7. Possession Can Be Dangerous

Possessing money can arouse areas of sin and weakness we have failed to deal within our lives.

a. Sin And Weaknesses Aroused, Paul says of the righteous law of God, “I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet. ‘But sin taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind…” (Rom 7:7).

“But sin used this law against evil desires by reminding me that such desires are wrong and aroused all kinds of for-bidden desires within me!” (Rom 7:8 tlb).

It is the same way with money as it is with the Law.  Paul found that a righteous and good commandment of the Law aroused the sin that dwelt in him. Money is not bad in itself. But, when we have money the potential for it to arouse covetousness, selfishness and greed is very strong.

As the Lord begins to bless a church leader, he will minister in the power of grace of God. This blessing usually results in an increased flow of finance into the church

At this church leader’s church continues to receive blessing from the Lord, his sinful nature may become aroused and he may begin to covet and misuse the Lord’s money. The money given him for good becomes a temptation for evil and corrupts the ministry and the church leader.

b. Selfishness Revealed. “But”, you may ask, “how can I know whether I will have a problem with a lot of money until I have it?” I can tell what a man will do with a thousand dollars by what he does with one dollar.

“He who is faithful in very little is faithful also in mu ch; and he who is unrighteous in very little is unrighteous also in much” (Luke 16:10). How you spend a little money shows how you will spend a lot of money.

In 1950, when I was in training to be a missionary, I moved into a community dormitory at the “missionary boot camp,” (that is what they called the place.) There were seventeen of us in that dormitory.

The trainee serving as cook for the week was to buy the food. Each person was supposed to contribute three dollars weekly to a “food fund” this would provide fifty dollars a week for groceries to feed the seventeen students.

After the first couple of weeks, only three of us out of the seventeen trainees continued to contribute to the grocery fund faithfully. all the other trainees had some excuse why they couldn’t put in their share. This really impressed me the week it was my responsibility to feed the seventeen. All I had was nine dollars.

During that year, the Lord miraculously provided a large sum of money to us that was divided up among all of the students who were in my dormitory.

Following this, most of the students went into town and came back with cameras, guns and radios. They all reasoned that these things would be necessary when they became missionaries.

But do you know that when we got back to the dormitory routine and our students no more were putting their money into the “food fund” than before.

Only three of the seventeen went on to become missionaries. I’ll bet you can guess which three. Although they had convinced themselves the reasons they bought their cameras and guns were good, they had proven to every one else they were basically selfish at heart, and a selfish person will never be a good missionary.

Next week

Beware the Love of Money 5

5. Money Can Be a Blessing

God blesses His people with money, often giving them abundant wealth to accomplish His purpose in the earth. When the Children of Israel came out of Egypt, they took most of the silver and gold with them. After ten plagues, the Egyptians were so anxious to see them go, they gave them “jewels of silver, and jewels of gold and raiment” (Exo 12:35). “He brought them forth also with silver and gold..” (Ps 105:37). a. Moses. When Moses built the Tabernacle in the wilderness, it was worth millions of dollars. It was built from the free-will gifts of the men and women of Israel who gave up some of their wealth for its construction. This is a perfect example of how God desires to finance His projects. He blesses His people with money so they can use it for His purposes. God has often raised up men and made them very wealthy. Job was very wealthy. He owned “seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, and five hundred teams of oxen and five hundred female donkeys, and employed many servants. He was, in fact, the richest cattleman in that entire area” (Joh 1:3 tlb). b. Abraham was known throughout the ancient world for his wealth. He even had his own private army. c. David And Solomon. No one had more wealth than David and his son, Solomon. Solomon’s personal wealth ran into the millions of dollars. God was able to give them wealth because they used it for the Kingdom. Their wealth served them, they did not serve their wealth. They used it for God’s purposes, not just their own selfish ends. However, Solomon’s heart did go astray later in his life because of his many wives.

6. Important Questions To Ask

What is your relationship to your money? Do you have your money or does it have you? Do you or the Lord determine how you will use your money? Does the amount of money you have determine your happiness.. your style of living? How do you use your money? Are you generous toward God only when you have a surplus? If you don’t have much money, do you always think about it and dream of having more? Does your desire for money control you? Although these questions make us uncomfortable, they make us aware of how we relate to our money. This is especially true of those who lead the flock of God. Did you know that covetousness, or the love of money, causes the downfall of many ministers of the gospel? the love of money is one of the three sins that most often cause ministers’ downfall (1: Females; 2: Fame; and 3: Fortune).

Next week

Beware the Love of Money 4

3. You Cannot Love God And Money

No wonder true spiritual power and great wealth often seem so incompatible Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:23). “It had happened that a certain young ruler of the Jewish people had come to Jesus and asked, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ and Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. “You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not                   bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.” And he said, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth.’ “And when Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘One thing you still lack; sell all that you posses, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven and come follow me!”‘ (Luke 18:18-22). When the young man heard this, he became sorrowful because he was very wealthy. Possibly he had struggled all his life to become rich. Being rich was the thing which most obsessed him. And now Jesus was telling him that to enter God’s Kingdom and inherit eternal life, he had to give it all up: “Dispossess yourself of your wealth and allow me to command you!” The young man was saddened because he loved his money more than he loved Jesus. He presumed he could love Jesus and love his money. He found he couldn’t have it both ways.

4. Covetousness Is Idolatry

“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come… (Col 3:5,6). We usually think of idolatry as bowing down to idols and images. It is much more than that. Moses said of the idolatrous Israelites, “They sacrificed to demons who were not God, to gods whom they have not known, new gods who came lately” (Deut 32:17). For a person to fall down in front of a statue or idol and worship it is to worship the demon that dwells behind the graven image. This is why idolatry is such a serious sin and why God’s wrath comes against it so severely. When Paul says covetousness is idolatry, he is saying the same thing, Covetousness, or greed, is the love of money. When we love money we worship it and the demon behind it. The name Mammon is often used synonymously for money or riches. Consistent love of money brings a person into direct obedience to the dictates of the powerful, demonic, spiritual authority. Being wrongly related to money is what constitutes the danger for a Christian leader. Having money does not. Otherwise, to have money at all would be a sin.

Next week

Beware the Love of Money 3

Money is necessary. With it we buy things we need to live. Many people, because they don’t have enough of it, are hungry, ill-clad and suffer from the ravages of disease. Thus, poverty is a curse, not a blessing. On the other hand, others who have more than they need are often greedy and sometimes cause the suffering of poor people. But money itself doesn’t cause the evil which often results from its use. It is the love of money that is the root of all sorts of evil. The danger isn’t in having money, but in loving it.

1. What We Love, We Will Obey

Jesus said we will obey whatever we love (John 14:15). If we love Him, we will keep His commandments; if we love ourselves, we will obey our fleshly desires and use money for ourselves. It is the well-being and good of whatever we love that determines our decisions. Romans 6:16 says, “You are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death or of obedience resulting in righteousness.” This takes us a step further: Not only do we obey whom we love, we are slaves of whatever, or whomever, we consistently obey.

2. Money Is Controlled By Mammon

Let’s look at  what all this means. Money in the realm of this present evil age is under the control of s wicked principality, whom Jesus calls Mammon. If we love money, we will consistently obey what our love of money dictates to us. If we consistently obey what our love of money says, we will become enslaved to it and come under the control of spiritual wickedness. It isn’t just coincidental that People who love money fall into all sorts of evil. When one loves money he begins to obey the dictates of spiritual wickedness with his flesh. This is why the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. Some years ago a pastor left his wife to take a woman who was already married to an elder in his church. A friend of mine, who has a strong prophetic mantle on his ministry, was weeping in intercession for this fallen church leader. He prayed “Lord, why did Andrew (not the real name) fall into this adultery?” The Lord replied, “Andrew loved money. The love of money is like a taproot that burrows into the sewer of sin and draws up every other kind of evil into the life. This is what happened to Andrew.” The Apostle Paul warned, “But people who long to be rich soon begin to do all kinds of wrong things to get money, things that hurt them and make them evil-minded and finally send them to hell itself. “For the love of money is the first step toward all kinds of sin. Some people have even turned away from God because of their love for it, and as a result have pierced themselves with many sorrows” (1 Tim 6:9,10 tlb).

Next week

Beware the Love of Money 2

Money can have a hook in it! If you don’t relate to it rightly, you’ll be snared by your love for it. Satan, who is the prince of the power of the air, uses money as one of his most effective snares

1. Mammon: A Pagan God.

In Matthew 6:24, Jesus taught about two masters (lords) to choose between: God and Mammon. Mammon was the name of the pagan god of wealth and prosperity. Using the name the way He did, Jesus was also implying there is a demonic principality who controls much of this world’s wealth.

2. Some Will Sell Their Souls

Once when I was in Nicaragua, I was told a very interesting story by one of the believers. He said that a number of people along the east coast” sold their soul to the devil.”

When I asked what he meant by this he explained:

Some who wanted to be rich would pray to the devil and “sell him their soul” in exchange for wealth prosperity. The way the brother explained it, a demonic spirit would actually appear to them as they prayed to the devil.

This would result in their getting rich. But usually in mid-life, around forty-five years of age, the devil would come to claim what they had sold him, their soul.

Those who witnessed the death of such said they would scream, pleading for more years, begging to be spared the flames of Hell. They would bloat up with worms (maggots) and die a horrible death like Herod, who “…was filled with maggots and died” (Acts 12:24 tlbd).

Such are the rewards of those who serve the god, Mammon.

Next week

Beware the Love of Money

Money is more likely to cause the down-fall of a spiritual leader than anything else. Money is necessary to live. It is a great blessing in the work of the Lord. And yet it is responsible for more evil than any other single thing. How can anything be so good and evil at the same time?

In this chapter, I want to share with you biblical principles of how to handle money. God is concerned about how you use the money He puts into your hands, no matter how much or how little. To a very large extent, how you handle money will determine success or failure as a leader.

A. MONEY AND OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

We must learn to be careful about our use of money because through it Satan destroys many leaders.

Money has great spiritual significance. Jesus taught a great deal about money and how it affects a man’s relationship to God.

Possibly the most familiar passage in this regard is, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also…

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon” (Matt 6:19-21,24).

Three things stand out when we read this scripture:

1. Earthly Treasure Is Uncertain

Economic inflation can erode its value and thieves can steal it, be the thief an individual or an agency. Heavenly treasure is the only investment with a guaranteed rate of return for all eternity.

2. Where Are Your Affections?

How we spend our money shows us where our affection is. If we spend all our money only on ourselves, we love ourselves most of all. If we invest 10 percent (1 tithe) or more of our money to spread the gospel, we show we love God and the gospel.

3. You Cannot Serve God And Money

You cannot serve God and money at the same time. “You cannot serve God and Mammon [money].” (But you can serve God with Mammon.)

Either Jesus is your Lord, or money is! It’s that simple. You cannot have it both ways. The direction of your life and the form of your ministry will be determined either by Jesus or by your relationship with money – one or the other!

“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.

“For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang. But flee from these things, you man of God” (1 Tim 6:9-11 niv).

Next week

Money: A Snare of Satan

Failing through sexual sin will destroy your ministry and leave a lasting scar in your soul. Although many fall because of this sin, you don’t have to. Let’s review the steps you can take to guard yourself against this fiery dart of the wicket one:

1.Love Your Wife

The root of most sexual failure is insecurity in your marriage. Maintain your home-life and learn to love your wife as Christ loved the Church. Don’t forget that you promised you would love her for the rest of your life. She won’t!

2. Guard Your Thoughts

Make up your mind right now that you will never tamper with moral uncleanliness. Don’t allow thoughts of immorality or moral compromise to enter your mind. If they do, don’t let them stay there.

3. Don’t Give Satan An Advantage

Stay always from situations in which you are likely to be tempted. Guard yourself from Satan’s wiles.

Don’t let him take advantage of you in counseling sessions, or a at times you deal extensively with the opposite sex. Don’t be afraid of those times, but approach them wisely.

4. Seek Help In difficulties

Let a close friend – someone you trust and respect – be your confidant so you can confide in him when you have difficulty with this area of your life. If you are facing temptation, go to him for prayer and support. It’s foolish to face it alone if you don’t have to.

Jesus doesn’t tempt us. He will always help us in our temptations when we call out to Him. He wants us to be pure and to overcome all wickedness.

G. CONCLUSION

Pray this prayer right now as you commit yourself to keep clean hands and a pure heart in your service for your King:

Dear Lord Jesus – I know you’ve called me into the ministry and You want me to stay pure. I praise and thank You that You never compromised Your morals and that, though You were tempted in every  way – even in this way – You didn’t sin.

When You ask me in abstain from fleshly lusts and sexual misconduct, it isn’t because You want to deny me joy and fulfillment in life. It is because You want me to know truly abundant living.                                                                                                                                                                                                      “Therefore, I receive Your strength and Your righteousness to walk in purity and refuse moral compromise. I will not tamper with sexual uncleanness. I will flee from any form of moral sin. By Your strength and power, I will reject any thought or suggestion of immorality. I choose to walk in Your power and be free from the scars which come from fornication AMEN!