Do Not Be Jealous

The scripture reading comes from Deuteronomy, chapter 5, starting in verse 1.

Deuteronomy 5 · chapter mention

Please follow along in your bulletin or Bible.

Verse 1.

And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them,

Hear, O Israel, the statutes and rules that I speak in your hearing today,

and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.

Then in verse 6.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above

or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them or serve them.

For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,

visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,

for the Lord will not hold him guiltless, who takes his name in vain.

Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

On it you shall not do any work,

you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant

or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock

or the sojourner who is within your gates,

that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt,

and the Lord your God brought you out there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.

Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you,

that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

You shall not murder, and you shall not commit adultery,

and you shall not steal, and you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor,

and you shall not covet your neighbor's wife,

and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant,

or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.

This is the word of God.

Great. Thank you, Henrika.

Welcome, everyone, again.

If you don't know me, my name is Chris.

I'm one of the leaders here at Watermark.

And there's a reason that I'm standing here instead of Kevin.

Some of you may know, Kevin at the moment has a chest infection,

and he's just been in hospital for a few days to do some tests.

It's not COVID, so in case you're worrying.

But it would be great for us just to pray for him and for the family at this time

so that we can just support them well.

Again, part of being a church family is actually we care and love each other,

but also we don't want to overwhelm them as well.

We don't have 100 people texting Claire at the moment,

but let's just pray for them during this time.

So please bow your heads and let's pray together.

Father, thank you that you are the God that we need.

You are the God of all creation.

Thank you that you are the God who speaks to us.

Thank you that you are the God who heals us.

Lord, we just want to lift up Kevin and Claire and the whole family to you now.

Lord, we pray for this chest infection.

We pray that they'd find out what it is.

We pray that you give them peace.

We pray that you would heal.

We pray that you would just bring very quick restoration there.

And just even in this process, would they know that you're really close to them

and really walking alongside them at this time?

And Lord, I pray that even today as we listen to your word and engage with it,

I pray that we would just have soft hearts to you,

that we would hear you speak.

And Lord, I pray that you would just take this passage

and just burn it into our hearts, Lord.

Show us just how much, how beautiful, how great you are.

We want to love you with all of our hearts, soul, mind, and strength.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So for those of you who have been with us for this journey over the last 10 weeks

and now the 11th week, we have been looking at the 10 commandments or the 10 words.

And today we're actually finishing this series.

And we have seen over this time that the 10 commandments are not just a set of rules

of what to do and what not to do.

They actually come out of God rescuing his people out of slavery

and they're a freedom agenda for how God's people are to live in relationship

with a God who pursues his people, redeems his people,

and how that out of that new freedom that he wants to bring them into,

they are then to live in these commands, to live in the freedom that he wants for them.

And he's shown us that these commands are not just about internally,

they're also about how we become a community,

which also as we live out in this freedom of our relationship with God,

that that actually shines out to the world around us.

And we are going to look at this last commandment,

which is really another one of those commandments

which just brings a window on our hearts

and which says, do not covet,

which actually when we begin to think about it,

shows us that we desperately need a savior.

And so we're going to look at this commandment

because this one, with the first commandment,

really frames all the others.

Because the first four are about loving God,

the last five are about loving your neighbor.

And this sixth one, sorry, this tenth one,

I can't count, this tenth one,

is really bringing us not to the external behavior,

it's driving you deep down into what's the internal motivators of your heart,

which drive all the other commandments.

So, we're just going to look at what this command is,

we're going to look at some of the consequences,

and we're going to look at why we covet,

and then we're going to look at how do we desire rightly.

Okay?

So that's where we're going.

So, I don't know if any of you have been into Central.

There's a shop in Central called G-O-D.

God, which actually is goods of desire.

Okay?

You can tell what they were doing when they come up with the name.

What they're doing is actually,

they're hinting that consumerism is actually God.

That actually it can satisfy you buying stuff more than God come.

Because in some ways, I think deep down,

we actually think God is somehow anti-desire.

Okay?

He's a bit of a killjoy, really, if we're honest.

But when you look at scripture, you don't get that picture at all.

Because God, right at the beginning of creation,

he creates a world of desire.

Do you know, humans are wired for desire by God.

And so, why is that?

Because God himself desires.

One example, Psalm 132.

The Lord has chosen Zion, his people.

He has desired it for his dwelling place.

He desires his people.

The Garden of Eden.

Do you know, it said,

it is filled with trees which are beautiful,

which are pleasant.

That's the same word for the word for covet.

It's desirable.

And it says,

God made us with desires,

and then stuff around us,

which is desirable.

It's God's idea.

Buddhism says,

the problem in the world is desire.

So the solution is,

get rid of desires,

and then you'll be fine.

The Bible says,

to be fully human is to desire.

Do you know that?

To be fully human is to desire.

God could have made,

for example,

God could have made reproduction

through vending machines.

Octopus,

boop,

out comes a baby.

That's how he could have done it.

But he creates sexual desire and sex out of it.

And he creates desires for food,

desires for beauty,

desires for approval,

desires for security.

It's God's design.

So then in the story,

when Eve sees the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,

and it says there,

it was to be desired,

it's the same word,

for wisdom,

what does she do?

Her desire for wisdom

overtakes her desire to obey and worship God,

and she takes what wasn't hers to take.

Because you see,

it's not wrong to notice a tree.

It's not wrong to desire a tree.

I mean,

I don't know if you desire trees,

but we desire other things.

But what's the difference?

Coveting,

it's not just desire.

Coveting is desiring anything more

than desiring God and contentment in him.

It's desiring something that is not yours to have.

It is losing contentment in God

because another desire has replaced it.

And so,

if you think about that,

then what that means is

covetousness,

desiring things in that way,

is idolatry.

And if you don't believe me,

Paul says it directly in Colossians 3.

He says,

put to death covetousness,

which is idolatry.

In other words,

the first command

and the last command

are two sides of the same coin.

Do you get that?

And they frame all the other commandments

because if you break the last one,

you're going to break the first one,

and then you're actually going to break

all the others in between.

So,

I mean,

let me give you an example.

Your neighbor's wife.

I mean,

he mentions that.

The story of David and Bathsheba.

If you know that,

David,

king,

got everything,

but sees a woman.

I mean,

he's got a thousand wives,

but actually he wants one more.

So he sees this woman,

Bathsheba,

she's beautiful,

she's married,

he's not his,

but that coveting desire,

he wants what isn't his,

and he takes her,

just like Eve took the fruit.

That's,

what commandment is he breaking?

This is audience participation.

Adultery.

Okay,

do you see where it starts though?

Um,

um,

your neighbor's house.

We go things like,

why do we have to live in this tiny,

run-down flat

when my colleague gets to live in this huge,

amazing apartment complex?

And so what do we do?

We work crazily,

breaking the Sabbath,

to try and upscale our lives.

Or,

you know,

we go,

your neighbor's ox.

Well,

I don't know if you've got many oxes recently,

but,

um,

or their field.

But don't we sometimes go,

hey,

it's not fair that they always get to go to Japan skiing,

or to the Maldives,

and why can't we?

Because we desire,

and then sometimes we get angry,

and resentful,

and we end up breaking the command,

which at root of command,

do not murder,

about getting angry.

You know,

and we could go on and on.

Don't we even sometimes go,

and he goes,

anything that's your neighbor's,

and we go,

oh,

I wish I had his charisma.

I wish I had her body.

I wish I had their spiritual gifts.

And we just inside begin to desire,

increasingly,

increasingly.

You see,

this commandment is not about external behavior,

it's about the root of everything.

It's about our heart's misplaced desires.

And what we do is we go,

I want it.

I must have it.

If I can't get it,

then I can't be content in God.

That's what we say.

That's what's coveting.

And what happens when we do that?

What are the consequences?

James 4 verse 1 says this.

James 4:1

What causes quarrels,

and what causes fights among you?

Okay?

Is it not that your passions,

that's the Greek word for coveting,

are at work within you?

You desire,

and you do not have,

so you murder.

Okay?

He's reading the Ten Commandments.

You covet,

and cannot obtain,

so you fight and quarrel.

You don't have,

because you don't ask.

And when you do ask,

you ask with the wrong motives.

What is he saying?

He's saying,

out of coveting,

we begin to resent,

or not bless,

or celebrate,

those who have what we want,

and they become competitors.

And it breaks relationships.

You know,

what happens in an office,

when it's filled,

not with healthy comparison,

but jealous competitiveness?

Sorry,

healthy competition,

but jealous comparison.

Isn't that what we label office politics?

You know,

because one person wants power,

one person wants approval,

one person wants status,

or control.

Someone else seems to get it,

and there's a struggle,

that goes on.

And has anyone been in that environment?

Is that a really nice,

harmonious,

loving environment to be in?

No,

it breaks relationships.

But it doesn't just break relationships,

it also,

perverts justice.

Micah 2 says this,

they covet fields,

and seize them,

houses,

and take them away.

They oppress a man,

and his house.

Do you know,

Hong Kong has got one of the largest wealth gaps,

in the world.

But that wealth gap,

is not because of a lack of resources.

It's because those of us who have,

just want more.

And we don't want to share it with anybody else.

Because I feel like I haven't got enough.

It perverts justice.

It also robs your joy in Christ.

Have you ever seen anyone,

who is coveting,

someone else's life,

who are genuinely happy and contented?

Have you ever seen someone,

who's really enjoying Jesus,

and they're always wishing,

for somebody else's life,

or circumstances?

No.

I can give you the answer.

They don't exist.

Why?

Because coveting is a robber.

It robs loving relationships,

it robs justice,

and it robs joy.

That's why God says,

don't covet.

Because you know,

God sets up the world,

for maximum pleasure,

long term pleasure,

in him.

And he says,

he doesn't want you to settle,

for some little trifle,

what C.S. Lewis says,

he doesn't want you to settle,

for making mud pies in a slum,

when he wants to give you,

a holiday at the beach.

That's what God says.

That's why he says,

worship me alone,

because I can satisfy your desires,

with good things.

So why don't,

why do we keep coveting?

Why don't we believe this?

Well,

in the Garden of Eden,

and actually we could go anywhere,

in scripture,

scripture,

what you see is,

our desires,

get captured,

by lies,

and by different promises,

and different things,

that are said to us.

And here's three things,

three lies,

that I think we believe,

that then hook onto us,

and we believe them,

and they end up,

capturing us.

Number one,

lie one,

you're missing out,

if you don't get this.

You know,

coveting,

we've said,

is discontentment,

fundamentally,

with what God has given you.

And so,

what does Satan say,

in the Garden of Eden?

He goes,

did God say,

you can't eat of that?

No,

if you eat of that,

you can get life.

God's holding something,

back from you.

God,

he's not good enough,

he's not big enough,

he can't really,

take care of you.

And if you follow his way,

you're going to miss out.

And how does that often work with us?

How it works is,

we begin to focus on what we don't have,

more than what we do have.

You know,

and we've said this before,

Adam and Eve,

they had a gazillion trees,

desirable trees,

in the Garden of Eden,

but they wanted the one,

that they couldn't have.

Because,

if I don't have that one,

maybe I'm just going to miss out.

And,

it's not just Adam and Eve,

isn't that what we all do?

Right?

In life.

Just think about it.

You've got a party,

and you know your friend,

is like the most stylishly dressed person.

They always come in a new outfit,

every single time,

to a new party.

And you go and look in your wardrobe,

which is full of clothes,

and you go,

I've got nothing to wear.

And,

I've got to get that new dress,

or that new shirt,

or that new clothes,

whatever it is.

Otherwise,

you know,

I just,

I just can't go out.

I'm sure nobody is like that in here.

Okay,

maybe some people are.

But,

the thing is,

where's your focus?

Your focus.

Your focus is on the one thing you don't have,

rather the abundance God has given you.

That's the first thing,

you're missing out.

Second,

you deserve better.

You know,

the implication,

when Satan always comes to people,

is,

if God really cared about you,

he'd give you that tree,

because,

you deserve so much more,

than what you're getting.

God's giving you a rough deal,

isn't he really,

in life?

And don't we,

you know,

what's the first kind of words,

that every child,

learns to say?

It's not fair.

It's interesting,

if you go around,

and listen to people,

in different languages,

you'll hear every language,

saying it.

Like,

you're a domestic helper,

and your boss,

makes you work really hard,

and only lets you off,

on statutory holidays,

but your friend's boss,

starts telling,

your friend starts telling you,

about her boss,

and the flexibility you get,

and you've got so much freedom,

and it's such a great time,

and what you begin to start feeling,

is life's not fair,

because,

I work so much harder,

than she does,

I deserve better,

for me.

She doesn't deserve it.

Or,

you're single,

and you've tried to stay faithful,

to God,

and you see the latest,

Facebook post,

from your last remaining,

single friend,

who is always flirting,

with everybody,

and there she is,

with her new boyfriend,

and bitterness,

just begins to creep,

into your heart,

and you go,

why am I the only one,

left now?

I've been faithful to God,

aren't you supposed to,

I haven't been sleeping around,

don't I deserve better,

from you God?

And what we're actually saying is,

what God,

in his grace,

has given to other people,

I deserve for myself.

I'm entitled,

to these things.

Coveting,

always comes out,

of a sense of entitlement.

And you know,

have you ever met,

an entitled person,

who is really thankful,

and grateful?

Spoilt people,

are not fun to be around.

You're missing out,

you deserve better.

Third thing,

third lie,

that comes to us.

You can be someone.

You know,

when Eve looks at the tree,

it was desired,

desirable,

to make her wise.

You see,

Eve lingered at that tree,

which fed that wrongful desire,

because she wanted to be,

a wise person,

independent of God.

You know,

advertising,

thrives off desire,

doesn't it?

It feeds on your sense,

of inadequacy,

on your sense,

of discontentment,

with yourself,

and with who you are,

and by comparing,

with who you could be.

You know,

it says things like,

you are what you wear,

so you better wear,

something better,

than what you're wearing now.

You are what you do,

so you better get an upgrade,

on what you do right now,

if you want to compete.

You can be someone.

You know,

when I was younger,

when I was in youth group,

our youth group,

at church,

was filled,

with amazing musicians.

So like,

almost all of them,

like,

no,

probably two thirds of them,

are now professional musicians,

or music teachers.

And,

and I was starting,

to play the guitar.

And there was one guy,

in the guitar,

he was way better than me.

And,

at first,

it was really inspiring.

It kind of,

you know,

when you see someone better than you,

and it inspires you,

to try and work harder,

and to be better.

Yeah.

But then,

I discovered,

when he played a solo,

on the guitar,

all the pretty girls,

would go up to him afterwards.

And then,

all the guys,

would just give him,

loads of respect.

And I wanted that.

I wanted to be liked.

I wanted to be respected.

And so,

that drove me,

actually,

to practice even harder.

But now,

it wasn't just about inspiration.

Now,

it was about resentment.

Because he was now my competitor,

and not my friend.

You see,

underneath all the stuff,

that we covet,

you know those kind of thoughts,

which go,

how come they thanked,

that person,

but they didn't thank me,

for doing that kind of job.

Under all those kind of things,

is a desire for approval.

A desire to be secure.

A desire to be successful.

It's an identity,

that we want.

We want to be someone.

We feel like,

if I have that,

I'll have worth.

I'll have value.

And that's actually,

what drives people,

to be workaholics.

That's what drives people,

to commit adultery,

and do all kinds of other things.

Breaking every one,

of the other commands.

Those three lies.

You're missing out.

You deserve better.

You could be someone.

So,

how do we desire rightly?

Firstly,

we've got to learn,

that actually,

desire is shaped,

by what you focus on.

Do you know,

my son Etienne,

he's nine months old,

we put him at the dinner table,

and we give him,

amazing food to eat.

You know,

I want to eat it.

It's like,

I'm drooling.

I'm like,

hey,

I get this,

you get that,

that's not fair.

But,

so he starts eating,

and he loves the food,

and then he gets distracted,

by some kind of noise,

over there.

And,

and then after a while,

he's like trying to grab my plate.

He's trying to grab my food,

and I'm kind of,

shooing him away,

and I say,

well,

if you don't want your food,

I'll have it.

But he's trying to grab,

grab,

grab like this,

and then to eventually,

we're trying to refocus him,

and go,

okay,

you can eat this food.

And then suddenly,

once he starts eating,

it's like,

oh,

this is actually really good.

And it's a whole battle.

This kind of goes on,

if you're parents,

you know this idea.

It goes on,

and on,

and on,

this kind of battle.

That's actually what you and I are like.

Because the battle for your desires

is a battle for your focus.

It's what you fix your heart,

and your mind on,

in the day-to-day of life.

You know,

the Apostle Paul,

in Philippians 4,

says this amazing statement.

This is just really challenging.

He says,

I have learned,

okay,

I have learned

to be content

in whatever circumstances

I'm in.

I know what it is

to be in need.

I know what it is

to be in plenty.

I have learned

the secret.

So it didn't come automatically.

I have learned

the secret

of being content

in any

and every

situation,

whether well-fed

or hungry,

whether living in plenty

or in one.

I can do all things

through Christ,

through him

who gives me strength.

And you go,

oh, Paul,

that sounds a little intense.

What is he saying?

What does he say?

Firstly,

he says,

you can learn contentment.

You know,

you can invest

in coveting

by always comparing

yourselves

to everybody else

or by meditating

on your circumstances

and all that you don't have.

Or you can invest

in contentment

by focusing

on who Christ is

and all that you have

in him.

You know,

there's this cartoon

of Snoopy.

Does everyone know

Snoopy the dog?

Some of you do.

Some of you don't.

You can check it out

on Google afterwards.

But Snoopy is this dog

and there's this cartoon

where it's Thanksgiving

or Christmas,

I can't remember which,

and he's sitting out

on his dog house

outside

and he's just got

like dog food

while his friend,

Charlie Brown,

and his family

are all inside

enjoying this amazing feast.

And Snoopy is like

complaining,

like it's not fair,

it's miserable,

until the thought

comes into his mind,

it could be worse.

I could have been

born a turkey.

And when coveting

and discontent

knock at your door,

the spirit wants

to remind you

and for you

to tell yourself,

do you know,

it could be way worse

and I don't even

deserve what I've got.

See,

you could be

destined for hell.

You could be

a slave to sin.

You could be

away from God.

You could be

trapped in your guilt

and in your shame

with no future,

no hope.

Instead,

the God of the whole universe,

who doesn't need

to care about you,

but he has

your life

in his hands

and he loves you

enough

to send Jesus

to die

to bring you

into this covenant

relationship

with the Ten Commands

are all about

and if you are now

a Christian,

you're not a nobody,

you're a somebody.

You walk into

friendship circles

not as a lonely

single,

but as a child

of the God

who says,

I will never leave you

nor forsake you.

You go into

your peer groups

not as an underpaid,

underappreciated

parent or employee.

You go as one

who is rich

with nothing to prove,

nothing to lose

because you have

acceptance with the only one

who at the end of time

will really matter

because God's

trice blood

speaks over you

his words of delight

and he says,

is that enough for you?

You are not

the insecure,

fearful person

whose future

is uncertain.

You have an inheritance

held by the one

who will never

let you go.

you will not lack.

Paul himself

says,

my God

will supply

all my needs

according to

his riches

and glory.

Jesus isn't just

concerned about

the spiritual stuff,

he's also concerned

about your life

and your family

and everything else.

and if you're

really honest

with yourself,

hasn't he provided

way more

than just your needs?

Hasn't he actually

even provided

many of our wants

too?

But we forget

about those.

We have

a generous,

rich,

heavenly father.

is there

anyone else

outside of the

people of God

who has that?

And none of us

deserve a single

piece of that.

You haven't done

anything to deserve it.

It's pure

grace.

Do you know,

Romans 1

says,

God gave people

over to their lusts,

to their coveting,

it's the same word,

because they

neither glorified

nor thanked

God.

You see,

coveting

sees life

as earned.

Thankfulness

sees life

as gift.

You see,

it's pure grace

that you can even

breathe today.

Like,

what did you do

to get breath

this morning?

Before you

even woke up,

God was blessing

you with sleep.

God was blessing

you with

tons of things,

which probably,

do you know,

your elbow.

How many of you

thought about

your elbow

this morning?

If your elbow

wasn't working,

would you be

thinking about

your elbow?

But this,

now,

we could go

through every

body part.

We could then

go through

everything in

your flat.

We could go

through everything

in your relationships.

Like,

we would be here

for like the rest

of eternity

just saying all

the blessings

that we have

in God.

And thankful

people

who realize

and focus

on the grace

that God's

given them

are contented

people.

You see,

you can be

thankful,

and when you

are thankful,

and you look

at somebody

else who seems

to be getting

the boss's favor

when you think

you deserve it,

you're going to

have a wrestle.

You're going to

want that respect

or that credit

for yourself,

but you can

go,

it's okay.

It could be

worse.

I could be

unemployed,

but actually,

I don't need

that,

because look

at all that

I have in

Christ,

and now let

me go and

see how I

can bless

that person

rather than

resenting them.

You know,

I heard of

one pastor

who,

whenever someone

asked him

how he was

doing,

he would

reply,

better than

I deserve.

That's someone

who's going

to be contented.

So we focus

on Christ.

Next,

we count

the cost.

Because sometimes,

even when you

get that,

you still go,

but I still

want to be

liked,

I want to be

successful

really,

really badly.

Earlier on

in Philippians

3,

Paul again

says,

and you see

where his

contentment

comes from,

he says,

I count

everything

a loss

compared to

the surpassing

greatness

of knowing

Christ Jesus

my Lord

for whose

sake

I have

lost

everything.

What he's

actually saying

is,

I've actually

had to battle

through this,

but here's

now my

focus.

When I

came to

Christ,

he became

first place

in my life.

No other

gods,

which means

every other

good desire,

not necessarily

bad desires,

good desire,

if necessary,

I can surrender

that and I'm

okay on

missing out.

I can miss

out on

marriage if

I'm single.

I can miss

out on the

respect that

I think I

deserve.

I can miss

out on being

successful,

because knowing

Christ is more

important to me.

You know,

in Hong Kong,

we will miss

out on vacations,

on family time,

on relationships,

on leisure time

for the sake of

our career,

for the sake of

education opportunities,

and we think it's

worth it.

Paul will say

to us,

do you think

Jesus is worth

it?

Because Jesus

says,

I am preparing

a banquet for

you.

Are you going to

trade that in

for a 7-Eleven

sandwich on the

way when I want

to satisfy you

in a way that

these things which

you think will

give you temporary

pleasure never

will?

being a Christian

is not simply

about having the

right ideas about

who Jesus is.

It's about him

changing your

taste buds to

desire him more

than anything

else.

And actually,

that is a process

through which God

has to take you

in surrender to

him.

Some of you,

God is going to

call you and

say,

that thing that's

been gripping

your heart,

are you willing

to lay that

down on the

altar and to

trust me that I

can satisfy your

desires with

something better

than you think?

Will you trust

me?

And if you're

honest,

don't we actually

sometimes go,

actually don't we

often go,

but I can't do

that.

I desire this

thing actually

too much.

Like,

that sounds nice,

but actually I know

in the reality

of life,

my heart just

gets,

like Etienne,

distracted,

captured by

other things.

That's why this

law is here,

you know.

Because this

law is supposed

to bring you

in desperation

onto your knees

to realize,

man,

if you thought

you were a good

keeper of the

Ten Commandments,

don't even begin

to think that.

This is what

hits Paul in

Romans 7.

This is actually

where Jesus goes

with the rich

young ruler.

You've got to

begin to say,

I can't change

my desires by

myself.

Holy Spirit,

you've got to

begin to work

something in me.

Do you know

what the difference,

one of the

differences between

the old covenant,

these Ten Commandments

and the law,

and the new covenant,

the New Testament

is?

Hebrew says,

God has written

his law,

not just on

tablets of stone,

he's written it

now onto your

heart,

through the Holy

Spirit,

and his Spirit's

job is to fill

your heart with

Christ,

but you've got to

sow to the Spirit.

You've got to

keep focusing on

what the Spirit

wants you to

focus on,

which is Jesus,

and to surrender

him, not out of

duty, but out of

joy, because if he

died for you,

don't you think

that he's actually

able to give you

far more than you

could ever imagine?

We focus on

Christ, we need

to count the

cost and surrender

to him, and the

final thing is we

need to just

prioritize Jesus in

the everyday of

our lives.

You know, the Ten

Commandments are

about relationship.

They're about a

redeeming God.

They're about

someone who loves

us so much that

he's brought us

into a relationship

through Christ.

Christ is the one

who fulfills the

Ten Commandments.

He fulfills the

law.

He does what we

couldn't do, and

then he gives us

his Spirit to

empower us to be

not just individuals,

but a community of

joyful obedience in

the trenches of

everyday life.

You know, we can

actually say it's

all very well to

worship Jesus first,

but then we spend

all of our time

listening to all the

adverts, listening to

all of our peers,

listening to all of

our friends who

are all dissatisfied,

all coveting, all

telling us that it's

stupid to Sabbath.

It's stupid not to

give in to your

sexual desires.

It's stupid not to

cover up and to

lie or to steal or

to chase for yourself

or to get that

thing.

All these people

around you are

telling you this.

They're preaching to

you all the time.

And what do we do?

We focus on that a

lot, don't we?

It's just one comment

and it just begins to

eat into you.

Discontent is

infectious.

So we need to be

careful who we're

listening to.

Do you know the

Psalm 19 which

Jeremy's song

references where it

says your law is

more precious, more

desirable.

It's the same word,

coveting.

Your law is more

desirable than gold.

Do you think he just

woke up one day and

said, oh, I love

God's word.

No, like you get a

passion for what you

invest in and what

you spend time in and

what you focus on.

If you focus on just

comparing yourself with

everybody else, you're

covered.

But the alternative is

this.

God wants to call us as

his people to be an

alternative community, to

be a people where we

prioritize Jesus in the

very practical things of

our lives, in your

budget.

Do you go, my

lifestyle comes first or

how can I be generous

first in our budget?

When you go into just

like even thinking about

where am I going to

live?

Where am I going to

stay?

Is the priority in our

lives, I want to find the

most comfortable life for

myself and maybe that

means I've got to get out

of Hong Kong to get that.

Or is it how can we

honor Jesus best and

serve him with even

where we live?

Even the things that

God has provided us

with.

Because if you find a

community, a bunch of

people who are actually

content in Jesus, whether

they have plenty or they

have not a lot, that's

actually really infectious

too.

And I want to call us to

be a people who actually

make it our priority that

we want to pursue

contentment in Jesus more

than anything else.

More than anything else.

Because if you do that,

do you know you will be

infectious.

In a city that is filled

with discontent, imagine

people who go, actually,

I've decided not to move to

that apartment that I could

move to because actually I

want to be able to be

generous and give that

money away and I'm fine.

You know, sure I'd like to

but it's okay.

Or people who would be

going, actually I'm

willing to, I'm willing to

stay in Hong Kong even

though I want to leave

because I see God calling

me here.

And you go, okay, why would

you do anything like that?

John Piper has a famous

quote.

He says, God is most

satisfied in us when we are

most satisfied in him.

The point is not exactly

whether where you stay,

where you live or not where

you live.

It's where your heart is.

It's what you're desiring.

God wants us to be the most

satisfied community in the

whole of Hong Kong.

Whether you have a lot or we

have a little.

Not because we're passively

doing nothing.

But because we've taken the

command to worship no other

gods so seriously that we're

finding joy in Jesus.

I want us to stop for a minute

and just to pray.

We're going to take communion

in a second so I'm going to

ask the communion stewards to

come up.

But I want you to just take a

minute.

We often don't find time in our

weeks to actually stop and go,

what am I really focusing on?

What actually wraps me up in my

week?

Have I actually been sowing into

an obedient lifestyle of wanting

to go, hey, I want to take the

Sabbath.

Sabbath, I want to be honest where

I've been tempted to lie.

I don't want to steal in any way,

shape or form any longer.

I want to honor my parents.

I want to forgive.

I want Jesus, you to be glorified

in whatever I do.

And I want you just to take some

time to confess now before him.

If you're not a Christian, I want

you to consider, is what you are

chasing after really of eternal

value that's going to satisfy you?

And if it's not, Jesus invites you to

come today to pray to him, to

confess that and to receive him.

to be the one who's the center of

your life.

Just allow God to search your heart.

just confess before him.

Maybe there's an area where he's

saying, I want you to focus back on me.

Father, we just want to confess that

so often we actually, we live under

those fears.

Those fears that we're going to miss

out.

Those fears that we don't get what we

deserve.

We live with this sense that our value

is found in all kinds of other stuff.

But Lord, I pray, show us how

beautiful you are.

Let us remember the gift of grace

that you have shown us.

Father, let us not just kind of leave

with that in our heads, but actually

every day this week to be reflecting

and thinking about all that we have in

you.

Lord, I pray that we'd not be Christians

who know the things that we should do,

but actually then walk away.

And it just goes in one ear and out

the other.

Lord, I pray, make us people

who actually will take time this week

every day to go, Jesus, thank you so

much.

Oh, show me more of yourself.

I want to see you.

I want to know you.

That you would be everything to us,

Lord.

Father, thank you that you are

everything.

Thank you that when you return,

we will see that actually the promises

that you made to us were way better

than what we could even imagine now.

Make us contented people, I pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.