Bible study on June 23, 2011.
Covering some points from what is expected of a believer in the new covenant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8YnV7_kDhM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc2TRa6XOMw

A look at our position in Christ, our mission here, and the benefits of being present in the throne room of God.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxYwUiwckPA

A study on our position in Christ and our attendance in the throne room of God.

Bible study on Friday February 11, 2011.

Bible study on Thursday February 10, 2011.

Sunday Sermon at the Father’s House Church, Cochin on Sunday February 06, 2011

What is the Lord’s Supper? Why and when was it instituted? What does it involve naturally and spiritually? How must one partake of it? Who is eligible to take part in the Lord’s Supper?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d715i6byyV0

The word I shared at the Father’s House, Cochin, on January 02, 2011

My notes are below

For Troubled Times – Psalms 50-56;
Seven psalms of David teach us how to respond when we bring trouble on ourselves, and when others betray us.

Psalm 55
16 As for me, I will call upon God,
And the LORD shall save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.
18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,
For there were many against me.
19 God will hear, and afflict them,
Even He who abides from of old.  Selah
Because they do not change,
Therefore they do not fear God.

18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, For there were many against me.

Redeemed
1) To recover ownership of by paying a specific sum
2) To set free from
3) To save from a state of sinfullness and its consequences

Jesus redeems
Galatians 3:13-14
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”[a]),
14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

22 Cast your burden on the LORD,
And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

We must distinguish between the burden-bearing that is right and the burden-bearing that is wrong.
We ought never to bear the burden of sin or of doubt,
but there are burdens placed on us by God which He does not intend to lift off, He wants us to roll them back on Him.
“Cast that He hath given thee upon the Lord.” (R.V. marg.)

Luke 10:19
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

1 John 5:
4For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Revelation 2:7
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’

Revelation 2:17
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’

Revelation 21:7
He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

Matthew 10:30
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Psalm 31:15
My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.

John 17: 15-23
15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
Jesus Prays for All Believers

20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will[e] believe in Me through their word;
21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

There are three things that make us an Overcomer:

1. Faith-
We overcome by our faith-
The Bible says to put on the shield of faith, that we might quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

2. The Blood-
Rev. 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

We overcome by the Blood-
The Blood of Jesus has the same power today, that it had two thousand years ago.
We are overcomers because of what Jesus did for us on the cross – because of the Blood that he shed for us.

1 Peter 1:18 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed by such corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers. But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Precious means costly. Jesus gave his very life that we might be redeemed. That blood is just as precious today as it was two thousand years ago!

3. The Word of Our Testimony-
Rev. 12:11 “…and the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

This verse could also read, “The Word of God in their testimony.” The “logos” of their testimony.

We overcome by the Word of God-
We are over comers through our testimony.

Covetousness is idolatry because when we are ruled by greed, we serve our own personal interests first, thus obeying the dictates of our flesh rather than the leadings of the Lord God.

Covetousness is a subtle way of putting something before God in our lives. We put our own interests before His and those of others, and unwittingly become servants of Mammon. We must face it squarely: We are covetous to the degree we let the love of money rule us.

Love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. By letting our money tell us what to do, we refuse to listen first to God. If God isn’t the one who teaches us how to handle money, Satan is!

This world’s economics are based on covetousness. Most, if not all, wars are based on the greed of nations. Most crime results from one man satisfying his greed at another’s expense.

The major groups of this world’s population are divided according to their approach to economics. But the Christian can be free from the world’s control of his finances as he is faithful to walk according to God’s economic principles. Let’s go over them briefly again:

1. Decide To Serve God And Not Mammon!

Jesus made it clear: “You cannot serve God and Mammon.” You must choose one or the other.

Decide once and for all that you will not allow finances to control any decisions you make. Make your finances as much a matter of prayer as you do any other part of your life and ministry.

2. Deal Ruthlessly With Any Love Of Money That Is In You!

“The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil” (1 Tim 6:10). To the degree you allow a love for money to remain in you, evil will be present in your life. When you love money, you open yourself to the activity of the demonic power which lies behind it. Paul admonishes young Timothy, “flee from these things, O man of God” (1 Tim 6:11).

3. Determine To Live According to God’s Principles Of Finance!

Financial freedom can only be known by those who obey the Son, Who sets us free indeed! Begin to walk in the power of the Kingdom by unswervingly following God’s principles:

Give! “Give and it shall be given unto you!” Determine once and for all to break the curse of poverty by tithing, whether or not you feel you can afford it.

Free-will offerings are another important part of the giving God wants you to practice. Be generous with others and God will be generous with you.

4. Don’t Be A Hireling!

Obey the Lord and take your directions from Him and not from those “Hirers” who will corrupt you and your ministry. Don’t fail in faith. He is faithful. He will provide all you need.

By no means allow offers of money to determine how you will live or minister. Don’t be a hireling! Be a servant of God, not a servant of money!

We can only serve one god! Will it be Jesus or Mammon? You must make the choice because you cannot serve God and Mammon!

Pray this prayer

Lord Jesus, I thank You that you are faithful and have promised to give me everything I need for life and godliness. Thank You for showing me that by serving money, I’m really serving Satan.

I affirm to You right now that You alone are my God. I choose to trust You for all my needs. I know You will provide them all if I will serve You with my money.

Lord, I trust You for the strength and grace I’m going to need to keep this commitment to the will of God. Thank You for these steps toward true financial freedom. In Jesus’ Name. Amen!

4. God Loves To Bless Us

Jesus said if we seek His Kingdom first, He will add all the things. He may test for a while, but He will bless those that put Him and His Kingdom first in their lives.

God wills that we prosper in every dimension of our lives (3 Jn 2). However, we often prevent this prosperity from happening in our finances because we violate basic principles in handling our money.

One of the reasons some are poor and needy is their failure to give money to God’s work, fearing they will be worse off if they give to help spread the gospel. True financial freedom only comes when we handle our money God’s way.

a. Practice Kingdom Principles. On the other hand, church leaders in some of the world’s poorest countries are seeing God bless them and their people with money. why? Because they practice Kingdom finance principles as outlined above, by giving sacrificially and happily.

The way to make this happen is to first start tithing to the local church or evangelist fund. If you do not allow people the opportunity to give, then start.

Change your praying from selfish prayers just for yourself and start praying for God o bless others. Is it not this which James refers to, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (Jas 4:3)?

God will not answer our prayers for more money if we want it only to spend it on ourselves. He will only release greater resource on us when He knows we have repented of our selfishness and have become giving persons.

Next week

Conclusion of Reject Covetousness and Idolatry

3. Kingdom Principles

Our attitude toward money is all-important. If we are faithful to learn and observe some basic principles of Kingdom economics, we will begin to see our money problems disappear.

a. All Money Is God’s. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof?” (Ps 24:1;50:12)

“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine says the Lord” (Hag 2:8).

Even the money that the sinners have ultimately belongs to God and will one day be turned over to the people of God (Hag 2:8; Prov 13:22; 28:8). God made everything of value and has never abdicated that ownership.

In this fallen, sin-dominated world, most wealth is controlled by sinners. This is because the world systems are under the control of wicked spiritual authorities. But one day God will speak a word and all of the world’s wealth will be poured into God’s Kingdom.

b. God Gives The Money. The Lord has promised to take care of His  children with all the food, clothing, shelter and other necessities of life they need. We work at our jobs as service to the Lord, God provides our income by giving us the jobs we have.

God gives us money so that we will have enough to accomplish His purpose on the earth. We are to use the money He gives us with the wisdom of good stewards. But we usually get it turned around: He wants us to use money and love people, but we often love money and use people.

Can you imagine what would happen if we all began to submit to the Lord’s guidance in the way we use the money God puts into our hands?

If all of us Christians worked hard and earned money so we could practice generosity with one another, there would be no more shortage among God’s people, anywhere!

c. Either God Or Our Love Of Money will Determine How We Live And Minister. Some preachers will preach only because they know they will get paid.

This is what Jesus called a “hireling” in John 10. A “hireling” does what he does for pay. He has no commitment to the sheep under his care. He only cares about the money.

Nothing is more unethical. Nothing is more corrupting than such tactics – and they are very wide spread.

Such practices quickly identify the “hirelings” and the “hirers” – and both shall take the mark of the beast. “.. No man might buy [hire] or sell [hireling] except he that had the mark… of the beast” (Rev 13:17).

“And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them… who had not worshipped the beast.. neither had received his mark… and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Rev 20:4)

1) No Hirelings. There will be no hirers nor hirelings in that holy ruling company. These religious “traders” will be part of the dead who live again when the thousand years are over. They will be raised at that time to give account before Him, “who judges the living and the dead.”

Paul asked, “Who is qualified to preach the gospel?” He answered his question in these words, “Only those who, like ourselves, are men of integrity, sent by God, speaking with Christ’s power.

“We are not like those hucksters – and there are many of them – whose idea in getting out the gospel is to make a good living at it” (2 Cor 3:17 tlb).

So many want to make a “trade” of the Word of God.

Zechariah prophesied of a glorious day when “every container in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the Lord Almighty; all who come to worship may use any of them free of charge to boil their sacrifices in; there will be no more grasping traders in the Temple of the Lord Almighty” (Zech 14:21).

Corrupt priests in Zechariah’s time made “deal’ with local merchants to sell “officially sanctified” animals and boiling pots in which to prepare the sacrifices to be offered in the Temple. The corrupt priests got a “percentage” of every sale.

It was against these corrupt traders that  Zechariah (and five centuries later, Jesus railed.)

At no time did Jesus display such anger as He did against those who were “buying and selling in the Temple.” He took whips and drove them out. ” My house shall be called a house of prayer… but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Mark 11:17).

At the beginning and at the end of His ministry, Jesus purified the Temple by driving out the “traders.” I believe that is prophetic of the Church age. At the beginning of the Church age, the Lord dealt very harshly with this (Ananias and Sapphira – Acts 5). I expect to see His judgments falling on the “traders” in these last days at the conclusion of the Church age.

So, leaders – BEWARE! “The times of this ignorance, God winked at, but now commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent!” (Acts 17:30).

National church leaders and evangelists, don’t sell your gift to any body, no matter what he is willing to pay you. A true man of God will always say to the “hirers.” “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money” (Acts 8:20).

2) Seek First The Kingdom. God will take care of you. If you will “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all these things [that you need] will be added unto you” (Matt 6:33).

The laborer is worthy of his hire (wages) – but must never be a hireling. A true shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hireling sees the wolf (hirer) coming and forsaketh the sheep (see John 10:12,13).

This isn’t limited to church leaders. Many Christians, who aren’t leaders, choose where they live and what they do with their lives, by the amount of money offered them. They do not “seek first the kingdom of God” nor the will of God in these matters.

According to Jesus, this is the way unbelievers live. It is sin. If you are living this way, you will miss the will of God.

Next week

Giving: A Source of God’s Blessings 4

2. The Measure Of Our Giving

The greatest giver in the Bible was a little widow who only had two mites (about one penny)  – and she gave it, Jesus said, “.. this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them combined” (Luke 21:3). God measures our giving by what we have left, not what we put in the offering.

I have seen many church leaders who want their members to give to support them and the church. But they do not tithe or give offerings.

They complain about how short of money they are all the time. No wonder! They will never have the blessings promised to the givers until they practice what they preach.

Covetousness can easily overtake us if we don’t learn this important principle in Kingdom economics: “Give and it shall be given unto you!”

If we hold on to our lives, we will surely lose them (Luke 17:33), and if we hold onto our money, we will end up losing that too. By giving away what we have we will experience God’s increase as never before.

Many of us have very little because we are not generous with what we have. Jesus says, “give and it shall be given unto you.” There is no better wayto overcome covetousness than by learning to be generous with what you have.

Next week

Giving: A Source of God’s Blessings 3

Giving is a matter of faith, not a matter of what we have. As an example, here is a spiritual principle you will disagree with unless you have faith.

After you have given one dollar in tithe out of your ten dollar income, the nine dollars left – with God’s blessing on it – will go farther toward meeting your needs than the ten dollars without God’s blessing. (Go back and read it once more).

No mathematics teacher in the world (unless he is a tithing Christian) would agree with this principle. The natural understanding of man says, “ten dollars will provide you more than nine dollars.” That is true unless the Lord’s miracle of multiplication is on the nine dollars which are left. (It will be, if you tithe regularly.)

When the little boy in the Bible gave Jesus a faith offering of his five loaves and two fishes, it was all he had (John 6:9). What happened to the little boy? did he go hungry? No!

When Jesus got   through blessing his offering, it fed five thousand, plus the little boy. Then Jesus took up another offering of the bread and fish left over – and it filled twelve baskets full.

The little boy gave five barley loaves and two fish and got back twelve baskets of bread and fish. that is how God multiplies back blessing and wealth to the giver.

I explained these principles to the church leaders in Papua New Guinea. I asked them if I could preach on giving during one of their services, after the offering was taken. They agreed.

They took the offering and about two hundred dollars was given by two hundred people who were present.

1. Faith And Giving

I got up and explained to the people that God asks us to give because He wants to bless us. He isn’t poor, He doesn’t need our money – but, we need His blessings. “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe…” (Heb 11:6).

We will never have His blessings without faith. God asks us to give to teach us faith. It takes faith to give. So when we give, we are exercising faith. This pleases God, so He blesses us.

If you don’t need God’s blessings, if you don’t want God’s blessings, then don’t give. Keep your money, and the curse that goes with no faith will be yours.

But you can give your money to God and watch Him”… open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be room enough to receive it” (Mal 3:10).

a. An Offering Taken. After the message I asked the people, “If I had preached on salvation this morning, what would you expect me to do next?”

They said, “You would give the sinners a chance to get saved.”

I asked again, “If I had preached on healing this morning, what would you expect me to do next?”

They replied,” You would pray for the sick and give them a chance to get healed.”

I continued, “I’ve preached on giving this morning – what should I do?”

“Take an offering!” they shouted. So that is what I did.

When it came in and was counted, it totaled one thousand two hundred dollars. This was six times as much as the first offering, and it all was given “by those poor Papua New Guinea people.”

I said to the leaders, “You see! The reason the people are not giving is because they are waiting for you to teach them the Word of God. ‘Faith comes by hearing… the word of God’ (Rom 10:17). When their faith is released, they will give.”

I repeated this demonstration in a second church in a rural area with the same results. The leaders were amazed how big the offerings were when the people gave in faith.

b. Double Tithe. God challenged me to give a double tithe (20 percent of my personal income) when I was getting about ten dollars a week as a preacher.

Through that experience. I learned the principles I have just shared with you. God kept His word to me. He blessed me, my family and the ministry with so many miracles of His provision – I could not recount them all.

Next week

Giving: A Source of God’s Blessings 2

8. Three Weaknesses To Watch

Three weaknesses usually let us know if  we have a problem with the love of money:

l  selfishness,

l  bad stewardship, and

l  not giving to God.

a. Selfishness. There are ministers who use the Lord’s money to buy expensive motorcycles and houses. “We’ll use them for the Lord’s service, “they rationalize.

It can be exactly the same immature self-centered thinking as the fellows in the boot camp dormitory. Buying a one hundred dollar camera or a ten thousand dollar sanctuary can be the same, different only in the amount of money it takes.

The minister who says, “There is nothing too good for the ‘man of God’” as he spends God’s money  unnecessarily on himself, only justifies his selfishness. in the missionary training school he would have bought a camera rather than put money in the “food fund.”

Some one who is faithful in a little, will also be faithful with a lot, and some one who is unfaithful in a little will also be unfaithful with a lot.

Do you want to see how you will handle an abundance of money if the Lord should give it to you? Just look at how you use what you have right now. If you are selfish with a million dollars. Unless you repent, money will always be a problem to you, no matter how much or how little it may be.

b. A bad Stewardship. A second way we can discern that we have a problem with the love of money is our failure to realize that what we possess is not our own. A characteristic of the early Church was, “not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own” (Acts 4:32).

What we possess belongs to God and we are stewards of it. “It is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy” (1 Cor 4:2). One day we are going to give an account to God for the way we have used all He’s entrusted to us: Not only money, but our talents, time and relationships will all come under the scrutiny of His Word.

When this grips us as it should, our rationalizations will sound as unconvincing to us as they do to the Lord. It doesn’t take very much effort for us to convince ourselves God wants us to spend money the way our carnal, selfish natures want to use it.

But when we realize that we are going to look into His piercing, all-knowing eyes and give account to Him, our excuses begin to seem a little weak. It is  very easy for us to think of the things we want as being what we need and lose the ability to see the distinction. Let’s pray that the Lord will help us keep a correct perspective in this regard.

c. Not Giving To God. Finally it is evident we love money if we fail to learn diligence and discipline in the matter of giving.

We cannot begin to learn how to give at too early an age.

Faithfulness in tithes and offerings is not an option in the Kingdom of god. If you aren’t tithing, start right away. Ten percent of everything you receive belongs to God. Be diligent in this because failure do so is robbing God (Mal 3:8-10). He doesn’t bless “thieves” in the ministry.

We often think, “I have so little money and so many needs; I can’t afford to tithe.” The truth is we can’t afford not to tithe. The real question according to Malachi 3:9, is “Do I want a cursed 100 percent of my income or a blessed 90 percent?”.

Once we have begun to thithe, we then need to start giving additional offerings.

Jesus said, “For if you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give – large or small – will be used to measure back to you” (Luke 6:38 tlb).

Jesus was dealing with a very important principle in this statement about giving.

If you give to the work of the Lord by teaspoonfuls, God will bless you by teaspoonfuls. If you give to the work of the Lord by cupfuls, God will bless you by cupfuls. If you give to the work of the Lord by bucketfuls, God will bless you by bucketfuls. “Whatever measure you use to give – large or small – will be used to measure back to you.”

When I was in Papua New Guinea some years ago, I was challenging the preachers to teach their people to give tithes and offerings, “Oh!” they said, “the people are too poor to give.”

While Papua New guinea is not one of the richest countries in the world, it is better off than most. I saw no starvation or hungry people as I have seen in many nations. The people were all nicely dressed – and looked in good health.

I said to the leaders. “The problem isn’t financial poverty. It is spiritual poverty. The people are just like you leaders. You have no faith to give, so the people have no faith to give.”

Next week

Giving: A Source of God’s Blessings

7. Possession Can Be Dangerous

Possessing money can arouse areas of sin and weakness we have failed to deal within our lives.

a. Sin And Weaknesses Aroused, Paul says of the righteous law of God, “I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet. ‘But sin taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind…” (Rom 7:7).

“But sin used this law against evil desires by reminding me that such desires are wrong and aroused all kinds of for-bidden desires within me!” (Rom 7:8 tlb).

It is the same way with money as it is with the Law.  Paul found that a righteous and good commandment of the Law aroused the sin that dwelt in him. Money is not bad in itself. But, when we have money the potential for it to arouse covetousness, selfishness and greed is very strong.

As the Lord begins to bless a church leader, he will minister in the power of grace of God. This blessing usually results in an increased flow of finance into the church

At this church leader’s church continues to receive blessing from the Lord, his sinful nature may become aroused and he may begin to covet and misuse the Lord’s money. The money given him for good becomes a temptation for evil and corrupts the ministry and the church leader.

b. Selfishness Revealed. “But”, you may ask, “how can I know whether I will have a problem with a lot of money until I have it?” I can tell what a man will do with a thousand dollars by what he does with one dollar.

“He who is faithful in very little is faithful also in mu ch; and he who is unrighteous in very little is unrighteous also in much” (Luke 16:10). How you spend a little money shows how you will spend a lot of money.

In 1950, when I was in training to be a missionary, I moved into a community dormitory at the “missionary boot camp,” (that is what they called the place.) There were seventeen of us in that dormitory.

The trainee serving as cook for the week was to buy the food. Each person was supposed to contribute three dollars weekly to a “food fund” this would provide fifty dollars a week for groceries to feed the seventeen students.

After the first couple of weeks, only three of us out of the seventeen trainees continued to contribute to the grocery fund faithfully. all the other trainees had some excuse why they couldn’t put in their share. This really impressed me the week it was my responsibility to feed the seventeen. All I had was nine dollars.

During that year, the Lord miraculously provided a large sum of money to us that was divided up among all of the students who were in my dormitory.

Following this, most of the students went into town and came back with cameras, guns and radios. They all reasoned that these things would be necessary when they became missionaries.

But do you know that when we got back to the dormitory routine and our students no more were putting their money into the “food fund” than before.

Only three of the seventeen went on to become missionaries. I’ll bet you can guess which three. Although they had convinced themselves the reasons they bought their cameras and guns were good, they had proven to every one else they were basically selfish at heart, and a selfish person will never be a good missionary.

Next week

Beware the Love of Money 5

5. Money Can Be a Blessing

God blesses His people with money, often giving them abundant wealth to accomplish His purpose in the earth. When the Children of Israel came out of Egypt, they took most of the silver and gold with them. After ten plagues, the Egyptians were so anxious to see them go, they gave them “jewels of silver, and jewels of gold and raiment” (Exo 12:35). “He brought them forth also with silver and gold..” (Ps 105:37). a. Moses. When Moses built the Tabernacle in the wilderness, it was worth millions of dollars. It was built from the free-will gifts of the men and women of Israel who gave up some of their wealth for its construction. This is a perfect example of how God desires to finance His projects. He blesses His people with money so they can use it for His purposes. God has often raised up men and made them very wealthy. Job was very wealthy. He owned “seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, and five hundred teams of oxen and five hundred female donkeys, and employed many servants. He was, in fact, the richest cattleman in that entire area” (Joh 1:3 tlb). b. Abraham was known throughout the ancient world for his wealth. He even had his own private army. c. David And Solomon. No one had more wealth than David and his son, Solomon. Solomon’s personal wealth ran into the millions of dollars. God was able to give them wealth because they used it for the Kingdom. Their wealth served them, they did not serve their wealth. They used it for God’s purposes, not just their own selfish ends. However, Solomon’s heart did go astray later in his life because of his many wives.

6. Important Questions To Ask

What is your relationship to your money? Do you have your money or does it have you? Do you or the Lord determine how you will use your money? Does the amount of money you have determine your happiness.. your style of living? How do you use your money? Are you generous toward God only when you have a surplus? If you don’t have much money, do you always think about it and dream of having more? Does your desire for money control you? Although these questions make us uncomfortable, they make us aware of how we relate to our money. This is especially true of those who lead the flock of God. Did you know that covetousness, or the love of money, causes the downfall of many ministers of the gospel? the love of money is one of the three sins that most often cause ministers’ downfall (1: Females; 2: Fame; and 3: Fortune).

Next week

Beware the Love of Money 4

3. You Cannot Love God And Money

No wonder true spiritual power and great wealth often seem so incompatible Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:23). “It had happened that a certain young ruler of the Jewish people had come to Jesus and asked, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ and Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. “You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not                   bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.” And he said, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth.’ “And when Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘One thing you still lack; sell all that you posses, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven and come follow me!”‘ (Luke 18:18-22). When the young man heard this, he became sorrowful because he was very wealthy. Possibly he had struggled all his life to become rich. Being rich was the thing which most obsessed him. And now Jesus was telling him that to enter God’s Kingdom and inherit eternal life, he had to give it all up: “Dispossess yourself of your wealth and allow me to command you!” The young man was saddened because he loved his money more than he loved Jesus. He presumed he could love Jesus and love his money. He found he couldn’t have it both ways.

4. Covetousness Is Idolatry

“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come… (Col 3:5,6). We usually think of idolatry as bowing down to idols and images. It is much more than that. Moses said of the idolatrous Israelites, “They sacrificed to demons who were not God, to gods whom they have not known, new gods who came lately” (Deut 32:17). For a person to fall down in front of a statue or idol and worship it is to worship the demon that dwells behind the graven image. This is why idolatry is such a serious sin and why God’s wrath comes against it so severely. When Paul says covetousness is idolatry, he is saying the same thing, Covetousness, or greed, is the love of money. When we love money we worship it and the demon behind it. The name Mammon is often used synonymously for money or riches. Consistent love of money brings a person into direct obedience to the dictates of the powerful, demonic, spiritual authority. Being wrongly related to money is what constitutes the danger for a Christian leader. Having money does not. Otherwise, to have money at all would be a sin.

Next week

Beware the Love of Money 3

Money is necessary. With it we buy things we need to live. Many people, because they don’t have enough of it, are hungry, ill-clad and suffer from the ravages of disease. Thus, poverty is a curse, not a blessing. On the other hand, others who have more than they need are often greedy and sometimes cause the suffering of poor people. But money itself doesn’t cause the evil which often results from its use. It is the love of money that is the root of all sorts of evil. The danger isn’t in having money, but in loving it.

1. What We Love, We Will Obey

Jesus said we will obey whatever we love (John 14:15). If we love Him, we will keep His commandments; if we love ourselves, we will obey our fleshly desires and use money for ourselves. It is the well-being and good of whatever we love that determines our decisions. Romans 6:16 says, “You are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death or of obedience resulting in righteousness.” This takes us a step further: Not only do we obey whom we love, we are slaves of whatever, or whomever, we consistently obey.

2. Money Is Controlled By Mammon

Let’s look at  what all this means. Money in the realm of this present evil age is under the control of s wicked principality, whom Jesus calls Mammon. If we love money, we will consistently obey what our love of money dictates to us. If we consistently obey what our love of money says, we will become enslaved to it and come under the control of spiritual wickedness. It isn’t just coincidental that People who love money fall into all sorts of evil. When one loves money he begins to obey the dictates of spiritual wickedness with his flesh. This is why the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. Some years ago a pastor left his wife to take a woman who was already married to an elder in his church. A friend of mine, who has a strong prophetic mantle on his ministry, was weeping in intercession for this fallen church leader. He prayed “Lord, why did Andrew (not the real name) fall into this adultery?” The Lord replied, “Andrew loved money. The love of money is like a taproot that burrows into the sewer of sin and draws up every other kind of evil into the life. This is what happened to Andrew.” The Apostle Paul warned, “But people who long to be rich soon begin to do all kinds of wrong things to get money, things that hurt them and make them evil-minded and finally send them to hell itself. “For the love of money is the first step toward all kinds of sin. Some people have even turned away from God because of their love for it, and as a result have pierced themselves with many sorrows” (1 Tim 6:9,10 tlb).

Next week

Beware the Love of Money 2

Money can have a hook in it! If you don’t relate to it rightly, you’ll be snared by your love for it. Satan, who is the prince of the power of the air, uses money as one of his most effective snares

1. Mammon: A Pagan God.

In Matthew 6:24, Jesus taught about two masters (lords) to choose between: God and Mammon. Mammon was the name of the pagan god of wealth and prosperity. Using the name the way He did, Jesus was also implying there is a demonic principality who controls much of this world’s wealth.

2. Some Will Sell Their Souls

Once when I was in Nicaragua, I was told a very interesting story by one of the believers. He said that a number of people along the east coast” sold their soul to the devil.”

When I asked what he meant by this he explained:

Some who wanted to be rich would pray to the devil and “sell him their soul” in exchange for wealth prosperity. The way the brother explained it, a demonic spirit would actually appear to them as they prayed to the devil.

This would result in their getting rich. But usually in mid-life, around forty-five years of age, the devil would come to claim what they had sold him, their soul.

Those who witnessed the death of such said they would scream, pleading for more years, begging to be spared the flames of Hell. They would bloat up with worms (maggots) and die a horrible death like Herod, who “…was filled with maggots and died” (Acts 12:24 tlbd).

Such are the rewards of those who serve the god, Mammon.

Next week

Beware the Love of Money

Money is more likely to cause the down-fall of a spiritual leader than anything else. Money is necessary to live. It is a great blessing in the work of the Lord. And yet it is responsible for more evil than any other single thing. How can anything be so good and evil at the same time?

In this chapter, I want to share with you biblical principles of how to handle money. God is concerned about how you use the money He puts into your hands, no matter how much or how little. To a very large extent, how you handle money will determine success or failure as a leader.

A. MONEY AND OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

We must learn to be careful about our use of money because through it Satan destroys many leaders.

Money has great spiritual significance. Jesus taught a great deal about money and how it affects a man’s relationship to God.

Possibly the most familiar passage in this regard is, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also…

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon” (Matt 6:19-21,24).

Three things stand out when we read this scripture:

1. Earthly Treasure Is Uncertain

Economic inflation can erode its value and thieves can steal it, be the thief an individual or an agency. Heavenly treasure is the only investment with a guaranteed rate of return for all eternity.

2. Where Are Your Affections?

How we spend our money shows us where our affection is. If we spend all our money only on ourselves, we love ourselves most of all. If we invest 10 percent (1 tithe) or more of our money to spread the gospel, we show we love God and the gospel.

3. You Cannot Serve God And Money

You cannot serve God and money at the same time. “You cannot serve God and Mammon [money].” (But you can serve God with Mammon.)

Either Jesus is your Lord, or money is! It’s that simple. You cannot have it both ways. The direction of your life and the form of your ministry will be determined either by Jesus or by your relationship with money – one or the other!

“But 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.

“For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang. But flee from these things, you man of God” (1 Tim 6:9-11 niv).

Next week

Money: A Snare of Satan

Failing through sexual sin will destroy your ministry and leave a lasting scar in your soul. Although many fall because of this sin, you don’t have to. Let’s review the steps you can take to guard yourself against this fiery dart of the wicket one:

1.Love Your Wife

The root of most sexual failure is insecurity in your marriage. Maintain your home-life and learn to love your wife as Christ loved the Church. Don’t forget that you promised you would love her for the rest of your life. She won’t!

2. Guard Your Thoughts

Make up your mind right now that you will never tamper with moral uncleanliness. Don’t allow thoughts of immorality or moral compromise to enter your mind. If they do, don’t let them stay there.

3. Don’t Give Satan An Advantage

Stay always from situations in which you are likely to be tempted. Guard yourself from Satan’s wiles.

Don’t let him take advantage of you in counseling sessions, or a at times you deal extensively with the opposite sex. Don’t be afraid of those times, but approach them wisely.

4. Seek Help In difficulties

Let a close friend – someone you trust and respect – be your confidant so you can confide in him when you have difficulty with this area of your life. If you are facing temptation, go to him for prayer and support. It’s foolish to face it alone if you don’t have to.

Jesus doesn’t tempt us. He will always help us in our temptations when we call out to Him. He wants us to be pure and to overcome all wickedness.

G. CONCLUSION

Pray this prayer right now as you commit yourself to keep clean hands and a pure heart in your service for your King:

Dear Lord Jesus – I know you’ve called me into the ministry and You want me to stay pure. I praise and thank You that You never compromised Your morals and that, though You were tempted in every  way – even in this way – You didn’t sin.

When You ask me in abstain from fleshly lusts and sexual misconduct, it isn’t because You want to deny me joy and fulfillment in life. It is because You want me to know truly abundant living.                                                                                                                                                                                                      “Therefore, I receive Your strength and Your righteousness to walk in purity and refuse moral compromise. I will not tamper with sexual uncleanness. I will flee from any form of moral sin. By Your strength and power, I will reject any thought or suggestion of immorality. I choose to walk in Your power and be free from the scars which come from fornication AMEN!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnIet00RdvQ

I Kings 2:1 Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying: 2 “I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.

We conclude the study on some areas in our lives that prove us.

If for some reason you can’t see the video, please click here or visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnIet00RdvQ

with love in Jesus

John Kodiyil