Your Heavenly Account

Lay not up for yourselves  treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves  treasures in heaven,  where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if

thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of dark­ ness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:19-23).

You need to have a single eye, to become single-minded, concerning  the Word of God. You must accept God’s Word as final authority. What is says, it means. When the Word says you are healed,  you  are  healed! It doesn’t matter what your body says about it. If you will believe  this and operate accordingly, then the covenant you have with God—His Word—will become the absolute truth in your situation, and your physical  body will come into agreement  with the Word.

I first began to learn this in the area of finance and prosper­ ity when I went back to college.  The idea of going back to school really  scared me! I was 30 years old with a wife, two small children,  and no idea how I would support them. There were people  who told me I was making a mistake,  that my family would go hungry,  but I had accepted  the call to the

ministry and was looking to the Lord to meet my needs. Many people  thought I was nuts! According to the world’s system, a man has to be in sheer poverty while he is in college,  but the Word doesn’t say that. It doesn’t say, “God will meet you needs according to His riches in glory just as soon as you get out of college.” At that time I knew very little about operating by faith, but I was doggedly  determined  to go through with it. God took care of us. I never asked anybody  for a quarter. We began to learn how to operate by faith.

In Matthew 6:20, Jesus teaches us to “…lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth or rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break  through nor  steal.”

This is what the Word says. However, with our religious heads we have read it this way: “Lay not up for yourselves  treas­ ures on earth…but lay up for yourselves  treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt…and  where thou

canst not touch it until thou  gettest  to heaven.” We have added

our own little idea, but this is not what Jesus meant. He was saying,  “If you will let heaven be your treasury and your sup­ ply, then regardless  of what happens  on earth, you will have

a bank that is not subject to theft or ruin.” What you have laid up then will be ready when it is needed.  Jesus was not referring to when we get to heaven.  He was teaching about God provid­ ing for us now.  If you will notice, He finished His sermon in

Matthew 6 by saying that your heavenly  Father knows you need

these things, but seek first the kingdom of God and His right­

eousness  and all these other things will be added to you.

First Timothy 6:17-19 illustrates this same point. “Charge them that are  rich  in this world,  that they be not highminded, nor  trust in uncertain riches, but in the living  God, who  giveth us richly all things  to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing  to communicate;

Laying up in store  for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may  lay  hold  on  eternal life,”

“Charge them that are  rich  in this world,  that they be not highminded, nor  trust in uncertain riches.” Paul was referring to those who are rich here on earth—that they should not trust

in their riches. This is the reason Jesus said it was hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. When a rich man trusts in his money, his heart will be in his riches. Satan then will be able to deceive  him; the deceitfulness  of riches will choke the Word of God and cause it to become  unfruitful in him (see Mark 4:19).

“Nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living  God,  who

giveth  us  richly all things  to enjoy; That they  do  good, that they be rich  in good works, ready to distribute, willing  to communi­ cate;  Laying  up in store  for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they  may  lay  hold  on  eternal life.”  You don’t lay hold on eternal life after you get to heaven. You lay hold on it by faith  while you are here on earth, taking

a firm stand and standing fast in the liberty into which you are called.  The 23rd Psalm speaks  of God preparing  a feast before us, and we have thought of this as a heavenly  feast. However, it says He is preparing  a table before us in the presence of our

enemies. Our enemies  are not in heaven.  They are here on

earth! When the Lord showed  me this, He said, “The only prob­ lem I have is getting My kids to come to the table! Paul tells us to “lay up in store” for ourselves  in our heavenly  bank account by being “ready to distribute” and “willing to communicate.” Then when we need it, we have it on deposit in heaven! ALL the money, gold, etc., is already  in the earth. By giving, heaven

declares  certain portions as mine. No force on earth then is able to keep  it from coming to me when I call for it! Heaven’s record says so, and earth dares not refuse.

While I was in prayer one afternoon during a meeting in Dayton, Ohio, the Lord drew me to this portion of scripture about laying  up treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust corrupts. As I read this, the Lord said, “This rust and cor­ ruption is inflation and depression.” If you will let heaven be your financial reservoir—your bank and depository  where you

place your trust—regardless of what happens  to the world’s sys­ tem, you will always  have more than enough! Then the Lord said, “I did not say this treasure could not be used until you get to heaven.” First Timothy 6:19 says to lay up for yourselves  a good foundation for the time to come when  you  will need it. A

heavenly  bank is not subject to theft and ruin; it will always  be

there when you need it.

Up to this time I was under the impression  that when

I gave,  I could expect  the entire amount plus the hundred­ fold return on it immediately,  but there were  times when  it didn’t work like that. I was confused,  so I asked  the Lord about it. My needs wer e always abundantly met,  but I didn’t fully understand  what was happening. The Lord explained it this way:

“There was no use in My transferring money which you had laid up in heaven to an earthly bank when you didn’t need all

of it at the time. When money is on earth, it is vulnerable  to Satan and to the world’s system of finance. If I gave you $1,000 today, in nine months’ time, it probably  wouldn’t be worth more than $750. You need to learn to exercise  your faith in the fact that you have this money on deposit, and when you need it, all you have to do is call for it. Make your deposits with Me according to the rate of exchange  which My Word guarantees and operate under My system of finance instead of the world’s system. We can make it work at the current rate of exchange  at

that time. It won’t matter if it takes a billion dollars to buy a loaf

of bread—I [God] can afford it!” If God can afford it, so can I. He’s my Father!

While I was in Ohio, God dealt with me about the televi­ sion ministry. At that time I could not understand,  or see, with my own mind how it would work financially,  but I had learned long before not to back off for his reason. I knew the Lord could work it out. It didn’t matter how it operated  or what the financial details were,  I knew there was only one way to suc­

ceed—by giving. Then the thought flashed across my mind, “No

man  has  given until he has  given all he has,” and the first thing

I saw was my twin-engine  airplane.  Well, cold chills ran up and down my spine! That little plane was my pride and joy. I had tithed and believed  God for it, and He had given it to me as a tool of this ministry. Because  of this, it really meant a lot to me. Then I realized  that I had to get rid of it. I couldn’t afford to let it come between  God and me, so I went into prayer and the Lord said, “If you will realize what I am leading  you into, you will make an agreement  with Me so that I can help you finan­ cially. Make Me Lord over your finances.” That is exactly  what I did. I wrote out an agreement  about the airplane  and used it to lay up a treasure in heaven for the time to come when I would need it. I didn’t want to release  that airplane,  but I knew that God would not take it without His giving more in return. My faith dictated that God’s Word was true, so I disciplined  my thinking to get in line with my faith (instead  of my fear) and I wrote out this agreement:  “On the fourth day of October 1971,

I give my airplane  to the Lord to be sold and the money put into preaching  the Word of God on television and in any other manner possible.”

I made this covenant with the Lord according to Luke 6:38, “Give,  and  it shall  be given unto  you…again,” and Mark 10:30, “But he shall  receive an  hundredfold now  in this time.”  The

agreement  also contained this statement: “I freely give this money from the sale of the airplane,  and I expect the return on it.”

Then I had the engines  overhauled,  had some maintenance done, ran an annual inspection on it, and altogether spent about

$8,000 on a piece of equipment  that technically  didn’t belong to me any longer. Since God is love, it follows that the laws gov­ erning the power of God are the giving laws. You can’t stop these laws and still make God’s power operate.  It just will not work that way! God’s system is really unique.  He takes a person who is absolutely  destitute, provides the seed to start his giving, then gives him the hundredfold return on what he gives. Only God could manage  or afford a financial operation like that!

I made the agreement  to release  my airplane  in October

1971. Then on February 11, 1972, while  we were holding  a meeting in Birmingham, Ala., the Lord instructed me to give it to a particular evangelist.  So that is what I did. This is the point

I want you to grasp: When God told me to give it away,  I didn’t hesitate for one moment. You see, God had set up this deal almost four months before, and there had been time for me

to be healed  of a possessive  spirit where that plane was con­ cerned. Therefore, when God spoke,  I acted and was thrilled to do it! We flew it home and gave it away.

My schedule  was already  set up, and it dictated that I use

an airplane.  You can’t operate on our schedule  and use the air­ lines or an automobile.  It was set up around a private plane. Airlines service 650 airports in the United States. We service

8,000 with our own plane.  So you can see that there was an immediate  need for another airplane.

God said, “When you give the airplane,  this deposit will enable  you to call for a withdrawal  to handle your television ministry.” Well, in order to film it and put it on the air before the people,  we needed  several months’ time and thousands of

dollars. The Lord had already  shown me how it was to oper­ ate—the people  who heard the Word would support it in order for others to hear it. But there was a certain period of time when the television ministry would not be exposed  to anyone. This created a need in addition to the need for an airplane.  The Lord said, “I’ll handle it for you if you’ll make the proper deposits.” So we did.

On February 21, just 10 days later, we had a new airplane and the money for the television ministry. Just 10 days! Only God  could handle  a situation like that. The second airplane was worth five times more than the first one. It was larger and

faster, flew higher and farther. In fact, it was exactly  the plane that I had asked for, and all the bills were paid! Praise the Lord!

We need to learn how to make the proper deposits in our heavenly  bank so that we can withdraw  from it when needed. Once you realize you have this on deposit, it will become easy to believe  God for it. Your faith will not work easier.  It’s not dif­ ficult to believe  God for the money you have on deposit at the corner bank. You don’t have to exercise  your faith to write a check on it. But it takes a considerable  amount of faith to get money when you don’t have any on deposit. The same princi­ ple works with God. The reason this action took place so fast

in my case was because  the deposit had already  been made. It was there in heaven and available  on call. There are many peo­ ple who have made these deposits with God and have never called for them because  they don’t realize they are laid up in store for them now.

Depositing in Your Heavenly Account

There are four major areas we can use in giving, or making deposits in heaven:  tithing, giving to the poor, investing in the gospel,  and giving as a praise to God. We will discuss each of these and learn the principles  on which they operate.  It is very important for you to realize that these are distinctly different although they overlap in some ways.  Each has an individual  set of laws governing  it from the Word with its own return. For instance,  tithing is not the same as investing in the gospel. Tithing is an investment in God. It is the part of your income that belongs to Him and goes directly to Him. As a tither, you have certain privileges  which we will discuss now.

Tithing

This is, of course, the most familiar financial subject to Christians. Nearly all of us are aware  of the practice of tithing, but very few actually  realize its true significance.  It was a com­ mandment of God to Israel and 10 percent of their first fruits belonged  to God. As I mentioned  earlier, when God told me to teach this subject for the first time, He led me to Deuteronomy

26 where He first introduced it to Israel. Let’s start with the first verse and relate this to our role under the new covenant.

“And it shall  be,  when  thou  art come in unto  the land  which

the Lord thy God giveth  thee  for an  inheritance, and  possessest it, and  dwellest therein.” How does this relate to the Christian? The

Word says in Colossians 1:13 that God has delivered  us from the power of darkness  and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son. We are living in the kingdom of God. We have

entered into our inheritance  in Jesus Christ and possess it in His Name. We have the title deed to this kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ. The authority has been given to us, and God is showing us how to exercise  our tithing privileges  in order to maintain control efficiently in the financial world.

Verses 2-3, “That thou  shalt  take  of the first of all the fruit of

the earth,  which thou  shalt  bring  of thy land  that the Lord thy God giveth  thee,  and  shalt  put it in a basket, and  shalt  go  unto the place which the Lord thy God shall  choose to place his name there.  And thou  shalt  go  unto  the priest  that shall  be

in those  days.” Who is this priest? Hebrews 3:1 says that Jesus is our High Priest. Hebrews 7:8, speaking  of Jesus, says He receives  our tithes personally.  Therefore, we are to go to Him

with out tithes and say to Him, “I profess this day into the Lord God that I am come into the inheritance  which the Lord swore to give me.” This is a very important point in the tithing pro­ cedure:  Make a confession before your  High Priest.

Verse 4, “And the priest  shall  take  the basket out of thine

hand, and  set it down before the altar  of the Lord thy God.”  Can you see where we have been missing it? We quickly  drop our tithe money into the offering plate as it passes by or stuff it into

an envelope  without a thought. Instead, we are to present it to

Jesus, Who, in turn, will set it before the altar of God.

Then in verses 5-10, the Lord builds Israel a confession telling of His mighty work in their lives and of delivering  them from bondage  in Egypt. At this point, we Christians need to switch to our position under the New Testament. We were sinners in the world, and our confession should be something like this: “I am

in the land which You have provided for me in Jesus Christ, the

kingdom of Almighty God. I was a sinner serving Satan. He was my god. But I called upon the Name of Jesus, and You heard my cry and delivered  me from the power and authority of darkness and translated me into the kingdom of Your dear Son. Jesus is

my Lord, and I bring the first fruits of my labors to Him as the High Priest and worship You with it. We rejoice in all the good which You have given to us and our household.”

This is our  confession of redemption equivalent  to Israel’s

deliverance from Egypt. The Bible says this is a type of our deliverance from Satan. Israel pointed to Egypt; we point to Cavalry. Now as a guide for you to use, we have set out this entire confession based on Deuteronomy 26:

We profess this day unto the Lord God that we have come into the inheritance  which the Lord swore to give us. We are in the land which You have provided for us in Jesus Christ, the kingdom of Almighty God. We were sinners serving Satan. He was our god. But we called upon the Name of Jesus, and You heard our cry and delivered  us from the power and authority of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of Your dear Son.

Jesus, as our Lord and High Priest, we bring the first fruits of our income to You and worship the Lord our God with it. We rejoice in all the good which You have given to us and our household.  We have hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God and have done according to all that He has commanded  us. Now look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven,  and bless us as You said in Your Word.

All of this involved in tithing. You can readily  see that it

can’t be done in the few seconds before the plate is passed  in church. It must be done on purpose,  but I guarantee  you, it is worth every minute of it! My wife and I write our tithe checks, hold them before God, and take the time to pray over them. Our money then becomes a tool used in worshiping  God.

Deuteronomy 26:10 says that the high priest will set the tithes before God and worship Him with them. Can you grasp Jesus worshiping  God with your money? Wow! That’s quite a picture.

There is another part of this confession, from verses 14-15, which is very important: “I have  hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and  have  done according to all that thou  hast commanded me.  Look down from  thy holy  habitation, from

heaven, and  bless  thy people Israel,  and  the land  which thou

hast  given us,  as  thou  swarest unto  our  fathers, a land  that floweth  with milk and  honey.” In contrast, we have thought, I’ll just keep  giving and  maybe one  of these  days He will notice it and bless  me.  This is wrong. The blessing of God is received  by faith in His Word. It does not come automatically, just as salva­

tion does not come automatically. You could say, “Well, go to church  and God will save you one of these days, if you’re lucky!” No, the laws governing  salvation must be acted on in order for them to work in your life. Prosperity comes the same

way.  As we can see in Malachi 3:10-11, God has promised the

tither that He will open the windows  of heaven and pour out a blessing that there will not be room enough  to receive.

We had an opportunity to put this to work some years ago when a friend of mine had come to a standstill in his construc­ tion business.  He hadn’t received  a contract in a long time and something had to be done, so he and his wife came to us for prayer. As I was praying  about his situation, the Lord showed me how to handle the problem. He was a tither, so we used what was his according to the Word in Malachi 3:10-11, “Bring

ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there  may  be meat  in mine  house, and  prove  me now  herewith, saith  the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you  the windows of heaven, and  pour  you  out

a blessing, that there  shall  not be room  enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your  sakes, and  he shall  not destroy the fruits  of your  ground; neither shall  your  vine  cast her fruit before the time in the field.” We prayed  in line with this and believed  God for an abundant blessing.  Then we rebuked  the

devourer,  Satan. We said, “Satan, this man is a tither, and you have no right to bind his business.  In the Name of Jesus, we command you to get your hands off and do it now!” When I spoke with him about three months later, he said that business had begun to pour in. Praise the Lord! These are our tight as tithers according to the Word of God.

In tithing, you are laying  the foundation for financial suc­ cess and abundance. You are establishing  deposits with God that can be used when you need them. Don’t wait until your back is against the wall before you use your faith in this area. Build your faith first when things are going well. Learn to act on the Word now, and when Satan tries to pin you against the wall,  you can smile and know that you have it made.  His power over you financially  has been stopped! When you stand on the covenant of God and exercise  your rights as a tither,

Satan has no chance against you. God will rebuke  the devourer for your sake. If your back is against the wall financially  now, don’t wait to begin tithing. You cannot afford to wait! The tithe belongs to God in the first place.  “Will a man  rob God? Yet ye

have  robbed me.  But ye say, Wherein  have  we robbed thee? In

tithes and  offerings. Ye are  cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me”  (Malachi 3:8-9). This scripture says that a man who does not tithe is robbing God and is operating under a curse

because  of it. Start tithing now! If you don’t have any money,

find something you do have and give it today. There is no faster or surer way to break that curse. Immediately when money comes into your hands, FIRST take God’s tithe out and present it to Him. “Honor  the Lord with your  capital and  suffi­  ciency [from righteous labors],  and  with the first fruits  of all your income, So shall  your  storage places be filled  with plenty, and your vats be overflowing with new  wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10, The Amplified  Bible).

Remember, the Word says that God gives us the power to get wealth and the blessing of the Lord makes rich. In tithing, God is giving you 90 percent and receiving  for His work in the earth 10 percent to provide ministry for you. “And he gave some, apostles; and  some, prophets; and  some, evangelists; and  some, pastors and  teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body  of Christ” (Ephesians

4:11-12). You can’t out give God! He gives back His 10 percent to see to it that you are perfected,  equipped and edified.

This brings us to the question of where God’s tithes are to be placed.  Some think only churches are to receive tithes. This would be true if their church is the source of their spiritual food and growth. The Word says to bring the tithes into the storehouse so that there would be MEAT in His house. A storehouse is where the food is. I know thousands of people  attending churches of all denominations  that receive no spiritual food whatsoever

from their churches. How could that be a storehouse?

Verse 14 of Deuteronomy 26 The Amplified  Bible  says, “I have not eaten of the tithe…or given any  of it to the dead; I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and  have  done according to all that You have  commanded me.”  I would not consider putting God’s tithe into a dead work. If you want to put money in a church that is dead—not ministering to peo­ ple—then put your  money into it, but it is important to put the

tithe into a storehouse  that is feeding the life of God to the peo­

ple. Many churches and foundations serve as Satan’s reservoir to keep  finances out of the revival that is in the earth today.

To settle this question,  since it is God’s money to start with and since Jesus is the One Who will handle and receive the tithe (see  Hebrews 7:8), pray and let Him tell you where  it should be put to work. I realize this is not too popular with some church doctrines, but nevertheless,  it is accurate.  Jesus is Lord over the finances of the Body of Christ! He is fair, and He is just in the distribution of God’s tithe. When a church sees to it that the people  are fed, that church will receive its portion.

When an evangelist  sees to it that the people  are fed, Jesus will minister to him his portion of God’s tithe. All the different min­ istries qualify to receive from Jesus more than enough  to fulfill their particular calling when  they feed  God’s  people.

Giving to the Poor

The second  form of depositing  is giving to the poor. Proverbs 19:17 says, “He that hath  pity upon the poor  lendeth unto  the Lord; and  that which he hath  given will he pay  him again.” When you give to the poor, you can expect back what you gave. You can’t give away  your money by giving to the poor. You are actually  lending  to the Lord, and He will repay you. He considers it a loan, and since He teaches us not to owe money, He won’t owe money either. As soon as you lend it to Him, He will pay it back. If Jesus walked  up to you and asked

to borrow $100, don’t you think He would repay you?

It is important for you to realize that all material wealth is in the earth. It will not be rained down on us from heaven.  It is

already here,  and  there  is more  than  enough for everyone. The Bible says that we will suck of the abundance  of the seas and of the treasures hid in the sand (see Deuteronomy 33:19). The problem is that we don’t know how reach it. However, by giv­ ing to the poor we are giving God an opportunity not only to work with us financially  and bless us, but also to help the man in need.

There are some things you need to understand  about this form of giving. I remember when a close friend of mine was telling me about taking some things to a poor woman. She said, “You know, before I could even get out the door, the woman was asking  if I had any pots and pans or anything  else she could have.” This attitude of the poor woman disturbed her, so we prayed  about it. The Lord spoke to me and said, “That’s the way you do Me. I give you one thing, and before long you’re jerking My coattail over something else. Now that’s all right

with Me, but you must realize that you are the only hope a poor person has. You represent supply  to them and they have never had that before.”

This puts a different light on the subject. The poor consider this a rich man’s world. Satan has dominated  them with poverty and suppression  of all kinds. When you realize that Satan is behind their oppression,  you will see their need for the power of God in their lives. Then you won’t be afraid to obligate them to the gospel  when you give material things to them. Whenever I give in this way,  I always  explain  what the Word says and tell them about Jesus. I let them know that Jesus is my source of

supply  and is willing  to be theirs. Show them that they, too, can become God’s channel  in the earth to someone else. You see, you can feed a thief all day long, but all you will have is a thief full of food. The food won’t change  him, but the Word of God will transform him on the inside. If you give to the poor in the

proper way,  then you can witness to them and introduce them to the power of God. I never give to the poor without telling them about Jesus. If they are to get my material goods, they will first have to listen to what I have to say about Jesus.

Jesus taught about giving alms, which is giving to the poor. Evidently, Jesus was well-known for giving to the poor from the scriptural accounts of His ministry. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught about giving alms. He said, “Let not thy left hand

know  what  thy right hand doeth” (Matthew 6:3). You can get

more fun out giving to someone anonymously! It is a joy you will never get from anything  else, and the next verse says, “And thy Father which seeth  in secret himself shall  reward thee

openly.” HE HIMSELF shall reward you. Praise the Lord for His

generous  propositions!

Investing in the Gospel

As we have read in Mark 10:29-30, Jesus said, “Verily  I say unto  you, There is no  man  that hath  left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father,  or mother, or wife,  or children, or lands, for my sake, and  the gospel’s, But he shall  receive an  hundredfold now in this time.”  This is an investment in spreading  the gospel throughout the world. The Great Commission says, “Go ye into all the world,  and  preach the gospel to every creature”  (Mark

16:15). We all are obligated  to this; and if we can’t go, we are to send someone in our place. Everyone is to function in this com­ mission. The missionary  is an apostle of God, and instrument to evangelize the world. Unfortunately, he has been grossly under­ rated and occupies  the bottom rung of the ladder instead of the top. However, they deserve  our support both in finances and in

prayer. God will support the communication  of the gospel  with whatever  power and resources  it takes. Unless the Word is preached,  there is no faith (see Romans 10:14). Without faith,

no one is saved (see Ephesians 2:8). To the man who has never heard the Word, Jesus has never died. You can see that if God did not support communication  of the gospel,  the Cross would have been in vain.

Another area to invest in the gospel  is supporting ministries that are assigned  the job of teaching God’s people  how to func­ tion in spiritual affairs. The teaching ministries have a great responsibility  placed  on them by God. Consequently,  they are greatly blessed.

Any investment expert will be quick to tell you that the most productive form of investing is a steady,  regular invest­ ment into solid business.  There is nothing more solid than God’s work! Begin to be a regular investor. Be faithful to it.

Let’s go back to what Jesus said in Mark 10:29-30, He has said that this will work for every man. Peter had said, “What about us?” We have left all and have followed  you.” He asked this as if he thought Jesus’ staff stood in some special  place

where these laws are concerned.  Jesus answered  him in no uncertain terms. Every man who invests into the gospel  has a right to expect the staggering  return of one hundredfold.

Giving as a Praise to God

Just as Israel made sacrificial offerings of praise to God, believers  today can use giving as an instrument of praise.  It is interesting to note that Israel never gave a blemished  animal as a sacrifice. In light of this, if you give a secondhand  pair of

shoes, then that is what you will get in return. Don’t give your old worn-out things; give your good things and you’ll never lack good things. This is what I did by giving my airplane;  it was the best thing I had at the time.

A few years ago an evangelist  came to me and said, “I don’t understand  it, but my income has completely  stopped.  I haven’t had a dime come in for weeks!” Since I had just preached  that morning on Luke 6:38, I told him that the key was giving and that he should give whatever  he had; if not money, then some­ thing else. He went home and gathered up all his clothes (except one suit, one sport coat and one pair of slacks),  passed  them

out to the men at the unemployment  office, and preached  the Word to them. When he came to the meeting that night, he was beaming.  He had given as a praise to God and was really high because  of it! Well, before the service was over, people  had handed  him nearly $200 in cash! No one in that service said anything  about what he had done; he was merely  seated in

the congregation. The people  sought him out and gave to him as God directed them. This thing really works!

The Word says God inhabits the praises of His people  (see Psalm 22:3) and that He will maintain our right and our cause when we praise Him (see Psalm 9:1-4). God instructed me to use Psalm 118 when I give a praise offering. Let’s examine  it.

O give thanks unto the Lord; for his is good: because  his mercy endureth for ever. Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. Let them now that fear the Lord say, that his mercy endureth for ever. I called up on the Lord in distress: the Lord answered  me, and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side.

By the time I reach this last phrase, I am about ready to shout! The Word says that if God is for you, then nobody can successfully  remain your enemy  (see Romans 8:31).

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? The Lord taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put con­ fidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence  in princes. All nations compassed  me about: but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them. They compassed  me about; yea, they compassed  me about: but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

They compassed  me about like bees; they are quenched as the fires of thorns.

This word thorns stands for “strife.”

For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the Lord helped  me. The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salva­ tion is in the tabernacles  of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.  The right hand of the Lord is exalted:  the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.

Of course, the “right hand of the Lord” is Jesus. You are praising Jesus when you do this.

I shall not die, but live, and declare  the works of the Lord. The Lord hath chastened  me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of

righteousness:  I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord: This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become  my salvation.  The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous  in our eyes.

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

You have probably  heard this last verse all your life, but

with the whole psalm around it and in the light of what it is for, you can see its full significance.

“Save  now,  I beseech thee,  O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee,

send now  prosperity.” Again, as in Deuteronomy 26, you are

saying to the Lord, “Send us prosperity.”

Blessed be he that cometh in the Name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. God is the Lord, which hath shewed  us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

When you start giving this way,  just as a praise to God, things will begin to happen  in your financial life. Praise is a tremendous tool in releasing  the power of God. Combined with the law of giving, it is unbeatable!  There is no standard return on giving as a praise to God, and it took David from sheep­ herder to king of Israel. Do you think God loves poverty? Read

a literal Hebrew translation or The Amplified  Bible  and see the

vast amount of money David put into the building the temple.

It was millions of dollars! David was a prosperous  man. The Bible says he was a man after God’s own heart. Where do you suppose  he got all his wealth? From the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob Who gave him the power to get wealth.

Now we have discussed  these different areas of making deposits, but there are times when you can combine some of them and be even more blessed by it. I remember when I was preaching  a meeting that God has said would be a tuning point in my ministry. I wondered  if He meant it to be a turning point the wrong way! The first evening  service we had eight people. My first offering was $4.25. Naturally, I was stumped, so I went before the Lord and asked,  “What in the world am I going to do?” He said, “You are going to believe  Me! Then He showed

me some things from His Word and circumstances  began to

pick up. The offering got all the way up to $33 one night! I decided  to send it home to my wife and the Lord said, “$33 won’t pay your bills. If you believe  My Word about tithing, if you believe  that Jesus will take your money and worship Me with it, why don’t you tithe now on the amount you are need­ ing and expecting  in the future offerings of this meeting? In fact, your $33 will do just fine.” That’s all He said. From then on it was up to me; it involved faith on my part. You see, the money belonged  to me. The Lord didn’t demand that I tithe beforehand.  All I actually  owed in tithes was $3.30; He wanted me to give as a praise to Him for what I expected  Him to do,

and that is exactly  what I did. I combined tithing with giving as a praise to God and the Lord blessed the meeting in every way. It started with eight people,  but by Friday night people  were lit­ erally sitting in the windows  because  there wasn’t enough  room to seat everyone.  That meeting turned out to be the best meet­ ing I had ever had financially  up to that time. Praise the Lord! Can you see the blessings  that are available  in these things?

Making Withdrawals From

Your Heavenly Account

Once you realize  that you have these deposits in your heavenly  account, you need to learn how to make withdrawals. Colossians 1:4-6 says, “Since we heard of your  faith  in Christ Jesus,  and  of the love  which ye have  to all the saints, For the

hope  which is laid  up for you  in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word  of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto  you, as  it is in all the world;  and  bringeth forth fruit.” Everything laid up for you in heaven is represented  by the

gospel  of Jesus Christ. When you put the Word of God to work, it produces  faith. “Faith cometh by hearing, and  hearing by the word  of God.”  Faith puts spiritual law into operation, and the results are manifested here on the earth. When it is laid up in

heaven,  a carbon copy will take place in the earth if you will stand and act on the Word. This is how you were saved. Salvation is not waiting for you in heaven.  It was provided for you and laid up in heaven;  but when you believed  the Word about salvation and acted on it, it was  manifested here on earth

in your life. This same principle  is true in the area of finances.

When a man makes deposits with God, he has a right to call upon these deposits and make withdrawals.

We have discussed  God’s teaching about tithing—how it is set up and how it operates.  You need to learn how to receive from your tithing. When I first attended Oral Roberts University, I heard Brother Roberts speak on seed faith, and I began to realize what the Word said about giving. My wife and I decided to act on this by joining in a financial partnership with Brother

Roberts, a real step of faith on our part since we had no steady income. It was during this time that we learned  how to stand on the Word in the area of giving. For almost a year we gave

$10 into this partnership each month; and ever single month someone unexpectedly handed  us $20. Later, we learned  how to believe  God more specifically, but right then we were learn­ ing the basic principles.

Let’s look at Malachi 3:10 once more. There is something here I want to emphasize.  “Bring ye all the tithes into the store­ house, that there  may  be meat  in mine  house, and  prove  me now herewith, saith  the Lord….” God has said in many places

through the Bible, “Have faith...believe Me,” but here in Malachi He is saying,  “Prove Me…put Me to the test!” Many Christians are looking for a sign from God as proof of His power, of His willingness  to heal and do miracles in today’s world. The finan­ cial realm is the only place where God gives us on opportunity to look for this sign, and it is the only place we haven’t been looking! We say, “But I couldn’t tell God what to do; I couldn’t expect Him to bless me! It wouldn’t be humble!” But what does God say? “And prove  me now  herewith, saith  the Lord of hosts,  if

I will not open you  the windows of heaven, and  pour  you  out a

blessing, that there  shall  not be room  enough to receive it.”

As I was studying this one day, the phrase windows of heaven kept coming into my thinking, so I did some research. The phrase windows of heaven actually  means “floodgates.” It is the same word used in Genesis 7:11 where God opened  the windows of heaven and flooded the earth. God doesn’t use

empty figures of speech.  He means what He says! He will open the floodgates of heaven and pour out an abundant blessing on the tither. Then the next verse (Malachi 3:11) says:

“And I will rebuke the devourer for your  sakes, and  he shall

not destroy the fruits  of your  ground; neither shall  your  vine  cast

her fruit before the time in the field,  saith  the Lord of hosts.  And all nations shall  call  you  blessed: for ye shall  be a delightsome land,  saith  the Lord of hosts.”

Now let’s discuss how to receive from your giving. Ephesians

6:8 says, “Knowing that whatsoever good thing  any  man  doeth, the same shall  he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.” Whatever good thing you do to any man, you will receive the same thing from the Lord. We have just read in Malachi where God said that He would open the windows  of heaven

to us. Therefore, we can expect to receive from God. However, in Luke’s Gospel Jesus says, “Give,  and  it shall  be given unto you;  good measure, pressed down, and  shaken together, and running over,  shall  men  give  into your  bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete  withal  it shall  be measured to you  again” (Luke 6:38). From this, we see that we also can receive from men; so the blessing is twofold. When you tithe, you receive from God above. When you give, me give into your bosom.

You have it coming from all directions!

As we have already  seen form Mark 10:30, Jesus promised a hundredfold return when we give for His sake and the gospel’s. Using this scripture, I decided  to believe  for a hundredfold return when I gave my airplane  as an investment in the gospel. Let me add that I didn’t begin believing  for a hundredfold return overnight. When I started in the ministry, a hundredfold return was more than I could fathom! I could see it in the Word of God, and I knew it was true, but it took time for my faith to develop  so that these things would produce in my life. I didn’t start believing  for $5,000 or $10,000 at a time. I began believing for the return on the first $10 I gave to Brother Roberts. My

wife and I believed  for a double return and got it every single month. But over a period of time, by meditating in the Word and confessing  unto it, that “victory portion” of faith came alive

in my heart concerning  a hundredfold return.

In October 1971 I gave my airplane  to the Lord. I released  it, no longer claiming ownership.  Then through the next few months, I continually  confessed with my mouth that the with­ drawal  was mine, that it was on deposit in my heavenly account and would be manifested as I needed  it. There were times when I would wake  up in the middle of the night with fear trying to take over, trying to get me to put pressure on people,  trying to get me to rent or lease or borrow. But I would fall back on the Word of God and my covenant with Him, thanking God that His Word is true and full of power. Then in January 1972 the Lord spoke and told me to whom I was to

give the airplane.

At this point, I was in quite a predicament.  Arrangements had been made to produce a television series, and we had no apparent  capital. In addition, we had a busy schedule  with no transportation. In the natural there was no way out, but by this time, we knew how deeply  God was involved! Ten days later I had in my hands the exact amount I had confessed as my with­ drawal.  Someone I didn’t even know said that God had told them to give the money. I was to put it into the ministry and

not disclose from whom it came. This person wanted God to receive all the glory and He has. If you borrow from the bank, you have to answer to the banker, but when you get it from God, there are no strings attached.

Well, I had spotted another airplane  and knew  exactly where it was. I called the owner, and he flew it down to me. He could hardly believe  it! He was a Christian too, and God

had warned  him three or four months earlier that he was flying around in my airplane;  but he didn’t think it would come to pass, so he hadn’t made arrangements  for one of his own. He had to do without transportation for a while! This is an exciting

life! You can do what you want, but for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!

Withdrawals  from the bank of heaven are accomplished through the power of agreement,  the power of confession and the power of standing expectantly on God’s Word.

The Power of Agreement

For years I knew deep down inside that there was a place in God where a man could live in victorious circumstances  at all times. I knew there was total victory in Jesus, so I searched for it; but many of the people  I asked about it told me that I would not be able to live this way until I got to heaven.  Thank God, the Word says differently.

Matthew 18:19-20 says this: “Again I say  unto  you, That if

two of you  shall  agree on  earth  as  touching any  thing  that they shall  ask,  it shall  be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three  are  gathered together in my name, there  am  I in the midst  of them.”  Notice that Jesus said, “Again I say  unto  you.” This was important enough  for Him to say more than once to these men until they realized  that if they

would get in agreement  with one another and establish a thing, Jesus would be in the midst of them to cause it to come to pass.

You need someone to be an agreement  partner with you. The most ideal situation is for a man and his wife to be in agreement.  You need someone who will not relent and, once the agreement  is made, will stand firm that it will come to pass. Jesus will bring even the impossible  to pass if two Christians will agree firmly  on His Word and its truth. This is the reason

that in financial matters it is so important to know that you

have made your heavenly  deposits. It is easy to agree on the fact that something is yours when you have already made the deposits for it.

The prayer of agreement  is a powerful prayer, and it will work when it is put to work. However, so much of the time one person will agree and another person will hope. I have prayed  with people  and when I finished said, “It is done and it will come to pass.” Then the other person who was supposed to be agreeing  with me would say, “I certainly do hope so, Brother Copeland.” At that point I am forced to say, “Well, it won’t. I agreed…you  hoped.”

When an agreement  is made, both parties are firm in the fact that there is an agreed  situation. When you agree with a person to pay a bill at a certain time and that person says, “I consider this bill as paid,” and you say, “I certainly hope so,” then that is probably  as far as the situation will go until you are firm in your committal to that agreement.  The other partner will not enter into it with you. It should be this firm between  two Christians when they come together and believe  that what they have agreed  upon in the world of prosperity will come to pass. Remember, we have Jesus Christ’s Word for it. It will come to pass if we refuse to relent in our agreement  together.

The Power of Confession

Jesus said in Mark 11:23, “For verily  I say  unto  you, That whosoever shall  say  unto  this mountain, Be thou  removed, and be thou  cast into the sea;  and  shall  not doubt  in his heart,  but shall  believe that those  things  which he saith  shall  come to pass; he shall  have  whatsoever he saith.” Notice the last words, “he

shall  have  whatsoever he saith.” Faith is released  with mouth. Even our salvation is based on the confession of our mouths that Jesus Christ is our Lord (see Romans 10:9-10). You can have what  you  say!  In fact, what you are saying is exactly  what you are getting now. If you are living in poverty and lack and want, change  what you are saying.  It will change  what you have!

People continually  say to me, “Brother Copeland, I cannot see what the confession of my mouth has to do with the cir­ cumstances around me.” Well, I didn’t understand  it much when I first found out about it. Only the simple fact that Jesus said it was enough  for me to begin to change  my vocabulary.  Since then I have learned  the powerful force of the spiritual world

that creates the circumstances  around us is controlled by the words of the mouth. This force comes from inside us.

Jesus Himself said, “By thy words thou  shalt  be justified,

and  by thy words thou  shalt  be condemned” (Matthew 12:37). Words are containers.  They can contain faith, love, fear, hate, or they can be totally empty. Jesus said that we would stand judg­

ment for idle (or empty, inoperative)  words (see Matthew 12:36). Remember, we said earlier that all the material substance you will ever need is already  in the earth. Everything you need is already  here. The confession of your mouth will cause you to possess it. God will see to that. Hebrews 3:1 says that Jesus is the Apostle and the High Priest of our confession; and Hebrews

4:14 states that we are to hold fast to our confession. We are to confess what we desire to come to pass. We don’t wait until it comes to pass and then begin to confess it. In Mark 11:23, Jesus is talking about saying things that have not yet come to pass. The mountain had not yet been removed when it was spoken to. Jesus said for us to believe  that those things which we say will come to pass and then  we will have whatsoever  we say.

When I learned  these facts, it became  easy for me to confess,

“I have it now….I can see it through the eye of my faith.” Once

I make deposits in my heavenly  account, I can say, I have  it and then it will come to me. Sometimes it comes instantly; somethimes it comes after it is confessed several times; some­ times it comes after several days; sometimes it comes after sev­ eral weeks.  There have been times when it came after months of confession, but nonetheless,  it came! We have God’s Word for it. It will come to pass!

The Power of Standing Expectantly on the Word of God

God’s Word is absolutely  true. There is great power in the Word. God has used the words written in the Bible to release His faith. No Word of God is void of the power it takes to cause itself to come to pass. No one has ever reached  the depth of what is available  in the written Word of God to the believer

who will stand on God’s word as quickly  and as firmly as he would the word of his lawyer  or his doctor or his most trusted friend. God’s  Word is God speaking to you. God’s Word is not of a private interpretation.  It is for whosoever  will! Stand on it and

expect things to come to pass.

When you begin to look forward expectantly to the things God’s Word promises you, you will then begin to say, “I have it.” You will then begin to say, “I believe that I receive.  My money is coming to me, and I will be able to be a greater blessing to the work of God’s ministry, to the poor, and to the other things that I need to be involved in.”

Standing on the Word of God is a spiritual activity that will bless and cause you to grow in faith and in power. James says

it like this, “Faith without works is dead” (see James 2:17). He says to be a doer of the Word, an actor of the Word of God,

and not a hearer only. Then he describes  standing on the Word of God or looking into the Word as looking into the perfect law of liberty.

God’s Word always comes to pass for the man who will

stand and act on it. Your confession of God’s Word will always come to pass in your life regardless  of what opposition Satan puts up against it because  you are confessing and expectantly standing on the Living Word of the Almighty Jehovah God. Jesus Christ is the guarantee  that our covenant with God, or

God’s Word to us, is absolutely  and eternally  true. Even if heaven and earth pass away,  thank God, you and I won’t pass away

as we stand on His Word for His Word will not pass away!

Hebrews 1:3 states that He is upholding  all things by the Word of His power. It just makes good sense then to stand on His Word if you want to be upheld financially.  If you want to be upheld spiritually,  get on His Word. If you want to be upheld in any area of your life, put that area on God’s Word and begin to confess that you have success and victory in Jesus. It’s yours!

Discipline your vocabulary.  Discipline everything  you do, everything  you say, and everything  you think to agree with what God does, what God says, and what God thinks! God will be obligated  to meet your needs because  of His Word—not because  of your righteousness  or your lack of it—but because

of His covenant that was brought into existence  the day Jesus was raised from the dead. If you stand firmly on this, your needs will be met!

The Bible says that we are to owe no man anything  but love (see Romans 13:8). I will go to any lengths to love a man with the fullness of what God has given me. Suppose I had owed several thousand dollars on that airplane  when God said

to give it away.  If that had been the case, God would not have been running my ministry; the bank would have been and I could not have given it!

How do you operate in financial situations without subordi­

nating yourself to the world’s system? What is the key that opens the channel  in these things? It is available  to us, but instead, all we have known is borrow, borrow, borrow! The Bible says if you will meditate in the Word of God day and night, you will have good success and deal wisely  in your affairs. The Word of God is the key.

Begin to meditate on the word in these areas we have dis­

cussed and give God an opportunity to tell you what to do and how to function. Remember, the rich young ruler turned and walked  away.  That was his biggest mistake! All he needed  to do was say, “Lord, I don’t understand  this, but I have confidence  in You. Would You please  explain  God’s Word in this matter?” He just assumed  Jesus wanted to take away  everything  he had, while actually  Jesus was offering him the kingdom of God!

Now I want to take a moment and share something else with you. First Timothy 2:1 says that we are to pray for all men, for kings, and for all in authority. Paul wrote that we were to pray for these men first of all.  You are to pray accord­

ing to the Word of God for the men who operate around you

politically.  Government leaders  have a great deal to do with your financial life.

The Word of God says, “[Pay] taxes  to whom  taxes  are  due”

(Romans 13:7, The Amplified  Bible).  One of the major things fouling up your life where prosperity is concerned  is your bad­ mouthing the government and its leaders,  particularly  in the

area of taxation. Most people  are operating in strife where their taxes are concerned,  and it has a direct relationship  to the gov­ ernment that provides our financial system. One day the Lord

said, “Quit grumbling  and complaining  about your tax money. Pay it cheerfully  the way you do your tithe and I’ll bless it.” From then on, my wife and I stated praying  over our tax money—just as we do our tithe—and we have never had a tax bill that we couldn’t pay. We bless our tax money to the United States Government. That is a change,  isn’t it? Get strife and hard feelings toward your government out of your heart! The Word says we are to pray and give thanks for our leaders,  not bad­ mouth them!

Romans 13:2 says, “Whosoever therefore resisteth the power,

resisteth the ordinance of God: and  they that resist  shall  receive to themselves damnation.” After I read this in the Word, I broke my bad confession and began to pray for these men. For the

first time in my life, I went to the polls and voted intelligently. No longer moved by emotion, I began to pray and seek God in voting as I did in other areas. When my attitude changed,  God began to give me insight into the political affairs of this country. After approximately two weeks  of praying this way, God showed me some things about the president.  You see, I had opened myself to receive from God by stopping the strife in my heart.

I had been very critical of the government and politicians;  I griped and complained  continually,  but God changed  my atti­ tude. When I quit begrudging the government,  God could reveal some things to me and I could receive  them. This opened  an area of prosperity I didn’t even know existed.  The Bible says these men, our civil leaders,  are God’s ministers for our good, that they are ordained  of God. Our lack of prayer support for them has caused  the problems we have seen.

As a guide for you to use in receiving  from your giving in any area, let me share this little formula. It has worked  consis­ tently for us and will work for you if you commit yourself to it.

1.  Decide on  the amount you  need. Be careful not to cheat

yourself. God is not a skinflint. He is a giver. He is a lover. God is love. For God so loved the world that He gave. Determine the amount you need and then be single-minded. A double-minded man can’t receive anything  from the Lord (see James 1:7-8).

2.  Get in agreement according to Matthew 18:19.  This is

very important. The best and most powerful situation on earth is a husband and wife who can agree together in these areas. If this isn’t possible in your particular case, then get together with another believer  and have him join with you.

3.  Lay hold  on  it by faith.  Use the principles  set out in

Mark 11:23-24. Believe it in your heart and confess it with your mouth.

4.  Bind  the devil  and  his forces in the Name of Jesus.  You

have the authority in Jesus’ Name to order Satan out of your financial affairs. This is your  responsibility.  Don’t ask God to do it. You do it in Jesus’ Name. Mark 16:17, James 4:7, Ephesians 6 and the entire New Testament tells you  to resist the devil. It is important for the husband and father to do this. It is his respon­ sibility as spiritual head of the home.

5.  Loose the forces of heaven. Hebrews 1:14 refers to the angels as ministering spirits “sent forth to minister for those

who shall be heirs of salvation.” The Bible also says that angels hearken  to the Word of God (see Psalm 103:20), so when you use the Word in the Name of Jesus, they are obligated  to follow your command.

6.  Praise  God for the answer. Praise keeps the door of

abundance  wide open. The channel  between  you and God is clear so that you can receive from Him.

Here is an example  of prayer based on these six steps: “Father, in the Name of Jesus, we ask you for $                                                  . We have this money in our heavenly  account and we

are withdrawing  this amount now. We believe  we receive

$              . As in Mark 11:23-24, we believe  it in our hears and confess now that it is ours in the Name of Jesus. We agree that we have $             according to Matthew 18:19. From this day forward, we roll the care of this over on You and thank You

for it. Satan, in the Name of Jesus, we take authority over you; we bind your operation now and render you helpless. Ministering spirits, we charge you to go forth and cause this amount to come to us according to Hebrews 1:14. Father, we praise Your Name for meeting our needs according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus and for multiplying  our seed for sowing in the Name of Jesus.”

When I entered the ministry and enrolled in Oral Roberts University, my wife and I lived in an old house in Tulsa, Okla., and because  of business  failures, we owed money in every direction. Then, as we began to grasp the principle  of seed-faith giving and believing  God to supply  our needs, we decided  to believe  God to pay these debts. One night we sat down and figured what we owed.  I got my checkbook  and wrote out the checks that would pay these debts. We laid hands on them and prayed  according to Romans 13:8. “Owe  no  man  any  thing,  but

to love  one  another.” I said, “Father, in the Name of Jesus, I am

putting these checks in this desk drawer and am believing  You to get us out of this mess. I am looking to You for the money to pay all these debts, in the Name of Jesus.” I was not so foolish

as to mail those checks before the money was in the bank. That

is against the law. God will not bless fraud!

We figured to the last penny how much it would take to oper­ ate our household  abundantly, even allowing  for unexpected things. We wrote it down and prayed  over it in the Name of Jesus. I made up my mind to be single-minded from that day forward, and in less than 12 months from that night, we did not owe anything  and haven’t owed a penny since. God did some

miraculous  things during that time, and He is still doing them today! Praise God!