Do Not Love the World

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm going to ask this if you remain standing for our opening song.

We're going to be singing Psalm 145, sorry, 145, verses 1 through 9.

I will extol.

Thank you.

Each generation.

Thank you.

In your benevolence and your abundant grace,

they'll celebrate the righteousness that you have shown to them.

In praise and joy, so they will relate.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate.

He's slow to anger, rich in steadfast love.

The Lord is good to all that He has made,

and merciful to all on earth that move.

I'm going to ask Stephen to come up now.

He's going to be reading a passage of Scripture from the Old Testament.

Ecclesiastes chapter 5, verses 10 through 17.

Ecclesiastes 5:10–17

Whoever loves money never has enough.

Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.

This, too, is meaningless.

As goods increase, so do those who consume them.

And what benefits are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them?

The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much.

But as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep.

I have seen such a grievous evil under the sun.

Wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, or wealth lost through some misfortune.

So that when they have children, there is nothing left for them to inherit.

Everyone comes from their mother's womb, and everyone comes, so they depart.

They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands.

This, too, is a grievous evil.

As everyone comes, so they depart.

And what do they gain, since they toil for the wind?

All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction, and anger.

This is God's words.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we come before you this Sunday, acknowledging our sin and confessing our sin and our guilt.

We acknowledge many times this week we have sinned against your holy law, even today.

We have looked for security, satisfaction, goodness and truth, not in you, but in ourselves and in your creation.

We know that we are not worthy to be called for us to approach you as our heavenly Father.

But we are thankful for the grace and mercy that you've shown to us in Christ.

That it's because of his work on the cross that we can be adopted into sonship,

and that you can look upon us and forget our sins,

and that it is the righteousness of Christ that we have that allows us to be blameless in your sight.

We also lift up Keith before you as he comes to preach your word.

We pray that you would be able to use him as your instrument to speak to us truth and goodness.

We pray that your spirit would be with him.

And we just pray for us that we would be listening with hearts and minds open,

and that we would be able to respond to your message in faith and repentance.

And we just pray this all in your name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, we're about to stand again to sing our next psalm.

This is Psalm 39.

And it gives the same message of what we see in Ecclesiastes,

the same message that what we're going to see in 1 John 2 about the vanity of life.

We're going to be thinking tonight about how we need to have no love for this world and the darkness in it.

And so we're going to sing the same thing in our psalm to recognize the brevity of our life,

the vanity of our life apart from our love for Christ.

Will you stand with me to sing Psalm 39?

Lord, show me that my life will end,

how many days I'll see,

and cause me, Lord, to understand how brief my life will be.

O Lord, how short you make my days,

before I sink in death.

My years are nothing in your sight,

man's life is but a breath.

Like shadows people go apart,

they bustle to and fall.

They heap up wealth,

but do not know

to whom their wealth will go.

O Lord, please listen to me,

my prayer,

and hear my cry for aid.

Do not be deaf to the appeal,

which I with tears have made.

For as your guests I stay a while,

I'm like my fathers all.

A stranger and a pilgrim here,

have mercy when I call.

O turn away your eyes from me,

let me rejoice again.

before I finally depart,

and hear no more remain.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, let's turn to the Lord again in prayer.

God, we thank you again for the privilege

to be in your house this evening,

to gather together as your people

to give you praise.

And we recognize, God,

that we are not worthy to be called your people.

We are not worthy to be your sons and daughters.

As Stephen has already prayed,

we recognize our own sin

and our own depravity

that separates us from your holiness.

We recognize that we are children of wrath

apart from the grace of God.

And so, God, we come to you humbly

and repent of our sins.

We recognize that we have wandered away from you

in thought, in word, and in deed.

And we ask for forgiveness.

We ask that you may cleanse our hearts

by the blood of Jesus.

May you see his righteousness in us.

And with that reality, Lord,

may it transform the way that we live our lives

as we've sung and read already

to recognize the vanity of our lives,

to recognize just how short our time on this earth is,

but we desire to make it count for you.

God, we think of the many ministries of this church,

the activities within this community.

And we pray, Lord,

that you will allow us to be productive

in our mission.

That we may see this city, this community,

this nation transformed with the truth of the gospel.

And so, God, while the task seems so

outside of our reach,

we can be so overwhelmed by the secular society around us

that we think we are losing ground,

may we not forget that you are the king

and that your kingdom will never fail.

And so, God, we ask that you equip us

and enable us,

give us a desire to serve you.

We think of the many practical opportunities

even in this church.

We think of our international ministry, Connect.

We thank you for the numbers that you have brought

in recent weeks,

both students,

middle-aged and elderly,

those who are new to our city,

those craving relationship,

those searching for truth.

May we be faithful in pointing them to you.

We thank you for the revamping of our toddlers group,

for the new faces of parents and children who have come.

We pray, Lord, for more in this community

to know the opportunity for relationship here,

that these families may be loved and served well,

that they may come into this building

and recognize your presence and your love

in a way that they never have before.

Lord, we thank you for the many students we have in our midst.

And though some cycle through

and some are only here for a short amount of time,

Lord, we do ask that we may be faithful

in loving them and serving them.

We know there are many other churches

that care for students well also,

so we ask that you equip them

with the heart and the desire

and the ability to transform lives.

We pray, Lord, for our students

who are in the midst of a very difficult environment

where darkness pervades the campus,

where Christianity is scoffed at.

May they hold firm to their faith.

May you be close to them.

May you prove yourself faithful to them

and may you give them a boldness

to share the good news of the gospel.

Lord, we pray that for each one of us

in our each walks of lives

in the corners of this city that we live,

that we may be lights in darkness,

that we may speak truth in love,

that others may come to know you.

Lord, as we want to focus more tonight on prayer,

may that be our desire not only tonight

but throughout our week

to be in constant communication with you,

to hear what you have to say through your word,

to be able to respond through prayer,

to recognize that you are close,

that you are a God who listens,

that you are a God who answers.

May we find great comfort

and make great assurance

in our relationship with you.

And so, Lord, we ask that

as we gather after this service

to pray with one another,

that we may be able to do so in sincerity,

recognizing that you are a powerful God,

that you are sovereign over all,

and that you will answer our prayers

according to your perfect will.

We thank you that you are a God who loves us,

that you are a God who cares,

and we pray, Lord,

that you be with us now

as we turn to the preaching of your word.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Well, this evening we're going to be

continuing our study

in the book of 1 John.

We're going to be looking specifically

in John chapter 2,

John 2 · chapter mention

starting in verse 12.

And as we would have seen in recent weeks

and we're going to see tonight,

how John writes this book

is very much like a reminder to the church.

And so I wonder how many of us

often get reminders from one another.

I think in our day and age with technology,

we're often getting reminders on our watches,

on our phones, on our computers,

about appointments and tasks

that we have to complete.

If you're married, have a spouse,

they're likely one to remind you

of many things,

birthdays, appointments, invitations.

If you have children,

oftentimes be a reminder

to pick up a child here,

a reminder that you may be late here,

a reminder that you have people

coming over to your home

for dinner this night.

One reminder that I often get

is with this Apple Watch.

I've had this watch for a number of years.

And when you get the watch,

it comes with these programmed notifications.

And so I get more reminders

than I really care to oftentimes.

And one of those reminders

comes from a mindfulness app.

I don't know if any of you

have seen this before.

And oftentimes throughout the day,

it will ding and I'll look at it

and it says,

don't forget to breathe.

There's other reminders that say,

stand up or go for a walk.

And you think,

these kind of seem a little patronizing.

Like, I'm not holding my breath here.

Of course I'm going to be breathing.

And so for some, though,

they actually like those.

I've disabled those alerts

because I don't really find them helpful.

But some people do,

even though it's a basic reminder

that you can kind of split up your day,

that can help you to refocus in a way.

That's why it's intended.

These well-intended reminders

that give us a greater purpose

to refocus on a task,

on what we have going on that day.

And I think in a similar way,

this is what we see

in this letter of 1 John.

It's a reminder to the church

of who we are

and how we're supposed to live.

You see, John wrote this letter

as a leader of a number of house churches

around, likely around Ephesus.

And the thing was,

this is the same John

who wrote the Gospel of John,

who would have been and seen

and experienced life with Jesus.

And so now he's trying

to encourage the church

in light of what he has experienced,

in light of what he knows,

and in light of conflict

that has come to the church.

So he wants to remind the church

of the Gospel

and how we are to live

in light of the Gospel.

And so we actually looked

at this last week.

One of these things

that John says,

he says,

I'm not writing you

a new command.

What I'm telling you,

you would have already heard.

In a text that we'll look at later

in chapter 2,

he says,

I'm not writing you

because you don't know the truth.

I'm writing you

because you do know the truth.

And so he's reminding the church

of what they ought to know.

Something very simple,

something very basic.

A reminder to us as well

to understand as he begins

in this letter

that God is light.

And if we want to have fellowship

with him,

we need to walk in the light.

We are to keep his commandments.

We're supposed to have this love

for one another

as James preached last week.

And what we're going to see tonight,

that we're not to have

this love for the world.

If we love God

and God is light,

then we should have no love

for the darkness of this world.

And so let's read our passage,

1 John chapter 2,

1 John 2 · chapter mention

starting in verse 12 through 17.

I am writing to you, dear children,

because your sins have been forgiven

on account of his name.

I am writing to you, fathers,

because you know him

who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men,

because you have overcome the evil one.

I am writing to you, dear children,

because you know the Father.

I am writing to you, fathers,

because you know him

who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men,

because you are strong

and the word of God lives in you

and you have overcome the evil one.

Do not love the world

or anything in the world.

If anyone loves the world,

love for the Father is not in him.

For everything in the world,

the lust of the flesh,

the lust of the eyes,

the pride of life,

comes not from the Father,

but from the world.

The world and its desires pass away,

but whoever does the will of God

lives forever.

This is the word of God.

Pray with me once more.

God, as we hear your text

and we listen to it preached,

we ask, Lord,

that the truth of the gospel

may penetrate our hearts.

So, God, we ask now,

even in these moments,

that we put away all distraction,

that you do a work through your Spirit

to soften our hearts,

to open our eyes and ears

to the reality of the gospel,

that it may transform us

for our good and your glory.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Now, I mentioned these reminders.

Some of us find reminders helpful.

Other of us may really hate reminders.

Perhaps if you're a child

living at home with your parents,

you get reminders frequently

for things like brushing your teeth

or making your bed

or putting your shoes on.

My children are already smiling

because they're used to these reminders.

It's things that they know,

but it's things that they need to hear.

The thing they don't like to hear it

is because, like most of us,

we don't like being told

what to do oftentimes.

And so, as we look at this reminder

from this letter tonight

from John,

he doesn't just come out

and just tell us what to do.

We're going to see that in this passage,

but really his reminder

is threefold

because, first,

he reminds us of our identity,

who we are in Christ,

what Christ has done for us.

Secondly, then he reminds us

what are we supposed to do

in light of this reality,

and thirdly,

why we need to do it.

And so that's really

the three points

that we're going to be focusing on tonight,

who we are in Christ,

what we are to do,

and why we are to do it.

And so let's consider

this first point,

who we are.

Now, my youngest, Crawford,

just turned three,

and he's getting to the age

where we want him

to be a little more independent.

We want him to do

more things for himself

as he grows up.

But it doesn't often work

if we just tell him,

Crawford, do this.

The best way to get him

to do things

is to encourage him

that he's becoming a big boy.

He wants to be big and strong

like his brother,

so we encourage him that way.

You're getting so big now,

you can take your plate

to the dishwasher yourself.

You're getting so big now,

you can clean up after yourself

and put away your toys.

You're such a big boy now.

That's much more useful

in getting him to act

like a big boy

when we encourage him

that he is one.

And I think the same works for us.

We are much more motivated

when we are reminded

what to do,

not just by being told

to do it,

but by being reminded

of our own identity.

And that's what we see here

in a pattern

that actually repeats

often throughout the Bible.

When we have these commands

that are given by God,

it's usually preceded

by a statement of some sort,

reminding us of who we are.

The indicative

precedes the imperative.

And it's both

that are important.

Both that are important

in this passage.

Because if we only stress

what we're to do

without remembering

who we are,

what does that do to us?

We become reliant

on the law

as a means of our own

assurance and approval.

Instead,

if we do the opposite,

if we're only focused

on what we're to do

without who we actually are,

did I say that right?

Or did I do that in reverse?

If we focus on

what we're to do

rather than who we are,

we focus,

we cling to the law, right?

If it's the opposite,

if we focus on who we are,

am I getting this wrong?

Am I sounding ridiculous here?

If we stress only,

if we have this concern

for who we are,

man,

I'm really confusing myself here.

I've never done that.

If we stress what we're to do

without remembering

who we are,

that leads us to rely

on the law, right?

If we stress who we are

without concern

for what we are to do,

that leads to a rejection

of the law.

There we go.

And so what John

is saying here,

that both are really important.

And so he starts this phrase

by saying,

I'm writing to you,

I'm writing to you,

I'm writing to you

over and over again,

really in a poetic fashion

to really emphasize

the assurance

that he wants believers

to have

about what we're to do

based on the fact

of what Christ

has done for us.

And so he focuses

on these three groups,

on children,

on fathers,

on young men.

But really,

when we think about it,

I don't know

if it's really

that helpful

to kind of distinguish

these three groups.

Some people say,

well, it's kind of

he's talking to different stages

of spiritual maturity.

I don't know

if that's really the case here.

Because when he talks

about little children,

this isn't the only time

he says in this letter,

seven times he talks

about little children.

Each time,

he's referring to believers

in general.

When he speaks

to young men

and to fathers,

what's true of one

is true of the other group

as well.

These are not

mutually exclusive

reminders here.

And so it's kind of like

if you've heard

like an announcement,

if you've been

at a big event

or a performance

of some sort,

and someone gets

on the loudspeakers

and says,

ladies and gentlemen,

boys and girls,

children of all ages.

Right?

They could have just said

everybody who's here.

Right?

But they're adding

a bit of flourish

to what they're saying.

I think John is doing

a very similar thing here.

In this poetic flourish,

he's addressing

everyone in the church.

Young and old,

mature Christians,

those who are new

to the faith,

and he's reminding them

of this.

Your sins are forgiven.

You know him

who is from the beginning.

You have overcome

the evil one.

You know the Father.

Again, you know him

who is from the beginning.

You are strong.

The word of God

is in you.

And I'm going to say it again.

You have overcome

the evil one.

Is this not a good

reminder to hear?

We can read this

and think that

John is just talking

to this New Testament church

without really taking it

to heart ourselves.

But this is true

for you and me

if we are believers.

And so it's good

for that reminder

to sink in.

If we're here tonight

and we feel heavy

and burdened

by sin in our lives,

know this,

that your sin

is forgiven.

If you feel

spiritually alone

and isolated,

be encouraged

that you know

the Father

and his word

is in you.

If you are spiritually

weak

and tired

and broken,

know that you are

strong in Christ.

That you have overcome

the evil one.

And so John

is not saying this

to motivate the church

to earn this

in any way,

to prove themselves

so that this may be true.

He's not hoping

that this may become

true for the church.

He's speaking

as though this

is a current reality

for those who are

in Christ.

And so we can take heart

and let this be

our comfort

and our assurance

knowing what Christ

has already done

for us.

And it's because

we know

that sense of identity

that we can then

listen to this

second point,

this second reminder

because

when we know

who we are,

it makes us

much more receptive

to listen

to what we are to do.

Verse 15,

do not love the world

or the things

in the world.

If anyone loves

the world,

the love for the Father

is not in them.

Now immediately

this may raise

some red flags

for some.

those outside

the church

may try to use

this verse

in a weaponized

fashion

to think,

look,

these Christians

they're just

a bunch of

self-righteous

judgmental people

who hate everyone

who's not like them.

Certainly this isn't

what John is saying

here.

But even for Christians

this may confuse us

because we've heard

other verses

in the Bible,

right?

John 3, 16,

for God so loved

the world

that he gave

his only son.

So if God

loves the world

why would he command

us to not love

the world?

How can we reconcile

these two things?

I think it's important

that we define

some terms here

that we understand

what John is trying

to say.

We need to understand

what he's talking

about when he says

world and understand

what he's talking

about when he says

love.

My dad always

tells a story

when he,

years ago

when he was

starting the practice

of law,

one of his law

partners was doing

some wills

for this couple

and he had completed

the wills

and he had a secretary

wanted to bring

them back in

so his secretary

had this thick

southern accent

called this couple

and said your wheels

are done

and they had actually

just taken their car

to the body shop

to get new tires

on their car

and so when they

heard that message

your wheels are done

they thought they said

your wheels are done

and so they went

to the auto body shop

to pick up their car

even though they got

there and realized

no one had called

and their wheels

were not done

before they realized

their mistake

that there was

the secretary

saying your wills

are done

not your wheels

are done

and so in the same way

I think it's

very important

that we understand

what's being communicated

here when we think

about this word world

and we think about

this word love

when the Bible

speaks of this word

world

it speaks of it

in two different ways

in different passages

on the one hand

this word world

it can mean

this physical

material world

and so we have

some religions

maybe even some

within Christianity

who want to think

that the physical world

is bad

they hold it in contrast

to the spiritual world

and so they want

nothing to do

with the physical world

you might have heard

of asceticism before

it's these people

that deny themselves

any worldly pleasure

they want to leave society

be separated

from secular world

go live in a commune

in the desert somewhere

that's not what Paul

is saying here

in fact that's a harmful

way of thinking

about the physical world

because we recognize

that God created

the physical world

and he called it good

and he promises

to come again

he has promised

to redeem the world

this physical world

from the effects

of sin

and so this verse

it's not saying

reject the physical world

reject this created world

as if it's totally evil

instead John is speaking

in a different way

in this context

he speaks of the world

as this whole way of life

resulting from the fall

of humanity

he's speaking of

a whole value system

of attitudes

which are opposed to God

and so that's what

we mean by world

what does he mean

by this phrase love

when John is using love here

he's not using

the same word

or the expression

as when we say

that God loved the world

or God loved his creation

with a love in which

he's going to rescue humanity

here when John talks

about this love

he's talking about

more of an attraction

that we have

to something

that we want to enjoy

apart from God

and so when we combine

these understanding

of world and love

what we see in John 3.16

is actually very different

from what we see

in 1 John 2

so we're not confused

John 3.16

John is talking about

God's divine love

divine selfless love

of redemption

for his creation

in their passage tonight

John is talking about

this humanly selfish love

of participation

in the evil things

of this fallen world

and so he goes on

to give us a definition

of this world

really this worldliness

that is all around us

he says in verse 16

for everything in the world

the lust of the flesh

the lust of the eyes

the pride of life

comes not from the father

but from the world

and so what does

this description mean

when we hear this word lust

I think in modern times

we often just

automatically relate it

to the sexual desires

that humans have

but I think actually

when we look at this word

in the Greek

it has a much more

broad sense

of this intense

passionate longing

for anything

and most times

when it's talked about

in the Bible

it's in a negative connotation

so here it's this

it's this passionate

intense longing

for the flesh

in John 6

Jesus is talking

to some Jewish leaders

and he's talking

about how they are

to have life

and saying

you have to eat

my flesh

and drink my blood

obviously we recognize

that he's foreshadowing

his own crucifixion here

but these religious leaders

even his own disciples

were confused

and really grossed out

by what he was saying

it was hard for them

to understand

and so he goes

to his disciples

and says

does this offend you?

it is the spirit

who gives life

and the flesh

is no help at all

it is only through

the spirit

that we can accept

Christ as Savior

the flesh

only wants to reject him

and so this desire

of the flesh

this lust of the flesh

is this longing

for anything

contrary to God

likewise

in this lust

of the eyes

it's not simply

talking again

about sexual desire

though that's

included in this

but it's referring

to this

short-sighted desire

for what's

in front of us

and so maybe

some of us

have been a victim

of false advertising

in some way

we see something

on our phones

or on the computer

or on the television

something that we want

that looks really attractive

maybe something to eat

or something to buy

and we get it

and we realize

that's not nearly as good

as I thought

it was going to be

it's what we see here

the lust of the eyes

is when we are

captivated

by this

outward appearance

of something

without really assessing

its real true value

especially in light

of eternity

and so things like

this misplaced

sexual desire

this lust for

possessions

and comforts

in this world

that won't actually

provide any sort

of lasting satisfaction

lastly here

this pride of life

it's this confidence

that we have

in our own resources

in our own wealth

in our own intellect

in our own success

things that set us up

so that we can be

self-reliant

and self-sufficient

forgetting our need

to depend

and rely on God

and so when we combine

these descriptions together

to get a better

understanding

of what this worldliness

looks like

it's really this

desire for earthly things

that we don't have

and a pride

in earthly things

that we do have

and in either case

this pushes us

further and further away

from our Heavenly Father

and so we need to ask

does this describe us

do we have these cravings

for the world

do these

how do these tendencies

reveal themselves

in the Christian life

I think there's really

two different ways

of thinking about it

in one way

we may view Christianity

as more of an accessory

because we focus

so much of our time

and our energy

on our work

on our school

on our family

we're seeking wealth

and health

and comfort

and prosperity

and we want Christianity too

but it kind of just serves

as the cherry on top

so to speak

to our otherwise

carefully curated lives

I'll come to church

on Sunday

I'll volunteer

when I can

but you know what

the rest of the week

is really about me

achieving my goals

for my life

the other way

of looking at it

maybe you think

well it's maybe

think of yourself

in a slightly better light

you would say

that your relationship

with God

is foundational

you want your faith

to shape your life

and your priorities

but if we're really

honest with ourselves

sometimes

we recognize that

this Christian life

is hard

and

the cravings

that we have

the sense

that we thought

that a Christian life

would gratify us

maybe fails to live up

to expectation

and so we feel like

we have to top up

our Christian life

somehow

we try to pile on

some of the pleasures

of the world

so that we may have

a more fulfilled life

and this can happen

in really unassuming ways

we don't get up

in the morning

and think

what are the ways

that I'm going to sin today

to be distracted

from the way of God

but as the day goes on

there are things

that come before our eyes

there are things

that turn our heart

and our mind

away from God

as we seek satisfaction

elsewhere

and so I wondered

if either of these

scenarios describe you

do we have these

desires for things

apart from God

and it's not that

these desires

are necessarily

bad desires

a passion for your family

a passion for your work

they're good things

but it's when

these passions

these secondary things

become primary

that ultimately

lead us

away from God

and so John

is reminding us here

to evaluate

our whole value system

do we find

our satisfaction

in the things

of this world

or in God

our deepest

desires

in creating

this own

our own little

earthly kingdom

or do we care

more about

Christ's eternal

kingdom

that brings us

to our final point

we've looked at

who we are

and what we're

to do

and John

reminds us

of why we are

to do it

verse 16 and 17

for everything

in the world

the lust of the flesh

the lust of the eyes

the pride of life

comes not from the

Father

but from the world

the world

and its desires

pass away

but whoever

does the will

of God

lives forever

John is giving us

two reasons here

why we are not

to love the world

first love for the

world is incompatible

with love for God

and secondly

love

this world

is temporary

while God

and his kingdom

are eternal

and so let's look

at each of them

just briefly

this first one

love for the world

is not compatible

with love for God

I don't know

if many of you

have been following

the news

from the hurricane

Helene

that came through

the states

Rachel and I

have been paying

particular attention

to it because

it came right

through our town

where we used

to live

in Greenville

South Carolina

and up into

the mountains

of North Carolina

and it was devastating

what was done

we've been chatting

with neighbors

our own neighborhood

which had just

these huge oak trees

they're still without

power eight days

after the storm

one of my friends

was saying

that was our neighbor

saying there's at least

ten houses

with trees

right on the houses

you go up through

Greenville

into the mountains

these little towns

where we used to drive

and hike

have been totally

wiped off the map

mudslides

taking houses away

rivers that have

completely taken roads

that where they are

there no more

people that are coming in

are having to come

by helicopter

or hike through the woods

because there's no

other way in

total devastation

from these rains

and winds

and I think the same

can be true

of our hearts

when love

for the world

and our desires

for the flesh

enter our heart

it wants to wipe

out every other desire

it will erode

and destroy

our hearts

leaving no place

for the love

of God to dwell

it says in James 4

4

don't you know

that friendship

with the world

means enmity

against God

therefore anyone

who chooses

to be a friend

of the world

becomes an enemy

of God

see a love

for the father

and a love

for the world

can't coexist

and so we need

to ask ourselves

are we focused

on our own success

on our own comforts

on our own collection

of possessions

or are we striving

that our lives

may be lived

in conformity

with the will

of God

do we delight

in his law

do we long

to be in relationship

with him

are we passionate

about Christ

and his coming

kingdom

Paul says

in Galatians 6

14

may I never

boast

except in the

cross of our

Lord Jesus Christ

through which the

world has been

crucified to me

and I to the

world

like Paul

are we willing

to die

to our worldly

desires

in order that

Christ may live

in us

so that brings us

to our second

and final reason

here

why we are not

to love the world

we don't love the

world

because it's

temporary

Stephen read for us

from Ecclesiastes

a book that talks

frequently about

the vanity of life

how the things

of this life

are not going

to last

and they're not

going to fulfill

our desires

Jesus has this

same message

in Matthew 6

he says

don't stow up

for yourself

treasures on earth

where moth

and vermin

destroy

where thieves

break in

and steal

but store up

for yourself

treasures in heaven

where moths

and vermin

do not destroy

where thieves

do not break

in and steal

for where your

treasure is

there your heart

will be also

if you knew

of a company

that was about

to go bankrupt

that they were

about to go

out of business

would you invest

in that company

of course not

so why in the world

are we so willing

to invest our time

and our energy

and our money

and our own love

and affection

for things in this world

that will not last

John who wrote

this letter

is the same

John who writes

the book of Revelation

where he talks

about Christ

coming again

and establishing

a new heaven

and a new earth

that first heaven

and the first earth

will pass away

and God will once

again dwell

with his people

and so again

we ask ourselves

do we long

for the temporary

pleasures of this world

are we content

with investing

our time and energy

in the fleeting things

in this world

that will not last

and will not satisfy

or we desire

to follow God's will

that leads to eternal life

do we long

for Christ's return

when he will rule

and reign forever

this is a very

very simple reminder

that John gives

the church

reminding us

of who we are

and what we're to do

and why we're to do it

a simple reminder

with eternal implications

and so if you are

in Christ

brother and sister

may this reminder

be taken to heart

that we may examine

the desires

of our heart

to see whether they lead us

to God

or away from him

may it be our desire

to follow after his will

for our good

and his glory

and if this doesn't define you

if you are not a believer

John is actually

not writing to you

specifically in this passage

we so often times

in our lives

want to judge

the outside world

for not living

as Christians should

why should we expect

that they would

because they do not have

an identity in Christ

but what we do see

is an invitation

an invitation to the lost

an invitation to those

who are not in Christ

to come

to find your identity

in him

to recognize

that the things

of this world

are worthless

they will not last

but God

and his kingdom

will

and that gives us

reason to live

for him

to receive his love

that he may be glorified

may that be our prayer

let's pray together

Lord we thank you

that you are

a good God

who loves us

thank you

that you are eternal

that your kingdom

will never end

and so may it be

our desire

and our passion

to see your kingdom

come

may we long

for your return

and may we put aside

the desires of the flesh

that distract us

that cause us

to wander

that take us away

from you

may we find

great assurance

in what you have

done for us

and our identity

in you

may you deepen

our love

for you

that we may desire

to live for you

and we pray this

in Jesus name

amen

will you stand with me

for the singing

of our final psalm

our final psalm

Psalm 93

the Lord reigns

please

the Lord is king

his throne

endures

majestic

in his height

the Lord is robed

in majesty

and armed with strength

and might

the world is founded

firm and sure

removed it cannot be

your throne is strong

and you are gone

from all eternity

the seas

O Lord

have lifted up

they lifted up

their voice

the seas

have lifted up

their waves

and made

a mighty

noise

the Lord

in throne

their high

is strong

or powerful

receive

and thunder

up

the ocean

waves

or breakers

of the sea

your royal

statutes

Lord

stand firm

and changing

is your word

and holiness

adores your eyes

horrendous

days

O Lord

Lord

a reminder for you

to stay after

if you can

that we'll have

a few minutes

of just sharing time

with one another

and we'll gather back up

in about ten minutes

for some group prayer

now receive this good word

this benediction

from the Lord

now may the God

of peace

who brought again

from the dead

our Lord Jesus

the great shepherd

of the sheep

by the blood

of the eternal covenant

equip you with

everything good

that you may do

his will

working in us

that which is pleasing

in his sight

through Jesus Christ

to him be glory

forever and ever

Amen