Let us turn in God's Word to the first epistle of John and chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2. And we read at verse 15. 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. 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 passeth away, and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. John has been called the apostle of love. We can understand this because, for instance, in his gospel, he styles himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. That doesn't mean that there was any favoritism in the way that our Lord loved his disciples. But nonetheless, it is possible to know more of the love of Christ toward us. In John 14 and verse 21, the Savior says, he that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me and I will love him and will manifest myself to him. In other words, loving obedience to Christ draws more of his felt love to us. It has been said that he has no favorites, but he does have intimates. And there are those believers who know him in a special way, in obedience and love, and know him in turn loving them, showing his love to them, enabling them to have it shed abroad in their hearts and rejoicing in him like that. Well, there is a great deal about love in John's epistles as well. For instance, in 1 John 4 verse 8, that well-known verse, he that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. Then again verse 11, Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. The word love occurs 23 times in the first epistle of John alone. And when you add the verbal form, loveth, you've got another 8 times. However, when we come to chapter two and verse 15 that we just read, we read this, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. There is one object that we must never love, must never have our love, because the world here is not from God, and does not have his approval. And then you've got our text in verse 17, and the world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. So loving the world is not only wrong, but it's also foolish and futile because it is doomed. Only Christians live forever. So let us see what John means here and what the message is for us this evening. Verse 17 of 1 John 2. And the world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. See two things here. First of all, where we are in the world that passes away and the lust thereof. Where we are and then what we are. He that doeth the will of God abideth forever. And there is a definition of a real Christian. First, then, where we are, the world that passes away. We are in this world. This is where we live. Now, what exactly does the world mean? It's used in different ways in the Bible, and it's important to understand what John is actually meaning here. Now, it is referred to by this word as creation. Psalm 90 verse 2, before the mountains were brought forth, forever thou hast formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God. The whole fabric of creation and nature, Calvin says, a workshop graced with God's unnumbered works, and at the same time a storehouse overflowing with inestimable riches. this created world in which we live, and it's not that that we're not to love. We do love creation. We love the scenery and the natural sights and sounds, everything that ministers to us and reveals more of God to us. We delight in these things, creation, the world. It's also used of the population. Psalm 33, verse eight, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. The peoples, the nations, the kingdoms of the world who live on this planet, more than eight billion people. Well, it's not that that we're not to love, Nothing wrong in that sense either. But here, in John and in many other places, the world is meant in a sinister sense. Scripture uses the term also to mean human society in organised rebellion against God. Everybody else besides God's redeemed and holy ones. holy ones called in Galatians 1 verse 4, this present evil world. All those people here where we live who are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Sometimes the word world there translates the word ahion, which means age. So we have the spirit of the age, an unbelieving spirit that is against God and is against his word. and that works very hard in a concerted way to throw off God's authority and government, to trample underfoot his word, and to go their own way instead of the way that God wants them to go. This terrible, sinful, degenerate age. So we're talking here about the world in a spiritual and moral sense. And it's characterized by some deadly features. It's a realm, a kingdom, and it has one who is its God and Prince. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 4, The God of this world hath blinded the minds, them which believe not. Colossians 1 verse 13, the power or the kingdom of darkness. The devil holds sway over unbelievers and subtly motivates and moves them so that they do not realize to whom they belong and who they're actually obeying. But it's not God. It's the evil one. Ephesians 2 verse 2, they walk according to the course. of this world, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Do you realize, if you're not converted this evening, that you're not free, you're not neutral, you're not your own person. You are under a power that blinds you and hardens your heart and that turns you against God and Christ and the gospel. that would keep you from ever being converted and knowing the Lord, that would so hold you in his grip that at the day of judgment he will take you down into hell with himself. It's that serious. It's a sinister thing. The world is sinful, ungodly, and under God's judgment. Now, of course, it's only a minor rival kingdom. Compared with the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, it has no power and no prevalence really, ultimately. It's been likened to the mutineers in the navy in the 18th and 19th century. Remember mutiny on the bounty and that kind of thing the sailors would Tie up the captain and get rid of him take over the boat take over the ship, but you see the moment they do that They are rebels And they might think that they've accomplished something very great seizing possession of the ship but it's under the constituted government of the day and and they are destined for arrest and execution when the authorities get hold of them. It's only a minor rebellion and kingdom, but God is over all. But nonetheless, the devil would make people so swell-headed and so full of themselves and think that I am the master of my fate and I am the captain of my soul and I live life the way I want to live it. And it's me, me, not God. not Christ. It's a realm, it's a kingdom, we're born into it and we live out life governed by it, controlled by it. Did we but realize the world and it is full of enmity toward God and holiness. Romans 1 verse 18, The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. You have the two tables of the law there. Ungodliness, the first four commandments, refusing to obey them, no other gods before me. no graven image, no taking the Lord's name in vain, no remembering the Sabbath day to keep it holy, ungodliness, against God. We shall not have him to rule over us and tell us what we do by his laws. And of course the other six commandments, the second table of the law, unrighteousness, disobedience, not loving one's neighbor and all our earthly relationships, full of enmity toward God and holiness. And then thirdly, it's addicted to sensuality. Psalm 17, 14, men of the world which have their portion this life See, that's all there is as far as they're concerned this Life so life is too short not to enjoy yourself Life is too short not to live it to the full this life Philippians 3 verse 19 who mind earthly things nothing higher Simply carnal, material, human. There you have it in verse 15 of our passage. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, and so on. And then verse 16, all that is in the world, in the sense in which we've heard, the lust of the flesh. On that level only. Carnal behavior. gratifying the desires and appetites of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the worship the virtual worship of objects, objects of desire, things that glitter and bedazzle and attract and seem irresistible. How the advertisers play on this, don't they? It's a very visual age in which we live. You can't even drive down the motorway without seeing these huge hoardings at the side there, illuminated and flashing, changing images. And these things that are flashed in front of us as things to be desired. I wonder sometimes why there's not any intervention because it's bound to cause accidents sometime as people are distracted by these things. But you don't need that. You've only got to watch the television for a little while and Again, in your face, such adverts, so explicit and so salacious even, not a good thing at all. Sensuality, the lust of the eyes, and then the pride of life, meaning independence of God, I, me, number one. And you've got here a trinity of evil. lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life. You see how the devil has so replicated for the world what God's people delight in in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. But what do the world worship? lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life. It's as far from the living God as you could get. And in passing, dear friends, if it were not for the restraining influence of the Ten Commandments, there would be little to ennoble and give any moral absolutes. and there wouldn't be anything higher than gratification. What a mercy that even though the Ten Commandments may not be known, yet Romans chapter 2 teaches that God has put the law in the hearts of Gentiles. who have not heard it. And there is the stamp of the moral law on the conscience of all unbelievers so that there is still this sense of right and wrong. What a mercy that is the case because if it weren't so it would be the law of the jungle and everyone would degenerate to the level of beasts. And of course evolution encourages this, doesn't it? If we have evolved from lower brute beasts and species, well then live like them. We're not under any government, any law, no right or wrong. Live as you please. But what a mercy, the law written on the heart. the moral sense of right and wrong, and of course the presence of Christians, salt and light, which hinders moral corruption and enlightens people in their spiritual darkness. And the more Christians on the ground, the higher the level of behavior in human society. But nonetheless, the world and the things that are in the world, a realm full of enmity, addicted to sensuality. And it only lasts for so long, verse 17, the world passeth away and its lust thereof. Where is the lust of the flesh? the lust of the eyes, the pride of life in hell. It's all over. And ultimately this whole world in which we live, it says in 2 Peter 3 and from verse 10 onwards that the earth shall be burned up and the elements melt with fervent heat and all the works thereof all that people have lived like and have lived for it's all going to go it'll all pass away one day at the second coming of our redeemer 1 corinthians 7 verse 31 the fashion of this world passeth away that word fashion It's the sort of look of it, the way it's contrived and the wonderful way it's presented. The fashion of this world passeth away. Isn't it a foolish thing to be so taken up with fashion? Gucci will one day pass away. Calvin Klein will one day be No more. Even white stuff and jewels and M&S will all be gone. The fashion of this world passeth away and yet you see the average unbeliever sets such store by clothes and hair and nails and all the rest of it. Vanity. As if this is a great thing. But it passes away. How foolish. to set such store by these things, not saying any of these things are wrong in themselves, but to set such store, because they're temporary, and they're not our God. They're not what we live for, should not be. How foolish it is. Coming back to it on an individual level, let me tell you about a certain house. And on the drive in that house, is a rather splendid BMW sports car, a soft top sports car. And the number plate is a private one showing the initials of the owner. And he set great store by that. Now this man was a professing Christian. But it didn't seem to really last because he drifted away, attendance at church more and more intermittent, more and more taken up with things in the world. And he prospered and he got this sports car. And then after a number of months I happened to meet him in the town. And I asked him how he was. Good to see you. I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you? You know, ah, I've just been diagnosed with liver cancer. It's not good. And then there followed a process of what I believe was the Lord's dealings to restore him and bring him back. And I can remember visiting the house, and there was the sports car. quite a long time since he's driven it, and he's lying upstairs in bed, the end of his days quite near. And I thought to myself, the fashion of this world passeth away. The world passeth away and its lust thereof. And that iconic car which seemed to sum up what he'd been attracted to and snared by, was living for. And now he's got no more ability to even open the door and sit in it, leave alone drive it around. And the man died. And I remember coming up to that bedroom and seeing him cold and still in his bed and seeking to comfort his wife. And I thought to myself, how true is the scripture? What's the worth of that BMW car? Say, oh, great car. Oh, the speed you could get out of it. Put the top down on a sunny day and sail through in the sunshine. Wonderful. Yeah, not that wonderful. It'll end up in the breaker's yard one day. But thankfully, I believe that man is in glory. But it took that. for the Lord to bring him back. How challenging. What if? What if he never was brought back to the Lord? What if he died an unbeliever and an apostate showed himself to have never been converted and fallen from a mere profession and he had followed his God and his material object right to the end. You see, this is where we are in a world that sets such store by these things and a host of other things. And it's a world that's so dazzling and so in your face in its presentation of things and telling you, encouraging you to have these things yourself. This is what life is all about. You're missing out if you don't have these things. This is the acme, the zenith of pleasure and joy. And of course that's what it is, isn't it? It's hedonism. The idea that the great be-all and end-all of life is pleasure and self-indulgence, but the world characterized by those things, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, it passeth away. and the lust thereof. It passes from individuals. It'll pass altogether ultimately. That's where we are and this is the danger. But let's look secondly at what we are But notice the contrast. He that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Isn't this worth having? This lasts forever and ever. Never be taken from us. It'll never even pull and cloy and grow less wonderful as the years go by. We abide forever in this. Now it describes Christians, doesn't it? He that doeth the will of God. in contrast to going along with the world and following its will. In fact, the world doesn't have so much a will, it's more instincts, appetites, urges. But we do the will of God. We follow a higher, blessed rule, the will of God. You've got that definition in Matthew chapter 7, toward the close of our Lord's Sermon on the Mount, where we read this. And how challenging these words are. Matthew 7 verse 21, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. It's easy enough to profess, isn't it? Oh, I'm a Christian, Lord. But he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. The proof of grace in the soul. is the desire to live an obedient life to God. Started from the first with Saul of Tarsus, didn't it, when the Lord dealt with him. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? That's the principle now. It's not one's own will. It's not being conformed to the world around. It's, oh, to honor and please and obey my heavenly Father. Notice, doeth the will of God. More than to hear it, more than to know it, it's doing it. James chapter one, remember, not the hearers of the word, but the doers. doing the word. And in verse 25 of James 1 there's a significant word. It says, he that looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein and is a doer of the word, he shall be blessed in his deed. Not even for his deed, but in his deed. don't we find that in the very course of seeking to please God and walk in his ways, there's a blessing? Nothing like it. In the very act of it. And the word blessed in his deed. The word blessed is happy. There is no greater happiness than walking with God. No greater happiness than trusting and obeying the Lord Jesus. There's such a joy in obeying the Lord. Of course, a non-Christian could never find that joy because he hasn't got it in him to love the word and esteem it and see how beautiful it is and to have the grace to walk in it. But true Christians have. It's a wonderful thing. We can look back to the time before we were a Christian, we weren't even interested in the Bible as the directory of our lives. We weren't interested in this Holy Spirit to help us to walk in the ways of God's Word. We didn't think that this was necessary, didn't even understand it, no interest at all. But now, this is life! life with Christ, life walking humbly with our God, and walking in the way of his commandments. It's a joy to do it. He smiles upon us. We have his favor. We're close to him in this. We walk in wisdom's ways which are pleasantness, and all its paths are peace. What a blessed way to live. And you'll see this, that we do it with one great motive. And that is the will of God, who is love, as we've seen. And this is where our obedience springs from. It's not necessity. It's not we're commanded, we have to do it. Not legal, servile. The love of God. Jesus says, love me and keep my Isn't it wonderful that it's like that? What a wonderful motive. That's how he wants it to be done. Love is the strongest motive there is. If you love someone, you want to please them, don't you? You'll go more than the extra mile because you're impelled by this powerful motive. You remember Jacob in Genesis 29 verse 20, he was duped into marrying another daughter of Laban instead of Rachel, whom he really loved. And the crafty Laban said, well, you can have her, but you've got to work another seven years for her. And we read that he served seven years for Rachel. And they seemed but a few days for the love he had for her. Seven years! Frost by night, heat of the sun by day, going from one patch of grass to another in the wilderness, sweating, working, exhaustion. And every time it seemed as if it was getting too much, all he had to do was think and imagine her dear face, Rachel. It's for her. And you see, the dear Savior's love, it's for Christ's sake, because he has loved us and we love him, doing the will of God. who is love for Jesus' dear and worthy sake. Make sure that your obedience to God's word and to his will is out of love, out of gratitude. He doesn't want pressed people. His people are willing. in this day of his power, this gospel day, and he delights in believers who for his sake and in the joy of it render this unto the Lord who has blessed us so very much. And of course it shows that we do not earn our salvation If this obedience and pleasing God is all from love, then it's simply gratitude, isn't it? Gratitude for salvation already received. Salvation by works is self-love. But because of grace, love for the Lord and for his dear sake, We show what we are by our willing desire to please him. He that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Is that your great desire? To do the will of God? Lord, show me thy will in the scriptures. Show me thy will in providential guidance. Lead me in my life that I might follow. And if I'm going wrong in any way, then correct me, restore my soul, lead me in the paths of righteousness for thy name's sake. This is our prayer, isn't it? He that doeth the will of God. We want to. We delight in it. Nothing better. And you see, it lasts forever. Abideth forever. This is the amazing thing. It's going to be forever and ever. We're not going to lose any of it. We're not going to leave it behind when we depart from this life. We're not going to find that it's gone when we enter eternity. We'll find that we'll have more of it than ever when we get to heaven. Remember our Saviour's word, abide in me and I in you. Well that's forever, union with Christ, bringing forth fruit to his praise. It's forever and ever. Christians are forever people. If you think about it, we're people who are between the two eternities, aren't we? Eternity past, before the world was when we were loved and chosen and earmarked for grace and salvation, eternity to come when we shall be forever with the Lord and we're between the two eternities. And this present order will pass away, there'll be the new heavens and the new earth and the glory of heaven and earth as one and we shall abide, remain and be, I say, forever. Christians are forever people. You can't get any better than that. And if there's one thing that needs to commend the gospel, here it is. I'm going to live forever. I've got eternal life. My soul, if the Lord doesn't come again, he'll call me home. and I'll be glorified first in my soul and at his second coming in my body when he resurrects it and reunites it with my soul and I shall be forever with the Lord. These are vast, staggering things. and non-Christian people living for their cars and their fashion and their lusts and their pleasures and their toys, all little things which end up on the skip for the most part, and we leave them all behind for the rest. How shriveled, shriveled, diminished, tiny, insignificant, are those who are not Christians, how we mourn over them and pray for them that they might believe on the Son of God and that believing they might have life through his name, even as we have. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 18, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. The things that are seen are temporal, the things that are not seen are eternal, and yet they're visible to faith. He that doeth the will of God abideth forever. And one second after death, it will be known who was the wise one. One second after death, Christians will be seen to be the wise ones, but then it's the beginning of the forever and the ever. That's how you measure the importance of these things in this world and the things that a Christian has for the world to come. May the Lord make us all wise, not things that pass away, but things that abide forever. Amen.