Demolishing Strongholds - Sam Poe pt 2

Sam Poe

We recapped Romans 12:1 and Philippians 4:13. Sam encouraged us to memorize James 4:7 – 8a, Luke 10:20 and 1 John 4:18.

We then looked at the Stronghold of serving mammon. Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

It’s impossible to serve God and money. The stronghold of money means to serve money as the supreme thing. Some say it’s a problem of the rich but, it’s also a problem of the poor. The rich hold on to it. It becomes an idol as they believe money is an assurance for their future; it will care for them and meet their needs. The poor will try to get it because they believe that money will meet their needs. Money fails and it can lose its value. When Jesus used the word mammon to describe money, He was speaking about a demon spirit. Behind the love of money, there is an evil power which leads to destruction.

 

Sam told the story of Judas when he betrayed Jesus. Although Judas was one of Jesus disciples, he loved money more than Jesus. It was the love of money that caused Judas to betray Jesus and this love of money eventually destroyed him. Only God can take care of us and give us the assurance that our future is safe. When we look to money for security, when we worry about the future and where it will lead us, when we want what other people have and get caught up in covetousness, when we get greedy or have our identity in being successful by having lots of things or looking good for the neighbours and so on, we are falling into the stronghold of mammon.

How do we demolish this stronghold?

Be generous and give to others what we have. Be willing to share - Practice sharing our belongings with others, give money away, help someone in real need. This can break the stronghold. Money says: “You need me, hang onto me, get as much of me as you can.” We can break this by being generous and making money serve us, making it become our servant. We need the attitude of looking at the eternal and seeing our life in light of heaven. When we give generously, we are storing up treasures in heaven. Jesus wants to reward us in heaven. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Summary: Make money your servant and not your master.

 

 

By Molly Manhanga