LAW HOMILY: The Sin Behind Every Sin

The Shepherd's Church

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Every week we look into the law of God because we want to understand what God's heart is for his people

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We want to understand what God says to his people. We want to understand how it is that we can obey this

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God so today we're in Exodus 20 verse 17 and This is the 10th commandment.

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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

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That belongs to your neighbor and In that way we see that there are sins that stain the hands

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There are sins that rot the heart some crimes break into the world through action through bloody visible indictable action

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But coveting itself is a much quieter sin It doesn't knock down the door like murder

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Does it parade down the streets like adultery it Crouches it watches it wishes and while its hands may appear clean its soul is already a thief

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Coveting is the sin of discontented desire It's the craving of what

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God has not given It's the envy of what God has given to another and the refusal to rest in what

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God has apportioned to you And in this sense coveting is not a symptom of a greater disease.

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It is the disease It's the infestation of inward Idolatry the rot of thanklessness the corrosion of the creatures delight in his creator

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It's the sin behind the sins and I think this is why it's the 10th commandment It's the breach beneath the dam of every other commandment

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For what is theft? But coveting with our fingers. What is adultery but coveting with our bodies?

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What is murder but with coveting? without obstacle and yet It's a crime.

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That's not merely Horizontal it is vertical The 10th commandment like the first is a sin against heaven

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For to covet is the to accuse the Almighty of negligence It's to take the pen from his hand and say let me write rewrite the story because I have a better providence

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Let me rearrange your gifts. Let me redistribute your goodnesses because you got it wrong

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And in that sense coveting is treason against God Because what you currently have is what

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God wanted you to have What you currently own is all that God wanted you to own your house your car your

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Material possessions all of it is a gift from God to steward so that when we look at someone else's

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Gifts and we say I wish I had that the subtle lie and the accusation on our breath is

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God what you have given me is not enough and I would be happy with someone else's gifts.

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Therefore God I think you have done me wrong That's what that means. That's what that says and all of us have done it

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We live in a world where we're marketing campaigns are built upon coveting coveting is the engine by which

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Commercials even are made Brothers and sisters

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Let us lay down this corrosive sin Whatever it is, whether it's

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I wish I had that family or I wish I had that that house or I wish I had that Whatever whatever it is that you're wishing for that.

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You don't have lay it down today Because it is an indictment from your lips that God has not given you enough and brothers and sisters.

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That's just not true What he's given you is for you And what he's given you is because he's good

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Rejoice in his providence Rejoicing actually is the antidote to covetousness

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So, let us lay it down Repent and rejoice. Amen. Let's pray or there's so many ways

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That we do this so subtly where we look at Different things we look at house and we say

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I wish I had that and we don't think that it we don't think anything of it Or we say

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I wish I had an f -250 super duty and we don't think anything of it

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Lord help us to be very mindful and Grateful for what you've given us help us to take care of and steward.

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Well the things that you've given us and Help us to refuse to complain Help us to refuse to to wish help us to refuse to try to Find our identity and in things

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But Lord, I do pray that you would help us to have a deep abiding gratitude for what you've given us and to use those things as opportunities for worship

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It's in Christ's name we pray amen In a consumeristic materialistic and very wealthy society, this is one that will affect us constantly

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So there is no one here who hasn't sinned in this way and yet there's no one here that if you're in Christ Are past the pale of forgiveness?

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Because it is in Christ Jesus that the blood of the one and only Son of God was applied to you and me

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So that we can be forgiven for all of our sins Says in Isaiah 25 9 and it will be said in that day.

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What day is that? The day of Jesus's kingdom and it will be said in that day behold

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This is our God for whom we have waited that he might save us This is the Lord for whom we have waited.

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Let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation Do you see how this is the antidote of covetousness?

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Lord where I'm at. Thank you For what you've done. Thank you for who you are. Thank you that you saved me.

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Thank you that you have that you have Crucified your one and only son to bring me into your kingdom not because of who

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I am and not because of what I bring That's why Salvation isn't based off socio -economic conditions now, is it?

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It's based off of Christ and his free gift alone so let us stand joyfully

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That he has saved us that he has forgiven us that he has pardoned us for all our sins And as we stand, let us confess our faith together and we will be doing so through the