Jealousy

Jealousy
James 3:16
New King James Version (NKJV)
16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
James 3:14
New King James Version (NKJV)
14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
Joseph Dreams of Greatness
37 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”
10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.”
So he said to him, “Here I am.”
14 Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.
15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”
16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”
17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! 20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”
21 But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.
23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. 24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. 26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. 30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”
31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”
33 And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.
36 Now the Midianites[a] had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

Galatians 5:19-21
New King James Version (NKJV)
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[a] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[b] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
There is another person in Scripture that comes to mind who displayed ,Jealousy!  WE will however touch on that later.
When we use the word “jealous,” we use it in a sense of being envious of someone who has something we do not have. This kind of jealousy is a sin and is not characteristic of a Christian; rather, it shows that we are still being controlled by our own desires (1 Corinthians 3:3). Galatians 5:26 says, “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other

The Bible tells us that we are to have the perfect kind of love that God has for us. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). The more we focus on ourselves and our own desires, the less we are able to focus on God. When we harden our hearts to the truth, we cannot turn to Jesus and allow Him to heal us (Matthew 13:15). But when we allow the Holy Spirit to control us, He will produce in us the fruit of our salvation, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).


Today Brothers and sisters we are going to discuss and see how we can overcome jealousy ,of which everyone has experienced from time to time in thier Christian walk. God is a jealous God , was it wrong for Him? NO. He has a righteous jealousy. He did not want His people worhipping idols! They were however , were  prostituting themselves to false God's. Even a golden calf! King Saul was a bad example of jealousy, as he hated and was jealous of David becoming the New King. He had no right to be jealous of him, as he brought on his own demise. He disobeyed God and put people before God's orders, so he himself could be worshipped by the people. He wanted to be noticed for himself and not for the glory of the Lord. This kind of jealousy is sinful!

⦁ In  order to overcome something , we have to first , admit what we are doing when  , God is showing us what we are doing, 2nd , we have to ask for forgiveness and third we need to strive with God's help to over come this sinful act.




Being jealous indicates that we are not satisfied with what God has given us. The Bible tells us to be content with what we have, for God will never fail or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). In order to combat jealousy, we need to become more like Jesus and less like ourselves. We can get to know Him through Bible study, prayer, and fellowship with mature believers. As we learn how to serve others instead of ourselves, our hearts will begin to change. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).
Rebellion against God is all the sins named in Galatians 5:19,  Therefore my brothers and sisters, we must take a look at this further, rebellion is a form of witchcraft, which leads to many other sins as mentioned there.
1Sam 15:23--- Who is Samuel talking to here? Saul ,king Saul, who was more concerned with himself than serving the Almighty God who chose Him to be KING> what were the results of this sin that Saul would not let go of!??
God turned him over to a spirit of heaviness. what is this heaviness? lets take a look.
Hopelessness, gloominess, depression,
Self-pity, (the self-indulgent feeling that your life story is harder and sadder than everyone else's), Desolation, (feeling pitiful through being without friends or fellowship), dashing hopes, (a notion of sadness or defeat because something was not as good, attractive, or acceptable as expected, or because something hoped for did not happen) insomnia, (inability to fall at rest or to stay at rest long enough to experience rested, particularly when this is a problem that continues over time), internal hurts, (relating to somebody's individual feelings or happening in somebody's head), and bruises, (emotional injury - an injury that is not physical, e.g. hurt feelings or discredited self-pride.)
Wow! did He bring this on himself? Yes why < cause He refused to give up His fleshly desires and give God All the Glory and also for disobeying God and refusing to do what He was asked . He was serving HIMSELF.

1 Samuel 15:23
New King James Version (NKJV)
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He also has rejected you from being king.”




What ever happened to the days when people were genuinely happy for one another? Do you remember those days when nobody ever wanted something that someone else had? Oh, wait! Those days never existed.
Jealousy is probably one of the world's oldest emotions. It's been around since the beginning of time. Look at Cain and Abel. Now there's a prime example of jealousy run amok.
Many times we place unrealistic expectations on ourselves and the people around us. Often times we feel things should come easier and faster to us. Then if things don't happen when we think they should, we inevitably run into someone who already has what we want. All of a sudden, we feel this surge of ugly, green emotion called jealousy.

It is so easy to look at other people and wish we had what they have. And so many times it doesn't stop there. We start berating ourselves for not having what they have. Then we begin to believe negative junk ourselves. The next thing we know, we've developed insecurities in our relationships
⦁ Stop comparing yourself to other people. You were created as a very unique and special person. God had a plan for you long before you took your first breath. Relish that thought. Love the fact that you're special. What God has in mind for you isn't the same as for someone else. So you don't have to feel bad that you don't have all the qualities, features, money, or anything else that someone else has. Your journey is just that — yours.
⦁ Stop worrying about you all the time. Find a way to be a blessing to someone else. When you change your focus away from yourself, all of a sudden your self-image improves. You get to experience the feeling of satisfaction that only comes when you're a blessing to someone else. Your priorities start changing, and one day you realize that the things that used to make you so jealous and so nuts, don't bother you so much anymore.
Stop wanting what other people have if you're not willing to go through what they did to get it. When you see a person who is physically fit and looks positively great, it's easy to feel really jealous. But are you willing to work out every day? Are you willing to eat healthy and look for ways to be healthy? If you're not, then there really is no reason to feel jealous, is there?
Start focusing on all that's positive in your life. God has given you so many wonderful gifts that many other people don't have. Focus on using those gifts to help someone else. Since your mind can only consciously think about one thing at a time, doesn't it make sense to make sure that "one thing" is positive and is moving you toward the really great things in life? Breaking free from jealousy starts with your thoughts. When you change the way you think, you change the way you feel and act. The easiest way to change your focus is to begin by helping others. It will definitely be time well spent.
Folks Jealousy is like a cancer it feeds off of other things that you have not dealt with in your life and you think you have , such as insecurities. Jealosuy is not righteous . God's Jealousy is righteous , it protects us from idols! His love for us is so evident there.
Joseph was rewarded for hIs perseverance                all the while He was treated with hate by his brothers , and gotten rid of, there jealousy was cancerous , it hurt them , not Joseph, in the long run God Blessed Joseph for his service to Him and for His forgiveness of what they did to him. Joseph is a perfect foreshadowing of Christ here. They treated Jesus ,sold his clothes , turned him over to  jealous people, he was even put to death. He forgave them, and He as like  Joseph  sat at the right hand of a KING!  A pharaoh is not a King of Kings , he was an earthly king, lets clarify that! If you want to go even further Joseph fed them as well! Jesus fed the hungry ! Awesome or what? Clear foreshowing for me.
God’s character is perfect, above reproach. He is holy, just, loving, merciful, and long-suffering, but is He also jealous?
Humans are adept at expressing jealousy with selfishness, suspicion, and distrust. We find jealousy repulsive because it creates tension and discord while damaging relationships. How does God display an intense emotion such as jealousy?
The marriage relationship is one way to understand the difference between sinful jealousy and righteous jealousy. A husband who responds with anger simply because he sees his wife talking to another man shows unreasonable domination and self-centeredness—sinful jealousy. Selfishness and insecurity control his possessiveness, rather than a commitment to his wife and the sanctity of their marriage vows.

Now suppose another person is trying to alienate a husband or wife’s affections, tempting either spouse to violate the purity of their marriage relationship. Just as God has established holy standards for marriage, He takes every commitment as binding (Hebrews 13:4). He expressed His devotion and dedication to Israel as permanent. “I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord” (Hosea 2:19-20).

No dedicated husband or wife having integrity wants to share their spouse with a substitute—neither does God. God
expects our exclusive devotion. When we give preference to anything instead of God, it is idolatry. We are committing spiritual adultery and God displays divine jealousy. “. . . Do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:23-24). God is zealous for His holiness. Both in His wrath and His love, God remains holy.
God’s jealousy serves to guarantee His people’s ultimate deliverance and security, even during the harsh discipline the Israelites had to endure from time to time. Although the Israelites frequently displayed their spiritual infidelity towards God, He spared them because He is merciful, even though He is a jealous God.

God’s name exemplifies who and what He is. He is holy, deserving of glory. “. . . Among those who are near me, I'll show myself holy so that I'll be glorified before all people” (Leviticus 10:3). Jealousy is not a capricious mood with God. It is the ultimate expression of His being. In His infinite holiness, God is supremely dedicated to preserving His honor with exclusive devotion and worship. To require less would relegate Him to a lesser position of glory. “I, the LORD, am the one, and I won't give my name and glory to another, nor my praise to idols” (Isaiah 42:8).

This concludes my lesson for today , I pray that you will let it settle into the tablet's of your heart and know that God is speaking to all of us ! He is still busy reigning us , so we can experience the joy and Peace He has to give us. God is so giving even in a fallen , world that is getting worse , He still alive and on His throne , taking care of You and I! Teaching us to stop wanting to be #! . Stop trying to share the Mercy seat with God and . God
expects our exclusive devotion. When we give preference to anything instead of God, it is idolatry. We are committing spiritual adultery and God displays divine jealousy. “. . . Do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:23-24). God is zealous for His holiness. Both in His wrath and His love, God remains holy.
God’s jealousy serves to guarantee His people’s ultimate deliverance and security, even during the harsh discipline the Israelites had to endure from time to time. Although the Israelites frequently displayed their spiritual infidelity towards God, He spared them because He is merciful, even though He is a jealous God.

Pray for one another !