One of the problems that human nature has is we always want something we don't have. Now that is one of the things that we struggle with. If we have a big house, we want a bigger house. If we have a good-sized bank account, we want a bigger bank account. If there is some recognition on the job, we want more recognition on the job. If you get two A's in school, you want three A's in school. We're constantly struggling, reaching out. And of course, the American dream is to be successful. Success means a lot of something. What that something is may vary. We're looking at the problem, though. The problem is that this is what we call envy or jealousy or greed or covetousness. It's reaching out to get that which we don't have. It capitalizes on dissatisfaction. The thought of wanting what another possesses or rightly deserves. often leads to disastrous results. I'm turning in the book of Genesis to chapter 1, actually chapter 3, and I'm looking at the temptation that Satan, the serpent, held out to Adam and Eve. particularly here to Eve, Genesis 3.1. Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? The woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods. Knowing good and evil, that word God, is the same as the word found in Genesis 1-1, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. It's that Hebrew word Elohim. So, the serpent told Eve, you know, instead of dying, you are going to become like Elohim, just like God. Well, that was the temptation. The temptation was that they should reach out for something that they didn't have. Well, what did they do? We know what they did. Eve deliberately chose to sin. She took of the fruit that God had forbidden. She gave it to Adam and he ate it. The tragedy was instead of gaining what they did not have, they lost what they did have. They lost fellowship with God and they lost life. In fact, the scripture says, in the day you eat thereof, you're going to die. And so they tasted it, and immediately their relationship with God was broken. They died spiritually. Instead of becoming like God, they became alienated from God. Instead of getting a wife, they received death. What led to that? It was reaching out for something they didn't have, something which belonged to God alone. Well, many years later, Jacob had twelve sons. Ten of the sons decided they were going to to sell one of the sons, Joseph, into slavery. Well, you know the story about this. The one that was being sold into slavery had been given this lovely coat by his father. And then he'd had these fantastic dreams of great prominence. And what happened is that the other brothers got jealous. But they decided on they were going to capture that braggart of a brother, the brother with that fabulous new coat, and they were going to sell him as a slave. At first, they thought they were going to kill him, but then they figured, well, we can make some money out of it, so why kill him? And so as a result, they sold him into slavery. Well, what happened? Did their sin, did their jealousy, did their invade have a price? Well, as we read further toward the end of the book of Genesis, we found out that later those brothers were humiliated before Joseph, who was elevated to be what we would call the vice president of Egypt. As well as the fact that they had fear for their own lives, and for their little brother Benjamin, as well as for their aged father. You know, it doesn't really work out when we give vent to our jealousy. King Ahab, He was a mess from the beginning, but King Ahab and his palace were right next to a vineyard. A man by the name of Naboth owned that vineyard. King Ahab decided he wanted that vineyard. He had that covetous spirit, that jealous spirit. Naboth to have that vineyard, I want that vineyard. Now, he had plenty of money to buy it, but Naboth didn't want to sell it. And so ultimately what happened is he told his wicked wife about it, and she caused the death of Naboth. And so Ahab then would have the privilege of confiscating that property. Which he did. Did it cost him anything? Yes. It cost him, ultimately, his life. And his wife, the prophet said what would happen, his wife actually had her body eaten of dogs. fell out of the window, an upstairs window in the palace, fell on the ground below. She died and the dogs ate her body. My, what a gruesome price for being jealous and envious and wanting what you don't have. King David was looking out the window of his palace one night and he saw a lady. And he decided he wanted that woman for, if not his wife, then at least have sex with her. And he made sure that she was brought to him. They sinned, and as a result, what happened was that she became pregnant. He then decided to have the husband killed so that he could marry the wife. What a tragedy, even the baby that was born, a little boy, even that baby died because of his sin. The wages of sin is what? Death. The wages of sin. and jealousy, envy, wanting something we don't have. Whether it's sitting at the desk in school and looking across at somebody else's answer across the aisle, and we steal that answer. I want to have a good grade, and I look over at Jim's or Mary's paper, and they've got a pretty good record of making sure they pass. And I copied their answer. because I was jealous, I was envious, I wanted what they had. Sin always pays a price. Well, sometimes this idea of being covetous, of jealousy, is an intention to deprive somebody else by withholding from them what they deserve. This is wanting to keep that which is not yours. Maybe it's a book that I borrowed from somebody else. And I just like that book so much. I'm hoping they'll forget that they loaned me that book. And I can just keep it because I'm envious. I'm jealous. I want what they deserve. on an adult level, that has to do with filing IRS forms and lying about what is on the form. And so we want something that somebody else deserves, that our country deserves to have. In fact, sometimes we withhold from God the offering that God deserves. The Bible calls that robbery in Malachi 3.8. Jesus had had a phenomenal ministry. He'd performed miracles. He had reached out to people. He'd healed people. He'd cast out demons. He had gained the acceptance and the approval and the acclaim of other people. You think everybody was happy? Oh, no. The Pharisees realized that they were losing their following. They were losing the recognition they'd had before, and they were very jealous, very envious. And as a result, the Bible tells us that for envy, they delivered Jesus. Well, with Him out of the way, we're not going to have any competition. We can have all the glory. We can have the acceptance. Everybody will like us. if Jesus is taken away. In fact, they said to Pilate, we have no king but Caesar. Somebody says Jesus was the king. We have no king but Caesar. Did they pay a price? Yes. The Roman Emperor Titus came in 70 A.D. and decimated Jerusalem. Just destroyed it. We understand that the soldiers were told that there was gold in the mortar of the temple. And they literally destroyed the temple tearing off one stone after another after another to try to find the gold that was in the mortar. When they said, we have no king but Caesar, they paid a price because Caesar later came and destroyed their very city and their temple. How about war? Is that an example of people that want something that isn't theirs? Yeah. At least some wars, they are fought in order that people can gain plunder. In the Old Testament, oftentimes the people that were captured were turned into slaves. Now that's not so far from what has happened in years past in our world, in our present world. 150 years ago, people were, there were wars in Africa between tribes, and one tribe would defeat another tribe and take their, the defeated people, take them as captives and sell them to the slave traders, and the slave traders would then bring them here to the United States or the Caribbean or various other places and sell them. Tragedy. War. And there's an example of that when Abraham's nephew Lot lived in Sodom and a whole alliance of other tribes came against them, captured the city, took the people captive, and also took a lot of plunder. Well, Abraham fortunately had 318 trained servants He pursued after them and recaptured the stolen plunder and people. Turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 18. We're going to spend the remaining few moments in this passage, 1 Samuel chapter 18. We're looking at a situation involving King Saul's jealousy of David. David had just come back from fighting Goliath defeating Goliath, and the people looked at him and they said, man, this David, he is really quite a person. He's still a young person. Maybe he was the age of some of you. He had fought Goliath and defeated Goliath. And so he comes back, and there were people that said, Boy, this David is wonderful. And they had a special chant in his honor. 1 Samuel 18, verse 6. It came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistines, that the women came out of all cities of Israel singing and dancing. to meet King Saul with tabrets of joy, with instruments of music. And the women answered one another." Apparently one group sang one thing and one another. As they played and sang, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. Actually, David had only killed one person, and that was Goliath. But what they were saying was that David is a greater warrior than our king. King Saul. Now King Saul was a big man, but he wasn't as big as Goliath. In fact, he was head and shoulders, the Bible tells us, higher, taller than the average Jewish person. But he had not gone out to fight Goliath. And so the people sang that Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands. Those of you in school perhaps remember this is called a hyperbole. It's a deliberate exaggeration for the reason of bringing a, emphasizing something in a special way. Now Saul became jealous and afraid. And it's described in several different verses there in that chapter. Saul feared the loss of emotional acceptance by the people. And so what does he do? Verse 10, chapter 18, It came to pass in the morrow that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul. He prophesied in the midst of the house, and David played with his hand. And another time there was a javelin, a spear, in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the javelin For he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. I suppose he didn't aim at his ear. He probably aimed at his chest. Kill him. I'll smite him with the javelin. And David avoided out of his presence twice. Two times. Then again, look over in chapter 19, verse 8. There was war again and David went out and fought with the Philistines and slew them with great slaughter. They fled from him and the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand. David played with his hand apparently on his hearth. Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin. But he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smoked the javelin into the wall. He threw it, but it didn't connect to David. Boy, jealousy does crazy things, doesn't it? It makes us not only want to have what the other person has, but oftentimes it makes us hostile against them. Well, he plotted David's death, in fact, by promoting him as captain over a thousand soldiers. Probably Saul wanted David to be killed in battle. But guess what? He wasn't. In fact, his fighting was so successful that the people gave him more and more praise for being a great warrior. Of course, that made Saul all the angrier. Again, Saul promised David the hand of his daughter, Michael, if David could bring proof that he'd killed a hundred Philistines. David actually killed twice that number. Again, I think Saul felt that he could put David in a situation of danger so much that he would be killed in battle. But he wasn't killed. Well, what was the price for Saul's jealousy? What actually happened to him because he was so envious, because he was so jealous? In fact, the Bible tells us God withdrew his blessings from Saul and blessed David instead. Ultimately, Saul lost both his life, his kingdom of course, and the privilege of having a dynasty, of having others who were his descendants become king. And so he lost his throne, he stopped being king, and lost the privilege of having his descendants have the throne. He lost his life, and he lost his ability to pray. He prayed and nothing happened, and so he went to the witch at Endor, the woman who spoke with the demons. Why? All this because he was so jealous. Well, how do we solve the jealousy problem? There are probably a number of things. Let me share with you four ideas, or five ideas. First of all, be conscious of the fact that God sees everything. God knows not only what we do, but the very thoughts in our heart. We should develop a spirit of contentment and reliance upon the Lord. Hebrews chapter 13, and I'm looking at verse 5. Hebrews 13, 5. Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. For He has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Say, okay God, I may not have everything that I might have, but you know what? I'm going to be thankful for what I do have. I'm going to be thankful for what I do have. I'm going to be content. I'm not going to be always edgy, always frustrated. Oh, I wish I had this latest fashion. I wish I had more money. I wish I had so-and-so's boyfriend or girlfriend rather than them having that one. And so I need to learn to be content. Closely allied with that is number five there. Cultivate a thankful spirit. In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Be thankful for what you do have. You know, wouldn't it have been great if Adam and Eve in the garden had said, Praise God for all these trees. All these wonderful blessings that we do have. Praise God that He loves us. Praise God that He comes down to fellowship with us. Praise God that He's given us life. Instead, they reached out for what they didn't have and lost what they did have. Well, I need to counter, I need to learn to counter jealousy with a giving spirit. Not only am I going to stop wanting what somebody else has, I'm going to learn to give to others. Rather than trying to say, I want more, I'm going to learn to say, I want to give more. I want to make sure that I'm faithful in giving. Ephesians chapter 4, and I'm reading verse 28, which says, Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." Used to be a robber. Used to take what he didn't have. And he says, now I'm going to learn to give what I do have. Learn to develop a generous spirit. And then, further in 2 Thessalonians 3, I'm looking at verse 10. 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 10. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. Learn to be a diligent worker, determined to legitimately earn what is needed. So if I need something, rather than trying to take it or fantasize that I have it when I don't, I work in order to earn what is needed so that I can have it. Be a diligent worker and then keep your eyes on the Lord and His return. This world is not your home. Don't allow yourself to get mired in the mud of this world. Well, these are some ideas, very practical ideas in dealing with jealousy. We have so much to be thankful for as God's children. God has given to us eternal life as we have invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come into our life, forgive us of our sins, and give us His gift of everlasting life. You know, we can just say, praise God for everlasting life. Whether I'm poor or whether I'm rich doesn't make a bit of difference. The thing is, I am rich when I have everlasting life. When I have the Lord in my life, when I have the Holy Spirit, when I have the ability to freely come and study God's Word and share it and teach it, whether it's teaching in craft or whether it's teaching in Bible memory or whether it's teaching by missionary stories, by whatever the approach is, how blessed we are to have the privilege of ministry. I close with this. My wife and I used to go to a nursing home in the city where we lived and served up in Montana. And when we were there at that nursing home, we saw a little lady that was brought into our service when we had services on Sunday, and they rolled her in on a gurney, a cot with wheels on it. She was totally paralyzed, couldn't do anything except listen and rejoice in the Lord. You know, I have thought again and again of the blessing that I have of serving the Lord. I like music. I like to hear Brother Richard play the piano. I like to play the piano. Think how difficult it would be if suddenly I were stricken with paralysis in one or both arms. You know, I praise God for the privilege of serving. I like to teach and preach. Think how tragic it would be if I could no longer use my vocal cords. Now, Stan has been struggling with cold. Richard, I don't know, it must be the Calvary Baptist Tabernacle Plague or something. Both of them have had a hard time even talking. But think how hard it would be if we couldn't talk. I guess we take the ability to walk for granted. And I guess there is such a thing as wheelchairs. I remember one of the ladies that was in the church when I was growing up just outside of Denver, Colorado. She was paralyzed from her waist down for years and years. Her husband, a very strong, muscular man, would literally open the door of the car where she sat on the rider's side, reach in and pick up his dear wife, and carry her into church, and sent her down on the pew. I guess we take a lot of things for granted. We have the privilege not only of receiving blessings, but of sharing blessings. And you, our VBS team, you are a blessing already. You're going to be a greater blessing as the days progress. And you have the privilege of serving. And I'm looking forward to how God is going to bless. And I'm so thrilled that Brother Scourgill has come to head up the team, to provide the direction that is needed. And so isn't it fun to be able to serve? Wouldn't it be terrible if you couldn't? If God said, well, it's all over, you can just sit back and do nothing. Your service days are finished. God gives us that privilege. And so we can be thankful. Let's never be jealous because somebody else can do things better than we can. Let's just say, Lord, I'm going to give you my best. Lord, you use it. Somebody else might be able to do a better job, but I'm going to do the best I can. And because of that, we're going to have victory in our lives and in these next few days here in Gardena, California. Let's pray. Thank you, Heavenly Father. We rejoice in the privilege of belonging to the Lord Jesus. We can sing the song, Now I Belong to Jesus. Thank You for the privilege that we have of having the Word of God. We can sing the song, the B-I-B-L-E. Thank You, Father, for the privilege of serving You. As we sang the song tonight, I will serve Thee. Thank You, Father, for the privilege of looking forward to the second coming of the Lord Jesus, and know that some of these days He's going to come back and take us to Himself. So we can sing the song when the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there. Father, we have so much to be thankful for. Help us not to be jealous over what we don't have, but that we might use what we do have for your glory and with eternity's values in view. In Jesus' name, Amen.