Participants: Carlton P Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000122
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00:00 ♪ (Theme Song) ♪ ♪ Jesus is worthy ♪
00:11 ♪ oh yes, he's worthy ♪ ♪ worthy of all... ♪ 00:18 ♪ all the praise ♪ (Theme) Pastor Byrd: Some of us, 00:23 if we tell the truth and shame the devil, 00:25 some of us are in some financial drama. 00:29 Some of us are in some financial mess right now. 00:34 I'm talking about what's going out is greater 00:38 than what's coming in. 00:40 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 00:42 Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. 00:45 I say, anybody know what I'm talking about? 00:47 If you're not in financial drama now, you do know 00:52 what it's like to have financial drama. 00:56 What do you mean, Pastor Byrd? 00:57 Well, somebody knows what it's like to rob Peter 00:59 to pay Paul. 01:01 Somebody knows what it's like when you don't have enough 01:04 money in your pockets or in your bank account to pay 01:06 one bi one month, and then alternate to pay 01:09 another bill the next month, and you stagger your bill paying 01:14 so you have just enough money every month. 01:17 Somebody knows what it's like to go to the mall and then 01:19 maybe someone says, "Can I get a ride to the mall?" and then 01:22 they ask you, "Do you have air-conditioning in your car?" 01:26 And you say, "Yes, I have 240 air." And somebody says, 01:31 "Well, what is 240 air?" 01:34 And you explain, "240 air is two windows rolled down 01:38 going at 40 miles per hour." 01:39 Do I have a witness in this place? 01:42 Somebody knows what it's like to put water in the ketchup 01:47 bottle to stretch the ketchup. 01:50 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 01:52 And you say, somebody, though, act like you don't know 01:55 what I'm talking about. 01:56 You know what it's like to go to McDonald's to get 01:58 some ketchup packets. 02:00 Burger King to get some napkins, Popeye's to get some jelly, 02:05 and Taco Bell to get some hot sauce. 02:07 I wish I had a witness in this place? 02:09 You haven't always had it going on like you do now. 02:13 And I get concerned. 02:15 Because when you come to the house of God, 02:18 and you sit there and look like God hasn't blessed you, 02:22 that God hasn't kept you, that God hasn't raised you, 02:26 that God hasn't saved or delivered you, 02:29 I get concerned. 02:31 Because David said, "Make a joyful noise 02:33 unto the Lord, all ye lands. 02:35 Serve the Lord with gladness. 02:38 Come before his presence with singing. 02:40 Know ye that the Lord he is God, it is he that hath made us, 02:43 and not we ourselves. 02:44 We are his people, sheep of his pasture. 02:47 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving 02:49 and into his courts with praise. 02:51 Be thankful unto him and bless his name." 02:54 Because the Lord is good. 02:57 I said, the Lord is good. 03:01 I believe I've got another witness in this place. 03:03 The Lord is good. 03:06 His mercy is everlasting and his truth endureth 03:09 to all generations. 03:11 God's Word says, seek ye first. 03:13 The Bible does not say, seek ye last. 03:17 "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, 03:20 and all these things shall be added until you." 03:23 Which means if you seek God, then the things of God 03:26 will seek you. 03:28 But too many people identify with God solely based on 03:31 the things of God. 03:33 They want a new car; nothing wrong with that. 03:35 They want a new house; nothing wrong with that. 03:38 They want healing; nothing wrong with that. 03:41 They want deliverance; nothing wrong with that. 03:45 They want a man, and if you're a woman, 03:51 a single woman, ain't nothing wrong with that. 03:55 They want a woman, and if you're a single man, 04:00 ain't nothing wrong with that. 04:02 They want the things of God. 04:04 But when you seek God first, when you pursue 04:08 a real relationship with God, you don't get caught up 04:12 in the things of God, you just want God. 04:15 Which means, then, I'm not so much concerned about 04:18 the blessings, I just want the Blessor. 04:21 Because when I have the Blessor, what makes me different from you 04:25 is that you just want the blesngs. 04:27 So when the blessings run out, you lose your mind. 04:29 But because I have the Blessor, even when I run out 04:34 of the blessings, I can still praise the Blessor, 04:37 because I know the Blessor is able to give me 04:40 more blessings. 04:41 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 04:43 So tonight I just thank God for being God. 04:45 I want to thank, I want to worship, 04:49 I want to praise Him. 04:50 Anybody else want to bless God tonight? 04:56 Quickly, let me tell you how to rid yourself of the financial 05:00 drama in your life. 05:01 Now, the world will tell you, you have to get more 05:06 and have more to be more. 05:09 But Jesus said in Mark 8:35, "For whosoever will save his 05:15 life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose 05:19 his life for my sake and the gospel's, 05:26 the same shall save it." 05:28 Which means in essence that the more you lose, 05:31 the more you gain. 05:33 I just said something, somebody missed it. 05:35 That the more you lose, in actuality, the more you gain. 05:40 You see, Christianity is counterculture. 05:44 Because how do you lose more to gain more? 05:49 Society says, get more to have more. 05:54 Get to Gain. 05:57 Acquire to advance. 06:00 Build to boost. 06:02 Invest to increase. 06:04 Position to profits. 06:07 Promote to prosper. 06:09 But God's math is not your math. 06:13 God's ways are not your ways. 06:16 God's thoughts are not your thoughts. 06:19 Sometimes you have to have blessed subtractions 06:21 for multiple additions. 06:24 Sometimes you have to lose to gain. 06:28 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, 06:34 and all these things shall be added until you. 06:39 Lay up not for yourselves treasures on earth, 06:42 where moth and rust doth corrupt, where thieves 06:46 do not break through and steal. 06:47 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, 06:52 where neither moth or rust doth corrupt, and where thieves 06:54 do not break through steal, for where your treasure is, 06:58 there shall your heart be also. 07:00 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain 07:04 the whole world, and lose his own soul? 07:06 Somebody tonight knows that five smooth stones 07:10 with God is greater than an entire army with man. 07:14 That five loaves of bread and two fish with God 07:17 are greater than a full grocery cart at Wal-mart or Publix 07:21 with man. 07:22 That 300 Gideonite men with God are greater than 32,000 soldiers 07:29 with man. 07:30 Sometimes with God you lose to gain. 07:35 But also, number two, with God, the more you give, 07:40 the more you have. 07:43 You can't beat God giving, no matter how hard you try. 07:51 Because the more you give, the more God gives to you. 07:58 That's why there are some folk who make less than you 08:03 but have more than you. 08:05 I wish I had a witness in this place. 08:07 The Bible says, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, 08:11 that there may be meat in my house. 08:15 And prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, 08:17 and I will now open you up the windows of heaven 08:19 and pour you out a blessing that there should not be room 08:21 enough to receive it." 08:22 Now, some of you all are not going to like this 08:25 tonight, but I'm going to preach it anyhow, until you understand 08:29 that you're going to keep having financial drama, 08:31 you're going to keep struggling, until you're able to understand 08:35 God's plan and purpose for your life. 08:37 You see, when you move from tipping God and you understand 08:41 that you've got to participate in giving faithful and honest 08:44 tithe and offerings to God, your life 08:46 will never be the same. 08:47 Let me tell somebody this tonight: God says 08:50 bring ten percent. 08:51 He said, bring the tithes. 08:53 And the only way you're going to bring ten percent plus 08:57 an offering is that you realize that all 100 percent 09:00 came from God. 09:01 I hear some folks say, God's money is only ten percent. 09:05 No. 09:07 God's money is all 100 percent. 09:11 Not only that, and listen to me good: I hear people say 09:14 it all the time. 09:16 But we do not pay tithe and offering. 09:20 We don't pay tithe and offering. 09:24 That goes against our theology. 09:27 We return tithe and offering. 09:29 Do I have a witness in this place? 09:31 How can we pay what was God's already in the first place? 09:36 God owns everything. 09:39 All 100 percent is his. 09:41 But that's the problem. 09:42 That's why some of you've got financial drama, because you 09:45 think it's yours. 09:46 Here you go. 09:47 I work hard for this money. 09:49 It's my job, it's my money, and I'm going to spend it 09:52 the way I want to spend it. 09:54 Well, whether you know it or not, the job you have, 09:57 God gave it to you. 09:59 The money you have, you wouldn't have had it 10:01 in the first place had God not given it to you. 10:04 So don't walk around with a big head. 10:07 Because just as soon as you get it, you can lose it, 10:13 because the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, 10:17 but blessed be the name of the Lord. 10:21 What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose 10:24 his own soul? 10:25 Everything you have belongs to God, and I mean everything. 10:30 And God is so merciful, God says, I didn't ask 10:32 for 50 percent. 10:33 I didn't ask you for 75 percent. 10:35 I didn't even ask you for 90 percent. 10:37 I could if I wanted to, but I didn't ask you for that. 10:40 All I asked you for was 10 percent plus an offering. 10:43 And so I figure in my life, my wife and I, we figure in our 10:45 Christian experience, because we don't want financial drama, 10:48 we figure that because the tithe is as a result of my 10:51 obedience, and the offering is my love for God, 10:54 all I can do in the least of what I do is match 10:58 my offering with my tithe and give ten plus ten. 11:01 You all hear what I'm saying? 11:03 The more you give, the more you have. 11:09 Now, let's tell the truth and call the roll 11:11 and shame the devil. 11:13 We give for what we want. 11:15 We're talking about financial drama. 11:18 We give for what we want. 11:19 Clothes, we give. 11:23 Shoes, we give. 11:27 Cars, homes, we give. 11:33 When you get ready to go to that concert and it's 25, 11:36 50 dollars a ticket, you pay it. 11:40 You get a new outfit, a hundred dollars, 11:42 you pay it. 11:43 You get hundred-dollar shoes to match, you pay it. 11:46 And you don't think twice about it. 11:48 When you get ready to go to that basketball or football 11:50 game, there is no issue. 11:52 Ticket charge, no issue. 11:55 Parking charge, no issue. 11:57 You don't care if you even have to stand in line to get in. 12:00 You don't care if you have to get there one or two hours 12:02 early, you just want to get in. 12:04 But we fuss about coming to Sabbath school. 12:06 I wish I had a witness in this place. 12:08 You go to the game and you order nachos and cheese. 12:10 You pay seven dollars for that. 12:13 You order pizza, you pay five dollars a slice for that, 12:16 when you can go to Little Caesar and get $5.99 all you can eat. 12:19 Come on, say Amen. 12:20 You pay $3.50 for some soda, when you could have gone 12:25 to 7-Eleven and gotten a Big Gulp for 99 cents. 12:28 But you just want in. 12:30 You don't say, man, that's a lot of money. 12:32 No, you don't say that, because money is not an issue 12:35 until it comes to God. 12:38 But if you want to be blessed, you've got to bring it 12:42 to the storehouse. 12:43 If you don't want financial drama in your life, you've got 12:46 to bring it to the storehouse. 12:47 The Bible says, "Thou shalt not steal." Now, we've got a lot 12:51 of theological debate over what is the storehouse. 12:53 The storehouse is God's house. 12:56 It's the place where you're fed the Word of God. 12:59 It's the place where you fall on your knees and you pray 13:01 among fellow believers. 13:03 It's the place where you send your friend when your friend's 13:06 lights go out. 13:07 That's the storehouse. 13:10 It's the place where you sit up each and every week and receive 13:13 the Word of God. 13:14 Bring ye all the tithes, the offerings, 13:17 into the storehouse, and the more you give, 13:19 the more you have. 13:21 Pressed down, shaken together, running over. 13:23 God will make a way. 13:25 Quit trying to keep up with the Joneses, quit trying 13:29 to fake it to make it, quit trying to impress folk 13:32 you don't know to keep up with folk you don't like with money 13:36 you don't have. 13:38 Invest in God's kingdom. 13:40 The more you give, the more you have. 13:45 Let me tell you something, college students. 13:47 College is a temporary state of poverty. 13:54 College is a temporary state of poverty. 14:01 Don't be enslaved with credit card debt and you 14:07 don't have a job to pay it off. 14:08 Preach it, Pastor Byrd; I'm doing the best I can. 14:11 Don't think you need to ride around in a Mercedes Benz 14:15 without having a job first. 14:19 You better walk and exercise, are you hearing 14:22 what I'm saying? 14:23 Don't think that you can go to Sax Fifth Avenue, 14:26 not here in Huntsville, we don't have it, 14:28 but Sax Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus 14:32 and Macy's. 14:33 Remember, you're at Oakwood. 14:36 You're in college, are you hearing what I'm saying? 14:39 So you know what you gotta do, go right on over to Marshall's, 14:42 go right on over to T. J. Maxx. 14:45 You can even spruce up the name, (dignified accent) T. J. Mox, 14:48 you know what I'm saying. 14:49 Go right over to (dignified accent) Wal-a-mart, 14:51 and you can shop there until you graduate from Oakwood 14:54 or, better yet, go to a USM function and get a free T-shirt. 14:58 I wish I had a witness in this place. 15:00 You're not going to remember what you wore at Oakwood anyway. 15:06 Let me tell you something. 15:07 You're laughing at me, but there's somebody sitting 15:09 here right now saying, I wish somebody 15:11 had told me this. 15:12 I'm talking about goodbye, financial drama. 15:14 You'll be 25 years old and you'll take 50 dollars 15:18 a month and put it into cable TV, and in 25 years 15:23 you'll have nothing to show for it but regrets. 15:25 But if you took the same 50 dollars and invested it every 15:30 month for 25 years, it would turn into $50,000. 15:34 The more you give to God, the more God gives to you. 15:40 Let me tell you number two, how you can shake 15:42 financial drama. 15:43 Quickly. 15:44 We often read Malachi 3 in church. 15:47 I don't care what church you've been in. 15:49 We read Malachi 3, but we only read verses 8-10. 15:55 We read, "Will a man rob God? 15:58 Yet ye have robbed me. 15:59 But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? 16:01 In tithes and offerings. 16:03 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, 16:07 even this whole nation. 16:08 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, 16:10 that there may be meat in mine house, 16:12 and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, 16:14 if I will not open you the windows of heaven, 16:16 and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room 16:18 enough to receive it." 16:19 And that's where we stop. 16:22 We don't read any further. 16:25 But verse 11 tells us why the more you give, the more you 16:28 will have. 16:29 Verse 11 tells us why, if you follow the Word of God, you 16:32 won't have financial drama. 16:33 Look at what verse 11 says. 16:37 The Word of God, God himself, says, "And I will rebuke 16:43 the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy 16:48 the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast 16:51 her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord 16:54 of hosts." Which means, and listen to me good, not only 16:57 has God promised to bless you, but God's also promised 17:01 to protect what he's blessed you with. 17:04 Because the moment you start being blessed of God, 17:09 the moment financial drama is no more in your life, 17:12 the devil's going to get busy. 17:14 Can I get real? 17:16 Can I make it plain tonight? 17:18 When you have cheese, the rats come out. 17:22 [laughter] Let me say that again. 17:24 The more cheese you get, the more rats 17:32 you're going to attract. 17:34 You see, when you didn't have anything, 17:37 when you were broke, you couldn't buy a friend. 17:41 But when the Lord started blessing you, everybody 17:45 starting hanging around you. 17:48 Everybody was like, hey, how are you doing? 17:51 Because the more you have, the more folk want 17:53 to be around you. 17:54 Because I say it all the time. 17:55 In prosperity your friends know who you are. 17:58 But in adversity you know who your friends are. 18:04 Everybody in your crowd is not supporting you. 18:09 I've learned firsthand in my ministry that the greatest 18:12 moments in your life can produce the greatest moments of envy 18:16 and jealousy in somebody else's life. 18:19 Some folk in your crowd are leeches. 18:24 They're parasites. 18:26 A parasite wants to cling to something else and suck 18:30 everything out of it to survive. 18:32 There are some people who want to cling to you just to see 18:36 what they can get out of you. 18:37 But I'm so glad that the Word of God says that I will rebuke 18:43 the devourer for your sake. 18:45 Which means God will shut that thing down and deal 18:49 with the parasites before they can even get to you. 18:53 There are some things that would have made it 18:55 to you by now. 18:56 But the reason they didn't is because God rebuked it. 18:59 God blocked it. 19:01 God devoured it, hallelujah, somebody. 19:03 Somebody ought to shout right there because God kept 19:07 some things and some folk from you. 19:10 You'd be surprised at all the fake folk smiling 19:12 in your face, hanging around you, pretending to be your 19:15 friend, and they weren't doing anything but trying 19:18 to get something out of you. 19:20 But they can't get anything out of you. 19:22 Because God keeps rebuking them. 19:24 Only when we get to heaven will we be exposed to all 19:29 the stuff that the enemy put in motion to get in our way. 19:34 Only when we get to heaven will we realize all the things 19:38 that the devil tried to do to take us out, 19:41 but God nipped it in the bud. 19:44 God nipped it and God blocked it, 19:47 before it got off the ground. 19:50 He rebukes the devourer, he rebukes the enemy, 19:53 he shoots the adversary down. 19:56 Listen to me. 19:57 That's why many millionaires have financial drama 20:00 and lose all of their money, because they didn't 20:03 return tithe. 20:06 They didn't give a faithful offering. 20:08 And they didn't have God's protection. 20:10 So they inherited crooked lawyers, 20:14 crooked accountants, crooked tax folk, 20:18 crooked financial planners, crooked friends, 20:21 crooked husbands, crooked wives, 20:23 crooked coworkers, crooked church members. 20:25 They inherited crooked folk all around them, 20:29 just leeching off them. 20:32 They had no protection for the blessing of God 20:35 because they confused being blessed with having money. 20:39 Just because you have money does not mean you're blessed. 20:42 I wish I had a witness in this place. 20:45 But when God rebukes the devourer, 20:48 God will put the right folk around you. 20:51 Are you hearing what I'm saying? 20:53 When God rebukes the adversary, God will put the right people 20:57 in your path, hallelujah, somebody. 20:59 Let me tell you one more thing. 21:00 Don't you be a devourer. 21:01 Oh, you don't like that. 21:04 Don't you be a devourer. 21:07 Don't you hate on somebody else because God is blessing them. 21:15 Why did they get into school and I didn't? 21:18 Why are they financially clear and I'm not? 21:22 Why did they get the scholarship and I didn't? 21:25 Why do they make more than me? 21:27 Why them and not me? 21:28 Quit hating. 21:30 In fact, I say It all the time, learn how to be a cheerleader, 21:33 rah, rah, rah! Recognize that if God's blessing 21:36 is on them, God must be in the neighborhood, 21:39 and it's just a matter of time before God starts blessing you. 21:45 When people try to harm you, when they try to hurt you, 21:48 to devour you, to block you and destroy you, they don't 21:52 even realize they're actually helping you. 21:55 The Bible says, God will make your enemies your footservants. 22:02 Which means that God will put your haters, 22:05 he will put your blockers under your feet, which means 22:09 your enemies are actually pouring the concrete 22:12 that you're going to walk on, so my haters are actually 22:16 my elevators, to make me walk higher in Jesus Christ. 22:20 Don't be a devourer. 22:24 When people try to take up their cross and follow Jesus, 22:29 don't deny them this privilege. 22:31 When folk try to lose to gain, and give to get, 22:34 don't be a devourer. 22:35 Don't try to block that. 22:36 It disturbs me when some people try to come down the aisle 22:39 and give their life to the Lord, and want to block that. 22:43 We want to put them through a scrutinized screening process. 22:46 And all they want to do is join the body of Christ 22:49 and give their life to the Lord Jesus Christ. 22:51 When folk are blessed with increase and then want 22:54 to give this increase back to the Lord, 22:56 I've been in churches where folk want to know how they got 23:00 what they got, when they got what they got, and where they 23:02 got what they got. 23:03 Have you ever thought that maybe God just wants 23:09 to bless them so that they can be a blessing to you? 23:15 Quit cutting off your blessing. 23:18 Don't be a devourer. 23:21 You see, it's God's intent for his people and for God's 23:24 church to be blessed. 23:25 Listen to me. 23:27 If we were all faithful in returning to God an honest 23:29 tithe and a liberal offering, there would be no need 23:31 of anything. 23:33 Everybody trying to get into school to get into school. 23:35 God's church and God's people would lack nothing. 23:39 Remember, he's Jehovah, he's my provider, which means 23:41 he's not just the God of enough, but he's the God of more 23:49 than enough for me. 23:50 And that's why Malachi 3:12, we don't read that either. 23:53 It says that "all nations shall call you blessed: 23:57 for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord." 24:00 That's why I act like I act. 24:03 That's why I look like I look. 24:05 That's why I sing like I sing. 24:08 That's why I preach like I preach. 24:10 That's why I shout like I shout. 24:13 Because God has blessed me. 24:16 God has blessed my family. 24:20 God has blessed my church. 24:22 Has God blessed anybody up in this place? 24:25 He says, be a part of a delightsome land. 24:29 Don't sit there and act like you don't know 24:31 what I'm talking about. 24:32 You haven't always lived where you live. 24:34 You haven't always driven what you now drive. 24:36 There was a time when you went to your closet 24:39 and you knew what you were going to wear. 24:42 You knew what you were going to wear. 24:44 But now you're saying, am I going to wear black? 24:48 Am I going to wear blue? 24:49 Am I going to wear brown? 24:51 What shoes go with this suit, does this match that outfit? 24:54 Somebody knows what I'm talking about. 24:57 You see, I know what I'm talking about. 25:00 I used to only have two pairs of shoes. 25:02 I had my school shoes and I had my Sabbath shoes. 25:04 Somebody knows what I'm talking about. 25:06 Monday through Friday I wore my school shoes. 25:09 But on Sabbath I wore my Sabbath shoes. 25:12 It didn't matter what colors or combinations I put together. 25:15 Either I was wearing school shoes or Sabbath shoes. 25:18 God has been good to me. 25:22 I've got more than two pairs of shoes now. 25:25 I've got more than one suit now. 25:29 I've got more than one shirt, more than one tie, 25:35 more than one bow tie. 25:38 Understand, you haven't always been able to shop 25:41 at Bridge Street. 25:42 You haven't always been able to charge it up. 25:45 You haven't always been able to live like you now live. 25:52 Somebody knows what it's like to eat Ramen noodles every day. 25:54 Somebody knows what it's like to eat beans and rice, or rice 25:56 and beans, or rice and peas every day. 25:58 Somebody knows what it's like to have been there. 26:02 But look at God. 26:03 Look at God. 26:04 And then look at you. 26:07 Look at God and where he's brought you from. 26:11 You started trusted, you starting tithing, you started 26:15 giving offering, God opened up the windows of heaven, poured 26:20 you out a blessing that there should not be room enough 26:23 to receive it, and you are now called blessed, 26:28 blessed in the city, blessed in the field, 26:31 blessed in your going out, blessed in your coming in. 26:35 You're on the top, not the bottom. 26:38 Hold your head up, stick your chest out, 26:41 put one foot in front of the other, 26:43 and if your neighbor doesn't like it, who cares? 26:51 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, his righteousness, 26:59 and all these things shall be added unto you 27:04 because the Lord is my light. 27:07 He's my salvation. 27:11 Who shall I fear? 27:14 The Lord is the strength of my life. 27:19 Of whom shall I be afraid? 27:20 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon 27:23 me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell... 27:27 Though war should rise against me, in this will I be 27:32 confident." That one thing--oh, I don't think anybody heard me. 27:38 "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek 27:48 after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord 27:53 all the days of my life, to behold the beauty 27:57 of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple...to abide 28:01 in his holy hill. 28:03 Oh taste and see that the Lord... 28:09 is good. 28:12 God will make a way quit trying to keep up 28:15 with the Jones, quit trying to fake it till you make it 28:18 quit trying to impress folk you don't know, to keep up 28:21 with folk you don't like with money you don't have 28:26 Invest in God's Kingdom |
Revised 2015-02-06