Sunday, February 26, 2017, 11:40 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Zeal for Your House.” Speak, Lord, your
words to my heart. I read 1 John 2:15-25
(NASB).
Love Not World
(vv. 15-17)
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. 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 world is
passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives
forever.
What does it mean to love the
world? The Greek word for love here is agapaó, which means to “wish well to,
take pleasure in, long for;” “to prefer, to love.” It “preeminently refers to
what God prefers as He ‘is love.’" “For the believer, preferring
to ‘live through Christ’ (1 Jn. 4:9,10), i.e. embracing God's
will (choosing His choices) and obeying them through His power” - http://biblehub.com/greek/25.htm.
So, we are not to love the
world (worldly affairs) in the way in which we are to love God/Christ. We are
not to take pleasure in, long for or prefer the world and what the world
prefers. We are not supposed to live for or live like the world of sin. We are
not to embrace the world’s values, philosophies, attitudes, actions, and
behaviors. We are not to follow in its ways, i.e. we are to no longer conform
our lives to the patterns of the world. And, we are not to give the world our
adulation, praise, honor, passion, and hearts.
If we give Jesus 5 minutes a
day in the reading of his Word, but we spend 3 hours a day watching TV, or
chatting on social media sites, or surfing the NET, or playing video games,
then who or what are we preferring? And, if the stuff we are taking into our
minds via these various forms of media is what is contrary to God and his Word,
and we are allowing ourselves to be entertained by them, then what or who do we
prefer? Whose values are we embracing? What behaviors are we giving our time
and passion to? We can’t love God like we are supposed to love him if he gets
the leftovers, and the world gets prime time and our thoughts, eyes, ears,
hearts and passion.
Basically, if we agapao the
world of sin, God’s love is not in us. Why? Because all that is of the world is
opposed to God and his Word, so it is not of him. If we want to have eternal
life with God, then we need to agapao God, not the world, thus preferring what HE
prefers and obeying HIM.
Many Antichrists (vv. 18-23)
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… I have not written to you because you do not
know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the
antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son
does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.
So, what or who is an “antichrist”?
“Anti” means “against” or “opposite of,” so it is anything or anyone which (or
who) is against Christ in lifestyle, attitude, action, words, behavior, and thought,
etc. An antichrist can verbally acknowledge Jesus as the Christ but deny him by
his lifestyle, actions, and other words. One of the ways in which an antichrist
denies Christ is via deceit. We must remember here that Satan disguises himself
as an angel of light and “his servants also masquerade as servants of
righteousness” (2 Co. 11:14-15). His servants will pretend to be ministers of
the gospel of Christ, or followers of Christ, only to lead God’s people astray
from their pure devotion to Christ through manipulation, deception and
trickery.
Many preachers today are
followers of humans instead of followers of God. Their ‘bible’ is comprised of
various books and articles on how to market their churches (their businesses)
to the world, and on how to bring in large crowds of people. And, so they
pattern their church gatherings around the pattern of the world in order to
attract the world to their churches (i.e. to their businesses). “Worship”
services are often nothing more than a cleaned up version of what the world is
offering in the way of entertainment. The majority of the church’s time and
money seems to be focused on the weekly “big show,” which they present to the
world. Thus, pastors have to be entertainers if they want to gain followers for
themselves (i.e. customers).
In order to gain popularity
with the people of the world, thus, they end up diluting the gospel of Jesus
Christ in order to make it more acceptable and appealing to the world. Many of
them teach that a mere human belief that Jesus died to free us from
condemnation and to promise us heaven when we die, and a verbal confession of
Jesus as Lord is all that is needed for them to have salvation and the hope of
eternity with God. Yet, where is the heart transformation in all of this? Where
is the sorrow over sin? Where is the repentance and submission to the cross of
Christ? True faith in Jesus is God-given and is persuaded by God as to his will
for our lives, and thus it prefers what God prefers and obeys Him through the
Holy Spirit’s power.
Abide in the Son (vv. 24-25)
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.
This is the promise which He Himself made to us:
eternal life.
What they heard from the
beginning is not what is being taught in many of today’s modern churches. What
they heard was the gospel as taught by Jesus and by his NT apostles. And, it
included teaching on sin, repentance, obedience, and submission, i.e. that
Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He did not die
merely so we could escape hell and go to heaven when we die. He died that we
might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us.
His grace is not a free license to continue in willful sin while claiming
heaven as our future home. His grace, which brings salvation, teaches us to say
“No” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright
and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:24; 2
Co. 5:15).
So, we need to let the truth
of God’s word abide (continue, remain) in us, i.e. to continually guide our
thinking, actions, and values, etc., to have its way in our lives, and for us
to follow it in obedience. This means we need to know what it says, so we need
to be students of the Word, and we need to be receptive to the Spirit’s voice
giving us counsel, direction, and instruction in godly and holy living. We need
to not be following clever lies of deceivers who deny Christ by their
lifestyles and by many of their words. So, we need to pray for discernment to
know what is true and what are lies, because there are many deceivers. Yet, if
the truth of God’s word makes its home in our hearts and lives, then we will
also abide (continue, remain) in God the Father and in the Son, Jesus Christ.
And, if it does, and thus we remain in Christ, we are promised eternal life
with God.
Zeal for Your House
An Original Work / August 1,
2016
Based off Jn. 2:17; Ps. 69:9
Zeal for Your house, it
consumes me.
Lord, I love my times with
You.
I love to worship You and
sing Your praises.
Time in Your Word brings me
closer to You,
List’ning to You speaking to
me,
Gently guiding me in truth.
Lord, You are my life’s
example,
Showing me how I should live.
I love to walk with You
where’er You lead me.
No greater joy have I when
serving You.
Loving, giving, resting in
Your strength,
I’m yielding to Your will.
Zeal for Your house, it
consumes me.
See the church turned upside
down:
Marketing ventures taking
place of worship,
Men of the gospel turning
into clowns.
Gospel message made
appealing,
So the world will feel at
home.
Lord, we need a great
revival.
Turn their hearts, Lord, back
to You.
Open the blind eyes, turn
them all from darkness,
Lord, to the light. May they
return to You,
Turn from their sin, forsake
idols,
Be restored to God again.
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