Love Is the Hub, Prosperity Is the Spoke: Why You Serve God
Dr RJ Sing, 1 hr 9 min
Originally preached as “Understanding”
Sermon outline
Get understanding of why you do what you do: the hub of the whole Christian life is your love for God, and everything else is the fruit.
Main text
- Proverbs 4:7
Opening
During the offering he asks the church why they give their tithes and offerings, and teaches that God loves a cheerful giver: we give, pray, read the Word and come to church because we love Him. He then reads Proverbs 4:7 and says he wants to speak briefly on understanding before communion.
Love for God is the hub of everything
Giving, praying, studying the Word and coming to church must flow from love for God, not to impress people or clock up hours. Favour, money and a nice house are the results; do not camp at the results. He says his only secret is that he loves God with all his heart, mind and understanding.
Illustration: Jesus asked Peter three times, 'Do you love me?' and told him to feed His sheep. He says he preaches, writes books and produces CDs and DVDs because he loves to feed God's people.
“The centerpiece of your whole life is your love for God.”
- 2 Corinthians 9:7
- John 21:15-17
With all your getting, get understanding
Understanding means knowing why you do what you do, with no hidden agenda. Once God reveals Himself to you, you begin a love relationship, and no one needs to convince you or offend you out of it. The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and love has to express itself in works.
Illustration: Others would rather go to the rugby or scream about a football match; they do not understand why a believer's affections have changed.
“When you understand why you do certain things, guess what? Your mind is illuminated.”
- Proverbs 4:7
- Romans 5:5
Know His ways, not only His acts
Israel saw the acts of God, but God made His ways known to Moses. Moses understood the reasons behind what God did, and so he could perform God's acts. Many people want the acts of God without the ways of God.
Illustration: Moses brought water out of the rock because he knew the ways of God.
“You cannot perform the acts of God without knowing the ways of God.”
- Psalm 103:7
- Exodus 33:11
Redefine your reason for living
Get up in the morning for God, not just for work, and thank Him at night for keeping you. The one who wanders from understanding remains among the dead, merely existing. Everything, including a prospering business, is for the sake of the kingdom.
Illustration: He thanks God that he could have been an addict, in prison or dead, and counts the times on the road when there should have been an accident but Jesus kept him.
“It's for the sake of the kingdom.”
- Proverbs 21:16
- 2 Peter 3:18
Engage your spirit man
The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, like a torch searching the Word for what God is saying. God gives each person a personalised blueprint, so success does not come from copying others or from knowing important people. The first ingredient for success is loving God; the second is engaging your spirit.
Illustration: We make a fuss over designer labels, but God is the true designer: He takes a drunkard with no hope and gives him a designer life.
“If you want to have success in life, activate and engage your spirit.”
- Proverbs 20:27
Seek Him, not connections, and serve in secret
Solomon asked for wisdom rather than riches and received everything else too. Stop running after famous preachers, movements and networks, and do not announce your prayers and fasts, because the Father rewards what is done in secret. Like Paul, cry 'that I may know Him', because even the demons asked the sons of Sceva who they were.
Illustration: People announce that they are on a Daniel fast, an Esther fast or a Haggai fast, and get only the praise of men.
“If you have found, you'll be resting.”
- 1 Kings 3:5-13
- Philippians 3:10
- Matthew 6:16-18
- Matthew 6:6
- Psalm 42:1
- Acts 19:15
- 1 Corinthians 13:11
Be fair and have compassion on others
Give others the same grace God gave you, and do not look down on people at lower levels, because you were there once. Have compassion on the unsaved, Hindus, Muslims, drunkards and prostitutes, rather than being 'churchified', because God has given you the ministry of reconciliation.
“The same grace God gave you, give to others.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:18
Putting it into practice
- Check your heart: give, pray and serve because you love God.
- Seek to understand God's ways, not only His acts.
- Begin and end each day for God and for the sake of the kingdom.
- Engage your spirit and follow God's blueprint for you instead of copying others.
- Pray and fast in secret, and treat others with grace and compassion.
Closing
He calls people to the altar to make things right with God, prays for the power of the Holy Spirit to break every yoke, gives a word of knowledge for a woman who had felt rejected since childhood, and leads those who raised their hands in a prayer of salvation. He then leads communion around the message 'I love you', reminding them they are accepted in the Beloved, and announces the book table, the membership class next Monday and the Wednesday service.
Declarations he led
- I love God.
- I love Him very, very, very, very, very much.
- I love Jesus very much.
- Jesus, we love you with all of our hearts, all of our minds, all of our souls, with all of our understanding.
- That's my life.
- The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
In his words
- “Prosperity is the spoke.”
- “I have only one secret. I just love him with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my understanding.”
- “Many people want the acts of God. But they don't want the ways of God.”
- “What man accepts, God rejects. And what man rejects, God accepts.”
- “I would rather be rejected by man but accepted by God.”
Every scripture in this message
- 2 Corinthians 9:7
- John 21:15-17
- Proverbs 4:7
- Romans 5:5
- Psalm 103:7
- Exodus 33:11
- Proverbs 21:16
- 2 Peter 3:18
- Proverbs 20:27
- 1 Kings 3:5-13
- Philippians 3:10
- Matthew 6:16-18
- Matthew 6:6
- Psalm 42:1
- Acts 19:15
- 1 Corinthians 13:11
- Hebrews 12:1
- Philippians 4:7
- Isaiah 10:27
- John 12:24
- 2 Corinthians 5:18
- 1 Corinthians 11:25-26
- Ephesians 1:6
- John 3:16
- Acts 5:41