Many gods, Who Do You Serve?

But only ONE God,

Who do you serve? That is the question. People say all the time that there are many Gods. Truth is, there ARE many gods. But there is only one God. There are many lords, but only one Lord. There are many masters, but only one Savior. Who do you serve?

Oh, make sure you understand this simple fact. You HAVE a god, lord, and master. You DO serve a god, lord, and master. The Word tells us this.

"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

What does this mean? It means we all, as Humans, have Free Will. We choose what we hear. We chose what we see. We choose what we do. We choose what we do not do. We are free beings with Free Will. In this series, we will be looking at some of these gods, lords, and masters, that are common for people to serve. Sometimes, they do so without even knowing it.

Today, we will start with a common one. Money. Yup. Money can be a god, lord, and master.

Actually, this is one of those things that Jesus spoke out about open and plainly.

"No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money." Matthew 6:24

The sad truth is, as those who seek to remove God from Society, are unwillingly, well, some unwillingly, are replacing God with the god of Money. Our Banks have become Churches for some. Our Stockmarket is like the Vatican. People are doing any and everything they can to get, and get more, and keep Money.

They will lie. They will steal. They will even Murder. All in the name of Money. However, it does not have to be extreme to be a servant to Money. Once you fully get this concept, the rest is pretty simple to understand. Is your J.O.B your G.O.D.? I'm seriously asking you. Is your Job your god? Ridiculous you say? Are you sure? Think about it.

We spend most of our awake time at our Jobs. We do things that we would never do for our Jobs. Our Jobs pay us money that???

Pays our bills, gives us a roof over our heads. Food on the Table. Cloths on our bodies. Electricity. Vehicle to come and go. Entertainment. We rely on our Job to meet our needs. Used to be, people would work 9-5 Monday through Friday. They would go out and do whatever it was that would supply them with the money to live. The Wife and Mother would stay home to raise the children. Then after Dad got home, they would all sit around the table and have dinner. Talking, sharing their day's events. Then came the Weekends, where they would spend time as a family.

Now, most of the time, both the Man and Woman are both out working 24-7. Working 9-5 is nearly all but gone. Weekends off? Rare. Got to make that Money.

We've talked about this before. God did not create Money. God has no use for it. We did. Money and Wealth is a Man-made concept. We chose to say that this piece of paper is worth one dollar or a hundred dollars. We chose to say that this shiny rock, is worth all this money. Imagine God, looking down from Heaven, when He sees someone open an Oyster's Shell and see a spitball, and say, "This is valuable." It's is foolishness.

However, it is the system we created. It is a system we must live in. It is the system that can and does, lead some to an early Grave. They work themselves to death. Some are very successful, out there doing what they do, and then they come home and wonder, "Where did the Kids go?" Well, they Graduated and are out on their own. Sorry, you missed them grow up. Got to make that money.

"Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!" Proverbs 23:4

When you drive your body, 24-7, you deprive it of sleep, food, and even simple rest. Eventually, it will give out. He who dies with the most toys wins? Got to make that money.

God does not want you to worry. Jesus taught us this fact, that as a Child of God, you should not only have no fear of these things but take no thought of them at all. If we, as a Child of God, put our trust in Him, He is faithful and just, to meet our every need.

“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”" Luke 12:15

Then He tells us this.

"For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you." Luke 12:23-31

Where is your Faith? Is your Faith in God? To be faithful and true to His Word that HE will meet your needs? Or is your Faith in yourself, and your job, to meet your needs? Where is your Faith Child of God?

You may say something like, "But you don't understand. I do not want to drive that. I do not want to live there. I want MORE. So much more. I got to do whatever I got to do to make more Money."

"Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction." 1 Timothy 6:9

The Word even tells us this plainly.

"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20

We are not to fear anything. The God who created all things and then Created us, and gave us all the things He Created, is able to make sure your bills get paid. He is willing and able to Bless you Richly. Both now and the time to come.

Do you really think all life is about is getting up, going to a job, and paying bills until you die? This is a Life that needs to be Lived. Jesus said this.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10

This brings us to a bit of a test. I know some of you will not like this test. However, it is a true test. What am I talking about? Tithe.

"Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts." Malachi 3:8-11

I know, I know. Some of you do not Tithe. Most for one of three reasons.

1 - Greed.
2-  Fear.
3-  Doubt.

Greed is self-explanatory. Mine, mine, mine. Me, me, me. I earned it. I can do whatever I want with it. Yup. This is true. You can. But if you do not give anything to the local Church, how then will there be a local Church. They need funds for Bills, and the Pastor, and more importantly, for those that the Church serves.

James puts it this way.

"If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." James 2:15-17

How do you think the Church, you, in essence, can Cloth and feed those who have need without Money? Again, God did not create our financial system. We did. However, since the Church is operating in this realm, they need Money.

A Tithe is Ten Percent. Not Five. Not Two. Not Eight. Ten percent.

Fear? Some do not give because they have little faith and fear that 90 percent will not cover all their needs. This is simply not true. The 90 percent may seem less, but it will go far farther than the 100 percent ever will. Why? God said so. Really as simple as that. God even says "test me."

"And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts."

Some people love God and have heard about Sowing and Reaping, Giving and Getting, and planting Seeds for the Kingdom. They want to believe. They do not really have fear? Yet they do not have enough Faith to truly believe that they can let go and trust God wholly. Fully.

This is a good test for you to give to yourself. Try it for the next 30 days. Not just your Paycheck, but anything that brings you in Money. Most nowadays only get paid twice a month. This means you will only Tithe twice. But let us say you get a gift of Money and a little side money from a hobby or something. You get paid $1500.00 and receive another say $300.00 So your Tithe would be $150.00, and $30.00. Try it and see what happens.

Do not put your job before God. Do not put your Money before God. Trust in Him and seek first Him and His Kingdom and see what happens. God even dares you to do it. Next time we will talk about another god, lord, and master that we have created for ourselves. You may be surprised.

Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will heal you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a Sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus and His Sacrifice for me. I believe that He raised from the Dead. I repent my Sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really is just that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." {Romans 10:9} You need to find a Church that God leads you to, and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A New Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." {Colossians 3:10}

If you want to tell me, or comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.{2 Corinthians 13}

Until next time, be Blessed, be a Blessing, and Jesus is Lord!