Worldliness Part 1 – 1 John 2:15-17 & 2 Tim. 4:10

5 01 2009

Definition: Worldliness is the enemy of God that draws our hearts subtly away from Him.

It is loving the world to the point of being like the world. Why is being like the world bad?

Worldliness is the enemy of God

James 4:4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

1. The world is the enemy because it crucified our Lord.

    • John 17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

    2. The world is the enemy because it distracts us from loving God. 15

    3. Worldliness is the enemy because it stops evangelism dead in its tracks.

    • When God’s people begin to love the world it effects how others view God. When believers act like the world, God is not glorified or magnified instead he is denied and crucified.
    • “I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church.” Spurgeon in 1906

    Worldliness is a matter of the heart.

    • 2 Tim. 4:10 Demas – Turning back was a symptom to the real problem – Worldliness in the heart.
    • It is an issue of what we love and love comes from the heart.
    • “I define worldliness as being attached to, engrossed in, or preoccupied with the things of this temporal life.” Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins
    • Matt.6:24 “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
    • Therefore it is not about tv’s, radios, clothes, money, and possessions mainly, but it is mainly about our heart being in love with the world.

    Worldliness is a subtle sin.

    • It creeps in when no one is looking.

    Anyone can fall into worldliness.

    • Demas was a missionary. 2 Tim. 4:10
    • Why is this command so straight forward?
    • It is straight forward because it is a serious problem.
    • It is straight forward to motivate us to not love the world.
    • If I say, “A person who says they love God but is completely worldly is ought to change,” that would be true but to say another way would be more motivating and true.
    • “A person who says they love God but are completely worldly in their action is like a woman who says she loves her husband while working the street corner.”
    • The Bible uses the word “whore” to describe those who love other things more than God.
    • Jer. 2:20 For long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds; but you said, ‘I will not serve.’ Yes, on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed down like a whore.
    • Am I worldly? In what areas of my life am I worldly?
    • “Imagine I take a blind test in which my task is to identify the genuine follower of Jesus Christ. My choices are an unregenerate individual and you. I’m given two reports detailing conversations, Internet activity, manner of dress, iPod playlists, television habits, hobbies, leisure time, financial transactions, thoughts, passions, and dreams. The question is: Would I be able to tell you apart? Would I discern the difference between you and your unconverted neighbor, coworker, classmate, or friend.?” C. J. Mahaney, Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World.

    The Good News

    • Jesus Died for us to overcome the world.
    • Gal. 6:14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
    • 1 John 5:5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?


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    Keep Moving Forward – John 21

    8 12 2008

    It is not uncommon for people to be excited about their salvation and then their baptism, but then go to a place sometime later of a loss of passion. Everybody gets the blahs. I would say that at the start of this chapter Peter had the Christian blahs.

    8 things we need to remember during spiritual dryness.

    1. We need Jesus to reveal himself to you, again. 1

    • Jesus appears to restore
    • Jesus appears to remind

    2. It could be because of sin. 15-19

    • Peter had denied Jesus three times.

    3. Our purpose in life is not just to make money. 3

    • Peter went fishing for fish instead of for men.
    • We are to live everyday for the glory of God.

    4. We must hold to the original command to “Follow me” 19, 22

    • When Jesus called Peter the first time his said, “Follow me.”  Matt. 4:18-19

    5. We must love Jesus. 15-19

    • We may think like Peter that it is obvious that we love Jesus, but do we love him in all things we do?  Do we love him the most?  Do we put him first in our lives?

    6. We must obey. 6

    • Had the disciples not obey Jesus in throwing their nets to the other side they would not received the blessing catching 153 fish.

    7. We must not get distracted by others. 21-23

    • Peter was worried about John when he should have been focusing on his own task of following Jesus.

    8. We can do nothing without Jesus. 3


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    Resurrection Reactions – John 20

    1 12 2008

    1. Disciples 1-10 – went home – moving on 10

    • I doesn’t say why they went home. I do know that there are many who give up and go home though.

    • Solved Jesus Appeared 19-23 – not glad 2

    2. Mary – Cried 11-13 – she thought someone had taken him

    • Resurrection last thing on her mind.13
    • Wrong understanding lead to opposite reaction.
    • Solved Jesus Appeared 14-18

    3. Thomas – Denial – 24-25

    • He wasn’t any worse than the other disciples. They had just already seen.
    • Solved Jesus Appeared 26-29

    Jesus appeared to solve the unbelief in the resurrection in all three cases. His appearing after death change their understanding which changed their reaction.

    Personal encounters with God are a must for personal faith decisions.

    • All true faith gripping moments come from a personal encounter with God.
    • When children make decisions based on their parents faith without having a personal decision themselves there will be problems.
    • When a decision is made based on a friend or family members decision there will be problems.
    • Not just salvation but other faith-based decisions as well.

    Personal encounters with God often happen at crucial life events.

    • It was the death of Jesus and now his missing body that was challenging them. It was getting them out of their normal stuff to a time of deep thinking. In this case it was something they considered bad. God uses both bad and good events to drive us to that point of serious faith questioning. It can be good things like the birth of a child, a new job, or marriage. It could also be “bad” things like a sickness, loss of a job, money problems, marriage problems, or even death.

    • Their reaction was wrong in their crisis for two reasons

    1. They did not understand the Scripture. 9
    2. Thomas didn’t trust his friends.

    Personal encounters with God lead to a change in behavior.

    • It happened in both Mary, disciples and Thomas
    • Whatever the decision is it will lead to strongly held believes that are hard shake.
    • Right belief in the resurrection lead to gladness, excitement, and worship.

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    A CROSS-Examination – John 19

    24 11 2008
    • The greatest thing to be thankful for is the cross.
    • Worship begins at the cross.
    • Thankfulness is part of worship.
    • We must be thankful for the cross most of all.
    • Part of the way we learn to be more thankful for the cross is to think about it.
    • You can’t be very thankful for something you seldom think about.
    • You are most thankful about the things you think about the most often.

    Examine who had authority at the cross

    1. God had authority over those with authority.
    2. God had authority over the choices of others.
    3. Jesus had authority over his life.

    How does this cultivate thankfulness?

    • Thank God that God lead Jesus to the cross for the sins of those who repent and believe.
    • Thank God that Jesus willing gave his life for us.
    • Thank God that everyday he has just as much authority and power in our lives.
    • When Jesus’ world “fell apart” he didn’t say, “God must not be in control because if he was this wouldn’t be happening to me” and we should not either.

    Examine the words that describe the events of the cross
    flogged
    crown of thorns
    struck him
    bearing his own cross
    crucified
    pierced his side
    These words tell us…
    1. that sin is a big deal.
    2.What Hell must be like.

    • Hell is as the torture of the cross.
    • The cross it the clearest place in the Bible that we see sin being punished and Hell is going to be a place where sin is punished.

    Some are not thankful for the cross
    1. You are not thankful for the cross if you have not turn to the one who was on the cross.
    2. You are not thankful for the cross if you have not turned from your sin that makes a mockery of the cross.


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    Jesus’ Prayer – John 17:6-26

    11 11 2008

    Prayer and Action go together. 6

    • Jesus acted in obedience and so he prays. 4, 6, 8,
    • Prayer without action can mean doubt in prayer.
    • There are no people in the the church whose only job is prayer.
    • The more you are apart of something or involved the more you will pray. The less you are involved in something the less you will tend to pray for it.
    • Being involved in the ministry shows us how to pray more specifically for the ministry.
    • Those who are not involved in children’s ministry say, “God bless the children’s ministry.” Those who are involved can pray for the children by name. They know what the children are going through. Those more involved reap the greater blessing.
    • Those least involved in the life of the church will be the ones who pray least for it.

    Prayer for both present and future believers

    Prayer for God to keep believers 11, 12, 15

    • They must be guarded because they are in the world. 11,
    • They must be guarded because the evil one is active. 15
    • They must be guarded because those who turn back are not fit for the kingdom of God. Lk. 9:62

    Prayer for unity 11. 21-23

    • Not unity with world – Set apart – sanctify
    • With the Father
    • With other believers
    • If true believer can not be one then there is a problem with their oneness with the Father.

    Prayer for evangelism 21, 23

    • Unity leads to more evangelism.

    Prayer for Sanctification 17-18

    • Sanctification is through the word 17
    • Sanctification is possible because Jesus set himself apart. 18
    • The ultimate end of our sanctification is being with Jesus and seeing his glory. 24

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    Jesus’ Prayer Part 1 – John 17:1-5

    4 11 2008

    Pray as you go. 1 – John 1:41

    • Jesus was on the go and praying.
    • b/c you are dependent on God as you go
    • because it’s about relationship
    • How many times have you prayed today? Pray while you’re working, while you are hunting and fishing, while you are in front of the computer, while you painting, while you are driving, while you are watching tv, while you are taking a shower, while you are singing and in the middle of the sermon, all the time.

    Pray because you know God’s plan – The plan prompts us to pray.

    • Some people will say since God knows everything and has a plan then why pray at all.
    • Jesus knew what was going to happen yet he prayed. He knew he was going to do the Father’s will, yet he prayed.
    • Everything Jesus prayed for in this chapter were things he already knew God was going to do.
    • Pray for lost people to be saved because you know God is going to save some of them.
    • The purpose of prayer is not just to get what we want, but to give God what he wants. He wants a relationship with us that brings glory to Him.

    Pray to the God you know in the Bible. 1 (Father), 3

    • only true God
    • That means you must be saved.
    • It means the God of the Bible is not the same as Allah. Just because your wife has some things in common with another wife does not make her your wife too. If I treated everyone who had some major things in common with my wife like my wife, then my real wife would have a problem with that. God has a problem with people who treat others gods like him.

    Pray for God’s glory first. 1-5

    • Jesus wanted the Father’s glory at the cost of his life. Our prayer is “Father bring glory to yourself as long as it does not bring me hurt or heartache or death. Only do what’s good for You if I think it is good for me too.”
    • Is this not the prayer of a lost person. God I want to follow you, but only when what you want lines up with what I want. Good moral people want to do good thing, but not because it is what God wants. They want to do it because it is good for them they don’t give a care if God likes it or not.
    • I will go to church, but if I can get a job making more money on Sunday I’m going for it. I will give you the glory you deserve with my offering as long as I have it when Sunday rolls around, as long as the church needs it (if they have a surplus there is no need for me to give). I will bring you glory as long as it is not going to take any personal sacrifice or effort on my part.

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