Sermons from the Book of 1 John January 29, 2010
Sermon #5 LOVING the WORLD:
Scripture Ref: 1 John 2:15-17
‘Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the FATHER is not in him. For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh & the lust of the eyes & the pride of life is of the world
Introduction:
STUDYING THESE SCRIPTURES this past week I began to REMINISCE about the LITTLE LOCAL CHURCH that SHARON & I were BROUGHT UP IN as TEENAGERS & YOUNG MARRIEDS.
It was a VERY CONSERVATIVE CHURCH.
Well, to be QUITE HONEST, whether we REALIZED IT or NOT at the time, we had ADVANCED BEYOND being CONSERVATIVE & had TRAVELED OVER into the AREA of being JUDGMENTALISTS,although we WOULD NOT ADMIT to it.
We were SPIRITUALLY CONDITIONED to JUDGE OURSELVES as well as OTHERS by a LIST of CERTAIN THINGS that we DID or DID NOT DO.
We had a LIST of DO’S & DON’TS. & the MAJOR EMPHASIS was PLACED upon the THINGS that we were NOT TO DO, ---- the DON’TS.
We had our FILTHY 5 & our NASTY 9 & our DIRTY DOZEN.
& we DIDN’T DARE DO ANY of THEM. Do you KNOW WHAT I MEAN?
We REFERRED to them as “ADVICE” but they were BASICALLY USED to GAUGE whether or not a PERSON was SPIRITUAL or NOT. & they were FOUND VERY VALUABLE in JUDGING WHERE ONE WAS in their WALK with the LORD.
They were USED as a TESTIMONY of OUR FAITH & they HELPED us to DISTINQUISH OURSELVES from OTHERS & HELPED to MAKE US UNITED as a GROUP of PEOPLE.
(I’m being COMPLETELY HONEST when I say this.
We were BROUGHT UP as NEW CHRISTIANS with the MAIN EMPHASIS being on us ALL LOOKING & THINKING ALIKE as a GROUP of PEOPLE rather than upon us ALL LOOKING & THINKING LIKE JESUS!)
I was MORE CONCERNED with DISAPPOINTING & UPSETTING these CHURCH PEOPLE than I was DISAPPOINTING & UPSETTING JESUS.
I had SEEN SOME of THEM being CRITICAL & CORRECTIVE & it WASN’T SOMETHING I wanted to be a PART of. It wasn’t long UNTIL I JOINED THEM & I was JUST as CRITCAL & I was just as JUDGMENTAL TOWARD OTHERS that DID NOT LOOK & BELIEVE LIKE US as THEY were. They had been EXCELLENT TEACHERS in HOW to BE JUDGMENTAL & CONDESCENDING.
But as I began to GROW UP & SEEK GOD MORE in MY OWN & I began to UNDERSTAND MORE, I began to REALIZE that in MANY CASES there were PEOPLE who KEPT MOST ALL the RULES of the CHURCH that SAID WHAT you SHOULD DO & WHAT you SHOULDN’T DO but they weren’t VERY NICE PEOPLE.
They were RUDE & ORNERY & MEAN SPIRITED & while they WERE NOT COMMITTING the SINS of the FLESH like MANY they CONDEMNED; yet they were COMMITTING the SINS of the SPIRIT.
They WEREN’T VERY GENTLE or SWEET in their SPIRIT.
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& it has become APPARENT to me SOMETIME SINCE – that it is NOT POSSIBLE for ANYONE to GAUGE the CHRISTIAN LIFE on the BASIS of a LIST of DO’S & DON’TS.
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Now I don’t have ANY INTENTION this morning on GOING DOWN a LIST of ALL THOSE THINGS & then COMMENT on EACH of them. That is NOT MY PURPOSE to do that.
But WHAT I want us to UNDERSTAND is this:
The CHRISTIAN LIFE CANNOT be LIVED FROM the OUTSIDE IN.
The CHRISTIAN LIFE is LIVED from the INSIDE OUT.
& WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO; comes as the RESULT of WHERE WE ARE in OUR WALK with GOD & HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST.
& THOSE THINGS which we ABSTAIN FROM, we ABSTAIN FROM BECAUSE we REALIZE that they are DANGEROUS to us SPIRITUALLY & they GET IN the WAY of OUR WALK of HOLINESS & we DO IT OUT of OUR LOVE for the LORD & NOT in order for us to MEET SOMEONE’S EXTERNAL CODE so we can BE ACCEPTED by them.
In other words – WHATEVER SPIRITUAL CHANGES WE MAKE --- SHOULD BE MADE to HELP US BECOME MORE LIKE CHRIST – rather than DOING THEM to PLEASE a GROUP of SELF RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE.
While we SHOULD NOT be INTERESTED in BEING LIKE PEOPLE to PLEASE THEM, we SHOULD BE INTERESTED in BEING MORE LIKE JESUS & in PLEASING HIM with OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES. There OUGHT TO BE that SPIRITUAL HUNGER within us! The LORD CANNOT TAKE US ANYWHERE we DO NOT WANT to GO!
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But WHY IS IT that we ALL AGREE about the IMPORTANCE of OUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH & at the SAME TIME we SEEM to get STALLED SO OFTEN in the PROCESS?
The APOSTLE JOHN is going to GIVE US the ANSWER to that QUESTION in these VERSES this morning.
What if I TOLD YOU TODAY that OUR LOVE for GOD is UNDER ATTACK?
What if I TOLD YOU that a STRATEGY has been CREATED & SET INTO MOTION whose ONLY PURPOSE is to HINDER US & DESTROY US in OUR WALK with GOD.
What if I TOLD YOU that this STRATEGY was in the BIBLE & the BIBLE tells us HOW to OVERCOME it?
John 2: 15 -17
‘Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. IF any MAN LOVE THE WORLD the LOVE of the FARTHER does NOT ABIDE WITH HIM,
WHAT does JOHN MEAN? That can be a VERY CONFUSING THOUGHT.
A LOT of THINGS have been PREACHED ON under the BANNER of the THIS VERSE that really DON’T have ANYTHING to do with the VERSE.
“Love not the world.’ A DEAR SISTER at ONE CHURCH got MAD during a REVIVAL & QUIT ATTENDING. When I asked her HUSBAND, the CHURCH DEACON, WHY she was NOT there & he said, ‘She got MAD BECAUSE you & the EVANGELIST took the YOUNG PEOPLE to PLAY PUTT PUTT GOLF after the REVIVAL SERVICE ended.’
These were her GRANDCHILDREN that ALMOST NEVER CAME to CHURCH.
WHAT is the WORLD?
The BIBLE tells us that GOD LOVED the WORLD. So IF GOD LOVED the WORLD, HOW can it so BAD for us to LOVE the WORLD? It is NOT EASY being a PASTOR! We get SHOT AT a LOT!
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In the NEW TESTAMENT the word WORLD is used in 3 DIFFERENT WAYS.
#1} WORLD describes the UNIVERSE in which we live: The WORLD that we see; the SUN & the MOON & the STARS. The CREATION WORK of ALMIGHTY GOD:
Acts 17:24 says, ‘GOD made the WORLD & everything within it.’
JOHN is not telling here to NOT LOVE the WORLD of CREATION.
GOD made a BEAUTIFUL WORLD for us to ENJOY. {MOUNTAINS, RIVERS, OCEANS etc}
#2} WORLD is sometimes used to describe HUMANITY, MANKIND, PEOPLE.
John 3:16 ‘For GOD so loved the WORLD that HE gave HIS only begotten SON.’
The BIBLE TEACHES US to LOVE ONE ANOTHER even as GOD has LOVED US.
JOHN is NOT TELLING us here to HATE PEOPLE or MANKIND.
#3} this is the TERM WORLD of which JOHN is referring to.
1 John 2:15-17 The SYSTEM of the WORLD:
The SYSTEM of this WORLD as it OPERATES TODAY.
JOHN is REMINDING US that there is a SYSTEM that OPERATES AROUND US that is CALLED the WORLD’S SYSTEM & that SCHEME of THINGS is NOT UNITED with GOD but is ALIGNED with SATAN, the DEVIL.
JOHN was REFERRING to an EVIL SOCIETY that was ALIGNED with SATAN, the ENEMY of GOD:
ENEMY of GOD:
ALWAYS WORKING AGAINST GOD & GOD’S PEOPLE & GOD’S PLANS:
DON’T LOVE the SYSTEM of the WORLD; the THINGS that are UNDER the AUTHORITY of SATAN.
This CARNAL & EVIL WORLD SYSTEM is an UNSEEN SPIRIT that is at WORK within the WORLD WORKING AGAINST GOD & WORKING AGAINST OUR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
We MUST KEEP IN MIND that MANY TIMES it is NOT the THING ITSELF that is WRONG but it is that SPIRIT which is ASSOCIATED with the THING that is at WORK to INJURE us SPIRITUALLY.
For every ONE STEP we take TOWARD GOD there is a SPIRIT UNDER SATAN’S CONTROL that wants to PULL us BACK TWO STEPS.
That SPIRIT often referred to as the WORLD, can ATTACH ITSELF to ANYTHING; even to THINGS that are GOOD.
SOMETIMES the ONLY WAY we can DETERMINE whether SOMETHING is WORLDLY or NOT is to HONESTLY EVALUATE & SEE if it HAS the POTENTIAL to HURT US SPIRITUALLY & to COME BETWEEN us & the PLACE which GOD DESERVES in OUR LIVES.
SOMETIMES it is NOT the THING ITSELF that is WORLDLY but it is the EMPHASIS & the VALUE that we in OUR HUMAN WEAKNESS GIVE to it. NOTHING or NO ONE DESERVES THAT PLACE!
If we ALLOW IT to COME BEFORE GOD & BEFORE OUR SERVICE to GOD & BEFORE OUR OBLIGATIONS to GOD then we SHOULD LEAVE IT ALONE & FLEE from it! Before it BECOMES a STRONGHOLD in OUR LIVES!
The DEVIL is LOOKING for ANY LITTLE PLACE to GET INTO OUR HEARTS & MINDS so that he can THEN RUN WITH IT!
I have OBSERVED MANY TIMES how EASY it is for this SPIRIT to WORK ITS WAY into us & OUR LIVES.
& WHAT STARTED OUT so INNOCENTLY BEFORE LONG has OVERTAKEN US SPIRITUALLY.
It DEMANDS from us the TIME & the ATTENTION that SHOULD BE GOD’S.
GOD is a LOVING GOD but GOD is ALSO a JEALOUS GOD!
We TALK about the GOODNESS of GOD upon OUR LIVES but GIVE OTHER THINGS the DEVOTION & ATTENTION that SHOULD be GOD’S.
I want to REPEAT. SOMETIMES it is NOT THE THING that is EVIL but IT IS the PLACE we GIVE IT that is EVIL. It is NOT the THING but it is US & the THING & OUR INABILITY to HANDLE IT & KEEP OUR FELLOWSHIP with GOD.
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#1: THIS WORLD IS RUN BY SATAN:
& here we are TRYING to SERVE GOD IN a WORLD that is RUN by SATAN.
IF GOD is RUNNING THIS WORLD then I’m a LITTLE BIT DISAPPOINTED in GOD.
This WORLD is being OPERATED by THE PRINCE of THIS WORLD, the DEVIL, who is the POWER of the AIR.
1 John 5:19 ‘We know that we are of GOD & the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.’
WHO is the WICKED ONE? SATAN
II Corinthians 4:3 4 ‘But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to those who are perishing, who’s minds the god of this age has blinded.’
WHO is the GOD of THIS AGE? SATAN
So this WORLD’S SYSTEM is OPERATED by SATAN
#2: THIS WORLD IS OPPOSED TO JESUS CHRIST & TO CHRISTIANITY:
SATAN is the ARCHENEMY of GOD & ESPECIALLY JESUS CHRIST WHO OVERCAME SATAN at the CROSS.
1 John 3:1 ‘Behold, what manner of love the FATHER has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of GOD. Therefore the world does not know (like – tolerate) us because it did not know HIM.’
1 John 3:13 ‘Do not marvel my brethern, if the world hates you.’
John 15: 18-19 ‘If the world hates you, you know that it hated ME before it hated you. If you were of the world the world would love its own, yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.’
We were IN the WORLD & a PART of the WORLD when the LORD CHOOSE US
But JESUS TOOK US OUT of the WORLD.
We were LEFT on GOD’S CREATION (WORLD) & LEFT in HUMANITY (WORLD) BUT we were DELIVERED FROM that SYSTEM (KINGDOM) of the WORLD that is HEADED by SATAN & PLACED in the KINGDOM of GOD. & we CANNOT be a PART of BOTH KINGDOMS at the same time.
We ARE the SERVANTS of JESUS’ KINGDOM & NOT SATAN’S KINGDOM.
JESUS said in Matthew 6:24 ‘No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one & love the other, or else he will hold to the one & despise the other. You cannot serve GOD & mammon (world).
It is a SERIOUS THING to PLEAD WITH ALMIGHTY GOD & NOT be ABLE to
JESUS said:
John 17:14 ‘I have given them THY WORD & the world has hated them because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world.’
The WORLD’S SYSTEM & its SPIRIT & ALL that it STANDS FOR & REPRESENTS is in TOTAL OPPOSITION to JESUS CHRIST.
WHEN that SPIRIT that is CONNECTED to the WORLD BEGINS TO DRAW US AWAY from OUR FAITHFULNESS to GOD it WON’T LET GO UNTIL it ACCOMPLISHES WHAT it INTENDED to do.
& I REPEAT: The SPIRIT of the WORLD is UNDER SATAN’S AUTHORITY & its ONLY PURPOSE is to CARRY US AWAY from GOD.
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NOTICE THIS TODAY:
There is an ENORMOUS AMOUNT of TOLERATION for ALL OTHER RELIGIONS & ABSOLUTELY NO TOLERATION for CHRISTIANITY.
CHRISTIANITY is the MOST LOVING & the MOST GIVING FAITH that EXISTS.
The EARTHQUAKE in HAITI – take away the CHRISTIAN SUPPORT & WHAT would you have?
Our HEART ACHES for HURTING PEOPLE BECAUSE JESUS’ HEART ACHED for HURTING PEOPLE:
Yet REGARDLESS there is NO TOLERANCE for CHRISTIANITY in this WORLD.
A SMALL MINORITY of ATHEISTS & AGNOSTICS & some WEIRD CULTS have RUN OVER the CHRISTIAN FAITH & for the MOST PART we have PASSIVELY SAT BY & ALLOWED THEM to TAKE AWAY SOME of the FUNDAMENTALS of OUR FAITH that OUR SPIRITUAL FOREFATHERS WORKED & PRAYED & SUFFERED for them to BE PROCLAIMED.
ONCE GONE it may be a LONG TIME BEFORE they RETURN AGAIN IF they EVER RETURN.
The POLITICAL LEADERS of OUR NATION have ALLOWED the WORLD & its SYSTEM to TAKE OVER the UNITED STATES.
HUNDREDS of YEARS AGO we were a NATION that was FOUNDED upon CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES but THOSE in POWER in RECENT YEARS have STRIPPED US of MANY of those GOD GIVEN PRINCIPLES & RIGHTS.
They were TAUGHT TO US by GODLY FOREFATHERS:
& LOOK WHERE WE ARE TODAY as a NATION:
EVIL has TAKEN OVER & the VEIL of GOD’S ANOINTING wouldn’t COVER EVIL:
GAY & LESBIAN JUDGES MAKING LEGAL DECISIONS in THEIR FAVOR:
Our PRESIDENT’S CABINET is COMPOSED of GAYS & LESBIANS & MUSLIMS.
LAWS are now PASSED to PROHIBIT CHRISTIANS from WITNESSING to GAYS.
In 1969 a CARNIVAL WORKER, NORMA McCORVEY DISCOVERED she was PREGNANT. She wanted an ABORTION.
LAW SUIT was FILED under the ALIAS NAME of JANE ROE verses WADE who was the DISTRICT ATTORNEY. In January of 1973 the SUPREME COURT ruled in her favor.
Every year since the ROE vs. WADE BILL was PASSED by our SUPREME COURT we have ABORTED INNOCENT BABIES & TODAY there are over 45 MILLION ABORTIONS PERFORMED SINCE the LAW was PASSED in 1973 with over 745 ABORTION CLINICS in the UNITED STATES.
This NATION is STRUGGLING in the MOST COSTLY WAR EVER & I CANNOT SEE a VICTORIOUS WAY OUT in the NEAR FUTURE.
It is JUST ANOTHER BRICK that is going to CAUSE the FINANCIAL SYSTEM in this COUNTRY & in this WORLD to GO BELLY UP & a NEW ONE WORLD MONEY SYSTEM come into place WHERE it ONCE WAS.
& it is NOT JUST in the NATION.
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• The WORLD has TAKEN OVER in the HOMES as well.
HOMES are STRUGGLING. This is a HARD TIME for HOMES & FAMILIES.
HIGH RATES of DIVORCE & TEEN AGE PREGNANCIES & CHILDREN TAKING OVER the ROLE of the PARENTS & they DICTATE to DAD & MOM.. Some PARENTS have actually BECOME AFRAID of their CHILDREN & therefore the CHILDREN TELL the PARENTS WHAT to do.
We have ALLOWED EVIL into the HOME through TELEVISION & MUSIC that is being CONTROLLED by the PRINCE of the AIR WAVES. It has in MANY CASES BECOME the PARENT & the TEACHER of OUR CHILDREN. There is a SPIRIT ATTACHED to THOSE AIRWAVES.
• The CHURCH is UNDER ATTACK by the WORLD.
CHURCH ATTENDANCE is DOWN while ATTENDANCE at SPORTING & ENTERTAINING EVENTS is INCREASING. SOME CHRISTIANS will GO to a SPORTING EVENT or a CONCERT & GO ALL OUT in CHEERING ON the ONES PERFORMING. & IF they DO ATTEND CHURCH they SELDOM even STAND to SING their PRAISES to GOD. They’re BORED in CHURCH.
PRAYERS are ANSWERED & MIRACLES are DONE & the ONES BLESSED do not even COME to CHURCH & GIVE a PUBLIC TESTIMONY to GLORIFY GOD for WHAT HE has DONE in their lives.
In MANY CASES we CANNOT DETECT the DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOMEONE in the CHURCH & SOMEONE in the WORLD by the WAY they TALK & by the WAY they DRESS & by the PLACES they GO & By the WAY they SPEND their MONEY.
JESUS said in the LAST DAYS PEOPLE would have ITCHING EARS when it came to HEARING the WORD of GOD.
SOME of the CHURCHES that are GROWING the MOST are THOSE with a MESSAGE that is WASHED DOWN & REFUSES to CALL SIN WHAT it IS - SIN. To DRAW YOUNG PEOPLE today a CHURCH has to have GREAT MUSICIANS & PRAISE SINGERS that can JUMP & SWAY & STIR UP the CROWD for 45 MINUTES to an HOUR. YOUNG PEOPLE also WANT to go to a PLACE where they can JOIN the BASEBALL TEAM or the BOWLING TEAM or the VOLLEY BALL TEAM. I don’t THINK there is ANYTHING WRONG in CHURCHES INVESTING into the LIVES of their YOUTH BUT STILL our MAIN EMPHASIS is their SPIRITUAL NEEDS
CHURCHES are FEARFUL of PREACHING the TRUTH; & AFRAID of RUNNING PEOPLE WITH MONEY & THEIR $$$$$’S OFF.
When CHURCHES are ACCEPTING HOMOSEXUAL MEN & WOMEN to BECOME MINISTERS then WHAT KIND of a MESSAGE of HOLINESS can be PROCLAIMED?
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JESUS PRAYED this PRAYER just BEFORE HIS ASCENSION to HEAVEN:
John 17: 9- 9 ‘I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which THOU hast given ME, for they are THINE. 10: ‘& all mine are THINE, & THINE are MINE. & I am GLORIFIED in them.’ 11: ‘& now I am no more in the WORLD, but these are in the WORLD, & I come to THEE, HOLY FATHER, keep through THINE OWN NAME those whom THOU hast given ME, that they may be one, as we are. 12: While I was with them in the WORLD, I kept them in THY name: those that THOU gave ME I have kept, & none of them is lost, but the SON of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13: ‘& now I come to THEE; & these things I speak in the WORLD, that they might have MY joy fulfilled in themselves.’ 14: ‘I have given them THY WORD, & the WORLD has hated them, because they are not of the WORLD, even as I am not of the WORLD.’ 15: ‘I pray not that THOU should take them out of the WORLD, but that THOU should keep them from the evil.’ 16: ‘They are not of the WORLD, even as I am not of the WORLD.’ 17:’ Sanctify them through THY TRUTH; THY WORD is TRUTH.’ 18: ‘As THOU has sent ME into the WORLD, even so have I also sent them into the WORLD.’ 19: ‘& for their sakes I sanctify MYSELF, that they also might be sanctified through THY TRUTH.’ 20: ‘Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on ME through their word.’ 21: ‘That they all might be one, as THOU, FATHER, art in ME, & I in THEE, that they also may be one in us; that the WORLD may believe that THOU has sent ME.’ 22: ‘& the glory which THOU has given ME, I have given them; that they may be ONE, even as WE are ONE.’
Oh HOW we MUST BREAK the HEART of GOD as HE SEES EXACTLY HOW MUCH of the WORLD has GOTTEN INSIDE the CHURCH.
There is ONLY ONE WAY the SPIRIT of the WORLD can GET INSIDE the CHURCH.
1} People SLIP IN & BRING the WORLD with them to CORRUPT the CHURCH
2} They WANT to be a PART of BOTH – the WORLD & the KINGDOM of HEAVEN
I mentioned earlier that WE CANNOT SERVE GOD & the WORLD SIMULTANEOUSLY
We are CALLED UPON to MAKE a CHOICE.
We have to CHOOSE which ONE.
GOD GIVES US THAT LIBERTY & FREEDOM to CHOOSE OURSELVES rather than being FORCED to FOLLOW SOMETHING we DID NOT WANT to FOLLOW.
HOWEVER make REAL SURE that we don’t make the WRONG CHOICE.
GOD DELIVERED the ISRAELITES out of EGYPTIAN BONDAGE after 430 YEARS of being in SLAVERY & HARSH TREATMENT.
GOD ONLY ASKED ONE THING of this BLESSED PEOPLE..
On the ---- DAY of their JOURNEY GOD called UP MOSES into MOUNT SINAI & while he was there with HIM for 40 days & 40 nights GOD gave him the 10 COMMANDMENTS, LAWS for GOD’S PEOPLE to GOVERN their LIVES BY.
#1 COMMANDMENT FROM GOD:
‘Thou shalt have NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.’
WHY? GOD had been SO GOOD & SO MERCIFUL & SO ATTENTIVE to THEIR NEEDS & PROVIDED SO MANY MIRACLES for them. GOD DIDN’T WANT ANYTHING or ANYONE to COME BEFORE HIM.
THAT is WHAT WORLDLINESS IS.
BREAKS the HEART of GOD. GOD is a JEALOUS GOD!
GOD SENT HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON to DIE for the SINS of this WORLD & EVEN THEN WHAT THEY WANTED MATTERED MORE than WHAT GOD WANTED
Exodus 32: 7 ‘ & the LORD said unto MOSES, Get thee down; for thy people, which thou brought out of EGYPT, have corrupted themselves. 8: ‘They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten calf, & have worshiped it, & have sacrificed thereunto, & said, ‘These be thy gods, O ISRAEL, which have brought thee up out of the land of EGYPT.’ 9: & the LORD said unto MOSES, I have seen this people, & behold, it is a stiff necked people.’ 10: ‘Now therefore let ME alone, that MY wrath may wax hot against them, & that I may consume them, & I will make of thee a great nation.’
LISTEN BELOVED, We can AVOID SINFUL PLACES around us & STILL BE WORLDLY.
We can DRESS in MODERATION & STILL be WORLDLY.
WORLDLY is WHEN we ALLOW OTHER THINGS & OTHER PEOPLE & OTHER PLACES to COME BEFORE GOD.
INNOCENT THINGS then BECOME WORLDLY & SINFUL.
WHAT HAPPENED to the CHURCH at LAODECIA in REVELATION 3: 14-22
They had BECOME LUKEWARM in their DEVOTION to GOD & JESUS CHRIST.
They ONLY WENT THROUGH the MOTIONS of WORSHIP.
Their WORSHIP NEVER CAME from a PURE & LOYAL HEART.
BREAKS the LORD’S HEART:
LOOK AT ALL HE DOES for us & HOW LITTLE HE RECEIVES in RETURN.
WITHOUT GOD we wouldn’t have ANYTHING, NOTHING!
We LIVE in OUR NICE MODERN COMFORTABLE HOMES with VERY LITTLE CONCERN for GOD’S HOUSE.
SO INDEBTED to WORLDLY POSSESSIONS & there is VERY LITTLE LEFT to GIVE the LORD.
When we begin to drift toward the WORLD and AWAY from GOD the HOLY SPIRIT will speak to our hearts & minds. While HE is speaking to us is the BEST TIME to turn away from the WORLD & RETURN BACK toward GOD. If we will NOT QUENCH the SPIRIT then the SPIRIT will EMPOWER US & give us VICTORY OVER WHATEVER is TRYING to HINDER OUR WALK with GOD.
May I encourage us today;
DON'T PLACE ANYTHING BEFORE GOD -- it will CURSE YOU rather than BLESS you!
