Sermon: God and Mammon
Bible passage: Luke 18:18-25
I. About the ruler/leader:
1. He was wealthy (cf. Matt 19:22 “very rich”; Mark 10:17 “very rich”)
2. He was an official, a pious civic leader
3. He came to meet Jesus without hesitation
4. Despite his religiosity, he lacked the assurance of eternal life
5. He was religiously compliant externally from his youth
II. Jesus told him that he “lacked one thing”
1. That he was unhealthily attached to his wealth
2. In other words, the wealth he owned had a grip on him
3. Relationship with God is not merely external!
4. In the heart of a believer, God needs to have the predominant place
5. For the rich ruler, wealth seemed to have the predominant place
III. When Jesus unmasked the heart of the wealthy ruler, he was devastated (verse 23: “But when the man heard this, he became very sad, for he was extremely wealthy”)
1. He did not want to be part with the temporal possessions for eternal treasure
2. It looks like he did not merely possess his wealth, but his wealth possessed him
3. He addressed Jesus “good teacher” and requested him instructions regarding “eternal life,” but when it was given to him, he was not ready for it
4. Wealth had a strong grip over him—He chose his wealth over everlasting life
5. Though he was a religious man, he essentially worshiped the material god
6. He was unwilling to be corrected when his wealth had taken over the God-place in him
7. His wealth was a barrier between him and God
IV. Jesus tells His disciples that unless the wealthy kneel and unload their cargo, they cannot enter the Kingdom of God
1. Verse 25: in fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God
2. No one can say that they will not be controlled by his/her wealth
3. If they do not have healthy spiritual instructions from the Scripture, they can become like the rich ruler
V. Principles
1. Money is a big testing platform
2. It unmasks who we are
3. In Luke 16:13 Jesus says,
a. “No one can serve two masters,
b. for either he will have the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”
c. “You cannot serve God and mammon”
4. When it comes to money, a believer has two competitors to whom he becomes loyal to: God and mammon
5. Mammon is un-surrendered money that takes over one’s heart and mind
a. The spirit of mammon can compete for God in believers’ lives
b. It creates a divided loyalty in believers
c. Mammon’s strategy is control and hoarding
d. If money is not surrendered to God and viewed from His point of view, it becomes our security (false)
6. True wealth comes when God is given authority over our financials
7. Question 1: Is money making the decisions or God makes our decisions?
8. Question 2: Do we look at money as a tool to advance God’s interest or do we make an idol out of our money?
9. When we get money, small or big, we need to invite God into it; if not, mammon takes over without our knowledge Luke 19:1-10
VI. Let’s look at Zacchaeus
1. Becoming a tax collector was an easy way to become wealthy
2. Non-Romans paid to get this job because of its potential to quickly become wealthy
3. From the onlooker’s murmur, we can surmise that Zacchaeus was a wealthy man
4. There was no sign of religion in him
5. He hid from Jesus, wanted to be undetected Jesus’ accepted Zacchaeus unconditionally
VII. Salvation comes to Zacchaeus
1. It was evidenced by his desire to give half of his wealth to poor (compare it with the ruler)
a. When Jesus entered Zacchaeus’ life, mammon’s grip over Zacchaeus was gone
b. He became generous—one of the important evidences of salvation
c. Money is to be shared—Zacchaeus found a new purpose for his wealth
2. He would give back the extorted money four times
a. Money is not holding him anymore, because he found his worth in God
b. His wealth and notoriety did not stand between him and God
c. In fact, he preferred Jesus over mammon
Take Away:
Develop a God-focused relationship with your resources