Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning, church family. Happy Lord's Day. You will now begin our service. You did not wait. Do not wait for me to draw near to you, but you hold yourself with real humanity. Do not wait for me to cry out to you, but you let me hear your voice calling me.

I'll forever grateful to you, I'll forever grateful to you, I'll forever grateful to you, I'll forever grateful to you. You did not wait for me to cry out to you, but you let me hear your voice. You did not wait for me to cry out to you, but you let me hear your voice calling me, I'll forever grateful to you.

I'll forever grateful to you, I'll forever grateful for the loss. I'm forever grateful to you, I'll forever grateful to you. That you came to see you, I'll forever grateful to you, I'll forever grateful for the cross. I'm forever grateful to you, I'll forever grateful to you, I'll forever grateful to you, that you came to seek and save the Lord.

All right, good morning, welcome to Brewing Community Church. There's going to be a PTA meeting, so they're going to be going over the church curriculum and be taking some time to pray for the students, so please be there at 2 p.m. And then afterwards, Family Ministry Workshop. This coming Saturday, Pastor Mark is leading a workshop with the title of Peacemaking, and so it's happening this Saturday at 10 a.m.

in the cafe area, so please sign up for that. So, child care will be provided for both, for today's meeting and also for the Saturday's meeting, just keep that in mind. Our outreach team is hosting another outreach happening at the Spectrum in the Source OC. If you want to participate in that, it's coming Saturday at 1 p.m., so you can sign up for that.

And then College Ministry. So if you are a college student coming into town or you brought a college student, especially for the semester schools. So they have a tent outside. They're going to have it there every Sunday for now until, obviously, all the UCI students come back into town in a few weeks.

So that red tent is where you want to go, and if you want to ask any questions or just kind of ask about what kind of activities they have in the college ministry, that's under the red tent as you go outside in the courtyard. And then finally, the southbound 55 freeway on MacArthur exit is going to be closed starting from, I think, Tuesday on the 9th.

Is today the 7th? Yeah, so on the 9th, so if you're coming from the 5 freeway, whether it's Wednesday Bible study or Thursday or Friday, for the next two weeks, that exit is going to be closed. So meaning that you're going to have to either get off an exit before that on Dyer, or you're going to have to come all day around and come off on the 405 freeway.

So if you're coming northbound, it doesn't matter. But if you're coming southbound, like that's 5 coming toward the church, that MacArthur exit is going to be closed for the next couple weeks, just to give you a heads up, okay? All right, let me pray for the offering, and then after the offering, our brother Elliot is going to come, and he's going to give his testimony and be baptized this morning.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your continued grace and love that you pour upon us. Help us, Lord God, to give you worship that is pleasing to you, that is in spirit and in truth. I pray that our heart, our mind, our very wills, Lord God, would be surrendered to you.

Open our eyes that we may see the glory of Christ, that our lives, our hope, our desire may all continue to shift toward you. I pray that you would bless this time and bless the giving. May it be given joyfully, bountifully, and may it be multiplied 30, 60, 100-fold for the sake of your kingdom.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Let us all rise in and spend a few moments to greet the neighbors around us before we continue. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. They will vanish like a breath. Yes, I know the outcome, sure. Satan's evil plans will fail. In your power I'm secure. You're my sorrow and my salvation, my steadfast hope that won't be shaken. My soul will wait, my soul will wait for you.

You're my comfort when I feel force within my refuge and my sure foundation. My soul will wait, my soul will wait for you. This is love I can't explain. This is mercy unreserved. Through your sacrifice so great, I have peace that's undeserved. For the battle has been won and I feel ashamed or loss.

Now the scene of death is gone. You're my sorrow and my salvation, my steadfast hope that won't be shaken. My soul will wait, my soul will wait for you. You're my conqueror when I feel forsaken. My refuge and my sure foundation. My soul will wait, my soul will wait for you.

Glory out on hearts before you. We will trust in you. Glory out on hearts before you. Glory out on hearts before you. Glory out on hearts before you. We will trust in you. We will trust in you. Glory out on hearts before you. We will trust in you. Perfect Savior, strong defender.

We will trust in you. Glory out on hearts before you. We will trust in you. Glory out on hearts before you. We will trust in you. Glory out on hearts before you. We will trust in you. Glory out on hearts before you. We will trust in you. Glory out on hearts before you.

We will trust in you. Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart. Thou be all else to me, stay that thou art. Thou my best love, thy table by night. Waking or sleeping, thy presence by night. Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word. I'm ever with thee, and thou art me, Lord.

Thou my great Father, I thy true Son. Thou may be dwelling, and thou may be one. Thou may be one. Thou may be one. Thou may be one. Thou may be one. Thou may be one. May I reach heaven's choice, O I have it son. Heart of my own, whatever before, still be my vision, O ruler of all.

Heart of my own heart, whatever before, still be my vision, O ruler of all. Good morning, my name is Elliott and I'm a junior in high school. So first I'm going to talk about my life before Christ and the self glory that I lived in. I saw my previous life before Christ as filled with pride.

I only valued what I saw as valuable. I neglected and mistreated so many people in my life. I took advantage of the love they gave me and did not take for granted all the support I had around me. I spent all my time on trying to grow my status and my achievements.

I thought my athletic achievements or academic performance would validate me that the world would love me because I was successful. So for context, I've been at Berean for over 10 years. I've almost grown up in this church and I've grown up hearing such great messages about the character of Jesus that he died for us.

And I remember coming to church as this place where I heard these cool fantasy stories about this good guy that lived a while ago and I always told myself that I'd worry about it later. And I would devote myself when I wasn't so busy with school and I had the free time.

So in October 2021, there were some drastic changes in my life. My dad had collapsed in the garage during the night for a mysterious reason. He had suffered a traumatic brain injury and was incoherent of his surroundings. He struggled to recognize who I was. Due to my age, I was not allowed to visit him in the ICU.

I was overcome with anger and grief over the fear of losing my father. This marked one of the first times in my life where I turned to the Lord. Although I had been taught to pray at meals or before I slept, this time I remember praying intensely to God in anger.

I bashed God for hurting me and potentially taking away one of my greatest loves. I felt helpless and selfishly demanded that God fix this situation. I remember even boldly telling God that I had hate for him. Even in this anger and loss though, I was so defeated that I had asked God if he truly was real to heal my dad.

I prayed without having faith that this would come true. Slowly, my dad began to heal and show signs of improvement. Still, doctors warned that chances of full recovery were slim. Miraculously, my dad healed at a rapid pace. Within six months, he had regained most of his life back. Experts even had a hard time explaining at his rapid pace.

I slowly realized that God really was an all-powerful, benevolent Father. I learned to cherish the time that I had of my loved ones. That every day we live is a blessing from the Lord. Even after this, I did not immediately give my life to Christ. I began to grow in hunger for God, but clinged on to the world.

It was only after a week in the mountains in 2023 when I gave my life to Christ. I remember vividly grasping the weight of my sin, how helpless I truly was in the battle against my flesh. I was filled with this heavy weight that dragged me down, and I realized that I was dead in my trespasses.

I submitted myself to the Lord and asked for him to take me as I was. I pleaded for God to forgive me of my sin and declared that through Jesus' death and resurrection that I was saved. Since giving my life to Christ, I have seen several spiritual fruits in my life.

I have now seen a desire to be away from the world, just as in Romans 12:1-2 it says, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." I have also seen how I can be steadfast in numerous trials of my life.

I saw what I used to see as the greatest tragedy in my life, as the greatest act in which God worked for me. What some would see as the potential loss of a father, I saw it as the event that brought me closer to God the Father. I am now so thankful for this event, since it showed me the character of God, that God showed me how urgently we must live life, and that I must devote my life to him and glorify him.

I have seen a desire to spread the word and the good news to those around me. I have seen my relationships improve and my heart grow in gentleness. Finally, I want to end with an impactful passage that I read when I was giving my life to Christ in Ephesians 2:8-10.

It says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Elliot, for that awesome testimony. If you can turn your Bibles with me to Luke chapter 12.

Reading out of the NASB, I'm going to be reading from verse 13 all the way down to verse 21. Luke chapter 12, 13 through 21. And he told them a parable saying, The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?

Then he said, This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

But God said to him, You fool, this very night your soul is required of you. And how and now, who will own what you have prepared? So it is a man who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Father, we come before you asking for your direction, that we may comprehend your will, your thoughts, that we may surrender our lives.

I pray that you would search us through your word, that we may have a glimpse of who you are, that we may have a better understanding of what resides in our own hearts. We lift this time to you, Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. What is the mission of the church?

What is the mission of the church? If you've been at a church any period of time, you probably already know that answer, right? You probably heard many messages about that. That Jesus called his disciples, Come, follow me, and I will make you disciples of men. He spent all three years preparing his disciples to take the baton when Jesus leaves to go spread the gospel.

And then afterwards, the very last commission, what we call the Great Commission, he says, Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations. So everything that Jesus did during this life was to prepare the disciples. So when we say, What is the mission of the church? It is not one of many missions that we pick and choose.

You know, for our church, it's going to be the Great Commission. For another church, it's going to be social justice. Another church is going to be for biblical soundness. No, the mission is clear. There is no debate. No matter what denomination, no matter what church, there is no debate because Jesus makes it crystal clear.

The mission of the church is the Great Commission. We talked about that last week. In the context of sharing the gospel that Jesus is preparing his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees because they're the first ones who's going to come attack you. Don't live in fear of them.

If you're going to fear anybody, fear God. Because he cares for you. Because he loves you. And when you begin to go proclaim this good news, and the opposition comes, whether it's in the synagogues, the rulers, or those in authority, he said, the Spirit of God is going to tell you what to say.

So it was all in the context of preparing for the Great Commission. Then all of a sudden, it seems like there's a sudden change in verse 13. He said, the crowd, somebody in the crowd says to him, tell my brother to give my inheritance. So he begins, starting from verse 13, the message about wealth and about inheritance and about how we ought to be careful.

And it almost seems like that he's changing direction. That now he's done with the Great Commission, now he's going to be talking about wealth and inheritance. But if you observe carefully, I think we're going to come to the conclusion that probably the reason why this is in there, in this context, is because one of the greatest reasons why people do not evangelize is because of the same reason of this man, because of what we allow ourselves to covet in our hearts.

The very nature of the word Great Commission, good news. You can't say, I have good news. I have great news. I have this news that saved my soul, that all mankind is dependent upon the work of Christ. And then to say that, and then to not to share it, it wouldn't make any sense.

It is only consistent to somebody who says, I believe this great news, that their salvation found in no other name except for Jesus Christ. To say that, to believe that, to sing that, to teach that to our children, and then to not to share it. What is the reason?

Especially in the Western culture, where, and I don't know the exact number because I've seen it go up and down, but it's never gone more than 5%. They said, at best, 5% of professing Christians regularly share their faith. 5%. There's a lot of people who are very in the church about community, about right doctrine, about we're going to do this, and training, and discipleship.

But the very core of the mission of the church is to go make disciples. So if you do all of that, and you're not engaged in a great commission, it's like, I believe in the good news, but I'm not really committed to sharing the good news. I believe it's good news.

I believe it's the best news, but I'm not necessarily committed to sharing this good news. Why is that? Why do so few Christians actively engage regularly in sharing this good news? I believe that the core reason behind it is the same reason why this man is asking the question that he's asking.

We are concerned about our safety, our comfort, and security. We don't want to rock the boat. We don't want to create an environment where I'm going to feel awkward at work. We don't want to create an environment, what if they don't receive me? What if they don't believe me?

They're going to think I'm weird. And so we're going to end up forfeiting something because we end up sharing the gospel. So for our safety, for our comfort, we kind of are timid or we make excuses and say, well, the opportunity has not been given to me. Or maybe I haven't been trained.

It's the church's fault because they don't train me to evangelize. I remember the first time I met the Lord, I knew nothing about evangelism, but all I remember is I have to tell my friends. I have to tell my friends. If God is real, I have to tell my friends.

We come up with all these excuses, but at the end of the day, the reason why this is relevant is because I believe that this is the main reason why the Great Commission is not being actively pushed through. We're afraid that we're going to lose our comfort. We're afraid that we're going to lose our security.

We're afraid we're going to lose some of the things that we covet in our hearts. Let's look at this text. Let's look at the request that he's making in chapter 12, verse 13. Someone in the crowd said to him, meaning that this crowd is the same crowd that Jesus was speaking to in the previous passage.

He didn't go to another village. He's not talking to a different group of people. It's in the same crowd where Jesus is warning them about living in fear, about he who denies me before men, that they will be denied before the angels of God. It's the same crowd that probably heard this.

He said, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me. Now, we first look at it, and because of the way Jesus responds to him, we assume that maybe he's doing something wrong. But it doesn't mention the context of this. Most likely, what is happening here, according to Jewish law in Deuteronomy, the firstborn, firstborn male, gets two-thirds of the inheritance, and then the one-third gets distributed.

Whether they have three brothers or 15 brothers, the one-third gets distributed to the others. But the firstborn is given two-thirds. So the likely scenario in which this is happening is the father probably passed away, the oldest brother received the inheritance, and maybe he's hoarding it to himself. He's not giving it to them.

So on the surface, it looks like this is unfair. Maybe this is injustice. And he's been trying to get this resolved, but he can't get it resolved. And so he sees Jesus, this teacher, and said, maybe this is an opportunity that I can get him to help me. Now, him asking a rabbi to help him, like, tell my brother to give me an inheritance, is not unusual.

Because at that time, the Jewish community, they were not well integrated into the regular society. So the Jewish community lived centered around the synagogue. So I mentioned this before. The synagogue was the center of not only their religious life, but the economic life. And that's where they got their education.

People would often get married in the synagogue and have their celebration at the synagogue. So the leaders of the synagogue basically had authority over all many different aspects of their life. So my guess is this man seeing the authority of Jesus, saying, Rabbi, teacher, tell my brother, tell my brother to be fair and give me the inheritance.

He's trying to use Jesus' authority to basically correct something that may have gone wrong. As a pastor, especially when our church was younger, I would hear different conflicts or certain things being done, and then every once in a while, I would hear my name being thrown around. And saying, Pastor Peter said this.

Pastor Peter said that. And I said, I don't remember saying that. I don't remember saying any of that. And I remember, sometimes they'll use certain things I say, and they said, okay, if they say Pastor Peter said it, then if you go against me, you're going against Pastor Peter.

Right? And I can tell you stories after stories, so after a while, I kind of have to make sure. Like, I have to make my communication clear. Right? I'm not saying this. I'm saying this. Did you hear me? Don't repeat what I said. Don't use my name to go and tell people and then force people to do something that you want in my name.

My guess is, this is kind of what's going on here. He feels some level of injustice and maybe if this rabbi, this teacher, he threw his authority behind what I'm saying, then I can get what I want. But the issue with what he is asking is not what he is asking because this is not unusual.

This is not a request that would have been unusual to ask a rabbi. What is unusual is the context in which he's asking because Jesus is not a regular rabbi. Remember, this crowd is gathering together. So many of them, it says that they were stepping over each other. There were myriads upon myriads.

Thousands upon thousands are gathering because of what reason? Because they liked his teaching? Yes. Because of his miracles? Yes. But all of that, the conclusion was he must be that Messiah. they've been talking about him for centuries that when he comes, he's going to restore all things. And so now, after all the things that he's done, they pretty much concluded he has to be.

Every sign that was necessary for him to confirm that he's the Messiah, it must be him. That's why this crowd was gathering. So the context of them asking, it was not a typical rabbi that he was talking to. he was talking to who he believed to be the Messiah.

The reason why this was an issue is considering who Jesus is. Considering he had an opportunity to have the audience of the Messiah in front of him, the thing that was pressing in his heart is to tell my brother to give me my money. That's what was the most important in his heart.

I just read recently that there was a man who paid $19 million to sit with Warren Buffett. $19 million. If you don't know who Warren Buffett is, he's probably the most successful stock picker of our generation outside of some congresswoman. He's been the most successful stock picker of our generation.

And so they're paying $19 million hoping that sitting. Can you imagine what that conversation was? I mean, obviously that man is already a wealthy man. Right? I mean, he can afford $19 million for a meal. It wasn't because the steak was great. Right? What do you think that he was asking him?

Do you think he sat there and said, you know, I'm having some marriage issues. Right? Can you tell my wife to stop nagging me? Right? Do you think that was the gist of the conversation or say, oh, my children are in rebellion and so, these are pressing issues. Right?

These are things that, you know, any parent, any husband would want. But do you think that that's what he was asking? That $19 million meal was giving some life advice on some decisions that he's going to make? We don't need to know. We already know why he paid $19 million.

Because this man has the greatest stock picker of our generation. So if he paid $19 million, my guess is he's hoping that $19 million investment may turn into billions of dollars. Take some of his advice. How do you know? How do you pick this? What do you do? When do you sell?

When do you not sell? How do you know if this company is worth it? When do you endure all of this? My guess is he came with tons of questions just to ask him. Hoping that maybe some information that he's going to get from him is going to lead to maybe billions.

That $19 million compared to maybe some stock he's going to pick and he's going to put in $100 million is going to double, triple. It is not what he was asking. It is this question revealed what was in his heart. He's standing before the Messiah that people are stepping over each other to get to him and we can understand why if he's the Messiah.

And of all the things that he could have asked him of all the things that was pressing in his heart he stands before the Messiah and said can you tell my brother to give me my money? In John 4.10 it said Jesus answered and said to her to the Samaritan woman if you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you give me a drink you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.

This is in the context of John chapter 4 where he asked a Samaritan woman give me a drink of water and then she said well why would you ask me a Samaritan you know a Jewish rabbi and he said if you knew who I was you would be the one asking me.

In Psalm 2.8 it says ask me and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance and the very ends of the earth as your possession. Think about the content of our prayers often. We're praying to God who created the universe the universe just by his speech everything is made it by him for him everything is held together because of him and so we come before him and think carefully about the content what's so urgent in our hearts and when we examine it we see that we're not that far away from this man of all the things we could have answered he said ask him and I will give you nations I will give you inheritance the end of the earth to your possession because only he has the capability authority and the power to give that because he's God and we stand before this God and so much of our prayer it's not because God doesn't care he said he cares about every hair on our head every strand of hair he said he cares about us that much but we have an audience with an almighty God and our prayer is often not much different than this man are you going to pay the bills might get a job or pray for safety pray for comfort pray to keep us from any discomfort or rejection and sometimes the content of our prayer reveals what we covet in our hearts so the problem of this question is not it was a very normal question regular question that many people probably ask many other rabbis but in considering that this man probably came to the conclusion already that this was the Messiah and that's what he was going to ask that's why the response to the man Jesus says who appointed me judge or arbitrator over you it's another way of saying why do you involve me of all the things that you've seen me do he can open eyes to the people who are blind he can walk on water he can raise people from the dead why do you involve me in this there are many different channels that he could have gone through maybe he could have taken him to court maybe he could have gotten other family members involved but maybe Jesus was the easiest way how much of the content of our prayer do we bring to God because maybe the easiest way is if he just snaps his finger and just fixes in John chapter 2 4 Jesus says this to his own mother they run out of the water the first miracle that happens is Jesus mother comes and say Jesus they ran out of wine can you help and Jesus answers and woman what does that have to do with us my hour has not yet come in other words it's another way of saying why do you involve me do you not know why I came it is not time so he turns to the crowd and he's trying to teach something very very significant very very significant this this thing that's in this man's heart needs to be addressed to the whole crowd so he turns to the crowd and he gives this parable and beginning of this parable he says beware and be on guard two imperatives back to back remember we always say if you see anything repeated in the Bible that is for the purpose of emphasis today if we want to emphasize something you just highlight it bold it you put arrows on it emojis or whatever you put on it it's like this is I love you we have many ways to express that in the biblical times anything that must be emphasized it is repeated Simon Simon Peter Peter in other words pay very attention very close attention is that Jesus when God is sitting on his throne that he is holy holy holy it was meant for us to stop and take a look that of all the attributes of God this is the attribute that the creatures are crying out holy holy holy holy so when Jesus gives a double imperative it's not just any words it's not Peter Peter truly truly it's an imperative it's a command and there's two negative commands given to him simultaneously beware and be on guard in other words pay very close attention be vigilant be vigilant for every form of greed be very careful if you're going to examine anything examine what's in your own heart your greed your coveting now why is it so significant why does he emphasize it in this way if you look at scripture what was the reason why Satan fell because he coveted what God had and he wanted it why did Adam and Eve what was the temptation that he threw at Eve that you can be like God it was his coveting Cain why does he murder his brother because he coveted coveted the attention that Abel got the Tower of Babel what was their problem they coveted and wanted to be like God so at the core of the fall of mankind even though it may seem trivial if if you see the backbone behind which all these sins were built upon was coveting in fact if you look at the Ten Commandments every one of these commandments is a fruit of coveting why did the nation of Israel why were they constantly tempted to worship Asherah Asherah was just you ever see a picture of Asherah it's ugly yeah it's ugly look at in fact all the idols are really ugly but what was the temptation that caused them to abandon the God that delivered them from Egypt that miraculously fed them why were they constantly tempted because at the present time maybe the water wasn't falling and maybe they weren't getting food maybe they weren't able to have kids or whatever they were struggling with and they look at the Canaanites who are worshipping Asherah and different idols and they seem to have a good life so at the core of breaking the first commandment thou shall have no other gods before me is coveting thou shall have no graven image of me don't make an image of me and call it me the breaking of the second covenant why do people do that because they want something and the God of the Bible may not fit it so they pick and choose what they want God to be and they break the second commandment their third commandment don't use my name in vain why would they use apply God's name in the wrong place because they're trying to use God's name for their own benefit so at the core of it is coveting why were they breaking the Sabbath because they wanted to make more money so at the core of breaking the fourth commandment was coveting it honor your father and mother why would they not honor their father and mother because the mother and father is not giving them what they want if mom and dad gave them everything that they desired they would love him so the breaking of the fifth commandment at the core of it is coveting thou shall not kill James 4 2 it says you desire you covet and yet you do not have that's why you kill you desire and you do not possess and that's why you quarrel that's why you divide so that the core of it is coveting so every commandment in the bible the root cause of it is coveting that's why he ends in the tenth covenant is thou shall not covet of all the ten commandments thou shall not covet seems like the least of the commandments it's what we would call respectable sin everybody covets we all covet anybody in this room doesn't covet something oh you know I do not coveting isn't coveting green paper wanting status is coveting to be acknowledged that's coveting wanting security outside of God that's coveting when you have placed anything in your heart a desire something that God has not given to you and I want that and that coveting causes you to do and say things and go places or not go places that's coveting so at the core of every sin of every pride at every rebellion at the core of it is coveting and that's why he says be aware be careful for every form of coveting in your heart don't excuse it because that is the beginning that's the beginning of all the other sins do you know they said for the first time in 2025 that marketing budget in the United States has surpassed one trillion dollars they said that was for the first time I mean it's been tinkering around there it said basically the world spends a trillion dollars to plant coveting in your heart you you need to have that phone you need to buy this house you need to go to this place you need to go here and eat this everything that we see all the marketing basically how do we successfully create coveting in your heart a trillion dollars and this is one year is being spent so that you would fill your hearts with something that you don't have and convince you that you must have it and it's not just material things one trillion dollar is spent to do that but with that comes status your position security it's not just material things why we feel the need to have certain amount of money why we need to invest in certain things why we buy our house why we sell our house all of it is a trillion dollars every single year our enemy is planting in our hearts Hebrews chapter 13 5 it says make sure that your character is free from the love of money being content with what you have because he himself has said I will never desert you nor will I ever forsake you so he says the opposite of coveting is contentment so if you allow discontent to bear fruit in your hearts it automatically leads to coveting discontent is because what you covet you do not have I covet recognition I covet this I covet material things I covet experience I covet safety I covet security whatever that may be when you don't have what you want to covet you become discontent and discontent is what ultimately leads to rebellion but instead he says I will be satisfied that God promised I will never desert you nor will I ever forsake you I mean there is no ambiguity what Jesus felt about this because in Matthew 6 24 no one can serve two masters you cannot serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and wealth he did not leave four or five different options he said either you you are serving me or you are serving money you can't do both either your heart is filled with gratitude toward God or your heart is filled with coveting for the things of this world but you can't have both because one will drown out the other life does not consist of abundance in other words reason why we covet is because we convince ourselves that I will be happier if I have that I will be more content if I have that if I pursue that if I have this and he said you can have all of that and be discontent I mean this is fundamental Christianity right at the core of the teaching of the gospel is to deliver us from coveting in fact the parable that he tells he said the land of the rich man was very productive if you notice here he's already a rich man he didn't he's not pursuing to be rich he said the land of the rich man so when he says the land of the rich man was productive in other words he he was lucky he had this land he could be a rich man has a land that wasn't productive so in other words it was saying God gave it to him God allowed him to become wealthy and he experienced this wealth but look what he says and this is not by accident look verse 17 and on he began reasoning to what himself he receives the wealth from God God allows his land to be very productive and then he said well what am I going to do he says he reasons to himself he doesn't go to God and say God thank you for what you've given me what do you want me to do with this how do I store this gift that you have given me he says he was reasoning to himself saying what shall I do since I have no place to store my crops then he said this is what I will do I will tear down my barns and build larger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods and I will say to my soul you have many goods laid up for many years to come take your ease eat drink and be merry what would I do with all my possession and he was talking to himself hey soul what are you going to do right and so he was trying to be wise by his own and has no mention of God even though verse 16 tells us that God allowed his land to be fruitful there's no coming to God what should I do with the gift that you've given me that you've blessed me he's already a rich man has become richer and what am I going to do how can I be wise I know what I'm going to build more storages I'm going to fill it more and if I keep filling it that maybe I'll have enough and be satisfied then I will be comfortable I will be able to eat meat I will be able to be merry and then relax and then verse 20 but God said to him you fool right and that's in contrast to the three four verses he was trying so hard to be wise with his own possession his own future but when God looked at that he said you fool you fool this very night your soul is required of you and now who will own what you have prepared that you fool because you do not know you're preparing for the future but the future hasn't been given to you that's in God's hands in fact Luke chapter 17 26 27 it says and just as it happened in the days of Noah so it will also happen to the days of Son of Man they were eating they were drinking they were marrying they were being given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all do you notice here before the greatest judgment that mankind had experienced until we see the great white throne judgment later on the greatest judgment that God put upon mankind the flood he doesn't say they were killing each other they were sacrificing babies they were eating and drinking just marrying like everybody else like everything was okay they were living because they were not aware of God God was grieving over them and yet they were just having fun and he says just like that at the end times he doesn't describe because they're killing babies or doing this so God's judgment is going to come upon them he says no they were just eating and drinking and taking care of their children and getting married they're so concerned about just having a comfortable easy life he said that's what it's going to be like it's not because of this increase of sin that was so detestable that all of a sudden God's anger is sparked he says no they were just eating and drinking and being merry they were just coveting this world it doesn't seem like a great sin but this coveting was leading to all other sins at the core of it is that you fool he said God allowed you to experience this now who will own this after you die all your labor all your wisdom all the work that you put in you fool you do not know if you're even going to be here tomorrow this very night your soul is required of you and then the final exhortation that he gives in Luke 12 21 so is the man who stores up treasure for himself is not rich toward God that's the secret right there you can read this and say well maybe God is saying we shouldn't own any money if you have a nice house shame on you if you drive a nice car shame on you if you put away money and you have plenty of money in retirement shame on you is that what are you saying if you have any kind of money every single one of us is guilty because nobody woke up this morning I don't have food for breakfast I don't know if my children are going to be cold tonight nobody in this room struggled with that that's not what he is saying in James chapter 4 13 to 15 says come now you who say today or tomorrow we will go to such and such city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit here's a man who is engaged in business trying to make money well if what I said was true then he said shame on him he shouldn't be trying to make a profit he doesn't say that yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow you are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away instead you ought to say if the Lord wills we will live and also do this or that if the Lord wills it's not about having money but when you covet in your heart and you make that the central thing and you allow God you use God to support your best life now it's about you I will I did I did my possession and I will do this and I will do that and even though we cry out to God it's crying out to God to help me with my life when the priority of who is Lord sometimes we fool ourselves we're not following Christ we're following what we covet and we're asking God to help us I've determined in my heart that this is what I want and as long as it's not sin what's so bad about taking care of my kids what's so bad about wanting to be safe and then we come to God help me is Christ truly Lord pursuing riches says is what chokes the word in Mark 4 19 the worries of the world the deceitfulness of riches the desires of other things enter in and choke the word and it becomes unfruitful in the four soils we know the fourth soil right planted bears fruit 30 60 100 fold we know that's a Christian that bears fruit has eternal life we know the first soil is not the devil comes and snatches it away where the confusion often comes the second and third soil and even the second soil is not as hard because they come and they for the momentary they're the ones who raise their hand come down the aisle and then in a year or two they're not at church right that's the second soil they seem like they're bearing fruit they seem like they believe but by their life it's clear that there was no true faith but they're not in the church first soil people are not in the church because they don't believe second soil in the people they live quickly but the churches are filled with the third soil one they're rarely confronted rarely confronted because we can't we can't disturb people if they feel bad I would think that the greatest concern is that your salvation is secure that you know that you have genuine saving faith I would think that would be the number one priority of anybody in the church but because we see the third soil the coveting in our hearts as kind of lesser so I didn't kill anybody I'm not lying I didn't commit adultery so this constant coveting in our heart we allow it it's respectable sin it's acceptable because who doesn't want a nice car who doesn't want to have safety who doesn't want to have enough money to take care of our kids who's but we so we allow all this coveting in our heart who doesn't want to improve who doesn't want to be better who doesn't want to be acknowledged in when life is constantly pursuit of what we are coveting in our hearts it says it chokes the word of God and we ask ourselves you know I come to church the word of God is not coming to me you know I can't remember the last time I really prayed and came and studied and really longed for God and they would say oh it must be the church it can't be me because everybody struggles the way I struggle so it can't be me they come before the Lord they search me and know me see if there's any hurtful ways in me are there things that I'm coveting that's choking the word of God why was it many years ago when the word of God came it felt like God was speaking to me personally and it's been many many years that the word of God has been choked maybe it's the system maybe it's the church maybe it's the people maybe I don't have the right church maybe I don't have the right people around me could it possibly be the coveting that you've allowed to bear fruit in your heart that has been choking the word of God how has how does riches deceive us it produces false security that you feel perfectly fine it's been years since you've really prayed to God urgently it's been years that you've had quiet time before God the sea came out but you feel perfectly you know mentally you feel guilty but there's no sense of urgency but as soon as as soon as there's some money missing in your bank account or you made an investment and the stock goes down oh my gosh the world is falling apart I need prayer I need to do something I need to get this right it gives you false sense of security it gives you superficial happiness that the desires of this world is no different than drug you take it for that moment and the fruit of that does all this damage but for that moment you're happy it gives you false sense of happiness false sense of priority if God would satisfy my coveting then maybe I would have enough ease and comfort and time to be able to really pursue God if God would only first satisfy my coveting so it gives false sense of priority and it gives false sense of identity that when you have money you say oh I was so smart I made some right choices I bought the house at the right time and I invested in this and I bought crypto way earlier when nobody knew and so it gives you a false sense of pride I said I did I know how to do this and you guys should do this or it doesn't work out and you don't have money and all of a sudden it's like what's wrong with me everybody's so smart I'm worthless and so it gives you false sense of identity and all of these things are deception our identity what we pursue all of it because we have accepted constant coveting in our heart Matthew 6 19 to 21 do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy where thieves break in and steal but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in for where your treasure is there your heart will be so the natural question is where is your heart where is your heart where do you find the greatest joy if you want to know if you want to carefully examine if all other sins stem from coveting has coveting hardened your heart where is your joy what causes the greatest angst in your life feeling spiritually dry not having a sense of urgency in prayer it's been years since I really prayed before God but somehow that you can live in perfect peace away from God but as soon as something that you're coveting that you don't get and all of a sudden your life gets turned upside down where is what causes the joy what causes the angst in your life what do you look forward to in the future what do you look forward to do you look forward to eternity or do you look forward to if I put up money away that I'm going to have enough money to take a vacation and do this I can if I do this I will save money and I can buy the house that I want what are you looking forward to what has filled your own heart what are you sacrificing for even the world sacrifices people will pack their bags and they will walk into dangerous places in the world thinking that if they make their sacrifice now maybe five or ten years from now they'll find gold or treasure or their business is going to go crazy so even the people in the world will sacrifice because they think there's going to be some payoff what is the payoff what is the payoff that you're waiting for what are you willing to forsake what are you willing to forsake in order to gain what you get you have to ask yourself I know plenty of people are doing fine in their faith and all of a sudden they get tempted they covet something and they're willing to drop their their spiritual life their church their surrounding it's because I covet that and because we allow this respectable sin this subtle influence in our heart coveting in our heart that we make decisions based upon coveting and sometimes even we're not aware of it 1st Timothy 6 9 through 10 but those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction this respectable sin that that everybody struggles with it leads to ruin and destruction for the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil the love of money isn't love of green paper the love of money is love of security love of ease love of pleasure it's the root of all sorts of evil and he says some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs so let me stop right here okay we go and say okay so stop coveting okay all right everybody agree stop coveting all right whoo we're delivered we are delivered all right from all sorts of evil thank you for telling us that we shouldn't covet right now how do you change your heart to not covet you you place your eyes on something that you really wanted and you've allowed it to dig deep into your heart and and now your joy your happiness and your longing it's all wrapped up in your heart and say stop it right you can you can know you have you don't have any more power to just oh I'm gonna stop I'm not gonna it's like a man who's been starving all day and then he's walking around in a buffet saying I'm not gonna eat in fact I'm not even gonna be hungry I'm not gonna be hungry you may you may try real hard to not to eat but you can't you can't get rid of the hunger right so sooner or later the hunger is gonna cause you to slip fall down especially where the mashed potato is and then your mouth is gonna be open when you fall and then oops right how do you get rid of this company here's how here's how when you covet something greater than that it overpowers the previous company Paul says in light of the surpassing knowledge of knowing Jesus Christ it became rubbish it became rubbish because he was comparing with something else much greater because he was confronted with God's glory he lived all his life coveting to be recognized as being holy and righteous and kept the law all because he coveted status he coveted self-righteousness and he sacrificed imagine how much work went into keeping the law all because he was coveting but in light of meeting Christ everything else became rubbish you don't just fight coveting by hard will by discipling somebody it's like I'm gonna disciple you so you're no longer hunger for this world I'm gonna set you an example how you until his desire changes discipleship all it is is shaming him shaming him to change his behavior until your desire has changed and the only way your desire changes is if you begin to covet what is good that you begin to hunger and thirst for his righteousness that you are seeking his approval and that's why he says what what changes that is worshipers people worship in spirit and in truth are people who have changed their desire where their pleasure their life their coveting is God that's why Paul says in philippians 312 not that I ever obtained it or have already become perfect but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which I also was laid hold of by Christ Jesus brethren I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind reaching forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus he said I have not I have not taken hold of it yet he's not talking about salvation of course he's not talking about salvation he said he was given Christ he said I desire to suffer and fellowship with him because I desire him more than anything else his eyes became open to his glory and as a result of that he said I'm going to forget everything everything that I've been coveting everything that I've allowed into my heart I'm going to now covet Christ even if it causes me suffering I press on toward that goal this is why coveting is so dangerous because it keeps us from coming to Christ and that's why a Christian is somebody whose eyes have been open to the glory of the gospel a non-christian is somebody whose eyes are still closed to the glory of the gospel and so when they look at the world that's what they want because they haven't seen Christ they haven't seen Christ this is why we study the Bible not so that you can be knowledgeable so you can you can test and see what's wrong and what's right it's like oh ultimately he says what what did Jesus say you to search the scriptures to see thinking that there's life in there when all of scripture was about me was to reveal my glory so that you can see my glory and in the light of my glory all other temptation you'll be delivered from to deliver us from this empty way of life by showing us who he is let me finish with this Psalm 27 verse 4 and I pray that this would be our prayers one thing I have asked from the Lord that I shall seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in his temple father help us help us to be untangled with the coveting for this world open our eyes Lord God that we may see a greater degree of your glory that are coveting for you coveting for your promises coveting for the greater things Lord God that you have given us would overpower any other coveting in our lives may Christ's name be exalted in our hearts and in our lives in Jesus name we pray amen let's all stand up for the closing praise Thank you.

As in heaven, so on earth, my heart is drawn to self-exalt, oh, help me seek your kingdom first. As Jesus walked, so I shall walk, help by your saint, my changing heart. Be still, my soul, who lift your voice and pray, Father, not my will but yours. How in that life be persisted, I may never fully know the fearful way.

Through the words, it was held by the Lord. What wondrous faith to bear that cross, to bear my sin. What wondrous love my hope was sure. With that, my Savior, great Father, not my will but yours will die. When I am lost, I am broken. In the night of air and dark, still I'm a trust in my good Father.

In the night of air and dark, still I'm broken. In the night of air and dark, still I'm broken. As Jesus walks, so I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise.

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In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise.

In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise.

In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise. In the night of air and dark, still I will rise.