I'm so happy to have you all here with me today!
Heavenly Father,
We thank You and we declare that You are ruler over all the kingdoms of all nations with power and might in Your hand. We thank You that we are Your sons and daughters; we thank You because You have become our Father, and we acknowledge there is none greater.
We praise You, that every people, in every nation, called by Your name, they will humble themselves and pray, they will seek Your face and turn from their wicked ways. We declare today, before men and all nations that Jesus Christ is Lord of lords, King of all kings!
In Jesus' name Amen
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned."
Romans 5:12
Today's message is I've entitled, Don't Be Duped:
People borrow money from lending institutions that have large amounts of ready cash. These places give people an opportunity to buy something immediately that they need or desire. The bigger the cost of interest, the easier it is to obtain large amounts of money from them.
Have you noticed the numerous “Payday Loan” businesses that have sprung up in this area in the last few years since the casino opened? There are many of them now all over town. Transactions like this have a price tag. This cost is not immediately paid: it is hidden interest; it is the high cost of receiving money when you want it, or in many cases, when you need it.
Another loan shark business, openly advertises, that one can take the title of his vehicle to them and exchange it for immediate cash. "And you keep the car!" they say. It's an interesting business, to say the least, and you can be sure that those who operate in that fashion have their own interest at heart. So many are caught up in paying these high interest rates and once you're in, there is seemingly no way out.
“You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you."
Deuteronomy 14:22-27
"Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”
John 2:13-16
Jesus became angry because they had corrupted something that God had ordained for the good of his people. They had become money-brokers: loan sharks who made long-term profits from people's short-term lusts.
The wages of sin is death, but Payday is often immediate. People sin and are not struck by lightning. They continue in sin and find that they still do not pay.
People are crazy sometimes. It seems as though they don't think of the future.
"Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that if will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him, But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God."
Ecclesiastes 8:11-13
"And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in the land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one have him anything."
Luke 15:13-16
Gathered all together; Collected his property. If he had received flocks or grain, he sold them and converted them into money. As soon as this arrangement had been made he left his father's house.
Wasted his possessions; Spent his property.
In prodigal living; Literally, "Living without saving anything." He lived extravagantly, and in the most evil manner imaginable.
Joined himself; Entered the service of that citizen. Hired himself out to him. It would seem that he engaged to do any kind of work, even of the lowest kind.
A citizen; One of the inhabitants of one of the cities or towns of that region, probably a man of property.
To feed swine; This was a very low employment, and particularly so to a "Jew." It was forbidden to the Jews to eat swine, and of course it was unlawful to keep them. To be compelled, therefore, to engage in such an employment was very degrading. The "object" of this parable, as told by Jesus, is to show the low, loathsome level to which sin leads people.
The pods; We understand the word "pods" or "husks" as the outward covering of grain. In this there is little nourishment. The provision which his master made for him was so poor that he would have preferred the food of the swine. He desired a portion of "their food", but that was not given to him. A certain quantity was measured out for "them" and "he" was not at liberty to eat it himself. Nothing could more strikingly show the evil of his condition, or the deep degradation, pollution and wretchedness of sin.
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."
Luke 15:17-19
He came to himself; This is a very expensive phrase. It is commonly applied to one who has been "deranged", and when he recovers we say he "come to himself." In this place it denotes that the folly of the young man was a kind of derangement that he was insane. So it is of every sinner. Madness is in their hearts, Ecclesiastes 9:3; they are not thankful for what God has done for them. Therefore, they become disconnected and are led by the influence of evil passions. All of this is contrary to their better judgement and the decisions of a sound mind.
"I have sinned against heaven". He became aware that his sins had reached unto heaven. What he had done on earth in his sinful condition had left an imprint upon heaven. It finally dawned on him that he was no more worthy to be called a son.
Pleasures of sin are only for a season. Payday will arrive afterwards. Never before now has Satan found it so easy to lure people into sin.
We are, by nature, so temporal minded. Like the proverbial ostrich with his head in the sand, we hope that what we don't think about will go away.
Judgment day is coming, however, and hell charges a high interest rate. That is why its lures are so enticing. That's why it advertises so heavily and disguises the actual price in the fine print, with a lot of mathematical complications. Add to this the fact that the interest is compounded daily.
I know of people whose cars are long since ruined & are turning to rust in junk yards; yet, they are still paying for the vehicles because they resorted to a lending institution that charged them a high interest rate.
"Oh, but the payments are affordable. All we have to do is make a minimum monthly payment. And we can even skip a payment now and then if we are short on cash."
A reputable bank will partially look out for your interest, and refuse to lend you what they feel you can not repay, but there are other groups who charge more interest and will not deny you a loan.
Satan charges high interest.
The drug addict enjoys the illusions induced by drugs, but fails to consider the long-term price tag. Not only must he pay a lot of money for such illusions, but also some brain cells burn out with every high.
Less than a year ago a boy was "stoned" on drugs and walked in front of a train and was killed. A family lost their son. That was bad enough, but he had a girlfriend. She could not take the sorrow any longer and likewise walked in front of a train at the same spot.
Two families will grieve for the rest of their lives. What a price to pay. Consider also the cost of eternity spent without God.
Doing more and more drugs eventually destroys one's mind, making it hard to return to reality. And those who take a lot of artificial joy trips often end up at the toll bridge of insanity because the grip becomes tighter and tighter with each indulgence.
In a drug-induced stupor, Elvis Presley looked up at the spotlights in his last concert, and spoke to them as though they were people. Shortly thereafter, he died of a drug overdose.
Young people go to bars in our towns and cities, looking for a 1-night stand. They get the AIDS virus unawares and will pay the rest of their shortened lives for that momentary pleasure. The interest costs more than the height of pleasure attained.
Hell will issue you a key to the city for one night of thrills, but you will have to pay for a long time because its rate of interest is beyond your imagination.
Those who mess with the occult open their lives to demons. For a brief fascination in the supernatural, their souls are invaded by evil spirits.
I prayed for a woman who had been caught up in that very thing as a child and that was the beginning of a series of mental and emotional problems she suffered, accompanied by apparitions of people who had been deceased. By the authority of the name of Jesus, the demon was cast out of her and then we rejoiced together as she threw up her hands and began to worship God.
Hell will also offer you a loan of adultery on demand. A marriage is violated. A wedding day is cast aside. The vows made before God are trashed. Another woman or another man catches the eye and lust springs into action. The devil arranges a secret meeting. They can call it a relationship, a love affair, a side piece, but no matter what you choose to call it, it's ADULTERY.
They call it a moment of magic. It is the blackest magic. Unholy desire. Ungodly demonic electricity.
Many so-called Christians are just as bad as those who never knew the Lord. They will pay interest for the rest of their lives: the breakup of a marriage. Agony of heart. Searing guilt. Nightmares. Sleepless nights. Reproach. Fighting over custody of the children. Alimony. Child support.
All that for a moment of foolish enjoyment.
IT IS NOT WORTH IT. And it is too high of an rate of interest.
The innocent spouse believed the other's vow was real. They had taken the risk of giving a fragile thing like their heart to someone but now it is smashed and shattered in a thousand pieces. Years of pain and sorrow result. All the family members suffer because of ONE AFFAIR.
The interest rate is too high. The long term cost is not worth it.
You know why it's so easy to get loans from hell? Because its interest is so high.
Kids' little hearts are torn. Kids from broken marriages find it very hard to love like they should. When they grow up, they shy away from marriage because they have fear they might lose their husband or wife. If they marry and have children, they can hardly even hug them. They look at their kids and remember their own past, and strike out at the innocent child in a vain attempt to strike out their memories.
Then there are those innocent babies who are born with no daddy in the home. No child deserves a life without both parents. The child is ripped off. It loses all the benefits it might have received if it had not been for the selfishness of one or both parents.
Just as finance companies prosper on the uneducated who live for the moment, hell enlarges herself due to the uninformed sinner. Be informed tonight of the extravagant interest rate charged by hell.
Read Jude 3-21
Believe me, Satan will happily usher you into the gates of hell and seat you so gentlemanly, but he wants you to sign your soul away. Everything is so nice. Smooth-talking devils deceive you.
Sometime ago, I heard of a woman who suddenly began beating her daughter for no apparent reason when the girl turned eight years old. She asked her psychiatrist why she did it. He said, "What happened to you when you were eight years old?" She recalled being molested at that age.
Child molestation has too high a price tag. The cycle sometimes goes on - generation after generation.
The loans hell offers are many. Pleasures of sin are innumerable and enjoyable but the interest you will have to pay in suffering is not worth it.
Lending groups that charge high interest rates use huge advertisements showing worldly pleasures, because otherwise nobody would use their services.
God has high interest rates too but it is you who get the dividends!!!
You get eternal life, true eternal joy. Not artificial. Not temporary.
God wants you to enjoy life. The joy he gives is UNspeakable & UNending.
He is happy when you are happy. So He tells you to put your treasure in heaven, where it will never fade away. He knows treasures in this world will perish.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal."
Matthew 6:19
“A robe of white. A crown of gold. A harp. A home. A mansion fair. A victor's palm. A joy untold. ...are mine when I get there.”
Jesus paid the price to get you out of debt caused by hell's high interest rates. You can consolidate all your sins and iniquities into one package and drop them off at Calvary.
In Closing....
If you are making payments to hell for some foolish pleasure of sin, apply to heaven's credit bureau. Make your appeal to the blood of Jesus.
"I owed a debt I could not pay; he paid a debt he did not owe. I needed someone to wash my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song: Amazing Grace! Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay."
He remits your sin and he forgets your sins.
You need to not pay any more installments of pain, guilt and sorrow.
The devil may even try to come back and make you pay some more.
Don't give in. Remind him that your debt is paid in full. Tell him about the blood of Christ!
As expensive as it was, “Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow. “
Are you in the red tonight?
Though your sins be as SCARLET, He'll wash them white as snow.
And now
may the Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Brian Monzon Ministries