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LOVE NOT THE WORLD
We will begin in John 2:15-17:
"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. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever."
THREE THINGS TO OVERCOME:
1) THE LUST OF THE FLESH.
It represents the physical -- the body. The body can desire things that are not right. Look in Galatians 5 and we will see how we can OVERCOME the lust in our members. There is only one way you can overcome that lust, no matter how much you know, whatever kind it may be.
Galatians 5:16, "[This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."
How am I going to escape that?
By WALKING IN THE SPIRIT! You know, we pray in the spirit, we are to be led of the Holy Spirit, we are to live in the Spirit, but he says here IF WE WALK IN THE SPIRIT, we will not fulfil the lust of the flesh. That means when I am fulfilling the lust of the flesh, where am I at? I am out of the Spirit. When I am fulfilling the lust of the flesh, I am out of the Spirit! When I am walking in the flesh, I am out of the Spirit. But when I am in the Spirit, I can conquer the flesh -- can overcome the flesh.
Galatians 5:17, "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."
Galatians 5:24, "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, LET US ALSO WALK IN THE SPIRIT."
SCREEN OUT WHAT WE WATCH:
You know, you can't watch television -- some of those soap operas, and some of those programs and walk in the Spirit. If you turn those programs on and watch a lot of that trash, as far as the lustful parts are concerned, you cannot walk in the Spirit and you cannot be a son of God! So we have to screen out what we watch.
APPETITES: Now I want to add another word to the list. It is the word 'appetite,' and we all have appetites. There is a normal appetite and there is an abnormal appetite. Appetite is not just food. Some people have an appetite for sex the wrong way, outside of marriage. And also, strong drink, and it could be food or a lot of things.
Phillppians 3:17-18, "Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark thou which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, (and this is not the walk of the Spirit we read of in Galatians), and now tell you even weeping, [that they are] the enemies of the cross of Christ."
That is not the cross Jesus hung on, it is THEIR cross. Now, here it is:	
Verse 19, "Whose end [is] destruction, whose God [is their] belly, and [whose] glory [is] in their shame, who mind earthly things."
Their appetite is on the earth, whatever it may be; that could take in a lot of things.
In Romans 16:17-18, we read, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such (those that bring divisions and offences) serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their ovn belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."
So we have something going here:
We have PLEASURES and we have APPETITES, not only just food, but sexual appetltes, drinking, drug and dope appetites -- anything that the flesh craves and desires!
Now, look in 1st Timothy 5:6, "But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth."
It is one thing to be dead to sin and to the world or whatever, but here it says while she lives in pleasure, she is dead while she lives.
Look now in verses 11-13.
1st Timothy 5:11-13, "But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. THAT'S JESUS! THEY ARE PUTTING SOMETHING AHEAD OF JESUS. And withal they learn [to be] idle, (One word for idleness is 'barrenness') wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not."
Tattlers are gossipers, and also busybodies -- there's your "magic" in Acts 19 -- your curious arts used in that chapter, as in this, is witchcraft. "Busybodies" is the same as witchcraft. You may say, well, I don't practice witchcraft, but if you are a busybody, it is like you are practicing magic.
1st Timothy 5:15, "For some are already turned aside after Satan."
So there are pleasures and there are appetites, when we are dealing with the lust of the flesh.
2) Next is the LUST OF THE EYE.
You better watch where your eye roves, we can have lust in the eye. First the body, then the soul -- possessions. America is full of possessions that can keep people out of heaven the way they go after them! It is not what you possess that will get you to heaven, it is KNOWING JESUS!
James 5:1-4, "Go to now, [ye] rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon [you]. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. You have lived IN PLEASURE on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you."
So God is saying something to us. People are proud of their possessions, whether it is gold, or whether it is silver, or whatever it is -- people get proud of those things. Avarice is covetousness, lust or greed. This sin is in the Church. You need to read the book, "The Seven Most Deadly Sins." Avarice is one of them. The Lord qave me this word, so we need it now -- somebody -- not just individually, but all of us -- we need it, and I guarantee you will be tested in this area, now that we are talking about it.
Luke 12:15, "And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness..."
There was a woman who said she would give anything away except two thinqs, her mirror and her television. She dropped the mirror and broke it, and lightning struck the house and destroyed the television. She was serious! But she learned a big lesson. I tell you, everything you have belongs to God. God may let you have it; God may have loaned it to you or allowed you to have it, but everything you have belongs to God!
"...for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."
I don't like to get around Christians that tell me how much they've got. It is a bragging spirit.
Luke 12:16-20, "And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater..."
That sounds like the world, doesn't it? That sounds like the churches. They are going to build these big churches bigger than others.
"...and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, [and] be merry..."
Have a good time; you are only going to live a little while, so have a good time!
"...But God said unto him, [Thou] fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?"
It usually goes to the family and they just want to fight over it. You just leave a lot of possessions to family members, and see how much they love one another, especially if some get more than another.
Luke 12:21-22, "So [is] he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on."
How many of us are anxious for tomorrow? We all are!
Verses 23-24, "The life is more than meat, and the body [is more] than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?"
Luke 12:30-31, "For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you."
It didn't say MIGHT be, it said SHALL be! If our NEEDS are not being met, we need to check within. Is there any lack with God? Is God's supply house short? No! If our needs are not being met, there is something wrong -- I've got my eye on something and off the Lord. It is time to take my eye off the something and put it on the Lord, and when I put the kingdom first, God said, I'll add these things to you. But we get it backwards. Now, in the soul, we want possessions, we	covet things. Turn over with me to a scripture.
1st Timothy 6:9, "But they that will be rich..."
Do you know that the worst thing that you can desire is to be wealthy? If God wants to make you wealthy, He can do it. And I don't think there would be anything wrong with it, if God wanted to make me wealthy and I could use it right without destroying my soul. But God would have to do it.
He said, "But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and [into] many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition."
They are under the water and don't know it! We are talking about the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes. This is the beast system.
1st Timothy 6:10, "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows..."
He is saying to you and to me, brethren, that lust and that covetousness will bring you many sorrows!
He said, "that erred from the faith..." They have been seduced from the faith. I believe that there are men preaching today on radio and television that have been seduced from the faith. And I believe they are seducing many multitudes because of the "gospel of prosperity" they teach, and the way they preach it. I believe God can prosper all of us in His way, and I believe God could make you rich if He wanted to, but that is not the gospel. Just physical prosperity is not the gospel. It is part of the gospel, because God will prosper us if we wlll come His way, but when you hear 52 weeks out of the year people preaching prosperity, something is wrong. Again, God is going to raise up his prophets, and they are going to speak against these religious orders and systems that are raised up by man -- and that is God's place to do that. We are not naming any people, because I think it is a cheap shot to do that. So that greed, that covetousness -- God is against. Listen to what God said to us here.
James 4:4, "Ye	adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?..."
We are not just talking about people committing physical adultery; we are talking about people who are going after the world -- leaving Jesus behind -- and going after the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life, and He is telling us that the friendship of the world is enmity with God.
"...whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."
Brethren, we have to see this! If we love this world more than Jesus, we are an enemy of Jesus! Do you know that God is working on all of us? When you grew up, it was what kind of a good job you could get; it was how much money you could make, and how good a home you could have, and how many cars you could drive, and how big a piece of land you could buy. One man bragged how much he had, and his friend said, "But how much do you have up there?" How much do we have reserved in heaven?
2nd Peter 2:1, "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction."
Now look at verses 2 and 3. "And many shall follow their PERNICIOUS WAYS (evil ways); by reason of whom the way of truth (that is Jesus) shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness (greed, lust) shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you..."
And they are out (to) get everything, and not only merchandise, but sex out of people.
"...whose judquent now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not."
If God ddn't spare the angels -- He talks about their judgment -- He is going to judge these false teachers in this hour. He is going to judge the false prophets in this hour. Don't you think God is going to wink at the sin of the false prophets and the teachers in the church! We can see, then, that there is the lust of the eye, and there is that covetousness that goes with it.
3) THE PRIDE OF LIFE.
Oh, dear God, I see this in all of us at times, and I see this in myself and I repent of it. It is a devil -- it is Leviathan. Another translation puts it as the "boastful pride of life." We have positions here. There is OUR SPIRIT here: "I am going to be the best boxer!" "I am going to get the best job!" "I am going to be the best orator." "I'm going to be the best preacher!" Do you know why some preachers don't go to conventions like they used to do? Because there is so much competition. They try to outdo one another. Then there is ambition. Behind ambition is pride. Religious ambition -- whatever ambition it is, is pride, and God is against it.
CONCERNING ABSALOM:
Let us look in 2nd Samuel 15. Here's the pride, and here's the ambitious one, Absalom. Here is a charmer, a charismatic, "cruisimatic," whatever you want to call him; a conspirator, a controller, a seducer, a conniver, a counselor, intercepter, usurper -- he wants the preeminence!
2nd Samuel 15:1-2, "And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him..."
Notice that he is preparing something for himself. (50 is Pentecost. We might say 50 men -- pentecostals -- running before him!) The gate is where the elders sat, the men of authority. He comes right to that gate where he didn't belong, and notice what it says in verse 2:
"And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was [so], that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city [art] thou? And he said, Thy servant [is] of one of the tribes of Israel."
Notice that he intercepted that one; he was coming for counseling, for help, and Absalom intercepts him. Listen! The judgment of God is going to fall on this kind of people in this hour. There is real authority in the Church of Jesus Christ, and anything that is counterfeit, God is going to bring it down in this hour. Hear me! Any counterfeit that stands in the way of God's people coming to Christ, you mark it, God is going to judge that thing! And so here is one standing up, and he is intercepting the one coming to the authority that God had put in the land. Listen to what he says here:
2nd Samuel 15:3, "And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters [are] good and right; but [there is] no man [deputed] of the king to hear thee."
You see that he is putting down the authority of God. I want to tell you that you better watch it. Any authority, wherever God has placed it in the Church, if God has established it, don't come against it.
Verse 4, "Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, (if I were in authority) that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do hlm justice!"
He was putting down his father; he was putting down the authority of the land and he said, "come to me." Isn't that what happens? When you have that old stinking pride, what do you do? You are going to put down God's authority and lift yourself up.
Verses 5 and 6: "And it was [so], that when any man came nigh [to him] to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand..."
He took him and slobbered all over hlm; he kissed him, didn't he?
"...and took him, and kissed him. And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel."
God is against that stuff. I have been aware when preaching, of those that stood against me and the ministry and the word that God has given me. I forgive them and I pray mercy on them, and not just me, but there are other men and women across the land that God has put in authority. When you stand against such authority, you are standing against God. And if I stand against authority, I am standing against God.
2nd Samuel 15:10, "But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron."
If God has put you in authority, you don't have to toot your own horn. When you have to toot your own horn, something is wrong. Look now at verse 11:
2nd Samuel 15:11, "And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, [that were] called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing."
So here are men follovinq this man, and they are following false authority; they are following a false king; they are following an antichrist, and they don't know the difference! They think they are following the leadership of God, but they are being led by a false spirit.
2nd Samuel 15:12, "And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counsellor, from his city, [even] from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom."
Notice that this is a demonic conspiracy. Demons lock people up together. If you have rebellion in you and someone else has rebellion, what are you going to do? You are going to lock up. If one has got lust and the other has lust, they are going to lock up. If one has greed and another has greed, they are going to lock up.
2nd Samuel 15:13, "And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom."
Rebellion is going to catch up with any of us. It caught up with this man, and it will catch up with you and me if we don't repent of it. I want to show you that Absalom got "raptured" right here in chapter 18, verse 9:
"And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away."
Notice his head. What is the head? His old carnal mind -- got caught. His head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between heaven and the earth -- he was raptured -- and when the mule ran avay, they just shot him down. Here is a tremendous story of pride and ambition -- religious ambition, if we can use that phrase, so we have to be cautious.
There are PLEASURES, APPETITES for many things -- that's the flesh. Then there are POSSESSIONS, COVETOUSNESS -- that's the soul. And then our POSITION in life, AMBITION -- that is our heart, pride that comes in.
Do you know that at His right hand, there is pleasure forever? And God is not against you having some things -- He doesn't want things to have you, and God is not against you having some things -- He doesn't want things TO HAVE YOU, and God is not against you having a position in life, but it must not be your god!
ADAM AND EVE: THE FLESH, THE SOUL AND THE SPIRIT
I have written down THREE THINGS -- Eve did something: she saw the fruit, she took of it and she ate. Davld saw Bathsheba, he took her and lay with her. Aachen saw a Babylonish goodly garment, and then he said, "I coveted, and I hid it in my tent in the earth." Mankind has never changed. Now notice, we have THE FLESH, we have THE SOUL, and we have THE SPIRIT, testing in all three areas of our lives.
We read in Genesis 3:6, "And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food (that is the testing of the flesh), and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes (that is the soul), and a tree to be desired to make [one] wise (that is the spirit), she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat (notice that Adam was right there. He wasn't behind a tree or on a job. He was right there and heard everything she said to that devil), and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
Now, you know, she was deceived -- Adam was not deceived! The Bible says so. She was tested
| IN THE FLESH, |
| IN THE SOUL and |
| IN TIIE SPIRIT! |
Let me tell you several things here:
Look at Genesis 3:1. "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast..."
The temptations and things that may come at you in this hour may be more subtle than what you have come up against before. We have to have discernment every day when we step out the door for whatever voice comes to us. The devil did several things here -- he lied to the woman, didn't he?
"...And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"
Genesis 3:4, "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die."
But what did God say? God said, If you partake of that tree that I told you not to, you WILL DIE." And so he said the very opposite of what God said. Now, you know he was very religious, for he said, "Hath God said?" and that old religious question will come to you many times, and it will come through people, too. People may question you, "Why do you go over to that fellowship so much? Why do you follow that endtime teaching? You know it's wrong." Your answer should be, "Well, show me!"
Now, Eve cried out to the Lord, "THE SERPENT BEGUILED ME." There is a spirit of not only deception, but seduction in the Church, that seduces the people of God away from allegiance to Christ, and to the word of truth, to something else.
Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 11:3, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
What did he reach in Eve? Her MIND, even though she saw the fruit from her flesh, yet her EYE thought it was pleasant. So the serpent was subtle, he lied, he had religious questions, he deceived, he seduced, he beguiled, and one other thing he did to Eve. We see one other thing that he said to Ms. Eve.
Genesis 3:5, "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
Did you know there is a teaching around today, that you should be gods? These words fell from the lips of Satan, not God. The devil said you would be as gods, and I will tell you, brethren, there are those that WANT to be little gods.
JESU8 ANSWERS SATAN:
Turn to Matthew 4:3, "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."
There's that religious question, and there was no IF about it, Jesus was the Son of God!
Matthew 4:4, "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
Now where was this test at? The FLESH, wasn't it? Jesus passed it, and notice that He came and was tempted by the devil after He had fasted forty days. You know, the devil isn't going to come at you when you are strong. He is not going to come at you when you are strong and ready to kick him in the teeth!
Matthew 4:5-7, "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple..."
Can't you just see Jesus sitting up there and everyone looking at Him?
"...And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."
And in Matthew 4:8-9, "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."
What was He to do? Fall down and worship Satan. Jesus passed EVERY TEST, the FLESH, the SOUL and the SPIRIT!
CONCERNING MOSES:
Turn to Hebrews 11:23, "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw [he was] a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment."
The parents were not afraid of the king!
Hebrews 11:27, "By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible."
The same faith of the parents was in Noses. But, you know, at one time, God just about killed Moses -- because he didn't obey God and God came to kill him (see Exodus 4:24-26).
Let me show you THREE THINGS:
| You have got to REFUSE something, |
| You have to CHOOSE something, |
| and you have to FORSAKE something. |
In verse 25, we read, "Choosing rather to suffer affliction, with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season..."
That is the flesh; he chose by an act of his will to suffer with God's people. And notice that pleasure is for a season, but when the season is over, brother, you have had it.
Here is the LUST OF THE EYE -- the soul. Look at verse 26: "Esteeming the reproach of Christ..." He belonged to Christ. There is a reproach when you say that you are a Christian, and you know Jesus.
"...than the treasures of Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward."
That was the testing of the SOUL of Moses, and he passed it! Here is the PRIDE OF LIFE, THE SPIRIT.
Look at verse 24: "By faith Moses, when he was come to years refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter."
GLORY TO GOD! You know he went to where God's people are.
PERILOUS, DANGEROUS TIMES:
Look in 2nd Timothy 3:1-2, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. (perilous, dangerous times!) For men shall be lovers of their ovn selves, (who do people love today? Ourselves, don't we?) covetous, (that means lovers of money -- those that want money), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy..."
In verse 4, "Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God."
Lovers of themselves and money! When you love yourself and you love money, what are you going after? All the PLEASURES OF TIIE WORLD, and they love pleasures more than they love God, which means that is number 1 to them. Now, Paul said this would happen in the last days. Perilous and dangerous times would come, exceeding fierce times. Where are these times at? Sure, they are in the world, but they are also in the Church. Paul is warning the Church right here. He is warning us to watch out for being lovers of self, and money and pleasure.
Look with me in verse 5: "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
That's religion, isn't it? If you are running with a crowd that loves self, money and pleasure, TURN AWAY FROM THEM!
Now look in verses 7-9 with me: "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (That is the full, accurate knowledge of the truth!) "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, (there were the wizards, the sorcerers in the Old Testament, standing against Moses with their witchcraft), so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all [men], as theirs also was."
What he is saying here is that they will be manifest unto all men, for what they are. But it is going to be IN THE SPIRIT, and God is going to manifest the very thing that is in the heart of man, which is lovers of self, money and pleasures. In verse 3, "incontinent" means no self-control.
PURITY, POWER AND PERFECTION:
2nd Corinthians 11:1-2, "Would to God ye could bear with me a little in [my] folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy..."
Now there is a godly jealousy that is all right in the sight of God, but there is the other kind, too, isn't there?
"...for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."
There is a danger zone between engagement and marriage, and we know that in the natural, people come to Jesus and fall away, and go the other way. But Paul says here, "that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."
I see three things here that I want to bring out:
Jesus said, I wIll not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. And He comes in the nature, in the character of the NINE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, and He comes in the NINE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT, and He comes in the FIVEFOLD MINISTRY that will perfect us or mature us in the Lord.
Paul said, "I desire to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Notice he didn't say, "I will present you to me."
He said, "I want to present you as a chaste virgin TO JESUS CHRIST!" He means I am pointing you, Church, to Christ and not to myself. Paul is the father ministry talking to the Church at Corinth, and he is the fatherlike figure talking to little children and telling them what to do.
JOHN THE BAPTIST:
For a type, turn to John 3:29-30, "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom..."
When two get married, the bride is not going to go home with the best friend. She's going to go home with the bridegroom. There's going to be trouble, otherwise.
"...but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfllled. He must increase, but I [must] decrease."
THE CHURCH:
Now, the friend, or the MINISTRY, must protect this bride; they must keep her from contamination, and make sure she stays pure, and will be presented to the Lord. But she is not married to the ministry, she is married to Jesus. I will show you this in closing.
We read in Judges 14:20, "But Samson's wife was [given] to his companion, whom he had used as his friend."
Who was John the Baptist? A friend of the Bridegroom -- of the ministry. But here, this wife was given to the friend (or the ministry). God is a jealous God over His bride! We cannot own the people of God. They are His. We may be put here as keepers, as shepherds to oversee the flock, and to see that she is kept from contamination or whatever, but Jesus is jealous over HIS BRIDE.
2nd Corinthians 11:4, "For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or [if] ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted., ye might well bear with [him]."
I want to tell you, there is "another Jesus." Jesus said, "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE." People will get their own teachers, have itching ears, and turn away their ears from the truth. They turn avay from Jesus, the Son of God. Theirs' is "another Jesus."
Paul said in 1st Timothy 4:1, "Now the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils."
ANY OTHER GOSPEL:
We read in Galatians 1:6-8, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed fron him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."
Paul said there would be those who would pervert the gospel. Spiritual perversion is worse than the natural, and one leads to the other, and they are both terrible. There are spiritual perverts that would twist the Word of God, and pervert the gospel and bring heresy to the body of Christ.
We have got to learn to WALK IN THE HOLY GHOST and OVERCOME the flesh -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
1st John 2:15, "Love not the world, neither the thinqs [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
Pray one for another, that you enter not into temptation. Amen.
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