GOD THE SOURCE AND THE DISTRIBUTOR OF WEALTH

THROUGH BLESSING.

DO YOU CONTROL MONEY OR MONEY

CONTROLS YOU?

.
INTRODUCTION
To begin our study today, we will ask ourselves three questions:

ü Do you control money or money controls you? Which one will you prefer?
ü If you have more money now, what will you do?
ü What makes you feel valuable? Is it keeping the money or the things you have acquired or bought with the
money? Is it spending money on people?

As human, we believe we have power over money. We always feel that we are in control of money. We decide how
and what we spend it on. The common jargon used in our world today is “I buy what I want and spend my money
how I want, after all, it is my money. But the question is, who controls who? Are we actually controlling money or
money is controlling us?

Some people don’t like to have money (liquid cash), but they love to have things (things they purchased with money).
We pray to have money, but our motives are sometimes wrong. Some want to have money just to spend it on
themselves (buying a phone, a car, building a house for themselves, invest it to have more). What we want to do with
money reveals our true selves. And what we do with our money is what makes us feel valuable and important in life.

Our study today will reveal to us if we are truly in control of our money or it rather controls us. It will help us
understand the dangers of being controlled by money and the remedy. I pray that God will open our eyes to understand
and grant us grace to break loose from the control of money.

TEXT W 6:24
MAIN M AT
THE

FAMILY OF CHAMPIONS INTERNATIONAL MININSTRIES 1|Page

MAIN TEXT:

Matthew 6:24
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and
love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Jesus presents to us two masters, God and money. Jesus calls money a
master, Wow. This means that money is a master. And money has the same
influence God has on people. That is to say that money controls.
ü The things you do, does money control you or God does? Who is your boss or

manager?

Jesus tells us that we can’t submit to both God and money. He is not saying
it an option, but it is impossible to submit to both masters.

The word serve here is the word used for slave “douleuo” which means to
become enslaved by master. And today money has enslaved many people.
Many people are not free. But you will be free today. Amen.

What we are discussing today is a very serious issue.

Young boys and girls now look for the rich to marry. Mothers also
encourage their girls to marry rich men. All they see is money.
ü What do you think about searching for a rich person to marry? Discuss

ü Is the person you want to marry is not rich, will you go ahead and marry him

or her? Why?

Ecclesiastics 5:8-15
8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights
denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by
a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. 9 The

FAMILY OF CHAMPIONS INTERNATIONAL MININSTRIES 2|Page

 increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from
the fields.
Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless.
11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owners
except to feast their eyes on them?
12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance
permits them no sleep.
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when they have children
there is nothing left for them to inherit.
15 Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
and as everyone comes, so they depart.
They take nothing from their toil
that they can carry in their hands.

The poor are oppressed and deprived of their justice and rights. And this is
because there is an official over them who keeps extorting from them and
provides nothing in return. However, the same official has another official
who is above him, higher in rank, and the hierarchy continues. The officials
of higher rank keep taking from those of lower rank. It is only in a just

FAMILY OF CHAMPIONS INTERNATIONAL MININSTRIES 3|Page

system that those of lower class get to benefit. And this happens when those
at the top chose to deny themselves so that others of lower class will benefit.

A. DANGERS OF LOVING MONEY

1. You will never have enough or be satisfied (vs10)

In the verse 10 of Ecclesiastics 5, the bible tells us that whoever loves
money never has enough. So, what is the problem here?
ü “Whoever loves money never has enough”, What do you think of this

statement? Discuss

It is not the issue of whoever has money never has enough, but whoever
loves money. If you love money, you will not be content with your income,
that is why those at the top are never satisfied, they keep getting from the
lower ones. But who will be able to say it is enough?
The one who doesn’t love money. You will have to determine it yourself.
But if you love money, you will keep going after it. That is why we say
being rich is relative.
ü How will you describe yourself, are you poor or rich? Why?

You can have enough money but you are still poor, because to you, you
still don’t have. When something is controlling you, you can’t have enough
of it.

2. You will be enslaved by it. It becomes your master.

When you have money and the first thing that you think of is investment,
there is a problem. This is a problem of the heart, if our hearts are not well
positioned, we will not make it with God. God will not give you money so

FAMILY OF CHAMPIONS INTERNATIONAL MININSTRIES 4|Page

that you will serve money. Who does God want you to serve? God wants
you to serve him.
ü Are you sincerely serving God or are you serving money?

ü Does money determine whether you come to church or not?

ü Does money determine your mood?

There is a principle in this world that God put long ago,

r Genesis 3:16
16
To the woman he said,
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”

Whatever you desire, has the capacity to control/rule over you. So, anybody
who desires so much money stands the chance of being ruled by money.
Women love for men makes them vulnerable.
So, be careful what you are loving and desiring, because very soon you will
be under the control and manipulation of that very thing.

There is something called spirit of greed, you just love money, you cannot
get over it. We have to rid ourselves of this love for money.

If God takes you captive. It will be very beautiful. You will be intoxicated
by God. What should intoxicate you that will leave you normal and
prospering? Nothing in this world. Anything that will intoxicate you in this
world will leave you miserable. Prefer to be a lover of God than a lover of
anything.
ü Can you sacrifice for God the same way you sacrifice to get money (staying

all night to trade vs doing all night for God, cooking for the rich guy or lady
you desire to marry vs cooking for God’s people and visiting them to show
love, going shopping vs going for visitation or for bible studies etc.? Discuss

FAMILY OF CHAMPIONS INTERNATIONAL MININSTRIES 5|Page

3. Your eyes are fixed on it alone (vs 11b)
Your eyes will be fixed on it alone. You will forget God, the gospel etc.

4. Your consumption increases (vs11a)

You become a consumer, become relaxed. We identify whether people are
rich by the way they look, especially if you are not lean. You consume
because money is around. You eat more and drink more. You eat top class
things. And all you wear is designer wear. Your consumption will permit
you no health.
ü How do we practically deal with consuming more even though we have more

money? Discuss

5. You will have no sleep (vs12).

The abundance of the rich permits them no sleep. There are dangers of the
love of money. But you, you will sleep because it is not your master.

6. It can harm you (vs 13)

It will cause you lose relationships. You can become so proud.

How can you keep something that you love so much and it ends up
destroying you. The second is better, which is it is lost through some
misfortune than destroying you. Many families and marriages have been
destroyed because of money. In fact, when they did not have money, they
were more together, but when they got money, the marriage ended.
It is only God that when he gives, he can protect you from the harm of what
he has given you and also protect what he has given you.
ü Do you believe that money makes one proud? Discuss

ü If you had a lot of money today that you lack nothing, will we still find you in

FCI?

FAMILY OF CHAMPIONS INTERNATIONAL MININSTRIES 6|Page

 ü Have you ever lost a relationship because of money? Share

7. You can lose it (vs 14-15)

How did you come to this earth? Did you come out with a Brazilian hair?
You did not come out with an iPhone, a car or a house, you took nothing
when you came and you won’t take anything when you are going. Most
times it is what people have left that we fight over. Some families are
fighting because of money or an inheritance that they did not receive.
We will lose everything when leaving this earth, you will go with nothing.
It is very important to take note of this.

FAMILY OF CHAMPIONS INTERNATIONAL MININSTRIES 7|Page

 CONCLUSION

Matthew 6: 19-21
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths
and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin
do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Where your treasure is there your heart will be. Is your treasure God?
Is not the inverse, it is not because your heart is there, your treasure will be
there? Where your treasure is, is a real prove of where actually your heart
is. The fact that your treasure is not in God or geared towards the
advancement of the things of God, it shows there is a problem, your heart
is actually somewhere. That is why you have to give to your wife and your
husband too. Because where you give or invest, your heart stays there.
Some of the girls are very stingy, you don’t give. They think they are just
receivers. This is also one of the reasons you have to give to God, because
it protects your heart from money. That your heart will stay with God.

May God grants us grace to set our hearts on things above, on the realities
of heaven, to think about the things of heaven. May we never give room for
money to take the place of God in our hearts. Amen.

MEMORY VERSE
MATTHEW 6:24
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the
one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

FAMILY OF CHAMPIONS INTERNATIONAL MININSTRIES 8|Page