There's A Double Agent In The House

Introduction:

As I began to look at the scripture, I couldn’t help but think about the secret agent called James Bond, 007. I remember the movie called, “Die Another Day” featuring Hallie Berry. An Asian agent in the movie had betrayed James Bond and he went through all types of torture and he was out to get revenge. Hallie Berry also played a secret agent that was out looking for the same agent that 007 was looking for.

But to make a long story short, they both were very dishonest and deceitful. Using each other with whatever they had to get what they wanted. With deceitfulness and dishonesty come lies. My mother use to say, “If you play in the mud you can expect to get dirty. Playing on the devil’s playground carries some devastating consequences and that brings me to my first of two points.

Development:

Point Number One: I’ve Got My Mind On My Money and My Money On My Mind

In today’s society, people are struggling to try to make it in the corporate world. People are doing whatever, to whomever to reach their goals. They don’t care about you or myself and feel that the world owes them something. Well I hate to burst their little bubble because “the world don’t owe them anything and it isn’t going to give them anything.” They have the attitude of I’ve got to get mine and I’ll do anything to get it.

These types of people have to reach the top and will step on you to get there. You know I’m right. These are deceitful people, lying people, people that will attempt to suck the future and happiness from those who are trying to play by the rules just like a vampire sucking the blood from it’s victim.

When I look at this situation I can’t help but think about Judas of Iscariot. Judas had the same problem. Let me give a little background on this man.

Judas of Iscariot was the son of Simon. The name Iscariot implies that Judas was a native of Judean village of Kerioth. Matthew 10:4 says that Judas was chosen by Christ to be an apostle; therefore, we know he was sincere in the beginning.

There was something within Judas that attracted Christ. Christ saw something in Judas that could mean a lot to the Kingdom of God.

Judas was a man gifted in financial affairs, apparently even more so than Matthew, the wealthy tax collector, and the businessmen among the apostles such as Peter, James, and John.

Among all of the other disciples, Judas was placed in charge of the money. Judas was responsible for purchasing whatever was needed by Jesus and the disciples. He was probably appointed to this position because of his unusual spiritual qualities as well as his unusual abilities in financial management.

Now a lot people wonder why did Judas, an apostle of Jesus the Christ, a person who walked with Christ, a person who watched Christ do miracles, a person who was taught by Christ, a person who walked with a man that knew more than any man, a person who saw Jesus Christ raise people from the dead, a person who saw Jesus the Christ walk on water, and a person who was chosen by Christ himself, who had power and authority over life and death. Why would Judas want to betray the Son of Man?

Now Judas started out with good intentions, but what happened?

Now various commentators give different reasons why Judas betrayed Christ, but the Scripture clearly says that the reason was greed:

Matthew 26:15 clearly says: What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?

Let’s look at what the dictionary definition of greed says:

Greed is noun a strong desire for more, an overwhelming desire to have more of something such as money than is actually needed.

Judas was into the money thing. He had a strong desire for money. In other words he had a love for money.

The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:10, is that money is not what is sinful, it is the love of money. Money is a thing; it is inanimate, lifeless. It has no feelings, no desires, and no will to act. Man is the culprit. Man is the one who lusts for more and more; so therefore, man is the one who sins, not a piece of paper or metal.

Greed is a growing sin. It has to be fed to grow. Desire for things is normal and natural. But when the normal desire of our heart becomes obsessive, we are walking on the road of sin.

We become caught up in our own selfishness and that is when we feed the desire time and again, indulging and hoarding more and more, that our desire becomes sin and grows and grows, and festers.