1 John 2:17-18: Love of the World

Introduction

Introducse Self

passion for people to live for him!

Have you ever gotten terrible advice?

Chaach— come on man, for the glory of God. You can do it.

Sick as a dog. Lost like 10 pounds in 4 hours.

There’s some advice out there that’s just terrible. In fact, what I’m noticing more and more is that most advice out there is terrible.

Let’s see if you’ve heard some of these popular cliche’s.

Trust your gut?— the idea that you can make the right decision by following the physical feelings of your body.

Terrible advice right! I mean, what if you drink 10 glasses of Indian village buttermilk… you can’t trust there.

Follow your heart?— stay away from your gut; instead trust your feelings. Your feelings will let you know what is right.

Terrible advice right! My heart was telling me to punch those students in the face… but I didn’t.

Or this final piece of advice… “You do You.”

I mean what. What does that even mean. It’s kind of all encompassing.

It’s saying : Do whatever you think is best, or do whatever you enjoy most.

Terrible advice.

As you guys learn in your host homes this weekend about truth, and how we can know what is right, I want to come alongside you tonight and tomorrow evening and offer you some better advice.

If you have your Bible go ahead and open up with me to 1 John 2.

Let’s begin reading in verse 15.

1 John 2:15 ESV

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.

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.

1 John 2:17 ESV

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

Good advice: That’s what I want to offer you. And the first point in this advice is simply this: do not love the world.

Do Not Love of the World

What does this mean?

Well, we first have to remember that the world was actually created good. Created in order to be enjoyed, and delighted in.

Remember what the Bible says in Genesis 1 after each day of creation… “It was good.”

Then he created Adam and Eve and said, “It was very good.”

Creation was created good. Created to be enjoyed. Created to be delighted in. Created to be loved.

But here John tells us to not love it. What changed?

Sin. The problem is not that God created the world good. The problem is that poepl have made good things idols. We have made idols out of the world.

Romans 1:19 ESV

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

Romans 1:20 ESV

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Romans 1:21 ESV

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Romans 1:22–23 ESV

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

So the problem isn’t with the world… the problem is with you. You and I, we tend to take what is good and make it god, so John tells us… do not love the world.

Do not look to the world for your advice. It’s Bad Advice.

And the advice that comes from the world, shows up in 3 primary ways.

Desires of the Flesh

What are the desires of the Flesh?

This is the “Trust Your Gut” advice.

What you desire “phyiscally” is good to take.

Now remember, the world was originally created good, and therefore some of these fleshly desires were created by God.

Food, water, shelter, sex, and comfort are all good things, but once again, when corrupted by our sin, those desires grow bigger than good, and become god’s.

Eating is good. But when corrupted by our desires it becomes gluttony. Eating to comfort ourselves, instead of allowing God to become our comfoter.

Equally as sinful is avoiding food, in order to appear thin or feel more beautiful. Believing that your value is found in abstaining from food instead of in God.

Sex was created by God for our good, but when corrupted by our sinful desires it can lead to perversion in the form of porography addiction, homosexuality, or sex before marriage.

It’s us taking what our bodies yearn for now, without any consideration to God’s design for these desires.

And ya’ll, this leads to dire consequences.

Let’s look at Eve in the Garden.

Genesis 3:6 (ESV)

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,

Eve allowed your desires of the flesh to trump God’s design and commands.

The desires of the flesh are bad advice.

Desires of the Eyes

What are the desires of the eyes?

These are the sinful cravings activated by what people see, and it leads to the sin of covetousness. Discontent. It’s constantly wanting what others have, and not being content in what God has provided.

The Bible is clear about coveting. The 10th commandment is to not covet. It’s expounded...

Exodus 20:17 ESV

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

There are things in life that have a visual appeal, that we begin to long for. Ya’ll, it’s bad advice. It will never satisfy you.

It’s like drinking salt water. You see it and your parched, so you guzzle only for it to leave you more parched.

You see the latest trend, and you want to buy it.

You see the car your friend has, so you grow resentful.

You see that girl or that boy that appeals, and it leads to sexual lusts.

All that glitters is not gold. It can lead to really bad consequences in your life.

Look at Eve

Genesis 3:6 (ESV)

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes,

Good for Food= Desires of the Flesh

Delight to the eyes= desires of the eyes.

Following the desires of your eyes is bad advice.

Pride of Life

What is the pride of life?

Simply put it is being puffed up in one’s own possessions, status, or prestige.

Thinking of yourself, higher than you ought to think.

Thinking that your significance, or value is self-earned and self-sustained.

In essence, it’s being your own God. Believing the lie that you don’t need anybody other than me, myself, and I to find significance in this life.

Look at Eve again.

Genesis 3:6 (ESV)

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,

She wanted to be “like God”… she desired to make herself wise. To take her fate into her own hands.

This is what got Satan kicked out of heaven.

Isaiah 14:13–14 ESV

You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

Satan wasn’t content being a created being, dependent or subordinate to God… so he choose the pride of life. You do you. He did him. And tried to set himself above God.

But God will share his glory with no other, and cast him down.

There are serious consequneces to the pride of life.

It’s BAD ADVICE.

Conclusion

So our advice today: Do not love the world.

Because if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. But look how John concludes

1 John 2:17 ESV

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

These desires; they are bad advice because ultimately they will pass away. You can get them now. You can satisfying those lusts with the things of this world… but ultiiamtely it won’t satisfy, because you were created to abide forever.

Testimony— this is my story, and I believe it to be yours too.

Desire of the Flesh—

Before Christ found me and saved me, I was so lost and broken. And I knew it. I knew I was missing something, that there had to be more to life than what I was experiencing.

But the desires of my flesh told me that what I was missing was more physical appetities.

So when pornography wasn’t enough, I had to experiencing more. And the deeper I got into sexual sin the lonelier and emptier I became.

It’s bad advice.

Desires of the Eyes

So maybe a fulfilled life could be found in stuff. When I looked around and saw people making a lot of money, and buying a lot of toys they looked happy.

So I worked, and I began to satisfy the desires of my eyes.

New iphone.

New car.

New clothes.

On and on. But it was never enough. The more I got, the more I wanted.

So I leaned into the pride of life.

Maybe a fulfilled life could be found in success.

I became the best student. Studying and making good grades so that my parents and others would pat me on the back and affirm me.

Got into UGA, where everybody praised me.

I became the best athlete. Accolade after accolade. Maybe if I win MVP then I’ll be satisfied.

but it was never enough.

Salt water.

All of these pursuits, the desires of the flesh, eyes, and pride of life left me broken, empty, and in a dark place.

Ya’ll… it’s bad advice. Want to know how to live a fulfilled, satisfied life.. Do not love the world.

now tomorrow, we will look at the second piece of advice found here in John… the Love of the Father, but for now I want you to consider… Am I following bad advice?

Am I in love with the world?

Which of these 3 temptations am I most prone to?