"You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor's House"
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December 21, 2014 |
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 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor" (Exodus 20:17).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
There is no limit to men's greed. Even if they are wealthy, they are not satisfied with what they have and keep on trying to accumulate more. Even after they get more, their thirst for wealth cannot be quenched. Only when they seek eternal life and fill their hearts with hope for Heaven can they have true satisfaction and joy.
1. We must cast off greed and covetousness for the worldly things
When they see a splendid house or precious things, many people exclaim, "Oh, how wonderful!" But some of them may think beyond that level, "I want this," and by extension, through the thought that they want it, the greed and covetousness come in and settle in their heart. Concerning this, James 1:15 says, "Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death."
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life all share the same root with this greed and covetousness. They are to love lustful things in the world and to want the things of the world. Because of this greed, people tell lies, steal, commit adultery, swindle others, rob others, embezzle money, commit murder, and practice all kinds of sins.
This greed sometimes causes enmity between parents and children, husbands and wives, and brothers. Because of this greed, people feel jealous of others who have more than they do, being unable to rejoice with the truth. 1 Timothy 6:10 says, "For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."
There are even some believers who commit sins due to greed. For example, at the time of conquering Canaan, Achan stole and hid some gold and silver and a mantle from the spoils of war. Because of this, all his family members and even his cattle as well as Achan himself were destroyed. Also, Ananias and Sapphira decided to sell their land and give it to God, but as soon as they had the money in their hands, their greed was moved. So, they hid some of it and took the rest, and they told a lie to Peter that it was everything. They ended up dying under the curse of God.
2. A person whose soul prospers doesn't covet
Even if a man can enjoy so many things, and even if he gets the whole world, what is the use if he loses his life? On the other hand, even if we do not enjoy all the splendor of this world, if we believe in the Lord and have true life, we are truly rich people.
In Luke chapter 16 we find the parable of 'the rich man and the beggar'. The rich man always lived a luxurious life every day, but the beggar named Lazarus was begging at the rich man's house and lived a wretched life. However, Lazarus believed in and revered God whereas the rich man didn't. Finally, both faced death. The beggar Lazarus was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom, but the rich man went down to the Lower Grave and had to suffer forever.
If we truly have faith, even if we haven't received blessing or are even in hardship now, we won't stop giving thanks and feeling joy for having gained salvation. Moreover, if we revere God and live in the Light, we will receive financial blessings because Jesus who is the Lord of all things redeemed us from all poverty. Also, the God of love answers His children's prayer with the best things when they ask by faith.
3 John 1:2 reads, "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers." As said, we first should receive the blessing of our soul's prosperity. When we cast off sins and evil and our souls prosper, everything will go well with us and we will enjoy good health on the earth as well as we will enjoy eternal glory in Heaven. This is the law of the spiritual realm.
Suppose a person whose soul hasn't prospered received great wealth. Then greed may be conceived in him and it may give birth to sin. He may even leave God. When he was once in difficulties, he relied on God, loved Him, and tried his best in his Christian life with a genuine heart. But, since he has been financially blessed now, he stops praying saying that he is busy, he distances himself from God, and he again becomes attracted to the world.
On the contrary, those whose souls prosper will not covet the things of the world. Even when they gain wealth and fame, they do not indulge themselves in the worldly lust. They don't complain when they do not gain any of good things of this world, but rather, they can give up all they have and even their lives for God.
While working faithfully for the kingdom of God, Apostle Paul suffered from so many persecutions, hunger, coldness, and many other difficulties. But he was satisfied in any kind of circumstance and gave thanks to God since he was filled with joy of receiving salvation and the love of God (Philippians 4:11-13).
3. We need to cast off covetousness and greed and pray by the Holy Spirit
Does this mean that we cannot receive any answers to our personal desires and that we have to suffer from poverty until we come into spirit? If we diligently seek righteousness and ask something we need, God will fulfill our need according to the measure of our faith. But if we ask with greed, we are unable to gain the spiritual faith necessary to receive the answer, and thus, we cannot receive the answer.
James 4:2-3 reads, "You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." As said, if we ask with greed and covetousness, God cannot give it to us.
Therefore, when we ask something, we should not pray with human thoughts, but pray according to the will of God and in the Holy Spirit. Jude 1:20 tells us to pray in the Holy Spirit, and Ephesians 6:18 says, "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit." Because the Holy Spirit knows the depths of God (1 Corinthians 1:20), if we pray according to the Spirit's urging, it will please God for it agrees with God's will. When we pray in the Spirit like this, we will quickly receive the answer to that prayer, so our soul will prosper and we will receive our hearts' desires quickly.
The most important thing in praying in the Holy Spirit is to pray with all our heart. We should offer up to God earnest and truthful prayer each moment. In the prayer, we first have to ask for strength. We should ask for strength of faith to overcome the world and to win the battle against the enemy devil as well as strength to heal diseases. Also, we should ask for the strength to pray fervently, to live in the Word of God, and to have spiritual thoughts.
When we pray with all our heart asking for spiritual strength, we will gradually receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit and will eventually be able to pray for many things naturally, and even the contents for prayer that we have never thought about, will flow out like springs of water. If we pray like this, though we cry out for a long time, we don't get tired, but rather we gain new strength. We will soon receive the answer to our prayer and our hearts will become filled with the Spirit and joy.
Another important thing in praying in the Holy Spirit is to arm ourselves with the Word of God. Only when we have the Word of God in us can we receive the Spirit's urging more clearly and specifically. If we accumulate fervent prayer every day like this, the greed and all kinds of sins and evil will be cast off and we will gain the faith to receive any answer.
I hope you will cast off all greed for this world, have hope for Heaven, and be full of thanks and joy. Also, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will pray fervently in the Holy Spirit to become quickly sanctified and ask for the things that are appropriate in God's heart, so that you will receive answers in all things.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God gives us the Ten Commandments not to lay a burden on us, but to give us perfect blessings in both spirit and body. I hope you will realize the love of God and receive all the blessings that God has promised us completely.
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