Our relationship with God is the most important and critical relationship we can have in this life. It has no expiry date. Yet, you cannot take it for granted as if you will live for a million years. Like our other relationships, our relationship with God is a matter of personal choice. You’re probably familiar with the story of the moth. The story goes like this:
Once there was a moth who was fond of the light. It would always go to bright places that attracted him. One night, it was with its mom. They came across a candlelight. The moth, drawn to the flame of the candle, approached it. It was so amazed, it circled the light round and round. Its mother, upon seeing him circling the candlelight, warned him. "Don't go playing near the candlelight. You might get burned with its flame." But the moth did not listen. It was happy seeing the brightness of the flame. It wanted to touch the flame, so it kept going nearer and nearer to it. Then the moth got burned. It suddenly hit the flame. It vanished. Totally disappeared
We can pull out several lessons from the story. But the most practical one is “don’t go near to anything that can eventually burn your wings and cut your life short.”
Our Scripture is 1 John 2:15-17. And the title of this message is “Do Not Love the World.”
Our Scripture is 1 John 2:15-17, and the title of this message is “Love not the world.”
Do Not Love the World (NKJV)
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
EASY-TO-READ VERSION - 15 Don’t love this evil world or the things in it. If you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 This is all there is in the world: wanting to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, and being too proud of what we have. But none of these comes from the Father. They come from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and all the things that people want in the world are passing away. But whoever does what God wants will live forever.
I want you to understand that this Scripture is not to the faint-hearted in the faith. Nor is it to the unbelievers who are yet to learn and experience the magnitude of God's redeeming grace upon them. Instead, these words are for the house of God. It is for those who asked Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour and believes that they walk in communion with God. These words are for Christians who committed to follow Christ through water baptism and participate in the Holy Eucharist at every opportunity. The Apostle John in C2 vs. 12-14 “children in the faith.”
The purpose is to warn, correct, and rebuke those Christians who are playing with fire in a spiritual sense. Christians who are tiptoeing one foot in the world while trying to live a redeemed life in Christ. The purpose is to challenge the born-again believers to abandon worldliness.
The Lord is bringing forth a new thing, but for that to happen, something in us must die! Worldliness must die, and “Word-liness” must become the norm of our lives. Salvation is both a one-time event and a progressive journey to a spiritual formation that brings us in conformity to His Son’s image. This happens when we continue to let the Word of God penetrate our hearts and to saturate all areas of our lives by the lordship of Jesus Christ.
II. There are 3 important lessons that we can learn from our text this morning.
1. COMPETITION - John notes that our love for the world competes against our love for the Lord.
2. DANGER- John points out the danger of loving the world over loving God.
3. CONSEQUENCE - ONE CAN NOT LOVE THE WORLD AND LOVE GOD AT THE SAME TIME without consequences.
2:15) “Do not love the world or the things in the world” - The word “world” here as used by John does not refer to God’s creation which He declared good and reveals His almightiness and glory. It does not refer to the people in the world whom God loved so much “that He gave His only Son (3:16). The use of the word “world” here refers to the things that can mess up people. It refers to the realm of Satan's influence; the system made up of those who hate God and his will. It points to the sinful elements in humans that are in constant competition to our love and devotion to God. John was talking about people’s attitudes and values, purposes, pursuits, pleasures, and places where God is not invited nor desired. The “world” refers to those practices that disregard God or are blatantly against God.
COMPETITION – When you think of competition, it gives you the idea that you do not belong to the same team. You are not an ally. You do not belong to the same camp!
2:16) DANGER- There is a real danger in loving the world over loving God. Satan is an intelligent creature. He has strategies. John lists 3 of Satan's schemes to try and get the people of God to commit spiritual adultery: “flesh/Cravings," "lusts," "pride," The strategy of the world.
1. The lust of the flesh – this is giving in to your craving/seeking physical gratification that is contrary to God's will. When you say to someone who is not your wife or husband, “I love you, come to bed with me. I know that God can see us, but God will understand that we are only humans. God knows we are weak”, my beloved brethren, STOP AND LISTEN TO YOURSELF and repent! That is the world right there you are loving! WHAT is your spirit man CRAVING THIS MORNING? The Word of God or the World?
2. Lust of the eyes – is a metaphor for covetousness, the constant craving for more that is contrary to God’s will. This is extremely dangerous! The world creates a false need for people through commercial advertising and entices us to believe and adopt that false need. Satan is a liar. O Satan is a liar and the Father of lies, yet many are deceived.
John 8:44 You are of your Father the devil, and the desires of your Father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and did not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his resources, for he is a liar and the Father of it.
Our eyes are a precious gift from God (Prov. 20:12), but they are often how sinful desires are introduced into the mind. By the lust of the eyes, David coveted the wife of Uriah and eventually had him murdered (2 Sam. 11:2). By the lust of the eyes, Achan (Jos 7:21) coveted a beautiful robe from Babylonia, hid about 2.3 kilos of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 575 grams. The Lord was angry not just to Achan but to the whole nation of Israel, so the Lord withdrew his hand from them that they lost a battle in Ai. Greed and covetousness are not from God. We must get rid of it.
WHERE ARE YOUR EYES FOCUSED THIS MORNING? ARE YOU LOOKING AT Things that would please your eyes or the things that would please God?
3. Pride of life – is the desire for power or possession. It is the boasting of what he has and does. When you say, “I will try everything to get this client sign up even if I sell my soul to the Devil,” Or, if you hear yourself say, “I have such and such, am I not brilliant above them all.” YOU, my beloved in, is a danger zone. You must repent and ask the Lord to renew your mind!
Just think about how many relationships you lost because of pride and arrogance. And how many you have saved because you choose not to cave into the pride of life. Pride, position, power, and prestige count for nothing in the Kingdom of God. Only humility that the Holy Spirit produced in us.
What are you proud of this MORNING? Is it on YOUR EARTHLY POSSESSIOn and achievements OR YOUR ETERNAL POSITION IN CHRIST?
My beloved, the cravings of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are all directed towards the inward satisfaction of the self. And these terms, my friends – these terms describe internal heart issues. They are attitudes of the heart! –From the heart flows all issues of life (Prov. 4:23). And the danger is these attitudes can easily go undetected by others and eventually by yourself. IGNORING GOD’S WHISPERS!!! They come from a little bit of disobedience here, and a little bit there, and a bit here, that by the time you know it, your heart can no longer detect which is from God and Satan. Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick.
2:17) CONSEQUENCE: You CAN NOT LOVE THE WORLD AND LOVE GOD AT THE SAME TIME without consequences.
Just like the moth in our story. He loved the lights even though he was told that the very same light he was attracted to would burn his beautiful wings and leave him dead. We hate it when we are reminded, “I told you so.”
.
What does loving the world brings?
You loving the world means: DISTRACTION –
Daniil Medvedev, world #2 in tennis, was so close to winning the Australian Open 2022. But he lost the championship to Rafael Nadal. At his post-match interview, Medvedev said that the crown in Rod Laver Arena was a huge distraction for him. He could hear the crowd going for Nadal, so he lost his emotional resolve to get through. Now, the impact of that distraction continues to haunt him. A US Open champion with 13 career titles doubts if he will play tennis in the future. In a spiritual sense, loving the world has the same effect. It distracts you from God’s best plan for you. We should understand that if we love the world, we cannot fall in love with God. This is a point that divides the seekers of God and the joyriders. The seeker seeks to please God, whereas the joyrider enjoys the gifts of God, the freebies of heaven, without committing loyalty and devotion. James 4:4 puts it straight in our face, “Friendship with the world is hatred toward God.”
Loving the world and the things in it means DESTRUCTION for you.
17 The world is passing away, and all the things that people want in the world are passing away. But whoever does what God wants will live forever.
Do not be naïve, my brothers and sisters. The things of the world, no matter how enticing they are, lead to death and not life.
Loving the world and the things in it shows who owns your heart.
To paraphrase this whole passage: "Do not embrace the world's ways or goods. When you do it, it squeezes out your love for God. When you live for "getting your own way," and forgetting everything you want," and for "good compared to others, you are not living for God but the world. This is foolish because it suffocates your relationship with God, and in the end, it will all go up in smoke anyway."
Now, we must concern ourselves to please God, to love God, and be loyal to Him. How?
Let me quickly give you 6.
1) Crucify the flesh! Tame it each time it tries to control your desires and decisions. And don't sugar-coat it. Call it for what it is. Only when we identify our weaknesses can we become truly whole. Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
2. Live by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)
3. Have a personal working relationship with the Holy Spirit – the struggle between our flesh and our born-again spirit is real. But so is the presence of the Holy Spirit in you. We cannot do anything in the natural realm that will bring us to conform to the image of Christ without the ministry of the Holy Spirit. A Spirit-filled spirituality is a life of submission and a moment-by-moment dependence on the Holy Spirit. He is our indispensable ally to victory against the world.
Gal. 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
4. Discard your old thoughts that you learn from Satan and embrace the word of God and the will of God that which pleases Him Romans 12:2 - Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
5. Enter the narrow gate for destruction belongs to those who take the easy route. Matthew 7:13
"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide, and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
.
I challenge you to take the unpopular route, even if it means traveling solo. When you do that, God will not let you travel alone. He will walk alongside you on that narrow road that leads to your preservation, protection, and peace.
6. Be a part of Christ's church not as a visitor or a tenant but as a family. We come to faith as individuals, but we grow in community and in relationships in the house of God where His glory and presence of God reside. (Acts
2:42-47)
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe[a] came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
May the word of God that never returns to Him empty enable you to let go of the things that are in opposition to God's will. May you be motivated by the things God declares important and not by the things the world says are important. Jesus reminds us today to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Let us seek him not only on certain things but in all things. Don't just make him lord in a few things but not in all things. Give your love to Christ as He had given His life for you. Love Him! Pursue Him each day!
