Open Handed Series: Breaking the Spirit of Mammon

RECAP

MISSIONS GIVING PRAISE - $4500 went to Connection Point Ministry Center to help with flood recovery

MISSIONS GIVING PRAISE - $1010 so far towards SUMMER CAMPS - $6000

Thank you for flexing even your “Little bit of Faith” - and seeing God multiply it

Giving is Complicated because we complicate what we don’t understand

Key points:

We need to know the Word of God: the Will and Design of the Father says “You were made for THIS!”

God has set up a system of blessing: it’s called tithing, giving, generosity, and stewardship

Inflation and famine do not phase the tither and giver

It’s all God’s stuff - God has given me the responsibility over His stuff.

Jeremiah 17:7 CSB

7 The person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed.

This truth and worship is reflected in my stewardship!

Everything I have belongs to God, and He has trusted me to be a good steward with what He has put in my hands.

BREAKING THE SPIRIT OF MAMMON

Mammon - four times, Jesus says it on three occasions

Luke 16:9–13 (CSB)

9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of worldly wealth so that when you fail, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings. 10 Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. 11 So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

You cannot serve God and mammon

The only phrase where God is compared and Jesus is speaking in this comparison trap

Three points, three questions:

What is Mammon?

Aramaic word meaning RICHES

But comes from the Syrian god called Mammon - the god of RICHES

Originates in Babylon, the land and origins of Tower of Babel (Gen 11)

Babel - confusion; on - planted

A system where they were independent of God; where God was not necessary in life for living, nor for success

A system unified led by their own energy, to attempt to get to heaven on their own, their own work and their own merit

How many need a reminder right now that the ONLY way to the Father is through Jesus Christ, and He provided in Himself the Way, the Truth, and is the LIFE

The Spirit of Mammon is a proud spirit that contrasts itself with the Spirit of God

It is arrogant, prideful spirit that constantly tries to replace God

Mammon’s intent is to get you to trust in it, rather than God

It’s intent is to keep your focus on it, rather than God

Mammon wants to assume and fulfill the role of God in your life

Jesus said you cannot serve both God and mammon

This means that mammon is looking for servants

Mammon wants to rule in your life

Mammon wants you to look to it, instead of God

And most of us in American culture are raised in believing its message:

If you have more riches, you have less worries

Money solves everything

If I had more money, I could afford those big vacations and have more peace

If I had more money, I could buy my peace

If I had more money, I could afford more expensive things and people would respect me more

If I had more money, I could maximize that towards a system of wealth where I could worry less and be more generous

The problem with this message is that it actually works more problems INTO your life that out of your life

And truthfully brings more selfishness and greed into your life

And where this message tries to convince you that if you get more, you’ll have more to offer

God’s truth says if you’ll give it all away, then I’ll give it to you

Jesus says you will either be loyal to one and despise the the other

This is the problem with the “Prosperity Gospel” - the message that says, God wants to bless everyone with lots of money

Give to get, give to get, give to get on the way up the ladder to where you have riches and wealth and everyone gets a Mercedes and a Rolex

The message is give to GET

The problem with this message is that actually works more selfishness in and it is a MAMMON message

And people become loyal to that message

The problem is you buy into that prosperity message and when something breaks - the car, the washing machine, the roof leaks

People end up despising God, because He’s supposedly the source of what you get!

People get mad at God…really?? mad at GOD??

And they do so because they are loyal to mammon…

What does Mammon say it will provide you?

Security & Peace

Identity

Significance

Happiness

Joy

All these things only GOD can provide!

Mammon provides a whole lot of promises that it can never deliver on

Mammon wants you to believe its message, and will bait your buy-in

Mammon will always promise what it contrasts itself with God with

Mammon wants your servanthood, wants to rule over you, but will only bring you confusion, despair, and disdain for God

You cannot serve both God and mammon

In my over 20 years of ministry

Rarely have I seen when people work 2 or more jobs to get ahead of debt and bills actually accomplish that

If anything, it’s robbed them of their opportunity in serving God with their talents and abilities.

And never do they feel BETTER for it.

That’s mammon. It’s seeking servants.

Here’s the harsh reality:

The Spirit of Mammon is actually the spirit of AntiChrist

It doesn’t rule through threat of war or nuclear holocaust

It rules through the threat of not being able to buy and sell! That’s the spirit of Mammon.

IT declares: if you don’t bow to me, if you don’t take the mark of the beast - you won’t be able to provide for your family

This is why so many people were scared during COVID.

There were two kinds of people gripped in fear: Either fear of death, or fear of lack..and the devil used the spirit of fear of death to drive people in to a frenzy in buying ALL THE TOILET PAPER IN THE WORLD! ALL OF THE MASKS ALL OF THE DISINFECTANTS ALL OF THE BREAD And then the restrictions came!

No, you may not enter this store unless… No, you may not work here unless… No, you may not do business with us unless… No, you may not travel unless…

Mammon cracked the whip of fear, and look how the world caved!

We saw how quickly the world could come to a halt, and dependence on government and allegiance to WHATEVER would allow me to provide for my family. Without question, people complied.

That’s mammon.

No looking to God. No trusting God’s Word. No pursuit of the Way, the Truth, and the Life; the miracle-worker, the loving Father and provider.

Mammon said look to IT for your peace, love, security, joy, sustenance - only GOD can provide these things, but mammon promises you it will.

It contrasts itself to GOD - It is the opposite of God providing a similar message. It is anti-God, it is anti-Christ.

“If you had more money, people would listen to you”

-you’d be happier

-you’d have a better marriage

-you’d have more influence

-you’d have better credit cards and rewards systems

-the biggest lie - you could help more people

ONLY GOD can provide these things, but mammon will ALWAYS provide that contrast

JESUS NEVER TOLD anyone that he needed more money

Never did a person with leprosy

Never did a lame man

Never did a blind person

When they cried out, JESUS, SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME

Never once did Jesus look at them and say, “oh, you just need more money”

But we’ve ALL been subjected to mammon’s message!

Here’s how:

We’ve all had this thinking at some point:

I either need God to come through in my life right now, OR I need someone to give me some money.

And we’ve probably heard ourselves convinced that, if someone provided the money, we’d say “Okay, God, we’ve got this - sorry for bothering you”

“My problem’s been solved. I don’t need you…because I’ve got the money.”

Hear this today: If money can solve it, it’s not a problem. If money can’t, God can.

Mammon is a spirit that always tries to influence us, redirect our focus, and bind us in servitude to it.

Question number 2:

“Is money evil?”

When Jesus mentions “unrighteous mammon”….He means its a spirit.

You know how its a spirit? When you try to flex some faith and give an offering - I bet you hear voices (LOL)

Mammon is a spirit that rests on money. All money has a spirit on it - either Spirit of God, or spirit of mammon.

When you look at your bank account and all money in there (or the money that’s missing) - all that money has a spirit on it.

It either has the Spirit of God on it, or the spirit of mammon.

You ask, well how do I get the Spirit of God on it - God gives us the system called the tithe, the first 10%. God said when you give the tithe, He REDEEMS the rest of it.

The Spirit of God would then be on the rest of it, out from under the influence of the spirit of mammon.

Money itself isn’t evil. Money is an inanimate object. It’s neutral. It’s just laying there. It’s mammon’s spiritual influence that’s the issue.

You say, “well Jesus said money is the root of all evil.” No He didn’t… let’s look at the scripture in

1 Timothy 6:10 CSB

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Loving and serving mammon is the root of ALL evil.

Jesus said you can’t serve both God and mammon

You can do either good or evil with money.

But here’s a potentially confusing scripture:

Luke 16:9 (CSB)

9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of worldly wealth so that when you fail, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings.

As a new believer, that is quite confusing - and you might think it says to make friends with money, so that you can deal with life.

Here’s what it’s talking about:

Jesus says: make friends for yourselves… He’s saying here, be friendly and make friends as an agent of the Kingdom of God…and USE money - worldly wealth - USE that tool in building the Kingdom of God, and people will get saved, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and when you die (fail means die), those people that are there because you gave into the Kingdom, will welcome you into that eternal home in Glory.

Here it is a complete system:

You receive an increase (aka a paycheck), you give the firstfruits 10% tithe, and the rest of 90% is redeemed - meaning the Spirit of God is on it - and you use the money (the same money that satan wants to use for evil) you use the money as a tool and give in building the Kingdom of God , where people are saved becoming your friends in Christ Jesus; and it says when you die - you physically expire - when you die, THEY (who came to Christ when you gave) THEY will welcome you into your heavenly home.

Meaning this - that people will greet you in heaven and say to you, “I was saved because you gave”

You can look at it this way - a missionary came to me and preached the Gospel message to which I responded…but it took you and 67 other people to give money towards the expense of their arrival and because you gave, I’m here in Heaven today.

People are saved because we give into building the Kingdom of God. We bring the tithe into the storehouse that there may be bread on His table - He is the bread of Life. People partake and receive the bread of Life and have eternal life, because there was someone that started with a little bit of faith and gave.

If I wouldn’t have given to that kids camp, if I wouldn’t have given to that building project, if I wouldn’t have given to that new church plant in Poland, if I wouldn’t have given into the ministry, people would not have received the gospel message.

Ministry costs. Carriers of the gospel have travel expenses. Ministers have to buy food to eat. Your pastor and family needs to have a roof over their head. The Church Center needs to have the light bill paid.

God can take your money, and by blessing it and multiplying it, can turn it into souls saved.

And here we are trying to make Heaven crowded!

Here’s point #3

“What should I do with money?”

The answer simply: be a good steward.

Now here’s a common dilemma.

You might look at me and say, “Bro Ryan. I have too little of this unrighteous mammon to be concerned with this message”.

“If I had more, I’d probably take good notes, and look for sincere opportunities where I’d know it would be most effective, but the well is dry.”

Please listen to me and I say this with a lot of love and sincerity…

If this is your way of thinking - that you have too little to be concerned with what Jesus taught. If that’s your way of thinking…you really will never have any more.

Luke 16:10 CSB

10 Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much.

Please hear me. If you have a little and never tithe, you’ll never have much.

He’s waiting for us to prove ourselves as good stewards of what we’ve been given.

And if He can’t trust you with the little right now, why would we expect the more in order to do what we’re supposed to be doing in the first place?

Luke 16:12 CSB

12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own?

I say to this - if we’re not faithful in repaying our debts, and we constantly live of mammon’s credit card system, how can we expect God to give us the more we ask for.

But here’s where the central point of this matter is:

We’ve talked about the tithe, and how the tithe is holy, it is consecrated, it is set aside and reserved as God’s. Whether we’re faithful in returning the tithe or not, it is God’s.

When we’re not faithful with the tithe, God says we’re robbing Him - because it’s His.

Okay - verse 12 - “If you’ve not been faithful with another man’s, who will give to you what is your own?”

Is it possible to take this scripture and apply it this way: If we’re not faithful with the 10%, who will give us the 90%.

I truly pray you grab hold of this - one of the most basic spiritual disciplines in the life of a Christian - is this simple faith practice.

It is God’s test. And our test for Him.

Now let’s close with this

Looking at verse 11

Luke 16:11 (CSB)

11 So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

What are true riches? What is most valuable here on earth?

It’s people.

True riches are people.

Mammon will try to tell you its gold or diamonds or oil.

True riches are people.

Looking around this room - you’re seeing the only thing that’s going to last for eternity. Not the flesh and bones, but your souls.

Our souls are the only eternal aspect of anything in here.

So we can say it this way: Heaven is becoming populated, and Hell is being plundered, because we give our offerings.

Don’t you want to be part of that?

That’s why its so important for me to give. And I see it as a spiritual thing, and part of my worship.

Because He’s taking my trust, and my investment into the Kingdom, and turning that into true riches - and riches are people being saved.

Money comes in, I return the tenth, he redeems the 90 and out of that I can offer what will be Kingdom investment for a return of souls saved. True riches!

You know my daughter will be dating age here soon, and it is something that I’ve had to wrestle with most of her life.

And in that process of wrestling, I continue to think and prepare for expectations of what that would look like.

One thing I know, is that there will be a test. If someone would take interest in my daughter, he’s got to go through me.

There will be expectations that I have of this young man, and he will need to pass the test.

In that testing, I will be looking to see if he will honor me and what I expect of him. Because if he won’t honor me, he won’t honor her.

But in one of those things, I as pastor will have the access and insight into this future young man’s tithing record.

You might say that’s a bit of a reach, maybe too invasive, but I disagree completely.

Why? Why wouldn’t I check the tithing record of the man pursuing my daughter? Let me say it this way: why would I give my daughter to a thief?

If he can’t even handle money, he certainly ain’t gonna handle Alana.

But she’s my only daughter. She is priceless. Why would I give true riches to someone who can’t even handle unrighteous money?

So let me say it this way: why would the heavenly father who has all power to bless you - why would He bless you when you don’t steward what you already have?

CLOSING You see, when I die, I want to know that I helped all I could because I wasn’t afraid to release and sew into people’s lives.

I want to see people in heaven that say “I’m here because you gave; a missionary brought the gospel to us because you sent them with your giving”

TRUE RICHES - are what Refuge Aviano is all about. Fulfilling the Great Commission is why we’re here. This is how we bake bread here.

Look around the room this morning - specifically at the people here today. Now think about all those that are outside these walls.

SOULS - are the only thing that’s going to last for eternity

Not these physical bodies - not the things, the shoes, the cars, the gym equipment, jewelry…none of that. SOULS. Your’s mine, and the one next to you on any given day.

I compel you this morning - live generously!

Not just financially - give a reason for the Hope you have in you

Encourage - uplift - exhort!

SHOW LOVE - give the same grace you’ve received from the perfect and holy Father above.

Don’t hoard your blessing!

Give with a mentality that souls depend on it.

When you give to projects and renovations - you’re not just giving to that roof project, that bathroom project - that Guam renovation - that Kids Camp, but the souls that will be ministered to under that roof, using that bathroom, that Ministry Center in Guam - those summer camps!

God takes our unrighteous mammon, redeems it with my giving him the first of it. And as I give in offerings, beyond the tithe, He turns that into true riches.