Win Your War

Luke 11:24-25 – When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.

Colossians 3:8-10 – But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Philippians 4:11-12 – Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

Jesus was teaching the principle of replacement when He said that if a demon were cast out but the Holy Spirit did not take its place, then seven more demons would fill the gap. This is why Paul tells us not only to “take off” certain mind-sets and desires but also to “put on” others. It is not enough to simply cast out or take off coveting.

It’s not enough to give away everything that doesn’t “spark joy” or to move into a tiny home. Contentment has nothing to do with your stuff and everything to do with your soul. Like Jesus, who was equally content whether rich in heaven or poor on earth, we have to welcome in and put on contentment. Just as light drives out darkness, so contentment drives out coveting.

Contentment is based upon what we have in our relationship with God, because He meets our deepest needs and is our greatest treasure. A content person can be ruling from a lofty position or serving from a lowly position with an equal amount of peace in his or her soul.

This is the example of our Lord, who was content to sit on a throne and be worshipped by angels as well as to hang on a cross and be mocked by enemies. A content person can be rich in possessions or reeling in poverty while having the same quality of character and life of love as Jesus. This is the example of our Lord, who is today bountiful and blessed in the kingdom and was equally content while homeless and hungry on the earth. The key to contentment is trusting the Father heart of God.

To order the new book from Pastor Mark & Grace Driscoll “Win Your War”, visit: https://amzn.to/2YuhoDn.

For the entire eight-week “Win Your War” sermon series  from Pastor Mark, visit www.markdriscoll.org or the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.

Matthew 27:18 – For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.

James 3:13-18 – Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Have you ever stopped to ponder where this spirit of discontent and coveting began? According to the Bible, the first person to covet and get jealous of someone else was Satan.

In heaven Satan got jealous of God’s place in authority and coveted the glory that belonged to God alone. Unwilling to remain content with who God made him to be, the role God made him to play, and the position God intended for him to occupy, Satan got covetous.

The angels who aligned with him became demons. The difference between an angel and a demon is that an angel is content, while a demon covets. We see this battle in heaven continue on the earth. As they were seeking to have Jesus crucified, we learn the motive of the religious leaders leading the mob: “It was out of envy that they had delivered him up.”

Once Satan and his covetous demons were cast down to the earth, they brought coveting with them. To covet is to invite the demonic into your desires. Satan has always tried to sow discontent—from the war in heaven, to Eve in the garden, to Jesus in the desert, and to this day in every culture. The entire world is caught in the grip of demonic desires.

If you covet, you are pulling that spirit up from hell, and it is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” If you pull contentment down into your life instead, you are welcoming the Spirit down from heaven with “wisdom that comes down from above.”

To order the new book from Pastor Mark & Grace Driscoll “Win Your War”, visit: https://amzn.to/2YuhoDn.

For the entire eight-week “Win Your War” sermon series  from Pastor Mark, visit www.markdriscoll.org or the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.

Luke 12:15 – And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Acts 20:35 – In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” 

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Why does it matter if our car was made in Korea or Germany? Why do people fret over the latest generation of technology when the old one does pretty much the same thing for a third of the price?

Consumerism has become a religion. It’s how we gain social status and prestige in the eyes of others. Malls are churches. The problem is not in the stuff that we hold but in the stuff that holds us. The issue is not in our hands but in our hearts.

There’s a little line with big implications tucked away in Acts 20:35. It is the only place in the Bible you can find the “words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

The truth is that giving is the blessing. God is the most generous person and is, therefore, the most blessed. The apostle Paul describes a giver as cheerful because when we give, we are blessed to share in God’s joy. Out of love God “gave his only Son.” Giving is love in action.

Coveting also leads to bad stewardship, where we spend more than we should to give to ourselves rather than also giving to God and others, which contributes to our debt. For these reasons, coveting is not just a personal problem. Coveting ruins relationship with people we could be loving if we were not so consumed with coveting.

To order the new book from Pastor Mark & Grace Driscoll “Win Your War”, visit: https://amzn.to/2YuhoDn.

For the entire eight-week “Win Your War” sermon series  from Pastor Mark, visit www.markdriscoll.org or the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.

James 1:13-17 – Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

James 4:1-2 – What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.

God is a Father. Like any good parent, God knows what His kids need and does not give them things that will harm them. When there is something we want, the Father sometimes says “no,” and at other times says “later” for when we are ready.

Coveting hurts your relationship with God. It also hurts people you love. Who makes you jealous? Who annoys you because of his or her beauty, income, humor, intellect, popularity, success, health, marriage, children, and so on? How is your relationship with that person? Do you criticize the person behind his or her back? Do you wish the person would suffer or lose what he or she has? Do you wish you could trade places with the person?

God did nothing wrong to Satan. Satan simply coveted the glory God received. As a result their relationship was destroyed. This demonic deception continues in human relationships today.

When we covet someone and feed our jealousy, the issue is not really between us and the person; it’s between us and God. God invites us to replace coveting with praying. In prayer we can ask God for what we need rather than seeking to have what He has already given others.

When we take our requests to God, it reveals our heart. If we are honest, we all covet things that we’d never ask God for because we know the desire is ungodly or unhealthy. As we bring what we think we need to God, we invite God to show us the difference between our need and our greed. Sometimes God graciously gives us the thing we ask for, just as He has graciously provided it for the person we envied.

Matthew 4:8-11 – Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
    and him only shall you serve.’”

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

1 John 2:16 – For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life – is not from the Father but is from the world.

Exodus 20:17 – You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

Coveting is ungodly and discontented desire, passion, envy, craving, greed, jealousy, obsession, longing, or lust for someone or something that is not supposed to be yours. In short, coveting is when you aren’t content with what God wants for you, and instead you want something He has not chosen for you. Consider these questions for a moment:

Have you ever seen a car that you deeply wished you could own and drive?
Have you ever seen a home that was so great that you deeply wanted to have it for yourself?
Is there a person whose abilities (mental, physical, spiritual, etc.) you wish you could have?
What things do other people have that you really want for yourself?
Whom would you trade lives with if you could swap your life with someone else’s?

Did answers to any of these questions readily come to mind as you read them? If so, you likely sinned against God in your heart and fell for the demonic trick of coveting.

The last of the Ten Commandments warns us against the demonic deception that enticed even the angels to align with Satan’s scheme by coveting God’s glory.

To put it in modern terms, stop looking up the square footage, sale price, and interior design of other homes; stop comparing the age, beauty, and allure of someone you are not married to with your spouse. Don’t worry about the new car and fancy vacation your friends just posted online; instead be content with what God has given you.

To order the new book from Pastor Mark & Grace Driscoll “Win Your War”, visit: https://amzn.to/2YuhoDn.

For the entire eight-week “Win Your War” sermon series  from Pastor Mark, visit www.markdriscoll.org or the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.

Deuteronomy 5:21 – 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.

The next time you are in a store gazing upon all of the products displayed for sale, consider for a moment how recent this phenomenon is. One of the first American department stores to put all of the products out on the floor was Woolworth’s. Before that, stores stocked all items for sale behind the counter, and if you wanted something, you would ask a salesperson to get it for you or simply hand them a list of what you wanted to buy.

Once all of the items for sale were able to be touched and selected by the consumer, people started coveting more and therefore buying more. How many of us have done this very thing? We go to the store to buy something and end up buying other things we did not even know existed until we got to the store. We bring them home, pay for extra storage units to stow them away, and later throw them out because we had no need of them after all. Yes, we pay to take the item home, pay to store it, and then pay the sanitation workers to take the item to the dump. That’s the power of coveting.

It seems we have based our economy on getting people to break the tenth and final commandment. Advertising and marketing awaken in you a desire to spend money you don’t have on something you don’t need to impress someone you don’t know. Add to this the spiritual gravity of the world that pulls you toward being jealous and covetous of what others have, and the constant onslaught of social media where it seems everyone is showing off the stuff they have, places they go, and luxuries they enjoy. The stage is set for coveting.

To order the new book from Pastor Mark & Grace Driscoll “Win Your War”, visit: https://amzn.to/2YuhoDn.

For the entire eight-week “Win Your War” sermon series  from Pastor Mark, visit www.markdriscoll.org or the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.

James 4:7-10 – Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1 Peter 5:5 – Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Perhaps a bit of self-examination will help. Consider each of the following statements and score yourself this way:

Always—5 points
Frequently—4 points
Sometimes—3 points
Rarely—2 points
Never—0 points

In conversations I prefer speaking about myself or having others talk about me rather than listening about other people.
In most situations I am thinking about how things will benefit me, reflect on me, or work in my favor.
If I’m honest, when making decisions I tend to do what I think is best for me rather than what would glorify God.
When someone says I have hurt or offended them, I tend to think they are the one with the problem.
When good things happen for other people, I tend to get jealous and have a hard time being happy for them.
I desire a lot of attention and affirmation.
I think I’m generally better than most people.
I am not a generous person and am more prone to take than to give.
I feel like the world would be a better place if people just agreed with the way I think they should behave.
I have a hard time not winning and am an overly competitive person.
It is more common for people to serve me than for me to serve them.
It bothers me when I do something good and do not receive credit for it.
I have a hard time giving compliments to others, speaking well of others, and honoring others.
I feel like certain menial tasks are below me and should be done by someone else.
I hide my Christian convictions when I am with people who might disagree with me, judge me, or reject me.
I have a hard time taking orders, receiving correction, or being under authority.
I think about myself more than I think about God and other people.
I prefer to be the teacher informing others rather than the student who is learning.
I care a lot about how I appear to others—my appearance, possessions, and people with whom I associate.
I tend to brag about myself and criticize others.

On a scale of 0–100, how did you score? How much work do you have to do?

To order the new book from Pastor Mark & Grace Driscoll “Win Your War”, visit: https://amzn.to/2YuhoDn.

For the entire eight-week “Win Your War” sermon series  from Pastor Mark, visit www.markdriscoll.org or the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.