Do Not Covet: Be Content

September 27, 2015

Vol. 15, No. 39

WORSHIP
SUGGESTED WORSHIP SONGS:
Your Love Never Fails, In Jesus Name, Above All Else, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

WELCOME
Count Your Blessings. Share with your group at least 5 things you are thankful for today.

WORD
EXODUS 20:17
You shall not covet your neighbors house; you shall not covet your neighbors wife or his male servant or his female
servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Do not covet. To covet is to want something so badly
that it consumes you with uncontrolled desire to
acquire it to the point that you are willing to
compromise your values just to get it as if it is the
most important thing for you (Ephesians 5:5).
Coveting or desiring is not bad in itself unless it
becomes uncontrolled. The first sin found in the Bible
has something to do with covetousness (Gen. 2:1517, 3:6)..
Covetousness begins with a look, then after seeing
you begin to think about it, and entertain the
thought as you rationalize your need for it, then
eventually you act on it.
To control the progression of covetousness, you must
remember to PRAY: Pause, Resist your first reaction,
Ask God and Yield to the Holy Spirit. Do not be lured
with what you see. Advertisers confessed that they
produce ads to create dissatisfaction in your life to
make you desire more or something you dont really
need. God is warning us for our own protection: do
not covet.
God wants to protect us by freeing us from the
fleeting pleasures of possessions, people, and
positions and in making such our gods.

GUARD YOUR HEART

Holiness begins with the heart. Making good things
into ultimate things is idolatry or covetousness. If
your happiness and joy is dependent on something
besides God, it is the sin of all sins. If you think you
need something to be happy, you are allowing
yourself to be controlled by that thing.
God is warning us to guard ourselves. Do not follow
the world. Your self-worth is not governed by your

net-worth. If you feel valuable because of your money

or your popularity, you are mistaken because life does
not consist in the abundance of things (Luke 12:15).
If you do not understand the heart of God, you are
blinded. The danger of covetousness is it blinds us to
see what is most valuable. At deathbed, a
businessman who had been busy all his life would not
wish he had acquired more money, but rather wished
he had served God more and had spent more time
with his family and loved ones.

BE CONTENT
Worldly desires will drown you to destruction (1
Timothy 6:9). He who loves money will never be
satisfied with money (Ecclesiastes 5:10). There is
nothing wrong with riches but if that is your goal the
Bible says, the desire for riches is dangerous (Luke
12:21).
The antidote to covetousness is contentment. We
have to learn contentment (Philippians 4:13). The
secret of contentment is a transformed heart.
Christian contentment is that sweet inward quiet,
that gracious frame of spirit which freely submits to
and delights in Gods wise and fatherly disposal in
every condition. Jeremiah Burroughs
Learn and practice contentment: Do not compare;
Count your blessings; Appreciate what you have. Do not
focus on what you do not have (Hebrews 13:5). Rejoice
with others who rejoice; Trust that God will supply all our
needs (Philippians 4:19) but do not be lazy, do your part
(1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).
The antidote to materialism is to be generous to give
and bless others. God has blessed you to be a blessing
to others (1 Timothy 6:18-19). God is not against

WORD (contd)
money, but it should be accompanied by contentment
(1Timothy 6:6-7). God has blessed you not to be
proud (1 Timothy 6:17).
A rich man who is always discontented is poor. A poor
man who learns contentment is rich. Do not covet
and make your riches your god but focus on God who
richly supplies you with all things to enjoy (1 Timothy
6:17).
God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied
in Him (John Piper).

BE A RADICAL CHRISTIAN
Christianity is not shallow but radical; it is seeking
God with all your heart. The grace of God by faith
(Ephesians 2:8-9) will transform your heart and your
desires. If you have encountered the saving grace of
God in the past, it should have affected your life
today; while the lure of worldly desire is rampant, you
choose to follow Jesus day by day. Christianity is
never past tense but it is where you are right now.

The grace of God does not lower the standard of God

but it will enable us to live up to Gods standard.
If Jesus is not enough for you, it is possible that you
do not truly know Jesus. How can you bring glory to
God if you are not contented with Jesus? If you
believe God is good, then are you happy in Him?
You will not know how good God is unless you
seriously seek and follow Him with all your heart.
They who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any
good thing (Psalm 34:8, 10). The greatest blessing of
seeking God is God Himself. Once you realize that
God is all you need, your Christian life will never be
the same again, everything else is a bonus.
Do you really seek God? Is God your highest priority
(Psalm 73:25-26). You will never know that God is all
you need, until God is all that you have. At the end of
your life, if all you have is Jesus, you have everything.
Have you encountered Jesus like this?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(Leaders: Please choose questions that are appropriate to the level of spiritual maturity of your members)
1. Thou Shalt Not Covet. What is the 10th Commandment? How do you relate it with the first commandment?
2. Test of Contentment. Fill in the blank honestly: Jesus + __________=Happiness. What makes you happy? Why?
3. Life Inventory. If you knew you would only live for 30 days, how will you spend your last 30 days? What does this
reveal about what you value? What adjustments will you make in your actions and priorities?

WORKS
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOD
Jesus summarized the 10 commandments of God in
two greatest commandments: YOU SHALL LOVE THE
LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL
YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. YOU SHALL LOVE
YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. Luke 10:27
From your discussion of the 10 Commandments of
God, discuss with your accountability partner 10
learning nuggets that you will practice doing.

WEEKLY PRAYER POINTS

I. Thanksgiving
Worship God for who He is, what He has done,
and what He will do in our lives
II. Country and the World
Upright and moral governance of Public
Servants and a God-centered Philippines
Repentance and Salvation

III. Church
That CCF Members would honor and love God
and make disciples
Elders, Pastors, Leaders, and Families
Ministries and Churches worldwide
IV. CCF Facilities
New Worship and Training Center
Prayer Mountain
V. Personal Concerns
Deeper intimate relationship with God
Righteous living
Salvation of family and friends