“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” —Exodus 20:17

The temptation to covet promises us that if we can

Reveal Answer

, we’ll be

Reveal Answer

. —Jon Bloom

I. What does it mean to covet?

• A. It is not forbidding desires – Psalm 37:4; Philippians 1:21; I Timothy 3:1

  Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. —Psalm 37:4
  For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. —Philippians 1:21
  The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. —I Timothy 3:1
  

• B. It is forbidding desires for things that do not belong to us

  1. Note the emphasis on community “neighbor”

  2. It is a heart that desires things that belong to someone else -James 4:1-4

     1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. —James 4:1-4

  3. At the core, it is idolatry – Colossians 3:5

     Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. —Colossians 3:5

When our desire for anything is greater than our

II. How do we determine when we are coveting

• A. Four indications of a covetous heart (mostly derived from DeYoung – The 10 Commandments)
  
  1. You are willing to hurt others to get more for yourself
  2. You are preoccupied with making and accumulating more
  3. You are unwilling to give up what you have
  4. You frequently grumble about what you do or do not have
  5. You will do whatever it takes or commit whatever sin is deemed necessary to get what you do not have
  6. You are robbing God of a portion of what he continuously provides for you

• B. Illustration of a covetous heart – Mark 10:17-22

  17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. —Mark 10:17-22

  1. Reference to the second table of the Law 10:19
  2. Note the omission of covetousness
  3. The omission identifies his sin 10:22
• C. Identifying the pitfalls – “If I had_____, I would be happy”

Trying to fill the void in our lives with stuff that

III. Curing the covetous heart

• A. Ensure a correct view of God – only He can give life! – Psalm 16

  1 A Miktam of David. Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 7 I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. —Psalm 16
  

• B. Seek God above all else – Psalm 37:1-7; Matthew 6:25-33

  1 Of David. Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! 2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! —Psalm 37:1-7
  25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. —Matthew 6:25-33
  

• C. Be content

  1. What God provides is sufficient – I Timothy 6:6; Philippians 4:11

     But godliness with contentment is great gain, —I Timothy 6:6
     Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. —Philippians 4:11

  2. With what God provides I will be satisfied – I Timothy 6:8; Hebrews 13:5

     But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. —I Timothy 6:8
     Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” —Hebrews 13:5
     

• D. Learn to give of your resources freely – II Corinthians 8:1-11

  1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints– 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7 But as you excel in everything–in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you–see that you excel in this act of grace also. 8 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 10 And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. 11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. —II Corinthians 8:1-11

The

Small Group Questions

1. What did God teach you through this passage and sermon? Share the work of God in your heart with the group.

2. What questions did this passage and sermon raise in your mind?

3. Why do you think that at its core covetousness is idolatry?

4. Where are you most likely to stumble over covetousness in your own life?

5. What steps can we take daily to make sure that we are pursuing God first and foremost?