‘Last Generation’
Luke 16:9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves
by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting
home.”
Brethren, we are
commanded by our Lord Jesus Himself to use the unrighteous mammon in our
possession to win souls (friends) so that they can be with us in heaven
(everlasting home). God has made the unreached
neighbours, charitable homes to be mission fields for us. Once we keep His
words and give our money to these poor and needy, then we are laying treasures
in heaven.
Hard for rich to enter heaven
Mat 19:23-24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly,
I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And
again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
It looks like it
is impossible for the rich to enter into the kingdom of God. Why?
Characteristic of rich men
Luke 12:16-21 “Then He spoke a parable to them, saying:
“The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself,
saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’’ So he said,
‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will
store all my crops and my goods. ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have
many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”
But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then
whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up
treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
From the above
scriptures, our Lord described the rich to us. Nothing is enough and they keep
on wanting more and more. The more they have, the more that they want. It looks
as though that once we have tasted wealth, we get addicted to it and we crave
and lust after it.
1 Tim 6:9 But
those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many
foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
Love of Money
1 Tim 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds
of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and
pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Once a rich man is
addicted to riches, just like a drug addict, he will use all means including
lies, bribery, wickedness, deceptions to get more money resulting in all kinds
of evil. Because of this greed, it sows bitterness, hatred, sorrows amongst the
brethren.
If you want to be perfect?
Mat 19:20-21 The
young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I
still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what
you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come,
follow Me.”
Our Lord knew that
no matter how much the rich tries to keep His words it will not be satisfactory.
He insisted that whoever wants to be perfect, he must give up all his wealth.
Luke 16:14-15 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of
money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. And He said to them,
“You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.
For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”
The Pharisees
appeared to be godly yet they were lovers of money. So it is no big deal to see
carnal, worldly and misled pastors and Christian leaders covetous and rich.
