I John 2:12-17

The Love that God hates – part 2

Would you open your Bibles to…

1Jo. 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Intro

√ The love that God hates

Here in 1^st John 2:12-17 we find that there is a love, which God hates…

…it's the love of this world!

John gives us four reasons that we should not love the world…

Because of what the world is

Because of what a Christian is

Because of what the world does to us

Because of where the world is going

Ap. it's very important that we understand why it is that God doesn't want us to love the world so that we will not be caught by Satan's lure and turn from the love of God to embrace this world

Please understand that these warnings are for Christians! You can be saved and still have a worldly attitude that will keep you from experiencing God’s best.

Let the Holy Spirit search your heart this morning for any sign of worldliness.

So, let's look at this love that God hates!

Because of what the world does to us (vs. 15-16)

1Jo. 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1Jo. 2:16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.

1) Worldliness effects our response to the love of God

John warns the Christian not to love the world or the things in the world because for the Christian, worldliness will chill one's response to God's love.

God's desire is for each one of us to experience His love. As we experience His love the normal response is that we love Him in return.

However, a worldly attitude produces a cold heart that no longer responds to God’s love.

Ex. New believer vs. worldly believer

When I was first saved you couldn’t keep me out of church! I was there for everything…

Sunday morning & evening

Wednesday evening

Morning discipleship & prayer group

Friday night college group

Inter – varsity campus group

Why? Because I was so excited about God’s love for me! It was my great joy to be in fellowship with God and His people – to study the Bible & to worship.

However, as time went on and I got busy with the pursuit of a “successful” life I found that I began to resent the time that I spent at church and in fellowship.

I remember a prayer meeting at my pastor’s house where all I could think about was…

“how long are these guys going to pray!”

My bad attitude was the result of worldliness in my heart! Jesus was no longer my first love, my first thought, the priority in my life.

Brings up a good point.

While most Christians understand that there are activities and places that we would agree are "worldly"…

…we must also recognize that worldliness is more a matter of the heart than a matter of activity.

It is possible for a Christian to avoid all involvement in worldly activity and still be very worldly in their attitude which leads to a cold heart toward God's love (as I was!).

John's warning here in vs. 15 then is that to the extent that a Christian loves the world system and the things in the world…

…is the extent to which he/she does not love the Father!

So, we must guard our hearts against the love of the world because it will rob us of a proper response in our love for the Lord.

2) Worldliness effects our response to the will of God

The second reason that we must guard our hearts against worldliness is that it will also affect our desire to do the will of God.

Jesus said…

Joh 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

You see, for those who are in love with Jesus it is a great joy to do His will! But, for those who have allowed the love the world to creep into their heart…

…doing the will of God becomes a chore and a burden. In fact, the worldly Christian will find that it is hard to obey the will of God and that he/she finds no enjoyment in it.

Ex. Finishing the new children’s church wing & my bad attitude

When you combine these two factors together…

A loss of enjoyment from God's love

A loss of desire to do His will

…you have a practical definition of "worldliness".

"Anything in your life that causes you to lose your enjoyment of the Father's love or your desire to do His will is worldly and must be avoided!"

Are you a worldly Christian? We’re all susceptible to becoming worldly.

Ap. Test yourself

Check your devotional life: If your devotional life is dry, inconsistent, or non-existent.

It is a strong indicator that you have lost your enjoyment of God's love and that some other thing has crept into your heart and stolen your love for God.

Check your conduct: If you find yourself always struggling to do what you know is right, or doing the Lord's will has become a burden.

Once again, it is a strong indicator that you have lost your enjoyment of God's love and that some other thing has crept into your heart and stolen your love for God.

How do you get back to the right response to God's love? Check Jesus' answer to a worldly heart.

Rev. 2:4 “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

Rev. 2:5 “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent.

Remember - what it was like when you enjoyed His love

Repent - turn back to the love of God

Do - what you once did when you enjoyed His love

So, Christians should hate the love of the world because of what it does to your love for God!

√ The world's way into your heart

You might be wondering how a person, or even you, could slip from that wonderful place of being in God's love to a place of worldliness?

John tells us in vs. 16 that there are 3 gateways into our heart by which the world tries to steal our love from God.

With the knowledge of how the world gets into our heart we can be equipped to guard ourselves so that we don’t become worldly.

Note vs. 16…

1Jo. 2:16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.

Note the 3 gates by which the world creeps into our hearts:

The lust of the flesh

The lust of the eyes

The pride of life

If these sound strangely familiar there's a reason - they are the same paths that Satan has used to seduce human beings since the beginning of time!

The temptation in the Garden

Gen. 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, (the lust of the flesh) that it was pleasant to the eyes, (the lust of the eyes) and a tree desirable to make one wise, (the pride of life) she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

What worked in the Garden of Eden still works today! Satan hasn't had to change his tricks because we still fall for the same lame traps!

√ The 3 gates

The lust of the flesh:

Anything that appeals to our fallen nature. The word "flesh" doesn't mean "body", rather, it means the basic nature of sinful man that makes him blind to spiritual truth. (I Cor. 2:14)

"Flesh" is the nature that we are born with in the physical birth.

"Spirit" is the nature that we receive when we are born again spiritually at our second birth.

The problem of course is that Christians have both the old nature (flesh) and the new nature (spirit) and they are in constant conflict for our affection! (Romans 7 & 8).

So, we have to guard the gates by which the world seeks to entice our old nature!

This is how the world works, it takes God given desires and twists them to become the focus of our affection so that they rule our heart.

Ex. Human desires

Hunger is not wrong, gluttony is sinful.

Thirst is not evil, but drunkenness is.

Sleep is necessary, laziness is shameful.

Sex is a gift from God in the context of a marriage, outside of marriage it is immoral.

So, then the lust of the flesh appeals to the basic physical needs of people and tempts us to satisfy them in ungodly ways.

The lust of the eyes:

Ever heard, or used the saying…

"feast your eyes on this!" - "eye candy"

…reminds us that our eyes have an "appetite" too!

The lust of the eyes is different from the lust of the flesh in that it appeals to the emotional, or intellectual, desires of people.

It's more sophisticated in its appeal than the lust of the flesh, which makes it more socially acceptable…

…yet it is just as devastating to the soul.

It is the lust, which says…

"I want it because I like the way it looks!"

It’s the lust, which causes us to become dissatisfied with what we have and to become consumed with the desire for more, or bigger, or more lavish in appearance.

Ap. For men its their "toys", for woman it’s their "accoutrements"

Guys – computers (always bigger & faster)

Gals – fashions (must have the latest trend)

The serious problem with the lust of the eyes is that if we don't guard this gate into our mind we'll find that we are never satisfied with anything God gives us.

Instead we'll always be seeking after something more than what God has blessed us with.

Ex. Achan and the defeat of Israel

Josh. 7:21 “When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them."

Achan’s sin cost Israel the lives of 36 innocent men and the lives of Achan and his family.

So, the lust of the eyes is anything that appeals to our emotions or intellect and causes us to be dissatisfied with what God has blessed us with.

The pride of life:

The 3^rd gate into our heart is the most dangerous because it can be the most difficult to spot…

…the pride of life.

The pride of life plays to our desire to be significant in life by drawing undo attention to ourselves or by making us envious of others who get more attention than we do.

Here's how it works. God has placed a righteous desire within each of us to please Him with our lives.

When we do that which pleases God we find significance (meaning) in life and pleasure from the recognition He gives.

We all want to hear…

Mat. 25:21 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

However, the world takes that desire and twists it so that rather than finding joy in what God is doing in our life…

…we become envious of what God is doing in other people’s lives, or because they get more attention that we do, or they seem to be more blessed than we are.

Rather than being happy for the other person, we become agitated and unhappy because they have something we don’t.

Ex. Peter and John

Joh. 21:20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”

Joh. 21:21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”

Joh. 21:22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

We find that Peter, as well as the other disciples were always seeking to have the best place or to be the most recognized.

Jesus sets Peter straight with the reminder that his job was simply to follow Jesus and not worry about God’s plan for John.

Be careful, this is the most difficult area for us to see and the easiest for the devil to find access to our heart!

Ap. Ministry

Like Peter, all of us will be tempted to be envious of, or critical of, what God is doing in someone else’s life because it seems like we got left out and the other person gets all the glory.

Ex. Edward Kimball the shoe salesmen

Had a great heart for evangelism, but wasn’t called to be a full time evangelist. Instead he was called to be faithful as a shoe salesman to share the Gospel with those who came into his store.

He wasn’t called to preach to stadiums full of people

He wasn’t gifted to preach like Billy Graham

Instead, he was called to work a regular job and be faithful to share his faith one on one with those who came into the store.

One day he led a young man to the Lord by the name of Dwight Moody who later went on to be one of the most renowned evangelist who has ever live!

Billy Sundae was saved at one of Moody’s crusades.

Billy Graham saved at a camp meeting where Billy Sundae preached.

While most people will never hear of Edward Kimball, he has a stake in every soul saved under the ministries of these other men.

Jesus called him to be faithful at a regular 8 to 5 job because that was the one place that Dwight Moody would listen to someone share the gospel.

Ap. How about you and me?

Am I being faithful to do what God has called me to do? Or am I too busy being upset that God hasn’t called me to do or be what someone else has been called to do?

So, ask the Lord to guard your heart from the pride of life lest it enter in and rob you of your joy in Christ.

Close

√ There’s a love that God hates!

The love of the world

John tells us that we shouldn’t love the world…

Because of what the world is

Because of what a Christian is

Because of what the world does to us

Because of where the world is going

We’ll look at the last one next week.