The Saved And Mammon by Apostle Emmanuel Iren: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Faith and Prudence — The Balance the Church Often Misses

There are many faithful people who love Jesus, but whose lives look like a contradiction. When a believer holds on consistently to the word of God over a long period of time without any positive results, the honest question to ask is: might something be getting done wrong?

This is not easy to face, because religion has a blinding effect — it conditions people to excuse things that are not working. Even people trained scientifically, who know how to test data in every other domain of life, can leave their rationality entirely outside of the things of God. That inability to come to a point of honest assessment is a frustrating and dangerous trap.

The balance this teaching addresses is this: miracles were never designed to take the place of principles. Ninety percent of the problems in your life will be solved by principle, not by miracles — check it statistically. When you understand this, you will start paying as much attention to principles as you do to miracles. Pray hard. Pray fervently. But also walk, read, and study.

Overcoming Religious Laziness

There is a kind of conditioning in some Christian circles that creates an expectation that God should supply everything without the believer exerting serious effort. This is not faith — it is irresponsibility.

When God created man, he created him to have dominion, to be fruitful, to multiply, to replenish the earth, to subdue it. To be a human being and depend on God for everything may look pious, but it is irresponsible. Any faith that relies on God for everything is an irresponsible faith. God's design was for people to be his representatives — contributors, not merely consumers.

Consider this honestly: if Jesus could walk on water, would the average charismatic believer ever use a boat? The assumption is that miracles are supposed to replace industry. Jesus refused to multiply bread every day, and the crowd was angry. The miracle was a sign. Signs point to someone. They are not meant to replace human effort and participation.

Paul said: "The grace that was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all." 1 Corinthians 15:10. The fact that you are a Christian should be more reason to exert yourself excellently — because you are accountable to God. Those who do not believe in God are not working with that accountability, and they should not be outworking those who do.

Stop squandering opportunities. Protect the relationships and resources that were given to you. Do not waste what took others great sacrifice to provide.

Overcoming Religious Covetousness

The opposite error is also real: hiding selfishness and greed under spiritual language. Calling it faith when it is actually covetousness. Claiming prosperity while stealing or cutting corners. Comparing yourself constantly to others and dressing that comparison in Scripture.

Luke 12:15 — "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of things that he possesses."

There are people who will never have enough — not because of poverty, but because of disposition. The goalpost keeps moving. God gave the house; now where is the car? Got the car; now where is what the neighbor has? If you don't come to the point where the faithfulness of God in the past gives you optimism for the future, you will never truly be happy. David understood this: God delivered the lion, God delivered the bear — therefore God will deliver Goliath. That kind of confidence is not presumption; it is pattern recognition based on a track record.

What fuels covetousness is social comparison — comparing yourself with others by yourself. And the Bible says those that compare themselves with themselves are not wise. Real contentment is not lowering expectations; it is having a reference point that is not your neighbors.

Overcoming Recklessness in the Name of Faith

Luke 12:15 also warns against a recklessness that masquerades as faith. Nowhere in the Bible can you arrive at the systematic conclusion that because you follow God, you cannot lose money. That conclusion requires ignoring enormous portions of Scripture.

There is a type of paranoia that it takes to remain wealthy across time. It does not just take wise management. It takes a humility to say: I am smart, but things happen. I can lose this.

Some practical implications:

• The fact that you have money to buy something does not mean you can afford it. If you have 30,000, you cannot afford a 20,000 phone. Having the money and having the capacity are different things.
• Seventy percent of people who receive large lottery winnings lose all of it. The money arrived, but the character to hold it did not. This is a warning: whatever you are praying for, develop the character to steward it before it arrives.
• You must decide: look rich or be rich. These are not the same path. One of the greatest deliverances God can work in a life is freedom from competitive spending — where no social comparison or pressure makes you live beyond yourself.

Many people read books on earning money. Not many read books on keeping and managing it. But you must learn management before the money comes — not after. The habits of stewardship are built before the large amounts arrive, or they will not hold when they do.

It Is Not Wrong to Desire Resources — But Motive Matters

Some teachers have given the impression that desiring resources is itself spiritually suspect. That conclusion cannot be supported by Scripture read as a whole.

The entire Old Testament narrative is centered on God bringing his people to a land flowing with milk and honey — not merely rescuing them from slavery, but demonstrating his goodness through abundance. When the Israelites expressed reluctance, it looked like consecration and contentment. God called it something else.

Deuteronomy 8:18 — "You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant."

God came to Solomon and said, "Ask me anything." Solomon asked for wisdom. God said: fine — and I will throw in wealth as well, since you did not ask for it. Is God indifferent to resources? Solomon who did not ask still received them. The problem was never God's willingness. The problem, when it arises, is the heart of the recipient.

The real question is: what vision do you have that resources would fund? There are people who, if they received significant wealth today, would have no compelling purpose for it beyond personal display. That is the real poverty — not the absence of money, but the absence of vision. Build the vision first. Let the resources serve something.

The Third Error — "Only Work, No Grace"

The opposite of religious laziness is not a purely secular work-ethic that removes God from the equation. Secular researchers studying the success of billionaires routinely acknowledge that a significant part of their results cannot be accounted for by effort and ability alone. They call it luck. Those who have eyes to see know what it actually is.

Philippians 4:11 — "I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content." Paul said he had learned both to abound and to abase. The goal is not to fix your life at one economic level and call it consecration — it is to bring the same faithfulness to every level, trusting God in the lean season and applying yourself in the season of opportunity.

Whatever your hand finds to do — do it well. Every opportunity God has given, like Esther — use it. Not mediocrely. Not passively. As unto God, who gave you the resources, the intelligence, the opportunity, and who will receive an account.

Lord, for every person working diligently and giving their best — receive help from above. May there be an undeniable touch of grace in all your affairs. May your mistakes not erase you. For those in financial difficulty or debt — receive help from above in the name of Jesus. May you receive the wisdom and clarity to navigate out of whatever situation you face. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen.