Who Do You Love? Series

Who Do you Love? – How can you tell?

When you love the world, you believe the lies of the world…

Believeing that feeding your physical desires will bring life

Believing that feeding your visible desires will bring life

Believing that feeding your prideful desires will bring life

When you love the Lord, you believe the truth of the word…

Believing that following the Spirit leads to life

Intro

Who do you love?

That is a question that has been being asked long before Bo Diddley wrote a song with that title and long before George Thorogood made it a staple on FM radio in the late 70’s.

Answering the question, “Who do you love” is something we have had to come to terms with in our lives from the very beginning.

There are 2 problems that hinder us from properly answering that question and living in the joy of true love that leads to real living.

First, we mis-define love as an emotion and a feeling.

Second, we believe lies that will seem right in our own eyes, but only continue to lead us down a path of destruction in life.

This morning we are continuing our Genuine Faith series through 1 John and we are going to look to see what God’s word tells us about who we should and should not love and describes for us what those loves will look like and lead to in our lives.

So, turn with me this morning to 1 John 2:15-17.

Slide

As you do, I want to remind you of where we were last week.

Last week we read about the encouragement that John was giving to different maturity segments of the church. He knew that life is difficult sometimes and wanted to point out a few things to the people of the church that they should be encouraged about.

Now John tells us about who to love and not to love.

Let’s read

Slide

1 John 2:15-17

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Pray

As we start to look at this verse, we need to remember that John is writing to

encourage the church and to

refute some things that the false teachers were claiming.

If we recall from a few weeks ago, he was refuting some of the lies that the false teachers were putting forth as truth regarding not sinning and not worrying about things that John and that Apostles were teaching were sin.

Now it appears that John is refuting some of the lies they were teaching in how to truly live and enjoy life and it appears these false teachers may have been telling the church to not only not worry about sin, but to pursue the things that the world says will truly bring life.

Transition

Now it is important for us to understand what John is talking about when he says “world.”

In the Bible the word, “world” is used in several different ways.

The different meanings of “World”

World = Creation

Slide

It can be used to describe God’s creation.

Psalm 24:1

The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it;

World = People

Slide

It can also be used to describe people

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

World = World System

Slide

Or it can also mean a world system like in our text today in 1 John 2.

In that case, it is talking about the principles and things that are taught in the world that are said to be the way to real living and life.

So when John says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world” He is not talking about not loving people, He is talking about not falling in love with the world system and teachings that lie to us about the way to live and truly find life.

Transition

So, I don’t believe any of us here would say that we are in love with the world, but is that true or is it just a lie we are trying to convince ourselves of?

Who do we really love and how can we tell?

Do we love the world or do we love God because John tells us those things cannot co-exist.