Warning Against Worldliness

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Turn me turn with me in your scriptures this morning to James chapter 4 the epistle of James Chapter 4
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Before we look to God's Word. Let us ask him one more time to bless our time together
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Our gracious Heavenly Father as we gather in the name of Christ this day It is our deepest desire that your spirit would be with us to lift us up Lord we need your spirits ministry outside of his work amongst us.
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We can accomplish nothing And so be with us now may your word become alive in our hearts. We pray in Christ's name
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Amen, there are things that change our lives both for the good and for the ill
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Sometimes when we experience certain life -changing events We can only see the negative and it is only in hindsight that we end up seeing the positive
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Now this past week I was away from home. I was up in Colorado a beautiful place to be even though unfortunately,
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I seem to have packed up our weather and brought it with me to Colorado where yesterday it was 101 degrees in Boulder and it's just not supposed to be like that up there and But I was up there is still beautiful not nearly as much snow as there was last year
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Let me guarantee you that but anyway I was speaking on the subject of Islam at a church
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I've built a good relationship with up there in the Boulder area And if you know anything about Boulder, it is a very very liberal area
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There are some very intriguing people in Boulder, Colorado. Let me tell you something. I saw a man standing honestly
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I was turning at a corner and there was a panhandler at the corner and he was saying there was a sign
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It didn't say homeless. It didn't say help me It said I accept all major credit cards and cash.
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No checks, please And he had a bag with some type of a device in it where he could actually swipe your card
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Now that's when you know, you need to keep driving. Okay That was
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That's how I knew I was in Boulder anyway I was speaking on the subject of Islam there had a wonderful opportunity of We actually had a number of Muslims who came to the presentation
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I think a couple left a little early because they were expecting some kind of wild -eyed Nastiness and said they were getting something very
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Different and and I think they're a little bored with that. We had some excellent conversations with some folks there But one of the things that happened this week and normally when
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I travel the I stay in a hotel the TV remote just sits wherever it was where the maid left at the last time
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Someone was there and I sort of lose track of what's going on in the world but I did know one thing was happening in the world and that was the
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NBA final and I Did after speaking
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I think was it Thursday night? I think that's when it was Thursday evening I did watch the the end of of the game and I guess what you might call the the crowning of King James which has nothing to do with a translation of the
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Bible whatsoever but LeBron James now has
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I think one -sixth the number of championships of Michael Jordan or something like that and He was asked a number of times
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You know what made this possible and I found it interesting He said what made this possible was we lost last year and they lost fairly badly last year and he was blamed for that and and a lot of people were saying see he just doesn't have it in him and He admitted that that was one of the best things that had ever happened is
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That losing in two in 2011 led to winning in 2012 he said it humbled him changed him refocused him changed his priorities and As a result was able to win the championship in this year
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We also know that many men had their priorities changed by what happened on 9 -11 for example
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There are many people who have gone into Military service who had not really thought about it until the events of September 11th 2001
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And won Sometimes big things happen that change our entire outlook and change our priorities now
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Christians Christians especially have every reason to recognize that there was a time in our lives and events in our lives that changed our priorities and I think one of the great
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Weaknesses of much of what calls itself Christianity in the world today is
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That because of the the way that the message is presented because of the way that is preached that fundamental shifting of allegiances and priorities in life
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Well, it's left off to one side when Christians Behave like their priorities have not changed
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We give a horrible Testimony to the world and I think that's what is behind James's words here in this epistle.
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Let's look at just the first few verses as we consider this topic James says what is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?
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Is not the source your your pleasures your desires that wage war in your members
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You lust and do not have so you commit murder you're envious and cannot obtain so you fight and quarrel
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You do not have because you do not ask Yet you ask and do not receive because you ask
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With wrong motives or in an evil fashion so that you may spend it on your pleasures
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You adulterous Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?
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Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God Or do you think that the scripture speaks to no purpose?
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He jealously desires the spirit which he has made to dwell in us
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Now these are rather strong words Especially in verse 4 when writing to fellow believers
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James says you Adulterous is you are being what is what is an adulterous?
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It's a it's a person who who is unfaithful to the commitments that have been made and so James speaks to the believers to the
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Christians and and he says you are being unfaithful and Commitments which you have made and I think one of the major problems that we have in this day is that when the gospel is
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Presented in a man -centered rather than a God centered fashion One of the the key elements of the picture of our relationship to our
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God is lost What do I mean well When you think of The representations of God in the scripture what crosses your mind?
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Hopefully not what we see so much in What is called preaching around our land today where you have
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God is the the friendly? Grandfatherly type guy that's a you know just sits up on the throne, and he's there to serve us
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He'll be there when you need him And he's not doesn't really mind when you're just off doing your own thing and fulfilling your own lusts
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He'll he'll always just be there because he loves you like you are That's not the picture of the
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God. I see in the Bible I See a holy and just God and he's described as King And I think that's where part of the disconnection is
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We don't have one of them Now we just we just saw that England celebrated the 60 years
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I recall correctly of the the reign of the Queen and There are some people here in the
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United States that have sort of a soft spot for the Queen She seems like a nice lady back recently.
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She's said some downright religious things which in England is almost shocking but We don't have one of those and we all know even though.
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She's the Queen It's not like back in the time of the Revolution. You know she can't really do anything She can't make a decree and it's going to happen that type of monarchy is long past there anyways but we got rid of that idea of a of a king and We don't bow in front of anybody
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Let alone we see movies and and maybe even you recall in Sunday school you might have seen some some of the
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You know the drawings of the cartoon work and in what you're handed out in Sunday school
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And and you see people bowing before a king and they're actually down on their knees or maybe they're they're prostrate on the ground
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And a lot of us sort of look at that and go man that's sort of extreme I Don't know that I could ever do that that that that Don't they have the
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Constitution? You know I mean all men are created equal You know so no one can no one should bow down in front of anybody else, right?
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and so because of that It seems that the presentation of what being a a true disciple one who has
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Has recognized what it means to be a servant? We sort of put that off the side and and we serve
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Americanized this idea So in many churches, what is it well God wants you to be?
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in his family and And and God's going to be very very happy you can make
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God happy by by joining up with him and the idea of denying self
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Taking up a cross which means to have joined the death march the march of those who were condemned to death by the world that kind of radical separation
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From your own wishes and wants and desires That's just not a part of what most of us think about anymore
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We think about what it means to be a disciple of Christ And that I think is what is behind what
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James is saying in this text bowing The knee before a sovereign means one is no longer in charge
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I'm no longer in charge of my life and the desires of intentions of the sovereign the king
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Become naturally those of the servants You see if I really say he is my king
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You wanted to serve that King you loved that King and you want to see that King glorified and his desires
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Fulfilled and you do whatever you need to fulfill That longing and desire
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But how often is it that we as believers? We experience warfare
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Because well, we've got our wants and our desires and Then you've got those of the king and the priorities of the kingdom and they war within us
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And we know which side normally is going to win the idea of what it means to truly be a servant
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Prostrating before a sovereign true submission to a higher authority in one's life
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It's either ignored or in some particularly bad forms of false teaching in our world today, it's actually denied
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There are people today standing behind pulpits who are saying that discipleship stuff that lordship stuff
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That's only if you want to be a super Christian You can just be a Christian by just believing in Jesus and you don't have to worry about the repentance stuff and the lordship stuff
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It's just you know, just believe in Jesus Just tip your hat toward God that gives you the ticket and You'll get to go to heaven.
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Don't you have to worry about that other stuff? It's in the Bible But it's only if you want to become a super Christian and I've mentioned that to you many times
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Let me just mention that it's it's very sad The night before last in a conversation with a very intelligent and well -spoken
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Muslim He said to me well one of my main problems with Christianity and I've had many
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Christians tell me this is You believe in the the golden ticket. I Said the what
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I had an idea was coming but the golden ticket Yeah, you just there's no personal responsibility.
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You believe in Jesus then you can just live like you want And I'm not doubting that there
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I've met people that that's exactly how they understand what the gospel is. And so that may be the kind of people that he had encountered before I can assure you
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I I Corrected his misunderstanding as to the nature of the gospel at that particular point but there are many many people who have this kind of perspective and as a result
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There is a great deal of misunderstanding And so we look back at this text and we listen to what
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James says and we want to walk through this What is the source of quarrels and conflicts
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Among you and it's interesting the the term for quarrels is the
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Greek term for which we get polemics Argumentation fighting even in a proper academic sense debate
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But there is division amongst the people of God There is division amongst them in such a way that it's causing
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Quarreling and fighting This morning brother Boyle's in his prayer before the opening was noting the fact that God has been so kind to us in Allowing us to avoid so much of that kind of thing that unfortunately the term
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Baptist for many people actually just brings out the idea of People who quarrel and fight
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I mean, that's what's In most Baptist churches business meetings are not like ours.
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Let me assure you of that Business meeting is something you train for in many
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Baptist churches in the south. Just simply so you have your cardio ready to go When it spills out into the parking lot
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We don't have that and the Lord has been very kind to us along those ways
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Part of the reason is having you know people like George a brick around because you know it's sort of a calming influence upon anyone who might want to get a little out of line, but But we've been blessed by the
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Lord in that way and yet that is a that is unfortunately Something that people are known for Christians are known for when our priorities
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Exists along what we might call the sacred secular division
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The sacred secular division we've all heard that terminology the term secular in Latin is used a number of times in the
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Latin translation of the New Testament this age this world Do not be conformed to this this
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Secularly this age this world this system of things and Yet in the mind and thinking of many you have you have your secular life, and then you have your sacred life now in the medieval period
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That division existed, but the one was submitted to the other
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It was recognized that the sacred Ruled over and determined.
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What was to be in the secular we now live in a world where that has been turned upside down and We live especially in a society where the secular has now become the dogmatic
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The secular has become the superior and is seeking to limit the expression of the sacred and really to limit the very existence of the sacred and that is happening at a breathtakingly fast speed in our society today as Christians while we recognize
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That we need to for example to use biblical terminology Need to order our lives care for our flocks fulfill our duties in other words do those things
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We've been called to do in this world. We don't view that quote -unquote as secular It's interesting as a term secular in Latin frequently has the idea of temporality
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The idea of that which is temporary and which is passing away We recognize that all of life in fact is
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Sacred all is sacred to the Christian Consider the vitally important command that we must be reminded to consider to contemplate to obey and apply over and over and over again our lives
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Paul's words in Colossians chapter 3 Verse 23 says whatever you do and remember he's referring to people most these early
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Christians Many of them were slaves They had secular duties. They didn't have nearly the number of freedoms and liberties that we have
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I mean they had to work long hours difficult times, and he says to them whatever you do
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Do your work heartily as for men as for the Lord rather than for men Knowing that from the
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Lord you'll receive the reward of the inheritance It is the Lord Christ the
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Lord Messiah whom you serve So even in the context of one's quote -unquote secular employment for the
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Christian That's not really secular It's not like there's this kingdom over here of the worldly and then this kingdom over here of the sacred
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Even though our society now is telling us you must separate them. You must elevate this you must limit this
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This is only what you do on Sunday and you need to keep your mouth quiet about and you you dare not live in such a way that you
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Demonstrate to others that this is more important than this. Oh, no, no For the
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Christian It is the Lord Christ whom you serve in whatever it is you do
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Whatever your calling is as a Christian You seek to do your work
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Heartily from the heart a full soul as For the
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Lord rather than for men now, obviously the unbeliever He can only do what he does for men
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His allegiance is to himself He works to better himself to give himself money to get himself possessions because that's his ultimate
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That's his ultimate goal, or maybe he might be willing to work for some other cause or something like that But it will not be for the
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Lord in against him he remains in rebellion and So there is a promise knowing that from the
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Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance But the point is that for the
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Christian Everything we do including that activity those activities that we engage in in this world, which the world calls secular
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They're not secular. They're sacred That is really what the the foundation of that that tremendous work ethic that the
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Puritans were known for that's where it came from and So when we allow for that division to exist
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We enter into conflict when we allow the secular and the sacred we don't see That as servants of Christ we have bowed the knee to another so we are servants and Not servants like we think of today, you know you if you're on the
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TV and you find out some other rich Hollywood star is in trouble because of the
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Servants that they hired or they've been accused of something by the servants or something like that No a a servant was a slave now the
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Roman Slave was different than the American concept of that But the point was that a servant was a servant and That meant that that servant
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Gave his or her life in the service of someone else
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And that's what we're called to do and when we don't see that When we imbibe the way that the world thinks and allow that division to exist in our mind
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To where when we walk out of this room Okay, time to shift over to the secular
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Okay, Monday, Tuesday Wednesday you need to start shift back to the sacred for a while then back as if there's these two completely different realms
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When we allow that to happen well quarrels and conflicts will come up because what what is the
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Best way of keeping peace amongst the people of God Philippians chapter 2 don't look to your own things
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Look to the things of others in humility of mind Put yourself in a lower position and serve others.
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That's how the church remains unified as one body and so James says the source is your pleasures that wage war and your members
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You have certain desires and when your fleshly desires or your worldly desires
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War against what's supposed to be your desires, which is to fulfill the desires and wants of your sovereign
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Always asking Lord. What is your will for me? Not what do
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I want not what would make me happy, but what would allow me to serve
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Christ better? Look at what happens You lost and do not have you have desires
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But since they're the wrong desires God doesn't grant them to you or if he does grant them to you they end up making you miserable anyways,
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I Mean we all we all know that every one of us at one point in time in our lives
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Has gotten something into our mind that we just I don't know how it grabs hold of you
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But there's just this thing and it may be maybe It may be cheap. It may be very expensive.
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It may be hard to get Who knows but you've just gotta have it and You're even tempted to to try to get hold of it in ways.
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You shouldn't get hold of it And it maybe takes you a long time to get it and once you've got it no fulfillment
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It's not anything like what you expected You had dreams so often about what how happy you were gonna be and how fulfilled you were gonna be
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And you get it and yeah, it's neat for a little while and Then you know a few days a few weeks all of a sudden you're looking for something else
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Because it just could not fulfill that lust that desire
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You lost does not have so you commit murder and I don't think he's saying that the you know that there was an ever
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Lessening number of people in the Christian congregation because they were knocking each other off but Jesus said if you're angry with your brother, you've committed murder in your heart and the divisions and the quarrels and the strife
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I Again, if you sort of grown up around here, you don't get to see this all that often
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But if you've if you've been in other circumstances, man, there are some times we look at some of the politics that exists and some of the
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Nominations and stuff and there's some there's some spiritual murder going on in a lot of churches
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It's not love. It's it's it's a true desire to see someone else
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Hurt someone else maybe even removed from the fellowship in one way or another
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You lost and do not have so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain covetousness
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Talk about a complete denial of what it means to be a servant of Christ think about it if you are coveting what someone else has
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If you are in essence saying to God Right. Why won't you let me have that? Why won't you let me be like that person?
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Why won't you let me have that person's house or that person's car or her looks or his muscles or whatever else?
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What are you fundamentally doing? You're complaining against God and his providence in your life and how he's made you and where he's placed you as a
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Servant you are questioning his wisdom and goodness that's all there is to it and so covetousness envy
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Discontentedness of the Christian is the exact opposite of the key Christian element for satisfaction and that is
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Thanksgiving and And so again if you have these two areas and your lusts are over here in the secular world
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They're going to be warring against Those desires the Spirit of God brings when the
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Word of God is preached to you and you hear those things and you you agree In your mind that yes, that's that's exactly where I should be, but you've got this conflict you're envious you cannot obtain so you fight and quarrel a person who is envious
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Does not want to see the success of the person who possesses what they're envious of and So you've seen this oh, we it's sometimes
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It's so obvious except the people that are doing it. You know I may not be aware. Just how obvious it is
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But you know someone might have some success in a certain field or something like that and you can tell that someone else just just is envious and So when you're talking to that person is envious.
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I don't think that's all that great I I don't know that person actually did that I you know you just always get the negativity and and and oh,
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I There's no true rejoicing with that brother or sister in what
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God has done as a blessing in their life because there's envy So you fight and you quarrel?
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You do not have because you do not ask a person who does not see
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That all of life is to be ordered by that priority of commitment to Christ it's probably not a person who's actually praying a
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Right in the proper way in a recognition of your will be done Because even as it goes on to say you ask and do not receive because you ask badly literally badly wrong motives in an evil way and so the person's prayer life is either
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Non -existent or is focused upon the lusts and the desires that control Well, let's just put it this way
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Test yourself. What are you? What do you think about when the mind begins to wander? I?
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Mean your job may not allow you to do much of that, but let's face it most jobs There's some downtime or there's some what we call brainless work.
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You know where you're not really having to focus real hard and maybe you get home and and You're you're listening to some music or something like that.
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You're relaxing You're a cooling off after sitting in a hot car in the in the
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Phoenix summer Where's your mind go? What do you contemplate?
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What takes up your thinking? That really is a good a good way of Understanding what it is that is most important in your heart and in your mind and so a person might be praying
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But praying with wrong motives, and so I don't know why I pray God never gives me what I asked for anyway,
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I Think it's a lifelong thing to be to come to understand what it means to pray if it be thy will
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I know that there are many people who who say you should never pray that way But actually
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I think it's just because so few people in this life ever really get to the point where their prayer really is
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If it be thy will that's not an escape clause That is a statement of willingness to be a servant and to be used by God And I think most of us struggle in this life to get to the point where when we say those words
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They really mean what the words are actually supposed to say And so you ask and do
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I receive because you ask the wrong motives since you may spend it on your pleasures Prayer really is to be a time of of true
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Contemplation in the light of God's Word and the guidance of his spirit and so often prayer is what changes us
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We're not trying to change God If you really believe you're in the presence of God And you are you are pouring out to him your deepest desires the light that the
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Word of God and the Spirit of God brings upon those desires Should bring conviction to our hearts and it's in that context then that we have verse 4
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Which is really where I want to focus most of my attention But looking at the clock on the wall realize that I'm going to have to be fairly brief
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You adulterous now. I don't think that Most the time the
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Spirit of God prompts Leaders like James was to just willy -nilly insult believers and He's not just insulting believers here but he's using a very good term an
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Adulterous is one who's made a commitment But violates that commitment for the fulfillment of lustful passion
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That's what adultery is and a Christian who has a divided mind divided allegiances
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Is an adulterous do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?
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friendship with the world What does that mean? Well, we all know that the term cosmos world is used in many different ways in a
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New Testament We're saying we're told in one place. God loved the world in the very same book.
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We're told that we're not to love the world Well same author first John and John John 3
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So obviously the term world you got to look at it in context. You got to understand what its meaning in context and I don't think this is a basis for monasticism
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For you know going out and building the convent in the middle of no place and and just getting away from everything in the world
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I Don't think that's what it's referring to I Don't think there's anything wrong with the fact that we can see the beauty of the world around us.
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I mean Yesterday up at the top of this ride that I did man.
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I'll tell you those mountains are beautiful You can see forever and there's fourteen thousand foot mountains over there and twelve thousand foot peaks over there
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And and there's still some snow here. They're not much but some snow up there and the the pines and the
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Aspen and oh It's just gorgeous. I wish I'd had more time to look at it I'm normally dodging other cyclists potholes and various wild animals and so I don't really have as much time to focus on those things, but I don't there's anything wrong if I were to stop and Just look out there and go.
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Wow. This world is beautiful. Is that friendship with the world? No, that's not what James is talking clearly
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You have here those two realms Friendship with the world the this world this age this this secular system of things that this physical world around us that appeals to our lusts and our desires and then you have
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Friendship with God two realms secular secular and the sacred
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Here what James says is You cannot be in a state of friendship with both.
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You cannot put them as equals with one another Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?
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There are many many especially young folks Young folks you are being taught by the world around you
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That there does not have to be a conflict Between God's ways and the world's way
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That you can just sort of change God's ways to fit so you can just fit in and you can have all your friends and you're always being told don't judge anyone
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Don't judge anyone. Don't think anything's right and wrong Because that's wrong. I Hope you note that there's a bit of a contradiction there.
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I Don't care what adult it is and how many degrees they have after their name if they're telling you never say something's wrong
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That's wrong. I hope you recognize they're not thinking very clearly and You don't have to follow what they're saying
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Because the reality is this world the world that refuses to bow the knee to Jesus Christ will always be at war with those who have
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Bowed the knee to Jesus Christ the Bible doesn't tell us there's ever gonna be a time of peace
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The world must be subjected the last enemy to subject be subjected is death itself
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Jesus Christ is Lord of all things and his lordship must be proclaimed to all people and Those who reject that will be at war with those who follow
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Jesus Christ Jesus himself Warned us of this.
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He told us that this would be the case You remember when he spoke to his disciples in John chapter 15, he says if the world hates you
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You know that it has hated me before it hated you if you are of the world the world would love its own
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But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world because of this the world hates you those are
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Jesus's words and Our society says he was too radical don't listen to him.
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Listen to us Let's all just coexist Let's not let's not let's all create religions where there are no ultimate
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Priorities there are no ultimate Allegiances what you need to understand is what they're saying to every single one of us young people, especially but to all of us today is
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Deny the Lordship of Christ What they're saying to a Muslim is deny the authority the
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Quran what they're saying to a Buddhist is they're saying to all of us Set your highest priority as the secular
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Secularism must be your highest priority. And if you want to be religious, well You need to have a religion that fits within our parameters and what the
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Christian has to say in response is I Cannot and will not do so Friendship with the world means that I am at enmity
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I am at war with God because this world refuses to bow the knee to my lord
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And I am his servant So what you are asking me to do is Fundamentally to deny who
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I am and what I have been called to do and you are saying to me that even though my life
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Has been redeemed through the sacrifice of another That I must transfer my allegiance which so naturally goes to that Lord because of what he's done for me
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To this secular system, which has done nothing for me can promise me nothing but death and emptiness in this life
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That is what we're facing Indeed I am very deeply concerned in the dialogues that I have with the younger generation that this very concept
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It's it's almost like it's completely unknown. It's the next generation completely unknown
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The idea that there can be a neutrality the idea that we we can we can have peace
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Between the secular system and Allegiance to Jesus Christ. It's become deeply ingrained and They don't see that in reality that system is completely opposed to Christ It's not looking for peace with him not looking with peace for those who follow him
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It's looking to subject them and once you turn a Christian to somebody who has at their highest authority
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The things this world and that of Christ Now you've got a little reason why there's so many denominations in this world today that have no earthly idea what the
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Bible says anymore Because they don't really believe What the Bible says on these matters? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes him self an enemy of There is a choice to be made, you know,
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I've often said I at least respect People of different faiths who are consistent and have made a decision.
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This is what I believe I can dialogue with them. I can talk about truth with them The person I have the hardest time respecting is the wishy -washy well,
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I don't know I sort of feel this way, but some people feel that way and Just they just can't make a decision about anything.
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We have a decision to make we've made a decision As a believer if you wish to be a friend of the world
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You need to realize you are rejecting the claims of God upon your life
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You are making yourself the enemy of God. Oh, that's so black and white
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That's so that's so strict that that doesn't that doesn't reach this generation ever heard that That's what we're being told all the time
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What's the fundamental assumption of that statement that to reach this generation? It's up to us our words and their decisions not up to the
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Spirit of God It is a fundamental act of disbelief that the
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Spirit of God is still active in building his church today Remember what
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Spurgeon said long ago Christ's sheep hear his voice They will not be offended by the words of the shepherd not in the sense that They will never come to him the words the shepherd can often be offensive up until the point of Regeneration and conversion and so we need to remind ourselves often because the world is pressing upon us hard We have made a commitment to the
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Lordship of Jesus Christ We cannot seek friendship with the world
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Friendship with the world is a betrayal of our Lord It doesn't mean that we leave the world
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But we know that friendship with the world means that we allow in our hearts in our minds those priorities desires
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Passions that we know are not ordained by him We must view ourselves as his servants and Recognize that his priorities his desires his will for our life must predominate over Everything else and that our passion should always be fulfillment of his will in our life
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Not that we should pursue friendship with the world Let's pray together indeed our gracious heavenly father as we consider this text, and it's strong warning
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We do not want to be identified as adulterous in this world
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We do not want to be unfaithful to your calling in our lives We do not want to be have a divided mind
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Where we do not see what is truly important Lord help us as we seek to serve you to not seek friendship with the world, but instead to seek your
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Approbation your approval in all of our lives may we contemplate upon this may this week as the world
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Brings its desires into our eyes once again may we be reminded may this verse ring in our minds
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That to seek friendship with the world is to make oneself the enemy of God May we hear this warning and live in light of it.