What in the world do you want?

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves 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 is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." ~ I John 2:15-17 (New King James Version)

Pastor Crawford Loritts presented the question, What in the world do you want? He asked us if we considered how God feels when we love ________ more than Him.

Our attitude toward the world should be:

1. Don't love it.

2. See it for WHAT it truly is.

3. Live your allegiance.

Don't give the world the same unconditional, super-natural love that is due to God. (verse 15)

We expect the world to fulfill us and we are dissatisfied when it doesn't. Our love for the world shows our disloyalty to God.

Don't fall in love with the planet. Recycle - yes! Appreciate the planet. It's not the 4th member of the Trinity.

The things that are in this world:
1. Appeal of the world's system. - It is not neutral. Ephesians 2:2
2. Pleasures and pursuits compete with our hears.
3. Things that seduce me away from God. - Where does my heart drift? What brings definition to my fulfillment and well-being? What do I secretly worship?

Too the extent that I love this world -- it shows my true love for God.

Worldliness is the celebration of self. It is an "all about me" attitude.

God is excluded from the lust (desire) of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. In Matthew 4, Satan attacks Jesus in those three areas. These three are a progression...

What I long for -- I look at. What I look at -- I think about and crave. What I see -- turns into an obsession.

Who and what defines me? If you don't determine this right now, you will have an empty life. How do we protect ourselves? A. Guard our heart. B. See the world for what it truly is. C. Live my allegiance.