Dying to the World

Introduction (world systems pass away)

If you study world history... you begin to notice something remarkable.

Every generation believes the world it inherited is permanent...it just is...normal...this is the way it is ...and will always be.

But history tells another story.

Over the past five hundred years, the center of economic (and thus poitical) power has shifted repeatedly. Portugal once dominated the seas. Then Spain. Then the Dutch Republic. Then the British Empire. In the last century, the United States emerged as the world's leading economic power, and the U.S. dollar became the world's primary reserve currency... hanging on by a thread today due to the waning petro-dollar system (all oil sales tied to dollars).

Historian and investor Ray Dalio has spent years studying these cycles. While historians may debate aspects of his conclusions, the broad pattern is difficult to ignore. Great powers often follow a familiar arc: innovation, productivity, expanding trade, increasing wealth, rising debt, internal division, and eventually the rise of another competitor. No empire has proven permanent. No reserve currency has lasted forever.

Today, many believe we are living through another major transition. Around the globe, governments, banks, and technology companies are building new financial infrastructure. Artificial Intelligence, Digital assets, blockchain networks, tokenization of real-world assets, fractional ownership, programmable money, and faster global settlement systems are no longer science fiction—they are becoming part of serious conversations about the future of finance.

No one knows exactly what the next fifty years will look like. We should be humble enough to admit that. But history gives us confidence in one truth:

The systems of this world ...never stay the same.

They rise.

They flourish.

They appear unstoppable.

And eventually...they pass away.

Babylon the Great Falls

The Bible has been saying this all along.

In Revelation 18, John is given a vision of the fall of "Babylon the Great"—a picture of humanity's economic, political, and spiritual rebellion against God. However, one understands the details of Revelation, the message is unmistakable.

The merchants of the earth stand at a distance and weep—not because righteousness has fallen—but because their wealth has vanished.

"Alas! Alas!... For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste." (Revelation 18:16–17)

Again they cry,

"For in a single hour she has been laid waste." (Revelation 18:19)

Think about that.

The city (representing worldly systems) seemed invincible. It made the nations wealthy and proud. It appeared too powerful to fail.

Yet God says it was gone in a single hour.

Every financial and political order. Every earthly kingdom eventually gives way to another.

History has never produced a permanent kingdom. And that is exactly where our passage begins today.

1 John 2 the world is passing away.

John writes,

"Do not love the world or the things in the world."

Notice what he does not say.

He doesn't say, "The world is evil because it changes." He says, "The world is passing away..." (1 John 2:17)

Not will pass away someday.

It is passing away. Along with it? ...

Its priorities.

Its measurements of success.

Its promises of security.

Its definitions of significance.

Its idols.

Its ambitions.

They are already fading.

Christian Mindset

The Christian life begins when something remarkable happens. Jesus told Nicodemus that we must be born from above.

Why?

Because before Christ, the world's values naturally rise within us, and we think they are normal ways of being, th and living. We measure our lives by success, possessions, comfort, recognition, influence, and control because that is the only kingdom we have ever known.

But...through faith...when Christ makes us new, another kingdom begins to grow inside us.

The world does not disappear overnight. Instead, something beautiful begins to happen.

The kingdom of self begins to decline. The kingdom of God begins to rise.

We begin to see this world for what it is...passing away.

Our loves are reordered.

Our priorities change.

Our treasure moves.

Our citizenship is transferred.

That is what this entire Dying to Live series has been teaching us.

To follow Christ is not simply to improve our behavior. It is to die to one kingdom while being made alive in another.

Because unlike every empire, every economic system, and every earthly kingdom...the Kingdom of God never passes away.

“The World” is a belief system

To be clear...when John says “do not love the world or the things in them” he is not referring to creation itself...what God called good in Genesis. He is referring to what he says in 1 John 2:16

1 John 2:16 ESV

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.

Last week we talked about dying to comfort...

Think about the desires of our flesh....and our eyes...we desire things that we think will make us comfortable...and those things can often prevent us from following Jesus with our whole hearts.

The world system...is based in our most carnal desires and things the puff us up with pride. But all those things...as our John says...are passing away. We are too easily pleased by garbage...than be things of eternal worth.

Closing

The bottom line is...everything the world values is temporary...God’s kingdom’s value are eternal. God is saying to us...don’t love the temporary...love the eternal...that’s how we know we love God with our whole being...

Application 1: Hold the Things of This World with Open Hands

Key Thought: If every worldly system eventually changes, don't build your identity on what cannot last.

The world tells us security comes from accumulating more wealth, climbing the ladder, or achieving financial independence. Those things are not sinful in themselves, but they are unstable foundations.

The Christian's security has never rested in a currency, a retirement account, a home, or a nation.

It rests in Christ.

As Hebrews reminds us,

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

Because our treasure is in Jesus...it is stored where no system...or market...crash can reach it (Matthew 6:19–21).

Question for the congregation:

If everything you own disappeared tomorrow, what would still remain that truly matters?

Application 2: Examine What Kingdom Is Forming Your Loves

The greatest danger isn't that the world changes. The greatest danger is that the world shapes us.

John is asking,

"What do you love?"

Every day the world disciples us. Everyday we choose who to listen to and obey.

Ask your self everyday: Which kingdom is discipling me today?

Application 3: Invest Your Life in What Cannot Pass Away

John closes by saying,

"The world is passing away... but whoever does the will of God abides forever."

Think about investments.

We all understand the difference between a short-term investment and a long-term investment.

John says there is only one investment with an eternal return. One with God at the center...and love of neighbor as ourselves.

Jesus says “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven..." (Matthew 6:20) / Every act of faithfulness is an investment in a kingdom that never declines.

Closing Challenge

The invitation of Christ is not simply to abandon one system. It is to be born into another.

As the old kingdom loses its grip...the Kingdom of God gains our hearts.

That is what it means to die to the world... so that we may truly live.

Thanks be to God...AMEN.