Theft

Introduction

I believe we live in one of the best places in the world - Rankin County, MS.

One of the drawbacks is Dogwood in December. That sounds like a beautiful event - but we know it isn’t, is it?

Dogwood is one of the places that everyone in the state comes to shop.

It is a beautiful area with plenty of places to shop. People have money to be able to shop. The weather has been great, and it is Christmas.

When you watch people, they aren’t happy.

People are surly.

People are tense.

People get upset easily.

In a place where you have everything that you think that you could ever need, people are stressed and anxious.

Such is a world pervaded by materialism.

CIT: Our hearts should be focused on giving than on taking.

Explanation

Exodus 20:15 ““You shall not steal.”

Stealing is taking something that does not belong to you without permission.

We dislike thieves, because they take our personal property. Let me ask you a question… what if over 50% of your income and 50-75% of your time was spent to feed your family?

The families in the majority of the world throughout history have lived this way.

A large portion of the world still lives on less than $1 a day.

Stealing from someone in this society could be deadly in such a society.

Theft was a big deal. But theft still is a big deal.

Theft has many forms.

Theft is someone taking the Amazon packages from your house. However, theft is other things as well.

Theft is cheating on your taxes.

Theft is looting and shoplifting.

Theft is cutting corners at work and stealing your company time.

Theft is using someone else’s homework that you did not do.

4. We can also steal from God.

a. When we take what God tells us to devote to Him.

b. When we withhold what he asks us to give.

Ephesians 4:28 “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

When we look at commandments, we think, “What is the opposite of that commandment?,” and we begin to do that.

For instance, instead of adultery - purity.

Instead of lying - honesty.

What is the opposite of theft? The opposite of theft is not “don’t steal” or “stay in your lane.” The opposite of theft - what we should pursue - is generosity.

Notice in the text, we no longer steal, but we do honest work SO THAT we can give to others.

This Christmas season will be MISERABLE if it is all about what you can get. But if you see this Christmas as a time that you can GIVE, you will see contentment in the Lord.

Application

John Piper // Sermon // What does stealing say about my soul.

Theft is a symptom of a heart issue. Theft stems from materialism. Materialism stems from covetousness.

Proverbs 30:9 // Remove from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steel and profane the name of my God.

Is Jesus your treasure or is he your means of getting the treasure?

Either Jesus is all satisfying, or Jesus is your means to get something else.

So often he becomes a personal genie.

My favorite scene of the Christmas story is the magi laying their gifts at the manger of the baby Jesus.

What does Jesus say about thieves?

One of the best stories about thieves in all of the Bible is the thief on the cross.

The man told Jesus that he believed he was the Son of God, and Jesus says, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”

Invitation

Give your life to Jesus.

Our hearts are hearts that take from God for ourselves.

If you are stealing in any way... repent!