Control Yourself And Be Content: The Tenth Commandment

CONTROL YOURSELF AND BE CONTENT

The Tenth Commandment

Exodus 20:17

Introduction:  Today, we have come to the final commandment of THE 10.  The command against coveting is given last — not because it is of least importance — because it is foundational to the other nine commandments.

Exodus 20:17   “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 belongs to your neighbor.”

1. What Does It Mean To “Covet”?

Micah 2:1-2   ¹ “Woe to those who scheme iniquity, who work out evil on their beds! When morning comes, they do it, for it is in the power of their hands.  ² They covet fields and then seize them, and houses, and take them away. They rob a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.”

1. The Origin Of Covetousness (Isaiah 14:13-14)

Isaiah 14:13-14   ¹³ “But you [Lucifer] said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north.  ¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”

III.      The Catalysts For Covetousness 

A.        Culture

1. Dissatisfaction

Proverbs 30:7-9   ⁷ “Two things I asked of You, do not refuse me before I die:  ⁸ Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion,  ⁹ that I not be full and deny You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God.”

C.        Idolatry

Psalm 115:4-8   ⁴ “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man’s hands.  ⁵ They have mouths, but they cannot speak; they have eyes, but they cannot see;  ⁶ They have ears, but they cannot hear; they have noses, but they cannot smell;  ⁷ They have hands, but they cannot feel; they have feet, but they cannot walk; they cannot make a sound with their throat.  ⁸ Those who make them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them.”

1. The Cure For Covetousness

Philippians 4:11-13   ¹¹ “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  ¹² I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  ¹³ I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Paul’s Three Secrets For Contentment

1. A Life That Is Ministry–Focused  (Philippians 1:12-14)

Philippians 1:12-14   ¹² “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel  ¹³ so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else,  ¹⁴ and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”

1. A Gratitude That Is Regularly Expressed (Philippians 4:4)

Philippians 4:4   “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”

1. A Faith That Is Based on the Sovereignty of God (Philippians 1:19)

Philippians 1:19   “Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”

Conclusion