Historically, giving has been one of the most feared and misunderstood concepts dealt with by the body of Christ. Many have had a tendency to shy away from the subject because it makes them uncomfortable. Believers automatically accept the word of God concerning other areas of life but can freeze up when someone mentions the financial realm. Money is a powerful tool we can use to advance God’s kingdom, so we must understand how the devil tries to use it against us.

Jesus knew money has the potential to be a major stumbling block for us, which is why there’s so much written about it in the Bible. If we’re not careful, we can assign more importance to it than to God himself. But for Christians with strong faith, giving is a reflex action that demonstrates our thankfulness and gratitude for what he has done. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). We can never out-give God!

For some of us, there’s great temptation to hold back when we sense God encouraging us to give. Money can have such a stronghold on our comfort level that we can rationalize about why we can’t give. Trusting in the promises he made to us in this area overcomes the fear of having nothing left over after we give generously. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38, NIV).

Our God is a God of abundance, and when he blesses us financially, he expects us to use what we receive to help others in need. Having more faith in him than in earthly currency helps us to maintain a proper perspective on money, and it keeps us from becoming self-centred. Sowing into others’ lives meets their needs, and empowers us to perform above our natural abilities.

We make a mistake when we assume that God is so spiritual that he doesn’t care about money. Jesus had a great deal to say about it. Financial giving isn’t just about money, but about our trust in God’s ability and willingness to provide for us. Jesus made that point when he observed the poor widow putting everything she had into the treasury (Mark 12:41-44).

The unchangeable spiritual law that says we reap in proportion to what we sow gives us the authority to determine our own financial return. God doesn’t knock us over the head and demand that we give, but he does remind us of how much it means to him. “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6, 7). Our attitude toward giving is important.

There’s no need to be afraid to give. Being a Christian is all about going above and beyond our comfort zone. Ordinary money takes on supernatural power when entrusted to the one who can multiply it for the good of others.

The post The Power of Giving appeared first on Word of Truth Ministries International.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Through the Scriptures, God reveals Himself, His Kingdom, His will, nature, and character to us. In addition, He lets us know who we are through His Word. You can’t know yourself better than God does. So, whatever He says about you—His description of you in His Word—is the reality.

Our lives are influenced by what we hear every day. The things you hear and give attention to control your happiness, your joy, the decisions you make, and everything about you. That’s why God wants us to rather hear, and give attention to His Word only because that’s the only information guaranteed to make your life better; change you from glory to glory! The Bible says, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Hallelujah!

It’s the reason; studying and meditating on God’s Word is of great value. The Word is like an album; you just keep seeing pictures of you, and it gets better all the time. But if you take your focus off the Word, you start looking like everything else that you see around you.

Never take your focus away from the Word of God, because your glory is in the Word. Refuse to give attention or consideration to the negative circumstances which you can see with your natural eyes, for they are subject to change. Rather, fix your gaze on the eternal realities in God’s Word.

The post FIX YOUR GAZE ON THE WORD appeared first on Word of Truth Ministries International.

INTRODUCTION

A Short Exercise:

If someone were to make a statement to you, for example, about your performance: which of these two statements would you prefer?

1. You get it right most of the time
2. You mess it up every once in a while.

These two statements are intended for the same purpose, except you think otherwise.

From the statements above, it’s clear that the first one is more positive and emphasizes the achievements of the individual, while the second tends to highlight his/her errors, which only occur once in a while. We would look further into this, later in our study.

What is the Mind?

The mind is not something that the best historians, scientists, or medical doctors of the world could give you the best light on. Only the Bible gives detailed and accurate information on the mind. The reason is that the mind is an intangible and spiritual facet. It can’t be discovered or made known by science, and the best you can get from the world on it would be speculatory. Only the Word of God brings revelation of the spiritual. For example, the Bible says in Hebrews 4:12-13 (English Standard Version)

“¹² For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow…” The Word of God can distinguish between the soul and the spirit, an attribute, which the ordinary mind cannot give you. It takes the knowledge and revelation of the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit to make such things known. Let’s begin with a simple definition of the mind.

The mind is the faculty of man’s reasoning and thoughts; it holds the power of imagination, recognition and appreciation. It’s responsible for processing feelings and emotions, resulting in attitudes.

There are some key words in this definition that we’ll examine, to help us understand the mind. The first one is Thoughts.

‘Thought’ is the creation, recalling, reviewing and processing of images for meaning, reason, language and expression.

This means you create, recall, review and process the images that you get, for meaning, reason, language, and expression.

When you study Scriptures on the mind, you’ll discover that in the Old and New Testament, several words are interchangeably used to refer to the mind or its activities. Examples are the words: thoughts and reason. Sometimes whilst reading one translation the word thought is used, and then you read another translation, and it uses the word reason. Even in the case of the same translation, thoughts may be used in a verse in one section, and then another writer uses reason for what was previously used for or written as thoughts.

In addition, the words mind and heart are sometimes interchangeably used in Scripture, but the mind is not the heart and the heart is not the mind. These are generic expressions, and so you may find them synonymously used at different points.

The words imagination, thinking, reasoning, inclination are also used interchangeably in referring to activities of the mind, as you would find in Bible translations.

This goes to say that there are a broad number of synonyms that are used in expressing the phenomenon of the mind and its activities. Moreover, to better understand the mind, you’ll need to understand the scriptural description of the human person.

The Twofold Nature of Man:

Man primarily has a twofold nature namely: The Outward Man, and The Inward Man.

According to the Bible, God created the inward man first and then formed the outward man. The inward man is the human spirit, and his soul. On the other hand, the outward man is the human body and its senses.

The Bible says Hebrews 11:3b “…that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear”. The spiritual realm gave birth to the physical realm; therefore, to understand more clearly our description of the inward man as the human spirit and his soul, look at this: what the nervous system is to the body, the soul is to the Spirit. The soul functions for the human spirit.

If you were to see the human spirit, you’re not going to see the soul standing outside of the spirit. But again in the scriptures, you’ll find generic expressions in which the soul is used in describing the whole human spirit – the inward man. Sometimes, even the word heart is used to describe the inward man. Words and statements like the hidden man of the heart, the human spirit, the soul, are all sometimes used in describing the inward man. However, there is the soul that belongs to the human spirit, and that soul is the seat of the mind, the will and the emotions.

Going further, and it gets a little more complex here, note this: in the central nervous system, what the brain is to the body, the mind is to the Spirit (note that the mind is in the soul). The mind, however, is far more complex than the brain because it has power over the brain. It has more power, more influence than the brain because it’s spiritual; it belongs to the human spirit, which is the core of your nature, the real you. You are not a body; you are a spirit living in a physical body. Your body is your domicile, but the spirit is the real you.

What is the Brain?

Science defines the brain as the primary centre for the regulation and control of bodily activities, receiving and interpreting sensory impulses, and transmitting information to the muscles and body organs.

The brain is not the seat of consciousness, because a man’s brain could be working alright, even when he is not conscious of life or anything around him. The seat of consciousness and emotions don’t reside in the brain. The brain can process and recall information, but true memory is more than recalling information. There is much more to know about interpretation, meaning, language and expression (seen in our definition of thoughts), and these are not in the power of the brain.

In addition, the brain is neither the mind nor the soul. The brain is a physical organ of the body while the mind and soul are spiritual. The brain, however, works with the mind to give the character of a man.

Remember this: The body’s central nervous system works in conjunction with the mind for human consciousness, conception, memory and expression. This statement is very important. These two – the central nervous system and the mind, are ultimately responsible for the character of a man.

The post THE MIND – PART 1 appeared first on Word of Truth Ministries International.

OUR COMMUNICATION

Let’s go back to the questions asked at the beginning of this study. But this time, we’ll be looking inward on how we communicate, as though we were in the position to make these statements, and not necessarily having them made to us.

1. You get it right most of the time.
2. You mess it up every once in a while.

In life, we have to make decisions as to what we want to be like, and how we want to communicate. Do you want to be a good communicator or a bad one? Remember something; communication really is the expression of your personality. How would you want to see things; this would be dependent on what results you want to get.

Let’s take an example here: you have a guy who has been doing whatever he’s been doing for a while, no matter how long that has been, and then he makes a mistake and probably makes this mistake every once in a while. Now, I can see it this way – he makes this mistake every once in a while; meaning, just once in a while, he blows it.  Therefore, I can decide to say to him, every once in a while you mess things up. If I decide to say this, I am turning his attention, as well as my attention, on the failure. The failure has been magnified and glorified, meanwhile it’s just once in a while he gets it wrong, and not all the time. If you say he messes it up once in a while, then this immediately lets us know that he probably gets it right most of the time. That’s what it sounds like, so why not give him the credit for getting it right most times, rather than glorify the failures that happen only once in a while.

When you choose to focus on the negatives this way, it says something about your personality, more than it does, the one you are speaking to. It shows you are not going to be a happy person because your communication reveals your inner processes – the images and thoughts that you process within you. Your mind works on the failures of others more than their successes and that’s going to affect your success. Even if you had been very successful, you’ll begin to bring some retardation to your speed of success; something is going to go wrong if it’s not already gone wrong. So you need to stop in your tracks and say:  ‘I’ve got control over the processes of my mind, and over my future. I want to take control; I want to make a change, and determine the quality of my personality.’ You’ll have to process something different in your mind. See how important but simple this is.

ATTITUDE

Our next point is Attitude. Remember that this is coming from the definition of the mind, which we already discussed. Let’s recap on what we said about the mind with respect to attitudes. In our definition of the mind, we said, “The mind is the faculty of a man’s reasoning and thoughts; it holds the power of recognition, imagination and appreciation; it is responsible for processing feelings and emotions, resulting in attitudes”. We already talked about the processing of feelings and emotions, but what about ‘the result in attitudes’?

First, it’s important for us to recognize that we are responsible for our attitudes; but what is attitude? Attitude is the disposition to act in ways determined by the mental processes of our feelings, emotions, beliefs or reasoning. This means the processes of our feelings, mind, emotions, beliefs, and our reasoning, determine our attitudes.  What we process inside our minds come out in our attitudes, therefore we are responsible for our attitudes. We are responsible for the way we act and why we respond the way we do: these are all attitudes.

The mind is the information-processing centre of the human person. Recall our definition of the brain and its similarities to this, but this is different because the mind is spiritual. The mind being the information-processing centre of the human person, collects and processes all the information received through the nervous system of the outward man, and through the spiritual senses of the inward man – the human spirit. The interpretation and eventual dissemination of information from the mind determines human behaviour and attitude. The mind collects and processes information, and then disseminates information. This information goes through your nervous system, and through your body into action.

What do you want to get out of what you have in your mind? You make a choice daily.  The exciting reality of the mind is that its content and processes can be managed. This means the content and processes of the mind can be reorganized and reprogrammed. One who’s born again is born after God and has the life and nature of God. Your spirit has received the very nature of its creator, and it means you have an excellent spirit. However, this doesn’t mean you will walk in that excellence; you have to make the choice to do so.

The best things of our spirit are expressed through the mind. The Bible says in Nehemiah 8:10 ¹⁰ Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared. Isn’t this wonderful; in effect, he says, enjoy the day and help others enjoy the day. That’s exactly what this means. Then he says, ‘… for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ Note that the Scripture says, ‘’’neither be sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. The expression, ‘neither be ye sorry’ is not properly rendered in English; the Hebrew is ‘âtsab’, and it means to make or process. So what the Word is saying here is, don’t make or process pain, grief, displeasure or worry. Atsab also means to carve or fabricate. So don’t carve out or fabricate pain. Don’t process pain or grief because the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Be strong and not weak; prosper and don’t be a failure; don’t manufacture or carve out pain or displeasure. Don’t let it happen because it will destroy you. The Joy of the Lord is your strength, and God wants you to be strong otherwise He won’t use you. Remember what He said to Joshua: ‘one thing I desire of you, be strong and very courageous’ (Joshua 1:9). And now Nehemiah tells us that this strength is in the Joy of the Lord. So if Satan wants to make sure you displease God, he’ll go after your joy; he’ll stop you from being joyful and you’ll begin to blame everyone around you for your feelings and your emotions. You’ll have an attitude, and when you go on with this attitude, you’ll get weaker spiritually. The reason for your weakness is that you’ve let go of your joy, and the joy of the Lord is your strength. Refusing to process pain and grief does not mean you are denying their existence, it just means you don’t let them have dominion over you or take a hold of you.

God said to Joshua, I am with you, wherever you go, and I will not fail you. Glory to God! He said, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you, and no man shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life (Joshua 1:5). Then He said, just one thing I require of you: be strong and very courageous. How was he going to be strong? – The joy of the Lord is your strength.

The Joy of the Lord is expressed in singing, laughter, and through expressing words of praise to God. It’s expressed in that loving harmony that you have with your brothers and sisters in Christ, speaking positive, encouraging and stirring words to them. That’s the joy of the Lord! Refuse to dwell on pain, displeasure, or worry; refuse all the negatives. The Bible says in Philippians 4:6: Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

We already established that the best things of our spirits are expressed through the mind. Proverbs 4:23 says, ²³ Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. It means guard your heart with all diligence. The NIV says, ²³ Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.  This means you’ve got to guard your heart with everything you’ve got because it is the wellspring of life.

Remember, your mind is the doorway to your human spirit, so if you are going to guard your heart, where are you going to stand? At your mind. Therefore, mount guard over your mind; guard your thoughts and your thinking. That’s what the Word says. Verse 24- 25 of the same chapter says, ²⁴ Keep your mouth free from perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. ²⁵ Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. This means don’t deviate. Let your eyes look straight on.

God has spoken to your life, maybe about your work, or your family; it could be about your marriage, children, or finances; no matter what it is, don’t lose what God has given to you. Speak God’s Word and look straight ahead as the Word says. Refuse deviation and don’t speak perversity; don’t say the wrong things, which are outside of what God has said concerning you.

The post THE MIND – PART 2 appeared first on Word of Truth Ministries International.

Summary

The demonic spirit of mammon is very pervasive and subtle, and it can be difficult to detect unless we remain vigilant against it. This spirit is attached to money, and it tries to persuade us to trust money more than God. Wealth and riches cannot buy healing, deliverance, grace, or any other blessings from God; trust is the currency of the kingdom. Whether or not we are trustworthy is demonstrated in how we handle money, which God considers the least important thing. We can choose to either let the spirit of mammon dictate what we do with money or allow the Spirit of God to always tell us how to manage it. If we fail to make a choice, by default the spirit of mammon will govern us in this area. Therefore, we must be careful what spirit influences us when it comes to the financial realm.

1. Money has an impact, not just here on earth, but for all eternity.

1. Jesus told his disciples the parable about the unjust steward who mismanaged his master’s money, and was dismissed from his position. Despite that, his master commended him for doing wisely. Jesus asked them who would commit to their trust true riches if they had not been faithful with unrighteous mammon (Luke 16:1-13).
   1. The main point behind this story is how the steward managed money. He was forward-thinking enough to cut deals with the people who owed his master money, hoping they would do favors for him when he was no longer a steward. The end result was that the mater commended him.
   2. Money should be used to take care of our future, instead of our present circumstances.
   3. Money not only impacts the present and the future, but also eternity. Jesus said that if we have done the right thing with money, when we die we will meet people we helped financially, and they will appreciate what we did for them.
   4. “The least” that Jesus referred to is money.
   5. We can be givers where we are in our finances right now. We do not have to postpone giving until we have a bigger income.
   6. “Mammon” is the Aramaic translation for money. It was also the name of the Syrian god of riches.

1. There are some facts we need to know about mammon.

1. It is in direct contrast to the Spirit of God.
   1. Mammon says “buy and keep.” God says “sow and reap.” It says “cheat and steal.” God says “give and receive.”
2. It wants to rule our lives and cause us to sacrifice our very character for money.
   1. The spirit of mammon influenced the prodigal son, who left home and made poor decisions because of money. That same spirit influenced the elder son, who became angry when he learned that his younger brother had returned (Luke 15:11-32).
   2. Mammon is all about self-centeredness, which leads to bitterness.
3. It promises to give us things only God can give us.
   1. Mammon is selfish, but God is generous.
4. Mammon talks to us when we are trying to give to God.

1. 1. When the rich young ruler asked Jesus what to do to inherit eternal life, he listened to the spirit of mammon, not to Jesus (Matthew 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-23).
2. Mammon has three cousins; pride, greed, and poverty.

1. 1. The spirit of poverty will make us ashamed of the blessings of God.
   2. The spirit of pride will not acknowledge God for his blessings. It will focus only on itself.
   3. The spirit of greed causes us to hold on to everything we have and seek even more.

1. The objective of the spirit of mammon is to steal our trust in God.

1. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear God and depart from evil. Honor God with your substance, and with the first fruits of your increase (Proverbs 3:5-9).
   1. This is the essence of what it means to be a Christian.
   2. We must trust God before money. Mammon does not want us to acknowledge him.
2. The spirit of mammon is unfaithful.
   1. When it is done using us, it will leave us. It does not offer us the same commitment as God. By contrast, God promises never to abandon or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5).
3. God never talks about trust without talking about money.
   1. Jesus commended the widow for giving just a little money, because she gave all she had out of trust (Luke 21:1-4; Mark 12:41-44).
4. Mammon also has a nephew called idolatry.
   1. Idolatry results when we replace God with something or someone else. We are told to honor God with our capital and give him first priority. Mammon wants to replace God, and turn honor into dishonor.

Scripture References

The post Uncovering the Spirit of Mammon appeared first on Word of Truth Ministries International.

Summary

Mammon is a sneaky, hateful, evil spirit whose main goal is to steal, kill, and destroy. It readily attaches itself to money and does its best to get us to trust wealth more than God. It always contradicts the word of God and attempts to persuade us to develop a wrong relationship with money. One of the most notable manifestations of the spirit of mammon was in the behaviour of Judas, who betrayed Jesus for money. Entire nations have fallen under the influence of this spirit, which aims to seduce us with lies, use us, destroy our lives, and then leave us broken. As Christians, we must be careful not to allow ourselves to be lured away from the Spirit of God and fall under the rule of the spirit of mammon. Studying what the Bible says about money will open our eyes to the work of this spirit so we can recognize it for what it is.

1. The spirit of mammon wants to fool us into serving it instead of God.

1. Jesus told his disciples the parable of the steward who was dismissed from his position because he had squandered all of his master’s money. He concluded the parable by telling them that no servant can serve two masters. They will either hate the one and love the other or else hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:1-13).
   1. The context of this parable focuses solely on a steward who was unfaithful with money, which Jesus called the least.
   2. If we can be trusted with money, we can be trusted with much more important things.
   3. Some people believe Jesus did not have anything to do with money, but he did. He cared deeply about people’s relationship with it (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4).
   4. God is a Spirit (John 4:24), but so is mammon. We cannot serve both spirits at once.
2. Honour the Lord with your substance, and with the first fruits of your increase. So shall your barns be filled with plenty, and your presses will burst out with new wine (Proverbs 3:9, 10).
   1. To honour is to carry weight, to weigh in. This denotes value and a place of priority.
   2. Paying bills and other expenses first instead of honouring God first in our finances removes him from first place in our lives. This makes him an afterthought.
3. The love of money is the root of all evil, which while some have coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10).
   1. The spirit of mammon tells us to drop some keywords from this Scripture so that it incorrectly says, “Money is the root of all evil.” Money is neither good nor bad.
   2. Mammon’s main objective is to kill, steal, and destroy. This spirit never has a good ending for those who succumb to it. Judas was seduced by it, and the end result was that he killed himself (Matthew 27:3-5).
   3. The love of money is revealed when we trust it more than God. This indicates a wrong relationship with it.

1. Mammon’s plans for us are always the opposite of God’s will for us.

1. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21).
   1. The test to determine where our hearts are is found when we examine how and where we spend it.
   2. Through demonic influence, the spirit of mammon will try to control us and keep us in bondage.
2. From that time forth, Jesus began to show his disciples how he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter began to rebuke him, saying, be it far from you, Lord. This shall not be unto you. But he turned and said to Peter, get behind me Satan, you are an offense to me. You do not savor the things that are of God, but those that are of men (Matthew 16:21-23).
   1. Jesus announced God’s plan to the disciples, but Peter was under demonic influence when he rebuked Jesus. The spirit of mammon always stands in opposition to God’s plan.
   2. We must be able to recognize this spirit, so we can resist it (Ephesians 6:12).
3. There are three characteristics we need to understand about mammon to avoid falling into bondage to this spirit.
   1. Mammon tells us it can protect us from our problems, and that money is the solution.
   2. It appears to provide things only God can give. Some of those things include security, significance, identity, power, freedom, and self-esteem.
   3. Mammon causes fear. It tells us we do not have enough money, no matter how much we have. It is a spirit of lies.

Scripture References

The post Uncovering the Spirit of Mammon Part 2 appeared first on Word of Truth Ministries International.