The Hindrance of the Lust for Filthy Lucre

Recognizing Apostolic Christianity III

by Al Houghton, "Word at Work", Vol.19, No.11

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God has a plan for His Church to restore the glory manifested in the power of the Spirit. Restoration of the apostolic ministry is part of the process enabling a panoramic view of the transition into a new millennium. To understand the full measure of restoration that Acts 3:21 promises, we have to see the important contribution the apostolic ministry makes. The word, restoration, has a threefold process at its core meaning. It signifies surgical removal of cancer and sovereign individual repositioning in strength and might to fulfill the original and ultimate call. God is completing a restoration, and we do not want to miss anything crucial He is bringing as a major contribution.

The church at Ephesus understood the necessity of testing those who say they are apostles, and Scripture clearly reveals some failed. Are we testing those who say they come with an apostolic ministry? It is obvious the church was familiar with issues of the apostolic test because by Jesus' own admission Ephesus accurately tested the apostolic ministry and discerned the difference between the true and the counterfeit. If the early church at Ephesus could apply the scriptural test, then we in a season of restoration must recognize what the tests are and apply them accurately also.

We found the first major apostolic test from the commissioning and ordination which Jesus did with the twelve. That test was the test of separation unto God by personal adversity. Throughout the writings of the apostle Paul he sets himself in opposition to those who claim they are apostles, and always appeals to the level of adversity which he endured as exceeding anything the counterfeits have experienced. His position seems to be that the true apostolic ministry has such terrible demonic resistance you don't necessarily judge them by their successes and everything they have accomplished--you can, in fact, judge the magnitude of what they bring by the adversity it has evoked from the enemy. This can be hard for those in the Charismatic Renewal with the faith heritage to receive, because in our tradition we have never learned to honor the spiritual adversity in the lives of ministers and recognize it as a sign that points to the validity of the message.

The second major test we discovered for apostolic ministry has the same foundation as the Lord Jesus. It is in Philippians embodied in the word ken-o-o. this word translated in Philippians 2:7 "... made Himself of no reputation ..." is really the issue of the personal emptying process by which personal will is wholly given over to God's purpose. The fruit of ken-o-o is easily recognizable. The process is much harder to recognize than the fruit, but usually comes by adversity. Paul said, "For I have no one likeminded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus." The fruit of walking the pathway of ken-o-o is that we wind up vessels fit for the Master's use, because we're not seeking anything which attributes to our own benefit. We sincerely seek the benefit of the people we serve. This attitude should not only mark the apostolic office, but it should also mark those they disciple. If we see the opposite--we need to beware.

Undoubtedly, the third test the Ephesian church applied would be the test of Matthew 6:19-24. In verses 19-23 we see the fruit, however, of this test which again goes to the purity of the heart of the individual. The apostolic ministry has to be separated from valuing anything the earth has to offer, where it would conflict with the purpose and plan of God. The heart has to be so set on God and His purpose that it is not in anyway, shape, or form captured, moved, persuaded, or impacted by the good things the world has to offer. We can see the primary tests for an apostle are tests of the heart. We should be gracious enough to realize the apostolic call can rest upon people while they are in the process of forming and training. We would not want to make the mistake of rejecting someone because their character had yet to completely form in any one of these areas. God is still a God of grace and mercy, and He demands we extend it just like we want to receive it.

There is another master in the earth the apostolic ministry must absolutely conquer. That master according to verse 24 is mammon, and has acquired "god-status" in the earth. Anything that so equals God--Jesus proclaims you can serve one or the other, but not both--has universal appeal. We must immediately realize the power to impact, persuade, and leaven which money has in the earth. The first thing Jesus said was that a man will "... either hate the one and love the other ..." which are very dramatic oppositional differences. The word "hate" used here is the Greek word mis-eh-o. It means to slight, postpone in love or esteem, persecute, to disregard or to become indifferent. Mammon is so powerful that Jesus said it can cause us to slight God or His purpose. It can bring us to a mindset where we do not esteem or value what God values. We even may persecute what God honors. It can bring us into a place where we disregard what God says is critical, or we become indifferent to what God says is necessary. Anything with the ability to impact a believer in such a way is indeed worth studying and understanding.

When Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other ..." can you imagine being a Christian, but so captured by the spirit of mammon that you are drawn to oppose God consistently without realization. The word "love" here is ag-ap-ah-o. It means to affect innate reverence, to inspire prompt obedience, to take pleasure and prize above other things, to be unwilling to abandon or do without. When mammon has fully captured somebody, an individual is so influenced by it that they are unwilling to abandon or do without its power and control. They cannot enter the door when God opens it in front of them. This, of course, is seen in the rich young ruler who knew he had one hurdle left to get over. He asked, "What must I do?" Jesus gave him a list. He had done all of those from his youth. The last thing--the major massive mammon test addressed the ag-ap-ah-o issue. The rich young ruler so loved money he could not abandon mammon and yield to God. We certainly don't want to be in that place!

Jesus said, "... for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other." To be loyal is the Greek word, an-tel-o. It means to keep one's self directly opposite or to solidify and firmly position against, to withstand. The power of mammon is amazing in its ability to so lock up the mind as to solidify and firmly position against the purpose of God. Perhaps the individuals in Scripture who best represent this attitude are the Pharisees. They are consistently positioned against Jesus doctrinally. They are dramatically opposed to His prophetic purpose. They violently oppose His teaching on purifying the altar in Matthew 23. When Jesus directly confronts mammon in the temple by overturning the tables of the moneychangers, they immediately plan to execute the crucifixion, saying "His blood be on us and on our children forever." Those are people who have been solidified and firmly positioned against God, but through deception think they are doing God service. Did not Jesus warn us that religious people would be so captured by this spirit, they would kill true servants thinking they were doing God's will?

When Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other," He was really giving us four categories of warfare wherein mammon can make inroads into a believer's life. "Despise" is an interesting word in the Greek in that it is compound. It is kat-af-ron-eh-o. Phro-ne-o is the root word and we are told in Philippians 2 to have the same attitude that was in Christ Jesus. So we understand that kat-af-ron-eh-o means to think against or to see in just the opposite way as God sees. Every time there is a new move of the Spirit kat-af-ron-eh-o is active and fighting the Church [or we could say fighting in the church]. When we have championed a new move of the Spirit and have gained ground, and God has blessed, it is often financially unfeasible for established leadership to embrace the next move of the Spirit usually with its unseemly manifestations. It seems every time God moves, He brings offenses. We really don't want to think against God--but you see it every time there is a new move of the Spirit. Kat-af-ron-eh-o is a very real war in the Church. Look at the people who fought the Charismatic Renewal. Look at the ones who fought the Toronto Blessing. It seems kat-af-ron-eh-o has nearly taken permanent residence with some individuals in the Church. We really don't want to be counted with that group.

When Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters ..." He used the Greek word koo-ree-os. Koo-ree-os, or "master", means one who has gained supremacy in authority, one who has assumed a position of control, one who now wields authority. This enlightens our understanding about the issue of mammon and how Satan uses it to attempt a counterfeit of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit seeks to lead us into God's perfect will and wield the heavenly authority as we yield to the purpose of God--so the Devil through mammon attempts the very same thing. Mammon obviously, by Jesus' definition, is a master in the earth competing with the Holy Spirit.

In Revelation 22:11 we see two kingdoms in conflict and this conflict is progressive. Verse 11 says, "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still." "Still" in the Greek means the crystallization and development of character until one becomes the exact image of the god to whom he adheres. This means progressively we will find those who adhere or begin the pathway toward mammon through the mis-eh-o process ultimately wind up diametrically opposed to the truth and become persecutors of those who walk God's path. The kingdoms are already in conflict. The question is--where do we stand?

Ephesians 6:10-11 makes this conflict very apparent. We see the exhortation to move into the full measure of all God has provided, which of course includes the armor, but it also includes the levels of power that have been made available to us. Verse 20 says, "Finally, my brethren, be en-dua-ma-mon/strong in the Lord and in the kra-tos/power of His is-khoos/might." Without the whole armor of God and the power of God Ephesians 6 indicates we cannot make the stand we should be empowered to make. It is obvious as we go nose to nose, power-level to power-level with the enemy we certainly cannot afford to disqualify ourselves by failing accompanying spiritual tests.

The entry level power for believers comes in the baptism in the Holy Spirit as we see in Acts 1:8. Jesus said, "... you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you ..." In Luke 24:49 Jesus told the disciples they had to stay in "... Jerusalem until they were endued with doo-nam-is/power from on high." Jesus made it very clear that to walk with God, to be a witness, to accomplish His purposes you had to start with the doo-nam-is of God. That was the place of beginning.

But just like Paul pointed us to the warfare in Ephesians 6 we would face, Jesus also intimated we would face the enemy at each level of power for which we became proficient. When He sent the seventy and anointed them in Luke 10:17, they returned with joy saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." Jesus made a very interesting statement when He said in verses 18 and 19, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the ex-oo-see-ah/authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the doo-nam-is/power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." It's obvious as believers we will face the doo-nam-is of the enemy. We therefore have to become proficient in the doo-nam-is of God.

The very next verse after Jesus alerted them they would face the doo-nam-is of the enemy and promised He would lead them into the next level ex-oo-see-ah guaranteeing the victory, He warned them, releasing what has to be viewed as a test of doo-nam-is. If we can move in the gifts of the Spirit and not grow proud, then we can keep what God has given, and move onto the next level. Verse 20 says, "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." We have to ask ourselves why Jesus warned them not to rejoice in exercising the doo-nam-is of God. I think the conclusion has to be that the potential pride will short circuit the power and cause us to come up short in our warfare, or perhaps disqualify us for moving in the full measure of God's ex-oo-see-ah.

The Lord, speaking through Paul, in Ephesians 6:12 outlining the necessary confrontation of principalities and powers, made our moving in the levels of God's power very essential. He said, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against ar-chas/principalities, against ex-oo-see-ahs/powers, against the kos-mok-rat-ore/rulers of the darkness of the age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Here we see a level of demonic leadership moving in dominion probably through governmental position usually understood to be the ex-oo-see-ah. When we look at the levels of God's power, we find each one has a test we have to face, and because the apostolic anointing is governmental, perhaps the greatest test is the ex-oo-see-ah test.

In Romans 13:1-4 the Holy Spirit very clearly portrays government as a level of authority purposely placed in the earth for man's benefit. Government is called an ex-oo-see-ah. To impact man's government, we must have God's ex-oo-see-ah. For the Church to resist the evil governments of the end times, we must rise to a level of ex-oo-see-ah authority in the Spirit that matches what government has in the natural. We do see examples of that in Scripture. It is not an impossibility. The prophets had to go nose to nose with rotten government in the Old Testament and God made them, at times, victorious. To minister to government is to walk in the ex-oo-see-ah of God. When one of the greatest queens who ever lived in England said she feared nothing except John Knox on His knees--that is is a sign the ex-oo-see-ah of God is alive and well in the Church. It is time for great ex-oo-see-ah to rise again!

In Acts 8:5-10 Philip comes nose to nose with the doo-nam-is of the devil. Simon the sorcerer, according to eye witness accounts of Clement, used to open locked-fast gates, change himself into all manner of forms, turn stones into gold, turn stones into bread, and make statues walk. The level of demonic power being cultivated in places like Tibet today among Buddhist monks is what the early Church faced commonly. When Philip preached to the Samaritans, they knew doo-nam-is, but it was not the doo-nam-is of our God. They had seen the doo-nam-is of the devil. Can we not expect to see the same things in the days ahead when our televisions are filled daily with advertisements for psychic networks? The doo-nam-is of the devil is on the march and it is growing rapidly. Is it any wonder we as believers must be proficient in the doo-nam-is of God?

The people were absolutely convinced Simon the Sorcerer was the doo-nam-is of God. Verse 11 says they listened to him because he astonished them with the sorceries he performed. Philip, moving in the doo-nam-is of God, converts Simon. Verse 13 is very interesting in that it points out, "Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and doo-nam-is/signs which were done." Anyone who moves in the doo-nam-is of the devil has a witness when they see the doo-nam-is of God. We know from this passage that any time we go head to head with the doo-nam-is of the enemy, the witness in the deceived individual will always rise to the top and they will be forced to choose whether to go with God or stay in their deception. Simon chose God. But the battle is not over.

In verses 18 and 19 Simon now reverts to his former mentality as a sorcerer. Verse 18 says, "Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this ex-oo-see-ah/power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.'" Simon had moved in the doo-nam-is of the devil, he had seen the doo-nam-is of God, had chosen God, and now he experienced, viewed and witnessed a level of power called ex-oo-see-ah which exceeded anything he had ever done through demonic deception. The common practice of sorcerers, when they encountered men with tricks that were beyond theirs, was to get close to them, pay money, learn the trick, then take it back home, and earn money with it among their own constituents. Ex-oo-see-ah is governmental. Because it can extort and make much money, the power test for ex-oo-see-ah is always a mammon test. In order to understand God's perspective on this issue all we need to do is view Peter's response.

Peter makes a very interesting statement, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the do-reh-ah/gift of God could be purchased with money!" In verse 22 he adds more impact to it by saying, "Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you." In Greek this statement leaves us questioning whether or not there is even a possibility of forgiveness, because the sin is so diametrically opposed to the heart of God. If Peter, by the Holy Ghost, gave that response to somebody trying to buy the authority that comes from the Lord, what would Peter say today if he saw ministers of God selling that which came from the authority of God? If he was that hard on Simon, a new believer who wasn't old enough perhaps to understand all these principles, what would Peter say to somebody with 20 years experience in ministry selling the fruit of their authority? The mammon test is a real issue. All we need to do is go back to the beginning of this article and review how easily it moves in to take control.

Peter has in his understanding a foundation which makes mixing what God has given freely and charging for the gifting nearly abominable. It is possible this began for Peter on the day he was commissioned in Matthew 10:8 where Jesus said, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." The Greek word Peter uses in Acts 8, and Jesus uses in Matthew 10, is do-reh-an. It means freely for naught, or gratuitously, to absolutely offer without connection with money in any way, shape, or form. The resurrected Christ in Revelation 21:6 makes it pretty clear. He says, "It is done! I Am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life do-reh-an/freely to him who thirsts." The Gospel--Jesus is committed to it freely. The resurrected Christ is committed to the principle of "freely". And again in Revelation 22:17 we read, "And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life do-reh-an/freely." All the things of God were bought and paid for with a tremendous price. To in any way, shape, or form take what was bought and paid for by Jesus and mix the moving of His Holy Spirit with the counterfeit spiritual attempts of the enemy seems to be an abomination that will not in any manner be tolerated. For Peter it was unthinkable! Do we think like Peter?

Perhaps the only way we can make the shift in our thinking from where we are culturally is to look biblically at all God offers us without a hint of charge. Do-reh-ah comes from dor-on and it means a present or a sacrifice or offering given to the temple. We find in Acts 2:38 the Holy Spirit is a gift given by God. And because it's a do-reh-an it is absolutely free and unthinkable to charge for any manifestation thereof. Jesus in John 4:10 called Himself the do-reh-an of God. Can you imagine Jesus charging people for a seat while He was teaching? In Romans 3:24 we find that justification is a do-reh-an of God by His grace. Can you imagine charging people for their justification? Romans 5:15 tells us that salvation itself is a gift of God--free, and cannot be purchased in any way. In verse 17 of Romans 5 we are told righteousness is a do-reh-an of God. How could anyone charge for what God bought and gave so freely?

To understand the biblical mentality over mixing that which God bought and paid for freely with the spirit of mammon, we can look at Jesus and Paul and Peter. Peter has already voiced his idea on the issue. Jesus made it clear when He ordained and sent them out that there was one rule which would govern everything financially and it was "freely". Freely they had received and freely they had to give. The apostle Paul, who was not a part of that original group, would have had to get his marching orders directly. So to see if he would come up with a change would indeed be interesting. However, what we find with Paul is that he is every bit as committed as Peter or Jesus. In Second Corinthians 11:7 he said, "Did I commit sin in abasing myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you do-reh-an/free of charge?" In verse 9 he says, "When I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what was lacking to me, the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so will I continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast." In verse 13 Paul says, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ." It seems the apostles had one set of marching orders from Jesus. It was clearly understood by Peter, and when Paul came along much later, he obviously received directly from the Lord the same marching orders. When the Bible says, "in the mouth of two or three witnesses let every word be established," it seems we are awfully close to establishing a test for true apostleship.

Perhaps we should ask ourselves what Jesus did if and when He saw the principle He taught in Matthew 10 violated. We have two occasions on which Jesus saw that principle violated--one at the beginning of His ministry and another at the end. The beginning was John 2:13-16, and the end was Mark 11:11-26. When Jesus saw the violation of the principle in John 2, He immediately went into action. The action was dramatic! It brought perhaps one of the more dramatic displays of confrontation in His ministry. This itself shows us the heart of God toward mixing the spirit of mammon with the free gifts of God. Jesus could not tolerate this mixture. It drove Him into action, so much so the disciples commented "The zeal for Your house has eaten Him up." Where is our zeal!? What is eating us up--zeal or mammon?

Ephesians 4:7 says, "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift (do-reh-ah). Remember, do-reh-an comes from do-reh-ah. So we find we have a measure of Christ's do-reh-ah or grace freely. Now another Greek word is part of this root family and that is the word did-o-mee, which means: liquid love poured out as a gift. It helps us then see the transition and connection Hebrews 12 brings to view. In Hebrews 12 verses 14-16 we have the story of Esau. In Hebrews 12 Esau sold ap-od-eed-o-mee, his birthright. That means to connect the free gift of God with money and trade it away. We do not realize oftentimes that in the process of fixing a price to what God has ordained to be free there is a selling of the birthright, a giving up, back, or giving away what God fully intended to be put in our hands for an end time harvest. The mis-eh-o of the enemy seems to be working well in our generation.

In the temptations of Jesus we find Satan offering Him everything He came to possess. Verse 5 of Luke chapter four says, "Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, 'All this ex-oo-see-ah/authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish." When the devil said "... this has been delivered to me ..." the word he used was par-ad-id-o-mee. This has been "surrendered, yielded, transferred". Can we see when we violate the do-reh-an principle of God, we yield authority to the enemy? Like Esau we forfeit our heritage and birthright, and it actually, according to Luke 4, becomes worship to the enemy. When we are ruled or yield to the spirit of mammon, we dishonor God, and the devil parades it as spiritual worship. The mammon test is a major eternal issue.

Jesus went nose to nose with the Pharisees. He even said that the sons of this world are wiser than the sons of the kingdom. What an indictment! Why were they wiser? They recognized and were using the spirit of mammon to secure their position. The sons of the kingdom didn't even recognize the spirit. You can't stand against what you don't see! Jesus said, "... make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations." The spirit of mammon had so captured the Pharisees of that day that they called the very work of the One they claimed to represent--the work of the devil. Such is the power of the spirit of mammon to pervert. There is a posture and an attitude Jesus said we should take to assure mammon has no place in our life. He said that when riches increase--what we choose to do at that point becomes a test. Do we build bigger barns or instead do we sow it where God wants it sown? The fool, in the example, built bigger barns. But the problem was that the treasure in his heart had moved toward the riches and away from God. The moral seems to be: choose a lifestyle less than you can afford and let God direct you where to sow what remains.

The Lord sent me to a church one time where the pastor had a real revelation of covenant prosperity. The problem was--the Lord spoke to me and told me to preach Ezekiel 7:19 which apparently had gotten in his heart and become the treasure. Ezekiel 7:19 is a dramatic declaration of God's judgment on the spirit of mammon within the Church in the last days. God gave a dramatic demonstration of Ezekiel 7:19 during the altar call. A lady got up with a word and came up to the microphone to share. She had an inch wide silver bangle bracelet on. As soon as she stood up, the bangle bracelet shot off of her arm and rolled around, made several laps, and landed about two or three inches from the altar. She left it there. When she was finished with her word, the Lord spoke to me and said, "Get up and tell them I have given them an example of what I will do if they will come forward. I will deliver them from the love of prosperity and blessing and set them free to walk with Me." I have seen God get very serious with people over the issue of money. I hope we understand the magnitude of the power of mammon and how much of a test it really is for the true apostolic ministry.

Proverbs 23 shows a very important principle. It says, "When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you; And put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, For they are deceptive food." The Hebrew word, met-an-man, is used for delicacies here. At its root, it means to taste or perceive. When we taste of that which mammon provides, and choose to sell in order to gain it--we forfeit our authority to affect rulers and leaders. God's Word is so consistently clear from the Old Testament to the New that the chief issue affecting divine authority in the last days appears to be the test of mammon. How can the Church pass the mammon test if its pinnacle leadership cannot? The true apostles are coming. The army of God will stand up and bring in a great harvest. Perhaps the power of the Lord Jesus Christ is waiting for us to prove mammon is not master!

(This article is part of a series. Other segments may be obtained from Al Houghton's California address below) copyright 1999 Al Houghton\"Word at Work" Ministries, Inc.; P.O. Box 366; Placentia, CA 92871-0366; Reproduction in whole or part is encouraged to share with others.

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