20/11/2016 1John 2:15-17
The world is our enemy
Hook: The Sweet enemy
1John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the
world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is
not in him. 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. And the world passes
away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God
abides forever.
1. The love for the world pushes away the love for
the Father
Look at verse 15 it starts with a command: Do not love
the world! And if anyone loves the world, love for the
Father is not in him”. In other words, the reason you
shouldn’t love the world is that you can’t love the world
and God at the same time. Love for the world pushes
out love for God, and love for God pushes out love for
the world.
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As Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he
will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24).
The Bible is very clear that we cannot love God
and the world at the same time. It’s just not woking,
because the love for the world pushes away the love for
God.
Then in verse 16 comes the support and
explanation of that command. The reason love for the
world pushes out love for God is that “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, it is not of God, but
is of the world.
This means that all the evil thoughts or evil
desires, adultery, drunkenness, lying, cheating,
stealing, the pride of life and the list goes on and on.
The source of all these things are not of the
Father, therefore they are not from Him. The evil
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system of the world is not from our loving and caring
Father. And if a person loves the system of the world
then this will push away the love for the Father.
The letter of 1 John is written to believers and the
Apostle warns the church: if you love the world, the
prosperity of the world , filthiness , foolish talks or crude
joking which are out of place, love for money, sexual
immorality, impurity, then there is no love for God in
you. That’s why we say the world is our enemy
because love for the world pushes away love for God.
Some people say:
• Ooo I love Jesus I love listening worship songs,
sometimes sermons if they are not too boring I even
read the Bible, but I also love night clubs, trying
different things, meeting interesting people and doing
interesting things. I like to get drunk and have some
real fun.
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• Others ooo I really love Jesus believe me I really do,
but now is time to make money, there is need for
house, for a car education, etc. I do not have much
time for God, not right now but when I get a bit older I
will serve the Lord.
Please do not misunderstand me I am not saying
working and having a lots of money, being rich, having
a big house or having a nice car is a bad things. Not at
all! I am not saying having fun, laughing, joking or
dancing is a bad thing.
What I want to say is: let us check our hearts and
see where it belongs. What is our love for?
If we love money more than God if our heart and
mind is focused only in the prosperity or the power of
the world, then we will not have love towards the
Father. Because, love for the world pushes away love
for the Father.
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If all our focus and heart is in drinking, cheating,
plotting and fun then these things will push away love
for our caring Father.
Let us be clear and not deceive ourselves or the
people around us, if we love the world we cannot love
the Father, we cannot love God. Therefore Do not love
the world!
2. The world is passing away and its lust v 17
And the world passes away, and the lust of it;
This world will not stand for ever it will pass away.
Isaiah 24:1 Behold, the Lord will empty the earth[a] and
make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and
scatter its inhabitants.
Rev 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
Not only is the world passing away, but also the
lusts of it.
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The lust of the flesh - sexual immorality, impurity
will pass away.
The lust of the eyes - the desire to possess what
we see or to have those things which have visual
appeal, coveting of money, possessions, or other
physical things all these things will pass away.
Pride of life - anything that leads to arrogance,
pride in self, presumption, looking others down,
boasting these things will pass away.
If you share the desires of the world, you will pass
away with the world.
No one builds a house on a sinking ship!
Has anyone build a house on a sinking ship? Does
anyone own a ship? :)
Illustration - ship
If you build a house on a sinking ship, in the
beginning it might look nice. The beautiful sunsets or
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sun rise, very romantic, the smell of the sea, early
morning with coffee siting in the balcony beautiful view
so much peace. ——-
However the end of this house are numbered,
because at the end this house and all the beautiful
emotions you have experienced will end up in the
bottom of the sea.
This is what happens with people who love the
world it is like building a house on a sinking ship. Living
immoral life, being arrogant having desire to posses
everything it might look nice in the beginning but the
end will be the bottom of the sea.
Because the world is passing away, and its lust.
However God’s desire for every person is to have
eternal life.
3. Love for the world brings death but the love for
God brings eternal life.
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John says, verse 17 “But he who does the will of God
abides forever.” The opposite of loving the world is not
only loving the Father, but also doing the will of the
Father. And that connection is not hard to understand.
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my
commandments” (John 14:15). John said in 1 John 5:3,
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his
commandments.” So loving the Father in verse 15 and
doing the will of God in verse 17 are not really separate
things.
If you love God, you will love what he wills. It is
empty talk to say I love God but I don’t love what God
loves.
So John is saying in verse 17, “If you love the
world, you will perish with the world, but if you don’t
love the world but love God, you will do his will and live
with him forever.”
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I guess the question is what is the will of God? If The most important aspect of our service to God
we read the Bible we will find in many places how to is the answer to the question, "Does God find what I
live a life according to the will of God. do acceptable?" If not, then my worship is in vain.
This morning we are going to look only one verse Many seem to think that God is pleased with just about
anything as long as its pretty, or if I like it so must God.
together. Let us open Romans 12:1-2
True service and devotion to God involves
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies
replacing our wills with His. This is the "living sacrifice"
of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy
of this verse. I am not living but Christ lives in me. What
and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
ever I do or say is to exalt the resurrected Christ.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be
It is to say Jesus here I am, here is everything I
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing
have. My house, my car, my money, my education, my
you may discern what is the will of God, what is good
family. These all belongs to you, tell me how to honer
and acceptable and perfect
and glorify you with the things you have given to me.
The aim of Romans 12 is that all life would
Verse 2 is Paul’s answer to how we turn all of life
become spiritual worship. The will of God in every
into worship. We must be transformed. Not just our
believer is to exalt Christ. That Jesus would be made to
external behaviour, but the way we feel and think — our
look as valuable as he is.
minds must be transformed. Verse 2: “Be transformed
by the renewal of your mind.”
Pouse…
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The way we think must change. We shouldn't be
with the same mind as the world. NO! Our mind must
be renewed and transformed and be according to
Christ. We must be Christ like minded.
If this morning we say I love God then we should
stay away of love for the world and transform our minds
and hearts to do the will of God in our lives.
As apostle John says: And the world passes
away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God
abides forever.
This morning I see two option for us. Love for the
world and love for God.
• Love for the world brings death. Those who love the
world will pass away and parish. They are building
their houses on a sinking ship and their end will be at
the bottom of the sea
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• Love for God which brings eternal life. Those who
love God they do the will of God. Their end is eternal
life with God in his presence.
Where there is no tears, no fear, no sadness, only love
joy, peace
This morning some of you may have thoughts on:
Well, whom do I love more the world or God? You might
think I love Jesus but there is this one thing of the
world, it is my weakness I know it, but it is so sweet and
good and I just love it. Is that mean my love for God is
not enough and I will perish with the world and its lust?
There are two possible reasons for that:
A) You are not born again - It is possible that you are
a cultural Christian. You may come to church for
years and developed patterns of religious talk and
behaviour because it is socially advantageous or
because your parents talked and acted this way.
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But you may never have experienced a deep
change in your nature by the power of the Holy
Spirit, which gave birth to a stream of new love for
God.
Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:1–5, “In the last days
there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers
of self, lovers of money . . . lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but
denying the power of it.
If you are among that number, or this is your first
time here in our church and you would like your heart to
be change and your love for God to grow.
Then you should direct your heart to Christ and
seek him earnestly in his word. Peter said that we are
born again through the living and abiding word of God
(1 Peter 1:23). So if you want to be born again, you
should pour over the word of God. You should cry to
Christ that he open your eyes to know the Father
(Matthew 11:27). You should plead with God to take out
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your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh that
you might love God with all your heart and all your soul
(Deuteronomy 30:6). You should forsake all known sins
and give yourself to all the means of grace until the light
dawns in your heart and Christ shines so bright in his
power and love that he is irresistibly attractive and you
fall in worship and love before him. And do not quit the
pursuit until you have been born into new life. “You will
seek me and find me when you seek me with all your
heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
B) Your Love Has Grown Cool and Weak
The other possibility is that you have indeed been
born again, but your love for God has simply grown
cool and weak. You’ve tasted what it means to have a
heart for God. You can recall how once you felt that to
know God was better than anything the world could
offer. But this morning as they call it: the wick is
smouldering and the reed is bruised.
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The prescription for your ailment is not much
different than the prescription for seeking new birth in
the first place. Because it is the same Spirit that gives
life also nourishes life. The same word that ignites the
fire of love also rekindles love. The same Christ who
once brought you out of darkness into his marvellous
light (1 Peter 2:9) can take away the long dark night of
your soul. So yield yourself to the Holy Spirit. Immerse
yourself in the word of God. Cry out to Christ for a new
vision of the glory of his grace. Pursue a new passion
for Christ.

1John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things

in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the
Father is not in him. 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. And the world
passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will
of God abides forever.