Below is a link to a vital and timeless message entitled, “Applying All Diligence,” I preached originally in 1990, but which remains a message many, particularly those who claim the attribution “Christian” in this nation, need to hear and prayerfully consider in this present hour when a mind-boggling number of Americans apparently believe they are “entitled” to certain monetary benefits, or “entitlements,” from the false god or idol named “Government.” This modern, insidious form of idolatry has throngs of the nation’s citizenry looking, not to a golden calf fashioned from the melted down scraps of gold contributed by the nation’s masses a la the Hebrews following their deliverance from centuries of slavery under the Egyptian pharaohs, per se, but to government to supply to them the provisions of life that they should be looking to God to provide. Indeed, the story of the Israelites and this scenario that exists today, along with totally irrational and inane notions behind it, are astonishingly similar.
In Moses absence, not long after their miraculous deliverance out of the bondage of Egypt, the Hebrew people pressed upon Aaron to fashion for them a “god” they could see—a material god, a god made from natural, earthly, worldly elements of wealth (gold, silver, bronze, jewels) they could actually see with their physical eyes, believe upon with their minds, and bow before and worship—like the golden Egyptian gods the Israelites saw the Egyptians worshiping during their 430-years of indentured captivity under Egyptian rule (Exodus 12:40). Think of it: for ten consecutive generations (if a generation is 40 years) the Hebrews had lived as slaves to the Egyptians, and thus by the time God had sent Moses as a Messiah/Deliverer to save and deliver them out of their grinding and oppressive slavery, their entire culture, psychological mindset, and even their belief system adamantly and loudly shouted at them the supposition that the Egyptians were a far superior race and people to the Hebrews.
It appeared obvious that even the gods the Egyptians venerated, worshiped, and served were far superior gods, because the gods they served had favored the Egyptians with untold wealth and riches and elevated them to being the most powerful and prosperous nation on the Earth at the time. By comparison, look at what serving their traditional God, Jehovah, had resulted in for them! Thus, it was only natural for the lowly and inferior Hebrews to apotheosize the Egyptian culture, ways, and religious beliefs, and want to emulate the Egyptians in every way.
But, this whole line of thinking was a major conflict because the one who God sent to miraculously deliver them after 430 years of bondage, came declaring that the God who delivered them was the One, True God, Jehovah-God, who their ancient ancestors had worshiped, and who insisted, “Thou shalt have no other gods, before Me!”
Listen to an excerpt of this poignant and prescient message:
[audio:Diligence_excerpt.mp3]
The Idolatry of Trusting in the False God of Mammon
God says He is a “jealous God,” and that we are to have no other gods before Him, and that we are not to make or serve any idols (Ex. 20:1-5). An idol, or false god, is something you attribute undue homage and affection to, or something you trust in and place your faith in and look to, to deliver you, and to help you overcome the adversities of life, and to attain unto personal desires, ambitions, and aspirations.
By that definition, money is the false god of multitudes of people in this world. This has always been true, but never more so than it is in this last day in which we live, something which was explicitly prophesied by the Spirit, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, LOVERS OF MONEY…” (2 Tim. 3:1-2).
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth (Mammon {the god of material wealth}, KJV0.” [Luke 16:13]
“Out of touch,” irrational, and unduly harsh, these undeniably Biblical Truths are considered in this day when the pursuit of riches has come to be regarded as a wholly noble and honorable pursuit, and when Christians have become indoctrinated with the concept that materialistic obsession is even godly. Moreover, anyone who dares to preach such concepts is subjected to scorn, ridicule, and contempt. Christendom today, for the most part, has lost sight of or does not want to recognize the Truth that covetousness is still sin for which there is a penalty if it is not repented from. The unadulterated Truth is this: anyone who fails to repent of covetousness will ultimately end up out of fellowship with God, will be disqualified from Eternal Life, precluded from inheriting the Kingdom of God, and banished from Heaven unto eternal judgment. The following scriptures trumpet forth warnings to that effect:
Or do you not know that the unrighteous SHALL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor IDOLATORS, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor THE COVETOUS, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor SWINDLERS, SHALL INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. (1 Cor. 6:9,10)
For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or COVETOUS MAN, WHO IS AN IDOLATER, HAS AN INHERITANCE IN THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST AND GOD. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things THE WRATH OF GOD COMES UPON THE SONS OF DISOBEDIENCE. (Eph. 5:5,6)
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are:…IDOLATRY…of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that THOSE WHO PRACTICE SUCH THINGS SHALL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. (Gal. 5:19-21)
But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murders and immoral persons and sorcerers and IDOLATERS and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Rev. 21:8)
Money is such a vain and unreliable thing in which to trust. God says, “He who trusts in riches will fall” (Pr. 11:28). Riches are only temporal, they do not last forever. They can be here one day and gone the next, as the following scriptures indicate:
For riches are not forever. (Pr. 27:24);
Do not worry yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth surely makes itself wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens. (Pr. 23:4-5);
Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to…fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches but on God. (1 Tim. 6:17);
Let the rich man glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind, and withers the grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. (Jas. 1:10-11);
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. (Jas. 5:1-3);
But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into this world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. (1 Tim. 6:6-7);
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. (Mat. 6:19)
Without realizing it, multitudes in the world today have made money, or more acurately, the demonic principality of Mammon their god. They trust in it to deliver them from every adversity of life, for personal validation and to give them a sense of dignity and rightness, to afford them prestige, earthly power, and preeminence, to garner for themselves the favor and deference society bestows upon the well-healed and wealthy, and to provide them with a sense of security, satisfaction, and fulfillment. In a nutshell, people look to money and riches and possessions to give them the peace, happiness, contentment, and sense of general well-being to which humanity commonly aspires. It is in looking to money to supply all this, that people unconsciously make money and Mammon their god, notwithstanding the adamant denials of most that they have done so in their own case.
But, it is Jehovah God who is the true Supplier of all these things, and He desires that people recognize Him as such. In fact, all these things can only be realized in their truest form through fellowship with God. To seek any other object or entity as a source of these things is idolatry, and is making a false god of that object or entity. Not to mention the irrefutable fact that even if these ends are realized, they are nothing but an illusion and delusion, for even in the abundance of possessions, a person’s life does not consist exclusively or entirely of his/her possessions (Luke 12:15).
The love of money, or covetousness, which is idolatry, is a natural motivation of the carnal nature which is inherent within us all, however (Eph. 5:5; Gal. 5:19-20). In varying degrees, before we were saved and began renewing our minds according to the Word of God, we all trusted in money or material things for all the things we are supposed to trust God to accomplish in our lives. Thus, most people commit their entire lives and energies in the quest to acquire more and more money—the more the better. They seem to think that the more diligent they are in the pursuit of it, the more favorable the false god of Mammon, or money, will be to them. The more they have of it, the more it will deliver them from the adversities and tribulations of life, and fulfill the various yearnings of their heart. So they think.
How often have we all thought at one time or another in our lives, “If I can just get this one bill paid off, then I just know everything will be alright.” Or, “If I can just get that new car,” or “that new house,” or whatever, “I just know everything will be fine, then.” Or, “If I can just save up $10,000 in my savings account,” or “make this one great stock purchase,” or “buy this new business,” or “get that new job,” or “that promotion,” or “that raise,” — “well, everything will be great then!”
That, my friend, like it or not, is IDOLATRY. It is placing a false trust and reliance in money. It is making money your god. It is trusting in riches, and in your own power to make wealth rather than the power to make wealth God promises to give His true Born Again Children (Deu. 8:18). But, even more than all that, such reasoning indicates you have been deceived by “the deceitfulness of riches!” The truth of the matter is that once you do get that one bill paid off, you only get more and even larger bills to contend with, and everything is still not “alright.” Or, have you ever noticed, after you buy that new house or car, everything is still not “fine?” Or you save up that $10,000, or purchase those stocks, or buy that new business, or you land that new job, or get that promotion or raise in pay, and then everything is still far from being “great?” Instead you have even more problems. That’s the deceitfulness of riches; he who trusts in them is heading for a fall (Pr. 11:28).
You see, God does not want everything to be “alright” merely through the means of monetary gain and because of financial wealth. He does not want you to be trusting in money as your savior and deliverer. If you do, money is your master and god, not Him. God delights in the prosperity of His servants, but therein is the key: He wants our lives to be prosperous in every way, not through the self-glorifying means of self-achievement, but through serving Him, whereby all the glory for our prosperity is attributable to Him alone. He wants to be our total Source, our only Savior and Deliverer, our Master, and our very present Help in the time of trouble. He wants to be the object of our affection and trust.
“But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to MAKE wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” (Deu. 8:18)
God has promised in His Word to supply all the believer’s needs according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus (Plp. 4:19), but these provisions do not just fall out of Heaven like ripe cherries falling off a cherry tree. God does not rain provisions or the money with which to purchase them down from Heaven; if He did, He would be a counterfeiter. Rather, we must “apply all diligence” in our lives, and God then has promised to be a “Rewarder” of those who earnestly and diligently “seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). The method God has deemed by which to supply our needs, primarily and generally speaking, is via work, labor. He says in His Word, “Six days shall you labor and do all your work” (Exodus 20:9). In fact, that command is part of the Fourth Commandment of the “Ten Commandments” God gave Moses (Exodus 20:1-17). We are to work (labor), diligently laboring,—”Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecc. 9:10)—obey His command to return to Him the tithe which is HIS, is Holy, and belongs to Him (Lev. 27:30; Mal. 3:8-12) and God will do His part of the everlasting covenant to His People to bring forth a harvest of provision and even abundant prosperity into our lives (see also, John 10:10).
I highly recommend that you listen to this powerful, poignant, and prescient message that admonishes us to apply all diligence in our labors along with the Godly attribute of excellence in everything we set out to do in our lives, not because I am the instrument God used to speak through in this case, but because it is a message inspired and anointed by the Holy Spirit, and based on the sure foundation of the Word of God! I also recommend you send others who need to hear this message to this page to download it, as well as use the “Share” buttons to share it with your friends and loved ones. It is imperative that we get back to these kinds of “basics” in the Body of Christ, in order to allow God to truly make us to lie down in “green pastures”—a place of blessing, peace, and prosperity—as He promises to do in His Word (Psa. 23).
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