Covetousness: One of Those Respectable Sins - Tim Conway

you can open your Bibles again our ongoing study of Ephesians we're in Chapter five we're actually going to be looking at the same four verses that we looked at last week only we're going to draw on something that we did not draw on last week we're going to begin reading in verse three but before we do that let's pray once again well father is we think about beholding him coming shining like the Sun we think of how the scripture ends even so come Lord Jesus hastening the coming day a new heavens and a new earth Lord so many in this room been saved to no longer be people of this world bound by the things of this world you've set us free and you've given us life indeed Lord I pray that the Word of God would wash your people these next few minutes I do want to pray for my dear wife Lord I pray that you would have restore health to her give her grace helper Lord I pray you'd healer Lord excite us and thrill us with your word we ask for that in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ amen well let's read verse three but sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper as is fitting the King James Version says as becometh Saints let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking which are out of place they're not suitable they're out of character they're not coming for the saint but instead let there be Thanksgiving for you may be sure of this that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous that is an idolaters no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God let no one deceive you with empty words because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience now I mentioned last week that I wasn't going to deal with covetousness then I wanted to deal with it today some of the folks I know my daughters have been involved in this they have a Bible study I believe it at Travis Johnson's home they're studying jerry bridges book respectable sins never heard of that book that's an intriguing tile I'm not it wasn't a book that I had in my library respectable sins there are respectable sins there are those sins that get tolerated there the more refined sins the subtle sins they're the ones we tend to overlook I've called my sermon my sermon title one of those respectable sins of course I'm talking about covetousness maybe you remember I saw a good allusion in King Agag you remember who King hey gag was he was the Amalekite King after such time when God told Saul go wipe the Amalekites out just as Saul spared a gag so it is with respectable sins they get spared but what I really want to do today it's cut to the chase we have no warrant at all to deal leniently with any sin subtle sins our sins still sins separate us from God sins cause Christ to have to go to the cross sins it was a sin of covetousness that ran man out of a garden it doesn't matter what sort of clothing that sin might be wearing you know what our mandate is it is to hack a gag to pieces John MacArthur actually has a sermon entitled that I didn't look I just remember it I don't know if he was I think he was dealing with sin in general just look at the text what do we have here sexual immorality all impurity that stuff isn't proper for saints filthiness it's out of place sexually immoral the impure you know what no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God this is the in-your-face kind of graphics in its dirty it's obvious and for such kinds of sins and sinners the wrath of God is coming I mean you know what happens we bring forth a disciplinary situation the church generally doesn't have any problem if I stand up here and I say well brethren you know there was his brother the sister they've been among us for a long time and they've been visiting prostitutes or they fell into sin you know what few are going to question that kind of disciplinary action but we're not talking about pornography sexual immorality adultery filthiness impurity you know what we're talking about today covetousness that's what we're dealing with and you know what I want to do I want to read these four verses taking all the sexual impurities and sexual immorality z' and all that all the filthiness I want to take it out I'm gonna read these four verses with just covetousness in here listen to how it sounds but covetousness must not even be named among you Wow you know we can isolate the others the in-your-face kind of stuff it covetousness it must not even be named among you as his proper has become a saint you may be sure this that everyone who is covetous that is an idolaters has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God let no one deceive you with empty words for because of this thing the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience so there's a gag God had said about the Amalekites don't spare them kill both man and woman child and infant ox sheep camel donkey but King Agag gets spared why he's a trophy he's the king oh look at he's got his royal garment on he looks he looks good he looks respectable he doesn't look so dangerous he's rather appealing in his kingly garments he's tolerated he's not killed he's spared we can hardly figure out how he actually gets included with such scoundrels and rogues and villains like those we find in verse three and four seriously he's categorized with with sexual immorality he seems respectable not hardly a cause for the wrath of God at all but you know what the Apostle says otherwise covetous may appear respectable enough and we may even try calling it by other names you know oh well there there prudent there thrifty there frugal there shrewd there economical there bargain hunters you can be sure this no matter what name you disguise it with let no one deceive you because of covetousness the wrath of God is coming and it's not even supposed to be named among God's people you know the problem with covetousness it seems to breed and insensibility and the people that have it it causes a blindness of mind listen to this Spurgeon I found this quote from him concerning covetousness he says this st. Francis day Saleh's an eminent confessor in other words this guy's Roman Catholic he's an Ameth eminent character for people coming to him and confessing sin in the Romish Church Catholicism this guy had people confessing sin to him all the time listen to what Spurgeon says st. Francis de Salus an eminent confessor to whom persons went in the Romish Church to confess their sins found that persons confessed to him in private all sorts of horrible sins such as adultery drunkenness and murder but never not even once did he ever have one person confess the sin of covetousness now you know what's virgin did subversion took that story from somebody back in history this day Silas guy in Spurgeon took that story and he took it and used it on a man who he believed to be the most covetous person he had ever met so Spurgeon's talking to this guy Spurgeon says to this man this story he wanted him to consider that in the whole life of Francis DeSales nobody had ever admitted covetousness and you know what's virgin asked the man how he thought that could be that a confessor like this never had one person confess covetousness the man replied by saying I suppose it's because the sin is so extremely rare blind soul Spurgeon says Spurgeon responded to that man by saying that he feared the sin was so very common that people didn't know when they were covetous and that the man who was most covetous of all was the last person to suspect himself of it I am a big fan of Bunyan behind Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress probably one of the most famous things was another allegory that he wrote it's the holy war and you remember holy wars basically this this allegory that's written to portray man and how the devil comes in and deceives man is actually the town of Mansoul and so he Bunyan characterizes all the goings-on in man by by the analogy of a town of Mansoul and you have Diabolus obviously the devil and then Christ comes and you just you see this whole thing play out in Bunyan's holy war dial Diabolus sends these traitors to the city of Mansoul and one of the young men that he sent there was a young man by the name of covetousness but you know when he entered the town he didn't go by that name he went by the name mr. prudent thrifty brethren I'll tell you this we need to open the eyes in our heads if we're gonna find this in out and I'm gonna let the Lord Jesus help us here I have a couple favorite passages when it comes to covetousness and here's one of them let's turn in our Bibles to Luke chapter 12 because what we really want to do is we want to find this sand out we want to try to identify it what's what's its nature how do we do we recognize it I mean look the Apostle is threatening people with not inheriting the kingdom and I'll tell you if you have eyes to see it it's the very makeup of what John references when he says love not the world neither the things that are in the world and he talks about the desires of the flesh the desires of the eye the pride of life those things are not of the Father and they don't correspond with a love for the father but here notice this Luke 1213 someone in the crowd said to him teacher tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me but he said to him man who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you and he said to them take care and be on your guard against all covetousness now look one of the things you all have to recognize the guys that preach you really have to preach these things to yourself before you stand up in the pulpit you've got an open Bible you're going through this this is this isn't just a mindless study and it's not detached from our person as we go through this we we have to be tested by the Word of God I mean if the very nature of covetousness is it tends to obscure itself it tends to blind the people that have it if Spurgeon's right that the people that are most coveted are probably the last to recognize it I sat in my office really thinking I wanted to be tested by these things I want you to be tested by these this takes asking yourself some deep questions look what the Lord says here take care be on your guard Wow you know what that lends itself to exactly what Spurgeon saying you better watch out this lends itself to what the Apostle is saying that you don't inherit the kingdom and because of these things this thing the wrath of God is coming this is something you better watch out for this is something you better be on guard against all covetousness and you know what's great about this this is a real-life situation that helps us lock in on the meaning and the nature of this sin what an example and inheritance you know what you can read about that and be detached but I'll guarantee you this if your parents die and you have brothers or sisters and you're in the middle of that thing hoho that's a whole nother story you want to talk about something that'll test a person inheritances anything in life to test a man's covetousness I remember a brother down at community Baptist Church I forget which parent died last if it was a dad or his mom I forget that part of the story but his last remaining parent died and he told me he drove to his parents house and guess what he sees when he shows up the house is now empty of his parents the last one just died like maybe a day or two or three before he drives up he sees his sister's husband his brother-in-law truck backed up to the house hauling the tools out hauling the welder out how did this brother respond you think that tested those are his own father's tools the brother-in-law is hauling him away strike a nerve with anyone we don't have much detail in Luke 12 we don't know how one brother came to possess all the inheritance I mean maybe there was no will I don't know maybe maybe the old maybe the one was an older brother you know you know what obviously it doesn't matter or we'd be given those details what does matter is a gags here and Jesus says you better be on guard it's a compound word in the Greek covetousness plan plus echo it's Plan Ixia and if you break up the compound the first part means more the last part means have basically want to know literally what the word means have more that's the idea the lexicons if you look at those you look for synonyms or for definition this word is often translated a love of money or greedy those are good synonyms strong desire for more irrespective of your need at grasping a grasping ambition an insatiable miss now here's the thing we can all identify with this guy maybe and say hey might it be right for the brother with the inheritance to have divided it with his brother I mean my maybe I mean certainly the man speaking to the Lord the man that comes out of the crowd he certainly thinks that if justice is served he ought to be getting part of it and Jesus after all he's a man misplay like no one else ever spake and he's he's a man that obviously is wise this man obviously believed that Jesus was gonna side with him if he knew all the facts did he have a legitimate case you know what the reality is none of that matters there was cancer here that thing that brings the wrath of God and our Lord cares little about any improper distribution of an inheritance he's really not concerned with that he's not concerned if injustice has been done to this guy what he recognizes is there's a cancer in this guy and that's bad and you know what he does then he goes on to tell a parable now let's look at this parable verse 16 he told them a parable saying the land of a rich man produced plentifully and he thought to himself and he might just notice all the personal pronouns he thought to himself what shall I do for I have nowhere to store my crops he said I will do this I will tear down my barns and build larger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods and I will say to my soul so you have ample goods laid up you just get this many years relax eat drink be merry God said to him fool this night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared whose will they be so is the one who lays up treasure for himself is not rich toward God now you know what strikes me most about this parable is that at first glance this parable doesn't seem to rightly capture the case at hand I mean think about it the man from the crowd wants part of an inheritance that he does not yet possess right the man in the parable is not like that man the man in the parable already has more than he knows what to do with I mean the seems almost miss applied couldn't our Lord have created a parable that more closely resembled the man he's dealing with certainly he could have he could have if that was his primary purpose but it wasn't he's after the route issued with covetousness notice the last thing said in verse 15 for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions and you see that right there is the issue that's what the parable is all about that's what it's meant to teach covetousness is the desire to have it's a desire fed by the belief that my life consists in what I have my life isn't going to be right unless I have a certain thing I'm not living it's not really life I'm not really living unless I have that it's that thing it's that it's that void what's the void in your life the thing that it's there's this emptiness there I've got to have that you keep feeling like well if I'm really gonna be happy in this world like I have to have that thing you see that's that's what's happening here the man in the parable what was it he wanted many years of relaxing eating drinking being merry I will I will I will he laid up treasures for himself the man who wants the inheritance he has the same mindset what's the mindset that that inheritance was crucial to his life is happiness hung on it you see the man who has a bunch even more than he knows what to do with his happiness he's got it all calculated his happiness rests on what he has this man who doesn't have he's got the same mindset he's thinking his life isn't gonna be right as long as his brothers running rough this isn't fair his there's got old cash you got all the goods got all the possessions got all the cattle all the crops all the land he's got all this and I'll have it and so he's all the questions that he could bring to the Lord this is the thing festering in Him Lord make my brother set that right he's happiness hung on it and you see it doesn't matter if you don't have the inheritance and want it or you already have more than you know what to do with covetousness a lust of the heart that stems from a worldview that a person's life can be measured by what he has I see that's where we have to stop and think every one of us what is it that we and you know there are some things there are some things that you ought not to be content with there are some things that you ought not to be settled with and satisfied with your - you don't want more of the Lord you don't want more holiness but that's not what we're talking about here we're talking about stuff what defines your life you know you're going along and you're thinking well you know my life is pretty good right now but it would really be it would really be complete if I had fill in the blank I mean what is it a woman a man a home a car shus gun mower job ministry popularity success fame a trip somewhere some title good health right status certain rank education learning knowledge you see covetousness is that mindset that my life is not right it's not whole I'm not satisfied unless and until I get that thing it's a person who isn't happy and imagines that he never can be truly happy until he gets that thing and you yet what I find most interesting is what set a little further down notice if you drop down in Luke 12 and you get down to verse 33 sell your possessions here's a man that wants possessions he wants half the inherit why he wants part he doesn't say how much you just his brothers got it all he wants some of it he wants a piece of the pie probably he's thinking 50% would be fair and Jesus flips this thing right around instead of thinking about all the possessions you should be getting and that your life is incomplete with that maybe you ought to see that your life is incomplete until you start actually selling your possessions you say incomplete well yeah because obviously he's saying that you sell your possessions to get some money bags here that you obviously would not have if you didn't sell the possession that you have sell your possessions and give to the needy provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail where no thief approaches no moth destroys where your treasure is there you will your heart be also stay dressed for action you know when you hear this kind of thing stay dressed for action what does that mean be ready for when the Lord comes how by having a proper mindset when it comes to stuff here that's that's what's on the table here when he talks about a man being dressed or a woman being dressed for action keep your lamps burning be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks you see you know going open that door at once when he comes and knocks if you've got all this stuff over here that your life is invested in that you think you have to have to be happy it's like no I don't want them to come my life is too tied up in my family my kids my yard my house my car it's all tied up in these things no Lord don't come I'm not ready for you to come yet we've got this thing going on this weekend with all this stuff and I haven't done this yet and I haven't I haven't got to take that trip over there yet don't come now you see the person that's ready you start selling everything then your eyes are there you're very much ready for them to come you're not holding the under stuff here covetousness it's this mindset you know what's interesting about all this is our Lord doesn't say it's wrong too eagerly an aggressively desire and go after moneybags one team these moneybags is not wrong coveting them is not wrong but even here beware I'm thinking about James talking about false prophets you get these guys and they talk about heaven they talk about the mansions and the streets of gold and they talk all this and you remember what Paul says covetousness which is idolatry what's the treasure what are the moneybags that you hope for their scriptures not real plain in describing what these things are but you think with me here Lord says to Abraham I am thy shield and exceeding great reward David says the Lord is my portion if you start thinking about money bags and treasures separate from the treasures of Christ you know you can hit people can have just as much a worldly mindset and worldly desires concerning heaven this brings me to the last verse that I want to look at turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 13 Hebrews 13:5 brethren I want to tell you something about this first keep your life free from the love of money different translations say be without covetousness that's our word here keep your life free from covetousness be content with what you have for he has said I will never leave you nor forsake you brethren in 1999 a little over 20 years ago my dad died it was an october i remember that fall my brother lived up in michigan where my dad lived they live next door to each other my brother had bought my grandmother's house my dad lived next door my dad had terminal cancer they had a hospital bed brought in to my brother's front room my brother was there i was down here made total sense for my dad to make my brother the executor of the estate gave him power of attorney now i was just talking to my brother one day I'm not even really certain where this came from I wasn't arguing with him about what I get and what he gets my brother just threw out there that he spoke with an attorney and the attorney had told him that because he had he was the executor he could keep everything legally and whatever just prior to that before my dad died my dad had told me that this sometime before that my dad had told me that something that he had told me years before that he was going to give me when he died he told me my brother had already taken it and so this morning I'm getting ready to get on an airplane and fly up to Michigan and I know that my brother is gonna divide these things and he's already taken stuff and he's made statements like that and I sat down at my desk and I opened up my Bible and there was this temptation to let that affect me and you know I am quite certain my dad could not die until it came to my Bible reading being in Hebrews 13 because that morning before I got on that plane my dad had asked me to preach his funeral I was in Hebrews 13 and I came across this passage and I am Telling You something absolutely supernatural happened as I read this I mean I was just overwhelmed by that reality I have the Lord the Lord is mine Lord has forgiven me but the Lord has taken me to be one of his sons I have him it's like I'm going up to Michigan as a multi trillionaire and am I gonna squabble I was so at rest and so at peace and really I have been ever since it's just what a promise the author of Hebrews gives us the real cure for covetousness do you know what it is contentment you see it in the text be content brethren no matter how covetousness might disguise itself here's the test for finding it out most men imagined that they would be content if they were just not exactly what they are where they are they imagined themselves content when they just get that one thing or or that second thing fact you know I've thought about it idolatry I really suspect that many men miss heaven many women miss heaven because of one or two things that they loved too much to let go of unless you forsake all that you have you can't be my disciple and you see the rich young ruler Christ my stuff fatal decision can be a car it can be a husband it often has to do with the circumstances associated with trials in our lives circumstances we're faced with difficulties that we can't escape we can't do anything to get out of these trials that were faced with we can't we can do nothing about them it's beyond our control we can't manipulate the thing you know what happens that causes discontent and we're gonna be tried here all the time because you know what life brings things are gonna happen you're going to be faced difficult situations that you do not want to be in you're gonna get thorns in the flesh that you do not want poking you and you're gonna ask the Lord to take them away and the Lord doesn't take them away and right there your contentment is going to be challenged that's what happens that causes discontent we want things to be different we covet a different state of affairs we're faced by certain circumstances that are a trial to our faith they test us whether they have to do with the job or with our marriage our children our health and and you know what happens you to compound the pot the the possibility of discontent as we look at other people and they're not going through that Lord why me why is it my child why is it my job why is it my marriage why is this happening to me and you know what the you know what the reality is we can become so used to responding to such things with anxiety frustration discontent complain murmuring that you know what we simply consider these things to be normal reactions we allow them and a gag spared and there he stands we're so used to having a gag around and you know what happens we respond no differently than those Gentiles we were told back there in 4:17 that we must no longer walk like you because how do Gentiles respond to life not with God in the equation and you see what the author of Hebrews is doing you got to have God in that equation if you're ever going to be content I'll tell you I often think I don't know what people who don't know the Lord do as they go through life and they move towards old age and the things happen that happened to people if you don't have the Lord to call on and rest on and cry out to and with that hope before you it's like as you get older and older things just become hopeless if you don't have the Lord would you be taught to shun covetousness well then you know what you do you cultivate the virtue of contentment what are you put off covetousness what do you put on contentment look I'm fairly certain that if you go over to James Jennings house and you look at his front yard I would challenge you to find a weed there I've heard that that radio guy when I go and get the mail on Saturdays I listen to Bob Webster sometimes and he said if if you grow st. Augustine grass it will crowd every other thing out this is really the way you don't want to just try to put off covetousness you need to seek to put on contentment it'll be like James grass it'll just crowd everything out I can guarantee you that James front yard is not an inviting place for weeds to grow chokes out every single invader that comes but how could I be content when I'm not renew your mind never miss and forget 4:23 we need to renew the spirit of our minds do you need some biblical truth to wash your brain with I'm gonna give you some you need something designed to induce contentment here it is Hebrews 13:5 for he has said I will never leave you nor forsake you that is quotation marks around it I recognize they're not in the original Greek but they are definitely here in our English translations for good reason because we should ask ourselves where has that been said where is this quoted from well we could go numerous places but just listen to this to Jacob at Bethel there's Bethel again Genesis 28 15 you remember where the ladder reached to heavens and the angels were ascending and descending God says to Jacob behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go what a promise and you know what you know what that is the promise that inspired him to wrestle with that angel and not let go you said I I would tell you wrestle with God with that promise then you deuteronomy 31:6 Moses is now speaking to Israel right as he's getting ready to die and Israel's getting ready to enter the promised land be strong and courageous do not fear or be in dread of them the Canaanites for it is the Lord your God who goes with you he will not leave you or forsake you and of course this is well known Joshua 1:5 - Joshua God says no man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life just as I was with Moses so I will be with you I will not leave you or forsake you and then again first Chronicles 28 20 David said to Solomon his son be strong and courageous and do it in other words lead build the temple do not be afraid do not be dismayed for the Lord God even my God is with you he will not leave you or forsake you and you see the author of Hebrews says it's that God your God is that God of Jacob and Moses and Joshua David Solomon is he your God than this promise you have also and you remember what scripture says all the promises of God in him are yea and in him Amen under the glory of God if you're in Christ these promises are yours you say yea but that promise was made - the premise was made - Jacob that promise was made to Israel that promise was made to Solomon that promise was made to Joshua yeah but what scripture says is if God said that if you're in Christ those promises of good are your promises but there's more Hebrews 13:5 if you look at it more closely keep your life free from the love of money do you know your is plural say so okay just follow this keep your plural life free from the love of money and be content with what you plural have for he has said I will never leave you singular I'll never forsake you singular you who believe and have trusted Christ never the author makes this very singular and personal Christian whatever your circumstances whatever your circumstances you see that's what the never comes in we feel like he's gone sometimes we feel like he's abandoned us sometimes you know it was David that originally wrote Psalm 22 my God my God why have you forsaken me it can feel like that but God never forsakes us don't go by your feelings he promises each one of us his presence his help his his favors his love his own self remember I've read this back to you before but this is one of my favorite quotes from Edward Payson and I want to read it to you again he says quote Christians might avoid much trouble in inconvenience if they would only believe what they profess that God is able to make them happy without anything else now I would you know when I read that I thought ok stop right there and just ask people do we even profess that do you do you believe that do you walk around saying that you say that to each other do you tell that to your family do you do you say to people you know what I as a Christian I've been saved I can be happy without having anything else just God Himself is sufficient do you believe that are you convinced of that you see he assumes that he says if Christians would only believe what they profess do we profess that but God is able to make them happy without anything else they imagine that if such a dear friend were to die or such and such blessings were to be removed they should be miserable whereas God can make them a thousand times happier without them to mention my own case God has been depriving me of one blessing after another but as everyone was removed he has come in and filled up its place and now when I'm a and not able to move I'm happier than ever I wasn't my life before or ever expected to be and if I had believed this 20 years ago I might have been spared much anxiety but I recognize this we need reality even though we didn't want to be mislead by subjective feelings when those feelings lie to us like David thinking he was forsaken and obviously he wasn't but being a type of Christ we know that those words came to be used by our Lord when he actually was forsaken but the reality is we want reality I mean a promise like this you know one thing that was true back there in 1999 I had so many sweet sweet visitations from the Lord and a closeness and a joy that to read that promise oh there was reality the thing is if we haven't tasted what it really means to have the Lord closed if that's not real to us such a promise it's just gonna be kind of empty just walk out of here won't grip you we have to taste that he's good I mean the truth is if I haven't tasted that the Lord is good then you know what I walk out of here in a car a woman money ease it's good it's gonna be more to me what does God say the Lord says this to us he says draw near to me and I will draw near to you I will never leave you or forsake you what a blessed blessed promise brethren we can defy the devil the devil loves to stand in there and say you can't be happy unless you can defy the very devil to even suggest any circumstances to you that you need to be anxious about and that will bring misery upon you not if this text is true this content remember this content is the root of idolatry the opposite of covetousness in Hebrews 13:5 is content covetousness is idolatry the opposite of that is content not just can not content in money obviously content in the reality that God will never leave me or forsake me my contentment is in him he's my portion that's that's where the contentment lies contentment I have the Living God and I need nothing more I mean he is the richest man in the world who can have money go past him in cars in the houses and beautiful husbands and wives and all that and he can be content because he has God and he knows he's got the greatest treasure and the greatest riches of all if he's got the Almighty for his own what else what else do we need really need what if I lose my job what if I get sick and don't have insurance what if I live to be very old and I don't have any retirement listen I will never leave you or forsake you well suppose I become an invalid what if I get old and my kids put me in a nursing home he says does he not even in your old age and two gray hairs I will carry you that's the same you who he never leaves our first sakes papa he's gonna carry you to the end but you already believe that you quote that text Oh what if what if you know what if I go blind you know my vision for the last year has been failing fast but you know what he says blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God and I recognize this even if these eyes go out he's still gonna reveal himself to me my hearing there was a dog barking last night and all I have to do is turn my good ear to the pillow and I can't hear it anymore but you know what God promises my sheep hear my voice so even if these ears fail in these eyes fail he's not gonna leave me he's gonna continue to talk to me he's can continue to show himself to me but what if I lose my health or I lose my home or I lose my job you know what he says say to those who have an anxious heart that fit anybody be strong fear not behold your God will come with vengeance with recompense he will come and save you God says I'm right here by your side I'll stay close you're not going to lose me brethren do you realize many a child of God they've lived in shacks and they've been happy they've been on sick beds and it's been like heaven to them have you never read of Richard worm brand and many others have you never read of Rutherford Richard worm brand said in his cell they would have such visitations of Christ Rutherford said they meant to make that prison a hell to him and God made it very heaven where are you gonna go where God's not going to be with you suppose we die so what then you go to your heavenly Father face to face and forever I mean can you be miserable and discontent with a promise like this child of God nothing ought to be able to make us unhappy when you realize the truth of such a precious text as this as you all leave here today I was thinking about that song the scripture they were singing it their children were singing about Scripture it's the word simple do you remember hearing that making wise the simple as you all leave here did hey I know who's going away with a spring in their step joy in their heart song on their lips it's that poor simple Christian who really believes God and takes him at his word one who really believes come what may the wind the storm the dark clouds the lost poverty death he will never leave you singular Christian he'll never forsake you you may lose home I may lose home I may lose my spouse my child my health my own life but my God is mine and he promises me singular the promises me I won't forsake you I will bring you on to glory I'll be with you you belong to me I'll never abandon you many have been brought lo Christians they've lacked earthly means they are so sweetly content and filled with delight and joy John keeps telling us about this nay please guy over there who it seems like after our visits really has begun to shine these guys lives him the chicken coop and John has seen such a radical change this guy lives in a chicken coop it's really a chicken coop like and it's not much different than a chicken coop now that he lives in it and he is so happy your life you see this comes back to it your life does not consist in what you have if you have Christ you have all we are in a we are in a country and we have such wealth I'm afraid we hardly know how to identify this one of the things you have to ask yourself really sit down and do inventory am i content am i content in simply being a Christian if you have a sham God and a sham faith this is an empty promise to you there's nothing to it but he that believes that this is a real God there is a real God and you have real faith this is a real promise it has substance you can joyfully face anything and I can say this to you child of God go away rejoicing today why because he says to you I'll never leave you or forsake you you can shout your hallelujah if you could be content with that no matter what you're facing out there in life James mentioned in the first hour the different sufferings and trials well that may be but if you can say God has promised me that he'll be with me and so even though you a I walk through the valley of the shadow of death he's gonna be with you with his rod and with his staff he'll not leave you never some of you I know you can't delight in this promise because it's not yours you can't take this promise home because God is against you the reality is something is presupposed I will never leave you or forsake you that means he's already there some of you don't have this promise because he's never been there in the first place if the Lord has never been with you if he's never forgiven you if you've never called upon his name and you need to remember this we were looking at this in the theology class this week everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved but here's the thing you see there is some you can't go to him as an idolatry wanting to hang on to your idolatry if you come to him you abandon this covetousness Lord I want to be saved from loving everything in life more than loving you some people I know we get some of our children and they say well I've been calling upon the Lord but he hasn't saved me but you see if he saves he's gonna wash you from all your idols he's gonna cleanse you every one of them he's gonna strip them away see there has to be surrender there has to be abandoned but if you if you really want to be brought to the place where you can be content and only him then I ask him to save you that way Lord I want to be content in just you and I admit I'm not there are things I want more than I want you I want that brethren I'll tell you if you pray for that you lost ones if you call upon the name of the Lord and you're wanting to be saved like that it says everyone who calls will be saved call don't be hyper-calvinist don't sit there and let yourself rot until you wake up in hell scripture says call come unto me all you that labor and are heavy-laden are you even laboring and heavy laden you know what happens typically people they taste of the world and they find it's empty it's just empty this satisfies you if God is your own even in this world and if you don't come to him you just need to know this there's sufficient warrant in Scripture he's sharpening the sword against you he's drawing that arrow he's got he's sharpen that arrow at you and he means to release it soon before you are aware but he invites you he bids you come you see the kind of God that he is he's kind of God that if he saves you he doesn't let you go he takes good care of you all the way until your hairs are gray he is a good God and this is not an empty promise it is a promise you can build your life on you can hang your life on it you can stand on this promise but you do not have to love money in the thing in this world why there's a good reason you can be content why because he has said I will never never leave you he's a good one to not have leave your side he's powerful and he's good and he means to do his people good through all the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his kindness and grace to those in Christ Jesus Wow that's all the ages to come he's just the fullness of all of His grace gonna be lavished remember this day you'll be with me in paradise see he doesn't leave or forsake his people and he's got a mind to take them all the way to Paradise and Christ himself said I want them there so that they may behold my glory which I had with you before the world began this thing turns out really good for those who God doesn't leave or forsake so good that you know what you can be stripped look let's be honest our spouses our children we imagine that if they were stripped away from us that that would be incredibly difficult to deal with we have a God who knows you can lose and his children often have lost spouses and children and health and the most valuable of possessions have been stripped away you see this promise doesn't come for naught God will test us we will face these things we will be challenged with this content but we have to come back to this I have him and I'll tell you the more you experience him and the more you experienced his joy the more he experienced his closeness the more precious that will become because when he visits your soul with manifestations of himself you walk away from that and you just say I want that more than anything else I want to behold his glory being close to him and you know what so often what his children find is just like praying Mason of Portland Maine God comes along and he strips things away just to precisely show us that this promise is true he'll take something away and then he'll give himself all the more to us covetousness brethen it ought not to be even named among us put on contentment why because he'll never leave you or forsake you father I pray that you'd bring that reality home to your people powerfully and reality sensibly may they feel it may they go forth from this place rejoicing in such a reality I pray in Christ's name Amen

Channel: I'll Be Honest

Views: 14,117

Rating: 4.9361277 out of 5

Keywords: Ephesians 5:3-6, Coveteousness, idols, possessions, world

Id: Gv6SkVJns8Y

Length: 65min 30sec (3930 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 02 2020