God's Way of Life is Characterized By Freedom

I've been in the series so far, parts of the series regarding God's way of life. In my point, for those two sermons and for this sermon, which will be the last in the series, series of three, that God's way of life is characterized by freedom. God's way of life is characterized by freedom. That was the title for the first two sermons. It's the title for the sermon as well. Whenever a pastor is thinking about what he should give for a sermon, there is a check-off list that we use.

We ask ourselves, is there anything in God's calendar we need to be preparing the brethren for? If that's not the case, one of the other things you can check off is there something in man's calendar that we can discuss? And the third thing is, well, what are the needs of the local congregation at this particular point in time? As I was thinking about the sermon I started, this series, we were approaching the 4th of July weekend.

And of course, the 4th of July is a date that we as Americans associate with the concept of freedom. And I thought, well, let's talk about freedom, but not necessarily freedom in terms of our being Americans. All of that would be a wonderful topic. But freedom in terms of us as Christians.

And of course, you know, you've heard so many times in the past, how that as our particular belief structure, a lot of people would say that we are in bondage, that we are keeping this law that is a law of bondage, and it's harsh, and it's awful, and all those sorts of things. Well, I wanted to combat that and just show all the freedom that you and I have as we keep the law of God. And so, through the first two sermons, I've gone through six of the Ten Commandments.

Today, we're going to finish the series. I'm going to be going through four, the last four of the Ten Commandments. But before we go there, let's turn to Luke 4. Luke 4, verse 16. So he, Christ, came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. Luke 4, verse 17. And he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.

And when he had opened the book, he found a place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted.

Now, I gave a sermon not long ago, showing that if we never had the New Testament, we can preach the gospel from the Old Testament. And even more specifically, we went through and I demonstrated to you, documented with you, how we can preach the gospel just from the book of Isaiah. So that was the sermon I gave in the past. But here we are in the middle of verse 18. Christ says, He came to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

So this is the way Jesus Christ views the law of God. It's a law of liberty. It's a law of freedom. It's a law to help the captives to get out of their captivity. In the book of James, we read in other sermons, where God's law is called a royal law, the law of liberty.

So truly, each of the Ten Commandments, each one is a step in successful living. How we can have the happy life, how we can have true freedom. True freedom comes through God's law. Not by breaking it, not by running away from it, not by bad mouthing it, but true freedom comes through God's law. Each of the Ten Commandments is a guide to the good life, a life full of blessing.

So with that as a little bit of background, let's get into the last four of these commandments. Commandment number seven. We can find that over in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 14. Exodus 20 and verse 14. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not commit adultery. Now, what is the freedom I would like to emphasize with this particular commandment? With each of the commandments, there are any number of ways we can discuss the commandments.

They are rich, they're vibrant, they're full of life. There's many things we can say about each one of the Ten. But for this particular sermon, I wanted to focus on this as the freedom. Commandment number seven shows the freedom that comes from experiencing God-ordained marriage.

Freedom that comes from experiencing God-ordained marriage. You know, today mankind is tinkering with the idea of what marriage is. How do we define marriage? Mankind today does not want to recognize and can't understand biblical principle when it comes to laws governing marriage. And yet, you and I are fortunate. God has opened up our hearts, He's opened up our minds, so we can understand the truth of what God wants us to understand about marriage. Brother, marriage is one of the greatest gifts God has given to mankind. Marriage, as God has intended, as God has ordained, God-ordained marriage was established at creation. I'd like to read you a sentence or two from our booklet on the Ten Commandments. This particular section is from the Seventh Commandment about adultery. And I quote, His laws, in particular the Seventh Commandment, authorize the marriage relationship and establish it as the foundation of the family, which in turn stands as the foundation and most important building block of society. Now, certainly, that's not something that should be done away. Certainly, that's not something that's a burdensome thing. And I thought what I would do is go through and read some selections from our wedding ceremony and then comment on that. You know, some of you are married in a church, some of you are not married in a church. Those of us who are married in a church, it's probably been a while since we've heard some of these words. And I thought it'd be good to go through this, at least some of it. Probably somewhere down in the future, I'll give the whole thing. Let me begin by quoting. You know, in our marriage ceremony, there's at the very beginning, there's kind of a welcoming of the guests and so on. Then we get into the heart of the ceremony, and it says this, and I quote, Surely there can be no greater human joy than to have a happy marriage filled with giving and sharing. There is no deeper relationship among human beings than that achieved by a husband and wife in marriage. And quote, no greater human joy, happy marriage, no deeper relationship. Does that sound burdensome? That's only something we want to do away with. I don't think so. But all of that, this great human joy, happiness, deep relationship, is as a result of obeying the law of God.

Without that, people have all sorts of trauma in their relationships, in their marriages. I know a little something about that as a divorced man. Mary knows a little something about that as a divorced woman. Of course, we're married now, but there's second marriage for both of us. So we understand how we just celebrated our 15th anniversary here a little bit ago. But certainly, I appreciate the joy that I have, the happy marriage I have, the deep relationship I have with my wife. And that's because of God's law. Going on in our marriage ceremony, it quotes Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 21. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 21. Very short verse. I'll just read it for you here. It says, submitting to one another in the fear of God. Two parts to that, those few words there. Letter A, submitting to one another. I'm sure probably over the course of years, as you've been in the church, you ladies, you probably have heard various sermons talking about submission. And probably some of those, you know, I see some rolling of the eyes. Some of those probably were not too balanced. Were we talking about submission or were we talking about slavery? You may have thought, you know. But notice here, in our wedding ceremony, it talks about Ephesians 5.21. And Ephesians chapter 5 gives a number of marital principles. And one of the principles is submitting to one another. Husbands submit to. In the fear of the Lord. Letter B, in the fear of the Lord. Submit to one another. Letter A and B, in the fear of God. How do we do that? Well, as I made mention last week over in Chicago when I gave this sermon, there's any number of ways that husbands can submit to their wives. When we were selling our home and we found out that we were moving to Chicago and can be pastoring Chicago and Beloit, we had to sell our house. And so we wanted to make the house look appetizing. You know, the house always looked relatively appetizing. But when you're trying to sell the house, you want to make it look even more appetizing. And so what did we do? What did I do? I simply turned it over to Mary. I said, Mary, you know how to make this thing look good. And so, you know, we dolled up the house and we had a number of realtors come over before the house was actually put in the market. They wanted to preview the house so they can discuss it with some of their customers, their clients, and several of the realtors as they came through our house said, is your wife an interior decorator? I said no, but she knows how to stage a house. Now, had it been up to me, had I said I'm not going to submit to her, had I been the one staging the house, it probably had all the warmth of a sepulcher. You know, it probably would look like a barracks. There probably would have been a lot of black and brown and gray. Everything would be ordered, you know, to the place who would be just obnoxious. But Mary made it look like a beautiful setting for people to want to come and live. So the house went on the market at four o'clock one day, and the next day at 10 in the morning was sold. Mary knows how to do things. I was happy to submit to her along those lines.

Reading from our marriage ceremony regarding Ephesians 5.21 in submission, the sacred, and I quote, the sacred marriage covenant calls upon you to yield yourself to God and to each other, to hold each other in high esteem, giving honor and respect to one another with love and devotion. Always give preference to the welfare of the other, for an outgoing concern is the foundation of the marriage relationship.

Those are beautiful words. When those are applied, when the laws of God are applied to marriage, notice what we see here. As we yield to God, that we have esteem for one another, we've got honor for one another, we've got respect and love, devotion for one another, those all come from the law of God. And then the end of that phrase says, give preference to the welfare of the other. Well, let's take a look at another marriage principle. It's not in our marriage ceremony, but it's referred to there. Let's go to Ephesians 2. Philippians 2.

Verses 3-5. Now, this is a marriage principle. It's a Christian living principle, but you certainly can apply it to marriage. Philippians 2.3. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in the lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interests of others. Husbands doing that for wives, wives doing that for husbands. And let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Let the mind of Christ dwell in us and work in us.

Quoting from our marriage ceremony, it says, marriage is a natural union, but a divine institution ordained of God. It was established by the creator God at creation and derives its authority from the divine laws of God, immutable and unchangeable. It derives its authority from the divine laws of God, immutable and unchangeable. And one of the greatest laws that God has given us is found here in 1 Corinthians 13. Let's turn there. 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter.

1 Corinthians 13, verse 4. Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself. It's not puffed up. Does not behave rudely. Does not seek its own. Does not provoke. Thinks no evil. Verse 6. Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in a truth. Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

These are essential qualities of a happy and successful marriage. As pointed out in the Word of God. As pointed out by the law of God. The law of love.

It is in our submission to God's love, God's law of love, that marriage is strengthened and protected. And that is a freedom. Just ask anybody who's had marital discord. Going back to our marriage ceremony, I quote, When God created life on the earth, He made human beings the pinnacle of the physical creation, fashioning them in His own image. He gave men and women creative minds with the ability to make choices, develop plans, and build their lives on those plans.

Men and women were created with the marvelous potential of eternal life in the family of God. And as a loving Father, God gave us the institution of marriage and the blessing of a family that we may learn to love one another as He loves us. To love one another as He loves us. So we're talking about freedoms from each of these commandments. As we understand the seventh commandment, we have freedom from thoughts and actions that would hurt our relationship with God. That's a part of the seventh commandment. We've got freedom from thoughts and actions that would hurt our marriage, hurt our mate. Freedom from thoughts and actions that would hurt our family relationships. Freedom from thoughts and actions that would hurt our society.

Continuing on with the marriage ceremony, after He created the first ban from the dust of the ground, the Lord said, it is not good. The man should be alone. I'll make a helper comparable to Him. The woman was made equal to the man and spiritual potential, the perfect complement to her husband. To emphasize His purpose for Adam and Eve, the Creator God did not make the woman directly from the ground, but from the very flesh and bone of the man. When the woman was presented to Him, Adam said, this is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. The Creator then united His first man and woman, His husband and wife, saying, therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and he shall be one flesh. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. And so the institution of marriage and the cycle of human life began with God's personal blessing. God's personal blessing. So when we're looking at the freedoms we get from each one of these commandments, from the seventh commandment we are blessed that as we obey that seventh commandment we have freedom that our minds won't suffer, that our bodies won't suffer, that our emotions won't suffer as we properly keep that commandment, that our families won't suffer with broken homes. Excuse me. Something in my throat, I think, got an unclean frog in there, won't pop out.

Our society would suffer if we don't keep that commandment properly. Our character suffered, our relationship with God suffers. So commandment number seven, freedom that comes from experiencing God-ordained marriage. Commandment number eight. Commandment number eight. Let's go over to Exodus chapter 20 and verse 15. Exodus chapter 20 and verse 15. For our little words, Exodus 20 verse 15, you shall not steal. You shall not steal. The freedom here is the freedom that comes from honoring and respecting the fruits of your labors. The freedom comes from honoring and respecting the fruits of your labors. Not taking from some other person's labor and stealing.

Honoring and respecting the fruits of your labors. The eighth commandment safeguards everyone's right to legitimately acquire and own property. God wants that right honored, respected, and protected. Honored, respected, and protected. Let's look at John chapter 10 and verse 10.

I'm just going to read part of it. Well, I'll read the whole thing. John 10.10. The thief does not come except to steal.

So who's the father of theft? Who's the father of stealing? The thief, Satan, does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. So there's a contrast here. When we keep the eighth commandment, we are going away from Satan's way. Satan's way is to steal. It is the way, as Mr. Armstrong used to put it, the way of get. Theft is the ultimate assertion of the greedy, lustful way of life. One that emphasizes acquiring material and tangible things with no regard to the other guy. It's just the opposite of what we read over in Philippians chapter 2 verses 3 through 5.

God's way is the way of give. We see here at the end of verse 10. I have come that they may have life. Christ came to give us eternal life. On the God level, I have come that they may have life, and they may have it more abundantly.

Brethren, God's approach to our having material wealth is balanced. As it says, I'm not going to turn there to 3 John chapter 1 verse 2. God wants us to prosper and to be in health. He wants us to prosper and be in health so that we have a basis to live and to give to others. Not that we just acquire things for our own selfish needs, but He wants us to have a base where we can give to others. The way of give. Now Paul wrote something. Let's go back to the book of Ephesians. We were in chapter 5, but this time let's go to Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians chapter 4. What we need is a change of heart. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 28. This verse is loaded with information here. Ephesians 4, 28. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor. Working with his hands, what is good? That he might have something to give to him who has need. So here we see where God tells us to get rid of this idea of just taking something that doesn't belong to us. That somebody else labored for. Don't steal, but rather work. God is a God who works. He's a creator. He's a designer. All those things require work. Whatever you and I create in this life, we create because we have a pattern to look to. If you're working on making a table or something, somebody else made a table before you. When you took a look at maybe a number of different tables, you had something to work with. And yet our God, our great God, had absolutely nothing. He didn't have anything that came before. Out of absolutely nothing, he created the entirety of the universe. That took, you know, the way you and I would think about it, that took some work. Now, of course, God, just through the way he is, you know, he's not sweating that sort of thing, but God is a God who believes in work. Talks about in Genesis how he rested from his labors. But it's important that we understand that we have to go beyond just stopping stealing. If all we do is stopping stealing, then as one guy observed, he said this, a thief who has quit stealing may still be a thief at heart, a thief temporarily unemployed. He really ceases to be a thief only if he, in when, he replaces stealing with giving. Okay? A thief has to change his heart and outlook.

What are the freedoms that we have as a result of this commandment? Well, if everyone on earth, just think if everyone on earth kept this commandment, just this commandment, there would be no such thing as a con artist. There wouldn't be scams where people get swindled. Imagine the advertising if everyone had to be truthful. There would be no more deceptive advertising, misleading advertising. If everyone was truthful, they would work at honest day's work, for at honest day's wage.

Employers wouldn't have to worry about theft in the workplace. You know, years ago, I remember, this is many years ago, I was listening to Mr. Ted Armstrong on the radio. So this was probably late 60s, early 70s. He was talking about a company, and the company wanted to take a group photograph of their employees. It was a nice summer, sunny day, and they had a courtyard there at work, and it was near the end of work, and they thought, well, let's just let everyone know we want to have a group shot of all of our employees. Please ask all the employees to come into the courtyard. We're going to take a group photo. Now, the employees themselves didn't know what was taking place. They were just asked to go into the courtyard, and then a group photo was taken, and then the employees left, and when they left, the ground was strewn with all the things the employees were hoping to take home with them that day. There were tools, there were office supplies, there were this. I mean, it was just a little graveyard there of things that they were hoping that they'd stick in their lunchbox and take. I'll never forget that example, and that example was given about 50 years ago, a long time ago.

But when people are honest, employers don't have to worry about that sort of thing, and employees don't have to worry about being overworked.

People who delight in consuming what others produce while refusing to carry their share of labor, that would stop, too. You know, the Bible is very clear, if you don't work, you don't eat. Now, today, it's popular in some circles. If people running for the presidency say, we'll guarantee income for everybody, even if you don't want to work. Well, that's not a godly principle. Not at all. Let's look at Matthew chapter 25.

See, the thing about honesty, there's so many freedoms that are here if it's properly obeyed, and curses when it's not. Matthew chapter 25. You know the parable here. We're just going to drop down to the end of it. Matthew 25 verse 24.

Then he who had received one talent came and said, Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours. Here's a man who refused his personal responsibility to grow. He refused his personal responsibility to work, to labor. He would have been happy for somebody else to work for him, to supply his needs without him having to lift a finger. Verse 26. Let's notice God's perspective here. But as Lord answered and said to him, You wicked and lazy servant, you knew I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers that at my coming I would have had received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him and give it to him who has 10 talents, for to everyone who has more will be given, and he will have abundance. But from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So Jesus Christ has a parable here, talking about a part about a person who refuses to assume personal responsibility, to work for what he needs to have. So commandment number eight. We have the freedoms that come from honoring and respecting the fruits of our own labors. Commandment number nine.

Let's read commandment number nine in Exodus chapter 20 in verse 16.

Exodus chapter 20 in verse 16. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You do not bear false witness against your neighbor. Commandment number nine, the freedom we see here, is the freedom that comes from having truth as a way of life. Truth as a way of life. You know, it's interesting, I hadn't really thought about it until I was meditating on this subject, these commandments along the lines I've been presenting to you. But two of the commandments deal with the tongue. Two of the ten deal, well in one sense they may all deal with the tongue, but very specifically explicitly two deal with the tongue. Commandment number three about not taking God's name in vain. We said commandment number three is having freedom and having a proper respect for the true God. How we refer to that God, how we discuss that God, how we talk to that God with a proper respect for that God. Commandment number nine, there's freedom that comes from having truth as a way of life and having respect for your fellow man.

So with our tongue we show respect to God, commandment number three, and we show respect to our fellow man, commandment number nine.

When God created man, he set him apart from the rest of his creation by creating him with the ability to think and to articulate those thoughts with his tongue. Let's look at James chapter three.

James chapter three. James chapter three and verse eight.

But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth precedes blessings and cursings. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

The ninth commandment focuses on our respect for our fellow man. It addresses the way we communicate our feelings about our fellow man. It encompasses our attitudes, our speech, our behavior. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Out of the abundance of the heart, that's Matthew 12, 34. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And so if we're speaking things that are not proper, then something is wrong with our heart. Each of God's Ten Commandments were given to protect things that are valuable. Our understanding of God, our understanding of what parents are, our understanding of life, our understanding of marriage, our understanding of property. The ninth commandment protects an individual's character and reputation. Have you ever had people spoken of you in a negative way? Have you had people lie about you? Have you had people insinuate things about you that were not true? Have you felt badly about that? Have you been in a position where you couldn't do anything about it? All because somebody was not keeping that commandment. To fully appreciate the ninth commandment with all of its prohibition against lying, we must realize how important truth is to God. I'm going to give you three scriptures here. I'm not going to turn to these, but if you want to write them in your notes, Proverbs 30, verse 5 says, every word of God is pure. Every word of God is pure. Is that true for us? Are all of our words pure? I think probably all of us would blush to say too many times in our life words we have said about others have not been pure. Daniel chapter 10 in verse 21, where Daniel refers to God's word as the scripture of truth. The scripture of truth. And of course we know John 17, 17, where Christ said, your word is truth. So truth is important to God. We are God's kids. He wants us to live and to think and to act just like he does.

When Michael was disputing about the body of Moses, did he say all sorts of awful things to Satan about Satan? No. He said the Lord rebuke you. The Lord rebuke you. I'd like you to turn to Psalm 51. I'm going to read Psalm 51 verses 1 through 3 in a new international version. Now, the new international in my way of thinking is not very good in the New Testament. It really does harm to our understanding of God's law in the New Testament. It's the biggest selling Bible in the world of the New International, the NIV, but not good in the New Testament regarding God's law. In the Old Testament, the New International version is really quite good. So you've got to know your tools. Psalm 15 verse 1.

Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? Verse 2. He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart. He speaks the truth from his heart. Verse 3. And has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor know wrong, nor cast no slur on his fellow man.

Brethren, God expects truth to permeate every facet of our lives. He expects truth, as it says there in Psalm 15, to come from our heart. And when we speak, since we've got truth in our heart, the truth should be coming out through our lips. And it says here, casting no slur on our fellow man.

When the ninth commandment is lived as a way of life, when truth is lived as a way of life, then here is where we become free. We are free of intentional misrepresentation.

Have you been misrepresented? Have your intentions been misrepresented?

Has that hurt you?

When we obey, when the ninth commandment is obeyed as a way of life, we are freed from those who would take unjust advantage over us. We are freed from false advertising. We are free from flattery. None of us like flattery. It's one thing for you or I to receive an honest compliment. But when people come to us and say things that we in our hearts know not to be accurate, it's insulting in some ways to us, and it doesn't do any good for us. When the ninth commandment is lived properly as a way of life, we are freed from unjust criticism and insinuation. Have you been unjustly criticized? Haven't we all?

When the ninth commandment is lived as a way of life, we are freed from hypocrisy. We are freed from gossip. Have you been hurt by gossip? We are freed from half-truths. We are freed from slander. We are freed from all of those things. Let's go over to John chapter 8.

You know, lying cultivates a spirit of deception and rationalization. A spirit of deception and rationalization. That's the way Satan operates. We don't want to operate that way. I'm going to read John chapter 8 verse 44 in a new living translation. The New Living. If we have an official translation in the United Church of God, it would be the New King James Version. That's a wonderful, wonderful version. Translation. The New Living Translation also is a very fine translation. Very colorful. Many people use it as their primary translation. John chapter 8 verse 44. I'm going to read this in a new living translation. For you are the children of your father, the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character. For he is a liar, and he is a liar. For he is a liar, and the father of lies.

Now, we don't want to take after the father of lies. We want to take after the God of truth, whose word is pure.

Speaking the truth cultivates the character of God.

Still reading from the New Living Translation, let's turn over to Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4, and in verse 15. Ephesians 4, 15. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of the body, the church. We will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ. We're not breaking that ninth commandment. That ninth commandment gives us freedoms. That freedom comes as we embrace truth as a way of life. And we take away the ways of death, the ways of get that would say you would have us believe in.

Which brings us to the last commandment, number 10. Let's read about this in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 17.

Exodus 20 and verse 17.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's. The freedom that comes from commandment number 10 is the freedom that comes from godly thinking. The freedom that comes from godly thinking. Commandment number 10 is aimed directly at the heart and mind of every human being. In prohibiting coveting, it defines not so much what we must do, but how we should think. It asks us to look deep within ourselves to see what we are on the inside. In an essence, the commandment number 10 is a— you know, there's a reason why God structured these commandments the way he did. There's a reason why this commandment is the last one. It's not last because it's last in importance. It's last because it sums up so much of what the Ten Commandments are all about. The way we are to think. The way we are to think. The way we are to be on the inside. Again, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Let's look at Mark chapter 7. Mark chapter 7 verse 21. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders. Again, these are things we talked about in the sermon's past. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.

Our motives define and govern the way we respond to everyone and everything. What are our motives? Our transgressions of God's law of love begin in the heart, and this commandment deals with the heart.

It's directed toward our relationships. It specifically deals with the thoughts that threaten those relationships. We can covet something to the place where we knock God off His throne in our minds, in our hearts. We can covet something so much that we don't love God as number one. He's somewhere down the line.

Therefore, I think it's fitting that the formal listing of these Ten Commandments, which define the law of God, the love of God, should end by focusing our hearts on what they should be focused on. Now, what is covetousness? What is covetousness? To covet means to crave or desire, especially in excessive amounts or in improper ways. The Tenth Commandment does not tell us that all our desires are wrong. It tells us that some desires are wrong. Coveting is immoral and immoral longing for something that is not rightfully ours.

Now, the opposite of coveting is a positive desire to help others, to help them, to protect them, to bless them, to give to them, to share with them. I'd like for you to turn to Deuteronomy 5 for a moment. We want to look at the next giving of these Ten Commandments, and there's something interesting about the way this commandment is written in Deuteronomy 5. Deuteronomy 5. In verse 21, You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. Now, the word covet here is a different word in Deuteronomy than was used in Exodus.

The word is ava, A-V-A-H. Brown Driver and Briggs, Hebrew lexicon, Hebrew dictionary, says that ava means to long for, to yearn, to lust after, to crave. And going back to the New International version, reading Deuteronomy 5.21 in the New International, it says this, You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, you shall not set your desire, you shall not set your desire, an improper desire, an unlawful desire, an ungodly desire, on your neighbor's house, land, and so forth. Excessive longing takes place when we desire things that are not wrong in themselves, but when we begin to exclude God because of the extent of those desires, that becomes idolatry. That becomes idolatry. So when properly obeyed, commandment number 10 frees us from the love of materialism. And that is a very big issue in our society today, materialism. Greed for more. When properly obeyed, this 10th commandment frees us from envy of others, where we are envious of somebody else's accomplishments, we're envious of somebody else's position, we're envious of their appearances or their personality or anything that is an unjust and unlawful desire. Now, it's one thing to appreciate another human being. It's one thing to appreciate somebody's accomplishments, positions, appearance, or personality, but it's one thing that we go past appreciation to wanting it in an unlawful way, where we crave it, where, you know, that's all we think about. That's the center of our thinking. When we properly keep this 10th commandment, we are freed from a selfishness at the expense of others. We're freed from dissatisfaction in life. How many people are dissatisfied with life? They're dissatisfied with their home or their car or their job. Paul tells us to be content.

But when we have a spirit of covetousness, we're dissatisfied. When we've got a spirit of covetousness, it's many times that hinders our being generous. Why should I be generous? I want to keep all those toys for myself. I want to keep every dollar for myself. I want that better car. I want that bigger home. I don't want to give to anybody. If I give to other people, I won't be able to have that better car or bigger home.

Let's look at Hebrews chapter 13.

Hebrews chapter 13.

Verse 5. Let your conduct be without covetousness, be content with such things as you have. For he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So he may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?

Let your conduct be without covetousness. There's such a host of wrong things that would set us in bondage if we break this commandment. But if we don't break the commandment, if we are not covetousness, those feelings, then we have faith in God. God will provide what we need.

Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew chapter 6.

Verse 25. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, which you may eat, or what you will drink, or about your body, which you'll put on. Isn't that life more than food and the body more than clothing? Again, have faith in God. Let's not covet what the other guy has. Look at the birds of the air. For they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you of not more value than they? You are of such value that Jesus Christ came to die for you. He came to die for me. He came today for all of us. We are of great value to God. Verse 27. Which of you by worry can add one cubit to a stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they eat the toil nor spin. Even Solomon, all of his glory, was not a raid like one of these.

I don't know about you, but when I pass by a field of flowers, or somebody's flowers near their home, I marvel at what I'm seeing. I marvel at God's handiwork. I marvel at the color, the texture, the variety of what God has for us. And he does this for plants. How about for us? Do we need to covet knowing that great God wants to provide for us? Of course not. Verse 30. So now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is tomorrow thrown into the oven, will you not much more clothe you? You of little faith. Notice the idea here. Covetousness versus faith. Verse 31. Therefore, do not worry, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. And the bottom line here, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Seek the kingdom of God. Understand the beauty of each and every one of these commandments. These commandments were not given to force us into some kind of bondage. We have taken a look at each of the Ten Commandments now. We've seen the various freedoms that we have as a result of keeping. And I'm sure that, you know, if we were to get together as a group, if we were to sit down right now after, you know, the service Amen has said, we sit down. Okay, let's go through the Ten Commandments again. This time, you give freedoms that you see in Commandment number one through number ten. I'm sure we can add many more to the list. Many more to the list. God's way of life is characterized by freedom. We appreciate that as a nation. We appreciate that as Americans. Brethren, let's appreciate as Christians that God has given us His law and that true freedom comes through God's law. They truly are ten keys to a successful and happy life.