1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,540 According to legend, one of the old saints in his journey overtook two travelers. 2 00:00:09,540 --> 00:00:15,180 One was a greedy, avaricious, covetous man. 3 00:00:15,180 --> 00:00:20,840 The other, similarly, was of a jealous and envious nature. 4 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:26,240 When they came to the parting of the ways, the saint said that he would give them a parting 5 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:28,560 gift. 6 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:35,640 Whichever made a wish first would have his wish fulfilled, and the other man would get 7 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:41,520 a double portion of what the first had asked for. 8 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:47,320 The greedy man knew what he wanted, but he was afraid to make his wish because he wanted 9 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:52,240 the double portion, and could not bear the thought of his companion getting twice as 10 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,760 much as he had. 11 00:00:55,760 --> 00:01:00,700 But the envious man was also unwilling to wish first because he could not stand the 12 00:01:00,700 --> 00:01:04,720 idea of his companion getting twice as much as he would get. 13 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:09,160 So each waited for the other to wish first. 14 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:13,800 At length the greedy man took his stello by the throat and said he would choke him to 15 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,920 death unless he made his wish. 16 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:24,040 At that moment the envious man said, very well, I will make my wish. 17 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:29,280 I wish to be made blind in one eye. 18 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:39,480 Immediately he lost the sight of his eye, and his companion went blind in both eyes. 19 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:46,480 That legend reveals to us the malicious nature of greed. 20 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:54,720 It is greed which is dealt with in the tenth commandment found in Exodus 20 and verse 17. 21 00:01:54,720 --> 00:02:00,400 What is it that makes the tenth commandment, thou shalt not covet, distinct from the previous 22 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:07,200 ones, which also dealt with human relationships? 23 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:13,000 The answer is that the tenth commandment is directed toward an attitude rather than an 24 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,000 action. 25 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:22,120 For it is more subtle and difficult to observe its transgression. 26 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,240 Consider these observations. 27 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:30,360 The breaking of the sixth commandment may cost a person his life. 28 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:35,720 The breaking of the seventh commandment may cause a broken marriage. 29 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:40,960 The breaking of the eighth commandment might result in a prison term. 30 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:46,160 The breaking of the ninth commandment could cause a lawsuit. 31 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:56,240 But have you ever heard of a man going to prison for envy or being sued for covetousness? 32 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:03,520 Of course not, because man's laws deal with outward acts. 33 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:10,360 God's laws deal with the outward acts, but also with inward attitudes. 34 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:17,240 It is those attitudes which are the source of the actions in our lives. 35 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:23,920 You see it is the root of the attitude that produces the fruit of the action. 36 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:28,880 The tenth commandment deals with the root. 37 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:37,320 Perhaps it is because it deals with an attitude which cannot be seen that the tenth commandment 38 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:48,200 is usually regarded not very seriously and usually without very much personal application. 39 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:52,280 We are very much like the rich young ruler. 40 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,800 We are concerned with our outward actions. 41 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:58,880 All of these have we kept. 42 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:02,720 What are we still lacking is our attitude. 43 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:10,120 But we are often oblivious, as was he, to the attitudes of the heart which equally defile 44 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:14,680 a man. 45 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:21,720 Covetousness is not only a sin of the person, it is a sin of organizations and institutions. 46 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:25,200 It can be a sin in a church. 47 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:33,440 Douglas Beier, a pastor from California, has written these poignant and striking words. 48 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:38,920 "'Not even the church takes the sin of greed very seriously,' says he. 49 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:44,760 "'There are periodic attempts to boycott television programs that pander to depraved 50 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,800 appetites for sex and violence. 51 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:54,720 But whoever heard of a boycott of programs that pander to depraved appetites for wealth 52 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,320 and opulence? 53 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:03,640 Churches pass resolutions against the sin of intoxication by the spirit of alcohol. 54 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:10,840 But where are the resolutions against the sin of intoxication by the spirit of greed? 55 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:16,160 Some churches refuse to allow a person whose love for another made him or her divorce his 56 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,600 or her spouse to serve as a church officer. 57 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:24,040 But where is the church that rejects someone on the ground that the person's love of money 58 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:28,760 has made him or her too ambitious? 59 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:34,600 The rich young ruler is no longer offended by severe demands of Christ-like living, but 60 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:42,520 welcomed and made the treasurer of the church.'" 61 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:46,800 God's word says, "'You shall not covet.'" 62 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:50,760 That is a word that applies to churches. 63 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:57,200 It likewise applies to children fighting over the size of the doughnut or who's going to 64 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,440 sit in the front seat. 65 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:08,600 It applies to corporations which exploit third world countries or their own employees. 66 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:16,280 It applies to unions who demand more than the company can pay, and thus they lose their 67 00:06:16,280 --> 00:06:20,160 jobs and perhaps bankrupt the company. 68 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:25,880 It applies to young families which go into financial bondage to fill the home with the 69 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:29,080 latest desired things. 70 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:37,960 It likewise applies to the impoverished person who sits and sulks about his unhappy circumstances. 71 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:44,440 Whoever we are, wherever we are in our standings and circumstances today, the tenth commandment 72 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:46,880 applies to us. 73 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:53,600 "'You shall not covet,' says the Lord our God." 74 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:59,260 The meaning of covetousness is the opposite of satisfaction. 75 00:06:59,260 --> 00:07:07,760 The Greek word for covetousness means to have more. 76 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:16,640 It especially applies to desiring what another person has, wife, wealth, possessions. 77 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:21,120 It is to want what is forbidden. 78 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:24,280 Our late former president, Lyndon Johnson, remarked, 79 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:29,660 "'All I want is all there is.'" 80 00:07:29,660 --> 00:07:33,720 I think he stated it well for most of the human race. 81 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,880 There is no satisfying, you see, of the craving for things. 82 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:44,920 As has been often said, the more that one has, the more he wants. 83 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:47,080 An early Greek writer put it this way, 84 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:57,520 "'You might as easily satisfy greed as a bowl with a hole in it.'" 85 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:07,960 The late wealthy J. Paul Getty was asked on an occasion about his billion dollars of wealth. 86 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:09,760 He shrugged his shoulders and said, 87 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:18,760 "'Well, what you must remember is that a billion dollars don't go as far as they used to.'" 88 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:20,000 On one occasion he was asked, 89 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,720 "'How much is enough?' 90 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,760 And with a twinkle in his eye he replied, 91 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,720 "'Just a little bit more.'" 92 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:35,380 So it is with the covetous spirit of man. 93 00:08:35,380 --> 00:08:46,640 One ancient writer said, "'Poverty is want of much, but avarice is want of everything.'" 94 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,760 And so we might ask, is it wrong to have things? 95 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:55,300 Is it sinful to be ambitious or industrious? 96 00:08:55,300 --> 00:09:01,320 Should we rather take a vow of poverty and disown the things that we have? 97 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:05,840 Well, of course, the answer to those questions is in the negative. 98 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,640 That isn't God's plan for us. 99 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:15,040 Rather God's plan is that we should see the possessions that we have as a gift from Him 100 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:20,560 or as a stewardship that we are to wisely care for. 101 00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:28,960 I'd like you to open your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 6. 102 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:32,400 Then look at verse 17. 103 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:37,640 We'll come back to this chapter several times this morning because it speaks quite a bit 104 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:44,800 to this matter of money and the things that money can buy. 105 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:51,200 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their 106 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,880 hope on the uncertainty of riches. 107 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:59,200 We look at ourselves and we say, well, this verse doesn't apply to us. 108 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,200 There aren't very many of us who are rich. 109 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:08,080 That may be true in the relative way that we measure it in our society. 110 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:16,120 But if we would measure the poorest in attendance this morning against the rest of the world's 111 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:24,800 population and against the generations that have gone on the earth before us, we would 112 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:30,480 find that the poorest among us is rich in comparison. 113 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:37,640 Rich people have two problems, pride and presumption. 114 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:43,840 Pride and egotism and what is possessed and the presumption that one will always have 115 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:46,240 these things. 116 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:48,440 We are warned here against that. 117 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:59,640 Rather, it says we are to fix our hope on God who richly supplies us with all things 118 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:01,880 to enjoy. 119 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:05,040 God is the one who supplies us with the things that we have. 120 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:11,000 They ultimately come from Him and He supplies us richly. 121 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:13,680 God is not mean. 122 00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:15,920 God does not withhold. 123 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:17,560 Rather God delights to give. 124 00:11:17,560 --> 00:11:19,680 He is a generous and gracious God. 125 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:23,560 He richly supplies us with all things. 126 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:27,880 And notice the last two words. 127 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:33,920 Those words do not imply that we are to enjoy these things selfishly, that we are to become 128 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:42,080 spoiled brats in the family of God, that we should lavish upon ourselves the fulfillment 129 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:47,960 of every desire that we think we can or maybe even can't afford. 130 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:54,920 The idea in enjoying it is that God desires our lives to be fulfilling and so He gives 131 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:58,160 to us richly. 132 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:07,920 As we fix our hope on Him and receive what He supplies and use that wisely, then we will 133 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:10,120 enjoy life. 134 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:15,960 Having Jesus' Beatitude mentioned in Acts 20 is more blessed, more enjoyable, more fulfilling 135 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:20,600 to give than it is to receive. 136 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:27,120 The gaining of things must never become a person's objective in life. 137 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:37,040 We must never allow getting more to become the obsession that controls us. 138 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:41,400 Rather we should reflect what Jesus said to us in Matthew 6, 33. 139 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:49,400 Seek first the Kingdom of God, the things of God, and His righteousness and all of these 140 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:52,960 things will be added to you. 141 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:56,840 The problem that all of us face is that we are tempted to get our eyes on the things 142 00:12:56,840 --> 00:13:03,920 that are added to us and off of the God that we worship. 143 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:08,760 He is to be the priority in our lives, not the things that are added. 144 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:14,880 The things that are given to us are a means to an end, not the end itself. 145 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:21,240 The end is the glory of God, the things that we have, the means by which we bring glory 146 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:22,240 to God. 147 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:27,560 So it is too with ambition. 148 00:13:27,560 --> 00:13:32,920 Ambition is not to be used selfishly, but the drive and ambition that God gives to us 149 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:37,760 is to be employed and used for the glory of God. 150 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:45,520 What God gives to us is a gift and a stewardship which we are to use for His glory. 151 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:50,720 And yet we face the temptation of greed, don't we? 152 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:57,600 We know these things, but there is not a one of us today who is immune to the temptation 153 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:02,000 of covetousness. 154 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:07,120 There are instructions in the New Testament that come to us regarding this in the context 155 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,600 of two words. 156 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:13,200 The one word is poison. 157 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:15,960 It will kill the human spirit. 158 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:19,960 It will destroy a person. 159 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:24,260 The other is antidote. 160 00:14:24,260 --> 00:14:26,320 These two cannot coexist. 161 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:32,360 Whether there is the one, there cannot be the other by the very nature of what they 162 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:33,360 are. 163 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:37,440 The two words that would summarize what the New Testament teaches us about things are 164 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:45,360 covetousness, the poison, and contentment, the antidote. 165 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:50,080 Let's think about those two words and what the Bible says briefly about them. 166 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:58,040 I'd like you to turn with me to the book of Colossians and the third chapter. 167 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:04,680 Limber up your Bible and let's turn to several passages to see what it has to say first regarding 168 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:09,720 the poison of covetousness. 169 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:17,920 Colossians 3 verse 5 says, Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead. 170 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,360 Then he says, Put to death your members on earth. 171 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:24,800 To what? 172 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:33,240 To immorality, to impurity, to passion, evil desire, and greed. 173 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:35,520 Notice that. 174 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:38,080 Which amounts to idolatry. 175 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:42,680 A similar word is found in Ephesians 5.5. 176 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:47,920 A man who is covetous is an idolater, says the word of God. 177 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:51,200 So the first thing the Bible says about covetousness is this. 178 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:57,000 That it is the moral equivalent to idolatry. 179 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,280 Now why does the Bible teach this? 180 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:06,480 Well in the first place because covetousness is just the opposite of the true God that 181 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:09,400 we claim to worship. 182 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:12,400 The true God is generous. 183 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:14,160 He is gracious. 184 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:18,520 He delights to give out of his loving heart. 185 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:23,680 In his providence he causes it to rain upon the just and the unjust. 186 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:27,560 That is the nature of God. 187 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:36,720 But covetousness, greed, the false God is selfish and grasping. 188 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:43,120 When one is covetous he is worshiping the idol of greed. 189 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:45,800 He is an idolater. 190 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:50,800 The idol he worships is just the opposite of the true God. 191 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:57,040 Likewise when he chooses to worship greed an individual is choosing to worship actually 192 00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:01,560 himself. 193 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:07,640 Self with a capital S and my friend that is what our generation lives for. 194 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:13,160 What is it that makes me happy? 195 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:18,120 That becomes my number one priority, my highest good. 196 00:17:18,120 --> 00:17:20,840 What pleases me? 197 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:27,720 When one worships himself he is placing himself above the true God. 198 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:33,040 And in doing that he is breaking the first and second commandments. 199 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:40,600 You shall have no other gods before me and you shall not make a graven image or worship 200 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:44,040 an idol says the Lord. 201 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:50,320 Covetousness God says is idolatry. 202 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:56,120 Now if you'll turn back to 1 Timothy chapter 6 we'll notice something else about covetousness. 203 00:17:56,120 --> 00:18:03,760 Look at verse 10. 204 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:14,100 Here it says the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil and some by longing for 205 00:18:14,100 --> 00:18:19,960 it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many a pang. 206 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:25,320 The second thing we see that the Bible teaches about covetousness is this, that it's the 207 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:30,920 root, a root of all sorts of evil. 208 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:34,480 You see it's an attitude out of which actions come. 209 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:40,560 If you stop to think about it, covetousness can be the root, the love of money can be 210 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:48,120 the cause of the breaking of commandments number 5 through 9. 211 00:18:48,120 --> 00:18:51,520 We've talked about those in previous weeks. 212 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:53,440 Honor your father and your mother. 213 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:58,200 A few years ago a man died. 214 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:04,000 He left his money to his family but a certain portion he set aside for the Lord's work 215 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:08,120 and left it to a local church. 216 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:10,960 That was his wish and desire. 217 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:16,200 The children said we are not satisfied with what our father gave to us. 218 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:20,160 They wrote a letter to the church and said you give to us what our father has given to 219 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:24,960 you and if you do not we will sue. 220 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:30,440 The breaking of the fifth commandment to honor father and mother. 221 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:38,960 Has covetousness ever caused someone to murder every day of the week? 222 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,880 What about adultery? 223 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:47,880 God says you shall not covet your neighbor's wife. 224 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:51,240 What about lying? 225 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,080 What about stealing? 226 00:19:54,080 --> 00:20:01,360 Covetousness you see is at the root of all sorts of evil just as the word of God says. 227 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:07,160 Our age is particularly characterized it seems by sexual sins. 228 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:15,680 We should not be amazed at that because our generation is a generation of idolaters. 229 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:20,320 Our generation worships self. 230 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:26,720 Inevitably throughout history idolatry and sexual sin have gone together. 231 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:31,200 John MacArthur has written idolatry and sex go together. 232 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:37,960 This is because idolatry is the worship of self in any of its lustful fulfillments and 233 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:44,040 in many cases it is just personalized into the name of a deity. 234 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:50,720 We should not be amazed that this is the age of sexual looseness and promiscuity. 235 00:20:50,720 --> 00:21:00,800 It is but the outgrowth of the worship of the idol of self. 236 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:05,360 Covetousness is the root of all sorts of evil. 237 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:10,040 Turn with me to 2 Peter and the second chapter. 238 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:18,280 I am going to read three verses right at the beginning of the chapter. 239 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:26,360 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers 240 00:21:26,360 --> 00:21:34,880 among you, says Peter, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the master 241 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:40,680 who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 242 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:45,400 And many will follow their sensuality. 243 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:47,280 Notice that word. 244 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:55,520 And because of them the way of the truth will be maligned and in their greed, notice that 245 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:59,460 word, notice the sensuality and greed go together. 246 00:21:59,460 --> 00:22:03,640 They will exploit you with false words. 247 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:08,200 The third thing that we see about covetousness is that it is particularly a characteristic 248 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:11,000 of false teachers. 249 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:16,760 The love of money is at the root of many false religions. 250 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:24,040 Think of the flea-bitten Bogwan who was in our country a few months ago and then left. 251 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:30,240 And the something under a hundred Rolls Royces alone that he owned. 252 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,960 Now who do you think paid for those? 253 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:36,040 Those gullible followers paid for them. 254 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:43,240 Now the money is I think in the pocket of the United States government. 255 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:48,440 Our television sets, our radios every day deliver the same kind of stuff to us except 256 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:51,440 in Christian terms. 257 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:53,560 I want to tell you something. 258 00:22:53,560 --> 00:23:01,280 When you hear a ministry that is continually begging for money and then the reports come 259 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:07,720 out that the leaders of that ministry are living in opulence and have their several 260 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:15,120 hundred thousand dollar condominiums in Florida or in Hawaii and drive around in Rolls Royces, 261 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:19,680 you better mark it down that something is wrong. 262 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:24,480 There is something basically inherently wrong in that ministry. 263 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:28,680 The Bible says that there will be that kind of thing in the last days. 264 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:39,920 A characteristic of false teaching and teachers will be that of the love of money. 265 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:46,260 We also learn here that it is a characteristic of the last days themselves. 266 00:23:46,260 --> 00:23:52,720 That is repeated for us in 2 Timothy 3 verses 1 and 2 where it says, and in the last days 267 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:57,400 men shall be, goes on to say, covetous. 268 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:01,880 Now people have always been covetous, but the point is that in the last days people 269 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,160 will be especially greedy. 270 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:09,400 There will be an overwhelming love of money. 271 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:15,920 It is a characteristic of the days in which you and I live. 272 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:21,200 One final thing I want to note, and we go back again to Colossians for this, the third 273 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:26,080 chapter, what are we as believers to do with covetousness? 274 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:29,920 Because you see we are tempted this way. 275 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:42,440 We can live with greed expressing itself in our lives, any one of us. 276 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:50,000 It says in verse 5, therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead, or put 277 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:56,000 to death your members to greed. 278 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:02,680 How am I to handle the temptations for greed that I face? 279 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:08,120 The Bible says that I am to put them to death, to kill them. 280 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:11,240 I am not to court them. 281 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:13,800 I am not to encourage them. 282 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:19,800 I am to kill those temptations and have nothing to do with them. 283 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:25,040 The same with immorality and passion and the other things that are mentioned here. 284 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:27,120 The Bible has a lot to say to us about covetousness. 285 00:25:27,120 --> 00:25:32,280 It is very pointed and directed to our day and to us personally. 286 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:36,120 Let's go on to talk about the other word that is the antidote. 287 00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:38,200 Enough of the poison for the moment. 288 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:42,320 Let's talk about the answer, the opposite, the contrast. 289 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:45,960 It is contentment. 290 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:51,280 Again let's go to 1 Timothy, the sixth chapter, and this time we will back up a few verses 291 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:54,240 from verse 10. 292 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:58,160 Then we will start in verse 6. 293 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:06,880 He says, But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. 294 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:15,160 For we have brought nothing into the world so we cannot take anything out of it either. 295 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,600 Howard Hughes died a few years ago. 296 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:25,480 He was a multi-millionaire, hundreds of millions of dollars at least. 297 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:29,680 Does anybody know how much he left? 298 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:30,680 All of it. 299 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,680 That is the answer. 300 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:38,240 That is what verse 7 says. 301 00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:47,000 And if we have food and covering with these, we shall be content, says the Apostle Paul. 302 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:53,000 Along with godliness, contentment is a means of great gain. 303 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:59,840 Contentment is satisfaction with what God has provided. 304 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:09,440 In Hebrews 13, verses 5 and 6, these words, let your character be free from the love of 305 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:15,520 money, being content with what you have. 306 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:19,080 Once more, it reminds you of what the Apostle Paul said to the Philippians in the fourth 307 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:21,280 chapter of that book. 308 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:26,640 He said, In whatever circumstances I am, I have learned to be content. 309 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:32,640 Now isn't it interesting that even the Apostle Paul had to learn that? 310 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:35,200 Every one of us does. 311 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:40,920 We are not by nature content people. 312 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:49,680 We are born into the world with an Adamic sinful nature, which is selfish. 313 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:57,960 When we are born again and become children of God, our flesh is predisposed to selfishness. 314 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:05,520 It desires to fulfill itself by continued greed and self-centeredness. 315 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:12,400 And so as the children of God, we like the Apostle Paul, must learn to be content. 316 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:24,440 But now the question, how is it that we can put to death covetousness and learn contentment? 317 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:28,800 Well there are those who say we do that by pretending we don't want the things that we 318 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:31,840 desire. 319 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:39,520 I think that that is a mental game, a psychological ploy that only works temporarily at best. 320 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:45,960 It doesn't work simply to try to convince oneself that one doesn't need what one wants. 321 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:49,240 Eventually the wants are going to come back up again. 322 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:54,680 How do we deal with covetousness and learn contentment? 323 00:28:54,680 --> 00:29:00,360 I would suggest in the first place by learning to trust God. 324 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:08,320 If you stop to think about it, covetousness is at its root unbelief. 325 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:14,580 It is my failing to believe that God really loves me and has provided the best for me 326 00:29:14,580 --> 00:29:15,580 at that moment. 327 00:29:15,580 --> 00:29:20,000 That's what it is. 328 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:26,080 It's failure to believe that God is going to provide me with what I'll need tomorrow. 329 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:30,280 And therefore I don't have to be greedy. 330 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,160 Convicts at its root my friend is unbelief. 331 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:40,720 It is the same bill of goods that Satan sold to Eve in the garden. 332 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:48,280 God is withholding from you. 333 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:53,400 We begin to counteract covetousness and to learn contentment when we begin to learn that 334 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:56,120 we can trust God. 335 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:59,960 We can only learn to trust God when we come to know Him because you can't trust somebody 336 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:00,960 you don't know. 337 00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:05,000 I don't mean knowing Him initially as Savior. 338 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:11,560 I mean coming to know Him more deeply, more intimately as His child. 339 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:17,840 It is only as we grow in our knowledge of Him that we can learn that we really are able 340 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:24,320 to trust Him, provide wisely every day what we need. 341 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:31,280 We can only come to know Him as we spend time with Him in the Word. 342 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:37,000 Is the Bible more precious to you today than it's ever been in your life? 343 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:42,080 Do you know more of God personally? 344 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:50,080 Are you better acquainted with God today than you were a year ago? 345 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:58,240 It is as we come into this developing knowledge of God where we are friends with God that 346 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:12,600 we begin to see that He is in fact Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides. 347 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:17,480 We also need to develop a stronger desire for the important things. 348 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:24,680 In Colossians 3, 5 we read that we are to put to death covetousness. 349 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:29,880 But if you back up a few verses you find him saying something in a preliminary fashion 350 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:31,160 to that. 351 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:42,640 He says, if you are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ 352 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:46,400 sits, at the right hand of God. 353 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:51,800 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 354 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:56,280 Could I ask you a question? 355 00:31:56,280 --> 00:32:00,400 Where is your affection? 356 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:07,760 Now you measure affection by the amount of time that something claims, the amount of 357 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:13,920 work you give to it, the amount of attention. 358 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:21,800 I mean you love your wife more than that person you work with because you spend more intimate 359 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:28,080 time with that person, with your wife, than you do with the person you work with. 360 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:33,120 There's a different kind of commitment there, a different affection for your wife that you 361 00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:40,160 appreciate and maybe affectionate for the person you work with. 362 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:45,040 Now measure the affection that you have for the things around you with the affection you 363 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:49,040 have for the things above. 364 00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:55,640 It is you see only as we begin to develop a stronger desire for those things that these 365 00:32:55,640 --> 00:33:01,920 things will have less a hold on us. 366 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:07,680 The only sure remedy for covetousness is to give Christ the preeminence in our hearts 367 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:15,080 and then all the true value of the temporal things will be clear in comparison with him 368 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:17,960 who is eternal. 369 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:26,200 Are you controlled by your things or are you using them for good and for God's glory? 370 00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:35,600 Do you covet what another person has or are you content with what God has provided for 371 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:39,600 you? 372 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:49,480 The story is told of a Quaker who advertised that he would give 40 acres of his farm to 373 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:56,920 someone who could convince him that he was perfectly satisfied with what he had. 374 00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:00,040 One day there came a knock at the door. 375 00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:06,480 The Quaker said, are you perfectly satisfied with what you have? 376 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:10,400 The man said, I am perfectly satisfied. 377 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:20,640 Then said the Quaker, why do you want my land? 378 00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:27,960 You see greed can cause a person to become a fool. 379 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:34,120 Several years ago there was a cartoon that appeared in a newspaper. 380 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:44,280 It showed two fields, lush with grass, a fence coming right down the middle. 381 00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:50,400 At the bottom there was the one word discontent. 382 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:57,720 Because you see also in the cartoon were two mules, one in each field. 383 00:34:57,720 --> 00:35:04,840 And each mule had his head through the fence eating the grass on the other side. 384 00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:13,120 If that doesn't describe the coverage of his heart, greed will cause a man to become a 385 00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:14,480 fool. 386 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:20,400 One ancient bishop of the early church was known for his contentment. 387 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:26,440 And someone asked him the secret and this is what he said, it consists in nothing more 388 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:30,000 than making the right use of my eyes. 389 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:36,600 In whatever state I am, I first of all look up to heaven and remember that my principal 390 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:41,040 business here is to get there. 391 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:47,120 Then I look down upon the earth and call to mind how small a place I shall occupy in it 392 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:51,500 when I am dead and buried. 393 00:35:51,500 --> 00:35:56,920 I then look around in the world and observe what multitudes there are who are in many 394 00:35:56,920 --> 00:36:00,240 respects more unhappy than myself. 395 00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:10,200 Thus I learn where true happiness is placed, where all cares must end, and what little 396 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:17,480 reason I have to complain. 397 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:23,720 Just last week Charles Swindoll in his broadcast has been teaching from the book of Ecclesiastes. 398 00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:27,960 Perhaps some of you have heard his fine messages. 399 00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:35,260 I quote from him, our material possessions will not be ours forever. 400 00:36:35,260 --> 00:36:38,880 It makes no difference how tightly we hang on to them. 401 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:45,720 We will either lose them during this life or leave them behind when we pass on. 402 00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:49,680 There are no other alternatives. 403 00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:55,920 The touch-me-not-I-ve-got-it-made materialist who lives in earthly opulence is not as well 404 00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,800 off as he or she might seem. 405 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:04,800 Such people soon discover that money cannot buy happiness, contentment, or peace. 406 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:11,240 In fact, their insatiable drive for wealth usually fills their lives with futility, resentment, 407 00:37:11,240 --> 00:37:18,720 and pain, the end of which is a lonely death and a cold grave. 408 00:37:18,720 --> 00:37:25,280 He concludes by saying, we can experience inner peace and joy as we focus on the Lord 409 00:37:25,280 --> 00:37:32,000 and revel in his provisions, whether they be adequate or abundant. 410 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:38,880 On the other hand, if we are money-hungry, we will never find happiness and rest. 411 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:41,560 Money cannot buy contentment. 412 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:46,960 Satisfaction is a gift of God. 413 00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:50,400 Are you satisfied today? 414 00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:57,600 Are you satisfied with what God has provided in your life at this moment? 415 00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:03,320 Are you using your things or abusing them? 416 00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:16,200 Are they your employee for the glory of God, or are you their slave for the dishonor of 417 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:18,200 God? 418 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:22,160 God says, you shall not covet. 419 00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:34,520 He says that because he knows that greed will make us miserable, shriveled, unhappy people. 420 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:45,160 He wants us to be generous, unselfish with our affections set on things of God. 421 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:51,680 Let's pray. 422 00:38:51,680 --> 00:39:03,720 Only when our affections are set on those things can we know peace, contentment, happiness. 423 00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:07,680 I'm wondering if right now in the holy of holies of your heart, right where you're 424 00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:19,680 seated, if you need to quietly lift your voice to God and talk with him about the attitude 425 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:23,480 that controls your life. 426 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:31,240 It may be the love of money, greed, covetousness. 427 00:39:31,240 --> 00:39:40,440 Our God says, put that to death and learn to be content. 428 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:45,160 Will you take your stand today with that sin? 429 00:39:45,160 --> 00:39:55,160 Will you ask him to teach you contentment? 430 00:39:55,160 --> 00:40:01,720 Lord we don't like to talk about this commandment because it is so pointed and strikes the heart 431 00:40:01,720 --> 00:40:04,800 of every one of us. 432 00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:10,920 But thank you, thank you so much for including it in the list. 433 00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:19,120 We need to be reminded of the danger of the love of money. 434 00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:28,320 To whatever extent, our Father, to whatever extent greed has captured us, to whatever 435 00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:41,320 degree our affection is today set on the things of this earth, forgive us and correct us. 436 00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:48,080 May we go out from here determined to use whatever you provide in our lives for your 437 00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:56,240 glory and to be content with what we have. 438 00:40:56,240 --> 00:41:21,240 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. 439 00:41:21,240 --> 00:41:30,240 Allelu, alleluia. 440 00:41:30,240 --> 00:41:45,240 Spirit of the living God, all fresh on me. 441 00:41:45,240 --> 00:42:13,240 Melt me, mold me, fill me, mule me, fill me with the love of God. 442 00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:33,240 Mule me, spirit of the living God, all fresh on me. 443 00:42:33,240 --> 00:42:41,240 Now Lord we pray that we may be the kind of clean and yielded vessels in which the Holy 444 00:42:41,240 --> 00:42:49,240 Spirit can work and through whom the Holy Spirit can work for your glory. 445 00:42:49,240 --> 00:42:58,240 In this important area of our lives, do whatever cleaning and polishing is necessary that we 446 00:42:58,240 --> 00:43:03,240 might be truly the sons of God. 447 00:43:03,240 --> 00:43:11,240 In Jesus name, Amen. 448 00:43:33,240 --> 00:43:41,240 Amen.