Summary: The final sermon on the 10 Commandments. This command seems silly. I don’t hurt anyone by merely wanting, do I? How to Overcome Coveting... *HANDOUT INCLUDED*

For a CD of over 100 of sermons by Darrell Stetler II (most complete with handouts), please e-mail darrellstetler2@sbcglobal.net.

Today, we conclude this series on the 10 Commandments. . . (was that a sigh of relief I heard?!)

INTRO

Remember, we’ve been talking about the 10 Commandments as fences. . . fences to keep you from pain!

We said that there is some pain that is inevitable. . . it will come into your life just because you’re living on this broken planet.

Some pain is caused by others doing wrong. . . it’s not God’s doing. Whether it’s hijackers, drunk drivers, murderers – if someone else sins, sometimes it causes us pain.

Some pain is necessary in our lives to make us like Jesus. Sometimes, God wants to teach us not to complain. . . maybe he wants to teach us to trust Him. . . maybe He wants to teach us to change our attitude. . . sometimes, God knows to make us like Jesus, we might have to hurt like Jesus hurt while he was here on this earth.

But the 4th kind of pain is different. It’s pain that we bring on ourselves by breaking down God’s fences. It’s pain that is caused by our own actions, when we live outside of God’s laws – it’s caused by our own mistakes and sin. I call this “unnecessary pain, because you just know God is sitting in heaven, sighing and saying, “They could have prevented that! If only they had listened!”

THAT’S the kind of pain that we’re wanting to prevent in this series. And we’ve been through 9 principles to help us do that:

But now we get to the final commandment. As God wraps up this list of his “Big 10". . . what does he want to conclude with?

"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s."

Exodus 20:17 (NKJV)

To “Covet” is to strongly desire something that belongs to someone else.

What a great commandment for the last few weeks before Christmas!! Have you ever seen kids REALLY covet?

Gracie has learned to share – sort of. But she’s also learned to use that word to her advantage. I took something from her a few days ago that she wasn’t allowed to play with. . . and she told me to “Share!” Friday, she was playing with a little girl at the store, and the little girl wanted to play with the toy Gracie had been playing with for 5 minutes. I told her we needed to share, and gave the little girl the toy. After about 30 seconds, she was reaching for the toy saying, “Share!”

Stan and Jan Berenstain (authors of the Berentain Bears kids books) wrote one called “The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmees”. I used to read it when I was a kid. The bear cubs, Brother Bear and Sister Bear, can’t walk by

Oh, but we’re ADULTS. . . we don’t have that problem. DO WE? Oh, we don’t throw ourselves on the ground and scream when we pass the candy aisle. . . but we have our own forms of this!

A few years ago, there was a commercial on the radio. . . It said, “I want this car. I need this car. I want to smell the new car smell and know it’s MY new car smell. I want to kick the tires in the showroom. I want to roll all my electric windows up and down, just because I can. I want this car. I need this car.”

Guess how much money was spent on marketing – commercials, catalogs, etc. in 2005 in the US? $1.074 trillion. That’s because they know that they can make people want it. They can make it look like everyone else has it and THEY are happy! So, you need it too! SO they can make you pawn something else. . . go into debt for something you can’t afford.

Covetousness has even invaded the church. A current false doctrine is that God will just grant you whatever you believe for – that what God is interested in is making you successful and rich and healthy. One contemporary songwriter puts it like this:

Name it and claim it, that’s what faith’s about!

You can have what you want if you just have no doubt.

So make out your “wish list” and keep on believin’

And you will find yourself perpetually receivin’ [ John G. Stackhouse, Jr., “The Gospel Song” [an unpublished parody], quoted by Kent & Barbara Hughes, Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1987), 48]..

Did you hear the one about the guy who found a bottle on the beach, and when he pulled out the cork, out popped a genie? The genie gave him 3 wishes, but said, “Be careful what you wish for– because your worst enemy will receive twice as much as you do.” The guy wished for 1,000,000 dollars. *POOF* It appeared at his feet. At the same moment, miles away, 2 million appeared at the feet of his enemy. Next he wished for the largest diamond in the world. It appeared at his feet. But his enemy got 2 of them. As the man realized how well his enemy was doing, he got more and more frustrated trying to think of what to wish for next.

Finally, he turned to the Genie and said, “OK – I’m ready. Scare me half to death.”

Why does God have a law against coveting? Let’s look at several reasons.

1. God forbids coveting because it puts my focus in the wrong place.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15 (NIV)

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Colossians 3:2 (NKJV)

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)

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." Luke 12:15 (NIV)

The last few commands that we have looked at have been kind of short on details or further elaboration, but this command goes into a little more detail. It talks about different categories of things that we might be tempted to covet

House – To some people, having the right house in the right neighborhood is the ultimate in satisfaction.

Wife – “Why can’t you be more like that!?” (This could go for husbands too!”

Servants – Ok, so maybe you don’t covet servants as much these days. But how about their dishwasher, or their microwave? Or their car? It’s the servant that gets them places – do you covet their Mercedes, or their Corvette?

Ox, donkey – To the people of Moses’ day, an ox, donkey or some other beast of burden was essential if one was going to make a living. They were his source of income. Without them, he could not bring in his crop. It’s very easy to covet another man’s job – another man’s source of income.

“My next door neighbor makes twice as much as I do, and he spends most of his time out on the golf course with his clients. And I have to put up with a supervisor who cusses all day long and criticizes me even when I am not at fault!”

Anything – So far, we’ve seen that you can covet a house, personal relationships, possessions that make life easier and more prestigious, and a different kind of job. But there are a lot more things that you can covet, and rather than try and list them all out, God closes the verses with the catch-all of “anything”. That just about covers it all. It leaves you to investigate yourself and your own desires. Let’s see if we can’t come up with some other things that we might have a problem with. How about these; do you covet someone else’s sports ability, their marriage, their clothes, their bank account, their figure, their kids – “Why can’t you kids be more like the neighbor’s kids!?” Do you covet someone else’s teaching ability, or their singing ability or anything that you feel like they can do better than you can do?

All of the things that we have talked about so far have at least one thing in common. Each and every one of them is a part of this life.

They are temporary. They are a part of the world that I will leave behind when I die.

The question is not “What am I building here?” but “What am I sending on ahead of me into eternity?”

When he sends Jesus down to get us, He will not drag you to heaven. He doesn’t want us to hesitate when we hear the trumpet blow. He wants us to be in such an attitude that we are looking forward to His coming and that we anticipate it every day.

2. God forbids coveting because it puts a barrier between me and my neighbor.

The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Romans 13:9 (NIV)

My attitude toward my neighbor is supposed to be love. It’s kind of hard to love someone who is standing in the way of me getting what I think I really need in order for me to be happy and satisfied in life. Love is characterized by self-sacrifice not by self-gratification. Love rejoices with those who rejoice and weeps with those who weep.

A covetous spirit causes me to get envious when my neighbor gets a new car or new furniture or when he gets a raise at work. A covetous spirit causes me to laugh inside and secretly rejoice when that new car that he just bought gets banged up in a fender-bender. It puts within me a spirit of competition and comparison instead of cooperation. But a loving spirit allows me to be glad when someone else is able to purchase a BMW when I’m still driving a Chevette.

3. God forbids coveting because it leads to breaking all of God’s commands.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.”

1 Timothy 6:10-11 (NKJV)

Here’s the worst example of this from the Bible: KING DAVID!

* David broke the tenth commandment coveting his neighbor’s wife.

* That led to adultery, which broke the seventh commandment.

* Then, in order to steal Bathsheba (breaking the 8th commandment)

* he committed murder and broke the sixth commandment.

* He broke the ninth commandment by lying about it.

* This brought dishonor to his parents, breaking the 5th commandment.

* He didn’t put God first, breaking the 1st and 2nd commandments.

* This dishonored God’s name, breaking the 3rd commandment.

{from J. Oswald Sanders, Bible Men of Faith (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974), 13].

4. God forbids coveting because it will destroy my spiritual life.

(Mark 4:18-19 NIV) Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 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. 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’” (Luke 12:16-19).

He had plenty and could have assisted so many others, but he failed to see beyond his own consumptive greed. “I’ll tear down what I have and build bigger and better.” How American he sounds!

We should hear the Lord’s evaluation carefully.

“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?’” (v. 20).

Happiness doesn’t come by getting what you want; happiness comes by wanting what you’ve got.

Overcoming A Coveting Spirit

1. Ask God to forgive you.

2. Realize that things won’t satsify.

“Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast only a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle” (Proverbs 23: 4-5).

“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them.” Ecclesiastes 5:10-11

3. Think thankful.

(1 Tim 6:6-11 NIV) But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

Your feelings come from your attitudes. Your attitudes come from your thoughts. You can’t control your feelings, but you can control your thoughts.

So think thankful. It will begin to reprogram your attitude. And that will change your feelings!

4. Start coveting the right things.

(Phil 3:8,10 NIV) What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ . . .

(1 Cor 9:24-27 NIV) Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

All he ever really wanted in life was more. He wanted more money, so he parlayed inherited wealth into a billion-dollar pile of assets. He wanted more fame, so he broke into the Hollywood scene and soon became a filmmaker and star. He wanted more sensual pleasures, so he paid handsome sums to indulge his every sexual urge. He wanted more thrills, so he designed, built, and piloted the fastest aircraft in the world. He wanted more power, so he secretly dealt political favors so skillfully that two U. S. presidents became his pawns. All he ever wanted was more. He was absolutely convinced that more would bring him true satisfaction. Unfortunately, history shows otherwise.

[He] concluded his life … emaciated; colorless; sunken chest; fingernails in grotesque, inches-long corkscrews; rotting, black teeth; tumors, innumerable needle marks from drug addiction. Howard Hughes died,… believing the myth of more. He died a billionaire junkie, insane by all reasonable standards [Bill Hybels, “Power: Preaching for Total Commitment,” Mastering Contemporary Preaching (Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1989), 120-121].

A successful businessman and his friends were talking and laughing together and enjoying success. The businessman told of his childhood of poverty. Someone had given him a big coin. To have a coin was rare for children then, and his little sister begged to hold it. He laughed over the memory of all the chores he could get her to do for him just to get to hold the coin. He told of a day when she minded the cows all day for the privilege of holding the coin, only to have to give it up at the end of the day. All of the men laughed again at the childishness of the sister. Just then, one man not laughing, reminded the businessman that all he was doing now in labor and service was for the privilege of holding onto a few possessions. “The end of the day is coming, and you will have to give them up like your little sister did.”

CONCLUSION

I encourage you to covet – the things that will last!

The gold that I want is to be able to stand before Jesus, the ultimate judge of the greatest race of all, have him place a crown on my head and hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

NOTE: THIS outline is modified from a sermon by a sermoncentral.com user. The sermon is called "Going for the Gold (pt. 2)" By Chris Talton. The portion on "overcoming coveting" is original. This is #10 in a series on the 10 Commandments called "How to Prevent Unnecessary Pain in Your Life".

For a CD of dozens of sermons by Darrell Stetler II complete with handouts, please e-mail darrellstetler2@sbcglobal.net.

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HANDOUT

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The Myth of “More”

"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s." Exodus 20:17

Why does God have a law against coveting? Several reasons:

1. God forbids coveting because it puts my _____________ ___________________________.

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Colossians 3:2 (NKJV)

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)

"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Luke 12:15 (NIV)

2. God forbids coveting because it puts a ______________ ________________________________.

The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Romans 13:9 (NIV)

3. God forbids coveting because it leads to _____________ ________________________________.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.”

1 Timothy 6:10-11 (NKJV)

4. God forbids coveting because it will __________________ ______________.

Other people, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Mark 4:18-19

“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 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. 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.” 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?’” Luke 12:16-20

How to Overcome a Coveting Attitude

1. Ask God to _________________________.

2. Realize that ______________________________.

“Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Riches... will surely sprout wings and fly off...” Proverbs 23: 4-5

“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income...” Ecclesiastes 5:10-11

3. Think ___________________.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.” 1 Timothy 6:6-9 (NIV)

4. Start coveting the ___________________________.

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ... (Phil 3:8,10 NIV)

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Cor 9:24-27 (NIV)

Are you coveting the ___________ _________ ________ ___________?