Serving Through Generosity by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Prosperity Message Revisited

I want to talk about serving people with generosity. There is something called the prosperity message, what they call the prosperity gospel. I have bastardized that message, condemned that message, and I want to take some things I've said back. What I'm taking back is not what I heard people preach about naming it and claiming it — I think that is demonic because it gives people false hope. You have a need, you look through scriptures, you find a scripture that suits what you need, and you begin to bombard God with that scripture. That's not how it works.

All God's promises are yes and amen in Christ — very true. But it is a quickened word to you from the scriptures that is God's express promise to you. For example, God is promising the children of Israel in Jeremiah 29:11 — people claim that promise. You need to take out time to read the entire context. That promise is fulfilled in Christ.

I took out time to listen to the people that started the message, and I realized that what those people said and what people got were two different things. What they were saying was that God gives some people special grace to handle money — election of grace. Election of grace means election of caris and election of charismata — unmerited favor and unmerited empowerment. So in grace it is unmerited but you are empowered to get what you didn't merit.

The Anointing Is Not for You

When they say somebody is anointed, what they are saying is that that person has been brought into God's commonwealth and they've been called into affliction to help others. Moses was anointed to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Before you desire to be Mary, you have to understand two things: nobody will believe that the Holy Ghost came upon you — only Elizabeth. You will look like a liar. And if you don't have a man like Joseph, your shame will be double. It's true she's favored, but the favor will cost her a reputation. And don't forget, she lost her son. That's the anointing.

When God puts grace on you, he puts that thing on you as weight to ensure that others are not carrying weight. You want his throne, you don't want his cross — that's not anointing.

The anointing works like this. There's a lion outside, maybe four lions outside. All of us are in a cave. We've been there for four days — we can't go out and we are hungry. One person out of us decides: ten of us cannot die here. I will go and face the lions and I will kill the lion. The person that goes out and kills the lion and brings the meat back — that is the anointed one. He was graced to kill the lion but his grace is so that we can eat. There is grace on me but that grace is not for me. I'm a tree but I don't eat my fruits.

Just the way the person that has a teaching grace is teaching and exalting, the person that God puts money in their hand — that money is not for you. It is entrustment.

Stewardship and the Danger of Selfishness

One Chick-fil-A is somebody's school fees in Nigeria. So why do you think God put that money in your hand for you to have a nice time? He entrusted it with you and put you there as a steward.

We have too many people living for themselves. You are one out of 8 billion people — you are too small to be a vision. The richest man 400 years ago, I bet you, you don't know his name. But I can tell you people that lived 400 years ago that we still talk about.

Money must not be made — it must be shared.

Don't play with money because Jesus told us that there are only two masters: God and Mammon. He didn't call Satan master. He equated the influence of money to the influence of God. There are only two masters.

If you really want to know the kind of person you are, get your last month bank statement and go through it. That is where your priority is.

God's Love Language Is Obedience

John 13:34 — a new commandment I give to you. For this text to make sense, put alongside Matthew 22:37. The Pharisees asked him which is the greatest commandment. He gave them two: love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And the second: love your neighbor as yourself.

John 14:15 — if you love me, keep my commandments.

So saying "I love you Lord" and singing songs is not what God sees as love. What God sees as love is in the context of obedience. God's love language is obedience. Singing it is not enough. Sometimes you can even be worshipping and the worship is just emotional relief for you.

Matthew 15:6-9 — He said it is possible to honor him with your lips and your heart is far. In vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

This is how we love the Lord. John 13:34 is the commandment Jesus gave us to keep — love one another. This is how we worship.

The Kingdom's Seeking Pattern

Matthew 6 and Luke 12 say the same thing. Luke 12:31 — seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. For it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Verse 33 — sell what you have, give alms.

He says seek the kingdom first, and then he tells you how to seek the kingdom — give alms. In other words, giving makes you a vessel. God will get it to you if he knows he can get it through you. He's telling you how people enter prosperity in the kingdom.

God asked Solomon: what do you want? Solomon said, all I want is wisdom to judge your people. God said, I like this guy — you didn't ask for your enemies, you didn't ask for wealth. You asked for something for others. You asked for something that looks like me. God gave that guy $3.1 trillion.

It's not that God can't get it to us. We are containers, not vessels.

He that is faithful with little, much will be added to him.

The Eye, Darkness, and the Grace to Release

Matthew 6:23-24 — if your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light. If your eye is bad, your body is full of darkness. You cannot serve God and serve Mammon.

Luke 11:34 — the lamp of the body is the eye. When your eye is good, your whole body is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body is full of darkness.

Mark 7:21-23 — from within proceed evil eye. An evil eye is listed among all the evil things that defile a man.

Deuteronomy 15:6-9 — you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother. Lest there be a wicked thought in your eye saying the year of release is at hand and your eye be evil against your brother. An evil eye is a selfish person. So when he says if your eye be evil your whole body will be full of darkness, what he is saying is that if you are not releasing — because selfishness is mismanagement of blessing — if you are not releasing, you will not be able to see.

Jeremiah 17:5-6 — cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength. He shall be like a shrub in the desert — good comes but this person does not have the ability to see it.

God stretches your mind by what you release. That's the only way. If you have not parted with it, you are not rich enough for it. Wealth is having something money cannot buy. Actually, to be rich is to be an out-rich. If you can part with it, it increases your mind capacity.

Purpose Is Context-Specific

Jesus was born to die as sin. If Jesus had lived 120 years and died as righteousness, he would have failed purpose. He was to die as the lamb of God that takes the sin of the world. So if he refused to die, he didn't meet purpose. What I'm trying to say is that if God has given you liberality grace and you are supposed to be in tech and you carry a Bible and say you want to be a preacher, you are in sin. It's not your calling.

There are Nehemiahs and there are Ezras. Nehemiahs are the people that have influence, they go and work and support Ezra to do the work of the ministry. Not everybody is called into priesthood pertaining to church. There are songs to be sung — they have the gift, the anointing, but don't have the money. You have the money but not the gift. Two of you — Nehemiah and Ezra — have to meet.

Generosity as the Gateway to Prosperity

Per adventure you notice that giving people is not hard for you — you have a burden to feed people, a burden to help the homeless. This is what I want to show you. Matthew 6:33 — seek first the kingdom of God. Then he teaches you how to seek the kingdom: give alms. Every other thing being added is connected to your seeking.

If you have no interest becoming rich, please for kingdom's sake, be rich. You don't have to spend it — get the big money, live small, and bring it. We need money in the ministry.

If Esther had said, I'm a woman of God, I only pray and speak in tongues, I can't do a beauty pageant — she would have mispurposed. When the devil wants to steal from somebody, he doesn't leave you empty-handed. He steals by giving you a counterfeit. He told Jesus: bow to me and I will give you the glories of this world — meanwhile, what was for Jesus was a name above every name. That's how the devil steals: he collects three things and gives you one.

How God Opens Your Eyes

The Holy Spirit opened my eyes to a problem. How do I get out of this? God started opening my mind. God stretches your mind by what you release. He said go and check every major American organization — charity is embedded in every organization. People appropriate these principles from scriptures. Rich people have learned how to part with things so they can have more. That's the true riches of the kingdom.

Lord, work on my heart. Help me. Get it through me in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.