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.
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