Sing Talk—Jonathan Csanyi
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Let's look to the Lord for help.
Regarding your Father and our Lord Jesus, we thank thee for this opportunity we have together to sing these hymns. We pray for the help now as we open thy word to have a word for each one of us and pray for help for the speaker for.
Words from thee and for help in in telling forth whatever message that is to have. We pray this now in thy name, Amen.
Starting John Chapter 17.
This is a prayer of our Lord Jesus recorded here. Start at verse 9.
I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given me. For they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee, Holy Father, keep through thy own name those who Thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name.
Those that thou Gareth me.
I have kept and none of them is lost but the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Down a little bit.
And now I come to the and now come I to Thee. And these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou should just take them out of the world, but that Thou should just keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
This is a prayer of our Lord.
Just before he is betrayed and crucified.
His thoughts were of us.
Those that are left behind in the world.
And those that would believe through their word, that's us.
And he's especially concerned about the fact that they're being left behind in the world. They have to live in the world. And that's what I want to talk about tonight. The world, every one of us is living in the world. We can't escape that, but the world.
Is bigger than just this globe that we live on the term the world encompasses much more than that.
It's a system that's been set up.
Been set up to keep man happy, apart from God, without God.
One of the more common pictures of the world that we see is Egypt.
You know, in the land of Canaan, the Israelites, whoever was in the land of Canaan was dependent. They were dependent on the rain from heaven to be able to grow their crops and to eat.
Egypt didn't have that problem, didn't have that dependency, I should say.
They built their own system.
Irrigation.
They took of the the river Nile and they built canals and technology and they irrigated their land so they didn't have to depend on God.
And that's a picture.
Of the world in its independence from God. And I want to look a little bit at that today, because every one of us is living in the world.
And yet we're to be in the world, but not of the world. And there's a distinction there.
Let's start by turning to Genesis 12.
Look at the the life of Abraham and Genesis 12. You've all heard this before. I'm not going to stay here very long, but Abraham was called to go into the land that God would show him, and he he went there and he kept on going.
Genesis chapter 12 and verse 9 And Abram journeyed going on still toward the South, and there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down into Egypt to soldier in there, for the famine was grievous in the land.
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I won't read the rest of it, you guys are all familiar with the story.
But there was a lack of food in the land.
And so Abram went to Egypt in type. He turns to the world to make up what he might have said God had failed to give him.
He turned to the world to make up what he thought God had failed to give him.
And it affected them.
Everyone went down into Egypt to soldier in there. His purpose was to soldier in there. He was going to continue to be a sojourner, he thought.
But you, if you read through this story, it affected his his, his discretion, his wisdom. And I think even though he was delivered from Egypt and he went back up out of Egypt, he brought with him things.
That caused countless problems through the rest of his life. One time we sat down and we tried to list them all and I don't remember how many we came up with. There was a lot.
Let's go to chapter 13 now.
Abraham's coming up out of Egypt.
And I want to look at his nephew that was traveling with him lot.
And Abram went up out of Egypt, 13 verse one, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him into the South. And Abram was very rich in cattle and silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys from the South, even to Bethel, and to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hayati, and to the place of the altar which he had made there at the 1St. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents, and the land was not able to bear them.
That they might dwell together, for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle, and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen. For we be brethren, if not the whole land before thee. Separate thyself, I pray thee from me. If that will take the left hand, then I will go to the right.
Or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as alchemist unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan. And Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves, the one from the other.
Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent towards Sodom.
But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
So Lot has some decisions in his life here.
One important one Which direction is he going to go when he separates from Abram?
And he makes his decisions.
Based on his experience and the exposure he's had to Egypt, to the world, you might say he chose.
The well watered plains that were like the land of Egypt as alchemist and Zoar. How do you know that? How did he know that?
The result of Abraham's taking him down into Egypt.
And you know, we often we think of the world. I probably should have started by mentioning this. We sometimes think of the world and worldly things as these things that are evil or bad, and many of them are. But the world is much broader than that. Like I said, it's to keep man happy apart from God. Distractions.
Many of them perfectly fine by themselves in their place.
Lot chose.
Well watered planes, nothing wrong with that.
But he oriented his whole life toward these well watered plains. He relocated here.
He pitched his end. He still had a tent.
He still professed a Pilgrim lifestyle.
He still confessed he was a Pilgrim. We read in the New Testament that he was righteous. He vexed his righteous. He vexed his righteous soul.
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Now often we look at Abraham and we we take lessons for our life. There are great lessons for our lives from the life of Abraham.
But if we're honest with ourselves.
In a lot of ways, we're a lot more like Lot than Abram.
He confessed to have a Pilgrim life, but he pitched his tent toward Sodom.
He made decisions in his life.
Based on these things of the world that he wanted.
And you know, there's a wide range of ages here.
But by far the vast majority of you are at or approaching a point in your life where you could be making some of the most important decisions that will set the course for the rest of your life.
And what are you using? How are you evaluating your options?
How are you choosing? Is it like lot?
Based on the pursuit of some worldly thing. And remember, worldly I'm not saying something bad, something that's an object that will distract you.
From Christ.
As I brother mentioned, it's an hour ago. Serving ourselves instead of him.
NASCAR.
Jump ahead a couple of chapters to Genesis 19. You know where this you all know where this is going.
And there came two angels to Sodom, and Even and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. He's part of the government of Sodom.
What happened to his tent? Gone.
And Lord, seeing them, rose up to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, Behold, now, my Lords, turn in, I pray you into your servants house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early and go on your ways. And they said, Nay, but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly, and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house.
And he made them a feast and to make unleavened bread, and they did eat.
But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of thought, are encompassed the house round both old and young, all the people from every quarter.
And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came into thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door and unto them, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, brethren, brethren, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now I have two daughters which have not known man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes only unto these men do nothing for.
Came they under the shadow of my roof and they said stand back.
And they said again, this one fellow came into sojourn, and he will need to be a judge. Now will we deal worse with thee than with than with them? And they pressed sore upon the man even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand and pulled Lot into the house to them and shut to the door.
And they thought the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, blindness both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Here's what.
Not just pursuing some.
Perhaps innocent or innocent looking things of the world. Well watered pastures. He's in the gate in the government of Sodom, and his discernment is gone.
You look at what he's suggesting here.
Lot vexed his righteous soul. Righteous soul. We don't see that here.
He's been so accustomed acclimatized to the world.
That it seems normal to him.
And sometimes maybe we get the idea that.
The world going downhill fast.
But as long as we.
Long we stay a little bit above the world.
You know, the world's bad. The world's bad. Maybe it's down here, but as long as we're up here and we're, you know, this far above the world, we're OK.
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But the world's not like this. The world's going downhill fast.
I guess from your perspective, it's downhill fast. And so if it's going downhill fast and we're a little bit above it, we're going down just as fast.
The world is not our standard.
And if the world becomes our standard, like it did for Lot here, our discernment is gone.
The vilest thing seemed normal.
And keep reading a little bit.
And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou hear any besides son-in-law, and thy sons and thy daughters, And whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place, For we will destroy this place before the because the cry of them is waxing great before the face of the Lord. And the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. And the Lord went out and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said up, Get you out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
To me, this is one of the saddest phrases of this whole story. He seemed as one that mocked.
His testimony was so far gone.
Sometimes we justify ourselves and say.
I can reach the people that I'll be associating with.
I can compromise in order to reach them. How did that work for a lot?
He seemed as one that mocked even his sons in law.
You might think that would be the very least he might be able to rescue his sons in law. Nope.
And when the morning arose, and the angels hastened lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here, lest they'll be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and the upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him. And they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought him, they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape thee for thy life, escape for thy life.
Look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain. Escape to the mountain, lest they'll be consumed.
And Locke said unto them, Oh not so, my Lord, Behold, now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die.
Behold, now this city is nearer to flee into unto, and it is a little 10 Let me escape thither, is it not a little one? And my soul shall live.
Is it not a little one?
Is Lot just having been pulled out, barely saved from the destruction of Sodom, seeing his family destroyed?
And he can't help it, he's reaching back just a little bit more.
Just a little bit more of the world. I can't go to the mountain, you know, Abraham stayed in the mountain and went to the well watered plains.
Just a little bit more of the world.
Turn to 1St John.
Chapter 2.
Verse and 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.
This particular set of verses is written to the young men. I think it's very appropriate for tonight.
Love not the world.
And love here is not just, you know, don't like it.
It's not saying we can't like something he loved playing baseball. That's not what he's talking about.
Someone that loves the world. It's like the love of money we read about elsewhere. Love the world. They're pursuing it. It's their object. They're making decisions based on it.
Is that guiding your life?
I often think.
I imagine.
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A comic cartoon comic that I.
I saw once, I don't, I don't even remember the point of the comic, but it was a single panel and it had a fish.
And it was surrounded by a sea of hooks. There were lines coming into the water. I don't remember what the point of the comic was, but that picture stayed with me.
Satan, the enemy of our souls.
Is trying all these different baits.
He doesn't care which one we take.
Baseball music.
Sports, entertainment, education, whatever. Computers, games.
He doesn't care which one we take.
He's just as happy.
For you take something that seems perfectly innocent.
But like Lot, it's the beginning. He chose the well watered plains. He made a decision based on that.
For anything.
Anything but Christ. The devil's APC's some some call it.
Anything at all doesn't matter what, as long as it can distract you from the Lord.
Love not the world.
A couple more, two more verses.
The first in Galatians.
Chapter one and verse 4.
Who gave Himself for our sins, Talking about our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world.
I compare that to Second Timothy.
Chapter 4.
Verse 10.
In Galatians he delivered us from this present evil world. Galatians 4 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.
Doesn't say present evil world.
Dimas was caught.
By one of the nicer hooks.
He loved his present world, not something that appeared evil, but it distracted him.
From the Lord. It distracted him from Pauls doctrine.
He gave up.
The life that would be consistent with Paul's doctrine, with the truth that he knew because he loved his present world, And doesn't that in some way, at some level, describe us all?
Having loved this present world.
You know, we live in a weird time if you look at history.
The Bible freely available.
We're in a so-called Christian nation.
Nobody's forbidding us to meet together like this.
It's a strange time from the perspective of history, the last 2000 years.
And in a lot of ways, it's a blessing.
But in many ways also it's an attack.
The Christian testimony, the assembly, the body of Christ in the world.
Has thrived under persecution.
And it's never been so weak.
That's when it's embraced by the world.
You see that way back in Roman times, in Constantine's time, and you see it today.
Satan has seen that the persecution.
Just makes the church stronger.
And so.
His attack today?
Is to bring the world.
To turn the church into just another part of the world.
To have our.
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In a way to take the world, the world and what it offers, and to rebrand it as the Christian dream, the American dream, the Christian Dream.
What happened to that dedication we talked about?
Present your body as a living sacrifice, which is your reasonable service.
Where does that fit with building a comfortable life for ourselves?
In this world.
With choosing the things of this world. With using the things of this world as the standard by which we make our decisions.
It doesn't fit there.
We're serving ourselves, not him.
I'll close by rereading a couple verses from John 17.
Separate into verse 14. I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou should have take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil.
From the Evil.
Even the nice hooks are evil.
Maybe we could sing. I didn't bring him back.
One hymn before we close.
#70 This is.
Often.
Well, it not often it is a gospel hymn. If I gained the world but lost the Savior where my life worth living for a day, but I want us to think about it.
As Christians, you know the enemy uses the same tactics to distract people from being saved as he uses on Christians to distract us from being fruitful and profitable.
So instead of if I gained the world but lost a savior.
What if if I gain the world but shortchanged, the savior didn't give him his due.
Think about it from his perspective.
Of a Christian, if I gained the world and lost all these things that I should have instead, let's say #70.
As you make decisions in your life.
Think back to lot.
Think about his seemingly small decision and think about where he ended up.
Absolutely no discernment in the.
Midst of such great evil.
Let's pray. And should I be giving thanks for the refreshments, I presume?
Sure. OK, Our gardener Father and our Lord Jesus, we thank thee that we could spend these couple minutes over thy word. We.
Pray for each one of us, young and old.
That that would help us to view the world from thy perspective, to see it for what it really is.
And to not be so affected by living in it down here, they'll help us to.
To turn to thee and to make our decisions based on thy things.
We commit the remainder of the evening to the remainder of the week to thee, and we thank thee too for the refreshments that have been prepared.
And we pray that that'll help us to that our fellowship would be over thy things.
That we would build friendships and relationships that are lasting and based on the.
We pray this all in thy name, Amen.
Yeah.