Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Tenth Commandment:  The Internal Commandment*

Pastor Oesterwind

March 1, 2009

 

*Introduction*:  There was a king who was suffering from a persistent sickness and was advised by his wise men that he would be cured if the shirt of a contented man were brought for him to wear.

The search began for a contented man, but none could be found.

So, emissaries were sent to the edge of the realm, and after a long search a man was found who was truly content.

[Pause] */But he had no shirt!/*

*Luke 12:15** (NKJV) \\ *15[Jesus] said …, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

The tenth command addresses the natural man and his desire to spend and be satisfied.

The only problem is that rather than finding satisfaction in what we have, we just desire something bigger and better.

Covetousness is the antithesis of contentment.

*Exodus 20:17** (NKJV) \\ *17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that /is/ your neighbor’s.”

The tenth commandment is different from the nine that precede it in the sense that it speaks to an internal drive that few can see.

Coveting anything is to desire it even though it is not rightfully ours.

It is not a tool that God has provided for us.

There always seems to be a hint of envy in our coveting.

Lyn Sehested wrote in the recent Frontline (Jan~/Feb 09 - Ladies’ Circle):

 

Many years ago there lived a woman who, you could truly say, had it all.

She lived in the most beautiful home in her area.

Her husband was the most handsome man in the world, and his job allowed him to spend a great deal of time with her.

His income allowed her to have whatever she wanted - the best foods, every comfort imaginable, the most beautiful decorations for her home, and whatever her heart desired.

He literally denied her nothing, and she loved him completely.

Because she loved him so much she was never too tired or too busy to help him or to meet his needs.

Their life together was ideal.

That is … until one day when a neighbor struck up a converstation with her and casually pointed out that, perhaps she didn’t really ‘have it all.’

It took only a moment for her to fall, but that moment changed her life completely.

Not only did it change her life, but it changed every life that came after her.

Eve lived in Paradise, but even Paradise didn’t satisfy her.

I can see clearly when my boys are covetous because it’s so blatant.

As adults we are a bit more subtle when it comes to expressions of covetousness; perhaps you can relate.

* A little twinge of disappointment when a coworker get the promotion

* When a friend finds romance and we remain single

* When a family takes a dream vacation and we can’t afford one this year

 

This covetous attitude can lead to great problems.

Note what the Apostle James taught…

 

*James 4:1-2a** (NKJV) \\ *1Where do wars and fights /come/ from among you?

Do /they/ not /come/ from your /desires for/ pleasure that war in your members?

2You lust and do not have.

You murder and covet and cannot obtain.

We usually covet things or material possessions.

Houses, oxen, and donkeys are good ancient examples.

We still covet homes - we just want them bigger and grander.

My family grew up in Michigan.

All seven of us in a 1000 square foot home with one bathroom.

Today, we need 3500 square foot homes with three bathrooms and a media wing.

Now let me be careful…

 

Illustration:  Several years ago, Millard Fuller of Habitat for Humanity addressed the National Press Club on public radio, and he recalled a workshop at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with 200 pastors in attendance.

The assembled pastors quickly pointed toward greed and selfishness as the reason the church never had enough money to assist others creatively.

Millard then asked this seemingly innocent question: “Is it possible for a person to build a house so large that it's sinful in the eyes of God? Raise your hand if you think so.”

All 200 pastors raised their hands.

“Okay,” said Millard, “then can you tell me at exactly what size, the precise square footage, a certain house becomes sinful to occupy?”

 

Silence from the pastors.

You could have heard a pin drop.

Finally, a small, quiet voice spoke up from the back of the room: “When it is bigger than mine.”

/Frank G. Honeycutt, Preaching to Skeptics and Seekers; submitted by Bill White, Paramount, California/

 

Consumerism has brought our country into its current state.

It’s simply greed.

And before we condemn the politicians, we might want to take a look at ourselves.

We chase the American dream, but we are actually coveting.

Material possessions aren’t the only thing the command points to.

God warned against coveting your neighbor’s wife.

This is where all sexual sin begins.

We begin to fantasize or imagine scenarios in our minds.

If fed long enough, such inordinate desires become very powerful.

It is not long before we will do whatever it takes to gratify them.

Illustration:  In a quiet suburb east of Phoenix, Ric sits at his computer with the blinds drawn, smoking a cigarette.

While his wife, Sue, watches television in the living room, Ric chats online with what appears on the screen to be a tall, slim redhead.

He's never met the woman outside of the computer world of /Second Life/, a well-chronicled digital fantasyland with more than eight million registered “residents” who get jobs, attend concerts, and date other users.

He's never so much as spoken to her on the telephone.

But their relationship has taken on curiously real dimensions.

They own two dogs, pay a mortgage together, and spend hours shopping at the mall and taking long motorcycle rides.

This May, when Ric needed real-life surgery, the redhead cheered him up with a private island that cost her $120,000 in the virtual world's currency, or about $480 in real-world dollars.

Their bond is so strong that Ric asked Janet, the 38-year-old Canadian woman who controls the redhead, to become his virtual wife.

His real wife, Sue, is not amused.

“It's really devastating,” Sue says.

“You try to talk to someone or bring them a drink, and they'll be having sex with a cartoon.”

Sue [has since] joined an online support group for spouses of obsessive online gamers …

 

“It's avalanched beyond repair,” says Sharra, Sue daughter.

She and her two brothers have offered to help their mother move out of the house.

Sue says she's not ready to separate though.

“I'm not a monster; I can see how it fulfills parts of his life…He's a good person.

He's just fallen down this rabbit hole.”

“This other life is so wonderful; it's better than real life,” she [adds].

“Nobody gets fat, nobody gets gray.

The person that's left can't compete with that.”

/"Virtual Infidelity," The Week (8-31-07), condensed from Alexander Alter's "Is This Man Cheating on His Wife?"

The Wall Street Journal (8-10-07); submitted by Kevin Miller, vice president, Christianity Today International/

 

The list of things in v. 17 is by no means exhaustive.

Remember that the last part of the verse warns us to not covet anything that belongs to our neighbor.

This pretty much covers it.

We cannot covet …

 

* A youthful age

* A beautiful complexion

* A higher IQ

* The talents of others

* Marriage - By the way, marriage does not remedy lust.

If anything, it complicates the problem by introducing a new set of difficulties.

* Singleness

* Children

* A life without children