Would you turn back to Luke chapter
16? Verse 13 is the conclusion. Of this. Parable that in some
ways is very difficult to understand. But when we read this parable,
we need to realize that this is the purpose of this parable.
is to teach us that no man can serve two masters, for either
he will hate the one and love the other, or else he'll hold
to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Mammon is riches. It's money. It is actually that which is
trusted. Now, keep that in mind. This
is the purpose of this parable, and let's read this parable together. Verse 1, And he said also unto
his disciples, there was a certain rich man which had a steward. Remember, a steward is someone
who takes care of somebody else's property. And the same was accused
unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him and
said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? given account
of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer steward."
Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? For
my Lord taketh away from me the stewardship. I cannot beg. To beg I am ashamed. I resolve what to do. that when
I'm put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their
houses. So he called every one of his Lord's debtors unto him,
and he said unto the first, How much owest thou my Lord? And
he said, In a hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him,
Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he
to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, A hundred
measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and
write fourscore. And the Lord commended the unjust
steward, because he had done wisely, for the children of this
world are in their generation wiser, more shrewd than the children
of light. And I say unto you, make to yourselves
friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. that when you fail, when you
cease to be, when you die, they may receive you into everlasting
habitations. He that is faithful in that which
is least is faithful also in much. And he that is unjust in
the least is unjust also in much. If therefore you have not been
faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust
the true riches? And if you have not been faithful
in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which
is your own? No servant can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he
will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and mammon. Now, what is mammon? Riches. That which is trusted is what
the word actually means. Paul said to Timothy in first
Timothy six, charge them that are rich in this world, that
they be not high minded. nor trust in uncertain riches."
And isn't that what Mammon is? Uncertain riches. Now, we are physical beings living
in a material world And we have physical needs and we have material
needs. And there's absolutely nothing
wrong even with enjoying the things the Lord gives us. He's given us all things richly
to enjoy. And it is good to enjoy the things
that the Lord gives us. But we are not to make a god. of those needs. Or even worry about those needs. Our Lord said this again in Matthew
chapter 6, if you'll turn with me there, Matthew chapter 6.
Verse 24. No man can serve two masters. For either
he will hate the one and love the other, or else he'll hold
to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon,
riches, securities, that which is trusted. Now look up in verse
19 and look what he says in this same chapter. He says, lay not
up for yourselves treasures upon earth. where moth and rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." And
look what he says in verse 25 of the same chapter, after he
says, you cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto
you, take no thought for your life. Don't worry about your
life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for
your body what you shall put on. Is not the life more than
meat, and the body more than raiment? Behold the fowls of
the air, were they so not, neither do they reap nor gather into
barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you not much
better than they? Can't we trust our Heavenly Father? Which of you, by taking thought,
by worrying, can add one cubit unto his stature, can add one
moment to his life? And why take ye thought for raiment?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not,
neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon
in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore,
if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is, and
tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe
you, O ye of little faith? Therefore, take no thought, saying,
What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall
we be clothed? For all these things do the Gentiles seek,
for your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these
things. But you seek first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness. And all these things shall be
added unto you. Don't worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof." Now, turn with me to 1 Timothy
chapter 6. You can't serve God and mammon. You can't serve God and riches. Verse 3. If any man teach otherwise,
and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to
godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions
and strifes of words whereof cometh envy, strife, railings,
evil surmising, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds and destitute
of the truth, supposing that gain, financial gain, is godliness,
from such withdraw thyself. Stay away from those people.
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought
nothing into this world, and it's certain we can carry nothing
out. And having food and raiment,
let us be therewith But they that will be rich fall
into temptation and snare, and into many foolish and hurtful
lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of
money is the root of all evil." It's a powerful statement, isn't
it? That's in the Word of God. The love of money is the root
of all evil, which some have coveted after. They've erred
from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Covetousness. The love of money. Not money. Money's not the root of all evil.
Money's a blessing. Money's the gift of God. The
love of money is the root of all evil. The things money brings
with it. The security we think we have.
Got plenty of money in the bank now. Everything's okay. The power
we think we have when we have more money, the prestige we think
we have when we have more money, all the things associated with
having more money. Turn back to our text in Luke
chapter 16. The Pharisees were listening
to this parable that the Lord gave about how you cannot serve
God and man in verse 14, and the Pharisees also who were covetous. They were covetous. They heard
all these things and they derided him. They made fun of him. They
said, this doesn't even make sense. This is ridiculous. We
don't believe this. And he said unto them, you or
they which justify yourselves before men, but God knows your
hearts for that which is highly esteemed among men. What's more highly esteemed among
men? It is an abomination in the sight
of God. The Lord said to his disciples,
Beware, and take heed of covetousness. You know, that's the only time
the Lord gave a double warning like that. Take heed and beware. Not just take heed, not just
beware. Take heed and beware of covetousness. For a man's
life doesn't consist in the abundance of things that he possesses. You know, if you go on reading
in this chapter, in Luke 16, look at the next story the Lord
gives after they derided the Lord regarding this. We read
beginning in verse 19, there was a certain rich man which
was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every
day. Now this man lived a good life.
He had plenty He fared sumptuously every day, health, wealth, everything
you could desire. This man had what he considered
a good life. And there was a certain beggar,
verse 20, named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of
sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from
the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked
his sores, and it came to pass that the beggar died and was
carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died
and was buried, and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torment."
How much do you think his riches meant to him at this time? absolutely nothing. Turn to Mark chapter 10. This is after that rich young
ruler had left the Lord He had told the Lord that he
had kept all these commandments from his youth up, verse 21,
and Jesus, beholding him, loved him and said unto him, One thing
thou lackest, Mark 10, 21, go thy way, sell whatsoever thou
hast and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven
and come take up the cross and follow me. And he was sad at
that saying and went away grieved for he had great possessions.
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples,
How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom
of God. And the disciples were astonished
at his words. But Jesus answered again, and saith unto them, Children,
how hard it is for them that trust in riches. You see, there's the problem.
Them that trust in riches. How hard will it be for them
to enter the kingdom of heaven? It's easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into
the kingdom of God. Now, Paul tells us in Colossians
3, verse 5, that covetousness is idolatry. And this man who
seemed so promising was filled with covetousness. The wise man
said in Proverbs 23, 4, labor not to be rich. That's a command. Labor not to
be rich. I want to show you some other
scriptures. Turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 5. We'll get to this
parable in a minute, but this was such a blessing to look at
this. It puts things in proper perspective. Verse 10. Ecclesiastes chapter
5. He that loveth silver. shall
not be satisfied with silver. If that's what you're about,
you'll never have any satisfaction in it. Nor he that loveth abundance
with increase." You're never going to really get satisfied.
You're always going to feel like you need more. This also is vanity. When
goods increase, there increase that eat them. And what good
is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them
with their eyes? The sleep of a laboring man is sweet. whether
he eat little or much, but the abundance of the rich will not
suffer him to sleep." Who's happier? The laboring man or the rich
man? You know, I think of that rich
fool our Lord warns us of in Luke chapter 12, who is not rich
toward God. And the Lord said, This night
thy soul shall be required. of thee. What should it profit
a man? Now remember, we're talking about covetousness. We're talking
about you can't serve God and mammon. What would it profit
a man if he would gain the whole world and lose his soul? And what would a man give in
exchange for his soul? You can't serve God and mammon.
Now let's go back to Luke chapter 16. And he said also unto his disciples,
there was a certain rich man and he represents God. He is an infinitely rich and
wealthy man. He owns all things. He says that cattle on a thousand
hills are mine and the hills too. The hills too. It's all
he is. He is that certain rich man.
which had a steward, and the same was accused unto him that
he had wasted his goods. Now, the rich man is God. The
steward is us. Every one of us are stewards,
God's stewards, because everything belongs to him, doesn't it? Whatever
you have, who does it belong to? I'm talking about everything.
I'm not just talking about material things. I'm talking about your
intellect. I'm talking about your inclinations.
I'm talking about everything about you. I'm talking about
the things you own, the things you possess. I'm talking about
the time you have. I'm talking about the substance
you have. I'm talking about the influence you have. I'm talking
about the opportunities you have. Everything belongs to the Lord,
doesn't it? The earth is the Lord's. And the fullness thereof, the
world and they that dwell therein, It all belongs to him. Now, a steward is a servant. And you know, it's an honorable
thing to be a steward. You're entrusted with something. What you have in every respect,
what I have in every respect, is what the Lord has entrusted
us with. And that's a humbling thing,
isn't it? Whatever you have, it's what
God himself has entrusted you with for his glory. It's an honorable thing to be
a steward, to be entrusted with that which belongs to somebody
else and to take care of it. And with stewardship is great
responsibility. It's required in a steward. that a man be found faithful. Now, the steward in our text
was unfaithful. Through waste, through embezzlement,
through covetousness, he wasted his master's goods. Verse 2, And he, the master,
called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of
Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer
steward. Now, when we're speaking of this
thing of stewardship and an unfaithful stewardship, we could be talking
about believers. We could be talking about unbelievers. I
mean, because everybody's God's steward, aren't they? Everybody
is. You know, the mayor of Lexington, Kentucky is God's steward, whether
he knows it or not. The president of the United States
is God's steward. Every human being is God's steward
with something entrusted to them. And this particular steward was
unfaithful. And the master says, give an
account of yourself. You're going to lose your stewardship. That's a scary thought. I mean,
this this. That's what he says. You're going to lose your stewardship. And you know, this life is a
series of giving account. We're accountable to God, believers
and unbelievers alike. And he says, give an account
of your stewardship, for you may no longer be steward. And
I think of all the things that we have as God's stewards. I
mean, the intelligence you have. The gifts you have. The material
things that you have. The abilities you have, the time
you have, the influence you have. It's all given to you on loan. You are God's steward to use
it for God's glory, and the steward must give an account. I love
the way Paul was able at the end of his life to look at his
stewardship, and that's what it was. He said in 1 Corinthians
4, let a man account of us as stewards of the mysteries of
God. He could say regarding his stewardship,
I fought a good fight. I finished my course. I've kept
the faith. Don't you want to be able to
say that? With regard to the stewardship that God has given
you, because he has given you and I stewardship. Now, there is great reward in
being a good steward. I'm not talking about a high
reward in heaven. I'm not talking about that at all, because that's
foolishness. You're not going to earn some
high reward in heaven by how good you've been here on earth.
That's foolishness. That's contrary to grace. That's
contrary to the gospel. But I will tell you this, here
on earth, our happiness will in large measure be dependent
upon our stewardship. If we're seeking to be obedient
to Him, we're going to be happy. If we're seeking to be happy,
we're going to be miserable. You see, whenever you're seeking
to be happy, you can just write this down, you're going to be
miserable, because that doesn't have anything to do with God's glory. That
has to do with your own gratification. And whenever somebody is seeking
their own happiness, write it down, they're going to be miserable.
But if you seek to be obedient in your stewardship, whatever
that means, you're going to be a happy, content person in this
life. And the scripture says, Godliness
with contentment is great gain, isn't it? Now, we have many instances
of believers being unfaithful in their stewardship throughout
the scriptures. Lot is the first person that came to my mind.
Lot. Brother Lot. I love Lot. I can identify with
him, love him. And we know he was a believer.
God himself testified regarding this man. He was a righteous
man with a righteous soul. He was one of God's elect. God
had done something for him. But you look at the choices he
made, pitching his tent towards Sodom, where he ended up. He
was not a faithful steward of what God had given for him. And
look at the misery he brought in his own life because of that.
I think of David. David, the man after God's own
heart, talking David, not a, oh, you know how we love David,
the sweet psalmist of Israel. How, how many times has he expressed
in the Psalms, the very thoughts of your hearts and desires better
than you can express them yourself. We love David, but when David
should have been going out to battle with the Kings, he stays
at home on the roof. He spies Bathsheba. and how he
destroyed his stewardship at that time. As a matter of fact,
the sword never left his house after that time. Solomon, the wisest man to ever
live, and yet look how his life ended up in shame. Shame. Loving many women, serving their
gods. As a matter of fact, We think
he was an unbeliever. Dying an unbeliever, if the Bible
didn't tell us differently, wouldn't we? Just as far as the way you
look at him. When you see the way he died, I guarantee you,
most people said, well, he wasn't saved. He couldn't have been.
But the Lord said he was, so we know he was. But look what
these men did in their unfaithful stewardships over what God had
given them to do. Now, sin in an unbeliever, Seems evil any way you look at
it, but you know, in a believer, it's worse in a believer than
it is in an unbeliever. Because he sins against more
love, he sins against more light, he sins against more blessing.
Now, another thing I thought of when I was thinking of this
unfaithful stewardship, I thought about that fellow in 1 Corinthians
chapter 3, who built his building with wood, hay, and stubble. Not gold, silver and precious
stones, but wood, hay and stubble. And it was all burned up in this
life. The day will declare it. Now, our happiness in this life
will be seen in our faithfulness as God's steward. Now, back to
Luke chapter 16. Then, verse 3, Then the steward
said within himself, What shall I do? He's been told that he's
going to be put out of the stewardship, he's lost his job. Well, what
shall I do? For my Lord taketh away from
me the stewardship. I cannot dig. I believe the man
was lazy. I cannot dig. And to beg, I'm
ashamed. But isn't that really a description
of the natural man? He can't work. Not really. He can't. He's morally inable.
He's dead in trespasses and sins. He can't work, but he's too proud
to beg for mercy. Too proud. That's that man right
there. I can't dig to beg. I'm ashamed. Verse four, I'm resolved what
to do. Here's what I'm going to do.
Verse four. When I am put out of the stewardship that they
may receive me in their houses, I'm going to take care of myself.
So he called every one of his Lord's debtors unto him, and
he said unto him, the first, how much o'st thou, my Lord?
And he said, a hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him,
take thy bill and sit down quickly and write 50. Now, all of a sudden
that fells indebted to him, didn't he? He's indebted to him and
he's taking care of himself. He's taking care for the future.
What he's doing is dishonest. What he's doing is wrong, but
this is how he's handling it. Verse 7, Then said he to another,
And how much owest thou? And he said, A hundred measures
of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write for
score. Now everything he did was wrong
and dishonest, but it made it to where all those people were
indebted to him. He took care of his future, didn't
he? He took care of his future. Now look in verse 8. And the Lord commended. the unjust steward, because he
had done wisely." Now that's not spiritual wisdom. He acted
in shrewdness. He took care of himself. He's
not commending him for the sinful acts, but he's saying this man
was shrewd. The Lord commended the unjust
steward because he had done wisely. For the children of this world
are in their generation wiser, more shrewd than the children
of light. He was not commending him for
his dishonesty, but for his shrewdness. The wisdom spoken of here is
not spiritual wisdom or true wisdom, but this shrewd man knew
what to do in order to take care of his future. And we certainly should care
about our future eternal home, shouldn't we? You will sing that
song, The Lord Will Cross Over Jordan. with me and I think I'm
going to die. I'm soon going to die. Now, look what he says in verse
nine. Verse eight, nine together, the Lord commended the unjust
steward because he had done wisely. For the children of this world
are in their generation wiser than the children of light, more
shrewd. You know, they are. They are. And I say to you, Make
to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that
when you fail, they may, or when you die, they may receive you
into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which
is least is faithful also in much, and he that is unjust in
the least is unjust also in much. Now what in the world do you
mean by that? Make to yourself friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. The mammon of unrighteousness
is the God of the unbeliever. Isn't that so? It's the God of
the unbeliever. It's the master of the unbeliever. Now, regarding all these material
things called mammon, and it's even called the mammon of unrighteousness,
all these material things, make friends of it. Make sure it's
not your enemy. Make sure it's your friend. Now, what in the world
does that mean? Turn to 1 Timothy chapter 6.
Hold your finger there in Luke chapter 16. 1 Timothy chapter
6. I quoted the first part of this. Verse 17. Charge them that are
rich in this world that they be not high-minded, nor trust
in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us richly
all things to enjoy." To enjoy. Now, do you hear that? To enjoy.
Not to feel guilty about. Not to feel guilty that you have
it. To enjoy. That they, verse 18, do good,
that they may be rich in good works, ready to distribute willing
to communicate, to give, laying up in store for themselves a
good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold
on eternal life. Now, does that mean what they
give is a good foundation? You know better than that. Would
you take your gifts and what you give and have that as the
foundation of your salvation? Of course not. What he's talking
about is evidence. You remember when it said, Blessed
are the dead that die in the Lord. And he says, Yea, their
works do follow them. And they don't come out in front
as the cause. They don't come along the side as working together. They come in the back as evidence. And you make the mammon of unrighteousness. Make sure your stewardship gives
evidence that Christ has done something for you. Use your stewardship
in a way that will not be a witness against you. Turn to Luke chapter
19. Luke chapter 19. And Jesus entered and passed
through Jericho, verse 2, and behold, there was a man named
Zacchaeus. which was the chief among the
publicans, and he was rich. This was a wicked man. I mean,
he was worthless. He was worthless. And he sought
to see Jesus, who he was. There's where salvation begins.
You want to know who he is? And he could not. You know, whenever
you begin to seek the Lord, you find out you can't. He could
not for the press because he was little of stature. And he ran before and climbed
up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that
way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him
and said unto him, Zacchaeus, Make haste and come down for
today. I must abide in thy house. And he made haste. He came down.
He received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all
murmured, saying that he's going to be gifts with a man that's
a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, behold,
Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. He wasn't doing
that to be saved. He was doing that because he
wanted to all of a sudden. The Lord had done something for
him. He said, if I have taken anything from any man by false
accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, this
day is salvation come to this house. He's talking about himself.
I've come to this house. Salvation's come to this house.
He's saved because he did all these things, no? No, he doesn't.
Jesus said unto him, this day is salvation come to this house
for as much as he also is a son of Abraham. for the Son of Man
has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Turn back
to Luke 16. This is saying you make friends,
not don't let the mammon of unrighteousness be God. Don't let it be a witness
against you. This is the only way this can
be understood in the context of this passage script. You make
friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. So they testify for you like
these people. He says, laying a foundation to come. These works
that will prove that they believe what they said they believe.
Now, back to verse 10. The Lord says. He that is faithful
in that which is least. The mammon of unrighteousness.
That's what's least. But he that's faithful in that
which is least, is faithful also in much. You know, it's the little
things that prove the big things, isn't it? It really is. If you're faithful in the little
things, like the mammon of unrighteousness, you'll be faithful in the big
things. And if you're unfaithful in the little things, You'll
be unfaithful in the big things, too. He that's faithful in that
which is least is faithful also in much, and he that is unjust
in the least is unjust also in much. You know, if you'll steal
a dime, you'll rob a bank, won't you? That's the example he's
putting. If therefore, now you've not
been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, and notice he talks about
being faithful in the unrighteous mammon. Mammon is that which
is trusted. Remember, the love of money is
the root of all evil. Finding your security, your trust
in what you have. If, therefore, you've not been
faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust
the true riches? You know, if you're faithful
in looking to Christ only, let's begin right there. If you're
faithful to looking to Christ only as everything in your salvation,
you know you're going to be faithful everywhere else. And if you can't
do that, if you can't look to Christ only as everything in
your salvation, you've lost all credibility. You won't be faithful
anywhere. Begin with that which is least,
even the simple faith in Christ. Talk about giving. If I'm not
faithful in giving, I won't. And that's what he calls least.
I won't be faithful anywhere else. If, therefore, you've not been
faithful to the unrighteous man, then who will commit to your
trust the true riches? I love that. The true riches.
What are true riches? What are true riches? Is it material
stuff? Is it silver and gold? That's
not true riches. True riches is being found in
Christ. True riches is having the very
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. True riches is being
an adopted son. True riches is having an eternal
inheritance. True riches is being a child
of God. That's the true riches. Oh, those
are the riches I'm interested in. I don't have to be healthy. I
don't have to be wealthy. I hate that health-wealth gospel
where they kind of talk like God's blessings on you if you're
healthy and wealthy. Somebody says they don't know
God. You can just write that down. They don't know God. The
true riches is simply being found in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
I love this, verse 12. And if you've not been faithful
in that which is another man's. Now remember, we're stewards.
What we have is another man's. You know that car you're going
to get ready to get into? That's another man's, isn't it? It doesn't
belong, it belongs to the Lord. That last breath of air you took,
that's another man's. It's not yours, it belongs to
the Lord. Everything you have is another man's. Now, he says
to his disciples, if you've not been faithful in that which is
another man, who shall give you that which is your own? And what's
that mean? Now, When the Lord saves me and he
gives me his righteousness, that righteousness becomes my own. It's mine. That's my obedience. There's only one righteousness.
Psalm 71, 16, David said, I've made mention of thy righteousness,
even thine only. Now, that righteousness of the
Lord Jesus Christ becomes my own so that I come into God's
presence fully deserving of his favor. Now that's how real salvation
is. It becomes our own. His righteousness,
his merit, his life, it becomes, he becomes our own. Now, if you've
not been faithful in that which is another's man, who shall give
you that which is your own, these true spiritual riches? I think
of Revelation 19, 8, where it speaks of fine linen, clean and
white. This is the righteousness of
the saints. The righteousness of Christ is
the righteousness of the saints. Now, verse 13, here's how he
concludes this. No servant can serve two masters. It can't be done. You can't be divided in your
affection. You can't be halting between two opinions. Mammon
is that which is trusted. Now, it's not just money. It's
that which is trusted. That's the root of the word.
And the reason people are destroyed by money is because that's what
they're trusted in. They're trusted in their security from that.
You can't have two objects of faith. That's it. You can't have two objects of
faith. You know, when a man let go of
this world, the mammon of unrighteousness and it ceases being a god to
him and he becomes a friend to him and he uses it and enjoys
it and uses it for God's glory when he sees that the Lord Jesus
Christ is infinitely better than the mammon of unrighteousness.
The only man will quit trusting mammon when he sees it's utterly
untrustworthy and only Christ himself is to be trusted. You
know, it's sad to me I don't know how to say this. It's sad
to me that we say we can trust Christ with our salvation, but
we don't trust him any other way. It's not right, is it? May the Lord make us children
of faith, trusting him completely to take care of us and make friends
of the man of unrighteousness. Not being our God, but using
it for his glory. And what a blessing that will
be. What a joy it is to trust him
for salvation and to trust him for all things temporal and not
make a god of the mammon of unrighteousness. I'll close with one last scripture. Turn to Mark 8. You know, the very fact that
the scripture says the love of money is the root of all evil
tells us the significance of this. This is greatly significant. Verse 34, Mark chapter 8. And when he had called the people
unto him, with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever
will come after me. Is that something you want to
do? Do you want to be an out-and-out follower of the Lord Jesus Christ? A disciple indeed? A disciple
through and through? Whosoever will come after me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross the confession,
the persecution that comes with believing the gospel. Where the
world will have no love for you. And follow me. For whosoever
will save his life. And he becomes enamored with
Mammon. You know, I think of the parable
of the sower. Remember the thorn choked here?
What did he become deceived by? The deceitfulness of riches. The deceitfulness. For whosoever will save his life
shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake
and the gospels, the same shall save it. For what shall a profit
a man if he shall gain the whole world? lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange
for a soul? You can't serve God in man, can
you? Can't be done. May the Lord enable us to make
friends. And that's what he said. That's
the language he used. Make friends. Not where it's your master and
slave, you're a slave to it. Make friends of the mammon of
unrighteousness. May the Lord enable us to profit
from this passage of Scripture. Let's pray together.