- [Narrator] The New Gods.
In today's modern world,
gods may not be worshiped
in the form of physical statues or symbols.
Yet from certain forms of entertainment
to positions of power and influence,
the devil is still working hard to steal God's place
from the hearts of men.
Most peoples of the world
have had a history of worshiping different gods
because they believe they can bestow certain advantages
in different areas for those who will revere them.
Thankfully, we know
that life has its source in only one god,
who is lifted far above any god
and who only desires liberty
instead of bondage for his creation.
Psalm 97:9.
For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth.
Thou art exalted far above all gods.
There are usually a myriad of gods,
but one thing is constant.
The Almighty God declares
that those who run after them
shall have their sorrows multiplied.
Psalm 16:4-5.
Their sorrows shall be multiplied
that hasten after another god.
Their drink offerings of blood will I not offer,
nor take up their names into my lips.
The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance
and of my cup.
Thou maintainest my lot.
A prominent god that holds many in captivity
is the God of Gold.
It is the spirit from the hell
that compels people to seek money above all else.
A person dominated by this god, called Mammon,
is willing to go to strange lengths just to have money.
The devil tempts us to bypass God's ways
and seek a shortcut to wealth by worshiping it.
If we do not know the purpose of anything,
we will abuse it greatly.
We were never meant to revere or worship money,
for the worship of this tool becomes idolatry.
So how do we know a person under the control
or dominion of the God of Gold?
Simple.
A person is said to worship money
when all he thinks about is money
and the selfish things money can get for him.
God must be the focal point of our life,
not money, possessions, or fame
because, as kingdom citizens, the Bible says
we should seek first the kingdom as a priority.
This is not to say that money is not essential.
After all, it is a means of paying for products
and services in the world that we live in.
But we must get our priorities right
and put things in a godly perspective as Christians.
For us in the kingdom, righteousness comes first.
And it is the rock solid foundation.
After this, other matters can follow.
Job 22, 23-26 AMP says,
if you return to the almighty
and submit and humble yourself before him,
you will be built up and restored.
If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents
and place your gold in the dust
and the gold without fear among the stones of the brooks,
considering it of little value,
and make the almighty your gold and your precious silver,
then you will have delight in the almighty,
and you will lift up your face to God.
God's stand on this issue is that his children
should never submit to the lordship of money
or bend to its demands.
Remember that wealth is just a tool
to achieve different things
after all is said and done.
Those things could be good or bad,
selfless or selfish,
and godly or devilish.
One of God's purposes
is that a part of what he gives us
will be used to expand his influence on the earth.
And this includes spreading the gospel.
Zachariah 1:17 KJV says,
cry yet saying, thus sayeth the Lord of Hosts.
My cities through prosperity
shall yet be spread abroad.
And the Lord shall yet comfort Zion
and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
Worshiping money and making a god out of it
puts us on a path of conflict against God.
This is because everything on earth, including gold,
is part of God's creation.
And we must worship the creator, not the creation.
Haggai 2:7-9 KJV says,
and I will shake all nations,
and the desire of all nations shall come,
and I will fill this house with glory
sayeth the Lord of Hosts.
The silver is mine,
and the gold is mine,
sayeth the Lord of Hosts.
The glory of this latter house
shall be greater than of the former,
sayeth the Lord of Hosts.
And in this place will I give peace,
sayeth the Lord of Hosts.
God, speaking about precious materials on earth
in Joel 3:5 AMP said,
because you have taken my silver and my gold
and have carried my precious treasures
to your temples and palaces.
This means that God is the owner of every valuable material,
whether it is presently in our possession or not.
The greatest trickster and scam artist in the world
is the devil.
He has worked overtime to deceive many people
to the point where they believe he can offer them so much
on a platter of gold
without drawing their souls into Hell with him.
The devil also loves to assume a sense of authority
over this earthly realm
because of how Adam and Eve fell into his trap
at the beginning to give him control.
Remember how he tried to tempt Jesus
in Matthew 4:8-11.
Again, the devil taketh him up
into an exceeding high mountain
and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world
and the glory of them.
And sayeth unto him,
all these things will I give thee
if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Then sayeth Jesus unto him,
get thee hence, Satan,
for it is written,
thou shalt worship the lord, thy God,
and him only shalt thou serve.
Then the devil leaveth him and behold,
angels came and ministered unto him.
Just like he did to Jesus,
he also dangles this false wealth
in the face of believers today.
And many have fallen for him because of their desperation.
They may not have gone to a shrine
to prostrate before a statue
or poured out libations,
but they are still guilty of worshiping the God of Gold
because they are willing to turn their backs
on God's instructions
in a bid to get some finances.
In his subtlety,
the devil also deceives people
to think that the only way to make money
is through carnal, worldly, or evil actions.
This is why the Bible, speaking in Ephesians 4:27 KJV, says,
neither give place to the devil.
This scripture sounds a note of warning
against the danger of allowing the devil
to have his way in our lives,
particularly in respect to our attitude towards money.
Achan has moved to disobey God
because of the influence of the devil.
He stole gold, silver, and other precious items
against the instructions of God,
but told the Israeli army not to take anything.
Joshua 7:20-21
and 23-26 KJV says,
and Achan answered Joshua and said,
indeed, I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel.
And thus and thus have I done.
When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment
and 200 shekels of silver
and a wedge of gold of 50 shekels weight,
then I coveted them and took them.
And behold, they are hid in the earth
in the midst of my tent and the silver under it.
And they took them out of the midst of the tent
and brought them unto Joshua
and unto all the children of Israel
and laid them out before the Lord.
And Joshua and all Israel with him
took Achan, the son of Zerah,
and the silver and the garment and the wedge of gold
and his sons and his daughters
and his oxen and his asses and his sheep
and his tent and all that he had,
and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.
And Joshua said, why has thou troubled us?
The Lord shall trouble thee this day.
And all Israel stoned him with stones
and burned them with fire
after they had stoned them with stones.
And they raised over him
a great heap of stones unto this day.
So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger.
Wherefore, the name of that place
was called the Valley of Achor unto this day.
His actions brought massive loss to the nation.
This brings us to a very important scripture,
1 Timothy 6:10 AMP.
For the love of money,
that is the greedy desire for it
and the willingness to gain it unethically,
is a root of all sorts of evil.
And some by longing for it
have wandered away from the faith
and pierced themselves through and through
with many sorrows.
The love of money means
that a person reverences and adores his money
just like the rich fool in Luke 12:16-19 AMP.
Then he told them a parable,
saying there was a rich man
whose land was very fertile and productive.
And he began thinking to himself, "What shall I do
"since I have no place large enough
"in which to store my crops?"
Then he said, "This is what I will do.
"I will tear down my storehouses and build larger ones.
"And I will store all my grain and my goods there.
"And I will say to my soul, 'Soul,
"'you have many good things stored up,
"'enough for many years.
"'Rest and relax.
"'Eat, drink, and be merry.
"'Celebrate continually.'"
His self-worth was in his possessions
and not who he was in God.
Flaunting what we have acquired
instead of thinking of the channels
God wants it to flow toward
can begin a journey into idolatry.
Daniel 4:29-32 AMP
shows us another example of Nebuchadnezzar
as he worships the God of Gold.
It says, 12 months later,
he was walking on the upper level
of the royal palace of Babylon.
The king said thoughtfully,
"Is not this the great Babylon
"which I myself have built as the royal residence
"and seat of government by the might of my power
"and for the honor and glory of my majesty?"
While the words were still in the king's mouth,
a voice came as if falling from heaven
saying, "Oh, King Nebuchadnezzar,
"to you it is declared,
"the kingdom has been removed from you.
"And you will be driven away from mankind.
"And your dwelling place will be
"with the animals of the field.
"You will be given grass to eat like the cattle.
"And seven periods of time will pass over you
"until you know without any doubt
"that the most high god rules over the kingdom of mankind.
"And he bestows it on whomever he desires."
Remember that Jehovah is a very jealous god.
If we are not sensitive to what goes on in our minds,
we may end up worshiping the God of Gold.
And this will hurt our relationship with him.
Psalms 24:1 AMP says,
the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness of it,
the world, and those who dwell in it.
Remember that the devil wants us
to worship the God of Gold.
And as we worship the God of Gold,
we indirectly worship him.
We must not fall for it
because there's nothing in the devil that is good.
God is big enough to lead and bless us abundantly,
even beyond our wildest imagination,
like he did for Abraham.
Genesis 24:35 AMP.
The Lord has greatly blessed my master,
and he has become great, wealthy, powerful.
He has given him flocks and herds
and silver and gold
and servants and maids
and camels and donkeys.
Abraham got so much more from God
than any god on this earth could ever give,
which is why God tells us to seek only who or what matters.
Let us pray.
Father, thank you for your love, grace, and mercy.
This has always drawn me far from darkness
and established my feet in your light.
I am grateful for the privilege of walking with you
because you are the one true God
that gives liberty and sets me from bondage.
Thank you for opening my understanding
to see why a God of Gold exists
and exposing its traps to me.
In the name of Jesus,
I will not be captured by this demon
no matter how attractive the temptation is.
But my stand for godly obedience shall become stronger.
Amen.