First John Chapter 2. And we
begin with three verses. Verses 15 through 17. And as we read these verses,
you'll hear the word world six times. Watch for that, but understand
John is not referring to the world of creation, the earth
and the beauty of nature. Not that world. but rather the
world system, a society of humanity that's in rebellion against God.
That's the world he's talking about. An ungodly world, a world
that calls evil good and good evil, that world. And here's
John's instruction to the Lord's people, to believers concerning
the world. And this is. Divinely inspired
the Word of God, verse 15. Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man loved 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. The phrase I call your attention
to in the title of our message is the first line of verse 17,
where he says, the world passeth away. The world passeth away. I wasn't a very good English
student in school. I wasn't even a very good student
period for that matter, but I did learn that a verb ending in ETH
meant that it was not just a past event, but it was something from
the past. Continuing into the present and
on into the future. John could not say, nor can we,
the world has passed away, past tense only. Nor did he say the world shall
pass away, future only. But he says the world passeth
away. It has been passing away. It
continues to pass away. And in God's time, it shall fully
pass away. In other words, this dog eat
dog society we're in is on the way out. How will it happen? It's not that people will change
their attitude about God and about what's right and things
will get better. Oh, no. But here's how it's going
to end. Christ will come again and call
a halt to it. That's when it will end, not
before. And until then, the society of
this world will continue on in the current path of anti-God,
anti-Christ, anti-Bible, anti-church, anti-Christian. They hate God-fearing
people. They hate God-honoring people
more than they hate crooked politicians or mass murderers or child molesters. In the eyes of this world, Being
a genuine follower of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most hated
crime of all crimes. You shall believe that we'll
just hang around. John's instruction to us in verse
15 is to love, not the world. He's saying, child of God, all
this mess is not for you. And first he says it is incompatible
with the new creation in you. It is not of the father. If any
man loved the world, the love of the father is not in him. Again, he's not talking about
enjoying God's creation. No, not talking about the earth. We all love that. But he's saying anybody who wants
to be buddy, buddy, like-minded with a society that is an open
rebellion against God and the laws of God, John says clearly
the love of the father is not in that person. To live like
the world, to look like the world, to have the attitude of the world
is to be part of the world. And such a person, he says, has
not the love of the Father in their heart. Secondly, the heartbeat of the world is
not the heartbeat of God. It's not a heartbeat for God.
It's against God. Love not the world because the lust of the flesh If it feels good, do it. That's
not of the father. The lust of the eyes. I saw this,
I want that. I've just got to have that. It's
not of the father. The pride of life. I'll live
and I'll do as I please. I'll run my life. That attitude
is not of the father. Love, not the world. Paul writing to Timothy, he gave
a bad report of a man named Demas, a man who had been with Paul,
journeyed with Paul, labored with Paul. And Paul said concerning
Demas, he's forsaken me having loved this present world. But John warns us love, not the
world. Who said you had to fit in? Thirdly, John says, love not
the world because it's on the way out. The world pass it away. Don't
invest your life in it. It's headed for everlasting bankruptcy. Paul, the apostle said it like
this in second Corinthians four 18, the things which are seen are temporal. The world passeth away. The Apostle Peter said it like
this. First Peter 124, for all flesh is as grass and all the
glory of man as the flower of grass, the grass withereth And
the flower thereof falleth away. The world passeth away. Hebrews 13, 14 said it like this
to the people of God, for here we have no continuing city. So I just love our little town.
It'll, it'll always be there. No, no, it won't. Here we have no continuing city,
the world passeth away. Turn with me to the last book
in the Bible, Revelation chapter 18. Revelation 18. Verse one,
Revelation 18, one. And after these things, I saw
another angel come down from heaven having great power. Now the term angel does not always
mean a created angelic being, but rather a messenger. Often
Christ has spoken of as the angel of the Lord. And so it is here
having great power. This is Christ. He said just
before he ascended, all power is given me in heaven and in
earth. And here it says he's coming
down now from heaven, having great power. And the earth was
lightened with his glory. That's the glory of Christ. And
he cried mightily with a strong voice saying Babylon, the great
is fallen. is fallen, and has become the
habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and
the cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Babylon. Babylon, you remember, is the
great world kingdom in the Old Testament, known for its idolatry
and its continual rebellion against the true God and his people. That was Babylon historically
mentioned in the books of Kings and Chronicles and Ezra, Nehemiah
and Esther and Psalms and Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and
Daniel and Micah and Zachariah, but in history, powerful in history. But symbolically Babylon speaks
of a world in rebellion against God. Christ says to his people, there's
nothing here for you. This world is messed up. Don't
you know it? It's fallen eat up with sin for all nations. have drunk of the wine of the
wrath of her fornication. And the kings of the earth have
committed fornication with her. And the merchants of the earth
are wax rich through the abundance of her delicacies. Christ says to us, this world
is not for you. Now the instruction, verse seven,
verse four. And I heard another voice from
heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers
of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. For her sins
have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double
according to her works, in the cup which she hath filled full
to her double." Filled to her double. How much she hath glorified herself
and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her. For she saith in her heart, I
sit as a queen and am no widow and shall see no sorrow." That's
what the world says. We're a queen. We're not a widow. We hadn't lost anything. We're
not going to lose anything. And we will not see sorrow. We're finally going to solve.
Listen to the politicians. We're going to, we're finally
going to solve every problem we got and everybody's going
to live happily ever after. No, the world passes away. Now here's the sentence, verse
eight. Therefore shall her plagues come
in one day, death and mourning and famine, and she shall be
utterly burned with fire for strong is the Lord God who judges
her. The world passeth away. an old preacher by the name of
Horatius Bonar whom I left to read after. He said this, you were made for
eternity. You understand that? You were
made for eternity. You weren't made for time. You were made for eternity and
only that which is eternal can be your portion or your resting
place. The things that perish with the
using only mock your longings. They cannot fill you, and even
if they could, they cannot abide. The world passeth away. Mortality is written on all things
here. Immortality belongs only to the
world to come. This world passeth away. We know that is true. The rich and famous spend millions
searching for contentment and peace of mind. And they wind up many dying drunk
or drug overdosed or commit suicide some way. This is not a fairy
tale we're talking about. The world passeth away. We're
leaving here, folks, either one at a time or all at the same
time when Christ comes. Don't give your heart to this
world. Bonar wrote, I want to give you
this, and he enumerated eight things. Take me a minute to read
it, but it's precious. The world passeth away. It's
like a dream of the night. We lay down to rest. We fall
asleep. We dream. We awake at morn and
low All is fled that in our dream seems so stable and so pleasant. A dream can seem so real the
moment you wake up. And in just a few seconds, it's
gone. Totally. Forget it. So does the world haste away. Oh, child of mortality, have
you no brighter world than this? Secondly, he said the world is
like the mist of the morning. Talking about the dew. The night
brings down the mist upon the hills. The vapor covers the valley. The sun rises. All has passed
off. Hill and vale are clear. So the
world passeth away and is seen no more. Oh man, will you embrace
a world like this? Will you lie down upon a mist
and say, this is my home? Third, he said, this world is
like a shadow. There is nothing more unreal
than a shadow. It has no substance, no being.
It is dark. It is a figure such as the world. Oh man, will
you chase a shadow? What will a shadow do for you? Four, the world is like a, I guess that's four, I better
quit numbering. It's like a wave of the sea. It rises, it falls and is seen
no more. Such is the history of a wave. And such is the story of the
world. Oh man, will you make a wave your portion? Have you no better pillow on
which to lay your wearied head than this? The world is like a rainbow.
The sun throws its colors on a cloud. And for a few minutes,
all is brilliant. But the cloud shifts and the
brilliance is all gone. Such is the world with all its
beauty and brightness, with all its honors and pleasures, with
all its mirth and madness, with all its pomp and luxury, with
all its revelry and riot, with all its hopes and flatteries,
with all its love and laughter, With all its songs and splendor,
with all its gems and gold, it vanishes. And the cloud that
knew the rainbow knows it no more. Oh, man, is a passing world
like this all you have for an inheritance? The world passeth
away. The world is like a flower, beautiful,
very beautiful, fragrant, very fragrant are the summer flowers. But they wither away. So fades
the world from before our eyes. While we are looking at it and
admiring it, behold, it is gone. No traces left of all its loveliness
but a little dust. Oh man, can you feed on flowers? Can you dote on that which is
but for an hour? You were made for eternity. The world passeth away. The world
is like a ship at sea. With all its sails set and a
fresh breeze blowing, the vessel comes into sight. passes before
our eyes at a distance and then disappears. So comes, so goes,
so vanishes away this present world with all that it contains. A few hours within sight, then
gone. The wide sea o'er which it sailed
is as calm or as stormy as before, no trace anywhere of all the
life or motion or beauty of the ship which was passing over it. It's gone. Oh, man, is this vanishing world
thy only dwelling place? Are all thy treasures, thy hopes,
thy joys laid up here, the world passeth away. And finally, this
world is like a tent in the desert. They who have traveled over the
Arabian sands know what this means. At sunset, a little speck
of white seems to rise out of the barren waste. It is a traveler's
tent. But at sunrise, it disappears.
Both it and its inhabitant are gone. The wilderness is as lonely
as before. Such is the world. Today it shows
itself. Tomorrow it disappears. O man
born of a woman, is that thy stay and thy home? Wilt thou say of it, this is
my rest? The world, pass it. Away. Again, in Revelation 18. Verse
21. Revelation 1821. And as I read these last four verses
of this chapter. Watch for the phrase no more
at all. You will find it several times.
Revelation 1821. And a mighty angel took up a
stone, like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying,
thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown
down. That's a world in rebellion against
God. That's the great city Babylon.
False religion. And government, God hating. He'll be thrown down and shall
be found no more at all. The world passes away. And the
voice of harpers and musicians and the poppers and trumpeters,
I have never in my life heard so much garbage on the TV and
the radio in the name of music. Jungle beat hails what it is. Music is to honor God. But the voice of the Harper,
the musicians, the Pipers and the Trumpers, look at it now,
shall be heard no more at all in her. The world passeth away. And no craftsman of whatsoever
craft he be shall be found any more in thee. The world passeth
away. And the sound of a millstone
shall be heard no more at all in thee. The world passeth away. And the light of a candle shall
shine No more at all in thee the world passeth away. And the
voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard. No
more at all in thee the world passeth away. For thy merchants
were great men of the earth. For by thy sorceries were all
nations deceived. And in her was found the blood
of prophets and of saints of all that were slain upon the
earth. This initial message given by
John, the destruction of Jerusalem, 70 AD, but the larger message,
the world passeth away. I can't get away from Bonar's
statement. You were made for eternity. And only that which
is eternal can be your portion or your resting place. The world
passeth away, but men do not. It is not as some teach that
at death we're annihilated. We cease to be. Oh no. Oh no. Genesis chapter two in verse
seven, God, breathed the breath of life into Adam's nostrils,
the man which he had made, and man became a living soul. Every person we've known or haven't
known that's ever lived and died, they have not ceased to exist. And when you die, you don't cease
to exist. Death is only physical. The spirit
and the soul leaves the body. We're created in the image of
God. We live forever. He's eternal. And we live forever
somewhere, either in acceptance with God in Christ. We live forever
in the bliss of Christ's presence with peace and purity and everlasting
joy. Or else we live forever alienated
from God in the lake of fire, tormented with the devil and
his demons and the ungodly of this world forever. And of course,
that's what we all deserve. What must I do to avoid that? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. What must I stop doing in order
to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. What things must I start doing
in order to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And thou shalt be saved. The world passeth away. There's coming a great separation.
In Matthew 25, our Lord said it so clearly. He's coming to
separate the sheep from the goats. When he told us when the son
of man cometh in his glory. That's how he's coming. What a day that will be for all
the saints. And likewise, what a day that
will be for all sinners. They used to sing an old song
many years ago. There's a great day coming. There's a great day coming. There's a great day coming by
and by. When the saints and the sinners
shall be parted right and left. Are you ready for that day to
come? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready for the judgment day? Are you ready? Are you ready for the judgment day? How do I get ready? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You say, but I look back over
my life and there's no hope for me. Don't waste your time looking
back over your life. There is no hope back there.
Look to Christ. He's the only one that did everything
right. Your mama didn't. Your daddy didn't. Your grandpa
didn't. He's the only one that did everything
right. He's the only hope for a character
like you. If others have something to trust
in, that's their business, but not you. You have nothing. Nothing in the world. The world passes away. Trust Christ. Trust Christ. There
was a man who lived in these mountains over a hundred years
ago. I read the story and he was under
deep conviction. I'll be seeing, and he was in
great fear. dropping off into hell, couldn't
sleep at night. The Holy Ghost was dealing with
his heart. He was so afraid. And the story went, he was going
home one night, horse and buggy, and it had rained a lot the last
couple of days. And the word was a certain bridge
might be washed out or near to it. It was not safe to cross
it. But he had to cross that bridge
to get home. And as he traveled, he didn't think much about that
bridge. His heart was so heavy. He was troubled over his sin. But as he neared the bridge, he said, well, I'm here. I want
to get home. I'm going to trust it. I'm going to cross that bridge. And if I don't make it, I don't
make it, but I'm going to trust it. I want to get home. And his testimony later was at
that moment, it was as if the Lord spoke and said, why won't
you trust me? Like you're trusting this bridge. Let go of your sin of unbelief
and trust me. And he said, immediately the
load was lifted. He felt his sins were gone and
had peace in his heart. Christ told his disciples, John
14, boys, you believe in God. Believe also in me. I'm guessing there's no one here
this morning. that don't believe in God. I know you do. Christ said, believe also in
me. Just trust me to have borne your
sins away and rest in me. Come unto me, all you that labor,
all you that are struggling in your heart, all you that labor and are heavy
laden, you're burdened down with the load of your sin. Come unto
me, not to the church, not to the preacher, not to the do-better
club. No, come unto me, all ye, every
one of you, including you, that labor and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest. I will I will. He said he would, but will he? That's unbelief. He said, I will. I will. And this morning, I don't
have to tell you the shape this world's in. Society's ignoring
it. Washington's ignoring it. The
politicians running for office are ignoring it because they
don't know what to do about it. Can't do anything about it. The bottom
line is whether anybody confesses or not, God said the world passes
away. It's on its way out. We're leaving
here. Our only hope is Christ. Look
to him this morning. Let's stand together.