Envy Destroys Contentment, Part 2

Today on the Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ just get so distracted. We constantly see we live in a culture by the way that once you to be discontent every possible day to see the whole ideas there's always more. There's always orders always more than happy to be in an adjoining of today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhart now is once again he shows us how God's word meets our world to see that you can't serve Mammon. Our money and God you love the one ate the other love the other one ate. That's a way to be the reason Jesus said that is because woven money from that point of view becomes our perfect title, it becomes the most important thing in our life and we think about all the time. That's what we get up in the morning thinking about how can I make it all day long. How can I make more at evening. How can I keep it how can I stop others from having it next morning cycle again and when you get enough of it people when you look what you have. You see, even for the believer who has this Timothy's going to say, look, this is a real test for him.

I've said in the past and I believe it from my spiritual point of view. Wealth is a more difficult test in poverty. Poverty makes you dependent on God. Wealth makes you work can lead you into the temptation of being dependent on yourself. Also, when you look at Malachi chapter 3 the last book of the Old Testament right before Matthew will go back to Psalm 73. In a moment. Malachi chapter 3. This is about 600 years after Azoff wrote beginning in verse 13 God speaking. He says your words have been arrogant against me, says the Lord, and yet you say what we spoken against you. He says you have said it is vain to serve the Lord and what profit is it that we have Discharge and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of host. So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only are the doers of wickedness build up but they also test God and escape. In other words, it works for them.

People said look I have serve the Lord. I have stayed on the straight and narrow. I have lived my life with a conscience. I have been what I think God wants me to be and I see people have total disregard for God and are doing great so I envied him. Now back to Psalm 73. You see when you envy others you always feel sorry for yourself in order to justify envy in others you have to victimize yourself and that's exactly what Aesop's going to do in verse 13.

Azoff says this surely in vain. I have kept my heart pure and wash my hands in innocence, he says, for I have been stricken all day long and chastened every morning paraphrase those two verses. My life stinks. That's what he said their life looks so wonderful. My life stinks so I ended up it looks like they have something that I simply don't have. We fall into the pit of envy better looking and feeling sorry for ourselves. Verse 15 if I had said I will speak thus behold, I would betray the generation of your children. This is great. He saying is I am a soft everybody knows I am one of the most fertile men in all the land I mean I write songs you see on that kinda guy.

If either told people how I really feel all my goodness you see is just like us. We often keep our envied to ourselves because you know what, if you talk to other believers about your envy of the lost rich and famous. It doesn't sound spiritual.

That doesn't sound spiritual. You see, you can walk up the believer since am just so envious of such and such a have so much more than I am and I really want with a gap you want to say that I me know thing you may think that in your heart when you talk to Christians, we we are great at this.

I'll never tell anybody how I really feel I just tell them I think they want to hear.

And so a subset I wouldn't tell anybody. He said I probably taken down a whole bunch of people with me in the way that I felt.

You see, envy destroys contentment. That's one thing I can tell you what Aesop at this stage of the Psalm. He has no contentment and is like that in his cancer. You know it's it's just like unforgiving spirit. It's just like jealousy. It's just certain things in us. Once we have it in our heart. It just eats us up and we spend your whole life ending other people what other people have envy destroys contentment and it threatens our faith. Notice his conclusion in verse 16 he says when I pondered to understand this. It was troublesome in my site. I think he spent a lot of nights thing. Aesop you should know better. And yet this is how I feel. You see, on the one hand we want to say I think, well, I'm kind of the same way. Be careful. If you want identify with them because what you're going to find is something out about him that you might not like finding out about you.

You know why Aesop was so envious he walked with God he was going through the motions. He was a hypocrite. Stay close and by the way, when you don't stay close to God. You have a default in your mind and your heart in your default is your flesh, and by the way don't Conning good coming out of your flesh, so here he is victimizing himself and envying the press prosperous wicked and so envy destroys contentment and threatens your faith and knowledge.

Most of the second part a complete change in the Psalm. If you stay close to God, your envy will be replaced with contentment. That's what he says if you stay close to God, your envy will be replaced with contentment. Verse 17's the pivot of the whole song until all this was going on until he had a moment of clarity you see in a moment the change there's life we all want those moments until I came into the sanctuary of God, not on services they really must've gone to the temple. He must've gone to worship. Not exactly. And the reason is the word sanctuary is plural, which is unusual until I came into the sanctuaries of God. In other words, I think he's trying to say something else until I went into the temple. I think what you're saying is, until I went into intimacy and closeness with God until I got close to God. John Calvin, the great reformer said that he believed until I came into the presence of God's word until I got God's perspective until I became close to God. That's what he is saying.

Once I got close to God. He said until I came into the sanctuaries of God and then the first thing that happens is he said I perceive their end.

The first insight that he got was the key perceive the end of the wicked God hater who was very prosperous. He said surely you set them in slippery places you cast them down the destruction how they are destroyed. In a moment there utterly swept away by sudden terrors like a dream when one awakes overboard when aroused, you will despise the form notice is first insight. He said the dream life of the unspiritual rich and famous will and in an eternal nightmare.

He said that's was going to happen and I didn't realize that before you see which would be better to have less in this life, eternity, and glory are a lot in this life, and an endless nightmare is a once I got that insight into my head I got I got it why my envy of these guys. You see, that's the first thing that happens to him. He sees it from that perspective. And now he has some insight on this to himself.

He said when my heart was embittered, he said, and I was pierced within he goes that I was senseless and ignorant.

I was like a beast before you. He said that's his confession he said Lord I look. I knew better. I know how stupid I was his annual better. I was like an animal. You see, I was just going to my instincts. I was just going to my autopilot.

I was just lying my flesh to have its day so I was so envious of them. Now we see and begin to change. And now what Kelly introduces contentment.

He says nevertheless I am continually with you, they are continually separated from you. I am continually with you see this the beginning of contentment. Notice what he says. He said I am continually with you. You have taken hold of my right hand. This is wonderful picture it's not Aesop's grip on God. It's God's grip on a self.

This is an awful lot like last week when I said when Jesus that I'll never leave you nor forsake you that David wrote that even if I go see even if I find myself in the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil. Why you're with me you got my hand God hand. The picture that I would use of this night just had one little earlier but I always think of when a parent is in a chaos situation with a toddler or a small child. No cross in a major highway given notice of the parent grabs her hand.

I had a parent today walking into church and had the hand of a little girl and I think her feet could dangled in a window made any difference. She was coming to church so I told him at the door, he would be right in the middle of the sermon and is you know what that's like, grab the hand is there to be chaos going on but I'm in a take care of you. A substance God. That's how you grant me you grip my hand when I want to holders are not given a grip my hand and then he says and with your counsel, he says you will guide me in the present and I know my life is guided by you and afterword you receive me in the glory wow by the way, receiving the glory, the exact same Hebrew word used for Enoch and Elijah.

Remember, they simply didn't die. They went into the presence of God, and he received them in the glory and Aesop says you will receive me in the glory you will hold my hand through all the chaos you will give me counsel how to live my life and you will receive me in your glory. You see, you never leave me nor forsake me. Now look at verses 13 and 14. Surely in vain. I've kept my heart pure and wasted and wash my hands. He said in innocence, for I have been stricken all day long and chastened every morning. What a shift. Now he says not arrived. I was just talking like that now is with Paul.

Romans 828 all things work together for my good. You see your counseling, meet your holding me your waiting to receive me using that's why Christians should be the most content people on the planet see we have that.

That's what I would call spiritual wealth unimaginable wealth notice. Then he says verse 25. Before I really let me tell you this. Martyn Lloyd Jones said this is the greatest verse in the Bible on contentment. My when I like. He said whom have I in heaven but you and besides you, I desire nothing on earth, while by the way, anyone ever live that verse that Jesus Christ twice or less, is that I don't need anything. I don't even need advice. You see I don't need anything, God the father's firm grip on me. I am content. I've come, not even to do my will but yours you see and besides you, I desire nothing on earth that is unimaginable wealth and unassailable contentment. Boy, there's a refrigerator magnet. You see that something to be reminded of. Because what happens is we get so distracted.

We constantly see we live in a culture by the way that once you to be discontent every possible day you see the whole ideas there's always more. There's always more. There's always more and end up happening, we see people that have a we think maybe the most we envy them.

See, we envy them and we say boy if I could only have that envy destroys contentment and it threatens your faith stay close to God and replace envy with contentment. He then says my flesh in my heart may fail as it did earlier in the song, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. If you have God in your life if you are a believer in Jesus Christ. Please understand God Almighty lives in you and guide you your joint heir with Christ. And if you're looking from a point of view of wealth. What is it that you inherit.

I think it's everything, everything, and then and that's hard to imagine it's everything joint heirs with Christ. How is it we cannot be content. How is it that we envy, even the wicked, arrogant, want nothing to do with God at all, but they have a lot of stuff he says. For behold, those who are far from you will perish. You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you, he says, but as for me, here comes as contentment again the nearness of God is my good that's all I need the nearness of God is my good. I have made the Lord God, my refuge, that I may tell all of you works. You see, now he wants to talk to the people I want to tell all your works. You want contentment. It's all in the Lord to give you everything you want to give you meaning here give you purpose you see him give you contentment. You won't live with envy. You won't be under the tyranny of more. That's what Aesop is saying envy destroys contentment and threatens her faith stay close to God he replace Randy with contentment. That's what Psalm 73 says now you might be thinking I can identify with a self. I really can't because we live in a world like that and I mean I've seen what people have will have almost everything in. I got to be honest I really like to have some of that I envy them and that level but pastor, why in the world did you start out with some guy was kept in rats in India. You see, I want to be that guy. No matter what. Maybe you should you see Chin opinion Krishnan was a content and happy man because he find a way to feed his children every day have covering over the roof enough food and enough shelter. There is an organization worldwide. It's called sauce – not you can find on the Internet. It's a global market research company and one of the things he did as a took 24 countries and they interviewed and surveyed the people, and in one of the no which countries are people the happiest and I don't mean just sort of content in a small way I mean in a big way that people would say every morning, in a sense, I am very happy and they equated that with what we would call really contented people.

The number one country in the world. 51% of the people said they were very happy every day is Indonesia. They were number one in the world. Number two India India number two.

By the way the United States, number six. In fact, only 28% of Americans said they are very happy every day, 51% of the Indonesians 43% of those from India, but there's more there was another study done this in a sense, a much easier wondered to be able to utilize and that was a quality of life study what people have the highest quality of life that is how what people have financial security.

What people have great homes to live in air conditioning, heat portfolios, food quality of life. United States, number one, number one in quality of life. Indonesia 99th and yet they had double as many people virtually. There were very happy India hundred and 38th out of 180 838th and yet they are way ahead of us in contentment and happiness.

You think that's a reminder that money doesn't make you happy, are we living proof of it. As Americans we have incredible quality of life were sixth in contentment and happiness. If that's true then why do we envy people who don't have God they just have a lot of stuff for spring. Father, I think if were honest honest ligase off. We realize this so often we want content because we envy we envy what others have, that we don't that were not content with you were not content with what you provided us were not content with the relationship that we have what we want is what others have father were willing even to envy people who want nothing to do with you as long as they have so much stuff father just like a self. I pray that that's in our heart we confess it to you.

We acknowledge our sin before you, and we try to draw ourselves close to and that we not only see the world for what it is that we see our own dark heart for what it is.

Father I pray that as we go through this series that were able to be honest with ourselves in such a way that when we come to the end, we will benefit that maybe for some of us the first time in our life, we will have true contentment we will wake up every day with that contentment and it will not be based on the circumstances of our life, but the privilege that we have in our relationship with you as being children of the living God. Father, I think you that all of that contentment is possible because of the love of Jesus Christ to die for our sins to be raising the dead to satisfy your holiness and to offer us a life that he calls abundant life insured pastor broke apart on the radio ministry or fellowship floor if you ever missed one of our broadcast or maybe you disable the sum of the method one more time. Remember, you can Google a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online at that website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of our previous audio programs as that Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible with all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help his radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting us monthly with just the 100 support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word. 4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is is a sermon, the pastor will deliver during a Sunday morning service of fellowship monitored visit our website FVC Nola.org that FVC and oh LA.O RG at our website you will find hundreds pastor Bill sermon you can browse through our sermon archives to find sermon series you're looking you can search by title.

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