(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Now before I give him the message I'll just go ahead and explain the story that we just read quickly. Of course this man Naaman, he's a very powerful man in Syria, he's the captain and the host, but the one thing that he has against him is that he's got this disease of leprosy and it couldn't be cured and so he has fame, prosperity, power, but because he has this disease he's unhappy, he's probably going to die from it because leprosy is a horrible disease. And he goes to his servant and she basically says that this man Elisha can heal you, he's with the children of Israel and so forth and so the king of Syria sends Naaman with this entourage and the president of money saying I'm giving you this money, I'm sending you this man, I want you to heal him of his leprosy. Well the king has no faith in God, he doesn't believe in the miracles of God and so he thinks that the man is just trying to pick a fight with him and he says, you know, my God, how am I going to heal this guy? And of course Elisha does heal the man and he has him dip in the Jordan River seven times, but what I want to preach about is the part where afterward, Gehazi basically deceives and takes this money that didn't belong to him. Now Naaman had offered Elisha all kinds of money because he had healed him of his sickness and he would have been willing to pay any price to be healed of it and so he offers him all this money and Elisha refuses to take it and I think there's a little bit of a symbolism there too because I think that this also pictures salvation. This whole concept of wash and be clean. You know, you don't have to do some great thing. He said, you know, if he would have told you to do works or to do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it in order to be healed? But how much more when he just says wash and be clean? And that lack of course pictures our sin, pictures our lost condition, our terminal condition of being unsafe and that, you know, just wash and be clean, we're washed in the blood and I think the reason why he refused to take money is because God's trying to show us it's not something that can be purchased, salvation's not something that can be earned and so forth. So Elisha refuses the money for whatever reason, that's what I believe the reason was and as these men are leaving Gehazi the servant is filled with lust and greed and he wants to have that reward that was offered to Elisha. So he runs after the man, let's pick up the story in 2 Kings 5 here. He runs after the man and says in verse number 21, So Gehazi followed after Naaman and when Naaman saw him running after him he lighted down from the chariot to meet him and said, Naaman said, Is all well? And he said, All is well. My master had sent me saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from Mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Give them, I pray, be a talent of silver and two changes of garments. So he basically lies and runs after him and says, Oh you know what, actually Elisha just changed his mind because these two young guys just showed up and they don't have anything and so we're going to give him a talent of silver and some changes of raiment. And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. I mean that was so much less than what he was offering anyway. And he urged him and found two talents of silver in two bags. So these are bags of silver, that's a lot of money. With two changes of garments and laid them upon two of his servants and bare them before. And when he came to the tower he took them from their hand and bestowed them in the house. And he let the men go and they departed. But he went in and stood before his master and Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? Saying, Where did you just come from? Gehazi. And he said, Thy servant went no whither. So he begins to lie further to try to cover up what he's done. And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money and to receive garments and olive yards and vineyards and sheep and oxen and men's servants and maid servants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee and unto thy seed forever. And he went out from his presence at a leper as white as snow. So basically Gehazi is cursed with the disease of Naaman. He's filled with leprosy. White as snow. That's in its most extreme condition. And by the way, it's interesting in this story. Isn't it funny how today's healers so called, they want to be paid to heal. I'm talking about the faith healers on TV, the betting hands and so forth. You send a donation. You know, you give money, you put money in the plate and you're going to be healed and so forth. Here, that's not the case. You'll never see Jesus charging someone money to be healed. Ever. Never. You'll always see him performing that miracle and wanting nothing in return and that's exactly what happened in this case. Gehazi, because of his greed, lied and stole and then lied again to try to cover it up. And because of that, he had this physical disease of leprosy attached to him. Look at Ecclesiastes, chapter 5, because I want to... Actually, Ecclesiastes 6 is where we'll start. I want to preach about a disease today and it's the disease that was in Gehazi's heart which was later evidenced in his flesh when God cursed him for his lying, covetousness, for his thievery. Because today we're entering the season when this disease seems to show its condition most vehemently. You see, many people's disease is in remission today but as we get into this season between Thanksgiving and Christmas it seems that this disease rears its ugly head of materialism, covetousness, the lust to have things and possessions. And that's what we're going to talk about today. It says in Ecclesiastes 6.1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun and it is common among men. A man to whom God has given riches, wealth, and honor so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth. Yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof but a stranger eateth. This is vanity, and look at the last phrase there, and it is an evil disease. If a man beget a hundred children and live many years so that the days of his years be many and his soul be not filled with good and also that he have no burial I say that an untimely birth is better than he. For he cometh in with vanity and departeth in darkness and his name should be covered with darkness. Moreover he hath not seen the sun nor known anything. This hath more rest than the other. Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told yet had he seen no good. Do not all go to one place? Look at verse 7. All the labor of man is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not filled. For what hath the wise more than the fool? What hath the poor that knoweth to walk before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. You see, God was explaining here an evil disease. The man who treasures up wealth to himself and yet he doesn't get to enjoy it. He's not satisfied with it. His appetite is never filled. Look at Ecclesiastes 5, verse 10. It says, He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver. Remember, that's what Gehazi had stolen. Nor he that loveth abundance with increase. This is also vanity. He's saying it's empty, it's meaningless. He's saying you love money, you love silver, you love increase. He's saying you can get all the goods you want, all the silver you want, all the gold you want. It's never going to satisfy you. It's vanity, it's emptiness, it's vexation of spirit and he said it's an evil disease. He said it's not going to make you feel good, it's going to make you feel bad. It's a sickness with people. The lust for constantly having something that they don't have. More money, more things, more toys, more abundance. And he explains in chapter 6, I don't know if you caught it with all the poetic language, but he's explaining here that if he has no burial, if he has no good in his soul, he's saying it's such a waste of his life. What does it mean if he has no burial? You say, well I don't really care what happens to my dead carcass after I'm gone. But you see, the reason that people have a burial is because they have someone burying them, because they have someone who loves them, because they have people who care about them. And you see, the thing that we ought to realize has more value is people, not things, not possessions, not silver, not gold, but people make up the value and riches of our life. Look at verse number 10 of Ecclesiastes 5 again, we just read it. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase. This is also vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them. Now I know that's true in my house, okay. I keep having more children and they keep eating more and more of what they get. And so when goods increase, they are increased that eat them. But I love this last phrase. And what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes. You know, that's really what it is. When you get that new shiny fancy car, what good is it but to just behold it with your eyes. And I've noticed this, no matter what car you have, no matter how fancy it is, no matter how nice, no matter how much it costs, after a couple weeks you're just going to be used to it and it's just your car. I remember I had friends in high school that lived in huge mansions. I mean literally their parents were millionaires. You know, you'd have friends like this in school and you'd spend the night at their house and kind of get to enjoy that luxury for a little while. And I remember just the first time you go there, you're just in awe. I mean the house is like a maze. You get lost in it, literally. I'm thinking of a friend in particular. Tennis courts in the backyard, swimming pools, basketball courts, gated community, fitness center, just massive mansion. But yet after you've been to that guy's house a few times, you weren't impressed and pretty soon it just became, oh yeah, Ryan's house, you know? And you just were used to it. Because what good is it? You know, your car gets you from point A to point B. But yet people will spend tons of money on a car and it gives them a momentary thrill when they first get it. But eventually it's just what? The beholding of it with your eyes. You know, wow, you get to look at that car, you get to look at that fancy house. Really we all sleep in a bed at night, we all sit in a chair at a table and eat breakfast and eat lunch and eat dinner. Why do you need this massive house but just to behold it with your eyes, just to look at it? And it's not going to satisfy you. You're just going to want something else. It's going to become old and you're going to lust for the next thing, the next toy, the next item. If you talk to the richest people, they're the most covetous people. You'd think that the poor would be the ones always desiring something that they don't have. And many times they do. But the rich always want more. Because he that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver. Let's keep reading. It says in verse 12, the sleep of a laboring man is sweet. See, when you work hard, he says whether you're rich or poor, whether he eat little or much, he says, the sleep of a laboring man is sweet. You go to bed at night, you lay your head on the pillow, and you sleep like a baby. You see, people who work hard don't suffer from insomnia. You know? It's true. It's very true. Because I've taken people with me on some of my work trips. I don't care what their sleep pattern was. When we go to the hotel, they fall asleep. Because we work hard. And when you work hard, you have no problem sleeping. And I remember I used to suffer from insomnia as a teenager. Horrible. I'd lay in bed at night for half a night, and then you're really tired in the morning because you haven't gotten proper rest, but you just laid in bed and couldn't fall asleep. But then I figured it out. The key to sleep is make yourself tired enough, and you can fall asleep anywhere. You can sleep on the floor. You can sleep in a car. You can sleep on an airplane. You can sleep anywhere if you're tired enough, my friend. I've fallen asleep standing up many times. I remember walking into a Motel 6 on a work trip just so tired that I was standing in line, there were a couple other people in line, and just fell to the floor. Just fell asleep and just fell to the floor because I was so tired I fell asleep standing up. How many times have I fallen asleep in a red light? You know, just when you're just about home? Because your body, it's like your body knows that you're almost home. You know, when you can see your house? You know how it is. Because you're driving for hours and hours and you're staying awake and you're staying awake. But when you see home and you're at that last red light, you know, on Vineyard and 48th Street, you know, at that last red light and you know you're just about to go to bed so your body just starts kind of winding down. You know? And then it's... Or the policemen shine the flashlight next to you. That's how many people. And then you pull into your house. Why? Because if you work hard enough, you can sleep just fine. You know, and it feels good at night to get in your bed and fall asleep after a hard day's work. But look what it says. But the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. Why? Because he has so much abundance he's not working hard enough as what would be healthy for him. And he has to toss and turn and worry about what the stock prices are doing. And he has to wonder if his security system is enough. And he has to wonder, you know, if his riches are still going to be there because that's what his life consists of. It says in verse 13, There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. So is it always good for you to be rich and to have all the things that money can buy? But those riches perished by evil travail that he could get at the sun and there is nothing in his hand. As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came and shall take nothing of his labor which he may carry away in his hand. Go back to the book of Joshua chapter 7. Joshua 7. Joshua chapter 7. Now in Joshua 7, while you're turning there, I'll just explain to you what's going on in the story. This is the story of Achan. And if you remember, the children of Israel, when they went into Jericho, they were supposed to basically not take of any of the spoil. It was all accursed unto the Lord. And so it all belonged to God and they weren't supposed to touch any of it. Well, Achan had stolen and because of his theft, God had cursed the whole nation. Look what it says in Joshua 7.20. This is when Achan is basically finally confessing. They found him out and he's confessing. It says in Joshua 7.20. And Achan answered Joshua and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done. When I saw among his foils a goodly Babylonish garment and two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them and took them, and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent and the silver under it. What I want you to see here is the progression. How Achan committed this horrible sin ended up causing him to die, his whole family to die, he lost everything, and his name became a curse and an execration even to this day. I've never met anybody who named their child Achan. Okay, because it's a bad name. Because he had a bad name. He was Achan, the troubler of Israel. They buried a big heap of stones on his dead body just as a memorial to remind people not to sin against God in the way that Achan had sinned. What was the progression? Well, it's a three-step process. Look what he said in verse 21. What was the first thing? When I saw. So step one, I saw. When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment and two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, that's not his fault, right? We all see things. Can't help it. But he said, then I coveted them. So the second step is, so first, I saw. Second, I coveted. And then what's the next thing? And I took them. And behold, they are hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent and the silver under it. Go to Luke chapter 12. And while you're turning there, I'll quote to you from James chapter one the same progression. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death. Isn't that the same thing that happened with Aachen? Do not earn my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the shadow of lights with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning. God gives us what we need. God will take care of us. But we often lust after things that do not belong to us, covet things that don't belong to us, and lust when it hath conceived bringeth forth sin. He's saying lust gives birth to sin and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death. Look at Luke chapter 12 verse 13. It says, And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? This is Jesus speaking. And he said unto them, Take heed and beware of covetousness for a man's life consistent not in the abundance of the things which he possesses. You see, we need to realize today that there's more to life than just the things that we possess. It's not the one with the most toys wins. And yet today, as we come into this holiday season of Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving, a time that supposedly should be all about being thankful for the things that we already have and yet the way that our society is designed, some insidious plan hatched by someone has decided that on the day that we're supposed to be thankful for what we already have, we're sitting around and plotting how we're going to, at three in the morning, go buy a bunch of stuff that we don't have. And so really, because don't tell me that people wake up on Friday after Thanksgiving and just at that point decide, oh, I think I'm going, you know, for some reason I woke up at three in the morning this morning. You know, it's weird. I usually get up at seven, but I just happened to wake up at three in the morning and I just happened to get in my car and drive down to whatever the store. But it's funny because on Thanksgiving, that's what they're thinking about. Instead of thanking God, instead of being thankful for what they have, it's the planning of that three in the morning standing in line to go get the iPod or the iPad or whatever it is. And, you know, I understand if you want to buy something that's on sale on Friday, but my point, you know, I don't even like to leave the house on that day. I hate crowds of people. Like, crowds bother me. I like a little more solitary life than that than being in some crowd and throng and traffic. I hate it all. But I'm talking about the attitude, though, that that's the big thing on everybody's mind at this time of year, starting with Thanksgiving, which is supposed to be about being thankful for what we already have and the people that we love, and then all the way to Christmas, which is supposed to be about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's supposed to be all about God and the Bible and Jesus, and yet it just becomes a thing of getting possessions, buying things, and spending money. That's what this time of year is about. And let me tell you something. I'm to the point where I don't really like this time of year very much for a couple reasons. Part of the reason that I don't like it is because our attendance at church always goes down between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Always. And really, churches across America, their attendance goes down, really at a time that you'd think people would come to church more, wouldn't you? And you know, the Catholics, they only show up at church twice a year, Christmas and Easter, but the Baptists, that's when they don't show up at Christmas. Seriously. Across America. You say, well, people are traveling. Yeah, but if they're traveling, wouldn't they go to church wherever they're at? And wouldn't we have all kinds of people visiting Phoenix coming to church with us and other churches? But yet every church in America is down. Because I'm going to tell you something. People get too busy between Thanksgiving and Christmas and they neglect God's house. It's the first thing that goes out the window, honestly. And look, I've been pastoring long enough to see the pattern every year to watch the attendances go down between Thanksgiving and Christmas every time November and December are the lowest attendances of the year. Because everybody is so busy celebrating Jesus' birth and they're so busy celebrating how thankful they are for everything that God has given them that they don't come to church. When the Bible says, take no thought, saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed. He said, after all these things do the Gentiles seek? For your heavenly Father, knoweth that you have need of all these things, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. What we ought to be thinking more about this time of year is the things of God. The Bible, winning souls to Christ, spending time with our family, doing nice things for other people. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus which said it is more blessed to give than to receive. And yet today, people are thinking about receiving, receiving, receiving. People today, their mentality with gift giving, it bothers me. They have a mentality that says, I want to make sure that I don't give more than I get. It's true. People literally work this out. Almost as important. Like, well, okay, how many kids do I have? How many kids do they have? You know, do I get a gift for each child? What are they going to give me in return? I've got to make sure there's balance. You know this is true. How much are they going to spend on me? Okay, I've got to make sure that I don't spend too much more than that. You know, I want to, hey, I want to at least break even this Christmas. You know what I mean? At least get as much as I get. But really, that's kind of perverse if you think about it. And today, it's become the wish list. And I don't like wish lists either. Maybe I'm just preaching my own opinion, but I guess I'm not because if God said that we're of covetousness, what is a wish list for coveting things that you don't have? Okay, and that's what it means. Thou shalt not covet. You know, always wishing that you had something that you don't have. You ought to be, and I'm talking to the children, even the children, even those that are five and seven and nine, you know what? You ought to be able to wake up on Christmas morning and just, if you got nothing, you ought to just be able to say praise God. Amen. Thank God. I mean, just be happy that you're going to eat a great dinner. Yeah, and my children already have Christmas presents that have been bought for them. Don't worry, kids. But the bottom line is, you ought to be able to just wake up on Christmas morning and just thank God for the wonderful meal. Thank God for a few days off from work. Thank God to see your family and to spend time with friends. Thank God for the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ that was given 2,000 years ago. That's what we ought to be thinking about, and any gift that you receive should be bonus. It shouldn't be something that you just expect, like it's just your birthright that you get. All your electronic gadgets and garbage is made in China. You know, all your little toys and frills and things that later are going to be sold off at a garage sale you're not even going to care about, you're not even going to use anymore, and yet you just have to have it now. And then, you know, when you don't get it, you're disappointed. You're upset. What we ought to do is just be happy and content. The Bible says, Let your conversation be without cupid's-ness and be content with such things as you have. For he had said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Isn't that worth more than your gadgets? The fact is, you have the eternal salvation of Jesus Christ who will never leave you nor forsake you, and yet you covet some electronic, you covet some toy, you covet some... You say, Well, I need it. You know, you need food and raiment. That's all you need toward the Bible. And so, we need to be aware of cupid's-ness this time of year. We need to keep an eye out and make sure that this disease, this leprosy of wishing that we had money for the rest of his life and even his children picked up the same disease. And by the way, your children will pick up your disease too if you're the materialistic, covetous person. Your children will follow in your footsteps and they'll pick up that same mentality. Any gift that I receive, I don't expect anything for Christmas from anyone. And you're like, Well, good. You know? Honestly. So, you know what? Hey, you know what? I mean, what's Gehazi? You think Gehazi was happy with his silver and two changes of garments when his skin is covered You know what? Hey, you're gonna make out on this exchange, on any exchange with me because I expect nothing. And anything that I receive, I'm surprised. And I'm thankful for it. Oh, wow. Cool. Great. You know? Because that's the attitude that we should have. We have everything we need. We're happy. If someone, now you say, Are you a gift of exchanging gifts? Absolutely not. Exchanging gifts is a very biblical concept. If you look in the Bible, you'll see that the decorations and feasts and holidays that they had throughout the Old Testament, they would exchange gifts. In the book of Nehemiah, he told them, you know, Send portions one to another. Eat the fat. Drink the sweet. Send gifts one to another. Send portions. So exchanging gifts is great, but I just feel like it's degenerated today, where it becomes more about the receiving, where it becomes more about expecting something, when it becomes more about the wish list and the gift registry, instead of just, Hey, if someone gives me a gift, I'll praise God for it. I'll just be thankful for it. You see, that's the mentality that we have, and let me tell you, you'll be a lot happier on Christmas if you just are considering everything, you get a bonus, instead of just expecting it, like it's your God-given right. Even if it's your job, you know, your job gives you a bonus. Oh man, a bonus isn't that big. Well, it is a bonus. You know, it's extra. It's not your hourly pay that you already received. You know, just thank God for it, whatever it is, and it came from God. So thank Him for whatever bonus. And you know, God doesn't give you more than you can handle, because there are a lot of riches kept to the owners thereof for their hurt, the Bible says. Sometimes riches can be the worst thing that can happen to you. God knows what you need. God can take care of you. Why don't you just be happy with what you have and not always covet what you don't have? Look at Luke chapter 12 here. It says in verse 14, He just finished telling him, I'm sorry, verse 15, He just finished telling him to beware of covetousness. He said, In verse 16, He explains a parable kind of illustrating this truth. It says, And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentically. And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do? Because I have no room where to bestow my fruits. And he said, This will I do. I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, Don't talk to your own soul. But anyway, Soul, Thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be married. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night, thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasures for himself, and is not rich toward God. We have to be rich toward God. We have to think about other people, and not just lay up treasures for ourself. Because that's what God's going to do. He's going to make sure that you don't enjoy it. I mean, this guy had been working his whole life, said he would retire, and pull his socks up to his knees, and play golf all day, and just take it easy. And the day of his retirement, the day that he retired, he just sat back and said, I'm finally done working. I can finally take it easy. And God just looked down and said, Okay, if that's how you are, if that's how you're going to live your life, you're a fool. Because tonight, your soul is going to be required of you, and everything you've worked for is gone. Isn't that a tragic story about a man who wasted his life? I mean, how would you like to work and work and work and save up your money, save up your money, save up your money, you know, get your gold and silver, and hide it under your tent, and then it's gone. Wouldn't that be depressing? Because you see, money sometimes represents our life. Because we get paid by the hour, usually. You know, the money represents the time that we spent to earn that money. That's what money represents. And your money can be taken from you in a moment. If God could take this guy's money away, don't you think he could take your money away? He took his life away so he could enjoy it. But, if we serve God with our lives, no one can ever take that away from us. I mean, do you think that I'll ever look back and say, wow, I wasted my life all the time I spent stolen? Or I wasted my life all that time I spent reading my Bible. You're never going to think that. But you may think, wow, I worked so hard to buy that house and I lost my house. People have lost their house. People have lost their vehicles. People have lost everything. People have been robbed. People have lost their money in the banks. Look at the people in the 1930s, you know. And you say, well, I'm just going to store it all up and I'm going to put it in the mattress. Well, you know, you could lose it that way too because thieves can break through and steal. God wants you to be rich toward him. God wants you to spend more than him. Not just laboring to fill your mouth as Solomon said in the Ecclesiastes. Let's keep reading. It says in verse 21, So is he to lay up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say, if you take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, neither for the body, what ye shall put on, the life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which neither have storehouse nor barn, and God feedeth them. How much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you, with taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do the thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow. They toil not, they spin not, and yet I say unto you that Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothed the grass, which is today in the field and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat and what ye shall drink, neither be ye of a doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have and give alms. Provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Look at 2 Peter 3. 2 Peter 3. But we live in a materialistic world, don't we? We live in a world where people constantly desire more things, more possessions. They can't sleep at night because of their abundance. It says in 2 Peter 3 verse 10, that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and acing unto the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? He's saying in light of the fact that everything you own is going to be burned up and dissolved someday, what type of person ought you to be? A person who lives their life for things? A person who amasses wealth? A person who lays up for themselves treasures upon the earth? A person who just cares about getting more and more and more? He's saying, look, if it's all going to be burned up, you might as well be generous. You might as well live for others. You might as well spend more time soul winning and reading your Bible and serving God than to just always, always be in pursuit of money and things. And look, I know that today you just make a living and support your family sometimes and feed your children and feed your family. And you've got to do a lot of work to do that. But you've got to make sure that that doesn't become the emphasis of your life, that you keep the spiritual first, that you seek first the kingdom of God. And we as men, we work six days a week. We strive to put food on the table, to put a roof over our children's head, to keep our children in clothes as they grow out of them. But you know what? We need to seek first the kingdom of God. We need to put church first. We need to put the soul in first. We need to put the Bible reading first and prayer first. Those should be the things that our life is really about. You know, yes, we have to work. Yes, we have to do other things. But that's not the focus. That's not what our life is all about. And as we get into this season, what is the focus? Is the focus shopping? Is the focus on making my wish list? You know, is the focus on buying things and saving money and doing all this? And a lot of people make a lot of dumb decisions at this time of year. You know, they spend more money than they have because they give them the holiday spirit. You know, and it's not the Holy Spirit, my friend. This holiday spirit is a spirit of covetousness. It's a spirit. I mean, and by the way, retail stores, they live for this time of year. Literally, if stores are not open this time of year, they cannot make it. This is what carries the whole year. I know I've talked to a lot of business owners in construction for years and we've been working on a building, they'd say, hey, if this place doesn't open, if we don't get the permits and get this place open by the day after Thanksgiving, he said, we might as well not even open at all because that's what carries us through the year. Why? Because everybody just blows huge amounts of money. It doesn't matter what the economy's like. It doesn't matter what kind of money they have. And everything in our world today is geared toward getting you these things. They literally study the effects that advertising will have on you. TV commercials, I don't have a TV, thank God, but TV commercials, radio, billboards, newspaper ads, coupons that are going to come in the mail, advertisements, it's all been planned and geared. When you walk in, the music will be planned. You know, the price with the line through it and then the other price. You know, the high low pricing. The creation of urgency. You know, not think about it, come back, no, it's the two hour sale. The five hour sale. I mean, you must buy it now. You must buy now. And it's just all about getting you to just impulsively to spend a bunch of money and waste a bunch of money on stuff that you don't have, that you don't need, that you don't want. You say, are you against Christmas? I'm not against Christmas at all. And a lot of people are against Christmas. You know, people will be, you know, the Jehovah's false witnesses, for example. You know, they're against Christmas, they're against Thanksgiving, they're against celebrating your own birthday. You know, they're against every holiday, everything I have. Now, I don't believe that because the Bible talks a lot about holidays and he tells us not to celebrate the ones from the old, I mean, we shouldn't be celebrating these ones where we're killing a lamb and all this. You know, and Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles. You know, is there anything wrong with celebrating, you know, the freedom of our country on July 4th? Is there anything wrong with being thankful to God in November? Is there anything wrong with celebrating the birth of Christ? Everybody tries to make everything pagan. Every symbol is pagan. You know, somebody said, you know, the Christmas ornaments on the tree, because they're round, that's a pagan symbol. What? A circle? You know, if a circle is pagan, I'd give up. You know, I mean, I guess I'm just totally pagan down here. I got circular buttons on. You know, the wheels on my car. You know, they get a little bit overboard. Like, you know, a circle is a pagan. You know, that swirl is a pagan. It's like, are triangles pagan? I thought so. Square is a pagan. I mean, look, if you really want to get down to the brass taxi, you know, the days of the week are pagan. Sunday, Saturday, Friday Day, which is named... By the way, the days of the week and then moon day is where Monday comes from, and then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday are all named after Scandinavian gods. Thor's day, and those four, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are named after four Scandinavian gods that came into our language from Norwegian, Old Norse, and then the other three are named after the sun, the moon, and Saturn, because they were worshiping them as gods as well. I mean, you could look at the months of the year, you could look at the days of the week and all this stuff. Look, the world's a wicked place. Get over it. Does that mean we should stop? You know, I will not refer to today as Sunday. I'm sick of it. You know, I will not... Don't say Friday to me. I'm not worshiping some pagan god. You know, we live in a day where obviously we're in the world, okay? The world is wicked. Everybody's a sinner. You know, it doesn't mean that we just can't even have the weeks of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday because they have a pagan origin. You know, and people will say the same thing about Christmas, and they'll say Christmas is a wicked holiday. You know, it's pagan. Look, what in the world is pagan about just celebrating the birth of Christ? Jesus was born. Let's give gifts one to another and let's eat a ham dinner. Thank God we're not in the Old Testament. You know, the New Testament, exchange some gifts, read the Bible story about Jesus being born. Can you, can somebody tell me what's wrong with that? And people don't compare it to Halloween. Halloween, you're out dressing as a ghoul and goblin threatening people at their door to get candy from them. Trick or treat. That's the two choices. I mean, what in the world? You know, and they say, oh, you know, it's pagan, it's wicked. You're committing sin if you commit, if you celebrate and you say, well, if you celebrate Christmas, you know, I don't believe that or that, you know, they'll find something wrong with Thanksgiving. You know, the Indians didn't have enough clothes on. You know, they probably didn't. The pilgrims were a bunch of Calvinists. Okay, but you know, there's nothing wrong with celebrating a holiday where you just be thankful for what you have. And so I'm not against Christmas and Thanksgiving. I don't think that they're bad at all, but I think it can become bad if it becomes all about money and lusting and coveting things that you don't have and it all becomes about materialism and the mall and shopping. You know, the mall shouldn't be the focus. It should be the church house. That should be the focus this time of year, not the people. And people tried to say, oh yeah, by the way, people tried to say that Christmas trees are condemned in the Bible and what they do is they take this verse in Jeremiah out of context where it talks about cutting down a tree, carving it into an idol and then overlaying that idol with gold and silver. I've shown this in the Bible before. I'm not going to do it now for the sake of time. And they'll say, see that's a Christmas tree putting gold and silver on a tree. No, it's talking about carving the tree into a graven image. There's nothing wicked about trees, okay? God created millions of billions of them, okay? There's nothing pagan about having a house plant, okay? You know, cutting down a pine tree. Oh, you decorated that tree. That's wicked. That's idolatry. No, it's not a human being or an animal. That's what the Bible teaches. Trees are not graven images. They were created by God. They're not carved by man. You know, I'm not carving my Christmas tree into a jack-o'-lantern. I mean, it's basically just a tree and my tree's fake anyway. It's made out of stinking plastic, right? You know, a house plant is pagan. No, it isn't. You know, what's pagan, though, is our lust for all these things do the Gentiles seek. The nations of this world love to amass wealth and things and poit, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. One more place to turn. 1 Timothy 6. 1 Timothy chapter 6 says in verse 6, But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we could carry nothing out and having food and raiment, let us be there with content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all people, which while some covet it after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things and follow after righteousness. How much does righteousness cost? Where is that being sold? Where is that on sale? Where can I buy righteousness? He said, No, the things that we follow after, righteousness, none of them can be purchased with money. You know, can you purchase a child? Can you purchase a wife? Don't try it guys. Can you purchase a wife? Can you purchase children? Can you purchase love? Can you purchase, can't buy any love? The point is, you can't purchase the things that really matter in life the most. And he said, that is what we should be following after. That is what we should be seeking for. Knowledge, understanding, wisdom. Solomon was offered everything. He said, give me knowledge, give me wisdom, give me understanding. The things that are the most valuable in this world cannot be purchased with money. The gift of God cannot be purchased with money. And so we need to get our emphasis right this time of year and focus upon the things of God, spiritual things. Hey, let's just make, just to make a point, let's just be more faithful to church than ever this time of year. Just to prove Pastor Anderson wrong. Prove me wrong. You know, this is the fifth year let's make it be the first year when we have the best attendances ever. The best soul winning ever. You know, instead of everybody being too busy to serve God because we're too busy celebrating being thankful to God and the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We should focus on the things of God at this time of year and be content and happy with what you have. And I'm talking to you, children, too. Don't expect, and you know, times are tough right now anyway. The economy is bad, people have a lot less money than they might have had in the last few years or whatever. But you know what, you can have just as good at Christmas without spending money. I mean, if you have little kids, you can buy stuff with the dollar tree. They won't even know the difference. No, I'm just kidding. Actually, I'm not. But anyway, you know, I talk to my wife. I talk to my wife. You know, it's the same junk at the dollar tree that's going to break a few weeks later if you can get it right. But I talk to my wife about it and my wife and I, you know, we decided that we're not going to buy each other expensive gifts this year. That we're just going to give things that are, you know, just homemade and personal between the two of us. You know, something creative, something that doesn't cost a bunch of money. You know, we don't need everything that the commercialism has sent. And I know that my wife also made a lot of nice things for the children. You know, we don't, I hope I'm not giving too many hints, honey. I'm not spoiling the gifts. But the point is, you know, why just blow money right now when we don't have a lot of money? Why just blow money right now? Why not just enjoy the people that we love? Why not focus on giving and give from the heart? It doesn't have to be spending a lot of money. And so don't fall into the trap. All I have to say is don't get this disease. Don't pick up this disease, this leprosy of materialism and being materialistic this time of year where the emphasis is on all the little fliers and the ads and writing the calculator and the alarm clock and, you know, getting up and getting out there for the 27-minute sale and so forth. You know, just sit back and relax and ask yourself, you know, do we really need all this? Why don't we just enjoy the people that we love? Why don't we just make this a time to get together with family, see people that we haven't seen in a while, you know, get to know the Bible stories that pertain to this time of year and not be caught up in the diseased leprosy of materialism. Materialism that has taken over our country in this time of year. Let's go ahead and have a word of prayer. Father, thank you so much for all the wonderful blessings you've given us. Thank you that we have food and clothing, that we have places to live, dear God, that we have a church that we can go to and most of all that you'll never leave us nor forsake us. I mean, that's the big thing that we should be thankful for. And help us, Father, not to pick up this disease that Gehazi had, that Aiken had, that King Solomon had, where it was just all about a lust for money and things and toys and gadgets and electronics. Help us to just be content and make do with what we've got and to seek after other things like godliness, righteousness, faith, love, patience, meekness, help, those things to be our pursuit this year, not the pursuit of the ultimate sale item. And in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen.