whats your angle?

A couple of months ago, I shared that the Senior Pastor of RCCG Restoration House Hamilton, Dr. Olayinka Dada introduced Future Leaders In the Making (FLIM) Sundays and on those Sundays, three youths were given ten (10) minutes to teach/speak to the congregation. In April, he introduced Super FLIM. In Super FLIM, three of the past FLIM winners would compete. For the premier edition, Peace E*, Tope S* and I were appointed to compete. Click here to view my interview for the event.

The premier Super FLIM edition was on Sunday, April 29th, 2012. I was the first speaker and spoke on a topic I termed What’s Your Angle? It was an examination on why Christians do things for/to God.

I drew my text from James 4:3a – When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives (NIV). I originally read from the Amplified Version and started from verse 2 so verse 3 would make more sense – 2 You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled; [so] you become murderers. [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.] You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 [Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasures.”

What’s your angle? What angle are you working on? In this context, Angle means viewpoint, opinion, attitude. Informally, it means a secret motive. For example, she’s been too friendly lately—what’s her angle? “What’s your angle?” is a question usually preceded by coaxing; especially with parents and friends. A perfect illustration is when one needs a favor and plans to obtain it by first offering unwarranted compliments to put the person in the perfect mood conducive for favors. Sometimes, that’s what we Christians do with God.

Think:
– Why do you come to church? – dress up, eye service, network, pray, praise or worship?
– Why do you give offerings? – to be blessed or to bless God for His goodness?
– Do you praise Him because he deserves it or because you want something from Him?
– Is God just a problem solver to you? – is when you’re in trouble to only time to speak to God? Some people don’t even let Him solve their problems, they devise solutions, tell Him and wait for Him to work His “magic”.
– Is God just an ATM to you? – does God only hear from you when you want this and want that?
– Why do you return your tithes? – to have Him open the windows of Heaven and pour out a blessing or to honor Him because you respect Him?

I believe it is okay to be motivated by your needs because He is our provider and He sustains us, but I don’t believe it’s okay to do things God likes/wants simply because you want something back.
Christians, myself included, sometimes operate on the premise that we have God all figured out – if we praise and worship him, He has to bless us. Unfortunately, there is no secret formula to figuring God out and we can’t put Him in a box.
The truth is God doesn’t have to do anything! In fact, the only thing God certainly has to do is what He wants to do. Psalm 115:3 – Our God is heaven; He does whatever pleases Him (NIV).

Consider:
– It pleases Him to keep and sustain you. A brain/cerebral aneurysm is the swelling or dilation of a cerebral artery (supplies blood from the heart to the brain) or cerebral vein (returns blood from the brain to the heart). When it eventually bursts, it causes paralysis, coma or sudden death. It is one of the scariest ailments because there are no symptoms or definite causes; it just happens. God has kept you day in, day out.
– It pleases Him that you have His breath. He could take His breath anytime He likes and you would seize to exist. He hasn’t because it pleases Him that you live. He has also woken you up every day for the past X years. It isn’t your alarm that does. If He ever forgot to wake you up, you wouldn’t be living.

A lot of us have no idea how many things God protects and shields us from daily, yet asks for anything, but a little gratitude in return. It isn’t necessarily because you asked that you are alive, but because it pleased Him.

Change your perspective:
1. Stop the “gimme gimme” attitude with God (Acts 20:35c).
2. Seek God’s face and not His hands all the time; He wants a relationship not set up a request line.
3. Give offerings because you want to honor Him (Proverb 3:9).
4. Return your tithes joyfully because you respect Him (Malachi 3:10).
5. Learn to show appreciation and be grateful for all He does. If you don’t what to thank Him for, just run through your day in your head.

In conclusion, it is not wrong to have expectations when coming to God; it isn’t so much about what you are doing, but why you are doing what you do that matters to God. Thanksgiving is the ultimate and that should be your angle.

I hope you’ve been blessed?

As before, please follow this link to watch the actual video of the ministration on facebook or this link to watch it on YouTube. Once again, I saved the best version of the sermon for last lol. Enjoy.

This time I didn’t win, and rightly so, I also think Tope did an amazing job.