1 John Series: Do Not Love the World 1

1 John 2:15-17

(Story) There was a young man who desired and was determined to win the affection of a lady. He decided that the way to her heart was through the mail, so he began to write love letters to her daily. He wrote a letter a day to this lady. Six to seven days a week this lady would receive a love letter from this man… and after she did not respond… he increased his output to 3 notes every day.

In all… he wrote her more than 700 letters… and she wound up marrying the mailman...

Now… what have we heard and what do we know?

We are loved. We have received love. A loved One has written to us, laid down His life for us, and He desires to be with us forever...

And what do many people do with this… They marry another. They go after another.

Love is misplaced… Love is directed towards the wrong place or the wrong person.

What does the Christian do? The Christian goes after the One Who wrote the letters and the One Who laid down His life for us… And we love this Person.

Christians go to Him, give their lives to Him, and serve Him as Lord and Savior. We seek to obey His commands… to not sin against Him, and to live according to His desire and will.

Here in the text… There are a people who are directing love in the wrong direction.

So here we are at Verse 15:

Do not love the world… nor the things of the world...

If anyone loves the world… the love of the Father is not in him...

In the text: We see that we are not… not… to love the world… nor the things in the world…

Now take a deep breath… We are not to love some things...

Do not love… this world.

And if anyone loves the world… the love of the Father, the Heavenly Father, is not in that person...

Do you feel your insides or you mind fighting those words… “Do not love… the world...?”

Remember the Beatles song, “All we need is love...” So, why shouldn’t we love this?

In order for us to love something or someone… We must not love… other things...

(Examples: Abortion and babies. People and murder… Justice and injustice...)

If we Love the Father...

DO NOT LOVE the WORLD...

What is the author talking about? Not Loving the World?

We may say, “I love our beautiful planet. I love sunrises and sunsets. I love animals and trees, birds and bees. I love our house and our children… and this and that… and all these things...”

Is it wrong to love these things? No. We love God’s creation. God created it and it is good.

We should not worship creation. But we love God’s creation and we thank God for His beautiful creation.

Listen: In the Bible, the term “world,” can refer to the earth and our physical universe… or it can refer to that system that is at odds with God. For example: Matthew 18:7 - Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks… John 15:19 - If you were of the world, the world would love its own… but you are not of the world...

When God says that He loves the world: John 3:16… Or... that the whole world followed after Jesus (John 12:19). He is talking about people or loving people.

We are to love people as God loves people… And people are in this world… We are to love the world in this way.

But when we keep reading… we understand that John is speaking of that system that is at odds with God. He is speaking of that corrupt and evil system that is ruled by Satan and darkness.

Satan has a kingdom and a system that is at odds with God. Satan is called the “god” of this world… The “prince of the power of the air.” This is the system that Satan rules in and over on planet earth.

2 Corinthians 4:4 - The god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Satan is the spirit who is at work in the sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2.) Jesus calls Satan the ruler of this world in John 12:31.

Satan is a roaring lion who roams about on the earth, seeking to devour whom he may, killing, stealing and destroying lives… Deceiving them and keeping them in lies and darkness.

This is the worldly system that is in view… This is where Satan reigns and rules, and this… ready for this?… This is what Satan promotes and feeds in this system-

Verse 16: The Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eyes, and the Boastful Pride of Life.

It has been said that every sin imaginable can be found or summed up by these three.

The Scriptures say:

Psalm 97:10 - You who love the Lord… hate evil!

Proverbs 8:13 - The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech… I hate...

God says, “Hate this...”

Satan comes along and says… “Love this.”

So: This Love for the world is a rebellion against the Father.

As we think about the Prodigal Son (Luke 15), for a moment: The son’s approach to his father, to ask him for his inheritance before his father dies… may sound something like this: “I don’t want you… I want your stuff. I don’t want you… I want your money. I don’t want you, I wish you were dead already… But since you are not… Give me your stuff and let me go experience my best life out in the world… And there he blew it all on the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life...

Lust of the Eyes:

Love is not Lust and Lust is not Love.

This inward desire… that is sinful… is a desire/longing for creation and not the Creator.

The lust of the eyes is the sinful desire to possess what we see or to have those things which have visual appeal. This coveting, this never ending desire for things: For money, possessions, people, or other physical things is not from God.

“I Want more and more… This looks so good… This will satisfy my heart...”

Satan uses the lust of the eyes as big road for temptation. Part of the reason Eve listened to the serpent in the Garden was that she looked at the forbidden fruit and saw that it was “pleasing to the eye” (Genesis 3:6).

Satan used a visual image to help entrap her. “It looks so good… doesn’t it… If it looks good, it can’t be wrong...”

Satan comes along and shows all the kingdoms to Jesus… “All of this can be yours without the pain...”

On the way over this morning… How many commercials and billboard ads appealed to you? On the television or on the phone this morning...You saw the product: This product will make you feel so good. This product will make you powerful, beautiful, satisfied, complete, and happy...

This product will make you important...

The world is full of “eye candy,” sparkly things and glamour. Satan uses our senses, our sinful nature, and materialism against us... with a promise... of happiness and fulfillment.

And people are convinced - “God is not enough. Jesus is not enough. What I have is not enough. I need to pursue more and more… More stuff will satisfy the inner cravings we have.

Satan comes as an angel of light… and baits the hook… as he goes fishing for us...

But… Jesus and His disciples are coming along to do some fishing of their on...

What do we know? All that glitters is not gold, and the child of God knows that these things are only temporary (Proverbs 23:5). Our focus is not the newest product or latest fashion.

Our goal… our eyes are not on the Hollywood elites or the Music Industry’s elite… This is not what we fix our eyes on.

Instead, our goal is “to know Christ and the power of his resurrection… To set our eyes on Jesus and to live for Him and eternity.”

Whatever fills our eyes… fills our lives… And we will live for that thing...

If you are pursuing the world… You are filling your eyes… and seek to fill your heart with it...

You are not pursuing Jesus and the Love of the Father is not in you.

This Love… for the World… does not come from the Heavenly Father.

If this Love for Creation fills you… If this is what consumes your life…

You need to know: This did not come from the Father and The Love of the Father is not in you...

2. Lust of the Flesh:

Remember: Love is not Lust and Lust is not Love.

This inward desire… that is sinful… is a desire for creation and not for the Creator.

Our sinful nature, dominated by sin and rebellion, is so closely tied to the physical aspect of mankind... that it is simply called “the flesh” in the Bible.

Desires that arise from within us… all of us with a sinful nature, and in a fallen world… these desires can quickly become sinful lusts of the flesh.

Now, lets be careful here: I do not want to sound like a Buddhist - All desires are not sins in themselves. We desire food, water, shelter, physical intimacy, and comfort. We love art, beautiful things around us. We can enjoy these things. God created us with those desires.

However, with the sinful nature leading us… we will desire to please ourselves, regardless of God’s moral law (Romans 3:10, 12.)

So what will we do? We will turn from the Creator, to do it our own way and to seek ultimate satisfaction from the creation… rather than the Creator.

When fleshly desires rule us, taking priority over God’s will, they cause us to violate God’s commands and righteousness. They become lustful desires that lead us to sin.

For example, hunger propels us to find food. Eating is good. It is not sin. Jesus ate and drank when He was on the earth (Luke 24:42–43).

But when hunger becomes a lust for food, it turns into gluttony, which is a sin (Proverbs 23:20–21). It may lead us to steal… It may lead us to food addiction...

When natural sexual desires turn perverse, they lead to homosexuality, adultery, fornication, and other sexually related sins.

Desires for a house or a car may lead to coveting. Desires for a spouse may lead you to impurity.

Those are lusts of the flesh.

Listen to the Problem:

We are born with this sinful nature to please ourselves our way… and not God’s way.

We are born with desires… and we do not seek God. We do not seek His counsel or His will. We say to ourselves and to God, “We got this. We know what is best for us…”

Our desires lead us not to God, but away from God.

God does not lead us… Our desires do.

Is this a problem? Yes!

So much so… that we must be born again by the Spirit of God.

You have been created by God and for God… You are created to know God and to be satisfied with Him… And your hearts will be forever restless until… They rest in God.

Listen: For those who love the world - Your desires are leading you… Not God. And you are seeking to gratify yourself, even if it means violating God’s plan, God’s will, and design.

You have lusts… and a self-love… but the Love of the Father is not in you.

The love of the Father says, “For I so loved you that I gave my only begotten Son...”

The love for the world says, “For I so love the world… I give up the Son, for stuff.”

God’s love… and our Love for God… directs our desires. Loving God changes our desires and shows us how handle inward desires. Loving God puts up guardrails and parameters on our desires... to use them and direct them in a God honoring way.

Satan is using this world and your sinful nature against you. He is using your eyes and all other senses… to seek and to live for your own pleasures… Without God’s Word directing you.

The philosophy of darkness is, “If it feels good… It can’t be bad. If it feels right, it can’t be wrong...”

And people are feeling their way around in the darkness… Living to satisfy the cravings of the flesh and not the will of God.

What does it all come down to...? Living it out in the Pride of Life.

3. Pride of Life:

This is the working out of those inward desires… “I will do it my way.”

“It is all about me. It is all about meeting my needs and desires and doing it my way.”

Arrogance, self-promotion, and greed all stem from the pride of life.

Your way… right away… Have it your way… And get it today! Without delay!

If there are any Scriptures that depict Satan before he fell… it is Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12-18. If… if… this is referring to Satan - He was beautiful, perfect in all of his ways, and he became prideful because of his beauty… He became filled with violence and sin… He desired to be above God, to be his own god… And in the passages you will read: “I will… I will… I will… I will ascend.… I will exalt… I will...”

“I desire to kick God off the throne and establish my own...”

And we hear from Jesus, as disciples were coming back bragging about how the demons submitted to them in Luke 10… Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightening...”

Satan fell because of pride… it seems... and so will anyone else.

What does the Pride of Life say? “What God has said is not enough. What God has done is not enough. I am made in the image of God but that is not enough… I want more, and God is holding back on me… He does not know what is best… But I do!

SO I will do this my way… I will do what I want...”

This is from Satan… not the Father.

Listen: The pride of life seeks to elevate itself above all others and fulfill all personal desires. It is the root cause of strife in families, churches, and nations.

“This feels good. I like it this way. I want it my way. I want… I want… make me feel good… my way… not your way… not our way… my way right away… today!

This is wrecking lives, wrecking homes, businesses, and churches...

In the pride of life… we do not deny ourselves and we do not walk in humility before God and others.

The pride of life is the arrogance that separates us from others… and it is limiting our effectiveness in the kingdom of God.

The pride of life “comes not from the Father, but from the world.” And, as such, it is passing away with the world, but those who resist and overcome the temptation of the pride of life do the will of God, and “the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).

Does our lifestyle show that we are seeking to do the Father’s will or our will?

The man or woman who loves the world, is led by their desires… and they do whatever they want to do; they do not resist and overcome temptation… but they live in it… And live according to their own will… Not God’s...

The Love of the Father is not in You.

Listen: There no such thing as a Gay Christian. That is a big argument for our modern day. But, in light of this text and many others… You cannot claim to have the love of the Father… while you live for yourself and for your desires… There is no such Christian.

There is no such thing as a Christian who lives in their sin and enjoys it.

There is not such thing as a Christian who lives a lifestyle of sin, without struggle.

Christians will struggle with sinful desires… But they cannot live in it.

Christians will struggle with this world… But we will not fit in and feel comfortable.

People of this world, who love this world... are enslaved to this system. They are in bondage in this system. They live it it, swim in it, and worship it all the days of their lives...

And you can’t tell a fish that is it wet… This is all that they know. This is their world.

Those in this system live for riches, honors and pleasures. This is what they will serve and live for. They ultimately live for themselves, and they will serve themselves.

This is their purpose and great meaning for life. And without someone breaking through to save us from this… We would be kept here forever.

But what has Christ done? Christ has broke through this dark kingdom. Christ and come into the enemy’s camp, as the Light of the World.

Jesus came in and overcame the evil one. Jesus overcame the world.

Jesus came into this world to save it, to redeem it, and to establish His Kingdom in this World, a Kingdom of Righteousness and Holiness.

Just like Abraham was living in a land of sin… was called out it by God, to follow God, and to be saved from sin… Just as Lot was called out, led out of Sodom and Gomorrah...

Dear loved ones of God, you have been called out and saved by God and for God...

God’s people have been called out, have been saved from this world, from this system, from this kingdom of darkness… Christians have stepped out of this kingdom that is ruled by Satan, and now he or she is in the Kingdom of God, under King Jesus, living in the Light, to live for the King, and to serve Him wholeheartedly.

Christians… we have been saved from Satan’s kingdom, from this worldly system… We no longer seek it… We now... seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Christ is our overcomer… And we are overcomers!

And now, the Love of God consumes us, compels us, and leads us.

Christians: We have come to God… and say “you are God.” You are enough for us. We want you. We want to live for you. We desire you first and foremost. Your wisdom, your knowledge, your understanding is enough… I will trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding, and acknowledge you in all my ways, and you will direct my path...

My desires, our desires… must be led by God… and my desires must feed on God. We see the beauty of creation… and we praise God for His creation… We thank Him… We worship Him for all these things.

We take our desires to God… and we are then led by God to direct our desires rightly.

But Christians do Struggle: Are we struggling with these temptations today?

*Do we need some steps for us to practice Today?

Come to Jesus and Confess - Your God and I am not. Your ways are best. You know what is best. Forgive me for going my own way and for trying to play God.

Confess - I have been going my own way and doing my own thing. My desire has been for me and not for you. My desire has been for my will to be done and not yours. I have not been taking my desires to you… to direct those desires… Please forgive me!

Then, fight lusts with desires for Jesus. Be consumed with Him. Spend time with Him, pray, sing to Him, and enjoy Him all throughout your day. Fight lusts with godly desires. Direct your desires to Jesus. Fix your eyes and fill your eyes with Him...

Also...Cut out things that are feeding your lusts… Television temptations. Cut out phone temptations. Cut out computer and Amazon browsing temptations… or whatever else, as you become absorbed with God.

You may need to start fasting something today. You may say that food or certain drinks have mastery over you… and you need to fast. There is an addiction that is forming with your phones or computers… and you need to fast.

Whatever is competing with your desires for God… whatever that may have mastery over you… You may need to start fasting something today.

Love God more than anything else. And despise that which seeks to take you away from Him.

When you sense those temptations to gratify the flesh in ways that contradict God’s plan, will or design… We have to redirect ourselves. Take your eyes and heart to God’s direction.

What are the results?

Now, you are no longer being led by the Pride of Life, the Lusts of the Eyes and the Lusts of the Flesh.

Now you are no longer chasing more of the world… the riches of the world…

You are no longer coveting what others have… You can be content.

You are no longer angry with others because they have and you don’t...

You can be joyful in the Lord… and continue to love your neighbors… love your brothers and sisters in the faith...

You are no longer chasing lusts of the flesh… you have time to love your family, love your church family… love the stranger and everyone else...

The world is no longer choking the life out of you...

And today… Someone is struggling with this… Today, someone is struggling with these temptations, these lusts of the eyes and of the flesh… Someone is struggling with the pride of life...

Unbelievers live in it…

Believers struggle with it...

Those who have been born again by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus will continually put to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:12–14). We will not allow the lust of our flesh to control our lives; rather, we will choose to consider ourselves “crucified with Christ.”

Christians fight against temptations...

And today… you need to confess it and fight it with God’s help and not on your own. Today, you might just need to cut some things out… Because you love the Lord that much.

Do you need the Lord to help you today? Do you need to confess to the Lord that you need help today?

Come and pray… Come and seek His face...

Chose the will of the Father today. Chose love… not lust.

Chose the love of the Father and not the love for the things of this world.

Do you see how many are still in the kingdom of darkness..? Come and pray for them.

Their hearts are not changed by God’s love, and their desires for the world control them.

Pray for them.

The Love of the Father is here today… Is there anyone who desires to do His will?

Look to Jesus today.

Close and pray.