Submitted by: Rosita Enriquez (Anaheim, CA)
Dear Saints,
The Church in Anaheim is currently holding meetings for new believers. I joined this last Lord’s day meeting to accompany a recently saved and baptized sister, and I was so enlightened. The topic was DEALING WITH THE WORLD. Perhaps many may be wondering, ”this is not for me,” ”I am not a new believer,” ”I made my choice to follow the Lord, I am not turning back to the world.” However, I truly believe this is for all of us, so please bear along.
The verse given was 1 John 2:15-17 ”Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love FOR the Father IS NOT in him; because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father BUT is of the world. And the world is passing away, and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever.” The brothers explained to us the difference between the world and sin. Sin is easy to see whereas the world is very subtle, perhaps refined, cultural. Sin contaminates, but the world not only contaminates but it possesses and usurps the person. Satan through the world draws, attracts the person little by little until he is lost in the world and “in Satan’s pocket.” Also, people are not conscious of the world. The brother also gave us 2 Tim 4:10 where we see that Demas and two other brothers are referred to as “they loved the world.” The brothers told us that the world is the Satanic system, devised by Satan. The first fall of man was that of sin, however the fourth fall was total separation from God with the building of Babel. Man was usurped by Satan, making him believe he did not need God. We have three needs, brother Ted called them the three P’s
*Provision (food, clothing, etc.)
*Protection
*Pleasure
God created us with these needs, however these cannot usurp us or take The Lord’s place. As a matter of fact, He wants to be all these to us, our provision, our protection and our pleasure.
Brother Michael went on saying that when we deal with sin, we confess and that to deal with the world we need to confess but also be very strict. He said if a door is open, many things can come and go. So, in order to deal with the world, one must shut the door and not only that, we must set a wall!
Saints, what of the world is in us? I don’t know Lord. O Lord, you must shine in each one of us! I was impressed with “If anyone loves the world, love FOR the Father is not in him.” If we love the world, there is not love for the Father, our heart is occupied, possessed, usurped by one, so it cannot be occupied by the other, there is no love For the Father. O Lord, have mercy. We are in the world, but as a sister shared ”We are not of the world.” She also said, HE HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD! He is overcoming here, what we need to do is obey the inner feeling, the inner life. It may be “Sam you said 5 minutes on the internet, and it’s now 5 hours” or at the store “Tom, do you really need to buy that?” or at work “Why do you strive so much to be at the top?”
Lord, we want to love The Father, be occupied and possessed by You. Lord, we don’t want to have any friendship with the world, not even shake its enticing hand.
Other verses taken from Topics for New Believers, Vol 1
1 John 2:15
Eph 2:2..You once walked according to the age of this world…
Rom 12:2 And do not be fashioned according to this age
Rom 8:6 the mind set on the spirit is life and peace
Gal 6:14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.
Genesis 4:16 And Cain went forth from the presence of Jehovah and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden {Nod means ”wandering.”
James 4:4 Adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever determines to be a friend of the world is constituted an enemy of God.
1 John 5:4 For everything that has been begotten of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory which has overcome the world-our faith.
Matthew 6:31-33 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? Or, With what shall we be clothed? For these things the Gentiles (not us) are anxiously seeking. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
O Lord Jesus!
Lord, this is a timely word for me….Recently, I’ve been very anxious for the three P’s and thought of striving harder to gain them…But I thank the Lord for showing me again, that He should be the unique Source of these three P’s…Lord, may You completely occupy my heart. Leave no space in it for the world. Amen!
Amen!
I was touched by James 4:4 – “whoever determines to be a friend of the world is constituted an enemy of God.” Oh Lord Jesus! I really need to be an Antipas — who, when the church was “married” to the world, was “against all”. Lord, have mercy on us, that we may shut the door and make it a wall.
The verse given was 1 John 2:15-17 ”Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love FOR the Father IS NOT in him; because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father BUT is of the world. And the world is passing away, and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever.” The brothers explained to us the difference between the world and sin. Sin is easy to see whereas the world is very subtle, perhaps refined, cultural. Sin contaminates, but the world not only contaminates but it possesses and usurps the person. Satan through the world draws, attracts the person little by little until he is lost in the world and “in Satan’s pocket.” Also, people are not conscious of the world. The brother also gave us 2 Tim 4:10 where we see that Demas and two other brothers are referred to as “they loved the world.” The brothers told us that the world is the Satanic system, devised by Satan. The first fall of man was that of sin, however the fourth fall was total separation from God with the building of Babel. Man was usurped by Satan, making him believe he did not need God. We have three needs, brother Ted called them the three P’s*Provision (food, clothing, etc.)*Protection*Pleasure
+1
Thanks so much Rosita.my eyes have been enlightened the more to take the lord as my provision,protection and even my pleasure so that i can escape satan’s userpation.This msg is no doubt a timely one for someone like me.It is my humble prayer to the Lord that He would bring all the the young people including me to actually acquaint ourelves with such a word. The Lord bless all the saints and also increases His mercy on us.
O’ lord Jesus. “…If anyone loves the world the love for the FATHER is not in him…” This is because when we have even the smallest amount love of for any other thing, our hearts are turned away from the lord, and if our heart turns from the lord, our love for the world eventually increases. We the unmarried may start by thinking of how to marry, that takes us to how we can build up our future, as a result our whole heart will be filled with the love of the world. But praise the lord we have overcome the world by believing that Jesus is the SON of God[ 1jn5:5]. We should overcome by remaining in the mingled spirit, touching the lord who is the life of our spirit. We should never give the enemy a little chance for a “little leaven leavens the whole lump”. O’lord Jesus-amen. Lord ever direct our hearts into your love and keep our hearts loving you and you alone. Amen.
Amen Lord Jesus, Thank you for all the freshness of Your Word. Honestly , I cannot stand and overcome this satanic world,we face this age, without HIS WORD. Praise the Lord of some brothers speaking in the Church, always refreshing us to go on on what we have seen vision in the future. Impressing word with 3 P’s and I cannot deny this. Still in my flesh to love because of the anxiety. I praise HIM, to all HIS preservation in the Church which is my real home where i can have peace. Amen, we are in the age of grace, where we can enjoy HIS the ALL- INCLUSIVESS. What I cry for HIM ,is to carry me, and make me a babe and suckling praising HIM daily. Thank You Lord Jesus for the CHURCH.
Wow, praise the Lord for the word and the minstry of the word, God always seems to require the impossible from us, but hallelujah, we can take courage, the Lord Jesus has overcome the world, He is our foreunner. Thanks for your post sister…. it’s very sobering!
Thank you for sharing! The Lord is faithfully speaking this same word to me again and again. I know now, He will keep speaking UNTIL it sinks in to my hardened heart, so occupied by the flurry of life. Lord, we respond! Father, we tell you we love you! We ask for your mercy. Work the life of Your Son into every fiber of our being, until we match Him, until we are those in whom the world has nothing, in whom Christ has fully made His home.
This is not just for the new believers, It applies to those who already are believers. We need to be separated from the world and deal with sin and allow the Lord to meet the need of provision , protection and pleasure in us, I am encouraged.
Amen! Yes its such a supply and timely speaking for me! In particular I was reminded and able to see clearly that all that the world offers are just three things: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and vainglory of life. These are clearly never worth even a minute portion of our love. But according to the Lords speaking through our brother, the world is really subtle and difficult to see behind culture and refinement. It slowly entices us and O we see it usurps and puts us into ‘satan’s pocket!!!’. But PRAISE THE LORD for Gal 6:14. “..the CROSS of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST through Whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.”
In my experience I keep falling back into the world. I receive help to be transferred back into Him through the Word and through fellowship with other saints. There are times when I have been unable to make it alone.But when I take the help of some sisters, I am able to experience His lifting up in a dynamic way!