Copyright 2011 Theresa Harvard Johnson
Two of the most VILE and WICKED sins we will ever encounter in ministry are jealousy and envy. Personally, I’ve never seen any other sin with the power to destroy like these when rooted in a man’s heart. Only the LOVE OF GOD has the power to cast them out! But the key is this: YOU HAVE TO DESIRE & WANT THEM TO GO!
People of God, jealousy and envy rests at the very foundation of many church splits, broken relationship, character assassinations, and outright mutiny (an uprising against legal authority) among the congregation of the Lord. It fuels a murderous hatred in hearts toward others.
Nothing good CAN GROW from that place. It drips on everything that is touched. These sins are DEADLY! They travel on the coattails of lies and deceit, and are often times silent until the carrier can no longer contain the intense hatred that fuels the power to destroy. Truly, the enemy comes to KILL, STEAL & DESTROY.
James 3:14-16 CJB describes it this way: But if you harbor in your hearts bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, don’t boast and attack the truth with lies! This wisdom is not the kind that comes down from above; on the contrary, it is worldly, unspiritual, demonic. For where there are jealousy and selfish ambition, there will be disharmony and every foul practice.
To harbor a thing is to COVET IT, OWN IT and EMBRACE IT. It is placing that thing so deep in your spirit that it takes over your mind, your will and your emotions. YES! Jealousy and envy can be given this kind of power in your life AND IT HAS COST many people of God – their marriages, ministry relationships… and their very lives.
The wisdom of James in this passage of scripture is profound as HE IS WARNING US FIRST AND FOREMOST not to DENY the working of jealousy and envy on the inside of us. Yes, there are people reading this right now who are living in denial concerning the working of these sins in them. James is showing us that ANYONE in the body can fall prey to these vile and wicked emotions. Your status, elevation, revelation and insight DOESN’T MAKE YOU IMMUNE to being a carrier of these sins; however, our humility and brokenness before God can cover and deliver us from their hold.
We are to ACKNOWLEDGE OUR SIN, CONFESS OUR SIN… and allow Ruach Hakodesh to come in and DELIVER US. When we deny a thing… even in its subtleness… we give it permission to grow, to take root, to fester. Beloved, jealousy and envy are NOT sins that we can afford to IGNORE. The Word tells us clearly that it is OUT OF THE HEART that the issues of life flow. It tells us that our HEARTS are the places that the Spirit searches and looks for the presence of Father within us.
To “harbor” a thing is to fixate on it; to obsess over it; and to meditate on it. It becomes so much a part of our spirit that we think about IT more than we meditate on the Lord and His Word. James is showing us that a person operating in jealousy has given their heart and mind over to these “destructive, catastrophic” emotions. He is commanding us to TELL THE TRUTH about what is going on in our hearts verses boasting in the lie “that this doesn’t apply to you!” When you feel that twinge of jealousy DEAL WITH IT THEN! Don’t let it hide out and begin to manipulate your emotions and your mind. He is crying out to us: LIVE IN TRUTH!
You see, James understood that EVERY FOUL PRACTICE is birth from this place! I pray that you hear what Father is saying in this! That thing may start out small… BUT IF NOT DEALT WITH… it will GIVE BIRTH TO ALL MANNER OF CHAOS AND EVIL in your heart toward the person whom it is directed! I’ve experienced SOME EVIL THINGS at the hands God’s people… as a result of jealousy. At one time, someone coveted other relationships I was involved in. In that place, that JEALOUSY came out in VICIOUS, SLANDEROUS, MURDERIOUS WAYS in the midst of that person’s hurt. MUTINY ROSE UP…
There are people reading this right now who have jealousy and envy in their hearts! I tell you, these two sins can never be justified! There are people reading this who OBSESS over ministries, the lives of their leaders, the lives of others, gifts, talents, what others are doing, and other things. If the Lord isn’t allowed to intervene with His healing power, their hearts will become breeding grounds for jealousy and envy to grow and sprout!
James tells us that jealousy is worldly, unspiritual and DEMONIC (which means to be under the influence of death, hell and the grave)! The word demonic indicates that there has been a “spiritual takeover from the dark side” in a person’s spirit and mind. Instead of putting on the mind of Christ, they are now wearing the MIND OF SATAN. Come on now… they are walking under the very influence of HELL.
In the ministry entrusted to me, I have nearly DIED under the weight of jealousy and envy infiltrating my own. That spirit that rose up in the issue with the “PRODIGAL SON” runs rampant throughout our congregations. When that son ROSE UP AGAINST HIS FATHER because of that father’s display of love toward a wayward son, we can see a MURDEROUS DESTRUCTION arise. You see, that seed of jealousy had always been there. It was simply exposed in the midst of that situation.
People of God, THIS IS SERIOUS! Don’t allow your pride to keep you from getting delivered!
Father showed me several types of jealousy that we are up against in this. These aren’t the only examples in the word, but they do capture the fullness of this message to you today. I urge you to go study out the lives of those mentioned here to get a full picture of how jealousy and envy operates. Don’t just look at it from the perspective of what YOU have been through; but look at where YOU may have been the person dealing the wickedness. (Pay close attention to how unresolved jealousy can lead to MURDER – natural and spiritual. So many try to make it superficial, but it ISN’T! There is a reason why this theme constantly reoccurs in the scriptures. Let us not miss the message Father is conveying to us. And that message is this: Jealousy and envy is a sin that we cannot ignore and that we must be delivered from.)
(1) CAIN: The jealously and envy harbored in his heart led to a violent murder within his own family (Genesis 4). He was jealous of Abel’s favor;
(2) SAUL: His jealousy and envy led to great acts of sabotage and attempted murder (1 Samuel 18-7-9). He was jealous of David’s favor, strength, zeal, love for God and the very fact that David was chosen;
(3) THE BROTHERS OF JOSEPH: Their jealousy and envy was rooted in the favor Joseph walked under with his father (Genesis 37:4-5, 11). They coveted the love Joseph had. Great deception, lies and an illusion of murder followed this emotion;
(4) PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON: This example is powerful. It shows how jealousy can spark in the heart of someone WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS OR TAKES PLACE that they can’t comprehend with the natural eye – especially when they feel “entitled” (Luke 15); and
(5) RACHEL: Her life shows how one’s jealousy can be fueled and take root when you want something that you can’t get by any natural means or schemes (Genesis 30).
People of God, take a look at what the “darkness in these men/women’s hearts” caused them to do to those they loved or were commanded to love. Instead of pointing the finger, take a look at the man in the mirror… make sure that THIS ISN’T YOU.
It’s far better to go to Holy Spirit on your own ANYWAY than to allow pride hide what might really be in your heart. It’s just not worth it…
Part II: Breaking the Back of Jealousy & Envy coming…
