I Can't Believe Your Luck Series

I Can’t Believe Your Luck

Proverbs 14:30

As we continue our look at Heart Diseases I have often wondered why these are so damaging to our Christian walk. Surely there are other subjects where we could and should spend our limited time together. But when I have these questions I am reminded of what Jesus said about the power of our heart in Mark 7. If you have you bibles today I want you to open to Mark 7 and let’s read why these heart diseases are so critical to our salvation.

Mark 7:20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The last thing that Jesus said is why it is so important for us to spend this time looking at Heart Diseases. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

You might be a faithful church-goer and live a morally good life. You might tithe regularly, and show up every time the doors are open. And with all of this supposed “holiness” still lived a defiled life because of the condition of your heart. And so it is today as we discuss our next Heart Disease.

Socrates said, "Envy is the daughter of pride, the author of murder and revenge, the father of secret treason, the perpetual tormenter of virtue. Envy is the filthy slime of the soul; a venom, a poison, a quicksilver, which consumeth the flesh and drieth up the marrow of the bones."

You may have the outer appearance of a Saint and yet harbor enough envy in your heart to damn your soul. Envy is such a common sin, and I would be willing to guarantee that everyone of us here has had some problem with the green-eyed monster at some time or another. But do you know that in all of my years in the church I have never heard someone confess the sin of envy and seek out prayers from the body.

This is probably because it is so rampant in our society and our History.

In Genesis 4 we see that it was envy that caused Cain to kill his brother Abel.

In Genesis 26:14 we see that the Philistines envied Isaac because "he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants," and stopped up his wells.

In Genesis 30 we see that Rachel envied Leah because she was barren and Leah was the mother of several children.

In Genesis 37 we see that because of envy, Joseph’s brothers sold him into Egyptian slavery.

And that’s just in the book of Genesis.

If you remember, it was even the sin of envy that caused the Pharisees, Sadducees, and members of the Sanhedrin to seek out ways to and eventually crucify our Lord.

And the struggle against envy is still here today. Let’s take a pop quiz, don’t worry its all yes or no.

Did you enjoy living in your two bedroom frame house until your best friend moved into a three bedroom and den, brick home?

Did you enjoy driving your two year old pick up truck until you see your friend drive up to the church in a brand new F250?

Were you happy with your 7 day vacation to the mountains until you saw the pictures of your friends vacation on the 4 day cruse?

Well, if so, these are indications of envy!

Now some of you may be thinking, you know envy is not a bad thing. As a matter of fact envy is a great motivator. It is what motivates me to desire to be better, get better, and take advantage of everything God has to offer.

And you can disagree with me about this heart disease if you want but let me share with you what the wisest man who ever lived had to say about the subject.

Solomon writes in Proverbs 14:30 that envy is likened to cancer of the bone. "A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones."

And God Himself associates envy with some pretty heavy company.

In 1 Peter 2:1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

In Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies,

And in Romans 1:28-32 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.