Summer Of Sin #2 Envy Series

Summer of Sin #2. ENVY

Num. 11:4-6

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. Ryan Carlson, 16-year-old, was out with friends one night at 8 p.m. when suddenly he realized it was Father's Day and he had neglected to buy a card for dad.

2. Ryan found an open drug store, but was disappointed to find only two cards left him on a picked-over rack.

3. Selecting one, he brought it home and sheepishly presented it to his father. Dad read this message, "You've been like a father to me." He looked at Ryan, puzzled.

4. "Well, dad," Ryan tried to explain, "it was either that or the card that said, ‘Now that I'm a father too!’”

5. HAPPY FATHER’S DAY! Dads stand. Applause. In an age of many fatherless homes, thank you for being a faithful Dad!

B. SERIES & AIM

1. We’re on a series called “Summer of Sin.” Last week we defined ‘What Sin Is.’ Today we’re looking at one of the Seven Deadly Sins. We all have a sin nature; how can you recognize an illness if you don’t know what its symptoms are?

2. There’s a lot of cruelty & unhappiness in our culture. We’ve tried to blame it on our environment, but now we know that it’s internal – we’re sick. Shakespeare was right, “The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves.”

3. We have a poison coursing through our veins called sin; hopefully we’ll recognize the symptoms early enough to make corrective action.

4. This is a hopeful series! I hope you don’t walk away, saying, “Of no, it’s all about sin!” No, no, no – this is good. This is a diagnosis. Why? So we can be healed and find the antidote.

5. The first of the “7 Deadly Sins” is ENVY. I know it’s not nearly as juicy as lust, pride, or wrath. There’s even a train-wreck appeal to gluttony, when it’s presented by a fat Pastor. But envy? It doesn’t seem all that interesting – because we define envy as “Oh, I want his car;” or “I want other people’s stuff.” That’s only a small part of it.

6. The Bible tells us that envy is much more pervasive, more deadly, more destructive than that. The Apostle Paul puts envy on par with theft, murder, witchcraft, orgies, and hating God. Those are some bad things! Herman Melville called it, “The rabies of the heart!” Proverbs 14:30 says that “envy rots the bones.” Let’s look at our key text:

C. TEXT

4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” Num. 11:4-6. [KJV on vs. 6, “But now our soul is dried away.”]

I. DEFINITION OF ENVY

A. DISSATISFACTION

1. Moses brought Israel out of Egyptian slavery. God opened the Red Sea for them, and miraculously provided food for them 40 years in the desert – “manna,” which tasted like wafers made with honey. Psalm 78:25 says they “ate the bread of angels.” Only a few times in history has anyone been so privileged – to eat heavenly cuisine. But the Israelites began to despise what God provided. They longed for the food they’d eaten in Egypt. They said God’s food made their souls “dry up” (Num. 11:6; NKJV).

2. Envy was the cause. It’s a condition so poisonous that we’re not able to rejoice in the moment and enjoy what we have, but instead, find fault with it and say, “This isn’t good enough.”

B. HOW ENVY WORKS

1. I bring you a Fine Homebuilding Magazine, a Best Buy catalog, and a luxury car catalog. I promise that if you look at these, your bones will be rotting with envy. You’ve got a nice house – but not like these! Your cell phone is cool, but not like this one! Your car is nice, but nothing like these! SUDDENLY, WHAT YOU HAVE ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH!

2. Envy is a condition of the heart that says, “Over there I could be happy, but with what I’ve got right now, it’s not good enough!” If only things could be like I dream about. But now? No! THEY’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH!”

3. It’s kind of funny to hear the Israelites remembering Egypt – free food; but what’s free food without freedom? Now they’re free, but don’t like the food. They aren’t happy whichever situation they’re in! So, is the problem really outside them or inside them?

C. ILLUSTRATIONS

1. GREENER PASTURES

a. There was a picture in a newspaper of a beautiful field of grass, with a fence running through the middle of it. The grass in both fields was lush and green.