Introduction:
Colossians 4:14 – Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.
2 Timothy 4:10 - Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.
Do You Love the World? 3 Reasons True Believers Don't. (1 John 2:15-17)
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Because That's Not WHO I Really Am. (1 John 2:15)
Ephesians 2:2 - in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air...
James 4:4 – Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
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Because That's Not What I Really WANT. (1 John 2:16)
Genesis 3:6 – So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise...
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Because It's Not Really WORTH It. (1 John 2:17)
John 6:40 - For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
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→ Music: Why Am I LISTENING to This?
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→ Social Media: Why Am I POSTING This?
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Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:50
Open up those Bibles with me please to the book of 1 John. We're going to be in chapter 2. While you're turning there, let's just pause for a moment and I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me to be faithful to communicate God's Word as I should. And I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord has said in His Word. Do we have a deal?
01:20
All right, let's pray. Father, we believe that your word does your work. We believe that your spirit works with your word in a way that something supernatural happens. And I'm asking, Father, that you would bring true life change from your word. That we would leave here different people than when we walked in because we've encountered you.
01:50
That's what we need, Father. We need to encounter You. And You do that in Your Word, Father. So I pray all of our hearts to be open to what it is You're going to teach us in this passage today. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 1 John 2, are you there? If that's not straight, that messes with me the whole time.
02:20
Many years ago, many years ago, I was decent at tennis. I played a lot of tennis. And when I was in college, there was a guy, his name was Nate. He found out that I played tennis. He goes, hey, he goes, I play tennis too. We should play tennis sometime. I'm like, great. He goes, what are you doing today? I'm like, well, I don't have anything going on tonight. He goes, all right. He goes, I'll pick you up at 3 o'clock. We're going to play tennis. And I'm like, awesome. Right? So, I got myself already, got my tennis balls, I got my tennis racket and I was sitting in my apartment waiting. Like, alright, 3 o'clock. Nate should be here any minute. 3.05, Nate's running a little late. 3.15, Nate's really running late. 3.45, I hope Nate didn't die on the way here.
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Four o'clock. Nate's not coming.
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Well, again, keep in mind this was like before the cell phones and all that instant communication stuff.
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So he no-showed. So I saw him at school the next day.
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And I said, hey, where were you? We were supposed to play tennis at three o'clock.
03:48
And Nate goes, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. He goes, yeah, yeah. That's right, we were. He said, I ran into Jason and we went to the movies. I was like, what are you, a pigeon? I'm like, is that your attention span? Like, how does that even happen? How does that happen? They're like, okay, it's 2.30. Going to go play tennis with Jeff. And like, oh, the movies? Oh, why not? Like, how does that happen? Does anybody have friends like that? Does anybody have friends like that?
04:18
I found out later he made plans with like two other people as well. Well, you know, Paul sort of had a friend like that, but it was much, much more serious than missing a tennis match. Have you ever heard of Demas? Demas? Demas was a very close friend and ministry partner of the Apostle Paul.
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Colossians 4.14.
04:52
You get to the end of the letters and we have these goodbyes.
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Luke, the beloved physician, greets you as does Demas.
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Again, at the end of Philemon, Demas is mentioned.
05:06
And then you get to 2 Timothy, which is probably the last book that Paul wrote.
05:15
And we see this verse, 2 Timothy 4.10.
05:19
Paul's good friend, Demas. He says, Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. What happened? Paul says he went to Thessalonica. That's what happened. Like, what for?
05:48
In Paul's day, Thessalonica was the city that offered all of the worldly pleasures. It would be like in our day, saying that somebody deserted me and they went to Vegas. You would know what that meant right away, wouldn't you? What happened? It's so heartbreaking, and look, we've all seen it. Every one of us here can share a story of Someone that we know. Someone that was once upon a time seemingly on fire for the Lord and suddenly they abandon their faith because like Demas they are in love with the world. Paul didn't see it coming with Demas. And my friends we never do. Because it doesn't happen in a day.
06:49
You see, Demas saw the persecution that was coming onto Paul, and as our Lord said was going to happen with some, Demas just, he bailed. He's like, this looks like it's getting a little too intense for me. I am out. And Demas loved this life more. He loved what the world more than what God offered.
07:26
It's a tragic thing.
07:27
You know, we see it all the time, don't we?
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We see it especially with our young people.
07:31
How many times do we see kids go to college and stop going to church?
07:41
They're distracted by the things of the world.
07:46
Sex, alcohol, drugs, even distracted by things that maybe in and of themselves aren't necessarily like sinful things, like sports and clubs and things like that. But either way, the kids go and all of a sudden, I'm more interested in what the world offers than what God offers. It's so heartbreaking.
08:16
You know, as I was preparing this message, I was thinking about the Demases that I've known personally. And it was a list that I put together. And the thing was, it was every stage of my ministry I've seen that. Like I mentioned Bible college. I had another friend, not tennis guy. I had another friend that First semester, we became close friends. He said, yeah, before I came to Christ, I had a really bad gambling addiction. He said, I owed a lot of bad people a lot of money. He goes, but thanks to Christ, that life is behind me now. I thought it was until we got a call from a rental car company that he rented a car that he did not return.
09:16
job, his last shift, he did not make the night deposit. Gone. Off to Thessalonica. And I think of the early days of this church, when our first small group coordinator, a man who I spent every week with this man, praying with them, planning ministry, intense one-on-one discipleship, and our very first small group launch Sunday, gone.
09:46
Gone. Gone. Like where? Off to Thessalonica. And even recently, a man in our church who's been involved in ministry for years. Can't do this anymore. Gone. And I got to tell you as a pastor, It's hard. I look out. I look out here and I'm like, who's next? Who here? This week? Next month? Who's going to decide this Jesus following stuff is a little too intense for me?
10:46
I'm going back to the world. I'm going back to doing the things that make me happy. I'm going after what the world offers. I'm going back to Thessalonica. Well, that takes us to our text here. This is the next test of our salvation. We're examining our faith. That's what 1 John is about. Us examining our faith, testing our faith. And here's the test. Are you sure that you don't love the world?
11:17
Are you a Demas? Are you sure? Look at verse 15. He says, do not love the world or the things in the world. Stop there. Do not love the world. That is a command. You notice that? That's a command. Like, well, who is the command for?
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Well, this passage flows from the previous passage. And who was he specifically addressing in the previous passage? He says, I'm writing to you who know the Father. I'm writing to you who are growing strong in the Word of God. He's obviously talking about believers. So when we get to verse 15, John is telling us there's a real danger, even for Christians. There's a real danger of getting sidetracked by the world.
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be distracted by the things that the world offers. Have you been sidetracked? Have you been allured by what the world offers? More than what God offers. Have you been noticing in your life that maybe lately in the past month, the past six months, the past year. Have you noticed that you seem to be a little more committed to worldly things than seeking and serving Jesus in the way that you used to once upon a time? So, to believers, John is asking, do you love the world? And then he tells us here on your outline, I want you to jot some things down. Do you love the world? Well, here's three reasons that true believers do not love the world.
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All right?
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There's three reasons true believers don't.
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Number one is this.
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This is what true believers say.
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Do you love the world?
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No.
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No, I don't.
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Because that's not who I really am.
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Look at verse 15 again.
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He says, do not love the world or the things in the world.
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If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
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1 John's a very hard book. Not because it's hard to understand, but some of these truths are very hard to swallow. John says, and it's very clear, he goes, do you love the world? Do you love the world? Do you love worldly things? Do you love the world? Well, then you don't have a relationship with God. That's just all there is to it. Like, wait a minute, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. So when John's talking about the What exactly is he talking about? The world. What does he mean by that? Well, we've got to be clear here. He's not talking about creation. Okay? You see a pretty sunset. You appreciate, you know, the beautiful fall foliage. You're like, oh, I just love God's creation. That is not what he is talking about here. Okay? And he's also certainly not talking about humans. All right? Because you're like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. The Bible says, like the most famous verse, for God so loved the world. And now John says don't love the world. That is not what John is talking about. He's not talking about humans. And listen, my friends, he's not even talking about stuff necessarily. Right? If you're like, oh man, you know what? I just bought this new car and I love it. Does that make me a pagan? That's not what he's talking about.
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What does John mean when he's talking about the world? What's this thing that we're not supposed to love? Well, here it is. Did you know that Satan is called the god of this world? Did you know that? Or the ruler of this world? Jesus said that over and over and over. John 12, 31, 14, 1630, 1611, over and over and over, Jesus referred to Satan that way. And John, in talking about that, we'll get to later, much later, 1 John 5.19 says that the world is under the power of Satan. This is what he's talking about. So what is the world? It's the whole evil way that the world works. Have you noticed how the world works? It's anti-Jesus.
16:13
It's man-centered. It's, the best way I can describe it, is everything that falls under the category of secular. Things that are detached from faith, from God, from church, all detached from that. Everything that exalts man. All the greed, and the lust, and the deception, and the way the world works. Everything that contradicts the Word of God.
16:45
What is the world? What's the world? It's the thing that Demas went to Thessalonica for. It's not about the kingdom of Jesus Christ. It's about living for all of the pleasures of the here and now. The world is the thing that all unbelievers live for. And all believers used to live for before coming to Christ. That's what Paul was talking about in Ephesians 2.2. He says, you were dead in your sins. He says, in which you once walked, look at this, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air. Again, this is the world, the world's ways, the world's opinion on what is good, what is evil.
17:43
What is pleasurable? What is the world's view on stuff? The world's view on goals? All of that versus God's view on those things. And you will notice that they are always completely opposite. The world's opinion on something and God's opinion on something are always, always opposite. Right? Like for example, God's view on sex. What's God's view on sex? God says, this is a gift that I've given to people in the covenant of marriage so that they can enjoy this exclusive intimacy with one another. That's God's view on it. Is that the world's view? What's the world's view? It's this act of pleasure. It's about me. It's about making me happy. That's the world's view. Opposite of God's. What about money?
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What's God's view of money? God says, I'm going to give you money, and you're going to use it to advance my kingdom. You're going to use it to bless others. You're going to use it to provide for your family. That's why God says, I'm giving you money. Is that the world's view of money? No, the world says, this is mine. I earned it. And I've heard this so many times, even in the church. Nobody tells me what to do with my money. Like, well, if you have any, I guess that's true, but it's all God's. But do you see how the world and God have completely different views on money?
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We could go on. What does God say about greatness? How does somebody become great according to God? By being a servant to everyone. God says that's greatness. The person that's serving everyone. Is that the world's opinion? No, no, no, no. The world says you know who's great is the guy that has everybody serving him. That's the guy that's great. They're completely opposite. We could go on, but we won't. You see the point. John just here simply says, Christians don't love the world's ways because we love God. It's just a question of identity. That's it. We can't love God and love what God hates. We can't do it. True Christians just can't. True Christians are unable to hold that position. This is what James was talking about in James 4.4. He says, Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
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He says, therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
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You know, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, God turned me and believer, God turned you from His enemy into His child.
20:39
And that's why John says, His love is in Me. His love is in His people. So the person who is in love with the things of the world doesn't know God's love. That's the first thing true believers say. They're like, well, that's just not who I really am. Secondly, do you love the world? Three reasons true believers don't. Number two, because that's not what I really want. Because that's not what I really want. Look at verse 16.
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He says, for all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride and possessions is not from the Father, but is from the world.
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So, you're like, well, what are the things in the world we are commanded not to love?
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Well, He tells us right here.
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Here it is.
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Very important verse in your Bible. Satan through the world is selling what sinners want to buy. Satan has always used the same three tactics. He always has. Do you know why Satan has always used these three tactics? Because they almost always work.
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These are three doorways to sin that he's talking about here. First of all, the first doorway to sin, he talks about the desires of the flesh. Desires of the flesh. Now there's nothing wrong with not wanting something necessarily, but we can want something wrongly. Too much of it, going too far with it, wanting something at the wrong time. The desires of the flesh, it's a sinful craving. You can sum it up this way.
22:38
It's the craving in rebellious man that says, I want something, but it's something that God does not want His people to have. God's like, that's not for you. You're like, but that's what I want. That is the desire of the flesh. Secondly, we see the desires of the eyes. What's that? That's when you see something and your heart perverts it. Right? Like when Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount talked about, looking on a woman to lust. That's what he was talking about. I heard one preacher put it this way. The desires of the eyes, it's when we are constantly being captivated by the outward. It's coveting with our eyes. You know, the classic example of that, coveting with the eyes, I think of David. Remember David, 2 Samuel 11, supposed to be at war? He wasn't, and he looked out, and he saw the wife of one of the of his soldiers, the wife of Uriah, remember? Bubble Bathsheba, she was taking a bath and he coveted her with his eyes. Well, where do you think she got her name? That's the desires of the eyes. Coveting with the eyes. And then the last he says the pride of life or some translations of pride of possessions.
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That's just the desire to be better than everyone. And you make sure that everyone knows you're superior. That's the pride of life. It's this. It's this attitude. I'm the most important person. What I want matters more than anything. It's like the whole universe is a movie and I'm the main character. Everything revolves around me. All that matters is what I want. All that matters is what I think.
24:38
And if I want something, I get it. Why? Because I'm the most important. That is the pride of life. That's the pride of possessions. These three things are in operation. To draw people from the kingdom of God to the world. You know, it's so fascinating to me. You go way back to the beginning. Way back to the beginning. Garden of Eden.
25:08
You know the story. We've had many sermons on this. Genesis chapter 3, Satan shows up into the Garden of Eden, this place of paradise. He asks the first question ever asked. Did God really say? Did God really say to Eve? And he gets, he's trying to get Eve to doubt the Word of God, to eat off of the one tree that they were forbidden to eat from. But verse 6, just look at verse 6. Look at this verse.
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very closely. It says, so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, do you see it? The tree was good for food. That's the desires of the flesh. She's like, I want that. God's like, that's not for you. And all of a sudden she's like, I want that. Delight to the eyes. There's a desire to the eyes, right? She was looking.
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at it looks good. Oh, and if the tree was to be desired to make one wise, I'm going to get some. This is about me. Not about what God says. This is about what I want. And I would suggest to you that Eve sinned before she even took a bite. But do you see there it is? Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life. You don't have to turn there. You can look later. But interestingly, when Satan went after Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, himself, Satan employed these same three things, trying to get Jesus. And I'm going to paraphrase very quickly, but Luke chapter 4, remember the temptation of Jesus? Luke chapter 4 verse 3, Satan told Jesus to command the stone to become bread. What's that? That's the desires of the flesh, right? Look, you're hungry. I know God says, you know, you're supposed to be fasting right now, but lust of the flesh. Get what you want, Jesus. Verse 5, Satan showed Jesus, all the kingdoms of the world. He goes, look, you can have these. He showed them, look, look at this. Look, put your eyes on this, Jesus. You can have this. All you can do is bow to me. There's the desires of the eyes. And then verse 9, Satan takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and says, throw yourself down. Doesn't the Bible say something about like the angels will catch you? Wow, think of the applause you'll get flying from the temple.
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and you float down like little feather. Wouldn't that be amazing? And don't you think people would be just razzle dazzled? You should do that. Gone after the pride. Oh, but it didn't work on Jesus because Jesus is sinless. He was able to withstand the temptation. But I would say this, my friends, Satan's tactics here, desires of flesh, desires of the eyes, pride of life, they're appealing and they must be effective. If it's so effective, and if Satan attempted but failed, but still, this is what he attempted on God himself. So born again believer, you're like, well, I used to live for myself. I used to live for my sin, and I found it to be destructive. I found that it dishonors God.
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Even though there's times that my flesh still honestly craves sin, it's not what I really want. Because again, look at verse 16. He says, these things are not from the Father, but from the world. The true believer says, you know what, really, really, all I want is what God's giving. That's what I want.
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It's not who I really am. It's not what I really want. Number three, because it's not really worth it. It's not really worth it. Go. Go. Go indulge in all the best things that the world has to offer. But, we'll get verse 17.
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He says, and the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. Passing away. Passing away. The world is passing away. He's not talking about the earth burning up, though it will. That's true. But that's not what He's talking about here. What He's saying is this. Everything, everything that is heading to hell. That's what he's saying. Everything that exalts itself against the living God ultimately is going to hell. That's what John is telling us. It's getting worse and worse out there, isn't it? Have you noticed? It's getting worse and worse.
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And you'd have to be blind or maybe just completely oblivious to not notice that. I was thinking about that. Just how ruthless and savage and self-serving and conceited more and more people are becoming. We say things like, well, things Things have never been this bad before. You know, I was thinking about that. Things have never been this bad before. You know, that was true when your grandfather said it. Back in your grandfather's day when he said it, that was true. Things were never that bad before. But it was also true when your parents said it. And it's true today when you're saying it.
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And it's going to be true when your children say it. Because that's a statement that no matter when it is said, it is always true. Things have never been this bad. What I mean is, it's never gotten really bad, and it got a little better. And then it's gotten really bad, and it got a little better. Like, make America great again. Like, when was it? For all us, it never really was.
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Have you noticed?
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It's getting worse and worse and worse.
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That's exactly what our Lord said was going to happen.
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He never said things were going to get better.
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He only said things were going to get worse.
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But, but, the day is coming that God is going to close the curtain And that day is coming that everything that has exalted itself against the glory of God is going to be cast into hell.
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And on this earth, on this earth, the only thing ultimately that will remain from the earth is whoever did the will of God.
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John says, those are the people that are going to abide forever.
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You're like, wow.
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Well, what's the will of God then?
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I better figure this out.
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I want to abide forever.
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I mean, don't you?
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Don't you want to abide forever?
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We better figure out what this will of God is.
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Well, we don't have to wonder.
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Jesus actually told us what the will of God is in John 6.40.
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Here's God's will.
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This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day. So on the last day, you're either going to be passing away, or Jesus Christ is going to raise you up.
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Have you believed in Him? Have you looked to Jesus Christ to believe in Him for eternal life? That's the only way that you abide forever, according to the Word of God. So, verse 15 again, jump back. Do not love the world or the things in the world.
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The command is given to us all. Because we all have the temptation to pursue that which doesn't last. We all have that temptation. Are you sure you don't love the world? Like, alright, here we go. Here we go. I know this. I've seen this before.
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The pastor says, church, you're going to avoid worldliness. You ready for that? You ready? No? I'm going to tell you anyways. Avoid worldliness. You're like, all right, all right. Now this is the part where the preacher condemns me for watching a movie. Are you ready for that? You ready?
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I'm not going to do that. Like, oh, this is the part where he's going to condemn me because I listened to classic rock last week and this is the part where he condemns you for that. Are you ready? I'm not going to do that. You're like, fine. Just give me the list. I know. I know what happens here. This is the part of the sermon where you give me the list of things that are worldly and say, don't get involved in these things because they're worldly.
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Okay, all right, just give me the list. I'm not going to do that either. Look, it is so easy for us to look at this passage and immediately slip into legalism. So easy. I must have been thinking about my college a lot this week because I thought about those two friends that I mentioned. But you know, the college where I attended, when you, When you enrolled in the school, they had the most obnoxious legalistic rules to be a student at that school. Everything from how long your hair can be and how you had to dress and the music that you had to listen to on or off campus, the types of movies you could watch, and they had this obnoxious list of rules in the handbook. Like, if you're a student here, you will keep all of these rules. And I got to tell you, That school was a utopia. Nobody ever sinned at that school. You believe that? You shouldn't. There is plenty of sinning going on. I'm not going to give you the list because you don't stop worldliness that way. Because worldliness is a heart issue. Worldliness doesn't come from the outside. Yes, we talked about the lust of the flesh and the eyes and all that.
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All that's true.
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But the Bible is so clear.
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The problem of worldliness isn't out there.
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It's in here.
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I'm the problem.
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My heart is the problem.
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Your heart is the problem.
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We have a heart issue.
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So as I close, I just want to simply do one thing.
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Just one thing.
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I'm not going to give you the list.
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or condemn you for whatever legalistic rules. One thing, I just want you to think about why you do the things that you do. The activities you're involved in, all of that. That's all I want you to do. I want you to think about why you do them. Have you even considered that? Why you do the things that you do. Have you considered that? You should.
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You know Proverbs 20 verse 5 says the purposes of a man's heart are like deep waters and a man of understanding will draw them out. We should constantly, believers, we should constantly be looking inward to say, why am I doing the things that I'm doing? Why? Have you considered that? I just want to encourage you as a follower of Jesus, because it's hard as you ask your heart why you're doing the things that you're doing.
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You're doing. You're like, doing what? Like, okay, here's a list. Here's a sample list of some areas of life that I just want you to consider why. Okay? I'm not going to tell you what to do or what not to do, but you absolutely have to consider why you do what you do. First category is media. You need to ask yourself, why am I watching this? Can you do that? Why am I watching this?
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A few months ago, my family was out somewhere. We got home, turned on the TV. Do you know what was on the TV? The hot dog eating contest. I mean, I knew that thing existed, obviously, but I've never seen it on TV. So I sat down and I watched it. Have you ever watched the hot dog eating contest? Have you ever watched that? Oh, what a spectacle it is. If you've not seen it, they line up.
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All these contestants, hoggers one and all, they line them all up and they put a big plate of hot dogs in front of them and they time them. I can't remember how much, was it 10 minutes or something? But they, and they all got their little techniques, you know, like a lot of them. They rip the hot dog in half and they dunk it in these glasses of water. Have you seen this? They dunk them in water.
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And then they moved down to like the camera zoomed in on the next guy. And there's just like processed nitrite meat flying everywhere and bun. And then we get this guy's backstory while we're watching him wolf this down. And then the camera moves to the next guy down here.
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And then, "Okay! We have a winner!" It's like, "Now, let's bring out the ladies." And here come the ladies! And they're like, "All right, on your mark, you said go!" And they're like, "Hum, hum, hum, hum, hum, hum!" Okay, and then we're going to get this ladies story, "Hum, hum, hum, hum But I was watching that and I said to Aaron, why am I watching this? It was absolutely disgusting. There was no redeeming value in this thing at all. I'm like, why am I watching this? But my friends, we need to be asking that about everything we watch, right? And all we live in today, the sheer amount of media, TV, streaming, internet, radio. You can't pump gas without the little TV coming on to give you your little minute and a half fix. Oh, heaven forbid I not have a moment of non-screen time in my life. You see, that's the danger, especially for Christians. The danger isn't really just in the watching as much as it's the thoughtless watching.
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We're not even thinking about it.
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We just sit down and like, take it in, take it in, and we never stop and think, why am I filling my heart and my mind with this content?
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We don't ask ourselves, in this program, how is sin being portrayed?
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As a horrible thing or as a joyful thing? The hero of this show, what makes this hero so heroic? What message is this movie trying to communicate to me? What is this movie making me think about? So media, why am I watching this? Secondly, music.
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Why am I listening to this? Music.
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I'm not going to tell you what to listen to.
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What not to listen to.
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But you have to ask yourself that.
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Why am I listening to this?
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Is this music about God or is it about me?
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And if this music is about me, what's it saying about me?
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Why am I listening to this?
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What feelings in my heart are being stirred by this music?
43:47
You know, they market all this music to young people, this music that's like, life is so unfair and your parents are so evil and you need to, you know, reject all authority and blah, blah, blah. And then they reject all authority. They're like, I don't know why they do that. Where did I go wrong? You're pumping yourself full of this garbage. Why am I listening to this? You have to ask yourself that. Next is clothes. Why am I wearing this? Why am I wearing this?
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We are not going to invoke a Harvest Bible Chapel dress code.
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Though I will recommend that you buy some Harvest swag.
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Shameless plug.
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It supports the youth.
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I'm not seeing any of that money.
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But you're going to be sending our youth group on a mission.
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Don't you love our youth group?
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Don't you want to see little Joey get to the mission field?
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Buy a hoodie.
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There's samples back there.
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Anyways, there's no dress code. But you have to ask yourself, when you're getting dressed, why am I wearing this? Am I trying to draw attention to my body? Am I putting this on because I want the opposite sex to notice something about my body? That's why I'm wearing this particular outfit. Why am I wearing this? And finally, social media, why am I posting this? Can you just stop and ask yourself the purposes?
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of a man's heart are deep waters. The man of understanding draws the mouth. Why am I posting this? Am I putting this, am I trying to impress other people? Do I want people to think that I have this perfect life, perfect marriage, I'm the perfect parent? Am I trying to impress others? Am I doing this for attention? I just want attention. I just want everybody to think I'm so amazing. Why am I posting this? Am I flirting with somebody on here that I shouldn't be?
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It's amazing.
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The stuff that people post online that they, for some reason, think that nobody sees.
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Not their brothers and sisters in Christ, not the pastors.
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I think that we won't see it.
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We see it.
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My flirting with somebody I shouldn't be.
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Why am I posting this?
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I just want to ask you, church, do you have convictions?
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I mean, do you have them?
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I'm not going to tell you what your convictions are. You seek the Lord. You walk by the Spirit. You should have your own convictions, but do you have convictions? And if you have convictions, what are your convictions based on? What does your heart really want? I mean, really. Really, what does your heart really want? Do you want the things of God?
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Does your heart really want the things of the world? Someone here, someone here is going to stop coming to church, going to stop going to small group. And you're going to go back to the world. You're going to go back to Thessalonica.
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I can't stop that.
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If that's you, if you've been sort of on the fence of abandoning this seeking Jesus and instead going back to what the world offers, if that's you, if you feel that drift in your heart, then I want you to hear me.
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I'm talking to you.
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You have to know something.
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You have a God who loves you with an eternal love and He wants to give you that which will last forever. Why would you walk away from everything God offers in favor of the stuff that's going to be gone in 15 minutes? Why would you do that?
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And if you are a true born-again believer in Jesus Christ, and you're looking at this word, and you're like, oh, well, is it me? Is that me? Is that me? Hey, it won't be. It won't be you. Yes, you're going to be tempted. Yes, you are going to slip up and make mistakes. We all are. We all do. But we get back on track. Because we are people that abide forever.
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I'd like you to bow your heads with me, please. I'd like you to bow your heads and close your eyes, and I just want you to look inwardly right now. Do not love the world or the things in the world. And I'll tell you, that is a sobering command from the Lord.
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We live in a place that has so much. The world seemingly offers us so much pleasure. Scratches every itch that our flesh has. And teaches us some that we didn't know we had.
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your heads bowed, I'd just like to ask you again, what does your heart really want? What does your heart really want? If we can be brutally honest with ourselves in this moment, what does your heart really want? Like, I really do want everything that the hand of God wants to give me. No more, no less. Just what God gives. That's what I want.
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Keep your eyes on that. Make that a daily commitment that you're not going to drift from that. That you're not going to be enticed and lured away by the things of the world. And those of you maybe who have been church attenders but not born again believers in Christ and you've been wrestling with just ditching all of this and going back to doing what makes you happy.
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It's not going to make you happy for long.
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True joy is only found in the person of Jesus Christ and the work of God through us.
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Father, we pray right now that your Holy Spirit would shine your light in every dark corner of our hearts. Show us, Father, not what we think is the right Sunday school answer to give here today, but show us, Father, where our hearts really are. What it is that we really want. Father, for those of us who know you, I pray against being lulled into some kind of a half-conscious stupor from the world. That what we consider are movies and music and clothes and social media and a thousand other areas of our lives, we would really stop and think about why we're doing what we're doing. We're representing your kingdom.
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Or are we trying to blend in with the ways of the world? Your son prayed that we would be in the world but not of the world, father. And I pray that you would give us the discernment to really understand what that means and how that looks. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read 1 John 2:15-17
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
What does John mean by “loving the world”? Give some examples of what it looks like when someone loves the world.
In your own words, explain the 3 “doorways of temptation” that John lists in 1 John 2:16.
Will a list of rules stop worldliness? Why or why not?
How, specifically, can you tell if you are drifting into worldliness?
Breakout
Pray for one another.