TOPIC: BEWARE OF COVETOUSNESS ll
MEMORISE:
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 1 Corinthians 5:11
READ: Genesis 13:8 -15
8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
MESSAGE
Covetousness is so dangerous that the Bible says you should beware of it to such an extent that when you see it in the life of someone, you are to stay away from the fellow.
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
I Corinthians 5:11
Abraham kept company with Lot his nephew - a covetous fellow , as we saw in yesterday's study. Little did he know that Lot was hindering him from hearing the voice of God and for the promise of the Lord being fulfilled in his life. Immediately Lot left him, God spoke.
And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
Genesis 13:14-15
If you have a friend who is always talking about how he or she wants money, cars and worldly possessions, yet never talks about impacting his or her world or doing whatever assignments the Lord would have him or her do, part ways with such a fellow. If he or she is never content and always wants what others have, so desperately as to be willing to do anything to get it, such a fellow is too dangerous to be called your friend. If any such friend refuses to change, respectfully part ways with the person, the same way Abraham parted from Lot. You have to take this step so that the person would not hinder you from getting what God has in store for you.
There is a difference between being a big dreamer and being covetous. The big dreamer talks about impacting his or her world, with the resultant effect of riches following, while the covetous is not interested in making the world better - only in the riches. Understand this and lookout for how your friends see riches. If you discover that they are covetous and will not change, part ways with them.
KEY POINT
Don't keep company with the covetous.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 24-26
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN 14: NEARER MY GOD TO THEE
1. Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
E’en though it be a cross
That raiseth me.
Still all my song shall be
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
2. Though like the wanderer,
The sun gone down,
Darkness be over me,
My rest a stone,
Yet in my dreams I’d be
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
3. There let the way appear,
Steps unto heav’n;
All that thou sendest me,
In mercy giv’n;
Angels to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
4. Then with my waking thoughts
Bright with thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs
Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
5. Or if, on joyful wing
Cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot,
Upward I fly,
Still all my song shall be
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee
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