Amen. So it's always kind of a double edged sword when I get to come here and
preach to you guys. I'm glad to be here, especially on a Sunday morning. I'm not
typically here, but if I'm here it usually means it's at the expense of our
pastor and he's not feeling well this morning, so do continue to pray for him
that he gets his voice back and is able to get back in the pulpit. I know that's
his heart's desires to be here and preaching to you folks. But like I
said, it's good to be here. Especially on a Sunday, I'm not
typically here. In fact, I see so many new faces I almost feel like I have to
introduce myself. You know, if you don't know, I'm the deacon here. I'm typically
not here on a Sunday because I'm down in Tucson, but like I said, I'm filling in, so
it's just a pleasure to get to see a lot of new faces here and hopefully I get to
meet some of you this afternoon. But what I want to preach to you about this
morning is the dangers of covetousness, the dangers of covetousness. Now, this is
an important topic and, you know, I think it's something that we have to touch on
every so often just because of the fact that we're living in a society and a
culture today that really promotes covetousness, that really glorifies
covetousness and desiring more than what we need or having more than what we
need. But I want to kind of dispel some of the, maybe some of the
misunderstandings of covetousness, but also warn about covetousness. Now, one of
the, you're there in 1 John, if you would, keep something there. We're going to be coming
back several times this morning, but go ahead and turn back to Genesis chapter
3, Genesis chapter 3, because I think in Genesis chapter 3, we see one of the
first examples of covetousness and what it leads to and why we should be careful
to guard against covetousness because of the dangers that it leads to. And when we
learn about covetousness in Genesis chapter 3 is that it's very subtle. It's
something that can creep in slowly and that's why we have to kind of keep our
guard up and be reminded about it from time to time. And really what happens
here in Genesis 3 is that we see Eve begin to covet something she's not
supposed to have, but really it's the devil that kind of gets the ball rolling.
He's kind of the one that pushes it down the hill and lets her take it from there.
If you're there in Genesis chapter 3, look in verse 1, the Bible says,
So right away we see the devil. How is he subtle? He starts to just slightly, you
know, sow the seeds of doubt in what God has said. And God has made it very clear
that we are not to covet things and, you know, that's the way the devil works in
our own lives. He'll say, well, you know, is it really covetousness? Is it really
that bad of a thing that we desire this or that? And, you know, we have to weigh
those things out, of course, and examine them in the light of Scripture and let
the Lord lead us and search our hearts. But that is how the devil starts. He's
very subtle and he just kind of causes us to begin to doubt God's Word. Look
there in verse 2, it says,
So, again, it's the devil that gets the ball
rolling. He's the one that kind of casts the doubt and he kind of puts a
temptation out there like, oh, you'll be as God, this is a good thing, this is
something that you want, this is something you should desire. And what
happens is our flesh takes over from there and that's what we see with Eve.
Once the devil kind of gets the ball rolling, whether it's in covetousness or
any other type of sin in our life, the devil sometimes only has to just get the
temptation there, just get the ball rolling and our flesh will take over
from there. You know, the Bible says in Mark 7 that out of the heart of men
proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness.
So this is one of those sins that is, you know, common to man, one that can come up
from even within. But, again, often the devil knowing what's in man will be the
one to kind of get that ball rolling. Now, what I want us to notice here from here
on out and throughout the sermon is how often the eyes are associated with
covetousness, how often looking and seeing and the eyes are mentioned in the
same context of covetousness. Look there in verse 6. And when the woman saw that
the tree was good for food, so what's the first thing she did? She looked at it.
She's there, she's looking at it, obviously she's in proximity to it, she's
probably a little too close to it than she should be, close enough to see it. And
that it was pleasant to the eye, you know, it was desirable. And the tree to be
desired to make one wise. She took of the fruit thereof and did eat and gave
also unto her husband with her. And the eyes of them both were open. So we see
that the devil, he kind of gets the ball rolling, her flesh takes over and because
she's right there, because it's right in front of her and she sees it, she goes
ahead and disobeys. She covets that which she's not supposed to have and eats it.
Of course we know where that led to. Go ahead and turn over to 1 John chapter 2.
This is something that we see over and over again, that when people see things,
that's where it begins, they begin to see things and look at things they don't
want. Then they begin to covet and they take things. If we're familiar with the
story of Achan, when the children of Israel first went into the promised
land, the first thing they defeated was Jericho and God told them explicitly not
to take anything thereof. But we know that Achan went in and desired and took
that wedge of gold and the Babylonian garment and hid those things in his tent.
And it says in verse 20 of Joshua 7, and Achan answered Joshua and said, I indeed
have sinned against the Lord of Israel. So this is him getting busted and he's
finally fessing up. And thus and thus have I done, when I saw the spoils, among
the spoils, a goodly Babylonish garment and 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of
gold and 50 shekels of weight, then I coveted them. So it's a
process there. The devil gets the ball rolling, he sees it and then he covets
them and he takes them. And that's what we see in 1 John chapter 2 as well. It's
a consistent pattern in the scripture. Look at 1 John chapter 2 verse 15. Love
not the world, not the things that are in the world. If any
man loved the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in
the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life
is not of the Father but is of the world. So again it's the lust of the eyes. It's
desiring the things that are in the world. Now things, you know, that's
how we, you know, take in the world is through our eyes. We look on the things
that are there. And that's really where covetousness a lot of times stems in
our own hearts and in our own lives by looking at things that we shouldn't have,
by looking at things that are not ours and that are not things that we should
be desiring. And they might not even be inherently sinful. But this is the
dangers of covetousness. This is how slowly it can creep in and how subtle it
can creep into our lives. That, you know, we'll just find ourselves desiring and
looking at things that we probably can't afford or don't need or shouldn't
have maybe even. And it starts to creep into our lives and the next thing you
know we could end up like Achan and we don't want that. Now one of the other
dangers of covetousness and why we should be on guard for it is the fact
that it takes place of God and our service to him. And if you would again
keep something in 1st John but turn back to 2nd Kings chapter 5, 2nd Kings
chapter 5. I think this is a great example of a person who had a lot of
potential, probably could have served God in a great way in his life, but
unfortunately he began to covet something that was not his and it ended up ruining
his life and it ended up destroying his service for God. And that's one of the
dangers of covetousness and I'm talking about the man Gehazi who was the servant
of Elisha. That's found there in 2nd Kings chapter 5 verse 20. And if
you recall the story, this is when Naaman the Syrian comes to be healed of his
leprosy and Elisha tells him to go dip in the waters of Jordan seven times and
then after he's healed he of course wants to give a gift to Elisha but
Elisha refuses it. We pick up the story in verse 20 where it says,
Gehazi, the servants of Elisha, the man of God, said, Behold, my master has
spared Naaman the Syrian and not receiving at his hands that
which he brought. So again, Naaman was trying to give him something in reward
for the miracle that Elisha had wrought upon him and Elisha refused it.
He didn't want it. And now we see Gehazi kind of saying, well, you know, he
kind of let him, you know, Elisha, my master, kind of let Naaman off the hook,
you know, and he's kind of justifying his own mind. Let me do the right
thing. Let me do the spiritual thing and make sure we, you know, get what's
owed us out of Naaman. So he goes in verse, we'll pick it up there, he has
spared Naaman the Syrian and not receiving at his hands that which he
brought as the Lord liveth. I will run after him and take some one of him. I'm
not going to take everything in offer but, you know, we should get a little
something for it. So Gehazi followed after Naaman and when Naaman saw him
running after him he lighted down from his chariot to meet him and said, Is all
well? And he said, All is well. My master has sent me saying, Behold, even now
there be come to me from Mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the
prophets. Give them, I pray, the atalant of silver and two changes of garment. And
Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him and bound two talents
of silver and two bags with two changes of raiments and laid upon the two of his
servants and they bare them before him. And when he came to the
tower he took them from their hand and bestowed them in the house and he let
the men go and they departed. Now that should be a clue right there that he
isn't doing the right thing. I mean, it sounds real spiritual, right? Oh, I'm
gonna go get what's owed us. You know, he let him off the hook. I'm gonna go and
just take a little bit of what he gave us. Well, if there's nothing wrong
with that, why is he hiding in the house? You know, he's already condemned in his
heart. He knows what he's doing isn't right. So he's going and he's hiding
it and he says in verse 25, But when he went in and stood before his master and
Elisha said unto him, Once comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant
went no whither. Now that's kind of a funny statement. Again, if there's nothing
wrong with what he's doing, why does he feel the need to hide all this and lie
to the person who's, you know, making this inquiry? And he says, I've got
no wither. And he said unto him, verse 26, When not my heart with thee?
When the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? And he's asking this
question, I think it's a important question we all need to ask ourselves. He says, Is
it a time to receive money and to receive garments and olive yards and
vineyards and sheep and oxen and men servants and maid servants? And that's
really a question we should ask ourselves from time to time. Of course,
maybe not that specific. You know, we're not, I don't think anyone here is
coveting oxen this morning, right? But what about, you know, the next big, you
know, what purchase in our lives? Or we're always coveting something more, bigger or
better than what we have. Is our life all about receiving things in this world,
what we can acquire physically in this life? And we need to ask ourselves that
question and obviously the question, the answer to that question is always the
same. No. No, it is not the time. And the world has people chasing these type of
things. They have them chasing the, you know, the great big mansion with the
three car garage and all the luxuries that life can afford. And here's, you
know, there's nothing, you know, we shouldn't desire those things. And
here's the thing. This isn't the time to receive that. Now there is going to be a
time when you receive that. You know, when Jesus comes again and receives us
unto, unto himself, that where we are, where he is, we may be also. Then we'll
have a mansion. Amen. Then we'll be walking on the streets of gold. That's
the time that we'll receive great riches is in heaven. But this time on this
earth, right now, it is not the time to desire those things. And if you would
turn over to Luke chapter 12, Luke chapter 12. This is not the time in our
life to try and to build up wealth and receive abundance of things. If we start
to pursue those things, it's gonna lead us down a potentially dark path and it's
gonna take the place of God in our life. And people can get very wrapped up in
this and just trying to live. And I'm not against living debt-free, but if
that's your only goal in life is just live debt-free and have an abundance of
money in the bank account and that's it. You know, that's, that's not, that's a,
that's a goal to have, but that's not something that, that's not the end-all be-all
of life. Look here in Luke chapter 12, verse 13.
And one of them said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, and he divided the
inheritance, that he divided the inheritance with me. So here's a guy
coming to Jesus and he's got this gripe against his brother, you know, and this
is, you know, so unfortunate when you see this kind of thing happen in a family
where some, some loved one passes away and now the, now the siblings are gonna
squabble over the inheritance. You know, it'd be, you know, it's probably better
just to preserve that relationship and let yourself be defrauded. But he, this
guy didn't see that and he said, and he comes to Jesus, he says, you need to
straighten this out. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or divider over
you? And he said unto them, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man's life
consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. You know, we're
not, that's not what our life's about. How many things, how many toys can we acquire
in this life? That's not what our life should consist of. We don't want to
measure our lives by the things that we own. Because if, if we do that, that's a
real vain measure of life. The, the, you know, how big our house is, how new our
car is, how much, you know, how big our salary is. And I'm telling you, the world
competes over that kind of thing. And they're always competing about who's
making more, who has more, who's getting, you know, where was your latest and
greatest vacation. I'm not saying there's anything inherently evil of all those
things, but I am saying this, if that's what your life's about, you're living a
vain, empty life. And your life should not, as a Christian, consist of those things.
That's not how we want to measure our lives. In fact, the Bible says, if you
want to turn over to Matthew chapter 6, but it'll remind us of what it says in
First, First Timothy 6. It says that we should avoid the perverse disputings of
men of corrupt minds, destitute of the truth. And these men who have these
perverse disputings, these men that have corrupt minds, these men that are
destitute of the truth, you know what they do? It says they, supposing that gain
is godliness. You know, we don't want to fall into this trap that thinking that
just because we have a lot of things, that obviously we must be godly. There's
this false, you know, health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. That if you're not
rich and in great health, then you know there must be something wrong with you.
You must be in sin. Now, obviously if we are, you know, suffering in some area,
maybe we should self-examine and say, maybe is this of the Lord? But that's
between us and God. You know, let's not take it upon ourselves to go to our
neighbor, you know, and say, oh you got kidney stones? It must be the Lord, you
know? He's getting out of you one way or another. You know, that's that's not our
place. That's between us and God. But we shouldn't just suppose that gain is
godliness. That the more we get, the more we acquire, and the more we have, then the
more godly we must be. And there is a philosophy that is being preached out
there that that's how things ought to be. But that's not how it's supposed to be.
Our life is not to consist in the abundance of the things which we possess.
Our life, the things that we should be investing in, spending our time in, the
things that we should be giving ourselves to and pursuing and making our
life's pursuit, are the things that are going to matter in heaven, the eternal
riches. We need to invest in heaven. Look there in Matthew chapter 6 verse 19,
lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth. I mean, that's a clear-cut
command. There's no, you don't have to wonder what he means by that. He's saying
don't lay up treasures for yourself upon earth. You know, any of us that
watched DuckTales growing up are all familiar with Uncle McScrooge, you
read what his name was, you know, and he had his big silo full of gold coins and he'd
pace around it. You know, don't be that guy. Don't be like that. Lay not up for
yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt. It's not
gonna do you any good. Those treasures that we heap and pile up, they're all
gonna go away one day. They're all gonna rust. They're all gonna corrupt. Where
thieves break through and steal, you know, there goes your, you know, your investment
portfolio. You know, because you got all these crooks on Wall Street and things
like these investment bankers. I want to just take your money, you know, enter the
Bernie Madoff who's just gonna take your money and blow it and out billions of
people billions of dollars. Thieves break through and steal today. Nothing's changed.
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. That's where we should be
investing. That's where we should be laying up our treasures, which is in
heaven. Where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not
break through nor steal. And here's the, and here's the real important reason why
it matters. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. You know,
if your life just becomes about getting the oxen and the changes of raiment and
the wedges of gold and the silver, you're gonna end up like a hazy. You know, your
treasure is gonna be on this earth and you're just gonna be useless to God
because you're too busy pursuing earthly things and not the things of God. Now one
of the most dangerous things about covetousness is the fact that it can
affect your heart long before you even gain what you desire. I mean people will
desire something, they'll want something, and they'll desire it and want it and
they'll have to wait so long to get it, but long before they even get what it is
that they want, their hearts already ruined. Their heart, they've already gone
astray. That's one of the most dangerous things about covetousness is that it can
affect your heart long before you get what you want. Now here's the thing, if
we're going to serve God, if we're not gonna, you know, shipwreck our lives like
a hazy, you know, we need to guard against covetousness and part of that is
understanding what covetous is and what it isn't and we'll get into that, but we
need to guard against it. If you would, turn over to Psalm chapter 1 19, Psalm
chapter 1 19. You know, when God told Moses to appoint men to lead and the
children of Israel, the nation of Israel, one of the things he told them to look
for were men that hated covetousness. It says in Exodus 18,
Moreover thou shalt provide out of the people able men, such as fear God, men of
truth hating covetousness. I mean that's not just, you know, I'm not gonna be
given unto it, I'm just gonna avoid it. I mean he's saying, hate it. Want nothing to
do it with it. You know, despising covetousness. Hating covetousness and
place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds. Now look
there in Psalm 119 verse 33, Psalm 119 verse 33. If we're going to serve God, we
must guard against covetousness in our lives. He says in Psalm 119 verse 33,
Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes, and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me
understanding and I shall keep thy law. Yea, I shall observe it with my whole
heart. Make me go in the path of thy commandments, for therein do I delight.
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine
eyes. Do you see again how the eyes are tied in with this? You know, if we want to
guard against covetousness, we should probably be careful about what it is
that we're looking at. I mean, every stoplight we're looking around and see
what everybody else is driving. And you know, is it, does it have as many
charging ports as my car? Right? Does it have, does it have the four-wheel drive
that I have? What color is it? Every time we go by the car dealership, you know,
we're just, we slow down a little bit. You know, you're probably on the 10.
That's dangerous. Don't do that. You know, we want to slow down and take a look at
what's available, what the latest and greatest model is. You know, maybe we're,
you know, this is one, I don't mean just confess my faults, that's something I
have to guard against. You know, living in a two-bedroom apartment with, with a
family of six, you know, every time you see it for rent sign somewhere, every
time you see a for sale sign in some neighborhood, your foot can kind of hit
the brake a little bit and you start to, well maybe, you know, find yourself on
Zillow, scrolling through, you know. Now is there anything wrong with owning a
decent home and driving a decent vehicle? Not at all. But when we, when those, that
becomes a priority in our life and that's all we're ever looking at, all
we're ever pursuing and all that we're ever concerned about, well now we've got
a problem because now our treasure is upon earth and we'll have no eternal
riches. And one of the big things, one of the big dangers about
covetousness that we had to look out for is, you know, not just the fact that it
can take the place of God in our life and our service to him, but that it can
also lead you to doing other sins. I mean, people begin to covet things, they want
riches and wealth, they'll go to, some people go to great lengths to attain
what they want and it becomes, you turn into very wicked people. Go ahead and
turn over to Jeremiah chapter 22, Jeremiah chapter 22. We're probably all
familiar with 1st Timothy chapter 6, where it says in verse 9 that they that will
be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts
which drown men in destruction and perdition. The Bible says that if we
desire to be rich, they that will be rich, they don't just get off scot-free. Often
they fall into a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts. You know, one
thing I always thought was interesting is you read these stories about people
that win the lottery. I mean, isn't that, that's one form of covetousness that we
see today, people that just, they just want to hit it big once on the
lottery. They're buying the scratch off tickets, they're playing the powerball
and they just think, man, if they could just win all those millions that life
would be better. But when you actually go read the stories of those people who win
that stuff, their lives are ruined. I mean, the vast majority of them, they're,
they start off, they end up worse than they started off. In some
instances, people even conspire against them and murder them or hold them for
ransom. I mean, terrible stories. I'm telling you, winning the lotto is probably the
worst things that could ever happen to you. So don't play it, you know. We're in
Jeremiah chapter 22. The thing we need to guard, one of the reasons we need to guard
against covetousness is because of the fact it'll lead to bigger sins. Look at
verse 13. Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness and his
chambers by wrong, that useth his neighbor's serveth without wages and
giveth him not for his work. Talking about somebody who's going to take
advantage of another person's labor. You know, the employer who's not going to
pay a fair wage or exploit some worker and build up his own house, you
know, and fill his own chambers at the expense of another. That sayeth, I will
build me a house with large chambers and cut him without windows and it is
sealed with cedar and painted with vermilion. Shout
thou rain because thou closeth thyself in cedar? Did not thy father eat and
drink and do judgment and justice? And then it was well with him? He
judged the cause of the poor and needy. Then it was well with him. Was not
this to know me, sayeth the Lord, but thine eyes? There they are again. See
again how the eyes just always come into play? Thine eyes and thy heart are not
but for thy covetousness. And then look at what it goes on and says. For to shed
innocent blood and for oppression and for violence to do it. Covetousness
can take you down a dark path. And we see a lot of, we see this in
the world. I mean the love of money is the root of all evil. I mean think about
the worst evils in our world today and then ask you why those things are
tolerated, why those things go on. I mean the sin of abortion, you know, murder,
wiping, you know, snuffing out a child in the womb. That's wicked. It's horrible.
It's murder. But you know what else? You know what else it is? It's a moneymaker.
It makes a lot of money for people. And there's, I mean we could go down so
many different avenues. I mean alcohol. Think about all the, all the ruined lives
from alcohol. All the ruined families from alcohol. The sin and heartbreak that
alcohol brings. But I tell you what, you know why it's tolerated, why it goes on,
and why it's promoted? These people are making money. They're covetous. And they
don't mind, you know, shedding innocent blood. And they don't mind oppression.
They don't mind violence. You know, think about all of our unjust wars. There's a
lot of money being made from those wars. From going out and just oppressing
people. You know, oppressing people. Think about the military or the prison
industrial complex. You know, the people just being locked up in prison for life.
There's money to be made there. And this all stems from covetousness, you know.
And we need to be guarding our own lives. Maybe it won't lead to that great of a
sin. But I'm telling you, if we don't guard against covetousness in our life, it
will begin to lead us down a path we'd rather not go down. Go ahead and turn
over to 1 Kings chapter 21. We'll look at a couple of wicked people. And you'll
see a great example of people practicing covetousness and what it
leads to. You're going to 1 Kings chapter 21. I'll read to you from
Michael chapter 2. It says,
Woe unto them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds. When the
morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.
And they covet fields. You know, they want land. They want more and more. They want
that power. And take them by violence. They go out, they want that land so bad
they're going to kill people for it and take it. They're going to take those
resources and houses and take them away. So they oppress a man in his house, even
a man in his heritage. Then we see a perfect example of this exact thing.
Somebody coveting and oppressing and taking by violence in 1 Kings chapter
21 verse 1. And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the
Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel and hard by the place of Ahab,
king of Samaria. Now remember, Ahab was a wicked king. And it says there,
And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for
gardens of herbs, because it is near unto my house, and I will give thee for it a
better vineyard than it. Or if it seemed good to thee, I will give thee the worth
of money in it. So he kind of starts out good. I mean, there's nothing wrong so far.
He's just trying to broker a fair deal. Maybe even, you know, Naboth's going to
come out on top a little bit. You know, so far, so good. And then Naboth said to
Ahab, The Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto
thee. He's saying, look, this land is priceless. It's my inheritance. It was my
dad's and it was my grandfather's and my great-grandfather's. You know, there was
more, it was more, that was more valuable to him than the money or the
land he could get in exchange. And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased
because of the word which Naboth the Jezreel had spoken to him, for he was sad,
for he said, Excuse me, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And
he laid him down upon his bed and turned away his face and would eat no bread. So
here he is pouting. You know, and that's, that's, that's a good sign if you have to
wonder whether or not you're being covetous. If you can't get what you want,
how does it affect you? Can you just not live life without it? I mean, are you
gonna just, are you just gonna go around life pouting about not being able to
have that whatever it is? If we're, you know, it's, there's nothing wrong with
wanting something. It's when, it's when we, you know, if it's something that we can
have, it's something that we can't attain, it's something that we can't afford, it's
not sinful, it's okay to have nice things. It's okay. I mean, we're gonna talk a
little bit here at the end about, you know, people who are overly austere, but
if you can't get what you want, how does it make you feel? That's a good litmus
test of whether or not you're a covetous person. If you can go without it,
you're probably not covetous, but if you're like Ahab here, or it just ruins
your whole day, and you got to go home and turn your face to the wall and lie
in bed like a little baby, I mean, that's, this is like a child not getting his way.
You know, just throwing a fit, and that's, you know, we need to examine our hearts.
Do we have that same kind of attitude? If he laid him down upon his bed, turned his
face and would eat no bread, but Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him,
Why is thy spirit so sad, and that thou eatest no bread? And he said,
Because I spake to Naboth the Jesuit, said to him, Give me the vineyard for money,
or else if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it. And he
answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. And of course Jezebel, you know,
she's being wicked person, she didn't say the right thing, like, hey, you pathetic
loser, get over it. You know, suck it up, buttercup, and get over it. And it says in
verse 7, and Jezebel his wife said to him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel?
Arise, and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth
the Jezreelite. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with a seal,
and sent the letters of the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
And she wrote the letter saying, Proclaim a feast, and set Naboth on high among the
people, and set two men, sons of Belial before him, to bear witness against him.
So these sons of Belial, these are, you know, the sons of the devil, right? These
are wicked people that she's employing here. And she said, verse 10, and set
two men, sons of Belial before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou did
blaspheme God and the king, and then carry him out, and stone him that he may
die. So she's saying, look, you know, I'm gonna get that for you, but how does she
go about getting it? She's plotting murder against an innocent man. And
they did it, they carried it out. If you read the rest of the story, they carry it
out. And it says in verse, you know, towards the end of verse 13, it says,
Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones. Then he
died. Verse 14, Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stone and is dead. And
it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stone and was dead, that
Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the
Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money. For Naboth is not alive but
dead. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab
arose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession
of it. So here's just, you know, here's a person who wanted something that
wasn't his. And instead of taking no for an answer, he uses his power, he uses his
ability and his position to go ahead and just oppress somebody. To go ahead and
just shed innocent blood and take something that wasn't his simply because
of the fact that he wanted it. He didn't need it, he just wanted it. And we have to
be on guard in our own life, because if this kind of thing creeps in, maybe to
not this extreme, but maybe we'll end up doing things we probably shouldn't. Or
maybe we'll end up doing harm to others simply because we want something that
isn't ours, something that we shouldn't have. And here's the warning about it. Why
should we guard against covetousness? Because it doesn't go unpunished. People get
punished for being covetous. I mean, read the rest of the story, verse 17. And the
Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king
of Israel, which is in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whether he
has gone down to possess it. I mean, it's like right away. He goes down to
possess that, the Lord's right on him. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus
saith the Lord, Hast thou killed and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto
him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, in the place where the dogs licked up the blood
of Naboth, shall the dogs lick thy blood even thine. I mean, life's gonna go for
life. And this isn't just a slap on the wrist. God is punishing this
man with death. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou find me on mine enemy? And he
said, I have found me because thou has sold thyself to work evil in the sight
of the Lord. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee and will take away thy
prosperity and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall and
him that has shut up and left in Israel and will make thine house like the house
of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah,
and for the provocation where thou has provoked me to anger and made
Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also, so she's not getting off the hook, spake the
Lord saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Him that dieth of
Ahab in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the
fowls of the air eat. So God punishes covetousness here. When we carry it out,
when we start to go ahead and give into it, when we start to go ahead and do
things we shouldn't be doing and harming others, God does not just turn a blind
eye to that. You know, and it has serious consequences. Now, I don't think any of us
is probably in danger of going and trying to, you know, plot murder, at least
I hope not, against, you know, a fellow brother or whoever to try and take their
house or something like that. But covetousness is something that can
creep in and God still takes notice of it, to whatever degree it's
found in us. And we got to be on guard about it because it still has
consequences. In fact, you know, covetousness is one of those things on the list
that can get you kicked out of church. Go ahead and go turn over to 1st
Corinthians chapter 5. 1st Corinthians chapter 5. There's a lot of, there's a few
things that can get you kicked out of church, certain sins. We'll find those in
1st Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9. It says in 1st Corinthians 5 verse 9,
I wrote unto you an epistle not to company with fornicators, yet not
altogether with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous. See that? With
the covetous. We're not to be had fellowship with covetous people or
extortioners or with idolaters, for then must he needs go out of the world. Okay?
But now I have written unto you not to keep company if any man that has called
the brother be a fornicator or covetous. So, you know, and people read that and
sometimes I think this makes people a little overly nervous. Like, you know,
and that's a good thing. And here's a good thing. If you're
wondering whether or not that's you, probably it isn't. Because if
you're sensitive to that, that probably tells me that you're, you know, you're
okay. That you're even conscious of this. Because covetous people are usually
blind to this. You know, they deceive it themselves. And they don't even see
it a lot of times. But I think what the covetousness that that he's talking
about here, that will cause you to even be put out from the local church, it's
not just your average run-of-the-mill covetousness that we're dealing with.
Because here's the thing. We all, I don't care who you are, struggle with
covetousness from time to time. It's just a, it's a common trait. It's just a
common sin to man. You know, we all probably from time to time want something
that we're never, you know, never gonna have. You know, some of us are just, you
know, on the gun channel on YouTube and we see that new AR. Like, man, I'd love to
have that thing. But we're never gonna afford it. Right? We're never gonna be
able to save the money and get it. It's just not gonna be in the cards for us.
Should we all get out of the church then? Should we dismiss you? I mean,
some of us are, you know, I want to upgrade my cell phone. You wicked
covetous idolater. Get out of here. You know, is that what it's talking about
here? Just the average, run-of-the-mill, covetous person who just, you know, maybe
wants something they don't necessarily need or can afford? I don't think that it
is. I think that it's talking more about a person who, covetousness is their way
of life. It's something that they, they, they, it's, they're just all about money.
They're just, they're talking about all the time. It's, it's their life revolves
around money and gaining wealth. It's all they ever talk about. It's, you know,
just them going over the top with it. Now, one example of that, you know, to kind of
put it in perspective would be, you know, people who are, you know, people who are
running a business. Okay? Now, there's nothing wrong with running a business and
there's nothing wrong with making money. And there's nothing wrong with an owner
of a business making more money than the people he employs. That's, that's the way
it should be because that's the guy who's taking all the risk, right? So,
that's, there's nothing wrong with that. But we're, an example would be if, let's
say we own a business. Like, okay, I used to be a locksmith. Let's say I own a
locksmith company. And you knew that about me. You said, hey, it got, because we
talk about what we do. We talk about what we do for a living. We talk about, that's
our life. You know, it's just something we bring up in conversation. Hey, what do
you do for a living? You know? Well, you talk to enough people, enough people know
that about me now. That I own a locksmith company, that I own a locksmith. That if, you
know, you lock yourself out of your car or out of your house or you need to
change your locks, that's something I'm capable of doing. So, you, you know, you
know that about me. Now, hitting me up to have me come do that work for you, that's,
you know, that's not me soliciting business in church. That's not me going
around trying to get your, get your business. Now, that's not covetousness
because I've had people ask me that. Well, hey, you know, someone asked me for a
business card and I gave it to them. You know, is that, is that wrong? I, I don't, I
don't think that it is. Now, if you were going around the church like, hey, did you
know I'm a locksmith? How are your locks doing? Do you know who has a key to your
house? Did you know the average person who rents a home never changes a locksmith?
How do you know the babysitter doesn't have a key? You know, how long, how do you
know your neighbor doesn't have, that the past tenant didn't give a key to the
neighbor? You don't know that. You should probably take care of that. I happen to
know a guy, you know, and because it's you, I'm willing to cut you a special
rate. And if, by the way, if you get some other people around here to come and see
me, you know, I can get you a little cutback. That would mean be solicit, that,
now I'm covetous, aren't I? Now I'm coming into the church and I'm soliciting
church members. I'm not here to be edified by the preaching the Word of God.
I'm not here to help build up the church or, or be about the work of God. I'm here
to promote my business and fleece the flock and make money. That's what it's
talking about here. Not just somebody who, you know, like we've all done, just saw
something they liked and thought about it a little too long, you know, and, and
wanted that. You know, there's, there's a, there, this is someone who is given to
covetousness. You know, they're actively pursuing it to the point where it's
become idolatry in their life. The Bible says in Colossians chapter 3,
mortify therefore your members upon the, which are upon the earth, fornication,
uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is
idolatry, for which things the wrath of God come upon the children of
disobedience. Covetousness can turn into idolatry and that's when I believe we
have to be, turn, you know, turn over to 1st Corinthians chapter 5 and start
enforcing that rule. When you see a person with their covetousness is so
out of control that it's an idol to them. It's taken the place of God in
their life. They're all about serving that God of money and gain and wealth to
the point where God is no longer part of the equation. That's what we're talking
about. And here's the warning, you know, to all of us, is that you cannot serve
both. You can't serve God and an idol called covetousness. You can't. Jesus said
no man can serve two masters for he will either hate the one and love the
other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve
God and mammon. Does that mean you should not earn a paycheck? Does that mean you
should not earn a living? No, of course not. That'd be foolish to say that. But
it's when you're, when we're, when we're loving those things and pursuing those
things to the point where now God is no longer even a priority in our life.
That's when we've become covetousness and it's become very detrimental. So we
see that, I think we all understand the the warning of covetousness. Why we need
to take heed? Because it comes with consequences. You know, how subtle it is
and how how slowly it can creep in our lives and begin to lead us astray and it
can it can even come to the point place where, you know, we have to be dealt with,
you know, in church, church discipline or God begins to, you know, judge us in our
life and chasing us. So we see the the danger of it but we kind of, it kind of
gets to that blurry line. What is covetousness? What exactly is that? We
have to start to define that I think because I think some people, you know, we
often have some misconceptions about this. Now what is covetousness? Well
covetousness, I believe, is simply desiring to have something that is not
yours. I mean that's that's probably just the most boiled down definition of it.
Desiring to have something that is not yours. I mean that's what we see in
Exodus chapter 20 where we find the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor's house. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant,
nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's.
So the problem here is not those things. It's not the fact that this guy was
desiring of a wife. It's not, now I will say to you to you single guys, don't go
looking for a wife. Find a nice single girl. That's all right. That's my advice.
You know, it's not the fact that this guy was desiring a wife. It was that he was
desiring somebody else's wife. He was desiring somebody else's house, somebody
else's possessions. The problem is not those things. It's the problem is who
those things belong to. You know, we shouldn't desire things that that belong
to other people. And really that's, you know, another way to tell if somebody's
being covetous to the point of having to be disciplined by the local church. If
they're coming in and like just waving everything in face, hey look what I got.
You see that? Bet you'd like to have that, but you never will, but I got it. You
know, they're flaunting it in your face saying, hey I've got all this,
you got nothing, and then trying to inspire you, you know, make you feel
covetous towards them. But so that's basically what covetous is. It's
desiring something that is yours. It's also desiring to have something you
cannot have. Maybe it doesn't belong to somebody else, but the fact is it's just
something you're never going to have. You know, I've already settled it in my
heart that I'm never gonna own a private island in the Bahamas. It's just
not gonna happen, right? And probably the same for a lot of you, you know. So I'm
not gonna sit around and think about that, and covet that, and desire that, and
want that. That that would be covetousness, desiring something you
cannot have. The Bible says in James 4, from whence come wars and fightings among
you, come they not hence even of your lust that you warn your members, you lust
and have not, you kill and desire to have and cannot obtain. The problem is here,
these people are going to these great lengths because they want something they
cannot have. So that's what covetous is, you know, just boil it down. Desiring
something that is not yours, desiring something that you cannot have. Well
let's define real quick, I don't know what's going on the audio there, I'm
getting a little reverb. Is that what they call it? I don't know if they've got
anybody back there, but. Let's define real quick what covetous isn't. What
covetous isn't. Because here's where people, I think, get a little off the
path. They want to, they get a little, things can get a little hazy here. They
start thinking that they're covetous people when they're not, okay. Wanting to
have something that's unnecessary, it's not something you need, but you want it,
okay. But you can go about getting it in an honest fashion, I don't think
that's covetous. If you say, hey there's something nice that I like, that I want
to have for myself and I have the means to get it, I've worked hard, I put in the
time, I work overtime at work, you know, I put in the effort needed to afford
those things, that's not covetousness. You know, now if that's what your life
revolves around, then yeah, maybe you need to check that out. But like I, the
illustration I went back, I used earlier, you know, some of you need to upgrade
that phone. Like get with us, you know, this is the, you know, join us in the
future, you know, or maybe not, you know, whatever it is. But sometimes we just
want something a little bit better, a little bit nicer, it'd be useful, would
be helpful, it's something that we could enjoy, maybe it's something that our
family could use and we could have quality family time with. That's not
covetousness, you know, that, that's not you desiring something that you
shouldn't have, that's not desiring you something that is not yours or something
that you can never have. And I think a lot of people get confused on that point.
The Bible says if you're there in 1st John chapter 2, if you're still there,
1st John chapter 2, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world,
if the many men love the world, the love of the Father is not hit in him. For all
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes are not
the pride of, and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world.
Now notice what he said there, he said love not the world, neither the things
that are in the world, okay. He didn't say don't have things, he didn't say make
sure you don't have anything, not allowed to have things in the world, is that what
he said? He said don't love them, don't love the things that are real, don't be
like Ahab, where if you don't get it, you're gonna throw a pity party and
you're gonna be a crybaby about it, because then that is covetousness, and it
just so it goes back to the same thing, you know money is probably the thing
that people covet most, and here's the thing about money, money is not
inherently evil, just like wanting something nice is not inherently evil.
Money is not inherently evil, it's the love of money that is the root of all
evil. Go ahead and turn over 1st Timothy chapter 6, I mean if money, you
know money is not inherently evil because we know that because of the fact,
look at all the things we're able to do for God with money. I mean this church
does a lot, this church you know spends a lot of money and accomplishing the work
of God, and as a result money comes in, because God knows that you know this is
where it's gonna get done, that if money comes in here it's not gonna
go towards just you know some vain luxury, that's actually to go back into
his work, and that's why his people are willing to give to it, because they can
see that, you know they can see the map over there filling in, they can see that
one way back there and the Navajo Reds start to fill in, they can see the sign
up sheets, they can see the soul winning times, they can see the work that's going
into the ministry, that's accomplished with money, you know the building that
you're sitting in right now, as a you know there's a rent payment every month,
there's utilities that get paid, you know the chairs get replaced, I mean just it
goes on and on, you know so money is not inherently evil, it's when we that's what
we love, we don't love the Lord, we don't love the work of the Lord, we don't we're
more concerned with just piling up and having and getting those things which
are not ours or desiring those things which we shouldn't have and just piling
up riches. Look at 1st Timothy chapter 6 verse 9 and and pay attention to the way
it reads because it's important, but they that will be rich, now it doesn't say
they that are rich, that comes later in the chapter and gives very specific
instructions to those people, but this is addressing people that are not rich,
okay they're starting out they're not rich, they that will be rich fall into
temptation and a snare into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in
destruction and perdition, you know everyone thinks that their life's gonna
be better if they could just get all that money but it's not, the Bible says
the exact opposite, the problem is is that because of verse 10 for the love of
money, you know they want to get rich just so they can be rich, so they can
they can just take it easy and here's the problem with that, they end up
getting into things they probably shouldn't, I mean money opens up a lot of
doors to a lot of sins that otherwise are not available to you, that you just
simply can't afford to get into, you know coming into money is not the best thing
to happen in your life, so what we have to understand it's those that will be
rich not those that are rich and we kind of want to warn and guard against is
this hyper spiritual, you know don't fall for this hyper spiritual,
this fake humility, you know that just preaches this over-the-top life of
austerity, you know and just saying that you know you don't need
to have those things and if you do you're wicked, you know you shouldn't want
anything better than what you have, you know because here's the fact you don't
need a lot of things you already have, I mean how far do you want to take that,
how far do you want to run with that, you know do you really need that second car?
Do you really need that first car? I mean Uber's out there, you know or you're
just you know you're just some covetous wicked person because you have to have a
car, you know do you really need that cell phone, what's wrong with landline, you
know you do you really need the internet, you know no we don't need these things
but we have them, does that make us covetous people, you know you don't need the
computers, you don't need those guns, you know you don't need a more than a few
changes of clothes, right, do you I mean do we do we need more than just a few
changes of clothes, not really, if you think about it, if you just want to
always be doing laundry, you know but this is where that kind of fake
spirituality starts to come into play, where people just think that if you have
anything or too much of something that you just must be a wicked person, you
know do you really need that non-plastic dining wear, what's wrong with paper
bowls, I mean then then you could cut you could cut down on your water bill too by
not running that dishwasher and give that money to the work of the Lord, you
know this is this is the type of mentality that can creep in that's out
there, I've heard it, you know you shouldn't be dining out, let's get out
you know speaking of dining where why are you even going out to eat ever, you
know why don't you take that tip you were going to give to the waitress or
whatever and give that to a missionary, you hypocrite, no entertainment either,
you know, cancel that YouTube Red subscription and get right with God, but
this is this is what's out there, I'm telling you, his kind of mentality, but
that's those that will be rich, right that's what we're talking about, people
that desire to be rich, but then there's some people you know newsflash, some
people come into the Christian life they already have money, what are they
supposed to do, they are they automatically just gonna be chalked up
as wicked people or what about this, what if there's people that just succeed that
God just blesses and they have they have a little bit more, you know they have
some wealth, they have some some money, does that make necessarily make them
wicked people, some people come into the Christian life with wealth and some
people through hard work and diligence gain riches, God blesses them and they
come into that wealth, what they do with that wealth is what matters, that
determines what kind of person they're gonna be, that's why I said look in verse
17, I mean God addresses it, he says in verse 17, charge them that are rich, you
know them that already have wealth, them that do have wealth, them that have some
money that aren't you know you know just living paycheck to paycheck, they have
some money to spend to throw around, charge them that they be not high-minded
nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, so it's showing us they're
one of the dangers of riches is that we can start to think you know by my own
power have I gotten this wealth and we'll forget that you know it is the
Lord that gave us strength to gain that wealth and they can start to
trust in their own uncertain riches, you know they're not leaning on God you know
because they don't they don't have maybe they don't have the need that some
people have, you know they don't have to make ask God to make ends meet day in and
day out or week to week or whatever it is, they can start to trust in uncertain
riches and not the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy, okay
there it is again, God gives us things to enjoy, it's okay to enjoy things in life,
it's okay to have nice things, but he tells the people that are rich in verse
18 that they do good that be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing
to communicate, I mean that's a good use of riches, of being able you know ready
distribute, willing to communicate, that's talking about giving, that's talking about
being generous, you know helping others and you know I think that's a
real important reason why we should be in a plugged into our local church and
get to know people in here because then you can actually find you know if
you're somebody who has wealth and I'm not trying to tell you what to do with
your money but the Bible does say that you should be willing to distribute
ready to communicate, I'm not saying go around and just pay off everybody's debt
or something like that, but if we get to know one another actually develop
relationships you might find somebody who's really destitute so who really
needs some help and now you have a unique opportunity to help that person
or to give to the work of the Lord and see great things done for God and it
says if you do that verse 19 you're laying up in store for themselves a good
foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life so
Christians that have wealth that are rich should be careful how they use that
wealth to what what end are they gonna use that they're just gonna use it to
satisfy themselves just give them all the nice things that they want and
there's nothing wrong with having something nice but is it is it to the
point where now you're not willing to help anybody else it God just takes the
backseat the work of God goes undone and really when you what's interesting about
people that have the wealth is they really have a unique opportunity that
some people don't those of us that don't have money we don't have the same
opportunity what that opportunity to lay up and store a good foundation and
that's a unique opportunity that people that have come into wealth have that
they can lay up and store a good foundation I mean they have a unique
opportunity to give and to help the work of God and to see you know and send
riches forward into heaven they're gonna receive a reward in heaven for those
good works so again the sermon this morning I you know is about
covetousness it's about the dangers of it we want to define what it is so that
we can guard against it so how do we guard against covetousness well first we
understand the dangers of it and we understand what it is and what it isn't
we've gone over that but really we guard against covetousness by practicing
contentment you know that's one of the that's the the best way to guard against
it not letting covetousness creep in your life realize be thankful be
grateful for the things that you already have you know you're going back to the
example of myself you know in the whole two-bedroom apartment situation I
remember I don't know if I've shared the story if I have if I have or not but I
remember when I was working in a bus route in Michigan I would go to
apartment complexes and I was before I got married and I would and I remember
being with my soul winning partner I can remember this as clear as day telling my
soul winning partner saying man I'll never live in an apartment how do these
people live like this right meanwhile there's some guy with like a dirt floor
somewhere you know the straw roof and I'm worried about having to live in an
apartment you know there's people that would love to live in an apartment in
fact I met a lot of them but you know that was my attitude back then and I you
know God God knew right away he said oh you will a hab oh I got a little got a
look at Hazy down there let's deal with that you know and I ended up
living and I'm not kidding about this a literal shack on the edge of a swamp a
literal shack probably you know not much bigger than that room right there and it
was on a literal swamp in Michigan and it was just leftover scrap lumber from
one of the old men in the church he built a house a long time ago he just
slapped up this little cabin with all the leftover lumber he had laying around
and I wouldn't live in that thing and it didn't have any heat in northern
Michigan and God was dealing with this little little Corbin the little get
hazy at that time and working on me right now the second winner I had we did
get a hundred pound propane tank and had some heat it got up to a balmy 58 but I
mean that was two years of that and I'm in there living with wolf spiders and
everything else that comes out of the swamp and that was a rough couple of
years but you know what when I moved to that two-bedroom apartment down here at
the corner of 40th and Southern Avenue I was thankful for it when it was a one
bedroom you know and then it turned into two bedroom and Taj Mahal but I'm
thankful for it and I've you know changed my attitude but I had to go
through that first I had to go and really understand what's what's really
important you know I had to learn to practice contentment to be thankful for
the things that I do have and if we will do that we'll guard against
covetousness and we have to guard against covetousness because it's a
dangerous sin right and and we have to guard against it and if we find
ourselves sacrificing the work of God for earthly gain we need to really just
stop and take inventory of our priorities you know and if you want to
you know people ask like well how do I know if I'm covetous here's here's the
best remedy pray about it ask God to search your rain and try your hearts and
show you whether there be some wicked way in you you know and and use the
principles in Scripture but ultimately God you know can tell you whether or not
you're a covetous person so let's go ahead and guard against that and let's
keep our priorities in line that whether we have wealth or whether we don't that
God is always the focus and accomplishing the work of God is what
we're about in this life so that we can have true riches in heaven let's go
ahead and pray tell me father again thank you for thank you for the great
riches we're with you blessed us in Christ and father thank you for the
salvation through your son the free gift and Lord I pray that you'd help all of
us to always be in guard against the sin of covetousness Lord that we would
always keep our focus on you and the work of God and growing your kingdom
seeing souls saved and father I pray they just bless our pastor help them to
cover quickly and that he would be back in good health soon we ask in Christ's
name amen