Would you take your Bible, turn with me to 1 John chapter 2, and we're continuing our study of this chapter. And today, our title of the message is Love, Not the World. and we're going to be looking at what the world is. What is the world that we're not to love? I'm gonna invite you, would you stand with me? First John chapter two, and we're going to look at verses 15, 16, and 17 today. First John chapter two, and let's read out loud together. Let's see, you need to go to verse 15. There you go, let's read together. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, If any man loved 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 pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. The world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abide forever. Father, I thank you so much for this exhortation, even maybe an admonishment that we find here, particularly as we've been looking at the maturity of the church from infancy to the maturity of fathers, the mature ones of the church, and then, of course, to the adolescents. Lord, we realize how easy it is to be drawn astray and to love that which you have said we cannot love if we're going to love you. and so lord I pray that you would find this today examining our hearts even before we break bread together at the Lord's Supper to make sure that our heart, our affections are upon those things that are eternal, those things that are with you and so lord work right now, open our eyes, our hearts, our thoughts, give us understanding I pray in Christ's name, amen, you can be seated I invite you to take your Bible. I'm not really going to do a deep study or review of what we've looked at, but I did want to remind you, if you have the outline in front of you this morning, that we've been looking at three groups of people that are represented in the body of the church. We've been looking at their spiritual maturity or their lack of spiritual maturity. Love not the world is the title, but if you have your Bible, 1 John chapter 2, and I'm going to invite you to consider, first of all, in verse 12, 13, and verse 18, what we have seen as spiritual infancy, spiritual infancy. And John describes the believers who are young believers or believers who are not growing as little children, and we've looked at the characteristics of little children. Basically, they are still in a spiritual kindergarten, they are still content with the baby food, and they are not desiring and understanding that which we would refer to as the meat of the word, the great doctrines of our faith, those things that we believe, the truth of God's Word. And then in verse 13 we notice, in verse 13 and verse 14, we notice the fathers. In this verse here, 1 John 2 verse 13, I write unto you, fathers. Now we're not talking about gender, we're talking about spiritual maturity. And so the reference to fathers is a reference to men who men and women of the church who are believers and the description of them is that you have known him that is from the beginning speaking of of the lord speaking of our god that is you have been students of the word you have an understanding, a personal growing relationship with the Lord and then the third one that we introduced to you last week was what we refer to as spiritual adolescence So John describes them again as young men. But the description of young men is not intended, again, to be one of gender. It is a reference to being a young believer, but a growing believer. And so we're looking at spiritual growth, spiritual maturity, or the lack thereof. Now that brings us to what you just read. Love not the world. I'm sure you have probably heard me preach that many times. If you've been in youth group, you've heard it. You probably have heard it with children. And most of you that have been in church many years, you've heard love not the world many times. But the question would be, could we define what is the world we are not to love? And so I'm going to invite you on your outline this morning to look at the admonition regarding this matter of the world. Because the context, as you look at it, as it flows through the scripture, it dealt with the young men and the passion of the young men. And then it goes immediately to love not the world. And so let me read it again. You follow as I read it this time. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, The love of the Father is not in him. And so I cannot have a love for the world and a love for what we're going to define as a world of sin, and at the same time have a passionate love for God, the Father, for the Lord, and for the Holy Spirit. And so, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. And then the next verse up there, verse 16, you're going to notice that it continues, for all that is in the world. Well, what is in the world? Well, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And then we read, these three things are not of the Father, God the Father, but they are of the world. And then lastly, verse 17, And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. So on your outline, what is the world the Apostle John challenged young men not to love? Well, let me give you two worlds that that would not be true of. The first is the material world, or I would refer to it as the world of God's creation. God is the creator. of the material world. The world in which we live, the beauty of the world, as we look up to the skies, the beauty of the skies and the stars of the skies, and then when we look at the pictures that have been taken of deep space and the galaxies that are out there, that is the handiwork of our God. Psalm 19 and verse 1, we read that the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Now, on your outline, this is going to be a little bit of theology, but that's good. It's good to know what the Bible teaches. So let me walk you through that. All three persons of the Godhead were represented in the act of creation. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The three persons of the Godhead, one God in three persons, were involved in creation. Let me read to you some verses. Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1. In the beginning God created, literally He created out of nothing, the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved, literally vibrated, it hovered. upon the face of the waters. Now, God the Son was also recognized as involved in the creation. Who is God the Son? He is the Creator. He is the Eternal One. He is the Sustainer. Notice these verses, and you might want to turn to some, but I put them on the PowerPoint because of time this morning. But Colossians 1, verse 16, we read of Christ, were all things created. Now the context there is literally the Lord Jesus Christ. So by Him were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible whether they be thrones, dominions, principalities or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him. And then verse 17, the eternality of Jesus Christ. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. So this world that we live in is the handiwork It is the creation of God. Another, John chapter 1 verse 1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him. Let me say this to you. The teaching of evolution in school and public school and secular education has warped and shaped our world in such a way that we are devoid of any real understanding or appreciation of all that God has created. The majesty of our God. I remember as a child, probably it was third grade, And it was my first introduction to evolution, third grade in school, way back in the Carolinas. And I remembered looking at this chart, and you probably remember it the same, and you start off with this chimpanzee, right? And it's slowly working its way up through the primates, and finally you had man. It was the first time I ever remember being told I was from a monkey. Now, the question would be, well, where did the monkey come from, right? And then you hear, well, it was some cesspool of water and... Really? I remember talking. I remember sitting on the front porch with Miss Leola Sapp. Now, you've heard me mention her. She was actually a schoolteacher. And I remember having a conversation with this 70-something-year-old woman about evolution. And it was basically, if I could sum it up, it was poppycot. Means nothing, means nothing. But listen, the world we live in is being shaped by that perversion of reality and truth. When you can say there is no God, you're not only a fool, but you're setting a course that will destroy your life. Our God is the Creator. Hebrews 1 verse 2, God the Father hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son, Jesus Christ, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, and get this, by whom also He made the world. So here's a question. The world of creation, the material world. Well, we agreed this morning, God is the creator. Amen? All right, now if you have a doubt about that, I pray that you'll search the scriptures. I pray that you'll realize that even so much of what I was being taught as evolution in the 60s and 70s has all been debunked now because it had no basis of fact. Sadly, we live in a day that science is no longer science. It's been politicized. It has its own agenda apart from facts. Let me give you another for your outline. All three persons of the Godhead then were represented in the act of creation number two. God is the architect of the material world. I wish I had time to dig into this, but I don't this morning. But I invite you, Proverbs 8, when you go home later today, read verses 22 through 31, and you're going to see the description of God as He says, speaking of Himself as the God of wisdom, and He'll say, And I was there. God is eternal. He is the architect. Proverbs 3, 19, The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth, by understanding hath he established the heavens. Let me say this and then I'm going to move on. We live in a world today that there are men everywhere that says we've got to save the earth. Right? You're hearing that all the time. We've got to save the earth. We've got to do something, you know. We've got to quit driving cars. We've got to quit driving trucks. We've got to quit eating beef. We've just got to quit. Really? Do you realize how vast this world is that we're living in? How large it is, how it sustains itself, because that's how God created it. Now, do we believe in conservation? Do we believe in it? Absolutely. But at the same time, I also believe that God created the earth for man, and I believe that. And when I believe that, it changes my outlook that all that I see that has been created are the resources that God has made for man. And I should take comfort in that. Now, on your outline again. All right, so the material world, the world that God has created, is not the world that God is saying, love not the world. Now let's talk about the spirit world, or I would refer to it as the immaterial world. God is not only the creator of the material world, but he is also the creator of the spiritual, and I'm going to refer to it as the immaterial world. God, first of all, Genesis 1 verse 1, the Bible begins, it says, God created the heaven and the earth. And so, right from the beginning, God is eternal. He is the initiator. He is the creator. Now, also, in addition to the fact that God is a spirit, John 4, verse 24, we also understand this. God has also created spiritual beings. If we had time this morning, we could go back to the Old Testament and we could see the declaration of the creation of the angels. And then we know about Lucifer and his fall from heaven, that angel of light that we know in the scriptures as the devil or as Satan. the prince of the power of this world that we live in. And so Lucifer led a rebellion of the angels. And so there are two categories of angels. There are the obedient angels, the archangels, the seraphim. And I'm coming up with a blank of the third one, what's the third one? And the cherubim. And then there are the fallen angels. The fallen angels are the demons. And the demons are the ones that followed Lucifer as he lifted up his heart in pride and was cast out of heaven. Now, there's another thought too, though. And that is the spiritual world of humanity. you and I are spiritual and physical beings. God created us in that manner. I don't have it on the PowerPoint, but I'm going to turn back to Genesis chapter 1, just for a moment, and speak of man's creation. Genesis 1 and verse 26. And God said, let us make man. Now, the plurality there, let us, God speaking. So we see the Godhead there represented in the Trinity. Let us make man in our image and after our likeness. Verse 27. God created man in his own image, and the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. And then finally, Genesis 2 and verse 7, and the Lord God formed man, or fashioned man like a potter, on the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And so this morning, you and I as we sit here, we are God's creation. That little one conceived in a mother's womb is a human created in the likeness and the image of God for the moment of conception. One of the great tragedies of our world, of our nation, is to realize that we have butchered 65 million infants. Think about that. No wonder we're in such a dire strait as a nation, for we have shed innocent blood. We are guilty. And sadly, as we look at Washington, we see there the desire to take the life of a little one all the way up to the very moment of birth, and it's called butchery. It is a great act of depravity. Now, question, does God forgive abortion? And the answer would be yes. Maybe somebody's listening online this morning, and I'm not trying to overwhelm them with the guilt of what they've done, but at the same time, abortion is taking a life that is in the image of God. And you and I should have a passion for the unborn, amen? Now, this thought then, let's go through this a little bit, and let's talk about man. Man was created, and God said on the sixth day, after man, Adam, was created, and God said, and he saw that all was good. And then he looked at Adam later, and he said, but it is not good that man should be alone. So God created the woman Eve. Now with Adam, and I want to walk this through just for the sake of our doctrinal study this morning. I think it's on your outline. Regarding Adam, Adam was the first man. We refer to him in a theological sense, as the federal head of the human race. In other words, all men, all sons, all daughters flowed from that first couple, Adam and Eve. That's why when you read in Genesis chapter 3 and the fall of Adam and Eve, Her looking at the fruit and partaking of that which God had forbidden. And then the Bible says that she gave that same forbidden fruit and she gave it to Adam. And Adam, he did eat too. And immediately the veil of innocence and perfection and goodness was lifted. And Adam became a sinner. That fallen nature has been passed on for generations to generations and to our generation. You want to know what's wrong in, quote, the world? What's wrong with the world is sin. And it will always be wrong. We cannot legislate goodness. We cannot legislate virtue. We're never going to be able to take a nation and put it back into a position that this is going to be a utopia. Do you realize that man has tried to seek utopia for almost 200 years? You and I could say, you know what? We're going to go out and get a piece of land somewhere. And let's say, well, maybe 1,000 acres, all right? And we're going to build a Hillsdale compound, right? And in this Hillsdale compound, we're all going to be loving, and we're all going to be Christ-like. And the only ones that can ever go into the Hillsdale compound are the ones that have confessed that Jesus Christ is their Savior. And then we're going to put on the outside of that compound, and they live together happily ever after. Now, question. Would that work? No. Why wouldn't that work? because of you. You're the troublemaker here. You know why it wouldn't work? From the top to the bottom, from the bottom to the top, and I'll take the bottom. The fact is, we're sinners. And sooner or later, our utopia would become a living reality of a nightmare. And then we would begin purging one another. And finally, you would be left with, well, maybe the pastor, and he says, This was my utopia, you know. I can be king of what? King of nothing. They've all left me, right? And so this idea of legislating and somehow educating and we're going to have a better world because of it, well, has it gotten any better yet? No, and it's not. Let me take you through this. Here is what the Bible says regarding the federal head, Adam. For since by man came death, 1 Corinthians 5, 21. Romans 6 and verse 23, for the wages of sin is death. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 22, for as in Adam, all die. Now, what about the world that we lived in? Well, the world is marred by sin. The world is marred by sin. I wish I had time this morning, and I don't, but to go through the consequences of sin, turn on the news, read in the newspaper. Everywhere you look, you cannot escape the consequences of living in a sinful world. Somebody, I've had people over the years, tragic, something bad happened to them. They were victims of a crime, whatever it might be. And I would have a family member that might say to me, Pastor, if there is a God, why would that happen to my loved one? Well, the answer is because we live in a sin-cursed, fallen world. You and I are not insulated from the consequences of sin in this world. Would you agree? There is no exemption from the wickedness of the world that we live in. Let me give you a thought regarding the world. 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 10, the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise. The elements shall melt to the latter part. The earth also, the works that are therein shall be burned up. Psalm 102 verse 25, of all thou has laid the foundations of the earth, verse 26, they shall perish. Hebrews 1 and verse 10 and 11, Thou, Lord, in the beginning has laid the foundations of the earth and the heavens are the works of thine hands. Verse 11, they shall perish. The man and his extremity of trying to save the world, save the environment, save nature. Brethren, according to the Scriptures, the world is cursed. For the moment of Adam's sin, The consequences of that sin has been seen everywhere, and it is inescapable. On your outline, what world then are young men not to love? And I want to break that down for you in the few minutes that I have here this morning. 1 John 2 and verse 15 then. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, The love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. I want to define for you in the next few minutes the world that we're not to love. Here you go. On your outline, if you would, just follow with me there and let's fill it in. The believers are not to love all that is in the world. What is the world we're not to love? And I've tried to define it in this way. It's the world of our humanness. It is the universal realm of humanity. It is the evidence of the fallen nature of man. The second thought. It is the world of sin. Sin that is subject to the judgment of God. Love not the world. The world of our humanness, our fallen nature, the world that we know as sin, that is subject to God's judgment. Let me give you some qualities, and these might be on the outline. Some of the things the Bible tells us about the world. The first is this. It is alienated from God. John 15 verse 18. If the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. So what is the world that I live in? It is alienated from God. It is an enemy of God. Number two, it is ruled by the devil. And we read that he is the prince of this world. Let me say this to you regarding the world. I believe as believers that we give, we have an aspiration from the world that it will not be as bad as it is. There's a certain innocence about being a believer, living in this world. Especially if your world is that pretty much of your family, your church family, maybe if you go to a Christian school, the Christian school family. And there's a certain danger of an insulation from the world. I want to say to you this morning that you live in a wicked, defiled, and depraved world. Our being struck blindsided by the world should not be that it is wicked and it has done something terrible. It should be whenever we see any good in the world, we should be surprised. Because you really should expect the worst. Why? Because we live in a cursed world and a depraved world. Thirdly, on your outline there, then, it is not only alienated from God, it's ruled by the devil. But we read in 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 19, its wisdom is foolishness with God. I cannot tell you how many times, whether it's Sheila and myself or even with my staff, I said, has the world gone crazy? Have you done that lately? Has the world gone crazy? And the answer is yes. Because the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. And so for you and for me, if our study and our thoughts are filtered through the word of God, then we have a different perspective on the world and the problems of the world. Do you agree with that? We come from a different vantage point. than the world itself does. Another thought then, Philippians chapter 2 and verse 15. The citizens of the world are described as crooked and perverse, literally lawless and unjust, twisted and perverted. And so stop for a moment and think about the world we're living in now. We live in a world in which good has become evil and what was evil has become good. Morals are condemned and immorality is celebrated as a freedom, a liberty. And we ask the question, but a freedom from what? And the answer is a freedom from God's law. We live in a world today that actually celebrates violence as an act of aggression because of the evils that someone has suffered. No. It is evil and it is sin. And we should recognize it as it is. Here's another. Not only are the citizens of this world crooked and perverse, but another is this. The world is where men love darkness because their deeds are evil. Let me say this to you. As our nation continues to move away from the pillar of God's truth. As we move away from the law, we move away from the commandments which were foundational to our law. As we move away from those things, we become more and more a society that lives in darkness. Why? Because the Word is the light. But when I reject the light, now I find myself more and more drifting into darkness. There will be a day if the Lord tarries in coming. that your children will grow up and your grandchildren are going to grow up in a world and they're not going to understand the innocence of, let's say, I'm going to use Mayberry, you know, Andy Griffith, the early 1960s. And that wasn't an innocent time, but it's far more innocent than the time we live in today. Then another thought on your outline there also. It is a world of pride, riches, and power. Everything about the world we're living in now is to be rich, to be powerful, to be in a position of influence. And yet I would remind you, Matthew 16 and verse 26, for what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Well, I've told you a little bit about the world. Let me go another step further with this. Not only is it a world of sin subject to God's judgment, but finally, the three points that we see in verse 16. The world defined as the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Love not that world. Let's break that down. I only have a few moments, but let's talk about three of these thoughts here. The first is this, lust of the flesh. What is lust? I've written the definition in my notes here. To lust is to covet something that is either not yours or that God has forbidden. For instance, Exodus 20 verse 17, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, or anything that is thy neighbor. And so the lust in that sense is to covet something that belongs to someone else. But lust is also an emotion outside of the will of God, His law, and His commandments. So when I lust, I have stepped outside of God's law and God's commandments. Let me walk you through just a couple of thoughts then. So, lust of the flesh. What is the flesh? Let me define it in this way. Your flesh, your sinful flesh, that part of your fallen nature would describe your humanness. It is who you are. It is your mind. It is what you think. your desires, what you hunger for, and your emotions. So when we see the lust of the flesh, it is a longing in the heart, the mind, the thoughts, the emotions of a man or a woman for that which God has forbidden. Now, there are desires that we have that are normal and natural. For instance, it's 1130. You may have had breakfast like I did at maybe six o'clock. Five and a half hours later, there is a craving that you have. What is it for? It's for lunch. I'm thankful nobody said for you to be finished, all right? But there's a natural craving. Now, here's the question. I'm hungry and therefore I want to eat. Is that sinful? No. But is it possible for me to be hungry and want to eat and sin? It's called what? Gluttony. Now, who's guilty of gluttony here today? No confessions, all right? But we understand the lust of the flesh, a natural desire outside of God's law, God's commandments, is when it becomes sin. I'll give you a verse for lunch. Proverbs 23 and verse 2. Put a knife in thy throat if thou be a man given to appetite. Maybe that's something you ought to put at your refrigerator, right? Something like that, right? I'll give you another thought. Another normal desire would be sexual desires. Hebrews 13 and verse 4, marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled. So is it possible, though, to take that which God has smiled upon, is that which is good, and make it that which is unholy? and sin? And the answer is yes. Immorality, adultery, pornography, all those are lust of the flesh. Now, I don't have more time to develop that. Let me get to the second one. So we have the world that we're not to love, lust of the flesh. Number two, lust of the eyes. Now, eyesight is an incredible gift, isn't it? I remember I told you this story when I knew that I needed glasses but my vanity kept me from wanting to wear glasses and I kept putting it off, putting it off, putting it off until it was time to get my driver's license. At that point, my vanity was not as important as my being able to drive, right? And so I sacrificed vanity and I put on glasses and I started wearing glasses and I was able to drive. I saw life and the world that I lived in in a way that I had not. I remember the clarity of the world that was around me and the trees and the grass and all. Literally, my eyes were bad. I had just been faking it with my ears and getting through school, but finally I had to give it up, you know? My point is this. Eyesight is a wonderful gift, but can I use my eyes in sin? Can I? Absolutely. It's called covetousness. Other things I could go through. I'll give you a quick illustration. Lot's wife, Leah and Sodom, And she did what? She looked back and became a pillar of salt. Achan saw the Babylonian garments and the gold and the silver and he took it and he and his family were stoned. David looks out the palace porch one day, and he looks and he sees Bathsheba. And he committed adultery, first with his eyes, and then with his flesh. Lust of the eyes. And then thirdly, pride of life. What is the pride of life? It is arrogance. It's self-promotion. We could get political today, but we won't. But I think we live in a world in which our leadership is vested with an arrogance. like I have never seen before. There are so many things that come to mind for illustrations but I'm not going to go there because I don't have the time. Proverbs 16 verse 18, pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Now I want to close with an illustration and then we're going to go to the Lord's Supper. On your outline, I believe it's there, 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 10. This is Paul's last letter. He is sending this letter to Timothy, and part of this letter is an invitation for Timothy to come quickly. Paul is waiting on death's row. He doesn't know if he has days, weeks, or if he has months to live, but he has already been sentenced. He knows his life will soon be ended. As he's writing in this letter in the closing verses of 2nd Timothy chapter 4, Paul writes these words, Demas hath forsaken me, having done what? Loved this present world and has departed unto Thessalonica. On your outline, Paul identified the love of this present world as the reason Demas, a fellow minister, had forsaken him and the ministry. Pastor, who was Demas? Let me describe Demas for you. In Colossians 4, verses 12-14, Paul describes him as one of his faithful companions. In Philemon, verse 24, Paul describes Demas as a fellow laborer, as a fellow minister. And yet, as we look at 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 10, we read that Demas had forsaken him. He had given every indication of being a faithful, committed believer. But then 2 Timothy chapter 4, near the end of Paul's life, he is to write these terrible words, Demas hath forsaken me. The word forsake is to desert me, to leave me behind, to shake me off, to abandon me. And so we ask the question in this verse here, why? Why did Demas desert Paul? Why did he turn his back on the Lord? And the answer is, he loved this present world. The word love there is the agape love. It's not an emotionless, thoughtless, shallow puppy love. It is a consuming love. It is a deliberate choice of the mind at will. Now let's think about it as we close. The challenge, 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. Pastor, what happened to Demas? Pastor, are you suggesting that maybe he wasn't even a believer? And I don't know how to answer that question. All I know is to look at what we know last of him. And that is that he deserted the Lord, he deserted Paul because he loved the world. And then we ask the question, well, where did he go, preacher? And the answer is he departed unto Thessalonica. Well, that doesn't mean much to us, but history tells us a little bit about Thessalonica. Thessalonica was a little bit and a lot like Corinth. Let me give you a description of it. It was one of the four capital cities in the Macedonian region of the Roman Empire. It was a strategic military and a commercial crossroads. It was a beautiful sheltered harbor. It was known for its commercial shipping. And the ruins of Thessalonica in Paul's day, where Demas went, shows that there was a large complex of Roman buildings. There was an outdoor theater, there was a stadium, and there was a gymnasium. Thessalonica was also known as an immoral city. In Thessalonica, there was the best, there was education, there was the crafts, there were the arts, and there was the worst. There was the ungodliness and the immorality and the prostitution and the religious idolatry of the first century. Amazing that we would read, Demas hath forsaken me because he loved the world and all that he could find in Thessalonica. on your outline and I close. Your heart beats only for one world. It's either the world of the flesh or the world of the spirit. As you and I sit here this morning and I'm standing. But as we think about where we are in life, we understand we will either love the Lord or we will love the world. And so I ask you as I close, what do you love? I can answer that by suggesting what do you think about? Where do you look for pleasure? Where do you look for joy? Where do you look for acceptance? And if it is to the world that John has said, then the love of the Father is not in you. Demas hath forsaken me because his heart was beating for the world that God has forbidden. Heads bowed and eyes closed. No one looking around. Just give me just a moment and we'll transition to the Lord's Supper. But I want to ask you this morning as we close, what is the world that you love? What is it that consumes your thoughts and your affections? What is it that you dwell on, you think about, and it just consumes your emotions and your heart, your thoughts? And if you would say this morning, Pastor, I hate to admit it, but I give so little thought about the Lord. I don't have time for His Word. I made time to be here this morning, but God knows our hearts. Now, I want to ask you as I close today, if your love has been for the world, will you understand that the world is an enemy of God? To love the world is to not love the Father. This morning, as we make our transition to the Lord's Supper, maybe it's time to take a moment and answer the question, what is it that I love?