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PROVERBS 10:22

The blessing of the Lord, it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it].

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Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible . There are no copyright © requirements. The author elected to update the archaic pronouns of the King James English to make the verse read more current for the reader. The changes do not affect the text nor do they detract from the original meaning.

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Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Please note that CMI Publishing style capitalizes certain pronouns in Scripture that refer to the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. We choose to do this out of respect and reverence for the Godhead even though this may differ from some publisher's styles.

Take note that the name satan and related names are not capitalized. We choose not to acknowledge him even to the point of violating grammatical rules.

It is with pleasure I would like to acknowledge my association with John W. Smith Jr. and his ministry. I have been extremely pleased with everything concerning John and his ministnes. His knowledge of God's Word and his gift for teaching the Word is very evident.

Through the years I have known John W. Smith Jr. and I have been blessed in many ways through my association in ministry and friendship with him. I am happy to call him my friend and look forward to many more years of continued service together in the work of the Lord and through our continued friendship. May God continue to bless you and your family.

This book is the product of 2-years in the writing and 27-years in the research and revelation. I believe that this book is important for the body of Christ to understand and absorb because of the need to take hold of the vast resources on this planet that God has placed on reserve for the last days harvest of souls. Without the necessary funding we need to fulfill the Great Commission we may never complete the monumental task set before us.

God has deposited hidden riches for us to uncover through the wisdom of His word so that we can access the gold, silver and other precious metals it takes to buy and sell the goods and services to propagate the Gospel to the nations.

The Church has operated at a level of understanding in kingdom prosperity where we believed for our needs to be met but we have not reached the place where we believe for the money and resources to meet the needs of the masses that are starving, thirsty and destitute.

We have met some of the needs but not nearly as much as we could if we had the deep pockets the world has. Many people think it is vulgar to believe God would release such large sums of money to a Christian. After all, we are supposed to take a vow of poverty because it's humble and godly to be poor, however, this does not agree with scripture.

Solomon said, "The destruction of the poor is their poverty." Nothing good comes from lack and it certainly does not give glory to God.

The body of Christ is supposed to walk in the blessing of Abraham, which means we should not lack anything we need or want. It is my observation that the vast majority of Christians are not walking in the blessing because the god of this world has convinced them to remain blindfolded with the curse of the law wrapped around their minds.

It makes no sense at all for the redeemed of the Lord to be broke and miserable due to NSF or non-sufficient funds. When the day of Pentecost was fully come, the Holy Spirit came upon all flesh and the church grew by measures of thousands.

When the people got saved they all came together and brought the price of the properties and things they sold and gave them to the Apostles to distribute among the people so that none had any lack. If the church started out this way how did it become financially stressed 2,000 years later? The church should be in a much better shape than it was back then. This is why I wrote this book.

I write it in the hopes that someone will take hold of the promise and power of God to get wealth, which establishes God's covenant. Maybe that is you? In order to complete this 2-year project, I had to have people who have the same like precious faith to see this study be documented for the nations to read, believe and walk in it today.

I am always grateful for the opportunity to speak and teach the word of God, I am humbled that God would allow me the privilege to be His mouthpiece. What an awesome responsibility it is to win souls and watch Him change their lives.

I am blessed beyond measure to have the most wonderful wife in the world. Thanks to Darlene, I am able to complete the projects God has given me. She is my editor, proofreader and soul mate in this life. Thank you baby for the countless hours you invest in me. My daughter Holly, Stephanie and my son JJ play an important role in keeping the ministry flowing around the clock. You have sacrificed your life to see this vision come to past. Thanks for your laughter with me and at me! You make me feel younger with each chuckle.

To my daughter-in-law Katie and the grandchildren you have brought into this world that give me inexplicable joy. I love you Carter and Audrey! To my son-in-law Lucas, I greatly appreciate your support of this family and my ministry.

I firmly believe that every person that speaks into your life helps to bring the sum total of what you become. I deeply appreciate the pastors and five-fold leadership who contributed to my revelation of the word of God. The nuggets of wisdom that you disseminate are like the Pearl of Great Price.

I want to say thanks to all of the partners and friends that sow into this ministry and have prayed for us for all of these years. The same rewards that God has for me belongs to you. I simply could not complete this assignment without your obedience.

To all the people that have invested in my ministry by purchasing the books and teaching materials from the ministry, thank you and may this teaching be embedded deep in your heart so that the anointing of God can release the promise of prosperity and health to you and everyone around you.

Get ready to remove the things that have blocked you from the full measure of the blessing God has in store for you!

In every generation, God raises up men of God who have revelation knowledge that impact and empowers the body of Christ in an unprecedented way. Pastor John W. Smith, Jr. is one of those chosen men.

This man is gifted to hear the whispers of revelation knowledge that flow from the heart of God and to release an impartation into the millions of souls he ministers to on a daily basis through his Faith Now Television Broadcast.

He has a unique anointing to communicate and teach that revelation knowledge with simplicity and truth. There are very few men of God on earth, who truly operate in this revelatory gift that has been imparted into this humble man.

The revelation in The Blessing of the Lord is sure to elevate your faith to a new level and propel your spirit into a new dimension.

As you receive this revelation in your spirit and apply it to your life you will be blessed beyond human comprehension.

If you have ever played team sports you probably had an occasion to make a mistake or two during the game you were playing. When I was young I loved to play baseball. I started playing organized youth leagues when I was about 10-years-old. At that age you want to fit in and identify with others and I admired the kids that played in the neighborhood and I wanted to be accepted as one of the guys.

I was somewhat of a misfit compared to most of them. I had long hair, crooked teeth and ragged looking clothes that I wore over and over again. I always felt awkward and out of place around the other kids but I never said anything about it that I was aware of.

I remember practicing and playing with other kids that were much more fortunate than I was. They all used the latest equipment and wore the brand name shoes all the stars were wearing. It kind of reminds me of one of my favorite movies, The Sandlot.

In the movie the new kid in town wanted to be a part of the neighborhood baseball game and when he joined in, he had the wrong glove and a fly-fishing hat instead of the traditional baseball cap. I wore a plain old ragged red cap that someone gave me.

I came from a family of eight children and there was generally not enough to buy the basic necessities of life. Purchasing a baseball glove or a pair of Converse All-Stars just wasn't in the budget. If we got anything new it was the result of a lay-a-way plan at K-mart. K-mart sold their own brand of sneakers that looked like the Converse All-Stars, but they had a great big letter K on the back of the heel. Today they call these in-store brand knock offs, but back then they called them "buddies."

If you wore a pair of buddies you set yourself up as the focus of jokes and ridicule. I purposely scuffed up the back of the heel to take the attention away from them.

To make matters worse, I wore a pair of very old, very worn out buddies. Eventually the front of the shoe would split open and make a flapping noise when I walked.

Believe it or not I took some grey duct tape that my Dad used for his toupee and wrapped it around the shoe to keep from tripping while walking and running. Oh yea, my dad used the duct tape because he could no longer afford the toupee tape. Excuse me for saying this but, OMG and LOL! It is funny today, not so funny then.

Someone gave me an old baseball glove to play with. This glove was worn out and had a large hole in the webbing where the baseball was supposed to be caught. I tried to pretend that it did not matter because I was happy just to get on the field and participate.

To say the least, I missed more than one baseball that was thrown or hit to me because of my inexperience and messed up glove. Nobody had worked with me or showed me how to play baseball so when it was my turn to take the field I kind of just stood there hoping the ball would not come to me. I generally missed every ball that came my way.

At the end of an inning we all came into the dugout, I embarrassingly ran with my teammates thinking that I wish I could hide from sight and disappear. All the players gave me that look, you know, the one that says, "What did we do to deserve you?"

Fortunately we had a coach who encouraged everyone on the team and especially me. He would see the dejected look on my face and say, "Don't sweat it, just shake it off." As a young man living in a very dysfunctional home, this made me feel like there was some hope in trying again.

I never really had the love and encouragement I saw going on in the lives of the kids I hung out with and it just felt good to hear the coach say these words to me.

I will never forget one rainy afternoon when we were playing one of the best teams in the league. The game was delayed because of the rain and the field was soaked from the showers. The coach had me play centerfield. I guess he thought that no one would hit the ball that far in the rain because centerfield is usually a prime position.

Here I was standing in a mud puddle with my pathetic glove on, waiting for the game to end. All I could think about was getting back on the bench to drink the orange soda pop in the cooler by the dugout that they gave us after every game. This was not something I got to enjoy on a regular basis.

While I stood there counting the pitches in the rain, the batter hit a high fly ball to centerfield. It looked like it was going over my head, so I began to run backwards with my pathetic baseball glove waving back and forth. I was slipping and nearly fell down and just about the time I thought that the ball had went past me, I felt this sudden tug on the one leather strap that was holding the top of the glove together.

To my surprise and everyone else, I had caught the ball. This was the last out of the game and the winning catch. I had a mixed feeling of shock and amazement that brought the biggest smile I had ever felt on my face before.

The coach who told me over and over again not to sweat the errors, shouted out, "Way to go Smitty!" The whole team ran out to meet me as I came running and hydroplaning on the wet grass.

It was one of the few good memories of my childhood, one that I can see vividly in the theatre of my mind every time I think or talk about it. From that moment on I realized that the glove I had did not decide whether or not I could catch a ball. It was the person holding the glove that made the difference.

I raised enough money from cutting grass in the neighborhood to buy a new glove with former Pittsburgh Pirate great, Roberto Clemente's name on it. I developed into a pretty decent player from then on. In fact, I made the all-star teams in central Ohio and played with some of the best players in the region.

Coaches went from waiting to put me in to the minimum innings required by the leagues, to starting me in centerfield and placing me in the clean-up position at bat. My self-esteem and confidence grew from the experience that day on a rainy baseball field with a dilapidated glove.

I will never forget the coach who inspired me that season. It is not always the person you believe in that inspires you, it is often the people that believe in you that inspires you.

The statement, "Don't sweat it" stuck with me for the rest of my life. I learned that I would need to apply this throughout my entire life. There is always something trying to get you down and to give up. I have not had an easy life; I do not think that anyone really does.

Whether it is unexpected bills or sudden loss and tragedy of someone dear to you, it hurts and it is real. We all have had our share of difficult circumstances and situations in life. I have frankly lost count of the number of bad things that have happened to my family and me.

In the midst of all of them I have tried to apply and execute the phrase, "Don't sweat it" no matter what has happened and no matter who is at fault. I encourage you to do the same and to trust in the Lord with all of your heart everyday. The ride may be scary but the results are going to be well worth it.

In the beginning God did not design mankind to sweat their way through life, physically or mentally. The curse of sin is what caused the 3 to 4 million sweat glands in your body to start pouring through and onto your skin.

Medical science says that everyone sweats differently but everyone sweats. This is true emotionally as well. Some people sweat things more than others do. Some folks sweat over money while others sweat over relationships.

Many people lose sleep and eventually their minds over the chaotic condition of their finances, health and relationships. For over 27 years I have ministered to and prayed for thousands of people that have allowed problems to prevent them from advancing in life.

I have learned that one of the advantages a problem gives you is that problems can force you to think bigger than yourself. King David understood this while going through extreme pressure and stress.

Psalm 4:1

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: you have enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

Problems will increase your opportunity to move into a larger realm. Suppose that things are going pretty well when all of the sudden you get a notice that you owe more on taxes than you had expected to and you do not have the money to pay them.

The problem causes you to begin thinking of ways to obtain the money you need to pay the taxes that are beyond your present ability.

Simon Peter encountered the need to pay taxes that he did not have the money to take care of. In fact, he went beyond his own obligation to pay taxes and committed to paying taxes for the Lord Jesus Christ. When Simon Peter returned to the house Jesus asked him why did he commit to doing this and what were you thinking? Have you ever opened your mouth and agreed to do something that you regretted? I know that I have.

Even though Simon Peter spoke out of turn, Jesus gave him an inspired instruction on how to obtain the money to pay the taxes for both of them.

I look at it like this, Simon Peter was a fisherman and for Jesus to instruct him to go and cast a line into the sea and take up the first fish he caught was like taking the day off.

Jesus knew where the fish was that would have the coin in its mouth. God knows where the money is that you need. I believe that because of Peter's obedience to Jesus words, God created the coin by His glory and then placed it in the mouth of the fish to take care of the obligation.

By the way, if there was one fish there must have been many fish to follow. But never forget the first fish, the first coin, and the first of everything belongs to God.

Ecclesiastes 10:19 states that money answers all things. Every problem in the world is somehow connected to money. No matter what you are facing, you are probably going to need more money to deal with the issues at hand.

The Bible clearly shows us that in order to grow a harvest you must sow a seed. Unfortunately most Christians do not have a firm grasp on Biblical economics. Some people give to God but lack understanding and revelation about what happens when they give.

Many people have the concept about giving but they do not see the full circle of the revelation of receiving. The book of Galatians states that God is not mocked whatever a person sows that shall they also reap. This is to say that if you don't want to be a receiver then you do not fully believe what God has said about seedtime and harvest principles.

I hear people say all the time that they do not give to get. They don't really believe what they say because when they go to work, they do expect to get a paycheck. When they plant a garden or tree in their backyard, they do expect fruit and vegetables to come forth.

What they're really saying is they don't think it's correct or proper to believe God to multiply money, and to reap a harvest based on His word and promise, when you give into the Kingdom of God. They do not have a revelation of the blessing of the Lord, which makes us rich and adds no sorrow to it.

Most people believe that in order to make more money you have to work harder. I am an advocate for working and making a living, but I don't believe that you can work hard to make a life. Jesus did not say that He came that you might have a living. What He said was that He came that you might have a life, His life, full of abundance, life to the overflow!

So the life that He has designed for you to live is not based on how hard you work but on the work that He's accomplished at the Cross of Calvary and your faith to believe and receive in Jesus Name.

There is an expression that says you should work smarter, not harder. This is essentially true, but I like to say that, you need more wisdom in the word of God in order to increase your cash flow. Wisdom will produce the answers that will in return create the money that answers all the things you struggle with in life.

You will more than likely have to work more hours than before, but your time will become more productive with the application of the wisdom of God. Wisdom and favor will create the energy, access and ideas you need to win financially. This will prevent you from trying to manipulate, analyze and figure out how to increase the bottom line.

There are many things in this world that will oppose you and try to prevent you from succeeding, but God has declared that if you obey and serve Him you will spend your days in prosperity and your years in pleasures. The good news is that God has provided a means to overcome problems such as sickness, disease, poverty, and destruction.

Jesus said that in this world we would have tribulation, but fear not I have overcome the world. We overcome the world through faith in God's word. The New Covenant promises that we no longer have to sweat to pay the bills or have needs meet. In fact, God has called you to a much higher order in life. The anointing to prosper and get wealth is what establishes God's covenant on the earth through you. God gives you the anointing to multiply the seed you sow and then God by His glory will create and produce it for you.

God's original plan for mankind has been and always will be to freely enjoy the good things He placed and planted on the Earth. The prophet Isaiah said that if you are willing and obedient you will eat of the good of the land.

When Adam disobeyed God and ate of the fruit of the tree he was told not to, it changed things drastically. From that moment on, mankind would have to compete for increase. Thorns and thistles would choke out the life of the seed sown in the ground and mankind would now have to sweat their way through the workweek, the monthly bills, and the end of every tax season.

God wants you to come out of this vicious cycle of punching the clock to pay the bills and still be behind. That's what you really want isn't it? I have learned that God wants you to become seed-minded and not need-minded. That means that you can develop a position financially that will allow you to get up every morning with money as the last thing on your mind.

The Church today is swimming in debt from the pulpit to the pews. We are listening to the messages but we're not walking in the manifestation. This is due in part to the fact that many of those in the Church are more concerned about the needs they're facing than the opportunities to take the money God trusts them with and invest in the Kingdom of God.

There are some common sense money managers that have tried to tackle the debt crisis from a natural perspective, and the principles they teach have merit. However, in order for the Church and its commission to preach the Gospel to every creature to be fully realized, we need much more money than the weekly tithes and offerings are presently bringing in.

We don't need another gimmick and we don't need bake sales, yard sales and chili suppers to raise the funds for budgets and missions. What we need are some believers who will take hold of the covenant of wealth God has given us.

What we need are some genuine God made millionaires and billionaires that can write the checks that can fund the Kingdom ministries that are doing the full ministry of the word and of the power of the Holy Spirit. Solomon said it best.

Proverbs 10:22

The blessing of the LORD, it makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.

The Amplified Bible says that God makes us rich and it does not come from toiling and spinning. In other words, it is God's will for you to have riches and wealth through the blessing of the Lord. Adam was blessed by God and was rich in all things, including the things he would need to take care of his family. He lost that provision and was driven from the Garden of Eden where there was plenty of provision and supply.

This book explains in detail what God has done to return you to the blessing and how He did it through His Son Jesus. If you have had enough of religion, tradition and the stagnant teachings that have held you in place for too long then you must read each and every word of this study so that you can go to the next level of financial freedom and blessing. In fact, this study applies to every aspect and every area of your life.

It is my prayer that when you have finished reading this book that your eyes will be open to the truth that will make you free from the burden and bondage of debt, lack and poverty. It is time for the sweat cloth to come off of your mind and it is time for you to move forward in the complete blessing of God's Kingdom and see the promises He has established for you today!

The word blessing is a word that is thrown around loosely by people who rarely know the true meaning of the word. It is commonplace to hear a rock star or actor say how blessed they were by recognition or an award. The word blessing is generally said when someone is speaking of a beneficial thing or when someone is grateful for something. This is what most people are saying when they say they are blessed. However, there is a great difference between being blessed and the blessing.

When one says that they are blessed they are often referring to the feeling they have towards someone or something. The word blessing is applied to many of today's messages as the word favor. However, the word blessing and the word favor have two distinct meanings. The word favor is the same word for the word grace. There is more than one meaning for blessing in the Old and New Testament of the Bible. The most common form of the word blessing found in scripture is the word barak. The word barak simply means prosperity.

When someone says that God blesses them, they are more than likely speaking a covenant term of agreement with what the word of God says about them. Feeling blessed is an emotional reaction to a person or matter, but walking in the blessing is a much more powerful covenant term, which comes from the Old English word, blestian.

Blestian means to mark or consecrate with blood. Hence the explanation of why the word bless is used in conjunction with the word of God, for it is the blood that produces life in the flesh and it is the blood of Jesus that gives us the newness of life by the Spirit.

The blessing of God is an empowerment that gives His people the capability to achieve and accomplish the promise and potential of His word. The blessing of God is the source of all prosperity and increase in this world. Without the blessing of the Lord there would be no riches or wealth, nor would there be any abundance of life-giving resources within the earth to be found. The blessing of the Lord is the force of God's Holy Spirit that reveals and loosens the hidden riches of secret places.