Address—C.E. Lunden
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Bring together hymn #328.
328.
Lord Jesus.
To tell.
Thy law.
Our souls shall Forrest.
And seek of thy glory.
So we pray together.
Shall we turn to the second chapter of the First Epistle of John?
You'll read from the 15th verse.
First Epistle of John, chapter 2 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.
The lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father.
But is of the world.
And the world passes the way.
And the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth.
Forever.
I'd like to speak a little while this afternoon on those 3.
Things were mentioned.
In these verses, particularly the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
We know that.
In the early part of the Gospels.
We have the Lord Jesus.
In the wilderness, being tempted of the devil.
And this particular order is noticed in Luke's Gospel.
The order that we have here, the lust of the flesh, comes first.
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And we might think of this as the time of youth.
The lust of the eyes when one gets older.
And the pride of life, old age, possibly.
Although they all apply at all times, but there's a particular.
Aspect in which they apply in these various periods.
The lust of the flesh.
Dear young people, this life is the seed time of eternity.
The word of God says whatsoever you sow, you will reap.
How solemn this is.
We have here mentioned, first of all, the lust of the flesh.
There are forces at work, even with the Christian, to turn us aside.
The unsaved man is LED about by Satan at his will.
That the believer is often tempted.
We have a nature within us that we won't have in the glory.
Which often deceives us.
The word of God tells us.
That the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked who can know it?
I'm sure that everyone here desires to be happy.
In fact, I suppose most of the money that's spent in this world is, to that end, happiness.
Happiness doesn't come.
Merely through attainments here.
It's not found in circumstances.
Happiness is not found through a great deal of education.
Or even with one who may be gifted.
True happiness is only found.
Where Jesus is.
The only way that your heart and mind can be satisfied and that forever, is with a person, and that's the Lord Jesus.
And so we have the subject here of the affections love.
Not the world.
Affections.
Now, where are you going to place your affections?
That vessel of yours, if you're a Christian, this vessel.
Has to be emptied of the world if you're going to fill it with Christ.
It will not contain both at the same time for your joy.
And so.
As we said before that this life is the seed time of eternity.
And what are you, dear young people, planting now?
In view of eternity.
What are you building now?
Do you have a definite program?
The farmer does.
There's a day coming when there will be a reaping.
If you turn this May to Genesis 20.
26.
Verse 29 You know the story. Well, we just recall it.
And Jacob sawed Pottage, and Esau came from the field, and he was faint. And Esau said to Jacob, feed me, I pray thee with that same red pottage, for I'm faint. Therefore was his name called Edom.
Chapter 25.
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And verse 29. I'm sorry.
And Jacob said, Sell me this day, thy birthright.
And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die. In what prophet shall this birthright do to me?
Jacob said, Swear to me this day, And he swear unto him, and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils, and he did eat and drink, and rose up and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Now here's a young man.
Who starts out by despising his birthright.
This was rather solemn, wasn't it?
Because his father had been made the depositary of the counsels of God.
Are there any young people here this afternoon that are despising their birthright?
Whose fathers have been made the depository of the Councils of God.
Do you value the truth that was given your father's?
Are you carrying it on?
Are you looking at things, dear young people, in the light of eternity?
There are some who choose the world rather than God.
They would rather give attention to their bodies than their souls.
They're more interested in time than eternity.
And how about you, dear one?
And so God would exercise us this afternoon.
How about the seed time of eternity?
Was this not a fatal mistake for Esau?
Yes, the day is coming and there was a book written about it, The Book of Obadiah.
How that he saw will be completely dispossessed of his inheritance.
When God apportions the land to Israel.
Now if you'll turn with me to a verse in Matthew's Gospel.
Or possibly Luke's Gospel the Second No. Mark's Gospel the second chapter, perhaps?
The 14th birds.
We find the Lord Jesus here.
Beginning his ministry.
Mark's Gospel, the second chapter and the 14th verse. And as he passed by he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus.
Sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
It didn't take very much persuasion, did it?
For Levi to follow Jesus.
How much persuasion has it taken for you to follow Jesus? Or have you started following Jesus?
And this is the first step, dear ones.
In applying ourselves diligently in the light of eternity.
To follow Jesus.
Have you received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior?
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, the Lord says, Hath everlasting life, and shall not committed judgment, but is passed from death unto light. How important this step is. Dear young people, have you confessed Jesus Christ as your Savior?
Are You Washed in That Precious Blood?
And as Jesus passes by Levi, he's sitting at the receipt of custom.
He says Follow me.
He rose up and followed him.
Wouldn't that be the natural thing you would expect for one who had had privileges?
Like Levi had had in Israel.
Most of Israel rejected him.
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But now we will see another case in the 10th chapter of Mark.
Verse 17.
And when he was gone for it, into the way there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why call us thou, me good? There is none good but one that is God.
Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, do not steal, Do not bear false witness.
Defraud not honor thy father and mother? And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest go thy ways, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, take up the cross, and follow.
Me and he was sad at that, saying And where do we grieve for? He had great possessions.
Here we have a man who had many privileges in Israel more than Levi.
He was a ruler. He was a wealthy man.
And he was interested in living on, continuing to live. He didn't want to die.
And he knew that there was something Jesus had that he needed, but he wasn't willing to pay the price.
He made a decision.
And he went away grieved.
Unhappy. Sorrowful.
He had made his decision.
How about his sowing for eternity?
I saw them. This picture is.
Habits.
Environment.
Companions.
They all contribute to the downfall of the soul.
Unless there is purpose of heart to serve the Lord.
As far as we know, this young man never followed Jesus.
And although he may have had everything here, the little span of life is so short it's soon gone.
Well, that's the flash, the lust of the flesh.
Present things.
Lust simply means desire.
Desire for present things, anything, any pleasure.
Except Jesus.
But now the second point that we were going to consider.
Is the lust of the eye.
Now this may characterize a person.
When they get further along in life.
We find that.
When people get further along and established.
In present things.
They want to settle themselves in comfort.
Surround themselves with everything.
Of this world and follow the present things for their enjoyment. This is often the case.
In fact, it may have its effect on the Christian.
But you know, this wasn't the path of Abraham.
No, Abraham, he lived up on the top of the mountain with God in separation from the world.
Abraham lived where he could maintain those things.
That he enjoyed.
In connection with his calling and the promises of God.
He didn't want to forfeit these things. He didn't want to get into the companionship of those who didn't value them.
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So he remained alone with God.
Separation to God.
But we find Solomon.
There's a man who was surrounded by not only gift, but riches.
And.
He gave himself over to vanity. That was his pursuit.
How do we know there's vanity? Because he says so when he's through with it, he tried it.
You know, the world is quite interested in maps today. World maps.
There's activity in various nations, especially around Palestine.
Maps. But you know, Solomon gives us the moral map of the world.
The moral Mass?
He tried every joy.
He tried everything.
That might satisfy his heart.
He surrounded himself with great assemblies.
Men singers and women singers.
He set up everything that might contribute to his happiness here. And when he slowly writes over the whole thing, vanity why didn't satisfy his heart.
He gave himself over to vanity.
But what about his father?
His father says withdraw mine eyes from beholding vanity.
Solomon gave himself over to myrrh.
David to praise.
How about sowing seeds for eternity?
Wouldn't you like to have 150?
Songs of Praise to Your Account in That Day, David does 150 Psalms.
Thy word is forever settled in heaven.
Oh dear young people, how about it?
Are we applying ourselves in the light of eternity?
You know, in the light of these things.
The pursuit of anything that isn't heavenly is vanity.
The pursuit of anything that isn't heavenly is vanity.
Because you and I, if we're Christians, have a heavenly calling.
And you'll find because whether it's the present things of Earth.
Or whether it's heavenly things.
You're going to find, by the proving of it what it is.
You pursue heavenly things and you'll find.
Your soul enlarged.
And you'll find a crop in that day.
Yes you will.
The lust of the eye.
Oh, how Solomon pursued these things to the very extent there wasn't. He didn't withhold his heart from any joy, and now he's written it all down for us.
Detailed. And then at the close he became a preacher, and he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes.
And he told us what a fool he had been.
He told us what vanity it was all about.
And, you know, as he closes that book of Ecclesiastes.
He gives us a picture of an old man leaning on a cane.
What does that mean?
Ah, dear young people, it means that when you get old.
God wants you to have something substantial to lean on.
Do you?
Yes, he wants you to have something that will bear your weight.
So you won't fall in the end.
That's the story of Ecclesiastes.
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Why? Because God will bring every work into judgment.
And every secret thing.
Every secret thing.
No secrets in the sight of God.
Well, we have these cases that we've been noticing.
And.
We see how Solomon.
Although he was given a gift of wisdom, he didn't know how to apply it.
You know, just to have wisdom naturally isn't enough.
There is one thing that Solomon learned before he was through, and that is whatever gift God gives.
There's something has to go with it and that's dependence.
Dependence.
Abraham on the mountaintop had an altar.
Abraham walked before God not only.
In the.
Place of privilege.
But he knew what it was to take and humble himself before God.
We see, he saw.
Revolting against holy humbling truth.
We see young people today revolting against the truth of God.
How would it look in eternity when the crops come in?
How would it look, dear young people?
Dependence.
It doesn't matter whether there's gift.
Or whether there's the knowledge of the word of God, there must be dependence to go with it.
And how good it is for us to learn then, when we're young to have an altar.
A place where we can meet with God.
To get into his presence.
Because of these things that are always opposed to us.
The lust of the flesh.
The lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
Now we have in the last.
Part of that verse.
Second chapter of the First Epistle of John.
The world passes the wave, 17th verse, and the lust or desire thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
We learn also in First Corinthians, that the fashion of this world passeth away.
The desire of this world passeth away, and the fashion of it passeth away.
And so if we build on the fashion of this world, we're going to build on something that will pass away.
Be gone forever.
And saw the exhortation. Here is love, not the world.
Now he that doeth the will of God.
Abideth forever.
The will of God. It's plain in the scriptures.
Now you'll never be happy where you don't abide.
You'll only be happy where you'll abide forever.
And he that does the will of God abides forever.
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The pursuing of things that the natural heart seeks after.
Will never bring happiness. Solomon proved it, and he leaves the history of it.
The natural heart will never lead us anywhere but astray.
So God has given us His precious word as the guide to enable us to have a path through this world that's to His glory.
For all is in the world. 16th verse, The lust of the flesh, the desire of the flesh.
And the desire of the eyes.
And the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Now in the Lord Jesus.
Met these temptations in the wilderness.
We find that he used.
Two passages from Deuteronomy.
The first one he used from the 8th chapter of Deuteronomy.
And the last two were Satan challenged him.
He used.
The 6th chapter of Deuteronomy.
I suppose there's a reason for this.
It shows us that the one who is the youngest in the things of God.
He may only know a few little scriptures, but he's ready to meet Satan.
But you and I can't meet faith with our natural intelligence.
Or ability or gift?
He has had 6000 years of experience with man.
Yes, he knows how to trip us up. He tripped the first man up.
Take Saul, for instance.
Think of Saul as he started out his life.
He passed through the first stage very successfully, didn't he?
Yes, he was head and shoulders above everyone else. He was anointed king. He went on nicely.
Until the time when he refused to obey the word of God.
And so the Prophet comes to him and he says when you were young it was different.
When you were young.
And so everybody doesn't fall with the first temptation.
No, Saul failed with a second temptation.
Saul.
Acted with his own wisdom in the things of God.
Instead of acting on the word of God and he fell. And what was Saul's end? Seeking wisdom.
From a source that God had prohibited.
Yes, and even went to.
Says of him that.
He had no Urim, that is.
Urim and Thummim would be lights and perfections of God. The priest wore it.
And he sought it, but he got no answer from the Lord, from the Urim, the light, the light from God. He got no light from God.
So he went to a witch instead.
That was the end of Saul's course.
Oh, how solemn these things are.
And now we have the next.
Well, we haven't mentioned yet is the pride of life.
The pride of life.
If you'll turn this made to Genesis again.
Seems in Genesis we find so much instruction.
Genesis, the 13th chapter.
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The fifth verse of Genesis 13 and Lot also, which went with Abraham, 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 herdsmen of Lot's cattle, and the Canaanite. And the Perazite dwelt then in the land. Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee between me.
And thee between my herdmen and thy herdmen. For we be brethren, Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee from me. If thou will take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or 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 thou comest unto sower.
Then Lot chose him. All the plain of Jordan and Lot journeyed east.
And they separated themselves the one from the other, and Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan.
Here we have a man who at the height of success.
He makes a choice.
Instead of leaning upon God.
Instead of following his uncle Abraham, he makes his own choice.
And he makes us on the basis of nature.
He had been privileged to be with Abraham all these years.
And I'm sure it's like a great many who have had the privilege.
Of spiritual things for many years. The time of testing will come. It came here.
And now we find that that lot in Pride, he thinks that he can better himself.
You know we can't better ourselves over that. The circumstances that God has put us in, we can't do it. God knows what's best for us.
And Lot was in the place of all the blessings.
He finds it out afterwards, when it's too late.
Because you know old age is no place to improve your fortunes.
Youth is the time.
Not old age.
And Lot finds out in his old age what a mistake he had made.
Wisdom is with God in communion.
Not in our minds.
And as he goes down.
Into Sodom.
He finally leaves his tent.
As a Pilgrim he'd been a Pilgrim. He'd been a stranger.
It's a picture to us of what the Christian should be.
He left the promises of God.
To go down to Sodom.
He left the altar.
He left Mamrie the place of fatness.
He left Hebron the place of communion.
All this he sold.
For a place in Sodom.
A place where the wickedness was exceeding so much so that God was ready to destroy it.
That's what 4 lot sold.
For Sodom.
Oh, how?
How solemn this is, and what a lesson it is for us, especially dear young people.
For you.
That you and I dare not trust.
Ourselves.
God has given us.
His word. And he's given us a great high priest that we can go to to get seasonable help. We need the place of dependence continually.
Always.
That's the path of faith.
Yes, if someone has said lot, this is an example of one who threw himself down for angels to catch.
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And they finally had to deliver him out of Sodom.
He lost everything.
Except he himself was saved so as by fire.
And I'll turn with me to Hebrews 11.
We'll see another man who became great.
Verse 24 of Hebrews 11 By faith Moses.
When he was born, was hit no by faith Moses when he.
Was come to years. Now another translation reads.
When he had become great.
When he had become great.
By faith Moses, when he had become great, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season or temporary pleasures.
Esteeming the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.
For he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king.
For he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
Now here is the man who had become great.
You might speak of His pathway as the Providence of God.
And God in his Providence has set various ones in various places.
But the time of testing will come in every life when we have to make a decision.
We noticed that with Saul, it wasn't the first temptation.
That slew him. It was the second one.
But here we notice that with lot it was the.
Pride of life.
But not with Moses.
No, Moses was now in a position where he was great and this was a hard time to make a decision, wasn't it?
Like this, I don't know what the greatness consisted of.
Josephus seems to suggest that he was commander in chief of the Egyptian armies. I don't know.
But it was great. Scripture says. Whatever it was, he was great.
Oh, how foolish he was, the world would say.
To step down from such a position.
But if he'd stayed there, he never would have been on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus.
No.
How about the end of the road? Are you and I looking at the end of the road?
He endured his seeing him who's invisible. That's faith.
He saw the end of the road.
And he acted on the truth of it.
And so he chose his companions. Who were they?
All the glory of the palace.
That was Solomon's choice, not Moses.
We don't read any marvelous end of Solomon's history like we do Moses.
We don't see Solomon as a champion for the things of God.
Like Moses.
Moses sits before us, the energy of faith.
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He made a decision.
At a certain time in his life when he had to decide one way or another.
And he made that decision to take his place with the people of God.
In their rejection.
And oh, what an end.
To Moses life.
Love not the world.
The fashion of it, the desire of it all, passes away.
But he that does, the will of God abideth forever.
Oh, May God make these things clear to us dear young people.
It may give us to realize that when we make these decisions, how important they are for eternity.
And we're faced with them day by day.
Decisions.
Yes, he chose rather. But there's one thing First of all, he refused. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
And so the Christian has to refuse certain things.
Because if he had continued in this position, he would have been denying what he was. He was not the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
He was the son of some rejected Israelites.
And now he's going to take his place where he really was.
And what are you this afternoon, dear young people? Are you of this world, or do you belong with that little rejected company of Christians?
Gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus, where do you belong?
Where is all this going to end?
You know, it's a sad thing to look back.
And to see.
A whole life is wasted.
To have nothing to remember except a wasted life.
You know Voltaire when he died.
He said he hated life, but he was afraid to die.
An infidel.
He hated life, but he was afraid to die.
Oh, how lovely the the ending of some of those who have known the Lord Jesus and their last words.
Before they're taken.
How they're actually living right in the heavens.
I remember a brother as he was about to die, they brought him some papers to sign. He pushed them away. I haven't had any time for those things.
He was already in the heavens as it were, an abundant entrance into the everlasting Kingdom.
I'm going to read to you a few lines.
It was given to me some time ago.
I won't mention the names, although I have them here.
In 1923, a very important meeting was held at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago.
Attending this meeting were nine of the world's most successful financiers.
Those present were the president of the largest independent steel company, the president of the largest utility company.
The president of the largest gas company, The greatest wheat speculator.
The president of the New York Stock Exchange.
A member of the president's cabinet.
The great Baron Wall Street, head of the world's greatest monopoly. President of the Bank of International Settlements.
Certainly we must admit that here we're gathered a group of the world's most successful men, at least men who had found the secret of making money.
But now, 25 years later, what happened?
The president of the president of the largest independent steel company died a bankrupt and lived and borrowed money.
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For five years before his death.
The president of the greatest utility company.
Died a fugitive from justice and penniless in a foreign land.
The president of the largest gas company.
Insane.
The greatest wheat speculator.
Died abroad and solvent the president of the New York Stock Exchange.
Released recently from Sing Sing Prison.
The member of the president's cabinet was pardoned from prison so he could die at home.
And the greatest Baron Wall Street died a suicide.
There we have a little picture of.
Loving this world.
And that little note mentioned at the end of this because this was found in a restaurant on the wall.
And it says these men knew how to make money, but they didn't know how to live.
Oh dear young people, do you know how to live?
Do you know how to live?
What is your object in life?
I'm going to turn to one more scripture in the book of Jude.
The 12Th verse of the book of Jude.
I'm going to just read that paragraph in the middle which says or that verse in the middle which says.
Trees whose fruit withereth without fruit twice dead, plucked up by the roots.
Now in the new translation it reads this way.
Autumnal trees without fruit.
That's the way the tree looks in autumn.
The time of fruit gathering.
Autumn.
Oh dear young people, remember now is the seed time of your life. But there's an autumn coming.
I remember one time in autumn I went out.
And I saw Persimmon tree.
And there wasn't a leaf on it, but it was just loaded with fruit.
Is that the way your life is going to end? Going to end, dear young people?
Loaded with fruit.
Or is it going to be like some trees you see in autumn when the leaves are gone, there's not a thing on them?
Don't pay any attention to the leaves. They're not important. It's the fruit that's important.
And it's the way the life ends.
Let not him that putteth on his armor boast as he that putteth it off.
Oh, there's a day coming when everything will pass and review for.
At the judgment seat of Christ for the believer and God is going to reward everything.
That's done unto Christ.
But there is a day coming when God is going to judge the secrets of man by Jesus Christ according to Paul's gospel.
God as a standard.
And he's going to adhere to that standard.
There's no partiality with God.
Are you going to look back at an empty life?
Nothing but self, nothing but the present.
Giving up God for the world.
Giving up your soul for your body.
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Giving up eternity for time. Oh May God help us then to be wise and I'm sure.
That.
God will exercise us in these things as a result of these scriptures.
That we may realize that our tenure here is short.
And we'll soon be called away.
Shall we sing that little hymn?
75.
See. Oh God, is the theme of my song.
The joy of my heart.
And the first of all.
To spring grace alone from.
The first to the last.