THE BLESSING OF SERVING GOD

Main text: Exodus 23: 25- 26; 2 Kings 20: 1- 11; 21: 1 

Exodus 23: 25- 26 reads that ‘You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. No one shall miscarry or barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days’.

First blessing, provision. God is a provider. Psalm 23:1 says God is a good shepherd and under him we cannot lack. Do you know that God cares if you eat or not, if you are well clothed, if you have your own property or have paid your rent? Matthew 5: 25- 32 confirms that.  Matthew 15: 32- 38, more than 5000 came to camp meeting with Jesus for 3 days and his disciple says let them go and find food themselves; Jesus said no. that is not how it is done in heaven. Give them something to eat. From now on, heaven will take charge of your physical supplies in Jesus name

He is father. He is not happy when we suffer. Psalm 34: 10 as powerful as lion is, their children suffer but those who truth God will not lack any good thing. You will suffer again in Jesus name.

Prophecy to yourself that from now on, I will not lack any good thing in Jesus name.

 What does fathers do? They provide and protect. God will shows you that he is father from now on in Jesus name! Psalm 37: 25, says I was young now am old, the righteous is not forsaken nor his children beg for bread. I decree you will not be forsaken. Your children will not beg for bread in Jesus name.

As a matter of matter God created provisions before he created man. According Genesis 2: 8- 14. God planted a garden and God placed the man who he had formed in the garden he had planted. Before this week runs out, God will place you in your provision in Jesus name.

That is number 1 blessing of serving God.

Secondly, healing and divine health; he said if you serve God, I will take sickness away from among you. Did you notice the shift? The first one, Moses was prophesying but in the second phrase God took over. It shows you how serious God takes your health.

Note that sickness and disease is delimiting just as poverty. Can you achieve anything without money? I can’t hear your answer? If you have all the money, without good health, can you achieve your dreams?

God knows how important good health that is why he swore in Exodus 15: 26 that he will not permit any sickness or disease in your body for, I am the lord that heals you. Peter confirmed it that the death and resurrection of Christ finished the work of your health. 1 Peter 2: 24 says you were healed by his stripes. You were healed, not you are or you will be. It is done already. Any disease or sickness you now see is a shadow, it’s not permitted.

Tell your body, I declare, sickness and disease is not permitted in my body. Your time is up in Jesus name for I was healed by his stripes.

That is why one major part of Jesus ministry and purpose of his anointing is healing. Act 10: 38 says God anointed with power and he went everywhere doing good healing all that were oppressed of the devil.

And then he gave the power  and authority over sickness and disease to heal them to us Matthew 10: 1- 2

He said one the sign that shows that we are Christians is that will lay our hands on the sick and they will recover.  Are you a Christian? Lay your hands on someone and say be healed in Jesus name.

But Pastor, what if I lay hands and the person is not healed? That is not your problem, your responsibility is to obey, just lay hands. And note the word ‘recover’; it might not be instant, recovery is gradual but you have laid hands and God will do the rest.

He also gave the gift of healing and healers to the church according to 1 Corinthian 12

Then he said, if you are sick, let them call the elders and pray over them and anoint them with oil. And the prayer of faith will make the sick well. James 5: 14- 15.

Last week you heard the testimony, the sister believed this scripture, she knows that if she is sick, she should administer drugs but when drugs fails, God will not fail. I am sure she prayed but she also called the Pastor in obedience to God’s word. The result was that I prayed over the phone and she vomited what was troubling her and healing came.

God is your healer. He is interested in your health and has made provisions for your healing; both medical and spiritual.

By the grace of God, we will anoint the sick among us today, if you believe, you will be made well in Jesus name.

Number 3, fruitfulness. No one miscarry nor be barren. God commanded fruitfulness in Genesis 1: 28 so it is will that you bear your own child. There are 9 barren women and all of them gave birth, only Michal did not because she despise David when he was praising.

I hear the lord say, praise yourself out of barrenness. Isaiah 54: 1- 5 if you will begin to give God quality praise from now on, Psalm 113: 9 is activated in your life in Jesus name.

That Angel announced to Mary, that Elizabeth that was called barren is now in 6 months pregnancy for with God nothing is impossible. I see that you are pregnant now. That your daughter or sister is pregnant now. I stop the plague of miscarriage by this word in Jesus name.

Any curse of barrenness and miscarriage by the wickedness of the wicked is destroyed now in Jesus name.

No more financial barrenness! No more dream miscarriage. Declare to all our young brothers, you will not miscarry in Jesus name. Declare to the sisters also, you will not miscarry.

Then finally, he said if you serve the Lord, you can never die young. Psalm 91: 14- 16 says your days will be long and satisfying in Jesus name. You will live a full and fulfilled life.

Brethren, long life without money, good health and children is a burden. Do you agree? May your days be long and fulfilled in Jesus name

There are families where they die young, if you come to Christ, that curse is broken. Anyone who has an appointment with death is delivered now in Jesus name. Your covenant with the grave is broken. I declare your freedom now in Jesus mighty name.

Note the blessing of wealth, health, fruitfulness and long life comes to only those who serve God exclusively.

That scripture started with ‘you’. This means that your walk with God must be personal commitment.

What does mean to serve God? Two things;

To be obedient to God’s command and do his will. God has just delivered the children of Israel of Egypt where they have been servants to Pharaoh and the 10 gods of Egypt. So they understand being a servant very well.

He quickly point to them that though they are free from the bondage of Pharaoh’s servitude but they can never prosper without being under the service of their God. You cannot either.

That is why Jesus said Matthew 11: 28 that when you come to him, he will break the yoke of your neck and give you rest from the oppression of darkness…I thought somebody will say a loud amen to that…but he will put you under another yoke. This yoke is called the yoke of Christ.

Secondly, to serve God means to worship God. The freshly delivered slaves of Pharaoh understood what idolatry and the worship of Satan means. So my father had to quickly point to them that quality peace and prosperity comes from the worship of one true God.

There is only one true God. I thought I will hear a loud amen to that.  John 17: 3 confirms that. Act 4: 12 Salvation is in no other, for there is no other name by which men can be saved. Hallelujah!

The each of the 10 plagues of Egypt was judgment on all the gods of the Egyptians. God showed the worshippers of hapi, heqet, geb, kephri, hathor, isis, nut, seth, ra and pharaoh by his mighty power that there is no other God, I am the Lord!

But someone will ask that who is God? Remember that Pharaoh asked that question. Well, let just say that God is the one who is invisible but his works are visible.

John 1: 18 says no one has seen God except the Son. Colossians 1: 15- 23 says Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God and all things were created by him and for him¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of^[a] your evil behavior. ²² But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— ²³ if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Beloved, we have not seen God but we see Jesus. He came to show us God and Hebrew 1: 3 says the Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

Not only that, the world declares his works and evidence that God truly exist. He made the heavens and the earth. He continually reveals his existence by continually interfering in the affairs of men.

Psalm 135: 6 and Daniel 4: 35 confirms that my father does what he pleases on earth. He made them all and he can do whatever he pleases with us. He can decide that somebody can sleep tonight a room apartment and tomorrow in a 3 bedroom bungalow is his own.

·        But the question is how does this God love to be served or worshiped?

1. Exodus 20: 3 No one other god with him. He is a jealous God. So put away all strange gods, charms, idols from you otherwise when I am about to anoint you, it’s wise to remove your head because anywhere my father sees a strange god, he is angry.

2. John 4: 24 in spirit and in truth. God is spirit. Born again Christians are spiritual people. You cannot truly serve God without developing your spiritual life and walking by the truth of God’s word. Both your person and lifestyle must conform to God’s standard. Serving God is not limited to church or a devotion time, it is a lifestyle.

3. Psalm 100: 2- 3 says serve the lord with gladness; come before him with dancing and singing. The danger of not serving God with joy is in Deut. 28: 47- 48, read it.

If you don’t serve God, you will serve the enemy

4. Proverbs 3: 9 God wants you to serve him with your substance. That includes you, your money, your family and everything he has given to you

5.        Joshua 24: 15 say your entire family must serve God. Thou shall be saved you and your household. Act 16: 31

·        My call to us today is call to renewed relationship with God so that the blessings can follow. If you serve God genuinely and exclusively, you can confront him like Hezekiah in Isaiah 38 ‘ O lord you know how I serve you in truth and with a loyal heart…’

·        How many of us can say that to God? That you know I am loyal to you than my husband or children or work

·        Then remember the covenant in Exo. 23: 25- 26, and he performed these 4 miracles in his life. He was healed, 15 additional years was given to him, he bore a son and his wealth increased.