Servias Ministries Blog

Who do we serve, GOD or mammon?

Nobody can take better care of you and me than Our Heavenly Father!

In my previous posting, the widow had to take her eyes off her situation and look to GOD as her provision.  Though she thought she was at the point of death, she responded to The Word of THE LORD.  When she did, the supernatural took place in her and her son’s life.

I know that in tough times, it is a challenge to take heed to these words.  The physical realm screams forth scarcity to distract us from the Spiritual Truth.  I’ve been there myself.  During these times, many will ask themselves, “How can I get GOD to get me more money?”  That mindset is wrong.

Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 6:

26  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet Your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,

Provision comes to you because FATHER Loves you more than birds or flowers.

Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in 2^nd Corinthians chapter 9:

6  The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God Loves a cheerful giver.

8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

9 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

Sowing and reaping is not to get your needs met, but it is to increase your harvest of righteousness!  It is to increase your ability to be more generous.

It is written by THE SPIRIT in Psalm chapter 112:

1  Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears THE LORD, who greatly delights in HIS commandments!

2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.

3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.

4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.

5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.

6 For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.

7 He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.

8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.

9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor.

10 The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish!

Remember, nobody can take better care of you than Our Heavenly Father.  Your past does not disqualify you from FATHER’S Love.

Consider what Jesus said in Luke chapter 6:

35  Rather Love your enemies and continue to treat them well. When you lend money, don’t despair if you are never paid back, for it is not lost. You will receive a rich reward and you will be known as true children of the Most High God, having His same Nature. Be like Your Father Who is famous for His kindness to heal even the thankless and cruel.

36 Overflow with mercy and compassion for others, just as Your Heavenly Father overflows with mercy and compassion for all.”

You don’t have to perform in order for FATHER to provide.  HE Loved you and me before we were worthy to be Loved.  Don’t worry, HIS Love and provision will not run out.

Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Hebrews chapter 13:

5   Let your character [your moral essence, your inner nature] be free from the love of money [shun greed—be financially ethical], being content with what you have; for HE has said, “I WILL NEVER under any circumstances, DESERT YOU nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless, NOR WILL I FORSAKE or LET YOU DOWN or RELAX MY HOLD ON YOU, assuredly not!”

6 So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER in time of need, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”  AMP

Hand over all your worries to FATHER.  This will get your heart right so that you will focus on serving FATHER no matter what your current financial situation is.

Peter wrote by The Holy Spirit in his epistle 1^st Peter chapter 5:

6  Therefore humble yourselves under the Mighty Hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.

7  casting all your cares, all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all, on Him, for He cares about you with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully.

Who do we serve, GOD or mammon?

Resource requirements change based on The Word of THE LORD.

It is written by THE SPIRIT in 1^st Kings chapter 17:

1And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”

2 Then the Word of THE LORD came to him, saying,

3 “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.

4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

When the drought prophesied by Eliajah came, so did a change in his provision.  FATHER spoke to him and directed him to his provision for that specific period of time.

After a while, the brook dried up because there was no rain.  What happened when that resource fulfilled its mission?

7  And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

8 Then the Word of THE LORD came to him, saying,

9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.”

11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

12 So she said, “As the LORD Your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.

14 For thus says The LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.'”

15 So she went away and did according to the Word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.

16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the Word of THE LORD which He spoke by Elijah.

When we transition from one provision to another, we must be of good courage and not allow fear to enter in.

In chapter 18:

1  And it came to pass after many days that the Word of THE LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”

2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria.

3 And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly.

In chapter 19:

4  But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”

6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.

7 And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”

8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.

9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the Word of THE LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 So he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

Even when Elijah was emotionally distraught, FATHER provided him with resources and protection.  Will FATHER do anything less for you or me?  What is key in the above passages?  We need to hear The Word of THE LORD concerning our individual assignments.  We must not allow ourselves to become dull of hearing but remain spiritually sensitive to what FATHER is instructing us concerning our individual callings.  HE will guide us to the next provision.

Who do we serve, GOD or mammon?

Do not confuse the Source with the resource.

It is written by THE SPIRIT in Malachi chapter 3:

6  “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

The SOURCE of all resources does not change, ever!

Jesus spoke about worry immediately after He warned us against serving mammon:

Matthew chapter 6:

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

25  “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet Your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;

29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For Your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Why would Jesus talk about worry right after instructing us concerning mammon?  The adversary will try to move you toward worry once you no longer serve mammon and begin serving GOD.  The word “worry” means: to be anxious; to be troubled with cares.  You are not at peace when you worry.

How do I deal with worry?  I pray in The Holy Spirit until any form of worry is gone.

Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Galatians chapter 5:

22  But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

In the mid 1990’s, I was working in my own business and suddenly the revenue quit flowing.  I asked FATHER about it, and HE said, “You are now in a financial wilderness.”  I asked, “How long?”  HE said, “for 18 months.”  This was clearly a test of faith for my wife and me.  No matter what I did, I could not generate revenue for the business.

Often, fear and worry would grip me when I awoke.  There were days that I had to pray for up to four hours to finally get peace in my heart.  Why not, there was nothing else for me to do.  At one point, it looked like we might have to file for bankruptcy.  Our finances were in a nosedive.  At the end of the eighteen-month testing period, revenue once again flowed, and we did not file bankruptcy.  Since then, we have never had another wilderness experience.

I share this experience to show you that we all face significant challenges in our lives.  Each of us may go through our own “wilderness” experience to reveal our heart and level of our faith IN HIM.  The experience made me stronger and more resilient in dealing with the wiles of the devil.  I can relate with those who are going through tests and trials, I have had plenty myself, yet I am still here!

By the way, your resource requirement will change as you mature in Christ and proceed to fulfill your Divine assignment.

Who do we serve, GOD or mammon?

Do not confuse the Source with the resource.

It is written by THE SPIRIT in Malachi chapter 3:

6  “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

FATHER is totally reliable and trustworthy in keeping HIS Word toward us.  Man can and does change based upon the circumstances and perception.  FATHER operates in Truth and reality.

7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My Statutes and have not kept them. Return to ME, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

Believers easily forget the past, but FATHER doesn’t.  The children of Israel asked how to correct their path away from righteousness.  FATHER answers:

8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing ME. But you say, ‘How have we robbed YOU?’ In your tithes and contributions.

Has FATHER changed HIS Mind about tithes and contributions?  No, HE does not change!  What happens when we rationalize away this statute?  The next verse tells us:

9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing ME, the whole nation of you.

For those of us who walk in The Fear of THE LORD, we choose to embrace this revelation of the tithe and offering.  Yes, FATHER forgives us of our past failures in this area so we must not dwell on the past.  As we mature in this area, we will repent and walk in this statute.

10 Bring the full tithe into the Storehouse, that there may be food in MY House. And thereby put ME to the test, says the LORD of Hosts, if I will not open the Windows of Heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

Are you willing to put Our Heavenly Father to the test of HIS Word?  HE is committed to meeting our needs if we become joyful givers.  Contributions (offerings above the tithe) establish desire versus duty.

11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of Hosts.

What does a devourer do?  He consumes your resources so that you are lacking to the point of becoming desperate.  He steals, kills, and destroys those who have not placed their full trust in THE LORD.

What will people around you see?

12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of Hosts.

The Holy Spirit will guide you in your giving if you submit to Him.  It is a challenge in discerning where to give.  What storehouse qualifies to receive your tithes and offerings?  Let The Holy Spirit guide you in these matters.

The enemy is very subtle, especially in the area of finances.  The Kingdom coming to this earth will be financed by those who are fully submitted to walking according to The Word of THE LORD.  The adversary knows this and that is why he spends so much time and effort to devour the finances of the believers.  He promotes fear and uncertainty in the minds of the believers, hoping to deter them from giving.

Jesus spoke in Mark chapter 16:

14  Later Jesus appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

15 And He said to them, “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.

16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My Name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Jesus did not say “come ye into the church building, then …”.  He said “Go ye”.  This is one reason we help the Kids In Need.  We are going into the schools and ministering hope to those kids.  We are also ministering to the teachers and staff of FATHER’S goodness and Love.  These are the front lines of “Go ye”.

Who do we serve, GOD or mammon?

We don’t need more money; we need to understand GOD and His Kingdom better.

Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 6:

31  “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Many Christians in the past have had the mindset to give so they can get.  But instead, we are to get so that we can give.  Jesus addressed this issue when He spoke in Luke chapter 6:

37  “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

A cheerful giver is the true requirement to expand his or her giving.  We are called to be givers.  Those who are dealing with “self” will attempt to pursue the opposite strategy expecting to give to get.  It is a subtle issue that each of us must address.

It is foolish to give to get as well, it is foolish to give without an expectation of return which would allow you to give on a greater scale.  Frequently, the issue is patience for a harvest of the financial seed you have planted.  It takes commitment to wait for a harvest.

Jesus spoke in Mark chapter 4:

26  And Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.

27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.

28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Don’t be predisposed in determining how or where the fruit will come from.  My greatest financial harvest came from an unexpected source.  It actually sought me out.  I responded to it solely because The Holy Spirit instructed me to do so.

Anxiety and worry are to the spirit of mammon what praise and worship are to the One True GOD.  The way you worship the spirit of mammon is by being worried, anxious, and upset about finances.  As a result, you are bowing your knee to a lesser god.

Fear is faith in the devil.  Worry is a form of atheism because it is imagining your future without GOD.  Selah!

Faith is imagining your future with GOD!  The good news is that GOD is in your future, so you don’t need to worry.  Worry is a sin to be repented of, not an emotion to be medicated.  FATHER’S Supernatural cannot flow into fear and worry.  You and I are responsible to deal with fear and worry by renewing our minds daily to the Promises of GOD.

Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Philippians 4:

13 I can do all things through Him Who strengthens me.

In other Words, I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.

Who do we serve, GOD or mammon?

Once again, Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 6:

24  “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”  ESV

The spirit of mammon, an opposing force, tries to get you to look at money the way you are supposed to look to GOD.  It wants to be your master, ultimately your god so that you will serve it rather than serving Our Heavenly Father.  You will put your faith in your bank account, 401K, and other assets.

If you begin to feel more significant and more secure because you have money in your checking account, that is the spirit of mammon.  Your significance and security should come from GOD HIMSELF.  The spirit of mammon is very subtle in its attempt to draw us away from The One True GOD.

Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Philippians 4:

19  And My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Those who start trusting in money, tend to allow their faith in GOD to subside.  They quit looking to HIM for their supply.  They look to themselves instead.

Jesus spoke in Luke chapter 12:

16  Then Jesus spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.

17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’

18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”‘

20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

This parable illustrates a person who is serving mammon.  He is obsessed with possessing greater wealth rather than giving the excess to those in need.  FATHER has no issue with us having a storehouse if we are being led by The Holy Spirit in determining its contents.  Some of us need more to fulfill our individual callings.  The need is unique for each of us.

It is vital that we seek The Holy Spirit in the management of our individual finances.  He knows our future needs… I don’t have a clue to what degree my future needs are.  I found out last night that a good friend of mine died yesterday.  He and I are the same age and he seemed to be in excellent physical condition.  He had a massive heart attack.  It was totally unexpected.  How much money did he leave behind?  All of it!  Every one of us has an expiration date so we should focus on what FATHER wants us to do today.

Jesus continued:

22  Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.

23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.

24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?

25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?

27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?

29 “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.

30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and Your Father knows that you need these things.

31 But seek the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

People are either seeking The Kingdom of GOD or, they are seeking mammon. 

Who do we serve, GOD or mammon?

The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient to not only meet our needs but to provide an abundance for distribution to others. The adversary is in full opposition to FATHER’S Grace and sufficiency.

Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in 2^nd Corinthians chapter 8:

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

In other Words, you have experienced the extravagant grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although He was infinitely rich, He impoverished himself for our sake, so that by His poverty, we become rich beyond measure.

Did Paul include exceptions to us being rich?  When did Jesus become poor?  It was when He hung six hours on the cross.  Until then, He had all power and authority in operation to meet the needs of all who He encountered.

Paul also wrote by The Holy Spirit in 2^nd Corinthians chapter 5:

21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Was Jesus cursed for 33 ½ years?  No, He was cursed only for the time He spent on the cross.  By Jesus going to the cross for you and me, He opened the door for us to be in union with FATHER and access all the benefits of being Sons and Daughters including all provisions needed for our individual callings.

Jesus paid for our sins, sicknesses, and poverty.  That is the FULL Gospel.  Shouldn’t we accept His payment for ALL three?

Jesus had provision for His calling which arrived while He was a babe.

Matthew recorded by The Holy Spirit in Matthew chapter 2:

11 The Magi entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Magi or “astrologers” were known as dream interpreters.  They were wealthy priests who traveled with an entourage for protection.  King Herod and all of Jerusalem were deeply disturbed when he heard of their arrival.  It is estimated that they traveled 1,500 miles to present their treasures to the Newborn King.

In essence, they funded Jesus’ trip to Egypt and provided for years of support for Him upon His return to Israel.  In those days, if you had assets of substantial value, you needed a treasure chest and armed guards.

The Beloved Disciple recorded by The Holy Spirit in John chapter 13:

29  Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor.

You don’t need a treasurer if you don’t have a treasure!  The disciples would not have assumed that Judas was departing to assist the poor if that was not normal during Jesus’ ministry.  Clearly, there was an abundance in the treasury to help the poor.

Jesus had more than enough resources to feed twelve disciples for 3 ½ years of ministry.

What is preventing us from walking with the same provision as Jesus walked?  Paul explains by The Holy Spirit in Ephesians chapter 4:

17  So with the Wisdom given to me from the Lord I say: You should not live like the unbelievers around you who walk in their empty delusions.

18 Their corrupted logic has been clouded because their hearts are so far from God—their blinded understanding and deep-seated moral darkness keeps them from the True Knowledge of God.

19 Because of Spiritual apathy, they surrender their lives to lewdness, impurity, and sexual obsession.

20 But this is not the way of life that Christ has unfolded within you.

21 If you have really experienced the Anointed One, and heard His Truth, it will be seen in your life; for we know that the ultimate reality is embodied in Jesus!

22 And he has taught you to let go of the lifestyle of the ancient man, the old self-life, which was corrupted by sinful and deceitful desires that spring from delusions. 23 Now it’s time to be made new by every revelation that’s been given to you.

24 And to be transformed as you embrace the glorious Christ-within as your new Life and live in union with Him! For God has re-created you all over again in His perfect righteousness, and you now belong to Him in the realm of True Holiness.

25 So discard every form of dishonesty and lying so that you will be known as one who always speaks the Truth, for we all belong to one another.

We are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.  These writings are meant to transform our minds and begin experiencing the blessings from Above in the area of provision.