Jesus vs World
Can your child name a sports hero but cannot name a spiritual hero? That is a problem.
Do rejoice more over your childs trophies and achievments then you rejoice over their total surrender to Jesus? Another problem.
Read on....
Why would anyone hate Jesus? And yet Jesus plainly states it is a fact in John 15:18; “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. Hate is a strong word. The world would hate, detest, vilify and eventually kill Jesus. Jesus didn’t want us to be surprised when it happened to us as well.
And who is doing all this hating? The world. John, Jesus’ closest disciple, defined the world like this in 1 John 2:15-17; “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. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” The world is not the planet but it is something that is in conflict with God.
One mark of the world is the “desires of the flesh.” This is the prevalent thinking that we are here to please ourselves, we don’t need rules and we don’t need anyone forcing their morality on us. We go after whatever feels good. We believe that our body exists only for ourselves and we will do with it whatever we want.
The “desires of the eyes” is another mark of worldliness. It is our love of things. It is the belief that we can satisfy ourselves with material things. It is greed and coveting what others have. These things we have acquired become our idols and we believe that they can give us life.
So what about the “pride of life?” That is how I find my identity in my accomplishments, in the offices that I hold and how important I am. It’s the thing inside of me that craves to be recognized and applauded and make me feel that I’m better than you.
The spirit of the world does not coexist with Jesus and in fact it wars against Jesus. Where Jesus tells us to pray for his “kingdom to come” worldly people pray for “my kingdom to come.” Where Jesus calls for you to lay down your life for his cause the world says that you’re the only cause worth living for. And if you want to know what the world thinks of the church, just watch any TV program. The church is either non existent or a joke.
My worry is how much of the world has gripped the hearts of the church and those who follow Jesus. I heard people say to me dozens of time, “you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian!” That statement is loaded with the spirit of the world! That is a nonexistent New Testament theology that has been adopted by those filled with independence and consumerism; two giant attitudes of the world. Those who say such a thing only declare a total ignorance and maybe a willful disobedience to pretty much everything Jesus taught. If you feel that participation in the church is entirely voluntary because the church is “a joke” you have been sucked in by the world.
I see the world at conflict with Christians mainly in their children. Good and Godly parents who want to pass down the value of Jesus to their children are always fighting the world. It happens when the kid comes home from school where a different set morals has been taught. It happens when sports competes with church for a kids time. The world subtly lures families away from Jesus with worldly awards and applause and promises for more. In the end most parents end up with a shelf full of trophies for a mediocre athlete who has left the faith.
Here are some test questions to see just how much the spirit of the world has lured you away…
If you can (or your child) can name a sports hero but cannot name a spiritual hero you are in trouble.
If your passions and affections for God have been displaced by an affection for achievement the world has lured you.
If getting the attention of the important people in your world is more important than the attention of Jesus you have been seduced.
When you rejoice more over worldy success, trophies, promotions, making the starting team, etc – when you rejoice over that more than you rejoice over surrender to Jesus then the world’s spirit has you.
If sin looks normal to you but righteousness looks strange, that is another bad sign.
We are so susceptible to the spirit of the world. Satan tried to buy Jesus off with the world’s wealth and trophies and he seeks to buy you off as well. When you don’t play with the world the world will turn on you. It will hate you. In America we are beginning to see the world’s hatred toward Jesus’ followers.
