In Your Bible Read This Out
Loud: Matthew 26:14-16.
Memorise This Verse: Acts
5:3
Afterwards Talk About This:
How can we shield ourselves from the devil's financial snares.
Something To Do Before Next
Time: Pray that God would lead you away from the devil's financial
temptations.
Written Diploma Work:
Write one side on the ways in which the devil uses money to attack the
people of God.
Meditate Word By Word On
This Verse: Mark 4:19
This chapter will consider
the area of finances in the context of spiritual warfare such that it
will be revealed how to wage a good warfare in our finances and defeat
the devil.
Money is without doubt a
major battlefield between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Darkness
on both a personal level and a corporate level because a Christian, and
ultimately a church, without money will be hampered in their ability to
undertake the Great Commission. Moreover, the devil will use money as a
temptation to put before the people of God and will set it as a snare to
catch the people of God. This particular section will take a biblical
survey of the devil using money as a major weapon against the people of
God money is like a double-edged sword that we can either use or be used
against us - as we walk in righteousness in our finances we can grasp
the sword and slay our enemies with it.
In Mark 4:1-20, Jesus tells
the parable of the sower which he declares was the most important of all
his parables as he says in verse 13, 'Don't you
understand this parable?
How then will you understand
any parable'. Jesus declares that the devil will attack the word of God
that has been sown in our hearts and below are listed the devices that
Jesus said the devil will use. Notice how two of the weapons of the
devil are the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things
(notice that the word desires i.e. plural, is used)
-
Trouble
Persecution
Worries of this life
The deceitfulness of wealth
Desires for other things
The bible also gives further
examples of specific people who not only were attacked by Satan but the
specific weapon that the devil used against them was money. The first
example is that of Judas Iscariot - that he was attacked of Satan there
is no doubt as John 13:2 says, 'The evening meal
was being served and the devil has already prompted Judas Iscariot, son
of Simon, to betray Jesus'.
Moreover the method by which
the devil prompted Judas to betray Jesus was money the scripture below
is Matthew 26:14 and it shows how Judas was prepared to betray the Son
of God for money. Despite walking with Jesus for 3 years and seeing him
perform healings, miracles and deliverances, the devil offered Judas
money and he sadly turned his back on Jesus and eventually betrayed him.
Then one of the Twelve - the
one called Judas Iscariot - went to the chief priests and asked, 'What
are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?'. So they
counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for
an opportunity to hand him over'.
The next biblical example of
people who were attacked by Satan in the area of money is the story of
Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1. The newly birthed triumphant church of
the Lord Jesus Christ was filled with the unstoppable glory of Holy
Spirit who was firmly in control of the corporate operation of the
believers. Consequently, the devil needed to invade this atmosphere with
sin and unrighteousness and his number one method of attack was money -
it was simply too much of a temptation to Ananias and Sapphira and the
devil was able to gain a foothold.
That Satan tempted Ananias
and Sapphira there again can be no doubt as Peter asks, 'Ananias,
how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the
Holy Spirit?'. The couple lie about how much money they received
from the sale of their land and the result is financial unrighteousness,
sin and ultimately the death of both Ananias and Sapphira - clearly the
devil used money to score a direct hit against the glorious early
church.
As we read on in the book of
Acts we come across the next example of the devil using money to tempt
the people of God and that is the story of Simon the Sorcerer as related
in Acts 8:9 -25. Certainly Simon was under the influence of Satan as not
only did he practise magic arts and Sorcery but he also received worship
from people and was referred to as the 'Great Power'.
When he sees Peter releasing
the power of Holy Spirit into people's lives he is motivated by
wickedness to tempt Peter by offering him money to literally buy the
gift of God from Peter. Thankfully Peter refuses this temptation but it
is likely that had Satan been successful in tempting Peter through
Simon's offer then the effect on the church would have been as great as
when Ananias and Sapphira fell to his earlier temptation.
Finally, Paul's first letter
to Timothy provides a further example of the battlefield that exists in
finances between the devil and the people of God - in particular we can
see this in 1 Timothy 5:6-9. Below is listed what happens when someone
is tempted and puts their greed and love of money before their walk with
God - does not the bible list many warnings from this very short passage
about the need to master our finances?
In particular the scripture
likens money to a trap which ensnares the people of God - clearly the
devil has set many financial traps and we have seen how he caught Judas,
Ananias, Sapphira and Simon the Sorcerer. Unless you handle your
finances very carefully, you too will be trapped by the devil.
- 'Fall into temptation'
'And a trap'
'Many foolish and harmful desires'
'Plunge men into ruin and
destruction'
'Wandered from the faith'
'Pierced themselves with many
griefs'.
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