Thinking About Strength (Psalms 119:161-168)
Thinking About Strength
Psalms 119:161-168
March 13, 2022
Tonight I want us to THINK ABOUT STRENGTH.
And certainly we should, the Bible has a lot to say about being strong.
• The Bible has a lot to say about standing strong.
• The Bible has a lot to say about endurance.
• The Bible has a lot to say about perseverance.
1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
Very clear that we are intended to stand.
Endurance is even a necessary fruit of salvation.
Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”
And perhaps my favorites come in the letter of 2 Timothy
As Paul encourages Timothy to stay the course and be steadfast.
And of course, not only to be steadfast,
But to be steadfast in his proclamation of the word of God.
(which is what our Psalmist has done)
2 Timothy 1:8 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,”
2 Timothy 1:13-14 “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”
2 Timothy 2:3 “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 3:12-17 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 4:5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
And that is just a few examples.
Perseverance, endurance, steadfastness;
Those are all valuable and necessary qualities for the man of God.
THE MAN OF GOD MUST BE STRONG
BUT WE AREN’T TALKING ABOUT WORLDLY STRENGTH.
But you know that the strength we want is not worldly strength.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
We want to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”
It is a different kind of strength that we are after.
Well, this is the strength obviously of our Psalmist.
• We have seen him now resist all manner or persecution, affliction, and oppression.
• He has stuck with God even when no answer seemed to be found.
WE WANT THAT KIND OF STRENGTH.
By now we can see that the Psalmist is strong in the Lord.
He does not stand because he is strong in a fleshly sense.
He stands because he is strong in a spiritual sense.
When you channel through this Psalm somewhat chronologically
It is amazing the strides our Psalmist has taken.
• You will remember back in verses 1-8 he was a man who had not been obedient to God’s Word and he recognized that it resulted in a lack of blessing.
• Verses 9-16 continued with him asking how to achieve purity in his life, obviously because he wanted blessing.
• By the time we got to verses 33-40, it almost has the feel of salvation. As the Psalmist asks God to make a change in his life.
• Here were some of the requests of that stanza.
• (33) “Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes”
• (34) “Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law”
• (35) “Make me walk in the path of Your commandments”
• (36) “Incline my heart to Your testimonies”
• (37) “Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity”
• (38) “Establish Your word to Your servant”
• (40) “Revive me through Your righteousness”
Those are all requests of a man who wanted to be different,
Who wants to be obedient, who wants to be pleasing to God.
It almost resembles the cry of salvation.
But there was one other request in there too.
Psalms 119:39 “Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your ordinances are good.”
The Psalmist not only asked for a more committed heart,
But he also asked that his obedience not land him in reproach.
He wanted what many of us want.
“An obedient life that the world doesn’t hate”
Now I only remind you of that because I want you to remember
That our Psalmist didn’t like controversy any more than the next guy.
Our Psalmist was not a glutton for punishment.
If you look at his strength and pass it off
Simply because you find him to be a tough sort of man
Who doesn’t mind such things, then you are wrong.
He definitely minded such things.
He prayed that God would not let reproach find him.
And yet it did, and regardless, he continues to endure.
That is called being steadfast; THIS IS BEING STRONG.
He’s a man with no desire or love for oppression,
And yet he refuses to let it derail him.
Tonight I want to show you why he is strong.
I want to show you where his strength comes from.
I want you to see the secret to achieving it,
And how to be strong in your own life.
3 things the Psalmist did in order to be strong.
#1 SOURCE OF HIS STRENGTH: HE CHERISHED TRUTH
Psalms 119:161-165
Right off the bat we recognize A REOCCURRING THEME.
“Princes persecute me without cause,”
There have been very few stanzas in this Psalm
Where he did not mention the presence of some type of hardship.
AND THIS PERSECUTION IS NO DIFFERENT
We see the SOURCE “Princes”
• But it is no insignificant man who is persecuting him.
• THIS IS THE PRINCE, and he has the ability to inflict harm.
We see the DEGREE “persecute”
• This isn’t just the hardship of life.
• Someone has set out to harm him.
We see the CAUSE “without cause”
• it is done PURELY OUT OF HATRED,
• For the Psalmist has done nothing to deserve it.
This is no small dilemma, this is a major problem.
• It is an attack meant to shake the Psalmist to his core.
• It is an attack meant to turn the Psalmist toward a different direction.
• It is meant to wreck his faith.
• It is meant to stop his witness.
This is major pressure.
And yet, there he is once again standing strong.
“But my heart stands in awe of Your words.”
It just really doesn’t seem to matter how stiff the adversity is in his life,
His love of the word of God is too great to rattle him.
He “stands in awe” of the word of God.
Now there is a statement to ponder.
• How many times have you stood in awe in your life?
• How many times have you been focused on something so grand that everything else just seemed to fade into oblivion?
The word used here literally means “to be in dread or in awe”
Job actually used it of God.
Job 23:15 “Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence; When I consider, I am terrified of Him.”
And while it does mean “dread” it is NOT necessarily a negative thing.
He just understands the magnitude of what he is reading.
It is reverential awe.
His current attitude is exactly what Jesus described.
Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
The Psalmist just has a proper discernment and understanding.
He sees God in His rightful place and knows it is far better
To break the words of man than to break the words of God.
He is “in awe” of God’s word.
AND THEN HE SAYS WHY.
Four reasons he is in awe of God’s word.
WE CONSIDER THEM SO THAT WE MAY BE TOO.
1) THE VALUE OF GOD’S WORD (162)
Here he paints a great word picture.
Let me call your mind to an Old Testament story
TURN TO: 2 Kings 7:8-16
You may remember from our study of Kings,
• When Jehoram was king of Israel, they were oppressed by Aram, so much so
that two women got in a fight over eating their own sons. (6:26-31)
• Scripture said that “a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver,
and a fourth of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.” (6:25)
• It was then that Elisha promised God would deliver (7:1).
• In the meantime God caused the Arameans to flee and leave behind their spoil
(7:6-7). And there were some lepers who had decided to go to the
Arameans camp (not knowing they had fled) and beg for food. (7:3-5)
• When they got there they found the place deserted and full of spoil.
(READ IT) – (7:8-16)
Now here is my question.
After starving for a time, what do you think the mood of the people was?
DID THEY REJOICE?
You know they did.
Now listen to what the Psalmist said:
“I rejoice at Your word, As one who finds great spoil.”
The Psalmist is saying, “I rejoiced like those lepers”
He has learned God’s Word has great value.
• More value than bread.
• More value than clothes.
• More value than a donkey’s head or dove’s dung (obviously)
He stands in awe of God’s word because of its tremendous value.
It is worth more than great spoil.
The value of God’s word
2) THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD (163)
“I hate and despise falsehood”
• That no longer shocks us.
• This is coming from the man who loathes the wicked.
• Certainly we are familiar with his hatred for “falsehood”
And very simply put, if it isn’t true he not only disregards it, he hates it.
This man is a stickler for accuracy.
So when he endorses the word of God, we know it must be true,
For if it wasn’t, this man would hate it.
“I hate and despise falsehood, but I love Your law.”
That indicates it is true.
IN A WORLD SUCH AS OURS, THE FACT THAT SCRIPTURE IS TRUE SHOULD BE ALL THE MOTIVATION YOU NEED TO LOVE IT.
He stands in awe of it because it is valuable, it is true
3) THE PERFECTION OF GOD’S WORD (164)
“Seven times a day I praise You,”
I wonder how many can say today
That they read God’s Word seven times in one day.
Spurgeon asked, “Do we praise seven times a day, do we praise once in seven days?”
And notice why he praises
“Because of Your righteous ordinances.”
He reads seven times and every time he praises
Because he is amazed at how righteous the word of God actually is.
It is perfect. It is flawless.
God’s Word doesn’t just reveal morality
It reveals perfect righteousness.
• God’s Word has the authority to call a coward a murderer because of
the hatred in his heart.
• God’s Word has the authority to call a virgin an adulterer because of
the lust in his heart.
• God’s Word has the authority to call a poor man a glutton because of
his worry, and a rich man a thief because of his greed.
• God’s Word has the authority to call a chief priest a hypocrite and a
tax collector forgiven.
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
And the Psalmist praises God’s “seven times a day”
Because His word is so righteous.
AND THAT MEANS WHATEVER GOD SAYS…IT HAPPENS
It is beyond what God says, it is what God ordains through His word.
WE THINK OF HIS SOVEREIGN DECREES
And the Psalmist said that “Seven times a day I praise You because of Your righteous ordinances.”
I thought to myself what that might look like
And wanted to at least give us a blueprint perhaps to follow.
Let me give you 7 opportunities (I’m sure there are far more)
When you wake up, immediately praise Him for LIFE
He ordained for you to still have it.
James 4:15 “Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
Psalms 139:16 “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”
Job 14:5 “Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.”
Praise God for His sovereign ordinance that you would be alive today.
We’ll say from there you go to prayer and to read God’s word and think about the things of God, so at that moment praise Him for SALVATION
You are only saved because He sovereignly decreed for you to be.
Ephesians 1:3-6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
After you pray and read, you walk out the door.
You are off to undertake some task; some plan.
And you praise God for THE PATH HE ORDAINED FOR YOU.
Proverbs 16:9 “The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.”
Proverbs 20:24 “Man’s steps are ordained by the LORD, How then can man understand his way?”
Nothing about your day is accidental or left to chance.
He has ordained your path and you praise Him for it.
As you go out into the world you begin to take in THE WORLD’S NOISE.
You get news from some source, you contemplate the circumstances of the world.
And you praise God for THE TIME AND LOCATION OF YOUR LIFE
Acts 17:26 “and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,”
Esther 4:14b “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”
It’s not a mistake that you are alive at this moment in this place.
He ordained it and you can praise Him for it.
At some point in the day you eat something and of course you praise Him for HIS PROVISION
Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
• You even contemplate His command not to worry for He feeds the birds and clothes the fields.
• You contemplate that by His sovereign hand He sends rain on the just and the unjust.
And then at some point in the day something will bring frustration. It may even be a form of suffering or trial or persecution, and you praise God FOR THAT SUFFERING
Philippians 1:29 “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,”
And we remember that God causes all things to work together for good.
That He uses our suffering even for our sanctification
And to purge us that we might better reflect His glory.
And finally you return home and go to bed and you praise God for His PROVIDENCE
• That somehow through all the hectic busyness of the day.
• Somehow through all the decisions being made throughout the world.
• Somehow through all the many contingencies
God ordained His perfect plan to prevail.
Isaiah 45:12 “It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ordained all their host.”
Ephesians 1:11 “[God] works all things after the counsel of His will,”
And you lay your head on your pillow trusting in the sovereignty of God and have then praised Him 7 times that day.
ALL OF THAT IS A RESULT OF GOD’S ORDINANCES.
HE ORDAINED IT ALL BY HIS WORD
With such contemplation it’s easy to see
Why the Psalmist stood in awe of God’s word.
It’s value – It’s truth – It’s perfection
4) THE BENEFIT OF GOD’S WORD (165)
And how important this is to our main point
Of why the Psalmist is steadfast.
“Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble.”
We really could have made a whole sermon on that one phrase.
They have “great peace” in part because through the word of God
They are put in right relation to God.
There is great comfort in walking in obedience.
But that is not the main peace our Psalmist refers to.
Those who “love” God’s law have great peace
Because through it they FIND THEMSELVES SECURE.
“and nothing causes them to stumble.”
To “stumble” is to fall away.
It is become apostate.
It is to fall away totally and finally.
It is God’s word that keeps us from doing that.
This morning we spoke in 1 John about those antichrists that defect.
Do you want to see your protection?
1 John 2:24 “As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.”
But those who love God’s law don’t fear such a fate,
For God’s law will not let them fall away neither totally, nor finally.
We have often quoted that great 19th Psalm
About how the Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.
But listen to this statement in that same passage:
Psalms 19:11-13 “Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.”
Notice the Psalmist had a fear of unknown errors and hidden faults.
He was afraid of committing presumptuous sins, (just seemed right)
And he was afraid they would take hold of him and lead him astray.
• How do you protect yourself from unknown errors?
• How do you protect yourself from hidden faults?
• How do you protect yourself from actions that feel right?
The answer:
God’s Word.
It protects men from stumbling, by warning them of things
They would not otherwise be concerned about.
Peter said:
2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”
God’s word has great benefit, it protects us from our own falling away.
SO YOU SEE THE SOURCE OF HIS STRENGTH.
He had such awe for the word of God that he continually cherished it
And it was God’s word that made him strong and gave him endurance.
So the Source of our Psalmist’s strength is that He Cherished Truth
#2 PICTURE OF HIS STRENGTH: HE CHOSE OBEDIENCE
Psalms 119:166
Here is another great verse
That could easily stand alone as a singular theme.
It gives a perfect picture of the great Christian mindset
While in the midst of trying times.
We have both what we hope for and what we do in the meantime.
“I hope for Your salvation, O Lord, And do Your commandments.”
I’ve told you before about a book I love called “Knowing God” by J.I. Packer, in it he talks about a Christian in the midst of his suffering.
“If you stand at the end of a platform at York Station, you can watch a constant succession of engine and train movements which, if you are a railway enthusiast, will greatly fascinate you. But you will only be able to form a very rough and general idea of the overall plan in terms of which all these movements are being determined (the operational pattern set out in the working timetable, modified if need be on a minute-to-minute basis according to the actually running of the trains.)
If, however, you are privileged enough to be taken by one of the higher-ups into the magnificent electrical signal-box that lies athwart platforms 7 and 8, you will see on the longest wall a diagram of the entire track layout for five miles on either side of the station, with little glowing worm lights moving or stationary on the different tracks to show the signalmen at a glance exactly where every engine and train is. At once you will be able to look at the whole situation through the eyes of those who control it: you will see from the diagram why it was that this train had to be signaled to a halt, and that one diverted from its normal running line, and that one parked temporarily in a siding. The why and the wherefore of all these movements becomes plain once you can see the overall position.
Now, the mistake that is commonly made is to suppose that this is an illustration of what God does when he bestows wisdom: to suppose, in other words, that the gift of wisdom consists in a deepened insight into the providential meaning and purpose of events going on around us, an ability to see why God has done what he has done in a particular case, and what he is going to do next. People feel that if they were really walking close to God, so that he could impart wisdom to them freely, then they would, so to speak, find themselves in the signal-box; they would discern the real purpose of everything that happened to them, and it would be clear to them every moment how God was making all things work together for good. Such people spend much time poring over the book of providence, wondering why God should have allowed this or that to take place, whether they should take it as a sign to stop doing one thing and start doing another, or what they should deduce from it. If they end up baffled, they put it down to their own lack of spirituality.
Christians suffering from depression, physical, mental or spiritual (not, that these are three different things!) may drive themselves almost crazy with this kind of futile inquiry. For it is futile: make no mistake about that.”
(Packer, J.I. “Knowing God” [IVP Books, Downers Grove, IL; 1973] pg. 102-103)
From there Packer turns to Ecclesiastes and listens to the old realist preacher who warns us against trying to make sense of everything.
If you do, it all becomes “meaningless”
He mentions how the preacher tells us to be practical in life
And a realist in the way we look at circumstances.
(Take off our “rose-colored glasses” so to speak.)
And at the end of the book, he REVEALS WHAT TRUE WISDOM IS.
It is NOT understanding of your events, it IS obedience to God
Even when you don’t understand.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
A Christian may very well be in adversity, and may not understand why,
But that is no excuse to stop obeying.
• Do we hope for deliverance? Yes
• Do we hope for salvation? Yes
But we don’t wait until we have it to obey God.
That was the focus of the Psalmist.
This isn’t so much how to be strong,
But it is a great picture of what strength looks like.
THIS REPRESENTS THE GOAL
When we say that we are looking for strong Christians,
THIS IS WHAT WE MEAN.
• We DON’T mean a Christian who understands everything.
• We DON’T mean a Christian who always walks around in victory.
• We mean a Christian who obeys even when he is losing.
• We mean a Christian who obeys even when he doesn’t understand.
“I hope for Your salvation, O LORD, And do Your commandments.”
THAT IS STRENGTH
And that is what the Psalmist has.
SOURCE: He Cherished Truth PICTURE: He Chose Obedience
#3 MOTIVE OF HIS STRENGTH: CHASED THE PRIZE
Psalms 119:167-168
He begins with a familiar declaration of his love for God’s Word.
“My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly.”
The Psalmist just can’t stop declaring his love for God’s word.
He loves it and here he says he loves it “exceedingly”
And this love naturally culminates in obedience.
“I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies”
Love that doesn’t manifest itself in action isn’t actually love.
We know we love Christ when we keep His commandments.
The Psalmist loves so he keeps.
BUT HERE IS WHY
“For all my ways are before You.”
In other words, he knows that God is watching all that he does.
He keeps an eye on the end when all the rewards will be given.
LET’S READ IT AGAIN:
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
And of course that sounds negative, but it is also a positive thing.
Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”
And the idea is that he knows if he stays the course
And continues to obey God’s word
That the prize at the end will far outweigh the present cost.
It is very similar to the advice that the writer of Hebrews
Gave to those struggling Jews.
Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
He wanted people to focus on the prize.
AND THAT IS CHRISTIAN STRENGTH.
1. It comes from loving God’s word
2. It shows up in obedience regardless of understanding
3. It is motivated by the coming reward
Remember the church at Philadelphia?
Revelation 3:10-12 “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. ‘I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ‘He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”
That was a strong church.
But do you want to see more about them?
Revelation 3:8 “I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”
From a worldly look they were small and weak and insignificant.
• By they cherished God’s word
• They obeyed even amidst hardship.
• And they looked to the prize.
THAT IS HOW TO BE STRONG.
THAT IS WHAT STRENGTH LOOKS LIKE.
THAT IS THE MOTIVE FOR STRENGTH.
Living In The Last Hour – Part 1 (1 John 2:18-29)
Living In The Last Hour – Part 1
1 John 2:18-29 (18-19)
March 13, 2022
This morning I actually want to begin our study of this text by first bringing to your mind an even that occurred during the ministry of Jesus.
TURN TO: JOHN 6
John 6 reveals a busy couple of days in the ministry of Jesus.
It begins with the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000
(6:9-10) “One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.”
• And of course you remember the story how Jesus took those 5 loaves and 2 fish and fed the 5,000.
• You also remember from the other gospels that 5,000 was just the men, not counting the women or the children.
• The number could have easily been 20,000 in that crowd.
• It is a massive scene.
• Of course you also remember that the people wanted to make Him king
So Jesus would cross back over the sea of Galilee to Capernaum,
And He did so by walking on the water.
But when THE CROWD who ate the bread saw that Jesus was gone,
They then DECIDED TO CROSS THE SEA as well to look for Him.
(6:24) “So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.”
• I don’t know if all 20,000 went, but you can be assured it was a significant number of them because they were all headed that direction anyway in order to go to Jerusalem for the Passover.
• Coupled with that you have the new crowd of people who would have been already in Capernaum that would have greeted Jesus.
The point is that the following of Jesus was huge at this point.
What follows however is a confrontation from Jesus
• Where He exposes that their desire for Him is purely fleshly. They just want a 24/7 bread provider.
• Jesus preaches that famous sermon that He is the bread from heaven and that man must eat His flesh and drink His blood so that they will be saved.
• He also mentioned that He came from heaven in order to save men and that He will ascend back there.
And then the part I want you to see.
(6:60-66) “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”
A couple of things there.
1) These were “disciples” who “withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”
2) Jesus pointed out that the reason they actually had no life is because life only comes from the Spirit. “It is the Spirit who gives life”
So we have here a group of professing disciples
Who were in reality void of the Holy Spirit
And when they were confronted with the truth of the gospel
And the person of Jesus they withdrew.
I want you to imagine what they must have looked like
And what it must have felt like if you were on of the 12.
• Would you second guess?
• Would you wonder if you had simply been hood-winked by this Jesus
character?
• Would you start to question such outlandish claims that Jesus came from
heaven and was returning?
• Would you wonder if you should go join that departing crowd?
It was clearly an issue of consideration for notice what Jesus says next.
(6:67) “So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”
Well there it is.
• Do you want to go?
• Do you think I’m out of My mind?
• Do you think they’re on to something?
LISTEN, THAT’S A REAL ISSUE.
If you follow Christ you can bet that more than once in your life
You’re going to be confronted with the reality of someone
Who once claimed to follow Jesus
Determining that they are no longer going to follow Him.
I shared with you a couple of Sunday nights ago about a couple who several years ago were members of our church, and how recently on Facebook the wife announced that she had “Deconstructed her Christianity” and no longer believed the Christian message.
You’re going to see it.
You may even see it on a massive scale like the disciples did on this day.
And you are faced with a dilemma.
• What do you do?
• Who is right?
Well, Peter steps up and answers the question.
(6:68-69) “Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
So Peter says, “We’re sticking with You because only You have answers regarding eternal life.”
It is reminiscent of the moment in Caesarea Philippi:
Matthew 16:16-17 “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
Peter there confessed Christ as well and Jesus was clear that
This confession was NOT based on human logic or reason
But was in fact a revelation of truth that came from God.
And if you’ll notice here in John 6 that is still the case.
For after Peter again confesses Christ, Jesus says:
(6:70) “Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?”
So again, the reason you know and the reason you are here
And the reason you remain is because I have chosen you.
Your faith and your understanding and your endurance
Is the result of the supernatural work of God in your life.
DO YOU SEE THAT?
AND WHEN PEOPLE DEFECT FROM CHRIST
It is because that supernatural work has not occurred.
IT CAN BE DISHEARTENING to see people who once professed Christ depart from Him, but it SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSING.
• People who stick to Christ do so because God has done a supernatural work in
their life.
• People who leave do so because that work has not occurred.
You see that in John 6 very clearly.
That is also the issue that is John is addressing now in 1 John 2:18-29
• John now is somewhere around 90 years old.
• In his lifetime he has seen it all.
• He was there that day in Capernaum when the masses left.
• And John has seen such departures many times throughout his life.
• John knows what is going on.
And here he sets out to comfort the church
By giving them understanding of why some leave
As well as giving them assurance why they never will.
It is an important chapter for the church to grasp
• Regarding both the dangerous threats of Satan
• And the perfect assurance of believers.
So THIS MORNING let’s begin looking at this wonderful passage.
We certainly won’t get through all of it,
But it needs to be studied as one complete thought.
John is going to explain the truth about those who abandon Christ.
• He’s going to show you why it’s happening.
• And he’s going to show you the threat they pose to the body.
And John is also going to show you
• How God has worked to protect you from such a mistake
• And what you should do to ensure that you
• Never become one of those who join the crowd and leave.
In fact, it may help you grasp the text better
By first looking at the culminating thought.
Look down at verses 28-29
(28-29) “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.”
The final command will be “abide in Him”
• You’ve seen it before in that famous John 15
• Where Jesus says that He is the vine and you are the branches
• And as the branch you must “abide” in the vine.
It is the Greek word MENO which means “to remain”.
• Stick with Jesus.
• Remain with Jesus.
• Abide in Jesus.
Despite the departure of the crowd from the faith, you stick with Jesus.
Even though the masses may deny Him…
Even though once professing disciples may abandon Him…
You stick with Jesus.
WHEN THEY LEAVE, let the answer of Peter echo in your mind:
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
THAT IS THAT POINT OF THIS TEXT.
That is the main point John is driving toward.
But let’s begin our study.
We’re going to be break these 12 verses down into 3 points.
#1 SATAN’S SINISTER AGENDA
1 John 2:18-19
To best understand where John is coming from
It is best if you first see the implied problem.
• When you read Paul, he’s always good about giving you the hypothetical question he is answer or stating the hypothetical problem he is solving.
• John is doing the same thing, he just doesn’t always state the question or the problem. He simply operates as though you know it.
But clearly the problem John is addressing
Is the departure of once professing Christians from Christianity.
John is referencing those LIKE THE CROWD IN JOHN 6
Who abandoned Christ and were not walking with Him anymore.
And what is also clear is that
Such a departure must have been disheartening and confusing to the church.
• Why were they leaving?
• Why were the departing?
• Should I be going with them?
• Do they know something I don’t?
You get the idea.
And so John immediately sets out to diffuse the situation
BY EXPLAINING WHY SO MANY ARE DEPARTING.
And John’s answer is clear and concise.
“Children, it is the last hour”
• They AREN’T leaving because Jesus isn’t true…
• They AREN’T leaving because your church failed to hold them tight enough…
• They ARE leaving because “it is the last hour”
Many debate what John actually meant by that.
What is this “last hour”?
I read one pastor who says that the last hour means it is the last hour for Judaism and Israel.
• That John was speaking of his actual day and the temple was about to be destroyed and Judaism was coming to an end.
• It was the last hour of Judaism, he says.
• This would be that Amillennial or possibly preterist mindset that says the church has replaced Israel; and all that remains now is the church. (many problems)
Another religious leader said John is clearly talking about the end, as in the return of Christ, whom John expected to return in his own lifetime.
• But John, like guessers of today, was simply wrong about the timing. (That’s obviously a horrifying assumption)
What John IS REFERRING TO when he says “last hour”
Is the time between Jesus’ first coming and His second coming.
We are in the final chapter of God’s redemptive plan.
• The next event to occur will be return of Christ which usures in the age to come.
And John IS NOT confused or wrong in his prediction.
John ISN’T making a prediction at all about when Christ will come.
He IS merely explaining why some are departing from Christ.
And HIS EXPLANATION as to why there are so many leaving is that
“it is the last hour”.
In other words, Their behavior is precisely the kind of behavior that we should expect in the time in which we live.
People departing from Christ is exactly the type of thing
That Jesus said would occur during “the last hour”
Consider Jesus’ Olivet Discourse.
Matthew 24:4-14 “And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Even before the end actually comes
• Jesus said that “many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.”
• Jesus said that “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”
That’s not the end, but it is characteristic of the times just before the end.
During “the last hour” people are going to depart from Christ.
AT THIS TIME
You have Satan, the god of this world, whose doom has been settled.
It was actually always settled,
But the resurrection of Jesus from the grave certainly solidified that reality.
Satan’s time is limited.
• Each day his destruction looms closer and closer.
• And he doesn’t know when that day will come.
• No man does, only the Father.
But Satan, like John, knows that it could come any day.
So what do you have occurring in this last hour?
• You have Satan basically running his “hurry-up offense”
• He is in urgency mode.
• He is out to deceive as quickly as he can on as large a scale as he can.
That includes
• Blinding the eyes of the unbelieving from the gospel…
• Planting tares among the wheat…
• Sending false prophets to deceive…
• Sending false brethren into the church…
• Pulling anyone out of the church that he can…
These are the things he is doing because
He is in a last-second panic before Christ comes and crushes him.
So when John sees these false brethren in the church
Depart from Christ it doesn’t surprise John at all.
He in effect says, “What else would you expect from a devil who knows his time is short?”
Paul says:
1 Timothy 4:1 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,”
2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”
Peter says:
2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
This shouldn’t be shocking.
(18) “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.”
John says, “you have heard that antichrist is coming”
So let’s address that for a moment.
Most have heard the term, but it is important you understand who he is.
The antichrist is the coming false savior of the world.
He is Satan’s ultimate puppet of deception.
We are all aware of God’s trinity.
• God the Father
• God the Son (Jesus) who lays down His life as the Savior of men.
• God the Holy Spirit who testifies of Jesus and glorifies Him.
Well Satan counterfeits the trinity with his own evil trinity.
• Satan
• Antichrist – who proclaims himself savior and God and king by reason of a supposed death and resurrection.
• The false prophet (beast) – who points men to worship the beast.
Revelation 13:1-6 “And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.”
That is Satan and his puppet antichrist who deceives the world.
Revelation 13:11-14 “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.”
That is the false prophet who pushes people to worship the antichrist.
This antichrist was also greatly discussed by the prophet Daniel.
Daniel 9:26-27 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
• He is that “prince who is to come”
• He will promote himself as Israel’s savior.
• He will make a covenant with them.
• But halfway through (3 ½ years) he will break that covenant with something that Daniel refers to as “The Abomination of Desolation”
Jesus drew from that:
Matthew 24:15-22 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”
This will be the defining moment when that man, whom Israel thought to be the Messiah, will enter the temple and blaspheme God and declare himself to be God.
SATAN IS DRIVING FOR THAT.
(That is his “Hail Mary” so to speak)
NOW, YOU SHOULD ALSO KNOW THAT
• The antichrist, though he is certainly evil,
• Is still under the sovereign prerogative of God
• And will be used of God to perform a specific role.
On one hand,
He is there for the chastisement of Israel meant ultimately to drive them to Jesus.
• If you read Zechariah 11 you read about the coming of Jesus and how he was
rejected by Israel and even betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.
And you read how in response God will grant them a false shepherd.
Zechariah 11:15-17 “The LORD said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. “Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind.”
That is the antichrist.
• He will come to deceive and to seek to destroy Israel.
• God will use him to punish them and ultimately drive Israel to Christ.
But the antichrist will also be used of God
To deceive and destroy those who would not believe the gospel.
TURN TO: 2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-12
• There again it is this man who will come and blaspheme God.
And though Satan certainly wants to use him,
The reality is that this man is also under God’s sovereign control.
He can’t come until God allows.
And when he comes he will merely
Fulfill God’s purpose of judgment on an unbelieving world.
His coming has been well-documented in Scripture.
You see why John says “you have heard that antichrist is coming.”
• The church was well-aware of this coming deceiver.
• They all knew that at some point this man will arise to deceive the world.
But what John wants them to know is that
It’s NOT JUST about this one time coming of this one evil man.
“even now many antichrists have appeared”
I find this fascinating to our understanding.
There were those who were convinced that Nero was the antichrist.
• He was certainly blasphemous
• He certainly sought to slaughter God’s people
• He certainly fit the bill
Then there were those who knew that Hitler was the antichrist.
• He again certainly checked the boxes
Then there were those convinced Stalin was the antichrist.
• And again, you can see why.
And there have been way more than just those men.
HERE IS THE POINT.
There have always been and there will always be men on the earth
Who most certainly could be the antichrist.
Why do they not become the actual antichrist?
• It’s what Paul said. Currently Satan is restrained and not allowed to turn that guy loose.
• Had God lifted the restraint in the first century, Nero would have done it.
• Had God lifted the restraint back in the 40’s, Hitler would have done it.
• If God lifts the restraint today, there are any number who would do it.
One day God will lift the restraint and that man will come to power.
And he will deceive the world.
BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS MEN WHO ARE ANTI-CHRIST.
MAYBE THAT HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND:
When John says, “even now many antichrists have appeared”
• Satan is continually seeking to send deceivers into the world.
• Satan is urgently seeking to infiltrate the church and destroy the church’s mission.
• He’s running his hurry-up offense and relentlessly working.
And John again says, “from this we know that it is the last hour.”
So in a simple sense,
You should not be surprised
• That there is such an antichrist sentiment in the world.
• When unbelievers seek to infiltrate the church.
• When false professors of Christ are led astray.
That is just the work of a satan-devil
Who is frantically working because he knows
At any moment Christ could return and crush his head.
Now, John doesn’t stop there.
He actually, throughout this passage, gives us more insight regarding WHO these antichrists are and WHAT they do.
There’s actually 3 characteristics that define their work and purpose.
(sub points of Satan’s Sinister Agenda)
The first one is listed here in verse 19.
1) DEFECTION (19)
“They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
This is a great passage and so important to your understanding.
I’ve had used the passage many times in conversations with people regarding security of the believer.
You know that we believe the Bible teaches that if a person is genuinely redeemed, they can never lose that salvation.
Even in a moment John will say (25) “This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.”
• John DOESN’T SAY Jesus promised “potential life” or “temporary life” or
“unsecured life”.
• John SAYS He promised “eternal life”
Once you get it, you never lose it.
And there are plenty of texts we could go to to make that clear.
But inevitably in the conversation someone will say, “But I know so and so who was saved and walked with Jesus and then they fell away from the faith.”
Well John here explains exactly what is actually happening when that supposed brother or sister denies Christ and defects from Him.
“They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
IF THEY LEAVE, THEY WERE NEVER REAL.
WHY WERE THEY THERE?
• Well sometimes they are those who grew up in church but were in reality hard-hearted and never actually believed even though they had been there a long time.
• Sometimes they are just that Rocky Soil who had no depth and no endurance, and Satan attacks and they leave.
• Sometimes they are tares purposely sown among the wheat as a sort of spiritual terrorist.
2 Peter and Jude talk extensively about their plans.
Jude 4 “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Jude 12-13 “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”
They are antichrists whom Satan is using to attack the church.
So why do they leave?
They leave because God appoints to weed some of them out.
• Sometimes it happens through church discipline.
• Sometimes it happens through preaching of the gospel and the antichrist just can’t take it anymore.
• God has various ways in which He at times pulls some of those false brethren out.
But John says that God does that for a reason.
Why?
“so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
In other words God is showing His church that
Not everyone who enters the church is actually redeemed.
THE CHURCH NEEDS TO KNOW THAT.
We live in “the last hour” and there are “many antichrists”
And you should know that there is this constant threat in the church.
Listen to Paul speak to the Corinthian church:
1 Corinthians 11:17-20 “But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.”
He gave a similar warning to the Philippians:
Philippians 1:27-28 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.”
Sometimes there are events that arise that make it obvious
That not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” is actually saved.
And to make sure you know this,
• Certainly Satan is all too happy to hear them defect from Christ.
• But God even uses their departure to teach the church a valuable lesson.
BUT THERE DEFECTION IS EVIDENCE
THAT THEY ARE IN FACT, ANTI-CHRIST.
There’s a couple more of their attributes which we’ll look at next time,
BUT THIS MORNING we simply point out that
There is a constant attack on the church.
Satan is always seeking to infiltrate and attack God’s church
Because he knows the clock is ticking.
And that is why John is going to talk to you
• About the importance of making sure that you abide in Christ.
• About the importance of making sure that you let God’s word abide in you.
• About the importance of making sure that you practice righteousness.
Don’t be surprised, but do be prepared.
We’ll talk about more of this next time.
Thinking About Evidence (Psalms 119:153-160)
Thinking About Evidence
Psalms 119:153-160
March 6, 2022
We are nearing the end of our study of this wonderful Psalm.
We have seen our Psalmist in and out and back in
Various afflictions and moments of oppression.
But the one constant in his life is that
He has not failed to seek, trust, and obey the word of God.
For him Scripture has been the solution to all his problems,
And his commitment to it is unwavering.
And as we have said several times of late, his commitment is so steadfast
That it has actually landed him in trouble.
• It was back in verse 122 that the Psalmist first introduced us to the
presence of “oppressors” in his life.
These are men who have rejected God’s word
And now cause difficulty for him because he refuses to do so.
• In verse 141 we find that he is “small and despised”
• In verse 143 he wrote “trouble and anguish have come upon me”
• And last week we saw the situation become even more serious.
Verse 150 “those who follow after wickedness draw near;”
And that is why last week he gave a very sincere and intense prayer
For God to step in and deal with his oppressors.
AND HE WENT TO GOD’S WORD FOR THE ANSWER
Well, tonight his prayer continues.
In fact, just from reading this prayer to get started
You may have easily spotted what it is that our Psalmist desires.
Three times the Psalmist said it, “Revive me”
(154) “Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word.”
(156) “Great are Your mercies, O LORD; Revive me according to Your ordinances.”
(159) “Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness.”
It is obvious, the Psalmist wants to be revived.
“Revive” translates HIGH-YA
It literally means “to live”
Often times we think of revival as an emotional experience,
Or some sort of spiritual high.
For our Psalmist it simply means to live life as God intended it.
He just wants freedom from his oppressors not so he can be apathetic but so that he can serve God unhindered.
And you even see HIS BASIS FOR ASKING for revival.
(154) “Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word.”
Clearly he knows a thing or two about God.
• He knows God intercedes in our lives.
• He knows God is a Redeemer.
He has read all about how God intervened in the lives of His people
To deliver and save and redeem.
And he simply wants God to do for him
What he has read about God doing for so many others.
I’ve read your word and I know about how you give life to the dead;
DO THAT FOR ME!
(156) “Great are Your mercies, O LORD; Revive me according to Your ordinances.”
“ordinances” is a word that speaks of “God’s judgments or rulings in a matter”.
And the Psalmist knows one thing about this Judge
HE RULES IN MERCY.
“Great are Your mercies”
And so the Psalmist appeals for revival, not on the basis of his merit,
But on the basis of God’s mercy.
• God, I know you revive Your people – do that for me.
• God, I know you are a merciful Judge – be merciful for me.
“Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.”
“lovingkindness” of course is that familiar CHECED or “God’s loyal covenantal love”.
It is the love God has for the elect.
• It is the love God has for His own.
• It is God’s partiality and favor that He sovereignly bestows on those He has chosen.
And so the Psalmist appeals to God as one of His own.
Deliver me like I am one of your own.
And this is where the PSALM REALLY GETS INTERESTING
For look at the entirety of verse 159.
“Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness.”
The Psalmist is appealing to God
To treat him as one of God’s very own children.
BUT FIRST THE PSALMIST OFFERS EVIDENCE
That he is in fact one of God’s very own children.
What is that evidence?
“Consider how I love Your precepts”
• Our Psalmist appeals to God for revival on the basis that he is God’s child.
• And how does he set out to prove that he is God’s child?
By his love for God’s word.
SO FIRST we must acknowledge that:
Love for the word of God is one of the evidences of a child of God.
AND THEN we ask ourselves:
How does one tell if a love for God’s word is genuine?
CERTAINLY IT IS TRUE THAT GOD’S CHILDREN LOVE HIS WORD.
• Honestly the entirety of Psalms 119 is a testimony to that fact.
• But it’s not the only testimony.
I think the best place to see this is here:
TURN TO: 1 CORINTHIANS 2:6-16
The Bible is not specifically mentioned there,
But certainly you recognize that God’s revelation is His word.
Once we’ve been redeemed are those who “have the mind of Christ”
• Once we were ignorant to the things of God.
• Once we are clueless about what God was doing.
• But in Christ we were granted insight and understanding.
• Our minds were transformed to love the things of God.
And with that comes a love for God’s word.
Redeemed people love God’s word.
• We are not those who love the darkness, but rather who love the light.
• We are those who long to draw nearer to God in knowledge and truth.
• There is a comfort and a joy there.
We see the opposite side of this in the fact that the unredeemed are those who do not love God’s word.
• When Paul writes to the Thessalonians about the coming Anti-Christ and the
judgment of those who will be deceived by them.
2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 “Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.”
There the unredeemed are described as those who
“did not receive the love of the truth”
The point is that there is a correlation here.
God’s people love God’s word.
And this is what the Psalmist is out to prove to God.
He is out to prove that unlike the world, he does in fact love God’s word.
“Consider how I love Your precepts;”
NOW YOU CAN “TELL” GOD YOU LOVE HIS WORD
• But honestly, Israel doesn’t have the best track record with God in this area.
• Many times they have said they love God or His word and then blown it with their actions.
Psalms 78:34-37 “When He killed them, then they sought Him, And returned and searched diligently for God; And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. But they deceived Him with their mouth And lied to Him with their tongue. For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.”
Hosea 6:1-6 “Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him. “So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.” What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”
Israel was notorious for making all sorts of
Promises of commitment to God while in the bed of affliction.
Israel often said they loved God’s word and then rejected it.
Just read the book of Judges some time.
Well, the Psalmist is claiming to be different.
I am your child and You should revive me.
I do love Your word.
I CAN PROVE IT.
“Consider how I love Your precepts”
And that is really what this entire stanza is about.
It is the Psalmist explaining to God how he loves His word.
And so tonight we see what it looks like
When a person loves God’s word.
And we get to easily ask the question:
DO I LOVE THE WORD OF GOD?
There are 5 things the Psalmist wants God to consider as proof
That he loves His word and will be faithful even after being revived.
#1 THE DEVOTION HE SHOWS
Psalms 119:153
Now again, we recognize his plea for deliverance.
And please recognize that the Psalmist has gone back to
Using the word “affliction” instead of oppression.
He does so, indicating that his oppressors
Have actually begun to make life difficult for him.
And because he is afflicted he wants God to “rescue” him.
And that is certainly understandable.
Any time we walk in hardship it would please any of us to have God just reach down and lift us out.
And so the Psalmist wants deliverance.
And you will notice that the Psalmist gives
The first piece of evidence that he deserves it.
It is the first proof of his love of God’s word.
“For I do not forget Your law.”
And this is not a testimony to his great memory,
But rather a testimony to his great devotion.
We have actually seen this mindset for several weeks now,
But the Psalmist refuses to be bullied away from God’s Word.
Regardless of the hardship…
Regardless of the affliction…
He continues to remember the law of God.
And “do not forget” means that he not only knows it is there,
But he always consults it as a viable answer to his dilemma.
It doesn’t matter if the problem is physical, financial, spiritual, emotional, political, relational, etc.
He always goes to God’s word for the solution.
HE NEVER OVERLOOKS IT.
He is trained to believe that God’s word works.
And certainly that is an attribute of one who loves God’s law.
It reminds us of Jesus during His temptation.
• After 40 days of eating He then became hungry.
• Satan told Him to turn rocks into bread.
Matthew 4:4 “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”
Jesus’ devotion to truth was greater even than His personal hunger.
This would be true throughout His life.
• When Satan tempted Him to throw Himself off the temple: “Do not put the
Lord to the test.”
• When Satan called for worship: “Worship God and serve Him only”
• When the Pharisees attacked him for really any reason, “Have you not read
where it says in the Scriptures…”
• When Peter pulled in a sword in the garden: “How else will the Scripture be
fulfilled which says it must happen this way?”
There is no doubt Jesus loved God’s word.
Jesus was devoted to it at all times.
Every situation proved His one desire was to obey the word of God.
CAN WE REALLY CLAIM TO LOVE GOD’S WORD WHEN WE FAIL REMEMBER IT?
Can we claim to love God’s word if we never consult it for answers in life?
You see, in those difficult times we reveal where our trust is.
The Psalmist tells God his loyalty is obvious.
When it is difficult, “I do not forget Your law.”
NOT “I will not forget” but “I do not forget”
This is his track record.
God, You know, I always remember to go to Your word
For guidance and answers.
The Devotion he shows
#2 THE DOCTRINE HE BELIEVES
Psalms 119:155
This is a very doctrine-heavy statement.
“Salvation is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Your statutes.”
The first thing we would notice is simply what he said,
And that is that there is a definite reason why the wicked are not saved.
The wicked are not saved because they do not seek God’s word.
They don’t care what God’s word says (which is why they are wicked)
And therefore without God’s word they cannot be saved.
This is exactly the truth that Paul taught us in Romans.
Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”
Paul unequivocally stated that the gospel is the power for salvation.
Some would ask “why?”
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed”
Contrary to popular belief God has a very definite desire for humanity.
GOD WANTS THEM TO BE RIGHTEOUS.
• Jesus said, “You shall be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect”
• Peter wrote, “As it is written, ‘You shall be holy as I am holy’”
God wants holiness.
God wants righteousness.
And there is only one source that reveals that righteousness.
It is the gospel.
(Namely the word of God reveals how to get that righteousness)
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
Only the word of God reveals where a man can get
The righteousness that God demands.
And that answer is of course through faith in Jesus.
And that is why “salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes.”
And our Psalmist believes that doctrine.
But there are plenty, even churches who may say they love God’s word (like the gospel) and then live otherwise.
“Ashamed of the Gospel: When the Church becomes like the world” by John MacArthur.
He speaks all the subtle ways that churches reveal
That instead of loving God’s Word, they are in fact ashamed of it.
At one point he lists a group of church reviews
About local churches in the area.
• “There is no fire and brimstone here. No Bible-thumping. Just practical witty messages.”
• “Services at [the church featured in the article] have an informal feeling. You won’t hear people threatened with hell or referred to as sinners. The goal is to make them feel welcome, not drive them away.”
• As with all clergymen [this pastor’s] answer is God – but he slips Him in at the end, and even then doesn’t get heavy. No ranting, no raving. No fire, no brimstone. He doesn’t even use the H-word. Call it Light Gospel. It has the same salvation as the Old Time Religion, but with a third less guilt.”
• The sermons are relevant, upbeat, and best of all, short. You won’t hear a lot of preaching about sin and damnation and hellfire. Preacher here doesn’t sound like preaching. It is sophisticated, urbane, and friendly talk. It breaks all the stereotypes.”
• “[The pastor] is preaching a very upbeat message…It’s a Salvationist message, but the idea is not so much being saved from the fires of hell. Rather, it’s being saved from meaninglessness and aimlessness in this life. It’s more of a soft-sell.”
• “The idea, [this pastor] says, is to get people through the front doors, then disprove the stereotype of the sweating, loosened necktied, Bible-thumping preacher who yells and screams about burning in hell for eternity.”
And the whole reoccurring theme is that the message of the gospel
Is some sort of bad thing.
The notion that man is sinful and headed for judgment is just too harsh,
And anyone who would try and stand up and proclaim it
Is a sweaty bible-thumping preacher.
Anyone with the audacity to preach over about 15 minutes
Certainly fails to understand the desires of the culture.
But Scripture teaches it is through preaching that people are saved.
And not just trendy preaching, but preaching the gospel.
(repentance from sin – faith in Christ)
Well, the Psalmist is not ashamed of God’s plan of redemption.
The doctrine he believes is not a doctrine
That diminishes the need for Scripture
But one that puts the need for Scripture at the forefront.
In fact, he reckons a disregard of Scripture
To be the leading cause in a lack of salvation.
And because of this, he is certainly NOT the kind of man
Who would overlook God’s direction for his own life.
Think of:
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”
You only do that if you truly believe
That a failure to obey God leads to destruction.
So can we say that in our lives?
• Can we say that no matter the situation we remember and consult God’s word?
• Can we say that no matter the answer we obey God knowing that His word alone saves?
That’s what it looks like when someone loves God’s word.
The Devotion he shows, The Doctrine he believes
#3 THE DURATION HE MAINTAINS
Psalms 119:157
This is certainly not a new concept for our Psalmist.
We are talking about the concept of ENDURANCE.
It doesn’t matter how much pressure, how much adversity,
This guy stays the course, and that is what he reminds God of here.
“Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, Yet I do not turn aside from Your testimonies.”
And notice the word “Many”
• This isn’t one wicked man trying to make his life difficult.
• This isn’t a couple of disgruntled people causing strife.
• This is “many” people.
His stance has caused him to offend many.
Do you stick with God’s word when everyone else is offended by it?
• Caleb and Joshua standing against Israel saying they should enter the Promised Land.
• Joshua telling the people, “Choose you this day whom you will serve…”
I’ve always liked Paul’s final warning to Timothy in that first letter.
1 Timothy 6:20-21 “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.”
• Timothy, you’ve got to stand even if you stand alone.
• Even if you are considered to have “knowledge”.
• Even if it makes you look foolish.
• Stand.
THE PSALMIST HAS A TRACK RECORD OF THAT KIND OF COMMITMENT
He has stood even when he had to stand alone.
HOW CAN WE CLAIM TO LOVE GOD’S WORD WHEN PEER PRESSURE CAN EASILY TURN US AWAY FROM IT?
It is a sad thing in the church when cultural issues
Can dictate what the church believes.
And yet on a consistent basis we see the rise of feminism, homosexuality, or any other WOKE idea in the church.
All that is, is bending to the culture,
Instead of clinging to God’s Word.
The Psalmist loved God’s word more than he loved his reputation
Or his comfort, he endured, he does not leave.
The Devotion he shows, The Doctrine he believes, The Duration he maintains
#4 THE DISDAIN HE HAS
Psalms 119:158
Here we find his great zeal again.
“I behold the treacherous and loathe them”
I think it is safe to say that there is a group of people
That just get under his skin in a major way.
He calls them “the treacherous”
But beyond that, he tells you why they rile him so much.
“Because they do not keep Your word.”
Treachery is defined as “a violation of faith or trust”
It comes from a root Hebrew word that meant “to coveras in deceitfully”
These are men who promised to keep God’s word,
They said, “Trust me I will do it” and then they didn’t.
They were liars. They were phonies.
They claimed allegiance and then fell away.
These people who do more harm to Christianity than any other.
They claim a love for Jesus and then deny Him before the world.
They supply unbelievers with years’ worth of ammunition.
Romans 2:17-24 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.”
They do a great disservice to God,
And so the Psalmist says, I “loathe them”
Now I don’t want to get in to promoting hatred or things of that sort.
But let me ask you, “DOES IT BOTHER YOU WHEN PEOPLE DISOBEY OR DISREGARD GOD’S WORD?”
I’ve been in plenty of churches were it didn’t.
I’ve been in meetings where Scripture was read and instantly disregarded.
• A preacher from my home town held his bible up and told his
congregation, “This is a good book, but you can’t believe everything in it.”
• A former preacher here in Spur told me, “I don’t believe the Bible is true.”
DOES THAT BOTHER YOU?
DOES THAT ANGER YOU?
If you want to see an example, just play a Joel Olsteen sermon for Carrie.
Well, it angered the Psalmist,
And the reason is because he loves God’s word.
David said:
Psalms 139:19-22 “O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.”
And the reason is because David loved God!
And that is true of our Psalmist.
He proves his love for God’s word
Because of the disdain he has when men disregard it.
So we know he loves God’s Word because of:
The Devotion he shows, the Doctrine he believes, the Duration he maintains, the Disdain he has
#5 THE DECLARATION HE MAKES
Psalms 119:160
What a great statement.
Take all of God’s word and add it all together and all you get is truth.
He is saying God’s word is without dilution.
It is pure and perfect, all adding up to perfect truth.
“every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.”
What a great declaration to make about the word of God.
Back in the 60’s and 70’s Baptist fought a battle.
It was called the Inerrancy Controversy.
Some claimed that the Bible was without error, inerrant,
Others refused to make the declaration.
It led to a fight and ultimately a split in our denomination.
FUNDAMENTALISTS vs. MODERATES
Now suppose you stood before a counsel of moderates who pressured and pushed you for a verdict on where you stand.
• Would you stand before the masses and hold to your convictions?
• Would you declare that the “sum of Your words is truth”?
• Would you declare that “every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting”?
Suppose you go to a secular work place where the Bible is maligned?
Suppose you go to a college where a professor mocks the Scriptures?
Are you willing to give testimony to your belief in the inerrancy of Scripture?
The psalmist did, because he loved God’s Word.
The Psalmist called for revival on the basis that He was one of God’s children.
The evidence he offered that he was God’s child was his love for God’s word.
And when he wanted to prove his love for God’s word this was his evidence.
• He was devoted to it in every situation.
• He believed that disobedience to it led to destruction.
• He continued to obey it even when oppressed and afflicted for it.
• He had genuine disdain for those who said they would obey it and didn’t.
• He was not afraid to declare his allegiance to it in any situation.
THAT IS HIS EVIDENCE THAT HE LOVES GOD’S WORD.
Do Not Love The World – Part 2 (1 John 2:16-17)
Do Not Love The World – Part 2
1 John 2:15-17 (16-17)
March 6, 2022
Last Sunday we began looking at this very penetrating litmus test
That John has provided for us.
And as we pick back up here I just want to be clear again
As to JOHN’S PURPOSE in sharing such a direct truth.
Surely you aware by now to the fact that everything John writes
He writes for the benefit of the church that he loves.
This is NOT a letter of condemnation.
John is NOT seeking to condemn the church or upset the church
Or lead the church into some sort of despair or confusion.
On the contrary, John is writing to COMFORT the church
And to SOLIDIFY THE CONVICTIONS of the church.
He is writing so that those who are saved will know that they are saved.
And in order to do that John is writing very clearly
About what is Christianity and what is not.
We understand how lines of truth can get blurred.
Even in our day, we see TV preachers and prosperity gospel guys
Who have been very successful in promoting a corrupted gospel.
These preachers have somehow managed
To combine Christianity and worldly prosperity.
And there is a great multitude who is buying what they are selling.
But suppose you are someone who has given your life to Christ but you don’t have the prosperity they speak of.
• What if you are even poor?
• What if you suffer some other tragedy?
• Is that an indicator that your salvation is not real?
• Is that an indicator that you really still are on the outside looking in?
Of course WE KNOW that is NOT the case.
Instead we clarify Christ’s call to forsake the world
And we are comforted in realizing that poverty is not a sign of lostness,
Nor is prosperity a sign of salvation.
And a direct truth like that actually produces comfort and assurance
To those who are redeemed.
Well that is what John is doing.
He is writing boldly and confidently because he seeks
To reassure those who are saved that their salvation is genuine.
And this is so valuable for us.
At the same time we do realize that with verse 15 John HIT A NERVE.
“Do not love the world, nor the things in the world, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
That truth seems to bump up against our American cultural mindsets perhaps a little harder than some of the others.
But that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
It simply reminds us that as those living in an affluent society like ours
We must be all the more aware of the constant threat we face.
PROSPERITY IS A THREAT IN OUR CULTURE.
IT IS A THREAT TO THE LOST.
We remember Jesus’ explanation of the Rich Young Ruler’s rejection.
Matthew 19:23-24 “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
We cannot ignore that truth.
• Rich men can be saved.
• Zacchaeus, Matthew, and Joseph of Arimathea all prove that.
But it doesn’t change the fact that it is hard.
Prosperity is an enemy of salvation.
PROSPERITY IS ALSO A REAL THREAT TO SANCTIFICATION.
Remember the warning of Paul?
1 Timothy 6:9-10 “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
And that is why Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 6:11 “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”
And again:
1 Timothy 6:17-19 “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”
Prosperity can even be a threat to those who are saved in that
It can cause them to LOSE FOCUS and PURSUE THE WRONG THINGS.
In our culture we have to be aware of that.
It is OFTEN today (and rightly so) that we LOOK AT THE RICH YOUNG RULER as a warning of the dangers of prosperity.
But BEFORE the Rich Young Ruler the Bible had another person
Who was held up as a shining example of the dangers of loving the world.
Jesus spoke of this person in just 3 words:
“Remember Lot’s wife”
Luke17:32-33 “Remember Lot’s wife. “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”
She was of course that women
• Whose heart had become so infatuated with the worldliness of Sodom
• That even when the Lord was performing a work of grace to save her from the
judgment on that place,
• She had remorse and looked back.
• The Bible says she became a pillar of salt.
As Jesus warns of the dangers of loving the world He tells us to “Remember Lot’s wife”
So I simply remind you again that love of the world is a constant threat.
And, as we said LAST TIME, love of the world is also
A very real indicator of whether or not salvation is genuine.
JOHN HERE GIVES US A LITMUS TEST.
We are talking about people who love the world,
And John is giving us three characteristics about them.
We saw the first last time.
#1 THE LOVE THEY LACK
1 John 2:15
“Do not love the world, nor the things in the world, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
If you remember John was talking about a DEVOTION TO THE WORLD.
John spoke of a devotion to the world’s things.
It can be physical things like our STUFF
Or it can even be worldly IDEOLOGIES and the world’s approval.
Don’t love it.
Don’t be devoted to it.
Now, that is a command for the church.
• John is writing to the redeemed.
• John is writing to those who are saved and the command is clear.
• “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world”
Don’t do it.
But there is a reason.
That reason is because loving the world is not a fruit of salvation,
Loving the world is a fruit of lostness.
“if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is no in him.”
• You can’t do both.
• You can’t love the world and God.
Those who love the world demonstrate a lack of love for God.
That was John’s first truth about those who love the world.
This morning we’re going to move on.
The Love They Lack
#2 THE LUST THEY SHOW
1 John 2:13
This point builds upon the first.
One person might ask, “John why do you say that if you love the world then you do not love God?”
Well here is John’s answer to that supposed question.
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”
The quick answer is simply this:
Because everything the world is about is contrary to who God is.
• The world is not pleasing to God.
• The world is not delightful to God.
And one asks: “But I thought God loved the world?”
1. God does not love the evil and wickedness of the world, God loves people.
2. But even the love God has for people is fueled by mercy not by merit.
3. And even though God has love for the world, do not forget that He has also
promised to destroy it.
The world is sinful, rotten, fallen, deprave.
God already flooded it once, the next time He will burn it.
THE POINT IS that the world is nothing like God.
The world is totally incompatible with Him.
And it is therefore impossible to love the world and love God.
It’s a contradiction too great to exist.
That is the simple point.
But you’ll notice that John gives clarity.
He gives 3 characteristics of the world that are totally incompatible with God.
1) THE PASSION OF THE WORLD
John calls it “the lust of the flesh”
“flesh” there is the Greek word SARX
One person defined it as “the animal nature of man”
It is that basic, bodily, fleshly, base desire.
It is the animal instinct in humanity.
And John says the world lusts for it.
That is they crave it even though it is expressly forbidden.
This is what the world is about.
The world is all about satisfying their carnal, fleshly, base desires.
It is that passion that was seen in Sodom and Gomorrah
• When the men of the city surrounded the house of Lot and demanded that he
send out the angelic messengers so that they might have relations with them.
• And even when those men where struck with blindness the Scripture says that
“they wearied themselves trying to find the door.”
Ezekiel adds about Sodom
Ezekiel 16:49-50 “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. “Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.
• It’s the desire for a drunken revelry…
• It’s the base nightclub desire looking to hook up…
• It’s the lottery ticket / casino craze just wanting money…
• It’s the idol of comfort even if it requires overlooking those in need…
• It’s the desire to simply live it up and drink up the world…
There are so many more, but you get what we’re talking about.
And this is the world.
It is what the world craves.
Romans 7:5 “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.”
Romans 8:5-8 “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
It is as Paul said, they “set their minds on the things of the flesh”
• It’s what they desire.
• It’s what they crave.
• It’s what they are consumed with.
• It’s what they want.
I mean listen to secular music some time and you tell me what the world is consumed with. (Sex, money, and alcohol)
It is their passion.
And it is NOT the passion of God.
It isn’t Godly at all.
• The world is NOT focused on holiness and sanctification and truth.
• They are moving in opposite directions with opposite passions.
• If you love the world it is evident that there is no love for God.
But’s not just their passions.
2) THE PURSUIT OF THE WORLD
“and the lust of the eyes”
You might ask, “What’s the difference between “lust of the flesh” and “lust of the eyes”?
And the answer is: OPPORTUNITY
This is the next step.
A man may lay in his bed full of sinful desire with no opportunity.
Jesus taught us that such lust is already adultery of the heart.
But on the day his eyes behold the opportunity;
Then he moves from passion to pursuit.
Before he dreamed of the opportunity now he can chase it.
And the world does this as well.
If the world is good at anything it is at creating opportunities for sin.
• The world loves to give people a chance to pursue that which they think will satisfy their cravings.
And the world is all about trying to satisfy them.
This is why we don’t see a moral world with a dirty thought life,
But we actually see an immoral world.
Men eventually practice the sin they dwell on.
The word “eyes” here is OPHTHALMOS
Which does speak of the eyes.
But let me show you another place it is used.
Mark 7:21-22 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.”
The word shows up in that text too, only there it is not translated “eyes”,
It is translated “ENVY”.
It is to identify that which you think will bring you satisfaction.
It starts in the heart and it is carried out in the pursuit.
It is what Jesus spoke of:
Luke 11:33-35 “No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. “The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. “Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.”
Jesus said “The eye is the lamp of your body”
What is He talking about?
• What makes your eye twinkle…
• What catches your eye…
• What do you envy…
You can tell a lot about a man here.
As Peter talked about false believers in the church, he described them as:
2 Peter 2:14 “having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children;”
There it was “eyes full of adultery”
THIS IS THE WORLD.
They dream of sin and watch for opportunities to satisfy their cravings.
• This is not Godliness.
• This is not what God is like at all.
• They are polar opposites in every way.
So to love the world is evidence of a missing love for God.
Their Passions, Their Pursuit
3) THE PRESUMPTION OF THE WORLD
John also talks about “the boastful pride of life”
The Greek word there for “boastful pride” is ALAZONEIA
It means “empty braggart talk”
It is only used one other place in the New Testament.
James 4:16 “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”
• James talked about this empty boasting in arrogance and said it is evil.
Do you remember what James was talking about?
James 4:13-16 “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”
That is a man
• who NOT ONLY has a passion for worldly success…
• And NOT ONLY does he pursue worldly success…
But notice he is convinced that
Such success will be to his ultimate satisfaction.
Do you remember the promise Satan made to Eve in the garden?
• He promised her that if she would just eat the fruit then she would be satisfied.
• And in arrogance, Eve believed him.
It is the same arrogance seen in this man:
Luke 12:15-21 “Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Did you hear that man’s arrogance?
“And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”
That is the arrogance of the world.
• Not only do they dwell on sin with a passion…
• Not only do they pursue sin at every opportunity…
• But they do so convinced that even though it is contrary to the Law of God they are certain that it will be all-satisfying.
The deception of the world is that they
Can defy God’s Law and still find ultimate satisfaction.
What lie is that!
That was Satan’s lie in the garden wasn’t it?
That is worldliness. It is not Godliness.
And salvation itself is a salvation FROM worldliness TO Godliness.
TURN TO: EPHESIANS 2:1-10
Do you see those first 3 verses there?
• You see the same sort of categories there that John mentions here.
“Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest”
That is just basic unregenerate worldliness
What happened?
(4) “But God, being in rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when were dead in our trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places.”
• Do you see that God pulls people out of their sinful passions?
• Do you see that God delivers people from the lust of their flesh?
And then what does a redeemed person look like?
Well skip down to verse 10
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Do you see the difference?
God rescues men from sin He doesn’t guide them there.
Love of the world and love for God are polar opposites.
James 1:27 “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
And this is why John can say that
If you love the world then you don’t love God.
It’s impossible.
• All of the world’s passions…
• All of the world’s pursuits…
• All of the world’s presumptions…
John says “is not from the Father, but is from the world.”
• If those are your passions you didn’t get that from God.
• If those are your pursuits you didn’t get that from God.
• If those are your presumptions you didn’t get that from God.
There is NO COMPATIBILITY between worldliness and godliness.
Luke 16:14-15 “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”
And if you are in the church and have forsaken the world,
Don’t let some prosperity preacher cause you to think
That somehow you must’ve missed what true Christianity is.
No, you’re right on track, their supposed Christianity is a mirage.
But you see clearly as John speaks of the man who loves the world.
The Love They Lack, The Lust They Show
#3 THE LIFE THEY FORFEIT
1 John 2:17
This is perhaps the saddest reality for those who love the world.
John says, “The world is passing away, and also its lusts;”
Last time, when we defined the world “world”
We talked about the usage of the word KOSMOS.
We said it could be the literal physical created world.
Well, guess what, it will not last.
2 Peter 3:10-13 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”
If your hope or your satisfaction is in any way bound up in the physical realities of this planet then I need to prepare you for some bad news.
Read the Revelation.
• First God will ravage the world with war and famine and plague.
• Then God will terrify the world by ripping off the sky and revealing Himself on the throne.
• Then God will burn up 1/3 of the earth.
• After that God will turn 1/3 of the sea to blood and kill 1/3 of the life in it.
• God will then ruin 1/3 of the earth’s fresh water.
• Then God will strip away 1/3 of the earth’s natural light.
• God will terrorize the world by turning loose a horde of demons to torment the world like locusts.
• Following that God will unleash 4 demons and their 200 million strong army to inflict death on the earth.
• God will then give malignant sores to all unbelievers
• He will turn the rest of the sea to blood
• He will scorch men with the fire of the sun
• He will put men in pain causing them to gnaw their tongues
• And finally He will gather the rest of them to a place called Har-Magedon where Jesus will slaughter them and the blood will run in the streets up to a horses bridle for 200 miles and the birds will gorge themselves on their flesh.
• And then God will destroy the entire universe and create a new one.
My point?
If you tie yourself to this ship, you are going to be sorely disappointed.
God is going to destroy this place completely.
Isaiah 24:20 “The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again.”
But it’s NOT JUST the physical creation that will pass away.
John says, “also its lusts”
That is those “things of the world” which John also told us not to love.
• Worldly logic
• Worldly ideology
• Those “lusts of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life”
All those things are leaving too!
Revelation 21:1-8 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Revelation 21:27 “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Revelation 22:14-15 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”
There is coming a day when the sinful passions of our world will no longer exist.
• Sexual immorality won’t be cool in heaven.
• Drunkenness and arrogance and greed and envy won’t exist there.
God is getting rid of all of it.
And as Peter said we are “looking for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
Those who are loving in the world are loving something that they don’t get to keep. They are attaching themselves to a sinking ship.
BUT that is NOT the case
For those who forsake the world and who love God.
“but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
The simple point is that when you love the world you lose it,
But when you love God you keep Him forever.
Isaiah 51:6 “Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment And its inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not wane.”
And of course this is nothing new, it’s exactly what Jesus said:
Matthew 16:25 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Of course this prompted Jesus then to ask this question:
Matthew 16:26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Jim Elliot was one of those famous missionaries who were speared to death while seeking to reach that wild tribe of natives in South America.
Jim Elliot’s famous quote is: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
That was Jesus’ message.
That is John’s message.
The church is marked by those who love God, not the world.
This is basic Christianity 101.
• Christ calls us out of the world.
• Christ saves us from the world.
• And we leave the world that we may gain Christ.
Don’t let the prosperity culture in which we live blur that line.
“Remember Lot’s wife”
And now to sort of wrap up this segment of John’s message
I want you to turn to the book of Revelation.
TURN TO: REVELATION 18
• If you’re not familiar with Revelation 18 the best way I can sum it up for you is that Revelation 18 is about the fall of world’s economic system.
• (Revelation 17 is about the fall of the world’s religious system)
God speaks of the fall of this system in one day.
And I first want you to see the grief of the world as this system falls apart.
(READ 9-24)
• Do you see how God will devastate all those who love the world?
• He’s going to crush it all.
But there is a message in this chapter for the church.
(you already saw in verse 20 that God does this “for you against her”)
(READ 1-8)
Did you catch that warning?
“Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues”
There is a threat and a danger here.
Do not attach yourself to that which God will destroy.
Do you see why John is commanding the church not to love the world?
• Not only is loving the world a fruit of lostness…
• Not only is loving the world contrary to Christian living…
• Loving the world is a dangerous threat to you…
Don’t buy a ticket on the Titanic
Lest you get seduced by her extravagance and end up in judgment.
“Remember Lot’s wife”
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- …
- 282
- Next Page »
