Spirit of Mammon

Tanning in a tanning booth one day I asked the Lord if I could meet with Him. I found myself in a concrete storage room.
There were thrones all over the room in storage but none of them looked good. Each one had lost its luster, color, and
glory. They each had dust, cob webs, and a layer of dinginess. I said, “Lord, what is this place?” He said, “This is the
place where thrones come to die. These were made for the great men and women of God throughout the ages. But
they were not worthy to sit on them. Instead of storing up treasures in heaven they began to store up treasures on
earth and their heavenly thrones began to decay. The world became their throne and the spirit of Mammon their god.”
As I looked at each of these decaying thrones I couldn’t help but wonder if my throne had found its way into this room;
and so started my study on greed.

Matthew 6:19-24 (read through)

Capital M is riches personified and opposed to God, or more commonly known as the spirit of Mammon.
Tonight we’re going to do something a little different; we’re going to follow three characters through three stories:

Judas
Tell his story backwards:
Acts 1:21-26: Judas has lost one of the most coveted positions in the entire Bible (remember Jesus said to His disciples,
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see
but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Luke 10:23-24)
Acts 1:15-20: Verse 18 tells us Judas had become wicked and died because of it. What exactly did Judas do to be called
wicked?
John 18:1-3, 12a: Verse 2 explains that Judas betrayed Jesus…so now we know why he is called wicked. But what would
cause Judas to betray the one he called Master for 3 years?
Luke 22:1-6: Now wait a minute! Go back to verse 3; Satan entered Judas? There must have been an open door.
Luke 6:43-45: Judas had something already in his heart that allowed Satan to have him speak the idea of betraying Jesus.
What was that thing in Judas’ heart?
John 12:1-6: Judas was a thief, but why? He didn’t need money; he was with Jesus who could supernaturally provide for
everything.
Matthew 6:21-23: His eyes lusted. His heart’s love wasn’t Jesus but the world. Remember that he had charge of the
money bag:
First principle: God won’t remove the temptation of greed from your life. He wants you to overcome it. (1 Corinthians
10:13)

The Young Rich Man

Start by looking at how Jesus called His apostles to Himself:
Mark 1:16-20
Mark 2:13-14
Mark 10:17-21: This man receives the same call as the apostles, but unlike the apostles who, “Immediately left
everything to follow Him”
Verse 22: He went away! Standing before the King of the Universe he went away sad! He counted his wealth as more
valuable than anything Jesus could offer him, and we do the same – don’t we? Oh, don’t we? Have we given everything
over to Him or do we still say, “I deserve this, I’ve worked so hard to earn this money and I deserve this thing.” This is
nothing more than Mammon working together with the spirit of offense. What was Adam’s sin? His own desire.
Or what’s worse – we hide outrageous spending behind the guise of doing kingdom work! Tell personal projector story…
tell expensive clothes viewpoint (US vs. China church).
Mark 10:23-25: tell me something, if we really believed Jesus right here then why in the world would anyone want to be
rich?
What is the ultimate end of this young rich man? We don’t even know his name. He’s generic! A rich young man just
like all the rest; and what happens to such men?
Luke 16:19-25: Hell waits for those who like the security and feel of riches on earth.
Luke 16:13-15: I pray to God this isn’t your reaction tonight.
Stephanie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer's life changed dramatically on June 2, 2003. The stay-at-home mother of three young sons woke up
from a dream featuring seemingly real characters that she could not get out of her head.
"Though I had a million things to do, I stayed in bed, thinking about the dream. Unwillingly, I eventually got up and did
the immediate necessities, and then put everything that I possibly could on the back burner and sat down at the
computer to write—something I hadn't done in so long that I wondered why I was bothering."
Meyer invented the plot during the day through swim lessons and potty training, and wrote it out late at night when the
house was quiet. Three months later she finished her first novel (September). Meyer submitted her manuscript to
various literary agencies. Her book was picked out of a slush pile at Writer's House and eventually made its way to the
publishing company Little, Brown where everyone fell immediately in love with the gripping, star-crossed lovers (By
November, Meyer had signed a $750,000 three-book deal with the company).
Her book was one of 2005's most talked about novels and within weeks of its release the book debuted at #5 on The
New York Times bestseller list. Among its many accolades, the book was named an "ALA Top Ten Books for Young
Adults," and Amazon.com called it the "Best Book of the Decade...So Far.
The highly-anticipated sequel, was released in September 2006, and spent more than 25 weeks at the #1 position on
The New York Times bestseller list.
In 2007, the third book in the series literally landed around the world and fans made the Saga a worldwide
phenomenon!
On May 6, 2008, Little, Brown and Company released another book, Meyer's highly-anticipated novel for adults which
debuted at #1 on The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. This book still remains a staple on the
bestseller lists more than a year after its debut.
On August 2, 2008, the final book in the Saga, was released at midnight. Stephenie made another appearance on "Good
Morning America" and was featured in many national media outlets, including Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek,
People Magazine and Variety. Stephenie headlined a Concert Series with the lead singer of Blue October to celebrate the
release in four major markets across the US. This final book sold 1.3 million copies in its first day.

As for her movies, the first one grossed $396 M with an additional $169 M in DVD sales, whereas the newest one holds
the record for most money made in a single day at $72 M. Overall this new movie which is still making money has
grossed $480 M. This is the spirit of Mammon.

Wealth is deceptive, with many Christians buying into the Twilight phenomenon and even defending these vampires as
“good” even though God clearly abhors eating blood (Acts 15:20).

Revelation 3:21 – “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat
down with my Father on his throne.”
How to overcome Mammon:
Matthew 13:22 – Remember the deceitfulness of wealth.
Luke 12:15 – Be on your guard against this spirit and its temptations.
Luke 17:7-10 – Remember your place; God doesn’t owe you anything.
2 Corinthians 2:17 – Never use God as the excuse for your buying and selling. (Prosperity gospel).
1 Timothy 6:3-10 – Be content with what you have.
2 Corinthians 9:11 – There is only one reason for excess money: To give it away bringing glory to God.

I pray none of us ever have to find our throne in the room where thrones go to die.