1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,160 Now, come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:28,150 If you have your Bibles, open up with me to First John. 10 00:00:28,300 --> 00:00:28,540 John. 11 00:00:29,900 --> 00:00:33,300 First John, chapter number two. 12 00:00:33,300 --> 00:00:34,940 One John, Chapter two. 13 00:00:35,820 --> 00:00:37,380 And it's been a couple weeks. 14 00:00:37,380 --> 00:00:41,020 We were off at camp last week, and so I want to thank Pastor John 15 00:00:41,020 --> 00:00:43,500 for covering our Wednesday evening service. 16 00:00:43,580 --> 00:00:46,540 And I know that he was a blessing to all those that were there 17 00:00:46,780 --> 00:00:49,540 and here this evening, we're going to continue on in First John, 18 00:00:49,540 --> 00:00:50,300 chapter two. 19 00:00:50,780 --> 00:00:54,510 And really, the whole book of First John is speaking about fellowship 20 00:00:54,510 --> 00:00:57,910 with God, a relationship with God, knowing him and knowing him 21 00:00:57,910 --> 00:00:59,110 in a personal way. 22 00:00:59,350 --> 00:01:01,750 And that's one of the beautiful things that we have in 23 00:01:02,150 --> 00:01:07,190 our faith is knowing that we have a relationship with God, knowing 24 00:01:07,670 --> 00:01:08,870 that we have salvation. 25 00:01:08,870 --> 00:01:11,590 And we're going to talk more about that when we get to chapter 26 00:01:11,590 --> 00:01:11,990 five. 27 00:01:12,630 --> 00:01:15,830 But all of First John is talking specifically about having 28 00:01:15,830 --> 00:01:17,990 that relationship with God and what that looks like. 29 00:01:18,390 --> 00:01:19,430 And so he. 30 00:01:19,430 --> 00:01:23,030 He talks about it from the perspective of, if you are in Christ, 31 00:01:23,190 --> 00:01:24,790 this is what it will look like. 32 00:01:25,580 --> 00:01:28,940 And these are some of the things that try to steal that fellowship 33 00:01:28,940 --> 00:01:29,420 with Christ. 34 00:01:29,420 --> 00:01:33,020 And we know that in First John chapter one, it tells us that if 35 00:01:33,020 --> 00:01:35,900 we find ourselves in a place of sin, there is a remedy for that, 36 00:01:35,900 --> 00:01:39,100 where we can find reconciliation, and that is repentance. 37 00:01:39,740 --> 00:01:42,420 If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our 38 00:01:42,420 --> 00:01:44,260 sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 39 00:01:44,260 --> 00:01:47,540 And so what the Bible speaks of is this concept of, yes, though 40 00:01:47,540 --> 00:01:53,620 our salvation is secure in Christ, there are times and situations 41 00:01:53,620 --> 00:01:56,220 in our life that might cause us to have our fellowship broken 42 00:01:56,220 --> 00:01:56,780 with the Father. 43 00:01:56,780 --> 00:02:01,740 We don't lose our sonship or we don't lose our relationship with 44 00:02:01,740 --> 00:02:02,060 Christ. 45 00:02:02,140 --> 00:02:04,820 But what we do know is that sometimes, whether it be through 46 00:02:04,820 --> 00:02:07,820 unrepentant sin or through different struggles in our life, 47 00:02:07,820 --> 00:02:09,660 we can lose that fellowship with Him. 48 00:02:09,740 --> 00:02:12,140 And that's what First John, chapter two starts with. 49 00:02:12,220 --> 00:02:17,270 It's this, my little children, these things write I unto you that 50 00:02:17,270 --> 00:02:18,030 ye sin not. 51 00:02:18,030 --> 00:02:19,550 So he says, hey, don't sin. 52 00:02:19,630 --> 00:02:21,150 Don't have a desire to sin. 53 00:02:21,550 --> 00:02:23,470 But then he goes, and if any man sin. 54 00:02:23,630 --> 00:02:26,470 So the reality is, is that as much as we want to keep that fellowship 55 00:02:26,470 --> 00:02:28,550 with God, there's gonna be times in our life where that fellowship 56 00:02:28,550 --> 00:02:31,390 is broken and we fall into a sin. 57 00:02:31,390 --> 00:02:34,270 And then it says we have an advocate with the Father. 58 00:02:34,270 --> 00:02:37,270 So we don't find forgiveness through just being a better person. 59 00:02:37,270 --> 00:02:40,950 We don't find forgiveness from just trying harder to not sin. 60 00:02:40,950 --> 00:02:44,190 We find forgiveness in our advocate, someone who is appealing 61 00:02:44,190 --> 00:02:44,590 for us. 62 00:02:44,590 --> 00:02:46,430 And the Bible says, that's Jesus Christ. 63 00:02:46,990 --> 00:02:49,790 And so that's amazing there in verse one. 64 00:02:49,790 --> 00:02:51,070 Jesus Christ, the righteous. 65 00:02:51,070 --> 00:02:52,510 It's his righteousness, not our own. 66 00:02:52,510 --> 00:02:55,590 And it tells us how we can have that righteousness through the 67 00:02:55,590 --> 00:02:57,950 fact that Jesus is our propitiation. 68 00:02:58,190 --> 00:03:01,150 And if some of you were here, you remember what that word propitiation 69 00:03:01,150 --> 00:03:01,470 means. 70 00:03:01,870 --> 00:03:05,470 We were at junior camp, and the speaker there, his name was Adam 71 00:03:05,470 --> 00:03:05,870 Morgan. 72 00:03:05,870 --> 00:03:06,990 He's an awesome speaker. 73 00:03:07,150 --> 00:03:07,510 He's. 74 00:03:07,510 --> 00:03:08,430 He's awesome guy. 75 00:03:08,630 --> 00:03:10,950 He actually taught the junior campers what this word means. 76 00:03:10,950 --> 00:03:12,030 He's like, propitiation. 77 00:03:12,030 --> 00:03:14,950 He started going through that, and I was like, wow, that's a pretty, 78 00:03:15,190 --> 00:03:18,110 pretty awesome endeavor to try to teach junior campers. 79 00:03:18,110 --> 00:03:20,390 Because I, you know, teaching adults, that's difficult, difficult 80 00:03:20,390 --> 00:03:21,270 word propitiation. 81 00:03:21,270 --> 00:03:24,629 But all propitiation really means is a satisfaction of wrath, 82 00:03:24,629 --> 00:03:26,150 a payment, a sacrifice. 83 00:03:26,550 --> 00:03:28,870 Jesus is the satisfaction of God's wrath. 84 00:03:28,950 --> 00:03:31,150 God's wrath must be poured out upon sin. 85 00:03:31,150 --> 00:03:33,190 We know that Jesus Christ paid that payment. 86 00:03:33,430 --> 00:03:34,990 And so he's explaining the. 87 00:03:35,060 --> 00:03:37,620 That relationship that we have with God through Jesus Christ. 88 00:03:37,620 --> 00:03:41,460 And he says, if you have that type of love, if you know that type 89 00:03:41,460 --> 00:03:45,820 of love from Jesus extended to you by the Father, then what will 90 00:03:45,820 --> 00:03:46,180 you do? 91 00:03:46,180 --> 00:03:47,220 What will it look like? 92 00:03:47,220 --> 00:03:48,260 You will love one another. 93 00:03:49,060 --> 00:03:53,580 He says, if you love God and you understand his love, how is that 94 00:03:53,580 --> 00:03:54,540 going to be manifested? 95 00:03:54,540 --> 00:03:55,860 By loving one another? 96 00:03:56,580 --> 00:03:58,260 You can't say that you love God. 97 00:03:58,500 --> 00:03:58,900 You. 98 00:03:59,060 --> 00:04:02,870 You can't say that you're walking with him and then have a 99 00:04:03,270 --> 00:04:04,630 problem with a relationship. 100 00:04:04,630 --> 00:04:07,910 In our life now, there can be problems, but if we're not displaying 101 00:04:07,910 --> 00:04:11,710 love and we're not displaying righteousness and reconciliation 102 00:04:11,710 --> 00:04:14,590 and repentance, then we get to a place in our life where we can't 103 00:04:14,590 --> 00:04:15,070 say that we're. 104 00:04:15,070 --> 00:04:16,230 We're loving the Lord. 105 00:04:16,310 --> 00:04:16,950 Verse 10. 106 00:04:17,030 --> 00:04:19,910 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is 107 00:04:19,910 --> 00:04:21,070 none occasion of stumbling him. 108 00:04:21,070 --> 00:04:24,870 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, 109 00:04:24,870 --> 00:04:27,790 and knoweth not whether he goeth, because the darkness hath 110 00:04:27,790 --> 00:04:28,765 blinded his eyes. 111 00:04:28,765 --> 00:04:28,900 And. 112 00:04:28,970 --> 00:04:32,730 And so one of the things that fights against our fellowship with 113 00:04:32,730 --> 00:04:37,410 God would be hatred against the brother, bitterness against the 114 00:04:37,410 --> 00:04:40,170 brother, discord among the believers. 115 00:04:40,330 --> 00:04:44,450 And what we can see is that because of that, and sometimes we 116 00:04:44,450 --> 00:04:46,650 think that that is unrelated to our walk with Christ. 117 00:04:46,730 --> 00:04:49,170 The Bible says that one of the things that's fighting against our 118 00:04:49,170 --> 00:04:51,530 fellowship with him would be fighting amongst ourselves. 119 00:04:51,930 --> 00:04:52,570 Division. 120 00:04:52,970 --> 00:04:56,140 And we even know that in John, the Gospel of John, John, Chapter 121 00:04:56,140 --> 00:04:59,740 17, one of the things that Jesus prayed for for his followers 122 00:04:59,740 --> 00:05:01,180 would be that there would be unity. 123 00:05:01,420 --> 00:05:04,420 We read the book of Acts over and over and over again. 124 00:05:04,420 --> 00:05:07,580 We see that they were in one accord, they were in unity. 125 00:05:07,820 --> 00:05:09,140 And so it's the heart of God. 126 00:05:09,140 --> 00:05:11,260 That we walk together in love doesn't mean that we're. 127 00:05:11,260 --> 00:05:12,140 We'll agree with everything. 128 00:05:12,700 --> 00:05:15,660 It doesn't mean that we'll all look the same way or we'll all respond 129 00:05:15,660 --> 00:05:16,140 the same way. 130 00:05:16,140 --> 00:05:18,540 But what it means is that we're walking with a bigger purpose. 131 00:05:19,420 --> 00:05:21,620 So then we're gonna get to tonight, our main text. 132 00:05:21,620 --> 00:05:22,460 That's verse number 15. 133 00:05:22,460 --> 00:05:24,620 And we're gonna look at something else that fights against 134 00:05:24,700 --> 00:05:26,060 our fellowship with God. 135 00:05:26,610 --> 00:05:28,330 So we already saw that division in. 136 00:05:28,330 --> 00:05:28,850 In the. 137 00:05:29,010 --> 00:05:34,650 In the believers, hatred amongst the brethren causes our relationship 138 00:05:34,650 --> 00:05:36,050 with God to be severed. 139 00:05:36,050 --> 00:05:39,690 But we also see here in verse number 15, that another thing attacks 140 00:05:39,690 --> 00:05:42,850 our relationship with God, and that is worldliness. 141 00:05:43,730 --> 00:05:44,410 Worldliness. 142 00:05:44,410 --> 00:05:45,130 What is worldliness? 143 00:05:45,130 --> 00:05:46,770 So we're gonna talk about that here this evening. 144 00:05:47,330 --> 00:05:50,090 Look at verse number 15 right here. 145 00:05:50,090 --> 00:05:52,250 John gives us the problem with worldliness. 146 00:05:52,250 --> 00:05:54,090 He says, love not the world. 147 00:05:54,090 --> 00:05:55,210 And he's not talking about. 148 00:05:55,850 --> 00:05:56,210 When he. 149 00:05:56,210 --> 00:05:58,330 When he uses the word world here. 150 00:05:58,490 --> 00:06:00,090 He's not talking about the. 151 00:06:00,410 --> 00:06:03,930 The global earth itself, like the water and the dirt and the trees. 152 00:06:03,930 --> 00:06:04,690 He's not talking about that. 153 00:06:04,690 --> 00:06:06,330 He's talking about the. 154 00:06:06,810 --> 00:06:11,090 The idea of sinful humanity united in rebellion against God. 155 00:06:11,090 --> 00:06:15,170 The world system, so to speak, Satan's system that he enacted in 156 00:06:15,170 --> 00:06:15,610 this world. 157 00:06:15,930 --> 00:06:18,090 And so we see here he says, love not the world. 158 00:06:18,610 --> 00:06:20,290 So he says, love God. 159 00:06:21,330 --> 00:06:26,690 Love your brother, Love God's word, but don't love the world. 160 00:06:27,010 --> 00:06:29,250 And there's a warning here, because the warning is this. 161 00:06:29,810 --> 00:06:34,010 If he's telling us not to love the world, the implication in logic 162 00:06:34,010 --> 00:06:36,930 would be that we are inclined to love the world, right? 163 00:06:36,930 --> 00:06:39,570 Our natural self wants to love the world. 164 00:06:39,570 --> 00:06:42,050 Our natural self and our flesh wants to love ourselves. 165 00:06:42,290 --> 00:06:44,450 And we're going to talk about that later on here because that's 166 00:06:44,450 --> 00:06:47,690 another issue when it comes to our fellowship with God. 167 00:06:47,690 --> 00:06:49,050 But he says, love not the world. 168 00:06:49,450 --> 00:06:51,810 And then he goes a little bit further here, gets a little bit more 169 00:06:51,810 --> 00:06:52,170 specific. 170 00:06:52,170 --> 00:06:55,930 Neither the things that are in the world. 171 00:06:56,650 --> 00:06:59,970 And so the World in, in the sense of, of what John is saying 172 00:06:59,970 --> 00:07:03,690 here in context is that sinful rebellion in the ways of the world. 173 00:07:03,690 --> 00:07:07,210 And he says, don't love the world, nor the things that are in 174 00:07:07,210 --> 00:07:07,650 the world. 175 00:07:07,650 --> 00:07:10,770 He's talking here about rejecting the ways of the world, 176 00:07:10,770 --> 00:07:12,580 rejecting the world system. 177 00:07:13,140 --> 00:07:14,420 Then he goes on to say this. 178 00:07:14,580 --> 00:07:20,420 If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 179 00:07:21,140 --> 00:07:22,420 So think about that for a second. 180 00:07:22,580 --> 00:07:26,940 He's saying this, he's saying you can't love the world and the 181 00:07:26,940 --> 00:07:28,500 Lord at the same time. 182 00:07:28,660 --> 00:07:29,620 Just, it's not possible. 183 00:07:29,940 --> 00:07:32,700 You, you can cross reference that with another passage of scripture 184 00:07:32,700 --> 00:07:33,780 in the book of Matthew. 185 00:07:34,020 --> 00:07:36,900 Matthew chapter 6, verse 24. 186 00:07:37,390 --> 00:07:38,790 Some of you are familiar with this passage. 187 00:07:38,790 --> 00:07:41,470 You'll know why I'm going there in a moment. 188 00:07:41,870 --> 00:07:44,950 But what he says here In Matthew chapter 6, this is Jesus's 189 00:07:44,950 --> 00:07:45,190 words. 190 00:07:45,190 --> 00:07:48,270 He says, you can't serve two masters. 191 00:07:48,270 --> 00:07:49,550 Matthew 6:24. 192 00:07:49,710 --> 00:07:51,550 No man can serve two masters. 193 00:07:51,550 --> 00:07:56,510 For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he 194 00:07:56,510 --> 00:07:59,070 will hold to the one and despise the other. 195 00:07:59,230 --> 00:08:01,030 Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 196 00:08:01,030 --> 00:08:03,470 So in the context of what Jesus is talking about, he's talking 197 00:08:03,470 --> 00:08:06,030 about you can't love money and God at the same time. 198 00:08:06,270 --> 00:08:08,750 The love of money is the root of all evil. 199 00:08:08,750 --> 00:08:10,670 That's what the Bible says in the New Testament. 200 00:08:10,910 --> 00:08:14,230 What we can see here this evening is that he's saying, if you 201 00:08:14,230 --> 00:08:16,910 are loving the things of the world, the love of God is not in 202 00:08:16,910 --> 00:08:17,070 you. 203 00:08:17,070 --> 00:08:18,630 You're not displaying the love of God. 204 00:08:18,630 --> 00:08:21,550 You can't sit here and say, well, I love the world and I love 205 00:08:21,550 --> 00:08:22,910 God and I want those both. 206 00:08:22,910 --> 00:08:24,350 I want the benefits of both of those. 207 00:08:24,990 --> 00:08:26,750 The book of James has a lot to say about that. 208 00:08:26,750 --> 00:08:29,990 The book of James says a double minded man is unstable in 209 00:08:29,990 --> 00:08:30,830 all of his ways. 210 00:08:31,450 --> 00:08:34,130 He's like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed to 211 00:08:34,130 --> 00:08:34,650 and fro. 212 00:08:35,130 --> 00:08:38,810 So what we would say is that a person who's trying to love the world 213 00:08:38,970 --> 00:08:42,210 and God at the same time, he's a double minded man and he's unstable 214 00:08:42,210 --> 00:08:44,970 in all of his ways, can't do both. 215 00:08:45,610 --> 00:08:47,850 And so that's exactly what he's talking about here in First 216 00:08:47,850 --> 00:08:49,930 John, you have to choose your master. 217 00:08:49,930 --> 00:08:53,850 Is your master going to be the Lord or is your master going to be 218 00:08:53,850 --> 00:08:54,330 the world? 219 00:08:54,890 --> 00:08:58,290 Goes on to say this verse 16, for all that is in the world. 220 00:08:58,290 --> 00:09:00,730 So he says, you want to know what the world's all about? 221 00:09:01,370 --> 00:09:02,810 You already know what God's all about. 222 00:09:02,890 --> 00:09:07,370 He's about salvation, love, forgiveness, everlasting life, righteousness, 223 00:09:07,370 --> 00:09:08,890 purity, all of that. 224 00:09:09,130 --> 00:09:12,010 And then he says, here, here's what the world's all about. 225 00:09:12,570 --> 00:09:16,810 And he's going to describe to us three what we would call categories 226 00:09:16,969 --> 00:09:21,730 of sin that we fall into when we go the path of the world, when 227 00:09:21,730 --> 00:09:23,010 we go the way of the world. 228 00:09:23,010 --> 00:09:28,460 And so this would be basically how we would define worldliness for 229 00:09:28,460 --> 00:09:29,460 all that is in the world. 230 00:09:30,500 --> 00:09:36,660 The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of 231 00:09:36,660 --> 00:09:36,980 life. 232 00:09:37,940 --> 00:09:41,300 He says those three things, those three categories. 233 00:09:41,460 --> 00:09:44,820 Basically, we can lump all sin into those three categories. 234 00:09:44,980 --> 00:09:48,500 Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life. 235 00:09:48,980 --> 00:09:50,900 It's not of the Father, but is of the world. 236 00:09:51,460 --> 00:09:54,340 And so he explains here what worldliness really is. 237 00:09:54,340 --> 00:09:57,710 It's love of ourselves, pride of life. 238 00:09:58,350 --> 00:10:02,270 It's, it's, it's the lust of the eyes, what I want, what my eyes 239 00:10:02,270 --> 00:10:05,390 desire with the lust of the flesh, what makes me feel good. 240 00:10:05,870 --> 00:10:09,070 And so if you were to define it in, in our worldly sense today, 241 00:10:09,070 --> 00:10:12,950 in our, in our modern sense, it's what makes me feel good, what 242 00:10:12,950 --> 00:10:15,950 I like to look at, and what's all about me. 243 00:10:16,270 --> 00:10:17,270 That's the idea. 244 00:10:17,270 --> 00:10:18,190 That's the idea of the world. 245 00:10:18,190 --> 00:10:19,390 That's the way of the world. 246 00:10:19,550 --> 00:10:23,750 And so enlisting these aspects of the world, John, I believe he 247 00:10:23,750 --> 00:10:27,710 even could go back in mine and look at what we would call the original 248 00:10:27,710 --> 00:10:29,510 sin back in Genesis chapter three. 249 00:10:29,910 --> 00:10:33,110 That's when we can lump that sin into these categories. 250 00:10:33,110 --> 00:10:35,190 Lust of the flesh, right? 251 00:10:35,430 --> 00:10:38,150 Eve and Adam, they desired it. 252 00:10:38,150 --> 00:10:41,510 Lust, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 253 00:10:41,510 --> 00:10:42,430 What was the pride of life? 254 00:10:42,430 --> 00:10:43,990 It was, you can be like God. 255 00:10:44,310 --> 00:10:46,630 It's the original lies from Satan. 256 00:10:46,630 --> 00:10:50,140 And they're just repackaged and reproduced and given to our world 257 00:10:50,140 --> 00:10:50,460 today. 258 00:10:51,020 --> 00:10:54,220 We, we would look at the very beginning and see that the, the longest 259 00:10:54,220 --> 00:10:57,780 running false belief in this world is humanism, right? 260 00:10:57,780 --> 00:10:58,940 What was Satan's lie? 261 00:10:59,020 --> 00:10:59,940 You can be like God. 262 00:10:59,940 --> 00:11:00,940 You are your own God. 263 00:11:01,420 --> 00:11:03,020 And that's what humanism really is. 264 00:11:03,020 --> 00:11:06,460 Humanism is elevating self above God, pride of life. 265 00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:08,620 And so he says, you know what? 266 00:11:08,620 --> 00:11:10,540 If you want to be characterized by the world, you can 267 00:11:10,540 --> 00:11:11,980 be characterized by these three things. 268 00:11:11,980 --> 00:11:15,140 What makes you feel good, the lust of your eyes, what you want 269 00:11:15,140 --> 00:11:19,130 to see, and the pride of life, your selfishness, you worshiping 270 00:11:19,130 --> 00:11:22,010 your own life, worshiping your own self. 271 00:11:22,010 --> 00:11:26,370 And so God knows that we have eyes and he's given us eyes to use 272 00:11:26,530 --> 00:11:27,970 but to look upon the right things. 273 00:11:28,530 --> 00:11:33,170 He's given us our flesh and our bodies to use in the right way. 274 00:11:33,650 --> 00:11:36,530 And so he says that these are not of the Father. 275 00:11:37,090 --> 00:11:43,500 We rarely appreciate how much the world dominates our thinking. 276 00:11:43,580 --> 00:11:44,940 You ever think about that for a second? 277 00:11:44,940 --> 00:11:46,860 Like, why do I think what I think? 278 00:11:47,420 --> 00:11:49,020 Why do I believe what I believe? 279 00:11:51,180 --> 00:11:55,940 Hopefully, ideally it would be because the word of God tells me 280 00:11:55,940 --> 00:11:57,860 this, and this is the way the Holy Spirit's guiding me. 281 00:11:57,860 --> 00:12:02,180 But most of the time, we think and we react and we deal with people 282 00:12:02,180 --> 00:12:07,540 and we deal with our own issues in a very worldly, humanistic 283 00:12:07,540 --> 00:12:08,060 fashion. 284 00:12:09,630 --> 00:12:13,790 And so I. I don't think that we even in some ways, intentionally 285 00:12:13,790 --> 00:12:14,110 do it. 286 00:12:14,110 --> 00:12:15,910 It's so ingrained into our minds. 287 00:12:15,910 --> 00:12:17,710 It's so ingrained into our cultures. 288 00:12:18,190 --> 00:12:18,670 And so. 289 00:12:18,670 --> 00:12:19,870 So, for example, think of. 290 00:12:19,870 --> 00:12:21,870 Think about just one. 291 00:12:22,190 --> 00:12:23,550 One area, success. 292 00:12:24,190 --> 00:12:26,110 Think about how the world defines success. 293 00:12:28,430 --> 00:12:32,110 Well, it's not the same way that God defines success. 294 00:12:32,110 --> 00:12:33,590 We could go into that whole category. 295 00:12:33,590 --> 00:12:36,310 You could read the book of Joshua and just read the first chapter 296 00:12:36,310 --> 00:12:38,190 of Joshua and see how God defines success. 297 00:12:38,590 --> 00:12:41,310 God defines success by obedience and adherence to the word 298 00:12:41,310 --> 00:12:43,030 of God, following the will of God. 299 00:12:43,030 --> 00:12:45,870 That is definitely not what the world decides is successful. 300 00:12:45,950 --> 00:12:48,270 The world decides success is, what do you have? 301 00:12:48,590 --> 00:12:49,630 What do you look like? 302 00:12:50,350 --> 00:12:51,550 Who do you have power over? 303 00:12:51,790 --> 00:12:52,110 Who. 304 00:12:52,110 --> 00:12:53,150 Who follows you? 305 00:12:53,710 --> 00:12:54,990 And so we think of. 306 00:12:54,990 --> 00:12:56,270 We think of the standard of success. 307 00:12:56,270 --> 00:12:59,550 We think the standard of beauty. 308 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:00,640 Think about that. 309 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:02,640 Think about the world's standard of beauty. 310 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:05,600 Does it have really anything to do with what's on the inside, 311 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:07,760 what they believe, how they're standing for righteousness? 312 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:08,280 No. 313 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:10,680 Usually what people in our world define as beauty is something 314 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:13,920 that's appealing to the eyes, appealing to our flesh. 315 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:15,840 Think about the Spanish. 316 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:19,520 Think about just the standard of morality in the world today. 317 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:24,040 What's considered now in the world to be good is what the Bible 318 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:24,720 says is bad. 319 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,600 And then what the world decides is bad is actually what the 320 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:28,480 Bible says is good. 321 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:29,480 Right? 322 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:30,120 Think about it. 323 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:33,320 Think about how the world defines just in general. 324 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:36,040 New Christians are judgmental. 325 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:39,800 The truth is, is that, yeah, some Christians can be judgmental. 326 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:43,560 Some Christians can do a lot of things that are not biblical. 327 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:46,000 But at the end of the day, what we have to do as Christians 328 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:47,160 is we have to speak the truth. 329 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:49,200 We have to live the righteousness of God. 330 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:52,760 We can't define truth as we want it to be defined as the world 331 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:53,480 defines it. 332 00:13:54,450 --> 00:13:58,450 And this shows us our great need, as Romans chapter 12 says, 333 00:13:58,610 --> 00:14:00,690 to not be conformed to this world. 334 00:14:02,290 --> 00:14:04,810 That idea of Romans chapter 12, verse 2, where it says, don't 335 00:14:04,810 --> 00:14:05,970 be conformed to this world. 336 00:14:05,970 --> 00:14:09,810 It's the idea of taking, you know, some of you that have kids 337 00:14:10,210 --> 00:14:13,810 or have had kids in your house or grandkids, you know, Plato, and 338 00:14:13,970 --> 00:14:16,410 they have all different types of putty and stuff now that they 339 00:14:16,410 --> 00:14:16,610 have. 340 00:14:16,610 --> 00:14:21,330 And it's, it's the idea of taking that play doh. 341 00:14:21,940 --> 00:14:25,300 And jamming it into a mold and forming it to that. 342 00:14:25,380 --> 00:14:30,700 So what the Bible says is don't be formed into that mold that 343 00:14:30,700 --> 00:14:32,980 the world defines is good. 344 00:14:33,620 --> 00:14:35,220 Be transformed. 345 00:14:35,540 --> 00:14:38,460 And that word transformed, the Greek word is the word that we get 346 00:14:38,460 --> 00:14:41,460 the word metamorphosis from Transformation, change. 347 00:14:41,620 --> 00:14:42,340 Be different. 348 00:14:44,260 --> 00:14:48,580 Even, you know, Peter says, be different, be distinct, unique. 349 00:14:49,460 --> 00:14:50,420 Don't be like the world. 350 00:14:50,420 --> 00:14:51,300 Don't follow that path. 351 00:14:51,300 --> 00:14:53,380 Don't allow the world to tell you what success is all about. 352 00:14:53,380 --> 00:14:55,140 Don't allow the world to tell you what beauty is. 353 00:14:55,140 --> 00:14:57,020 Don't allow the world to tell you what morality is. 354 00:14:57,020 --> 00:14:59,060 Don't allow the world to say, hey, you know what? 355 00:14:59,060 --> 00:15:01,140 Hey, that you have to choose this or this. 356 00:15:01,620 --> 00:15:04,780 The truth is, is that the Bible very clearly teaches us that 357 00:15:04,780 --> 00:15:05,460 there's one path. 358 00:15:05,460 --> 00:15:07,860 And, and he says it right here, verse number 17. 359 00:15:07,860 --> 00:15:09,460 And the world passeth away. 360 00:15:09,460 --> 00:15:11,620 He says, this is why you don't believe the things of the world. 361 00:15:13,710 --> 00:15:16,910 This is why you don't put all of your stock into the lust of the 362 00:15:16,910 --> 00:15:19,950 flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. 363 00:15:20,350 --> 00:15:22,590 He says, the world passeth away. 364 00:15:23,950 --> 00:15:27,790 So some commentators have called verse 17 the folly of worldliness. 365 00:15:28,030 --> 00:15:31,310 It reveals the emptiness of this path. 366 00:15:32,190 --> 00:15:35,030 What we invest into the world, we invest into something that is 367 00:15:35,030 --> 00:15:35,870 going to pass away. 368 00:15:37,070 --> 00:15:39,950 And we've seen that over and over again in the biblical example 369 00:15:39,950 --> 00:15:41,470 and probably our own lives. 370 00:15:41,970 --> 00:15:44,610 And so he says, the world is passing away, so why invest into 371 00:15:44,610 --> 00:15:45,490 the things of this world? 372 00:15:45,490 --> 00:15:46,690 It's gonna go away one day. 373 00:15:47,090 --> 00:15:48,610 Then he says, the other side. 374 00:15:48,610 --> 00:15:51,330 But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. 375 00:15:51,730 --> 00:15:55,610 And so essentially what he's teaching here is the idea of eternal 376 00:15:55,610 --> 00:15:58,290 investments in, in our life. 377 00:15:58,290 --> 00:16:04,370 Are we going to invest our thoughts, our actions, our everything 378 00:16:04,530 --> 00:16:07,570 into things that will matter for eternity or things that will 379 00:16:07,570 --> 00:16:08,130 pass away? 380 00:16:08,980 --> 00:16:12,020 Jesus, you see so many parallels to what John is teaching 381 00:16:12,020 --> 00:16:13,220 about and what Jesus taught about. 382 00:16:13,220 --> 00:16:15,260 Remember what Jesus taught about with the treasures of this 383 00:16:15,260 --> 00:16:15,540 world. 384 00:16:15,620 --> 00:16:18,260 He says, those are the things that the moth and rust will corrupt. 385 00:16:18,660 --> 00:16:19,700 That's going to be taken away. 386 00:16:19,700 --> 00:16:21,060 People can steal that from you. 387 00:16:21,620 --> 00:16:26,020 I mean, I know that sometimes in my life, the most violated I've 388 00:16:26,020 --> 00:16:27,700 ever felt is when I've been Stolen from. 389 00:16:27,780 --> 00:16:31,820 We had our car broken into back in Florida, and I had my golf 390 00:16:31,820 --> 00:16:33,220 clubs in there, of all things. 391 00:16:33,220 --> 00:16:34,220 Okay, learn my lesson. 392 00:16:34,220 --> 00:16:35,340 Don't leave golf clubs in your car. 393 00:16:35,340 --> 00:16:37,980 But they broke into our car and stole my golf clubs and some 394 00:16:37,980 --> 00:16:38,580 other stuff. 395 00:16:38,980 --> 00:16:42,060 And not that I am any good at golf, but they were probably doing 396 00:16:42,060 --> 00:16:43,380 me a favor by taking us away. 397 00:16:43,620 --> 00:16:46,220 But at the end of the day, you feel violated when someone steals 398 00:16:46,220 --> 00:16:46,860 something from you. 399 00:16:46,860 --> 00:16:49,460 Like, think about, like, someone breaks into your house and 400 00:16:49,460 --> 00:16:54,100 you have your most valuable material object there. 401 00:16:54,100 --> 00:16:57,860 Maybe it's like a trophy that you've won or, you know, a document 402 00:16:57,860 --> 00:17:01,300 that someone, you know signed, and it was a famous person that can 403 00:17:01,300 --> 00:17:03,230 be taken away in a heartbeat. 404 00:17:04,750 --> 00:17:07,590 But the one thing that can't be taken away from us would be the 405 00:17:07,590 --> 00:17:10,950 things that God has for us in our life, our salvation, our. 406 00:17:10,950 --> 00:17:13,230 Our spiritual growth, those eternal investments. 407 00:17:13,230 --> 00:17:14,910 And so that's what he's saying there in verse 17. 408 00:17:15,710 --> 00:17:19,550 He says, why invest into the things of this world, the lust of 409 00:17:19,550 --> 00:17:21,470 the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. 410 00:17:22,110 --> 00:17:22,430 Why? 411 00:17:22,430 --> 00:17:22,950 Because that's. 412 00:17:22,950 --> 00:17:23,870 It's going to pass away. 413 00:17:23,950 --> 00:17:24,990 It's not eternal. 414 00:17:25,630 --> 00:17:26,150 And so. 415 00:17:26,150 --> 00:17:30,830 So this is, I believe, it's a powerful illustration of. 416 00:17:31,390 --> 00:17:34,190 Of the worthlessness of the things of this world. 417 00:17:34,670 --> 00:17:36,590 And the more I love that song. 418 00:17:38,030 --> 00:17:40,670 Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, 419 00:17:40,670 --> 00:17:43,150 and the things of earth will go strangely dim in the light of 420 00:17:43,150 --> 00:17:44,030 his glory and grace. 421 00:17:44,350 --> 00:17:45,750 It's that same principle. 422 00:17:45,750 --> 00:17:47,230 Like, it's not so. 423 00:17:47,230 --> 00:17:50,470 So what we try to do sometimes in our Christian walk is we try to 424 00:17:50,470 --> 00:17:51,870 just stop doing the bad. 425 00:17:52,270 --> 00:17:55,670 And Ephesians chapter four tells us that that's really not the. 426 00:17:55,670 --> 00:17:56,550 The best model. 427 00:17:56,550 --> 00:17:59,830 The best model is just not to stop trying to do bad things. 428 00:18:00,310 --> 00:18:06,710 It's to put off the old and put on the new to replace the bad 429 00:18:06,710 --> 00:18:07,310 with the good. 430 00:18:07,310 --> 00:18:12,030 So, like, instead of just stop stopping our stealing, okay, like, 431 00:18:12,030 --> 00:18:12,470 let's say. 432 00:18:12,470 --> 00:18:14,510 Let's say someone has a problem with just stealing things 433 00:18:14,510 --> 00:18:14,950 from people. 434 00:18:15,110 --> 00:18:17,310 The Bible doesn't say just stop stealing. 435 00:18:17,310 --> 00:18:20,110 It says stop stealing and then work really, really hard and earn 436 00:18:20,110 --> 00:18:23,110 money and then give that to the people in need, right, to restore 437 00:18:23,420 --> 00:18:24,060 those things that we've done. 438 00:18:24,060 --> 00:18:25,460 So it's inserting the good there. 439 00:18:25,460 --> 00:18:27,180 So the point I'm trying to make is this. 440 00:18:27,420 --> 00:18:31,540 It's not just stopping from doing something and trying our best 441 00:18:31,540 --> 00:18:32,860 to just curb ourselves. 442 00:18:33,020 --> 00:18:36,380 No, it's infusing our lives with the truth of God so the things 443 00:18:36,380 --> 00:18:39,780 of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory. 444 00:18:39,780 --> 00:18:42,900 And Grace to understand how great God is and how beneficial it 445 00:18:42,900 --> 00:18:45,980 is to walk in his truth and understand how great his salvation 446 00:18:45,980 --> 00:18:49,060 is and how great the grace of God is, that's when we start to see, 447 00:18:49,060 --> 00:18:51,420 hey, I. I lose taste for the things of this world. 448 00:18:52,210 --> 00:18:54,210 You know, if there's a Christian who says, you know what? 449 00:18:54,370 --> 00:18:58,810 All I can think about is sin, all I can think about is, man, I 450 00:18:58,810 --> 00:19:02,050 could be doing this and I could be doing that, and if I could 451 00:19:02,050 --> 00:19:03,330 get away with it, I would. 452 00:19:03,970 --> 00:19:05,490 Folks, that's an unhealthy Christian. 453 00:19:05,490 --> 00:19:07,850 Or I would venture to say that's a person who does not understand 454 00:19:07,850 --> 00:19:08,770 the grace of God. 455 00:19:09,490 --> 00:19:10,890 And that's a dangerous place to be. 456 00:19:10,890 --> 00:19:14,410 If all I can think about and lust after is sin in my life, is 457 00:19:14,410 --> 00:19:17,820 the old man going to rear his ugly head on occasion? 458 00:19:17,820 --> 00:19:18,140 Sure. 459 00:19:18,700 --> 00:19:21,700 But if our heart's desire is sin constantly and we're not allowing 460 00:19:21,700 --> 00:19:24,300 the Spirit to guide our lives, there's a big issue there. 461 00:19:24,780 --> 00:19:27,140 It's maybe because I'm not resting in the truth of God. 462 00:19:27,140 --> 00:19:28,700 Maybe I'm not fellowshipping with him. 463 00:19:29,420 --> 00:19:31,500 Because the more I'm not filled as. 464 00:19:31,500 --> 00:19:31,740 As. 465 00:19:31,740 --> 00:19:33,180 What Does Romans chapter 12 say? 466 00:19:33,660 --> 00:19:35,660 Be renewed in our minds. 467 00:19:36,860 --> 00:19:39,460 Be transformed by the renewing of our minds. 468 00:19:39,460 --> 00:19:42,140 And so it's thinking the right things by intaking the right things, 469 00:19:42,140 --> 00:19:44,970 whether it be the word of God or the preaching of the word of God 470 00:19:44,970 --> 00:19:47,810 or through Christian fellowship or whatever it might be 471 00:19:47,810 --> 00:19:48,810 service to the Lord. 472 00:19:49,050 --> 00:19:50,690 And so it's not just, hey, you know what? 473 00:19:50,690 --> 00:19:51,690 I just don't want to love the world. 474 00:19:51,690 --> 00:19:52,810 I just don't want to love the world. 475 00:19:52,810 --> 00:19:54,810 It's like, don't love the world and love God. 476 00:19:54,810 --> 00:19:55,130 Right? 477 00:19:55,130 --> 00:19:57,370 Isn't that the greatest commandment, to love God with everything? 478 00:19:57,850 --> 00:20:00,610 The reason why he says that is because a lot of our problems in 479 00:20:00,610 --> 00:20:05,130 our life would be resolved if we just truly, truly love God more. 480 00:20:05,610 --> 00:20:07,810 And the way that we love God more is to get to know him more and 481 00:20:07,810 --> 00:20:10,120 to spend more time with him, to be around his people to. 482 00:20:10,590 --> 00:20:13,150 One of the things I'm really working on within my own personal 483 00:20:13,230 --> 00:20:16,910 study is we say the family of God. 484 00:20:17,070 --> 00:20:18,310 You've heard people say that. 485 00:20:18,310 --> 00:20:19,390 Like, there's that song. 486 00:20:19,390 --> 00:20:21,190 I'm so glad to be a part of the family of God. 487 00:20:21,190 --> 00:20:22,310 And we use that in church. 488 00:20:22,310 --> 00:20:23,470 And this is the church family. 489 00:20:23,630 --> 00:20:25,150 But what does that really mean? 490 00:20:26,110 --> 00:20:26,710 What does the. 491 00:20:26,710 --> 00:20:27,630 What does that really mean? 492 00:20:27,710 --> 00:20:29,270 Well, the Bible actually talks about that. 493 00:20:29,270 --> 00:20:32,590 And the Bible actually talks about how important it is to actually 494 00:20:32,590 --> 00:20:34,670 see the church as our family. 495 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:39,160 The Bible doesn't say the Church is like the body of Christ. 496 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:41,960 The Bible says the church is the body of Christ. 497 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:49,000 And so when I am looking at someone in my church family and I'm 498 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:53,760 looking at someone who is in the body of Christ just like me and 499 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:55,240 I say I can't stand that person. 500 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:57,560 I cannot tolerate that person. 501 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:02,390 Do you see the fundamental issue within that now? 502 00:21:02,390 --> 00:21:04,030 Can you not stand something that they've done? 503 00:21:04,030 --> 00:21:05,190 Sure, of course. 504 00:21:06,230 --> 00:21:10,030 But when we cannot work as a body and a unit in the family of 505 00:21:10,030 --> 00:21:10,270 God. 506 00:21:10,270 --> 00:21:12,590 We're, we're, we're loving the, we'll go back to that verse, 507 00:21:12,590 --> 00:21:13,070 verse 16. 508 00:21:13,070 --> 00:21:15,030 Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life. 509 00:21:15,750 --> 00:21:18,350 I, I would venture to say that most of our problems is pride of 510 00:21:18,350 --> 00:21:18,630 life. 511 00:21:19,590 --> 00:21:21,670 And, and so when we look at these things we think about what 512 00:21:21,670 --> 00:21:22,870 does it mean to be the family of God. 513 00:21:22,870 --> 00:21:23,110 Why? 514 00:21:23,110 --> 00:21:25,270 I just, I guess I just have to tolerate these people. 515 00:21:25,350 --> 00:21:29,390 The Bible does not say a lot of things we insert in because culturally 516 00:21:29,390 --> 00:21:30,230 it makes more sense. 517 00:21:30,740 --> 00:21:33,300 Tolerate, tolerate other Christians just put up with them? 518 00:21:33,540 --> 00:21:34,900 No, it says to love them. 519 00:21:35,700 --> 00:21:38,100 Actually it goes a little bit further and says to love our enemies. 520 00:21:38,100 --> 00:21:41,060 But that's another topic for another day we'll get into. 521 00:21:41,380 --> 00:21:43,700 But let's just start with the other brothers and sisters in Christ. 522 00:21:44,420 --> 00:21:47,100 Are we willing to say that we love them and do things for them 523 00:21:47,100 --> 00:21:48,180 and sacrifice for them? 524 00:21:48,260 --> 00:21:51,380 You know it well when it makes sense for me that's not what it says. 525 00:21:51,860 --> 00:21:55,740 And so he says love God, reject the world. 526 00:21:55,740 --> 00:21:57,540 The world's way of saying is this. 527 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:01,640 Do good unto others that do good to you. 528 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:04,200 Right, that makes sense in the world system. 529 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:07,840 Sacrifice for people who sacrifice for you. 530 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:10,680 Scratch the back of those that scratch yours. 531 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:12,360 But that's not the biblical principle. 532 00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:14,520 The biblical principle is love those that don't love you. 533 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,800 Sacrifice for those who don't sacrifice for you. 534 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:19,880 Serve those who don't serve you. 535 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,560 Really what happened throughout history was that as Christians 536 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:27,220 we thought about it from the perspective of not just God. 537 00:22:28,180 --> 00:22:32,580 Okay, so Jesus said John 13 to be a servant in every way. 538 00:22:33,860 --> 00:22:36,420 He demonstrated that by washing the disciples feet. 539 00:22:37,300 --> 00:22:41,420 But then there was some place and it wasn't just a one time thing, 540 00:22:41,420 --> 00:22:42,820 it was a gradual slip. 541 00:22:43,140 --> 00:22:45,980 But there was some place in line where we started to think that 542 00:22:45,980 --> 00:22:48,100 as Christians it was all about who can serve us. 543 00:22:49,620 --> 00:22:51,460 What does this person bring to me? 544 00:22:51,460 --> 00:22:53,140 What does this church bring for me? 545 00:22:53,470 --> 00:22:54,910 What does God bring for me? 546 00:22:55,150 --> 00:22:57,670 And the reality is, is that God does bring a lot to us. 547 00:22:57,670 --> 00:22:59,390 He brings us eternal life and salvation. 548 00:22:59,950 --> 00:23:05,230 But what we've done is We've flipped the model from service in 549 00:23:05,230 --> 00:23:08,270 every way to people to now, who is going to serve me? 550 00:23:08,830 --> 00:23:11,590 And that's a lie of the enemy. 551 00:23:11,590 --> 00:23:12,670 That's the way of the world. 552 00:23:12,670 --> 00:23:14,910 Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life. 553 00:23:16,350 --> 00:23:19,970 And so over and over again in scripture, Jesus emphasizes, over 554 00:23:19,970 --> 00:23:24,090 and over again in scripture, Paul emphasizes, really, God emphasizes 555 00:23:24,090 --> 00:23:28,730 through the inspiration of Scripture that materialism, fleshly 556 00:23:28,730 --> 00:23:33,690 passions, sensuality, all lead to destruction. 557 00:23:35,050 --> 00:23:38,970 And so this, this principle that he says here in verse 17, this 558 00:23:38,970 --> 00:23:41,530 is the last verse we're looking at here this evening, he 559 00:23:41,530 --> 00:23:45,010 says, but he that doeth the will of the F, the will of God, abideth 560 00:23:45,010 --> 00:23:45,450 forever. 561 00:23:46,770 --> 00:23:50,770 This is in strong contrast to what the world system tells us to 562 00:23:50,770 --> 00:23:51,010 do. 563 00:23:52,930 --> 00:24:00,250 So we are, as believers, called equipped, challenged to live 564 00:24:00,250 --> 00:24:02,050 a life of eternal impact. 565 00:24:03,010 --> 00:24:04,690 And so what does that mean for us? 566 00:24:04,690 --> 00:24:06,290 It means that we can make a decision. 567 00:24:06,370 --> 00:24:08,530 Are we going to serve ourselves? 568 00:24:09,170 --> 00:24:12,210 Are we going to look for something that brings immediate gratification? 569 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:15,200 And we live in a society today that feeds that. 570 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:19,440 I wouldn't, you know, it might. 571 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,480 You might get down a rabbit trail if you do this, but look into 572 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:26,400 the process in which the smartphones were created. 573 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:30,400 A lot of it appeals to the part of your brain that's addictive 574 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:33,160 and goes down that rabbit trail of. 575 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:35,240 You know, there were people who did a lot of research to see 576 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:38,400 exactly what they need to put into phones and apps to get people 577 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:39,800 launched into that process. 578 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:43,900 And I'm not saying smartphones are bad, inherently bad. 579 00:24:44,060 --> 00:24:47,020 They can be used for good, but they also can be used for bad. 580 00:24:47,420 --> 00:24:51,140 And we look at every material thing in this world can be used for 581 00:24:51,140 --> 00:24:52,460 good, and it can be used for bad. 582 00:24:54,620 --> 00:24:55,260 And so the. 583 00:24:55,260 --> 00:24:58,740 The idea for us is, are we going to allow the things that God 584 00:24:58,740 --> 00:25:04,460 has created to feed the flesh, to feed the lust of the eyes, the 585 00:25:04,460 --> 00:25:05,900 pride of life, the ways of the world? 586 00:25:05,900 --> 00:25:09,800 Are we going to redeem it for the cause of the truth of the gospel? 587 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:11,480 It's so easy to fall. 588 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,120 I mean, I. I will be transparent with you here this evening. 589 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:21,680 I have been on my electronic device, and Alicia has said, how 590 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:23,000 long, how much longer are you going to be on that? 591 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:23,280 I've been. 592 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:24,880 I've only been on it for like, five, 10 minutes. 593 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:26,280 And she's like, it's been an hour. 594 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:27,400 You've been scrolling on there. 595 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:31,640 It's like, really, time flies because we get so engrossed into 596 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,760 something that is feeding that part of our body, that part of our 597 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:37,900 brain, that part of our flesh that. 598 00:25:37,900 --> 00:25:39,260 That makes us feel good. 599 00:25:39,900 --> 00:25:41,980 And not everything that makes us feel good is bad. 600 00:25:41,980 --> 00:25:42,940 We know that, right? 601 00:25:42,940 --> 00:25:45,380 God has designed certain things in our life to be pleasurable 602 00:25:45,380 --> 00:25:46,380 and to be amazing. 603 00:25:46,540 --> 00:25:49,540 But at the end of the day, what can happen is that we can have 604 00:25:49,540 --> 00:25:52,740 an inordinate affection towards those things that God has 605 00:25:52,740 --> 00:25:56,780 said that are good, but we can have an unhealthy attachment to them. 606 00:25:57,820 --> 00:26:01,420 So, so that's what happened in the Old Testament with idols, right? 607 00:26:01,980 --> 00:26:04,700 Wood and silver and gold aren't necessarily bad things. 608 00:26:04,700 --> 00:26:07,260 But when it becomes an inordinate affection and put before 609 00:26:07,260 --> 00:26:08,620 God, it's become an idol. 610 00:26:09,130 --> 00:26:11,530 And so what we can see here in First John chapter two is he's warning 611 00:26:11,530 --> 00:26:13,370 us about really idolatry. 612 00:26:13,530 --> 00:26:14,770 Are we gonna let our flesh. 613 00:26:14,770 --> 00:26:16,730 And he's saying, you are your own idol. 614 00:26:16,730 --> 00:26:19,930 In that case, it's humanism, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes 615 00:26:19,930 --> 00:26:20,490 and pride of life. 616 00:26:20,490 --> 00:26:23,810 And so one of the things that we can guard ourselves against when 617 00:26:23,810 --> 00:26:27,490 it comes to not having separation in the fellowship with 618 00:26:27,490 --> 00:26:30,690 God would be just being worldly, just being, wanting to be 619 00:26:30,690 --> 00:26:31,530 like the world. 620 00:26:32,570 --> 00:26:34,170 I want to be a husband like the world. 621 00:26:34,170 --> 00:26:36,370 Well, if I want to be a husband like the way the world says 622 00:26:36,370 --> 00:26:37,850 to be, I mean, just turn on the tv. 623 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,520 Every dad on television today is someone who's like a buffoon that 624 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:44,840 doesn't know what he's talking about and everyone, you know, disrespects 625 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:45,080 him. 626 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:46,400 That's just the reality. 627 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:48,880 That's the way the world paints the picture. 628 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:51,320 So if I want to be a dad like the world, that's how I'll be. 629 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:55,560 Well, whatever, you know, I don't care, you know, just be a goofball. 630 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:58,880 And the Bible says that a man of God should be sober minded. 631 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:00,680 Doesn't mean that we have to be serious all the time. 632 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:02,760 But there's a time to be serious. 633 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:04,920 There's a time to enact leadership. 634 00:27:06,190 --> 00:27:10,230 I can't be, I can't be a, you know, a spouse or I can't be, you 635 00:27:10,230 --> 00:27:13,230 know, just in general a good co worker, an employee or employer 636 00:27:13,310 --> 00:27:14,350 in the ways of the world. 637 00:27:14,350 --> 00:27:16,470 Because if I do that, I'm not following what God has called me 638 00:27:16,470 --> 00:27:16,830 to do. 639 00:27:17,550 --> 00:27:20,430 And so one of the things that can attack our relationship with 640 00:27:20,430 --> 00:27:22,750 God is just the ways of this world. 641 00:27:23,550 --> 00:27:26,950 And it's a draw, it's a, it's a hard draw for, for us because we're 642 00:27:26,950 --> 00:27:27,710 bombarded. 643 00:27:28,990 --> 00:27:31,790 We, we don't even know how much we are bombarded with the ways 644 00:27:31,790 --> 00:27:32,230 of the world. 645 00:27:32,230 --> 00:27:36,600 Satan has, has many avenues to attack us on this front. 646 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,600 There was A day when it was limited, but now it's almost to the 647 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:45,720 point where it's unlimited access to these three categories 648 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:46,280 of sin. 649 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:49,800 And what I could tell you here this evening is that if we are not 650 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:54,440 careful, the church and the Christian can look more like the 651 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:58,280 world than we would like to emit. 652 00:27:59,330 --> 00:28:02,930 And what's happened, and if you don't believe this, I'd love 653 00:28:02,930 --> 00:28:03,850 to have a discussion with you. 654 00:28:03,850 --> 00:28:07,730 But I believe that churches have allowed the ways of the world 655 00:28:07,730 --> 00:28:09,490 to come in way more than we expect. 656 00:28:09,570 --> 00:28:13,250 And instead of the church infiltrating the world and changing 657 00:28:13,250 --> 00:28:16,330 the world, as the Bible said in the Old and Old and New Testament, 658 00:28:16,330 --> 00:28:17,810 they changed the culture. 659 00:28:18,370 --> 00:28:20,770 The Bible says in the Book of Acts that these men turn the world 660 00:28:20,770 --> 00:28:22,530 upside down with their Christianity. 661 00:28:23,090 --> 00:28:26,130 So are we allowing the church to infiltrate the world and change 662 00:28:26,790 --> 00:28:29,590 the world, or are we here to say that the world has changed the 663 00:28:29,590 --> 00:28:31,830 church so much that we've lost sight of what matters? 664 00:28:32,550 --> 00:28:35,670 The Christian himself, the Christian herself. 665 00:28:35,830 --> 00:28:41,110 Do I look more like the world than I do the things of God? 666 00:28:41,350 --> 00:28:43,070 And it's a tough one. 667 00:28:43,070 --> 00:28:45,110 It's a tough one because many of us fall into that trap. 668 00:28:45,510 --> 00:28:48,230 And I'm not saying we'll talk about another principle here later 669 00:28:48,230 --> 00:28:50,310 on in this study, and I'll end with this. 670 00:28:50,470 --> 00:28:55,870 I'm not saying go live on an island or go live in a monastery 671 00:28:56,270 --> 00:28:58,590 and avoid all contact with the world. 672 00:28:58,590 --> 00:29:01,150 You just can't be ever involved with anything. 673 00:29:01,150 --> 00:29:02,710 That's not a realistic expectation. 674 00:29:02,710 --> 00:29:05,510 It's never what an expectation that God had for us because he talks 675 00:29:05,510 --> 00:29:07,950 about being in the world, but not being of the world. 676 00:29:08,510 --> 00:29:14,190 So the concept would be not just to avoid all people, the concept 677 00:29:14,190 --> 00:29:18,110 is to be around people, but be the light, to be the difference. 678 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:20,280 Because you know what's unique? 679 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:23,320 I, I've read people that have gone out to monasteries and said, 680 00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:25,880 if I go out there, I'll never have any more fleshly desires. 681 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:26,400 Guess what? 682 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:30,240 They, they, they live in a room and eat bread and water, drink 683 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:33,640 water and eat bread for two years, and they have all the struggle 684 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:35,600 and they have the same sin that they had before they left. 685 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:36,800 It's all up here. 686 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:37,920 It's in the heart. 687 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:41,560 So what I would say is that sometimes, and by the way, I'm not 688 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:46,170 saying indulge in sin, avoid sin at all costs. 689 00:29:46,250 --> 00:29:48,490 What I'm saying is there's certain things that we can't avoid 690 00:29:48,650 --> 00:29:49,450 around us. 691 00:29:50,250 --> 00:29:53,210 And, and so what I would say is don't use the excuse of, well, 692 00:29:53,530 --> 00:29:54,490 this person did this. 693 00:29:54,490 --> 00:29:56,250 So I had to do this, No, I. I need to be different. 694 00:29:56,250 --> 00:29:57,290 I need to be distinct. 695 00:29:57,530 --> 00:29:58,930 And that's what John is talking about here. 696 00:29:58,930 --> 00:29:59,170 We're. 697 00:29:59,170 --> 00:29:59,770 We're gonna. 698 00:30:00,089 --> 00:30:03,370 Not next week, but we'll continue our study with another attack 699 00:30:03,450 --> 00:30:05,370 on our relationship with God. 700 00:30:05,610 --> 00:30:09,530 And if you peek ahead, it might pique your interest just a 701 00:30:09,530 --> 00:30:13,130 little bit because he speaks of false religion and specifically 702 00:30:13,130 --> 00:30:13,810 Antichrist. 703 00:30:13,810 --> 00:30:16,810 And then he says, you've heard that the Antichrist shall come. 704 00:30:16,810 --> 00:30:18,930 Even now, are there many Antichrist? 705 00:30:20,290 --> 00:30:22,170 Maybe that's different than what you've ever heard before. 706 00:30:22,170 --> 00:30:23,010 What is he talking about? 707 00:30:23,010 --> 00:30:24,610 Well, two weeks, we'll talk about that. 708 00:30:24,930 --> 00:30:27,770 But essentially what he's talking about is like the guise of 709 00:30:27,770 --> 00:30:30,210 religion, but it's not Christ. 710 00:30:30,690 --> 00:30:31,570 That's another attack. 711 00:30:31,810 --> 00:30:33,090 Because a lot of people will. 712 00:30:33,090 --> 00:30:34,450 They'll say, well, I'm not in the world. 713 00:30:34,450 --> 00:30:35,050 I'm in church. 714 00:30:35,050 --> 00:30:36,130 I do everything. 715 00:30:36,610 --> 00:30:37,490 I'm a good person. 716 00:30:38,010 --> 00:30:40,650 Well, sometimes what we can see is that false religion can be 717 00:30:40,650 --> 00:30:42,610 a divide between our relationship and fellowship with 718 00:30:42,610 --> 00:30:43,290 Christ as well. 719 00:30:43,450 --> 00:30:46,410 And false religion is not just in cults and temples. 720 00:30:46,490 --> 00:30:50,290 False religion can be found within biblical churches today if 721 00:30:50,290 --> 00:30:50,970 we're not careful. 722 00:30:50,970 --> 00:30:54,129 And that's what we have to be aware of as we are studying this. 723 00:30:54,129 --> 00:30:55,410 So come back in a couple weeks. 724 00:30:55,410 --> 00:31:00,330 We'll talk more about another thing that attacks our fellowship 725 00:31:00,330 --> 00:31:01,370 with the Lord. 726 00:31:03,290 --> 00:31:05,930 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 727 00:31:05,930 --> 00:31:06,490 podcast. 728 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:09,120 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 729 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:12,040 If you would like to find out more information about our church 730 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:15,520 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 731 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:18,400 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 732 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:23,560 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 733 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:28,040 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 734 00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:30,720 along for future podcast and updates. 735 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:32,480 Thank you so much. 736 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:33,440 God bless. 737 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:34,960 Have a wonderful day.