I John 2:12-17
The Love that God hates – part 3
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.
Pray
Intro
√ The love that God hates
Here in 1st 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 where the world is going (vs. 17)
1Jo. 2:17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
√ The world is passing away
This might come as a shock to many people, even some Christians!
Believe that the world and the world "system" are permanent - that the world will always be here.
But, the world and its system is not permanent and will not last forever.
In fact, the only thing we can say for sure about the world is that it is going to pass away!
√ God's will lasts forever
In stark contrast to the world and its system John tells us that God's will and the person who does His will…
…is going to last forever!
Ap. Two world views
Remember, John is contrasting two types of Christians…
The worldly believer
The spiritual believer
Two types of believers
The worldly believer lives for the passing pleasures of this world (the lust of the flesh)…
The spiritual believer lives for the joy of the Spirit!
The worldly believer lives for what he/she can see (the lust of the eyes)…
The spiritual believer lives for what is unseen!
The worldly believer lives for the praise of people (pride of life)…
The spiritual believer lives for the praise of God!
That's because the worldly person has made themselves "at home" here. While the spiritual person knows that this world is not their home and that they are simply passing through it!
They're pilgrims like all those who live for God…
Heb. 11:13 These
all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar
off were assured of them, embraced them
and confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth.
Heb. 11:14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.
Heb. 11:15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.
Heb. 11:16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
So, John's point is that Christians should not love the world because it is not going to last!
Ex. Human history
Every kingdom, every government, every empire that men have built has not endured the test of time.
We like to think that the USA - the only "hyper power" in the world today is going to last forever.
Yet, we're less than 300 old as a nation and are already showing the signs of decay that the Roman Empire didn't exhibit until it was nearly a 1000 years old!
This nation and its wealth will not last.
So, John tells us that we ought to invest our lives into that which will last forever…
…that is, doing the will of God.
Ap. Invest your life into the Kingdom of God which will last forever!
How do you do that? Discover God's will for your life and get busy doing it!
Doing the will of God (vs. 17b)
1Jo. 2:17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
"forever"
John reminds us that the Christian who do the will of God will "abide" - live with God - forever! Long after this present world has perished with all its…
Vaunted cultures
Proud philosophies
Egocentric intellectualism
Godless materialism
Lust for sin
…and is no longer even remembered, the planet itself being replaced with a new heaven and earth…
God's faithful servants will still be around sharing the glory of God for all eternity!
So, how do we discover the will of God that we might do it!?
1) Surrender to God
The first step to discovering God's will for your life is to surrender to Him.
Romans 12:1-2
Rom. 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom. 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The Christian who is worldly minded, that is, who loves the world…
…will never know the will of God in this special way.
Why? Because God's general will for Man has already been revealed in His Word…
…therefore, if a person refuses to do what He has already made known of His will God will not reveal His specific will to them.
The Christian who is spiritually minded, is already doing the general will of God and so when he/she seeks to know God's specific will for their life - God is happy to make it known!
So, if you want to know God's will for you life you must begin by surrendering yourself Him and His revealed will.
2) Study His Word
God's will for most of the questions in life are already there for us to find in His Word. Therefore, when we are seeking to know God's will we should turn to the Bible and study His Word.
The worldly believer spends very little, if any, time in the study of God's Word. Therefore, they don't find God's will for their lives.
The spiritual believer loves to spend time in God's Word and is always open to what the Lord might want to speak into their lives. Therefore, they find God makes His will known to them through the study of His Word.
So, if you're seeking His will and have surrendered your life to Him…
…the second step is to study His Word for His will in your life.
3) Search for signs
Often times God will speak to us regarding His will for our lives through circumstance and situations.
We often refer to this as looking for an…
"open or close door"
2Co 2:12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord,
What happened at Troas?
Acts 16:7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.
Acts 16:8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
Acts 16:9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
Acts 16:10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.
The circumstance in Paul's life was that he had tried to take the gospel north to Asia, yet because of his weak physical condition Paul and his team returned to Troas on the coast.
It was there that the Lord then revealed His specific will to Paul by a vision.
God had closed the door to Asia, and opened the door to Europe!
While God is able to communicate through circumstance, we need to make sure that we confirm the circumstance by His Word.
That is, test the sign by the clear revelation of God's Word - if they contradict one another don't follow the sign!
So, God will sometimes use the signs of circumstance to reveal His specific will for our lives.
4) Seek His will in prayer
Finally, God reveals His will for our lives through prayer.
When we pray to God it is important to remember that we're supposed to be having a conversation…
You speak, God listens
God speaks, you listen
When we're seeking God's will for our lives it is important that we ask Him in prayer, and to listen for Him to answer!
God speaks to us by the Holy Spirit who lives within each Christian.
We must listen in prayer to that "inner voice" looking for confirmation with His Word, and by the signs that He may be showing us.
If you find that confirmation in His Word, through His signs, and in prayer…
…then you will know His specific will for your life.
Ex. Choosing my wife
Surrendered to Him…
Walking in obedience to His revealed will
Studying His Word…
"He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD." - Prov. 18:22
Searching for signs…
Word of knowledge through a stranger
Seeking in prayer
Praying for His will to be revealed through His word, confirmation through others and by signs, listening for His voice and sensitive to His peace.
√ In the world but not of the world
In conclusion then John warns the Christian to beware of becoming worldly…
…loving the world and its system.
As Christians we live in the world, but we are not to be of the world.
Jesus has sent us into the world that we might be a witness, a light in the darkness, salt to the corrupting influence of the world.
Yet, we are not to be like the world or the things that we see in the world.
Remember that the world gets into a Christian through the gates of our soul…
The lust of the eyes
The lust of the flesh
The pride of life
…so we need to stay close to Jesus and His people so that will not be seduced by the ungodly system of this world.
It comes down to a choice…
"Will I live for the present only, or will I live for the will of God and abide forever?"
Let's illustrate it with the lives of two men in scripture.
Ap. Are you an Abraham or an Absalom?
They both built memorials, but for different reasons!
Abraham built memorials to God (Gen. 12:7)
Absalom built one to himself (II Sam. 18:18)
Abraham is remembered as the friend of God and will "abide" forever - resurrected to rule and reign with Jesus.
Absalom is little remembered now and will be forgotten in eternity.
How about you?
Are you building memorials to God or to yourself?
Chose life!
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
The world and all that is in it is going passing away - only what is done for Jesus will last.