Spirit of Mammon

Tanning in a tanning booth one day I asked the Lord if I could meet with Him. I found myself in a
concrete storage room. There were thrones all over the room in storage but none of them
looked good. Each one had lost its luster, color, and glory. They each had dust, cob webs, and a
layer of dinginess. I said, “Lord, what is this place?” He said, “This is the place where thrones
come to die. These were made for the great men and women of God throughout the ages. But
they were not worthy to sit on them. Instead of storing up treasures in heaven they began to
store up treasures on earth and their heavenly thrones began to decay. The world became their
throne and the spirit of Mammon their god.” As I looked at each of these decaying thrones I
couldn’t help but wonder if my throne had found its way into this room; and so started my study
on greed.

Matthew 6:19-24 (read through)

Capital M is riches personified and opposed to God, or more commonly known as the spirit of
Mammon.
Tonight we’re going to do something a little different; we’re going to follow three characters
through three stories:
Characteristics of Mammon; see if they’re acting in your own life:
1. Security
2. Covetousness
3. Worldly sorrow
4.

Judas
Tell his story backwards:
Acts 1:21-26: Judas has lost one of the most coveted positions in the entire Bible (remember
Jesus said to His disciples, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many
prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but
did not hear it.” Luke 10:23-24)
Acts 1:15-20: Verse 18 tells us Judas had become wicked and died because of it. What exactly
did Judas do to be called wicked?
John 18:1-3, 12a: Verse 2 explains that Judas betrayed Jesus…so now we know why he is called
wicked. But what would cause Judas to betray the one he called Master for 3 years?
Luke 22:1-6: Now wait a minute! Go back to verse 3; Satan entered Judas? There must have
been an open door.
Luke 6:43-45: Judas had something already in his heart that allowed Satan to have him speak
the idea of betraying Jesus. What was that thing in Judas’ heart?

First principle: God won’t remove the temptation of greed from your life. He wants you to
overcome it.

The young rich man

Judas
Stephanie Meyer

Luke 12:15-21 (read through)

Verse 15: Watch out – This is no just read through and continue verse. We’re told an imperative
command by Jesus. As if He were standing in front of you, grabbing both your shoulders and
shouting in your face, “Hey! Pay attention!”
Be on your guard – Take an active stance against this thing (something we’ll cover later).
Against all kinds of greed – this tells me there are multiple types:
1. Financial
a. Possessions
b. Prosperity gospel (2 Corinthians 2:17)
 2. Covetous
a. James 4:1-2

Luke 12:33-34
Matthew 6:19-24
John 12:1-6
Matthew 26:14-16
John 13:27-30
Matthew 19:16-30 – rich young man
Acts 5 – Ananias and Sapphira
2 Corinthians 2:17
1 Timothy 6:3-10
Revelation 3:11 – “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your
crown.”
Revelation 3:21 – “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just
as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

Stephanie Meyer (author of Twilight series) is a Mormon who, “had never written even a short
story before Twilight” and received the idea for Twilight in a dream. Meyer says that the idea
for Twilight came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003. The dream was about a human girl, and
a vampire who was in love with her but thirsted for her blood. Based on this dream, Meyer wrote
the transcript of what is now Chapter 13 of the book. In a matter of three months she had
transformed her dream into a completed novel. (Meaning by September). By November, Meyer
had signed a $750,000 three-book deal with a publishing company. By the time her fourth
installment in the series was released it sold 1.3 million copies on the first day alone. As for her
movies, the newest one holds the record for most money made in a single day at $72 M. Overall
this movie has grossed $258 M in the US and another $243 M worldwide. This is the spirit of
Mammon.

Flow:
Vision>Introduce Mammon>Characteristics>Three short stories>Luke 12:15>How to defend
against greed.