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God and Mammon - Putting our trust in God or Man?

 
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filmdavidb
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 7:56 pm    Post subject: God and Mammon - Putting our trust in God or Man? Reply with quote

The concept of "compromise" appears to be "coexistence" on the surface, (straddling the fence, as some may say) but in reality is total allegiance to a mindset against God.

Money
You have spent a better part of your life with checking accounts, savings accounts, credit cards, “paper or plastic” in day to day purchases. But one day, you are notified by your bank that a new technology is being instituted to make your lifestyle simpler, more secure, and more efficient. You (and everyone else in town) is told to come down to the bank at your earliest convenience to turn in any cash, credit cards, etc. and instead receive an account number to be imbedded in your forehead or right hand. What is going to be your reaction? Of course, you will refuse to comply if it finally came to that, be forced to walk away from such a mentality, and perhaps forsake everything you have lived and worked for, since those who receive this mark will spend eternity in hell (Rev. 20:4)
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“If it came to that...” you would refuse to take that step. But do you stop to realize that a decision to walk away from a system such as that is to put your trust in God instead? Are you aware of what you just did? You suddenly decided to put your trust in the one true God! .

In order to make my point, let me propose something about legalism. In Genesis 3, the serpent is speaking to Eve: “Hath God said, thou shalt not eat of every tree in the garden?” Eve’s reply: “Of the fruit of every tree in the garden, we may freely eat, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ‘thou shalt not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it , lest ye die.” Now notice, God never said anything about the “fruit” of the tree. He told them not to eat of the tree. He never said anything about “touching” it. Eve added that. Why? Eve must have thought there was something deadly about the fruit, that they would die if they touched it - as if it had arsenic or something deadly in it. But the death was not in the fruit. The death was in the disobedience. [This is a very important point. God was interested in a heart of obedience - not necessarily the physical act.
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When the time comes for those to take the physical step of having some account number imbedded in their right hand or forehead, it is not the physical act or motion they go through, but the attitude of the heart in the process. Notice that the system will have put into place a control over the economy.
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Rev. 13:17 “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”.
You see, it is not the simple physical act of having them imbed some computer account in their hand or forehead, but a “subscribing” to a system that they have put their trust in. In fact, without it, they will not be able to buy or sell.
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This is the sobering aspect of it, for there are those even today, that have “sold out” for their mess of pottage. They have built around them all types of security and comfort zones that give them peace of mind and security. Without even realizing it, they have conditioned themselves into this lifestyle, and can “have everything their little heart desires”. What have they done? They can now leave God out of the equation - the culmination of a world system that we find described in Revelation 14.
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Rev. 14:9-10 “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, [10] The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:” .
Such a system gives us all the security we need or want, ultimately and totally replacing God - the most blatant and defiant rebellion against Him. This is why the simple act of having some computer chip or account number imbedded in our right hand or forehead is so sobering. Not because of some “legalistic” overt act, but a mentality of shifting our trust from God to putting it totally in man, an act on a par with a betrayal to the One True God of Heaven and earth.
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Peter denied Jesus. He cursed “I know him not….” Peter knew the implications of associating himself with Jesus, for he knew of the suffering Jesus was to experience. But when we put our trust in “mammon” (money), instead of the One true God, we are doing what Judas did. Why did Judas "bare what was put therein"? He was “skimming” off what was put in the bag – “putting it away for a rainy day”, (putting it in his other pocket - or whatever), essentially. He was putting his trust in man. But “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Lu 16:13

Ecumenical or Economical? ..
I suppose while you are asked at the bank to receive this account number, you say "Well, now wait a minute!" I thought that when this time came I would be forced to deny my faith in Jesus Christ! The one administering this process says to you...'Where in the world did you get that idea?? We're not asking you to give up anything. You can continue in your form of worship as usual. We don't care what you believe, or what church you go to." Isn't that shocking? What seems to be "coexistence" on the surface is just exactly that! It amounts to having one foot in heaven and the other in "mammon". What we find in reality is what we call compromise - putting your trust in God and mammon at the same time. But what does God say? Cursed is the man who puts his trust in man." "Ye cannot serve (trust in) God and mammon, for you will either hate the one and hold to the other...." The anti-christ is not going to force you to "give up" your faith in your religion or God (at least not at first). He will allow you to continue in your form of religion. In fact, he will welcome all religious faiths to come together in world unity! You will be permitted to continue in your ''form of godliness" (but denying the power thereof).
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So you see, what seems to be a convenient choice with a simple economic measure on the surface really is total allegiance to the system in the truest sense of the word. What we thought was going to be an act of "Denying Christ" is just exactly that, only it is taking place through a "back door" economic, convenient act. The fact is that, although it is an economical decision on the surface, it is a RELIGIOUS decision in reality. We are taking the final last step, not only of total allegiance to a system that is the culmination of Genesis 3, but also a blatant act of shaking our fist at God, essentially saying to Him "We don't need You anymore. We now have anything we want, any time we want, anywhere we want. We now can have it all, and no longer have to lean on you for anything!"
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Now you may say "Well, thank God I won't be here when that time comes." But do you not realize that your thinking and attitude is no different from those who will deny Christ? For, you see, your mentality has taught you to "co-exist" with a religion, essentially having one foot in Heaven, and the other in "mammon". "Thus saith the Lord; 'Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD." Blessed is the man that puts his trust in God. Ps. 1:1, 32,2, 34:8, 65:4, 84:5,12, 94:12, 112:1, Prov. 8:34, Isa. 56:2, Jer. 17:7.
©1999 David Film. Reproduce and forward freely. www.DavidFilm.com
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