Blessed | Breaking the Spirit of Mammon

Welcome to REACH KC everybody, it's so great to have you with us. I just want to invite y'all to stand up and join in with us. I've heard stories that have proved your faithfulness, I've seen miracles my mind can't comprehend. There is beauty in what I can understand. Jesus is here, Jesus is here beside of me. No wonder working God, no wonder working God. All the miracles I've seen, too good to happen to me. No wonder working God, you heal because you love. All the miracles we'll see, too good to happen to me. Too good to happen to me, too good to happen to me. I can't resurrect a man with my own hands. But just a mention of your name can raise the dead. So all the glory to the only one who cares. Jesus is here, Jesus is here beside of me. No wonder working God, no wonder working God. All the miracles I've seen, too good to happen to me. No wonder working God, you heal because you love. All the miracles we'll see, too good to happen to me. Too good to happen to me, too good to happen to me. After everything I've seen, too good to happen to me. Too good to happen to me, too good to happen to me. After everything I've seen, too good to happen to me. Too good to happen to me, too good to happen to me. I've seen cancer disappear. I've seen better places for me. But you tell me it can't do it. You tell me it can't do it. I've seen a real life resurrection. I've seen a real life resurrection. I've seen mental health restored.

But you tell me it can't do it. But you tell me it can't do it. I've seen a family reunited. I've seen God and hope returned. But you tell me it can't do it. But you tell me it can't do it. I've seen troubles of deliverance. I've seen addicts finally free. But you tell me it can't do it. But you tell me it can't do it. I've seen cities filled with idols and salvation flood the streets. But you tell me it can't do it. But you tell me it can't do it. I've seen glory fill the nations like the world has never seen. Don't you tell me it can't do it. Because I know that He can. I believe. No wonder working God. No wonder working God. All the miracles I see. Truth and I believe. No wonder working God. You heal because of love. All the miracles we'll see. Truth and I believe. Truth and I believe. ♪ Too good to not believe ♪ ♪ After everything I've seen ♪ ♪ Too good to not believe ♪ ♪ I've seen cancer disappear ♪

♪ I've seen metal plates dissolve ♪ ♪ Yes, I know that He can do it ♪ ♪ Yes, I know that He can do it ♪ ♪ I've seen real life resurrection ♪ ♪ I've seen mental health restored ♪ ♪ Yes, I know that He can do it ♪ ♪ Yes, I know that He can do it ♪ ♪ I've seen bandits reunited ♪ ♪ I've seen guarded doors returned ♪ ♪ Yes, I know that He can do it ♪ ♪ Yes, I know that He can do it ♪ ♪ I've seen troubled souls delivered ♪ ♪ I've seen addicts finally freed ♪ ♪ Yes, I know that He can do it ♪ ♪ Yes, I know that He can do it ♪ ♪ We'll see cities and revival ♪ ♪ And salvation flood the streets ♪ ♪ Yes, I know that He can do it ♪ ♪ Yes, I know that He can do it ♪ ♪ We'll see glory in the nations ♪ ♪ We'll see the world as never seen ♪ ♪ Yes, I know that He can do it ♪ ♪ Yes, I know that He can do it ♪ ♪ I believe, no wonder working God ♪ ♪ No wonder working God ♪ ♪ All the miracles I've seen ♪ ♪ Do good and I believe ♪ ♪ No wonder working God ♪ ♪ Do you because you love ♪ ♪ All the miracles we'll see ♪

♪ Do good and I believe ♪ ♪ Do good and I believe ♪ ♪ Do good and I believe ♪ ♪ After everything I've seen ♪ ♪ Do good and I believe ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Yay! ♪♪ Whoo! Yeah! applause playing in bright rhythm A thousand generations Falling down to worship To sing a song of ages to the land All who've gone before us And all who will believe Will sing a song of ages to the land Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name stands above them all In all thrones and dominions All powers and positions Your name stands above them all And the angels cry Holy All creation cries Holy You are lifted high

Holy Holy forever If you've been forgiven If you've been redeemed Sing a song forever to the land If you walk in freedom If you bear His name Sing a song forever to the land Sing a song forever and amen And the angels cry Holy All creation cries Holy You are lifted high Holy Holy forever ♪ Holy forever ♪ In your people sing ♪ Holy ♪ To the King of kings ♪ Holy ♪ You will always be ♪ Holy ♪ Holy forever ♪ Your name is the highest ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ All thrones in dominion ♪ All powers in position ♪ Your name stands above them all

♪ Your name ♪ Your name is the highest ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ And all thrones ♪ All thrones ♪ And dominions ♪ All powers in position ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ And the angels cry ♪ Holy ♪ All creation cries ♪ Holy ♪ You are lived and high ♪ Holy ♪ Holy forever ♪ In your people sing ♪ Holy ♪ To the King of kings ♪ Holy ♪ You will always be ♪ Holy ♪ Holy forever ♪ In your people sing ♪ Holy ♪ To the King of kings ♪ You are holy ♪ You will always be ♪ Holy ♪ Holy forever

♪ You will always be ♪ Holy ♪ Holy forever Whoo! ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ There is no one, only in Jesus, who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? ♪ There is no one, only in Jesus, who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? ♪ There is no one, only in Jesus, who else is worthy? Who else is worthy?

♪ There is no one, only in Jesus. ♪ ♪ There my Father knows it all, who was and is and is to come, seated on the throne above. ♪ Holy, holy, righteous one who shed his blood, you prove to us the Father's love. ♪ Jesus Christ, we lift it up. ♪ Holy, holy, there my Father knows it all, who was and is and is to come, seated on the throne above. ♪ Holy, holy, righteous one who shed his blood, you prove to us the Father's love. ♪ Jesus Christ, we lift it up. ♪ Holy, holy, there my Father knows it all, who was and is and is to come, seated on the throne above. ♪ Holy, holy, righteous one who shed his blood, you prove to us the Father's love. ♪ Jesus Christ, we lift it up. ♪ Who else is worthy? ♪ Who else is worthy? ♪ There is no one, only in Jesus, who else is worthy? ♪ Who else is worthy? ♪ There is no one, only in Jesus, who else is worthy? ♪ Who else is worthy? ♪ There is no one, only in Jesus, who else is worthy? ♪ Who else is worthy? ♪ There is no one, only in Jesus, ♪ There is no one, only in Jesus, ♪ There is no one, only in Jesus... There is nobody but you. You are the only one that is worthy. You are the only one that is worthy of our praise, of our attention, of everything that we have to offer God. God, let us be thankful. Let us glorify you in our lives, God. May you have your way in this service.

May you have your way in our hearts. May you have our full attention this morning, God. In Jesus' name. Come on, can we give a shout of praise to the Lord this morning? Now, can we give a shout of praise to the Lord this morning? Come on, that's a little bit better. Hey, can you turn to one of your neighbors and just give him a high five, a fist bump, a handshake? Say, hey, it is so good to see you. ♪ How many of us... us are glad to be back at church this morning. We missed one week and everybody just thinks we shut down, you know? And it's like, I didn't know what we were going to do, you know? I was like, we come back next week, you know? It's like, it's okay. Like, we will still be here. You know, one of the things that I've been thinking about as we've been nearing this point is we're getting ready to send a team to Burundi, Africa. And, you know, when we go over there, it used to be, did anybody go to Winter Jams yesterday? A few people, like three people, y'all ain't even really Christian in here, man. Like, I'm just kidding, I didn't go either. But when you go to some of these concerts, sometimes there's an organization called Compassion International, and they will come in and in intermission while everybody's getting nachos and popcorn, they will all of a sudden have you adopt like five kids and you feel bad, and so you adopt them and then you leave and you're like, what did I just do? You know, I literally just adopted all these kids and I don't even know what to do. Well, sometimes I think when I talk about Burundi, that's the feel that we get. Because it's so intangible of what it is, but we are actually sending a team over there and it's crazy because it really is like third world type stuff and you feel this feeling to where it's like, you don't understand it until you get boots on the ground there. And then you see what is happening in Burundi and people are literally living

in mud huts, they're living in, I mean, it's like national geographic stuff. And right behind where we go to this campgrounds that we go to, there is a town called Kabazi. And in Kabazi, there is this community of people that live in these mud huts. And what we get the opportunity to do is for $5,000, we get the opportunity to build a home of hope. And that home literally provides hope to a family that has never lived in a house, never lived in any kind of structure other than a mud hut. And I'm going to have a video here in a second after we take up offering that I want to show you and just let you see the reality. And this was our team that took this video. And it just really helps open it up. And so this year, as we're getting ready to go and send a team here in like 11 days or something like that, we're going to take $10,000 over there. And we're going to build two houses for for homes of hope. Amen. Because I want and we'll get footage and we'll get to show it and we'll get to brag about what we did for the Lord. Amen. And we'll get to know what that that we our investment went. And so when we give to kingdom builders, especially the next two weeks, when we give to kingdom builders, that's what it's going for. And my hopes is that in the next two weeks, we can raise 10 grand that we can send over there and just know that that we're doing the Lord's work that lives are being changed lives are being impacted. And so when you give, I always say kingdom builders is above and beyond what we normally give, right? It's not, let's not take our tithe and designate it to Africa. That's not that's not what we're asking. We're just saying, hey, would you be willing to sacrifice a little bit so that we can see lives? And so you can give today you can see there's multiple ways that you can give and you can earmark that kingdom builders and it will go towards those homes of hope for the next couple of weeks. And so God, we just thank you. Lord, we give you praise. We give you honor. God, we pray that you would just go forth with what you want to do go forth and moving your kingdom forward God not just here in Kansas City. Sometimes we can get so complacent in our own world in our own space God that we we don't look outside of our circle and so God move our hearts convict our hearts this morning to move us toward who you have called us to be God in Jesus name. Amen. That's the home right there that we built last year.

One of them. That's the family that received it. Could you imagine being that happy? That's the difference that we get to make. And it just warms my heart to just be able to know that we can be a part of what God is doing, not just here, but beyond, because our mission is to reach the one that is far from God and help them become a passionate follower of Jesus. And so if that is far from here, then hey, let's do it. If it's right here, then let's do it. Amen. Amen. Well, hey, I just want to welcome you home. If you are here, I am just so thankful that you have been here and that God is doing something in your life, because I don't believe that you are here by mistake today. I believe that everybody is here by purpose, by design. God called you here. Maybe a friend invited you here, and you've never been here before. I believe that God has something for your life this morning, and he wants to, oh, radically change. Boy, look. Brandon, don't. Ain't nothing in it, dog. But I believe truly that God has brought each one of us here for a purpose, for a reason, so that he could impact each one of our lives. And so we just want to welcome you home. If you haven't felt welcome home already, then I apologize. I hope that somebody is shaking your hand, give you a high five, a hug, something, you know, a coffee. And so we are just thankful that you are here. Well, we are in a series that is titled Blessed.

And I believe that, you know, God has blessed us so that we could be a blessing. I believe that what he has given us, he has given us so that we can be a blessing to the kingdom of God, that we can be, I don't know about you, but I personally have enjoyed this series so far. I like talking about this stuff because there is so much good content in this topic. And I believe that if we can grasp some of these topics, that it would literally change our lives. It would change our marriages. It would change our relationships. I mean, it would change everything that is in our life. I believe that it would even change the generations after us, because if you don't understand this principle, that our kids, there is more caught than that is taught. And they see what we do. They hear what we do. They see how we act, how we respond, how we respond to the Lord and what we do. And if we can see, if our kids can see how we put God first in every area of our life, then they will automatically, by default, typically put God first in those same areas of their life. And so when they grow up, one of the best ways to change the generations after us that is coming up is to show them how to do it. It says, show them, teach them the way of the Lord and they will not depart from it. Show them what it is. And I think that this is part of it. And so today, I want to look at a unique word in scripture that some may, over time, had a hard time understanding, may not have understood what it really means, this one word. And it's a word that many of us never use, right? One that can't be understood without understanding where it actually came from. And so today, I want to talk from the topic, breaking the spirit of mammon. Breaking the spirit of mammon. The word mammon is only used in the Bible four times.

Jesus used it three times in Luke when he's telling this passage, and then the only other time that the word mammon is used is in the same story that is parallel to this one in Luke that is over in Matthew. And so let's jump in this morning into Luke 16. And we're going to be in verses 9 through 13. And I want to just kind of look through this and dig into what some of this really means because there's so much more in this. purpose than what we even thank and so Luke 16 it says this and I say to you make friends for yourself by unrighteous mammon right and he says that when you fail they not it but they may receive you into an everlasting home he who is faithful in what is little 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 who will commit to you your trust the true riches and if you have not been faithful in what is another man's who will give you what is your own 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 now this is the only place in scripture that you will literally see this word in this passage or in the Bible this is the only one there is no other phrase like this in the Bible there is no other phrase where Jesus actually contrasts serving God with something else so clearly there is no other passage he said you cannot there is no possible way in history there is no possible way in this life there is no possible way in your world that you can serve God and mammon so whatever the heck mammon is has got to be a big deal because if you never see in the Bible anything else that is contrasted to this it has to be a big deal and so it has such profound spiritual consequences I think it is worth our time as Christians to dig in and gain an understanding of what mammon truly is amen and so I want to look at three questions today to help us reveal in our minds what this really truly is and so the first question is this what is mammon it's money see that's what we think and most people would say that it's actually money but the answer is

actually deeper than that mammon is actually an Aramaic word that comes from riches it means riches which actually came from a Syrian God that was the God of riches or the God of money and if Jesus's followers during this time was familiar with this God which most likely they were his choice of the word mammon in place of the common term money was very strategic and he wanted them to learn that there was actually more at play here and this is huge because this picture literally helps us understand that this is not just some concept but this is very serious he said you cannot serve God and mammon and interestingly enough scholars suggest that the Syrians got this word the God of money from the Babylonians now I'm gonna take you on a little Bible lesson today and so if you're taking notes I'd encourage you take notes because there is some actual really good content in this but the Syrians got the God of money from the Babylonians which is confirmed by the word mammon actually being used in Hebrew writings during the Babylonian exile right and and is what I'm trying to say is that there is actually a connotation with this word that goes beyond money to actually a concept of worship and it talks about worship and it's like are we worshiping God or are we worshiping the God of money are we worshiping God and so let's take this connotation even one step further and think about Babylon because if it came from the Babylonians right then let's look at what Babylon really is the word Babylon actually comes from the root Babel like the city of Babel right and Babel translates as confusion but if you add the suffix to it that is on so Babylon you have that suffix which translates as as sown or planted Babylon literally means sown in confusion now if you're a Bible person and and and you probably already know this if you are what makes the city of Babel so important in the Bible it's that it was where humanity attempted right to make it without God and become like God because they determined to reach heaven itself without God through their own efforts And so God actually had to confuse the language of the people. This is where we got different languages through ethnicities and geographical locations

because the people thought that they could become like God and they had gotten so smart that God had to distract them by confusing them with their language. And so when Jesus talks about mammon, he is actually talking about something used for the purpose of making it without God. Now it's literally something worshipped other than God by definition that seems to accomplish, catch this, that seems to accomplish the same things God promises to accomplish. The spirit or the attitude or purpose behind mammon is to use something material to secure oneself physically and spiritually. Hear me, mammon pursues the promises of God without pursuing God himself. It's to obtain what we think the promises of God can give us. Now there's this message that is popular today in the Christian world and it's this thing that's called prosperity gospel, right? And the prosperity message said, hey, God wants to bless you in your life, he wants to give you cars, clothes, and all of these different things and watches and easy living and if you just give your life to the Lord that everything is going to be hunky-dory and it's this mindset that you get to give so that you get something. But the problem with that message, I've said this in other messages, the problem with that message is that it works selfishness and greed back into our lives instead of out of it, right? It's a mammon message, right? And the problem with the message is that when you go in to get something and you don't get what you want, you end up despising God. Case in point, how many people have ever came to church, it didn't work out as they thought, they quit coming to church. It didn't have anything to offer them. It's like, well, I tried that, it didn't fix all my problems. It's because we're coming in to get something. We're coming in to see what God can do in our life, see if he can change all of the stuff that we broke, see if we can change all of the years. I mean, I'm 41 years old and it would be ridiculous for me to think that I could come in and commit my life to the Lord and ask him to fix 41 years of problems that I've created in an instant. What if it took 41 more years of walking this thing out in order for him to actually fix the things or undo the things that I've done? And here's the reason that people get

frustrated, because they're loyal to Maimon and not to Jesus. But Jesus said, if you are loyal to Maimon, you can't be loyal to God. It's impossible, he said, because Maimon, the god of money, seeks to take God's place. It seeks to do the things that only God can do in our life. It promises us to give us everything that only God can truly give us. Think about it, promises, Maimon promises us what? Identity, security, placement, significance, happiness, joy. All these things is only what God can give you. It is only, here's the truth, is that Maimon never delivers on its promise. It never delivers. When you think about it, Maimon is nothing more than the system of this fallen world that stands in sharp opposition to what God in his way says. For example, Maimon says buy and sell. God says sow and reap. Maimon says cheat and steal. God says give and you will receive. It's complete. Did you know that Maimon is described as the primary strategy of the Antichrist in Revelation 13? Go and read Revelation 13. I had to check myself before I riggedy-wrecked myself whenever I said this because it is what it's saying is the beast is trying to take control. This is what Revelation says in 13, that the beast is trying to take control and he does so by controlling people's ability to buy and sell. When people take the sign of the beast, it is Maimon in action because if you don't bow or you don't take the mark of the beast when the Antichrist comes, you won't be able to provide for your family. And now all of the sudden, you see it is this contrast. All throughout our lives, the God of money or Maimon is trying to get us to bow to it, to serve Maimon, to trust Maimon, but Jesus says no, you can't do that. God is the only one one who can provide for you what you really need. God is the only one. He is the only one who can provide joy. He is the only one who can provide peace. He is the only one who can provide love. This is not stuff that does, but Mammon says that if you had more money people would listen to you. You wouldn't have stress, your marriage would be better, or here's a big one, if you had more money you would actually begin to tithe. You would actually begin to help people. I would actually, if I seen somebody in need, I would actually do it. Listen, Jesus never told

anyone they needed more money. Never, never did you see a leper or a lame person in Scripture or some blind man come up to Jesus and say, Jesus I need, I need help, and he said, you just need more money my man, you need to go get a job. I mean, I encourage you to go get a job, because here's a word for the man right here, if you go back in Scripture all the way to Genesis, he gave, he gave man a job before he gave him a woman. I'm just saying, that'll change your life right there. Only women are clapping, and what is tough is the fact that we get influenced by this ideology and not even realize it, right? We think either God needs to come through, God you need to show up. Our prayers become consumed with asking God for more stuff and more money, and God this will solve all of my problems when we're actually praying to the God of mammon, but we ain't praying to God himself, because if we was praying to God himself, we would leave whatever problems that we have in his hands, and then he would determine what was going to change our problems, because we think that it's money, but it's not money. It's not money that's gonna fix your problems. We think this, we think either God, you need to come through, or someone needs to give me some money, and if somebody gives me some money, then God I'm cool until I have another problem, and then I'll come back to you, and then that's when my prayer life will become significant in my life, because I only come to you whenever I need something, and so either you need to show up, and then we get in this reality of a relationship tiff with God, and say either you need to do what you need to do, or I'm gone, and then our relationship with God becomes contingent on our resources of money that is supplied to us, and we think that our relationship with God is non-existent if he doesn't provide for us, but what if we've actually been praying to a different spirit than what we even thought that we was praying to, because if there is something, hear me, we defy mammon when we recognize money can't do what only God can do. We defy it. It's no wonder Jesus said that you cannot serve God and mammon, because the spirit of mammon stands in direct opposition to the Spirit of God. It's just what it is, and it's something that we have to teach our kids about what it is, because money can't always fix everything. It just

can't, and we get stuck in this mindset, because many times we're under the pressure that we thought that it would come through, and it's actually mammon speaking to us that we need two things to happen. God, either we need you to show up and miraculously change our circumstances, or I need somebody to pull up in my driveway with a truckload of money. Come on, if I could just win the lottery, I'd be alright. How many times have we said that? If I could just get a promotion at work, I would be alright. If I could just get somebody to give me this, we would be alright, but notice how the spirit of mammon always tries to position itself as a substitute for God. You either need God to work a miracle right now, or you need more money, and let's be honest, that is simply a lie. We need God, period. That's it. We just need God, and when we start thinking that most of our problems can be solved by having more money, it is a sign that we are under the influence of the spirit of mammon. Here's my second question. Is money evil? One dollar, Bob. I don't know, one dollar, Bob. You know, I mean, put me in it. Jesus uses the word unrighteous mammon in our passage, and what he is Talking about is a spirit if mammon isn't a spirit. How come it can talk I? Bet you as soon as the offering time comes up at church you started hearing voices Huh Here goes this pastor Here you go. Oh, yep. See this is the part I hate about church This is the part see see they always talk about money This is just it just you always hear voices and mammon is literally a spirit that rests on money Can I tell you this that all money has a spirit on it? I'm not even trying to be hyper religious. Everything's a spirit I'm just talking to you straight from scripture all money in your account right now Either has the spirit of God on it, or it has the spirit of mammon on it You want to know the way that God's spirit gets on it according to scripture No, you probably don't but some of you might you give the first 10% of it to the house of God and

God redeems the rest of it from underneath the spirit of this world, which is the spirit of mammon This is why I believe that we should tithe on all of our income Not just our personal or business or whatever because it is literally the only way to get God's spirit on our finances So money actually isn't evil. See a lot of people say money is evil. That's what the Bible says No, you don't read your Bible You don't read your Bible if you think that that's what it says because money is actually neutral You can do good with money or you can do bad with money Some people say well the Bible says the root of all or the money is the root of all evil No, that's not what it says. Here's what it says. I knew you would question what I said so I brought it to you today first Timothy 6 chapter 2 or I mean chapter 6 verse 10 for the love of money or the worship of money is the root of all kinds of evil and some people while craving it or in other words underneath the spirit or influence of Mammon have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows Therefore money actually ain't Evil, here's what I think he's saying loving and serving the God of mammon is the root of all evil Let's jump back into a verse that we read earlier that may have been confusing if you caught it Luke 16 verse 9 and he said and I say to you make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon and when you fail They may receive you into an everlasting home now I have to admit when I first read this passage, I misunderstood it I thought of righteous or unrighteous mammon as just money like we talked about a minute ago Not actually as a spirit of greed. And so when it says make friends, I thought it was saying make friends with money Right, like basically do favors for people and when you're in trouble, they'll pay you back Now we all know that's a flat-out lie Okay, so we know that ain't what scripture was saying I mean shoot if everybody paid me back what they owed me I wouldn't even I wouldn't even have to worry about nothing like I'd be debt-free I would have okay. I mean my house would be paid off I mean, it would be great, but that isn't what he's saying He's saying hey take the unrighteous money and redeem it by putting the first part of it into the house of God

And in other words use the money that Satan uses for evil, but use it for good Because when you do Jesus said that when you fail Which means die like when you physically die, so you have to go and research some of the words It says that when all you have is gone they will become They will welcome you into your internal home and so when you invest in the kingdom of God and people get saved like when we support the local church or we give the Kingdom builders or we help build homes of hope and baroondi Africa. Come on somebody We find brothers and sisters in heaven that we didn't even know Welcoming it welcoming us because of what we gave it means that when we fail when we die And we go to our eternal home that there will be people that welcome us You will have an entourage Applauding you walking in and saying that's the person that made me become here that's the person that I can welcome them here because I was welcomed here because they gave and my life was Impacted by the offering that they gave and we find these people that is in heaven We didn't even know welcoming us. In other words, we can use unrighteous mammon for righteous purposes It's amazing listen God is the only one who can take unrighteous mammon and turn it into eternal riches. He's the only one. This explains why the enemy of our souls works so hard to corrupt and distort our thoughts of money. Why? Because the devil knows that God can take temporal money and turn it into eternal souls. Why would the enemy not want to confuse us about money? Why would the enemy not want to try to give us to not give? Why would the spirit of mammon not try to influence? Because he knows that this little bit of change that we got can represent souls in heaven if we do with it what God has asked us to do. He knows the more money that we give to kingdom ministries the more souls are going to be saved

and the more kingdom of God advances and the more kingdom of darkness is going to fail. Listen, hell is literally being robbed because of our tithes and offerings and Satan knows it. He don't like it. He literally hates it. When our tithes and offerings go, it's plundering. The devil hates spirit-led giving because it simultaneously diminishes his kingdom and makes us more like our heavenly father all at the same time. There was a pastor that told this story about his enthusiasm for sharing the word after he met Jesus and he talked about how he struggled with shyness in life but that when he got saved he wanted to witness but he struggled with the initial connection part and so he decided he would try something at restaurants. He decided that he would give big tips in order to open up some dialogue and he would leave those tips with some literature about Jesus and then he would slide a $50 tip in this literature at a restaurant that he frequented and the first time he did this he left it without much of a conversation but when he came back to that restaurant the waitress who served him before pulled him aside and said hey, I read that book that you gave me and I gave my life to Jesus and I talked to my husband on the phone and he gave his life to Jesus as well

and he asked, this is why I wanted to tell this story here and he asked why she talked to him over the phone instead of talking to him in person and she said because my husband is in prison. Are you following me? Generosity helped open the door to eternity. Note, Christians, Christian literature with a dollar tip on a $100 tab would not have done the same thing. Don't pray over your meal and then not leave a tip. Don't try to witness to your waitress or waiter because they dress seductively or whatever it is and you want to try and then because you have bitterness in your heart you don't tip them. That doesn't make sense. It actually is contrary to the word of God. It's the spirit of mammon influencing you thinking that you can rob her from something and she'll get what you're trying to give her. No, it won't. No, it won't. It's actually an influence. When I submit myself and my resources all of my resources to God I choose to serve him instead of mammon. And if you're writing down notes, right this leads us to our third and final question which I, what should I do with my money? What should I do with it?

Well, you say, is it evil? You say, is all this? What should I do with it? What should I do with it? Now, here's what I want some of us to thank because we may be thinking well, I got too little of this unrighteous mammon anyways and you, I shouldn't even be here. I shouldn't even be listening to this message. And if that is your way of thanking that I have too little to even be concerned with this living differently can I tell you something lovingly? In Jesus's word, you'll never have more. Because verse 10 says he who is faithful with little will be faithful with much. If God really puts resources into our hands for a purpose I don't think it is wise for us to belittle that gift no matter the amount of it. Not when he gives it to us for a purpose. For some of us, one of the most spiritual things that we can do during this series and we're actually ending this series right now, this week and some of the things that we could do most the best thing that we could do is make some changes on how we spend our money. Some of us never have enough because we've already spent everything that comes in. The money runs out before the month does, amen? I mean, can we say amen, you know? I get it, you know, we're waiting on the next paycheck, you know, to be able to pay last month's bills, you hear me?

And we're trying to constantly play catch-up, but some of us have so much consumer debt that we are actually ruled by it. So we can no longer make financial choices for ourselves because we are so served by our stuff for so long that we actually feel like a servant to it. We actually become a slave, and if that is you, I want to challenge you to make spiritual decisions to stop your habit of consumer debt. To stop your habit of just spending more because you can get it. Spending more because you can put it on a credit card. Spending more because you can just get another car because they'll approve you even at 24% interest at a buy-here-pay-here lot. Now you're paying $400 a week for a car that ain't worth $400 a month. People's like, amen, it's sitting outside in the parking lot, I'm hip. I'm hip. I'm not taking shots, I promise. But we think that getting something like that will answer the solution that we're trying to find, and it's really not because then what happens is when that beater breaks down, we still owe $3,000 on it, and now we gotta go to another buy-here-pay-here lot and get another car when we owe money on the last car, and then that beater breaks down. It's like I just can't get ahead, and I don't have it to give. I don't have it to help. I don't have it because we have wrapped ourselves so much. Because how frustrating is it when God puts burdens on your heart for people and ministries and opportunities at the church, and you have nothing to give because it's already going to collectors? It's frustrating. See, this is more of a discipleship lesson, more of a stewardship lesson of we need to manage our finances. Maybe some of the best things that some of us could do is go through a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University and say, God, teach me how to spend my money. Teach me how to do it because I want to provide for my family better. I want to do what you've asked me to do. I want to be a good steward, and the reason that some of us have so little is because we've already given our much to other things. And the Bible says because of that, we can't be trusted with more. Now, part of the process of being faithful with the little things has to be developing a long-term plan to free up ourselves, to free up our resources. Like, we've got to be faithful with what we have, and our bank account should reflect that faith in God everywhere that it's at. And the good news is this, is that no matter where our money has gone in the past or what size our bank account is now, that we can begin to give and spend and save with new purposes in mind. We can. And even if you don't have much, you can experience change by giving and spending with eternity in mind. Verse 12 in Luke 16 says this, and if you have not been faithful, what is another man's who will give you what is your own? What about those who have a lot and aren't faithful, God? Well, for some of them, that's how the enemy distracts them. They serve wealth instead, right?

And to them, Jesus said, what is it worth to lose your soul and gain this world? What is it? Now, there's a lot of different applications, but let me give you one, right? Because we've been talking about tithe, and we've mentioned that word a couple of times, and we've learned that God owns it all. And he reserves the tithe and said that this belongs to me. It's mine if you take it. It's stolen. It's consecrated. It's holy. It's set apart for the Lord. That's just what it is. Could the application be if you aren't faithful with the 10, who will give you the 90? If you aren't faithful with what little bit we have, who will give us more? Luke 16, 11 says this. This is the passage that we read. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in this unrighteous mammon, who will commit to you true riches? What are true riches? True riches in this story is not more money. True riches are people. Because as you look around, you can turn around, you can look all around this room, and you see the only thing that will last for eternity is one another. It's the people that you love. that is sitting around you. That's what lasts for eternity. There was a guy who had this saying that I heard about that said, it's gonna burn. I mean, you can literally drive by a nice house. It's gonna burn, you know? And he's right, it is all going to burn. And one day it's all gonna burn, all but souls. Souls last forever.

Let me say it another way. Heaven is being populated and hell is being plundered because of our offerings. That is why it is so important for me to give and why I see it as a spiritual act because when I give, people are getting saved. I'm literally investing in true riches. God is taking something that was unrighteous mammon, but as I give, he is transforming it into true riches. The unrighteous mammon is redeemed through my giving. So it's not saying that unrighteous mammon is always bad, but it has to be redeemed. Like we talked about, I almost said last week, but we wasn't here last week. So the last week that we was here, when we talked about how Jesus was the perfect gift that was actually what redeemed the unclean thing. And so it has to be redeemed. And when my daughters get older and meet a guy, so basically when they're like 35, maybe 40, you know what I'm saying? When they come and they meet a guy, I'm gonna set up guidelines with him, right? Like I'm gonna set up these guidelines because there's like this principle in my life because I wanna see if he'll honor me. And here's why. Because if he won't honor their father, he won't honor my daughters. I promise you.

If they won't honor him, they won't honor me. That's for some of the young men here, amen? Like that was for you. You can take that home. And so I've got it all planned out, right? When he comes up to the house, first of all, how I'm going to notice him, I'm gonna get a real closeup look, probably like this. And I'm gonna watch him walk up to the house. And when he gets in, I'm probably gonna show him a gun collection. I'm gonna set some strict rules for him to follow and see if he can follow those rules. And I'll give him the green light after to date my daughter. I heard a pastor tell a story. They were all the youth in the room at a youth group. And he said, they said that the guy said, or the kid said, I bet you your dad even checks the tithing records of the guys that you date. And they said, he does. And they're like, are you serious? And they're like, yes, listen, I know this. Why wouldn't I check the tithing records of a young man that wants to date my daughter? Let me say it another way. Why would I give my daughter to a thief? Why would I give my daughter, if he can't handle money, let me tell you, he definitely can't handle my kids, okay?

I created a monster I didn't even realize I was doing when I owned my own business for so many years. Now I can't even keep up. I'm like, you can't do that. Well, you used to do it. I know I used to do it, but I can't do it no more like that. Well, why not? You got that card that you use. And I'm like, that card ain't got no money on it. They're like, but I like filet. I said, I bought sirloin. Well, this is tough. Well, life is tough. He can't handle money. He can't handle my daughters. Listen, my kids are my world. They're absolutely priceless. Let me ask you this. Why would I give true riches to someone who can't even handle unrighteous mammon? That can't even handle money. Let me say it another way. Why would the heavenly father, who has all power to bless you, why would he bless you when we don't even steward what we already have? Because when he's looking at our lives, this is what he's seeing. He's saying, hey, I can trust you with this because I've watched what you've done.

I've watched what you've done. Watch what you do. I see how you handle your relationships. I see how you handle your finances I see how you do this and I see how you do that. Why would God trust us with more? When we can't even handle what we've got It just doesn't make sense so if I could have everybody stand with me for just a moment Hi, thanks for watching us. We're so grateful that you've been a part of our church We don't take it lightly that God is using unlikely people from overlooked places to do Extraordinary things for the kingdom of God and you are a part of that