This Evil Age, and the Age to Come

 Do not rely on deceitful wealth,  for it will be no help on the day of wrath. Ben Sira 5:8

Lose your money for relative or friend;
    do not hide it under a stone to rot.
11 Dispose of your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High,
    and that will profit you more than the gold.  Ben Sira 29:10,11

44:9  For everything will pass away which is corruptible, and everything that dies will go away, and all present time will be forgotten, and there will be no remembrance of the present time which is polluted by evils.

44:10  For he who runs now runs in vain and he who is happy will fall quickly and be humiliated.

44:11  For that which will be in the future, that is what one will look for, and that which comes later, that is what we shall hope for. For there is a time that does not pass away.

44:12  And that period is coming which will remain forever; and there is the new world which does not carry back to corruption those who enter into its beginning, and which has no mercy on those who come into torment or those who are living in it, and it does not carry to perdition.

44:13  For those are the ones who will inherit this time of which it is spoken, and to these is the heritage of the promised time.

44:14  These are they who prepared for themselves treasures of wisdom. And stores of insight are found with them. And they have not withdrawn from mercy and they have preserved the Truth of the Torah.

44:15  For the coming world will be given to these, but the habitation of the many others will be in the fire.     2nd Baruch 44:9-15

Mammon is the a master we cannot serve.  Consumerism, coveting is the god over this nation (USA) and many have fallen and will fall pursuing this at the cost of their soul.

Unveiling the deceptive spirits of "mammon" and "commerce"

Deitrich Bonhoeffer said it well:

“…the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” (1)

"God has no use for our flesh and its talents (see Romans 7:18). They are useless to Him. The more talented we are, the larger obstacle these talents become and the greater temptation to 'do something great for Christ' without His Spirit leading us."


"How many of us American Christians have heard the lie of Satan that we as Christians are called to live a happy, successful life in the eyes of the world as a living advertisement on why they should also be Christians? This is not the gospel of God’s kingdom, but rather a false gospel designed by Satan to keep us under his control in his kingdom."


"The flesh in man loves religion because religion gives him an opportunity to have the best of both worlds. With religion we can claim Christ as our Lord, yet remain the one in control of our lives, seeing His cross as a thing of the past and go after “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” After all, isn’t this our God-given “inalienable right”? This phrase from the Declaration of Independence is the opposite of desiring the things of our Father in heaven, yet you would think it came from the very mouth of Jesus Christ if you observe the lives and goals of American Christians. There is no life, liberty and true happiness outside of living IN Christ in obedience to and unity with the Father. We might think we are independent of Satan as we pursue the things of this world, but we are deluded and have not yet been converted in the eyes of God."


These quotes from a blogger named Michael ( https://awildernessvoice.wordpress.com/2016/05/22/do-we-desire-the-kingdom-of-god-or-the-kingdoms-of-men/ )
begin to uncover something that both my wife and I are beginning to have un-veiled to us by the
Spirit of God.  Mammon and Commerce are two very deceptive spirits that have been allowed onto holy ground in the church and they are being worshipped in subtle ways that are not visible if you are still "buying into the lie" that Christ died to make us happy. 


Yesterday part 6 of the series "Good or God" by John Bevere was shown in our church and it was 98% correct.  Two statements were made that demonstrate the subtle deception that we are up against. (1) "When you seek first the kingdom of God, He will cause you to prosper materially and with that you can further the kingdom of God."  False.  God does not need our finances or our support to advance His kingdom, in fact I have a friend who visits Haiti and comes back humbled every time, by the evidence and manifestations of the kingdom of God that take place in this, "poorest nation in the western hemisphere."  (2)  "When others see your material prosperity, they will ask you about your God."  False.  What leads the Jew to jealousy and what draws other people to us, and what Jesus praises the remnant for in each 'church' in Revelation is the exact same thing.  Perseverance in the face of suffering, trial and tribulation.  Faith that is not moved by the circumstances but continues to cling to and trust in the faithful love of the Father.  Endurance not abundance is the what separates the follower of the Lamb, from the world.  He had no place to "lie His head", He knew and made known and lived the truth that suffering is the pathway to glory, ultimate glory.  Nothing that can be obtained in this life in the form of possessions is going to ultimately point to eternity.  We are called to be a people surrendered to the will of God, in Christ.  Period.  Prosperity does not advance the kingdom of God, poverty does not hinder the kingdom of God, the "one thing" is to be "in Christ."

Lazarus and the rich man

Wednesday night lesson at church is a video on Lazarus and the rich man.  Feel strongly from God, not to let us 'squirm' out from underneath the implications of the story.
So this will be my most simple lesson ever.

Love God, Use Money

Hardest thing in a lesson like this is to keep the main idea, the main idea. I am asking you help tonight in making sure that we use this lesson from Jesus as a mirror, to be held up to our lives and demand attention.

The Sovereign God has placed a person outside of your gate. Will you view that person as an inconvenience or as a divine appointment? Are the needs of others seen as a 'drain' on your already limited resources or as an opportunity to display the unlimited resources of love and provision from our God? Do you resent the needs of others or do you prayerfully ask, “Are you putting this person at my gate, Lord?”

I think the only God honoring way to end tonight is for each of us to get alone with God and to answer these two questions.

Who has God placed outside of your gate?

What is God saying to do about that person or circumstance?