Understanding the Power of Money
“Money is intoxicating. It is an opiate that addicts as easily and as
completely as alcohol and narcotics. Its 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
“A person who can master the rule of money is the person who is
completely mastered by the rule of God!”
Matthew 6:24 NKJV
“No one 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.”
Mammon: comes from an Aramaic word meaning “riches”
Luke 16:10-13 NKJV
“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.”
Things to Understand About Money:
- Satan rules over the world’s economy.
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.”
Satan Controls Mankind By:
- Poverty: 736 million people live in extreme poverty—less than $2 a
day. Approximately 50% of Americans receive some form of
government assistance.
“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, Democracy in America, 1835
Proverbs 22:7 NKJV
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. - Prosperity
“We can stand affliction better than we can prosperity. For in
prosperity, we forget God.” — D.L. Moody
“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 W. Prentis Jr.
Hosea 13:6 NIV
“When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they
became proud, then they forgot me.”
Deuteronomy 8:11-14 NLT
“But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do
not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations,
and decrees that I am giving you today. For when you have become
full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when
your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and
gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! Do not
become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who
rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.”
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 NLT
“He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved
this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ Remember the Lord
your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in
order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an
oath.”
2. God’s economy requires a value shift.
Value Shifts:
- Shift from 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!” - Shift from MATERIALISM TO CONTENTMENT.
1 Timothy 6:6-10 NLT
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we
brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t
take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food
and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into
temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that
plunge them into ruin and destruction. FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY
IS THE ROOT OF ALL KINDS OF EVIL. And some people, craving
money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves
with many sorrows. - Shift from FEAR TO FAITH.
Psalm 37:23-26 NLT
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of
their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord
holds them by the hand. Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I
have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for
bread. The godly always give generous loans to others, and their
children are a blessing.