It is interesting to see
that even though Jesus referred to Satan as "the ruler of this world"
(John 14:30), He never referred to Satan as the alternative master to
God, whom people have the choice of serving. When Jesus spoke of two
masters whom man could serve, He said that the two were God and Mammon
(Luke 16:13). In Christendom, generally peaking, preachers have always
urged people to choose between God and Satan. Jesus however urged people
to choose between God and Mammon.
Satan is a master
schemer. He knows that if people are told to choose between God and
Satan, no-one will choose Satan. But when the choice is between God and
Mammon, Satan knows that even believers will find it difficult to make a
decisive choice.
Satan knows that most
Christians choose their jobs and their place of residence, etc., based
on their passion for Mammon (property and money) rather than on any
desire for the promotion of God's kingdom. Satan knows that all such
believers are useless for God's purposes, irrespective of the amount of
religious activity they engage in.
Satan also knows that
most of the Christian work in the world is more dependent on Mammon
(money and property) than on the power of the Holy Spirit. Satan knows
that all such Christian work will not have any eternal value - even if
the reports of such work appear impressive when presented attractively
by "public relations experts" in colorful Christian magazines!!
We must not be ignorant
of Satan's wiles. It is against Satan's wiles that we are told to stand
firm, and not against his wrath (Eph.6:11). Satan's wrath has never
hindered the work of God at any time. Persecution has only made the
church of Jesus Christ flourish in every country and at all times. But
Satan has often succeeded with his wiles, where he has failed to
accomplish anything with his wrath (see Rev.12:11,12).
Satan is happy to be
hidden out of sight, because he knows that he can deceive people better
that way. He knows very well that when a believer is influenced by the
love of mammon in his decisions, he is actually serving the prince of
Mammon, even if he imagines that he is serving God!!
When a believer's
attitude to Mammon is wrong, he will be wrong in every other area too -
because he then becomes a part of this world system that our Lord came
to destroy. Such a man is a traitor to the Lord's cause on earth, even
though he may not realize it. He is actually working on Satan's side,
without knowing it. This is the fundamental problem with many believers
today. They have not understood Satan's schemes.
Before Jesus went to the
cross, He told His disciples, "The prince of this world comes and he has
no power over Me" (John 14:30 - Living). Mammon had no power over Jesus.
And so Satan could find no foothold in Him and could not touch Him in
any way. But Satan finds plenty of foothold through Mammon in the lives
of most believers. Thus he is able to divert them from God's perfect
plan for their lives.
Throughout the last 20
centuries, the greatest opposition for the Lord's servants has always
come from "Christians" and so-called "believers" who are Biblical in all
their doctrines except the doctrine of "the love of money"! It is not at
all surprising that "believers" who worship Mammon oppose God's true
prophets. Jesus Himself faced such opposition from the leaders of the
Pharisees who had all their other doctrines right (Matt.23:3), but who
loved and served Mammon (Luke 16:14).
Christians who pursue
after Mammon have plenty of money to travel whenever they like, and
wherever they like. They also have enough to buy whatever they like,
whenever they like. Only lovers of Mammon can afford such expensive
habits. But those who have an extravagant life-style can never be
witnesses for the Lord in the midst of a suffering world.
It is dangerous to have
money far beyond what we need. It was because Jonah had plenty of extra
money that he could afford to buy a ticket to go to Tarshish - in plain
disobedience to the Lord's command. How safe Jonah would have been from
such a temptation, if he did not have any excess money available with
him at that time.
It was to save His
apostles from such temptations, that Jesus left them poor in the world.
The Lord Who made Job, Abraham and David rich could easily have made His
apostles rich too. But He didn't. Why? Because new-covenant apostles,
unlike Old Testament saints, had to wage war against Satan. And when
Satan came against them, it was essential that Satan should find "no
love for Mammon in them"? Otherwise the Lord's purposes could never have
been fulfilled through them.
What about you? When
Satan comes against you, does he have power over you, because he finds
the love of Mammon in you?
The battle against Satan
is not fought on earth, but in "the heavenlies" (Eph.6:12). It is there
that Satan's power has to be bound by us (Matt.18:18). Only those who
are heavenly-minded can fight this battle. Those who love Mammon are
earthly-minded and are useless in this battle. Satan knows that very
well, even if believers don't.
In heaven, the saints
walk on golden streets. Heaven has been prepared for those who have
learnt to put gold under their feet even on earth. Our fasting and
praying cannot accomplish God's purposes, if we love Mammon and are
earthly-minded. It is only the prayer of "a righteous man" - one who has
been freed from attachment to earthly things, like Elijah - whose
prayers are effective before God (James 5:16,17). This is why God allows
us at times, to lose large amounts of money - to deliver us from the
love of Mammon and to make us effective for Him.
It will be very difficult
for a disciple of Jesus if he is totally honest and wholehearted, to
become rich through his business in a world that is under the dominion
of Satan. To become a wealthy man in such a world, one would have to
follow Satan's principles in some area or the other, and disobey the
principles of God's Word. The Bible clearly says,
"Those who want to get
rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful
desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction." (1 Tim.6:9). One
who seeks to be "rich towards God" can never become "rich in this world"
(Luke 12:21; 1 Tim.6:17).
This applies also to
preachers who become rich through preaching the gospel and selling
Christian books and tapes. Another gimmick these days, is to conduct
tours to Israel ("the holy land"??). If a preacher can gather 10 people
for a trip to Israel, the travel agent will give him one free ticket.
All such preachers are worshipping "the golden calf" and are servants of
Mammon, and not of the Lord Jesus Christ. [Someone asked me once if I
had ever been to the holy land. I told him I was walking there every
day!]
The "prosperity gospel"
was invented in the latter half of the 20th century by Mammon-loving
preachers who had to find some "Scriptural" explanation to justify their
extravagant life-styles and the immense amount of wealth that they had
accumulated from the tithes and offerings of their "devotees". So they
hunted up Old Testament promises that God had given to Israel and began
to proclaim those promises as the unfailing mark of God's blessing
today. And money-loving believers gladly lapped up this new gospel!
A secular journalist in
the U.S.A., who heard of such a church where the "prosperity gospel" was
being preached, wanted to find out if this teaching really worked. So he
went to the church's parking lot and checked out the makes of the cars
parked there. He found that the cars parked in the spots reserved for
the "Pastor" and "Assistant Pastors" were expensive cars!! But most of
the other cars were cheap ones! He concluded that the "prosperity
gospel" did work - but only for those who lived off the tithes and
offerings of the congregation!! The rest of the congregation remained in
the same condition that they had always been in!
Even in poor countries
like India, preachers are becoming rich, off the tithes and offerings of
poor people, through this counterfeit gospel.
What must the Lord think
of the Christian "church" and its leaders today, who have pursued after
Mammon, become tolerant of sin, and thus made themselves powerless in
the battle against Satan. The gates of Hell have prevailed against this
"church". And that is the clearest proof that this "church" is not the
church that our Lord is building - for the powers of darkness can never
prevail against that church (Matt.16:18).
Whenever a genuine
Holy-Spirit revival comes anywhere, it will be a revival that delivers
believers from the love of Mammon. Only such a revival will drive the
prince of Mammon out of the church. Any other so-called "revival" is a
counterfeit.
He who has ears to hear
let him hear.
© Copyright - Zac Poonen
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