Fighting the Green-Eyed Monster - Part B

Envy doesn't have to have the last word of God.

God has a last word. Yes, this happened to him. But God was with reading his brothers jealousy didn't hinder the work of God's great truth in Psalm 76 it says even though the wrath of man will praise you will, that is all anger and animosity in opposition that mankind can muster, can actually serve with God's sovereignty. In view glorify God of every aspect of our lives displayed on social media, it's easy to become envious of others in their lives but we have to remember, it's not a full picture today on connect with skip-Skip shares.

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Thanks for your generous gift 800-922-1888, or get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer much dive into today's teaching movie in Genesis chapter 37. Acts chapter 7 escrow Pike two begins the stuff question I Promise that I don't answer this but I think I do. Why, why do you think Joseph was so brutally honest in telling his dad about the brothers widening around the numbered riser well you know they're doing okay is another not doing okay there doing bad in a flat gave them a bad report. There's no embellishment of the story, no exaggeration is not overstating just matter-of-fact.

What I don't know for sure, but perhaps he had learned this by just watching his family over the years. Dad his own dad had been dishonest with his father and tricky in getting the blessing. Also, when Joseph was 11 years old. His sister Diana was raped and these other brothers killed Shechem and hang more and all the guys in that village essentially tricking them and tricking dad. So Jacob, the father felt, danced, felt slighted felt like he had been deceived and tricked and he took umbrage to. He remembered that Shane and he probably looked at all of those things that, not me. I'm in a live above reproach, live a different kind of a life so there doesn't seem to be malice on Joseph's part just honesty, but his brother see it differently his brothers in looking at this just see a pretty boy who's a tattletale and they're out to get them.

Let me just say something if you're an honest person. I applaud you, but look out if you got a person says no wherever I am at. I'm in a live above reproach him to live with integrity.

If I see evil. I'm gonna make it known him a call about the great commendable way to live. We ought to live that way, but at the same time you are putting a target on you or people are going to call you all sorts of names from Miss Goody two shoes to Mr. perfect, too much worse. So a couple of factors going on her natural dissimilarity and social integrity limit to be 1/3 parental partiality notice verse three now Israel a name for Jacob loved Joseph more than all his children because he was the son of his old age and also made him a tunic of many colors, but when his brother saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. Now Joseph had a dream this is not a smart move on Jacob's part.

He is setting his son up for pressure in the future if we were to counsel Jacob Liggett said Jacob downward to Jacob du jour than I like her Joseph by showing in the special treatment because his brothers don't have that technicolor poncho that you gave number 11 and there just to be a disparity he's getting in trouble by them which is exactly what happened. I put it in modern terms of so you have a child that you love and you don't over and you show preferential treatment toward but you don't treat your other children the same way so you give them a hard time but you just this other child that one child hung the moon. Well, I can almost predict precisely that that kids can get beat up by all them at some point, so let's just say it happens and out. Now it's grad night child 17 years of age.

The one that you don't over all the time could do no wrong grad night everybody piles out of the gym after the graduation ceremony during the parking lot is a brand-new car with a sign on the says congratulations. You deserve it Rentacar for this one. Do you not think that the other children in your family are to be so filled with envy, not just the family. Everybody in the gym who comes out and sees that parents included of the other kids that kind of preferential treatment will bring in big partiality adds the dangerous ingredient to the recipe of envy, partiality can come from a boss girl at school, a friend, a teacher, a coach question is why did Jacob do this.

It was bad for Joseph. Why did he do it well, but told that Joseph was the son of his old age only to sort of flesh this out about not only was he the son of his old age.

Joseph was the son of the only woman he ever really loved her name is Rachel.

He loved Rachel wanted to marry her. Rachel's dad had an older daughter named Leah pulled a trick on Jacob, and Jacob ends up marrying Leah first, then Rachel, whom he loved. They couldn't have children, so he gets go hot and so pot thrown in on this crazy deal, but the only woman he really loved was Rachel. He loved with all her heart.

She has already died.

The text of Genesis tells us, so that now the 17-year-old boy every time he shows up and Jacob looks at him. He is a reminder of his precious dead wife three pulls out all the stops is in this fancy coat. We don't know if it was a multicolored coat. Some texts just say a longsleeve coat.

Point is, it was different from all their clothes right. It was in the shepherd's road was a rulers coat. In fact, the coat that Jacob gave Joseph was to send a message to them and the message was none of you, even the firstborn, Ruben, none of you get the right of being firstborn I'm giving the right and the privileges and all the goes with that to Joseph how do we know this first Chronicles chapter 5 we are told. The birthright was given to Joseph and his children so giving the robe was to show them none of you, not Ruben, not seminar Judah, but number 11 is to get all the rights and privileges of firstborn to say ouch right there so whatever is there to be envied is just gotten worse to have three factors that we can see natural dissimilarity, social integrity and parental partiality would be throwing forth to put it nicely and rhymes personal simplicity. The kid is just a little naïve. I'm thinking because following her.

Look at verse five.

Now, Joseph had a dream and he told it was brothers and they hated him even more. And so he said, listen to his ring. Please hear this dream which I have dreamed there we were binding sheaves in the field and behold my sheaf arose and also stood upright and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bow down to my sheet that dude you think are awesome. Great drink got a more his brother said him show you indeed reign over us. Or so you indeed have dominion over us.

So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words it were not done yet. Then he dream still another dream and told it to his brothers really begin to tell him this one to after that. Oh yeah, and he said look I dream another dream and this time the sun and the moon and the 11 stars bow down to me. So we told it to his father and his brothers and his father rebuked him and said him. What is this dream that you have dream so your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you and his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind this kid just seems painfully naïve.

He may not be but he sure seems that way to me and I gotta say in reading this I understand the feeling of these other brothers in the reaction.

Here's a handsome 17-year-old Joseph standing in his little technicolor poncho they arty hate is God's and and then he says here's a dream and if he thinks he's in a score points with them by telling them the dream is wrong to be disappointed. So you guys and if you remember the show that I grew up with watching leave it to beaver. It's a lot of you don't analyze the service, especially the servicers a lot of people who knew, leave it to beaver but some so it leave it to beaver the believe sort of the big main characters young kid is just this naïve little guy and and his older brother Wally and Eddie Haskell, and lumpy.

These all his older brothers friends a can all conspire and they use him and he deserved place around the place along with it and and is very gullible and very naïve and very sweet and so I look at Joseph as the deed of the Old Testament so as to dreams the first dream is filled with agricultural motif. It's about sheaves and the harvest. The second dream has celestial motif, sun, moon and the stars. If there's any question about the meaning of the first dream which there wasn't, there would be no doubt as to the meaning of the second dream and so these brothers looked at him and they thought that pompous little arrogant upstart that little squirt self focused brat them either. Just filled with envy and hate and they said you think you're gonna reign over us with the answer to. I am actually I don't know it now, you don't know it now, but God knows it and he's going to arrange things right become the second most powerful man on earth and one day you can stand before me in your actually, this isn't just bragging. This is God speaking. This happens to be prophetic truth. So I find it interesting in verse 11 is brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in my do you suppose it Jacob may have had second thoughts going. Now why would he have these dreams and why would he tell us these drink and just perhaps, just maybe, these dreams are the result of a late night pizza with onions, maybe this is the Lord that is speaking to him and foretelling this and it turned out to be that way.

So these then are four elements that created an environment for envied to grow that does not make it okay. It is not an excuse for his brothers.

In fact, the big error is that his brothers were so blinded by their envy for that one brother that they couldn't see or weren't even open to God moving through all this I see this is why Andy is such a sin because envy puts us at the center of the universe that when we envy someone we hop in the driver seat and we play God and we decide who should have what or who should be aware, and you don't deserve that and you shouldn't have this work plan God. That's why envy is even more deadly than greed because greed says I want more. Whereas envy says I want you to have less with envy. I'm not just obsessed with my own happiness I actually resent your happiness and somehow your blessing becomes my curse. That's how insidious it is. That's how bad it is and that's what Proverbs 27 verse four says wrath is cruel and anger is outrageous, but who is able to stand before envy. But there's 1/3 statement, I want to make in closing and that is envy has a remedy. It is a remedy.

What is the remedy for little Joe, 17-year-old very honest, very handsome, very hated what is the answer for this kid because though he is very honest and very upright and maybe even very naïve. He's a guy that gets treated so horribly sorts.

What would you tell him we tell them what the text tells us in acts chapter 7 verse nine. If you have that open you may want to look at that are two verses we want to look at Stephen giving the speech, summing up the life of Joseph said in verse nine and the patriarchs. Those are his older brothers becoming envious sold Joseph into Egypt. What's the next sentence say.

But God was with him now if you wouldn't put that in there. You have nothing to say to Joseph it is a yeah dude, I'm sorry it's a bad thing just lacks how life is. Some people just get soul displays Egypt but know that happened but God was with them. So everything changes and then he described in the very next verse, verse 10 and he delivered him out of all of his troubles and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh the king of Egypt and made him governor over Egypt and all of his house. In other words, envy doesn't have to have the last work God can. God has the last work. Yes, this happening in but God was with them, meaning his brothers jealousy didn't hinder the work of God.

It only furthered the work of God is a great truth in Psalm 76 that says even the wrath of man will praise you oh Lord, that is all of the anger and animosity in opposition that mankind can muster cans actually served with God's sovereignty. In view, to glorify God ultimately so all of their plotting Oliver scheming all of their dealmaking. All of their lying didn't ruin it for Joseph. They will watch him promoted further. Now that some of the hard truth to swallow, but I want to say this, if you're a person prone to envy anyone of God's people.

God might just get you first row seats to their promotion will drive you crazy, but as part of the fun is that your envy doesn't stop what God wants to do in that person's life and, moreover, what this shows me is, no matter what your background is a matter what your environment no matter what choices other people have made for you. You can live honorably regardless of your environment, or what your ex-husband did or what your kids have done with your parents and you can never use those as an excuse. You can blame where you are today on other people's treatments of you. I know were fond of doing that well. I am the way that I am where I am because this person did this and that.

Okay. But God was with him and so God is with you. None of those really things ultimately matter that can only serve to further God's purpose you to see to discover why you went to that pain so can bring healing to know a word to those who are not targeted, but you are the ones who like to inflict envy elect unfollow people or write bad things under social feed. Whatever. What you need to realize is just how destructive envy is see access when doing exam to destroy them in the notes destroying you the envy didn't destroy them to destroy Joseph maybe temporarily set them back but push them a pretty high because of where God allowed to take, but it will destroy you. Proverbs 1430 a sound heart his life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bone. Great story in Greek history of a wrestler who was envious at another wrestler the wrestler that was the envy of everyone was see at Jenny's the pro wrestler in the Olympics. He was the prince of wrestlers, all of Greece but there was another wrestler who was so envious of the activities that he couldn't be console until one day catching these died and made the guy feel really good.

Tell Betty was so when Japanese died.

They put a statue of the action is in the center square and it was said that this wrestler who was envious would go out to the statue and grab a hold of it wrestler. It like you know I'm big bad wrestler now.

Until one day he pushed too hard, not the statue over and was crushed underneath it. He was killed by his own envy. You need to realize how destructive an emotion.

It is to entertain and then let me give you a word of advice if you are prone to envy and that is live your life better than the one you and why do I get back a person just live above reproach live high if in envy you put yourself at the center of the universe, then put the person you envy at the center of the universe. I know that is contrary to everything you feel it is so unnatural is more natural to snub them to walk off not say anything to unfollow them. Whatever might be.

So I'm not asking you to live naturally am asking you to make a choice that is a supernatural choice. God's choice. You honor that person.

In fact, you encourage that person. In fact, you sent him a text or a note or a phone call and say I'm praying for you and you actually pray for them to save think you're doing a good job that's going to do something that is transforming in second first Peter chapter 2 verse one. Peterson is laying aside all malice, all deceit, all hi Parker, see all in the all evil speaking, desire the sincere or pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby. In other words, he saying get rid of junk food feast on real food. The junk food of the poison toxins including envy. So think of in terms of a diet, imagine a person who eats all the right things counts the calories looks at saturated fats and cholesterol and he's just so into diet and exercises all the time but abuses drugs and alcohol. Where's the consistency in that that person may think here she is healthy, but there introducing a lasting, lingering toxins in their body that could destroy the so likewise, if the Christian is a good spiritual diet. Read the Bible go to Bible teaching church bike and notes in their little Journal and serving in the body of Christ. But at the same time holding onto things that are toxins like envy same result.

It poisons the unit destroys a person so what is policy for love suffers long and is kind love does not envy, so if you run around saying I love God and I love people, but you envy people then you don't because love does not envy, so your long-term strategy needs to be gratitude. That is when you have the first thought of envy at that post, or that promotion or that success you start envy you immediately catch yourself and you replace the envious thought the thought of gratitude. Thank you Lord that I breath in my lungs. Thank you Lord for where I am. Thank you, where you have placed me. Thank you for all these blessings that I have forgotten to count but I'm remembering them now so your long-term strategy is to replace envious thoughts with thanksgiving, and you will watch you'll see your heart being transformed and the feelings that you once had melt away for the reality of God is with you and with them leave it where it needs to be God's bentgrass of Skip Heitzigs message from the series.

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That's connectwithskip.com/donate or call 800-922-1880 800-922-1880 thank you tomorrow Skip Heitzigs of shares held.

Bitterness gets planted in your heart and how you can leave it out and cultivate good things in your life. The set of all the human emotions that are out there.

This is one that you want for fear the most.

Because bitterness is emotional cancer is 1 L footed bitterness blows out the candle of joy and leaves the solons are so Skip Heitzigs presentation of connection communications to God's unchanging truth, ever-changing time