Idols and Mammon
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Idols and Mammon
Idols and Mammon
Subject: Lordship
Theme: Lordship of Jesus
Proposition: Who is Lord of your life, put aside the idols that steel our hearts attention and surrender them to God.
Nobody can serve two masters, we cannot serve both God and money.
Introduction
There is 2 things I want to talk to you about today.
Something the Holy Spirit has been talking to me about.
I’ll share with you what the Lord has been sharing with me, and if it speaks to you so be it- good and fine!
The 2 area’s are Idols and Mammon
Life is a journey and full of challenges the Christian life is a journey and full of challenges,
We learn to listen, read the Word, pray and interact with others.
I find myself:
Are you spending money you don’t have, to buy things you don’t want, to impress people you don’t like?
I put other things in my life where Christ should be honoured.
ohoI speak to you today as a human trying to bring human solutions to God problems, thing that God can only heal and restore.
I desire to live a victorious life in Jesus Christ, not live as a defeated believer.
A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”
“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Matthew 6:24
What is Mammon
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
The new Testament uses the term Mammon which is translated as money
Filling The Void
Filling The Void
the thing is that wealth and mammon cannot fulfill the void that we are trying to fill our lives with.
We fill it with good works and make that an idol.
we fill it with acquiring wealth and that becomes and idol.
We do all sorts of things to justify our lives.
It may not be Mammon that tries to fill the void in your life, it may be what you do, your relationship, other substances, TV, eating, I know what I am challenged with and what I need to surrender to God continually,
I do what I don’t want to do, and what I want to do, I cant do
What holds dominion over our heart, God has lost His authority over our lives.
God’s command to us was to have dominion, be fruitful and multiply- its a life of blessing of stewardship (being faithful with what the Lord has entrusted us with)( people resources and our environment) and leadership.
“Mammon seeks to get you to spend your whole week and ultimately your whole life pursuing money”
My kids sing this song “I’ve got bills, I’ve got to pay
It may not be mammon that steels our attention from serving God wholeheartedly.
It may not be mammon that steels our attention from serving God wholeheartedly. sJesus
We try everything else but the thing that we should do, it is Jesus, Jesus is the centre.
m serving God wholeheartedly.
Keeping Jesus at the Centre
Keeping Jesus at the Centre
The thing is that Jesus Christ is the centre of our lives we give our lives to Jesus and live whole heartedly for him.
Then after some time we begin to look to others, compare ourselves with and see them doing things that we think they should not be doing. Our attention shifts slightly. And before we know it we are a long way from God and His Grace for us.
Righteous
To be righteous is not about being perfect or being right, self righteous or judgemental or prideful, doing good works, turning up for church.
It is NEVER about the outward appearance or action, it is about the attitude of the heart, it is about the internal faith response to the grace of God and outworked by following His way, living in obedience.
Living the abiding life is that Jesus is the true vine, he is our source of life and freedom.
we are clean and washed because of the truth and life of the word of God that is at work in us.
Our efforts cannot bear fruit that will last, only what we do through our relationship with God.
hOur efforts cannot bear fruit that will last, only what we do through our relationship with God.
There is power in prayer in knowing and abiding in Christ the true Vine.
There is power in discipleship as we bear fruit in and through Christ.
He calls us friends
you are a friend of God
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 15:
John 15:1-5
Jesus says “I am the Vine” He is the source of all we need it doesn’t come from us.
God does much with little
Most with least
and
The doing is to Abide in Christ
Living a life of Trust
Living a life of Trust
Struggle to not to struggle to rest in God.
It is here and now in this life,
are we an unbelieving believer?
Do we believe and trust in the Lord Jesus.
Jesus is enough, not our works, our human
When we are frustrated, it is because we cannot control the person or the situation that we are presented with. Instead of allowing and giving it over to God and let Him have his way.
It’s a life of surrender.
We can’t do it, we can’t do all the things we think we should do it.
Illustration:
Convicted by the Holy Spirit if we have two give the other away so our brother or sister is not in need.
Puffer jacket
My wallet was stolen in Alice Springs.
I had an absolute trust that I would get back all what I needed.
Didnt’ bother me at all.
the Problem is
We try and mask man made problems with man made solutions:
When we should pursueing God himself to meet with us.
It’s only God who can truly transform our lives, on the inside, it is he who brings healing and wholeness not ourselves or our human ways.
It is through His transforming Word, when we understand the lie that we were believing is false, not true.
It is through surrender to God, do we truly believe that He is good, just, gracious.
surrender all, all to Jesus I surrender all to him I humbly give, my worldly pleasures,
Judson W. Van DeVenter (1855-1939) was raised in a Christian home. At age 17, he accepted Jesus as his Savior. He graduated university with a degree in art and was employed successfully as a teacher and administrator of high school art. He traveled extensively, visiting the various art galleries throughout Europe.
Van DeVenter also studied and taught music. He mastered 13 different instruments, sang and composed music. He was very involved in the music ministry of his Methodist Episcopal church and eventually found himself torn between his successful teaching career and his desire to be a part of an evangelistic team. This struggle within himself lasted for almost five years.
In 1896, Van DeVenter was conducting the music of a church event. It was during these meetings that he finally surrendered his desires completely to God — He made the decision to become a full-time evangelist. As he submitted completely to the will of his Lord, a song was born in his heart.
I Surrender All was put to music by Winfield S. Weeden (1847-1908 ), who published this and many other hymns in several volumes. Weeden so loved this song that the words I Surrender All were put on his tombstone.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Here’s the point
Jesus is wanting to draw us to himself, at times we are distracted and not listening but he continues to work on our hearts.
He wants to be Lord
Through Jesus we can be free from bondage, He is waiting for our hearts response.
Ask Him to show you What is the lie that we believe about ourselves or God himself?