Good stewards.

 BY Argie Simonis 

We have already explained that God blesses us when we give with the right motives. In the same way that the Lord blesses us when we give cheerfully and generously, in the same way He blesses us when we manage our finances according to His instructions.

And this has nothing to do with numbers and budgets. The Lord's mathematics does not follow human logic.

We also have personal testimonies, but also many testimonies from people who, as soon as they put their finances in order, received supernatural blessings from God.

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-- OWNERSHIP AND STEWARDSHIP

A great revelation that will change your life, is to understand the Biblical concept of ownership and stewardship. Understanding that you are not the owner, but a steward, will remove the financial stress from your heart. 

A simple example:

When you rent a house and something breaks, then you call the landlord to fix it. So God, as the owner that He is, will fix what belongs to Him. But if you think it belongs to you, it will BOTH add weight AND cause you stress.

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-- THE PARABLE OF TALENTS

In this parable we see the Lord giving 5 talents, 2 talents and 1 talent respectively to three of His servants. In the previous message I emphasized that the subject that Jesus taught the most was neither Heaven nor Hell, but money. In this parable I will show you that Jesus is talking about money and not gifts or abilities.

What Jesus is showing us here is that the Lord gave an amount of money to His servants according to their abilities, and from this amount He expected them to return it to Him with some profit. In other words, Jesus shows us how to manage our finances.

"For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods." (Matt. 25:14)

"And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey." (Matt. 25:15)

"Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents." (Matt. 25:16)

"And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two." (Matt. 25:17)

"But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money." (Matt. 25:18)

"After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them." (Matt. 25:19)

You know, one day Christ will come back and one of the things He will check is how you managed His money.

"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." (Matt. 25:21)

~~ This is something I'm sure we would ALL like to hear from the Lord Himself! Notice that this is the only time in the Scriptures that he talks about money and those words will be heard by those who were good stewards! ~~

"He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them." (Matt. 25:22)

"His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." (Matt. 25:23)

~~ Note that the Lord does not look at the amount you earn, but how much you earn according to your ability. ~~

The same "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" will be heard by BOTH the one who won the little AND the one who won the most.

"Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:" (Matt. 25:24)

"And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine." (Matt. 25:25)

"His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:" (Matt. 25:26)

"Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury." (Matt. 25:27)

Do not think it is strange that Jesus is talking about money, and even His own money.

"Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents." (Matt. 25:28)

"For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." (Matt. 25:29)

~~ Definition of ownership:

It is the management of someone else's property.~~

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BASIC PRINCIPLES THAT THIS PARABLE TEACHES US:

1. I AM NOT THE OWNER

In the previous message I referred to the words of David:

"The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Ps. 24:1)

and in Psalm 50:

"For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills." (Ps. 50:10)

"If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof." (Ps. 50:12)

"For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." (1Cor. 10:26)

In other words, it tells us here that:

~~ The diamond you have in your ring came from God's coal. The metal in your car that you drive to work came from God's minerals. The clothes you wear came from God's plants and animals. The house you live in, the bricks, wood and stones, came from the earth that belongs to God. Even the paper that the money in your pocket is printed on came from God's trees. ~~

Do you know how I can tell someone's spiritual maturity? From the way he prays and from the way he stewards what he has.

The way we mature into the Kingdom of God and transition

-from infants to children,

- then to teenagers and

- ending in adults,

it is when we learn to be good stewards and that what we have is not ours, but His.

~~ If you think that what you have is yours, you are still like the teenager who lives in his parents' house and thinks that it is his house ~~

In the parable we read that after some time the Lord returned to settle the account with his servants. So never forget that the owner is coming back soon to settle His accounts!

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2. I AM A STEWARD

God started mankind on the foundation of stewardship:

"And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." (Gen. 2:15)

When God told them not to eat from the tree of Knowledge, do you really know what He was telling them?

"Every time you pass this tree remember who owns it."

When satan seduced them by telling them that if they ate of that fruit they would become like God, do you know what he actually told them? That they will become owners. That they will no longer be stewards, but owners.

~~ One of the reasons evolutionists hate Biblical Creation is that they don't want to be accountable to anyone, because if there is an owner in all of Creation, then they too belong to Him and there will come a day when they will give Him an account for their lives. ~~

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A talent was a unit of weight, about 36 kilograms, and when used as a unit of money, a talent equaled 6,000 denarii and a denari was a day's wages.

300 dinarii was the annual salary (the working days per year excluding holidays were 300).

Do you remember when Mary anointed Jesus' feet with that expensive nard myrrh, Judas said "why not sell this myrrh for 300 denarii, that is, a year's wages).

So 6,000 dinars, because that's how much a silver talent is worth, is equivalent to 20 years' wages. People in Jesus' day were considered what we call retirees at the age of 50, because the average age then was 55-65 years.

Now consider this:

Methuselah lived 969 years,

"and all the days of Methuselah were 969 years; and he died." (Gen. 5:27)

and since then man's life span began to decrease because of sin. But when Jesus came, the average life expectancy began to rise again.

So do not feel sorry for the servant who only received one talent. With this talent he probably wouldn't have to work for the rest of his life. (If this talent were gold, it would be worth 10 times more!)

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Another important thing is that he gave them the talents

"to each according to HIS ABILITY". (Matt. 25:15)

One comment I want to make here is that if you consider yourself capable of managing a talent, it does not mean that you will stay there forever. Our skills can be improved. But when you are a person with the ability to manage five talents, you need to know that God expects from you a RETURN of five talents in addition to what He gave you.

Let me tell you with another example:

If one has the ability to give 10,000 but gives 5,000 and another has the ability to give 50 but gives 200, which of the two will hear "well done, good servant"?

~~ God always judges us by what we have done with what He has given us. ~~

Because there is ignorance on this subject, there are many believers of the five talents who give only one. But don't forget that at some point the Lord will come and settle all His accounts.

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See another meaning of the word steward:

A steward is one who protects AND expands one's possessions. The master told the slave who hid the talent that the least he could do was deposit it in a bank, because there it would be both protected and would also earn him interest.

He expects the same from us. The Lord has entrusted us with His money and expects us as good stewards to protect and increase it.

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3. AM I A GOOD STEWARD?

"And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:" (Luke 12:16)

"And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?" (Luke 12:17)

"And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods." (Luke 12:18)

"And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." (Luke 12:19)

"But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" (Luke 12:20)

"So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:21)

The Lord did not rebuke this rich man because he made a lot of money, nor because he built bigger storehouses. He rebuked him for living only for himself. Neither in the kingdom of God did he think of giving, nor of helping other people.

Don't forget that God always blesses good stewards, those who follow God's principles. See what Paul says:

"Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)" (2Cor. 9:10)

God gives seed to the sowers, that is, to those who give. If someone lacks seed (no money to give), it is obvious that God does not see him as a sower.

There are two types of people: Sowers and eaters. Sowers give and eaters take. Those who live to give are sowers and will always have plenty to give to every good work:

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:" (2Cor. 9:8)

Note also that the Lord will not only give the sowers seed to sow but will also supply their needs for food, because they too must eat. 

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---- THE PARABLE OF THE UNJUST STEWARD ----

"And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." (Luke 16:8)

"And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations." (Luke 16:9)

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." (Luke 16:10)

"If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?" (Luke 16:11)

"And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" (Luke 16:12)

"No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Luke 16:13)

Who among you could commend a thief? This tells us a lot about the character of the rich lord. He had learned that money is not true wealth.

See something else. God's grace is what really brings riches, and in fact these riches are not rained down by the Lord from heaven:

"But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day." (Deut. 8:18)

So this rich Lord knew very well the power that money has to influence people, that is exactly why he praised the unjust steward who stole money from him and had wasted it all. But for the first time he was using the influence of this money to secure his future. With this in mind Jesus said that:

"And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." (Luke 16:8)

~~ This is the heart of the message of this parable: We can literally take money, something that is temporary, and turn it into something eternal by sowing it into the kingdom of God, thereby bringing lives to Christ. ~~

And we achieve this by using our money to touch people's lives with the Gospel, so that when we die, everyone who will be in Heaven because of us will be waiting and lining up to welcome us there and thank us for the good we did.

Amen!

The evil spirit of mamon.

  BY Argie Simonis 

The word Mammon is mentioned in the Scriptures 4 times. There is one reference in Matthew, and one in Luke:

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Matt. 6:24)

"And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations." (Luke 16:9)

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." (Luke  16:10)

"If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?" (Luke  16:11)

"And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" (Luke  16:12)

"No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Luke  16:13)

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1. WHAT IS MAMMON?

Most people think that Mammon is money. In some more free translations of the Bible, they use the word money for the word Mammon:

"You CANNOT work God and money."

However, it is not so and I will explain it.

So what is Mammon? This word comes from the god of wealth worshiped by the Syrians, Mammon. When Jesus speaks of Mammon, he is actualy referring to this demonic spirit. In other words, what Jesus is saying is:

"You CANNOT serve God and that demonic spirit, the unrighteous Mammon."

This spirit also, Mammon, was one of the highest deities worshiped in Babylon. They had gone so far as to sacrifice their children to this god of wealth to bless their finances!

The people of Israel were enslaved for 70 years by the Babylonians, so when Jesus referred to Mammon, the Jews of that time understood very well what He was saying to them.

It is very important to understand that the Lord here is not referring to money, but to this demonic spirit.

~~ On all the money in the world there is a spirit. Even the money you have in the bank has a spirit on it. Either it is the Spirit of God, or the spirit of Mammon. ~~

The way you allow the Spirit of God to be on your money is when you tithe your first fruits to the Lord, so the remaining 90% you keep is redeemed from the spirit of this fallen world which is the spirit of Mammon.

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--- TITHES

Many argue that under God's grace, tithes have been abolished and that the term tithe is nowhere in the New Testament. They just read the words of Paul:

"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." (2Cor. 9:6)

"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." (2Cor. 9:7)

Paul writes correctly that God loves a cheerful giver. But we don't stop there. Look at what Jesus Himself tells us, and we read this in the New Testament:

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay TITHE of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, JUDGMENT, MERCY, and FAITH: THESE ought ye to have done, and not to leave THE OTHER undone." (Matt. 23:23)

Do God's commandments against theft, murder, and adultery only apply under the Law of Moses? Tithing is no exception to this.

Tithing in the Scriptures begins 400-500 years before it was given as a commandment in the Law of Moses.

"And Melchizedek (Jesus) king of Salem (Peace) brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God." (Gen. 14:18)

"And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:" (Gen. 14:19)

"And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all." (Gen. 14:20)

And Jacob:

"And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee." (Gen. 28:22)

God doesn't need your money. And don't forget that neither the tithe you give is yours, nor the remaining 90% is yours:

"The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Ps. 24:1)

"If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof." (Ps. 50:12)

~~ The Lord does not want your money, but your heart:

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matt. 6:21)

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Mammon has been worshiped by men for thousands of years, and for thousands of years there has been a great spiritual war:

Who will you serve? God or Mammon? Jesus was absolute in this:

"... YOU CANNOT serve God and mammon." (Matt. 6:24)

---- THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL

The word "prosperity" is not a bad word. But it has taken a bad meaning from the so-called "prosperity gospel" that has been preached by some, which says that whoever is in the Lord should live in luxurious houses, drive around in expensive cars and dress in the latest fashion.

God wants us to enjoy material blessings:

"I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." (Ps. 27:13)

But be careful, because Jesus said that if you serve Mammon, you will despise God. You cannot serve them both. You will love one and hate the other.

An example: 

If you serve Mammon, when your washing machine break you get angry with God. And that's because when you bought the washing machine you fell into this trap of the prosperity gospel, where nothing will go wrong because God wants you blessed. The Lord did not promise us a rich life, but an abundant one:

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

Mammon is looking for servants. What we read in Luke 16 and Matt. 6 is the only place in the Scriptures that God contrasts His self with another spirit. Do you know why; Because Mammon promises to give you what only God can give you:

-Identity, 

- value, 

- happiness, 

- joy, 

- peace.

~~ Mammon promises but hedoesn't deliver. Only God can offer you these things. Go and ask someone who made a lot of money  if that money made them happy. The highest rates of depression and suicide are found in rich groups of people who live without God ~~.

Jesus never told anyone that the solution to their problem was money. He didn't tell the blind man, the lame man, or the bleeding woman that they needed more money to get well. And that's because money isn't the answer. 

~~ Jesus Christ is the answer to every problem! ~~

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-- TWO LIES:

---- Have you ever had this thought?

"I would be happier if I had more money."

This is a lie! You would be happier if you had a better relationship with God.

Do you see the contrast here?

 

---- See another lie:

"I could help more people if I had more money."

~~ No, you couldn't. Money doesn't help people, God helps them. So be very careful, because out in the world there is this god of wealth who is looking for servants, and no one can serve both God and Mammon. ~~

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2. IS MONEY EVIL?

Money is not bad. It is neutral. You can use it for good or bad. You can use it for temporary purposes, you can also use it for eternal ones.

"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." (1Tim. 6:10)

Money is not the problem, but the love of money. Let's go back to Jesus' words:

"And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations." (Luke 16:9)

Many translate this as:

"Do favors to the people of the world, and when you have problems at some point, they will help you."

You know, the Word of God goes much deeper than we think. I have already explained that on all money there is a spirit. The Spirit of God or the spirit of Mammon. When we tithe to the Lord, we take our money from unrighteous Mammon, dedicate it to the Lord, and He blesses the remaining 90% 

~~ God is the only one who can take unrighteous Mammon and turn it into real riches! ~~

"Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee." (Deut. 23:5)

All material things on earth that cause admiration (villas, castles, yaughts, limousines, gold, diamonds) will be consumed by fire:

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." (2Pet. 3:10)

"Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." (2Pet. 3:13)

Watch how these verses tie together with Jesus' interpretation of the parable:

"And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations." (Luke 16:9)

~~ What Jesus means here is to take what the enemy intended for evil and dedicate it to the Kingdom of God.

And when you pass away, (when you die) they (those who came into the Kingdom of God because of you), will welcome you to your eternal habitations. ~~

When you die and go to Heaven, people will come and thank you because they too are there with the Lord because of you. They will thank you because you sowed into the Kingdom of God by giving money to a ministry that sent a missionary to their village, preached Christ to them and they were saved.

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3. WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY MONEY?

The answer is simple: Be a good steward. If you think you don't have much Mammon in your life to worry about, I'll tell you this: If you're not faithful to a little, you'll never have more. Watch how Jesus puts it:

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." (Luke 16:10)

If you don't tithe when you make 1,000, you won't tithe if you make 10,000. We said that the tithe BELONGS to the Lord, Look at the next words of Jesus:

"And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" (Luke 16:12)

If you are not faithful to the 10% that belongs to God, how will you be faithful to the 90% that is yours?

With an attidute like that, why would God increase your income?

On this Sunday's message, I will teach on the parable of the unjust steward and the parable of the talents.

The Ten Commandments in our finances .

 BY Argie Simonis 

There are people who don't make a lot of money and are bad stewarts of their finances, and there are people who make a lot of money who are also bad stewarts.

In this message we will not look at how much money one makes, but how we understand the words "ownership" and "stewardship".

We will see how God advises us to be good stewards of all that He gives us and we will see how the Ten Commandments that the Lord gave to Moses find application in the proper management of our finances.

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1. PUT GOD FIRST IN YOUR LIFE.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (Ex. 20:3)

Let's look at a well-known story from the Scriptures. The story of the prophet Elijah, who during a great famine that lasted 3 and a half years, was commanded by God to go to a widow:

"And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying," (1Kings  17:8)

"Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee." (1Kings 17:9)

"So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink." (1Kings  17:10)

"And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand." (1Kings  17:11)

"And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die." (1Kings  17:12)

"And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son." (1Kings  17:13)

"For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth." (1Kings  17:14)

There was a supernatural provision when this woman put God FIRST. Consider this too: Why did God in the midst of this great famine send Elijah to this poor widow and not to some rich man?

~~ Many believe that God sent Elijah to the widow so that she could provide him with food. Actualy, the exact opposite is true. God sent Elijah to her, so that God would provide for her! ~~

Many believe that God asks us to tithe to meet the needs of the church. And yet, in reality God wants us to tithe so that He covers our own needs.

God doesn't need our money. We see the widow who has one last meal left and her son is sick and dies a few months later and Elijah resurrects him.

The Lord not only provided for her needs in food and money, but He knew that her son would die and He took care of that too!

~~ When you put the Lord FIRST in your life, He will not only take care of your finances, but your entire family. ~~

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2. DON'T WORSHIP MATERIAL THINGS.

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:" (Ex. 20:4)

Anything you put above God is an idol. And I ask you: Have you ever put any material thing above God?

Have you ever bought something that you regretted buying? The reason I am asking is this:

In this message we will examine what good stewardship is. This means that before we buy something we first pray, and we don't spend money without first asking the owner of that money if we can spend it.

If you think the money you have is yours, see what Paul says:

"For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?" (1Cor. 4:7)

Yes, money is the wages of our work, but don't forget that God is the One who gives us strength and health to work, He gave us a job to work, and we live in a country where we are getting paid for our work. In Greece I understand that things are difficult, but let's not forget that there are countries in the world that are in a much worse position than us. I will tell you some typical samples of ANNUAL incomes by country, starting with the richest:

- Monaco: 186,000 €

- Switzerland: 95,000 €

- Australia: 61,000 € 

- Germany: 54,000 €

- Italy: 38,000 €

- Poland: 19,000 €

- Russia: 13,000 €

- Ukraine: 4,500 €

- India: 2,400 €

- Pakistan: 1500 €

- Sudan: 760 €

- Somalia: 600 €

- Afghanistan: 380 €

So a material thing can become an idol in our life.

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3. DO NOT USE THE LORD'S NAME SELFISHLY.

"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." (Ex. 20:7)

What does vanity mean?

Vanity is "the emptiness, the worthlessness, the temporary, the long-term uselessness of the thing, of life, of existence, that leads nowhere."

When you think of a vain person, what comes to your mind? A proud, arrogant and self-centered person. Certainly we should not use profanity when we speak, but what this verse really means is not to use the Lord's name selfishly.

"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." (James 4:3)

This verse brings balance to many passages in the Scriptures that promise answers to our prayers.

If our prayers are selfish, they will not be answered. God is not our genie who is bound to fulfill our every wish.

Just as good parents who love their children would not give them anything that would harm them, so God will not give us things that will harm us. We must ask according to God's will:

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:" (1John 5:14)

"And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." (1John 5:15)

It is good to pray to God for our needs. Jesus himself taught this,

"Give us this day our daily bread." (Μatt. 6:11)

It is good to pray to God for the dreams and desires we have in our lives, because many of them are not ours, but His desires:

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." (Ps. 37:4)

But we must be careful, because it is very easy to cross the boundary line that separates good desire from lust, just as it is very easy to cross the boundary line that separates a real need from selfishness and self-promotion.

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4. BE A GOOD STEWART.

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Ex. 20:8)

"Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:" (Ex. 20:9)

"But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:" (Ex. 20:10)

If you're wondering what this has to do with management, I'll explain:

The Lord is telling us here that we must manage our time and energies properly. To work six days a week and rest one day. In other words, what the Lord is telling us here is that He can do more in six days than we could do in seven. And if you want to see what God can do in six days, read the first chapter of Genesis.

When we tithe, it means that we believe that God can do more with the 90% that we are left with, than what we can do with the 100% if we did not tithe.

Good management means:

- Spend wisely,

- Save wisely,

and

- give generously.

If you do not apply these three principles, then you are not properly stewarding what God gives you.

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5. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN.

Teach your children about the Kingdom of God. What does the Lord say about money, ownership and stewardship.

"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." (Ex. 20:12)

Why does God ask children to honor their parents? Because from their parents they will learn about God. Your children learn about God and money first from you. The way you talk about money, the way you handle it, where you give, how you give, do you give to the church? Do you give alms?

If all your kids hear you say is

- We need more money,

- With more money we will solve our problems,

Do you know what actualy happens? You teach your children to serve money. Remember what Jesus said:

"No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Luke 16:13)

You may be unintentionally teaching your children to despise God. That is what Jesus is saying here.

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6. PLAN YOUR FINANCES.

"Thou shalt not kill." (Ex. 20:13)

If you don't plan your finances, you're killing yourself, and you also want to die. Lack of planning is a guaranteed recipe for failure. This is what we call the budget, which is essentially a financial plan. Every country is actualy obliged to make a state budget every year.

~~ What financial planning achieves is that it enables you to make decisions about your finances without the involvement of emotions. ~~

Just as we learn to talk, behave, drive and work, so we can learn about managing our finances.

AND there are tools for this (on the internet you can find many things, as long as you look in the right place), but we can also ask for help from people who know more about this subject.

Never hesitate to ask for help!

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7. STAY WITHIN YOUR POSSIBILITIES.

This has to do with the seventh commandment:

"Thou shalt not commit adultery." (Ex. 20:14)

When you commit adultery, you live outside the boundaries of God's provision for your life. The exact same thing happens when you live beyond what your finances allow. There are two main reasons why some people do this.

1. THEY ARE NOT CONTENT,

They are not satisfied with what they have.

When you live like this and buy things you can't afford, do you  know what you're actualy doing? You tell God right to His face that you are neither satisfied with Him, nor with what He provides for you.

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." (Phil. 4:11)

"I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." (Phil. 4:12)

This letter was written from prison. It was not the physical things (gifts and money) that the Philippians had sent to Paul that blessed him. Their love behind their gifts was what touched Paul's heart.

Notice also that Paul, the man who wrote the one third of the New Testament, LEARNED to be content.

It's not something that came by itself. Children don't read instinctively - they MUST be taught - so we MUST be taught to be content with what we have.

---- CONTENTMENT: The completeness about all the necessary, the lack of need for external help.

~~ Contentment is a choice we make and it's something we can learn. One way to learn is to be grateful for what we have and stop dwelling on what we don't have. ~~

The apostle Paul was in prison in Rome facing possible execution, but he was content. The good news here is that even if you haven't gotten to that point yet, (not to be executed, but to be content with what you have) you can get there, because you can be taught.

Contentment does not depend on what we have, if it is little or much, but on God.

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The second reason that people live beyond their finances is:

2. THEY DO NOT COUNT.

"For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?" (Luke 14:28)

For some of you I'm sure math wasn't your favorite subject at school, but whether we like it or not, math is essential. This way we can see our income and expenses and do the counting. But how can we do that if we don't know math?

We either should learn it, or be friends with people who know math.

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So we learn to be content, and our children learn too by watching us.

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8. DON'T BUY NOW AND PAY LATER.

"Thou shalt not steal." (Ex. 20:15)

It's stealing to spend money you don't have.

"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?" (Rom. 8:24)

"But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." (Rom. 8:25)

God has created us with the need and ability to envision and hope for our future. To set goals, to pursue them, and when we patiently achieve our goal, this wonderful feeling of fulfillment comes with joy and satisfaction. And that's because you had to work and wait until you achieved it.

But today, usually when we want something we take a plastic card and go and buy it. And that's when we realize we don't have that joy I described before.

Of course God wants us to enjoy new things, a nice TV for example, but He does not want to see us suffer when for months we will have to pay the installments we put on this TV while we could not afford it.

Depression is one of the biggest modern plagues. The most widely accepted concept of depression is a person who has lost hope. Statistically, the highest rates of depression are seen in societies with the highest debts.

Everything God tells us in His word is for our good. The Lord wants us to have vision and hope in our lives, which when fulfilled will bring us joy and satisfaction.

Don't get in debt to buy something right now. Wait a bit and pay it with money you have and not with money you don't have.

Know that the Lord will supernaturally provide when we begin to do things His way.

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9. BE A GOOD WITNESS.

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." (Ex. 20:16)

God asks us to bear a TRUE testimony about Him, even to our neighbor.

If you talk to your neighbor about God and your neighbour wonders why you have a brand new and expensive car but your house looks like a ruin, that is not a good testimony.

~~ The way we manage our finances can be a good or a bad testimony for the Lord. ~~

Even if you had setbacks in the past, even if your business did not go well and you struggled with your finances, what makes your testimony strong is not the money, but the way you went through that trial. We ​​always encounter difficulties and problems in life. Did you keep hoping and trusting in the Lord?

Your neighbor knows you are a believer, he sees your life and one of the things he watches is how you manage your finances.

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10. BE CONTENT.

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." (Ex. 20:17)

It is not bad to desire things, but here this desire has the meaning of greed and covetousness. When we are content, and as I said before, this is something we learn, then we don't fall into the trap of coveting the things of our neighbor.

"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:" (Col. 3:5)

Watch that Paul calls covetousness idolatry! Whatever you desire with passion and greed, becomes an idol in your life.

And indeed when you desire what your neighbor has, you are actualy making your neighbor God. You know why; Because you won't buy a new car when God tells you to, but when your neighbor tells you to.

Your neighbor gets new curtains, you will get new curtains. He'll get new furniture, you'll get new furniture too.

You actualy stop doing what God tells you to do and you start doing what your neighbor tells you. And he doesn't even have to tell you with words; he is just showing you.

So when you desire what your neighbor has, then what you desire becomes an idol in your life and your neighbor becomes a god.

~~ Ask God to give you wisdom and not allow others to spend the money God has entrusted to you. ~~

The Lord blesses us to be a blessing to others.

"And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:" (Gen. 12:2)

The Lord always blesses good stewardship and supernaturally provides for those who steward well what He entrusts to them.

Amen!

Introduction into the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

 BY Argie Simonis 

The Corinthian church to which Paul writes is a church that is ALREADY moving in spiritual gifts. In chapter 14 he even gives them instructions for the proper use of these gifts:

"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." (1Cor. 14:33)

The teaching on the gifts illustrates the unity of the Body of Christ. I believe that is where the whole emphasis of this letter is placed.

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There is also an earlier letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthians which we don't know what happened, and he even received a reply:

"I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:" (1Cor. 5:9)

"Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman." (1Cor. 7:1)

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In chapters 12-14 of 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses the believers' ignorance of spiritual gifts:

"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant." (1Cor. 12:1)

Even today, there is a group of Christians who do not know the gift of the Spirit they have ALREADY received, and therefore cannot move in the gifts.

There is another group of Christians who have believed that all these gifts passed away after the first century with the death of the apostles.

What I have to say is that the latter are more ignorant than the former.

A key reason why this happens, apart from ignorance, is I believe fear. Many times what man does not know causes him fear.

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Many Christians are ignorant of the Holy Spirit. And don't get me wrong, when someone is ignorant of something it doesn't mean they are stupid. It means that either they have not been taught it, or they have been misinformed on the subject.

According to the dictionary, the original interpretation of the word "spirits" that Paul refers to here is "those referring to air, to breath" (eg electric and pneumatic tools, hydraulic and pneumatic systems).

Let's look again at Paul's words applying this interpretation to 1Cor. 12:1;

"Now concerning the gifts which are powered by the breath of God, I do not want you to be ignorant."

In other words, what Paul is trying to tell us here is that these gifts that he will refer to next, are manifested only when we ALLOW the Holy Spirit to "breathe" or otherwise move in us.

So when it comes to spiritual gifts, I don't want you to be ignorant either.

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The gifts are not only found in the 1 Cor. letter. There are references in other places as well.

(Romans ch. 12, seven in total):

"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;" (Rom. 12:6)

"Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;" (Rom. 12:7)

"Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness." (Rom. 12:8)

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- GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR MINISTRY (1 Cor. 12, nine in total):

"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal." (1Cor. 12:7)

"For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;" (1Cor. 12:8)

"To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;" (1Cor. 12:9)

"To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:" (1Cor. 12:10)

"But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." (1Cor. 12:11)

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--- THE GIFTS OF JESUS ​​TO HIS CHURCH (Eph. 4, five in total):

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;" (Eph. 4:11)

"For the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:" (Eph. 4:12)

Look again at how Paul begins his words:

"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to EVERY man to profit withal." (1Cor. 12:7)

~ So these gifts are given to EVERYONE for the benefit of ALL!~

"But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." (1Cor. 12:11)

Remember that these gifts are not yours. Paul, a little earlier in his letter, makes a serious warning:

"For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?" (1Cor. 4:7)

So these gifts are not ours. They are of the Holy Spirit and He distributes them according to His will for the edification of ALL.

~~ All of us for example can minister with a word of knowledge, or a word of wisdom when the Spirit moves us. So the Holy Spirit has ALL the gifts, they are His and He manifests them, that is, He makes them known to the world through us, as He wants. ~~

Watch something else that Paul says:

"Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?" (1Cor. 12:29)

"Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?" (1Cor. 12:30)

Don't forget that Paul asks these questions to the charismatic church of Corinth, that is, to Christians who had ALREADY been baptized with the Holy Spirit and were ALREADY moving in spiritual gifts.

Every believer can do the same miracles that Jesus did (John 14:12), and Jesus said that miraculous signs will follow all who believe (Mark 16:17-20). But every member of the body of Christ will not do these things as a gift of calling or ministry:

"For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." (Rom. 11:29)

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We believe in a God of miracles. He is the good Father who has the best gifts for His children.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."  (James 1:17)

Therefore, there is no reason to fear spiritual gifts (the gift of prophecy or the gift of tongues for example).

ALL of us can move in these gifts when the Holy Spirit allows us to. And they are gifts that help us and empower us to live our Christian life here on earth.