Guard Your Heart Against the
Enemy of Greed
January 27, 2013
Guard your Heart!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today we continue our exciting and stimulating study on the four enemies that affect our hearts.
These four great enemies are present at various times in our lives and can do damage to our heart.
Two weeks ago we studied the topic of guilt. Last we looked at anger. Today, we come to greed.
Just to review briefly.
23 Above
Our Theme Verse: Proverbs 4: 23
all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
God is placing a great deal of importance on the heart. The heart is the spiritual part of us where
our emotions and desires dwell. It is the very core of our being. We realize that we are made up
of two parts – a body and a soul. Our body is –well- it is what we see—the physical part of us.
But our soul – that is our very essence, our being. Our body has a physical heart and our soul has a
spiritual heart. Our heart is different than our mind. Our mind is what processes information both
coming and going to our heart. But, our heart is the seat of our emotions, our desires, and our will
and thoughts.
God tells us to guard our heart. Why? Because there is a problem with our heart. The human
heart in its natural state: 9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can
understand it? (Jeremiah 17: 9) The prophet is right in saying – who can understand it. Often
it is difficult to understand the emotions and thoughts of the heart. But, this we do need to
understand – our heart is deceitful. From the moment of conception, the heart is clouded and
covered in the sinful nature inherited from our parents. Sometimes we like to say, “That is a good
person.” No, in our sinful state, we are not good. But, we need to understand the true nature of
our heart if we are going to understand the need for help and restoration. Jesus himself said that
our life, our actions, our words come from the heart and they aren’t good: 19 For out of the heart
come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
(Matthew 15: 19)
With such a heart as this, we can’t clean it ourselves. King David realized this. When confronted
with the evil of his heart, he realized that only the Savior could cleanse the heart. Our heart is only
cleansed by Jesus: 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within
me. (Psalm 51: 10)
So, today, we come to our…..
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Third Enemy of the Heart: Greed-I Owe Me
But greed is so easy to come into our hearts and we forget who we are….
(Play Song)
It’s so easy to cash in these chips on my shoulder
So easy to loose this old tongue like a tiger
It’s easy to let all this bitterness smolder
Just to hide it away like a cigarette lighter
It’s easy to curse and to hurt and to hinder
It’s easy to not have the heart to remember
That I am a priest and a prince in the Kingdom of God
I’ve got voices that scream in my head like a siren
Fears that I feel in the night when I sleep
Stupid choices I made when I played in the mire
Like a kid in the mud on some dirty blind street
I’ve got sorrow to spare, I’ve got loneliness too
I’ve got blood on these hands that hold on to the truth
That I am a priest and a prince in the Kingdom of God
I swore on the Bible to not tell a lie
But I’ve lied and lied
And I crossed my heart and I hoped to die
And I’ve died and died
But if it’s true that you gathered my sin in your hand
And you cast it as far as the east from the west
If it’s true that you put on the flesh of a man
And you walked in my shoes through the shadow of death
If it’s true that you dwell in the halls of my heart
Then I’m not just a fool with a fancy guitar
No, I am a priest and a prince in the Kingdom of God
We are priests and princes in God’s Kingdom. This fact we need to keep treasured in our hearts.
Yet, greed seeks to invade our hearts and root out that fact. The thing about greed is that it is
easily disguised. By what? Under the disguise of financial responsibility. We talk about
financial security and that God expects us to be good – what do we say – “stewards”. Yes, God
wants me to not be frivolous but responsible. However, is it possible that we are using
responsibility as a cover-up for greed in our heart?
Consider retirement for a moment. I struggle with the issue of retirement. The other day I once
again saw the commercial for the Villages in Florida. “Live like a millionaire” was the theme. It
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is time now to kick back and live life for yourself. What’s interesting is how Jesus speaks about
that in this parable:
Luke 12: 15-21
15 Then
he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life
does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
16 And
he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He
thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then
he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and
there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good
things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But
God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then
who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This
is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward
God.”
Now – what was the problem with this man? The problem was not that he thought of preparing
for the future. The problem was what he wanted to do with his future. Look at that section on
your notes. What was the key problem – “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” In essence, his
problem was greed. He was greedy with his possessions, he was greedy with his time, he was
greedy with his life. Greed is an enemy that sneaks into our hearts – well it’s already there, right?
It is there because our sinful nature is basically selfish – greedy.
Once again, we turn to the Lord for how we break the power of greed. Think of where we have
been in our series. To…break the Power of the Enemy:
Guilt is conquered by Confession
Anger is conquered by Forgiveness
Greed is conquered by Generosity
The Truth about Greed…….It robs one of faith…..because faith = trust
The essence of faith is trust. To live in faith is to live in the relationship of trust. What is trust?
To rely, to lean on, to depend. Greed attacks us with that little voice inside you. It says to you:
“You just don’t know what the future holds, so you better hang on to your “stuff.” Or, it also says,
“Look at what your hard work has achieved.” First of all, he was farmer. I’m sure he worked hard
but every farmer knows that their livelihood is often dependant on circumstances beyond their
control, for example, weather. Also, he viewed those gifts as his “stuff” and to be used for his
own sinful desires. Listen to what Paul says:
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6 But
godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the
world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will
be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap
and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and
destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people,
eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs. (I Timothy 6: 6-10)
Greed robbed these people of the focus on what is most important. You may have seen the bumper
sticker: He who dies with the most toys wins. Wrong. What happens to your “stuff” when you
die? Your children, who didn’t work for it, get it. “Stuff” that was important to you may be sold
at an auction. You take nothing with you. Yet, there is one thing you do take with you.
Whatever condition it is in when you die will determine where you go. That one thing is your
heart. What is the focus of your heart? What is its condition? What is it filled with?
We know this, but yet our sinful nature fights against it daily. We view our lives as “ours.” We
act as if our “stuff” is ours. In other words, greed says to our heart: “I owe me.” I am owed this
because of my hard work. I am owed this because – well – simply because I am.
Remember I said that faith is trust. Trusting in your Savior, your faith will be turned into sight.
God’s grace, filling your heart with joy, forgiveness and mercy, is what we need for our heart.
You see, the reason that greed can attack our hearts is because they are empty. Our hearts are a
vacuum that need to be filled. Greed attempts to fill the vacuum in our hearts, but it does so with
things that can never fill us up. What fills us up is God’s grace. I can’t do a better job of speaking
of this than what the hymnist says…
Hymn 421 vs. 1, 3, 5
1.
All depends on our possessing
God's abundant grace and blessing,
Though all earthly wealth depart.
They who trust with faith unshaken
In their God are not forsaken
And e'er keep a dauntless heart.
3.
Many spend their lives in fretting
Over trifles and in getting
Things that have no solid ground.
I shall strive to win a treasure
That will bring me lasting pleasure
And that now is seldom found.
5.
If on earth my days he lengthen,
He my weary soul will strengthen;
All my trust in him I place.
Earthly wealth is not abiding,
Like a stream away is gliding;
Safe I anchor in his grace.
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We just spoke about our “weary” soul. What makes us weary? Weary implies there are burdens.
Yes, there are the burdens of disease, sickness, etc.. But there are other burdens – burdens from
these enemies we have been studying. Guilt burdens our hearts. God lifts that burden when we
confess. Anger burdens our hearts. God lifts our burdens as we forgive because he has forgiven
us. Greed burdens our hearts. God lifts the burden of greed as he leads us along a path of
generosity and contentment. First, let us look at generosity.
The Truth about Generosity:
We are Managers— Not Owners
Consider your life – first of all consider our time – our life. Our life is not our own. We didn’t
decide when we were born and we will not decide when we die. Consider all your “stuff”. Wow!
We have a lot of stuff. Right? None of our stuff is ours. When God’s people in the Old
Testament gathered together for worship they sang this:
11 Yours,
O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things. (I Chronicles 29: 11-12)
If you are taking notes – underline the word: everything. Circle the words “wealth” and “honor”.
Everything belongs to God. When I was younger, every Sunday when the offering was brought
forward, we sang the hymn: “We give thee but thine own.” It became such a routine that we
often sang that without thinking about what we were saying. Can it be true of how we look at the
“stuff” we have in our lives. We get up each morning and live in our houses. We drive our cars
everyday. We eat our food. We wear our clothes. We spend our money and ---that’s what we
think – OURS. It is ours. No, it is not. It is all God’s.
Let us remind ourselves of this truth as we sing…
Hymn 485 vs. 1-2
1. We give thee but thine own,
Whate'er the gift may be;
All that we have is thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from thee.
2. May we thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive
And gladly, as thou blessest us,
To thee our firstfruits give.
When we remember that we can be generous because God has filled us up with his gifts, we can
truly be content….
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The Truth about Contentment
25 Whom
have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you. (Psalm 73: 25)
Greed again focuses our hearts off of Christ and his grace. But our Lord tells us:
5 Keep
your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have,
because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13: 5)
When we begin to understand that God fills our hearts, then we can be content. We aren’t owed
anything because we have everything. Daily, we know that the Lord is with us – that his mercies
fill our hearts – that we have everything we need. Yes, day by day, instead of saying, “I owe me,”
we will instead say,
Hymn 765
1. Day by day, your mercies, Lord, attend me,
Bringing comfort to my anxious soul.
Day by day, the blessings, Lord, you send me
Draw me nearer to my heav’nly goal.
Love divine, beyond all mortal measure,
Brings to naught the burdens of my quest;
Savior, lead me to the home I treasure,
Where, at last, I’ll find eternal rest.
2. Day by day, I know you will provide me
Strength to serve and wisdom to obey;
I will seek your loving will to guide me
O’er the paths I struggle day by day.
I will fear no evil of the morrow;
I will trust in your enduring grace.
Savior, help me bear life’s pain and sorrow;
Till in glory I behold your face.
3. Oh, what joy to know that you are near me
When my burdens grow too great to bear;
Oh, what joy to know that you will hear me
When I come, O Lord, to you in prayer.
Day by day, no matter what betide me,
You will hold me ever in your hand.
Savior, with your presence here to guide me,
I will reach at last the promised land.
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Drawing our Spiritual Breaths against the
Enemies of Guilt, Anger, and Greed
Breathe in: Understand the nature of God's forgiveness towards you.
Pastor:
8 The
LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103: 8-12)
25 “I,
even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more. (Isaiah 43: 25)
Breathe out— Repent of your sin
ALL:
1 Have
mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight, (Psalm 51: 1-4)
Father, anger knocks at the door of my heart. Anger has entered my heart. Cleanse
me of this sin. Fill my heart with love, forgiveness and grace from your heart.
Breathe In — Trust God that you are forgiven
Pastor:
17 Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone,
the new has come! (II Corinthians 5: 17)
As a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins – especially
the sins of anger -- in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. He
has removed your guilt forever. You are a new creation.
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14 How
much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead
to death, so that we may serve the living God! (Hebrews 9: 14)
Brothers and Sisters, you have breathed in both the love and the forgiveness of your gracious
Father. You have repented of the sin of greed.
Breathe Out — Turn from Sin
ALL: Father, I stand before your altar. There are sins in my mind and heart. There are
sins of guilt, anger and greed. In the quietness of your love I turn to you to remove it
from my heart, because I remember your word: 23“Therefore, if you are offering
your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against
you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your
brother; then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5: 23-24)
Remove this greed from me, O Father of Love.
Silent Time of Reflection and Prayer
Heavenly Father, you give us the privilege the manage our possessions. Now we have
privilege to give you our offerings. We do so responding to your gift of love and
forgiveness through your Son. We bring to you because you have bought us…..
1.
Lord of glory, you have bought us
Never grudging for the lost ones
And with that have freely given
To th' unthankful and the evil
With your lifeblood as the price,
That tremendous sacrifice,
Blessings countless as the sand
With your own unsparing hand.
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