Am I Selfish? The Believer And Gold 2 by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

What Is an Evil Eye?

Luke 11:34-36 speaks about the eye being the lamp of the body. If your eye is evil, your body is full of darkness. If your eye is full of light, your whole body shall be full of light.

In the Message translation, the evil eye is described plainly as greed — a selfish and greedy disposition.

Mark 7:21-22 lists the things that come out of the heart of men and defile them: evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, wickedness, deceit — and an evil eye. A selfish person is in the same group as a murderer in the sight of God.

Matthew 20:2-15 — in the parable of the labourers, the workers who started early did not complain that they received too little. They complained that those who came late received the same. Their problem was not that they were underpaid. Their problem was that others were paid equally. They were okay small, as long as everybody else was smaller. That is the premise of an evil eye.

This is the darkness of the human heart — favour is not favour if it is not about you.

The Consequences of an Evil Eye

An evil eye is an eye without light. An eye without light cannot see opportunities. In other words, what you have cannot grow. It will stagnate. It will start to stink.

Jeremiah 17:5-8 — cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. He shall be like a shrub in the desert, shall not see good when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in a salt land — a land that cannot produce.

For this person, there is no deliverance — because the person who put the curse is the one who can remove it. And God is the one who put it there. So this person will be hardworking, but the favour component will not be released. They plant in salt land. Nothing grows.

The Story of Lazarus

In the account of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus said there was a rich man and there was a poor man called Lazarus, eating crumbs from the rich man's table. Then Lazarus died. And the rich man also died — perhaps because there was no need for the rich man once Lazarus was gone. The way he treated that man was the way he was treating his own life by extension.

All of a sudden things changed. The one who was begging for crumbs now rested in Abraham's bosom, while the rich man begged for a drop of water.

People go to hell for two reasons: what they did not do — not giving their life to Christ — and wrong calculation. Foolishness.

Wealth Is Meeting Others' Needs

Wealth is as simple as meeting others' needs. And if you are African, you have to rewire the way you think. When God promises exceedingly abundantly above what you can ask, think, or imagine, it is not with selfish hoarding.

The African man, once he has saved money, the next thing he thinks about is land. He cannot think business. He cannot think solve a problem — because business is risky. So he does what will not let his money go. That is the selfish thing that keeps him small.

Anything that comes out of an unhealthy attachment to mammon creates an evil eye. Mammon is a spirit. A demon. Demons are never satisfied until they destroy the life they inhabit.

Jesus said there are only two masters — God and money. He did not call Satan master. He equated the influence of money with the influence of God. You are not just seeing a balance in your account. You are hearing a voice. Money is speaking to you. Fame is looking for worship. Everything in this world is looking for worship.

Prosperity Begins With the Soul

3 John 2 — I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul. Real prosperity message begins with the soul.

If your soul is not prospering, nothing else is permitted to prosper. Give your soul to Jesus — that is his own. Then from there, build career, build business, build home. That is prosperity.

What we often see being preached today is not a prosperity message — it is a business seminar. Use of money. Give God, God will give you back. As though God is your business partner. God is too big to be your transactional colleague.

When you have a responsibility mindset — I give because it is my responsibility as a Christian — heaven can trust you.

Solomon and the $3.1 Trillion

Solomon was valued by theologians at approximately $3.1 trillion. How did he arrive there?

In 1 Kings 3, before God came to Solomon, Solomon had offered a thousand burnt offerings. God appeared to him in a dream and said, ask what shall I give you. Solomon asked for wisdom to judge the people. He did not ask for wealth. He asked for capacity to serve.

God said you asked for the right thing. In other words, you want to represent me — so I will make you represent me in everything. I will give you peace. I will give you wealth.

People God gives wealth do not ask for it. God gives blessings, not idols. If God knows that wealth will not become vanity upon vanity to you — that it will not become an idol — he will give it. But when it would become an idol, he withholds it.

David and the House of God

In 2 Samuel 7, David was living in his palace and he thought, how can I be living fine while the house of God is in a tent? He told Nathan, I want to build God a house.

God said — you want to build me a house? I will build you a house. Because he wanted to build me a house, I will build him a house. Jesus followed that pattern — he asked the woman for water because he wanted to give her living water.

When David accumulated all the money he was going to spend on the temple, theologians put it at $10 billion. He was saving to build God the house. What he wanted to give his children as inheritance was his service to God.

Three Qualities of a Good Heart

A good heart is required to maximize what God has given. Three qualities:

• A grateful heart. Even for the smallest things. Wake up in the morning — Father, thank you for life. Someone opens a door for you — say thank you. Your wife finishes cooking — say thank you to her, not just to Jesus.
• A heart that thinks well of others. Before you act, ask: if this were done to me, could I take it? That person you want to treat unfairly — his mother may be eating from his salary. Life changes. Those who are down today can be up tomorrow.
• A heart that thinks before speaking. Not everything your heart wants to say should come out of your mouth. Let your words minister grace. A good heart produces words that build, not words that defile.

The Congressman's Son and the McDonald's Fries

A congressman took his son to McDonald's. He bought him large fries. As they talked, the father reached for two of the fries. The son grabbed his hand: dad, that's mine.

The father was about to say the boy has a bad attitude. Then the Lord spoke to him with three lessons. First — the boy said it was his, but it was the father who bought it. Second — the father did not actually need the fries; he was reaching out of fellowship, not hunger. Third — the son was missing the point entirely: the father could bury him in fries, because he was the one with the blessing.

The selfishness of the son was limiting the father from blessing him further, because the son was not a good steward.

God put himself in front of the congressman in that interaction with his son.

We Give to Give

The only way to have a healthy heart is to give to give — not to get. That is the only way to keep the idol of money from growing in your heart.

If you give so that God will bless you, that is transaction. But if you give because it is your responsibility as a child of God — heaven can trust you. And God, being a God who gives, will give back to the one who gives without expecting return.

The mission of Zoe Household is to raise people who are like Jesus — not people who want to use Jesus.