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Common Roadblocks_ Jealousy Series
Contributed by Shawn Drake on Sep 9, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: This is the 10th sermon in the series, "Pot Holes".
Sunday Morning August 30, 2009 Bel Aire Baptist Church
Series: Pot Holes [#10]
COMMON ROADBLOCKS: JEALOUSY
Introduction:
One of my greatest agitations when going on a trip is when the road I am traveling is blocked off for construction. What do you do? You either wait in a line for your turn to slowly drive by or you take a detour. Either way, it is an agitation and it delays you from reaching your destination; but we do need to learn to appreciate the roadblocks. After all, when the road is blocked you know that you have to make some adjustments and changes. Life is the same way- You will hit roadblocks and this morning we are going to look at a common roadblock that we all face at times: Jealousy.
Goliath is now dead and the Israelites have had a great victory. That victory had been won through a young man, (David) who had trusted in the Lord for that victory. Everything should be good, right? We must understand that having a victory doesn’t mean you are done fighting. There will always be something else to deal with.
Jealousy creates…
1. Blindness.
Who cares who killed the most people? It wasn’t a contest. Saul and David were in the same army; but because David was getting more credit, Saul began to hate David. It wasn’t David’s fault. In fact, Saul should have been pleased that he had made a good decision in the position that he put David in. If Israel won, that meant that Saul won; but he didn’t get to enjoy the victories because he was too busy keeping a “jealous eye on David.” You ought to underline that statement, because if you are worried about getting the credit for something; then you will begin to watch others with a jealous eye.
When a victory occurs, we should all be rejoicing together. Every victory of the Lord’s is ours to enjoy. We should find joy and peace in the victory. Saul was too busy counting what David had taken from him- People’s opinions, his son’s affection, etc…; to realize how good he had it.
Jealousy creates…
2. Hate.
One moment Saul is prophesying and the next he is trying to kill David. Because of Saul’s jealousy he was open to the control of this evil spirit. Your jealousy just invites the enemy in to destroy all of us.
Hatred will lead to your destruction. You will never be able to move forward for the Lord and experiencing the joy and peace that is yours without walking in love. Love and hate don’t mix.
Jealousy creates…
3. Fear.
3 different times in this passage, the text says that Saul feared David. Saul was always looking over his shoulder. Saul realized that no matter what he tried, God was going to protect David and so Saul feared David.
1 Samuel 18:12 (NIV)
“Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left Saul.”
Your jealousy will cause you to fear everything, especially the things of the Lord. When this happens, you have a choice- You can either come up with a plan of your own as Saul did, or you can get resist the devil and draw near to God. If the Lord is working in you, you won’t be jealous or fearful of others.
1 Samuel 18:15 (NIV)
“When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him.”
Your jealousy will cause you to want others to fail. If you find yourself hoping someone falls flat on their face, then you not only are jealous of them; but in actuality you are afraid of them. When we are walking in the ways of the Lord, we hope that all God’s people are successful and that those who are not saved will be brought into the Family of God- Which would make them successful.
1 Samuel 18:28-29 (NIV)
“When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.”
Saul was not only jealous about David’s relationship with God, but also that his daughter Michal loved David. Do you know a person that if you’re their friend, you can’t be anyone else’s friend? That person is a jealous person and they will begin to fear everyone around them. They will begin to believe that everyone is out to get them and that no one cares about them.
Jealousy creates…
4. Enemies.
Saul’s children loved David. Saul’s people loved David. God loved David. Saul’s hatred of David’s success caused him to make enemies of anyone that cared about David; even it was family.
