Use Worldly Wealth to Gain Friends
2003-09-11 10:48
All the wealth in the world is the mammon of unrighteousness because it is an object of service.
The Bible says in Mathew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money." A rich man in the world loves the world more than God.
The basis of wealth is money. So the Truth says in 1 Timothy 6:10, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."
Now in the last days, the Bible encourages each of us, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."
In the past God spoke through the prophets, "... You who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were there when the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD Almighty, let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built" (Zechariah 8:9). Truly blessed are those who now hear the words spoken by the apostles and prophets.
It is written, "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:20).
In these last days God has spoken to us by his Son, Luke 16:9-13, "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 'Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.'"
Everything in the world is the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does. The love of God is not in those who love the world or anything in the world. The Lord speaks by his apostle, 1 John 2:15-16, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world." Therefore, all the wealth in the world is the mammon of unrighteousness.
This world is the perishable inheritance of the slave, but that world is the eternal inheritance of the Son. This world is the inheritance of the sons of darkness, but that world is the inheritance of the sons of light. So the children of God are not loved by the world as they are not of the world. It is written, Hebrews 10:34, "You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions." For the children of God who have the citizenship of heaven, this world is someone else's property. The Lord said, "And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?"
All the wealth and prosperity in the world is the property of the devil, the prince of this world who holds the power of death. It is written in Luke 4:5-6, "The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, 'I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.'" For the children of God who belong to Christ, all the things in the world are "someone else's property".
The Truth encourages the children of God who are not of the world, live as strangers, and seek for a better country, Hebrews 13:5, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'"
The Lord also encourges us by his beloved apostle, 1 John 3:17, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"
Not everyone can accept this truth, but only a people who will produce its fruit. "Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." Amen. Thank you, Lord.
The least brother, Kim Yun-gu
The Bible says in Mathew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money." A rich man in the world loves the world more than God.
The basis of wealth is money. So the Truth says in 1 Timothy 6:10, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."
Now in the last days, the Bible encourages each of us, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."
In the past God spoke through the prophets, "... You who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were there when the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD Almighty, let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built" (Zechariah 8:9). Truly blessed are those who now hear the words spoken by the apostles and prophets.
It is written, "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:20).
In these last days God has spoken to us by his Son, Luke 16:9-13, "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 'Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.'"
Everything in the world is the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does. The love of God is not in those who love the world or anything in the world. The Lord speaks by his apostle, 1 John 2:15-16, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world." Therefore, all the wealth in the world is the mammon of unrighteousness.
This world is the perishable inheritance of the slave, but that world is the eternal inheritance of the Son. This world is the inheritance of the sons of darkness, but that world is the inheritance of the sons of light. So the children of God are not loved by the world as they are not of the world. It is written, Hebrews 10:34, "You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions." For the children of God who have the citizenship of heaven, this world is someone else's property. The Lord said, "And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?"
All the wealth and prosperity in the world is the property of the devil, the prince of this world who holds the power of death. It is written in Luke 4:5-6, "The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, 'I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.'" For the children of God who belong to Christ, all the things in the world are "someone else's property".
The Truth encourages the children of God who are not of the world, live as strangers, and seek for a better country, Hebrews 13:5, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'"
The Lord also encourges us by his beloved apostle, 1 John 3:17, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"
Not everyone can accept this truth, but only a people who will produce its fruit. "Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." Amen. Thank you, Lord.
The least brother, Kim Yun-gu
