Sermon Tone Analysis

Codes of Sinai (Part 10)

 

Keeping our Desires in Check!

 

Slides of the Ten Commandments

 

Exodus 20:17 (NKJV) \\ \\

 “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.”

Her husband had skillfully amassed a multi-million dollar fortune.

When her husband learned that he was dying he asked only one thing of her---he told her the entire fortune is yours but please do this one thing, have a will drawn up.

He said something to the effect----Since we have no children everyone will try to dip their hand in the till.

So please draw up a will.

You can have it all given to charity if you wish---just don’[t let any of it get into the hands of those conniving no good relatives of ours who’ve always been trying to mooch off of us.”

But after his death she had no will drawn up.

Years later at the age of 81 Mrs. Henrietta Garrett died in her Philadelphia home on the night of November 16, 1930.

She left behind a $17 million dollar estate and no will.

She had at the time of her death only one known relative a second cousin---and she had less than a dozen friends still living.

But at the news of her death, the vultures descended.

It wasn’t dozens or even hundreds of people who claimed they were entitled to some of the estate---it was thousands---in fact to date more than 26,000 people from 47 of the United States and from 29 foreign countries have staked their claims.

Over the course of time more than 3000 lawyers have been employed on the case.

\\ \\ In their efforts to get some of this money---alleged relatives and friends have committed perjury, forged family records, altered church records, changed their names and concocted all kinds of stories of illegitimacy.

Twelve have been fined, ten sent to jail, two have committed suicide, three have been murdered.

In the meantime the estate’s grown to over $30 million.

This last commandment again reveals the motive of the heart!

In loving God with all our heart, mind, soul & strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves, do we wrongly desire what someone else has, or what we don’t have?

As stated last week, one of the signs of the last days is people will be full of covetous.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NKJV) \\ 1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.

And from such people turn away!

Notice God did not say “Do not covet”, but rather He told us what not to covet!

 

Covet means to “pant after” or desire, desire is very important, but wrong desires are very destructive.

Psalm 42:1 (NKJV) \\ 1  As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.

[1]

There are things we should covet, our love for our spouse, our children, our love for God etc.

As with all the other commandments; God does not just tell us what not to do.

But in telling us what not to do, He is telling us what to do!

 

Do not murder, don’t take life, but give life, lay down your life for someone else.

Don’t take God’s name in vain, but give glory and honor to His name.

Don’t steal but be generous in your giving.

Don’t commit adultery, but give your love & body to your spouse.

Don’t bear false witness, but speak the truth in love.

Do Christians covet?

George Barna is famous for the church related surveys and polls he conducts.

He took one on the Ten Commandments and according to his survey 53% of the Christians that responded claimed they weren’t guilty of coveting.

That’s over half of the Christian population who has a handle on this one.

But in that same poll 91% of the Christians who took the poll said that they lie regularly.

\\ \\

 Desire is a tool.

Just like money, it can be used for evil or good!

Our money can provide us shelter & transportation, things our families need,  or it can buy us illegal drugs,  alcohol, pornographic material, and things that will destroy our lives and families.

Like our money, our coveting can bring about good or it can bring about evil.

The primary meaning of the word covet is desire.

When we covet something—we desire it.

We want it.

Sometimes we want it so bad we can’t get it out of our mind and it preoccupies all of our thoughts.

When we covet something, we feel as if we need it, possibly even feel as if we can’t live without it.

Exodus 20:17 (NLT) \\ 17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house.

You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

[2]

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the things that are listed for us not to covet, there’s a common dominator, “what belongs to someone else”.

SLIDES

1.      Don’t covet your neighbors house:

a.      Don’t covet their, house size, their garage, their swimming pool, their riding mower, their driveway, their closet size and etc.

2.      Don’t covet your neighbor’s wife:

a.       Don’t covet their spouse, their looks, body size, intelligence and etc.  (Well if I had a husband like….

Or a wife like….. then I would treat them this way or I would do that.

i.

Proverbs says, to be happy with the wife of our youth.

3.      Don’t covet your neighbors, menservants, or maidservants.

a.      Don’t covet your neighbors, house keeper, or that they have a lawn service or whatever.

b.      Don’t covet their kids.

(Well if my kids would act like that, then…)

4.      Don’t covet your neighbors, ox or donkey.

a.      Don’t covet your neighbors automobile, their SUV, their home theater, their cardinal season tickets, or here in the rural counties, don’t covet their 4-wheel drive pick up truck, their fishing boat, their shotgun, their hound dog, or the washing machine sitting on the front porch!

b.      Don’t covet your neighbor’s job, education or promotions.

Through this commandment God is telling us “I don’t want you harboring desires for those things and relationships which I have said are off limits to you.”

Is it wrong for a person to want to own their own home?

No, not at all.

But it is wrong for a person to want to take their neighbor’s home out from under him.

Is it wrong for a man to desire his wife?

Of course not.

But it is wrong for him to want another man’s wife.

\\ \\ \\ “All he ever really wanted in life was more.

He wanted more money, so he wagered

inherited wealth into a billion-dollar pile of assets.

He wanted more fame, so he broke into the Hollywood scene and soon became a filmmaker and star.

He wanted more sensual pleasures, so he paid handsome sums to indulge his every sexual urge.

He wanted more thrills, so he designed, built, and piloted the fastest aircraft in the world.

He wanted more power, so he secretly dealt political favors so skillfully that two U. S. presidents became his pawns.

All he ever wanted was more.

He was absolutely convinced that more would bring him true satisfaction.

Unfortunately, history shows otherwise.

\\ [He] concluded his life … emaciated; colorless; sunken chest; fingernails in grotesque, inches-long corkscrews; rotting, black teeth; tumors, innumerable needle marks from drug addiction.

Howard Hughes died,… believing the myth of more.

He died a billionaire junkie, insane by all reasonable standards.”

[Bill Hybels, “Power: Preaching for Total Commitment,” Mastering Contemporary Preaching (Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1989), 120-121].

You might have a covetous heart if……..

 

[SLIDE]

If you often find yourself depressed because your neighbors or friends drive more expensive cars or wear more expensive clothes than you do

 

 [SLIDE] \\ If you have no difficulty hurting with your neighbor when they’re going through tough times but you do find it hard to rejoice with them when something great has happened in their life

 

[SLIDE] \\ If you’ve been known to withdrawal from others and pout because of something you want but can’t have

\\ [SLIDE] \\ If you’re the eternal pessimist, live by Murphy’s law---always see the glass as half-empty rather than half-full---and always thirst for more---

  \\ [SLIDE] \\ If you’re constantly badmouthing others who have something you wish you had---

\\ [SLIDE] \\ If you have trouble showing appreciation---and the gifts you receive never seem to be quite good enough---

\\ [SLIDE] \\ If your idea of success is having the biggest pile of the newest and most expensive stuff or if you hate the fact your collection isn’t quite complete and someone else’s is

\\ [SLIDE] \\ If you tend to believe that all you need is a little more, then you’ll be happy---

 

 

There’s a story told on Nelson Rockefeller ----he was being interviewed and the reporter asked him, “Mister Rockefeller, how much money doe it take to be happy?”