SERVING GOD WITH A SELFLESS SPIRIT

So this morning, we share on serving God. Serving God with a selfless spirit. In 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 1-2, leaving Bible, it says, "You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days, it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian." So in verse two, it says, "For people will love only themselves and their money." And there is something distinct here. Here, the Bible is not just talking about the love of money. It says, it's not saying, "And they will love themselves and money." It says, "They will love themselves and their money." They will be proud and boastful, sneering at God, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful to them, and thoroughly bad. Is this already happening, even at alarming levels?

Seven. God, with his selfless spirit, serving God with his selfless spirit. In Matthew chapter 25, 31-46, our Lord Jesus made some interesting statements there. And he'll open our eyes to see that we will be opportune in our lifetime to make impact in the lives of people. We'll be opportune in our lifetime to make contributions that will be of help and impact to people. Then he said, showed it to us that some would embrace these opportunities, but many would not. But it says, at the end of it all, everyone will be taken into account. So in our journey in life, be conscious that everything you do normally transforms into a seed. Your decisions are seed. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians chapter 6, verse 7. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall your your decisions are seed, your actions as seed, your contribution is a seed. So your decisions are seeds, your actions are seeds, the contribution you make, they are seeds. The contribution to support someone, to support people, to support your church, they seeds. Your tithes, they are seeds. Your tithes are [Music] seeds. What you do to people are seeds. What you do for people are seeds. Your help is a seed. Your support is a seed. Your assistance is a seed. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Your kindness is a seed. It will speak for you anywhere you ultimately find yourself in this world. Because many of you, some of you, let me say some, you'll be surprised where destiny is going to eventually take you. Some for some time, and some of you for a longer time. And that's the beauty of the love harvest. The responsibility to ensure that you experience the return, the reward for the good seeds you have sown, is in God's hands, not in the hands of the people you impacted. So you could find yourself in a different continent, and you will see Providence begin to influence circumstances to give back to you the same dimensions of favor and help, support, assistance that you had given to people in the past from where you are coming. Your kindness is a seed. Your gifts are seeds. Your donations are seeds.

So in that Matthew 25:34, he says, "Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, my Father has blessed you. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you took me into your home. I needed clothes and you gave me something to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was imprisoned and you and you visited me.'" In Acts chapter 10:4, Acts 10:4, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition, says, "And he, gazing intently at him, became frightened and said, 'What is it, Lord?' And the angel said to him, 'Your prayers and your your generous gifts to the poor have come up as a sacrifice to God and have been remembered by him.'"

So my brothers, my sisters, our fathers and mothers, here this morning, the Spirit of the Lord is confirming to you that you are sowing a good seed when you are helpful to a person, when you are kind to someone, when you are caring, when you are generous, when you are supportive, when you are hospitable. The Spirit of the Lord is saying that we have a challenge with us, and we need to address it. And it says that challenge is that many Christians and church leaders are not seeking God with a selfless spirit. They are not seeking God with a selfless spirit. Selfless is the opposite of selfish. The spirit of God, the heart of God, is one that is given to love, giving, to giv, to sharing. Christians are supposed to have this attribute of being selfless in many of the things they do, especially within the house of God and for the things of God. Being selfless involves giving to others without looking for personal gain, personal gain, personal gain. If you are selfless, you are generous, you are kind. And it's in the same dimension of unconditional love, which is simply love without strings attached. It's love you offer freely. You don't base it on what someone does for you in return. So selfless service can be defined as a service performed without expecting anything in return, let alone the result or a word for performing it. We need to impact lives with a selfless heart. We need to have people who may not be in a position to do anything for us in return. And selflessness is in different dimensions. You know, there was a man called Martin Luther King Jr. There was also a woman called Mother Teresa. These are examples of Christians who excelled in selfless service and selfless giving. They completely put the well-being of others above their personal interest, above their personal interest.

So we close it up by looking at this opposing side. Selflessness and selfishness. These are two states of mind in contrast with one another. People who tend to be selfless consider others' needs. Sorry, people tend to be selfless, consider others' needs, while people who tend towards selfishness only consider their own, their own needs. A selfish attitude involves caring only for yourself. They are concerned primarily with their own interest, their own benefits, their own welfare, regardless of others. You think only about yourself, not caring about other people. And similar words for selfishness are like words like self-centered, self-serving. And that is very, very common, very, very common. People who are self-serving, very, very common. At the end of the day, you will discover that it's just about him, it's just about her. Another word for selfishness is stinginess, unwilling to spend. Selfish people always view life through the lens of how things will affect them, often without giving a second thought to how other people feel or what others want. The Spirit of the Lord is saying there is a problem in the church that many of God's people today lack a selfless spirit. Why would somebody be saying, "What has church paid me?" You are in a good church. The primary purpose for church is fellowship and to be watered with the word of God, the word of God. And you know, we we see them also influence those those who now have a selfless spirit. So you have a selfless spirit, and you are serving God with your talent in church. Somebody in your family is going to be disturbing you. This camera you carry every Sunday, they are supposed to be giving you money. This thing you do in church every week, they are supposed to be paying you. And if everyone that does something in church has to be paid, how much is the church now going to give out every month, every month?

So in 2 Timothy chapter 3:2, a statement was made there. You see something from the Amplified Bible. He said, "For people will be lovers of self." Then it used the word there, narcissistic. Now, just three traits of a narcissist you need to note. One, they lack empathy towards others. They lack empathy towards others. They have little regard for other people, other people's feelings. They have little regard for other people's feelings. They are number two, they are excessively self-centered. They are excessively self-centered. They are only concerned with their own interest, and they have no sincere commitment to the interest of others. They are only concerned about their own challenges. "I get problem, I get problem, I have might have issues." They are only concerned about their own needs. Number three, they exploit and manipulate people to satisfy their desires. They exploit and manipulate people to to satisfy their desires. They exploit others for personal gain. They take advantage of people. They take advantage of people. They exploit others for personal gain. They take advantage of people. They are users. They are users. They are users.

The operation, we're closing it up now. The operation of different churches and ministries are meant to be sustained through the selfless service and contributions of Christians, through the selfless service and contributions of Christians. The debate over tithes is partially traceable to the lack of selfless spirit among many Christians and church members. In Malachi 3:8, Malachi 3:8, the voice, it says, "Will someone steal from God?" He said, "Yet you are always stealing from me." Look at what he said there. He said, "But you self-centered people, self-centered people, will ask, 'How have we stolen from you?'" In the tithe. And so you could always see that tithes and offerings are completely different. They are never mixed together. Even Jesus didn't mix it together when he spoke in Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42. Tithes are distinct from all other types of offerings. Tithe is mandatory. It is a compulsory obligation for every committed believer. Offerings are given according to the persuasions of your heart, according to the persuasions of your heart. And I pray that many of you, God will promote you into the level of abundance in a short while from from now. And I pray that as the Lord elevates you, you will do the needful.

2 Kings 5:20, 2 Kings 5:20, Good News Translation, it says, "When Elijah's servant Gehazi said to himself, 'My master has let Naaman get away without paying a thing, get away without paying a thing.'" The master, his principal, Elijah, God used him to minister a miraculous healing to Naaman, the Syrian general. And the man came back with so much substance, gifts, high value. But somehow, the man of God had a restraint. He had a restraint to take those gifts from that. Nothing wrong with it. Nothing wrong with the man. But he had a restraint. And that can happen sometimes. So in that particular instance, he said, "No." But they, he had an associate with a different spirit, a different heart, a user, a taker. So look at him saying something here. He said, "My master has let Naaman get away." That is their language. "Get away without paying a thing. He should have accepted what that Syrian offered him." And he's saying this not because those things will benefit Elisha. He knew that for anything that Elisha will receive of that volume, he will he will certainly get his share. He will certainly get his share. He said, "By the living God," look at him swearing, "I will run after him. I will run after him and get something from him." So brethren, this is the attitude of many. So in the same way, we are being encouraged to have a selfless spirit, a kind spirit. Be watchful because you are also surrounded by certain people who have also have a covetous spirit, greedy heart, never satisfied. So please, let's have a selfless spirit. Let's have a selfless spirit. Life is about opportunities. Don't abuse your opportunities. Don't abuse it. It's not every time that people must come back and give you something as thank you. Sometimes your spirit is no, no, leave it, leave it for them, leave it for him. God will help us. Anywhere you find yourself, contribute what you can. In the family, please contribute. And you've had something from your church. I don't know some other churches, but please, in this church, we are trained to honor our parents. Is that true or not? We are trained. Please, to honor our parents. I'm talking about biological parents now. Honor your father, honor your mother. Please, very important because many of you, you are destined for greatness. And one of the things that will power that destiny into fulfillment, among other factors, is the way you treat your biological parents. There are only two. Some, some of you, one is already gone. Honor your father, honor your mother. God will bless you. God will promote you. God will protect you. You won't die before your time. God will raise people to also support and honor you in the name of Jesus Christ. And you will be greater than your parents in the name of Jesus. Contribute the little you can to your family.