No man can serve two masters

Dear friends,
I pray that you are well and growing in the knowledge of the Lord. We are living in a time when we must hear our Lord. As we look around us we see many who are suffering. There are few of us who have not been impacted some way by falling financial markets. We might ask, "What in the world is going on?". I'd like to share a few thoughts about what the Lord is doing. I hope this will minister to you wherever you find yourself.

No servant 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. You cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16:13

Years ago I found myself in debt with more going out than coming in. I was using credit cards to make up for the shortfall which only exacerbated the problem. One day in the midst of a financial crisis, the Lord lead me to take out my credit card and look at it. I heard His voice so strongly in my Spirit that it could not have been clearer if it had been audible. He said, "Where is your trust? Is it in Me or in that little plastic card?" I was grieved and convicted. I cut the credit card up and repented that day. I was not set free immediately from debt; it was a gradual process. It says in Proverbs that the borrower is servant to the lender. It's like the enemy having a lien on God's property. Debt can be a cruel master. So what is the application for our present time? I believe God's asking His church, "Where is your trust? Is it in me or is it the stock market, your 401K, your bank account, your credit card, or the U.S. government?" Our government seems to think if they throw enough borrowed money at the problem, it will fix the economy. It never has, nor will it. In fact it kind of sounds like what I was doing.

Here are a few thoughts I think we need to consider:
1. It is time to set our priorities in order. I think in America we have tried to serve two masters and now
the debt is being called. It is time to examine our hearts. Have we allowed mammon to be our master?

2. It is time to develop a kingdom mindset. For years I have been talking about a shaking coming. the Lord gave me Hebrews 12:26-29 years ago and I believe there have been times of shaking in my personal life, but this might be the big one. We are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken. Only those things properly related to the kingdom will endure the shaking. We see the housing market shaking; we see the financial markets shaking; we see major manufacturers shaking. Some are enduring personal shaking. The church is undergoing a shaking. Everything that is not grounded in the kingdom will be shaken loose. Jesus was talking about our physical needs being met when He said "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you." As I have written before there is no recession in the kingdom of God. There is no depression in the kingdom of God. This world economy is bankrupt. The economy of heaven is unshakeable. God's stock has never gone down.

3. The shaking is a time of transitioning into the kingdom. There is great hope as we come through this time of shaking. The apostles said that it was through much tribulation that we enter the kingdom of God. If we cross reference Hebrews 12:26-29 with Haggai 2 we see the glory of the latter house shall be greater than the former. The earth is going to be filled with experiential knowledge of the glory of God.

4. This is a time of the testing of the heart. Few things test the heart more than the possibility of losing everything. It is in those times that we see what is really important. Jesus calls riches ungodly mammon and contrasts that with true spiritual riches.

5. Finally the testing and the shaking is for the purification of our hearts. Something pure is something without alloy, without impurities. The shaking not only reveals our hearts, but shakes loose those things which can be shaken. God is calling for purity of heart in His people. Years ago I heard prophecies of a great revival which would have four stages of restoration:
a. Intimacy with God Trouble will either drive us to or from God.
b. Purity Hearts pure toward Him and one another
c. Unity
d. Power Unity is the place of the corporate anointing. Acts 4;24-31 and Psalms 133.

We can rebuke the devil all we want and place blame any number of places, but I truly believe this shaking is from the Lord and it will do us good if we get ourselves grounded in the reality of His kingdom. We pray that you will be encouraged and strengthened in this time of great transition. Be blessed.
In His love,
Herb Dean