What Happens When You Let the World In

 A sermon by Keith D. Wallace

I. James 4:1-17

A. Verse 4 – friendship of the world is enmity with God

                  -  whosoever is a friend of the world is the enemy of God

B. can’t tell Christians from lost these days

C. Christians have let world creep into churches

            1. Christians: look, sound, think and act like the world

2. Churches starting to be more like a rock concert than a place to worship God

            3. No separation between Christians and world as God commanded in 2 Cor 6

                        too busy thinking about separation of church and state

D. Christians used to separate themselves from world by staying away from:

                        Movies, TV, music, worldly reading materials, worldly hobbies

E. Now Christians use these worldly things to “reach out” to the lost

            1. “Jesus ate with publicans and sinners”

a. didn’t join in their sins – spent time with them preaching and teaching the word of God

            F. So what happens to us when we let the world creep in?

II. Prayer becomes poor

            A. praying takes strong will power and our bodies don’t like it

                        1. hurts knees, back, feet

                        2. takes away time from other things we like to do

                        3. requires conscious thought and effort to keep mind from wandering

            B. Doesn’t take much to let something push prayer out

                        1. All kinds of excuses

                                    a. TV shows

                                    b. Movies

                                    c. books/magazines

                                    d. friends/family

                                    e. sleep

                                                - disciples in garden fell asleep when should be praying

                                    f. work

            C. Prayer is a spiritual sacrifice (1 Pet 2:5) that we offer to God

                        1. A sacrifice is just what it says

            D. Pleasures of world will quickly halt a prayer life

                        1. Prayer is our only way to speak to God

                        2. Bible calls us soldiers

                                    a. Eph 6:18

                                                - prayer is a resource of the soldier

                                                - we must have communication with our Commander

- enemy must cut off communication – what we did in Desert Storm

III. Bible gets Banished

            A. Often said “Book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this Book”

B. God’s word holds the very power we need to fight against Satan and the world – it’s our only weapon!

1. Satan wants that sword out of our hands and doesn’t take much for him to be successful most times

            Ps 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Ps 1:1  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

C. Bible and the world are inversely proportional to each other

            1. more Bible = less world

            2. more world = less Bible

D. cannot expect to grow as a Christian if not in God’s word daily

            1 Peter 2:2

E. if let world in Bible reading will suffer or perhaps cease

            1. the more you stay out of Book the less desire you’ll have to get back into it

Ps 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

1. without God’s word  you won’t be able to see where you’re going – wander around aimlessly without God’s direction

            wander into sin and float around going nowhere in world

2. need God’s word for direction – don’t let the world steal your weapon

IV. Service Suffers

A. Matt 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

            1. Cannot serve two masters

            2. many today trying to have best of both worlds

                        a. want pleasures of sin with benefits of being saved        

-- but can’t have both

b. might work for a time but world will eventually win and service for God stops

3. God didn’t save us so we could enjoy sin without worrying about Hell—He saved us so we could serve Him because we love Him for what He did for us

4. Only get once chance to serve God

            a. only our service to God in this life counts for anything

                        i. 2 Cor 4:18 tells us things which are seen are temporal

- serving ourselves and enjoying pleasures of this world won’t stand up at the judgment

V. Fellowship is Forgotten

A. Isa 59:1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:  2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

B. When we walk with the Lord our fellowship is like unto the Father’s with the Son

            1. He provides our needs and cares for us like none other

            2. He looks forward to hearing from us and God does want closeness with us

3. But when we let the world in our sin separates us and creates a barrier between us and our fellowship is interrupted

C. the greatest friend a man can have is Jesus and He will never forsake us – but we can and do forsake Him

D. the world tries to offer something better than Jesus but it only appears that way

1. eventually the things of this world leave people destitute, hopeless, empty and alone

- look at alcoholics, chronic gamblers, people who used to work in the pornography industry

-- lives once great but now they are ruined and seemingly hopeless

2. the world cannot offer fellowship like our God does

- how many people have you know, friends, that you haven’t spoken to in years?  Fellowship of the world doesn’t last

- Fellowship with God will last if we separate ourselves from the world

VI. Testimony is Tainted

            A. Our duty as Christians is to lead others to Christ

                        1. Must do this by witnessing and living a Christian life

2. When world creeps in the Christian testimony is ruined and the witnessing is a waste

3. Must show through our lives that the Christian life is better without worldly pleasures – because IT IS!!

            a. a person cannot get saved if he isn’t sorry for his sin

b. if a Christian can’t show a lost man that sin is sin – the lost man will continue to live in his sin

4. How many Christians do I know who could never lead a soul to Christ because their testimony is tainted by the world?  Too many.

            a. they look, sound, think, talk, and act just like a lost man

i. the lost man looks at that and thinks, “why do I need Jesus when Christians are just like me?”

5. Must live a Christian life separated from pleasures of the world to keep your testimony clean so that others can see Christ in you

VII. Conclusion

            A. What do I do?

                        1. Purpose in your heart to live a separated life

                                    a. 2 Cor 6:17-18

                        2. Determine to not let the world affect your…

                                    prayer life

                                    Bible reading/study

                                    Service to God

                                    Fellowship with God

                                    Testimony

3. Decide right now to serve the One true God and keep yourself from the world and the empty pleasures it offers and go on for God and get the victory over sin and the world!