Unmammoned

Welcome Home

Good morning, and welcome to Cross Creek Community Church. My name is Amanda Stiles, and I’m blessed to be sharing the Word with you today.

ME Opening (Engage) – Hook the listener immediately with a relatable tension.

Let’s just be completely honest right out of the gate this morning. When you saw the title of today’s message “Unmammoned” or when you walked in and realized this is week three of talking about money... some of you probably winced. You might be sitting there thinking, “Pastor Amanda, four weeks on finances? Is the church just after my wallet, or what?”

I get it. I hear you. But I want to invite you to pull back the curtain with me today. Jesus actually spends a lot of time talking about money and the importance of stewarding our finances well. All of his parables on money emphasize that the way we manage material wealth is indicative of how we will handle spiritual truths. This isn’t a lecture on budgeting; it’s a battle for our hearts.

Go ahead and open your Bibles to Luke chapter 16. This is the only place I’ll ask you to turn to today, and it contains our foundational theme for this series in verses 10 and 11…

Luke 16:10–11: “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, [your translation may say ‘money’ or ‘wealth’] who will commit to your trust the true riches?”

Now, Jesus didn’t use a standard word for “wealth” or “money” in the original text here. He used a very specific Semitic word: Mammon. Spelled M-A-M-M-O-N. I know, it sounds like a stuffy, “churchy” word. You probably haven’t used that word, “mammon” in your workplace or in a text message in the last ten years - or ever!

But we cannot ignore it, because Mammon is not a currency; Mammon is a spirit...

[pause]

Today is about breaking that spirit over our lives and our finances. We are praying for an end-times harvest of souls, and souls are the true riches of God’s Kingdom that Jesus is talking about here.

In this Scripture, He is emphasizing that eternal things are attached to temporal riches. He’s saying that stewarding our earthly wealth according to godly principles will demonstrate that we can be trusted with the wealth of His Kingdom.

Pray

WE Introduction (Tension) – Bring the congregation into the dilemma so they realize this is about them too.

Every single one of us in this room has been given something. And that “something” is currently serving “someone.” Our time, our talents, and our bank accounts are actively serving a master.

Jesus states this bluntly in Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Notice He doesn’t say you shouldn’t serve both; He says you cannot. It’s a mathematical and spiritual impossibility. So before anyone accuses me of being “too dogmatic,” I have to emphasize: this is Jesus who lays before us two masters. If our resources are not serving God, they’re serving someone else, full stop.

So, we need to know the enemy don’t we? What exactly is this “Mammon?”

Most people would say it’s money, and that is the word that many translations use, money. But it’s so much deeper than that. The dictionary defines it as “the personification of riches and greed in the form of a false god.” Historically, Mammon was an ancient Syrian idol of wealth, but its roots trace all the way back to the Babylonians.

Think back to the Tower of Babel. The Hebrew root word Babel means “confusion.” When you add the suffix -on, Babylon literally translates to “sown in confusion.” It was a civilization built entirely on human arrogance, pride, and the deceptive belief that humanity didn’t need God because they had their own resources.

That is the spirit of Mammon: a haughty, deceptive voice that tells you that you are entirely self-sufficient. It attempts to replace God as your primary source. It stands in direct opposition to the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God says trust and to obey; the spirit of Mammon says be self-sufficient and accomplish whatever you want with your own resources.

The Big Lie

Most of us grew up listening to the voice of Mammon without ever realizing it. Mammon speaks to us in the language of “the Next big thing.”

It whispers:

“If I could just get to the next tax bracket, I’d finally feel secure.”

If I had a bigger savings cushion, my spouse and I wouldn’t argue so much.”

If I just had more money, I’d finally be happy - and look at how many people I could help!”

And we follow that “grass is greener” language right on over to the “other side.” But the next big thing, is just the next big lie. Have you ever noticed that when you reach that “next” financial milestone, the finish line magically moves further away?

Let’s look at how this plays out in real time on a random Tuesday. Mammon doesn’t show up with horns and a pitchfork; it shows up as an anxious knot in your stomach while you scroll through your banking app. It whispers, ‘Look at that number, tsk-tsk-tsk. If only you had an extra $10,000 in there, you could finally breathe. Then you’d be safe.’

So, you work harder. You take the extra shift. You sacrifice family dinners. And you get that $10,000. But the exact moment the money hits the account, the spirit of Mammon instantly changes its tune. It says, ‘Well, look at inflation. $10,000 is actually the new zero. You need $30,000 to be truly secure.’

The finish line for financial peace of mind always moves because Mammon is an insatiable master. It tries to solve a spiritual deficit with a material asset. You cannot fill a soul-shaped vacuum with paper and coins. When we ask money to give us peace, we are asking a created thing to do what only the Creator can do.

Mammon promises things on the “other side” that only God can provide: identity, security, significance and true joy. But money cannot replace God as our true source.

Now, you might think, “Pastor Amanda, I would never build an ancient Babylonian idol. I’m not building a tower of pride.” But the spirit of Mammon is highly adaptable. In fact, it has successfully infiltrated modern church culture, packaged beautifully as what we call the “Prosperity Gospel.”

The prosperity gospel teaches that if you give, you will get. It treats God like a celestial vending machine: “Give to get, give to get.” But the danger is that this teaching actually works selfishness into our lives and feeds the exact spirit of greed we are called to break free from.

The prosperity gospel says, “Use God to get Mammon.” Jesus says, “Use Mammon to serve God.”

When people buy into a “give-to-get” relationship with the Father, the moment a financial setback hits - the car breaks down or an unexpected medical bill arrives - they begin to secretly despise God. Why? Because they were never giving to God in the first place. They were giving to get. They were more concerned with “all these things will be added to you” rather than the most essential command: “seek first the Kingdom.”

GOD Body (Truth) – Deeply explore the scriptures, dismantling common objectives with biblical truth.

Is Money Evil?

If we want to break the power of this deceptive system, we have to look directly at the Word of God and dismantle some common misconceptions.

In our text, the very first time Jesus mentions the word, He calls it “unrighteous mammon.” So, we have to ask the logical question: is money evil? No. Money, in an of itself is entirely neutral. It’s simply a tool. But, it’s a tool that can be used for only two opposing purposes as Jesus pointed out. You can use it to build up the Kingdom of God, or you can use it to buy into the self-serving confusion of Babylon.

People often misquote scripture on this. They love to throw around the phrase, “Money is the root of all evil.” The Bible never said that. Here’s what Paul actually wrote in 1 Timothy 6:10 (KJV) “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

Paul is showing us that loving and serving Mammon - living in a state of absolute, stubborn self-reliance - is the entry point for every single kind of spiritual decay. The word root here means “the beginning.” The beginning of every evil behavior is the love of money.

And hear me on this: you do not have to be wealthy to have a “love of money” problem! You can be completely broke and still be utterly consumed by the spirit of Mammon. You can spend every waking hour chasing worldly wealth, absolutely convinced that a higher number in your bank account is your ultimate savior.

Every single dollar in your wallet, every lone penny in your bank account, carries a spiritual alignment. It’s either submitted to the Holy Spirit, or it is dominated by Mammon. There is no middle ground.

Redefining True Riches

If material wealth isn’t the goal of the Christian life, what did Jesus mean when He talked about “true riches”? Let’s look at the radical statement He makes just a few verses earlier in Luke 16:9: “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.”

Now, let’s be honest. Most people completely skip over this verse because it sounds incredibly confusing on the surface. Is Jesus telling us to go out and buy friendships? Is He telling us to bribe people to like us? That doesn’t sound right at all.

Jesus is giving us a radical strategy here - a spiritual hijack. A way to weaponize the prevailing spirit of the day, to use the love of money against the enemy. He tells us to take the very resource the world is enslaved by, and use it to fund their rescue. He is saying: Take this neutral, earthly resource that the world worships, and us it generously to pull people out of darkness.

We can make eternal friends - brothers and sisters in Christ - through the generous, charitable, and unselfish way we deploy our money. The word “fail” in the original text literally means to physically die. Jesus is painting this picture: when your physical heart stops beating, the people who came to the saving knowledge of Jesus because of you will be standing at the gates of Heaven to welcome you into your everlasting home... and that includes the people who came To Christ because of how you chose to fund the Kingdom.

When you use your finances in tithes, for missions, and in charity, you are breaking the grip of self-reliance over your own heart. But more importantly, you are funding the tools that bring broken people to Jesus. God is the only one who can take unrighteous mammon, redeem it, and turn it into a harvest of eternal souls.

True Riches are people! Look around this room… look into the faces of the people sitting next to you. This building will eventually crumble. Our cars will rust. Our stock portfolios will vanish. But what you are looking at right now is the only thing in this room that’s going to last for all eternity: people. The souls of men and women who belong to God the Father through faith in Jesus Christ. Not the physical bodies, but the souls. Those are the true riches.

The Warning

Jesus drives this point home with an undeniable reality check later in this same chapter. In Luke 16:19–31, He tells the story of a wealthy man wrapped in luxury who daily stepped over a starving, sore-covered beggar named Lazarus. Lazarus lay at the gate, hoping just to gather the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Eventually, both men died. Lazarus went to comfort in heaven; the rich man went to torment in hell.

Now, I want you to visually step into this scene with me. On one side of the gate, you have a man wearing purple fabrics and fine linen - the absolute peak of luxury in the ancient world. His table is groaning under the weight of exotic foods. He is breathing in the scent of roasted meats and expensive oils.

Just a few feet away, on the dirt path outside his gate, sits Lazarus. Lazarus isn’t just poor; his body is covered in ulcerated sores. He’s too weak to even swat away the stray dogs that come to lick his wounds.

The rich man doesn’t hate Lazarus. He doesn’t abuse him. He doesn’t scream at him to get off his property. He simply ignores him. He used his wealth to build a buffer between his comfort and the poor man’s crisis. He stepped over the eternal value of a human soul sitting at his doorstep every single day just to get into his gilded chariot.

Then the narrative takes a violent turn. They both die...

In eternity, the gate disappears, but a great chasm takes its place. Notice the tragic irony: the rich man, who spent his entire life indulging his comfort, is now begging for a single drop of water from the very fingertip of the beggar he ignored. Why? Because on earth, he allowed Mammon to blind him to eternity. He used his wealth to build a private, but temporary kingdom on earth, completely forgetting that he was supposed to invest in the citizens of Heaven.

From the flames, the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus to dip a finger in water to cool his tongue. When he’s told that a great gulf is fixed between them, the rich man begs: “Then send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.”

This story is a terrifying reality check for all of us. But it’s not actually about where you go when you die - we know that those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are saved from the rich man’s fate by grace. It’s not about where you go when you die, it’s about who you trust while you live.

The rich man didn’t go to hell simply because he had money; he went to hell because Mammon was his undisputed master, rendering him blind and heartless to the eternal soul sitting right at his doorstep.

This life is our only window of opportunity to use our earthly resources to impact eternity.

Jesus is saying here that the only time your material wealth matters is how you use it here. This life is the only chance we have to share our wealth with those less fortunate than us. This is the time to tithe to the storehouse for the good of generations to come. Now is the time to invest in missions, feeding ministry, and foster care.

Because what we do with our gifts on earth directly affects our experience in heaven. You may never meet the next ministry leader of this church, you may not experience the trials of the generations to come, you may not see the life on the other end of your dollar -but make no mistake: the seed sown in faith and service to God is sown in the soil of eternity, and from it, you will reap treasures in Heaven that can never be taken away.

YOU Summary (Application) - Bring the truth home to the individual listener. The “ONE POINT” should be made clear.

Here is the bottom line - this is the one point to write on your hear today: When you serve God with your wealth, you break the grip of Mammon; you stop serving your comfort and starts saving eternal souls. God doesn’t need your cash to save you - Jesus completely paid that debt on the cross. But we wants you finances submitted entirely to Him so that Mammon doesn’t claw your soul back into the trap of self-reliance.

Satan knows that money is the easiest place to gain a foothold in your heart, your marriage, and your family. He wants you to listen to that small voice that says, “This message doesn’t apply to me. I don’t have enough money to be a steward yet.”

But Luke 16:12 says, “And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?”

Everything you have belongs to God. Your job, your talents, and your health are all gifts from Him. If you don’t serve God when you have a little, you will never serve Him if you get a lot. God is waiting to see if you can be trusted with the small things before He opens the windows of heaven.

We have a decision to make with every single dollar the Lord allows into our hands: will we use it to serve God or Mammon? Will we trust Him to rebuke the devourer by bringing the whole tithe into the storehouse? Will we listen to His still, small voice when He says to give... or will we listen to the spirit of Mammon that whispers, “Your little bit doesn't matter in the grand scheme - you need it more than they do.”

The End-Times Connection

This choice is going to matter even more intensely in the days ahead. In Revelation 13:16-17 we see that the sprit of the antichrist doesn’t use nuclear weapons to dominate the world; he uses the economy. He forces everyone to take a mark just to buy or sell. The enemy will use the spirit of Mammon to control human behavior in the end times.

Hear me clearly on this: if you cannot trust God with your tithe when the grocery shelves are full and your bank account is stable, how will you trust Him when your compliance determines whether or not you can buy food for your children?

Tithing isn’t about funding church budgets; tithing is basic training for end-times resistance.

It’s how you teach your flesh, week after week, that your supply does not come from the government or the global economy - it comes from the Kingdom of God. We break the grip of Mammon now so that we are completely unshakable later. If you haven’t broken the spirit of Mammon over your life today, you will be incredibly vulnerable to economic manipulation tomorrow.

US Cast Vision (Inspiration) - Paint a compelling picture of what happens when the church acts collectively. Close the envelope from the tension identified in the WE section

Imagine what happens when Cross Creek Community Church collectively decides to break free and become completely “unmammoned.” If we break the spirit of self-reliance, we become a distribution center for Heaven.

We won’t just talk about regional revival; we will actively facilitate it. Our efforts to share Jesus with children and youth, our Care Portal initiatives for vulnerable families, our local feeding ministry, and our global missions projects will never have to scrape by. Why? Because God knows this church is “good soil” to pour out His resources. We will have both bread to eat and seed to sow.

And when we enter Heaven, we won’t enter alone. There will be a welcoming committee of people waiting for us at the gates, saying, “I’m standing here in eternity because you chose to give.”

Action (Challenge) - What do they need to do with what they have just heard?

Breaking the spirit of Mammon

To break the spirit of Mammon, you cannot just pray about it. You have to execute an intentional act of faith-filled defiance against it. Mammon tells you to hold tight; God tells you to open your hand.

Here is your challenge this week:

Audit the Voice: This week, when you look at your bills or your savings, try to catch the exact moment financial anxiety triggers a knot in your stomach. Identify where you are letting money speak to you instead of the Holy Spirit.

Bring the Whole Tithe: If you have been treating tithing as optional, step out in faith. Test God in this, and make bringing the whole tithe into the storehouse first priority, declaring Him as your sole source.

Sow an Anonymous Seed: Actively look for a “Lazarus” in your path this week. Find a way to meet their need without taking a single ounce of credit. This is called a “love offering” in addition to tithing - it doesn’t take the place of bringing what belongs to God into His storehouse. It’s an act of war against the spirit of greed.

Pray (Stand)

Father, we repent today for the times we’ve hung our hope on money, and made earthly wealth our security. Right now, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we break the spirit of Mammon and self reliance over our hearts and our families. We declare aloud that You alone are our source. Redeem our resources, Lord as holy unto you as we bring the first ten-percent of our income to this storehouse. And may every seed sown into your Kingdom grow from this house to reap a massive harvest of souls. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Benediction

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face shine upon you and give you peace. Go out this week knowing that you are fully provided for by the King of Kings. Walk in freedom, live generously, and be completely “unmammoned.” Go in grace!