Illus: A preacher was talking to a teenage girl one day about the Lord when she told him, “I have a hard time living up to the Bible." Then she added, "But I do try to live up to the ten commandments."
To hear this young lady talk you would think she rejects all scripture except the ten commandments because she figures most of God's Word is just too hard to live up to, and she accepts the ten commandments because she has the idea that no human should have a problem living up to them.
What she does not realize is this, if a person could live up to the ten commandments, he probably would have no problem with any of the rest of God's Word.
So, today, perhaps you might feel that you could be dismissed right now because the commandment we will be preaching about does not apply to you since you have not robbed a bank ever in your life.
However, this commandment goes much deeper than just applying to the person who might think of robbing a bank.
In fact, many of the other commandments are all wrapped up in this eighth commandment - "Thou shalt not steal." For example:
• The first and second commandment deal with the sacredness of worship. It is possible to "steal" the worship that rightfully belongs to God by worshipping someone, or something, else.
• The third commandment deals with the sacredness of God's name. It is possible to take rob Him of His sacred name.
• The fourth commandment deals with the sacredness of God's day. It is possible to "steal" that sacredness away, and thereby desecrate it.
• 4. The fifth commandment deals with the sacredness of parenthood. A child can "steal" that sacredness by being rebellious and trampling over the good that his parents would try to do for him.
• 5. The sixth commandment deals with the sacredness of life. One can "steal" that life by taking away the life that God gave.
• 6. The seventh commandment deals with the sacredness of marriage. When any person enters into a relationship with a person who is not married to him he robs that marriage of the very elements that make it sacred.
• 7. The eighth commandment deals with the sacredness of one's possessions. When something does not belong to us we should not take it, for the things a person pays a price for should remain his until such a time as he, himself, decides to get rid of it.
• So you see, in a sense, all the commandments are wrapped up in this one, and because of this, this commandment is probably violated more than any other. To understand this command we have to deal with two attitudes...
I. THE ATTITUDE OF GETTING.
B. We have our models.
The attitude of the sinner is, “Truly man's life consists of the things he possesses.”
Some lost people want everything they can get with their hard earned money, and everything that they can steal that someone else worked for and bought with their hard earned money.
Is there anything wrong with having possessions?
The fact that God gave this commandment is proof that God gives man the right to ownership of property. Otherwise, why would He forbid man to steal.
Illus: If you buy a piece of property you should have a lawyer do a title search. The title search will go back 60 to 70 years and see if the property is clear of any claims on it. However, did you know that if they traced any piece of property back far enough they would find that it went back to the government who granted it to settlers in the early history of our nation.
I want to ask you, who owned it before the government?
It belonged to God. God loves us so much He allows us to have things that belong to Him, and put them in our names.
Some of the richest people on earth during Bible times were God's children because He blessed them with many possessions. They recognized that they were stewards and God was entrusting them with those possessions.
So, there is no problem with our having things. But, there is a definite problem when things have us.
So many today leave God out of their lives completely. Instead of seeking Him, they are busy seeking things.
The lost world around us is filled with people who feel that life equals things.
They believe the more you have the happier you will be. At the same time, some of the most miserable people on earth are people who have way more than they need of this world's goods.
We have example after example of people who have an abundance of this world's goods, but who are not happy. Why? They have been told all their lives that getting things would make them happy, and they have been ill advisedl
Illus: We should learn from the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon. In Eccl.,we see:
• He sought education. Look at Eccl. 1: 13, “I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven.”
• He sought to travel. Look at Eccl. 1: 14, He said, “I have seen all the works that are done under the son.”
• He sought pleasure. Look at Eccl. 2:1, We read, “I said in mine heart, go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure.”
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• He sought alcohol. Look at Eccl. 2:3, We read, “I sought in mine heart to give myself to wine…”
• He sought material things. Look at Eccl. 2:4a, We read, “I made me great works; I builded me houses…”
• He sought to find happiness in hobbies. Look at Eccl. 2:4b-5, We read, “I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits.” He sought to find happiness in being served. Look at Eccl.2:7, We read, “I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house…”
• He sought happiness in having livestock. Look at Eccl. 2:7b, We read, “...I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem.”
• He sought happiness in valuables. Eccl. 2:8, “I gathered me also silver and gold…”
• He sought happiness in music. Look at Eccl. 2:8b, “I gate men singers and women signers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.”
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Solomon would have fit right into our society fine with his attitude of get this and get that.
Look at Verses 9-10, "So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem.- also my wisdom remained with me, And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart wrought, and was my portion of all my labor.”
He should have been the happiest man that ever lived if things were capable of making one truly happy, but look what he said, “Then I looked on all the works my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had laboured to do; and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.”
In this congregation today we have many who feel that if you had this or that you would be happy. Solomon did not leave a rock unturned in trying to find happiness. In his old age he finally figured out the answer.
Look at Eccl. 12:13, We read, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
Solomon admitted that for all those years he had thought that a man's life consisted of the abundance of things he possessed and his attitude had been to get and keep on getting. He admitted he was wrong and passes on to us the benefit of what he learned.
Having peace in one's heart all comes down to two things:
First, recognizing there is a God who placed you here.
Secondly, fearing in holy reverence that God and keeping His commandments.
God has given us examples of many kinds of MODELS in the stories of various characters that are recorded.
Some has this ATTTITUDE OF GETTING. Why? Because we live in an age of GET ALL YOU CAN, HOWEVER YOU CAN!
We have many terrible role models to follow if we so choose.
We have to models to follow, but also-
B. We have a mandate.
Basically the attitude of stealing stems from the attitude one has about himself as he thinks, “I am more important than anyone or anything, and I will not allow anything to stand in the way of my self-gratification.
Because this attitude is so repulsive to God, He commanded, “Thou shalt not steal”.
Some, however, are still saying, “I understand that the attitude of stealing is one of getting, but still I do not consider my self a thief.”
You need to examine this more closely before you draw that conclusion. A basic definition of what it means to steal that we all would agree on is that it is taking anything that does not belong to us.
When we think of this we immediately think of one who would rob a bank or shoplift, or not return a book he checked out of the library, etc., but there are other forms of stealing that are just as bad, that “Thou shalt not steal.”
1. Gossip is stealing.
Did you know a person can work a whole lifetime on living in such a manner so as to build a good reputation, and one person can say something about that person that people know is not true, or may wonder about, and steal the good name and reputation that it took a lifetime to build?
2. Bad employees can steal.
When an employer promises to pay someone in return for work rendered, he expects the work to be done. A person who will take an employers money but not do the work he agreed to do has stolen from his employer.
3. Bad employer can steal.
Employers can also be guilty of stealing by promising certain bonuses, or wage increases, but backing out when the time comes to give these claiming that the company is not doing well. This is stealing from employees who were counting on these promised benefits.
Illus: A certain store manager was given a certain amount of money to divide among faithful employees at Christmas. Instead of dividing the whole amount, this manage would skim some of the money for himself, and divide the rest among the employees. This is stealing.
3. Bad workmanship is stealing.
Many times we buy something with their hard earned money only to discover when they attempted to use it that it did not operate or was of shoddy construction.
Illus: This reminds me of the man who bought an electric drill at a flea market. He was told that it worked. He bought it and when he got home he went right away to plug it up. Nothing happened. He took the cover off to find that the motor was missing. When he went back to find the man he bought it from, the man was missing.
Many people will give account to God for pulling this kind of thing.
5. Bad business practices is stealing.
The Saturday Evening Post once featured on its cover the picture of a sweet old lady buying a Thanksgiving turkey. In the picture you could see the little old lady watching the weight indicator as the butcher placed the big turkey on the scales ... along with his thumb on the corner where she could not see, making it weigh more than it really weighed.
More recently, a butcher went to the trouble of installing a fan above his scales. The force of the air from the fan would cause everything to register more than the true weight.
These are bad business practices these people steal from unsuspecting customers.
6. Bad representation is stealing.
One man, who looks older than he is, takes advantage of this misfortune by going all over town claiming to be a senior citizen so he can get a discounts. Every time he does this he is showing the Lord and himself that he is an “Old” thief.
Often parents teach their children to be dishonest by claiming they are younger than they actually are to take advantage of children's discounts at motels, restaurants, and places of entertainment. When they do this they show the children, themselves, and the Lord that they are thieves.
7. Not paying bills is stealing.
All over this country there are people who go out and buy things they know they can not afford. They take the merchandise home, after signing a contract to pay for it, then refuse to send the money in. This is stealing at its worst. If we are going to be strong witnesses for Christ we must keep our promises, this includes paying charge card purchases as much as any other kind.
Illus: During the Welsh Revival a certain merchant passed the revival off as an emotional outburst that would soon fade away. But when customers, who were gloriously saved during the revival, went and began to pay him money that they owed him from long ago, he soon realized there was something to Christianity, and accepted Christ as his own personal Savior.
8. By lack of integrity can be stealing.
One of the most common examples of this today is found when a man will be friendly with a lady, then lead her into thinking he has a special interest in her, and some even promise a lady the sun and moon, if she will just submit to his ungodly desires, be they emotional, or physical. The lady is seduced by his smooth talk and actions and soon submits to his desires, only to find he is leading her down a road of heartache and despair, and sin.
He is only interested in building up his own ego. He is a deceiving thief.
9. By unkind actions can be stealing.
This is a trap that sinners and saints alike can fall into.
Illus: One local man robs his family of the happiness that God would have them have together almost daily. How? He will not provide for their material needs, and what's worse, he is constantly speaking unkind words to his wife and children. He has made that home a living hell. He is a thief
10. Wrong beliefs can be stealing.
Illus: The infidel, Hume, promoted his atheistic beliefs wherever and to whomever he came in contact. He even convinced his mother that there was no God. When she lay on her death bed he cried out, “Mother, hold on! She said, “Son, I have nothing to hold on to. You have robbed me of my faith.”
Listen folks, God gave you your family. You should do all you can to point them to Christ and encourage them to be in church. If parents keep their children out of church, or young people who are saved do not live for the Lord and encourage their parents to come to know Christ, they are robbing them of their opportunity to accept Christ as their own Lord and Savior.
II. Disobedience can be stealing.
Malachi 3:8 says, "Will a man rob God ." It seems the obvious answer would be, "No! No! No!" A man might have the nerve to rob another man, he might even rob from himself, but certainly he would not stoop to rob a loving, all powerful, God.
But, Malachi goes on to say, "Ye have robbed me.” How could we possibly rob God? He said, “In tithes and offerings.”
It has been said that every Sunday more robberies take place in God’s churches than any other place.
If a man robs one of the banks downtown it makes the headlines, yet every Sunday millions of people take what belongs to God to keep for themselves to buy something they crave for for themselves.
People who rob banks are punished by being placed in prison.
However, those who rob God of His tithes and offerings has yet got to answer to God for their their thievery.
Everyone of these who commit the sin of “Thou shalt not steal” have a sinful attitude problem. Their problem is WHAT CAN I GET?
When a person comes to know the Lord their attitude changes to WHAT CAN I GIVE?”
Conclusion/Simmary:
I. ATTITUDE OF GETTING. (PART 1)
A. We have our models.
B. We have our mandate.
II. ATTITUDE OF GIVING. (PART 1)
A. We have our model.
B. We have our mandate
