Sermon Central
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Fatal Attraction Part 3 Series
Contributed by David Welch on May 12, 2015 (message contributor)
Summary: Message nine in 1 John with continuing thoughts on not loving the world.
“A Dangerous Love” Pt 3
(Fatal Attraction)
Notes supplementary to March 25th Message
Stop loving the World and the things in it
The object of this instruction has to do with “the world and the things in the world”. The term “world” describes a number of different spheres of reality. The base meaning relates to order, adornment, and beauty. We use the world to refer to the environment in which we function.
It can be used narrowly or broadly.
The world of Chico, the educational world, the sports world etc.
The American world, European world, or the whole world or even the universe.
It includes physical environment, systems, ideas, experiences, activities, philosophies, laws, and people. God instructs all believers to stop loving the world and its things. What world are we to stop loving? God made the material world though it has been seriously marred by the introduction of sin. God made the spirit world though at least a third of the angelic beings chose to rebel against His authority. God made world of mankind though they have exchanged the glory of God for the creature. God did not design or endorse the world of ideas, products, systems, activity, experiences designed to exclude and even oppose God as Creator and ultimate object of our devotion. Satan promotes a world designed to divert attention from the Creator.
Satan’s world actively opposes God and His design. Satan tries to pollute or distort anything that reflects God’s nature.
It is this world that God warns us to stop preferring over His ways and purposes. Stop preferring the devil-directed way of life and its stuff designed to keep us from being fully devoted to God.
a) The logic
1 – Satan’s world is incompatible with God’s nature and desires, so you can’t love it and God at the same time.
You cannot devote yourself to something that directly opposes God and promotes life divorced from God and love God at the same time. You cannot be friends with a world hostile to God and be devoted to God at the same time. You cannot engage in activities or entertain thoughts designed to keep God out of your life or distract you from intimate relationship with God and expect your love for God to deepen. Devotion to Satan’s world and its stuff and devotion to God’s world cannot coexist. If love for Satan’s world is “in you”, love for God is not.
You cannot expect that your relationship with your spouse will develop when you spend your time with and are devoted to someone else. We call that adultery. James called it like he saw it. James 4:1-10
God has feelings. God deserves and demands absolute fidelity.
2 – The world and everything in it is not from God but from Satan
Satan designed, directs and energizes a world, environment, culture that encourages pursuit of these desires without limits and most importantly WITHOUT GOD!
Satan and his world promotes…
Pleasure without self-control, suffering or divine direction
Possessions without sacrifice or divine purpose
Prominence without service or divine proclamation
The driving force in Satan’s world is selfish ambition and bitter jealousy when we don’t get it.
God designed us with a capacity and desire for pleasure, possessions, prominence.
They were designed to be the result of our devotion and pursuit of Him not a replacement for our lack of relationship with Him.
Our ultimate pleasure comes in the course of pleasing God rather than self.
Our ultimate enjoyment having something is to give to others than to acquire for self.
Our ultimate prominence comes from serving rather than being served.
The longings instilled by God and stirred by His spirit are ultimately realized through our devotion to Him.
Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all the other things will be added.
John identified the pursuits that are not of God or from God but a selfish bent still lurking in the soul and body that continually wars against our new heart and longings.
Desire of the flesh (Desire for Pleasure)
Satan urges us to fulfill natural desires with godless means.
Self serving pleasure
Self focused possessions.
Self ambitious prominence
When I pursue pleasure apart from God and His ways and His purpose, I come up empty and my capacity to experience pleasure actually decreases. We live in a pleasure obsessed world; food, sex, drugs, sensations or all kinds. Pay attention to the base appeal of commercials today.
Feel something.
Acquire or experience something.
Be something.
Paul wrote about sanctification and abstinence from sexual immorality and the command to posses our own bodies in honor not in lustful passion as those who don’t acknowledge God.
(1 Thess 4)Soon the thing that dictates my life choices are how I perceive it will make me feel.