WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.019 Words are important, aren't they? And knowing 00:00:04.019 --> 00:00:08.080 their right definition and use helps us in our 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:11.039 communication. I was reading a letter to the 00:00:11.039 --> 00:00:13.000 editor in a Christian magazine recently that 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:15.300 was thanking the editor for an article in a past 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:20.140 issue. Apparently in the article, the editor 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:23.120 spoke about the importance of rearing children. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:26.039 And the letter writer was saying, thank you for 00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:28.300 reminding us that we don't raise our children, 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:31.920 we rear them. I had never thought about that 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:34.100 difference before. I'm just trying to get it 00:00:34.100 --> 00:00:37.200 done one way or the other. But I guess it's important 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:40.579 to use the right words, isn't it? And especially 00:00:40.579 --> 00:00:42.420 when we're trying to communicate our thoughts 00:00:42.420 --> 00:00:45.820 to other people. The title of the message today 00:00:45.820 --> 00:00:49.280 incorporates a word that is often misunderstood, 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:54.200 the word worldliness. We come to understand as 00:00:54.200 --> 00:00:58.179 Christians that it means something bad. We know 00:00:58.179 --> 00:01:00.340 that Christians aren't supposed to be worldly, 00:01:01.020 --> 00:01:05.319 but what does that mean? Is worldliness defined 00:01:05.319 --> 00:01:08.959 by the clothes that one wears, or by the length 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:12.019 of one's hair, the music he listens to, or the 00:01:12.019 --> 00:01:14.980 makeup she puts on her face, or certain amusements 00:01:14.980 --> 00:01:19.620 that we're involved in? The word worldliness, 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:23.659 as you probably know, comes from the word worldlikeness. 00:01:24.729 --> 00:01:28.189 So, to be worldly means to be world -like, just 00:01:28.189 --> 00:01:33.609 as to be godly means to be god -like. So, does 00:01:33.609 --> 00:01:36.129 that mean that if I drive a car and eat hamburgers 00:01:36.129 --> 00:01:40.890 and kiss my date, that I'm worldly? Because the 00:01:40.890 --> 00:01:44.109 world does all of those things too. What does 00:01:44.109 --> 00:01:48.269 it mean to be worldly? It may help us to understand 00:01:48.269 --> 00:01:51.450 what the Bible says regarding the word world. 00:01:51.849 --> 00:01:56.109 in the first place, this word world in the Greek 00:01:56.109 --> 00:01:59.450 language is the word cosmos, which is not unfamiliar 00:01:59.450 --> 00:02:04.569 to us. Cosmos is the opposite of chaos, another 00:02:04.569 --> 00:02:07.569 transliterated Greek word in the English language. 00:02:08.129 --> 00:02:11.090 We understand chaos. That's what home is like 00:02:11.090 --> 00:02:12.750 on Sunday mornings if you're trying to get ready 00:02:12.750 --> 00:02:16.449 for church. That's chaos. Cosmos is just the 00:02:16.449 --> 00:02:18.469 opposite of that. It means that which is ordered. 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:22.939 The word cosmos in the New Testament is used 00:02:22.939 --> 00:02:28.080 of the earth as a created object for God's glory. 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:33.300 It's also used of people, the world in the sense 00:02:33.300 --> 00:02:38.020 of all of humanity. John 3 .16 uses that word 00:02:38.020 --> 00:02:42.719 in that way. But the word is also used in a negative 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:47.259 sense. Cosmos is used of the kingdom of Satan. 00:02:48.300 --> 00:02:52.039 In 2 Corinthians, chapter 4, verses 3 and 4, 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:55.520 we are reminded that if our gospel is hid, it 00:02:55.520 --> 00:02:57.960 is hid to those who are lost, in whom the God 00:02:57.960 --> 00:03:02.439 of this cosmos has blinded the minds of those 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:05.699 who believe not. The God of this world is what 00:03:05.699 --> 00:03:11.039 Satan is called there. In 1 John 5, 19, John 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:14.199 says, And the whole world, the whole cosmos, 00:03:15.500 --> 00:03:21.189 lies in the lap of the wicked one. In other words, 00:03:21.389 --> 00:03:26.150 the world, the cosmos, is his baby and he's rocking 00:03:26.150 --> 00:03:29.469 it. He put it together and he's caring for it. 00:03:30.469 --> 00:03:34.409 The world in this negative sense is the dominating 00:03:34.409 --> 00:03:39.990 present order of things which controls the mass 00:03:39.990 --> 00:03:44.129 of unregenerate humanity and which is also headed 00:03:44.129 --> 00:03:49.629 by Satan. The world is defiantly and determinedly 00:03:49.629 --> 00:03:55.349 opposed to God and serves as an invisible government 00:03:55.349 --> 00:04:02.189 over the governments of the world. The world 00:04:02.189 --> 00:04:07.629 is a system of evil that imposes itself on the 00:04:07.629 --> 00:04:12.500 world that we know. It is a system. It is characterized 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:17.319 by moral and spiritual darkness that leads to 00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:22.379 disobedience and hostility toward God. Though 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:25.740 the world often appears outwardly as cultured, 00:04:25.980 --> 00:04:31.199 intelligent, scientific, elegant, and even religious, 00:04:33.060 --> 00:04:37.360 its basic underlying principles include greed, 00:04:37.959 --> 00:04:44.459 power, self -ambition, and illicit sensual pleasure. 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:49.639 And so you see the world takes one form outwardly, 00:04:49.980 --> 00:04:53.160 which makes it seem very acceptable to any reasonable 00:04:53.160 --> 00:04:59.060 person, but inwardly it is corrupt because its 00:04:59.060 --> 00:05:02.899 basic principles come from the devil. Therefore 00:05:02.899 --> 00:05:05.860 I want to say today that the world is the empire 00:05:05.860 --> 00:05:11.410 of the evil one. the system of thought and values 00:05:11.410 --> 00:05:17.670 that excludes God and controls all unregenerate 00:05:17.670 --> 00:05:22.670 people. If you're a child of God, you must not 00:05:22.670 --> 00:05:26.029 love the world. Would you turn to our text, please, 00:05:26.089 --> 00:05:30.529 in 1 John chapter 2, verses 15 through 17. Verse 00:05:30.529 --> 00:05:34.129 15 is our memory verse for today, which I trust 00:05:34.129 --> 00:05:38.980 that you've hidden in your heart. Do not love 00:05:38.980 --> 00:05:41.920 the world or the things in the world. If anyone 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:45.199 loves the world, the love of the Father is not 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:50.680 in him, says John. He goes on to say, and I'm 00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:53.439 reading now from the New American Standard, For 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:56.079 all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh 00:05:56.079 --> 00:05:59.399 and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride 00:05:59.399 --> 00:06:02.720 of life is not from the Father, but is from the 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:08.000 world. And the world is passing away, and also 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:11.420 its lusts, but the one who does the will of God 00:06:11.420 --> 00:06:17.680 abides forever." If you are a child of God, you 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:22.879 must not love the world or the things in the 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:25.779 world. That is a command that is delivered to 00:06:25.779 --> 00:06:29.879 all of us. I think coming to grips with the following 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:33.180 three facts will help you guard against entanglement 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:38.199 in the world. The first fact is this, one cannot 00:06:38.199 --> 00:06:41.819 love God and the world simultaneously. The last 00:06:41.819 --> 00:06:44.839 part of verse 15 makes that clear, doesn't it? 00:06:46.500 --> 00:06:52.160 One cannot love God and the devil's world system 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:58.379 simultaneously. You don't really believe that, 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:05.259 do you? If we really believed it, then why do 00:07:05.259 --> 00:07:08.459 we so regularly practice what the verse says 00:07:08.459 --> 00:07:12.000 can't be done, or at least try to practice it? 00:07:13.379 --> 00:07:17.339 Because we are convinced in our 20th century 00:07:17.339 --> 00:07:20.839 Christian minds that somehow we can find a balance. 00:07:22.199 --> 00:07:26.000 We can love God enough to keep Him off our backs, 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:29.720 and we can love the world enough to still have 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:35.079 fun and fit into it. That's really what we believe, 00:07:35.779 --> 00:07:41.000 many of us. What a tragic misconception about 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:48.199 God our way of thinking reveals. In fact, the 00:07:48.199 --> 00:07:53.620 Word of God says that the Father and the world 00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:58.420 system are direct opposites, one of the other. 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:01.620 The world and the Father are mutually exclusive. 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:05.800 The nature of the Father is that He is holy. 00:08:06.660 --> 00:08:12.839 The nature of the system is that it's evil. Each 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:18.180 contradicts the other, and both demand total 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:23.279 allegiance of those who follow. The Father and 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:29.540 the world are rivals. They are not equal. Don't 00:08:29.540 --> 00:08:34.149 misread that, but they are rivals. as you cannot 00:08:34.149 --> 00:08:38.789 be here and there, as you cannot be present or 00:08:38.789 --> 00:08:43.210 absent and absent, as you cannot be dead and 00:08:43.210 --> 00:08:48.769 alive. So the Bible says you cannot love God 00:08:48.769 --> 00:08:55.990 and love the world system simultaneously. We 00:08:55.990 --> 00:08:58.750 are warned that to develop an affection for the 00:08:58.750 --> 00:09:01.830 world is to commit a heinous sin in the eyes 00:09:01.830 --> 00:09:06.389 of God. James talks about this, if you would 00:09:06.389 --> 00:09:12.090 turn back just a few pages. As you're backing 00:09:12.090 --> 00:09:14.889 up, go past 1 Peter and you're there to James. 00:09:15.730 --> 00:09:18.009 And look in the fourth chapter, the fourth verse. 00:09:20.190 --> 00:09:26.610 James uses shocking language. He says, you adulteresses, 00:09:28.850 --> 00:09:32.690 do you not know that friendship, that is, affection, 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:38.259 With the world is hostility toward God. Understand 00:09:38.259 --> 00:09:41.240 he is not saying that to have friends in the 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:46.860 world is sin. That that makes us hostile toward 00:09:46.860 --> 00:09:51.080 God. That is not what he's saying. We ought to 00:09:51.080 --> 00:09:55.279 have sinner friends. People who are not Christians 00:09:55.279 --> 00:09:58.139 but who know us and we know them and we're developing 00:09:58.139 --> 00:10:01.980 relationships with them. But what he is saying 00:10:01.980 --> 00:10:05.830 is Do you not know that to develop affection 00:10:05.830 --> 00:10:10.330 for the system that controls those unsafe friends, 00:10:11.330 --> 00:10:14.850 that that is hostility toward God? Therefore, 00:10:14.929 --> 00:10:19.269 whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes 00:10:19.269 --> 00:10:22.230 himself an enemy of God. My friend, that is strong 00:10:22.230 --> 00:10:29.330 language. If a person chooses, as an act of his 00:10:29.330 --> 00:10:37.419 will, to be a friend of the system. By that act, 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:42.120 he is also making himself an enemy of God. We 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:48.960 cannot love the world system and God simultaneously. 00:10:49.320 --> 00:10:52.840 It is impossible. Going back to John, I want 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:54.659 you to notice the strength of his statement in 00:10:54.659 --> 00:11:02.440 verse 15. In the last part of the verse he says, 00:11:02.620 --> 00:11:08.000 if anyone loves present tense, if anyone as a 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:13.559 pattern of life, if anyone habitually loves the 00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:17.320 world, it says the love of the Father is not 00:11:17.320 --> 00:11:23.399 in him. What is John saying? Well, I believe 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:25.620 directly what he's saying is that if a person 00:11:25.620 --> 00:11:30.720 is characterized in his life, as an ongoing pattern, 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:35.460 as loving the system. He is giving evidence that 00:11:35.460 --> 00:11:42.580 he's not a genuine child of God. But the fact 00:11:42.580 --> 00:11:47.919 is a genuine child of God can fall into the habit 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:51.100 and the pattern of loving the system. That's 00:11:51.100 --> 00:11:53.659 why he begins the verse directed to Christians. 00:11:55.439 --> 00:11:58.679 By saying stop loving the world because that's 00:11:58.679 --> 00:12:01.080 literally what he says they were in the process 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:05.299 of doing that Now I want to repeat if someone 00:12:05.299 --> 00:12:09.139 does that habitually It is the pattern of their 00:12:09.139 --> 00:12:11.820 whole life and continually they are loving the 00:12:11.820 --> 00:12:15.139 system They are giving evidence that the love 00:12:15.139 --> 00:12:19.580 of the father is not in them But even one who 00:12:19.580 --> 00:12:22.840 has the love of the father in him who is a Christian 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:27.840 can fall into loving the world. And that's what 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:31.220 John warns us about. Stop loving the world, he 00:12:31.220 --> 00:12:36.460 says. Stop loving it. We cannot love the world 00:12:36.460 --> 00:12:40.179 and the Father at the same time. Who could imagine 00:12:40.179 --> 00:12:43.240 a Christian deliberately setting out to be a 00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:46.559 contradiction? Does any of us do that? Do we 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:50.460 deliberately want to be a contradiction to our 00:12:50.460 --> 00:12:55.210 deepest identity? I would think not. if we're 00:12:55.210 --> 00:13:00.830 in our right mind. We really want to be consistent, 00:13:03.289 --> 00:13:07.590 but the fact is that we become worldly, we begin 00:13:07.590 --> 00:13:11.649 to love the world through subtlety and through 00:13:11.649 --> 00:13:19.549 deception. It is a slow process of compromise 00:13:19.549 --> 00:13:23.820 and accommodation, little steps, that we hardly 00:13:23.820 --> 00:13:27.539 notice until at some point we lift our head up 00:13:27.539 --> 00:13:30.179 and we look and we see where we've come from 00:13:30.179 --> 00:13:35.399 and where we were and what God really wants of 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:40.679 us and suddenly we see that we have slipped and 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:42.879 we have begun to love the world that God tells 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:53.360 us not to love. The world is the empire of the 00:13:53.360 --> 00:14:01.100 evil one, of Satan. Do not love his empire. You 00:14:01.100 --> 00:14:05.000 cannot love that empire and God at the same time. 00:14:08.679 --> 00:14:10.440 But I see a second fact here that we need to 00:14:10.440 --> 00:14:12.559 grapple with and that is that what the world 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:20.100 desires is contrary to what is of God. John proceeds 00:14:20.100 --> 00:14:25.000 to say, all that is in the world. By that, he's 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:28.919 not talking about the created things, the mountains, 00:14:29.259 --> 00:14:33.960 the lakes that we enjoy on vacation. He is not 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:37.000 talking about the animal kingdom, all that is 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:40.919 in the world. In fact, he defines for us all 00:14:40.919 --> 00:14:44.639 that is in the world. He uses three phrases here 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:49.269 that highlight the snares. used by the world 00:14:49.269 --> 00:14:54.509 to trap you and to trap me. These three phrases 00:14:54.509 --> 00:14:58.610 describe the motivations of the system, or the 00:14:58.610 --> 00:15:01.669 goals, you might say, that it establishes for 00:15:01.669 --> 00:15:07.850 living. These three snares hold captive the unregenerate 00:15:07.850 --> 00:15:14.470 people living on this planet. It is what the 00:15:14.470 --> 00:15:19.250 world desires all that is in the world, encapsulated 00:15:19.250 --> 00:15:24.610 in three brief phrases. The lusts of the flesh, 00:15:26.509 --> 00:15:30.889 the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride 00:15:30.889 --> 00:15:34.049 of life. Let's think about those for a moment. 00:15:36.289 --> 00:15:41.649 The lust of the flesh, that is the cravings arising 00:15:41.649 --> 00:15:44.750 from our bodily appetites. That's one of its 00:15:44.750 --> 00:15:49.799 meanings. Even those appetites and desires of 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:52.360 our bodies that are good and holy and given to 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:56.659 us by God can be twisted and perverted by the 00:15:56.659 --> 00:16:03.659 world to an evil purpose. We have to be on guard 00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:07.080 against that. But the lust of the flesh goes 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:10.200 beyond just our bodily appetites. It speaks about 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:14.960 the lusts of our selfish desires. The dictionary 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:17.460 of New Testament theology puts it this way. It's 00:16:17.460 --> 00:16:22.059 the outlook oriented toward self. That which 00:16:22.059 --> 00:16:27.240 preserves its own ends in self -sufficient independence 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:33.980 of God. The lust of the flesh. It is the selfish 00:16:33.980 --> 00:16:39.000 satisfying of my own desires. The lust of the 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:45.059 flesh. It is what is oriented toward me. And 00:16:45.059 --> 00:16:48.580 what fulfills me? And what's good for me? The 00:16:48.580 --> 00:16:54.679 lust of the flesh. The lust of the eyes. That 00:16:54.679 --> 00:16:59.480 is, the cravings arising from what we see. A 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:05.500 desire to possess. It is covetousness. The lust 00:17:05.500 --> 00:17:10.099 of the eyes is greed. This phrase strikes at 00:17:10.099 --> 00:17:13.940 the heart of the world's commercialism and advertising. 00:17:14.980 --> 00:17:18.880 The use of glitter and show that captivates and 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:21.640 motivates one to go out and get that product. 00:17:23.740 --> 00:17:26.819 It's the root of the credit crisis in our country 00:17:26.819 --> 00:17:30.799 that has undermined the financial stability in 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:33.700 many homes. The lust of the eyes. You see it, 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:40.859 you want it, go get it. It's what makes us miserly. 00:17:43.079 --> 00:17:45.980 It's what makes us unwilling to share with others 00:17:45.980 --> 00:17:49.680 so that we might have for ourselves what we want. 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:55.700 God condemned His Old Testament people for idolatry. 00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:01.180 And we are warned in this age of a religion that 00:18:01.180 --> 00:18:05.619 all of us can fall into, a false religion, another 00:18:05.619 --> 00:18:10.039 kind of idolatry. It is called covetousness. 00:18:11.299 --> 00:18:17.700 Which is idolatry says the Apostle It is a false 00:18:17.700 --> 00:18:22.180 religion When I begin to live by what motivates 00:18:22.180 --> 00:18:27.539 the world When I begin to set my standard as 00:18:27.539 --> 00:18:30.180 being what I see is what I want and I will get 00:18:30.180 --> 00:18:34.339 that at any price Even if I have to borrow for 00:18:34.339 --> 00:18:37.160 it, even if I have to risk my future my family 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:42.559 for it. I want that the lust of the eyes. And 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:47.680 then the boastful pride of life. That is the 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:54.819 exalting pompous boasting of a person that has 00:18:54.819 --> 00:18:59.759 the boasting that has no basis in reality. It 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:03.279 is exaggeration that is intended to impress. 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:07.460 You've heard that kind of person haven't you? 00:19:07.789 --> 00:19:15.549 Maybe that person is your roommate. Maybe you 00:19:15.549 --> 00:19:19.589 work with that kind of person. Maybe you am that 00:19:19.589 --> 00:19:25.250 kind of person. The kind that stretches the truth 00:19:25.250 --> 00:19:33.670 beyond any facsimile of reality. I mean, it's 00:19:33.670 --> 00:19:36.650 not really a lie, is it? It's just, you know... 00:19:36.809 --> 00:19:41.950 putting the positive side forward. It's just 00:19:41.950 --> 00:19:43.809 brushing it up a little bit to take the edges 00:19:43.809 --> 00:19:48.509 off. And we, you know, we put it out here, and 00:19:48.509 --> 00:19:51.150 our whole purpose in that is to impress other 00:19:51.150 --> 00:19:54.410 people. We want them to think that we're the 00:19:54.410 --> 00:19:59.829 greatest, that we're the most successful, that 00:19:59.829 --> 00:20:06.369 of all of those, we're the most popular. That 00:20:06.369 --> 00:20:14.230 we are the highest earning person. We think it's 00:20:14.230 --> 00:20:16.369 important to have that degree at the end of our 00:20:16.369 --> 00:20:22.410 name. That on the station area says doctor so 00:20:22.410 --> 00:20:27.710 and so. I recently got some material across my 00:20:27.710 --> 00:20:31.349 desk of a gentleman who is seeking to establish 00:20:31.349 --> 00:20:34.589 a counseling practice in the Twin Cities area. 00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:38.299 and made a point calling himself doctor and putting 00:20:38.299 --> 00:20:41.859 Ph .D. after his name. I began to go through 00:20:41.859 --> 00:20:44.160 the list of his credentials. I found out where 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:46.579 he got his masters and his Ph .D. I've never 00:20:46.579 --> 00:20:50.299 heard of either one of them. Degree Mills. But 00:20:50.299 --> 00:20:56.160 it's a Ph .D. and highly advertised. But it's 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:59.779 worthless. But it's impressive. It's got the 00:20:59.779 --> 00:21:02.920 glitter there. You can boast in it. The boastful 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:09.309 pride of life. By the way, it's not wrong to 00:21:09.309 --> 00:21:13.470 have a degree. It's not wrong to be the greatest. 00:21:14.349 --> 00:21:16.390 It's not wrong to earn the most or to be the 00:21:16.390 --> 00:21:18.869 most successful salesman. It's not wrong to do 00:21:18.869 --> 00:21:22.890 any of those things. We ought to be ambitious, 00:21:23.390 --> 00:21:26.130 and we ought to do the very best that we can. 00:21:27.430 --> 00:21:32.109 But the point is, when we take that to the extreme 00:21:32.109 --> 00:21:36.069 and we begin to boast in it, that's when it becomes 00:21:36.069 --> 00:21:42.240 like the world. Ambition is a good trait, but 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:44.920 when it's geared towards self -promotion, to 00:21:44.920 --> 00:21:50.180 attain recognition or position, then it becomes 00:21:50.180 --> 00:22:00.700 worldly. Worldliness is living for passion, the 00:22:00.700 --> 00:22:04.460 lust of the flesh. Worldliness is living for 00:22:04.460 --> 00:22:10.319 possessions, the lust of the eyes. Worldliness 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:16.559 is living for power, the boastful pride of life. 00:22:19.539 --> 00:22:21.900 And he says that kind of living is not of the 00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:24.799 Father. All that is in the world is not of the 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:28.079 Father, therefore don't love it. Do not love 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:33.059 the system, because what it's made up of is not 00:22:33.059 --> 00:22:36.680 of the Father. We might ask the question then, 00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:39.950 what is of the Father? Turn over to chapter four, 00:22:40.089 --> 00:22:45.630 verse seven and eight, and you'll find out. Beloved, 00:22:45.650 --> 00:22:48.690 let us love one another, for love is from God. 00:22:50.569 --> 00:22:52.809 And everyone who loves is born of God and knows 00:22:52.809 --> 00:22:54.950 God. The one who does not love does not know 00:22:54.950 --> 00:22:59.089 God, for God is love. According to verse seven, 00:22:59.750 --> 00:23:03.069 what does come from God is love. I don't have 00:23:03.069 --> 00:23:05.750 time to develop this, but you go back and look 00:23:05.750 --> 00:23:09.660 at those those three phrases in chapter 2. And 00:23:09.660 --> 00:23:11.940 you will find that one who is truly living in 00:23:11.940 --> 00:23:16.819 love cannot participate in any of those. Because 00:23:16.819 --> 00:23:21.740 those things are of the world. And we who are 00:23:21.740 --> 00:23:30.859 of God must live in what is from God, love. And 00:23:30.859 --> 00:23:33.680 so the point is very clear. What the world desires 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:39.720 is contrary to what is of God. Therefore, do 00:23:39.720 --> 00:23:43.740 not love the system. There's a third fact we 00:23:43.740 --> 00:23:47.279 need to look at, and that's found in verse 17. 00:23:48.420 --> 00:23:54.400 To love the world is to waste one's life on the 00:23:54.400 --> 00:24:02.819 meaningless. Not just the trivial, because that 00:24:02.819 --> 00:24:06.750 has some meaning to it. But to love the world 00:24:06.750 --> 00:24:10.269 is to waste one's life on the meaningless, absolutely 00:24:10.269 --> 00:24:15.390 meaningless. What tragedy surpasses the living 00:24:15.390 --> 00:24:19.890 of one's life within the world's values and its 00:24:19.890 --> 00:24:25.210 measurements of success? Only then to die into 00:24:25.210 --> 00:24:29.390 inner eternity and to realize that it accomplished 00:24:29.390 --> 00:24:35.559 nothing that was worthwhile. For when one enters 00:24:35.559 --> 00:24:40.880 eternity, he leaves behind the possessions and 00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:44.819 all of the passion and all of the pride. It's 00:24:44.819 --> 00:24:48.460 gone. It's stripped away. And he stands before 00:24:48.460 --> 00:24:53.940 God. To live for the world is to waste one's 00:24:53.940 --> 00:24:57.400 life on the meaningless. Notice the contrast 00:24:57.400 --> 00:25:02.900 here. The world is passing away and its lusts. 00:25:03.940 --> 00:25:07.579 That's the one side. John says this in a rather 00:25:07.579 --> 00:25:10.059 interesting way. He says the world is already 00:25:10.059 --> 00:25:14.900 putrefying. He says the world is already in the 00:25:14.900 --> 00:25:20.019 process of decay and corruption. It's like a 00:25:20.019 --> 00:25:26.000 corpse that has not been buried yet. Not a very 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:30.420 pleasant thought. The world is corrupting, he 00:25:30.420 --> 00:25:35.990 says. Have you ever seen? A body that had not 00:25:35.990 --> 00:25:41.450 been buried in time. It's not a very pleasant 00:25:41.450 --> 00:25:50.410 sight. We bury bodies for good reasons. There 00:25:50.410 --> 00:25:53.410 is a corruption that sets in at that point. He 00:25:53.410 --> 00:25:59.609 says here that the world system is corrupting. 00:25:59.769 --> 00:26:07.779 It's decaying right before us. Why love it? Why 00:26:07.779 --> 00:26:10.920 love something that's in the process of decomposition? 00:26:12.180 --> 00:26:15.099 The world is passing away and it's lusts. Do 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:20.660 you smell it? What he's saying here involves 00:26:20.660 --> 00:26:23.440 far more than the archaeological ruins of past 00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:27.359 civilizations or the decaying monuments in our 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:32.700 own generation. It's the system. that is decomposing 00:26:32.700 --> 00:26:37.099 and which is creating such a stench in God's 00:26:37.099 --> 00:26:45.220 universe. The system is passing away. That's 00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:49.420 one side. But he says, the one who does the will 00:26:49.420 --> 00:26:56.319 of God abides forever. In one sense, I think 00:26:56.319 --> 00:26:59.160 he's talking here about a Christian. Because 00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:01.099 the will of God is that we believe in His Son, 00:27:01.180 --> 00:27:05.299 the Lord Jesus. But by way of application, I 00:27:05.299 --> 00:27:08.539 want to take it broader than that. I'll make 00:27:08.539 --> 00:27:11.019 three quick observations about the will of God. 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:16.240 The first observation is this, that the will 00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:23.680 of God is a way of life. The one who does present 00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:29.440 tense. Sometimes we look upon the will of God 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:34.119 as a destination that we arrive at, but actually 00:27:34.119 --> 00:27:38.859 the will of God is the journey. Remember that. 00:27:40.019 --> 00:27:42.420 Because some of you are looking at certain destinations 00:27:42.420 --> 00:27:44.380 and you're saying, oh God, what is your will 00:27:44.380 --> 00:27:48.940 about that? But what about up there? What do 00:27:48.940 --> 00:27:53.220 you want me to do then? The real thrust of the 00:27:53.220 --> 00:27:57.160 will of God is today. What are you doing today? 00:27:58.279 --> 00:28:03.259 The will of God is a way of life. The second 00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:05.160 observation I would make is that the will of 00:28:05.160 --> 00:28:09.859 God is an individual adventure. He talks about 00:28:09.859 --> 00:28:15.400 the one who does the will of God. We cannot determine 00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:18.339 God's direction for another except in the word 00:28:18.339 --> 00:28:21.079 as God tells all of us what his will is and he 00:28:21.079 --> 00:28:25.579 does in many instances. But with regard to our 00:28:25.579 --> 00:28:29.980 particular purpose in being in this world, we 00:28:29.980 --> 00:28:32.660 must make our own decisions under the direction 00:28:32.660 --> 00:28:35.200 of God's Spirit, and then we must give account 00:28:35.200 --> 00:28:41.480 to Christ one day personally. He says, the one 00:28:41.480 --> 00:28:48.119 who does the will of God. Just one at a time. 00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:52.279 The emphasis is on the individuality of it. And 00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:54.339 I might point out that there's a certain loneliness 00:28:54.339 --> 00:29:00.339 that occurs here. We can be in groups and we 00:29:00.339 --> 00:29:02.619 like fellowship and we want counsel from other 00:29:02.619 --> 00:29:05.119 people, but when it comes right down to it, you, 00:29:05.299 --> 00:29:08.579 my friend, are responsible to God. Not the group. 00:29:11.880 --> 00:29:14.660 The decisions you make is not the responsibility 00:29:14.660 --> 00:29:21.990 of your counselors, it's you. And particularly 00:29:21.990 --> 00:29:25.769 when one decides to take his stand or her stand 00:29:25.769 --> 00:29:30.549 against the system around him, he gets pretty 00:29:30.549 --> 00:29:33.430 lonely to do the will of God in that situation. 00:29:35.210 --> 00:29:41.069 The one who does the will of God, would you be 00:29:41.069 --> 00:29:45.730 one? I don't know if there are two or three or 00:29:45.730 --> 00:29:50.049 ten others, but would you be one who will do 00:29:50.049 --> 00:29:56.519 the will of God? and not love the world. The 00:29:56.519 --> 00:29:58.859 one who does the will of God abides forever. 00:29:59.019 --> 00:30:01.799 The third observation is that the will of God 00:30:01.799 --> 00:30:06.299 holds promise. Not the world, friend. There's 00:30:06.299 --> 00:30:08.299 no promise with something that's already dead 00:30:08.299 --> 00:30:13.319 and in the process of rotting. There's no promise 00:30:13.319 --> 00:30:15.759 in that at all. But there is promise in the will 00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:18.400 of God. The one who does the will of God abides 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:22.200 forever. That is in total contrast to what is 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:26.680 passing away. The child of God will go on forever 00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:30.299 and forever in his worship and service of God. 00:30:32.359 --> 00:30:39.079 We might also point out that the work, the life's 00:30:39.079 --> 00:30:43.140 significance of the child of God goes on forever 00:30:43.140 --> 00:30:47.940 and ever too. All of us long for significance 00:30:47.940 --> 00:30:52.519 in the world. That's part of being human. God 00:30:52.519 --> 00:30:56.319 has built that into us. We want to do something 00:30:56.319 --> 00:30:58.480 so that when we're gone, people will know that 00:30:58.480 --> 00:31:03.440 something is missing. And we want to leave behind 00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:05.099 something that's going to make a difference. 00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:10.440 If that's truly your desire, there's one way 00:31:10.440 --> 00:31:13.640 and only one to do it, and that is by doing the 00:31:13.640 --> 00:31:19.809 will of God. Abel, being dead, yet speaks, says 00:31:19.809 --> 00:31:22.789 the writer of Hebrews. Gone hundreds and hundreds 00:31:22.789 --> 00:31:27.089 of years, still speaking because he did the will 00:31:27.089 --> 00:31:32.569 of God in his life. So why love the world? Why 00:31:32.569 --> 00:31:36.309 live for the world when you can live for what 00:31:36.309 --> 00:31:40.029 counts forever? Don't waste your life on the 00:31:40.029 --> 00:31:44.170 meaningless. Don't be taken in by its glitter. 00:31:45.099 --> 00:31:48.319 By the perfume that Satan has poured over the 00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:50.519 corpse to try to make you think that it's attractive 00:31:50.519 --> 00:31:57.420 Don't be taken in by that lie Do not live for 00:31:57.420 --> 00:32:01.660 what is meaningless But live for the eternally 00:32:01.660 --> 00:32:06.440 significant Invest your life in the will of God 00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:11.339 Enjoy his smile now and his reward in eternity 00:32:13.900 --> 00:32:16.519 Now, having talked about the world a little bit, 00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:20.039 perhaps we're in a better position to understand 00:32:20.039 --> 00:32:24.640 what worldliness is. Personally, I like the definition 00:32:24.640 --> 00:32:28.559 of Warren Wiersbe in his book, Be Real. He says, 00:32:29.039 --> 00:32:33.359 anything in a Christian's life that causes him 00:32:33.359 --> 00:32:37.920 to lose his enjoyment of the Father's love or 00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:42.140 his desire to do the Father's will is worldly. 00:32:44.329 --> 00:32:52.390 and must be avoided. And so when you ask, what 00:32:52.390 --> 00:32:57.470 is worldliness? It's not as easy as getting out 00:32:57.470 --> 00:33:02.349 a list of rules or the ruler to measure one's 00:33:02.349 --> 00:33:07.289 hair length or skirt length. It's not as easy 00:33:07.289 --> 00:33:11.339 as that. If we're going to be serious about finding 00:33:11.339 --> 00:33:13.900 out what worldliness is, we've got to ask ourselves 00:33:13.900 --> 00:33:18.799 some tough questions. Is there something in my 00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:21.000 life that is causing me to lose the enjoyment 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:25.319 of God's love, or to lose the enjoyment of doing 00:33:25.319 --> 00:33:32.160 His will? Oh God, show me where the lust of the 00:33:32.160 --> 00:33:39.960 flesh, for living for myself dominates me. Lord, 00:33:39.980 --> 00:33:43.079 reveal to me where the lust of the eyes, where 00:33:43.079 --> 00:33:46.240 covetousness and greed have taken possession 00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:51.900 of your territory in my life. O God, expose in 00:33:51.900 --> 00:33:56.180 me the pride and the boastful exaggerations intended 00:33:56.180 --> 00:34:01.440 to impress people. For all of that is worldliness. 00:34:04.319 --> 00:34:07.960 And give me repentance of that. It is important 00:34:07.960 --> 00:34:11.579 for us to examine ourselves and to see how the 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:16.059 empire of evil and its lord of darkness have 00:34:16.059 --> 00:34:22.599 deceived us and subtly, subtly caused us to accept 00:34:22.599 --> 00:34:26.380 the world's thoughts and the world's values as 00:34:26.380 --> 00:34:33.820 our own. You cannot love the Father and the world 00:34:33.820 --> 00:34:40.409 simultaneously. What the world desires is not 00:34:40.409 --> 00:34:46.809 of God. To live one's life for the world is to 00:34:46.809 --> 00:34:50.489 live for the meaningless. May God write those 00:34:50.489 --> 00:34:54.809 facts upon our hearts and make a difference in 00:34:54.809 --> 00:35:07.760 the way that we live this week. Let's pray. Isaiah 00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:11.699 was perhaps the most godly, righteous man in 00:35:11.699 --> 00:35:15.840 his generation. But when he stood in the presence 00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:22.239 of God, he said, woe is me, for I am an unclean 00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:29.400 man. I have unclean lips, and I dwell in the 00:35:29.400 --> 00:35:35.960 midst of an unclean people. I would dare to say 00:35:35.960 --> 00:35:39.320 that the most godly person in this room today 00:35:39.320 --> 00:35:44.420 has to some extent been stained by the world. 00:35:47.119 --> 00:35:50.199 James says that pure religion and undefiled religion 00:35:50.199 --> 00:35:54.960 is this. He lists a couple of things, one of 00:35:54.960 --> 00:36:00.739 them, to keep oneself unstained from the world. 00:36:04.719 --> 00:36:12.380 Friend, all of us have repenting to do. God help 00:36:12.380 --> 00:36:25.019 us to do it. Father, you have called us out of 00:36:25.019 --> 00:36:31.920 the world, and yet we live in it. But I fear 00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:40.110 that the world also lives in us. too much. As 00:36:40.110 --> 00:36:42.670 the people that you have called out and sanctified 00:36:42.670 --> 00:36:49.010 to serve you, I pray that you lovingly will examine 00:36:49.010 --> 00:36:54.530 us and wherein we are worldly, may we face the 00:36:54.530 --> 00:37:03.929 facts and be repentant. For Father, you have 00:37:03.929 --> 00:37:09.969 called us to love you. Oh, Father, forgive us 00:37:09.969 --> 00:37:17.690 when we become adulterers. God, forgive us when 00:37:17.690 --> 00:37:23.030 we become defiled and polluted by the world you've 00:37:23.030 --> 00:37:30.429 called us to live in. I pray that you will cause 00:37:30.429 --> 00:37:36.179 our hearts to respond today with deep desire 00:37:36.179 --> 00:37:45.619 to be cleansed and to start anew and afresh and 00:37:45.619 --> 00:37:53.699 to be done, to be done with the affair that we've 00:37:53.699 --> 00:38:00.909 carried on with the world system. For who would 00:38:00.909 --> 00:38:05.630 be seriously in love with a corpse that's decaying? 00:38:07.250 --> 00:38:12.110 But alas, we have often been deceived. Open our 00:38:12.110 --> 00:38:16.630 eyes and focus them on heaven. And may we set 00:38:16.630 --> 00:38:19.070 our affection on things above and not on things 00:38:19.070 --> 00:38:22.369 on the earth. In Jesus' name.