Beacon Sunday Service: September 1st, 2024

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit three and one. Oh, praise him. Oh, praise.

Oh redeem us by his blood. Come and rejoice in his great love. Oh, praise.

Christ has defeated every single cast all your burdens now on him. Oh, praise him. Oh, praise.

Oh, praise.

To him who loves and shall return in God's praise.

Oh, praise.

Oh, praise. All right. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the beacon. Uh, let's just take this time now to uh stand up and just greet one another in the Lord with grace and peace to you. Grace is the free gift of God, and peace is the result of that. And so may we just uh greet one another in that manner.

Grace and peace to you, everyone. As we find our way back to our seats, uh, I just want to read from Psalm one o two and Psalm thirty-seven in Psalm one o two and thirty-seven, it says this: Let the peoples gather together in kingdoms to worship the Lord, for the Lord will not forsake his saints, they are preserved forever. And what a great privilege it is to gather together as his people to worship him. Uh, and what a great promise that the Lord, when we gather, will not forsake us, and that we are preserved in him. Uh, may we just remind it be reminded of this truth as we sing these songs of truth and joy today. Um, and as we sing this first song, uh I just want to highlight a line in verse two of Come Thou Found, it says, Here I raise my Ebenezer.

And I know Pastor Madison had spoken about this before, and I just wanted to read a little bit to just kind of get our minds set on that, and what that actually means. And I'm gonna read from First Samuel chapter seven, verse twelve through thirteen. And it says, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer. For he said, Till now the Lord has helped us. So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel, and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. And in Hebrew, Ebenezer means stone of help. Eben means stone, and Ezer means help. And Samuel wanted the people to remember not just for a few days, but for years, for decades, and for generations, how God had come to the rescue of his people when they humbled themselves before him.

They were vulnerable with their enemies approaching, and they did not deserve God's rescue, having been chronically unfaithful, and yet in his gracious fidelity to his covenant people, God intervened with thunder to throw Israel's enemies in confusion and turn their enemies into the vulnerable nation.

Um, and just lift up the Lord today.

Here I race, and here I raise my heaven easer hither by thy help I'm come, and I hope by thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home. Jesus on me when a stranger wandering from fault of God he to rescue me from danger interpose precious blood oh to grace oh to grace how great a tether constraint to me let thy grace Lord like a fetter by wandering heart to thee prone to wanted Lord I feel it prone to leave the God I love here's my heart Lord take and seal it seal it for thy courts above here's my heart and here's my heart Lord take and seal it seal it for thy courts above once was lost I once was lost in darkest night yet thought I knew the way the sin that promise joy in life had led me to the grave I had no hope that you would own a rebel to your will and if you had not loved me first I would refuse you still as I ran but as I ran my hell bound ways indifferent to the cost you looked upon my helpless state and led me to the cross and I beheld God's love display you suffer in my place you bore the wrath reserved for me now all I know is grace Hallelujah all I have is Christ Hallelujah Jesus is my life now Lord now Lord I would be yours alone and live so all might see the strength to fall your command could never come from me.

Oh Father, use my ransom life in any way. Choose and let my song forever be my only boast is you all I have is Christ, Hallelujah, Jesus my life, hallelujah, all I have is Christ, Hallelujah, Jesus my man.

All we have is Christ. This morning we'll confess our faith using a catechism for Christian growth. In this question and answer, we'll confess if it's possible to pursue a lifestyle of sin and still be saved. And so here's the question. Can we purposefully pursue a sinful lifestyle and expect to be saved? And together, no, a repentant faith always hates sin and seeks to live for Christ and die to self.

Mercy Lord have mercy Lord have mercy Christ have mercy Lord have mercy what you have done for what you have done your life of love, you perfectly live with praise you, yes, though tempted and tried, you fixed your eyes, you finish the work God gave you, and there on a tree, a king among these you bled for a world be trail, you love to the endful friends.

How pure and forever.

Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy.

Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Christ mercy. Lord have mercy.

Lord have mercy. For hearts that are cold. For hearts that are cold. For seizing control.

In the word and deed, we failed to our king. How deeply we need a savior.

Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy. Good morning, everyone. Today's confession of sin. We acknowledge that our sin, or that we have sinned, that we do sin. But we know that warfare is real when we try to do right before our God.

We confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed. We have not done the holy things that we have wanted, but have done the very things we hate. When we desire to do right, we know evil is close at hand. The waging war makes us captive to indwelling sin. Who will deliver us from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. By his death and resurrection, we are free to serve you alone. Amen. Please be seated. Let us now take in the time of private confession of sin.

For the Lord takes delight in our broken spirits, a broken and contrite heart, God will not despise. He offers free and full forgiveness to all who come to him. Amen. Today's prayer request is one for our upcoming or new pastor, Pastor Peter. In September this month, he's going to take a month of rest before he comes and fully charged and ready to lead our ministry. But he's really eager.

Let's lift him up in prayer. Let's just pray for him that this would be a true month of rest for him, knowing that he's served his old church Breeding really, really, really well, and that he's really eager to come to the beacon and give that same effort and energy. Let's pray that the Lord blesses him and fills him with the Spirit each day, that as he reads and he uh worships every day, that the Lord will just fill his heart with joy. Let's pray for his wife, um Becky and their their children, uh just that they also would be prepared uh to transition well into our ministry. And most importantly, let's just ask uh that the Lord will bless him as our shepherd, really use him and give him great uh boldness and conviction as he comes to be and to serve our ministry.

So let's pray for Pastor Peter and his family, Father, we lift up Pastor Peter to you.

Thank you so much for just the blessing of having him and our timelines aligned, that he is gonna be the shepherd of our church, um, one that you've ordained, that you've already foreseen and made it happen, Lord. We pray that in this month of September that you give him great rest, that you re continue to rejuvenate him, and that he each day in his word and the spending time in the word, reading uh scripture, praying and worshiping you, Lord, that you would just fill him with so much joy that it's overflowing, Father. His eagerness to serve us, Lord, is is evident every time we talk to him. Uh, but Lord, we pray that you will impart on him, Lord, just the Spirit, give him uh much preparation and his thoughts to be collected.

We pray that you uh would just oversee him, just watch over him and really bless him during this time, to give him great joy each day that passes. We pray for Becky, his wife, too, uh, and their children, knowing that the transition won't be as easy for them as well, but we pray, Father, for our ministry to embrace them, to welcome them, to love on them, and that as this month passes, uh, the first day that they arrive in five weeks, Lord, that it would just be a joyous occasion of encouragement and love and blessing. So we pray for the Chung family and our ministry, Lord, and this uh first week of October comes, Lord. We were so excited, Lord, and uh we just really want to uh thank you, Lord, for for making this happen.

Uh we thank you, Lord, and Jesus' name we pray, amen. Children, you're dismissed. Please have a great Sunday school with teacher Tiffany and teacher uh Lily as the children are being dismissed. Uh I'm gonna go over a few announcements. Pastor Peter's installation service is coming October 13th. We're gonna be having it in KPC Sanctuary at 5 p.m. Uh capacity is they requested 150, probably be more than 150, plus they're closer to 200, but we're gonna do our best. But if you want to invite somebody that you know would uh enjoy being a part of this historic moment for our ministry, um, knows Pastor Peter or even just wants to be supporting our ministry, please let one of your leaders know so that we can account for them in head count.

Uh it's gonna be hard to accrue, like you know, just gather all the information, but we're gonna want to do our best to be prepared. Uh also at home, can you guys continue to pray for this service? Uh there's a lot of moving parts that we need to fall in place, particularly just parking and accommodations. Uh, but you know, we're confident that everything will work, it's work out well. Uh, children's ministry, if you are serving, uh, this is just one um announcement that we do every week. If you're serving and cannot make it for a particular week, but you're signed up for that week, please find someone to replace you. There's a sign-up sheet in the back that tells you uh what week you are. Um, just kind of coordinate with another person to maybe swap or take a place, your place for that week if possible.

And our offering options are Zell, Venmo, Cash and Check. Uh, if you uh are visiting today, please don't feel obligated to give. But if you're a member, we ask that you uh give as the Lord has blessed you. With that, Pastor Madison. It's unbelievable to think that uh we've got about four more weeks. I've got about today and another three Sundays, and then uh the new pastor looks to come on the scene. It's I I will say at the beginning today, it's been just an unbelievable privilege for me to be involved in this church uh the last few months. Uh today, let me see if we got we want to talk about and we want to get into James chapter four. We've been in the book of James almost the entire time that we've been here, except for you know, Palm Sunday or Easter Sunday or some special occasions where we've looked at something else.

So we're gonna start James chapter four today, and it's on enemies of God.

It's only five chapters. And what I said is I took this word works as we started out, and I said to you, you could use the word works, or you could use the word faith, because each one of them has five letters, and there are five chapters in James. And what I said to you is I want you to read through the book of James, and I want you to think about well, what's the book of James about? Well, it's about faith and works. And so I said, you know, there are there are some denominators, some religions that would teach that you cannot be saved apart from works.

And so we said, no, it's it's not about working your way, because we know that God's word says, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us. But our faith, it's not a it's not it's a faith that works. It goes to work in serving the Lord. So I said you could use either one to summarize the book of James, works or faith, but I want you to do this. I and let's slide them just to the side and let's put what's in each chapter of the book of James so that you can say, Oh, I understand the book of James when we're done. The first chapter is working through our trials and tests. And he said, hey, we're going to have trials. We're going to have testing.

And so chapter one is about how to handle that in our lives. Chapter two is about obedience that accompanies faith. Because faith without works is dead. So I need to be obedient to him in that life of faith. Chapter three that we just have been through is resting the unbridled tongue. He said your tongue is like, you know, it's free. And you want it to be like a horse that you put a bit in its mouth and you control the whole horse with that bit. And the Holy Spirit is like that in our lives. That you the Holy Spirit controlling our lives begins to control our tongues. And we don't just give, don't say anything that comes to our minds. Now, chapter four, we're going to talk about keeping calm in conflict.

And so chapter four is about wars and rumors of wars and the difficulties that happen. And he says, here's what I want you to do to keep calm in that. We're not going to get into chapter 5 before I leave, but chapter 5 is about suffering and sickness and sin. It's actually the area that he says, if any man's sick among you, let him call the elders and let the elders anoint him with oil and pray for him. And so it's not magical, but it's an obedience to God. We pray for the sick. We ask God to touch their lives. We do this all the time in every church in America. Hey, pray for Aunt Susie, she's sick. Pray for so and so. They're not feeling well. Pray. And so we do this all the time. But the exact text says, if any man is sick, if any person is sick, let him call the elders of the church and let them anoint him with oil and pray for him.

And so that's where chapter 5 is going, but uh we're not we're gonna chapter 4 today. So let me let me begin chapter 4 by saying this. What do you think it would be like if we could go back two thousand years and be a part of the church when it first started? To be there when Jesus is feeding 5,000, to be there when he walks in the water, to be there when he gives sight to the blind. Oh man, wouldn't it be fantastic? Seems like it would. But I would say to you, the early church had just as many problems as the church does today. Let me give you some examples. In Acts 6 1, it says, in those days, as the number of disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being what?

Overlooked in the daily distribution. Hey, you're overlooking me. Have you ever felt like you've been overlooked in a church? Hey, I went to church. I had a family that said they visited a church. They went four Sundays, and in the four Sundays that were there, nobody ever talked to them. And he thought, I guess they don't want us. You know, we're kind of being overlooked. And sometimes it's hard to be overlooked in our church here. Well, we'll notice you and we'll say, hey, we're glad you're, we're glad you're here. Let me give you another example of what went on in the early church. 1 Corinthians 11, 1, 11. For as it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, uh, by members of the Chloe's household, that there is a there's a rivalry, there's rivalry among you.

Hey, there's fighting going on in that early church. What? I thought they were all going, wow, this is fantastic. I can't imagine what it would be like to be the Apostle Peter and preach and have five, have three thousand people come to know Christ and get baptized. And another time, five thousand people come to know Christ. I mean, what would it be like? I can you imagine a baptismal service where you baptize 3,000 people? Hey, uh Albert, how about if you baptize these 50? And hey, Harold, how about if you baptize these 50? And John, you baptize these 50, and I'll get oh, my goodness, it would still be ours, wouldn't it? They must have been so excited. But look at what happens in the early church.

Rivalry. Let me take you to 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 20, for I fear that perhaps when I come, I will not find you to be what I want. And I might not be found by you to be what you want. There may be, oh, quarrelings, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance. Wait a minute. Is that the kind of church you want to be part of? Man, this is the early church. Because the early church was just working out what it was supposed to be like. I mean, can you imagine getting 3,000 people at this church next Sunday? What are you going to do? Oh, there's no place for them to park. No place for them to sit. It's a mess on your hands. And no organization yet. If the church is just starting next Sunday and 3,000 people show up, hey, uh, who's in charge?

Oh, well, talk to the pastor. Uh, talk to the pastor in the 50th person, talk to the pastor. Well, he's got a line waiting for him over there. What a mess they had. Philippians 4, 2, I urge Iodia and Synthy to agree in the Lord. Uh even had a couple of ladies having problems in the early church. Can you imagine that kind of a mess? That's why James in chapter 3 says it this way. We've been looking this, we just looked at this for the last four weeks. But the wisdom from above is first pure. Then what? Peace loving. Did it sound like the early church was peace loving? Quarrels, arguments, debates. Even people in 1 Corinthians, I didn't even point this out, uh, suing one another. He says, hey, you shouldn't be suing one another.

Oh, and uh another guy was even intimately involved with his father's new wife, his stepmother. That's going on in the early church. But he said, you're arguing and you're having problems, and you ought to be peace loving. He goes on, peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy, and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace. Do you think you need to go to seminary to understand what he's talking about here? What's the key word there? Hey, I want you to have peace. There ought to be peace in this first church. But there wasn't. There ought to be peace in your family, but maybe there isn't. There ought to be peace between you and the people you work with, but maybe there isn't.

But he's saying, I'm looking for peace. Now, this is where James 3 ends. James 3, verses 17 and 18. I would remind you that when you open up the Bible, initially there weren't any chapters and there weren't any verses. It was just a continuous letter to the book of James. So when I say James 3, 17 and 18, it almost looks like, okay, that's the end of that chapter. We're going to move on to chapter 4 now, and it's going to be something new. But it wasn't that way to begin with. So if he ends with talking about peace, look at how chapter 4, because we started putting chapters and verses so people could find where we are when I preach. But without any chapter or verses, look at the next verse that that was written by James.

He's talking about peace, sowing peace, cultivating peace. Chapter 4, verse 1. What is the source of wars and fights among you? What was he just talking about? Peace. And he's saying, wait a minute, you have wars and fights among you. Don't they come from the cravings that are at war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You you fight in war. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don't receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your evil desires. Adulteresses. Don't you know that friendship with the world is hostility towards God? So whoever wants to be the world's friend becomes God's enemy. And that's where I was going with you on the cover.

Enemies of God. How do you become an enemy of God? Well, listen to me. You have always been an enemy of God until you trust Christ as your Savior. Romans says, even while you were enemies of God, Christ died for us.

We were his enemies. And he wanted to have peace with us, and you can have peace with God by trusting Christ as your Savior. So he says, you become God's enemies. Look at, I highlighted adulteresses up in the first part of that verse. I would say to you that many translations, King James, for instance, says, adulterers and adulteresses. Don't you know that, you know, friendship with the world is enemies with God? I would say to you that in Greek, which was what the New Testament was written in, in Greek, it's not adulterers and adulteresses. It's not the male and the female, it's just adulteresses. Why would God call them just adulteresses and not the male side and the female side? And the only reason I can come up with the church.

People that believe in Christ are said to be the bride of Christ. Someday we're going to be united with him at the marriage of the Lamb. And we're called the bride of Christ. And so if we become friends with the world, then we're adulteresses when it goes that route. So an adulteress is someone who has given up an exclusive relationship with their spouse. Let me highlight it this way on the screen. An adulteress is someone who has given up on an exclusive relationship with their spouse. So the same goes with us in the Lord. What kind of a relationship does he want with us? Exclusive. He doesn't want you to be in love with the world and in love with him. It's this exclusive relationship. Otherwise, we're enemies of God.

So where are we going with the text today? Enemies of God.

Does he have this wonderful? He's the only one for you. Or have you tried to make it multiple relationships? I don't know about you. If you're married, I've been married and we'll be married 50 years next May. And so in 50 years, my wife would never say, Hey, how about if you have two or three others? You know, like in the Old Testament, when Abraham and I and Sarah couldn't have children. Hey, how about if you take Hagar? My wife's not going to do that. And I'm not going to do that with my wife. Because we promise, for better or for worse, for richer for poor, and sick and its health, the love and to cherish till death to us part. I'm going to keep myself for you alone. That's exclusive. Nobody else gets in an exclusive relationship between a husband and a wife.

And when it comes to an exclusive relationship with the Lord, that's what he's after. So here's the sermon in a sentence today. God desires an exclusive relationship with you. Got it? Does he have that? Is the question. Let me give you two areas that can turn us into enemies of God. Because that's what the text is talking about. How you become an enemy of God. You start out as an enemy of God. Now you become a child of God. And how do you consider your child, but become his enemy. First, when we focus on our desires for pleasure. That's a step. Well, here's what he says in the text. What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don't they come from the cravings that are at war within you?

You desire and do not have. So he's talking about these cravings that you have within you. You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight in war. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don't receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your evil desires. Both these words, one time translated cravings, one time translated desires, come from the same Greek word. I'm going to cross out the word evil in there. And the reason I'm going to cross out the word evil in there is the word evil doesn't occur in the Greek text. So why is it in there? Well, it's in there because a lot of translations say, what's he talking about here?

Becoming an enemy of God. And you know, all these evil desires, these desires you have. And here's the Greek word that's used here. Heedone. Heedone. It's used in both cases. Cravings, translated one time, desires, translated one time. Heedone, the Greek word is never used in a positive sense in Scripture. When I tell you, well, I didn't, I don't have it here to put it on the screen, letter for letter. It's almost letter for letter, though, from Greek into English. You know what word is going to come from? Hedone? Hedonism. If somebody's hedonistic, they're after their own what? Their own pleasures. We would say, and this guy is since passed away, but we would say a guy like Hugh Hefner was hedonistic.

He was always after his own desires. Another woman, another night, another woman, another night, another woman, another night. Let's have Playboy magazine. He was the guy that owned Playboy magazine. He was always after his own what? Pleasures. And so what James is saying here is wait a minute. This is a desire. And the writers of scripture often insert evil in there. It is not in the most current Christian standard Bible. That's why I I use the Christian standard Bible has has uh two times they've revised it. And I wanted to show you what they put in one time, evil desire, because King James and others always put in that kind of phrase. And so in the newest Christian center Bible, they just said, your pleasures.

So what we're trying to do constantly is keep the language so that people understand it. And once in a while, some of the translators then say, What's he talking about here? And hedonai is always involved in what kind of desires? Evil desires. And so we'll just insert that so that nobody questions what's going on. And we say, but that's not accurate. Don't insert something into God's word. Let the Holy Spirit speak to people's hearts. They understand the Holy Spirit can speak to your heart, and you can understand. Hey, my desires and my cravings are often what? Hedune. Hedonistic. So hedone. Hedonism comes from that. And that's the pursuit of sensual desires. It's never used in a good sense in the Bible.

Let me give you some examples. Luke chapter 8, verse 14. As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones, and you know this story. You know, that he had he sowed the seed, and some fell among the thorns, and some of the rocks, and some of the seed that fell among the thorns. These are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way, and are choked with worries, riches, and hedonae. The pleasures of life. And it says, and produce no mature fruit. Let me give you another example. This was Luke 8. Let me take you to Titus 3:3. For we too were once foolish. I'm glad you could say it in the past tense there. One time I was speaking to a group of high schoolers, I said, You want me to give you the Madison translation of this?

For we too were once teenagers. And then I said to him, I'm sorry. I'll apologize for that. We were once foolish, were disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures. Got it? Hidone. Always used in the negative sense in Scripture. He's saying that's what can make you begin to be an enemy of God. When you're focusing on your own hidon. Your own your own passions and pleasures. And not giving the Lord an exclusive relationship with you. And that's why he says, adulteresses. Another time it's used is in 2 Peter 2, it says this, but these people, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, speak blasphemies about things they don't understand.

And in their destruction, they too will be destroyed. Suffering harm is the payment for unrighteousness.

So the question I have for you is are you living a hedonistic life? I'm not asking you if you're a Hugh Hefner in all the sin in the world. But are you living for your own pleasures? Or for him. What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don't they come from the cravings that are at war within you? Desire, you desire and do not have you murder and covet and cannot obtain you fight and war.

This is the second Greek word that's used when it comes to pleasures. Epithumia is the Greek word here. Hidonae, first one, pleasures. Never ever used in a positive sense in Scripture. Epithumia is another word for desires, and it can be good or bad in Scripture. So let me give you four places that it's used for good in Scripture. Luke 22, 15, Philippians 1.23, 1 Thessalonians 2, 17, and 1 Timothy 3.1. Let me quickly tell you what they are. Luke 22. Jesus used this to say, I did, he's getting ready to go to the cross. He's with his disciples. And he's going to have, he's going to institute the Lord's Supper. And he said, I have desired to have this time with you, this meal with you.

Good sense, isn't it? He wants to have and sets up something that we're going to remember the rest of the church years until he comes back. I've desired this, Jesus says. Philippians 1 23, the Apostle Paul, he says, Oh, I love you guys. But let's see. Heaven. Oh man, wouldn't it be heaven? You know, I've been beaten with rods. You know, I've been shipwrecked, I've had all these other problems. Heaven. Oh man, I, you know, I'd like to go to heaven. And I'd like to stay here to help you. I, King James, I in I am in a straight betwixt. Whether to depart and be with the Lord or to be with you, you know, uh, but I'll stay and be with you. It's it's his desire to help. 1 Thessalonians 2.17, he gets into another uh with pleasure there in a godly desire.

But let me give you a 1 Timothy 3 1, where he says it this way. If any man desires the office of a bishop of an elder, he desires a good work. That's a good way to use that word. Ah, but in this sense, you desire to have and cannot obtain this sense, epithumia is always used in this negative sense. Here it is in 1 Timothy 6 9. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires. Got it? Those who want to be rich. You know, money is not the root of all evil. It's not bad to have money. But God says, the love of money is the root. If I'm gonna go after just, ah, I want more money. I want more money. I, you know, and I focus on because God says I cannot serve both God and money.

You know, you're gonna love one and hate the other, or you're gonna, it's it just doesn't happen that you're gonna love both of them the same. Let me give you another place, John 8.44. You are of your father, oh my goodness, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. Well, if it's the devil who's your father, and you're gonna carry out his desires, it's epithumia. It's used in this negative sense. Who's your father? And are you carrying out his desires or your desires? If you've trusted Christ as your Savior, then God is your father, and you should carry out his desires. And his desires, his desire is for what kind of a relationship with you? Exclusive.

He's not looking to share you and your main focus with the world. Going back to what's the sermon about God's desires and exclusive relationship with you. I'm gonna give you two areas. The first area is when our fo when we focus on our desires for pleasure. That's our focus. The second in the text is this. When we focus on a friendship with the world. But I don't have a friendship with the world.

I said to you a few months back, you know, for when a boat's in the water, see, as believers, we're in the world, but not. Do you know what the next word is? Yeah, we're in the world, but not of the world. When a boat's in the water, it's not a problem. But when the water gets in the boat, it's a problem. For us to be in the world, it's not a problem. But when the world gets into us, then it becomes the problem. And we become that's that friendship with the world. And friendship with the world makes us an enemy with God. So this is the first step on a downward path that will make you an enemy of God. Now let me say it this way. When I preach a sermon when you when uh Pastor Peter comes, I've listened to him in other sermons.

Often I give you a proposition. The proposition is God wants an exclusive relationship with you. That's what I'm proposing to you today. That's what the text says. He wants an exclusive relationship with you. And then I said there are two areas, you know, that will move us away from him. One is where we focus on our pleasures. Secondly, when we focus on friendship with the world. Now I'm all of a sudden using a second key word, something that they never want pastors to do. Because people go, wait a way, is he talking about five steps here? Or is he talking about two areas that move us away from him? Well, I guess I'm talking about both today. Okay. And this second area, when we focus on our friendship with the world, takes us on five steps downward, where we become enemies of the Lord.

So let me show you. Don't you know that friendship with the world is hostility towards God? Whoever wants to be the world's friends becomes what? God's enemy. Or do you think that without reason the scripture says that the Spirit who lives in us yearns jealousy? The Holy Spirit says, hey, I want you just for him. I want you just for the Lord. Friendship with the world, hostility towards God. The world's friend becomes God's what? Enemy.

Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this, to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. So he's already talked about this in the first chapter of James for us. Unstained from the world. The Greek word there is aspilon. And the A in front of the word means not. And spillan, do you hear the English word spill in there? Don't spill the world on you. Don't let the world stain you with your words or your behavior. I'm sure Howard in his job at work with the career that God's called him into. A lot of times when you're dealing with criminals, they're cussing and going at him. And a lot of officers cuss right back at him.

Go right at them. My son is a sergeant in one of the departments in the area here. When he first started, he listened to guys, and the guys were, you know, going, you know, going verbally at some of the criminals. Because you want to show them you're in charge. But you know something? Um, do unto others as you'd have them what? Do unto you. And so many officers tell me, you know, when you treat a criminal, somebody that's your arresting, when you treat them, you know, like a person, but with authority, they'll at least respond many times. Don't become stained by the world. Don't just use their language. Don't just talk like they talk. Don't think like they think. If you do, you become stained by the world.

And that's that second step. The first step, becoming an enemy of God is friendship with the world. The second step is stained by the world. So that the world, there's no difference between you and the world. So other people look at you and say, I don't know if they're a Christian or not. I mean, they don't, they don't act any differently. There's a third step. First John chapter 2, 15 to 17. Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If any man loves the world, the Father is not in him. That's pretty strong, isn't it? Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything that belongs to the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one's lifestyle is not from the Father, but is from the world.

So let me take you back here. Step one, if you're starting to move away from this exclusive relationship with the Lord, step one is you have you're beginning to have friendship with the world. You feel more comfortable almost with the world than you do with the people of the Lord. And by the way, how do you act? If you are with your church family, and some of your work people show up. Do you act the same way? Do you act differently around the work people? And then when you're on the church people, and when the work people are there, or when you're with all with your work people, and somebody from church shows up. How do you act? You ought to act the same way all the time. And that's godly.

We have fellowship with people who are other believers. If we walk in the light, talking about the Lord, if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.

They don't have the same values that God has. Step two, stained by the world. Step three, in love with the world. Do you see where this is headed? I was a friend at first. And then I allowed that friendship to stain my life so I look just like them. And then I begin to love the world. Hey, I want to do, I want to do the world things, which is opposed to what God wants. Then he goes on. Romans 12. I know Romans 12, one and two out of the King James version of the Bible, because I'm old. You know, and that was that was about the only version they had, you know, when I was growing up. But in this translation, he's saying, well, I'll quote it first. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds that you might know what is that good and perfect will of God.

But he says it here: do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God. So it starts out, remember, with that friendship with the world, and then it moves on to stained by the world, and then it moves on to I'm in love with the world. And then it goes deeper. Once I'm in love with the world, I look like the world because I'm conformed to their likeness. You know, when let me illustrate it this way. When you're going to make a car out of steel, you're going to heat the steel up to over 2200 degrees so that it's flexible. And then you're going to press it into a mold and make a fender or a bumper or a hood or a door.

You're going to heat it up and press it, press it into a mold. What he's saying to you here is the world wants to press you into its mold. And steel, as strong as it is, when it's put under that pressure and heat, conforms to the mold. And when you're put under the pressure of the world, and the heat of your friends, and you're pressed, he said, don't let the world press you so that you look like them and sound like them and act like them. Because these, these are the steps where you end up an enemy of God. Philippians chapter 3. For I've often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Their end is destruction, their God is their stomach, their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things. So let me get you back to here. We start out with friendship with the world. We move towards being stained by the world. We end up in love with the world. That love allows us to be conformed and act like them. All of them, all of the four there, are my relationship to the world. And those four things affect step five. I become an enemy of the cross of Christ. The question, you know, that I really have for you today, as you think about your life, is are you an enemy or a friend of the Lord?

Are there things in your life, these steps that we just talked about? Have you become a friend of the world? Have you allowed the world to press you into its mold? Are you in love with the world? Remember, he says, 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. Listen to me. All of us, all of us, fight those three things. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And are you willing to say, Lord, I I don't want to, I don't want to be a friend of the world. I don't want to go down this path, these steps that end in me being an enemy of you.

I want to be in love with you. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word that speaks to our heart and challenges us to have an exclusive relationship with you.

While your eyes are closed.

Do they know that you have an exclusive relationship with the Lord? In the background, the song is playing, seek ye first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. I would say to you today, give the Lord that exclusive relationship. That you're in love with him. You who were once foolish. Turn it over to the Lord. Let him be the love of your life today. For we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. Let's all rise and respond and worship to him. What a what a great challenge for us to just reflect on whether we are friends or enemies of God. May we just continue to look to him and trust upon him as the one who has saved us and has made us his friends. So may we sing this song together and just confess the truth of the gospel together.

Jesus, the Father's wrath, completely satisfied, Jesus saying you.

By a perfect sacrifice, by your perfect sacrifice of his brought me you made your friend pouring out the riches of glory mercy and your kindness. No and singing this blood. Your blood has washed away my sin. Jesus thank you. The Father's wrath, completely satisfied, Jesus. Once your enemy now seated at your table, Jesus.

So I want to live for you. Sing that again, love of my soul.

So I want to live for you. And that love my soul I want to live for you. Your blood has washed away my sin. Jesus thank you. Father's wrath, really satisfied.

Once you're enemy now seated at your table, Jesus.

Knowing what God wants us to do. Let's just close in prayer and ask God's blessing as we go from here this week. That will become the lovers of the Lord and not enemies of His. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for convicting our hearts and using your word. Help us to live for you this week in a way that would love you more. And that people would realize it and see Jesus in us this week. In whose name we pray. Amen. God bless. Have a great week.