What Do We Love? (week 4)

intro:

Well, good evening everybody super happy to have you with us tonight!

We’re gonna be continuing in our study of 1 John 2:15-17.

Big thank you to Grant for stepping in for me last week. I am thankfully doing a lot better and no longer sick.

Very excited to be back go ahead and turn your Bibles there and while you do, I have a few announcements.

Announcements:

DDD/MSAN

Daddy, daughter and mother son adventure night this Friday at 7 PM If you are planning to volunteer, please arrive about 6 PM or shortly after.

If you signed up for the daddy daughter dance, that will be at the Goodrich Location.

If you signed up for Mother Son Adventure Night That will be at the Holly location.

And if you would like to serve, it’s not too late to sign up it’s gonna be a great opportunity.

YA Monthly

This Thursday we have our YA Monthly @ The Holly Location.

Pastor Ryan Story will be giving a message.

It’s gonna be a really good opportunity to connect with our other locations and really just worship the Lord together

Reach The Forgotten: Jail Ministry

Also coming up in March, we have the reach the forgotten ministry banquet. We have been invited to attend.

If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it. It is a free banquet. They are just asking for donations if you are able.

In the past, they have had worship and several different speakers every time I’ve gone I have enjoyed my time there so if you want more details or you would like to go, please come to me and I will RSVP our group. We currently have a table of 10 but they can get us as many tables as we want or need as long as we RSVP before the 15th of March.

But with all that being said, let’s go ahead and read our text tonight. Would someone be willing to read?

Preferably in ESV

Text:

1 John 2:15–17 ESV

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. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Prayer:

Thank you for reading that let’s go ahead and pray…

Amen…

Just looking at the text, what do you see?? What are some thoughts that you have?

And the goal for growth community is for all of us to come together and talk about scripture and grow in our knowledge of the word

So I wanna hear from you guys what are some things that you see in the text?

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.

Let’s start with some definitions How would we define the word love??

How would we define the word world?

And what Is John talking about when it comes to the love of the father?

The word love in this passage, isn’t referring to an erotic or sexual type of love. It’s referring to a love that is reserved for relationship with God

The type of love between created and creator

Or between the saved and the savior

It’s a level of adoration, complete devotion

And John is telling us not to give the love that’s reserved for God to things of this world

What are some things in this world that we can give that kind of love and devotion to?

Or that we might be tempted to give this type of love and devotion to?

Some examples might be greed, money, lust, premarital sex could be pride Arrogance or self importance Pornography

But maybe even from a different angle, this could be a love or obsession with a boyfriend or girlfriend

A love or obsession with success in the workplace

This could be a love or obsession with our future kids or our family

I don’t believe John is telling us not to care for things in this life, but I believe he’s calling us to love things within the proper context

The brotherly and sisterly affection that we have for family is good, but total adoration and love that is reserved for God it should not be given to anything on this earth

Matthew 10:37–39 ESV

37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

There is a reality where our love must be properly ordered

There’s a book I’ve been reading over the course of a few months. It’s called re-ordered love re-ordered life.

And the main premise of this book is that when we properly order our priorities of love, our life also gets re-ordered in alignment with God

The last part of that section, whoever finds his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it is the fulfillment of that idea

That when we stop worrying about ourselves and loving our own life and loving Jesus, then automatically we will find the purpose and the reason to love ourselves properly and others properly

So when John says to “not love the world or the things of this world” He isn’t saying to never enjoy anything again

It isn’t saying for us to run away from earthly love and relationship

But it is saying to have our love properly giving to God first, and then to let that love overflow and everything else

What would it look like to love God properly?

What are some practical ways we can love God properly?

What are some practical ways to avoid loving the wrong things?

And what are some proper ways to avoid loving certain things more than God?

And John further defines what he’s talking about when he says the world

16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

What do you think John is trying to stay here?

How would you define desires of the flash?

Desires of the eyes?

And the pride of life?

When we look at the original sin, we see these three pieces all working together…

Genesis 3:6 ESV

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

In the original fall of man, see the desire for the fruit physically

We see the desire of the eyes it was a delight to the eye

And we see the pride of life, the desire to make one wise. Or as the devil put it “like God”

In the fall of Adam and Eve, we see these Temptations At work within the original sin

And John is saying that this is what is in the world

This is what we are up against

But what’s interesting is that Jesus demonstrated how we are to respond to these things as well

Luke 4:1–13 ESV

1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ ” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ” 9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ 11 and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

The devil tried to tempt Jesus with the rest of the flesh when it came to the loaves of bread

With the lust of the eyes when it came to showing him all the earth and the glory and offering it to him

And the pride of life when he accused him of not being God and saying well, if you are God, throw yourself from the temple and you will not be hurt

Man’s original sin occurred from the Lust of the flesh Lust of the eyes and the Pride of life

But for Jesus, when he was tempted, he did not Sin

The book of Hebrews says that Jesus Was tempted in every way we are yet without sin

And I believe the way we avoid falling into these devices it’s following in the footsteps of Christ

Understanding God’s word

Understanding God’s rules and obeying God’s word and God’s rules

Psalm 119:9–11 ESV

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

It’s having a deep relationship with God so that when the temptations of the world come around

We desire God and love God more than we desire to give to temptation

And I believe we need to root that in verse 17

Understanding that the pleasure of this life is temporary, but at the right hand of the father, are pleasures forever more

17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

We have two realities as Christians

The one that we can see touch, smell and perceive the reality of this life

But we also have the reality of the life to come of life in Jesus

This is where we need to recognize that the life that we can touch feel and interact with is temporary

But the life that is to come the new life in Christ is forever

We need to almost look past the distractions around us and look into the future we have in Jesus

Because the reality is, if we take a moment to stop think and meditate on God’s word, we will realize that the things around us don’t matter as much as we thought

That the stress is over finances

The stresses and anxiety over relationships

All of these things will fade away, but the reality is our souls will eternally exist with Christ if we know him as our savior

And this also brings us to our reality of the people around us will either go to heaven or go to hell and we have the opportunity to share the hope of life that will not fade away

1 Thessalonians 4:3 ESV

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;

1 John 2:5–6 ESV

5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

1 John 1:8–10 ESV

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.