SERMON: THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS: LUST

6 July 2014

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 2 Samuel 11:1-4a

2 Samuel 11:1-4 (NIV)

1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,

3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her.

            -- a few years ago, I was promoted to a new position at work and became the environmental element chief -- and what that basically means is that, in addition to taking care of the natural and cultural resources at the base, I am now responsible for all aspects of the environmental program, including industrial environmental compliance

            -- and even though I like to say I was educated at a fine southern university, I quickly realized I did not possess a working knowledge of environmental compliance -- it was like these folks were talking in a foreign language and I spent a long time trying to catch up and just understand what they were saying when we were in meetings or when they sent projects through to me for approval

            -- when they first started sending stuff across my desk for my review, they were using words I had never heard of before -- let me give you a couple of real life examples here

            -- here's the first -- "I need money to pay the NAAQS permit fee" -- NAAQS -- what the heck is that? -- I had no idea if that was real or not, so I went to the guy and asked him what he was talking about -- NAAQS -- National Ambient Air Quality Standards -- how was I supposed to know that?

            -- the next one -- "We need to apply BACT on this project" -- I was thinking, okay, they've misspelled this word -- nope -- BACT -- Best Available Control Technology -- which is different from MACT -- Maximum Achievable Control -- don't ask me what the "T" is for -- I never figured it out

            -- some of them I guessed right on because they were close to what we used in natural resources -- DO -- Dissolved Oxygen -- BMP -- Best Management Practice -- but there were many of these acronyms and words I just didn't understand

            -- and I think they kind of enjoyed the fact their boss didn't understand what they were talking about -- it turned into a joke with them -- I was in a meeting with the element one day and one of them said, "We need to hurry -- the NPL is about to come out" -- and I said, "Excuse me?" -- "You know -- the NPL -- the National Priority List"

            -- and I understood what they were doing, so I didn't worry about it a lot, but when I started to catch on and found a list of common environmental acronyms and wasn't getting fooled all the time, they started making up acronyms just to confuse and test me -- so you can imagine what I thought when I got this last one across my desk -- they were putting in a project "to remove LUST"

            -- I'm like, "Okay, this is a joke -- we've been having all this training on sexual awareness and sexual harassment in the Air Force, so they're trying to make a point" -- so I went to the guy's desk to talk to him about it and about not putting through requests like this that would get me in trouble with my boss, but, you guessed it, it was real -- LUST -- Leaking Underground Storage Tanks -- LUST, they told me, is never a joke -- it's a big, big problem across the Air Force

            -- and they were right -- LUST is a big problem because leaks from underground storage tanks have the potential to contaminate soil and ground water

            -- as I was working on this message this week, I couldn't help but think about that environmental term, LUST -- and it occurred to me how this acronym unintentionally hit on the very problem we have with the sin of lust in our lives today

            -- as you know, we are in the midst of a sermon series on the Seven Deadly Sins -- and we call them "deadly" because these are sins that have the ability to open the door to other sins in our lives

            -- or, to put it in environmental compliance terminology, these sins are like leaks in our spirits that contaminate the environment around us -- in other words, the deadly sins like lust are not just sins that affect us, but their consequences contaminate other people and other relationships in our lives

           

II.  Defining Lust

            -- now before we begin our discussion on lust, I'd like to start off by defining what we mean when we use this term in a biblical sense -- I always like to default to Voltaire, who wrote, "If you would converse with me, define your terms" -- so let's do just that

            -- what is lust? -- when I use that term, I know immediately what is coming to your mind -- sexual sin -- impure thoughts -- looking at someone in a way that objectifies them as a sexual object -- and that is the common understanding of that word in our society today -- but that definition does not capture the entirety of the biblical meaning

            -- when the Bible uses the word lust, it does so in a more encompassing manner -- certainly, lust can involve sexual sin and impure thoughts towards another, but lust means more than just that

            -- as used in the Bible, lust is an intense craving after something God has chosen not to give you at this time -- lust is wanting something that you can't have

            -- Oswald Chambers put it this way -- "the essential definition of lust is the belief that it is my right to have what I want when I want it"

            -- so lust is not just related to sexual immorality, but it is also related to any want or desire for things or people or position or power -- you can lust for a new car -- you can lust for a new job -- you can lust for a person

            -- in 1 John 2:16 John said there were two types of lust that affected people -- lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh

            -- lust of the eyes -- the passion -- the desire that comes about when we see something we want -- lust of the eyes is the passion to possess

            -- lust of the flesh is the passion to feel -- to selfishly enjoy -- the desire that comes about when we want to experience something in our bodies, our emotions, or our souls

            -- in the Old Testament the word that most closely approximates the true meaning of lust is the word covet -- just like we see in the tenth commandment from Exodus 20:17 -- "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

III.  Scripture Lesson -- The Story of David and Bathsheba

            -- okay, with that definition firmly placed in our mind, let's look at the story of David and Bathsheba and see what we can learn about resisting lust from his example

            -- look back with me at 2 Samuel 11:1

2 Samuel 11:1 (NIV)

1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

            -- as this chapter opens, David has been firmly established as Israel's king -- Saul has been defeated -- most of Israel's enemies surrounding them had either been destroyed or subjugated and were now paying tribute to Israel with money and manpower annually -- David had established his palace and throne in God's holy city of Jerusalem -- and, to borrow a phrase from the musical Porgie and Bess, it's summertime or spring, in this case, and the living is easy -- David has it made in the shade

            -- and so David apparently has decided it's time to enjoy the fruits of his labor -- instead of going out to war with his army as he had in the past, he sends them out with Joab and stays home alone

            -- here we see the first step in David's journey to sin -- he abdicates his responsibility and instead of doing what he should be doing as the leader of Israel, he stays behind to rest and relax and enjoy himself

            -- verse 2a

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.

            -- let's stop there and consider for a moment what is not being said in this verse -- why? -- why did David get up from his bed and walk around the roof of the palace -- most commentators say David did so to enjoy the cool evening air on the roof -- and maybe there's some truth to that, but I think this verse implies more

            -- I think David was bored -- bored and restless -- there's nothing wrong with taking a break from your labors -- for resting and just taking a moment and letting your mind and your spirit and your body be revived and restored -- science has shown we are much more productive if we will take a break from our labors periodically to do just that -- that's the purpose of vacations and of the Sabbath -- it's to give us time to recover from the stresses of our work

            -- but the text implies David was doing more than just taking a day off or even a week off -- it implies David was done -- he had retired -- and when a person who is used to being active and doing stuff on a routine basis takes too much time off, they get bored and restless and look for something to do -- and that's when trouble starts

            -- as the old proverb says, "Idle hands are a devil's workshop" -- and I think that's exactly what was going on with David when he got up from bed and went for a walk on his rooftop that night

            -- look at the second part of verse 2b-5

2b From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,

3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home.

5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."

            -- once again, there's a whole lot implied in these verses -- now get the picture -- David is walking around the roof and he looks down and he sees a woman bathing -- now if we saw that going on, most of us would turn away -- that's a natural reaction -- we'd see it -- we'd realize what was going on -- and we'd look away

            -- and knowing David as well as we do through his Psalms and through the biographies of his life in the Bible -- knowing that David is described by God as a man after God's own heart -- I feel that in normal circumstances David would have done the same -- he had already shown his honor by turning away his wrath from Nabal and not taking Abigail as his own wife when he clearly desired her in 1 Samuel 25 -- David respected God's law and the covenant of marriage, but not this time

            -- David didn't see a woman bathing and turn away -- he saw a woman bathing and his gaze lingered -- it lingered long enough that he saw she was very beautiful -- and he desired her -- he lusted after her

            -- he was bored -- he was lonely -- he saw something that attracted his attention -- and he decided he wanted it, regardless of the cost or the rightness of his actions

            -- even after finding out Bathsheba was married -- and married to one of his own mighty men of valor, Uriah the Hittite -- David said, "I don't care -- I want her -- go get her"

            -- so Bathsheba came to David -- they slept together and she became pregnant -- the penalty for this sin under the law of Moses was death for both of them

            -- David's story doesn't end here -- as we have pointed out, deadly sins like lust result in more and greater sin in our lives -- when David realized he was caught, he tried to cover his tracks -- he had Uriah brought back from the war to Jerusalem under the pretense of giving a report to David on the status of the battle -- you see, David hoped Uriah would go home and sleep with Bathsheba and they could claim the child was his -- but Uriah was more honorable than David and did not go home, despite all of David's attempts to get him to do so

            -- when that failed, David had Uriah killed through in a battle so he could marry Bathsheba and they could claim the child had been conceived lawfully

            -- skip down to verse 27 and let's end the story there

2 Samuel 11:27 (NIV)

27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.

            -- David got away with it -- only Joab knew the truth, and he wouldn't tell because of his relationship to David -- David's lust had destroyed a marriage, ended in murder, and displeased the Lord, but he had gotten what he wanted

IV.  Closing

            -- while this story of David and his spiral into sin revolves around lust expressed through sexual immorality, don't forget this could easily be a story about other types of possessions or power or position

            -- for instance when a later king of Israel, Ahab, lusted after a vineyard he didn't own but wanted, his lust also ended in the death of another through the hands of his wife Jezebel

            -- James gives us the pattern of sin in his epistle -- James 1:14-15 says, "each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed -- Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin -- and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."

            -- so as I said in the beginning on this message, lust is a big, big problem

            -- which begs the question, "What do we do about it?"

            -- I think the key to overcoming lust is understanding it is a sin of covetousness -- it's a sin of wants -- it's a sin of desires

            -- the insidiousness of lust is that most of our desires are God-given -- the problem comes in when we try to satisfy our desires in ungodly ways

            -- lust begins in the heart when we see something that is not ours -- something that should not be ours -- and we decide in our heart that we want it regardless of the cost -- the cost to us or the cost to others

            -- I just read a story about Louis Zamperini, a World War II pilot who crashed in the Pacific Ocean with two other crew members and was forced to survive on a life raft for 47 days with very few supplies -- exposed to the sun and surrounded by nothing but water, these men grew very thirsty -- they had a desire to drink -- a God-given desire -- but they quickly ran out of water

            -- Zamperini warned the other two people in the raft to not drink the sea water -- as you know, sea water contains seven times the amount of salt our bodies our bodies need -- and it quickly causes dehydration as our bodies try to flush out the extra salt -- you can actually die of thirst from drinking sea water

            -- one of the crew members tried to satisfy his desire for water in an unhealthy way -- he looked around him and saw nothing but water -- and although Zamperini had warned him -- although it was not good for him -- while Zamperini and the other man slept, this crew member ate all the remaining food and drank sea water to quench his thirst -- he died that night

            -- his desire for water gave way to lusting for that which was not good for him and ultimately led to death

            -- in order to defeat lust in our lives, the first thing we need to do is ask ourselves, "Why? -- Why am I desiring this person, possession, position, whatever it is?"

            -- what is it we are missing in our lives? -- what need are we trying to fulfill in an ungodly way?

            -- a lot of times sexual lust stems from loneliness -- desiring a new car or a new home or other possessions stems from discontent -- wanting a new position or a new job stems from a lack of fulfillment

            -- what is the real desire? -- what is the real need?

            -- and once we have identified the desire or need that is leading to our lust, we need to ask God to help us fulfill that need in a way that pleases Him -- loneliness is a desire for relationship -- and it might be a call from God to reach out to a friend or a neighbor or someone else for companionship -- just a call might be all it takes to take away this feeling

            -- discontent can be satisfied by counting your blessings -- rather than looking at what you don't have, look at what you do have -- rather than longing for something other than what you have, consider how God has blessed you and spend time thanking Him for those blessings

            -- a lack of fulfillment or passion about your job or school or whatever it is might be God calling you to ministry in some form -- perhaps you're not satisfied because you aren't allowing yourself to be used by God where you are

            -- the point I'm trying to make is we need to identify the desire and look to God for fulfillment rather than the world -- as the old song goes, when we turn our eyes upon Jesus, the things of this world fade away

            -- so to answer the question of how to overcome lust in our lives, I'm afraid that's it -- I don't have any magic formula -- there's no seven-step program you can follow that will magically erase your problem with lust and make you a super saint

            -- the answer is simple and clearly lined out for us in Scripture -- identify the desire that is leading to lust and ask God to help you meet it in ways pleasing to Him -- be content with who you are and what you have -- and let God meet all your needs through Him

            -- that's it -- that's the answer -- simple, but not easy and rarely applied

            -- it's kind of like the question of how to lose weight -- there is a multi-million dollar industry designed to help people lose weight -- there are books and websites and blogs and all kinds of hawkers claiming if you just take this pill, you will lose weight -- if you just exercise four minutes a day, you will lose weight -- if you follow this ten-step plan, you will lose weight -- but if you get down to it, the key to losing weight comes down to just two words -- diet and exercise -- the problem is no one wants to do that -- it's too simple -- and so this multi-million dollar industry just rolls right along and people just keep gaining weight

            -- it's the same way with lust -- the answer is just as simple and is unchanged since the dawn of time -- identify the desire, flee from meeting this need in ungodly ways, and focus your eyes on Jesus

            -- that's it -- that's all it takes -- now we just have to go out and do it

            -- let's pray

DUCK HAPPENS.

What a portrait of our lives! We go through life, trying to smooth things out and make sense of the chaos and just try to do our best, and about the time we get it where it looks like things are going good and we've got our life put together, duck happens.

Ducks (storms, trials, tribulations, busted dreams, broken hearts, too-short paychecks, family crises, sickness, death, all of the above) walk across the surface of our life that we just got smoothed out. But, you know what, that's okay. 

Because how boring would our lives be without conflict? And what would our lives be like without the opportunity to turn our eyes to Heaven and cry out, "God, I can't take this any more. Fix it!" and to know that He has just been waiting right there, trowel in hand, to smooth our lives out and make them even better than before?

Ducks aren't just occasions to stretch your vocabulary and pull your hair out -- they're also occasions to hold hands with our Savior and let Him be Lord in our lives.

SERMON: SEVEN DEADLY SINS: GREED

29 June 2014

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Luke 12:13-21

Luke 12:13-21 (NIV)

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

14 Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?"

15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.

17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'

18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."'

20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

            -- in June 2012 Aubrey Lee Price, a local banker who lived here in Valdosta, disappeared -- leaving behind a rambling suicide note telling his family and bank regulators the stress of his poor financial decisions that resulted in the loss of over $21 million in investments under his stewardship had led him to the decision to take his own life

            -- two days letter, Price's family received a letter from him detailing his plans to kill himself by jumping from a ferry between Key West and Fort Meyers -- the local authorities and the Coast Guard were notified, and credit card records discovered showing Price purchased dive weights and a ferry ticket, but no one could find Price or his body

            -- in October, Price's wife filed a petition for a declaration of death and a presumptive death certificate -- and on December 31st, 2012, Aubrey Lee Price was officially declared dead

            -- but not everyone was convinced Price had actually killed himself -- authorities who had been investigating Price on suspicion of embezzlement and wire fraud before his disappearance remembered Price owned a home in Venezuela, which does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S. -- they wondered if the suicide was just a smoke-screen to allow Price to disappear with $21 million in investor's money and suspected Price was either hiding in south Florida or had fled to Venezuela

            -- acting on these suspicions, in late January 2013 a New York Grand Jury indicted the missing man for securities and wire fraud and investigations continued -- but still the trail went cold -- authorities could not say for certain if Price had indeed killed himself or if he was a criminal on the run

            -- but all this changed in December 2013 when the Glynn County Sheriff's Department in Brunswick, GA, pulled over a vehicle on I-95 for a traffic violation -- the driver? -- you guessed it -- Aubrey Lee Price

            -- turns out he had neither killed himself or was living in south Florida or Venezuela -- he was hiding just a few hours away from his family on the coast of Georgia

            -- just a couple of weeks ago, Price pleaded guilty in federal court as part of a plea agreement -- he faces 30 years in prison and will pay restitution of up to $51 million, with sentencing scheduled for August, bringing to an end the sad and sordid tale of Aubrey Lee Price

            -- in the aftermath of this story, many people in our area have been asking the question, "Why?  Why did this trusted man -- a former Baptist minister -- a man described as loyal, trustworthy, dependable -- a man who apparently loved and cared about his family -- why did he disappear and leave his family behind assuming he had killed himself? -- why did he go into hiding for eighteen months, telling no one where he was? -- was it just for the money?"

            -- well, according to the draft copy of his memoir, yes -- it was just the money -- it was just...greed

II.  Greed

            -- this morning we are continuing in our sermon series on the Seven Deadly Sins -- and let me remind you as we begin that these are called the deadly or capital sins -- not because they are worse than any other sins in the eyes of God -- but because they open the door to other sin in our lives

            -- this morning we are going to consider the sin of greed and the effect it has on our lives and on the lives of our church

            -- so what is greed? -- you know, that's a term we use in our materialistic society a lot -- it got thrown around a lot the past couple of years with the demonstrations at Wall Street against the so-called 1% and the bail-out of corporate America

            -- what comes to mind when you think of greed? -- someone like Aubrey Lee Price? -- Bill Gates? -- Warren Buffet? -- Scrooge McDuck? -- rich bankers and businessmen hoarding gold and money in underground vaults? -- people amassing vast quantities of resources for their personal use?

            -- let me ask you this -- have you ever used that term to describe yourself? -- if you're like me, probably not -- I mean, I certainly am not living the life of luxury -- certainly not hoarding wealth -- if there's any of the seven deadly sins that don't apply, greed is probably it, right?

            -- I thought about that as I was going through the list -- envy? -- sure, I do that -- lust? -- I'm a dude -- kind of goes with the territory -- slothfulness? -- yeah, I can resemble that -- wrath? -- ask Brooke -- gluttony? -- yeah, look at me -- pride? -- been convicted of that -- but greed? -- no, that's not me -- that's the one thing in the whole list that just doesn't seem to apply

            -- but remember what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:10 -- if you think you're standing firm, be careful that you don't fall

            -- so with that in mind, let me ask again, what is greed? -- the dictionary defines greed as an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth

            -- did you catch what that definition said? -- it didn't say greed was being rich -- it said greed was an excessive desire

            -- kind of similar to what the Apostle Paul wrote in the commonly misquoted passage of 1 Timothy 6:10 -- we always hear this verse as "money is the root of all evil" -- but it actually says, "the love of money is the root of all evil" -- in other words the desire to possess money is the root of all evil -- you could paraphrase this to read, "greed is the root of all evil"

            -- I didn't like that definition -- that's not talking about rich bankers and wealthy businessmen -- that's not talking about other people hoarding wealth -- that's talking about me -- and then I ran across a definition for greed in the Urban Dictionary that really brought it home

            -- the Urban Dictionary defined greed as "the defining characteristic of human nature" -- in other words, greed is what defines us as human -- greed is the one thing that we all share? -- how can that be? -- how can I be greedy by nature? -- how can I be guilty of this deadly sin?

            -- it comes down to this -- motive and intent -- greed is not a matter of how much you own or how much you possess -- greed is a matter of how you view what you own -- greed is an issue of contentment and stewardship

            -- no where in the Bible do you see wealth condemned -- no where in the Bible do you see Jesus say that you can't follow Him if you're wealthy, provided you look at wealth in a proper way -- no where in the epistles of Paul or Peter or John do you see them counsel followers of Christ to give away all they own

            -- God is not against wealth -- God is not against owning things -- but God is against greed

           

III.  Scripture Lesson (Luke 12:13-21)

            -- let's look at this passage here in Luke 12 and see what we can discover about the deadly sin of greed from Jesus Himself

            -- look back at Luke 12:13-14

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

14 Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?"

            -- as Jesus was teaching, a heckler from the crowd cries out to Him and says, "tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me" -- it was the accepted practice in those days for the older son to receive a double inheritance, so what this man is asking is for Jesus to issue a command that would go against the Law and Jewish tradition -- so Jesus turns aside the man's request

            -- but Jesus does more than that -- He sees the heart of the man who's made that request -- Jesus knows the real issue is not one of inheritance, but one of motive and intent -- Jesus sees the real issue is the love of money -- the real issue is greed

            -- look at verse 15

15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

-- The Urban Dictionary said greed was the defining characteristic of a person, but Jesus implies something completely different in this verse -- "Watch out for greed," He says -- "Be on your guard against greed, for your life does not consist of your possessions"

-- it has been said, when God made us, He made us with a God-shaped void in our lives -- and then He gave us the desire -- the longing -- to fill this void -- to satisfy this part of us that just knows something is missing

-- God intended that we would fill the void with Him -- that we would turn to Him early in life and let the Holy Spirit fill our very being and give our lives meaning and purpose -- but, unfortunately, we sometimes follow a different path and try to fill the void with the things of this earth -- for Aubrey Lee Price, it was money -- for us, it may be something else -- work -- bigger house -- better car -- better truck -- more money -- more things

-- in and of themselves, these things are not bad -- it's when we start living for them and not for God that we start down that path of greed -- it all comes down to motive and intent

-- what are you living for? -- is it God, or is it something else? -- where do you spend your time and your energy and your life?

-- in response to the cry of the man from the crowd, Jesus warns His listeners -- your life is not defined by what you have in the way of possessions -- your life is not defined by your job -- your life is defined by whether or not you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior

-- verse 16-19

16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.

17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'

18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."'

-- can you see what was important to the rich fool? -- his life was defined by what he had -- he gave no thought at all to God -- it's was all about him and his crop -- he says, "MY crops" -- "MY barns" -- "MY grain" -- "MY goods" -- not once did he stop and thank God for allowing him to have such an abundant harvest -- not once did he stop and ask God what God wanted him to do with his crops and grain

-- this is a problem that we have in America today -- we tend to think of everything we own and everything we have as "ours" -- even we Christians do that -- we say "my car -- my house -- my family -- my kids -- my job -- my skills -- my talent" -- but the Bible says that all we have comes from God -- it is only on loan to us -- even though we may say "my life" it is not our own -- we were bought with a price and our very lives belong to God

-- let me pose to you a hypothetical situation -- let's say you had an extremely productive year -- maybe you received a large bonus -- maybe you just received back a large tax rebate -- what did you do with it?

-- did you thank God for it and ask Him what He wanted you to do with it -- or did you just start making your own plans for it just like the farmer in this story?

-- the danger of greed lurks everywhere -- the danger of making an idol out of the things of the world is in my heart and it's in your heart

-- this man's farm and his produce and his crop were his most important possession -- he didn't once consider what God wanted him to do with the extra crops -- he never thought about saving up for eternity -- all he was concerned with was making things for himself easy in retirement -- all he thought about was himself and what he was going to do with his new-found wealth -- his motives and intent were all selfish and self-serving

-- verse 20-21

20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

-- Jesus tells us that we should be rich towards God -- in other words, we should focus on God and on His kingdom and not on the things of the world -- it comes down to motive and intent -- how do you view your possessions? -- how do you approach your desires for material things?

-- remember: we are mortals -- we have a limited capacity to think and understand -- we cannot live in two worlds at once -- Jesus said you cannot serve God and money -- you can only serve one or the other -- you can't serve both

-- God is not against wealth, but God is against greed

-- greed comes in when you put your desire for possessions above God in your life -- greed comes in when we're holding so tight to the things of this world we can't reach for God -- greed comes in when you look at what you own selfishly and not as an opportunity to give -- greed comes in when your possessions are worth more in your estimation than Jesus Himself

            -- so what do we do about greed? -- how do we keep from following the path of the rich fool and of this world around us? -- what good is it to talk about the dangers of greed and walk right out and join this materialistic world once again?

            -- let me give you some advice

            -- first, we have to change our minds -- and, by this I mean, we have to change our desire from wanting more and more material possessions to being satisfied and content with what God has given us

            -- this one thing, more than any other, will protect us from the dangers of greed

            -- in another passage usually taken out of context, the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:12-13: "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. -- I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me"

            -- contrary to what you see at sporting events, Paul isn't saying that Christ is going to strengthen us to let us win the big game or climb Mt. Everest or any of that -- when he says he can do all things through Christ, he is referring to living contented no matter the situation -- whether he is in need or whether he has plenty -- whether he is well fed or whether he is hungry -- whatever the case, Paul's desire and Paul's focus is on Christ, not on the things of this world, and that is what strengthens him

            -- to defeat greed -- to defeat the desire for more -- we have to change our desire from more of what the world offers to more of Christ -- we have to seek contentment

            -- so that's the first thing -- change your minds -- change your desire

            -- second, consider what you really need to live contented lives -- for instance, what do we really need? -- what is it you are looking for in your life? -- do we need three TVs or two cars or eight dogs or a vacation in the islands or whatever it is? -- is this what we need to be happy, or could we get by on less?

            -- as a pastor I have had the opportunity to sit and listen to the stories of other people -- and I've noticed a common theme in almost all of their stories -- when I talk to people who have been married for some time, I always hear stories about the early days of their marriage or the early days of their family

            -- and they always say something like this -- we didn't have much money, but it didn't matter -- we had each other -- we couldn't go out to eat, but we'd cook out every Saturday night -- we didn't have heat or air conditioning, but that was okay -- it was an adventure -- we didn't have but one car, so we would all pile in and take trips together and just enjoy each other's company -- maybe you've heard stories like this -- maybe you've told stories like this

            -- and every time I hear stories like these, I've noticed they are told with a hint of wistfulness -- I hear their hearts say, "we were really happy back then" -- and I have to wonder -- are they as happy now as they were back then? -- are they better off now with more possessions than they had back then? -- does having multiple storage sheds busting at the seams make their lives more full today? -- are they content? -- are we content?

            -- and, finally, to combat the sin of greed in your life, think before you buy -- just stop for a moment and ask yourself, "Do I really need this?" -- what is it that is driving me to buy this? -- is this a need or a want? -- what longing am I trying to fill with this purchase? -- am I trying to buy happiness? -- am I trying to fill the void of loneliness with entertainment? -- do I think buying this will gain me acceptance in the eyes of the world?

            -- the problem with greed is it's never really black or white -- it's a matter of the heart -- and to stay away from this sin, we have to have our hearts right with Jesus

            -- don't forget -- God is not against wealth -- God is not against us owning things -- but He is against things owning us -- and that is the danger of greed

           

IV.  Closing

-- Frank Martin points out, "The things we hold onto keep Christ at arm's length. -- Only when we turn loose of things are our hands free to take hold of the hands of Jesus."

-- Frank goes on to the tell the story of the time his two-year-old son David tried to cross the room to give him a hug -- David was standing in the midst of a big pile of toys and stuffed animals -- and Frank told him, "Come here, David -- give Daddy a hug"

-- David looked at his feet at the big pile of toys and looked up at Frank and hesitated for a moment -- he then reached down and started gathering everything into his arms -- but they wouldn't all fit -- he'd get what he could, and then toys would drop and then he'd try to pick them up -- all while trying to walk across the room to his daddy

-- he just couldn't do it -- he just couldn't hold on to all that stuff and give his daddy a hug at the same time -- as David got more and more frustrated, Frank finally walked over to him and took all the toys out of his hands and put them back on the ground -- and, once his hands were freed, David wrapped his arms around Frank and gave him a squeeze

-- as Frank put it, "Only when his arms were free of the things he clasped so tightly could he give his full attention to the one who truly loves him."

[Discipleship Journal, Nov/Dec 1993, "Lighten Your Load," by Frank Martin]

            -- that same principle holds for us -- only when we live contented lives -- only when we let go of our possessions and our desires for more -- will we be able to reach out to the One who truly loves us and meets all our needs

            -- perhaps the Urban Dictionary is right -- perhaps greed is an affliction that affects us all -- but Jesus says it doesn't have to be that way -- all we have to do is live for Him instead of living for stuff

            -- let us pray

SERMON: SEVEN DEADLY SINS: ENVY

22 June 2014

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Genesis 4:1-13

Genesis 4:1-13 (NIV)

1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man."

2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.

3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD.

4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?

7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.

11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."

13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear.

            -- as I mentioned last week, we are going to be starting a new sermon series today on a subject nobody in the church really likes to talk about in specific terms -- the subject of sin

            -- we don't mind talking about sin in general -- as in, "Jesus died for our sins" -- but we don't like to get into the specifics -- to start naming sin -- to start talking about sin in specifics -- because, as one person told me one day, "Pastor, you've gone from preaching to meddling"

            -- when we stop talking about sin as a general concept and start talking about sin in specifics, it hits home really quickly and it gets really uncomfortable, but maybe that's what we need more of in our churches in America today -- a little less comfortable and a lot more stepping on toes to get us right with Jesus

            -- it reminds me of the story I heard about a young associate pastor who had just started serving in a new church -- one Sunday morning he got up and walked outside the parsonage and discovered his bicycle was missing -- he couldn't find it anywhere and he went to his senior pastor and said, "I think my bicycle was stolen last night" -- so the senior pastor suggested that the associate preach a sermon on the ten commandments that morning and really hit hard on "thou shalt not steal"

            -- so the associate got up and preached his message on the ten commandments -- and when it was over, the senior pastor came up to him and said, "that was a real fine sermon, but I really expected you to hit the commandment about stealing a lot harder than you did" -- the associate pastor hung his head and said, "well, I was planning to, but when I started preaching on "thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife," I remembered where I left my bicycle"

            -- other than grace, sin is the one common denominator in the church -- sin is the one thing we all share, and it knows no bounds -- it touches each and every one of us, regardless of race, age, sex, national origin, or position in the church

            -- every single person on earth -- every single person in this room -- is a sinner -- we are born sinners through original sin -- and because we are born sinners, sin is a part of our lives -- as it says in Romans 3:23, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"

            -- and as you know, even Christians -- even those who name the name of Christ -- who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and walk in His grace and righteousness -- even we continue to sin because we choose to disobey God and seek to fulfill our own desires in ungodly ways

            -- and so we embark on this journey together this morning to explore the path of sin -- not that we might glorify sin in any way -- but that we might expose it to the light, so that we might put it to death in our bodies through the power of the Holy Spirit and the outpouring of grace through Christ's atoning death on the cross

II.  The Seven Deadly Sins

            -- I have been led to focus this series on what is known historically in the church as the Seven Deadly Sins

            -- now, you need to know the modern list of the seven deadly sins is not found in the Bible -- there are other lists of sins in the Bible, but these seven have been focused on in the church because they are considered capital or cardinal sins -- sins which can open the door to other sins in our lives -- in other words, when one of these sins gets a foothold in our lives, it can start a downward spiral of sin and disobedience in us

            -- and, even though we put these sins forth as the seven deadly sins, don't mistake these sins as being worse than others -- they are worse only in their action of leading to other sins -- never forget, God does not distinguish degrees of sin -- a sin is a sin is a sin -- the sin of murder is just as heinous in the eyes of God as the sin of gossip -- the sin of adultery is just as bad as the sin of telling a lie -- if you break just one commandment -- if you commit just one sin -- the Bible says you have broken the entire law and are condemned by your actions -- so don't confuse that as we go through this series -- all sins are equal in the eyes of God -- we are just focusing on these seven because they are recognized as gateway sins by the church

            -- real quick, let me list the seven deadly sins for you and then we're going to go straight into the first of the seven I want to talk about -- the seven deadly sins recognized by the church today are:

            -- wrath -- unrighteous anger

            -- greed -- excessive pursuit of material possessions

            -- slothfulness, which is physical or spiritual laziness

            -- pride -- exalting yourself above others or especially above God

            -- lust -- which is not just the desire for others as a sexual object, but also the desire for things someone else possesses+

            -- gluttony -- which is not just over-indulgence of food, but the over-indulgence or over-consumption of anything -- this can be too much food or too much TV

            -- and, finally, envy -- which we're going to talk about in a lot more detail today

           

III.  Envy (Genesis 4:1-13)

            -- so what is envy? -- what does it look like? -- how do we define it?

            -- envy is a form of covetousness -- envy is desiring another person's traits, status, abilities or rewards for yourself, but taking it one step further -- not only desiring it for yourself, but wanting to deprive the other person from having it

            -- a lot of times we confuse envy with jealousy -- we think they're the same thing, but they are two completely different concepts -- as we said, envy is desiring what another person is or what another person rightfully has

            -- jealousy is when you possess something and you don't want to share it or you fear it will be taken away by another person -- jealousy is when something is rightfully yours, and you don't want to give it away

            -- envy is always a sin, but jealousy is not -- the Bible describes God as a jealous God -- it also says that God is jealous for us -- think about it like this -- God rightfully possesses all honor and glory and power and He is to be worshiped and honored above all things -- the sin of the Israelites was taking their worship from God and giving it to idols -- God was jealous in the sense that something that was owed to Him was given to something else

            -- there are some things we possess that are not meant to be shared -- and when we are jealous of those things, that is not a sin -- but, when we don't share other possessions simply because we're greedy or don't want someone else to have it out of selfish purposes, then jealousy can be a sin

            -- but envy is always a sin, because it seeks personal exaltation at the expense of another person

            -- you can clearly see the problem with envy in the story of Wanda Holloway, the Texas cheerleader mother -- if you remember her story, Wanda Holloway's daughter had tried out for a spot on her junior high cheerleading squad, but lost out to another girl -- Wanda was livid that someone else should have the spot she felt her daughter deserved -- she was envious of that other girl's cheerleading position

            -- so she contacted her ex-brother-in-law and asked him to hire a hitman to kill the other girl's mother -- Wanda thought that the girl would be so upset at the death of her mother, she would quit the team and the spot would automatically go to the runner-up -- Wanda's daughter

            -- thankfully, the ex-brother-in-law went to the police, Wanda was arrested and ended up serving 10 years in prison for conspiracy to murder -- all because of the sin of envy

            -- Wanda's story shows the danger of envy as a cardinal sin -- envy opened the door to other sins -- in this case envy led to rivalry, conflict, hatred, and eventually the desire for murder just to get what someone else possessed

            -- we see that same pattern here in Genesis 4 in the first recorded instance of envy in the Bible, the familiar story of Cain and Abel

            -- let's look back at this passage and see where Cain's downfall began

            -- verse 1-2a

Genesis 4:1-2a (NIV)

1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man."

2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

            -- now before we go further, let me point out one thing here -- when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, God made a promise to them -- God promised that a Savior would come from the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent and destroy the works of sin and death forever

            -- when Cain was born, it appears Eve assumed this was the son of prophecy -- that Cain was the chosen one -- that Cain was the promised Messiah -- and maybe this led to his ultimate downfall

            -- perhaps, and this is only speculation, perhaps Cain was told his whole life how special he was -- how much better he was than Abel and all of Adam and Eve's unnamed daughters -- perhaps he became somewhat spoiled and felt he deserved all of the acclaim and the glory rather than his siblings -- perhaps pride opened the door to his ultimate sin of envy

            -- look at the second part of verse 2b-5

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.

3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD.

4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

            -- so Cain and Abel both brought offerings to God as a means of worship -- Cain, being a farmer, brought some of the fruit of the land to God -- while Abel, a shepherd, brought fat portions from the firstborn of the flock

            -- now while it's not really relevant to our subject today, there is something to note here -- Abel's offering came from the firstborn -- from the best of his flock -- while the scripture just says Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil to the Lord -- note that it doesn't say Cain brought the firstfruits or that Cain brought the best of the harvest -- he just brought "some" of the fruits

            -- in other words Abel offered his best to God while Cain did not -- and God accepted Abel's offering, but did not accept Cain's -- so Cain got angry and his face was downcast

            -- verse 6-7

6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?

7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

            -- Cain's anger was unrighteous, and God warned him about it -- God told Cain to do what is right -- another indication that Cain's offering was not from the firstfruits -- and said if you do what is right, your offering will be accepted

            -- God could see the sin and temptation raging through Cain's heart -- He tells Cain he must master it -- he must make the choice to do what is right -- he must choose to turn away from sin and turn towards righteousness -- but Cain chose differently

            -- verse 8-13

8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.

11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."

13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear.

            -- the end of the story we know so well -- Cain took Abel into the field and killed him -- and when confronted by God, Cain lied about his actions and was ultimately cursed by God for his sin

            -- this story of Cain is multifaceted -- the sins of anger and pride and rivalry and conflict and hatred and murder weave their way through this sad narrative

            -- but if you look at the ultimate cause of Cain's downfall, you have to ascribe it to one thing -- envy

            -- God accepted Abel's offering -- God looked with favor on Abel, and not on Cain -- and Cain wanted it -- Cain wanted what Abel had -- he wanted the acclaim -- he wanted the favor God had given Abel for himself -- he wanted it and he didn't want Abel to have it -- and so, as in the case of Wanda Holloway, envy led to murder

            -- envy is an insidious disease of the heart -- envy can eat you up from the inside out -- envy can lead you to more and greater sins -- anytime you strive for another's downfall, it will ultimately lead to your own

            -- Dwight L. Moody once told the fable of an eagle who was envious of another eagle that could fly better than he could -- One day the bird saw a sportsman with a bow and arrow and said to him, “I wish you would bring down that eagle up there.”

            -- The man said he would if he had some feathers for his arrow -- so the envious eagle pulled one out of his wing -- the man took aim and shot at the eagle's rival, but the arrow didn’t quite reach the other bird because he was flying too high above the ground

            -- The first eagle pulled out another feather, then another—until he had lost so many that he himself couldn’t fly -- the archer realized what had just happened and, remembering the old proverb, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," took advantage of the situation -- he turned around and killed the helpless bird and took an eagle home to his family

            -- the point of this fable is clear -- when you are envious of others, the one you hurt the most by your actions will always be yourself

[http://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/sermon-illustration-lou-nicholes-stories-envy-18759.asp]

            -- Wanda Holloway's envy led to her desire to kill another person and her imprisonment for 10 years -- Cain's envy led to hatred, murder, and a lifelong curse from God

           

IV.  Closing

            -- so what do we do about envy? -- how can we master this sin in our own lives?

            -- I think the key is recognizing the power of envy comes from the side-long glance at others -- envy is the result of comparing ourselves to those around us

            -- in 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul wrote to a church struggling with spiritual envy -- members of the church were desiring the more visible spiritual gifts -- they were envious of God's blessings on others and were following the path of Cain

            -- so Paul counseled them to stop looking at others, but to look at themselves and how God was using them in the body of Christ -- we can't all be the eye, Paul said -- we can't all be the hands and the feet -- in order to have a body, you have to have all parts present -- and while you may think the eye or the hands or the feet are the better part, every part is essential and every part is needed

            -- don't desire what another has, but look at what you possess and use it to the glory of God

            -- the key to mastering envy in our lives is to quit looking at the gifts of another and appreciating what we have ourselves

            -- In her new book, Linda Ronstadt, the 11-time Grammy Award singer, recalls the first time she heard fellow singer Emmylou Harris:

            -- "My first reaction to it was slightly conflicted. First, I loved her singing wildly.

            -- "Second, in my opinion, she was doing what I was trying to do, only a whole lot better.

            -- "Then came a split-second decision that I made that affected the way I listened to and enjoyed music for the rest of my life -- I thought that if I allowed myself to become envious of Emmy, it would be painful to listen to her, and I would deny myself the pleasure of it.

            -- "If I simply surrendered to loving what she did, I could take my rightful place among the other drooling Emmylou fans, and then maybe, just maybe, I might be able to sing with her. I surrendered."

            -- Linda went on to not only sing with Emmy, but also record three award-winning albums with her and Dolly Parton as a trio.

[Linda Ronstadt, Linda Ronstadt: Simple Dreams, a Musical Memoir (Simon Schuster, 2013), pp. 79-80; submitted by Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky --

http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2013/october/3101413.html]

            -- rather than looking at another person's gifts and talents and position with envy, we should celebrate what God is doing in them and through them -- you know, I look at the people around me and it's easy to become envious of them -- I never was popular in school -- I never was one of the cool kids -- I wasn't comfortable being around people -- talking to people -- sharing with them -- and it's still that way today

            -- but I have to come to understand God has just made some people more likable than me -- more outgoing -- more encouraging -- He's certainly made better preachers and better teachers -- there are people who are so comfortable and so easy with evangelism and sharing their faith and inviting people to church and I think, "I want that -- I want to be able to do that"

            -- but I've come to realize that is not me -- that's not who God made me to be -- and that's okay -- I can look at those people and see how God is using them and say, "You're doing a great job for the kingdom!" -- I can call them and say, "Hey, I've got a friend I want you to talk to," and I know they'll do much more than I ever could

            -- it's a choice I have to make to not be envious of them -- it's a choice I have to make every day

            -- and I make that choice by casting my gaze off them and onto myself -- and when I quit looking at what I don't have and start looking at what I do have, I can see how I fit in God's picture -- I can see how God uses me in ways these other people can't be used -- I may not be an eye or a hand or a foot, but God uses kneecaps, too

            -- the key to avoiding envy is to stop looking out and start looking in -- and when you do look outwards and see another's talents or gifts or position or status, celebrate it and encourage them to use their blessings for God

            -- envy is overcomable -- envy is a choice -- so choose wisely today

            -- let's pray