Coveting produces actions and usually it is the action to take something without permission or even stealing what others have.

Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Tree of Life
Weekly Review
091618

The final commandment, #10, deals with the mental attitude sins of jealousy or envy as one enters into the sin of covetousness which resides in a believer’s soul and therefore rejecting any mental attitude sins of the heart. So, the Ninth Commandment deals with the tests of the sins of the tongue while the Tenth Commandment deals with the tests of the mental the way believers think, both of which have a negative attitude on the believer’s spiritual life.

The final Commandment which deals with the Tenth Commandment found in EXO 20:17, “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.”

Also, we have noted If you looked at the secular definition of coveting, it means to have a longing for something or a strong desire for something or someone that does not belong to you. And this also includes the way you think because you may not touch a woman physically but if you lust after her in your heart then you have sinned mentally before the Lord.

In MAT 5:27-28, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery; but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

Prin: Coveting produces actions and usually it is the action to take something without permission or even to go so far that in some cases, they end up as a thief themselves stealing what others have. This is why the early church warned believers not to become thieves and stop stealing from one another especially... those of our household.

Now, the point is that if you are not content with what the Lord has given you now, whether you have a lot or a little, then you are not living the spiritual life. If you’re lusting after something or someone, you’re saying in effect “I am not content with what the Lord has given to me.” The attitude of the mature believer is Phi 4:13, I can do all things through the LORD Jesus Christ.

Look what the apostle Paul said in PHI 4:4-9, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your forbearing {spirit} be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.

In other words, coveting what others have can reveal your lack of gratitude and thankfulness for that which you possess. We all have a tendency to forget how many blessings the Lord has given to us in our lifetime. We also seem to forget that humbling attitude concerning what we have and who we are and how all things are gifts from the LORD.

We are beginning a study of “why the wicked prosper while the mature adult believer doesn’t seem to enjoy what God has given them. And so, beginning now in PSA 73, it is a long Psalm, but very easy to adjust to in the spiritual life. Time after time, a certain question keeps on coming up in the scripture which is why do the wicked prosper?

In PSA 73, we have a Psalm that describes some of the frustrations that many believers have had at times as they seek to fulfill the PPOG and their very own PSD. They make positive decisions regarding their relationship with God and then they see friends, family members and relatives making negative decisions, getting ahead in life, and even receiving prosperity as they rebel against the PPOG for their life.

And so there’s a frustration that can actually take place because things are not working out in your life the way you and I thought they would, and then we see and observe how the wicked prosper in spite of their wickedness. Many individuals are not blessed by the LORD because they lack the capacity to receive the divine blessings from the LORD.

We all need to remind ourselves of a principle of doctrine that we see constantly which is the fact that the LORD is blessing us with a gift not with a payment for serving HIM. In fact, one of our main verses this past year that GOD the Holy Spirit seems to magnify is found in DEU 28:47, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things;”

Look how James puts it; JAM 1:12-17, Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which {the Lord} has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.

Notice when God gives to us, He does so as a gift not as a reward or a payment.

PSA 73:3, For I was envious of the arrogant, {As} I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Here is just the beginning of some of the questions and answers that the Lord provided for those who were seeking Him to receive whatever they needed for their guidance and direction. I was envious or jealous of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Note that there are certain people who prosper even though they are wicked. And so he says, “For I was envious or jealous of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”

You see what he was doing, he was looking too much at one thing. He saw their present condition. He saw what they had right now, but he forgot their future. And, he’s going to learn that lesson.

God in His Grace actually will allow the wicked to prosper on this earth. One of the reasons is because this is their Heaven and GOD loves them so much. HE sent HIS uniquely born son for them but they rejected HIM. However, HIS impersonal love, loved them. In other words, He sent His Son to die for their sins and they rejected HIM so this is their only form of prosperity.- This is the closet to Heaven.

Once they die, for billions and billions and billions and billions of years they suffer in the eternal lake of fire and so in GOD’s grace, HE blesses them and lets them have some enjoyment, because He’s a just and righteous GOD.

And therefore in MAT 5:45b, HE causes HIS sun to rise on {the} evil and {the} good,

So, there are reversionistic believers and unbelievers who cheat and lie and steal and who are criminals and who would do what they can to get ahead and they can get more than you. And that’s what happened to this individual, he saw the prosperity of the wicked.

So he says PSA 73:3, For I was envious of the arrogant, {As} I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

What did he see? He saw their outward display of prosperity. He saw what they had. Some of you do that. You see, what people have. A New car, new home, better job, fine clothing, no problems with the finances, everything is going right. You look what they have, but you only see their outward display. You don’t see the discomfort and lack of content in their soul.

You don’t see when they go to sleep at night that they have all these riches and all these things and all this form of prosperity, but there’s something missing in their soul. They don’t have that peace that goes beyond understanding, PHI 4:6. And, you would be shocked if you could trade places with a millionaire, or a person who has everything going for them.

You would be shocked at how fast you would say, “I want to come back to my life, I don’t want to trade places with them.”  And then look what he said in verse 4.

PSA 73:4, For there are no pains in their death; And their body is fat.

Now, he doesn’t know whether or not there are no pains in their death. He’s just thinking he can handle anything. Many people think that if you have money and prosperity all of their problems are solved and that’s not true at all. And when it says that “their body is fat.” it means that their strength was from their riches and they were really healthy. In the ancient world, prosperity was manifested by the strength of the human body being healthy and prosperous through the physical body.

Remember that this is the thinking of the individual who almost slipped. He almost slipped away from GOD.

He said, “There’s no pain from their death,” everything goes right, but look at what I’m going through. You can see a little bit of arrogance coming through. Poor me! Oh me! Oh my! But, you always need to remind yourself of something, you have something in your soul that money cannot buy, a peace that you can go through a tragedy, disaster, sickness, and still say, “I have learned to be content in whatever state I am in.” You cannot buy contentment.

PSA 73:5, They are not in trouble {as other} men; Nor are they plagued like mankind.

Remember again that this is the thinking of the individual that almost totally slipped away from that which was important, the plan of GOD. He says, “They (the wicked) are not in trouble as other men; nor are they plagued like mankind.” There are some things about the wicked who prosper or people who have riches --- They don’t have to be concerned about where there next meal is going to come from.

They don’t have to be concerned about who’s going to pay for the insurance, for their health insurance, who’s going to pay the car payment. They don’t have to worry about those things and the ordinary domestic and personal troubles that we would have as naturally minded individuals or people who are not rich. Therefore” look at PSA 73:6, Therefore pride is their necklace; the garment of violence covers them.

In other words, they wear their own pride and their own violence as jewelry and they want everyone to see “Look what I’ve got. Look what I am! Get out of my way. “ I am a rock, I am an island!”

PSA 73:7, Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of {their} heart run riot.

When it says, “Their hearts run riot” it refers to fact whatever their heart wants, they get, because of their riches. Solomon said this in ECC 2:10, And all that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure. And yet He said this when he was miserable. He was the most miserable person in the world at this time and he said, “All that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them.”

How would you like to have at your resource anything you want, anything you could buy? You could buy that woman. You could buy that man. You could buy that car, house you name it you could buy it.

However, there are two things you cannot do:
1. You can’t save yourself.
2. You cannot buy real love.

Look at PSA 73:8-9, They mock, (They usually make fun of what other people have or don’t have) and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth.

People think that they are something when really they are nothing.

GAL 6:3, For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

1CO 10:11-14, Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

“What they say parades through the earth”= It’s like a parade accepted as mankind’s tremendous wisdom because of their so-called success. In other words, when it says, “They have set their mouth against the Heavens.” They deny GOD. There’s the “I Will” syndrome of Satan. And, what they say is considered by human viewpoint to be wisdom and success.

PSA 73:10, “Therefore his people (a reference to the wicked who prosper, they always have people because of their riches) Therefore his people return to this place; And waters of abundance are drunk by them.”

In other words, they recruit more wicked people like themselves and teach them to do the same things and sometimes they do better than the ones who trained them.