The Message of the Teachings on the Mount (55)
By Abraham Eli
This study was first taught on December 29, 2010
Topic: Possessions, Money, and Life (4): Whom Would You Serve?
No audio available for this study.Background
Last week we noted that just like the human body is lighted through a healthy eye, the believer’s life is lighted through a spiritually healthy mind; thus being in the right state of mind will enable us to accurately receive illumination, revelation, and direction from God, and thus provide godly leadership to the world, which we are the light of. We saw that the light that Jesus Christ gives all human beings, but particularly Christians, is His life, His word, and the shining of His countenance.
Our minds are either permitting all of God’s light, some of God’s light, or none of God’s light through us unto the world. We noted that it is indeed a terrible thing when a Christian is unable to provide leadership to the world, as when he permits darkness instead of light into the world. The inability of Christians to influence the world positively amounts to “the blind leading the blind”!
In the course of our study, we saw that many so-called ‘Christians’ are completely in darkness, either being enclosed by false doctrines, or having their minds closed to truth. Others are double-minded or doubting, and never really receive the light of God. Others still are carnal or worldly, and are unable to receive spiritual truth. We saw that when however, a professing Christian or any individual for that matter, comes to his right mind, turns and draws near to God, allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way in him, then, every veil of pretence, falsehood, wickedness, tradition, jealously, worldliness, carnality, and hypocrisy, is removed. This makes the individual’s mind transparent, and allows such an individual to live in the glorious liberty of God, and be changed from glory to glory. It is in such a state of mind that we can truly light up the world, and enjoy the fullness of all that God has for us here on earth.
Scripture Text(s)
Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13
The Lord is telling us that it is impossible to love and serve two masters, for you would love one more than the other; and at the end of the day, be unable to truly love and serve either. By the same principle, He affirms that it is impossible to serve God and mammon! We thus have to make a choice as to whom to love and serve: God or Mammon! This, we hope to accomplish tonight. May the Holy Spirit help us to make the right choice in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Mammon in scripture, is a personification of wealth or money, and implies that people put their trust in it. The Lord is thus saying to us that we cannot trust God and mammon at the same time. We cannot really hold on to God and hold on to mammon or something else for that matter at the same time. You either hold on to God completely or you hold on to Mammon or something else completely! There can be no half measures! Tonight’s study seeks to enable us prove where our loyalty, devotion, dedication, and service truly lie: with God or Mammon!
Ecclesiastes 7:11-12; 1 Timothy 6:10; Revelation 3:15-16; 1 Kings 18:21; Joshua 24:14-15; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17; Romans 6:16-22; 2 Chronicles 26:16-21; Deuteronomy 32:1ff; Joshua 24:14-28; 2 Chronicles 33:10-16; Job 1:6-11; 2:3-10; Jeremiah 45:1-5; Acts 5:16-42; 16:23-34; 2 Chronicles 16:9; John 2:23-25; 2 Chronicles 15:2.
Conclusion
The lesson on life tonight is that you cannot hold on to two diametrically opposed views, or opinions; neither can you be in the service of both God and mammon; nor can you hold on in trust to both God and mammon. You must therefore make a choice as to which of the two you would be holding on to and serving for the rest of your life henceforth.
For many of us, we believe that the choice is an easy one: God. However, Joshua warns us to consider carefully, before we make that choice, for indeed, God is a good, loving, caring, and understanding Master; but He is also a Jealous God (that is, He cannot be shared with anything else). In order to choose and remain with God, three principal elements must be eliminated from our lives: pride, love for other gods, and serving God for the sole purpose of rewards. However, humility (James 4:6), contentment (1 Timothy 6:6-9; Philippians 4:11-12), and faithfulness (Matthew 24:45-46) must be in our lives if we are to serve God eternally.
And even though we are not to focus on things or rewards when serving God, there are indeed rewards; one of which is God’s watchful eyes and protection over our lives. For as long as we are holding on to God, He never abandons us!
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