WEBVTT 00:00:00.650 --> 00:00:03.149 Hello, you are listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:03.270 --> 00:00:06.209 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:06.870 --> 00:00:08.750 It's our hope that these sermons will draw you 00:00:08.750 --> 00:00:11.169 more into the life of following God, Father, 00:00:11.330 --> 00:00:14.150 Son and Holy Spirit. Please consider coming and 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:16.469 joining with us each Sunday morning at 10am in 00:00:16.469 --> 00:00:18.809 the heart of Midtown Harrisburg. You can find 00:00:18.809 --> 00:00:22.329 us online at SecondCityChurch .org and on Facebook, 00:00:22.609 --> 00:00:25.030 Instagram and YouTube. We hope you enjoy this 00:00:25.030 --> 00:00:35.350 sermon. God Bless. Lord, thank you for this beautiful 00:00:35.350 --> 00:00:38.369 passage from John where this woman desires to 00:00:38.369 --> 00:00:41.789 have the living water and that speaks to our 00:00:41.789 --> 00:00:45.789 experience Lord because so often we we are reaching 00:00:45.789 --> 00:00:49.909 for out for things to satisfy us To give us a 00:00:49.909 --> 00:00:52.490 greater sense of meaning and purpose in life 00:00:52.490 --> 00:00:55.929 So often we do that by coveting that which is 00:00:55.929 --> 00:01:00.140 not ours our neighbor's house the stuff they 00:01:00.140 --> 00:01:01.719 have, and the work they have, and the job they 00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:02.820 have, and the spouse they have, and the kids 00:01:02.820 --> 00:01:05.739 they have, and blah, blah, blah, Lord. And we 00:01:05.739 --> 00:01:08.340 know how utterly destructive that is. And so, 00:01:08.379 --> 00:01:10.620 Lord, we long, we ask, like this woman did, Lord, 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:15.400 give us this living water that quenches the thirsts 00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:19.060 of our hearts. Please, please do this, God, and 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:23.420 use this sermon as one of your means to do that. 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:29.069 Hear our prayers. Amen. Okay, let me tell you 00:01:29.069 --> 00:01:31.590 something about last Sunday. So last Sunday immediately 00:01:31.590 --> 00:01:34.450 after the service maybe you noticed I I wasn't 00:01:34.450 --> 00:01:38.349 around because I Well, one of the joys of being 00:01:38.349 --> 00:01:42.730 a pastor Is that I get to be present in in some 00:01:42.730 --> 00:01:45.250 of the key times in your life? When you're in 00:01:45.250 --> 00:01:48.430 the hospital, I find it such an honor to be there 00:01:48.430 --> 00:01:52.109 at Baptisms and at weddings and one of the great 00:01:52.109 --> 00:01:55.230 joys is that often I get to go and visit when 00:01:55.230 --> 00:01:57.640 there's a new baby and so I Tori and Jason were 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:01.299 kind. They didn't know how much I was praying 00:02:01.299 --> 00:02:03.200 that they would say yes to me getting to visit 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:04.879 them. But they were like, yeah, you can come 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:06.480 visit. And I was like, well, I've got a flight 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:10.020 at 3 o 'clock, actually 2 .52, to go out to Louisville 00:02:10.020 --> 00:02:13.280 for our denomination's general assembly. And 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:15.060 so I'm going to leave right after the service 00:02:15.060 --> 00:02:16.699 and get down there. Of course, some of you wanted 00:02:16.699 --> 00:02:20.500 to talk to me and whatnot. And I, so I got in 00:02:20.500 --> 00:02:21.939 the car and it's a half hour drive to there at 00:02:21.939 --> 00:02:24.259 the UPMC on the other side of Carlisle. So I 00:02:24.259 --> 00:02:26.960 drove down there and we just talked. It was great. 00:02:27.139 --> 00:02:29.800 I heard about the birth and we read some scripture 00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:32.020 and we prayed and then Tori's parents and grandmother 00:02:32.020 --> 00:02:36.060 came in. And then I was bold and I asked if I 00:02:36.060 --> 00:02:38.979 could hold Caroline, which was like, I mean, 00:02:40.180 --> 00:02:41.939 if you've had, many of you have had the experience 00:02:41.939 --> 00:02:43.460 of holding a little one like that. It's such 00:02:43.460 --> 00:02:46.099 a, it feels like you're just holding the greatest 00:02:46.099 --> 00:02:49.240 treasure. I didn't really want to give her up 00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:51.219 either. Do I need new batteries? Is it cutting 00:02:51.219 --> 00:02:53.659 out? Yeah, okay. I'm just keep going. We'll get 00:02:53.659 --> 00:02:56.360 new batteries. Anyway, so eventually I'm like, 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:57.539 oh, you know what? I should probably get going. 00:02:57.639 --> 00:02:59.020 I get in the car. I'm like, look at my watch. 00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:01.800 Oh my word. I need to get going. I get behind 00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:04.840 a slow car all the way up 81. Finally get, I 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:07.099 mean, seriously, it was like really slow and 00:03:07.099 --> 00:03:08.719 I could not get around. You know, 81 just got 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:10.400 all those tractor trailers. You're like, how 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:12.460 is it possible right now that I'm just going 00:03:12.460 --> 00:03:15.710 this slow? So I get home and I'm like, ah. So 00:03:15.710 --> 00:03:19.110 bags in car kids get in and Lisa made this delicious 00:03:19.110 --> 00:03:21.650 hamburger Father's Day was awesome eating the 00:03:21.650 --> 00:03:25.349 car You know get to the airport and I come come 00:03:25.349 --> 00:03:28.289 in. I've got to check one of my bags And I go 00:03:28.289 --> 00:03:32.189 there and I am one minute late and I'm not able 00:03:32.189 --> 00:03:35.449 to check my bag One minute late. So earlier in 00:03:35.449 --> 00:03:37.349 the week, I had gotten an email saying I could 00:03:37.349 --> 00:03:38.830 change my flight because my original flight was 00:03:38.830 --> 00:03:41.110 going to leave around 5 .50 and it would get 00:03:41.110 --> 00:03:42.669 into midnight. So I changed it to this three 00:03:42.669 --> 00:03:44.069 o 'clock flight so I can get in at eight. And 00:03:44.069 --> 00:03:46.389 then I had to change it back. So I'm like, OK, 00:03:46.430 --> 00:03:48.969 not the worst thing ever. I'll just stick around 00:03:48.969 --> 00:03:51.830 the airport for the next three hours. I'll take 00:03:51.830 --> 00:03:55.030 a nap, which I did, and other things. Red and 00:03:55.030 --> 00:03:57.469 stuff. And then about an hour and a half before 00:03:57.469 --> 00:03:59.370 my flight, I'm like, I should check my bag now. 00:03:59.650 --> 00:04:01.289 So I go check my bag and the lady says, well, 00:04:01.289 --> 00:04:03.879 do you have any ID? you know, a driver's license 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:06.219 or a passport. I said, here, here's my driver's 00:04:06.219 --> 00:04:09.419 license. And I thought, I can't get through security. 00:04:10.580 --> 00:04:12.580 Melisse has wisely been telling me to get real 00:04:12.580 --> 00:04:16.759 ID and I don't have it. So I call Melisse about 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:22.240 seven times, frantically, texting, didn't get 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:25.480 through. She's a wise woman and like me, often 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:27.439 takes a nap on Sunday afternoon. So I called 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:31.160 Chris Gazy. Chris would you please run to my 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:33.800 house? They live about a block away and knock 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:36.759 on the door and please Please tell them I need 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:38.879 my passport within 20 minutes or else. I'm gonna 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:41.959 not get my flight Police calls me up FaceTime 00:04:41.959 --> 00:04:44.180 cannot find the passport. It's none of the normal 00:04:44.180 --> 00:04:46.860 places. We finally find it She runs I literally 00:04:46.860 --> 00:04:50.560 of course, it's it's MDT. It's Harrisburg. I'm 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:52.220 running now I'm gonna get the flight and then 00:04:52.220 --> 00:04:56.100 I sit there and wait So I get on the plane I 00:04:56.100 --> 00:04:59.129 go to Chicago I fly through Chicago. I've got 00:04:59.129 --> 00:05:01.029 two and a half hour layover. I'm like, oh, well, 00:05:01.029 --> 00:05:03.269 there's some lounges that I'm allowed access 00:05:03.269 --> 00:05:05.189 to because of our credit card in terminal five. 00:05:05.209 --> 00:05:07.550 I'll go there. So I get out of the security. 00:05:07.670 --> 00:05:09.449 I have to go through security, get out of terminal 00:05:09.449 --> 00:05:11.089 one. I get on the train, go to terminal five. 00:05:11.550 --> 00:05:13.689 I go and I'm going to get in line to go through 00:05:13.689 --> 00:05:17.290 security and it's international only. I'm like, 00:05:17.329 --> 00:05:19.689 okay, get back on the train, go back, go back 00:05:19.689 --> 00:05:22.889 through security again. You know, whatever, blah, 00:05:23.029 --> 00:05:24.829 blah, blah. My flight, we fly to Louisville. 00:05:24.870 --> 00:05:26.730 There's a horrible storm. We circle around a 00:05:26.730 --> 00:05:28.529 bunch. They go, hey, we're going to Nashville. 00:05:30.050 --> 00:05:33.230 I'm like, okay. So we land in Nashville. We wait 00:05:33.230 --> 00:05:35.629 it out. We wait the storm out. Now they have 00:05:35.629 --> 00:05:39.110 to refuel the plane. We get back on the plane. 00:05:39.709 --> 00:05:42.790 Well, actually, we never got off the plane. I'm 00:05:42.790 --> 00:05:45.139 telling a truthful story. I'm not trying to embellish. 00:05:45.220 --> 00:05:48.540 There's no embellishment here. We finally land 00:05:48.540 --> 00:05:53.660 in Louisville at 2 .45 in the morning. A couple 00:05:53.660 --> 00:05:55.519 buddies of mine who are pastors in Ottawa are 00:05:55.519 --> 00:05:57.639 on that plane, thankfully. And so we wait in 00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:00.879 line, because everybody there is waiting for 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:04.060 an Uber. So we wait for an Uber. I get to my 00:06:04.060 --> 00:06:08.800 hotel at 3 .45 in the morning. I walk up to the 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:12.420 check -in, and she says, I can't check you in 00:06:12.420 --> 00:06:15.870 right now. And I say, I literally left my house 00:06:15.870 --> 00:06:20.769 14 hours ago. I would love a bed. And she said, 00:06:21.110 --> 00:06:25.089 no can do. Our computer system's changing over 00:06:25.089 --> 00:06:27.889 for the day, and I cannot check anyone in. You're 00:06:27.889 --> 00:06:32.009 going to have to just go sit over there. Really? 00:06:33.629 --> 00:06:36.189 So anyway, I get to bed at 4 AM. Blah, blah, 00:06:36.230 --> 00:06:38.930 blah. I could keep going. It's actually been 00:06:38.930 --> 00:06:42.240 more complex than what I said. but I got three 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:44.240 and a half hours of sleep that night and then 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:47.860 I spent most evenings late into the night catching 00:06:47.860 --> 00:06:53.600 folk. And here's how I'm connecting this. Partly 00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:55.720 I want to tell you the story. I need to connect 00:06:55.720 --> 00:06:58.399 it to the sermon, which I don't think is too 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:00.720 tricky actually. There's some holy desires, you 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:02.420 know, I mean coveting is something that is odd 00:07:02.420 --> 00:07:05.560 because Because you have desires that are good 00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:08.560 and right desires. I actually should rightly 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:12.459 desire to listen to my wife's wisdom and get 00:07:12.459 --> 00:07:16.060 a real ID on my driver's license. That's a good 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:22.120 desire. Now, but it's all kind of mixed in. Why 00:07:22.120 --> 00:07:25.259 do I always have to fly to General Assembly? 00:07:26.060 --> 00:07:28.639 Why can't I be one of the ones that lives close 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:34.459 who can drive? God, why did you put us here? 00:07:34.459 --> 00:07:38.680 Make us this way? Why did you have me drive or 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:41.319 travel for 14 hours at the beginning of what's 00:07:41.319 --> 00:07:46.000 bound to be a long week? Why not that situation? 00:07:46.220 --> 00:07:49.860 Why not that person? Why not their shoes? Their 00:07:49.860 --> 00:07:55.699 gifts? Their hair, whatever it is, you know? 00:07:58.420 --> 00:08:04.160 Yeah, well I do say that sometimes. And you and 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:08.860 I can both hear Paul writing to Timothy, and 00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:11.680 we know it's true where he says, but godliness 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:17.579 with contentment is great gain. For we brought 00:08:17.579 --> 00:08:20.339 nothing into the world, and we can take nothing 00:08:20.339 --> 00:08:22.800 out of the world, but if we have food and clothing, 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:28.019 with these we'll be content. I mean, I had food 00:08:28.019 --> 00:08:32.590 and clothing. But I was racing through my mind 00:08:32.590 --> 00:08:35.110 at times of all everybody else's opportunities. 00:08:38.549 --> 00:08:41.970 So, we all need to hear this 10th commandment, 00:08:42.009 --> 00:08:46.470 you shall not covet, which gets at our desires, 00:08:47.250 --> 00:08:52.649 which we were not given. Things of others, the 00:08:52.649 --> 00:08:54.850 traits of others, the opportunities of others. 00:08:55.509 --> 00:08:57.690 Should I take those batteries? I mean, I don't 00:08:57.690 --> 00:09:02.279 wanna really stop. But if any batteries on here 00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:08.360 nobody's gonna be able to hear Now they're gone 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:37.379 Okay, they continue on What I wanna pose to you 00:09:37.379 --> 00:09:41.299 this morning, excuse me, is that we do have this 00:09:41.299 --> 00:09:43.679 kind of mix, right? We come to a passage like 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.879 this and it's very tricky. I mean, we kind of 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:49.480 know when we're coveting in such a way that actually 00:09:49.480 --> 00:09:51.200 is destructive, but for the most part, we also 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:52.879 know that we have these desires that God gives 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:55.639 us. And I wanna say that there actually is something 00:09:55.639 --> 00:09:58.279 right and good about desiring. And sometimes 00:09:58.279 --> 00:10:00.960 desiring actually even that, which with what 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:04.309 you don't have currently, okay? And I want to 00:10:04.309 --> 00:10:06.169 suggest to you that there's a lot of things that 00:10:06.169 --> 00:10:10.350 are holy desires. They're good desires. Not all 00:10:10.350 --> 00:10:14.509 of your desiring is bad. Not all desiring is 00:10:14.509 --> 00:10:19.210 selfish. God gave us, He sort of made us to be 00:10:19.210 --> 00:10:25.649 desirous creatures. It's a good desire to go 00:10:25.649 --> 00:10:29.970 to bed before 4 a .m. particularly on a busy 00:10:29.970 --> 00:10:32.230 week. where I'm supposed to be present to the 00:10:32.230 --> 00:10:35.669 work that has given me to do, to attend to the 00:10:35.669 --> 00:10:37.450 speeches and arguments that are being made that 00:10:37.450 --> 00:10:39.970 I'm supposed to vote on. That's a good desire. 00:10:40.450 --> 00:10:44.090 Nothing wrong with that at all. Just last week, 00:10:44.169 --> 00:10:46.350 we were talking about stealing. We heard in Ephesians 00:10:46.350 --> 00:10:49.289 chapter four, verse 28, let the thief no longer 00:10:49.289 --> 00:10:52.509 steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest 00:10:52.509 --> 00:10:55.190 work with his own hands so that he may have something 00:10:55.190 --> 00:10:58.669 to share with anyone in need. Which is to say 00:10:58.669 --> 00:11:03.230 to have a job that not only provides your needs 00:11:03.230 --> 00:11:06.309 But actually provides enough that you can have 00:11:06.309 --> 00:11:11.049 to give away is a good desire To put in the work 00:11:11.049 --> 00:11:14.110 to get those jobs. That is a good thing to learn 00:11:14.110 --> 00:11:16.809 the habits You know to desire to have the habits 00:11:16.809 --> 00:11:19.129 that make you profitable in such a way. That's 00:11:19.129 --> 00:11:23.570 a good thing Providing for a roof over your family's 00:11:23.570 --> 00:11:26.470 head, that is a good and honorable desire. Education 00:11:26.470 --> 00:11:29.889 for your children. Date nights with your spouse. 00:11:30.009 --> 00:11:32.370 There's so many things that we could say these 00:11:32.370 --> 00:11:37.370 are good and right and holy desires. To be dealing 00:11:37.370 --> 00:11:40.450 with students in your work. So you might get 00:11:40.450 --> 00:11:43.629 into a certain school, so you might use your 00:11:43.629 --> 00:11:46.350 gifts for the blessing of the world. There are 00:11:46.350 --> 00:11:48.649 many desires that we have that are good and holy 00:11:48.649 --> 00:11:55.549 desires. In Proverbs 18 22, very specifically, 00:11:55.830 --> 00:11:59.129 it says, he who finds a wife finds a good thing, 00:11:59.129 --> 00:12:02.529 right? And obtains favor from the Lord. And some 00:12:02.529 --> 00:12:05.769 of you say, I desire to be married, something 00:12:05.769 --> 00:12:09.309 like that. So it's not just the case you kind 00:12:09.309 --> 00:12:13.049 of look out and you say, oh, I desire that necessarily 00:12:13.049 --> 00:12:15.110 bad. Okay, that's partly what I'm saying. God 00:12:15.110 --> 00:12:17.470 actually makes us desire us beings and he gives 00:12:17.470 --> 00:12:20.659 in us. holy desires that can motivate us towards 00:12:20.659 --> 00:12:25.419 seeking jobs and seeking relationships, learning 00:12:25.419 --> 00:12:30.299 how to groom oneself, learning how to talk to 00:12:30.299 --> 00:12:32.779 somebody of the opposite sex, those kinds of 00:12:32.779 --> 00:12:35.100 things. These are holy desires that can motivate 00:12:35.100 --> 00:12:39.419 us towards good and wise living. Ephesians five. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:41.639 tells us that we're not supposed to hate our 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:45.159 own flesh, but to nourish and cherish it as Christ 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:46.940 as the church. And of course, in Ephesians five, 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:49.500 it's talking about the oneness of marital union. 00:12:50.179 --> 00:12:52.419 But you can think about how we're supposed to 00:12:52.419 --> 00:12:55.139 nourish our bodies. We're supposed to tend to 00:12:55.139 --> 00:12:57.399 our bodies. There's good desires for certain 00:12:57.399 --> 00:13:00.559 kinds of food, certain kinds of athleticism. 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:04.639 That's not altogether bad. Those things can help 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:09.399 our mental acuity. I've said this before a couple 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:12.019 of years ago, we're looking at Genesis, the beginning 00:13:12.019 --> 00:13:15.639 of Genesis, Genesis chapter two. There's this 00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:18.059 paragraph in the middle of the chapter and it's 00:13:18.059 --> 00:13:20.370 talking about... you know, the end of the creation 00:13:20.370 --> 00:13:22.549 week and then how Adam looks upon the animals 00:13:22.549 --> 00:13:25.330 and then at the end of the chapter, the Lord 00:13:25.330 --> 00:13:29.009 makes Eve. But in the middle of it, there's this 00:13:29.009 --> 00:13:31.750 paragraph that talks about how Eden is where 00:13:31.750 --> 00:13:33.649 the river flows out into four rivers. You're 00:13:33.649 --> 00:13:35.669 like, okay, this is interesting, the geographical 00:13:35.669 --> 00:13:38.690 orientation. But then it just randomly kind of 00:13:38.690 --> 00:13:44.090 says, and the gold of that land is good. Huh. 00:13:45.909 --> 00:13:49.269 What's going on there? And then it says, Bedelium 00:13:49.269 --> 00:13:52.590 and Onyx are there. And I think that from the 00:13:52.590 --> 00:13:57.970 get -go, in a way, it's noticing beauty. So even 00:13:57.970 --> 00:14:00.710 noticing beauty, that is not necessarily a bad 00:14:00.710 --> 00:14:02.669 thing. The Bible does that in a number of ways. 00:14:03.669 --> 00:14:06.710 The minister's gowns, the high priest's gowns, 00:14:06.789 --> 00:14:10.529 had purple pomegranates on them, highlighting 00:14:10.529 --> 00:14:15.659 beauty. And of course, Adam was right to sing, 00:14:15.659 --> 00:14:18.919 right, when Eve was there, this at last, which 00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:20.960 is to say that to some degree there was a holy 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:23.879 desire for something to compliment him, this 00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:25.940 at last, this bone of my bone and flesh of my 00:14:25.940 --> 00:14:29.080 flesh. You know, he was desirous of her and that 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:34.419 was a good desire, holy desires. And what I'm 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:36.620 saying is that there are many healthy and holy 00:14:36.620 --> 00:14:39.720 desires that we are given. Most of all, we're 00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:45.149 to desire God. or to desire to know him and to 00:14:45.149 --> 00:14:49.769 love him. That holy desire can motivate us to 00:14:49.769 --> 00:14:53.049 study his word, to be mentored maybe by an older 00:14:53.049 --> 00:14:56.509 Christian, to make it your habit to worship, 00:14:56.669 --> 00:14:58.909 to gather together with the saints. These are 00:14:58.909 --> 00:15:02.450 good things. But for as much as we can say that 00:15:02.450 --> 00:15:07.289 there are holy desires, we know this command. 00:15:08.309 --> 00:15:16.090 You shall not covet. is a command for us. Because 00:15:16.090 --> 00:15:19.549 so often we are not filled with holy desires, 00:15:20.029 --> 00:15:25.370 but unholy ones, right? And we come to the end 00:15:25.370 --> 00:15:30.549 of the Ten Commandments. And this is the last 00:15:30.549 --> 00:15:33.950 one. And one commentator said, you know, it just 00:15:33.950 --> 00:15:37.230 doesn't have the same, I don't know, you get 00:15:37.230 --> 00:15:38.970 to the end and it feels like you should have 00:15:38.970 --> 00:15:45.419 a big one. it really pops, stands out. This is 00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:48.100 how one commentator put it. It's occurred to 00:15:48.100 --> 00:15:51.500 me that whoever approved the final order of these 00:15:51.500 --> 00:15:54.200 commandments didn't have much sense of suspense 00:15:54.200 --> 00:15:58.740 or climax. He put all those dramatic, intriguing 00:15:58.740 --> 00:16:02.419 sins like stealing, adultery, and murder first. 00:16:03.500 --> 00:16:06.419 Then he ended up with coveting. It would have 00:16:06.419 --> 00:16:08.720 seemed more logical to begin with the bland, 00:16:09.019 --> 00:16:11.899 throw -away sins like coveting. and then work 00:16:11.899 --> 00:16:16.440 up to the big stuff. I wonder if you feel that. 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:20.379 While it's good to acknowledge that there are 00:16:20.379 --> 00:16:22.320 holy desires, and many of those holy desires 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:24.840 motivate us toward holy living and good living, 00:16:26.700 --> 00:16:29.539 I think what we could do, even though we know 00:16:29.539 --> 00:16:31.840 coveting is such something that happens in our 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:36.559 hearts, we can minimize the evil of it. It's 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:39.480 so easy to sort of maximize the evil of something 00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:43.350 like murder. and the exterior dynamics of what 00:16:43.350 --> 00:16:47.870 we do and minimize what's going on inside. And 00:16:47.870 --> 00:16:51.409 this one is all about what's happening inside. 00:16:53.250 --> 00:16:55.570 I mean, I can easily justify my thoughts and 00:16:55.570 --> 00:16:58.370 feelings, the thoughts and feelings that I had 00:16:58.370 --> 00:17:00.809 towards the women across the counter for me at 00:17:00.809 --> 00:17:05.430 Harrisburg Airport. I missed it by one minute. 00:17:06.190 --> 00:17:10.490 You know, I can justify the anger that... wells 00:17:10.490 --> 00:17:15.650 up within me. Maybe I can justify by my holy 00:17:15.650 --> 00:17:21.549 desire to be well rested. I can easily justify 00:17:21.549 --> 00:17:24.670 my covetous thoughts and I guarantee you can 00:17:24.670 --> 00:17:28.470 too. But we need to remember that not only did 00:17:28.470 --> 00:17:32.430 our Lord include coveting in his list of commandments, 00:17:32.470 --> 00:17:35.789 but he reiterated this command again and again 00:17:35.789 --> 00:17:42.089 and again in the Bible. Did you notice when Rebecca 00:17:42.089 --> 00:17:44.269 was reading that this is the only command that 00:17:44.269 --> 00:17:46.509 actually literally just repeats the command? 00:17:47.269 --> 00:17:50.809 That says, you shall not covet, right? You shall 00:17:50.809 --> 00:17:54.710 not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not 00:17:54.710 --> 00:17:56.609 covet your neighbor's wife. It's the only one 00:17:56.609 --> 00:17:58.970 that says the command, the basic of the command 00:17:58.970 --> 00:18:02.349 twice. And I wonder if it's because we're kind 00:18:02.349 --> 00:18:08.549 of inclined to maybe push it to the side. But 00:18:08.549 --> 00:18:12.160 think of how the scriptures are to this command, 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:17.480 to not dismissing this command. Another way to 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:20.019 think of covening is just desiring that which 00:18:20.019 --> 00:18:24.579 we were not, or does not rightly belong to us. 00:18:25.259 --> 00:18:27.660 And so one way we can think about it is greed. 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:33.579 Paulist greed right along sins like theft and 00:18:33.579 --> 00:18:39.980 murder. Greed, only desires, unholy taking. coveting, 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:44.539 right, is listed right alongside theft and murder 00:18:44.539 --> 00:18:47.700 when the apostle Paul says that the ones who 00:18:47.700 --> 00:18:49.859 practice such things will not inherit the kingdom 00:18:49.859 --> 00:18:54.920 of God. Writing in the book of Colossians, Paul 00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:58.099 says in chapter three, put to death therefore 00:18:58.099 --> 00:19:00.859 what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, 00:19:01.079 --> 00:19:06.750 passion, evil desire, and covetousness. He lists 00:19:06.750 --> 00:19:09.990 covetousness right alongside those others and 00:19:09.990 --> 00:19:14.109 then he says which is idolatry Our Lord Jesus 00:19:14.109 --> 00:19:17.450 in Mark 7 says for from within out of the heart 00:19:17.450 --> 00:19:21.349 of man come evil thoughts sexual immorality theft 00:19:21.349 --> 00:19:27.869 murder adultery coveting I Mean we're inclined 00:19:27.869 --> 00:19:33.599 to kind of go And the constant message of Scripture 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:38.059 is that this is so utterly destructive, practically 00:19:38.059 --> 00:19:41.519 destructive in your life, spiritually destructive 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:48.640 with our Lord. The truth is that coveting can 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:51.319 sink us down to hell just as fast as any of the 00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:56.279 other sins. It's of course not too hard to think 00:19:56.279 --> 00:20:00.240 why. Let me say just one reason. Coveting causes 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:07.180 so many other sins. I mean, the coveting person 00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:09.779 can quickly go from simply desiring something 00:20:09.779 --> 00:20:12.660 which is not properly yours, to plotting how 00:20:12.660 --> 00:20:17.539 to get it, to grabbing it, to taking. Sinful 00:20:17.539 --> 00:20:23.549 deeds start often with sinful desires. The New 00:20:23.549 --> 00:20:25.470 Testament writer, the brother of Jesus, James 00:20:25.470 --> 00:20:28.049 said, but each person is tempted when he's lured 00:20:28.049 --> 00:20:31.730 away and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, 00:20:32.009 --> 00:20:34.569 when it's conceived, gives birth to sin. And 00:20:34.569 --> 00:20:38.950 sin, when it's fully grown, brings forth death. 00:20:40.630 --> 00:20:44.569 Coveting at the beginning of that process, unholy 00:20:44.569 --> 00:20:47.869 desire is at the beginning of the way to death. 00:20:50.019 --> 00:20:53.059 And again, the Ten Commandments is not an exhaustive 00:20:53.059 --> 00:20:54.460 list, right? I mean, we've talked about this 00:20:54.460 --> 00:20:57.720 quite a bit. Remember the long examples I gave 00:20:57.720 --> 00:20:59.920 you from the catechisms, all the ways that they 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:04.940 applied things like do not murder? The commandments 00:21:04.940 --> 00:21:07.740 are not exhaustive lists. They're kind of the 00:21:07.740 --> 00:21:10.259 main things that kind of breed, you know, speak 00:21:10.259 --> 00:21:13.400 to the bigger picture. Murder, of course, our 00:21:13.400 --> 00:21:15.500 Lord connects to anger and we can connect to 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:17.940 so much more and adultery to all kinds of other 00:21:17.940 --> 00:21:21.400 unfaithfulness. stealing to having a proper understanding 00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:25.799 of your own property and also respect for another's. 00:21:26.980 --> 00:21:30.680 But coveting also touches on so much. Think of 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:35.059 how we can apply it to coveting a person's attributes, 00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:39.940 right? We covet another's age, particularly once 00:21:39.940 --> 00:21:46.380 you're past 25, where you physically peak. Some 00:21:46.380 --> 00:21:50.980 happy news for us. We covet others' looks. We 00:21:50.980 --> 00:21:54.759 covet others' minds, their mental acuity. We 00:21:54.759 --> 00:22:00.019 covet others' athleticism. I'm still a 13 handicap, 00:22:00.500 --> 00:22:06.079 golly. Their musical talents, all kinds of things. 00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:12.119 We're commanded not to covet another person's 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:15.099 situation in life, right? Their marriage, maybe 00:22:15.099 --> 00:22:18.920 the freedom they have in their singleness. Maybe 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:22.700 they're children. We're commanded to not covet 00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:25.299 and we're commanded to not covet all things. 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:30.480 Maybe in a church there can be holy desires to 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:32.240 grow in the Lord, but we can also covet another 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:36.220 person's sort of spiritual attainment. The role 00:22:36.220 --> 00:22:38.119 that they play in the life of the church having 00:22:38.119 --> 00:22:42.220 some leadership role or whatever it is. The recognition 00:22:42.220 --> 00:22:45.519 of their spiritual gifts. We are simply commanded 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:48.740 through and through Consistently in the Bible, 00:22:49.339 --> 00:22:57.460 don't covet. Unholy desire quickly brings death. 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:04.299 Of course, how applicable, you know, we talked 00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:06.940 in this series, we talked about idols. I said, 00:23:07.099 --> 00:23:10.259 probably none of you are like harboring little 00:23:10.259 --> 00:23:13.940 statues that you like innocence to in your house. 00:23:14.460 --> 00:23:16.559 So we had to think through, how do we apply that? 00:23:17.380 --> 00:23:19.500 My guess is that as soon as, if we had an open 00:23:19.500 --> 00:23:24.240 discussion, well, how do we apply coveting to 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:30.859 21st century America? It wouldn't be hard. We 00:23:30.859 --> 00:23:33.680 know that the world we live in has sort of the 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:39.660 motto, he who dies with the most toys wins. It's 00:23:39.660 --> 00:23:43.539 all about what you get. And frankly, what neighbor 00:23:43.539 --> 00:23:48.319 does not get. We live in the modern world where 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:52.579 there is so much that we can grasp and hold onto. 00:23:52.900 --> 00:23:57.839 Say, look, it's mine. And where our life does 00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:01.920 seem to consist in the abundance of our possessions. 00:24:03.420 --> 00:24:06.880 And that's the world we live in. I read this 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:10.220 pastor who confessed this, I belong to the cult 00:24:10.220 --> 00:24:15.680 of the next thing. It's dangerously easy to get 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:19.779 enlisted into. It happens by default, not by 00:24:19.779 --> 00:24:22.859 choosing the cult, but by failing to resist it. 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:26.000 The cult of the next thing is consumerism cast 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:29.440 in religious terms. It has its own litany of 00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:37.480 sacred words, more. You deserve it. New, faster, 00:24:38.539 --> 00:24:42.309 cleaner, brighter. It has its own deep -rooted 00:24:42.309 --> 00:24:46.049 liturgy. Charge it, instant credit, no down payment, 00:24:46.309 --> 00:24:48.210 deferred payment, no interest. It has its own 00:24:48.210 --> 00:24:50.150 preachers, evangelists, prophets and apostles, 00:24:50.930 --> 00:24:55.150 advertisers, pitchmen, celebrity sponsors, influencers, 00:24:56.190 --> 00:24:59.210 right? What is the influencer doing other than 00:24:59.210 --> 00:25:01.789 trying to get you to buy something? They are 00:25:01.789 --> 00:25:05.549 trying to influence your desire for what you 00:25:05.549 --> 00:25:09.859 do not have. It has, of course, its own shrines, 00:25:10.099 --> 00:25:13.819 chapels, temples, meccas, malls, super stores, 00:25:14.039 --> 00:25:17.440 club warehouses. And this is dated, and so I 00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:20.839 added it also has its own holy days, some of 00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:27.460 which we celebrated this week. Prime Day? Black 00:25:27.460 --> 00:25:31.380 Friday? I mean, it's just the narrative that 00:25:31.380 --> 00:25:35.819 we live into. He who dies with the most possessions. 00:25:37.370 --> 00:25:43.009 wins. It has its own ecstatic experiences, the 00:25:43.009 --> 00:25:46.750 shopping spree, the cult of the next thing, things 00:25:46.750 --> 00:25:50.490 central message proclaims crave and spend for 00:25:50.490 --> 00:25:56.250 the kingdom of stuff is here. So what do we do? 00:25:57.609 --> 00:26:02.210 How is it that this sin is so easily entangles 00:26:02.210 --> 00:26:04.329 us? How are we free from it? Because it is simply 00:26:04.839 --> 00:26:06.960 the world we live in. I mean, this guy says, 00:26:07.779 --> 00:26:11.720 the only way to not be in it is to resist it. 00:26:14.140 --> 00:26:16.880 How do we allow it to not so easily entangle 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:18.960 us? And how do we put it to death rather than 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:21.819 letting our unholy desires lead to our own death? 00:26:23.940 --> 00:26:26.579 And this is gonna sound remarkably similar to 00:26:26.579 --> 00:26:31.200 last week's sermon in this regard. And this is 00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:33.380 the central thing of Christianity. I wanna tell 00:26:33.380 --> 00:26:37.240 you, Again, look at the cross of Christ. Now 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:40.460 here's what I want to say. Just like there are 00:26:40.460 --> 00:26:43.319 spiritual and practical implications of our desires, 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:46.819 right, our unholy desires, there are also spiritual 00:26:46.819 --> 00:26:50.500 and practical implications of the cross. Jesus 00:26:50.500 --> 00:26:55.099 tells us in the Sermon on the Mount, he says, 00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:57.500 look at the birds of the air. They neither sow 00:26:57.500 --> 00:27:00.579 nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your 00:27:00.579 --> 00:27:02.920 heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more 00:27:02.920 --> 00:27:06.539 value than they?" He continues on, he says, consider 00:27:06.539 --> 00:27:08.859 the lilies of the field, how they grow. They 00:27:08.859 --> 00:27:11.460 neither toil nor spin. And I tell you, even Solomon 00:27:11.460 --> 00:27:13.440 in all his glory was not arrayed like one of 00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:17.420 these. But if God is so close, he so closed the 00:27:17.420 --> 00:27:19.160 grass of the field, which today is alive and 00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:21.480 tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not 00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:30.500 much more close you? I said, there's like a practical 00:27:32.159 --> 00:27:34.819 way that the cross actually answers this conundrum 00:27:34.819 --> 00:27:36.279 that we find ourselves, that we live in this 00:27:36.279 --> 00:27:38.099 world that tells us to covet and it's sort of 00:27:38.099 --> 00:27:40.559 the default experience of our hearts. How do 00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:42.980 we resist it? How's the cross begin to answer 00:27:42.980 --> 00:27:46.079 that? Well, if we go back to Genesis, right? 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:53.200 We go back to Genesis and what you have is the 00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:55.180 taking of the apple and what we're told is it 00:27:55.180 --> 00:27:59.839 was desirous to be desired. and it was to be 00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:02.500 desired to make one wise and that they were promised 00:28:02.500 --> 00:28:08.619 that they could be like God. I want to suggest 00:28:08.619 --> 00:28:11.339 to you that actually having your eyes fixed on 00:28:11.339 --> 00:28:14.460 the cross, audience you to the fact that you 00:28:14.460 --> 00:28:18.539 are not God. And what is our grabbing onto stuff 00:28:18.539 --> 00:28:20.640 but saying, you know what, if I can just have 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:22.599 all this, I can control other people's perception 00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:26.599 of me. If I have this, I can get this other thing 00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:30.519 that I want. If I have this thing that I haven't 00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:32.980 yet been given, look at all the opportunity, 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:39.460 what could I accomplish? I mean, so much of what 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:43.259 we wear and what we have and what we eat posting 00:28:43.259 --> 00:28:45.960 so often as we do is for other people to say, 00:28:46.259 --> 00:28:51.640 wow, look at you. And what the cross does is 00:28:51.640 --> 00:28:58.140 it very practically humbles us. But also what 00:28:58.140 --> 00:29:01.940 it does, and this is the lie that Adam and Eve 00:29:01.940 --> 00:29:05.819 bought into, is that somehow that one thing that 00:29:05.819 --> 00:29:09.099 God said, don't eat this, they thought if we 00:29:09.099 --> 00:29:11.400 could just have that then we'd have enough while 00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:14.420 they could look around and see all that God had 00:29:14.420 --> 00:29:19.130 given them. I mean, why is the gold there in 00:29:19.130 --> 00:29:21.130 chapter two? If you can remember back to years, 00:29:21.170 --> 00:29:23.910 why I said I think it's there is because it's 00:29:23.910 --> 00:29:26.609 just one demonstration of the utter abundance 00:29:26.609 --> 00:29:31.569 of God. You know, he gave them fruit, trees bearing 00:29:31.569 --> 00:29:36.150 fruit. He gave them plants they could eat. He 00:29:36.150 --> 00:29:39.450 even placed them in a place that had good gold 00:29:39.450 --> 00:29:42.769 and bedelium and onyx. It's almost just to say, 00:29:42.789 --> 00:29:47.539 look at how lavishly the Lord loves you. Look 00:29:47.539 --> 00:29:49.819 at how lavishly the Lord loves you. And so the 00:29:49.819 --> 00:29:52.359 cross both humbles us, but what it also does, 00:29:52.539 --> 00:29:54.099 both in a practical way and a spiritual way, 00:29:54.140 --> 00:29:57.940 it says, look at how wildly I have provided for 00:29:57.940 --> 00:30:03.720 you. If he did not spare his own son, but gave 00:30:03.720 --> 00:30:05.559 him up for us all, how much more will he not 00:30:05.559 --> 00:30:10.539 give us all things? There's nothing that can 00:30:10.539 --> 00:30:12.460 separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus 00:30:12.460 --> 00:30:19.599 our Lord. Nothing. If the Father so loves the 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:21.099 world that He gives His only Son that whoever 00:30:21.099 --> 00:30:23.099 believes in Him should not perish but have eternal 00:30:23.099 --> 00:30:30.140 life, why are we worrying about wanting our neighbor's 00:30:30.140 --> 00:30:37.299 car? I mean, and yet so much of our energy is 00:30:37.299 --> 00:30:42.839 spent on that. So brothers and sisters, look 00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:48.380 to Jesus. Look at the cross. Look at how it humbles 00:30:48.380 --> 00:30:51.779 us, but look at how it also tells us that God 00:30:51.779 --> 00:30:56.660 will always provide. He will always care for 00:30:56.660 --> 00:31:01.359 you. Harris can fall from your head and it will 00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:06.319 be the Father's will and he will hold you in 00:31:06.319 --> 00:31:13.240 his loving arms. This is the picture of God's 00:31:13.240 --> 00:31:17.359 provision for us. that if he will go to the cross 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:29.299 for us, he will give you what you need. I personally 00:31:29.299 --> 00:31:33.720 found when I was thinking of this sermon that 00:31:33.720 --> 00:31:38.960 this is actually such an utter, a perfect commandment 00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:42.750 to end on. Because, truth be told, as much as 00:31:42.750 --> 00:31:45.710 my heart is an idol factory, as Calvin says, 00:31:46.490 --> 00:31:49.009 the commandment about not bowing down to idols 00:31:49.009 --> 00:31:53.109 is not the same temptation. The commandment to 00:31:53.109 --> 00:31:55.609 murder, which Jesus properly applies to anger, 00:31:55.750 --> 00:32:00.490 is absolutely applicable to me. But man, coveting? 00:32:01.150 --> 00:32:07.369 Coveting is the world we swim in. I guarantee 00:32:07.369 --> 00:32:13.339 it's for you. So brothers and sisters, look at 00:32:13.339 --> 00:32:19.140 the cross. Have it ever before you. Because it 00:32:19.140 --> 00:32:25.240 is so easy to get consumed with Prime Day. To 00:32:25.240 --> 00:32:28.940 get consumed with other people's vacations and 00:32:28.940 --> 00:32:34.000 other people's blah blah blah. And lose fact 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:36.960 of the reality that the God who made the world, 00:32:37.740 --> 00:32:40.779 the God who made all things, has given his life 00:32:40.779 --> 00:32:44.900 for you. How much more will he not give you everything 00:32:44.900 --> 00:32:55.640 else? Lord, would you please give us holy desires, 00:32:56.299 --> 00:32:59.680 holy desires that motivate us to work with our 00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:01.460 hands that we might have something to give to 00:33:01.460 --> 00:33:06.299 those in need, to desire holy relationships. 00:33:07.799 --> 00:33:10.539 Most of all, Lord, move in our desires that we 00:33:10.539 --> 00:33:14.160 might fix our eyes upon Jesus, that we might 00:33:14.160 --> 00:33:17.599 desire to live at peace and rest in a world that 00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:21.759 is full of anxiety, fraught with worry, constantly 00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:24.140 desiring what we do not have, what you have not 00:33:24.140 --> 00:33:28.119 given us, but will we find our peace and our 00:33:28.119 --> 00:33:32.859 rest in you, in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you 00:33:32.859 --> 00:33:35.140 for listening to Second City Sermons podcast. 00:33:35.700 --> 00:33:37.640 We hope this sermon has encouraged you to worship 00:33:37.640 --> 00:33:40.559 God and to celebrate the gospel of Jesus. Please 00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:42.940 consider subscribing to this podcast and joining 00:33:42.940 --> 00:33:46.140 us in person each Sunday at 10 a .m. You can 00:33:46.140 --> 00:33:49.420 find us online at SecondCityChurch .org and on 00:33:49.420 --> 00:33:52.019 Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Thanks again 00:33:52.019 --> 00:33:53.519 for listening. God bless.