THE TENTH COMMANDMENT

     It's difficult giving an invitation, preaching the Ten Commandments. It's
too specific. "Thou shalt not steal." Now who will come forward?

     "By the law is the knowledge of sin." People have different laws, and
every law in the world is based on the Ten Commandments. I don't guess you
ever thought about the difference about the laws in the different countries,
but most countries have a lot more sense about law-breaking than Americans do.
In Australia, if a man is captured for drunk driving, if he gets arrested for
drunk driving, they put him in jail, and they put his name in the headlines of
the morning newspaper. And it says, "So-and-so, he's drunk and in jail." Now,
if they did that in America, they'd cut down on that stuff.

     In Malaya, they sentenced a guy to jail when he was arrested for drunk
driving. And if he's married, they send his wife with him. They figure that
she has something to do with his drinking habit. Now those people are Malay,
man, over by Borneo--they got more sense than these college professors do out
here at West Florida.

     In South Africa it's a ten-year sentence, or $2,800 bucks. They catch you
drunk driving one time, that puts you in the slammer for ten years. Those are
Africans in South Africa. In Turkey, they take the guy out twenty miles
outside of town, and let him out of the car and make him walk back with a
police escort. Make him walk twenty miles, and drive alongside him.

     In San Salvador, they execute you with a firing squad. I bet not many
drunks get behind the wheel there, boy! Capital punishment, boy--capital
punishment. You're drunk down there, you walk.

     All right, Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20, verse 1: "Exodus 20:1
And God spake all these words, saying,  I [am] the LORD thy God, which have
brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." One:
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Two: "Thou shalt not make unto thee
any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or
that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth."
Verse 7, three: "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for
the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." Four:
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days shalt thou labour, and
do all thy work:  But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God:
[in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is]
within thy gates." Number five, verse 12: "Honour thy father and thy mother:
that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."
Six: "Thou shalt not kill." Seven: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Eight:
Thou shalt not steal." Nine: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbour." Now, this morning, commandment number ten, verse 17: "Thou shalt
not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife,
nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any
thing that [is] thy neighbour's."

     Father, we pray the Holy Spirit will enlighten us this morning, as we
expound this verse of scripture, and we pray these things might be real to us,
that we might understand them. And, above all, we pray we might practice them
and put 'em into practice, and not be jealous or envious of the prosperity of
others, or their material possessions, or their family possessions. May we be
content, like Paul said, with such things as we have, and be satisfied with
our lot in this life. And we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.

     Now, the commandment said, "Thou shalt not covet." A Catholic priest
said, after 30 years in the ministry, he said, "That is one sin that, to my
knowledge, has never been confessed in the confessional." Nobody's ever gone
to the confessional booth and confessed they were covetous.

     As far as I know, I never heard it confessed in an altar. I've heard
young people confessing their sins and telling me about their problems. I
don't recall anybody I've ever talked to, any Christian any saying, "I'm
covetous."

     Isn't that a strange thing? You reckon everybody's innocent? It's the
most common sin because it's not visible. You see, you can't put your hand on
it.

     A rich young ruler comes to Jesus Christ, and he comes in there, and
says, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Christ gives him some
commandments he's kept. And when he's finished talking about what he's kept,
Christ says, "If you want to be perfect, do one more thing. Sell what you have
and give to the poor." "And he went away sorrowful, for he had great
possessions." He was covetous. That was his problem.

     TV--I'll say it until I die--TV is for the purpose of creating
covetousness. That's why it's there. The purpose of a television set is to get
you to want things you don't have. That's what it's there for.

     Commercial advertising--take off the commercial advertising off
television, and it would fold up. The idea is to make you want things you
don't have.

     Now, I'm gonna talk about the nature of the sin, the results of the sin,
the modern form of the sin, and the cure for the sin.

                           The Nature of the Sin

     First of all, the nature of the sin. The sin is so grievous, the Bible
says in Psalm 10 verse 2, that God so hates the covetous man. God said one
time in the Old Testament in Malachi, "Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated."
Romans repeats it. "Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated." What was Esau's
trouble? Covetousness. Covetousness.

     It's so grievous, it's in every major list of sins in the Bible. You take
out the major list of sins in the Bible--Mark 7, Romans 1, Galatians chapter
6, Ephesians chapter 5, 1 Corinthians chapter 6--any time you find a list of
sins in that Bible, covetousness will be sticking in there.

     Luke chapter 12 verse 15, Jesus says, "Beware of covetousness. For a
man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses."
That's, beware! Beware of false prophets. Beware of men. Beware of what?
"Beware of covetousness."

     Wanting things is like drinking salt water. The more you get, the more
you want. Finally, it kills you.

     Back in 1849, they had what they called the 49ers, the Gold Rush. People
wanted gold. They went out to California by the thousands, by the hundreds of
thousands. They got out there, and they died in the way, they got tropical
disease, they got heat prostration when they got there. They went overseas,
and have buffalo stampedes, and Indians killed 'em. They got cholera. They got
into Frisco Harbor, and they had brawls, and they had prostitution, legalized
gambling. That's what's going on in Las Vegas right now. Las Vegas is a
hangover from the 49ers--everybody going out there to get money.

     Out there in Frisco, when the 49ers got out there, eggs were a dollar
apiece. They were 33 cents a dozen in 1960. Thirty-three cents a dozen in '60,
and a dollar apiece in 1849. Back in 1849, anybody could get a dozen eggs for
ten cents--except not in Frisco--a dollar each!

     Lumber in New York sold by the cord, and the cord was $100 back in New
York. And in Frisco it was $1,460. Inflation!

     All that stuff--murder, prostitution, gambling, folks dying--is caused
because folks wanted to get money.

                           The Results of the Sin

     Now, what are the results of the sin? Did you ever stop to think about
this? The results of the sin--one of the results of that sin of coveting and
wanting money--is the destruction of the Jewish people. The Bible says the
Jews bribed the Roman soldiers to say the body of Christ was stolen from that
tomb! And they took the money, and "the saying is commonly reported among the
Jews to this day."

     One of the reasons the Jews don't believe in the resurrection of Christ
is because somebody bribed the Roman guard with money. The Bible says, "The
love of money is the root of all evil."

     Covetousness can get you to lie. Gehazi lied when he got the clothing
from Naaman, and came back and lied to his master. Covetousness can make you
steal. Achan got in there to Jericho and stole the Babylonish garment, and a
wedge of gold and a shekel of silver. Covetousness can drive you to suicide.
Judas wanted thirty pieces of silver--and broke his neck.

     Covetousness can lead you to ruin. The prodigal son said, "Give me the
portion that goods that falleth to me." Me! Me! Give me! Covet! Covet! Covet!
Covet! Destroyed him.

     Covetousness can lead you to murder. David was up there walking on the
rooftop, and saw this woman, and took her. You know what happened later on; he
had her husband killed.

     In 1950 in Quebec City, there was an explosion over the city where the
planes blew up. And one fellow there had a $100,000 policy on his mother
before he put her on that plane. And put her on that plane with a homemade
bomb. His name was McKay. Blew up his own mother for $100,000 bucks. And the
guy that made the bomb for him, for McKay, made the bomb for a $10 ring. And
the guy who made that bomb was standing in a hotel terrace, watching the plane
blow up when it blew up.

     That guy wanted a ten-dollar ring, and made a bomb for this fellow, and
this fellow wanted $100,000 bucks and blew up his mother. Murder! Murder! What
does it come from? Covetousness.

     You cannot serve God and mammon!

     I hope you get rich. I hope every one of you get filthy rich. I mean it.
I wish I had one of you here this morning that was a millionaire. Brother,
what we couldn't get done if you were! But, if you are like most millionaires,
we probably couldn't get any of it.

     I've had dealings with millionaires. Most of 'em--man, they're tighter
than a scuba diver's outfit. You know what they think? They think they can
serve God and money--you cannot do it! Now listen, if God gives you money
serving Him, OK. But if you make money your goal, and money your object, and
money your god, you cannot serve God!

     You say, "I'll serve Him anyway!" You will not!

     You say, "I'll devise ways and means." They won't work!

     You say, "I'll politic and work around." It will not work!

     If God is first, and God gives you money, OK. If God is first and makes
you broke, OK. But if God is not first, you will not serve God. I can tell
that to any rich man in this congregation, and any rich man in any other
congregation. Anyway, anytime, under any condition.

     You cannot serve God and serve mammon. It cannot be done!

     And, if you think you're doin' it, you ain't doin' it! Folks want their
cake and eat it, too. They ought to make their goal gettin' secure, and set
up, and gettin' their roots in, and get everything paid for, everything taken
care of, all possibilities covered. Fix everything up so the kids are all
right, the grandkids are all right, and make that their goal. If that's your
goal, you can't serve God! And if you think you're serving God, you're serving
yourself!

     Now, you put God first, and if He gives you enough money to take care of
your kids and your grandkids and get your roots in, fine. But you'll not serve
God and mammon. You will not.

     You say, "Why won't you?" Because Jesus Christ said you will not. And if
He said you will not, you will not!

     First Timothy chapter 6, verse 10 in the King James Bible says "The love
of the money is the root of all evil." That verse has been changed in every
bible in the market. There isn't one version on the market that has that verse
in it. Except the King James Bible. If you've got a New King James Bible, it
doesn't say, "The love of money is the root of all evil."

     If you have an ASV or RSV, Living Bible, New English Bible, it doesn't
say that. If you have Kenneth Taylor's Living Bible, it doesn't say that.
There are no bibles that say the love of money is the root of all evil, except
the good ol' Authorized Version--King James. And I don't mean a "new" one,
either.

     What are the results of coveting? Damnation. Eve lookin' at the tree--
it's good for food, pleasant to the eyes, desire to make one wise: "I want it!
I want it!" She got it. She got it.

     Down went the human race. Down went the human race.

     The results of the sin? Murder, suicide, stealing, lying, ruin. A fellow
said one time, a publisher said, "There are two important events in life--
birth and death. So, now we'll deal only with two subjects--sex and murder.

     The main content of television is sex and murder. The main content of a
magazine rack is sex and murder. Folks say, "Violence is no worse than sex.
Sex is no worse than violence." They're both from the devil. Sex and violence
are the two things that people make money off of. Sex and violence. "The love
of money is the root of all evil."

     A publisher said to a writer--a writer said to a publisher, he said,
"There it is." He turned in his work. No blue lines. "I know it's filthy. But
I need the money, and so do you." What he meant was, I'm giving you an
unexpurgated piece of pornography here, don't put any blue lines through,
marking out stuff, take it just like it is--I need the money, and so do you.
"The love of the root is the root of all evil."

     I've got a friend in San Antonio--I wish I could get him to come over
here and show you his drug exhibit. He's a narcotics officer in San Antonio,
and he'll put you out all the syringes, and all the needles and bottles and
stuff out there, and all the types and all the kinds and all the pictures--
show you the whole works, boy. I wish I could get him here. I mean, I think
his exhibition ought to be showed in every grade school in this country. And
that old boy is a Christian. You know what he told me last year? He said
they're down there busting some narcotics ring up in San Antonio, and they
found a child pornography ring down there, where somebody was taking pictures
of kids eight to ten years old, messing with kids three to five, naked. Now,
you know what's shocking about that? Somebody had to photograph it. Well, he
was paid. Somebody developed the films. Well, he was paid. You mean to tell me
the fellow developed the film and didn't know what was on the film? It wasn't
just somebody that bought the film, it was the guy that made 'em, and the guy
that developed 'em, and the guy that sold 'em, and the guy that looked at 'em.
They all paid money, and they all got money.

     The love of money. The love of money. The love of money. The love of
money. The love of money is the root of all evil. That's why it's taken out of
those publications. Don't like it.

     Covetousness can lead to moral ruin. I believe two of the greatest
characters of the world in America that show the result of covetousness were
Elizabeth Taylor and Elvis Presley. According to intimate associates that knew
them carefully, and knew them well through a period of years, all the intimate
associates of Elvis Presley and Elizabeth Taylor said that both those people
got everything they coveted. When Liz Taylor wanted something, she got it. And
when Presley wanted something, he got it. What'd it do? It turned out into two
fornicating, adulterous, dope-headed drunkards that just ruined their life and
destroyed everybody around them. You say, "What caused that?" Covetousness.
"Thou shalt not covet." Want, want, want. Got to have this. Got to have that.

     William Lyon of Brighton, England--he wouldn't buy a newspaper when it
went up a half a penny. And a fellow lived in a little ol' shack. When he
died, they found $750,000 he stashed away. If the newspaper price went up half
a penny, he wouldn't buy the paper. Too much money. Too expensive. $750,000
bucks! Covetous.

     Carrie Warrick lived in Detroit in a ramshackle house, died in '86. The
ramshackle house was demolished for an expressway, and the charity ward where
she died, right before the house was demolished, sent off down to her house,
and they found $291,000 in cash in that house and it wasn't even locked. That
dump down there, where they were going to put the highway through, $291,000
bucks!

     You can't serve God and mammon. Just horde it up, horde it up, horde it
up--the Antichrist will get it!

     I'll tell you, you're not gonna catch me dying with a couple of thousand
bucks in the bank, $100,000 bucks in the bank--no way in the world. If I came
across a million dollars right now--and I'm not about to come across it--but
if I came across it, I'll tell you, I'll tell you, half of it would be gone in
24 hours. Twenty-four hours, you'd find $500,000 bucks missing--just like
that. Just get me about a hundred missionaries, right 'em out a check, you
know, for $5,000 bucks apiece, boy, and send the thing out. Get rid of it. And
then start getting rid of the rest of it as soon as possible.

     You can't take it with you, boy!

     Some of you folks laying up, laying up, laying up, laying up. You ever
see a dog laying up bones for his old age? That dog will bury a bone or two,
and then about the next day go out and dig the thing up and eat it, or leave
the thing buried if it's rotten meat.

                      The Modern Forms of Covetousness

     What are the modern forms of this sin? Well, people can covet position.
Here's a fellow that sits as an archbishop. If I was an archbishop, I wouldn't
tell anybody about it. You say, "Why is that?" Why, that would be one rank
higher than Jesus Christ. In the Bible I read Jesus Christ is the Bishop of my
soul. An archbishop is one rank higher than a bishop. You mean to tell me
you'd let a man make you one rank higher than Jesus Christ, and call yourself
decent?

     Gettin' mighty quiet in here, preacher! Some of you folks, your kinfolk
must be tied up.

     Folks, they covet land. They have wanted to get a piece of land, and
stole it. I guess the most covetous man that ever lived was Karl Marx. Karl
Marx was one of the biggest fakirs that ever lived. That fellow was a student,
hung around the beer joints and coffee houses, trying to act like he was a
professional intellectual. He got him a degree for writing a little article
about Socrates and Plato that wasn't worth reading. And when that fellow
finally got going, two of his children starved to death, because the lazy bum
wouldn't work. Marx' thesis was, "If you don't have it, take it." That was his
thesis. That's always the Communism--if you don't have it, go take it from
somebody else.

     Covetousness.

     People covet recognition. Absalom: "Oh, that I might be king in the
land." People will covet people. David coveting Uriah's wife. People will
covet honor and flattery. Mrs. Zebedee says, "These are my two sons. Can they
sit at your right hand and the left hand of your kingdom?" You can covet more
than money. You can covet flattery, recognition, position, people.

     All the evils in this present system rise from covetousness. If the love
of money is the root of all evil, and all the evils that come from elections
are due to covetousness. Promotions. Appointments. Bribes. You can trace them
to money. All the evils in business world come from covetousness. All the
evils in lawsuits, wars, civil wars, expansion of countries--"I want more
land. I need more land. I got to have more income. I gotta have more goods. I
gotta have more property." Covet, covet, covet, covet.

     Paul said, "Beware of covetousness, which is idolatry." If covetousness
is the cause of evil, all the evils that come from getting trophies and awards
and headlines, come from coveting. "We're Number One! We want to be the best!
How come he's number one?"

     A fellow prayed to God one time and said, "I've been coveting a good wife
for twelve years." And the Lord said, "Sorry, you don't deserve one."

     Did you ever have the Lord talk to you like that before?

     The love of money is the root of all evil.

                         The Cure for Covetousness

     What's the cure for the sin? Well, first of all, you gotta admit it. Did
you ever admit you were covetous? Did you ever got down on your knees
someplace and say, "Lord, I want that thing that guy's got?" Or, "I'd sure
like to have that house?"

     I'll tell you, I've driven through some towns where I sure did a lot of
coveting, boy. Did you ever drive by some place, you know, that's got about
eight acres, it's all in the shade, and all landscaped, got four bedrooms and
two bathrooms, three extra rooms that you do nothing in, just enjoy yourself,
whatever you want to do in them. And a wonderful garden, and good drainage,
you know, and high fence, you know, and nobody within 300 feet of you in
either way. Man, that's rough--oh, that's rough!

     I used to covet cars. I don't any more. I don't any more. I was telling
you, I never had a car till I was 30 years old. You'll have to forgive me. I
mean, I never got any car--you know, my own car--till I was 29. And at 29 I
got my first car. Boy, from the time I was 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, I'd go by new
cars, boy, and just look at them things, you know, and just covet. But, I'll
tell you, man, after you've had about six cars, you don't covet nuthin'. I
mean, as far as I'm concerned, they're just a rolling pile of junk, from start
to finish. I don't care if you have a Mercedes Benz or a diesel Porsche, boy--
it's just coming apart one piece at a time.

     You got to admit it. You've got to admit your covetousnesses. You cannot
serve God and mammon.

     A man said American Christians are not paying their rent to God. They're
not paying their rent to God.

     I'm the father of a family. You know what I get to raise my family with?
I get an expense account. And God give me that money with an expense account,
and I'm to turn back receipts, what I do with that money. Amen? Amen.

     Some Christians don't look at it that way. They look at it like it's just
my money, I'll do what I want to with my money. Ain't your money, man--it's an
expense account.

     A little girl said one time, "I know what stewardship means. It means
I've got it, but I've got to use it for somebody else."

     American Christians are not paying their rent to God.

     Is this your place here? I don't think so. How about your house and land?
"Everything there is, I got a clear title deed," do you? You're gonna leave
it.

     I'll tell you who's got a clear title deed. There's a hole out there in
the ground for you, man, someplace--you got a title deed to that. You're
entitled to one piece of ground, six feet long, three feet wide, and about
eight feet deep. And the rest of it is loaned to you, and you're supposed to
pay your rent!

     A father's money is not his own--it's an expense account. They say,
"Where will you spend eternity?" I'll tell you a better one: Go down the
street and yell, "Where will your money spend eternity?" That'd be a good one.

     When a collection plate is passed, most people reach in their pocket, and
instinctively feel around to get a nickel or a quarter or a dime, you know.
They're trying to find a coin, before they find a piece of paper. I heard a
fellow say one time, he said, "I can't get interested in missions." Well, it's
like a bank. You've got to deposit money, before you'll get any interest.
Amen, brother. Amen.

     A man said the birth of charity is the death of covetousness. And if you
want to kill your covetousness, why, just start giving. And give till it
hurts, and give till it quits hurting.

     One time a rich man showed a fellow his estate. And it was an estate.
These things you see around here that are called "estates"--that's an old
commercial gimmick, you know. "Buy this estate." It's a condominium with eight
other people in it. But an estate used to be, you know, fifty to a hundred
acres, two hundred acres, you know, with all these houses and stuff on it. And
one time a rich man was showing a man around his vast estate and showing him
the little gravel driveways, and the garden, and all the little terraced
landscape, and plows and things, and fountains, and all this stuff. And when
he got all through showing the fellow, he turned to the fellow and he said,
"These are the things that make death terrible."

     Those are the things that make death terrible. If you have a whole lot in
this world, you don't want to leave it.

     Some of you folks right now, you've got so little, if you died tomorrow
night it wouldn't make any difference! Amen? I mean, what do you care? "Even
so, come, Lord Jesus!"

     I'll tell you, I want to keep my business affairs in such a relationship
that at any time, I'll be ready to give up everything just--snap!--at the drop
of a hat, just like that. The whole cotton pickin' mess, man! Cars, boat,
fishing rods, guns, net, dog, cat--the whole thing, man. You take it. Bye-bye!
"Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"

     You got to admit you're covetous. You got to give to get rid of your
covetousness. I'll tell you something else you better do to help you cure your
covetousness. Better count your blessings. Count your blessings. Every time
you think you don't have this, you don't have that, you don't have the other
thing, why don't you sit down and count up what you got? You got Christ, you
got the Holy Spirit, you got God, you got the Bible, you got a home in Heaven,
you got a provider, you got somebody who loves you enough to die for you, you
got somebody to take care of you, promised to take care of you, you got
somebody who said, "I'll never leave thee, nor forsake thee." And some of you
have good health on top of that!

     They found an old woman one time up in O'Garret, living up there, eating
off, just practically starving. And they gave her a cake to eat. And as they
went out the door, she asked God to bless the cake and said, "Imagine all
this, and Jesus into the bargain!"

     If you have Jesus Christ, already you're 'way ahead of the rest of 'em.
C.T. Studd, on his 25th birthday, got $125,000. That's an English cricketeer,
and a hero of the Boer War. And on his 25th birthday, somebody gave him
$125,000. You know what he did with it? He sent $25,000 to Dwight L. Moody. He
sent $25,000 to George Mueller. He sent $25,000 to the Salvation Army. He gave
away a little bit more, and he gave $15,000 to his wife as a wedding present--
and she gave it away to missions!

     The guy wound up broke!

     $125,000--here, here, there, there. "There you are, honey!" Out the back
door--she's the same mind as he was! Those people weren't covetous.

     That reminds me to say the ultimate cure for covetousness is Heaven.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to get to a place where you won't want anything?
Everything will be taken care. A man said, "Love without lust." Imagine that!
Imagine pure love, with no lust. I mean, every love affair in this world is
somebody trying to get something for themselves. It's a mutual exchange, man,
at best. Can you imagine a place where you know pure love, pure love, where
there isn't one covetous element in it? Heaven.

     Joy without selfishness. Fun without pain. Wouldn't it be great? Get to
the place where anything you want to do, do as long as you want to do it, and
never have to pay for it. Come on, folks. Cheer up. That's real. That's
Heaven! You think I'm just speaking tongue in cheek, I'm telling you the
truth. When you get to Heaven, you do anything you want to do! And you won't
have to pay for it.

     Some of you all sure must be up to something that isn't quite right!

     Riches without greed, brother--riches without greed. You get to a place,
where there's gonna be more gold and silver and emeralds and sapphire and
diamonds that you know what to do with. And with the stuff just lying all
around you--you won't care anything about it. Wouldn't it be great? Go down
the street, you know--pick up a gold brick, throw it around: "Hey, boy, catch
that!" I mean, $20 million dollars--phoop! boy, catch it, you know.

     Go out there in the wall and pick you some of those diamonds and emeralds
and jaspers and rubies out of the foundation, you know, and juggle 'em. Throw
'em there like this. You got emeralds, there, you know, like softballs, you
know, and jasper and amethyst, you know, about the size of a golfball, you
just juggle them like that--you miss one, just kick it with your heels, you
know, and kick it off back.

     Folks say, "Ruckman, you're crazy!" You wait and see! I mean, God has
prepared something for them that love Him. Happiness without worry. You'd be
happy all the time.

     For some of you, it's gonna be a terrible change for you. Can you imagine
getting to be in a place like that, and just be happy all the time, and never
a cloud come in the sky--never some thought.

     And, finally, a place where you've got glory without pride, boy. Just
think! You'll have a perfect body. Boy, if God gave you one now, wouldn't you
strut it, huh? You think of a place where you've got a perfect body, and
perfect eyesight, and perfect vision, and perfect knowledge--know more than
any scientist ever knew--and no pride in it.

     Now, if you're unsaved, you're unsaved, all I got to say to you is this--
all I got to say to you is, you're keepin' something for yourself that
belonged to God. You want to do what you want to do when you want to do it.
That's covetousness. You know what happens with that with you, where that sin
will take you? That sin will take you to hell. And God Almighty made you a
body, and that body is for the Lord--not for fornication. And God gave you a
life, and that life is to glorify Him.

     I read one of these hippies the other day. He was talking about
"searching for the meaning in life," and talking about how he couldn't find
any meaning in life, and there wasn't any purpose in life, and what's the
meaning of life? I know the meaning of life. You want to ask me the meaning of
life? I can tell you. You say, "Well, that's just for you, Ruckman." No, I can
give you a definition that's good for anybody, anytime, anyplace, anywhere,
any conference, any age, any sex, any race, any color, any creed, or any
amount of intelligence. I can tell you the meaning of life. The meaning of
life is, God wants you to glorify Him and enjoy His presence forever. That's
what God wants from you.

     The One who made you wants you to glorify Him--one--and enjoy--and enjoy--
have a good time--enjoy His presence forever.

     All right. Father, bless the message this morning. May the Holy Spirit
speak to hearts of men and women. I pray, if there's somebody here this
morning that's unsaved, they might see the terrible degree of their sin, and
the nature of it. And may they, heavenly Father, be satisfied with such things
as they have. Paul says, "Having food and raiment, let us therefore be
content." Paul says, "I have learned whatever state I am in therewith to be
content." And God forgive us for kicking at the pricks and rebelling against
thee, and griping and murmuring and complaining, like we do. Help us to be
thankful with what we have, Lord. Lord, if there's somebody here this morning
who has a real need. I'm not gonna act like Job and sit in judgment against
them, Lord God. If they have a real need, supply the need. According to your
riches and glory by Christ Jesus. And, Lord, if there's somebody here this
morning who's unsaved, I pray you might open their eyes, and show them their
body is not their own, their soul is not their own, their heart's not their
own, their life is not their own. A gift of God. They're renters. They owe a
debt they can't pay. And I pray they'll accept your payment this morning. And
after they've done it, give their lives and bodies to thee.

     We're not gonna stand and sing this morning. We're gonna pray a few
minutes. I don't want to cut anybody out of an opportunity to be saved this
morning, if you'd like to be saved. If you'd like to receive the Lord Jesus
Christ as your Saviour, I wouldn't shut the door on you, and bar the gate. So
we'll tarry here, we'll tarry here about two or three minutes by the clock.
And on my right and on my left here are some doors back there, and a prayer
room is back there. While we're in prayer, if there's anybody here this
morning who would like to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, while
we're in prayer, would you please just slip out of your seat and make your way
back to the rooms back there. Would you do that? We'll wait for you for a few
minutes. God's people are prayin'. Heads bowed, eyes closed. If you would like
to receive the Lord, take this opportunity right now, to step out and make
your way right through the door over here on my right, over here on my left--
anybody in the building.

     All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. He who keeps the
whole law and offends in one point is guilty of all. If you haven't committed
one sin on this earth, I'll tell you one sin you've committed, as sure as
you're sitting there. You have wanted things that belonged to other people.
And you've wanted things that belonged to God. You wanted to be your own
master, when God should have been your Master. You wanted to pay your own sin
debt, by living a good life, when Christ paid it for you. You ought to come
this morning and get saved. We'll tarry for just a couple of minutes.

     Is there anybody here, would you like to go to one of the prayer rooms
back there? If you're a Christian, would you like to take anybody back with
you? If you brought a guest this morning who's unsaved, why don't you invite
him to go back there right now? Just slip out of your seat, and make your way
back there in one of the rooms. You go back there in privacy, be dealt with in
an open Bible and prayer, and get it fixed up.

     We'll give you a little more time, not much more. We're not gonna stand,
we're not gonna sing this morning. We're gonna close. If you're a Christian,
and you've been covetous, you ask God to forgive you. And ask a little heart
searching. Maybe that's the trouble. Maybe you've been trying to get your cake
and eat it too. Maybe that's why you're in the shape you're in here this
morning. Maybe, if you had put God first and kept Him first, maybe you'd still
be in as good a financial shape right now as you would have been if you hadn't
messed around. You trust God to take care of you. You don't have to be like
Ruckman. You can have life insurance--whether I have it or not. You can have
hospital insurance--even if I don't. You don't have to be like Ruckman. But
you better trust God, Christian! You better put God first, Christian! You
better rely on God! You better hadn't trust that buck. It'll blow up on you.
Anybody, anywhere. If not, we'll close.

     All right. Father, bless the message this morning. We're thankful for all
the good things you've given us, Lord. And we've been ungrateful at times. We
have been. Father, forgive us. I remember, Lord, a time in a hotel room over
in Vienna, Lord, I made some promises to thee, Lord, about some of these
things. And I haven't been very faithful in keeping them, Lord, I've done a
lot of griping and a lot of complaining, and shouldn't have never done it.
And, Lord, help us now. Undertake for us. We're so weak, and so selfish, and
so self-centered. God, have mercy on us, and wash us in the blood of Christ.
Help us not to groan and complain and fret and fuss, and chafe under the yoke.
But serve you cheerfully, and joyfully, for the abundance of all things. And,
Lord, be with some this morning who should have come, who didn't come. And
convict them of sin, and may that old wicked, proud, cold heart bend and yield
under the work of the Holy Spirit. May they find Christ before many hours,
before many minutes have passed. Bless our work in thee. Bless our service
tonight, Lord. Give us great victory tonight. We're thankful for the sweet
spirit here this morning in the service, and the liberty we have in thee. And
we ask for more of it, Father, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

     Amen. Lord bless you, and good morning.

