LUST, DESIRE, PRIDE WILL SOON PASS AWAY - Short Encouragement


Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for 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 pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Love for the World Pushes Out Love for the Father

As Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24). So don’t love the world, because that would put you in the class with the God-haters whether you think you are or not. “If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.”

If You Do the Will of the Father, You Will Live Forever.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

“But he who does the will of God abides forever.” - 1 John 2:17

Love for God and Love for the World Cannot Coexist
According to 1 John 2:15, if your love for God is cool this morning, it’s because love for the world has begun to take over your heart and choke your love for God. The love of the world and the love of the Father cannot coexist. And every heart loves something. 

The very essence of our nature is desire. There is nobody in this room who doesn’t want something. At the center of our heart is a spring of longing. But that’s an awkward image, isn’t it? A longing is a craving, a desire, a want, a need. But these aren’t very well described as a spring. A spring of needs is a contradiction in terms. Springs bubble up; needs suck in. A longing is more like a drain — or a vacuum. At the center of our heart is a sucking drain — like at the bottom of a swimming pool. We are endlessly thirsty. But we can’t suck water and air at the same time. 

Therefore, brothers and sisters, do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. But if the love of the Father is in you, if you love God with all your heart, then every room you enter will be a temple of love to God, all your work will be a sacrifice of love to God, every meal will be a banquet of love with God, every song will be an overture of love to God. And if there is any desire of the flesh or any desire of the eyes that is not also a desire for God, then we will put it out of our lives, so that we can say with John and with the psalmist, Whom have I in heaven but you, and on earth there is nothing that I desire besides you.

Keep Desiring God in your life. 

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