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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 to preach 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. If you don't know, I'm a 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, 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. You're there in Genesis chapter 3. Look in verse 1, the Bible says, Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, He shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 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. They'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, And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 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 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 and 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. And, 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 city 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 Babylonian 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 things that love not the world and 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 Aiken 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 1 John but turn back to 2 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 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 2 Kings chapter 5 verse 20. And if we recall the story, this is when Nahum in the Syrian comes to be healed of his leprosy. And Elisha tells him 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, But Gehazi, the servants of Elisha, the man of God, said, Behold, my master has spared Nahum in the Syrian and not receiving at his hands that which he brought. So, again, Nahum 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 Nahum in 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, gets what's owed us out of Nahum. So he goes in verse, we'll pick it up there. He has spared Nahum in 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 Nahum and when Nahum 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 the, for me, for Mount Ephraim, two young men of the sons of the prophets. Give them, I pray, the Italian of silver and two changes of garment. And Nahum 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? Well, I'm going to go get what's owed us. You know, he let him off the hook. I'm going to go and just take a little bit of what he gave us. Well, if that's 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 whither. 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 asked him this question, I think it's an 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 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 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 build up wealth and receive abundance of things. If we start to pursue those things, it's going to lead us down a potentially dark path and it's going to 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? That's a goal to have, but that's not something 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 that he divide the inheritance with me. So here's a guy coming to Jesus and he's got this gripe against his brother. And this is so unfortunate when you see this kind of thing happen in a family where some loved one passes away and now the siblings are going to squabble over the inheritance. It's probably better just to preserve that relationship and let yourself be defrauded. But this guy didn't see that 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. 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 we do that, that's a real vain measure of life. You know, how big our house is, how new our car is, 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, 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, it's about to remind us of what it says in 1 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 supposing that gain is godliness. You know, we don't want to fall into this trap of thinking that just because we have a lot of things, that obviously we must be godly. 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 suffering in some area, maybe we should self-examine and say, maybe is this of the Lord? But that's between us and God. Let's not take it upon ourselves to go to our neighbor and say, oh, you got kidney stones? Well, it must be the Lord, you know? He's getting out of you one way or another. That's not our place. That's between us and God. But we shouldn't just suppose that gain is godliness. 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. 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 or whatever 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 earth. Where moth and rust doth corrupt. It's not going to do you any good. Those treasures that we heap and pile up, they're all going to go away one day. They're all going to rust. They're all going to 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 going to take your money and blow it 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 going to end up like a hay's eye. You know, your treasure is going to be on this earth and you're just going to 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 heart's 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 going to shipwreck our lives like a hay's eye, you know, we need to guard against covetousness. And part of that is understanding what covetousness 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 119. You know, when God told Moses to appoint men to lead 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 shall 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 going to be given into it, I'm just going to avoid it. I mean, he's saying, hate it. I 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. Decline 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 seeing what everybody else is driving. Does it have as many charging ports as my car? Right? Does it have the four wheel drive that I have? What color is it? Every time you go by the car dealership, you know, we just slow down a little bit. You know, you're probably on the 10. That's dangerous. Don't do that. You know, when 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 mean, just confess my faults. That's something I have to guard against. You know, living in a two bedroom apartment with a family of six, you know, every time you see a for rent sign somewhere, every time you see a for sale sign in some neighborhood, you're 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, 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 and want riches and wealth. They'll go to, some people go to great lengths to attain what they want. And it becomes, it can be turned into very wicked people. Go ahead and turn over to Jeremiah chapter 22, Jeremiah chapter 22. We're probably all familiar with first Timothy chapter six, where it says in verse nine, 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 as we 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 letter. They're buying the scratch off tickets, they're playing the power ball, and they just think, man, if they could just win all those millions at 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're, 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 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 saith, 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 closest 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, saith 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 or why those things go on. I mean the sin of abortion, you know, murder, snuffing out a child in the womb, that's wicked. It's horrible, it's murder. But you know what else it is? It's a money maker. 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 ruined lives from alcohol, all the ruined families from alcohol, all the sin and heartbreak that alcohol brings. But I tell you what, you know why it's tolerated and why it goes on and why it's promoted? These people are making money and 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 guarded in 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 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 21. I'll read to you from Michael chapter 2. It says, Woe to 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 and 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 and his house, even a man and his heritage. Then we see a perfect example of this exact thing. Somebody coveting and oppressing and taking by violence in 1 Kings 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 if you 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 seem 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 he, you know, Naboth is 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 father 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 father's. 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 going to just, are you just going to 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 attain, it's something that we can afford. It's not sinful. It's okay to have nice things. It's okay. I mean, we're going to 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? And he laid him down upon his bed and 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 why eatest, and that thou eatest no bread? And he said, because I spake to Naboth the Jezebel, I 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 seven, 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, the Jezreelite. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters of the elders, of the nobles that were in his city dwelling with Naboth. And she wrote the letters 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 going to get that for you. But how does she go about getting it? She's, 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 stone 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 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. And 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, the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, shall the dogs lick thy blood even thine. I mean, life's going to 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, O mine enemy? And he said, I have found thee 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 is 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 Beyeshua, the son of Ahijah, and for the provocation where thou hast 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 Jezebel. 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. And it has serious consequences. Now, I don't think any of us is probably in danger of going and trying to plot murder, at least I hope not, against 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 First Corinthians chapter five. First Corinthians chapter five. 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 First Corinthians chapter five, verse nine. It says in First Corinthians five, verse nine, 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 is called a 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 they, you know, and that's a good thing. And by the end, here's a good thing. If you're, if you're wondering whether or not that's you, probably it isn't because you're probably, 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 and they, 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 going to 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 going to afford it, right? We're never going to be able to save the money and get it. It's just not going to be in the cards for us. Should we all get out of the church then? Should we, 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 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 risks, 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 worried because we talk about what we do. We talk about what we do for 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 living? You know? Well, you talk to enough people, enough people know that about me now, that I own a locksmith company, that I'm 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 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? You know, 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 solid that now I'm covetous, aren't it? 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 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 three, 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 turned, you know, turn up over to first Corinthians chapter five and start enforcing that rule. When you see a person with their covetousness is so out of control that it's idle 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. And 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 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 warning of covetousness, why we need to take heed because it comes with consequences, you know, and how subtle it is and how slowly it can creep into our lives and begin to lead us astray. It can even come to the point place where we have to be dealt with in church discipline or God begins to judge us in our life and chasing us. So we see the danger of it, but it kind of gets to that blurry line of 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 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 a wife. It's not, now I will say to you single guys, don't go looking for a wife. Find a nice single girl. 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 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 a local church. If they're coming in and like just waving everything in your 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 and you got nothing. And then trying to inspire you, you know, make you feel covetous towards them. But, so that's basically what covetousness 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 going to own a private island in the Bahamas. It's just not going to happen, right? And probably the same for a lot of you, you know? So I'm not going to sit around and think about that and covet that and desire that and want 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 covetousness 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 with 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. 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 worked out over time 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 the illustration 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. It'd 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'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 1 John chapter 2, if you're still there, 1 John chapter 2, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If the many 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. 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. You're 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 going to throw a pity party and you're gonna be a cry baby about it. Because then that is covetousness. And it just 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 to 1 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 spends a lot of money on accomplishing the work of God. And as a result, money comes in. Because God knows that this is where it's going to get done. That if money comes in here, it's not going to go towards just 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. They can see the map over there filling in. They can see that one way back there in the Navajo Res 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. There's a rent payment every month. There's utilities that get paid. You know the chairs get replaced. I mean it just goes on and on. So money is not inherently evil. That's what we love. We don't love the Lord. We don't love the work of the Lord. 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 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 9 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. OK 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 going to 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 are otherwise are not available to you. 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 what we kind of want to warn and guard against is this this 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 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 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 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 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 where. What's wrong with paper bowls. I mean 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. 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 going to be chalked up as wicked people. 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 going to 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 just live in paycheck to paycheck to 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 that'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 will forget that you know it is the Lord that gave us strength that gained 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 to you know ready to 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 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 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 end are they going to use it? They're just going to 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 to the point where now you're not willing to help anybody else? God just takes the back seat. The work of God goes undone. And really 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. 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 and send riches forward into heaven. They're going to receive a reward in heaven for those good works. So again the sermon this morning 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. That's 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 going back to the example of myself in the whole two-bedroom apartment situation. I remember, I don't know if I've shared this story if I have or not, but I remember when I was working in a bus route in Michigan I would go to apartment complexes. This was before I got married and I remember meeting 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? Meanwhile there's some guy with like a dirt floor somewhere with a straw roof and I'm worried about having to live in an apartment. There's people that would love to live in an apartment. In fact I met a lot of them. That was my attitude back then. God knew right away. He said oh you little Ahab. Oh I got a little Gehazi down there. Let's deal with that. I ended up living, and I'm not kidding about this, a literal shack on the edge of a swamp. A literal shack probably not much bigger than that room right there. It was on a literal swamp in Michigan. It was just leftover scrap lumber from one of the old men in the church. He built the house a long time ago and he just slapped up this little cabin with all the leftover lumber he had laying around. I wouldn't live in that thing. It didn't have any heat in northern Michigan. God was dealing with this little Corbin, the little Gehazi at that time and working on me. Now the second winter I had, we did get a 100 pound propane tank and had some heat. It got up to a balmy 58 I think. But I mean that was two years of that. I'm in there living with wolf spiders and everything else that comes out of the swamp. 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. Then it turned into a two bedroom at Taj Mahal. But I'm thankful for it. And I've changed my attitude. But I had to go through that first. I had to go and really understand what's really important. 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. 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 the best remedy. Pray about it. Ask God to search your reign and try your hearts and show you whether there be some wicked way in you, you know, 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. Heavenly Father, again, thank you for, thank you for the great riches wherewith 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 on 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 and seeing souls saved. And Father, I pray that you'd 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.