Temporary or Eternal? 10/13/2019
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What we so often desire is of no significance when compared to the matter of our eternal soul.
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 lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
The World - the system of things. Possessions, Pleasures, Pursuits.
What we should not be confused about:
Loving the world is unacceptable.
Living in two parallel worlds is unacceptable - We cannot love the world and love the Father at the same time.
John defines this thing “the world” we have the potential to fall in love with.
The world consists of:
Lust of the flesh
Lust of the eyes
The pride of life
None of those things are of the Father.
Brings us to the real issue.
17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Everything that belongs to this world is rapidly changing - locked into a state of passing away!
Conditions of life - baby, child, youth, adult, middle age, old age. Changing consistently.
Our lives are brief and change so rapidly. Like a river, constant change, forever rolling onward.
But we act as though this is forever. The world is passing away. Life is passing away. No one can stop it.
Life’s desire are changeable
Athletics - played football and basketball - now I golf and fish.
Possessions - quickly age - new model every year.
Think of the things people get trapped in. We can get trapped in.
Lust (desires) of the flesh.
Contrast between Daniel and Belshazzar.
Belshazzar in his pursuit of fulfilling his lust. Brought the vessels of the Lord’s house for his own party of drunkeness.
Belshazzar offered Daniel a gold chain for his neck and to be the third ruler in the kingdom for making known what God had written upon the wall.
Daniel said keep your gifts. I will tell you what God has said for nothing.
Their gods were their own bellies.
Desires of the eyes - covetous
New Car
Latest tech
Constantly looking to others and desiring what they have… spiritual check.
Possessions are nothing. It all gets old - the new car is going to get dinged, scratched, lose value.
Carfax - a new car loses 10% of its value in the first month.
We struggle with giving God 10% tithe. But we unknowingly surrender it to the gods of this world.
Pride of life - all about me - Selfishness is the spirit of the age.
Jesus Christ died for us to be saved and we ignore it.
As if someone stops to pull you from a burning car wreck. They reach out with compassion and friendship. In return we reject it by getting back into the burning the car.
Temptation - desires - pleasures - all passing
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look on the earth beneath.
For the heavens will vanish away like smoke,
The earth will grow old like a garment,
And those who dwell in it will die in like manner;
But My salvation will be forever,
And My righteousness will not be abolished.
Grow old like a garment.
Nothing is permanent except for the spiritual.
38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Things that abide forever.
What we do here is preparing us for our eternal.
Some of us need to hear this message. You are giving all your thought, time and money to the present life. Indifferent to the life of the soul, which is infinitely more important.
Will Jesus be ashamed when He comes in glory?
A swarm of flies came around a pot of honey which had fallen and broken in a grocery store. They would not leave the spot while there was even a single drop of the honey left. After a time, the honey stuck to their feet and wings so that they could not fly away. They cried, “what fools we were. For the sake of a shot hour’s pleasure we have thrown away our lives.”
Is that what you are doing with your life? Investing your time and energy in things that will eventually destroy you.
Scripture teaches - The greedy never know when they have had enough. Is the fatness of life the only thing that matters?