The Sin Nobody Sees Part 2

Soon nobody sees them like buyers Western, longing for what others have is a recipe for ongoing discontent. God's 10th commandment makes it clear we are not to covet church in Chicago.

This is running to win sir make it a finish line.

Estimates are the 10th commandment against coveting real specific. Don't covet your neighbor's wife, servants or anything that belongs to clearly God takes this commandment seriously and not only that, Dave.

He takes it seriously, but he knows exactly what is going on in our hearts and that's really his evaluation of us ask our listeners a question do you believe that it is safer to sin today than it was in Old Testament times. Why the difference. I've written a book entitled why holiness matters.

The 10 Commandments Jesus and you and this is the last day that we are making it available. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337.

Now let's go to the pulpit of Moody church. We continue our exposition of the sin that nobody sees, except of course God. God says if you have a covetous heart. What you are doing is you are supplanting me you are saying that I am the second and that you are inviting arrival into your life who is vying for your attention. Covetousness is is idolatry says the Scripture. That's why God hates it. Remember, the Bible says that we can trust God. I will not fear what man onto may be content with such things as ye have for you know that the Lord has said, I will never leave you and forsake you see contentment is related to the presence and the faith that we ought to have in God. Another question how can we overcome it.

How can we overcome it.

I want you to know today that you and I are born Phil with covetousness filled with you so you don't even know me. I don't have to know you the only requirement for me to say that is that you be a member of the human race and you make your own judgment whether or not you qualify on that score. We are born born with a deceitful covet your spirit, and so how do we take that that's that is within us coveting our neighbor's wife, our neighbor's possessions are neighbor's house, anything that belongs to anybody else, desiring it, craving it building in our imaginations. The hope that someday it will be ours the wish that it were ours, how can we take that awful route that is so implanted in the human heart and extract it. The answer is you can't because covetousness is so much a part of you that it's not even possible for you to get at it. Only God only God can take it out of our hearts.

Only God, you know, I think one of the greatest miracles you know you really know when when God is able to change people we say no. Can God change people attired. There are times when God has actually taken a stingy person and made him generous to you II that's hard to believe what when I heard that I remember hearing about a man who is so stingy, so miserly everything that he gave was so incredibly measured because he didn't want to be guilty of over generosity or over giving. He wanted to keep everything absolutely right, and to just give enough to make it look good. And guess what God took this Christian who had allowed the covetousness to grow up in his life and God smashed him listed just took him apart piece by piece just one trial after another. One difficulty after another letting up his head against the stone wall until God you show them himself, and he was just absolutely broken in the sight of God and he sought in all of its ugliness, stinginess, miserliness coverages, desiring that which isn't. He is not being thankful for the fact that he had many times more than most of the poor people in the world absolutely. I'm thankful always desiring more than God began to take that route and to extract it. How does God do it. First of all, by repentance, by repentance I already told you I cannot to get you to see your own heart.

Only got by repentance. I have been slain, just like the apostle Paul was as we'll see in a few months by this commandment, nobody can meditate upon the commandment thou shall not covet without being absolutely devastated before God, because when you see your self. You know that you are guilty and you've got to see it, and repent of it and confess it as sin and recognize it as idolatry. The first commandment. And the last of the same, thou shalt have no other gods before me, and thou shall not covet are essentially the same commandment, repent, acknowledge that it's there. Second, the matter of ownership give everything that you have over to God.

Don't own anything that is the secret because covetousness says I all I own this is mine and this to be mine. That's the covet your spirit and God's as you don't own anything.

Anything that I give you is nothing but a gift to be used in my work and I will hold you accountable for the way in which you use it, but I have her lose ownership of it.

Just because I entrusted to you for a short time ownership consciously recognize that absolutely everything that you had belongs to God giving it over to God you ever been on vacation in spent a lot of time worrying whether or not a thief was breaking into your neighbors garage and stealing his car sale know I will why why would I worry about whether and thief was stealing my neighbors will and whose car were you worried about you say, yours wouldn't it be nice if you didn't own one would free you from a lot of worry.

So what you do is you take and you give your car to God and then you don't own it anymore and it's God's responsibility to look after it. If you come back from vacation and find your garage is broken and then just simply say Lord I I don't know why it is that you didn't take better care of your stuff, but that's right, we will always be covetous as long as we possess. Always God says I am the owner member and the revival in Canada. Here was a woman who is trying to back her car into a space out on the street and one of those light poles happen to jump out and hit the car. You know how that she lived with a husband who is covetous. How do you know if a husband is covetous.

Watch how he takes care of his new car.

She parked the car in the garage and when he came home he came through the garage and she was waiting for the storm. The kids were upstairs in the closet close the door.

I'm telling you a true story, but you know when he hugged his wife and gave her a kiss. She thought that he hadn't seen what happened, but he had but he had. He's the man that I was telling you about a few moments ago God took apart piece by piece was so concerned you scratch on his new car would mean much more to him than whether or not the neighbors understood that Jesus Christ died on the cross for their sins, to spirit right to the core always justified by saying that we should take care of the things that God gives us. Of course you remember what I told you about covetousness having a cloak of respectability, always coming, clothed in righteousness and insensibility and in wisdom and prudence and frugality. Those are the cloaks that covetousness where you see what that man had done his. He finally gave that car to God he finally relinquished ownership what you and I have to do is to relinquish ownership when we relinquish ownership will find it so much easier to give money, but there's no question but that as a congregation we will give more to the ministry of Moody church.

We will give more to missions and, incidentally, our missions fund need some extra money. We will give more in all of these areas, with liberality, generosity, and freedom. Once we say God. This is yours is no longer mine and we repent of a covetous heart. So there's repentance there's ownership and once you're devastated by God there is changing your focus. I want you to turn to Romans chapter 7 for just a moment because the apostle Paul was slain by this commandment to member the young man who came to Jesus and Jesus said I said, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life. And remember how Jesus Christ I did not say to him.

Have you ever heard of the four spiritual laws, though I'm not critical of the four spiritual laws. But Jesus said, well, he said, your young man you read the law will what you think is as well. I think we should keep the commandments. Jesus said fine is it, how many of the commandments of you And is it always says I have kept all the commandments from my youth. I am okay. The young man said, and of course, since you are Jesus, you're okay. I'm okay you're okay. Jesus said wait a moment.

I'm okay but you're not okay you think that you have kept all of the commandments fine if you keep them all that's really all that can be expected. I mean if you're perfect and it's true. You don't have to be saved. But Jesus said what you do is you go sell everything that you have and then come and follow me. Why did Jesus say that because the Bible says this man had great possessions. And Jesus wanted to point out that he was as covetous as any person could possibly pay just ask a person to sell everything and to give it to Christ and then see whether not they have a covetous heart. But the apostle Paul was one struggling with lost with the with desire with covetousness.

He says in chapter 7 of Romans verse seven. What shall we say then, is the law sin. I wish I had time to give you the whole context, but he's discussing the role of the law and his answer is, may it never be on the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the law.

For I would not have known about coveting if the law had not said, thou shall not covet what Paul was saying as I was going along quite well and thinking to myself, you know, I'm keeping the commandments. I'm not committing adultery and not lying. I'm not stealing, and so forth. But then he says there was one commandment he says that absolutely children may, thou shall not covet. Verse eight. But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind. He said the minute I heard that commandment, he says it was as if all the covetousness of my heart came to the surface. It exposed me for what I what I was verse nine and I was once alive apart from the law. I thought I was doing well, but when the commandment came, sin became alive and he says I died in this commandment, which was to result in life proved to result in death for me is that I thought that the law was given for me to have life. But he says I realized it can give life, all the law can possibly do is to expose sin if you're here today and you're not a Christian for me to expect you to stop coveting would be the most foolish thing that I could ever mention if you don't know Christ as Savior. There is no way that you can stop coveting it would be like telling an elephant that if he really tried hard he could fly.

There is no way that you can stop coveting covetousness is is so ingrained in the human heart because a little drop of Satan's rebellion fell on every single human heart and a Satan is above all possessor someone who wants to own to possess to covet to hoard and that exists in every human heart and no way can it be extricated pulses all the law can do is to point out that it's within me. I can't change may. That's why when he gets to verse 24 of this chapter he said all wretched man that I am who shall set me free from the body of this death, how my going to get out of this I hate coveting, but I do it all the time. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And then he goes to chapter 8 verse one there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death pulses when I begin to contemplate what Jesus Christ is done for me when I remember as a believer that I am in Jesus Christ and part of him then says Paul, I begin to release the power of the Holy Spirit. And I I take courage and I take heart, and I remember that legally.

God does not condemn me.

God accepts me, and that doesn't justify the covetousness, but what it does is it gives me encouragement and hope that is the Holy Spirit of God works in my life.

I can be free from that coveting scheming, miserly heart pulses we change through repentance we change through a transfer of ownership and we change through focusing on what Jesus Christ has done for us and the fact that we have acceptance before God. Despite our struggles and therefore the power of the Holy Spirit of God can be released when God begins to work on us, covetousness is the one sin that is the most stubborn, deep believe the most deeply ingrained the most deceptive that God's got to do it is his desire that his believers he worked with us expose it to us.

Ask us to repent, to give him everything that we have and to begin focusing upon Christ, who was so incredibly generous that he accepts sinners and forgives them and receives them and welcomes them into the forever family. Now I told you a moment ago that if you were here and you are not a Christian for me to expect you to stop coveting would be the most foolish thing I could ever do.

I wouldn't even bother you with the attempt, there would be nothing ahead of you except frustration and helplessness. If you could only see yourself the way God sees you. Nobody can stop coveting, but what you have to do is to realize that before you can even begin to stop or try to stop what you must do is to see the Jesus Christ death on the cross was a sacrifice for sins, including covetousness and that his death was the means by which God and you can be reconciled. You can be brought together because of Jesus Christ death on the cross and when you put faith and trust in him admitting your helplessness and trust him. You can become a different person. I mean, here's a young man like that young ruler that came to Jesus successful in business success.

Keeping him away from Christ. But then he sees his need trusts Jesus Christ and puts faith in Jesus Christ and God makes them into a different person.

The kind of young men.

The stand in front of 12, 1300 people and tell them about Jesus Christ. That's what Jesus Christ can do for you.

Just what he did for him, but it's only through faith in a Savior who died as a sacrifice for you that you might be reconciled to God. Become a member of his family, and then God begins to go to work on you to become free and victorious over the awful sin of covetousness which is idolatry. Let's pray our father today. You know, our hearts, and you know father, how often all of us come short and we are basically at the root covetousness. Oh God, you know that there exists within every human heart the desire to own, possess thankless notice.

Greed the desire to hoard today. Father expose us in your presence, that we might be able to confess it to forsake it and to let you into every room of our lives asking Jesus name, amen. What my friend, this is Pastor Luther and is very encouraging but at the same time very convicting is in the to realize that God demands holiness even within our heart. Let me ask you a question.

Do you need more information. I've written a book entitled why holiness matters. The 10 Commandments Jesus and you but I did not write it simply to give you more information is not information that we need. It is transformation.

I wrote this book so that all of us would be brought to a point of repentance, a point of understanding, but also so that are very desire for holiness might be transformed and that we might understand that holiness is much more than just saying no is saying yes to God is to be set apart for his glory. I believe that you will be blessed and I believe that you will be changed. This is the last time we are offering the book why holiness matters. The 10 Commandments Jesus and you for a gift of any amount. It can be yours. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 investigate the question of why God demands holiness how we can be more holy and how we can live lives that are pleasing to him. Did you miss that phone number. Let me give it to you again 1-888-218-9337 ask for why holiness matters.

It's time once again for you to ask Pastor Luther a question about the Bible or the Christian life.

When you read the Old Testament. It's clear that Saturday the seventh day of the week was set aside for worship and rest. Anna got in touch with us to ask this question.

Pastor Luther, what's your view on the day of worship is the Sabbath know on Sunday well and I you know that there are a lot of people who debate this issue and I receive letters from folks who disagree with me, and I respect them, but I do need to say that I believe that the early Christians worshiped on the first day of the week. Jesus was raised on the first day of the week so it seems to me that since the resurrection of Christ in the beginning of the church Sunday is the day that we worship God, and not Saturday, the Sabbath regulations of the Old Testament had many laws connected with them all about Sabbath days journey.

You couldn't buy a loaf of bread etc. etc. and I do believe that that belonged under the law.

Furthermore, in the New Testament.

The apostle Paul does not make much of the Sabbath. In fact, he talks about the fact that nobody should regard one day above another, let every man esteem every day alike. He seems to imply that the Old Testament Sabbath laws and you can read here. For example in the book of Colossians seems to imply that the Old Testament Sabbath laws no longer apply. So that's the view that I take. Sometimes you hear well it was Constantine who changed it.

I don't think that that can be proven though Constantine did have a great impact in the history of the Christian church.

Bottom line, I don't think that the Sabbath is Saturday is our day of worship.

I believe it's the first day of the week. Thank you Anna for your question. Thank you Pastor Luther for your answer.

If you'd like to hear your question answered. You can just go to our website@rtwoffer.com and click on ask Pastor Luther or call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614, the Decalogue literally 10 words written by God on tablets of stone. The 10 Commandments defined proper behavior we were done. Know not just following those 10 Commandments is not enough on a higher plane. Believers follow 1/11 commandment in the New Testament, Jesus summed up the 10 Commandments with an 11 that encapsulates them all. Next time I'm running to win.

Tune in to find out what it is running to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life for Dr. Erwin loser this is Alister running to win is sponsored by the Moody church