May 21, 2023

Tithing – part 3
Breaking the Spirit of Mammon

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Part 1 – It all belongs to Him Part 2 – Keeping the First things First
Pr 3:9 “Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase…”
Mal 3:10 “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows (floodgates) of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.”

Text: 1 Timothy 6:6-12, Luke 16:10-13

What is mammon? Some say money, but it is WAY deeper than that.
Why did Jesus use the word mammon? He didn’t just throw words around but was purposeful. He was not just saying money.
In ver.11&13, some translations simply use “worldly wealth” or “money.” (NIV)
But Jesus used this word on purpose because there is a spiritual aspect here that is way deeper than money.

Mammon is an Aramaic word that means riches. It comes from the Syrian deity of riches. Jesus was talking about a false god His audience knew about.
This god can be traced to Babylon. Babble means confusion. Then add the suffix “on” = sown or planted. Babylon = sown in confusion.
Remember problem in Genesis 11 where God destroyed the tower of Babel? They were trying got reach heaven without God on their own.
They didn’t need God to get to heaven.

Jesus was referring to an entity, a demon worshiped as a false god.
God is a Spirit, and mammon is a spirit.
Everything the spirit of mammon did at the tower of Babel it still does today.

Anything that is from God, mammon opposes - everything God stands for.
Mammon tries to influence me to put other things before God.
Not just money – occupation, education, family, things (cars, houses, property, my big boy toys, my recreation time etc.)
M actually promises to give us everything only God can give us – identity,
security, significance, happiness, joy - these only come from God.
M says, if you had more money, you would have more influence, people would listen to you, respect your, look up to you – you would be happy.

Ver. 13 “You can’t serve God and mammon” – mammon is looking for servants. M wants to rule your life. M wants to be worshiped. M wants you to look to it instead of God.

Mammon wants to rule.

Here is the problem – many of us grew up looking to mammon and we didn’t even realize it. Jesus said you will be loyal to one and despise the other.

Here is one of the places this pops up showing me it’s influence.
“Ok pastor, I’ll try this God principal of finances. Tithing, giving, being a good steward. Then 6 months into this, the water heater breaks down.
Money tests where my heart is actually loyal to.

What does the spirit of mammon whisper in my ear? See it doesn’t work. If God was a good God, why would He let me suffer financially? If God ….. then.

If my heart is loyal to God, and my water heater breaks down, my heart says, “Ok God, You have a problem here, I’m curious what You are going to do about Your water heater breaking down? What is my next move?”
A loyal heart anticipates my God is ACTIVELY working on any problem I face!
Kind of like the difference between renting an apartment, and owning your house. If it’s all His anyway, when something breaks, renters call the person who owns the home. My water heater stopped working. You have a problem.
A loyal heart is easily identified here.

Most of us have had this thinking influencing my finances.
I either need God to come through for me, or I need some money.
If I had some money, I wouldn’t need to bug God for a favor.

So is money evil?
Here is what I believe. All money has a spirit attached to it.
It either has the Spirit of God on it, or the spirit of mammon attached to it.
The way I get the Spirit of God on it is to bring the first 10% to God and He redeems the rest out from under the spirit of this world.

This principal of tithing is WAY DEEPER than money.

1 Tim.6:6-12
What did Jesus say choked out the Word - “the deceitfulness of riches” Mrk.4:19
And we walk around with stuff in our pockets the Bible calls “filthy Lucre.” 1Ti.3:8
What are we to do about this problem?
How can we extend the Lordship of Christ be over our money also?
The answer - we do what Able did, what Abraham did – we bring the first fruits – the tithe – to the Lord and He sanctifies what was once called filthy lucre.
Romans 11:16 “For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy….”