Good Evening Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
This morning I’ll deal with a passage of Scripture which is widely misunderstood and perplexing: Luke 16:9-13. This Scripture deals with money and is taught by Jesus Christ. I remember when I read this passage of Scripture and would scratch my head, bewildered. “Why would I want to make friends with the unrighteous through money?” Thankfully, a few years back, the Holy Spirit clarified it for me.
Luke 16:9
And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
Several months ago, I explained “mammon” is the ancient Chaldean god of wealth. It is an evil spirit which is attached to money. I’m not going to go into any detail since I’ve written about it in the past, but a Believer removes the evil spirit of mammon from their money through tithing on it. Satan invented money. Adam and Eve had no need for money, and there is no money in Heaven. Money came about after the fall of Adam and Eve to sin. Satan attached the evil spirit of mammon to money. Therefore, Jesus states, “mammon of unrighteousness” in Luke 16:9.
Fail = “to die, to leave this earth.” Jesus is instructing us to use our money to bless others so when we die and enter Heaven, the many that have been impacted eternally will meet and greet you, and you shall have an eternal reward.
Luke 16:10-11
10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
God is telling us that if we can’t trust God at His Word about our money, our tithing, our giving, through faith, then you cannot receive the true riches through faith – healing, deliverance, protection, etc. Money is the least of the riches in this earth. You can’t enjoy money if you’re sick or infirmed, if you’re in a bad relationship, if your business is struggling or failing, etc. According to God, money, or prosperity, takes the least amount of faith. If we can’t gain victory over the use of money according to God’s Word, then we will not receive the victory of the true riches in our earthly lives.
REVELATION: SATAN HAS PERVERTED GOD’S WORD BY PROMOTING MONEY, WHICH GOD CALLS LEAST, TO THAT OF THE MOST IMPORTANCE IN THE EARTH.
I was part of the “rat race” chasing money at one time. I wasn’t doing it so I could be “rich,” I was doing it just to have security for my family and myself. We are all raised to chase money, to have enough for a home, for kid’s college, for retirement, for vacation trips, for sudden emergencies, etc. This is NOT God’s system. It is Satan’s system of toil based on demand and supply. Remember that in high school or college studies? Yes, that is Satan’s system. God’s economy is based on “sowing and reaping.” When you bless the money God has provided you with the tithe and multiply it through sowing seed, God multiplies your money thirty, sixty, one-hundred fold.
II Corinthians 9:10
Now He [God] that ministereth seed to the sower [you] both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
Praise God! I don’t have to chase money like I once did and like the world does. And I can be more prosperous under God’s economy than I could in the world. Notice that God provides “seed” to you, the sower, if you’re tithing and trusting in Him. God will provide the “bread” to meet all your needs and will multiply the seed that you sow. This the thirty, sixty, hundredfold return of Matthew 13:23. The amount you receive in return is based on your faith and your gift. This is known as the “double portion” because you are a joint heir with Christ (Romans 8:17). You will live in the overflow and bless others from it as well.
Matthew 13:23
But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
You can take something temporal, such as money, and use it to change hearts and gain an eternal reward. That’s the purpose of money according to God, and He instructs us in this in Genesis 12:2-3. People will greet you in Heaven who have been eternally affected by your money.
Luke 16:12-13
12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
When Jesus, in verse 12 states, “….in that which is another man’s,” He is referring to Himself as “another man” in this passage. If we are not found faithful in that which Jesus purchased for us at the cross and resurrection, we are not going to receive more. He makes this very clear in verse 13 when He states, “You cannot serve God and mammon.”
I Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
In the King James as well as several other versions, there is a minor mistake in translation of the Greek. It is not “the root of all evil,” it actually is “a root of all kinds of evil.” Money can destroy faith. Healing requires vastly more faith than giving. If you can’t master your money spiritually, you will not master the greater riches of healing, deliverance, protection, etc.
Trusting God with your money will open all areas of blessing in your life. If you can’t get victory over your giving, you will struggle to ever have victory in other areas.
Don’t let Satan steal your Blessing. Get right with your money, and watch how God will prove Himself to you.
In Christ,
Larry