Envy - Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. If you believe in the resurrection of Christ, that should be the bedrock faith that you have that can eliminate fear in your life.

You don't have to be afraid anymore. So this week I want to use another word and I want to use a word that at least initially you'll probably believe, well this doesn't apply to me. And that's normal. Anyone who suffers that has that. I'm dealing with a word that doesn't get a lot of ink. I'm going to deal with the word envy. It's interesting. Envy is a pervasive and destructive emotion and it's at a heart issue for sure. And it's much more grievous to God than it is to you and me.

That's what I find. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's word meets our world.

I'm in a series that I've been in a few weeks now called it open heart surgery. And the reason for the series is Solomon in Proverbs Chapter 4 said this. Above all else, guard your heart.

It's an interesting thing. Above all else, guard your heart. And the reason we have to do that is we have a tendency to focus on externals. God never does. God never looks at what we're doing externally and acts like that's important. He only looks at a heart issue that each of us have. Secondly, though, we have no idea the destructive power of our own heart. We don't see it that way. Jeremiah said that it is deceitful above all things.

And that it's desperately wicked. And lastly, Jesus said that everything we do, all of our actions and all of our attitudes come from our heart. And so the first thing we looked at in this open heart series was our guilt. And I mean true guilt, the emotion that you feel when you know that you've done something wrong. And I said at that time that I believe that guilt was a gift God gave mankind after the fall.

In other words, after man fell, we lived on a cursed planet. We were sinful people. And there's going to be a lot of reason that we feel in order to protect ourselves a certain amount of guilt.

But obviously you could take that to in a very excessive way. I said that the solution for guilt was the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. And what I meant by that is Jesus didn't die just for your sin.

Paul writes to the Romans, therefore there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. And so he not only died for my sin, but he died for my guilt. And the reason that's important is this. If I continue to hold on to my guilt and feel guilty about my past, what I do is I reduce the effect of the death of Jesus Christ in my life.

I don't want to do that, and I don't think you would either. And then after that, I also said this. If you look at our guilt, I believe that we can't use it to define us. You can look at your past and see your failures, and that's a reminder.

But don't let your past guilt define you. Then last week we dealt with fear. And I said that over 100 times in the Word of God we're told to fear not. So apparently God was extremely redundant in trying to remind you and me, don't be afraid.

Whatever it is, don't be afraid. And yet we have a tendency to be very fearful. The disciples, the whole time they were with Christ, were fearful. They get very afraid, and we see that over and over again in the Word of God. Jesus talked to them about not being fearful. They listened, sort of just like you do, but they didn't do anything about it. Then Jesus demonstrated to them there's no reason to be fearful.

Do you realize who I am? So he feeds 5,000, he walks on water, he does all these things that, look, this is who I am, don't be afraid. But then he tests them, and every single time he tested them, they failed. Every single time.

Test after test and they fail. Until they saw the resurrected Christ. Once they saw the resurrected Jesus Christ, you never read about them fearing anything.

They're never fearful again. Once they saw the resurrected Christ, they finally believed every word he said. And I said at that time, as believers in Jesus Christ, you have to believe in the resurrection of Christ. If you don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I can tell you this, you're not a Christian.

It's just that simple. Our faith is built on the resurrection of Christ. That's what Paul said. In fact, Paul said to the Corinthians, if Christ is not raised, then we should be the most pitied people in the world, because we're living for nothing. Now, if you believe in the resurrection of Christ, that should be the bedrock faith that you have that can eliminate fear in your life.

You don't have to be afraid anymore. So this week I want to use another word and I want to use a word that at least initially you'll probably believe, well, this doesn't apply to me. And that's normal. Anyone who suffers that has that. You see, I'm dealing with a word that doesn't get a lot of ink. I'm going to deal with the word envy. Envy.

It's interesting. Envy is a pervasive and destructive emotion, and it's a heart issue for sure. And it's much more grievous to God than it is to you and me.

That's what I find. I want you to open your Bibles to Galatians chapter 5 and verse 19. Galatians 5 and verse 19. Now, when I think of envy, let me just say this. Envy has a fraternal twin.

All right. Jealousy. But jealousy and envy are different. You see, jealousy can be applied to something like somebody may threaten something that I have, then I become jealous of that.

You could see that in relationships of husband and wife and girlfriend, boyfriend, and things like that. Jealousy is part of it. Envy is a little bit different. Envy, it's an attribute that we have when we see that other people have something and we wish we had it. That's envy. They have something.

We wish we had what they have. So here's what Paul says. In 519 he says, the deeds of the flesh are evident. Ergon, the works of the flesh are evident.

It's easy to see. Now, notice what he means by the works of the flesh. He said, immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, and factions. I think those are sins. You see, he said, yeah, that's the works of the flesh. That's sin.

Notice the next word in 21, though. Envying. Notice right after, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Now, let me just say something about the sidebar, because someone always asks me after church, and I want to save myself the time. All right? But you mean if I do any of these, I don't inherit the kingdom of God? No, because I know you're all doing those. You see?

And so am I. It's not exactly what he means. What he means is if you act out your flesh in a sinful way, you will be described as a sinner condemned by God. He says the same thing to the Corinthians, and what he means is this. The description of you is not sinner. The description of you is believer. You see, a believer, that's his description of you. A believer still has sin in their life, but they're no longer viewed by God as a sinner.

They're viewed by God as a believer. Turn to verse 26 of the same chapter, and notice how he ends this chapter. He says, let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. He's saying stop that. So he doesn't mean, oh, they don't get to go to heaven.

That's not what he's talking about at all. But he's saying as a believer, we need to stop envying one another. And so it's pretty clear that envying is a sin.

Now, it's a sin that we're to deal with. Go with me to 1 Peter, chapter 2. 1 Peter, chapter 2. Now, Peter is going to make an application here in the importance of the word of God in our lives.

But notice verse 1. Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit, all hypocrisy, and all envy, and all slander. So Peter says you better put aside all envy. Now, as I said, the problem that we have when it comes to envy, we don't really see it as a big problem. And it's in our heart.

It's a thought issue to us. You see, that's what the problem with envy is. Oh, I really wish I had what they have.

I wish I had kids that behaved like their kids. I mean, it can be almost anything. You always envy something. You want something. And he says, look, you've got to put that aside. So envy is clearly a sin.

That's where I want to start. Secondly, envy can consume you. Envy can bring about all other kind of issues in your life.

Go with me back now to Genesis, chapter 29. And let me just say what I'm going to say now about these chapters. If you're familiar with them, you won't be surprised.

If you're not, you're going to be shocked. It's amazing how envy affects every bit of the character of the people involved here. And this is the part you'd almost never expect it. This is the part where the nation Israel is going to be established. Israel, 12 sons, are going to become the tribes of Israel. This is the beginning. And everything that I'm going to say this morning is full of envy and full of sin. Everything. There's nothing good in any of it.

It's terrible what you see happen. But think of the nation Israel. How did Jacob get the blessing to be the head of the nation Israel? He deceived his father.

Pure deception. He put some fake fur on his arms and said he was hairy like Esau. His father couldn't see well and he blessed them.

That's an amazing thing. Then Isaac tells him that what he has to do now is he has to go to Padan Aram out of the land. And Padan Aram is where Laban lives, who is Jacob's mother's brother. And he's going to go there and live.

And that's kind of where we pick it up. Now, when he's going there to go into the land that Laban owns, he comes to a well. And in verse 10, it says, Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother. Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban, his mother's brother.

I think we got it after once, don't you? Three times he wants to tell you this is his mother's brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, lifted his voice and wept. Now, do you remember old cartoons on TV? You ever see the eyes come out of the cartoon character? That's what happened when he kissed her. He's like, wow.

Wow. Now, notice he doesn't know anything about her. He just likes the way she looks. And that's how shallow men can be. I just want you to know that.

That's just men. He thinks this is it. So, what he ends up doing, he told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and that he was Rebecca's son. She ran and told her father.

And they work it out. And it says in verse 16, Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah. The name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were weak. Rachel was beautiful in form and face.

See, I didn't make this up. That's exactly the way the Bible describes her. Now, Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, I will serve you seven years for your daughter Rachel.

Wow. Ladies, how many of you in here are sure your husband would enslave himself for seven years for you? Just so he could marry you.

I mean, that's a commitment. That might be one of the few good things that happen in these chapters. So, verse 21, Jacob said to Laban, give me my wife, for the time is complete that I may go into her. So, for seven years, and it's an interesting thing, for seven years he waits for this moment. And then the old switcheroo occurs.

It's pitch black. They've got tents. He goes into the honeymoon tent. He's been pretty excited.

This is seven years of waiting. And Laban puts in Leah into the tent. I don't know. You would think he would have wanted to get a better look, but he didn't. And so he consummates his marriage to Leah. Not the one he loved?

Nothing. Seven years to spend the night with Leah. Now, he's genuinely and totally upset. So, he says, why then have you deceived me? And Laban says, well, it's not our practice that the younger daughter marry before the second. Well, could have you told me that seven years ago? You see, it's all deceit.

That's what this is all about. And so it says in verse 30, but Laban said it is not our practice to marry off the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one and we'll give you the other one to serve you for the next seven years. So he puts in 14 years for her. Fourteen years. That's a lot of years.

He's watching his youth go right by him in that sense. And so it says Laban also gave his maid, Bilna, to his daughter and Rachel as her maid. And it says, so Jacob went into Rachel and indeed he loved Rachel more than Leah and he served with Laban another seven years. Now, when the Lord had seen that Leah was unloved, he opened up her womb.

But Rachel was barren. Now, this is everything in this culture. Everything.

If you're a woman and you're married, there's only one thing you want to do. Have a son. Because he's the only one that can inherit anything.

And so consequently, this becomes an issue. So it says then, Leah conceived and bore his son and she named him Reuben, firstborn. Then you go down in verse three and it says, he said, he has therefore given me another son. His name's Simeon. Then the next verse, therefore, his name is Levi. And then in the next verse, it says, therefore, she named him Judah. She has four boys right off the bat.

Rachel, zero. So it says in verse 30, now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous. And that word really can be translated envious of her sister.

Both apply, but envious of her sister. She said, give me children or else I die. Jacob got mad at her and he said to her, look, I'm not God.

I'm doing my part, but I'm not God. I can't give you a son. Well, she said, here's my maid Bilhah. Go into her that she may bear, she said, on my knees that through her I too may have children. So she gave her maid Bilhah as a wife and Jacob went into her. She conceived him bore him a son. And his name's Dan. Now, I want you to think about something. What kind of guy is Jacob?

I mean, think about this. Oh, you could say it was an accident that first night. He has four sons to her to live. He doesn't love her.

Now he's going to have a son to handmaiden. Where's he at? What's he doing? Hey, look, ladies, let's figure this out. I'll be fine with it.

I'll do whatever's needed. I mean, come on. So Jacob, he just keeps going along with this. So Rachel's maid, verse 7, conceived again and bore him a second son.

And this time he named him Naphtali. And so it says in verse 10, Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said how fortunate she named him Gad. Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Happy am I for the woman who called me happy, I'm going to name him Asher.

Now, you've still got to keep score here. So now we have sons to handmaidens, sons to a woman he doesn't love at all, and nothing else yet. So what's the deceit, verse 14. Now, in the days of the wheat harvest, Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, please give me some of your son's mandrakes.

Okay. Now, this is a little bit familiar. Do you remember what Esau did?

Esau sold his birthright for what? He was hungry, man. I just wanted some porridge.

I'm hungry. She does the same thing. She said to her, it is a small matter for you to take my husband.

She's resentful. She said, and would you take my son's mandrakes also? Rachel said, therefore, he may lie with you tonight if you return your son's mandrakes. Now, Leah needs permission to sleep with her husband from Rachel.

And it turns out that way. So it says at the end of the next verse, he lay with her that night. And Leah has another child, and she names him Issachar. Leah conceived again and bore a sick son to Jacob, called him Zebulun. Afterwards, she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

Now, watch what happens. Now, God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed and opened up her womb. So she conceived and bore a son and said, God has taken away my repurch, and she named him Joseph, saying, may the Lord give me another son. So that's where Joseph comes.

Now, think about this. You remember the story of Joseph and how did his brothers feel about him? Do you think you know why now?

You see how this worked? You got to know why. They hated him. See, this is the only son he ever wanted. And so all the others are not sons he wanted at all. So, showing her character, 3119, when Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father's.

Wait, what? They're idol worshippers. These are not believers. This isn't part of Israel. This is the beginning of Israel. These are all idol worshippers. So, she steals them. What's interesting about it, though, is you go on, and he said that verse 31 of the same chapter, Then Jacob replied to Laban and said, Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. The one with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsmen, point out what is yours among my belongings.

Take it for yourself. For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. Jacob just pronounced the death sentence on Rachel, the only one he loved in this whole story.

He said, That's the way this is going to be. Now, this is quite interesting because they asked Rachel to read, and she lied and said, No, I didn't do it. Rachel has no more character than Jacob. No one in this story has character.

I mean, there's no one with it. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts, or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called oneplace.com. That's oneplace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

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