. But they all entered by the blood of the Lamb of God.

But everybody's place was dependent on their sacrifices. You want to have a big, mighty place in God's kingdom? Give from your wealth to the needy ones. Do not be greedy.

Break that greed with charity. Why are you afraid and almost going to have a heart attack when you give the hundred dollar bill? Let me tell you this joke. The money notes came to enter paradise.

That's a joke. OK, so please don't take it out of context. And say the bishop says money will enter God's kingdom.

Please don't do that. It's a joke, J-O-K-E. The five dollars came.

The angel is standing at the gate of paradise. The five dollar came. He said, oh yeah, please come on in.

The $10 note came. He said, yeah, please come on in. The $20 note came.

Yes, please come on in. The $50 note came. Come on in.

The $100 note came. He said, oh, stop. Where are you going? He said, I just want to go where my brothers went into paradise.

He said, you can't enter. Why not? He said, it's the first time I see you. Did you get it? You know, when they take that round thing around in some churches, can you please donate? Nobody put a hundred bucks.

And if anyone put $100, they done an exchange. 50, 20, 25. The priest, when he saw the $100 bill, he said, yeah, baby.

I'm going to have a big steak today. And then he saw the hand going 50, 20, 25, $2, $2. He ended up with a dollar.

Break that greed by giving the ultimate. I'll leave you with this. The Lord Jesus, all his words are magnificent, amazing, stunning, breathtaking.

Simply, he is breathtaking himself. He said, if somebody comes and says, I'm thirsty and you give him a cup of cold water. Truly, I say to you, that kind of a deed shall not be forgotten.

Have you thought about this? The Lord said this over 2000 years ago, there were no refrigerations. Where is this cold water coming from? I'll tell you. Before they used to store drinking water in these big terracotta kind of a jars made out of clay terracotta.

So they would fill it with water. And this terracotta jars, they would absorb the water. And eventually from the bottom there, it would drip at one by one all night long, a very slow and agonizing process of distilling that water and purifying that water.

So the people back then, they used to put a cup underneath that terracotta jar. And all night long, drop by drop would fill that cup. During the early mornings, 1am, 2am, 3am, the weather is cold.

That cup in the early morning becomes very cold water. Now this cold water, it took all night long agonizing hours to gather. Somebody, as you are trying to sip it and drink from it, somebody knocks at your door and says, I am thirsty.

Can you please give me some water? The jar is full of water which can easily be replaced. But this cold water, not easily replaced. This is the ultimate of ultimates.

He says, if you give him that cold water, then your reward will be great. Because when somebody asks of you and you give him the best of what you have, then I recognize you as a charitable doer. Not give him the least.

Oh, I've got this ripped shirt. You can have it. I was going to actually throw it.

But you know what? Let me put it to good use. Take it. Why is it when it comes to church, when it comes to charitable deeds, all of a sudden we are all bankrupt? And some people take it as an excuse.

We've been given all our life. We don't know where the money goes. None of your business.

If the bishop takes it and swallow it, he will have to answer to the Lord Jesus. Don't be afraid. Your job is to give.

That leader, if he does something wrong, he will answer to the Lord, not you. The Lord will reward you for giving. For giving, but the leader of the church will be punished by the Lord for stealing.

So when you give, don't ask. Because you are giving to the hands that are always in control, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Speaking of giving, we need about a million dollars, please.

Now, seriously, we are in the process of building a church. If anybody wishes to donate towards that church as a blessing, not for anything else. That door is open.

That door is open. You know, I'm not going to lie to you. When you give something from the heart in the name of the Lord Jesus, blessed are you.

Give it and don't look back. You need to focus on the Lord Jesus. You need to focus on the Lord Jesus.

How many millionaires and billionaires, if each one gave a small, a very tiny little drop of their wealth, there won't be anybody in need in Africa and anywhere where there's starvation. But it's the greed that has destroyed the human race, the greed. When they killed millions of people in Sudan and Africa, nobody cared.

But they went into Iraq and they went into Lebanon and they went into Syria because there is, there is interest. There's benefits. Greed.

Killing people for greed. Killing people for greed. Don't ever be greedy.

And if you fall into this habit, break that habit by giving as a charitable deed. Give. And give big.

And let your heart breaks for the first time. Let your heart breaks for the second time. Let your heart breaks for the 10th time.

But then you will get used to giving. And the more you give, the more the Lord will give you. Rest assured.

Don't be afraid. In Malachi 3.10, he says, if you give me tithing, one tenth of your income, I will open the windows of heaven and I will bless you so much, you will say to me, please, I don't have any more room to take your blessings. But if you don't give, you will be cursed.

So imagine you earn $1,000 a week. $100 is the Lord's, not yours. Did you know this? This is the word of God, not mine.

And this is the minimum, by the way. That was the Old Testament minimum. You know what is the maximum in the New Testament? Not the $100 only, all of you.

The Lord wants all of you. He says, not your pocket. I want everything.

But the minimum of the Old Testament, which stands, this law stands forever. It's the word of God. You give me one tenth of your income.

See what I will do for you. I will never, ever let you sleep hungry. And I will defend you against Satan who tries to bring you down with him.

I will defend you and deliver you from the snares of the enemy. If you just give me tithing. So if you earn $1,000, $100 is the Lord's.

Bring it to the church. Give it to the Lord. So we can help all the people.

I can assure you, my beloved. I can assure you, my beloved. By the grace of the Lord, whatever comes into this church will go to the people that are in need for as long as this bishop is still breathing.

Whatever money comes to the church will go to the needy people. I will never, ever allow anyone to play with any money that comes into the church. I'll pluck them from their roots.

If they try. At the end, we need to make the Lord Jesus our portion. Our wealth, our treasure, the Lord.

The Lord Jesus. God bless you, my beloveds. May these days of great length be an infinite blessings to you and to your families and all your loved ones.

May they be the reason for conversion of souls and being brought back to the one and only, the only way, the truth and the life, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. May this great length be a blessing with whatever you do, you may prosper. Both physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, in all aspects of life.

May the Lord Jesus guide you into his truth in order to be set free. For the truth shall set you free. So, discipline the body by fasting.

And by the way, fasting is not just these 40, 50 days of great length. You need to fast all the time. You need to fast all the time.

But before you fast and abstain yourself from food, fast from gossip, talking about people. Stop it. Let your spirit fast before your body fasts.

What's the point? I'm fasting from food and I'm talking about this and I'm talking about that and chopping this one's head and chopping that one's head. My fast is nothing. It's gone.

I washed it. It's gone. Fasting from food alongside with fasting from the tongue.

Love one another, my beloved.