HLM Live | Pt. 2: The Benefits of Serving God | You Are Blessed | Elvis Ghansah — God Wants You Well

The warning of Deuteronomy 28 sets the tone: God’s people must not serve the Lord with a heavy heart when the Lord has given “the abundance of things.” The text says that refusing joyful service opens the door to serving enemies, and that cry rises, “I will not serve my enemies,” in the name of Jesus.

Exodus 23 gives the anchor promise: “You shall serve the Lord your God,” and God will bless bread and water, take sickness away, remove barrenness, and fulfill the number of days. Serving God is not a small thing. Serving God carries blessing, health, fruitfulness, and long life.

Love for God must be the root of service. Service done to impress people may look busy, but without love it has no reward. Service must please God, because even when nobody is watching, God is watching.

Elisha shows that service can connect a person to a double portion. Elisha did not demand a platform. Elisha followed Elijah and became his servant, and faithful loyalty positioned him for impartation, mentorship, and divine opportunity. Faithful service does not begin by asking, “What will I get?” It begins with a clean heart.

Ruth shows that faithful service leads to divine restoration. Ruth had no obligation to stay with Naomi, but Ruth chose love, humility, and loyalty. Her words, “Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God,” opened doors she did not even know existed. God turned her story from widowhood to marriage, from uncertainty to security, from poverty to provision, and from obscurity into the lineage of Jesus Christ.

The benefits of serving God begin with God’s blessings. Psalm 68 says God daily loads his people with benefits. Divine provision follows when the kingdom of God becomes priority, because God takes responsibility for the needs of those who seek him first.

Divine protection belongs to those who make God their refuge. Psalm 91 says the one who dwells in the secret place abides under the shadow of the Almighty. Fear has no place, because fear attracts trouble, but faith attracts the blessings of God.

Divine direction comes as God instructs, teaches, and guides. God’s direction is needed because life is full of choices, and every choice carries fruit. Sometimes the greatest blessing is not God giving what was asked, but God preventing a wrong way.

Purpose and fulfillment come through service. Ephesians 2 says believers are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, and those good works must be walked in. Gifts are not for enjoyment alone, but for the benefit of others and the building of the church.

Grace comes with the assignment. God is able to make all grace abound, so inadequacy must not become an excuse. Service becomes a classroom where God develops patience, humility, responsibility, compassion, sacrifice, perseverance, and faithfulness.

God remembers and rewards faithful service. Even a cup of cold water given in the name of a disciple will not lose its reward. Nothing done sincerely for God’s glory is wasted, and service today may become somebody else’s foundation tomorrow.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Service must flow from love Love makes service clean before God. Service done to impress may still look active, but it does not carry the same weight before the Lord. The heart matters because God is watching even when nobody is watching, and pleasing God is higher than performing before people. [26:36]
• 2. Faithfulness positions double portion Elisha’s double portion did not begin with a demand for a platform. Faithful service made room for impartation, mentorship, and divine opportunity. The person who serves only after calculating personal benefit may lose the very blessing that selfless service would have opened. [30:23]
• 3. Service can turn stories around Ruth served Naomi when obligation had ended, and God used that loyalty to open a future she could not see. Faithfulness carried her from loss into restoration, and from obscurity into the lineage of Christ. God can use quiet service to rewrite a life in ways ambition could never arrange. [36:24]
• 4. Grace matches every assignment God does not call a person and then leave that person empty-handed. The assignment may expose weakness, but grace supplies capacity for the work God gives. Excuses can sound logical, but God’s grace is stronger than past experience, fear, and inadequacy. [59:12]
• 5. Small kindness carries eternal weight A cup of water, a prayer, a phone call, a ride, or a smile may look small to people, but it matters to God. Some acts are small only to the person who has plenty, not to the one who is thirsty, lonely, or discouraged. Nothing done sincerely for God’s glory is wasted.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [23:36] - Serving God With Joy
• [24:28] - Exodus 23 Anchor Promise
• [26:36] - Service Must Flow From Love
• [27:41] - Elisha And The Double Portion
• [32:04] - Ruth And Divine Restoration
• [38:50] - God Blesses Faithful Service
• [41:10] - Seeking First And Divine Provision
• [44:06] - Divine Protection Over Fear
• [48:17] - Divine Direction For Decisions
• [51:40] - Purpose, Assignment, And Fulfillment
• [59:03] - Grace For The Assignment
• [63:36] - Service As Spiritual Growth
• [68:31] - God Remembers And Rewards
• [75:03] - Service That Impacts Generations

1. In Deuteronomy 28:47-48, what attitude toward serving God is missing, and what consequence follows from that lack of joyful service? [23:19]
2. In Exodus 23:25-26, what specific blessings are connected to serving the Lord?
3. What details in Ruth 1:16 show Ruth’s loyalty and willingness to stay with Naomi even when she had no obligation to do so? [35:24]
4. Looking at Elisha’s story, what happened before he asked for a double portion, and what does that show about the place of faithful service in his life? [30:23]

1. Deuteronomy 28 connects joyless service with later bondage. What does that suggest about how seriously God takes the heart behind service, not just the outward action? [01:26:34]
2. Exodus 23 ties service to blessing, health, fruitfulness, and long life. How should that promise be understood without turning service into a way of trying to control God? [39:39]
3. Elisha did not begin by asking what he would get. Why does selfless service often open the door to impartation, trust, and new opportunity? [31:33]
4. Ruth’s quiet loyalty led to restoration far bigger than she could see at the time. What does that reveal about the way God can use ordinary acts of faithfulness to shape a person’s future? [38:17]

1. Joyful service matters to God. When service starts to feel heavy, resentful, or forced, what usually causes that in a person’s heart? What might help restore joy and gladness in serving the Lord? [23:24]
2. Service must flow from love, not from a desire to impress people. In what area would it be easy to serve outwardly while the heart is no longer clean before God? [26:40]
3. Faithful service often begins before recognition comes. Is there a place right now where quiet, consistent service is needed, even if no one seems to notice? What would it look like to give that opportunity your best? [28:09]
4. Ruth served when she had no formal obligation. Who in your life right now may need practical love, loyalty, or support from you, even though it is not technically your responsibility? [34:15]
5. Divine direction is often a greater gift than getting exactly what was requested. Can you think of a time when being delayed, redirected, or told no may actually have protected you? How might that change the way you pray about current decisions? [50:48]
6. Grace comes with the assignment. Where do you feel inadequate, inexperienced, or tempted to make excuses? What would it look like to trust God for grace instead of waiting until you feel fully ready? [59:12]
7. Small acts of kindness carry eternal weight. What is one simple, specific act—a call, a prayer, a ride, a meal, a word of encouragement—you could offer someone this week for God’s glory? [01:09:41]