Passage: I John 2:15-17
Intro: One of the first child-raising techniques I learned from my brother was the power of distraction.
1. baby fussing, wave a toy or make a face and very possibly she will be distracted from the task at hand.
2. cell phones in cars a problem, distraction
il) apparently three men watching over Abe Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre left their posts and went out together for a drink.
Il) in wartime, one side will send a small force to one side or another to create a diversion, distracting the enemy from the site of the main attack.
3. as we saw last week, one of the wonderful characteristics of our new life is that we have overcome the evil one.
4. freed from Satan’s domination, no longer under the control of our sinful nature, entrapped by Satan.
5. before we get too relaxed, John follows that up with a strongly worded command that serves as well as a powerful warning.
6. Satans new plan for us is to distract us, to fill our lives with substitutes for real life, to replace our affection for God and the things of God with affection for the worldly value system.
7. let’s look first at the command itself, defining the key terms.
8. then we’ll expose Satan’s schemes so that we can be equipped to recognize and resist in the power of the Spirit.
I. Guard Your Heart
1. the relationship of believers to the world in which we live is one of the toughest parts of the Christian life.
2. we try to solve the dilemma by a list of rules, do’s and don’ts.
3. John’s answer is deeper, goes where the power is.
4. “Do not love”=imperative, command, not a suggestion.
5. agape the word, most powerful of words
6. it is a love so powerful that it leads to some kind of action. It is the giving over of oneself to the object of ones love.
PP) John 3:16 God’s love led to action.
7. so we are capable of losing ourselves, sacrificing everything for this false god.
PP) Matthew 6:24. Notice the word…agape
8. look around! Are people in the world madly in love with Satan’s lies?
9. sacrifice family, health, financial health, friends, even life itself for a chance at the illusory rewards of the world’s system.
10. because it is a Satanic substitute for the joy of knowing God, there is a measure of pleasure, a cup of happiness, a pinch of joy.
Il) advertisements for anything, the people are always having a good time, perhaps even a riotous time! They have found happiness in alcohol or clothes or cars or a new home.
11. “don’t get sucked in”, John writes. “Don’t give yourself to the world, or the things of the world.” What is that?
12. word very broad, understood by context
13. here, means “mankind organized in rebellion against God” Marshall
14. because of sin, mankind has taken the good gifts of God’s grace and made them into gods to take the Creator’s rightful place.
PP Romans 1:25
15. “the world and anything in the world”, then, is that system of substitutes, lies, idols and deception, using physical things, that Satan has created to pacify the human race which has lost it’s Father and is alone.
Il) Satan stands by us, waving any number of baubles and toys and urgent concerns to distract us from the important things.
16. it is the system of false values opposed to God, focused on physical realities, the here and now, on pleasing the relentless demands of self.
17. this person is not manifesting the presence and power of our loving God. The person who continues in this lifestyle is not in the light, as demonstrated by his choices.
18. now how do we keep from getting sucked into the trap of worshipping the worldly system around us?
II. The Traps Satan Has Set for Us
Il) traps use a simple principle. The succulent bait overcomes the natural caution of the animal until it’s too late.
1. Satan understands the human mind and heart.
Il) CH Spurgeon, “When Satan cannot catch us with a big sin, he will try a little one. It does not matter to him as long as he catches his fish, what bait he uses. Beware of the beginning of evil, for men, who wanted to go right, have turned aside and perished amongst the dark mountains in the wide field of sin”
2. whether he learned by experience or knows it intuitively, he knows what works.
3. and so he baits his traps with things that are very appealing, listed in v16. Can be very small, no big deal.
4. “cravings of sinful man”, word is actually neutral, defined by context.
5. here, it means the natural physical appetites that are part of being human.
6. eating, drinking, security, possessions, sex, companionship.
7. They are part of being human. But sin has taken these created needs and desires and made gods out of them.
8. doesn’t necessarily mean addiction, but the pursuit of these things for us can be very distracting, can lead to anxiety
PP Matthew 6:31-33
10. Satan’s desire is that we make the pursuit of these physical desires the focus of our lives.
Il) things not necessarily sinful in themselves. Just distracting.
11. and yet the same God who created these needs has promised to fulfill them.
12. another trap is what I will call “the power of vision” “lust of the eyes”
13. goes way beyond sexual lust, though that powerful example is part of it.
14. vision is a powerful pathway into our minds and our hearts, and Satan knows it.
Il) advertisers know that the sight of something beautiful and desirable, can trigger all kinds of feelings, fears, passions.
PP) picture of Big and Tasty. (I may have to preach a little faster now that I’ve made everybody hungry)
15. those who believe in subliminal advertising have example after example of how little pictures are used to trigger responses.
PP) JFK in the ice cube. Said to promote thoughts of death, which may be what drives the alcoholic, slow suicide
16. what we see is a pathway to our heart, so
guard your heart by guarding what you let into your eyes.
PP Gen 3:6
17. it’s not just what we see, it is what that visual experience awakens within us.
18. last trap, which the others are actually leading us into.
19. NIV “the boasting of what he has and does”…good translation of word
il) Marshall, “the braggadocio which exaggerates what is possessed in order to impress other people.”
20. the person in this trap has completely sold out to the physical world, he is defined by it.
Il) men talking about athletic exploits, cars, etc. Want to be defined by what they say that they do and have
21. the saddest thing about all these traps is that they offer what they cannot deliver.
22. and for the believer who falls into them, his love affair with the lie distracts him from the real life found in Christ, making his life here a wasteland of ineffectiveness and defeat at the hands of Satan when victory is his by the grace of God.
23. so much powerful promise, and so little to give to the King.
III. The End of It All
1. Here in v17, a strong contrast.
2. things of this world, “are passing away”
il) if we look, we can see it! Think about the amount of time you spend maintaining, repairing, replacing your stuff.
3. this a great argument for the simple life. Less stuff means more time and energy for what really matters.
4. constant task to maintain body, possessions, now our brains!
Il) new class for baby-boomers to keep our minds from turning to mush. Recognition that they are!!
5. the light we live in as believers enables us to see the futility of living according to the world’s values
6. and that light also illuminates the present and future results of rejecting the lies of Satan and doing the will of God.
7. because the person who lives in the light “lives forever”
8. this life is not one of deprivation and misery, but of enjoying the things of this life for what they are; life-enriching gifts of God to be used and appreciated by His children according to His plan.
9. all the while keeping first things first; the worship of God alone, the great joy in His service, the freedom of losing my life in the service of the King and finding it in the process.
10. the man or woman who does the will of God really lives, has found meaning and purpose and direction and great joy.
11. and when we do, the Satanic side-show loses it’s sheen, is seen for the shoddy box of cheap tricks that it is.
12. we avoid the distraction of worldliness when we are passionate about God’s purpose.
Conc. What is distracting to you? Doesn’t have to be a sinful activity, but if it distracts us from our real life as a child of the King, then it needs to be reevaluted.
