Dakota Community Church
September 7, 2014
Unsatisfied
Summer Series at Dakota: The 10 Commandments
Exodus 20:17
You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s.
Do you ever complain about your lot in life relative to someone else?
Why can she sing like that you sound like someone is torturing a duck?
Why does that coworker always get the breaks?
How come you can’t have that marriage, or that inheritance, or that giftedness, or those looks?
Why does he butcher the scripture and preach silly drivel yet leads a mega church?
When I want what God has given to someone else - I am coveting.
We think this is a virtue in our day.
We teach our children to covet, not to be satisfied. “Just wait your turn for it.”
Almost all advertising is designed to tempt you to covet.
When your blessing leaves me feeling bitter or cheated - I am coveting.
1. Coveting is the catch-all sin
There is no one who is not guilty AND it’s obvious!
Commandment #10 is a restatement of the previous 9.
I violate commandment #1 when I covet God’s authority.
I violate commandment #3 when I covet God’s glory.
I violate commandment #7 when I covet my neighbours wife.
I violate commandment #8 when I covet my neighbours possessions.
All of the evangelical catechisms, Lutheran and reformed, see the tenth commandment as a summary of the preceding five: the second table of the law, laying out our duty to neighbour.
This commandment deals not with the criminal actions of law breakers, but with the heart of every man.
God is not only concerned with our actions, as Jesus would echo in the sermon on the mount; God holds us responsible for the motives and intents of the heart.
This is the commandment that catches everyone who is slow to realize their sinful condition.
According to George Barna in The Barna Report: 1991-92 (Ventura, California: Regal, 1992) most Christians believe they obey the Ten Commandments.
No other God’s 76%
Honour parents 77%
Do not murder 93%
No adultery 82%
No theft 86%
A full 48% do not believe they have fallen short of God’s glory by lying!
53% of evangelicals insist that they are completely following the 10th commandment.
Because we have lost the understanding of law and gospel in evangelicalism we have no sense of the urgency of our condition.
We believe we are “fine” because we don’t know what is expected of us.
Matthew 5:43-48
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,[i] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
James 2:10
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
2. Learning contentment
How many of you feel something rise up in resistance to this idea before I even expound on it.
That doesn’t sound like I’m about to discover the champion in me.
Pastor Dan, are you a dream thief?
You’re not suggesting that I’m not special or that God doesn’t have a big special purpose for me… are you?
Philippians 4:10-13
I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Wealth is not proof of God’s blessing or proof of wickedness and neither is poverty.
What God wants is for us to find contentment in Him no matter what our station, whether it changes or stays the same.
Before the tar and feathering begins let’s do the Barean thing and see if the scriptures concur.
1 Timothy 6:3-5
If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound[b] words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
If you imagine that godliness is a means of gain, what does this say?
1Timothy 6: 6-8
But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
Does this passage back the idea of being content in Christ or not?
1 Timothy 6:9-11
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
When I preached the prosperity gospel, which is false, I would point out that it is the LOVE of money not money that is the root of evil.
This is mere word play.
If you love God in the belief that He will give you money - you love money.
Flee the desire to be rich and the craving that it fosters, pursue righteousness…
Where or how do I obtain righteousness?
Hebrews 13:5-6
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Do we rejoice in our suffering?
Do we get excited about endurance and character and hope? Where is our hope?
James 4:1-3
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
3. The big take away
The law is rightly carved in stone - it is impossibly hard.
To the guilty I say repent; to the innocent I say go back and listen to the series again.
How great is our need; how great is our Jesus!
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
Follow Dan on twitter: @DanCormie
