Breaking the Spirit of Mammon

Welcome to Worship in the Word with Pastor Robert Morris. We're so glad that you're listening today. We're in Pastor Robert's Beyond Blessed series about Godly Stewardship.

And I'm your host, Jenae, and I'm here with my co-host, Patrick. Hey, everybody. Well, today's message is titled, Breaking the Spirit of Mammon. Before hearing Pastor Robert teach about this, you know, I really wasn't too familiar with the word mammon. I didn't know what it truly meant or that it could apply to my life and beliefs about money. So this was really an eye-opening message for me.

Me too, Patrick. And later in the message, I love how Pastor Robert discusses the often-believed adage that money is evil. And I've wondered it before, and he explains it so well.

He really does. Well, this message goes deep into the spiritual side of money, and it's packed with scripture, insight, and personal stories. So let's get started. So I want to talk about breaking the spirit of mammon. And you need to understand that mammon is a spirit. And I'm going to explain to you how the people in Jesus's day knew what he was talking about when he used the word mammon. The word mammon is in the Bible four times.

One time it's a repeat. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are synoptic gospels. Synoptic means similar.

So they're very similar. You'll read a lot of the same passages and parables in Matthew, Mark, and Luke that you won't read in John. And one of the reasons is Matthew, Mark, and Luke cover the last year of Jesus's ministry only, even though they'll cover the birth and a little bit in the death and resurrection. John covers the first two years of his ministry. John wrote his gospel later because Matthew, Mark, and Luke covered the last year, and John said someone needs to cover the first two years. That's why in John you'll find things like the water being turned into wine, the conversation with Nicodemus, the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery. You'll see things that you won't see in any other book of the Bible.

Okay? So in Matthew and in Luke it talks about mammon. So in Luke there are three references. Three times Jesus used the word mammon. It's the same sermon. One of those times it's also in Matthew. So let me say this again. I hope I'm not losing you on this. The word mammon is in the Bible four times.

One is a repeat. So Jesus that we know of used the word mammon three times, and I'm going to read you all three, all right, in the book of Luke. Luke 16 verse 9 says, And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon.

There's the first time we see it. And I'm going to explain this statement because it sounds like it's saying use your money to make friends. That's not what it's saying, okay? 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.

This is talking about good stewardship. This is what we're talking about in Beyond Blessed. 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, that's the second time he uses the word, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you've not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? And then here's the verse that's repeated in Matthew 6. No servant, no servant.

There's no one that's an exception to this rule. No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot, this is Jesus speaking, you cannot serve God and mammon, okay? So Jesus makes these statements.

I'll explain some of them as we go through the message, but I have three questions for you. So number one, what is mammon? Most people would say money. It is not money.

I'm just going to shock you right off the bat. It is not money. It is a spirit. Mammon is an Aramaic word. Jesus spoke Aramaic. Mammon is an Aramaic word that referred to a Syrian God. And that God was the God of riches.

That was the name of the God of riches. So he was saying you cannot serve God and a spirit, a demonic evil spirit. And this certain spirit is the spirit of riches. This spirit came from Babylon. If you remember about Babylon, Babylon was built on pride.

They thought they could get to heaven without God on their own. So it's built on pride and arrogance. That's where this spirit comes from. This spirit says that it can provide for you what only God can provide for you.

You follow me? Babylon, by the way, if you Babylon, if you want to know what it means, I just told you the word babel means, you ever heard someone, they say they just babelon? That's what Babylon means. The word babel actually means confusion and on means sown or planted in confusion. So the city of Babylon was planted in confusion.

OK, so when someone is babbling, you just don't understand what they're saying. OK, so that's where it comes from. So this is this word mammon and it is a spirit that rests on money. So the context is money, but it's a spirit. That's what you have to know.

Now, this might shock you. All money has a spirit on it. All money. All the money in your bank account has a spirit on it. It either has the spirit of God on it or it has the spirit of mammon on it. According to the Bible, the way we get the spirit of God on our money is we return the first 10 percent to the house of God.

And the other 90 percent, it says, is redeemed or purchased back out from under the curse of this world. So it comes back out of that spirit of mammon. That's why, by the way, that mammon, let me say it this way, that money that has the spirit of God on it cannot be devoured by the evil one. Because God's spirit is protecting it. It's blessed by God. But if money is not, the first 10 percent is not returned to God, it has the spirit of mammon on it. Which, again, let me remind you, is a spirit of confusion.

You don't know what to do with it. And it can be devoured by the devourer. So it's a very important thing. We understand mammon is always contrasting itself to the spirit of God. Mammon is looking for servants. You cannot serve, this is what Jesus said, God and mammon. So mammon is looking for servants. Mammon actually promises us everything that only God can give us.

Think about it. Mammon promises us security, identity, significance, peace, joy, happiness. If you had more money, you'd be happier. If you had more money, people would listen to you. If you had more money, you'd be secure.

You wouldn't have to worry about your future. See what I'm saying? Only God can do that. Only God can do that. I know people that have a lot of money that have a lot of worry and a lot of stress and a lot of anxiety. They're afraid they're going to lose it. Only God can provide you security.

So money is always trying to rule. You're listening to Worship in the Word with Pastor Robert Morris, and he's sharing from his Beyond Blessed series. To get a copy of this or any other messages, check out our podcast at pastorrobert.com or call 833-933-WORD.

You know, Janae, everything Pastor Robert has shared with us has been so interesting. I loved learning that mammon is not money itself, but it's actually a spirit that can rest on our money, depending on the first thing that we do with it. It's so crazy that if we don't tithe, our money is actually cursed with the spirit of mammon and can be devoured by the world. I feel like I've had a few paychecks over the years that felt like they were being devoured by the world. Yeah, me too. You know, the money just kind of disappeared. It trickled out to one thing or another, and then I'm left wondering where it all went. I have definitely been there too. You know, learning more about how mammon wants to confuse us and curse us is a wake-up call that I need to be more intentional with my money.

I mean, this whole series is a wake-up call, and I can't wait to learn more. So let's jump back in with Pastor Robert. Here's another thing about mammon. This is probably going to shock you a little bit, but mammon is the spirit of antichrist. Antichrist rules through the spirit of mammon, and I can prove it to you in one very simple scripture that all of you know. The spirit of antichrist does not rule through the threat of nuclear war. That's nowhere in the Bible. The spirit of antichrist rules through the threat of not being able to buy and sell.

That's how the spirit of antichrist rules. So it's mammon. Mammon is all through scripture, and it's a huge lie. It's just this big lie.

Think about this. Jesus never told anyone that the answer to his problems was more money. Not one person, not one blind man ran up to Jesus and said, Have mercy on me, O son of David. And Jesus said, You just need more money.

Not once. But somehow we think that money would solve our problems. This is why, oh, hear this.

It contrasts God. See, God's answered our problems, but we actually think if I had more money, I'd have a better marriage. If I had more money, I'd be happier. Here's the biggie.

Here's the biggie. If I had more money, I could help more people. No, God helps people. Now, we're supposed to manage it and be a good steward of what God gives us, but it's not the money that helps the people. It's God that helps the people. So mammon is a lying spirit that tries us to get to trust money.

I'm going to show you, and this is going to be a little embarrassing, because it's going to relate to all of us, how money affects every one of us and how mammon affects everyone. By the way, if mammon's not a spirit, how come it can talk? Because if we were going to take an offering right now, you'd hear voices.

Right? You start hearing voices about why, no, no, you don't need to give that much. Okay, mammon talks.

Okay, all right. But here's something that probably all of us have had at one time in our life. I either need God to come through, or I need someone to give me some money. And if someone would just give me some money, then God thank you, but I don't need you anymore. See, you can't serve God and money and mammon, the spirit of spirit of mammon. By the way, when we think about not serving it, he says you'll be loyal to one, and you'll despise the other. This is why I don't like the give to get message.

Give and you'll get, give and you'll get, give and you'll get. What happens is, is you become loyal to that message. Then when the washing machine breaks, you actually despise God, because you became loyal to mammon instead of loyal to God. Are y'all following me?

You following me? This is what mammon does. So what is mammon? I told you what it is.

Here's number two. Is money evil? Because it says unrighteous mammon.

So it makes us kind of think that money is evil. Here's the problem, that really should be translated riches of unrighteousness, not unrighteous mammon. In the Greek, many of you even maybe speak Spanish, and you'll see how it's reversed. Okay, it's the same way in the Greek sometime. So we translated unrighteous mammon, because we're trying to use an adjective to describe a noun.

But in the Greek, it's the other way. It's riches of unrighteousness. This is very important, because what that means is, riches that have been dedicated to the unrighteous, to an idol, to mammon. And he says you can't serve God, and riches dedicated to an idol. You see, those riches need to be dedicated to God.

So you can't serve both. Money in itself is not evil. Money's neutral. You can do good things with money, you can do bad things with money. So money is neutral. First, as a matter of fact, some people say, well, the Bible says money's the root of all evil.

It doesn't say that. 1 Timothy 6 says, for the love of money. The love of money is the root of all evil.

Let me say it in a way. Loving and serving mammon is the root of all evil. That's the root of all evil.

So money can be used either way. Now, Luke 16, 9 is kind of a difficult passage, and I really want to explain it to you. It says, and I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they, that's something about the friends, may receive your inner everlasting hope.

Okay, here's what he's saying. And he talks later about taking this unrighteous mammon, or mammon that's been dedicated to the spirit of the world and dedicated to the spirit of God, and turning it into true riches. But what are true riches? True riches are people. That's what true riches are. They're the only thing that are gonna last forever, souls.

So here's what he's saying. Use this money that was dedicated for unrighteous purposes and dedicated to God. Give it to the kingdom, and make friends with your, in other words, help people come to know Christ. And then it says that when you fail, fail really is not a good translation.

This word actually means die, when you die. This, listen, when you die, they are gonna welcome you into your everlasting home. Think about when we go to heaven, people from other nations are gonna say to us, you've never met me, but you gave to this missionary. And she brought the missionary, she brought the gospel to me, and I accepted Christ. And I'm here not just because she came, I'm here because you sent her, because you supported her. And I came to thank you for that. They, this, what a great scripture. Take this money that Satan wants you to use for evil purposes, dedicate it to God, and then you're gonna have all these friends in heaven that you're gonna get to meet there that are actually going to be standing in a welcoming line and welcome you into heaven. And they're gonna say, I'm here because of you.

I'm here because you gave. Every time we're putting money in the offering, somebody's getting saved. Something's happening. That's what we gotta think about.

We've gotta remember that. I, when I first got saved, I couldn't talk. I was very shy. And I know that's hard to believe now, but I couldn't talk. And I, by the way, I got over it. I could remember I would, I'd get so burdened for the people in the restaurant.

I mean, I was saved out of drugs. I'd get so burdened for the people in the restaurant that I'd start kinda, you know, peddling with my food because I'd start thinking about it. These people are gonna go to hell, somebody, and tell them. And I could remember Debbie looking up at me and going, oh, no. And she'd say, you're not gonna do it, are you? And I'd say, sugar, I have to.

If I don't do it, who will? And I would stand up in restaurants and say, can I have your attention, please? And I'd say, I don't wanna bother you.

I don't wanna bother you. But, and I would just tell them, I was on drugs. I was on my way to hell. And I believed in Jesus in my mind, but a guy told me it's not enough to believe in Jesus in your mind, you have to give him control of your life. And I just felt like I had to tell you, because I think a lot of you believe in Jesus, but you've never given him control. And if you wanna talk about it, I'm available. So I got over my fear of talking.

I started realizing, this helps people. But when I first got saved, Debbie and I would save our money and we'd go out to eat and we'd share a meal and I would leave a tip, a big tip with a gospel tract. And so I left like a $20 bill for like a $10 meal and we went back and the lady, our server, didn't say anything about it. So I thought, well, I didn't leave enough money. I just wanted her to read the book and get saved, you know?

So that time I left a $50 tip and we didn't make hardly anything. And I went back and she said, hey, you remember that little book you left last time? She said, I read it and I gave my life to Jesus. And she said, I called my husband and he gave his life to Jesus. And I said, really? And I said, well, when you, and I thought about that phrase, she called her husband. I said, well, was he at work or at home? And she put her head down and she said, he's in prison. And a few years later he got out and they got baptized.

Okay, here's the point. God took money that was dedicated to this world system and he turned it into true riches. So is money evil?

No. If you're just tuning in, you're listening to Worship in the Word with Pastor Robert Morris. This message is just awesome.

You know, I know I've been taken in by the lies Mam and tells, such as that if I had more money, my life would be better all around. But God is the answer to all things, not money. And his explanation of money being neutral just made so much sense.

It's what we do with it that makes the difference. And he made it so simple to understand. He really did. I also really love the awesome visual Pastor Robert gave us about giving. You know, to think that every time we give money, we're contributing towards true riches and souls getting saved and that when we get to heaven, there's going to be lines of people saying, I'm here because of you.

That's just wow. Yeah, and what an amazing way to think about giving. You know, Pastor Robert truly dedicates his time and his money to showing people God's love. Pastor Robert is so blessed and feel so challenged to do the same.

Well, there's still more Pastor Robert has to say in this message, so let's continue with him now. Here's the third thing, though. What should I do with my money?

What should I do with it? And it's very simple. It's be a good steward. It's what the whole book Beyond Blessed is about. Be a good steward. Just be a, because if you're a good steward, and you want to buy a ship or you want to buy someone some gas or you want to give an offering, you can, because you've been a good steward with it.

Here are some things about being a good steward. Luke 16, verse 10. 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. Now, some of you might be thinking, Pastor, I just want to be honest with you. I have too little of this unrighteous mammon to be concerned about this sermon.

Lovingly, what I want to say to you is, and you always will, if that's your attitude, because if you're not faithful with a little, you'll never have much. Verse 12 says, and if you've not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? Okay, and we've talked a little bit about tithing, and we're going to talk about it in this series even a little more, but we've talked, already talked about it some.

But if you've not been faithful in what belongs to someone else, could that be referred to the tithe? Who will give you more? Who will give you what is your own, or is it to spend on whatever you want to spend on? And one other scripture, verse 11 says, and if you've not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

True riches are people. I have a daughter, only daughter, and very, very beautiful young lady, cheerleader, you know, things like that. She's 28 now, mother of four. Anyway, but there was a young man named Ethan who is now her husband, and he did everything I asked him to do. I asked him to be friends, I asked him to, you know, he, and here's one of the things I told my daughter, if he won't respect me, he won't respect you.

So if he won't respect me, he'll never respect you. So Ethan did all the things he was supposed to do, but one time they were standing around at the front of the church, and it was Ethan and Elaine, this is before they got married, and there was about six or seven young adults, and they got to joking around with Ethan and Elaine about, what's it like to date the pastor's daughter? And so one of the guys said to my daughter, you know, your dad is so strong on tithing, I'll bet he even checks the tithing records of the guys that want to date you. And my daughter said, he does. And I did. Well, let me just ask you a simple question. Why would I give my daughter to a thief?

Why would I give my daughter, who is true riches, to someone who can't even handle money? Now, what was funny was when they said, he checks the tithing records, and Elaine said he does, Ethan, my future son-in-law, went, uh-oh. And she said, what do you mean, uh-oh? You told me you tithed. And he said, well, there was one time that I was one day late. He would get paid on Friday, and he would go online and send his tithe immediately, the first 10%, because he didn't have internet at home because he's a good steward, and he costs too much. But that Friday, he was off. So on Saturday, he worked, so he went in and did his tithe on that Saturday. But he was kind of mad at himself that he didn't go to Starbucks or something and do his tithe. So he said, I've never forgotten that one time I was one day late.

He said, I've always felt bad about that. And so they're laughing, and they said to my daughter, and they said to Ethan, Pastor Robert is not going to notice that. And my daughter said, yes, he will. And so she came home that night. She's telling that story, and she said, did you check Ethan's tithing records?

And I said, yeah. And there was one day he was one day late, by the way. I think that the father is interested about how people take care of his daughter. And I think he checks tithing records. And what we're showing him is our heart. Pastor Robert's story about checking his future son-in-law's tithing record seems a little comical. But it really makes sense that being a good steward really is about more than just money.

It's a huge indicator of who we are. Well, we want you to just take a moment to think about what Pastor Robert shared today and really listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you. To get a copy of any of the messages in the Beyond Blessed series, visit pastorrobert.com or call 833-933-WORD. So be sure to visit pastorrobert.com or call 833-933-WORD. You can also follow Pastor Robert on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Thanks for tuning in. Next time, Pastor Robert is sharing about the principles of multiplication. Have a blessed week. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...