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.
As we look at the various sins which envy is associated with we can begin to get a glimpse of God’s estimation of envy! Even though we would not dream of being guilty of many of the vices enumerated in these lists, we are guilty of envy . And God says that envy is just as destructive and soul-damning as any of the other sins listed.
And we have got to be on guard against envy because it can happen so quickly in our body.
Members of this church can become envious of one another.
Just as the one talent man can become jealous of the five talent man, a brother can be envious of another brother who is receiving just recognition and praise for a job well done. Our hearts and minds begin filling with:
”So what’s the big deal? I could have done it and done it better. All they had to do was ask but I guess I am not in the inner circle so I never get asked to do anything. The only thing they want me here for is my money anyway so I’ll show them I’m not putting anything in the collection plate. As a matter of fact I don’t think that I’ll be back tonight. And why should I come back, I’m not good enough to help. I’m a better person that he is anyway. I never had to ask the church to pray for my relationship with my wife. I bet he was having an affair and just acted like he wasn’t getting along with his wife, But I know what the problem was…”
When envy enters our church family it leads so well to other things like rehashing some old, repented of, forgiven sin in the life of the one envied; or we might be tempted to let our tongue fly off the hinge and stab the one envied with some nasty statement or jealous prediction.
And it doesn’t just stop in the pew because Preachers can become envious of one another.
We preachers struggle as much as the rest of the congregation. Preachers envy the success of another preacher, their success in baptizing folks, bring the wandering back home, or his ability in promoting a loving atmosphere of family and prayer.
You know I am very saddened when I read some of the publications of our brotherhood when they try to defame the character and jeopardize the influence of a brother in Christ. I don’t have to agree with you and you don’t have to agree with me on every issue. What matters is that we agree with God. But there are some envious brethren who hide behind the guise of trying to protect the church from a false teacher, and really they are letting their envy show.
And I believe that Congregations can be envious of one another.
It is a shame that the new ABC’s of church work has become Attendance, Buildings, and Contribution. Congregations will envy a sister church because she has a larger membership, better attendance, larger contributions, or a better building.
Our envy of others has taken us from thinking that we are the only true church to the mindset that says This church is the only true church.
While working in Atlanta we received a letter about every 3 to 6 months from a neighboring congregation that had withdrawn from a sister church. The letter was always the same: We the Elders of such and such church of Christ are writing this letter to inform you of our responsibility to withdraw from the apostate group who call themselves the such and such church of Christ.
I always wanted to write that church a letter saying that our church withdraws from your church because of your error in doctrine. The bible does not teach that one church can withdraw from another. So for your error in withdrawal doctrine we withdraw from you. But I doubt that they would have gotten the humor.
This spirit among the brethren so often generates implications, innuendos and slurs. "My brethren, these things ought not so to be." I believe that Paul’s admonition in Romans 12:14-15 is true in our relationships with sister congregations as well.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Church this morning I want you to know that God shows us through His scripture that having a spirit of envy will not only damage your soul but He shows that it is suicidal.
Do you remember the story of Daniel? Daniel was taken to Babylon, and after the Medes and Persians conquered Babylon, Darius the King of the Medes gave Daniel a high position in His court.
The other satraps were very envious of Daniel and set out to capture him in a compromising position, but as hard as they looked, they could find nothing wrong. So they decided that they would have to make Daniel do something wrong because he believed and trusted in God.
So they wrote a new law that would make Daniel’s faith illegal, And they approached King Darius with flowery words: "O King Darius, live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered--in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be taken back."
King Darius signed the law. And of course Daniel, was not going to disobey God, so he went back to his house opened his windows toward Jerusalem, and prayed. The other administrators were standing near by, they watched him kneel to pray, and then they marched off to the king to let the king know what Daniel was up to. King Darius had no choice. He gave the order and Daniel was thrown into the Lion’s Den.
Everyone went home happy, except for king Darius. He could not eat. He could not sleep. At the first sign of light in the sky, king Darius got up and hurried to the lion’s den. He called out.... “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"
And to his absolute amazement he heard Daniel answer. "O king, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you."
Darius ordered that Daniel be taken out of the den, and then he ordered his soldiers to round up all the men who had had been part of the conspiracy to get rid of Daniel, their families, and even servants. Now they were thrown in the lions den. Even before they hit the ground, the lions were eating them.
I believe that this story from Scripture foreshadows the destiny of those who live envious lives. There are other scriptures that back up this claim.
Paul says in Romans 1 that the envious will be victims of eternal death. After listing envy along with many other vices, and in verse 32 he concludes by saying, "they which commit such things are worthy of death."
Paul takes it a step further in his latter to the church in Galatia when he says that envy is one of the works of the flesh. He emphasizes the point in Galatians 5:21 when he says "They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
So how do we rid our heart of envy?
We need to start at the same place we start every week. We must put on love.
Love is the remedy for a heart full on envy. The Prophet Ezekiel says in Ezekiel 35:11 that envy is born of hate.
Well if envy is the spawn of hate then it can be cured by the opposite. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:4 that "Love does not envy."
Can you picture a mom getting bent out of shape because her child has excelled? Imagine Trafton walking in our home and announcing the good news. He has been picked the student of the year, and Trista’s stomach beginning to turn and getting ulcers because of Trafton’s award? Well that’s just silly, Trista would be ecstatic because she loves her son and wants what’s best for him. Why? Love!
The second thing we need to do is just Grow up,
If we stay in I Corinthians 13 starting with the 11th verse we read: When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
When I grew up I gave up acting like a little child. Well Paul what did you give up, how does a little child act? Go up a few verses: I quit wanting what I don’t have. I don’t strut, I don’t have a swelled head, I don’t force myself on others, It isn’t always “me first,” I don’t fly off the handle, I don’t keep score of the sins of others, and I don’t revel when others grovel,
Spiritually mature people long for the blessings of God for themselves and others. To be Spiritually grown up is to live a life that wants more than anything in this world not things but relationships, relationships with God, His people, and those whom He loves.
Next we must remember that we are members of the same body.
We touched on this earlier but maybe I need to say it another way. It is ridiculous for us to act envious of anyone in the body of Christ. We are all supposed to be working towards that same goal, the saving of the world. We were all blessed, by God, with different talents and skills so that as a whole we could fulfill His purpose in this life.
My left arm does not envy my right arm because it is stronger; and my hands are not envious of my feet because I can run on my feet. They all work together for the greater good.
Every part of me by itself is imperfect but together they make up the whole. Every church around us, including this one, is imperfect but if we work together we can truly change this area for the body of Christ.
Finally we have got to crucify self
If envy is really born of pride and selfishness, then the envious person considers every blessing of another a curse to himself. So out of self esteem, and selfishness, the envier reacts negatively to the blessings of others.
That’s is why we must learn humility and the crucifixion of self. Paul says in Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
I pray that we could say the same.
Invitation
