Verses Used:

• 1 John 2:15-17
• Proverbs 4:23
• John 3:16 
• Ephesians 2:1-3
• Hebrews 11:6

Takeaways:

Love for the Father

• Love of the world crowds out the love of the Father
• Jesus said the greatest command is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself.”
• The Love of the Father is rooted in relationship.
• We get to pour fuel into one of two trains; Love for God or love for the world.

Love for the World (Pleasure, Possessions, Pride)

• In our text, the world is referring to a set of values, or a system that is run by our spiritual enemy. The whole aim of Satan is to get your heart.
• Satan uses things like politics, entertainment, consumerism, sexuality, and technology to advance his agenda.
• John lists the “big three” offers of the world: Craving for physical pleasure (Lust of the flesh), Craving for everything we see (Lust of the eyes), and Pride in our achievements and possessions (Pride of life).
• When the heart lusts, loves the world, the love for God is crowded out.
• It is possible to avoid the “things of the world” externally, but still have issues because love comes from the heart.
• We can aim our hearts to love God or the world.

Live Forever

• Verse 17 says, “anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”
• Real faith is evidenced by obedience, but rooted in trust. 
• The lie we are told is that we need to “Do to Be”. We don’t “do to be”. We are already His - therefore we live out of who we are.

Discussion Questions:    

• How does knowing that Satan is behind the systems and values of the world make you feel?
• How might people who don’t know Jesus be living in bondage to the world?
• What do you think of the statement: Real faith is evidenced by obedience, but rooted in trust.
• How does loving the world distract us from the big picture of eternity?

https://missio.life/home