The Struggle with Contentment

Introduction:

Any author knows that a key element of a good story is an attention-grabbing introduction and a strong conclusion. In similar manner, God gives a 10th commandment that is significantly different than the previous 5—disrespect, anger, unfaithfulness, theft, and lying. What sets 1 and 10 as bookends that are different than the rest is that these 2 are attitudes, more than actions. Number 1 is a warning to keep God first in your priorities and #10 is a warning not to want what God has chosen to give to another person.

Exodus 20:17 ESV:2016

17 “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.”

Many Christians mistakenly assume that God in the OT was primarily concerned with DOs and DON’Ts, and that Jesus added a deeper layer when he said, “You have heard it said…but I tell you.” I don’t believe Jesus was adding anything new to the commandment, He was simply restoring the Father’s intent that had been stripped by generations of religious lawyers.

As a hint into the future, next week we will pick up Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount after the Beatitudes from now until Memorial Day.

The tenth commandment makes it clear that God calls us to more than pious behavior. He is calling us to purity of heart, not just that you should do right but that you should be right.

Morally “good” People Need a Savior

Who Needs it More?

1. The problem for morally upright people, whether Jews, Muslims, “Christians”, or None of the Above is that they find it very difficult to feel that they need a Savior.

2. In Jesus’ day those who were most ready to receive God’s love and forgiveness were outcasts, tax-collectors and sinners because they felt like they needed it. Today these would be the addicts, repeat offenders and child molesters.

3. The toughest to reach are going to be the soccer moms and the good ol’ boys, because they do not feel in need of grace.

4. Today’s commandment gets past all the law-abiding façade and forces us to look at our hearts, attitudes & thoughts.

Transition: To help us understand the heart of today’s command, let me tell you two stories of two men. The first is…

Chase County Carl (Luke 18:18-22)

His Biography (reference)

Carl letters in 3 sports for the Bulldogs, gets confirmed at the family church, graduates with honors and earns an academic scholarship to K-state. While there he meets Mary Ann, an education major from Florence and they marry the summer after finishing in Manhattan. They build a small home on the family ranch and he goes to work helping his dad and ranching a couple sections of rented land while she works as a para with disabled children at the elementary school. He’s involved in the school as a coach, eventually takes over the family ranch. Carl and Mary Ann’s children move off to school and start families of their own. Carl is elected as a County Supervisor, and they retire spending summers here and winters in Arizona. Carl is known for his honesty and humor; he attends church more weeks than not; and gives generously to the Food Pantry.

Lunch at the Diner (Luke 18:18-22)

1. One day Jesus comes to town and Carl meets him at the Diner, where he asks...

Luke 18:18 ESV:2016

18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

2. You can see him putting mental notches in his belt as Jesus replies…

Luke 18:20 ESV:2016

20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ”

3. Then he thinks to himself, This is great! These are the things that I have been doing all my life, so I'm obviously on the right track. So he tells Jesus:

Luke 18:21 ESV:2016

21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”

4. Notice that the one commandment Jesus did not mention was the tenth. I have no doubt that this was intentional, because what Jesus does next is to apply the tenth commandment with devastating effect:

Luke 18:22 ESV:2016

22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

5. Jesus uses the 10th command to identify the single greatest struggle of Chase County Carl’s life--His outward conduct is morally upright, but his inner attitudes are centered on himself.

Peer & Fear

1. People may live a moral life for reasons that have little or nothing to do with loving God or neighbor. A huge part of what we call morality is influenced by peers and fears.

If I did an anonymous survey of the men in our church, I doubt that we would find many who pray five times each day. But if we lived in Saudi Arabia, where Muslim men traditionally pray five times a day, we would probably do the same-not because we love God more, but simply because that's what everybody else does!

2. Peer morality doesn't bring you any closer to God because it does not arise from love but from conforming to what everyone else is doing. God calls us not just to do right but to be right.

3. Sometimes the reason that we do not steal, lie, or commit adultery has more to do with fear of the consequences and reputation than it has to do with a deep desire to do what is right.

A Matter of Motive

1. God wants us to be motivated by love, not peers or fears.

2. It is your thoughts that reveal the real condition of your heart. These thoughts are the measure of who you really are. The tenth commandment raises disturbing questions for morally upright people. God calls us not just to do right but to be right, and that means that morally upright people are sinners too.

Transition: The New Testament gives us another example of how the 10th command brings conviction.

Sorry Saul

A Good Jewish Boy - Saul (Philippians 3:4-6)

Philippians 3:4–6 ESV:2016

4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

1. Born in the right family

2. President of the church youth group

3. Attended the right schools

4. Listed in Who’s Who of Chase County

5. Made the Time Magazine’s list of top 100 Influential People.

The ‘Aha!’ Moment (Romans 7:7-9)

1. I thought I was doing all right.

2. Something forced me to re-evaluate my relationship with God.

3. V.7 tells us which of the commands prompted him to reevaluate the other 9…

Romans 7:7 ESV:2016

7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

4. Verse 9 uses the phrase “when the commandment came” to describe “I had an aha! moment”

5. Paul tells us that the 10th command forced him to reevaluate his position before God. Suddenly it dawned on him that God was not looking only at his outward actions but also at the inner motivations of his heart. The tenth commandment nailed him. It strangled the life out of his self-righteousness.

One Command, Two Responses

Sadness (Luke 18:23)

Luke 18:23 (ESV) —But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

1. There is no indication that his sadness led to obedience.

2. There is no record that this man ever followed Jesus.

In today’s language he probably just found another church that kept him happy and didn’t bum him out.

Deliverance (Romans 7:24-25)

Romans 7:24–25 (ESV) — Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

· Paul used the diagnosis of his evil heart to force him to look for a cure. He found the cure for his heart condition in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Transition: Whether you are more like Chase County Carl, or Sorry Saul the 19th command is for you! We need this word, because it shows us things are not always as they appear. It shows that we all (preachers included) need the Gospel.

A Drastic Heart Transplant

1. There are many ways to change a person's behavior. If all you want to do is to stop drinking or break free from some other compulsive habit, you don't need Jesus to do that. You can do it with some good therapy, accountability, and an effective support group. There are many ways to deal with the symptoms, but only Christ can deal with the disease

2. The remedy for covetousness is a heart transplant.

3. The gospel is more than forgiveness and the Law. It is a new nature and a new life. When you come to faith in Jesus Christ, God puts His Spirit within you.

Ezekiel 36:26–27 ESV:2016

26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

4. The Holy Spirit will bring you back to the Ten Commandments.

I’ve been asked more than once since becoming your pastor, “What is our responsibility to the Commandments if we are under grace?”

5. The Gospel of grace is that God mercifully places His Spirit in us and gives us a heart transplant that makes us want different things. The 1st evidence of His presence in your life will be that you have a deep desire to please God (commands 1-4) and to serve Him by being a channel of His love into the lives of others (Commands 5-10).

Transition: This new heart does not automatically remove all your old appetites, but it does introduce a new desire.

Conclusion:

I’m very hesitant to extend an invitation that preys upon your insecurities, but I would not be faithful to the Gospel if I did not ask you, “Has your heart been transformed?”

I’m not asking if you believe there was a man named Jesus who died on a cross in the first century. I’m asking, “Has there been a time in your life where you can honestly say, ‘I became aware of my sin in such a way that I knew it created a chasm between God and me; I admitted the seriousness of that sin; and I asked God to change me’.”

Let’s pray…

Before I finish this prayer, I’m asking how many are here today who feel compelled to give your life to Christ. I’m not asking if you’ve given up bad habits, been baptized or confirmed. I’m asking, “Has there been a point in your life when the affections of your heart changed so that they now include a desire to please God?” If that has never happened to you and you would like to experience that transformation today, I’d like to include you in my prayer. Quietly raise your hand and I will pray for you.