Mastering the Power of Money
Luke 16:1-13 NKJV
He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’ Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to 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.”
Some Thoughts:
1. People in the world are wiser with money than people of God.
Luke 16:8 NKJV
“For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.”
2. God uses faithfulness with money to determine how much He can trust you.
Luke 16:11 NKJV
“Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?”
3. How you handle money determines which God you serve.
Luke 16:13 NKJV
“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.”
“Money is intoxicating. It is an opiate that addicts as easily and as completely as alcohol and narcotics. It’s power to change us is close to that of Jesus Christ! Men trade their lives for it. Women trade their bodies for it. Families will trade their children for it. People will trade their church for it. Nations are ruled by it and destroyed by it. Most crimes are motivated by it. And most people are brought under its control.” — Patrick Morley, Man in the Mirror
Mammon: comes from an Aramaic word that essentially means “RICHES”
Mark 4:19 NKJV
“… and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
Some Signs the Spirit of Mammon Controls a Person’s Life:
1. You’re constantly living under the control of debt.
2. You’re never content with what you have.
3. You’re not faithful to tithe or give to God’s purposes.
4. You’re driven more by the pursuit of success than significance.
5. You live in a constant state of worry and fear about money.
How to Master the Power of Money:
1. Understand there are two economies.
World’s economy: ruled by Satan
God’s economy: ruled by God
Luke 4:5-6 NIV
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.”
Proverbs 22:7 NKJV
“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.”
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largesse out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result that a democracy always collapses because of loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.”
— Alexis de Tocqueville (French sociologist), Democracy in America, 1835
“The historical cycle seems to be from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to apathy, from apathy to dependency, and from dependency back to bondage once more.” — Henning Prentis Jr. (American industrialist)
Difference Between World’s Economy and God’s Economy:
World: Curse God: Blessing
World: Fear God: Faith
World: Shortage God: Abundance
World: Greed God: Contentment
World: Dependency on man God: Dependency on God
How to Master the Power of Money:
2. Make a value shift.
Some Value Shifts God Has Taken Me Through:
1. Living for my purposes to living for God’s purposes
2. Building my kingdom to building God’s kingdom
Luke 16:9 AMP
“And I tell you [learn from this], make friends for yourselves [for eternity] by means of the wealth of unrighteousness [that is, use material resources as a way to further the work of God], so that when it runs out, they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings.”
Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on 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 and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
3. Ownership to stewardship
1 Chronicles 29:11-14 NLT
“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. EVERYTHING IN THE HEAVENS AND ON EARTH IS YOURS, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. WEALTH AND HONOR COME FROM YOU ALONE, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! BUT WHO AM I, AND WHO ARE MY PEOPLE, THAT WE COULD GIVE ANYTHING TO YOU? EVERYTHING WE HAVE HAS COME FROM YOU, AND WE GIVE YOU ONLY WHAT YOU FIRST GAVE US!”
How to Master the Power of Money:
3. Believe in the power of redemption.
