this world has nothing for me
DESCRIPTION
Spiritual battles with the lust of the flesh, our enemyTRANSCRIPT
The Lust of the Flesh Our Enemy, pt. 1: (1 John 2:15–17)
15Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for
when you love the world, you do not have the love of the
Father in you.
16For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure,
a craving for everything we see, and pride in our
achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from
this world.
17And this world is fading away, along with everything
that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God
will live forever. NLT
indicating a place of corruption, a place antagonistic and strong aversion to God, a place in the grip of the demonic “powers.” ISBE
Here John uses the term world in a highly negative connotation,
Love is used 3 times in v. 3 and
in every case it is agape.
Agape of the world is sin.
Don’t love the world because it
Opposes God
Fading away
2 Timothy 4:10 - Demas has deserted me because he loves
the things of this life… NLT
Matthew 13:3-23
Rocky Soil They fall away as soon as they
have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s
word.
Matthew 13:3-23
Thorny Soil The message is crowded out by the worries of this life and
the lure of wealth
Matthew 13:3-23
Only the Good Soil that produces fruit is a
true believer.
James 4:4
You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of
God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the
world, you make yourself an enemy of God. NLT
1 John 2:19
These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us;
otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left,
it proved that they did not belong with us. NLT
physical pleasure
everything we see
pride in our achievements &
possessions
Luke 22:15
And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired (lust) to eat this Passover with you before
I suffer. ESV
Lust of the flesh is an offer that comes from outside of us
that stirs up the sin in us two ways
1. By what it is (pornography)
2. How it is achieved (premarital & extramarital
sex).
At the fundamental level, the sin in us perverts or
distorts a God given desire (Jeremiah 17:9)
1. Set your sights on the realities of heaven
Colossians 3:1-15
2. Put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.
Colossians 3:1-15
3. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you
learn to know your Creator and become like him.
Doing good for one’s own sake rather than for God’s is not doing good at all, but is
merely a hypocritical projection of the sin of
self-love.
Romans Commentary, John MacArthur
Meditation & Application
Say No to the offerings of the world by Trusting that Jesus is
sufficient for you now.
Meditation & Application
Take time to identify the values
of the offer.
Meditation & Application
Be mindful that sin is in you
Meditation & Application
Ask the LORDto reveal sin in your life.
Meditation & Application
Ask the LORDto to make the
Two Great Commandments realities in your life.
Meditation & Application
Grow in the skillful use of your Offensive Weapon -
The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
(Eph 6:17)