Great Givers, Poor Receivers: Make Room for God's Goodness
Dr RJ Sing, 1 hr 29 min
Originally recorded as “Be a Great Receiver”
Sermon outline
God is kind and eager to do you good, so stop blocking His goodness and build a heart with a great capacity to receive.
Main text
- 2 Chronicles 16:9
- Psalm 145:8
Opening
After worship, a time of prayer and prophecy over the church, and announcements about the bus trip to the Night of Bliss in Johannesburg, he prays over Brother Victor, who is going to plant churches in Egypt. He then says the church has been talking so much about giving that this Easter morning he wants to talk about receiving, because God is kind and God is good.
God is looking for receivers
The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are blameless towards Him, and a born-again believer's heart is blameless because of Jesus. God is not punishing His children; He is full of compassion and His storehouse is full. Many Christians are great givers but poor receivers who cannot even accept a gift, yet God uses people to bless them.
Illustration: The person who says 'Oh no, please, don't give it to me, give it to someone else, I don't deserve this' when someone hands them a gift.
“As much as God wants you to give, he also wants you to be a great receiver.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:9
To receive is to permit to enter in
To receive means to come into possession of, to take in through the mind and senses, and to permit to enter in. Jesus breathed on the disciples and said receive the Holy Spirit, but they had to receive it; you can block God's goodness by what you dwell on. Do not meditate on lack, but on what is pure and good, and develop the consciousness that you are blessed. Humility is of the heart, not of your clothes or your car.
Illustration: Years ago he bought a suede Hush Puppy to wear with his safari suit because he thought it was a 'humble shoe', until the Lord told him humility is of the heart, not of the shoe. And a beggar once threw a small coin back at him, showing that a poor man can be full of pride too.
“It's of the heart. It's not of the shoe.”
- 2 Corinthians 8:9
- John 19:30
- John 20:22
- Philippians 4:8
- Romans 8:28
- Ephesians 1:3
Greet what God sends you
Receiving also means to welcome or greet. When goodness, money or contracts come, greet them as something you have been expecting and prophesying. Single people should receive a spouse by faith first instead of saying nobody will ever call them, because you get what you say and you can only get from God what you are able to receive.
Illustration: Greeting money as it arrives: 'Hi, welcome, I've been expecting you, what took you so long?'
“You can only get from God what you are able to receive. The fault is not on God's side.”
Create a capacity to receive
Meditate on the people who love you, not on who is against you. David, Joseph and Abraham were great receivers who took what God gave them, and God still blessed Abraham after his mistake. To receive is to accept God's Word as true and accurate, so speak as if you already have it, and let it make an impression on your consciousness that you are a success. Quoting David Baron, a Jewish scholar who came to Christ, he teaches that God bestows His goodness on each according to their capacity to receive it.
Illustration: Abraham leaving the king's land 'heavily loaded' with gifts, even after he had said Sarah was his sister.
“There is a connection between manifestation and the capacity to receive.”
- 1 Samuel 17:25-27
- Genesis 41:41-43
- Genesis 20:14-16
- Joel 2:25
Life is exciting: imprint it on your consciousness
We hold a lease on the earth and our days are being spent quickly, so enjoy life, take one day at a time and do not be anxious. When everything goes wrong, encourage yourself in the Lord like David and speak to yourself in psalms and hymns. Christ died and rose again to make life great, so let 'I have a great life' be printed on your spirit like a die that stamps out identical coins.
Illustration: One person sees dark clouds on the horizon; the other says, 'I can hear the sound of an abundance of rain.'
“Life is not a sad thing to be lived.”
- Matthew 6:34
- 1 Samuel 30:6
- 1 Kings 18:41
- Ephesians 5:19
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion
Compassion means an eager yearning to do good for you: God is eager to help with exams, a car, a driver's licence, a business, a wedding or a growing church. Sin has been dealt with, so believers can rejoice. No one can steal from you, because God is the great accountant who balances the books and brings back what was taken with interest, but complaining about it blocks your receiving.
Illustration: God sitting with His calculator, balancing the books in His time.
“Compassion really means an eager yearning to do good for you.”
- Psalm 145:8
Guard your heart and don't clog it
Protect your heart with all diligence, because out of it flow the issues of life: your money, anointing, favour and ministry all come from your heart. Unbelief, doubt and negative speaking, thinking and meditating clog it, so forgive quickly, repent quickly and walk in humility. Follow God ideas, not merely good ideas, and remember that you are the temple of God wherever you go, so be Holy Ghost conscious, not demon conscious.
Illustration: He read Proverbs 4:23 in that morning's devotional and was excited, because it is a revelation God gave him many years ago.
“There's a big difference between a good idea and a God idea.”
- Proverbs 4:23
- 1 Corinthians 3:16
- Matthew 5:14
God's thoughts and plans for you
God's thoughts towards you are for welfare and peace and a hopeful final outcome: He has a social security plan and a medical aid scheme for every believer in His Word. The trouble is not that God does not want to give, but that Christians do not know how to receive. Think great thoughts, do not count anyone out, and do not be small-minded about rising prices.
Illustration: Jesse Duplantis told a doubting pastor that God would give him an aeroplane while he was driving a smoking, rusted car; seven years later he had one, and told the pastor that fear, doubt and unbelief could not ride in it.
“The trouble of Christians is not that God doesn't want to get something to you. The trouble of Christians, you don't know how to receive.”
- Jeremiah 29:11
- Isaiah 53:5
- 3 John 2
Putting it into practice
- Accept gifts and blessings graciously instead of pushing them away.
- Stop meditating on lack and on who is against you; think on what is good.
- Speak God's Word over your situation as if you already have it.
- Forgive and repent quickly so that your heart does not clog up.
- Start each day saying that God is good to you and that you are a great receiver.
Closing
He reminds them of a great week, a great month ahead and the Night of Bliss trip, and jokes that 'Sing' is his surname, so sing to yourself in psalms and hymns. He has the church stand and confess that they are wealthy, influential and successful, quotes that God has not given us a spirit of fear, and leads them in saying they have the life of God in them. The recording ends during this confession.
Declarations he led
- I'm a great receiver.
- I'm a great receiver. I have a great capacity in my heart to receive.
- I have a great life.
- I'm wealthy. I'm influential. Everything's working for my good.
- My heart is big. My capacity is big.
- My consciousness is one of health, of wealth, of success.
- I'm a success. There's a success formula inside of me. Everywhere I go, favor follows me. Success follows me.
- I have got the love of God in me.
- I've got the life of God in me.
In his words
- “As much as God wants you to give, he also wants you to be a great receiver.”
- “It's of the heart. It's not of the shoe.”
- “There's a big difference between a good idea and a God idea.”
- “Don't be demon conscious. Be Holy Ghost conscious.”
- “Don't say I can see the clouds. Say, I can hear the sound of an abundance of rain.”
Every scripture in this message
- 2 Chronicles 16:9
- 2 Corinthians 8:9
- John 19:30
- John 20:22
- Philippians 4:8
- Romans 8:28
- Ephesians 1:3
- 1 Samuel 17:25-27
- Genesis 41:41-43
- Genesis 20:14-16
- Joel 2:25
- Matthew 6:34
- 1 Samuel 30:6
- Ephesians 5:19
- 1 Kings 18:41
- Psalm 145:8
- Proverbs 4:23
- 1 Corinthians 3:16
- Matthew 5:14
- Jeremiah 29:11
- Isaiah 53:5
- 3 John 2
- 2 Timothy 1:7