Complete dependence upon the
Lord for all needed help this morning. I wish to direct your
very prayerful attention to the first epistle of John, chapter
2, in verses 15, 16 and 70. The first General Epistle of John, Chapter
2, verses 15, 16 and 17. Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of 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 passeth away, and
the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of
God abideth forever. What we have before us is a lesson as a parent gives a child. What do I mean by that? Well,
we live in an age of unruly children, don't we? But occasionally we
see, and it makes us smile, the parent reveals to the child,
don't go into that road. Don't do this. If you do this,
there will be consequences. And the child may do that thing
that is forbidden. And it's rebuked, just slightly. But why is it rebuked? For it's
good. For it's good. And when it grows,
when it grows, it learns to do well. Now, this has a direct right here we have a direct application
of that because here John in the context that we have before
us is writing to a church that he knew very well it's called
a general epistle in that it was written to a specific church
we know that we know in the intimate way he speaks, in the very personal
way that he speaks, that these were people he held
in high esteem. He had a great love for them. And in doing so, he addresses
them very kindly. My little children, he calls
them. and He comforts them under a
sense of sin. You know, we might call this
Epistle of John the We Know Epistle. So many times we see, don't we,
this statement, We Know, We Know, We Know, Because, and so on. And here He is speaking about,
in the earlier part of the chapter, about living in the light and
of the necessity of the true light, loving the brethren within
the church and so on and so forth. He says, I have written unto
you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.
I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong and
the Word of God abiding in you. and you have overcome the wicked
one. So he certainly knew them well. But it's called a general
epistle because the church isn't named. But then when we come to our
text in verse 15 and verses 15 to 17 are as what we might say
one whole statement. We read this, what we might call,
change of tact. a very different line of argument,
but it's very striking in terms of what John says. You have to
remember that John is giving the brethren here the benefit
of his experience. John at the time of writing this
was a very old man, certainly in his late 80s, perhaps over
90 years old. and under the direction of the
Holy Ghost this has been left on record for our benefit and for the benefit of the church
at large and here we have these words now as you know I am not
one for preaching sermons on points particularly not the more
gimmicky practice of all points beginning with the same letter
and so on it's not something that we really approve of but
here we can see that in these three verses they are delivered
as separated into six statements if we like six statements the
first one love not the world the second one neither the things
that are in the world. The third, if any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. The fourth, for
all that is in the world and 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. He covers that whole verse. The
fifth, And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, and
the sick, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Six statements, six points we
might say, that John is making within these three verses. Now the first one, Love not the
world now we have good evidence for this love not the world because
we live in a world that does not have the blessing and the
approbation of the Lord upon it and we have to go back do
we not to the very beginning to the third chapter of Genesis
to see why And it's a very relevant question. People would say, well
why? Would we not want to be of and
love the world? Well, when Adam fell, our first
parents Adam and Eve, when they fell, and unto Adam the Lord
said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife is
in verse 17 in Eden of the tree of which I commanded thee saying
thou shalt not eat of it cursed is the ground for thy sake in
sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life God cursed
the earth He cursed the ground thorns also and thistles shall
it bring forth unto thee and thou shalt eat the herb of the
field it was mentioned just yesterday
at home when contemplating that verse how before the fall how fertile the land must have
been. It was not difficult, was it,
for things to grow. Now I know there are some parts
of the earth today, some parts of this country that are more
fertile than others. But thorns and thistles came
in. Now that's not saying that the
Lord's creation is evil, of course it's not. it's not saying that
at all but what it's saying is that the thorns, the thistles
the very some of us say at this time of year just about we might
still see of it gets stung by a wasp it's a reminder of the
curse it's a reminder of the curse to us it's the world it's
the facts that what's before us has been tainted. And it's been tainted by sin. So God cursed the world, the
inhabitants who live for what is before us. Love not the world. to live simply for now. I mentioned, didn't I, the person
I knew, the girl I knew at university who recently has died in Australia through
a walking accident. And the thing that was said to
me, and the thing that saddened me most of all was that Well,
she was living life to the full. Living life to the full. And
loving life. Loving the world. Well, friends,
we need more than that, don't we? We each need more than that. Not to love the present scene. My mind goes to that hymn, some
might call it a gospel hymn. That this world is not my own,
I am just a passing through. That is the Christians approach
to things. Love not the world. What's before
us? What's before us? Love not the
present scene. Don't become too entangled. with
what we see so love not the world and here tying in, but it's a
separate thing that he's saying really here John neither the
things that are in the world because it's the things that
are in the world that make us love it quite often now we must
address this question What is it to be a worldly person? And well, unfortunately, people,
these sorts of things mean all sorts of things to different
people. But it is not the way you wear
your hair. It is not necessarily the clothes
you wear. It is not external things, very
often. I say this for this reason we
can be in chapel on the Sabbath day sat in the pew hearing the
word and our hearts can be in the world that's very possible
it's very possible very possible I know because I've been there
it's very possible what is it to be a worldly person. It's to live for the world, isn't
it? It's to live for this life. It's to live for what's before us. There are
precepts in the Gospel, of course there are, for the way we should
live life. But you know, we have to remember,
and I read very deliberately, that sixth chapter in Matthew,
because the Lord Jesus warns us here, and He's speaking of
the scribes and the Pharisees, but He's warning Christian people,
take heed that you do not your arms before men to be seen of
them. you see the scribes and the pharisees
their religion was this taste not touch not handle not it's
all in externals it's all in externals I once asked a minister about
a certain church I didn't know the answer he gave me was well
I had to stop myself from responding, because I'm sure I would have
said the wrong thing. He said, oh that church there, it's a
very worldly church. All the people have televisions,
and he said something else, and I thought, well, friends, that's
just externals, isn't it? That's just externals. I don't
have a TV, I don't want one, but those are just externals. That doesn't prove worldliness,
nor does it prove godliness. Taste not, touch not, handle
not. You see, you have to be very careful when we go down
that line. They criticise the Lord Jesus
for eating with unwashing hands, for sitting down with sinners
and publicans. The externals are not what makes
a person worldly necessarily. But what makes a person worldly
is to live for this world, is to live for ambition is to live
for filthy lucre the love of money the love of money is the
root of all evil the root of all evil you see these are the things
and often they might be displayed in external ways but it's the
condition of the heart isn't it? That's where it is. And the Lord Jesus here speaks
against the hypocrites who love to pray standing in the synagogues
and in the corners of the streets that they might be heard. Now
here, you and I, we have to take note. We have
to take note. Because the Lord says this, doesn't
He? when thou prayest enter into
thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door pray unto thy father
which is in secret and thy father which seeth thee in secret shall
reward thee openly is not a test of true godliness
the exercise of soul and how often we need to come, not necessarily
how long But how often we need to come before the Lord in our
closet in prayer. And the Lord does reward us openly. He makes things happen. He makes
things happen. That's the godly person. The worldly person lives for externals and show.
And really, the religious hypocrite is living in the world and is
very much of it. Because here, when the Lord is
speaking, He's speaking of those who were only concerned for what
others think about them. Somebody said to me, not long
ago, you know, you feel you're getting older and the when you
become less concerned about what others think about you. You know
it's a good place to be. It's a good place to be. Good
place to be. The fear of man bringeth a snare.
It bringeth a snare. It's what the Lord considers
to be that really matters. Yes. Neither the things that
are in the world. Now, we have to remember that
these things were written to the church. They were written
to the church. A person, you and I, when we're
born in an unregenerate state, we are in the world and of it. That's how we are. and regenerated, the Church is
brought out of the world. Wasn't that one of the reasons
why Mr Philpott seceded from the Church of England in that
wonderful letter he wrote to the Provost of Worcester? He
says the Church is taken out of the world, it's not part and
parcel of it. And when we're taken out of it it brings a change of mind, a
complete change of mind, we'll come to that in a moment but
these things John wrote he wrote to them, he wrote to the church
there because the encroaching, and this is how it often is the
encroaching efforts of Satan are often to make the Lord's
people too taken up with the affairs of this life You know
people have a very wrong view of Satan and his operations.
They think of the devil with horns and so on and so forth.
That's not the picture the Bible paints. The scripture talks about
Satan coming as an angel of light. Wolves in sheep's clothing, disguised
very often. Some of us have met wolves in
sheep's clothing. But we should not be surprised
at such. There has always been such people
in the scriptures. But these things are written
because quite often they're not these things subtle. It's very
subtle. And slowly but surely, bit by
bit, people are taken, even in the church, overtaken, we might
say. Perhaps those things that start
very legitimate, but we can soon be overtaken with the things
of this world and the devil knows exactly where your weak points
are it might be financial issues monetary things
it might be status it might be ambition all these things and
you know none of us are exempt none of us are exempt That is
why John speaks of them. They are given here as a warning. The things that are in the world,
we sang that hymn, that opening hymn, are no longer tinsel, grandeur,
praise. The world presents itself in
flashing lights and fireworks, doesn't it? But soon the fireworks
have gone. They've been put out. They pass. And the night comes, followed
by the morning again. You know, whatever it is, it's only before
a season and that's why we read neither of the things that are
in the world. They can look attractive. Again, we go back to the garden
and Satan coming through in the form of the serpent. it was that which was forbidden,
wasn't it? that evil was tempted with, that's
which was forbidden but you shall be as gods we have an inquisitive nature and we have a nature that naturally
likes to aspire to something that may seem appetising that
in the end can often do us harm we read thirdly if any man loved the world the
love of the Father is not in him now this is a very solemn
statement but it's one that we can't escape
so we have to ask this question are you a worldly person? are you a worldly person? do
you love the world? do you love it? or do you see it for what it
really is? again Going back to Matthew 6,
there's so many similarities, isn't there, within this chapter. No man can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he
will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot, you cannot
serve God and man. You can. You can. And you know
we live to prove this. The only truly fulfilled life
is one in service to Christ and the cause of the Gospel. Every
Christian has a ministry. A ministry simply is a service. It's a service. That's why In
our denominational circles we have that phrase, we speak of
those who are the Lord's servants, those who preach, the Lord's
servants. It's a service, it's a service really. That isn't necessarily a pulpit
ministry, it can take many forms, many forms. I think the greatest
encouragers I've ever known, I don't think any of them have
been ministers, mostly have been what we might call mothers in
Israel, older ladies, lady members particularly, in the churches,
great encouragers, great encouragers in the truth. And a very keen
presence in those who are desirous to see Zion increase and the
Lord's people be filled with knowledge and with good things. you see we can't serve two masters
we all have to make a living and we have to be thankful if
we enjoy it many people don't but you know the end will come
even to that I don't know about you some of you may have experienced
this but I think we've all worked with one or two people and their
life, their occupation tends to happen particularly where
people have had sad domestic circumstances and when they retire
they feel lost they've got nothing else you see it's very sad that
we do meet such people good workers, good colleagues, good people
to know but you know we need more than that we need more than
that You see, this is the difference.
If any man loved the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. It's a straightforward sentence, isn't it? We don't find many
statements like that, particularly in the Scripture. But there we
have it. The love for the world is enmity with God. It's there. It's there. It's there. So then we move to our fourth
point, which is this 16th verse. 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. These things here that we're
reading of, are products of the Fall. the lust of the flesh that which
desires that which we have no entitlement to the lust of the eyes, that which
we cover that which we see and again we have no entitlement
to it and all those things are culminated
in the pride of life. The pride of life. People make it their ambition,
don't they? To accumulate as much as they
can. To enjoy things as much as they
can. But, we read here these things are
not of the Father they're of the world they're of the world and the world passeth away coming into our fifth mind the
world passeth away anything that you desire in this earth mark it
because in the end it will fail and in the end it will burn that's
how it's going to be that's how it's going to be it passes away
it's just temporary it's just temporary that's all that's all and what
we see with the physical eye, the things that we see are temporal
but the things which we do not see are eternal and I'll tell you why because it's all passing and
when you and I realise this which we will do very soon then we
will see this world for what it is We'll see it for what it
is. Going back to Matthew chapter
6. What is the opposite of these things? You see, these things,
there is always the positive side and the negative side. The
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life,
there of the earth. And the Lord Jesus says, lay
up for yourselves treasures, lay not up treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break in and
steal everything over time fades doesn't it? even in the natural
sense it fades, it goes but lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves
do not break in and steal and here's the point for where your
treasure is there will your heart be also we're all building up
treasure somewhere somewhere somewhere but whatever that treasure is
it can only be in two places it's either on the earth or up
in heaven so yes here we have the picture
of the godly person the worldly person is the person who lives
for this world They live for Him. That's what
they are all encompassed with. The godly person is a person
who lives for Christ and for the cause
of the gospel. That's the godly person. It's
the state of heart. That's where the treasure is
laid. This is why the Lord speaks,
the light of the body is the eye. Though therefore thine eye
be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. If we have
a single eye for the Lord's glory, if we have a single eye for eternity, then we will be
living in the light we'll be living in the light you see the
world passes away and the lusts thereof all the things the world
calls good and great and we have to remember that the Lord said
marvel not if the world hates you I've mentioned of those described
in the Pharisees and those who like to be seen as men dressing
strange clothes and hiding a condom that's no proof of anything it's
just an outward show you know you won't have to make an outward
show in that sense to be despised for the truth because there are times when
you have to make a stand and there are times when we cannot
go along with things and occasionally people will be upset but again
so long as we deal with people honourably and well we won't
suffer for it we won't suffer for it not at all this is where
we come to this but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever
our sixth point Divideth forever. You see, if
you live simply for pleasure, you'll die with Him. If you live
simply for your ambition, you'll die with Him. If you live for
Christ, you live forever. That's the truth of it. Where the tree fought Solomon,
there it shall be and Solomon wasn't talking about free falling
what he said was this the state in which we leave this world
will be our state forever you see the unregenerate they're
born once but they die twice the Lord's people They die once, but they are born
twice. And you see, the Lord Jesus said,
He that believeth in me shall never die. This is the truth
of it, isn't it? He that doeth the will of God
abideth forever. To live in the Spirit, to be
of Christ and His Kingdom. That's
the other side of this. And we will never lose out. The Lord says, them that honour
me, I will honour. And He is always faithful to
His Word. Always. Always. Always. Throughout the ages. Throughout
the ages. We look here Paul the Apostle
in the Scriptures very educated man, a man who was rising within
the ranks the Lord called him by grace, he took him out of the establishment, didn't
he? took him out of what was commonly
accepted he went about as a tent maker here and there preaching
in the churches naturally speaking if such a man was living today
they would say Why has he done a thing like that? Because he didn't live for the
world, did he? He lived for Christ and His Kingdom. He earned a living. But you see, he had his reward. He said, I am ready to be offered. His time had come. Nero the Emperor hated him. Here
we have John who was to be in exile upon Patmos. Yes he was not an educated man
in the world sense but he was taught in Christ's school and
he lived on Patmos in exile, why? Because he loved Christ
and the cause of Christ. And he wouldn't conform to the religion that was going
on around him. We have that word in Romans and
there's a marginal reference to it, isn't there? Be ye not
conformed to this world, but be ye transformed. It's a transformation. A transformation. That's what real religion is,
isn't it? It is a transformation. You see, these things were written
here because worldliness, that creeping, ensnaring problem,
was something John saw and that needed addressing. because hearts
can grow cold there is such a thing as a backslidden heart it was once said I remember from
the pulpit at Leeds some years ago it said if you love the Lord
any less than you do today you're already in a backslidden condition
it spoke to me it spoke to me see there are legitimate things
but legitimate things can soon become illegitimate when they
take over so here we have to take stock,
don't we? about where we are and about
what we live for the will, he that doeth the will of God abideth
forever and there is no substitute whatsoever
for that. Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of 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 passeth away from the lust thereof. But he that doeth the
will of God abideth forever. Amen.