Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Proverbs on Covetousness Your friends and counselors will influence your beliefs and behaviors Hunger can be a motivator to work; in humility seek charity; or steal What defiles a man are the evil things within his heat - Mark 7:20-23

The Command Exodus 20:17 Covet = חָמַד / chamad Coveting is a sin of the mind for when it takes outward action it results in theft (Proverbs 12:12) Coveting (and theft) can be of animate or inanimate objects or the rights that belong to others Coveting is sin before God because He looks at the heart & motives. Later actions only confirm the sin

Desires: Good & Bad חֵפֶץ / hēpes - strong desire. Used in Proverbs 3:15 & 8:11 for the desire to gain wisdom תַּאֲוָה / taʾăwâ - Good desires – Proverbs 19:22, 11:23; 10:24. Foolish desire - Proverbs 18:1 אָוָה / ʾā·wā = want, desire, or crave. Context determines whether something desired is good or bad - Proverbs 31:4

Desires: Good & Bad Do not desire the delicacies of a ruler (the rich) (Proverbs 23:1-8) or a selfish man (Proverbs 23:6-8) The wicked desire evil - Proverbs 21:10 & 24:1-2 Sluggards crave, but do not have because won’t work - Proverbs 13:4; 21:25-26; 20:4; 26:15-16

Greed & Craving הַוְוָה / hawwâ Prov. 10:3. God provides for the wicked only out of His common Grace - Ps. 147:8-9; 136:25; Rom. 2:4) God provides for the righteous - Prov. 10:3 - who seek first His kingdom and righteousness - Mt. 6:33 Righteousness is a protection, but greed has temporal and eternal negative consequences - Prov. 11:6

Envy קָנָא / qānāʾ Zeal is a consuming desire focused on the one that is loved - John 2:14-17; Psalm 69:9 Proper jealousy protects what is loved - husband for wife (Proverbs 6:24), God for His honor, people

Envy Envy of sinners is in stark contrast to the fear of the Lord with an opposite end - Proverbs 23:17; 14:30 Psalm 73 - the power and enticement of envy in the present – until the eternal end is considered Ecclesiastes 4:4 - Everyone has envy because the natural bent of man is to covet

Wicked Hearts Genesis 3 Genesis 3 - Satan deceived Eve because he manipulated her according to her desires James 1:14-15 - The process by which desire leads to sin 1 John 2:15-17 - Love of the world leads to stumbling into sin

Lust of the Flesh The quest to please the senses of taste, smell, touch and even hearing Pleasure is sinful when it is pursued contrary to God’s design and commands Eve’s desire for good food was perverted to want the one forbidden fruit - she coveted 1 Timothy 4:1-5 - God no longer has any food restrictions in place

Lust of the Flesh Eating is sinful when it is gained by a sinful means or is a substitute for satisfaction in God Jesus was tempted in all things, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15) Matt. 4:1-2. The devil slandered God & tempted Jesus to satisfy His hunger apart from God’s provision

Lust of the Flesh Satan tempts men to provide for themselves instead of seeking first God’s kingdom & righteousness Satan tempts believers to comprise Biblical morality or put priority on work over God and fellowship Gluttony is founded on finding satisfaction in life through food instead of in God -, i.e., live to eat

Lust of the Flesh Sexual immorality and hedonism are both based in sinful selfish pursuit of physical pleasure & comfort Matt. 4:4; John 4:34 - Jesus lived by God’s word & to serve the Father - He would trust Him to provide

Pride of Life Matthew 4:5-6 The temptation for Jesus was to gain glory by His own means instead of waiting on God’s plan Jesus subjects His pride to God and will wait for God to do things in His way and timing

Pride of Life Matthew 4:5-6 Eve wanted to become wise by her own means and become like God for her only glory - she coveted We have to be humble and committed to doing things God’s way and for His glory and not our own

Lust of the Eyes Matthew 4:8-9 The temptation is for Jesus to gain the world through His own means instead of God's plan for the cross Jesus subjected Himself to the Father's will even knowing that it would take Him to the cross.

Lust of the Eyes Matthew 4:8-9 Eve was free to enjoy the beauty of the fruit - but she coveted it & desired to possess what was not hers

Conclusions Satan’s slander against God and enticements to sin work because they match man’s selfish desires The change of desire to please God rather than self results in a changed manner of life

Conclusions What are your current desires? What would you like them to be?

Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ