November 23, 2025
“Every time my friend succeeds, I die a little.” - Gore Vidal –
It’s really hard to love my neighbor if I’m coveting my neighbor.
James 4:2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. New International Version
James 1:14 …each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin… New International Version
I saw → I desired → I took
Genesis 3:6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate…” English Standard Version
Joshua 7:21 “...when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” English Standard Version
Exodus 20:17 Do not covet your neighbors house. Do not covet your neighbors wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Coveting will take you off course in your calling.
PUT DOWN THE BINOCULARS
TURN ON THE SPRINKLERS
We have to cultivate contentment in our lives.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. New Living Translation
Philippians 4:11 “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” New International Version
KILL COMPARISON
Colossians 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. English Standard Version
1 Corinthians 9:27 “But I buffet my body and make it my slave…” New American Standard Bible 1977
Discipleship will be the death of me if I do it right
Galatians 5:24 “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” English Standard Version
FIND THE SHEPHERD
Psalm 23:1 You, LORD, are my shepherd. I will never be in need. 2 You let me rest in fields of green grass. You lead me to streams of peaceful water, 3 and you refresh my life. Contemporary English Version
The grass is always greenest in His presence.