We want to turn today to a verse
of scripture that tells us how we can
be delivered from the power of mammon and
serve God with all of our heart.
Money is a wonderful servant, but a terrible
master.
Like fire, a wonderful servant when kept in
control on the gas stove, a terrible master
when it's allowed to burn down the house.
Jesus said in Matthew 22 and verse 21,
Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,
and to God the things that are God's.
Teaching us, first of all, to be righteous
in money matters, and second, to be faithful
in money matters.
To be righteous is, first of all, to
give back to other people what is rightfully
theirs.
If you have borrowed money, return it.
If you have cheated, return it.
If you have cheated the income tax department
or the customs department, give it back.
If you don't do it, you'll be dragging
a chain on your feet all your life.
You'll never be able to run the Christian
race, I'll tell you that.
Settle it now.
It's better to get God's blessings than to
hang on to money which is not yours.
Do you know that if you have even
one rupee which is unrighteously earned with you,
that money will be a curse to you
and to your children?
You will not be ready for the coming
of the Lord if you have not settled
matters down on this earth.
No, we must not have one rupee with
us which has been unrighteously earned.
And concerning this matter which the Bible says
in Romans 13, verse 8, owe nothing to
anyone.
We should avoid all borrowing as far as
possible.
Avoid getting into debt.
It's a bad habit.
Be happy with what God gives you and
live within that income.
The advertisements in the papers say, buy now
and pay later.
That's the surest way to get into debt.
Let me give you another motto.
Save now and buy later when you have
enough money with you.
Now, I want to make something clear here.
Many people get loans from their offices for
buying a vehicle, a two-wheeler, or a
building loan to build a house.
Now, there's nothing wrong in taking a loan
like that because for that money you have
something to show, like a vehicle or a
house.
And if you are unable to repay that
money, they will take back the house and
take back the vehicle.
So, in that sense, you are not in
debt at all.
So, that is all right.
But when you take money to spend on
something that disappears, for example, for a wedding,
the slavery of believers to mammon is seen
most clearly at weddings.
There you can see the covetousness and the
greed and the honor-seeking displayed unashamedly.
You consider the dowry system practiced not only
by unbelievers, but by believers in almost every
denomination.
Those who ask for a dowry before deciding
whether this is the girl God wants me
to marry are a disgrace to the name
of Jesus Christ.
And they are certainly not His disciples.
How do you find out God's will?
Whether this is the girl whom God wants
you to marry?
By finding out whether her father can give
you so much money?
You are serving mammon.
And it doesn't matter if your pastor or
your priest says it's okay.
God's word does not encourage it.
If you were to ask Jesus, what would
you say?
What would Jesus tell you when you prayed?
Would Jesus tell you, go and ask Him
for some more dowry?
Can you imagine the Lord Jesus saying such
a thing?
Then where are you getting that advice from?
You are getting that advice from unconverted people.
We must not even expect a dowry when
it comes to marriage.
No.
Consider also the great waste of money there
is at many wedding receptions.
Now there's nothing wrong in having a good
wedding reception, if you can afford it.
Jesus Himself made extra wine for people at
a wedding reception.
But I know many believers who have borrowed
money in order to have such a grand
reception and they remain in debt for years.
Isn't that a stupid way to start a
marriage?
That's evil.
It's far better in such a case to
have a simple reception.
Don't compete with some other family who had
a grand reception for their wedding and borrow
money to show that you are also able
to have such a grand reception.
You may say, but if I have a
simple reception, what will others say?
Why not ask yourself, what will God say?
Are you more afraid of man's opinion or
God's?
Do you think what God wants you to
start your married life in debt?
We must never adulterate the message of Christ
in the Christian church.
This is our standard.
We will not get into debt as far
as possible.
Now there may be situations when in an
emergency you have to borrow money from somebody.
You know, emergency situations which you didn't anticipate.
But then you must seek to return that
as soon as possible.
The word of God is very clear in
Romans 13 verse 8.
O, nothing to anyone.
Be content with what you have.
Don't be in competition with any other believer.
Once you have learned to be righteous in
money matters, you go on to being faithful.
What does it mean to be faithful?
Render to God what is God's.
That's the second thing he said.
What is God's?
Many people will say 10%.
Well, in the Old Testament it was 10%.
In the New Testament, Jesus said, if you
don't forsake all that you have, you cannot
be my disciple.
How much is all?
All means 100%.
When you say, give to God what is
God's, he wants 100%.
What would you think of a wife who
works and tells her husband, I'll give you
10% of my income, the other 90
% I'm giving to somebody else.
Is that a good partnership type of relationship?
No.
In the Old Testament, the people were not
married to God like we are to Christ.
They were servants.
Servants can give 10% to their master.
That's okay.
But we're not servants.
We are a bride.
We are the wife.
We have got a joint account.
Not separate accounts.
Masters and servants don't have joint accounts.
They have separate accounts.
But a husband and wife have a joint
account.
Like Jesus said to the father in John
17 verse 10, All that is mine is
thine and all that is thine is mine.
That's a joint account.
And that's what we say also as Christians.
Lord, all that is mine is yours, not
10%.
And you know what he says to me?
All that is mine is yours too.
Isn't that wonderful?
That you give your little 10 paise to
God and he gives you his millions.
Isn't it wonderful to have a joint account
with God?
But you can't have a joint account with
God if you give 10%.
You have to give everything.
You have to say, Lord, first of all,
everything that I have belongs to you in
any case.
1 Corinthians 10 verse 26 says, The earth
is the Lord's.
And everything that the earth contains is the
Lord's.
Have you read that in 1 Corinthians 10
verse 26?
All the houses, all the lands, all the
gold, all the silver, everything on earth belongs
to God.
Once you recognize that, you don't think you
are doing God a great favor when you
give everything to Him.
No, you are giving what belongs to Him.
Have you earned much?
Has God given you intelligence, ability, qualifications, and
capabilities and talents to earn a lot of
money, whether in business or in a profession
or whatever?
Don't forget Deuteronomy 8 verse 18.
It is the Lord who gives you power
to make money.
Don't ever forget that.
It is the Lord who gives you power
to make money.
You could have been paralyzed.
You could have been retarded.
You could have been sick.
You'd have earned nothing.
You could have been stupid.
Don't ever forget that all the money you've
earned in your life, God helped you to
do it.
So, your money is not your own.
Every way you look at it, it's not
yours.
Now, that doesn't mean you have to take
all your income and give it for God's
work.
No.
That's not what I mean.
We give it to Him, first of all,
because it belongs to Him, and secondly, because
we love Him.
And so, we say, Lord, this is yours.
Now, tell me what I can spend on
myself.
Do you think God doesn't want you to
live in a decent house?
Do you think He wants you to live
in a slum?
That's not true.
I don't believe it.
Jesus didn't live in a slum.
Jesus didn't live in a dirty slum.
His house in Nazareth was not a dirty
slum.
And God wants you to live with proper
food, clothing, and house and education for your
children.
He wants you to spend on all these
things.
There's nothing wrong in all these things.
So, to give 100% to God doesn't
mean to give it all to God's work
and to live on the streets.
No.
But to recognize that I'm a steward.
I'm only a manager handling somebody else's money.
And though you earned it, you recognize it's
God's, but I want to use it faithfully,
recognizing all this is God's.
That's the only way to be detached from
mammon.
That's the only way to be delivered from
the power of mammon in your life.
Jesus said in Luke 16, verse 13, If
you have not been faithful in the use
of unrighteous mammon, Luke 16, verse 10, 11
onwards, that whole section.
If you have not been faithful in the
use of unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the
true riches to you?
You know, if you're not faithful, we're not
talking about righteousness here.
We already finished with righteousness.
To be faithful means you say, Lord, I
don't want to waste any money.
I don't want to spend unnecessarily on myself.
I want to be wise in what I
spend.
I don't want to be luxurious.
I want to live simply so that I
can have money to give for your work,
to serve you, to live for you.
And when we are faithful, you know what
God gives us in exchange?
The true riches of heaven.
Revelation on his word, likeness to Christ.
If we learn to be simple in our
expenditure, being careful not to waste anything that
God gives us.
This is the reason why many people are
spiritually poor.
Because they are not faithful with money.
Or they have not been righteous with money.
Will you make a decision right now?
Say, Lord, I not only want to give
back to Caesar what is Caesar's.
I also want to give you what's yours.
In every area, I want to put you
first.
I don't want to waste money on myself
anymore.
I want to be faithful, knowing that I
have to give an account to you one
day of every rupee that I've earned.
Make that covenant with God and see if
from this day, God doesn't bless you.
I believe he will.