Good morning church family, happy Lord's Day. We will now begin our service. Good morning, welcome to Berean Community Church. Let me get to a few announcements before we get started here. First of all, for Trunk Formation, that's coming up in a few weeks on Sunday, on October 31st. Just a quick note that our time for that has changed from 5 to 7 to 4 to 6 because of the parents who are waiting around and also the light is getting darker.

Okay, so anyway, the sun, whatever. Okay, so we want to try to finish everything before it gets dark. So we're going to do it from 4 to 6 o'clock. They're still asking for volunteers for the Trunk Formation, so if you want to decorate, you want to team up with some people and then decorate the trunk, they're still taking volunteers for that.

So that's taking place on October 31st. Bible Study Lab, how to do inductive Bible study, that's being led by Pastor Mark. That's starting also on November 7th and it'll be three weeks. So if you want to learn how to do inductive Bible study to kind of better help you for what we're doing on Wednesday in the home groups, please sign up for that and that's a three or four week course.

Anyway, Pastor Mark is leading that, so please sign up for that. And then one last thing, on November 7th, and I'm going to keep announcing this until we get there, it's National Orphan Sunday and we're using that as kind of a platform to encourage and to teach our church about what's going on as far as the adoption things are going on.

So we have different booths, different organizations that are going to come here and set up booths for us. Compassion is going to come, Holt International is going to come, I think there's a couple others that are going to be coming here that you're going to be able to go to the booth and ask questions.

And so the push really is to kind of get involved with the ministry, the Orphan Care Ministry and various ministries that will come that Sunday. We have a lot of families who have adopted, are in the process of adopting or given application. We have some families who are doing foster care.

Embryo adoption is a new thing that's going on, so there will be some information that's going to be given to that. We have a family who's in the process of doing that as well. And so we have a special guest speaker that's going to be coming to speak on that subject that Sunday.

So along with that, I know some of you may not be close to thinking about or praying about adoption anytime soon. So one of the ways that we can get involved is to encourage other families to do so. And so we are going to be taking an offering that's going to be specifically used for scholarship for members in our church who are in the process of adopting.

Once they're done and because there's quite a bit of cost involved with adoption so that we can come alongside and help with some of the costs. So we're going to be offering scholarship for that. Encourage other younger families to get involved with that. And so please mark that. We're going to keep announcing and to remind you, but on the 7th of that Sunday, we are going to be taking a special offering that's going to be used specifically for that.

And anybody who has questions, that Sunday will be the day where you can talk to some of the families who have already gone through it and are in the process of doing that. So if you want any information, that information will be given on that Sunday. All right, so let me pray for us and give you an opportunity to give your offering.

And again, if you're new to the church, we have a physical offering basket in the back. So please visit that after the service. All right, let's pray. Father, we thank you for your continued graciousness and love that you pour upon us. Things that we are aware of and things that we may not be aware of.

Help us, Lord God, to be sober-minded that in all that we do, that we may do it purposefully. That even in this giving, Lord God, help us to give it to you as an act of worship. Cheerfully, joyfully, Lord, that it may be multiplied for your use. So we ask for your blessing.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. For those inside the sanctuary, let us rise as we sing these praises. You spoke and all creation came to be. The molecules and planets reveal your great design. And every one was made so we could see. So we could see. You are the glorious Christ, greatest of all delights.

Your power is unequal, your love beyond all lies. No greater sacrifice than when you lay down your life. We join the song of angels who praise day and night, glorious Christ. You left. You left the air of heaven to breathe the dust of it. Dwell among the outcast and the poor.

Came to be forsaken, died to take our curse, so you could be our joy forevermore, forevermore. You are. You are the glorious Christ, greatest of all delights. Your power is unequal, your love beyond all lies. No greater sacrifice than when you lay down your life. We join the song of angels who praise day and night, glorious Christ.

You're seated now. You're seated now in heaven and thrown at God's right hand. You shattered death and freed us from our fears. And though we cannot see you, you're coming back again. And all would be made right when you appear. And all would be made right when you appear.

You are the glorious Christ, greatest of all delights. Your power is unequal, your love beyond all lies. You are. You are the glorious Christ, greatest of all delights. Your power is unequal, your love beyond all lies. No greater sacrifice than when you lay down your life. We join the song of angels who praise day and night, glorious Christ.

I will trust my Savior Jesus when my darkest doubts befall. Trust Him when to simply trust Him seems the hardest thing of all. I will trust my Savior Jesus. Trust Him when my strength is low. For I know the shield of Jesus is the safest place of all. Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust you more and more.

Jesus, only Jesus, may my heart be ever yours. I will trust my Savior Jesus. He has said His way is best. And I know the path He's chosen leads to everlasting rest. Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust you more and more. Jesus, only Jesus, may my heart be ever yours.

Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust you more and more. Jesus, only Jesus, may my heart be ever yours. Oh, on that cross, how it was seen. I can go now ever trusting in the one who died for me. What could I bring? For your gift is complete. So I trust you, simply trust you, Lord, with every part of me.

Oh, on that cross, how it was seen. I can go now ever trusting in the one who died for me. What could I bring? For your gift is complete. So I trust you, simply trust you, Lord, with every part of me. Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust you more and more.

Jesus, only Jesus, may my heart be ever yours. Jesus, only Jesus, help me trust you more and more. Jesus, only Jesus, may my heart be ever yours. Amen. You may be seated. All right. If you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 13. And we're going to be looking at verse 5 and 6 this morning.

Hebrews chapter 13, verses 5 and 6. Reading out of the NASB. Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have. For he himself has said, I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you. So that we confidently say, the Lord is my helper.

I will not be afraid. What will man do to me? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we praise you. We thank you. We ask, Lord God, that what you have ordained your word to be, your very breath, would cause us, Lord God, to see a greater glimpse of your glory. Search us and know us and see if there's any hurtful ways in us that we may be sanctified.

That your word would judge the thoughts and intentions of our heart. That we may live lives truly worthy of the gospel that you've called us to. So we pray for your grace this morning. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Some of you who may have been following the news this week, there was a lot of controversy around Facebook.

Some of you guys may have heard of it or read it. Because a whistleblower from the company came out and basically said that she has evidence that Facebook has been deliberately and willfully knowing that the material that they are exposing the people to are harming their people. And yet for profit, because they want more people to be on there, that they're deliberately allowing these things to happen.

And so there's been a huge controversy, a lot of talk in Congress talking about splitting up Facebook and that they can't allow this to happen. And my response when I heard all of this was, no duh. Why is anybody even surprised that a company who's there for the purpose of profit would be willing to do something that they know would be harmful for people for their own profit?

And to think that Facebook is the only one guilty of this, it's as naive as we can get. Researchers say that an average American, by the time he's 20 years old, have watched over 1 million commercials. 1 million. Every one of those commercials, billions of dollars of research goes into it to get you to buy something that you may not actually even need.

To go places and want things that you don't really need. People spending money that they don't really have to get things that you don't really need. So to think that Facebook, oh, they got caught trying to make a profit doing something that may be unethical. Do you think that doesn't happen in every TV show that you watch?

That they are pushing an agenda? That it may not be good for us? Every Disney movie you watch, if you've been watching it and you haven't filtered what you've been watching, have been planting seeds in your head that we're all aerials. That my life is no good, but something good is out there, and I've got to run away from my parents to get there.

That's kind of like the theme of every Disney movie. There's a reason why I pick on Disney. And it's not just Disney. It's not just Disney. The whole world functions like this. You think the movies that you watch don't have an agenda, that they're trying to get you to think certain things, to have a certain bent?

You think the media, you think the news outlets don't have an agenda, that somehow they're trying to get you to train and to think a certain way, and so they're divulging information that is convenient, bent toward one way or the other? Even your history. History also comes through certain channels.

So they're not just giving facts. They're picking and choosing what are some things so that they can paint history a certain way. Our whole educational system, do you think that they don't have an agenda? You think the people who pick curriculum don't have certain things, ideas, that they want to implant into our children?

Our whole world system has an agenda. So to just get surprised, like, what? Facebook is allowing harmful material for the purpose of profit? To think that they're the only ones is naive. The Bible clearly says the god of this age is Satan. The word for age here is not cosmos.

It's not the world. God is the creator of the world. The words there is ion. Age, meaning what is popular. Age, meaning what the philosophies and the values of the world. Satan is the god of that. So the Bible says that we have an enemy who is like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

His primary avenue in the way that he devours is to infiltrate our thoughts and our hearts away from God. And so to think that you and I are just kind of existing in this world without any specific agendas that are trying to deliberately attack your thoughts. So there's a reason why the Bible says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by what?

By the renewing of your mind. And how do you renew your mind? According to the word of God. So when we become a Christian, our whole process of sanctification is testing everything that you and I have been taught with God's word. Is it biblical? Is it not biblical? Because if you don't test it with the word of God, even the very things that you think are righteous and unrighteous may have been influenced by the god of this age.

What you think is good and what you think is bad, because Satan has actively trying to implant thoughts and desires in our heart that is contrary to what God has desired. That is not just Facebook. The whole world system works that way. So that's why if you're not actively in the word of God and allow the word of God to test everything that you think and do, you may already have been influenced and not understanding, not knowing, or maybe not aware that satanic thoughts have been implanted in your head.

First John 2.16 describes how Satan works. He says, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world." He basically, in this text, it summarizes the way that Satan works to implant seeds, to draw us away from God.

If you look at this pattern, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the boastful pride of life, you see that exact same pattern when Satan takes-- or when Jesus is out in the wilderness and he is tested before he starts his public ministry. Lust of the flesh, remember?

Jesus is hungry after 40 days and he says, turn this stone into bread, right? And so he couldn't get Jesus to stumble that way. Lust of the flesh. And then he shows him all of his kingdom, Satan's kingdom. And he says, if you would bow down to me, I will give you all of this kingdom.

He said, lust of the eyes. And then that didn't work, so he takes him up to the temple. And then he says, if you jump down, if you really are the Son of God, prove yourself and jump down and angels will come. The boastful pride of life. That same pattern, we see the same pattern in Genesis chapter 3, verse 6.

When Satan comes to tempt Eve, it says this. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, lust of the flesh, and that it was delight to the eyes, lust of the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, the boastful pride of life, she took from its fruit and ate, and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

So satanic attack, the desire, instilling this desire in us and then showing us what we-- to tempt us and to get us to covet, and then to pursue that so that we can get ahead of everybody else is not unique to Facebook. This is satanic attack on all of us, constantly.

This coveting in our hearts. The text that we're looking at when it says do not covet, do not desire money, let your life be free from the character, free from the love of money. Of all the commandments that are listed here in Hebrews, this is one of those commandments where it's like, well, I'm not materialistic.

I don't drive fancy cars, and I don't look at million dollar homes and say, oh, I need to have that, and so therefore maybe I don't really struggle with this desire. I want to show you just how prevalent this is and why this is so important. So the first point I want to take you through is coveting is the root of many other sins.

It's the beginning of all the other sins. He says, make sure that your character is free from the love of money. He's not just talking about looking at something and say, oh, I want that. He's talking about the character, your very personhood. In the other translation, ESV, in the NIV, it says, keep your life free from the love of money.

He's talking about an individual who is continually pursuing after things that have been planted in their heads. Maybe it's something that you saw. Maybe it's just a desire that you have. Maybe it's just to compete with your neighbors to get ahead in life. But you're pursuing these things, not realizing there's a deliberate satanic attack to draw you away from God.

So he's talking about an individual where his life pattern is given in. He could come to church on Sunday. He might even be a Sunday school teacher. But his general character is pursuing what everybody else is pursuing. And it may not be sinful. There's nothing specifically to point out and say, oh, that's wrong.

The Bible says this is wrong. But your general pursuit are the covetous things that you have allowed into yourself, and you're making decisions. And you're pursuing certain things that is contrary to what God desires. In 1 Timothy 6, 9 through 10, it says, but those who want to get rich, that those who pursue riches fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.

If your life is patterned by pursuit of getting riches, he said, that is the root cause of all these other things. For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. And some, by longing for it, and have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Again, let me emphasize, when he says love of money, coveting of money is the root behind many other sins. That's what he is saying. Why did Satan fall? What was the cause of Satan's fall? Satan fell because he coveted God's glory. Why did Adam and Eve fall? Because Adam and Eve coveted God's knowledge.

Why did Cain commit murder? Because he coveted his relationship with God's relationship with Abel. Saul, King Saul, why did he fall? Because he coveted what other kings had. And then after he was rejected, he spent the rest of his life coveting what David had. Ananias and Sapphira, the first people who get killed because of their sin, what was their sin?

They coveted other men with reputation, because they were giving their property and giving it to the church. And so they coveted the reputation of godliness. So they lied to the church. But it was coveting that led them there. James says, in James 4, 1 through 4, the root cause that leads to murder is coveting.

James 4, 1 through 4, what is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you is not the source of your pleasures that wage war in your members. He says, coveting is the source of all kinds of dissensions in your family, in the church, with relationship, he says, because you have these desires that are not met.

Now, the desires that is not met doesn't just have to be material goods. It could be your reputation. It could be comfort. It could be whatever it may be. There's unmet desires. You covet something that you're not getting. Maybe it's respect. Maybe it's acknowledgment. Whatever it may be. Maybe it's comfort.

Whatever it may be, it is unmet desires that's causing frustration in your heart. You lust, and you do not have, so you commit murder. Majority of people may not make that leap in committing murder. Remember what Jesus says? The root cause of murder is bitterness and hatred. And root cause of bitterness and hatred, he says, is coveting.

He said, that's what ultimately leads to. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and you quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask, and you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. He also says, the reason behind false teaching is also coveting, in 2 Peter 2.3.

And in their greed, they will exploit you with false words. Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. He says, the motivation behind why these men were going around teaching false doctrines, he said, it was greed. Some were pursuing sordid gain. Some were simply pursuing popularity.

And even today, it's obvious. When somebody is pursuing, preaching the false gospel in order for financial gain, that's the health and wealth gospel, people. It's clear why they're doing it. It's their way of getting what the world has to offer, but they're doing it in the name of Christ.

But it's not limited to money. False teaching comes out because there's some benefit. You tickle people's ears because by tickling people's ears, you may get a bigger church, a bigger following, sell more books. But he says, the fundamental reason or the seed that motivates a false teacher, he said, it's his greed.

His desire, his coveting in his own heart. Look at the 10 Commandments. The root cause of why people would break the 10 Commandments. You ever wonder why the Israelites would ever even be tempted by false idols? Consider what they had in God. I mean, what God actually showed-- what among their idols actually showed up, split the Red Sea, give them water miraculously.

And then when they complained, he would give them quail from the sky. And then he would destroy nations, whoever stood. They saw miracles after miracles after miracles, but they kept on being tested and wanted to go worship Asherah or Baal. You ever see that idol? It's just a stick.

Literally, why would that even be a temptation? If I showed up one day and saying, worship this right here, who would be tempted? If you bow down, you worship this right here. Asherah is just a piece of stick. What was their temptation that led them to chase after these idols?

They were going to land, and maybe their farm wasn't working as well, or maybe families were having a hard time having children. Whatever wealth or whatever coveting that they coveted in their heart that they didn't have, and God wasn't giving it to them, and then they look at the Canaanites and they have it.

And so the reason why they ended up worshiping Asherah and Baal and all the other idols is because through that, they were hoping that what they coveted, that they can have also. So it wasn't that they were attracted to this pole or this piece of rock. They thought that maybe if we worshiped it, we can have what they have.

So the reason why they kept on going after idols was the coveting that they had in their hearts that was not being fulfilled at the time that they desired. The second commandment, you shall not make any graven images of him. Why would they do that? They would make an image and say, this is Yahweh, because the Yahweh that they could not see wasn't giving them what they wanted.

So they were creating an image of God that they wanted, much like today. So much of the Jesus that is being worshiped in the church is a graven image of Jesus. It's not the image that's in the Bible, because the Jesus of the Bible is not giving them what they desire.

So they create a new Jesus that will give them what they want. What was the root cause of that? Coveting. You should not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Today, when we think of that, when we look at that passage, saying, oh, it means that you can't say God, and then as a curse word, which is obviously part of it.

But the true application of this is using the Lord's name to get what you want. That's coveting. The root cause of breaking the third commandment is coveting. Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy. Why were they breaking the Sabbath? Because they wanted to work and make money, instead of worshiping God.

They wanted to get ahead. So the reason behind that is coveting. Honor your father and mother. Now, I'm not saying that this is true of every instance. But part of the reason why children rebel against their parents is because the parents are not giving them what they covet. So the root cause for many who rebel is coveting.

And we've already read in James, it says, you shall not murder, that it's coveting that leads to bitterness and conflict that leads to murder. So the root cause of murder, he says, is coveting. You should not commit adultery. Adultery is coveting someone else's wife. You should not steal. It's coveting someone else's stuff.

You should not bear witness against your neighbor. And part of the reason why there's bearing witness, false witnesses in conflict, again, in the Book of James, it says it's because unmet desires, coveting. And then it ends with, you shall not covet. If we don't understand the deadliness of this sin, we can kind of read all of this, don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't fare false witnesses.

But coveting is just, oh, I desire that. You look at advertisement, it's like, oh, I want that. You pick up a habit, and it's like, oh, I want more of that. And we won't think of all the things that we are warned against. Coveting seems to be the most innocuous, the least dangerous.

Yet, he says, coveting is the root cause of why there's human rebellion. All of mankind fell because of what? Because of coveting. Because Adam and Eve wanted something that God didn't give them. And they were willing to get it. Coveting is the reason why so many people fall away from their faith.

You know, we're saying, well, some people may fall away if persecution comes. The government is putting pressure, and we actually have to sacrifice. There's a-- at least from what I've seen, when persecution comes, church gets strengthened. People who may not be Christians fall out, and then true Christians end up strengthening their faith.

So persecution has never been bad for the church. Majority of people who walk away from their faith simply drift away because they have unmet desires that's not being fulfilled. So they're willing to compromise and go after things because God's not giving it to them. So they simply drift. Luke chapter 8, 14, it says, "The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard.

And as they go on their way, they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to maturity." These are people who hear it, seem like they have genuine faith, but because they've embraced coveting in their life, and they just kind of-- and it's not huge things.

Oh, I want to be a multibillionaire. It's the little things. It's all these advertisements that we see, and we see what other people have. I want some of that, too. I don't want to be greedy. I'm a Christian. I don't want to be materialistic, but what's wrong? I want to take care of my children.

And so we make small compromises, and next thing we know, that's what we pursue. And I believe that that's probably the greatest danger. What is hurting the church more than anything else is allowing coveting to creep into our hearts. Luke chapter 16, 13, it says, "No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other." You cannot serve God and wealth.

You cannot. And yet, we have churches filled with people who's trying to prove God wrong. Either we don't believe it, we reject that, or we hope out of all the things that God says that this one isn't true. You cannot covet and pursue the things of this world and serve God at the same time.

There is no in-between. He says you cannot. Millions and millions of people who have gone before us have tested this and have proven to be wrong. And yet, every generation, there rises a new group of people who are testing God and say, maybe I'll try it. And then we create a new kind of Christianity that has nothing to do with the Bible.

The whole book of Hebrews is a warning against this, to not to drift. Why do you think they were drifting? Why do you think they were drifting? They weren't drifting because of-- like there's division in the-- they were simply drifting, because they just looked at the world that they left, and they started coveting that again.

They just started compromising, just start slowly drifting away into that. Pursue a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Next thing you know, that's who you are. That's what you pursue. Turmoil and anxiety come from not having what you want or afraid of losing what we have.

And so either of these motivations that we covet in our hearts causes us to pursue things that have nothing to do with God. Yesterday at the conference, one of the speakers, he mentioned that we ask these two questions. What is it that you want that you do not have?

And what is it that you have that you do not want? The root cause of what penetrates into our lives and then leads us to all these other kinds of sin are the small compromise that we make and we allow. And the next thing you know, that's exactly who we are.

We just happen to go to church on Sunday. We just happen to make a decision at one point in our life. But that is not our pursuit. So you see how-- why this is so important? Because if we don't recognize this sin, then automatically we start drifting toward the things that this sin leads us to.

But the second part of this is contentment comes from valuing God above everything else. He says, but being content with what you have. When you see coveting, and he says the way to combat that coveting is to be content with what you have. Well, how do you do that?

Do you just sit there and say, be content, be content? How do you do that? How do you not covet when you're living in a world of nice things? Right? I look at some of your Instagram pictures. It's like, covet. I want to go there. One day I want to go there.

I see what you eat. It's like, oh, that looks good. I want to eat that. I see what you drive. It's like, oh, that'd be nice. Oh, that bed seems comfortable. It'd be nice to have that. How do you not covet when you're living in a world filled with things that are easily accessible, especially to us?

I mean, you show that to certain parts of the world. It's like Superman flying. It's just fantasy. But for us, it's a reality. If we want it, we can have it. If we just are wise with our money and plan well, buy Bitcoin early, you know what I mean?

There's ways to get to all of this stuff are really at our fingertips. So how do you and I live in a world filled with temptation and not allow coveting to penetrate into our hearts? Well, one, we need to recognize coveting when it's there and not to excuse that and say, well, I'm just taking care of my kids.

What's wrong with that? Where do you draw the line? And all of these things that we use to allow this coveting to creep into our hearts, and then we gradually start to pursue that. Let me ask you a question. If you were to go back in time, what period of your life would you want to be?

Now, some of you guys are there right now. You just don't know it. Most people who graduate college-- and ask the 24, 25-year-olds who've already experienced bitterness of life because they're working full time. And then they say, man, you had it so good in college. They're already grizzled after a year and a half of working.

Most people will point back to a certain period of life. Most people my age will say somewhere around 30. I don't want to be too young. I need some respect. So at 30, when the kids were young, they're in the house. Even though it was a difficult period of life, financially, that's the period of life when I fantasized.

Where would I be? When the children were young, we're in the house. But I was dirt poor during that period. I mean, we'd have to save up money to go to Korean barbecue. We just didn't have money. But yet, when I think about my past, that's the period that I have the fond memory of.

It's like, oh, when the children were young in the house, and they still thought I was cool. That's the period. Most of us will pick a period of life-- and really, money doesn't have a lot to do with it. Most of us, the older we get, the more money we have.

Maybe we made some poor decisions. And maybe some of us had less money now than when we were younger. But most of us, that's not true. Most of us, the older we get, the more assets, the more money that we have. And yet, when you ask, what period of your life do you want to go back to, it's a period that has nothing to do with money.

And yet, if we talk about going for the future, like, oh, I wish that period would come. I wish the next period. Majority of our fantasies has to do with money. If I can pay off the bills. If we had a little bit more when the kids are a little bit older, and we didn't have this, and I can buy this house, and I can save up a little money, and I can retire and go here.

For whatever the reason, when we fantasize about the future, it has something to do with coveting. But when we look back at the past, it has nothing to do with money. I'm not saying that this is true 100%. I'm sure somebody after service is going to come up to me and prove me wrong.

You're that one exception, OK? Everybody else, most likely, this is true. Why is that? Because Satan is clever. Satan is clever. Because he is attacking us, because he causes us to covet in our hearts, thinking that our happiness is going to come if we have this. And that's what causes us to pursue the things that, when we look at the totality of life, doesn't even matter.

Contentment isn't having what we want, but recognizing exactly what it is that we have. And that's the heart of what he gets to. To fight coveting, he says, "For he himself has said, 'I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.'" In the English, the dynamic of this passage really doesn't flesh out.

Because in the English, when we took grammar, right, they tell us, "You're never to use the two negative." "I will never not do this." That's confusing, right? You're wrong. You're not supposed to do that in grammar, in English. In the Greek, there's five negatives just in that short sentence.

In the Greek, it says, "No, never, not even, never, ever." That's what it says in the Greek. There's five negatives in this one sentence. Now, is that by accident? Of course, it's not by accident. In fact, Charles Spurgeon has a sermon on this specific text, and the title of his sermon is, "Never, Never, Never, Never, Never." That's the title of his sermon.

"Never, Never, Never, Never, Never." It's not by accident. It's not that the person who was writing this is really bad at grammar. He's trying to make a point. Of all the things that you covet and you desire in your heart, there's only one thing that will never disappoint you.

There's only one person that will never let you down. There's only one promise that will always be fulfilled, and that's the point that he's trying to make, that do not give in to your character or life where you're pursuing and coveting, and I want this, and I want that.

He says, "Be content with what you have because what you have, if you're a Christian, is a promise of God that says, 'I will never, ever, ever, never, ever forsake you.'" That is not by accident. He's trying to instill in us that that's what Christian contentment looks like. In Romans 8, 31 to 35, "What then shall we say to these things if God is for us, who is against us?

He who did not spare his own son but delivered him for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all things?" You and I know this passage so well. Some of you probably have memorized this text. But a Christian who lives his life coveting the things of this world, discontent, it's not just it doesn't make sense.

It's ludicrous to believe that God loved us enough to send his only begotten son, his son, allowed him to suffer, absorb our sins. He was forsaken so that we wouldn't be forsaken to confess that, to sing that, to memorize that, to study that, and then to leave the room thinking, "Is God going to take care of me?

What if I give myself to him and he forgets me? Why is he not answering my prayers? Why is he not doing this? What if I don't get the promotion? What if I don't get this job? What if my business doesn't do well?" He says, "How will he not, if he gave his only begotten son, how will he not along with him give us all things?

If he loved us enough to sacrifice his own son, would he sacrifice his own son and say, 'Okay, now good, go, try to make it on your own.'" Does that make any sense? He says, "No, how will he not along with him give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect?

God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died. Yes, rather who was raised. Who is at the right hand of God? Who also intercedes for us? He didn't just justify us. He continues to intercede on our behalf. Who will separate us from the love of Christ?

Will tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?" In other words, never, ever, ever, ever, never, never will he forsake you. That's what he's saying. You look at the Great Commission, right? If you look at the Great Commission, the disciples failed miserably. Just a few days before Jesus commissions them.

Imagine what the commission is. The commission is gathering his disciples to go take the gospel to the remotest part of the world. What he did, what God has been preparing since the beginning of the fall of man, that he promised that the seed of the woman is going to crush the head of the serpent, that he was going to come and do this.

So all of history from Genesis to Malachi to the showing up of Jesus was to prepare for this, for the gospel. So right before they go out, they fail miserably. In fact, the leader, Peter, fails the most miserably. In Jesus' face, he says, "I don't know him. I don't know him.

I don't know him." Just a few days later, he commissions his disciples, "Go therefore make disciples of all the nations." Now, in any other part of the world, if you want to be a CPA and you fail the test, you don't get to be a CPA. If you're going into law and you don't pass the bar, you don't get to be a lawyer.

If you're in the medical field and you don't pass your test, you don't get to practice. These disciples, before the Great Commission, failed miserably. It was only a few days. And he sends them. Humanly speaking, how can they start new? Yeah, you wasted three years, but get somebody else who's not going to deny you.

But what does he say? All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And behold, what does he say? I will be with you to the end of the age.

He wasn't sending them. He was going through them. That's exactly what it says in Acts chapter 1.8. They're ready to go. No, no, no, you can't go. You don't remember? You just failed. If you go on your own strength, that's going to happen again. I'm going to send the Holy Spirit.

When he comes, you will receive power and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth. He wasn't just sending them. He just chose them to use them. And the promise to give them strength was, I will be with you. That was his promise.

Again, I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever forsake you. That was the same message all throughout Genesis. Your success is not because you were great, it was because a greater number, that you're better trained or you have better leaders, or you have better history, or you have more money.

The only promise that he gave them is that you will be successful. What? Do not turn from my word to the left or to the right. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and lo, I am with you. Their whole success all throughout redemptive history was, I will be with you.

I will never leave you. Ever, ever, ever, ever, ever. Christian contentment isn't simply pursuing this world and getting certain things. It's like, oh, I have money in the bank account. He says, no, to believe with all our heart the promise that God made. And that's why you and I are here.

That's why we sing these songs. That's why we do Bible study. That's why we memorize scripture, to be reminded again and again and again and again that our contentment is in Christ. Jim Elliot, as you guys know, is famous for saying, "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to have what he cannot lose." And I know many of you have heard this many times.

He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to have what he cannot lose. Reasonably speaking, I mean, Jim Elliot was a tall, handsome dude. He was the man on campus. If you read his story, he said he was popular with the ladies. He was athletic. He was very articulate.

I mean, he could have literally been used powerfully. What a waste, this young man who's so gifted and talented, even in the eyes of the world, he's gifted. Couldn't he have lived a bit longer and preached the gospel to more people instead of going into the weird part of the world and Ecuador and then dying early?

See, humanly speaking, we could look at that and say, "What a waste. What tragedy. He could have been so useful for God with all the things that God had given him." And yet, he practiced what he wrote. He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to have what he cannot lose.

His treasure was in Christ. God used his death because it was in his hands, because God never left him. Whether he lived a long life or a short life, God never left him as he promised. This Psalm 23, this is a passage that we quote all the time. Some of you guys may have it as a plaque in your home.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the path of righteousness for his namesake. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. We quote that, we memorize that, we preach about that, but how many of us sitting here say the Lord is my shepherd, period?

The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my king. The Lord is my savior. The fundamental question for a Christian is not, "Is God good?" That's not the fundamental question because even Satan knows that. The question is not, "Is God good?" The question is, "Is God enough?" Is he enough?

You can covet the world and say God's good. You can be in the church, be a Sunday school teacher. You can be a leader. You can be a preacher and say God is good, but that's not the question that he asks, and that's not the question that we need to be asking.

The question is, "Is he enough?" If he is not enough, you don't have to want to covet, you just do. Who doesn't want to live in a nice house? Who doesn't want to drive a nice car? Who doesn't want to have nice things? But in the end, we all know.

We all know. Whether you die with a hundred million dollars in your pocket, whether you die with zero in your pocket, you die. Whether your children are well taken care of, whether they have hardship, you die. We don't know that. I'm not saying anything controversial. I'm not saying anything that's uniquely Christian.

We die. And in compared to eternity, we live a blip. That's the reason why the psalmist says, "Help me to number my days. Help me to know how short this life is so that I don't covet this period of my life that I forfeit this. Help me to number my days so that I would know how short life is." You know, one of the benefits of getting older is this become more and more of a reality.

Man, 50 some years went by like nothing. It's a blip. Help me to live with that reality so that as a believer, that I would live with Christ in mind, with eternity in mind. A covetous man can never be satisfied. And a content man can never be shaken. I had a friend who was making $250,000 a year, and he has to work overtime to meet his needs, he says.

Now, most of us in this room who don't make that money, sounds ridiculous, right? Most of us peasants in here, $250,000 is like, "What?" He said, "What?" But if you're making $500,000, you know exactly what he means. You make $250,000 a year and you need to work overtime? Because when we covet, we don't covet down, we usually covet up.

I don't make anywhere near this kind of money, so what I covet is in this room. Because this is what I see. Your Teslas. I want it. Your nice houses, I want it. You know, your camping equipment, I need it. What I covet is what I see, because this is my socioeconomic status, so what I'm surrounded by is what I covet.

If you start making $250,000, you're not coveting what you see in the parking lot, because that's a reality for you. You end up taking your tiny little boat that you paid $100,000 for, and you're in the yacht club, and the next guy shows up with a million dollar yacht.

That's what you covet. That's why somebody making $250,000 thinks like he doesn't have enough, because that's a deception of this world. Satan will, no matter what place you are in life, there will always be somebody ahead of you that you think that you need, because that's a deception. Majority of the people in the world look at what you and I have, and it's a fantasy to them.

Garage sale. Garage sale in Kenya. What does that mean? You know, the excess stuff that we have that got outdated, you know what I mean? It was popular 20 years ago. It was no longer popular today, so we're selling it, maybe sometimes giving it away. What? You know what I mean?

Majority of the world, if you travel, they eat the same food, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, seven days a week. What? Today, it's like, "Oh, I love sushi." And I've mentioned this enough on the pulpit where it's like, "Oh, let's go out to sushi." I'm like, "I'm tired. I've had too much.

So I got to have Mexican food, Thai food the next day, Pho the next day, Korean the other day, and then I got to go Italian the other day, because we have access to all of it." That's the temptation to where you and I are. We live in a fantasy world compared to the rest of the world, but majority of us in this room think that if I just had the next, I should have bought that Bitcoin early, that Dogecoin, that Shiba Inu, whatever it is out there, and you're fantasizing like, "I could have, I should have.

If I did, maybe the next one, maybe the next big one comes in. I'm not going to miss out." And your mind and heart is filled with these things because Satan uses that to draw us away from him, and it leads to conflict, frustration, and compromise. You know what's interesting?

In John chapter 16, 33, after Jesus telling his disciples that he's going to leave and you can't come with me, and then John chapter 15 he says, "But you need to continue to abide in me." He says it over and over again, 11 times in John chapter 15. "Stay with me, remain with me, remain with me, remain with me.

Even as I go, if you want to bear fruit, you need to remain with me because I will never leave you, so don't leave me." And in conclusion of that text, in John 16, 33, it says, "These things I have spoken to you so that in me you may have peace." And then it says, "In the world you will have tribulation." Wait a second.

He said, "I'm praying so that you would have peace," and then he says, "But in this world you're going to have tribulation." Which is it? Am I going to have peace or am I going to have tribulation? He says, "But take courage, I have overcome the world." The peace that he's telling us has nothing to do with this material world.

Coveting is more than just money. It's more than just things. Things that we don't have, that we've convinced ourselves, or Satan has convinced us that I need to have. I have to have these things. And then we slowly, little by little bit, we covet and we go, next thing you know, you wake up five, ten, fifteen years later, you're not the same person you were before.

So it's not just about an event, it's not just about just one thing, it's just our life, our character begins to change because we've allowed coveting to creep into our hearts and the decisions that we make, where we go to live, what we pursue, what we value, what we're willing to compromise, all because we've allowed coveting to creep in.

Don't worry, I'm almost done. We'll deal with this after the service. Hebrews 13.6, I feel like I'm in a disco. Hebrews 13.6, it says, "So that we confidently say, emphatically say, 'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?'" That's our goal this morning, so that we can say confidently, we can emphatically say, "The Lord is my helper, not my bank account, not the politicians, not my husband, not my wife, not my children.

The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. I'm not going to let the fear of, 'Well, if I do this, what if I can't get this? What if my children are not going to have this?' I'm not going to let the fear guide my decisions in what I do.

What could possibly man do when God has promised, 'I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever leave you.'" So let me conclude with this. In Philippians 4.12, Paul says, "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 content, of being filled, and going hungry, both having abundance and suffering in need.

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." You notice here, Apostle Paul says, "I have learned it." He didn't just attend a class and somebody didn't just show him a verse and he said, "Oh, how did he learn it? By life." There are some periods in his life when rich people were giving him finances, and so his ministry was fully paid for and he didn't have to worry.

And then there are periods when he didn't have to work his tail off to make tents to make ends meet. He experienced hunger as an apostle, handpicked apostle of God. He experienced poverty and he experienced riches. So it's not about being poor. It's not about being rich. So whether you have a lot, whether you have a little, I have learned the contentment is in Christ.

So this morning, as we wrap up before the disco light goes off again, this is where the rubber meets the road. You know, last week we talked about honoring marriage and sexuality and all these things are practically entering and we're having all kinds of struggles. We talk about persecution and the politicians and crazy things that they're doing and the educational system.

All of these things, I think as Christians, we need to be aware. We need to be aware, get involved. We live in a free country. We can vote our values. All of these things are freedoms that we have been given by the grace of God. But what causes the greatest destruction in the church is this constant nibbling at the table of the world that allows the coveting into our hearts with no filter.

Knowing that the God of this age is planting seeds in our mind and in our heart and we give into it day after day after day after day. So you don't see yourself slipping until years have gone by and you see where you've drifted and you realize, how did I get here?

You didn't get here by a decision. You didn't get here because you jumped off a cliff. You got there because it was day after day after day after day of allowing this covetous heart to reign in our hearts. So this morning as we pray before God, let's come before the Lord and honestly pray.

Search me and know me. See if there's any hurtful way in me. Have I allowed these coveting, not just material things, desire for praise, desire for comfort, for refuge, our hope, better place in life, along with the material things. Have I allowed these things to rule over my heart?

Lord search me and know me. See if there's any hurtful ways in me. So as our worship team comes, let's take some time to pray and to really come before the Lord and allow the word of God to judge the thoughts and intentions of our heart. Let's pray. >> Everyone stand up for the closing praise.

>> Let's pray. Colossians 3, 2-4. "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory." Lord, we pray that as you exhort us, admonish us, encourage us to fix our eyes upon Christ, the author and the perfecter of our faith.

I pray, Father God, that that would not simply be a theory or a theology that we embrace. Help us, Lord God, that that would be the pattern of our life, our character. So while we are weakened, we come to you, Lord God, asking for strength, that your word and your Holy Spirit would uphold your church, Lord God, that we would learn to be content in every and all things.

We pray, Father, for those who are rich, that our confidence, Lord God, and our pride would not be from that. We pray for those, Lord, who are struggling with finances, that you would protect us from coveting, Lord, to learn to be content with all that you've given. So we pray this week, wherever we go, that we would be the aroma of Christ, that his death and resurrection would be the center thought, centerpiece of all that we do for the sake of your name.

Help us, Lord God, to be mindful of the non-Christians that are around us, that we may intercede for them as Christ intercedes for us. So we pray that we may bear much fruit for your kingdom this week. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. God sent his Son. They called him Jesus.

He came to love. He left for good. He lived and died. To buy my poor head. An empty grave is there to fill my Savior's list. Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future. And life is worth the living just because he lives.

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