[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hey, thanks so much for listening to this message. My name is Jason, and I'm one of the ministers here at the Madison Church of Christ. It's our hope and prayer that the teaching from God's words you hear today will bless your life and draw you closer to him. If you're ever in the Madison, Alabama area, we'd love for you to worship with us on Sundays at 8:30 or 10:30am if you have any other questions about the Bible or want to know more about the Madison Church, find
[email protected] Be sure to also check out our Bible study podcast, Madison Church of Christ Bible Studies. Thanks again for stopping by.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: Good morning. You know, I think growing up, some of the things that we learn from our children are pretty interesting and cool.
There were some things that my children taught me from time to time, but one of them that I remember specifically was one day we were at the dinner table and we had put some food in front of Kenzie. She was really small and not really able to articulate many words.
And we put some, you know, whether it be broccoli or something vegetable, probably green beans or something like that. And we put that on there. And she ate all those, and we rewarded her with a little bitty piece of a cookie, right?
And so she ate the cookie and she looked at me and said, more, more. I didn't know what that meant at all, but she just looked at me more of that. Less of the green beans, more of that. And when I think about that, that's really kind of the society that we're flowing into, right? We have a time and a place now where everybody is wanting more. We're never satisfied. We're never at that place where we find all that we are looking for. We can always look across the fence or always look at somebody else's things.
We can see those things and we can begin to want them. And it causes us to do some really, you know, evil things in our hearts sometimes. And while wanting an extra cookie is not a terrible thing, it can lead us down the path that could be pretty destructive for us, too.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that sometimes we have a struggle in finding satisfaction in God and God alone. And that struggle causes us to look for things in other places that will bring us the comforts and the things that we want in this life. And we can place our focus there in ways that are just not healthy for us. I want to share with you a story. Some of you may have heard of this guy named Bertie Madoff, a lot of you who you're into finances, you probably remember this.
This guy is absolutely brilliant. Came from a middle class home, actually went to the University of Alabama for a little bit of time and then ended up in Hofstra. And I think maybe even pursued a law degree at some point. But he was considered to be a financing guru.
This guy started his own business after spending a summer doing some lifeguarding, and he created his own investment firm. And he was so good at it and involved so many really talented people that he began to create new systems in place that would kind of challenge the way we did things from a financial perspective, and especially in the trade world. And so he, during the computer age, he grabbed some people who were talented and they created a system where there were fast paced trades that could happen inexpensively and they could be almost, you know, instantly as they went through. And he created a way to do that and led to the construction of what we know now as the nasdaq.
And so trades could happen quickly, efficiently, they were less costly. And it kind of challenged that, you know, everybody standing, waving papers and all those kinds of things, and it created a more efficient system. Well, in the process of all that, all that learning created an awareness fully of what was going on. And he would, in his private world, would invest for other people and he would promise returns of like 10 to 20%, 10, I'm sorry, 10 to 12% growth in earnings, while most of the other experts, you know, could get maybe 7 to 10% or something like that. And so people wondered what it was that he was doing that was causing such great effect and creating such, you know, success in what he was doing. And so he was audited a couple of times. And, you know, what happens is, you know, you can begin to produce some paperwork that kind of keeps things at bay for a little while. But ultimately, while he was a genius, while he was successful, while he was great at what he did, and while he had massed an amazing amount of wealth, one of the things that happened is his heart began to turn toward doing something maybe even greater than that.
He began to want to be the most well renowned, wealthiest and most effective investment guy in the world.
And in the process, he actually began achieving that. But he did so underhandedly. He created these fake corporations, he created ways for people to invest in him. And the way he really made his money was new investors would come in, and when old investors would ask for their money back, he would use the new investors to pay off the old investors. And he began to capture all that money and actually started putting it into his own personal account.
And all this was building him a great amount of wealth. In fact, in total of $5.5 billion that he created for himself.
But, you know, as well as all those things were going on and everything was great in his world, he was living this ultra wealthy, you know, create, you know, crazy privileged lifestyle to the point where it was. It was. He was the model of what wealth would be.
But the 2008 crash, when the markets kind of bottomed out, that was a time where he couldn't have predicted what would happen. And all these people who had given billions of dollars into his, in his investment firm, they suddenly saw the situation and wanted out. And so they asked for somewhere in the total of $8 billion from him. They wanted to cash that in and move their money in other ways. Well, of course, he didn't have that money. And as a result, he kind of came clean and confessed. And this was all a big lie. It was all a big scheme, a Ponzi scheme that took all of their money. Now, in the process, what happened, he not only used his family and friends to develop his wealth, but he also used foundations and charities and other things, and he bottomed out all of their money.
So in the process, all of these people were impacted by his desire to get that one thing that he didn't have quite yet.
And I think that's maybe kind of a sad thing, but this, as much as he had talent and as much as he was successful, this became the caricature of who he was.
A person with evil intentions and desire to do something that wasn't very helpful to other people.
So I think maybe within the hidden heart of all of us, there is this something that says, hey, I want that one thing that I don't have quite yet.
And as we get into this finishing up of this series, as we look at these 10 commandments, this last commandment in my mind is one that not only wraps up the Ten Commandments beautifully, but also takes us back to the one who gave us those commands at the beginning. And it's a different kind of command in that it doesn't necessarily just talk about the actions that we see around us, but it kind of gets a little bit deeper. That 10th Commandment is this.
You shall covet, not covet your. You shall not covet your neighbor's house.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant, or his ox or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbors.
And so when you look at that word and we see that word covet. And maybe we have in our mind exactly what that means. But the word itself, if you look at it, is used in two ways in Scripture. First of all, it's used in the sense of the pleasure of God. Meaning I want to find myself in God's will. I want to find myself in a relationship with Him. I long for, I desire, for I am pleased by what I hear. God is giving me that kind of intense worship, that kind of praise, says, my loyalty lies with God. But the second way it's used and is the one that is warned against here in this tenth commandment, is the idea of this inordinate, ungoverned, selfish, lustful kind of idolatrous behavior that longs for something that belongs to somebody else. Or maybe it is what they have that I want for myself. The bottom line is one of them seeks to praise God and put him in his proper place. The other one says, no, God is not enough, and I must have everything else that's around me. And of course, this comes in a society of time where we compare ourselves to everyone and we look at what they have and we see ourselves in it. It creates a problem for us, right?
And I guess the point is what we're trying to say is we need to be choosing worship over want. It's the idea that God needs to have his special place. And the things that we want in this life have to come secondary to the full pleasure of God.
And while we want that, and I think everyone in here would say that is their goal, that's their ambition, they want to do that.
The devil has a way of creating this sense of dissatisfaction inside of us. And it incites that kind of desire for other things. Think about the pattern that we see in Scripture. And just within this series of 10 or 11 lessons that we have done on these commandments.
As you look at, you see this pattern over and over. We've used these four examples to demonstrate how people see what they want. They desire it, and then they go take it and they hide. We've seen that pattern over and over. And these four examples are all there to remind us what happens when we see something that we want. It creates a desire that leads us into action.
And so we think about Adam and Eve, think about what they were promised. They were given everything in the garden but one fruit. They were warned against that fruit, and that's the very one that they desired. It's kind of like what happens with my kids. They don't get that.
And you can see the wheels turning, like, okay, I'm going to get punished if I get it, but I think I'm going to do it. You know, like, you can see that kind of working in their brains. And that's kind of how it functions with us. It's our nature sometimes to want the very thing that we don't need. But you think about King David and how he was looking after Uriah's wife Bathsheba, how he saw her, he desired her, he went and took her. Think about Achan. We talked about this in the series where after they had defeated the Israelites, had defeated Jericho, how he went in and plundered those treasures that were forbidden for him to do so.
And then even last week, as we talked about Naboth's vineyard, how Ahab hatched, or Jezebel hatched a plan to go and take that unlawfully and to make sure that she did that, the eyes were on it, they desired it, and then they went and took it. So we see this playbook over and over in Scripture, and again, they're all over the Scriptures. These are just the ones that we've talked about within this series.
But the point is, it's always wrong to want the wrong thing.
And so God is bringing us to that idea. And as you think about this tenth Commandment, what I want you to understand more than anything else is that all of the ten commandments that we think of, at least ones that were related to us as individuals, those kind of, you know, number five through the rest of them, are almost all about something that we see that we can witness, that you're guilty of an action, you see those things. But it's almost here in this situation that God is bringing us back to what is really and truly the problem. And it's the problem of our hearts. And so this commandment of do not covet doesn't just cover the things that we think about, possessions and wealth and those kinds of things.
You know, one of the things that it mentions in that command is that we should not want another man's house or even another man's wife. So go with me to Proverbs, chapter six. I'm not gonna read all of it, but I just want you to kind of hear some of the things, even from a wisdom perspective.
These are not commands. These are just, you know, reminders that we can think about and that we can apply to our lives. And listen to what it says here in Proverbs, chapter six, starting in verse 20. It's talking about how important God's commandments are, how they're meant to be with us when we wake up, when we walk and when we lie down. It's meant to talk to us all the time and to speak truth into our hearts and to remind us of ways that we can either please God or that we can step away from him. So in verse 23, it says, for the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching alight, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
Listen to what it says.
Don't desire her beauty in your heart.
Think about that.
We think of the beauty stuff as a fleshly thing, something that we want to touch.
But he said, don't desire it. And it starts here in the heart.
And do not let her capture you with your eyelashes.
Going down to verse 27, can a man carry fire next to his chest and not his clothes not get burned? Well, of course not. Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? Well, of course not.
So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife.
None who touches her will go unpunished. And if you skip down to verse 32 and 33, talks about who commits adultery lacks sin. It's just not very smart. Doesn't do the right things. And these wounds that he creates are going to bring about dishonor and disgrace and it will never be wiped away. There's so many more passages that kind of give this idea. But what I want you to understand is God has already said, don't commit adultery.
Don't break that bond between that covenant between you and your wife.
Now he says don't covet, and he uses it in the context of our another man's wife. The point is he's moving past the action and moving more directly to the heart. It's kind of like what Jesus did in the Sermon on the Mount. You remember when he said over and over, you have heard that it has been said. And then he would give a command, and then he would turn back around and say, but I say to you. And he would kind of lift the requirement a little bit more by saying, it's really more about what's taking place in here. So coveting is the thing that gets to the root of all. All of these things together.
The heart. Where is your heart?
That's why we have some of these requirements in the New Testament, even Colossians 3, 6. And notice what is grouped together here put to death, therefore, the earthly things that are in you. Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Do you understand how these things are kind of grouped together?
And often in the Old Testament, you'll see where adultery or relations with someone else is kind of used as also a way to define the relationship between God and his people. That if we go after other gods, that is a form of adultery as well. So the idea is that we are putting our wants and our needs above the praise and the worship and the honoring of God.
But Also Ephesians chapter 5 says this, for you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral, who is impure or who is covetous, that is an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
That's pretty intense for us to hear this.
But notice how he's kind of addressing some of the mindset that happens in all of us as we move from one desire to the next. And all of those things lead us into a desire to please ourselves, to make us the focus of our life and our accomplishment and our possessions and the things that we have to put all of our attention on ourselves. And that's what he's addressing here.
So let me take you to Second Kings chapter five. We're going to look at a man named Gehazi. And to give you a little bit of background about this story in Second Kings chapter five, if you'll remember, we dealt with this a couple of series ago. We talked about like different people who had like obscure places in the scriptures. And in that story, we were talking a little bit about Naaman. Naaman was a Syrian commander of the armies.
And he was a good man, well renowned, everybody loved him. But he had leprosy. And so the king of Syria actually sent him to the king of Israel, thinking that maybe the king of Israel would have some way to get. Get him treatment or something that would take care of his leprosy. This offends the king of Israel. He rips his clothes apart. And in the process, Elisha, the prophet, if you remember this, got word of that and said, no, send this man to me, because he will know that there is a prophet of God here in the land of Israel. So this will be to the glory and the praise of God. Bring him here. Of course, the story goes that Naaman didn't really like what he asked him to do to begin with, but ultimately he concedes and he goes and he dips in the Jordan river seven times, and he's cleansed of his leprosy. And in the middle of all that, he turns his heart back toward God and he says, hey, there is no other God except for the God of Israel. And so he gives his devotion. And not only does he do that, but the next step he takes is, I want to give gifts to Elisha. And so he offers these big gifts to Elisha. And Elisha, knowing the situation and recognizing that he himself was not the one who. Who caused him to be freed of leprosy, that it was God did not accept those gifts, he turned them away. In other words, the gift of God, the grace of God was a big player in this. That Naaman was first of all healed, but also, you know, in his mind, converted and changed his ways. And so that was a gracious gift of God. It was not to be purchased. It was not to be used as a way to say, well, I did. I got this, so I gave this in return. No, it was meant to be an illustration of God's grace. So Elisha, knowing that he refused those gifts, but he has a servant, and the servant's name is Gehazi.
And he sees what's happening, and he kind of thinks about those gifts, silver and, you know, other things, clothing that he thinks to himself, maybe, you know, that doesn't have to go to waste. Why should we let that guy walk off and away from that? So, if you will. 2 Kings, chapter 5, starting in verse 20, says, but when Naaman had gone from him from a short distance, in other words, he had left Elisha, he was headed back home, not having given those gifts, taking them with him. When he had gone from him a short distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said, see, my master has spared this Naaman Assyrian in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the Lord lives, aha Will run after him and get something from.
So Gehazi followed after Naaman.
And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him, and he reached out and he said, is all well?
And of course Gehazi said, well, all is well, but my master has sent me to say to you this, that there have just now come to me from the hill of country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets.
Please give them a talent of silver each and two changes of clothing. In other words, we just found out that there are these two prophets in training, and they're coming and they're gonna take they're gonna need some help. And so we can just take those gifts now and take them and use them for that purpose. And so he does that.
And it says Naaman said, well, then, please accept the talent of silver and two changes of clothing.
He said, please be accept these two talents. And then he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothing and laid them on the two servants, and they carried him before Gehazi. Now, so he's got the gifts, he's received this.
And now it says, and when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house. And then he sent those two men away and they departed and went and say they departed. Verse 25 says he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, where have you been, Gehazi? He says, well, your servant went nowhere. I didn't go anywhere.
And he says, well, did not my heart go with you? When the man turned from his chariot to meet you, he says, was it a time to accept money in garments, olive, orchards, vineyards, sheep, oxen, male servants and female servants.
Therefore, as a result of this, the leprosy that Naaman had shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.
And so Gehazi went away from him covered in leprosy, white as snow.
All right, so let's. Let's break down this story real quickly. And I'll try to kind of move through this fairly quickly. But you see the situation, right? Gehazi let the best get his interest in that wealth and that money, those kinds of things. I don't know what he was thinking, and maybe we can speculate that he wanted, you know, money for himself. Maybe it was money to be a blessing to other people. Maybe he was thinking about all the things that he could do with that money. I don't know what it was, but he fooled Elisha, I mean Naaman, into giving him those blessings.
So now he's taken them, he's hidden them, and the reality is he's been caught and he's plagued as a result of it. So let's look at the story.
It says. Look at the story. A couple of things that jump out. First of all, covetousness starts in the secret thoughts of the heart.
We said this earlier, but notice what he says. It says. I mean, Gehazi said to himself, my master should not have let this Aramean go. The idea is that something happened inside of him, that he. That deep within him, his own personal desires kind of step into the situation.
But of course, the Bible teaches us that what has taken root into the heart will certainly grow into action. Think about these words of Jesus in Mark chapter seven when he says this very clearly. He says what comes out of a person is what defiles him. Now I want you to pay close attention to the list of things that are mentioned here. He says, from within, out of the heart of man come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, evil slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from, from within and they're the thing that defiles the person.
Now if you were to take that text and just Mark chapter seven, I want you to see that almost all of those ten commandments are new. You know, they're all combined into this one nugget of information that helps us see all of these things. Every one of our disobedient tendencies, the things that we do, those are all things that God has laid out already in these 10 commandments to help us.
But he says the root of it is right here in the heart.
The second thing is covetousness justifies deception and compromise. We think we want something and so as a result we can become deceptive and we can do some other things. Notice it says that how he went through and he told Naaman, hey, we've got a couple of guys that are coming in that need some help and we would really appreciate those gifts now. And, and Naaman in all of his appreciation bestows upon him twice what he had promised before. And so he gave him all of those things. Notice how he took those things and he brought them back.
It was that inner problem of his heart that allowed him that ability to be deceptive. So he used God's name. First of all he says, as the Lord lives and he sweared that selfish oath.
But then he also made up that story about those two sons of prophets that was completely fabricated.
Then he named a price to satisfy himself. Just think about all the things that his covetedness allowed him to do with deception.
But ultimately, when you covet what others have, you will eventually compromise and your integrity to go and to get it.
Now let's just ask ourselves the question.
Can we see times in our life where we may weren't completely honest about our pursuits and things? Can we see that there are ways that we shape conversations to get what we're looking for, that we leave out certain information, that we add extra details that we, you know, this is not just about getting wealth and possessions. It's Also what's taking place in our heart and the desires and the things that we're after and what we will do to get those things.
Notice when he says here, when they arrived at the citadel, Gehazi took the gifts, sent the men back, went and hid those gifts inside the house.
And then he turned around and said, where have you been? He says, well, I haven't been anywhere. Think about this, that pattern of behavior, what it leads to. We hear about it, we see about it, we think about it. But here in this text, you can see where he not only took it to the next step by taking those things, but then he hid it. And we probably could add another part of this that is filtered into so many of these stories in the Bible is the next part of this is we lie about it.
We're not just a little deceptive, but we will absolutely say we're not guilty of these things, even though in our hearts we have been so covetous. Has a way of undermining spiritual progress. What do I mean by that?
Well, notice that when Gehazi was. It was called out that he did have those gifts that Elisha said to him.
You know, is this the time to receive?
You can't help but think that as he was with Elisha, that there would have been some things that he would have learned along the way. You know, we think about our internships here, our youth interns, our preaching interns, our other folks that come in and work within our youth ministry. Some of our own kids have served in that way. And the point is, you're walking alongside somebody and you're trying to learn kind of the attitude of things, the right spirit about doing what you're doing. Yes, the skills and those kinds of things, but more so the things that are happening inside the heart that we're trying to teach them to think about, those kinds of things. And there's no doubt that Elisha would have done that with Gehazi, that he would have spent time, you know, as he was, working alongside him to show him, you know, point him back to God to make sure that his mind is on the right things, and said, is this the right time to receive the money? Again, this was a gift of grace to Naaman. It wasn't to be purchased, it wasn't to be sold. It wasn't to receive anything because of what Elisha had done. It was to the praise and glory of God. And so he says, was this the right time? And it certainly was not.
So before we get onto him too harsh, you know, Ask ourselves the question here.
You know, are we all so blinded by greed that we don't see the gracious gifts that God has got in front of us?
Just for a moment, contemplate everything around you, what you have in your life.
Not just the possessions, but the people. People.
Is it possible that we don't sit still long enough to just acknowledge God being with us and God providing for us?
Is it possible that even in being surrounded by those things that our mind is constantly looking for the next thing, the next possession, the next experience, the next promotion, the next pay raise, the next, you know, amazing adventure in life, that we don't just stop and get content with the blessings that we have all around us.
Remember this warning, 1 Timothy, chapter 6.
Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare. And you know, that snare word is the idea of, like a trap that keeps us held captive, that holds us in place. And you know, the Bible even refers to in Hebrews chapter 12, where it talks about how we have to lay aside the sin and the thing that so encumbrances us, that keeps us ensnared, it keeps us trapped, that we have to lay those things aside and run with patience. The race is set before us.
But here in this, he's saying that temptation, you know, is going to bring us into doing some things that, that are not good at all. It says they're going to be harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. I want to say it again. We say it all the time. Money itself is not the problem.
It's where we put money in our heart. It's where we keep it. And if it, the thing that we are pursuing with all we got is money, possessions, wealth and those kinds of things, then we have taken God off the throne and we've put those things in his place.
But then Ecclesiastes 5, 10 says, he who loves money will not be satisfied with money.
And he goes on to say, whether it's wealth or whatever, that all of this is vanity. It's chasing the wind, it's empty. It's not going to bring us what we're looking for. I'm reminded of the psalm in Psalm 63, verse 5, where the Psalmist says something like this. He says, I long for God in ways that are greater than the richest of feasts that I could ever experience.
The idea that he is the one who fills us. That's why Jesus said, you know, blessed are those who Hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Wow. To think about us pursuing God with that kind of spirit and attitude.
But also covetousness.
It may infect us from an inward standpoint and that it touches our hearts, but it more often than not reveals itself outwardly. Listen to what happened to Gehazi.
Elisha says to him, because you have done this, you and your descendants will suffer from Naaman's leprosy forever.
And when Gehazi left the room, he was covered with leprosy, his skin white as snow.
So Gehazi went to Naaman in order to get from Naaman the riches and wealth that he got. And instead what he ended up with was his leprosy.
You know, it's true that the things that we desire in life, they start right here. But sometimes those pursuits can be so destructive for us and they can lead us down a path that brings us to ruin. And that's the warning here.
So there's two things that I want us to kind of settle in on. This is, first of all, covetousness is the disregard of all the previous commands. When you think about it, if we're not satisfied in God, then we're looking for it in other places.
But the other thing is that covetousness is that thing that should cause us to stop what we're doing and think back to God. Think about these ten commandments again. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for you any graven images. You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain. We kind of talked about the way to carry his name in the right way. Then you get into the Sabbath, and that's the idea of resting so we can focus on the blessings that God has given us and take that restorative time to just honor him and to give our hearts and our lives Him. To reset the button one more time. But then you think about all these adult deal with the relationships that we have with each other. Whether we honor marriage or whether we don't lie, or whether we don't kill people, or those kinds of things are all so interrelated. And all of it reminds us that if we don't have God in the first place, then everything else that we're pursuing is something to take his place.
It's something to say, I'm not yet satisfied.
And so again, it reminds us that this is the wrapping up of all those. And it starts in the heart, but it also points us Back to God.
Hebrews chapter 13 sort of gels some of this together as well. The Hebrew writer says this, Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled. What's he saying?
Protect your relationships. These are important.
And he says, for God will judge the sexually immoral and the adulterous.
But then he shifts and he says, keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have. For he has said, I'll never leave you or forsake you.
You see, where God is drawing us back to is there is no satisfaction outside of God.
You can chase these things for the rest of your life and you'll find yourself like Bernie Madoff, pursuing all these things, getting all these things, and ending up with absolutely nothing when it all boils down to eternity.
Luke, chapter 12, verse 15. Jesus said these words, take care and be on your guard against all covetousness.
All these things are grouped in.
For one's life does not consist in the abundance his possessions.
So in other words, we choose worship, the praise, the honor of God, keeping him in his first place over the things that we desire in this life, that we have, a spiritual perspective that causes us to really settle in on what God has done for us.
So how do we avoid covetousness? And I think these are just practical ways to think about us, pushing off this idea, this attitude, and embracing some things that will maybe help us kind of recalibrate our minds a little bit. The first one is simply this, invest in relationships.
You know, we said sometimes you look across the fence, you think the pastures are greener over on the other side. But in reality, pouring more time and more energy and more love and more thought into ways to sacrifice for your other family and your relationships can bring those things back to a place where they feel more satisfying. And it's what God has called us to do. So there is satisfaction in relationship, in building those things.
The second thing is practice gratitude. Take a moment to count your blessings, think about all the things that you've been given, and just praise God for those things. Take a moment to do that. The next thing is limit media exposure. Part of our challenge is we're in a place where we are fed constantly the things that we're interested in that we desire. And so the moment we turn up our phone and we're just going from real to real or from place to place, we are seeing these posts that affect us and. And we dig into it and we read it and we look at it, and it Says, oh, we'll capture that, and we'll put more in your way. And so your life is filled with these kinds of things that can create a sense of dissatisfaction in you if you think that those things are necessary for your satisfaction.
But then also, I would say one of the greatest ways to overcome covetousness is to be generous in your giving, whether it be here as a contribution to the Lord, knowing that his work is going to be strengthened because of your gift, or whether it be you pour that into somebody else, that you find a way to sacrifice and to give to others who are in need. God blesses that. He really does.
And then the last thing is practice fasting of some sort. And I don't mean necessarily food, although that could be a part of it.
But I just mean go without something that consumes your heart for a set period of time to kind of train your mind to not be so focused on that one thing and that one thing alone.
So here we are wrapping up the Ten Commandments. And as I think about all of them together, one of the things that I'm reminded of is they seem so simple, and they seem like a lot of rules for us to follow, a lot of things for us to do and to not do.
But at the core of all that is God is saying, I created you. I know how you operate. I know your struggles in advance. I know what you are going to have a hard time with. And these are the things, these words, these 10 words are meant to bring you back to a fulfilling relationship with God and with each other.
And because the devil is real and we're all tempted to be pulled away, our desires sometimes get the best of us and we get off track.
And it may be that there are some people in this audience this morning that have just lost their way a little bit, that maybe they're chasing everything but the God who is Our portion. Do you remember Lamentations, chapter three?
We said, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
They are new every morning. His blessings are new every morning.
He says, the Lord is my portion, says my soul.
Therefore I will trust in him or I will hope in him.
Maybe that's where you need to be this morning.
So sometimes we think about coming forward is about a sin, but maybe it's just for the blessing of God to be with you, and you need to come and say, I need help.
That's a great thing for us to pray about together. And if there's anyone in this audience this morning, whether you need help or whether you need to put on Christ in baptism because you know what he did for you. He came and he died for you, to purchase your pardon so you could be free of sin and you could live forever with him. If you have either of those needs, I hope you'll come while we stand and sing.
