Overcoming Envy
August 29, 2020 / Brian T. Anderson / Vineyard Church North PhoenixBreaking Free From Besetting Sins
Overcoming Envy
I. Introduction
A. Galatians 5:25-26 (NAS) 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
B. There are two parts to envy:
1. Resenting God’s goodness in lives
2. Overlooking God’s goodness in own life
C. In our society today, envy is .
II. Where Does Envy Occur?
A. !
B. The Bible is full of examples of envy in the family.
1. Cain and Abel
2. Jacob and Esau
3. Leah and Rachel
4. Joseph and his brothers
III. Why Should I Avoid Envy?
A. Envy causes with others.
1. James 4:1 (NAS) What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?
2. Envy destroys !
B. Envy leads to other .
1. James 3:16 (NAS) For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
2. Mark 15:10 (NAS) For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.
3. Nothing causes people to more than envy.
C. It ruins my
1. Proverbs 14:30 (NAS) A tranquil heart is life to the body, but passion is rottenness to the bones.
2. Envy eats you up on the inside! It’s –!
3. Envy causes .
IV. How to Overcome Envy
A. Don’t yourself to others
1. II Corinthians 10:12b (NLT) But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement.
2. You lose your with what you have when you compare it with what has.
B. Recognize your own
1. Psalm 139:13 (NAS) For You formed my inward parts; you wove me in my mother’s womb.
2. Envy is also an expression of .
3. Psalm 139:14, 17 (NAS) 14I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. 17How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
4. God has a for your life! His plan for you is .
a. Jeremiah 29:11 (NAS) “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
C. Be for what you have
1. Myth behind envy – – “I must have more than in order to be happy.”
2. Envy is a source of for a lot of people.
a. Ecclesiastes 4:4 (NAS) I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind.
3. Philippians 4:11 (NAS) Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
4. Contentment is not a natural trait. It’s something we all must “.”
5. How to learn contentment:
a. Realize I already have more than I .
b. Definition of contentment – – “Understanding that God has provided all that I for my current happiness.”
D. Focus on pleasing
1. Colossians 3:2 (NAS) Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
2. Almost all things on earth are only . They won’t last. Only two things will last forever:
a.
b.
3. Focus your life on what’s going to last ! Make pleasing the primary aim of your life!
4. What matters is what I do with what has given .
5. “Sometimes life isn’t fair”!
a. Proverbs 23:17 (NAS) Do not let your heart envy sinners, but live in the fear of the LORD always.
b. Don’t worry that life isn’t fair. The books aren’t closed yet. God hasn’t written the !
6. The fact is, some people will get ahead of you in life (with less honesty, integrity, commitment, etc.) Don’t be envious. One day will it!
V. Conclusion