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Friendship with the world is enmity with God

By Timi David
23 September 2018   |   3:50 am
Those who want to be friends with the world make themselves the enemies of God. This Scripture does not say that our family members, colleagues and friends who are not believers are to be avoided like a plague.

Timi David

Those who want to be friends with the world make themselves the enemies of God. This Scripture does not say that our family members, colleagues and friends who are not believers are to be avoided like a plague. This scripture is, however, warning believers that they cannot love God and also crave for the ungodly things of this world. Is it that God doesn’t want us to be rich and prosperous with the good things of life? No! God want us to prosper more than we even desire, but the way we get this prosperity is more important to God than the prosperity itself.

James earlier explained this in James 4:1-2
“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them.” NLT

Ungodly desires are the root cause of evil. I don’t want what God cannot give me. I don’t know about you! It’s the world’s way to try to help themselves to get what they want. They scheme, cheat, and steal to have their desires met. They lie and oppress others to get their needs met. Many are not waiting on God at all, if they pray for things and it’s delayed, they go get it their own way!

Most people’s prayers are purely selfish. They only think about themselves and their family. God does not give us what we want, He give us what we need. The only time God grants our heart desires is only when they are in line with His will. So, align your desires with His will. We must learn that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceed out of the mouth of God. When you place high value on the word of God, natural things will lose their value with you. There will be nothing you will not be able to sacrifice to please God. You will be able to say boldly, “take the world and give me Jesus.”

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” (1 John 2:15-17) NLT

John simply explained that the way we know those who love God from those who don’t is the willingness to count their personal achievements and possessions as nothing, when compared to the satisfaction they get in Christ. Many so-called Christians that yielded to the call of God are back in the world because they cannot let go the pleasure of this world. They can’t sacrifice relationship with their ungodly friends, they can’t let go their ungodly sources of income, their position and the honour that comes from friends.

The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life are not of the father. These three things will put your love for God to test. God loves you unconditionally, but worldly pleasure – attending nightclubs, having fun with friends and satisfying the desire of the flesh do not show you really love God.

The pride of life – The position, achievement and possession you can’t give up for Christ doesn’t show you love Him. God had been speaking to some people about leaving their job or location to a new place, but the enjoyment and satisfaction they derive from where they are now is their greatest hindrance to obeying God. Obedience is the proof of love with Jesus. He says, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” The love of the world will squeeze out the love for the Father in you. I love the way the message translation render 1 John 2:15-18

“Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world — wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important — has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from Him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out — but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.”

Only those who do what God wants are set for eternity. Loving God simply means turning your will to Him. Yielding to His leading and giving His Word the first place in your life. The opposite of this is doing things your own way.
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