[0:00] One of those days that is bittersweet, sorrowful yet joyful.
[0:20] Take out your Bibles please and turn to 1 John chapter 2. I'm going to be looking at verses 15 to 17.
[0:36] So in chapter 2 verses 12 to 14, John as the old man, the old elder, the spiritual father to this flock is encouraging them.
[0:48] For a chapter and a half he's been pretty straightforward about what's true and what's false. And lest his dear congregation be overwhelmed by his words in chapter 2, 12 to 14, he wants to encourage them.
[1:06] He wants them to know, I know you. I know you children. I know you fathers. I know you young men. I know you. And then he's going to come to, in verse 15, kind of shift gears a little bit directly to this same flock.
[1:22] He wants to warn them of one of the critical dangers that face our soul. So if you're able, please stand as I read from 1 John 2.
[1:33] I'm going to read from verse 12 through 17. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.
[1:48] I'm writing to you fathers because you know him who is from the beginning. I'm writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.
[2:00] I write to you children because you know the father. I write to you fathers because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong.
[2:13] And the word of God abides in you. And you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or the things in the world.
[2:26] If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions is not from the father, but is from the world.
[2:48] And the world is passing away with, along with its desires. But whoever does the will of God abides forever.
[3:01] So reads the word. Let us pray. Father, help us, Lord, today, Lord, to hear your word. I pray that you would open our eyes that we might see wonderful things from your word.
[3:18] That you would cause us to walk in the path of your will and not our selfish desires. Incline our heart, oh God, to your testimonies and not to selfish gain.
[3:34] And turn away our eyes from looking at vanity. And revive us in your ways. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Please be seated. So danger.
[3:51] Address this as the danger of loving the world. Danger, danger. Will Robinson, danger. Anybody remember that? Danger. Danger. So I read this last week of a guy who was dealing with the danger of a burglar that broke into his house.
[4:10] He said, the burglar came in the house. I trained the red dot on his chest. And the cat did the rest. Danger.
[4:29] I'm not talking about that kind of danger that's obvious. I'm talking about the kind of danger that's very subtle. That we're not aware is a danger. Doesn't come like a danger.
[4:39] In the garden. In the original creation. Remember, God made this wonderful garden of Eden.
[4:50] He made the world. He made everything beautiful. He made everything that was good. He made man and he made woman from man. They were perfect.
[5:02] They were untainted by sin. They had true, absolute, free will.
[5:13] In the sense that their will was not restricted or restrained or tainted by anything. Yet the dragon came, right?
[5:24] The serpent came to the garden and spoke to Eve. Eve. So, do you remember why Eve failed there?
[5:39] Why she took the temptation? It's all the devil's fault. It's all the devil's fault. The devil made me do it. Pride, you say? I think a lot, yeah.
[5:51] She was deceived, right? She was deceived. Adam was not. That's why Adam carries the blame. Eve was deceived. She was deceived how?
[6:03] How did the serpent deceive her? What did he say to her? Did God really say this? Did God question God?
[6:19] Let's doubt God's truthfulness. Let's doubt God's goodness. Let's, in fact, not trust him.
[6:30] See, at the root of every sin is the issue of belief. What do I believe? Will I believe the liar or will I believe the truth, right?
[6:40] So, Eve believed the lie. And so, when she came to the tree, she saw the tree, right? In Genesis 3, 6. Do you know that she observed three things?
[6:55] She saw the tree was good for food. She saw that the tree was a delight to the eyes.
[7:07] And it was desirous to make one wise. Pride. That was the real. Because is there anything wrong with a tree being good for food?
[7:22] Anything wrong with the tree being desirous to our eyes? A delight to our eyes? Seeing beauty in God's creation? So, what's interesting is those three components.
[7:40] Good for food. It was a fleshly temptation. It was an eye temptation. It was delight to the eyes. There's also a pride temptation, an ego temptation, right? That I could be wise.
[7:57] The same three elements is what John warns us again as that which is of the world. The desires of the flesh. Desires of the eyes. And the pride of life.
[8:12] So, let's take this in context. Now, the world God created. In fact, God loved the world. And now John is telling us to not love the world.
[8:23] How do we not love the world that God loves? The world, as God created it, is full of beauty. Right? He wants us to enjoy that.
[8:33] He doesn't mean don't love what God has created. Don't enjoy it. Don't delight in it. As Susan said, we can get distracted with that as being our focus.
[8:46] Or use that world, that beauty to bring us to glorify him. Which is what he intends us to do. So, the world is full of beauty for us to enjoy.
[8:57] Yet, that very same beauty can be our temptation. That very same good thing can be the way in which we misuse it.
[9:07] So, here in these verses, John is warning us about that part of the world. Not everything about the world. But that part of the world that is dangerous to our souls.
[9:19] So, I want to think about first, what's our relationship to the world? What is the Christian relationship to the world? We actually have a tension, a struggle. We are, in one sense, called out of the world.
[9:34] Right? We're called from the world. We're called to not walk like the world. In 1 John, chapter 3.1, he talks about... Is it 3.1?
[9:47] Is that right? Nope. Not 3.1. How did I get that? Anyway. Talks about how the world does not know us.
[9:59] Because it did not know him. Talks about in 3.13 about how the world hates the Christian. So, there's a part of the world that is opposed to God.
[10:09] There's a part of the world that does not know us because it does not know him. Because it does not want to know him. Right? There's a world that's opposed to him. 1 John 5.4 and 5 talks about overcoming the world.
[10:25] Right? And 5.19 talks about how the world, the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. So, there's a part of the world that we're called out of. We're called out of the world that's opposed to God.
[10:37] We're called out of the world that hates God, rebels against God. We're called out of that kind of world that's under the power of the evil one. But on the other hand, we're called to the world.
[10:49] Right? God loved the world so much that he sent his son, right, to the world. That those who believe in him might be saved from the world.
[11:03] So, there's a sense where that word world is used in two different ways. One, it's used about the world of people. Right? That's what God loves. He loves the people of the world.
[11:13] He loves the sinners of the world. We are also called to love the sinners of the world. Because we're, that's us. We're sinners. And we're showing other sinners where to find healing.
[11:25] So, we engage the people of the world. We also fight for truth. Because in the world, chapter 4, 1 to 5 talks about not believing every spirit that is in the world.
[11:37] Not believing the false prophets that are in the world. Because false prophets come from the world. And they speak to the world. And they speak the world's language. So, whereas we're called to the world, we have to be careful.
[11:52] Well, that's the tension. Because in this world, we're fighting a battle for truth. So, I just want us to recognize we're in the world, but not of the world.
[12:04] Now, he talks about, in verse 15, one of the comments I want to make is he talks about loving the world. What is, what's love of the world? See, what's love?
[12:15] I don't want to read into that word, my idea of what that means. I was surprised to learn, I thought it would be the word phileo, right?
[12:25] The word, remember when Peter and Jesus are talking at the end at breakfast on the beach, you know, after Jesus rose. And this is the first time Peter's dealing with Jesus after he betrayed him, right?
[12:37] Not betrayed him, but denied him, right? So, Peter denies him three times. And Jesus asked Peter three times, do you love me, Peter? Do you love me, Peter? Do you love me, Peter? So, Jesus says, Peter, do you love me, agape?
[12:52] Peter says, I phileo you. Because in Peter's mind, phileo is the top dog of love. That means I'm committed, I'm loyal, I will bleed for you. He didn't yet know Jesus was redefining the other word.
[13:07] Because the other word, agape, at that time meant what our word in our culture means for love. Oh, I love pasta. I love ice cream. I'll lay down my life for it?
[13:20] Well. I'm desperate enough. So, that's, but John is using the same word.
[13:33] He says, don't agape the world. Because if you agape love the world, then you don't agape love the Father. So, what's agape love?
[13:45] That's the one Jesus redefined. It means to act. God loved the world. So, what did he do? He acted. He sent his son to do what?
[13:55] To die ultimately. To sacrifice. To suffer. So, that's a love that's sacrificial. He gave up his son to die.
[14:06] To do what? To save the world. To meet needs. So, agape love. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. Right? And laid down his life for him. So, husbands, love your wives means, right?
[14:18] Act sacrificially to meet her needs. Put her first. Put her, give her priority. That's what agape love means. So, how do we do that with the world?
[14:31] Can I actually act sacrificially with the world? If I choose and prefer the world, do I make sacrifices?
[14:45] What's my sacrifice? Do I lay down my life? What will a man give to gain the whole world? His soul.
[14:58] His soul. I will lay down my soul for the world. Because I want the world more than I want the Father. See, that's what we're talking about. That kind of love. Okay? So, I want to talk about that before. So, loving the world means to prefer it.
[15:12] To make it as a priority. Right? Idolatry. Right? That's, I make it my idol. All right. So, now let's get to the text. So, verse 15 to 17.
[15:23] John, once again, gives us a test. A mark of true belief. Remember, he's writing the whole letter to those who believe that you might know that you have eternal life.
[15:34] How do I know I know? How do I know that I'm saved? How do I know that my faith is genuine saving faith? How do I know? Right? So, he's giving these tests. Chapter 1, he gave the test of the contrast of light and darkness.
[15:48] Right? Do you walk in light or do you walk in darkness? If you walk in light, then you're going to follow the Son of God. You're going to walk as Jesus walked. If you walk in the dark, you're going to be blind.
[15:58] You're going to be not walking in the light. You don't know the Father. Right? So, first test is about walking. Do you walk like, walk in the light or walk in the darkness? The second test we saw in chapter 2, he brings up now love.
[16:12] He talks about the commandment. Right? Do you love your brother? Or do you hate your brother? Now, John, it's always a contrast. It's light and dark. It's love or hate. Right?
[16:23] It's truth or error. John, it's just, it's one or the other. So, now in verse 15, he's going to say, do you love the world or do you love the Father? One or the other.
[16:34] You can't have both. Do you prioritize and sacrifice for the world or do you prioritize and sacrifice for the Father? Just a statement.
[16:44] Okay? And so, he's going to talk about what that looks like. And he's going to talk about desires. There's the desires of the world and then there's the will or desire of the Father.
[16:59] Which do we seek? Okay? So, what I want to do is break this into two. I want to look at, first of all, the danger of loving the world.
[17:11] Okay? And then, then we'll come and look at the other side. So, I want to look at the one side, this, this danger of loving the world. And then, secondly, we'll look at the distinction of loving the Father.
[17:22] What makes a genuine Christian? So, again, that's really what John's doing. He's talking about who's a true believer? Who's a true, genuine Christian? Not the lover of the world, but the lover of the Father.
[17:33] So, let's talk about the love of the world first. What's the danger? To overcome the danger, we must fight all love of worldly things.
[17:46] We must fight all love of worldly things by the love of the Father. I overcome my love of the world by my love for the Father.
[17:59] That's what I think John is saying, bottom line. That's the why. We overcome the love of things of the world because we love the Father.
[18:13] I'm going to talk about how we do that a little bit later, but that's the point. See, it warns us not to love the world. So, it's directed to Christians, right? Here's the check. Here's the test.
[18:24] Do you love the world? Do you love the Father? Who do you prefer? What do you prefer? Remember? So, he's going to break the world. What does he mean by the world, right? Remember, the world can be people.
[18:34] The world can be the physical world, the earth. The word world in the Bible can be referred to different things, okay?
[18:47] Talk about the big world, the earth. It could talk about the world of people, and that's John 3.16. God so loved the world, not the things of the world, but he loved the people of the world, right?
[18:59] That he said. So, he's talking about people in that sense. Here, he's not talking about people. He's not saying don't love the people of the world. Because that's totally anti-our mission.
[19:12] We're a light to the world. We're a salt, right? We're called to sinners. We don't. We love the sinner. We don't love what?
[19:24] The sin. The things, the deceptions of the world. That's what he's talking about, okay? So, just recognize. Because it sounds confusing. The Father loves the world, but we're not supposed to love the world, right?
[19:36] So, he's using it in a different way. So, we get it. So, what's the world? Verse 16. He defines what he means by it here in verse 16.
[19:47] All that is in the world, right? Verse 16. All that is in the world is what? Three things. Desires of the flesh. Desires of the eyes. Desires of the eyes. Desires of the eyes.
[19:58] Desires of the eyes. Or, as ESV has it, the pride in possession. Right? Those three things sum up what he means by the world that we don't love.
[20:08] Those desires of the flesh. Desires of the eyes. And pride of life. So, what's desire of the flesh? The first one. Desire or lust or craving from the flesh.
[20:23] Cravings that come from the flesh. And the same with the next ones. It's desires that come from the eyes. The eyes being what drives that.
[20:35] Or the flesh driving that. Or, in the third one, pride that comes from the life. So, first is craving from the flesh.
[20:47] So, the Bible talks about flesh and spirit. Right? And we're going to read in a minute. If we walk by the spirit, we'll not fulfill the desires of the flesh. Okay?
[20:59] Spirit and flesh are opposed. So, that's what he means by flesh. The fleshly desires. Not my body, but my desires that come from the urges.
[21:10] The natural urges of my body. I seek to please my feelings. I'm driven by, I think this one relates mostly to feelings. Maybe to soul. We're driven by feelings.
[21:23] Myself comes first. I'm self-willed, self-reliant. Okay? That's desires from the flesh. This is kind of a big general topic. Desires of the flesh. Most scholars believe that this first one, desires from the flesh, kind of sum up the whole, the big picture.
[21:38] And then the next two, desires from the eyes. And probably life are kind of subcategories. I don't know. Could be. I don't always go with what the scholars say.
[21:50] Because they're just men taking a stab at it. When they have something to say and they can prove it, then I'm all for them. But we're students of the Bible, too.
[22:05] We can read the same text. Okay? As we're careful reading it and reading it in its context. Just because they're a scholar doesn't mean they got a niche on that.
[22:18] Okay? So, what's the second part? So, there's desires of the flesh. And then part of the world is desires from the eyes. Cravings that come from the eyes.
[22:30] Luring enticements that come from the eyes or through the eyes. So, the second one is really, whereas the first one, I'm driven by my feelings. What's natural.
[22:41] Here, I'm driven by my sight. These are the temptations that come through my vision. Through what I see. I look at something. So, Jesus says, when you've heard it was said, don't commit adultery.
[22:57] I say to you. What did Jesus say, guys? When you look to lust. Looking is one thing. But you look with the purpose to lust.
[23:09] To crave, right? What's not mine. So, it's things that come through sight. Right? So, what are things that come? What sins come through my sight?
[23:23] Coveting. I see and I covet. I see and I envy. I see and I'm jealous. I see and I'm resentful.
[23:35] I see and I'm bitter that I don't have that and I want that. I see the success. It may be something. What do I see? What are the things that I see that drive me to want something?
[23:51] Coveting, envy, jealousy, resentment. See, this is the one where our values get corrupted. Our beliefs get corrupted.
[24:02] Because what does Paul say? We walk by faith, not by sight. So, sometimes what I see is not what I value.
[24:18] Right? I can see beauty. I can appreciate beauty. But that should lead me to praise him.
[24:28] Right? I should thank him, not focus on that. So, I see something. I have to have it. I lust for it. I crave for it. I crave for what I don't have.
[24:41] So, that's desire from the eyes. Eyes that I'm driven by sight. And I say sight drives me or impels me or lures me, entices me.
[24:54] Okay? So, there's an enticement that comes from the flesh. Enticement comes from what I see. And then there's a third category. He calls this, the ESV translated as pride and possessions.
[25:06] It's a hard phrase to translate. Pride. The word pride, it's actually a unique word.
[25:19] It's not the usual word for pride. This one is kind of a false pride. It's kind of a braggart pride. An arrogant pride. This is a pride that wants to show off.
[25:30] That wants a presumption of self-glory, right? So, it's a pride, an arrogance, a bragging about the life.
[25:44] What's the life? Now, ESV translated as possessions. That's part of it. The life. In Greek, the word is bios. So, we get biology.
[25:55] We get biography. Bios. That kind of life. Life. So, what's biography? It's a graph writing about bio, about my life. So, not my life like the other words, zoe.
[26:11] So, when Jesus and John and Peter want to talk about eternal life, they talk about eternal zoe, you know, a higher kind of life.
[26:22] Whereas bio life is kind of just how I live. So, biographies are writing about my life. So, in other words, so that's kind of a good reference for this.
[26:34] So, I have pride about my life. Which could be my possessions. It could be my accomplishments. It could be whatever. I'm proud of how I made my living.
[26:48] I'm better than you. Look at the success I've had. Look at the stage that I've reached.
[26:59] Look at the house that I have. Look at the things that I have. Look at... And maybe nobody else is looking at that and going, oh, wow. But I'm looking at that and going, oh, yeah. Okay, get it?
[27:13] Yeah, look at my house. Yeah, I've seen your house built. So, here's these three things.
[27:24] There is a prayer that I borrow from Psalm 119 quite regularly. And I pray these. In Psalm 119, verses 35 to 37.
[27:37] I know because I looked it up. I didn't remember what verses it was. Because I just have the reference all the time. But he says... It says... Make... Cause us, Lord.
[27:48] Make us to walk in the path of your commandments. For I delight in it. I delight in that path. Make me. Cause me. You know, it's you push me to walk in that path.
[28:01] Because you know my stubbornness. So, push me to do that. Cause me. And the second one is... Incline my heart to thy testimonies and not to selfish gain.
[28:13] So, my heart. My thoughts and inclinations. Incline my heart to thy testimony. Not to selfish gain. And then the third one is... Turn away my eyes. So, I'm asking God to take my eyes and turn them.
[28:26] Right? I'm asking Him to help me do that. Cause my eyes keep wanting to go back over there. You know, and turn them. Turn away my eyes from looking at...
[28:38] Vanity. Empty things. Worldly stuff. And revive me in your ways. So, I pray those right.
[28:49] Cause those talk about how I walk. They talk about what drives me. And they talk about my eyes. They seem to cover those areas.
[29:01] Just how I think about that. So, how do we overcome a preference for worldly things? Do not love the world. Why are we told that?
[29:11] Because that's a true temptation for us. It is a natural temptation to have desires from the flesh. Desires from the eyes. And to boast in things that we have.
[29:23] That's just natural. Okay? So, he's saying fight the natural. Don't lay down your life for those things. Don't sacrifice your soul for these things.
[29:35] So, be warned. How do I overcome the preference for worldly things? How do I fight that? And by the way, only a Christian will fight that. Only a believer will fight that.
[29:46] Because a believer will have within them new values and a new heart. A new desire for something higher than that. I want something much more pleasing than the world. I want something much more gratifying than the flesh.
[30:00] Does the flesh gratify me? Temporarily. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a temptation, right? Yeah, I mean, yeah.
[30:11] There's a real gratification there. But it doesn't last. Right? So, I want one that lasts. Remember, we were talking about in Ecclesiastes. All this stuff for the world doesn't last. It's unfulfilling.
[30:24] I want something that lasts. So, how do I fight that? So, Galatians 5. It's really simple. Really simple. Just write this down. Or it's in your notes. Just underline this.
[30:35] It's so simple. Here's what Paul says. Galatians 5.16. Walk by the Spirit. And you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. There you go.
[30:48] Is that not simple? Walk by the Spirit. And you won't gratify the desires of the flesh. That's all you got to do.
[31:00] Right? If you walk by the Spirit, you won't do that. Right? So, he's making it simple. I didn't say it's easy. But it is very simple.
[31:11] Walk by the Spirit. You don't have to have a long list of check-offs. Just walk by the Spirit. That'll take care of it. Jesus said, if you love me, what?
[31:23] You'll keep my commandments. He's not saying, if you really love me. He's saying, if you love me, take care of yourself. If you're driven by love.
[31:36] So, okay. So, Paul goes on. And thank God. Paul explained what he said. So, walk by the Spirit. You will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
[31:46] Why? For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit. And the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. Ha! There's a fight going on inside you. And these are opposed to each other.
[31:58] Why are these opposed to each other? To keep you from doing what you want to do. That sounds restrictive, doesn't it? That sounds legalistic.
[32:08] No, we're talking about the Holy Spirit here. Desires of the Spirit within you and the desires of your flesh are opposed to each other. What I have grown up with naturally, my desires of the flesh and the eyes and the pride.
[32:21] That's all natural. That's going to fight. That's going to be natural. It's going to fight the unnatural work of the Spirit. They're opposed to each other. And why are they opposed to each other?
[32:35] So that you don't do what you don't want. How do you say it? To keep you from doing the things you want to do. The Spirit's there to keep you from doing the things I really want to do.
[32:53] Why? Because He's sanctifying me. He's reminding me. Higher desire. Higher that won't fulfill you.
[33:04] And remember, the Spirit's... That's why, Christian, when you sin, when you follow those other desires, it's just not that satisfying anymore.
[33:15] Is it? It's just not that gratifying. In fact, when it is gratifying, that loses so much power quickly.
[33:28] When I blow up. When I look to lust. When I envy. It really doesn't satisfy me.
[33:41] In fact, there's kind of a... Death. Shame. Right?
[33:52] I desperately need to go to the Father and have my feet cleansed. Right? So the Spirit's doing that. And see, that is a good thing, by the way. But if you are led by the Spirit, you're not under law.
[34:06] See, it's not about legalism. If you're led by the Spirit, you don't have to worry about the law. You don't have to worry about checking off. Just be led by the Spirit. Now, let's define what's flesh and what's Spirit.
[34:19] So the works of the flesh are evident. Immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions.
[34:33] Envy. I thought we already did that. Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like that. So, in other words, he's not being exhausted. I warn you, he says, as I warned you before, that those who keep on doing such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
[34:50] Not those who have fallen in those things. Not those who have done those or sin in those areas and then repent. Those that keep on doing those things, that's just their practice. They will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
[35:02] They won't inherit the kingdom of heaven. But, so that's works of the flesh. What's the works of the Spirit? Well, the fruit of the Spirit. By the way, it's the fruit of the Spirit, not Bill. It's the Spirit's work through me.
[35:12] I'm bearing the fruit, not producing the work. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness. Self-control, really? Yeah.
[35:25] That's got to be the Spirit's fruit, not mine. Self-control. Against such things, there's no law. See, we're not talking about rights and wrongs. We're not talking about do's and don'ts. We're not talking about legalism.
[35:35] We're talking about walk by the Spirit. And you won't gratify the desires of the flesh. Okay, Paul, get to the point. How? Those who belong to Jesus have, what?
[35:49] Crucified the flesh. So walking by Spirit is killing the flesh. So when the Spirit and my will oppose each other and I can't, and the Spirit's saying, don't, don't, don't do it.
[36:06] He's leading me to, okay, I got to kill that. I got to kill that. I got to strangle it. I got to eradicate. I got to, what can I do? I got to choke that. How's that getting in?
[36:18] I got to find where it's getting in. I've been insulating my gazebo, okay? So I did part of that job last year, but I didn't do the steeple part, right?
[36:31] Because there's like all these angles. It's like, that'd be hard to do. So I did that. Because there's lots of, because I climb up there and there's lots of gaps, all that. You know, in the winter you kind of want the heat to stay in.
[36:44] So how's that? Now how's that, that heat getting out of here? So, so insulate it, so close the gaps. So, so with the flesh, how do I close the gaps?
[37:00] How do I, how do I take away its source of breath, right? Have I found trigger points for that? Have I found gateways for those things?
[37:12] I have to cut those off. Remember Jesus talked about, talked about cutting off the hand, plucking out the eye, right? It's a radical kind of thing if you're really going to fight sin.
[37:23] If you just go, ah, you know, I can't help it. Yeah, well, what's on your computer? You know, I don't want to, you know, I can't go, yeah.
[37:38] Yeah, tell me what's important. Right? What's, what do you dwell on? Oh, man.
[37:50] Okay? I got to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires. I got to kill it. If we live by the spirit, which we do, if we have the Holy Spirit, if we're alive by the spirit, let us walk by the spirit.
[38:05] Which means fighting and crucifying and killing those desires that crush my soul. So how do you fight love for the world?
[38:16] Well, it starts with a love for the father. That's my motivation. That's my desire above other desires. I fight the love for the world because I love the father. How do I do it?
[38:28] I do it by his Holy Spirit. I walk by the spirit. I actively rely on the spirit to kill the flesh. I'm turning to the spirit. I'm talking to the spirit. I'm drawing from the spirit.
[38:38] You know what it means to walk by the spirit? I mean, I'm in tune with the spirit. I'm walking in step with the spirit. Which means I'm conscious of the spirit constantly.
[38:51] Right? Or Jesus or father. But it's, I pray to the father through the son with the help of the spirit. You want to call it Jesus or father or spirit.
[39:03] But theologically, it's the Holy Spirit that's applying these things to us. Yes, we pray to the father. We pray through the son. And the son is the reason for all of it. But it's the Holy Spirit that is the personal helper to me.
[39:18] Okay? I mean, he's sent from the father and from the son to be my helper. Right? To be my empower. So I'm talking to him.
[39:30] I don't care the terminology. You say, I'm talking to Jesus. That's fine. Because he's just going to send the spirit. Right? Well, he's not going to send. You already have the spirit.
[39:41] Right. Thank you. Yeah. Amen, brother. Sister. Christian. All right. So that starts before I face the temptation.
[39:52] I don't wait to walk by the spirit until I'm in the struggle. It starts, right? It starts in my day. I come early to the Lord. I'm early and often. I'm praying, consciously dependent.
[40:04] It's the pattern of my day. So when the trial comes, it's not my first, you know, trying to get the motor gone. I don't know. I don't know. So let's talk about this love for the Father.
[40:17] So we talked about the one side, right? So the danger of loving the world. So what's the other side? What's the distinction about loving the Father? Why is it that the love for the Father helps me battle my love for the world?
[40:31] Okay. So the distinction is this. A genuine Christian, an authentic Christian, our love for the Father is displayed by doing his will.
[40:46] Right? I say, I love the Father, but I don't want to do anything he wants me to do. Well, then you don't love the Father. Right? Oh, I know God, but I walk in darkness.
[41:01] Right? John already said, you're a liar. God's light. If you walk, if you know the Father, you'll be walking in the light. Right? Which doesn't mean perfection.
[41:12] It means it's a cleansing light. It's showing my stains. Right? But that's part of the process. So love the Father is displayed by doing his will.
[41:24] That's how I know that I love the Father. That's the proof again. John's always about proof, isn't he? I can say I love the Father, but does it show? So I'm driven, instead of driven by a love of the flesh or a enticement from the flesh, I'm driven by a love for my Father.
[41:40] In other words, this is my motivation. So I, I, why do I not love the world? Because God said so. Well, that's one motivation.
[41:53] It's not a very strong motivation. It's against my religion. Oh, okay. But does that really move you?
[42:05] What will move you? What will, what will push you and impel you to not love the world is, is your overwhelming love for the Father. I love my Father. I love my Father.
[42:19] And this is my Father's world, but not all the things in the world are from my Father. I know. So why? Why do I love Him?
[42:30] Why do I prefer Him? Why do I lay down my life for Him? Why would I give everything? Why is He my priority? Why? Well, let's think about how did He become my Father.
[42:44] Well, He sent His Son to remedy my ruin. Jesus tells me in John 6 that I can't come to Jesus unless the Father draws me.
[42:58] So the Father's the one that brought me to Jesus. Did you know that? Father's the one, come on. Have you seen my Son? He's not up there going, better accept my Son.
[43:13] He's wooing us. He's drawing us. He's the one who adopts us as His children. He's the one who delivers us from the authority of darkness and transfers us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.
[43:30] He's the one that we pray to. Jesus said, who do we pray to? When you pray, pray like this. Our Father. Our Father.
[43:45] Talk to the Father. He's the one that wants to hear you. He's the one that wants to answer your prayer. Right? Gee, why do I love the Father?
[43:57] Because He first loved me. He loved me. He loved me. He sacrificed for me. Have I thought about that? Have I really let that sink in, how much He loves me?
[44:11] I'm so unlovable. There's no reason in me for Him to love me. And He still loves me.
[44:23] Even after all He's done for me and I still fail Him, He still loves me. Right? Why do I love Him? Huh. Can we count the ways?
[44:34] Do I know Him? If I know Him. Oh. So how do I love Him? By doing His will.
[44:45] Verse 17. Right? The world's passing away. So here's the contrast. On the one side, if you love the world, know this. The world's passing away with its desires.
[44:55] It's all temporary, all transient, all unsatisfying. But on the other side, whoever loves the Father is the one doing the will of God. And He abides forever.
[45:07] So there's temporary and there's forever. So how do I love Him? I love Him by doing His will. I'm the one who continues to practice God's will.
[45:18] What do I mean by will? It's a different word than desire. It does mean desire, but it's actually a stronger word that means God's determination. Something that God has determined.
[45:30] There is a will. There's a desire that He wants us to live by. So the Ten Commandments summarize that. Here's what I desire. You shall love the Lord. You got it, right? You shall not have any other gods before you.
[45:42] You shall honor your Father and Mother. You shall not do this, this, that. That's my desire. That's my will. In fact, it's a determined will. It's not just a wish. It's a determined will. So what is His will?
[45:56] So John MacArthur years ago discovered that the will of God is expressed in six texts very clearly.
[46:10] So there's no question as to what His will is. So in Romans 12, 2, it is surrender to Him. Do not... Do not... We're looking...
[46:21] What are we seeing? A wasp. A wasp. A wasp. A wide-angle saxophone. That's good. Yeah. All right. Be gone, wherever you are.
[46:37] Probably won't do anything. Okay. Where are we? Oh, His will. So Romans 12 says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, which is the perfect and acceptable will of God.
[47:01] That's God's will. Don't be conformed, but be... So let's call it surrender. Right? Because all these have to be S's. That's why. So in Ephesians 5, don't be drunk with wine, but be...
[47:13] Drunk with the Spirit. Filled with the Spirit. Spirit-filled. 1 Peter 2. Submit to every human authority on earth, for this is the will of God.
[47:28] 1 Peter 4. Arm yourself to suffer in the flesh. No longer living for your own will, but for the will of God.
[47:41] It's God's will for you to suffer. Isn't that nice? Oh, this is Christ's will for you. Be sanctified.
[47:55] By which he means, control your vessel. Right? Look at 1 Thessalonians 4 for that.
[48:08] 1 Thessalonians 5. You all know this one. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything. Be grumpy.
[48:20] In everything. Give thanks. Rejoice always. Always. How often? Always. Pray when? Without ceasing. And in everything.
[48:31] Give thanks. What does it take to do that? Faith. And if I have faith to rejoice in everything, and in everything give thanks, and pray without ceasing, what am I?
[48:46] I'm satisfied. So I got the S in there. See how I got the S in there? So you got surrender, spirit-filled, submit to authority, suffer righteousness, sanctified, and satisfied.
[48:56] And if you want the seventh S, which is salvation, go to John 6.40. Okay? If you've got to have seven. John didn't have seven.
[49:07] In fact, he didn't have satisfy either. I got that. Just teasing. Just teasing. Love John. And here's the thing, the brilliant thing that John MacArthur said about these six statements.
[49:20] Right? So in a practical sense, I ask, what's God's will for my life? How do I know God's will? We're all, you know, who should I marry? What job should I do?
[49:31] You know, how do I go down this road or that road? This is brilliant. He said, if you're doing these six things, if you're surrendered, spirit-filled, submissive, suffering, satisfied, whatever, whatever.
[49:45] Well, all the same. If you're doing those things, you're doing God's will, so do whatever you want. Marry whoever you want. Really? Well, you're surrendered to God.
[49:57] You're, you know, right? I think that's just outstanding. How freeing. If I'm following God, do what you want because you're following God.
[50:11] What's the Psalm 37 for? What is it? He's going to give you the desires of your heart, right? If you delight yourself in Him.
[50:25] He kind of trusts us if we do that. Anyway. Okay. Doing God's will. So what difference does all this make? Why is this important? Verse 17. Here's the separation.
[50:35] It's already mentioned. Right? The world's passing away in all its desires. But the one who does the will of God abides forever. Here's the mark of the saved one. The one who does the will of the Father.
[50:47] Does the will of God. He's abiding forever. The one who loves the world. It's temporary. It's all passing away. It's empty. The unsatisfying. So.
[51:00] Let me say one more thing about the will of God. Because I think Jesus Himself nails this in Matthew 7. What's at the heart? So we can talk about God's will in a lot of different ways.
[51:12] You have the six statements. You could say, oh, it's the greatest commandments, right? It's loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And it's loving your neighbor as yourself. That's the summary of the law. That's God's will.
[51:22] Yes, that's God's will too. You could say it in different ways. Here's how Jesus said it in Matthew 7, 21. He said, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.
[51:37] Not everyone who professes me, Lord. Not everyone who's saying, you're my Lord. But who enters the kingdom of heaven? Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, but everyone who, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
[51:53] Right? So what is that, Jesus? On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not cast out demons in your name? Did we not do many mighty works in your name?
[52:06] In other words, in your name, but in our strength. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. I'm doing all this work for God that he never knew him.
[52:17] Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Which means all the works that they were doing were not by faith. They were in their own strength.
[52:30] So here's the test. So then Jesus goes on. He says, okay, let's talk about it. There's the one who says, Lord, Lord, and they do these things, but I never knew them.
[52:41] And then there's the one who does the will of my Father. So what's the difference? Here's the scenario. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
[52:52] The rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew, beat on that house. But it did not fall. Why? Because it was founded on the rock. On the other hand, everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who builds his house on the sand.
[53:06] The rain comes and the flood comes and the wind blew and beat against the house and it fell. Great was its fall. What's the difference between the wise man and the fool? Both of them hear the words.
[53:17] Both of them experience the storms. Both of them build a home. What's the difference? Wise man builds on the rock. Right?
[53:29] What's the rock? Let me read it again. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them.
[53:44] What's the difference? The doer of the words. The one who acts on the words. The one who applies the words. The doer of God's will. There's the one that says, he hears the words.
[54:00] He builds the house. He goes through the storms. And he crashes. There's the one who hears and applies the word. He's the one that still builds a house. And still experiences the storms.
[54:13] But he doesn't fall. Because he's applying the words. Right? So if I love the father, I do as he desires.
[54:25] And doing the will of God is to live by the words of his son. Okay? It's all those other things.
[54:36] It's loving God. It's loving our neighbor. But here's where it starts. When I hear the words of Jesus, do I do them? Do I apply them?
[54:47] Because if I am, then I'm building on a foundation that will endure the storms. And I'm going to get storms, aren't I? Sorry, brother.
[55:03] The wind just came up when I said that. Thank you, Lord. The danger of the world tempts us to seek fulfillment in it instead of the father.
[55:23] Where's your love? And how does it show? Does it show? Can you see it? Father's not expecting perfection.
[55:39] Okay, let's pray. Our father, we ask you as Paul asked you. We ask you that you may, that we may be filled with the knowledge of your will.
[55:52] In all spiritual wisdom and understanding. So that we will walk in a manner worthy of you in every pleasing way. That we'll be bearing fruit in every good work.
[56:05] That we'll keep increasing in the intimate knowledge of you. And that we'll continually be strengthened with all power. The power that's according to your glorious might.
[56:16] For endurance. And long suffering. And that father will keep giving joy to you. With joy, we'll keep giving. Keep giving.
[56:30] With joy, we'll be giving thanks to the father. Thanks to you, father. Because you qualified us. To share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
[56:43] You redeemed us through your son. You adopted us into your family. You call us your own. So fill us.
[56:57] That we may please you. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you.