Preaching Notes.
Exodus 20:15
Exodus 21:1-8
Stealing is defined as “taking another person’s property without his or her permission.
"Property" in context can be anything. Anything!
The core phrase is "Taking without permission".
Take them back to Genesis 20:1-2 [And a God spoke all these words: I am The Lord Your God....."]
I'm very sure you must have heard these phrases before:
Finders, keepers
They made the error
I deserve this
I've worked here for 20 years,
The price they were charging was highway robbery anyways.
They won't notice it's missing.
The profound - 'I won't get caught'
He deserves this treatment - look what he did.
Everyone is doing it.
This is the easy way out of a difficult situation - Bankruptcy.
Its nothing,
I couldn't help myself.
No one will notice.
If he doesn't find out, it won't hurt him.
What are the names we have given the term "stealing" to remove the guilt feeling? (Ask them to think through). LET IT SINK IN!!!!
S.O's story
He jogs most Saturday mornings and see a lot of personal effects misplaced by night club crawlers of previous Friday night. He drops these effects at his local police station. The officers know him cos he's always bringing in these effects.
The Police Command has recognised him at their annual event giving him a Recognition Plaque.
On this particular Saturday morning, he was jogging and saw a wallet. He picked it up. Saw £40 cash. Took the money. Threw the wallet away. Continued jogging. He was contented and happy. Why? Why did this good friend of mine who had always dropped off these misplaced effects at the local Police Station do the opposite of his usual behavioural attitude?
The previous Friday in London, he had lost his wallet with his Bank Cards, Drivers Licence, etc. In that wallet that he lost was £40 cash! 12 hrs later, he saw a wallet in Scotland, very near to his house. He picked up! Thou shall not steal!-NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
STEALING SERIOUSLY QUESTIONS GOD'S UNQUESTIONABLE ABILITY TO PROPERLY PROVIDE FOR HIS PEOPLE!
The Movie industry is not doing it right.....
An action film, Parker came to the UK cinemas in March staring Jason Stratham and Jennifer Lopez. Parker and his friends are professional armed robbers and they went robbing. His friends betrayed him, shot him and left him for dead. He didn't die. He was rescued by locals and he went in search of the friends. He killed them all. Took all the money. Gave some to Jennifer Lopez and went on to live his life. The film ended. He was never caught. When we watch a film such as this wrapped up in"revenge" but its actually about armed robbery where the robber is glorified as victim, there's a subtle underlining factor that its okayish to steal! No! It is VERY wrong.
STEALING SERIOUSLY QUESTIONS GOD'S UNQUESTIONABLE ABILITY TO PROPERLY PROVIDE FOR HIS PEOPLE!
HAMMER ON THIS
"You shall not steal”is one of the Ten Commandments people can readily recall, even though it is number eight. It's easy to recall cos we see opportunities everyday to take what does not belong to us. We see the opportunities without people seeing us and without actually "stealing" in the physical context! EXPLAIN STEALING NOT IN THE PHYSICAL CONTEXT! There are a lot of stuff that we steal but we don't physically or forcefully take them, we don't necessary count them as stealing.
There have been suggestions also that Ten Commandments is old and archaic and a very old covenant that is no more relevant to the present world. If you are in this school of thought, I'm sorry to disappoint you cos Jesus Christ speaking to the rich young ruler in Mathew 19:18 quoted expressly from the commandments. These commandments are the moral laws of God and they apply to men of all ages!
Types of stealing
Active and Passive
1. STEALING TIME AT WORK
Taking longer over lunch breaks at work or arriving late and leaving early are actually forms of stealing from our employers, stealing time they have paid for. Taking advantage of employers in that way indicates a lack of love for others.(See John 13:34-35). LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOURSELF.
2. EXTORTION (Luke 3:13-14)
Extortion is gaining possession of another person’s property by the use of authority or of force. In many parts of the world, Law enforcement officers use their position of authority to extort funds from those who are vulnerable. If a policeman could, by his false testimony alone, convict you of a crime that would imprison you, you would gladly pay his extortion fee to avoid the threatened punishment. Thus, John the Baptist told the tax gatherers and soldiers "Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” And some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages” (Luke 3 :13-14)
3. ROBBERY
Robbery is the act of taking what belongs to another. Robbery generally takes things directly, often by the use of superior force (frequently involving a weapon).
4. FRAUD
Fraud involves getting what belongs to another by deception.
5. KIDNAPPING/ABDUCTION
In the ancient Near East, kidnapping was considered a form of theft (Deut. 24:7), probably because the individual would be kept as a slave, rather than because he or she would be ransomed. Today, people are kidnapped and abducted for monetary ransoms.
6. EMBEZZLEMENT
Embezzlement is the misuse or misappropriation of something that has been entrusted to us (Lev. 6:2). It is a violation of trust, for what has been placed in a person’s keeping has been appropriated for selfish purposes.
Passive are as follows:
1. A man’s negligence which results in a loss to his neighbor. Exodus chapter 22 (verses 1-15)
2. A man’s failure to return something lost to its owner is stealing. In Leviticus 6:3, the old adage, “finders keepers, losers weepers,” is shown to be an excuse for theft.
3. Failure to give what belongs to another is stealing. A day laborer is to be paid at the end of the day (Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14-15
The Boiling Frog Syndrome
If you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will of course frantically try to clamber out. But if you place it gently in a pot of tepid water and turn the heat on low, it will float there quite placidly. As the water gradually heats up, the frog will sink into a tranquil stupor, exactly like one of us in a hot bath, and before long, with a smile on its face, it will unresistingly allow itself to be boiled to death.
Stealing if not stopped becomes a habit!
Eph 4:28 [He who has been stealing must steal no longer but must work, doing something useful with his own hands that he may have something to share with those in need]
HOW DO WE STEAL FROM GOD?
We as believers have received tremendous physical and spiritual gifts from God, and we should desire to give back to Him all that we have. When we withhold the things that are rightly His, we are in effect stealing from Him. What are those things that we must give back to God?:
OUR TIME
OUR TALENT
OUR POSSESSIONS
OUR FINANCES
One day we will be judged by God and expected to give an account of what we did with the gifts God has so generously bestowed on us. Romans 14:12, 2 Cor. 5:10, Heb 4:13
Sing:
You laid aside Your majesty, gave up everything for me
The good news is that thieves can be forgiven.
Ezekiel 33:15 - The thief who repents must give back what he stole. It is not enough just to say "I won't steal anything else." We must return what we unlawfully took.
Then, to be forgiven, you must be baptized (or pray if you are a Christian).
If you have stolen your past life from God, unfortunately you cannot turn back the clock and relive the past. But you can determine to live the future for Him, and this is what he requires.
The thief on Jesus' side at Calvary. "Today, you will be with me in paradise.
Do you need to make your life right with God?
SING:
Great is Your mercy towards me!
