We're on Chapter 8: It is Written
-Cast down, shachach, means to sink or depress. It's connected to bow down. Bowing down is homage or serving. Satan tempted Jesus in hopes that Jesus would bow down and serve him.
-Satan used the spirit of Mammon to tempt Jesus to claim satan as provider. The daily bread Jesus told his disciples to pray was really provision. We can model Jesus by trusting God as our provider.
-Satan kept using Mammon to tempt Jesus. Satan even twisted God's word, but Jesus knew His Provider, His Father and the true purpose of His life. Jesus responded by telling satan not to test God. Sandie confesses she often tests God and fails satan's tests, falling for Mammon. Don't we all? Satan even asked Jesus to bow down and acknowledge him as ruler. Had Jesus obeyed, he would have put a Babylonian structure in authority, not God's Kingdom. I'm so glad Jesus obeyed!
Now it's our turn. We too can stand up to satan under the authority of Jesus Christ. If we don't, we're serving Mammon. We must not bow down to any master but God.
Once the temptation ceased Jesus exploded with power and authority. His passion ignited to share His love of the Father and this passion gave Him power to fight Mammon. Mammon and the Babylonian structure was the influence with the moneychangers in the Temple. Jesus was angry because He was jealous for God's reputation.
Jesus responded with the same words He did in the wilderness: It is written. He used God's word to destroy evil structures meant to block our purposes in Christ. We need to do the same.
Delusion is linked to witchcraft and occult. We will see an increase in people proclaiming false things and performing fake acts, and we will be tempted to believe they are acts of God. We must seek God's wisdom and discernment through our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Failure to embrace God will result in our delusion, then confusion, and usually, a journey into the occult and witchcraft. We must act simple and simply believe God and speak His word. This is the key to make the devil leave.
Death structure: when the enemy comes with a temptation, we agree with his lies, he is committed to a takeover. He plans on building a house within our hearts and lives to he will have all of us. He is out to seek, kill and destroy.
Seven Deadly Sins:
Lust-unlawful sexual desire
Gluttony-wastefulness, consuming too much, misplaced desire
Greed-desiring more things than we need
Sloth-Laziness
Wrath-Wrong feelings of hatred, wanting revenge
Envy-Hating others for what they have
Pride-Desire to be important or attractive to others.
Mammon is connected to these sins. To combat, again, we need God's word and His power through Christ.
Sin of unbelief is when we're tempted not to trust God in any way. We have to see God as the provider for all our needs. If we don't believe in His provision we don't have confidence in Him. We don't trust Him.
Character of God:
Elohim-Creator
El Elyon-God Almighty
Adonai-Our Lord and Master
Jehovah-Self-Existent God
Jehovah Jireh-Our Provider
Jehovah Shalom-Our Peace
Jehovah Nissi-God Our Banner of Victory
Jehovah Tsidkenu-God Our Righteousness
El Shaddai-All Sufficient One
El Roi-God who Sees
Jehovah Raah-Lord our Shepherd
Jehovah Mekoddishkem-God is our Sanctification
Jehovah Shammah-The Lord is present with us
Jehovah Baal Perez-Lord of Breakthrough
Jehovah Sabaoth-Lord of Hosts
Jehovah Rapha-Lord our Healer
Abba Father-Lover and Protector, Daddy who Loves Us
Instead of worrying we need to focus on who God is.
The chapter ends with a prayer of repentance. I can't emphasize enough on how wise it would be to purchase this book.
Showing posts with label Mammon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mammon. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Chapter 8 Study Notes: Sandie Freed's Crushing the Spirits of Poverty and Greed
Monday, December 20, 2010
Chapter 7 Sandie Freed's Crushing the Spirits of Greed and Poverty: My Study Notes
Chapter 7 is called Anointed to Defeat Mammon, Babylon and Divination.
The chapter begins by recounting the conversion of Saul, a great persecutor of Christians who literally became blinded by light. While blind Jesus spoke to Him, changing Saul forever. In fact, even his name changed. You may know him as Paul, one of the greatest messengers of the Christian faith the world will ever know.
-Damascus was where Saul encountered the blinding light. This was a fertile place about 30 miles in diameter which ironically was surrounded by a desert with nothing living. Saul was in a desert land looking for lush land just like his forefathers did when they traveled to the Promised Land. The symbolism for life and transformation didn't escape Saul when he became blind in Damascus.
Damascus was also the most ancient city in Syria where the people worshiped Mammon. It was connected to trade and Tyre. Do the math. Mammon. Babylon. King of Tyre. Damascus. Saul. In time, God would use Saul's conversion to expose evil spirits.
Straight Street---Even a blind man couldn't miss the symbolism of being blinded on Straight Street. I pray we don't need a literal blindness to do the same, to find the straight way in Christ.
The Spirit of Divination-Acts 16:16 shows us the girl who was a false prophet that Paul exposed. She made a good living for her boss so here we go again, Mammon at work. Satan was using the fortune teller to distract Paul, again, the motive behind Mammon and Babylon---to distract us from our mission in Christ.
Day after day this girl kept making a scene, coming across as flattering but truly trying to wear Paul down. Sandie shares that she believes Paul knew something was up, but asked for discernment. He recognized exhaustion, confusion, physical infirmity, lack of self control and anger. This is divination.
Divination---opposes us and we know something isn't right but when we try to discern, we doubt the discernment. It's a vicious cycle of confusion.
I've seen churches frown if not outright ban what might or might not be Holy Spirit manifestations because they've been burned. That burn is divination---someone drawing attention to themself even though it looks like an act of worship. If a person is shaking, jerking, falling in a trance, yelling, screaming or having prophetic words that are so loud the focus is on them it very well could be divination at work. The key is where is the focus. If it's all about the person, it's probably not God. Ask Him for discernment. Sandie has an excellent point.
God doesn't compete with Himself.
The spirit of divination has a co worker, the occult. Divination distracts us from Christ's mission and the occult hides comprehension from the truth so we can't live free. If truth is hidden, it's the occult. Jesus is the key to freedom.
Paul was hounded constantly by divination and the occult. He was trying to discern what was going on and was blocked by warfare. As soon as God gave revelation Paul was able to address not the girl, but the spirit with confidence. He knew His authority came from Christ and Paul spoke out and the spirit left the girl.
As soon as the spirit left the girl, her bosses lost their moneymaker. Sandie likens the scene to the mafia as her employer was under a Mammon and Babylonian influence. They weren't going to let this girl go without a fight. They beat Paul and Silas and threw them in prison.
Those who fight the occult MUST do it under God's discernment and revelation through the blood of Jesus. Acting in His authority will result in taking back what satan has stolen. One great idea Sandie has is when driving by tarot readers, fortune tellers and the like, proclaim in Jesus' name that the money made be given to God's kingdom more than praying the building be used. Declaring the property for Jesus just gives the occult a new place to find. Declaring the money be made for God's Kingdom will shut the occult down once and for all.
It's not just about praying for money, it's about praying Kingdom money, money for the promotion of God's kingdom.
Paul faced persecution for exposing evil and we will, too. Whether we physically see angels release us as Paul and Silas did, angels under God's command will shake the demonic structures that try to shut us down.
Symptoms of an Occult Stronghold
1.Divination. The Greek word for divination is linked to python. Pythons squeeze life out of their victims and suffocate them. This is divination. Satan wants to shut down the message of the Gospel and he'll try through squeezing victims and suffocation. Sandie shares a python story so chilling I can't even type it. I shudder every time I read it but it is a real warning for us to seek God and see if divination is ruling our lives at all. We don't have time to waste worrying about the past or future. We must trust God and not Mammon.
2. Jezebel. Jezebel with Mammon seeks to control through flattery. If you receive a compliment followed by a request for money, Jezebel and Mammon are behind this. Command those spirits to leave in Jesus' name.
3. Not discerning truth. There are so many organizations and even so called ministries asking for donations that it's easy to be confused. Sandie explains discernment takes time, but ask God to help you know who is really for God and who is not.
4. Money motivated ministry. It's so easy to start off for all the right reasons, to share the Gospel. Some have fallen for the trap of large offerings and great gains, responding in turn to only serve when the money is big. Teaching and preaching should always be about Godly obedience, not financial motivation. When that happens it's not God, it's Mammon.
It sounds so simple but the chapter ends with a call to surrender. We can't take it with us. One of my favorite sayings is no one has ever seen a funeral with a U-Haul attached. Sandie admitted her move to a new home caused her issue when she had to give up several boxes of things to Goodwill. It wasn't an easy choice for her, but it was the right choice. She leaves the chapter with a call to ask God what we need to surrender.
Friday, December 17, 2010
My Study Notes on Chapter 6: Crushing the Spirits of Greed and Poverty by Sandie Freed
It's been awhile but Christmas is actually a great time to continue studying greed and poverty as it relates to God and His children. We're up to Chapter 6 so if you need to catch up, please do. Look in our October/November archives for previous posts.
Chapter 6: Is There an Ammonite in Your Treasury?
This chapter recounts the story of Nehemiah. He was a godly prophet who is best known for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. In the midst of this is another story about Tobiah. He was an evil, unholy, "demonically inspired enemy of Israel, to move into God's treasury room and possess it."
The chapter begins with a history on Nehemiah and the palace where the king lived in the winter. Turns out the area is rich with Biblical history including what was to come: Esther and her commitment to her people.
But Nehemiah was focused on His people and how although they were able to practice their religion in Babylon, they were still captives. He longed for home, Israel. Deep in thought, he had no idea he had a visitor. When he meets with Hanani, Nehemiah learns Hanani recently returned from Jerusalem. The report? The walls are down, gates burned. The news is so devastating Nehemiah is even more grief stricken.
The grief didn't end. Nehemiah is so troubled that his boss even asked what was going on. Nehemiah's job was to taste all the king's drinks to make sure they weren't poisoned. The king trusted Nehemiah and so they two talked. The king heard all about Jerusalem and what Hanani saw.
Nehemiah used wisdom with his words and not only had the king asking what could he do, but Nehemiah was on his way to Jerusalem with letters from the king granting Nehemiah permission to cross foreign lands. The king also provided a caravan of goods and resources for Nehemiah. It was clear God gave favor to Nehemiah.
With God's favor comes the defeated one and his desperate plans. Satan went to work with evil rulers Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite governmental official and Geshem, an Arab. Sanballat and Tobiah are best remembered in Nehemiah for trying to discourage Nehemiah's plans. Although not as well known, Geshem was also out to destroy Nehemiah's plan and together the three make up a three fold demonic cord (another book Sandie Freed wrote) that deserve our attention.
Sanballat: the name means hate in disguise. Evil is always like this. Satan is like a terrorist. He doesn't want to be exposed or seen, his evil plans are devised in hiding.
Tobiah: means the Lord is good but in this case, Tobiah rejected the potential in his name. It's easy to judge but the author asks a challenging question, how many times have we mocked the potential and plans God has for us? Sandy shares her own challenges where she judged church building plans and spending money. Guess what? When we oppose God's building plans it's Tobiah's voice at work. The Tobiah voice is against God's building plans. (My note: I understand some Christians tackle building plans or ministries not called by God. This definition is NOT those circumstances).
Geshem: means to cause rain. Ever hear the phrase, rain on your parade? That's a Geshem voice working, trying to discourage God's plan.
These three went after Nehemiah for a few reasons. He was Jewish returning home to rebuild the ruins. That couldn't have sat well with forces who hated Jews. Nehemiah also had favor in everything he did. We've seen people jealous of people with wealth and resources, and that's an open door for Mammon to step in and stir up some envy and strife. It's a slippery slope and often we fall into those feelings without even knowing. As Sandy explains, once we realize how we're falling into the trap, we're like deer in headlights.
Nehemiah not only finishes the rebuilding process, he's breaking speed records getting the job done. This makes Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem even angrier. They're set on destroying him and they keep sending messages to meet with him on the Plain of Ono. Nehemiah, using Godly wisdom and discernment knows these guys are up to no good and refuses to meet with them, and pretty much calls them and Satan on the plan. They keep asking, as many as five times. Each time Nehemiah stays firm in God's plan and refusal to enter their death structure.
Sandy writes that "Mammon seeks to cause us to become double minded, which means a person is not in unity with God and His purpose for his or her life." I've fallen for that for much less than rebuilding ruins in Israel!
Nehemiah finishes the rebuilding in not years, but less than 2 months. Talk about favor! Over 42 thousand people return to the area giving gifts. Not long after the priest, Ezra, reads a scroll and everyone praises God all day, repenting for their sins. People continued to move back. Praise and worship continued. Then they realize the Ammonites and Moabites aren't supposed to
worship at the temple because they worshiped Baal and were under the influence of Mammon. The foreigners were told to leave right then.
Most foreigners left, but one priest had a friend, Tobiah, yea, that guy, and the priest let Tobiah stay. More than that, the priest changed the room where the treasury was kept and made it into a room for Tobiah. Nehemiah found out and threw Tobiah and all his things out. Nehemiah made sure the room was cleaned and restored to its original place as treasury.
Ammon is a derititive of Mammon, so the influence of Mammon was in Tobiah the Ammonite. Remember, Mammon is out to steal our treasure and joy and harden our hearts. Ammonites are also behind the seduction of Solomon into idolatry and the Ammonite Molech was an idolater who used children for sacrifices. This is the spiritual background behind abortion, which also has a connection to Jezebel. If you have a heart to pray against abortion, pray for the elimination of Jezebel and Mammon. According to Zephaniah 1:5, AMP, Molech is also the spiritual condition behind serving God only with words and not deeds.
This is such an informative chapter. I know Nehemiah's story but now I feel like I KNOW it. My heart is to understand the spiritual voices behind demonic things so I know what to pray against. Again, evil hides. Jesus is greater than fear and evil. I'd rather pray and proclaim God's authority into the atmosphere. Wouldn't you?
If you, like the author, and I definitely can relate, there is a prayer of repentance at the end of the chapter. Read Nehemiah 9 and see how the Israelites praised Him. Worship Him. If you feel like you've been barren, read Isaiah 54 and sing. You've been robbed, your treasury taken, now you've repented. It's time to sing!
You need to get this book. To learn more, purchase here
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Highlights from Sandie Freed's Crushing the Spirits of Greed and Poverty: Chapter 4
I continue my series sharing my notes from Sandie Freed's life changing book Crushing the Spirits of Greed and Poverty. Click on the image to learn more. Check the archives to read previous posts. These are just highlights I found, the book contains so much more. I can't say enough about what I'm learning.
Chapter 4 Understanding the Deceitfulness of Riches
A disciple is a follower. They hear and seek to understand.
God wants us to be like Solomon. Ask for wisdom above all else.
The Body of Christ needs a spiritual heart bypass. We have to “bypass” what we think in the natural and learn to respond from our hearts. Responding properly proves our heartfelt relationship with Him.
Jesus said if our hearts have good soil we won’t be easily offended. Trusting God for provision is a faith test and chance to examine the hardness of our hearts.
Thorns are the worries of life and deceitfulness of wealth which choke out the word. Mammon!
Many worries of life are caused by our concern over provision.
If we don’t trust God for our provision, the enemy comes in and chokes out the Word in us, causing us to stop believing God’s loving desire to provide for us. Every time we fight doubt and unbelief concerning provision, Mammon is involved.
Recognizing a lie concerning Mammon (money, provision, deceitfulness of riches)
-God is not big enough to supply my need.
-God provides for others but not me.
-I’m such a mess God quit caring for me.
-God won’t open doors for me concerning a job.
-I don’t trust God to show me the way for employment.
-I don’t need to tithe, the church has enough money already.
-I like to control my finances
-I don’t want to go to church, all they want is my money.
-God wants to withhold from me. He doesn’t trust or love me enough to bless me.
Good soil produces. Translation for good soil is virtue or dunamis which means “miraculous power of God.” This was used with the woman and her issue of blood.
A virtuous heart will press for the breakthrough but not pressure God with endless prayers for riches. A virtuous heart trusts for God’s best, seeking Him first and trusting Him to pour out His blessing in His timing.
Deceitfulness of riches blocks the harvest.
Unless there is cleansing and fire there is no blessed fruit.
Repentance is absolutely necessary for healing, deliverance from strongholds and yielding fruit.
One strategy of the Jezebel spirit is to block repentance.
Being blessed is being spiritually prosperous.
Thanking God for good soil, repenting over bad fruit (name fruits of spirit you need help with) Proclaim John 15 (?) where we must abide in Him.
http://www.juliearduini.com
Surrendering the good, the bad, and---maybe one day---the chocolate
Julie Arduini: The Surrendered Scribe An Early Start
 | Latest tweet: I updated my website homepage to include an endorsement from author and life coach Kathy Vick. Check it out at http://www.juliearduini.com. |
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Highlights from Sandie Freed's Crushing the Spirits of Greed and Poverty: Chapter 3
I continue sharing my notes from reading the life changing book by Sandie Freed. Click on the image to learn more. These are just my highlights, there is so much more. I believe the content here is key to unlocking issues that has held me, others and communities back for years.Chapter 3 Iniquity, Tyre and the Seats of Authority
Iniquity began in the heart of satan. His iniquity was to distort, be perverted and unrighteous.
If we bow down to an idol of any type, we are cursed again with inquity. Inquity is linked with idolatry. If a man bows down to a graven image there is a curse of inquity on the man and his descendants to the third and fourth generation. If you notice a family bent or pattern like perversion or addictions, these are generational iniquities.
Iniquity causes us to be separate from God. If we know inquity is there and we do nothing or encourage it we are opening doors to the demonic attacks and bondage and we are closing the door to the Lord.
Pergamos was wicked, a place where satan was able to establish his reign. It was a city of great wealth but the wealth was used for lavishing temples and idols. If money is used in ungodly ways, Mammon is active.
Tyre---an island so wealthy it was the Wall Street of its day. To maintain their wealth they worshipped Baal. Tyre founded on idolatry, false beliefs, antichrist thinking. Tyre meant rock and attached to the rock was selfishness, pride, arrogance, jealousy, covetousness. Tyre is the ungodly king of trade, wealth and commerce.
Anytime we are feeling we can fend for ourselves without God’s help we are committing idolatry.
Wall Street: Satan influences “kings” of the world to build abominations: centers of economic powers that serve as idols.
The King of Tyre was brought down because his love of money was greater than his love for God. He trusted Mammon. We have been seduced to trust money more than God.
Revelation 2 gives keys on how to unlock doors of victory against perversion of Pergamos and Satans’s seat.
- Repent
- Speak God’s word. Proclaim. This unseats satan from his misplaced position of authority.
http://www.juliearduini.com
Surrendering the good, the bad, and---maybe one day---the chocolate
Julie Arduini: The Surrendered Scribe An Early Start
| Latest tweet: I updated my website homepage to include an endorsement from author and life coach Kathy Vick. Check it out at http://www.juliearduini.com. |
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Highlights from Sandie Freed's Crushing the Spirits of Greed and Poverty Chapter Two, Part Two
It's not very personal but I still feel led to do this. I'm reading Sandie Freed's book Crushing the Spirits of Greed and Poverty. I'm learning so much. These are my notes, just highlights I made. All words are Sandie Freed's, not mine. I'm only highlighting, there is that much to absorb. If anything here grabs you I can't say enough about buying the book.
There is so much to this chapter I split it up. The prayer of repentance at end is my summary, she has a specific prayer in the book. I just hit key themes. Again, buy the book!
PART TWO
History of Babylon: Kingdom of Satan
Nimrod: had a desire to lord over others and build great kingdoms out of selfish ambition laid great foundations within the kingdom of Babylon. His foundation of selfish ambition would support death structures for thousands of years to come.
Matthew Henry on Nimrod: He thought himself a mighty prince but before the Lord he was a mighty hunter. Great conquerors are great hunters. Satan attempts to hunt us as prey and conquer.
Nimrod named Babylon. He named it “The Gate of God” but later became Babylon, which means confusion. He named Babylon after the god he worshipped.
Nimrod’s primary idol was Ammon Re, a Cushite god whose name means hidden. In Egypt this god is known as Ra, the father of all gods, tied to creation and reproduction. All of this is highly tied to the occult. They operate in hiding.
The key to releasing godly wealth is to repent over idolatry and embrace truth.
The City of Shinar---Babel was the capital of a country named Shinar (later called Chaldea). When Lot chose the best land, Sodom and Gomorrah, a confederacy of kings came against the land and overtook it. The King of Shinar, or Babylon, was one of the kings that took the land. In essence, a spirit of Babylon stole Lot, his family and possessions. When Lot chose Sodom and Gomorrah, he willfully submitted to a sinful and defiled country and government. By doing so he opened the door to an evil spirit and future captivity by Babylon.
The name of King of Shinar was Amraphel which means sayer of darkness.
Babylon only speaks darkness and defeat.
Most of us are at war against the evil effects of the Babylonian spirit. The stronghold is like an octopus, wrapping its demonic tentacles around businesses, school systems, corporations, governments, churches and families.
We must be like Abraham and cross over and fight for future generations to be freed from this bondage and slavery to the enemy.
We can’t enter into enlargement unless we go through gates.
We must take the wealth of Babylon through prayer, warfare, repentance and returning to God. We should pray that the world system of Babylon bow its knee to God.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Tower and false god
Neb. Was also a king of Babylon and prideful architecht. His temple of Nebo was built on the foundation of an old tower of Babel. Nebo was an idol of both Babylon and Assyria and considered their guardian god and their god of learning, education and wisdom.
As long as the devil has a seated position in our economy, during this same time of year a demonic confederacy declares that satan is the king of Babylon and king over us as well.
Cyrus
Cyrus was a foreshadow of Jesus Christ, the great deliverer who led people out of captivity and into a place of blessing, freedom, promise and wealth. Isaiah 45:1 the Lord calls Cyrus His anointed.
Through Christ and His blood we are anointed to be modern day Cyrusus who will conquer Babylon, tear down fat foundations of idolatry and Mammon, and rebuild altars of God in our businesses, economy and culture.
Cyrus was given a supernatural power to defeat his enemies. We have that same power.
Pray repentance over sin of idolatry, fear, love of money, lack of trust in God, murmuring, rebellion, and any gates you have opened that allowed entrance to the enemy. Ask forgiveness for ancestors who took part in the same sins named above. Repent for not protecting heart and concerning our part with Mammon and Babylon. Thank God for the righteous blood of Jesus---name His attributes and the freedom for you and future generations. AMEN!
http://www.juliearduini.com
Surrendering the good, the bad, and---maybe one day---the chocolate
Julie Arduini: The Surrendered Scribe An Early Start
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Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Sandie Freed's Crushing the Spirits of Greed and Poverty Notes on Chapter One
Lately I've felt a God tug to study "Mammon" and how to be a prayer warrior in this area. Sandie Freed has a great book out on this very subject and I'm learning so much. I think the whole Mammon issue is behind so much our country is dealing with--apathy, poverty, materialism and more.
This book is important enough to me that I plan to jot down my notes and share them here. Please, please, please get the book. I'll only highlight key points that spoke to me. It's a rich (pun intended) book filled with life changing information.
Here are the notes from the introduction and chapter one.
Sandie Freed Crushing the Spirit of Greed and Poverty
Introduction:
Mammon is simply not the love of money; rather it is a demonic spirit that attempts to set itself up as equal to God. God is God and the opposite of God is mammon. If you are not serving God, you are serving Mammon. It is a choice.
Mammon is the name of an ancient idol, and since demonic spirits are behind every idol and every form of idol worship, we can conclude Mammon can also be an evil spirit.
In writing this book Sandie prayed Psalm 94 over readers.
Chapter One: God and Mammon
Have we allowed anxiety, worry and stress to turn us away from God? Do we trust in riches more than God? If so, the false god Mammon is tightly strapped to us, and we must become disentangled from him in order to follow God and serve in His kingdom.
Deuteronomy 28. This is not about money being the root of all evil. God wants us blessed. He simply doesn’t want money to be a false god in our lives.
Proverbs 12:24. This is also not about the name it and claim it gospel. Prosperity can be taken to extremes. This is about money as our source rather than God. That is evil.
Godly prosperity is not having wealth for the sake of being wealthy, but rather having enough to fulfill our purposes in God. We are to use the prosperity God gives us to promote His kingdom and bless others along the way so they can fulfill their purposes in God.
God’s intent for you is for you to understand the evil, repent for your involvement with it and become properly positioned for your inheritance and blessing.
Mammon is name of Syrian god who presided over wealth. Not just money but time, talents , opportunity and authority are all wealth. Mammon of unrighteousness means the god who the unrighteous worship: wealth.
Satan attempts us to depend on money to meet our needs more than God, who is our Provider. If we don’t believe God is able to meet our daily needs, we are “bowing down” to a false image concerning God.
If we listen to the voice of the enemy concerning money and provision and we honor the lie over the truth concerning the Lord’s ability to provide for us, we are basically bowing down to the enemy. If we imagine God doesn’t care if we are able to pay our bills or that He won’t bless our tithes and offerings, we have a false image of God.
Evidence of Mammon at work.
1. Giving above tithe. This isn’t bad at all…it’s the follow through. People prayed for a promotion or windfall to bless the church. In the middle of the money coming into possession, a spirit of Mammon came in their hearts and corrupted them. The people didn’t follow through and in fact, ended up leaving the church every time. Overnight the most faithful church members left the church defiled and seduced.
2. A Death prayer. Many believers want to give to a church addition/building project and came to leadership saying they had a lot of money coming to them through inheritance. Before long people are praying for death to fulfill the project. That’s Mammon attempting to pray for a quick release which in truth was a sudden death to a family member. A true prayer is something specific for the family and for God’s will to be done in the situation. Most of the time after the family death the person who promised the money suddenly heard from God not to give to the addition and again, they end up leaving the church altogether.
3. Businessmen in the church not guarding their hearts. They stand up and make promises to deliver big bucks when projects come through. They mean it. Prophets warn them that the enemy is setting a trap and they need to guard their hearts. Business leaders ignore the advice, get the money, won’t return calls, never give the money and they also leave the church.
4. The trap of pastors praying breakthrough to have a debt free church. Again this is not evil. In the pursuit of being debt free the pastor developed a lust for money. The church received a million dollars and the pastor spent it on his own use—drugs, prosititues, he literally took the money and ran, leaving the church in worse debt, and devastated.
Mammon attaches itself to all. Leaders, parishioners, all.
Read Psalm 111:5, AMP
Out of fear we neglect the tithe and close our pocketbooks instead of giving joyously.
When money masters us, servanthood is required.
Money itself is neutral.
Worry-distraction, anxiety. Rooted in the word merizo, and that means to divide, differ and disunite. This is how we become double minded.
Bondage is a lack of liberty. Our main problem is we don’t know who we are or whose we are.
Pray about any areas you can identify with spirit of bondage. Ask forgiveness and seek repentance. Proclaim you are the Lord’s and you want to live free indeed!
http://www.juliearduini.com
Surrendering the good, the bad, and---maybe one day---the chocolate
Julie Arduini: The Surrendered Scribe BookSneeze Review: "Big Red" Holy Bible for Children featuring 3D Art
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Monday, October 25, 2010
Sandie Freed's Crushing the Spirits of Greed and Poverty
Lately I've felt a God tug to study "Mammon" and how to be a prayer warrior in this area. Sandie Freed has a great book out on this very subject and I'm learning so much. I think the whole Mammon issue is behind so much our country is dealing with--apathy, poverty, materialism and more.
This book is important enough to me that I plan to jot down my notes and share them here. Please, please, please get the book. I'll only highlight key points that spoke to me. It's a rich (pun intended) book filled with life changing information.
Here are the notes just from the introduction by Chuck Pierce.
Notes on Sandie Freed’s Crushing the Spirits of Greed and Poverty:
Discerning and Defeating the Ancient Powers of Mammon and Babylon
Chuck Pierce:
This book is a war manual that defines an enemy and gives strategy for contending.
Poverty is refusing to become what God has created and destined us to be. It includes the mindset of not believing that the Lord can branch us into the fullness of His plan. Poverty is also the fear that we will lack. Poverty is the voice that says, “God is not able.”
Poverty takes hold through oppression and wrong authoritative structures (Isaiah 5:8) Fear can cause us to develop a mentality of covetnous or gluttony.
We can plant. We can watch our crops grow. We can even enjoy a harvest. But if we do not take an opportunity to gather and steward the harvest, a strategy of poverty will develop against us.
We combat poverty through kindness and generosity to others. Provide them access to our excess. Think Boaz.
Develop reaping strategies. Amos 9:13.
Buy this book, read it, and make a decree after reading this book that you will see all things restored.
Mammon---a god that attempts to rule us by aligning with structures that caused interest rates to exceed godly bounds. (Nehemiah 5:1-5)
Mammon creates fear and unwillingness to face our enemy. Proverbs 22:13 Faces us to succumb to persecution of faith. 2 Corinthians 6 and 8). Mammon forces us into debt and financial defeat.
The love of money, philarguria, is avarice, greed, covetness. Wrongly desire possessions of others. If we aren’t careful, money will produce the fruit of covetousness in our hearts. The deceitfulness of riches, a perceived power that comes with money, is another issue. (Mark 4:19) This produces an attitude of the heart that seeks to manipulate through false pretenses and appearances.
Ask the Lord to shine His light on all darkness linked with the spirits being addressed here so you can see.
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