YOUR FRIENDLY ENEMY-PART TWO

LOT-A SAVE SOUL BUT A LOST LIFE

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive A. The World’s Prince

A. The World’s Prince

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (A. The World’s Prince) What we are talking about, this ungodly system, first of all, it has a prince.

The prince of the world is the devil.

Now the Bible makes that plain.

For example, in John chapter 12 and verse 31, Jesus called the devil “the prince of this world.” (John 12:31)

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (A. The World’s Prince) What Jesus meant by that is that

Satan rules this ungodly system.

He is the prince of this world.

In John chapter 14 and verse 30, again, He says, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” (John 14:30)

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive A. The World’s Prince

That is, Jesus had no itch the devil could scratch. But there again,

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (A. The World’s Prince)

The whole world, the whole system, lies in wickedness.

And the word wickedness there may be personified.

It literally means the whole world lies in “the wicked one.”

And the word lieth there actually means “to sleep in the bosom, or the lap, of one.”

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (A. The World’s Prince) That is, Satan’s got this whole world in his hand. We sing,

“God’s got the whole world in His hands,” but actually, the Bible says that Satan has this world in his hands.

This whole world lieth, sleepeth, in the bosom, in the lap, of the wicked one.

So the world—put it down, number one—has a prince. B. The World’s Philosophy Number two: It has a philosophy. There is an enticing network of ideas and values that the devil has skillfully woven together in order to attract you, as a child of God.

For example, 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 12, speaks of the spirit of this world. (1 Corinthians 2:12)

First Corinthians chapter 3, verse 19, speaks of the wisdom of this world. (1 Corinthians 3:19)

First Corinthians chapter 7, verse 31, speaks of the passion of this world. (1 Corinthians 7:31)

And so it doesn’t matter whether it’s from the schoolhouse to the courthouse, from Madison Avenue to Wall Street, whether it’s Hollywood or your neighborhood—it makes no difference—there is a philosophy that is permeating all that we see out there, and, my dear friend, it is your enemy.

C. The World’s Purpose

Now the world has a prince, it has a philosophy, and it has a purpose.

Why did Satan organize this system as he did?

To draw away your love from the Lord Jesus Christ.

The world is unalterably opposed to the things of God.

It is continually hostile to the things of God.

Let me give you some verses.

John chapter 7, verse 7—Jesus said, “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth.” (John 7:7)

The world hates the Lord Jesus Christ. John 14, verse 17

—Jesus spoke of “the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive.” (John 14:17)

This world does not, cannot, never will understand or perceive what you and I know today, the Bible calls “the Spirit of truth.” John 15, verse 18

—Jesus said, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18)

Any friend of Jesus is going to be an enemy of the world.

Any friend of the world is the enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that’s the reason the Bible says, in James chapter 4 and verse 4

POINT!!!

—James warns; he says, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?”

That means “warfare with God.” “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4)

Any man, any woman, any boy, any girl, who is a friend to this ungodly system has become God’s implacable foe.

You are an enemy of Almighty God.

So what is the purpose of the world?

It is Satan’s system to draw away your hearts and minds from a devotional love for the Lord Jesus Christ.

D. The World’s People

The world has a prince, the world has a philosophy, the world has a purpose, and the world has a people.

We’re to love these people, but we must understand that these people will not love us. It has a people.

Luke chapter 16 and verse 8—the Lord Jesus said: “The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” (Luke 16:8)

What the Lord is saying is we, as Christians, need to smell the coffee; we need to wake up.

The world out there is doing all of these things,

and the devil is doing a better job at destroying the world

than the children of God are doing at redeeming the world, because “the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” (Luke 16:8)

But these are the people of the world

that Jesus called “the children of this world.”

And you’re going to find out, dear friend, therefore,

that these people who are worldly people,

when you become a spiritual Christian,

are not going to love you.

Now if you’re like the world, you’re not going to have any trouble.

But when you come out from the world, then you’re going to have trouble.

Listen. Friend,

what we believe starts at a different source;

it follows a different course;

it ends at a different conclusion.

We’re twice-born people in a world of once-born people. And when you live for Jesus, you’re going to be going against the tide all the time—all the time. All the time! And you’re going to understand them, but they are not going to understand you. And they’re going to think of you not only as weird, but they’re going to think of you as their enemy, and they’re going to hate you. And Jesus said, “If the world hates you, that’s all right. I want you to know that the world hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18) And a friend of this world is an enemy of God. Now I’ve said all of that just simply to set a platform for what I’m about to say. Now I’m talking about your friendly enemy. And I’ve chosen from the Word of God a man for an illustration. That man has a small name, only three letters in his name: Lot. And he is a classic example of a man who had a saved soul but a lost life. He was a man who loved the wrong world. Now as we get into this study of this man named Lot, you’re liable to think he wasn’t saved at all. If I didn’t have what the New Testament says about him, I would just simply say Lot never knew the Lord. But the Bible teaches that he did know the Lord. For example, put in your margin, in Genesis chapter 13, this scripture: 2 Peter chapter 2, verses 6 and following. And it tells how God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. And it says, “Turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly.” (2 Peter 2:6) And now, listen to verse 7: “And [he] delivered just Lot,”—it doesn’t mean “only Lot,” but it means “Lot, who was a just man.” God delivered Lot from Sodom. Lot, who was—“vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (for that righteous man”—God called him here a “righteous man”—“dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)” (2 Peter 2:7–8) Now I don’t want to expound that scripture any more, except to say this—that Peter tells us, and we have from the Word of God proof positive—that Lot was a just man, that Lot had a righteous soul, and one day you and I will meet this man named Lot in heaven. Now, keep that in mind and let it be a warning to you, because, you say, “Well, since I’m saved, I don’t have anything to worry about.” May I tell you, my dear friend, that you have an enemy, a friendly enemy, and the enemy who destroyed Lot, who was a just man and a righteous man, can take you and rob your life of all that you hold near and dear and precious. And this enemy seems so innocuous. Your enemy is the world. Now there are four things I want you to see as to what the world did to Lot. And these are four things your enemy can do to you: I. How the World Courted Lot First of all, I want you to see how the world courted him.

You know, the Bible speaks of the world like a harlot: “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity [HOSTILE,OPPOSE]with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4)

This world will flirt with you. This world will court you. Now what happened is this, that God had called Abram from Ur of the Chaldees into the land of Canaan, the land of promise. And Abram took with him his nephew Lot. Abram was a big herdsman, and so was Lot. And both of them had flocks and herds. And the herds were too great, and there was a range war between Lot’s cowboys and herdsmen and Abram’s cowboys and herdsmen. And Abram was a magnanimous man with a great spirit, and he said, “Now, Lot, why, you and I are brothers. Let’s not war about this thing. We’re being a poor example to the heathen, the Canaanites, in the land. We’re representatives of Almighty God. Let’s just agree to disagree.

Let’s just divide. Lot, just choose. Lot, if you want to go this way, I’ll go that way.

You take what you want, Lot, and I’ll take what’s left.”

What a wonderful spirit Abram had! And then the Bible says that Lot lifted up his eyes, and he looked over there, and he saw the well-watered plain of Jordan. This was in the direction of two of the most wicked cities on the face of this earth: Sodom and Gomorrah. But Lot was not so interested in the sin of Sodom as he was the wealth he thought he could have. And so the Bible says that when Lot saw all of this tall grass, when Lot saw all of this lush fertile valley, Lot said, “Well, Uncle Abe, I’ll just take that.” He didn’t pray about it. He didn’t seek the mind of God about it. He didn’t think about the welfare of his children or his wife. He did not consider the ungodly, unspeakable, immoral lifestyle of the Sodomites. Oh no. All he thought about was his cattle, his flocks, his herds, his money. And the Bible tells us here a significant thing. The Bible says, in verse 11, “Then Lot chose him”—that is, he’s choosing for himself—“all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and”—watch it now—“[he] pitched his tent toward Sodom.” (Genesis 13:11–12) May I tell you again, my dear friend, that Sodom stands for all that God hates. It was unspeakably wicked. And yet it spoke of the world: the world with its money, the world with its business, the world with its pleasure, the world with its social life. And Lot said, “That’s what I want.” He didn’t ask God about it. He didn’t pray about it. He made his decision on one basis and one basis alone: his own selfish desire. And primarily, he was motivated by covetousness. May I tell you right now that there are some men in this building thinking about making a job change, but you’re not praying about it. You’re not seeking the welfare of your children. You’re not seeking God in this thing. All you’re saying is, “Where can I make the most money?” “Well,” you say, “a man’s got to live, Preacher.” No, he doesn’t. He’s got to die. And after that, he’s got to face God in the judgment. No man—listen to me—no man has the right to make all the money he can—no man. Sometimes graduation speakers will stand up and say, “Make all the money you can, just so you make it honestly.” That’s the poorest advice ever heard. If a man is making all the money he can, he’ll be making money when he ought to be praying; he’ll be making money when he ought to be studying the Bible; he’ll be making money when he ought to be witnessing; he’ll be making money, sometimes, at the expense of his wife, his family, and his children. And the Bible says, in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10) My dear friend, that scripture is going to be fulfilled before your very eyes in the life of this man called Lot. “Well,” you say, “Pastor, then what should I do if I’m not to make all the money I can?” I’ll tell you exactly what you’re to do. Matthew chapter 6, verse 33—Jesus Christ said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33) Now there was the world before Lot, and it was Satan’s masterpiece—Sodom, I’m talking about. You see, the Bible says, in 1 John chapter 2 and verse 16, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1 John 2:16) There was Sodom with the lust of the flesh: Sodom with its pleasures. There was Sodom with the lust of the eyes: Sodom with its possessions. There was Sodom with the pride of life: Sodom with its philosophies. Now you don’t have to be a rich man to be covetous. You may be on a meager salary and be covetous. Or you may be rich and not be covetous. Abram was a rich man, and God never condemned Abram for being a rich man. But Abram “looked for a city that had foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:10) There was a difference between Abram and Lot. Now, my dear friend, this world flirted with Lot. And Lot took the bait. He was enticed, and a courtship was born that would ruin his life. And this world became a harlot to steal away his love for his Lord. And I want to warn you, dear friend, the Bible says, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12) And the same world that flirted with Lot is flirting with you every day of your life. It is your friendly enemy.