Do Not Be Jealous

[0:00] The scripture reading comes from Deuteronomy, chapter 5, starting in verse 1.

[0:13] 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.

[0:32] 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.

[0:45] 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.

[0:58] 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.

[1:18] 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.

[1:33] 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.

[2:00] 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.

[2:16] 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.

[2:51] This is the word of God. Great. Thank you, Henrika. Welcome, everyone, again. If you don't know me, my name is Chris.

[3:02] 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.

[3:18] 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.

[3:29] 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.

[3:43] 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.

[3:54] 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.

[4:05] 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?

[4:23] 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.

[4:39] 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.

[4:50] 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.

[5:02] 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.

[5:13] 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.

[5:36] 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.

[5:54] 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.

[6:16] 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.

[6:27] 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.

[6:45] 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.

[6:56] 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.

[7:09] 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.

[7:23] 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.

[7:37] 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?

[7:49] Because God himself desires. One example, Psalm 132. The Lord has chosen Zion, his people. He has desired it for his dwelling place.

[8:00] 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.

[8:12] It's desirable. And it says, God made us with desires, and then stuff around us, which is desirable. It's God's idea.

[8:23] 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.

[8:39] 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.

[8:50] 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.

[9:01] 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?

[9:20] Her desire for wisdom overtakes her desire to obey and worship God, and she takes what wasn't hers to take.

[9:33] 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?

[9:45] 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.

[9:58] 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.

[10:15] 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.

[10:32] 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.

[10:43] 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.

[10:54] 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.

[11:06] 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.

[11:19] 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?

[11:30] 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.

[11:44] 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.

[12:02] 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.

[12:13] 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.

[12:29] 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.

[12:41] 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. What causes quarrels, and what causes fights among you?

[12:55] 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.

[13:07] 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.

[13:25] And it breaks relationships. You know, what happens in an office, when it's filled, not with healthy comparison, but jealous competitiveness?

[13:37] 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.

[13:49] 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.

[14:01] 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.

[14:14] 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.

[14:26] 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.

[14:38] 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?

[14:50] 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.

[15:02] 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.

[15:15] 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.

[15:38] 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?

[15:51] 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.

[16:10] 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.

[16:27] 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?

[16:41] 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.

[16:52] 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.

[17:05] 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.

[17:18] 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?

[17:29] 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.

[17:40] 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.

[17:54] 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.

[18:05] 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.

[18:19] 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.

[18:36] 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.

[18:49] 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.

[19:25] 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?

[19:54] 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.

[20:10] 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?

[20:24] 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.

[20:43] 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?

[20:58] 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.

[21:15] 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.

[21:31] 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.

[21:43] 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.

[22:02] 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.

[22:15] 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.

[22:34] 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.

[22:45] 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.

[22:56] 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.

[23:06] 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.

[23:32] 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.

[23:44] 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.

[23:55] 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.

[24:06] 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.

[24:17] 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.

[24:31] 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.

[24:46] 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.

[25:03] 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?

[25:14] 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.

[25:30] 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.

[25:40] 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.

[26:07] 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.

[26:42] 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.

[26:53] 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.

[27:15] 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.

[27:29] 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?

[27:48] 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.

[27:59] you will not lack. Paul himself says, my God will supply all my needs according to his riches and glory.

[28:11] Jesus isn't just concerned about the spiritual stuff, he's also concerned about your life and your family and everything else.

[28:23] 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?

[28:39] 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?

[28:56] And none of us deserve a single piece of that. You haven't done anything to deserve it. It's pure grace.

[29:08] 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.

[29:22] You see, coveting sees life as earned. Thankfulness sees life as gift. You see, it's pure grace that you can even breathe today.

[29:33] 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.

[29:49] 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.

[29:59] 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.

[30:23] 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.

[30:36] 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.

[30:58] 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.

[31:11] 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.

[31:23] 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.

[31:42] 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.

[31:55] 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.

[32:08] 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.

[32:21] 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.

[32:35] Paul will say to us, do you think Jesus is worth it? Because Jesus says, I am preparing a banquet for you.

[32:47] 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?

[32:58] being a Christian is not simply about having the right ideas about who Jesus is.

[33:11] 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.

[33:26] 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?

[33:40] 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.

[33:52] 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.

[34:07] 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.

[34:25] 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.

[34:36] 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?

[34:49] 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.

[35:04] 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?

[35:23] 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.

[35:37] 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.

[35:51] 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.

[36:11] 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.

[36:27] 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.

[36:37] 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.

[36:48] 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.

[37:03] 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.

[37:25] 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.

[37:47] 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?

[37:59] 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?

[38:14] 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.

[38:30] 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.

[38:42] 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.

[39:04] 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.

[39:23] 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.

[39:38] 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.

[39:51] 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.

[40:07] 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.

[40:23] 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.

[40:40] 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.

[40:51] 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.

[41:05] 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?

[41:23] And if it's not, Jesus invites you to come today to pray to him, to confess that and to receive him.

[41:35] to be the one who's the center of your life. Just allow God to search your heart.

[42:05] 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.

[42:25] 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.

[42:41] 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.

[42:55] 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.

[43:16] 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.

[43:27] 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.

[43:40] Make us contented people, I pray. In Jesus' name. Amen.