10-25-2020 – The Love of God Perseveres, Everything Else Perishes

10-25-2020 -
The Love of God Perseveres, Everything Else Perishes

God loves His people and He has expressed His love by sending His own Son to die for our sins. God’s Word teaches that those who accept God’s free gift of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ, will seek to obediently serve God here on earth.

Serving God must include knowing and trying to do that which pleases God, just as it must also include knowing and trying not to do that which displeases God (cf. Romans 12:9).

Romans 12:9,
"⁹ Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good."

Read 1John 2:15-17…
"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. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."

There is a certain type of love that God hates.

John is telling us not to love anything in the “world system.” Why? Well, maybe it is because Satan is the ruler of the world system that hates God’s Son, and all those who serve Him.

Either you love God and hate the world system (meaning all that opposes God), or you hate God and love the world system, there is no third option.

Unbelievers are devoted to serving self through the philosophies and practices of this world. But God’s people are to be devoted to knowing, applying and proclaiming God’s sovereign and eternal Word (revealed to us in the 66 Books of the Old and New Testaments).

The Bible is a God’s revelation to us, so that we might not just know about Him, but that we might personally come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (see John 1:1-3, 14, 18; 5:39-40; 6:26-29, 40; 8:19, 42-45; 10:24-33; 14:6-7).

John 1:1-3, 14,
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being."

John 1:14,
"¹⁴ And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 1:18;
"¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."

John 5:39-40;
"³⁹ You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; ⁴⁰ and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life."

John 6:26-29,
"²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. ²⁷ Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” ²⁸ Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”"

John 6:40;
"⁴⁰ For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”"

John 8:19,
"¹⁹ So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”"

John 8:42-45;
"⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. ⁴³ Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. ⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me."

John 10:24-33;
"²⁴ The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. ²⁶ But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; ²⁸ and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”  ³¹ The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. ³² Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” ³³ The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”"

John 14:6-7).
"⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.  ⁷ If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

Back to 1John2:16…
"¹⁶ 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."

That which doesn’t come from God is the godless world system (“all that is in the world”). John describes the cravings of sinful mankind: “the lust of the flesh [appetite],” “the lust of the eyes [desires],” and “the boastful pride of life” [arrogant pride]; these are not from God, but are from the world.

Satan uses the world and all that is in our flesh to tempt and deceive us, and to draw us away from God by what we see, hear, touch, taste, think, and do.

Satan has been using the same strategy since the very early days of creation when he deceived both Adam and Eve, through the serpent [devil incarnate].

See Genesis 3:5-6… The serpent “of old” who is called the devil and Satan (Revelation 12:9; 20:2) deceived Eve by raising doubts about God’s motives, while tempting her appetite, desires, and pride [good for food, delight to the eyes, make one wise].

Genesis 3:5-6...
"⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate."

Revelation 12:9;
"⁹ And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him."

Revelation 20:2
"² And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;"

See Genesis 3:5-6…
"⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate."

The Bible uses the term “flesh” to describe that which opposes the Spirit of God. There is a battle taking place daily, sometimes moment by moment, between the Spirit and the flesh (Galatians 5:17).

Galatians 5:17,
"¹⁷ For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please."

See Romans 7:21-25;
"²¹ I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. ²² For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, ²³ but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin."

When we seek to fulfill our own wants and desires apart from God’s instructions and warnings, we are either being deceived or disobedient, or both! The world system is controlled by Satan, through the flesh, and we were all part of it, to some degree, before coming to Christ (see Ephesians 2:1-10).

Ephesians 2:1-10…
"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, ² in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. ³ 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. ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. "

Satan has the ability to blind the minds of unbelievers (2Corinthians 4:4), “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God,” but God’s people are not to be deceived nor taken captive by the philosophies of this world; we are to fight against them with God’s weaponry (Ephesians 6:12), “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places,” therefore (Ephesians 6:17), “take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

The Bible is alive.

Hebrews 4:12,
"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."

The Bible is life giving.

John 6:63,
"⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life."

John 6:68-69,
“68, Simon said, “Lord, …You have words of eternal life.” 69, "We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

The Bible is food for spiritual growth.

1Peter 2:2,
"² like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,"

Hebrews 5:14,
"¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."

The Bible transforms lives.

Romans 12:2,
"² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

The attitudes and the actions of a sinful world are in opposition to God’s Word. We must recognize and respond to the world system according to God’s instruction; if not, we will suffer the consequences.

Back to 1John2:17….
"¹⁷ The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."

God is sovereign and those who believe in and follow God’s Word will live forever with Him. Jesus came to offer forgiveness and eternal life to anyone who would believe in and follow Him.

God wants everyone to be saved (cf 1Timothy 2:3-4; 2Peter 3:9); but through Satan’s deception, using the practices and philosophies of this world system, most of the world will reject God’s plan and provision through Christ.

1Timothy 2:3-4;
"³ This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

2Peter 3:9
"⁹ The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."

The world apart from God’s presence, power and pleasure, is cursed and God will one day destroy all of it by fire (see 2Peter 3:3-7, 10).

2Peter 3:3-7
"³ Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, ⁶ through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. ⁷ But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."

2Peter 3:10
"¹⁰ 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."

What then, should be our response to 1John 2:15-17?

1John 2:15-17...
"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. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."

Clearly, we are not to love the world or anything in the world, i.e., we are not to make a priority out of seeking to fulfill our own self-centered carnal appetites and desires, nor are we to be prideful about anything of our own doing or acquisition.

2Corinthians 11:30,
"³⁰ If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness."

2Corinthians 12:10,
"¹⁰ 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."
weak, then I am strong.”

Philippians 4:12-13,
"¹² I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. ¹³ I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Philippians 4:19-20,
"¹⁹ And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen."

We are to be constantly feeding upon God’s Word, and expressing our love for the Lord by seeking to obey the instruction we are given in His Word telling us how we should then live, as those who are born of God’s Spirit, for we are children of God (1John 3:2), “Beloved, …we are children of God,” (Ephesians 5:1), “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”

1John 3:2,
"² Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is."

Ephesians 5:1),
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;"

God is our Father, Christ our Savior, and the Holy Spirit our resident trainer, Comforter, and Counselor, who is transforming us, through our obedience to the Word of God, to become more like Jesus. We have God’s Spiritual DNA in us, marking us as His possession, His servants, His children, and part of His Eternal Family.

Romans 8:16-17,
"¹⁶ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him."

All true believers, having been made children of God, will suffer along with and because of Christ, who was hated by the world, rejected by His own people (the Jews), and abandoned by His very closest followers and friends (the Disciples) after He was arrested; and yet He sacrificed Himself to set us all free from sin’s penalty and condemnation.

The bad news is, that in this world God’s people will suffer because of the name of Christ.

John 15:18-19,
"¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you."

2Timothy 3:12-13,
"¹² Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. ¹³ But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived."

The good news is that even though we will suffer in this life, we are heirs with Christ, and we will be given glorified bodies that will enable us to live for eternity, in heaven, with God.

Revelation 21:1-5,
"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. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ 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, ⁴ 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.” ⁵ 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.”"

Those who genuinely belong to God through the death and resurrection of God’s Son, have been born again by the Spirit of God, in order that we will live in such a manner as to bring honor and glory to God while we are still on this side of heaven, because once we go to be with the Lord, we will be perfected, knowing Him as He knows us, and never again will there be anything in all of creation that is offensive or displeasing to God.

Now that is something to be thankful about, to celebrate, and to proclaim!

Pastor Mike Hale
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