So I just wanna pray for the Word. Father, we thank You so much for Your Word. God, Your Word is powerful. Your Word is able to cut deep through bone and marrow, Lord, into the spirit, and cause us to rise from death into life with You— to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Father, today would You be magnified. Today may the name of the Lord Jesus be exalted. In a place of darkness Lord, in a world of darkness Lord, let there be light in the house of the Lord! We bless You, Father. May Your Word go forward in power. Holy Spirit, have Your way. And we thank You, in the mighty and precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen!

The title of today's message - what I wanted to speak about today, was: “Who do you love?” Right? That’s a big question. And that question goes across all ages, right? You may be in grade school: “Who do you love?” You may be in high school: “Who do you love? “You may be a middle-aged man or woman: “Who do you love?” It’s a question that we can all be asked.

And today we know that God - our great God - is a God who loves His people. God loves His Church, but the thing about God is He also is searching for one who would also love Him. You see, there are two types of people in the world: There are those who love God, and there are those who love the world. You see, those who love the world - they live their lives accordingly. Where maybe one may proclaim to follow the Lord, but even when it comes time to make a big decision in life or an important decision to make, rather than waiting upon the Lord, they surpass Him and rather than seeking His wisdom they go about and walk their own way - forfeiting something wonderful that God had in store. Others may find that the fleshly desires seem to just pull us away so easily. We seem to wanna think the way that the world thinks and do as the world thinks, and it seems to pull us so hard, and it seems to be what we love. This is what happens in the hearts of those who love the world: Those who love the world see the world as a center to everything. Everything that they do has one purpose: So that they would have the best life now, get the most money that they can, and if you can, become popular or somewhat have prestige and all these things that the world offers. But the Scripture makes very clear that the world is going to pass away along with those who love it. But hallelujah there is news today! I wanna talk about those who love God.

You see, those who love God - they are different. You see, those who love God, every decision, everything about their life is based on the Word of the Lord - why? Because they are thankful and they are grateful that God has come in and saved and changed their lives! Hallelujah! What consumes those who are in love with God is simply God being exalted and glorified in every which way shape and form in their life. What consumes them is that the will of the Lord would be done not only in their lives, but they’re gonna take their family with them; they’re gonna take their children with them. They’re gonna take some friends along the way, and they’re gonna make sure that God's will is being done on earth as it is in heaven!

See, we look forward to the promise of God - the promise of eternal life. Now, I'm not talking about just looking forward to Heaven. I’m talking about eternal life the Person: The Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, those who love God— Jesus is their portion. Those who seek after God to love Him - Jesus is enough. Jesus is everything!

Do you love God? Who do you love? Is it the world or is it God? God is calling us to Himself today! And the great news is that, for those that God calls to Himself He calls us to love Him with everything within us. But hallelujah! Just as He calls us, God also provides and gives us everything that we need to answer this call. Now we know that old sin. We’re very familiar with what sin does. You see, sin causes mankind to lose it all, to be broken to lose the idea of who God truly is. Sin corrupts the heart of man - it corrupts not only our heart, but our will, and even our soul. And because of it, wickedness causes us to look to the world and to be enamored with things - to be enamored with ourselves to be enamored with creation rather than the Creator, to be enamored with God. Rather than loving God man has come to love the world and its ways - everything that this world has to offer. The passionate pursuit of money, the passionate pursuit of building up myself and building up my image. But again, beyond everything that this world offers, it does not offer the one thing: eternal life and true love for God.

And remember the Scripture warns us that this world is going to one day end. And the time is soon! I truly believe according to the Scripture that the time is short! What will it be for us today - will we turn to the Lord? Will we come out of the world...and come into the Savior, into the Lord Jesus?

There is great news for those of you who are looking to forsake this world and come to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is hope of a new heart. There is hope of a new mind. There is hope of a new work that God does in our lives to draw us to Himself - to separate the lies of the world the evil philosophies and ways of man, the evil philosophies and ways of this world - and to see the perfect truth of the Lord our God. Hope that we would no longer have to live in opposition to God. Hope that we would no longer have to go the opposite direction, but unite with God as one. This was His intended purpose for man, that we would join in union with Him - that we would walk with our God once again.

The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is this: It is a Gospel of transformation. I wanna say today that the Gospel is able to transform a man from loving this world - able to take a woman, to take a young man a teenager, wherever you may be - and turn you to love the Lord God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is able to break the bonds that this world has placed over many hands, over many hearts and over many minds!

The beauty is this: God calls us to be set apart for Himself alone. What a wonderful call, church of God! He calls us to love the Lord our God, and to be set apart to do the works of His kingdom, and to be set apart to love Him with everything within us. And so how do we come to this place with God? How do we come to such a place of love? I wanna share with you in the book of 1 John, if you have your Bibles. You’ll also see it up on the screen, some of the Scriptures we’re gonna be reading today. It’s gonna be the book of 1 John, chapter 2, verses 15 through 17. Thank You, God.

And as you’re turning there...I really enjoyed reading this book and this chapter, as John - you know, notice he's not speaking to just any group of people here. John wasn't speaking to the world - John was speaking to Christians. He was speaking to us, and what John is doing here is he's reminding us saying, “Listen! As you follow and pursue the Lord, don't forget what matters. Do not forget what is important. Do not love this world. Love God.” Amen?

And so the first thing that we need to do in order to come into a place of love with God is that we must have a change of heart - we need a change of heart. Let’s read verse 15. It says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.” Now, when he says “do not love the world,” some of us are probably very familiar with this idea of love - the word love here is the Greek word “agape.” Now you may have heard it before, but just as a reminder: That agape love is a love that simply means you are committed to something. You are actively gonna go after this thing - whether it be a person, whether be an object - you are gonna be all, out head-over-heels. So John is saying, “Do not love the world. Don’t be so committed to it. Don’t be so head-over-heels for everything that this world offers you. Slow down a moment, and see what truly matters before God.”

Now think with me for a moment what people do when they love someone or they love something. You know I saw a van not too long ago and I'm sure you guys have probably seen this van I wouldn't be surprised. And I can easily tell that the man that was driving this van - who he loved. I knew he loved football, and I knew the exact team that he was all out for. There were stickers all over this van. I probably - I almost don't believe he could even see out the windows, that’s how many stickers he had, right? Not only that, but the license plate, you know, made very clear who his team was - let alone when he got out of the car, he had the hat and jersey that we all know can cost over hundreds of dollars, right? But you think, today it's very easy to see what a man or woman loves. Just look at somebody's cell phone and check out their wallpaper. Check out somebody's social media just for a moment. You see we tend to saturate ourselves in that which we love. People become committed, right? Even to a team that they’re never gonna play on. Even to a team of members they may never meet - they love it. But the question today, church, is: What would people say that we love? If somebody were to step into our hearts, if somebody were to step into our home, who would they see that we love today? And I wanna talk about the Christian - you see, the Christian - Christians - are a people of love. And you can tell when someone is in love with God - not by stickers, not by apparel - but simply by who they are, simply by seeing that they are a person who is willing to give it all and to do whatever it takes to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is the life of a Christian! Someone that you could be with for just a moment and smell a fragrance - the fragrance of the One that they love! They might not even say a word...but God's presence says it all. And this is what we are called to today - I am excited today to realize what great love God has called me to. What great love God has called my family to, and my brother, and the people in this church - He has called us to unite with Him as one, as never before!

God is looking to pour out a love in our hearts that does not grow old, or fade or become cold. Where even if things happen in our life, even when the obstacles come and the troubles come and go it doesn't matter because one that is in love with God says, “Father, this is in the way. It’s happening in my child. I'm going through it but Father, take me to where You are. I’ve got to be where You are, Jesus - I'm not gonna stop, I’m gonna wait - for I know that You are the deliverer and You will deliver me to Yourself. I know that with You all things are possible, and no matter what is happening, Father I will see You!”

Praise the Lord - Jesus is the source of such love for God! You see when a person comes to Christ, you come to the greatest love that has ever been known, because those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ are always led to the Father! He always takes us back home to our Daddy! He always brings us back home to the safe arms of the One that we love. There is no other purpose for the Christian. It is for God alone. Jesus does one thing: He brings us to Himself He brings us to the Father! And I wanna say today, if we have any other desire - if there's any other motive in our hearts that says, “God, I want this. I want that I want something for me,” - then we have missed the mark we have missed the call! God is calling to be brought to Him, to love Him to be lovers of God, to be ministers of God to be priests of the Most High and of no other! Thank You, God!

And so He says, “Do not love the world…Do not love the world.” What is the world? It made me think for a moment and we may be thinking this today: What world is he speaking of?

You see God is not talking about the physical world - the trees and the mountains and the birds - all the beautiful things that He’s given us in creation. The world that God is talking about here is a system, and it's a rebellious system. It’s a rebellious system that is all against God - it’s a way of thinking and doing things that opposes the wisdom and the instruction of God and His Word. See, it exalts man...and it dethrones God. The center of the world is man. It’s self. It’s image, money, prestige, all the things, all the glamour - everything that pulls us away from the glory of the Lord Jesus.

Now, hear me: When we love the world, these are the things that we love. And remember, you know, to love the world means to love everything that opposes the Lord Jesus Christ. Now some consider, “You know… a little bit of the world is okay. A little bit of compromise a little bit of doing my own thing. Maybe a little bit of making decisions without thinking the effect that it might have on the kingdom of God…” But I wanna say today that a little bit of the world will go a long way - there’s no such thing as a little bit of rebellion. There’s no such thing as a little bit of compromise. There is no such thing as a little bit of waywardness and being off course. God says, “Do not love it! Run away from it! Walk away from it!” It does not submit to God, nor does it love Him, and nor does it follow His ways and God is calling us out of the world system, out of the darkness and into the light.

To love the world is to welcome such chaos in our life. To love the world is to pursue everything that contradicts the message of Jesus. See the world says, “You’ve got to love yourself, man. You’ve got to do what you've got to do for you.” But Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” The world says, “Hey, there is joy in doing your own thing. There is joy in, you know, making it for you.” But the Lord Jesus says, “There is joy in the house of the Lord as there is in no other place,” - hallelujah!

The world says, “Get ahead of everybody. Make sure you're on top.” Jesus says, “Put the interests of others above yourself and see to it that I will take care of you - I will clothe you as I clothe the birds of the air. I will take care of you and make sure you are carried through like I take care of the grassy field, and I will live in you. I will dwell in you, and you will be My people.”

We cannot love the world and be okay with God. The world is at enmity with God. Therefore to love it is also to choose our side. This day, who do we love? Maybe you’ve felt far from God lately. Maybe there's an inkling in your heart that just says, “I believe my heart’s in the wrong place. What do I do?” Maybe today you are about to receive a change of heart. Maybe today is the day when we surrender and we come to God, we come back to His Word, we come back to truly walking and loving Him as He has called us to do.

I believe God has opened a door today that those who turn to Him - something incredible happens. He comes into the place that was once occupied by the world - and loving everything that opposed the way of Jesus - and brings a new heart. A heart that has found the pearl of great worth: the Lord Jesus who is the King, who is the sweetest who is the greatest, and who is worthy.

And so He calls us out of worldliness. We’ve heard this term some of us: Worldliness. Don’t be worldly. God is calling us out of worldliness.Now listen, worldliness is a result loving the world. You see, it's not a matter of just doing things - it’s not the activities we do so much as an attitude of the heart. You can be a Christian and stay away from bad places and avoid bad situations but still be worldly. We can go to church we can do things in church we can sing praise songs, and yet still be worldly because while we’re singing the songs, we’re just waiting for the song to end so we can get to the next thing. Maybe as we’re listening to the message we’re already thinking about the plans of what we’re gonna cook, what we're gonna do, and our hearts are just leaping for something different. It’s about what our hearts leap for. Does God make your heart leap today? Does the voice of Jesus - does the name of God - ring a bell and make you move, and make you follow?

That’s what it's about - it’s a matter of the heart. And God is calling us! Not to behave - it’s not a matter of us behaving - it's a matter of who we truly serve in our hearts. It’s been said that where your treasure is, there your heart will also be. What is your treasure today? Who is your treasure?

Christianity today has become just so busy with doing things. But in the busyness of all the religion, there's not been one ounce of God. You see, the world doesn't have a problem with that - the world loves religion! A matter of fact, the world promotes it! The world loves the fact that we would miss the call of what truly matters to God! You see with God there are things that we can do - hey, maybe they’re good - but God is not looking for us to do that which is good; He’s looking for us to do that which is great! He is looking for a heart that is so filled with His glory. He is looking for a heart that's been so touched by God, that yes, we may be singing the same songs that are sung throughout the world, but that song is being fueled from a heart thankful, overflowing in admiration of our great God!

He hasn’t called us to be dead in religion! He has called us to be a people of expectation, waiting for the One that we love - that any moment, any day, He can come back and we would be found awaiting our great God. Two people can be in the same place but one can have a heart for God - one can be bubbling and overflowing for the great God who has called us to Himself. What will it be for us today?

See the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ changes such a cold heart. He gives us what we need. It’s more than religion that God calls us to - more than just going through the motions, more than just kinda getting lit up for a moment but then seemingly dropping out and becoming sleepy in our faith - but it is Christ living in me! It is Christ living in you - Christ who does not die! Christ who is alive!

This is what drives the Christian. This is what drives us from the world, and causes us to turn to the Father. Does somebody here have an ailment of heart? Is there something in your heart that ails you and says, “I need to be with God”? Is there something that says, “Father, I have not loved You. Father I have held myself down, I have gone after the world”? Then hallelujah - there is an antidote today, and His name is the Lord Jesus Christ! Thank You, God!

American Christianity has become a process of trying to keep God, and keep a little bit of the world. Attempting to have a little bit of both, but I wanna say today you could never have both, but only waver between one and the other. As in the days of Elijah, he called the people of Israel he said, “Choose this day.” He said, “Do not waver between Baal and God.” Do not waver between the world and God - you must make a choice no more going back and forth between the altars. You cannot love both, but we must choose this day!

Sadly many Christians waver in between. Why is this so bad? Why is it so bad to waver and try to go back and forth? Because: You know it, the world knows it, God knows it, your children know it, and every friend that you have knows it. You see, when somebody's undecided and in between, it is very clear - we do not fool anybody. And it's no wonder why Christianity has become so powerless today - how the children of many in churches have become in bondage and enslaved to the things that the world has placed in front of them - but there is an awakening today! There is an awakening of God in the hearts of His people! And He’s saying, “Come out of her! Come out of the world!” He’s calling us out of Baal, out of self, and back to the God of Elijah. Do you hear the voice of Elijah saying, “Return! Come back to God. Choose this day who you shall love”?

What is it that we love today? Where is your heart? It’s a matter of the heart. If God has captured your heart you know it because everything about you pursues Him. Whether you're at work whether you’re at school whether you’re at home the end goal - the endgame of all of it - is to be in the house of God loving your Father as He is loving on you.

But if the world captures your heart you will love this world and all that it offers. Perhaps the biggest concern when you're leaving work is, “I’ve gotta get home to watch the new series that's out,” rather than, “God, You got me through another day today,” and it robs us of thankfulness! Perhaps for some of us, we’re concerned about our image and maybe what people think or see, whether we’re in high school and you guys go through all those things, rather than looking to see if the image of Christ is being formed in my life. And it holds us back from exalting Jesus in such a way. But God says to come out of it. We need a change of heart, and the Lord Jesus can break away that old heart if we turn to Him. He says, “Repent and turn. Come back to Me,” and God will do a work like no other - hallelujah. And so, we need a change of heart.

Secondly, what we must do in order to come to this place of love with the Lord, is we need a change of mindset. Let’s look at verse 16. “For everything in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - comes not from the Father but from the world.” You see true Christianity is a different mindset. The world distorts the mindset of man and draws it away from God. You see everything about the world is saturated in sin, and it feeds off the lust of man. Now when I say “lust,” I’m not talking about just a sexual lust, but I'm talking about a spiritual and physical urge that drives us to go after everything else but God. It drives us to go after everything in the world but to seek God for who He is. It’s no different than when in the garden with Eve. She stood there - the serpent had showed up and said, “Listen there's something better than God.” He said, “You’re gonna get more wisdom.” He said, “Eat of this fruit! Come! Taste of it! It’s gonna be better than God!” And we know what happens! She was deceived and she was fooled into jeopardizing not only her own life, but her entire lineage. Now her children would have to suffer and toil in this world - and worst of all, be separated from God.

You see today - when we allow the world into our mindsets, when we walk according to the world, we don’t just jeopardize our own lives - it’s our children! It's our generation! It is those around us - we affect those who are all around us, just as it was in the garden and God is saying, “Wake up! Let Me renew your mind. Let My Spirit come in and do something different.”

The world's message and philosophy is this: “Serving God is outdated. It really doesn't pay off it’s really not a happy life. Serve yourself, do your own thing! That's the best right now - God would want you to be comfortable in all that you do! God would want you to make the best living for yourself and put Him aside! Save it for later maybe you can serve Him in a few years down the road. Get comfortable. Don’t worry about showing up to where God is. Don't worry about seeking His presence.” You see the world doesn't show up with big horns and a red suit, right? The world shows up and it feeds off of man's own inclinations, and lusts, and desires. The world says, “Why be miserable in church? That’s a miserable way of living -why hold yourself back?” But I wanna to break the lie today. I wanna break the lie that says, “Christianity isn’t what it truly is.” I wanna talk to you about true Christianity - do not be fooled! You see, a true believer is the most fulfilled and joyous person that you will ever know.

The promise of God is our mindset. We’re not missing out - we’re storing up! And when it comes to God, He is filling our minds in every way - it affects our entire life with light. Everything that we do is lit up by the goodness of God - what a life to live! You see, if you take a Christian and you strip them down from every provision, you put them in the worst circumstance possible and just seem to trap them, I wanna say - hallelujah! - that a Christian, even in their worst state, is much better off than anybody that is lost in the world!

God Himself gives us minds to see what truly matters. God Himself lights up our minds to see that He is the King no matter what. You see for the Christian, there is light at the end of every tunnel. I don’t care how long the tunnel is. I don’t care how dark it is - there is light in the end for those who are in Christ, hallelujah!

Many have been infiltrated by the world. And it's not because the world is stronger. It’s not because, you know, we’re really not sure of what to do but it's because many that proclaim to follow God yet have carnal minds. Many who proclaim to follow God yet are filled with attitudes and workings of the world, minds that are not renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is why God calls us not to just have a dead Word in our mind but God calls us to be filled with the Spirit - to call upon the Spirit of the Lord - who comes in and takes the Word of God and lights it up. All of a sudden, our thinking changes! All of a sudden, God is able to demonstrate His power in our lives, in this world! But this power, this love, does not just fall into our laps.

If we have faith in God we have an active faith - we must pursue Him with everything! Sometimes we’ve got to turn the cellphone off. Sometimes, we’ve got to put the remote down. Sometimes, I’ve got to tell everybody, “I’m staying home for a moment. I’ve got to find the Lord. I’ve got to come back.” And even when you're out with somebody, you’re just set upon finding Him!

Unlike the world, it’s not “come and go as you please.” We must pursue the Lord. You know, I received an email not too long ago and I get emails all the time of different programs that you can purchase in order to have teachings in the church, you know, full programs that they offer. And what surprised me is one of these programs literally was a program that you can purchase and it gave you the full guide on how to bring people back into church who took the summer off from God. It teaches you how to welcome them and to make ‘em feel so good. Literally a program that says, “Listen, welcome back. We know the world was calling. We know you had some things to do, but God's been waiting here with His hands folded.” And this is the mind of Christianity today. But I wanna say that the truth is this: If that God is not the God of my summer, my winter my fall and my spring, then we are still yet dead in our minds and dead in our sins - and He calls us out!

It’s time to stop being so soft on sin and so soft on the world infiltrating our minds, infiltrating our children, infiltrating our family and it's time to rise and no longer be hardened to God, but alive to Him! You see the message of the Lord Jesus Christ is this: That He is King! He is King He is God it doesn't matter what I think, He rules!

And the beauty about it is this: Those who honor God? He honors them! If you honor the Lord He will honor you. See when your mind is set, saying, “Father, I've got to love You. I’ve got to come toward You,” He brings about a working in our mind, He brings a change that no man could ever do because it's by the power of His Spirit - and He renews us by the power of His Word, by the power of His truth. The one who used to give it all, whose mind was set for the world - how I’m gonna get this world, how I’m gonna get it for myself the money, whatever it may be - now, all of a sudden comes to sense. Now, when I say they “come to sense,” right when the Spirit of God touches the mind of a man or woman or child, you come to your senses. You start thinking, “Wow! How could I not want to love God? How could I not want to pursue the One who holds eternal life in His hand? How could I not pursue the One who has created me and every breath that I take comes from Him? How could I pursue a world that is already destined to perish?”

What great wisdom that the Lord Jesus gives! So He calls us to have a change of mind today church - a change and a renewal by the power of the Spirit. A mind that says, “Father I am out for You. I'm coming Lord!” And so how does this world drive us away when we think of our mind? He says, “All the things of the world the lust of the flesh.” What is the lust of the flesh? See it's a craving for sensual gratification - it is desire for things to please our flesh. It’s really simple. It’s when our minds are set out to simply get what feels good and what we want, no matter the cost or the consequence.

And listen, I'm not saying there's nothing wrong with desiring certain things in life, but the problem is when our physical lusts and desires rule over our spiritual life, there is a problem. When I want to sleep and disregard the breakthrough that I know God wants to bring into my life, but “I'm tired I’m sleepy, I’m not gonna stay up and pray for this, God. I’ll deal with this tomorrow.” When I want to just stop and not seek the Lord rather than seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit, “Father, I'll do it when I feel like I have more time.” There’s no sacrifice. There’s no love, and there’s just such a love for the world.

And listen, I'm not preaching against TV. I'm not preaching against going out and hanging out with friends I'm not preaching against entertainment. But what I am preaching against is the heart that is so dead and the mind that is so asleep, that all these things surpass the relationship and the worth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There’s a problem when our children give more attention to everything else, but not one inkling of the Word of God is found in their minds. There’s a problem when we can't bear to spend ten minutes of prayer, but we love to sit everywhere else and to do everything else but to seek the presence of the living God. It’s where our physical cravings and everything else surpasses, and God is saying, “Wake up today, church! Wake up today! Come out of the flesh, come into My life because flesh only gives birth to flesh, but I give birth to Spirit!”

You see God in His power can overcome the flesh. His name is the Lord Jesus. His mind as He walked this earth was set on doing the work of His Father. His mind was a pure mind. The mind of Jesus said, “Father, here I am - I will do as You please.” And He is the same mind - the mind of Christ - that comes into those who believe, comes into those who trust! Is there anybody ready for a new mind?

He comes and He breaks the lust of the eyes as it speaks here - what is the lust of the eyes? You know I was always taught from a young age - Pastor Janeth used to always teach me - you know, the eyes are the window to the soul. And so the lust of the eyes - you know our eyes are an entrance into our lives. It’s with our eyes that we covet. It’s with our eyes that we desire all the materials and things that the world says you need to have. Now without a doubt, this world entices and saturates people with everything - every commercial. You can stand in the line in the grocery store and every magazine - every ad - is geared saying, you know, “This is what you need to look like. This is what you need. This is what you need to do.” And it feeds off the lust. Of what? Our eyes.

And the worst message of it all is it says that nothing is ever enough. You just have to get. Even when you get that one thing you were longing for, now you need more. You just got the new cell phone - now I need more wiring, I need more headphones. I need, you know... For this TV that I just got, now I need a better remote. It’s just on and on and it sounds crazy right? But how many Christians have been found in bondage to the lustfulness of the world? Being robbed of thankfulness? Forgetting the fact that we have been saved by God - that He has given His Son - so that we would no longer perish in hell, but that we would be able to believe and come alive with Him? That we would no longer have to walk in the darkness but walk in the light!

Jesus didn't die for me and you to wander from one thing to the other; He died so that we would unite with Him and be satisfied. That we would be like Mary, who when that angel came and said, “Mary you're about to birth something spectacular. You are about to give birth to the Son of God,” the Word of the Lord says that she pondered it all. You see her mind stopped. She put the house aside. She even put Joseph aside! She put everything aside and said, “God, there is something special within my belly and His name is Jesus and You are everything!”

Do not be fooled. All the things of the world are fleeting. They’re deceptive - and temporary. Life’s value is not based on what we have. You see in a moment, a storm can come and take it all. You can have all the prestige. You can have people looking up to you as the captain of the team - whatever it may be - but one injury can ruin your entire career. We can be at the top of our jobs and tomorrow we find that maybe the corporation was robbing and doing things the wrong way and be completely shut down. We can have so much beauty that many people adore it. But, I tell you that even beauty will one day fade away. And God is going to judge the pride of life. He’s going to judge all these things that we've gone after. But I want to say that the glory and the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ is a beauty that will never fade. I want to say that the greatest thing that you could ever possess is Jesus! I want to say that the greatest thing that can be in a child within their soul is Jesus! The greatest thing a man can have is Jesus! The most beautiful thing a woman can carry beyond makeup or anything else is the Lord Jesus Christ - for He is worthy and He satisfies!

And you know, at the end of this part of the Scripture it says not only the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes but the pride of life. And He says, you know this pride of life is a proud desire to want to impress everybody. How real is this! I want to tell you right now...there is more credit card debt than ever. It’s estimated that there is one trillion dollars in credit card debt in America today - that’s a lot! And the average amount of credit cards per person is three credit cards. Why? Because the world gets us to buy things and says, “Listen you’ve got to buy things, and you’ve got to get what you need. If they have it, you need to have it.” And it's a spinning circle! Nonstop! And it's one thing that the world would do it, but even Christians right now, in order to spend and to get things that they may not even need. And it's all about the pride of life - trying to show something that we do not have, trying to give off a prestige. But we as Christians, we find our value and worth in one thing: In the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our identity. He is our worth. And listen there’s not anything wrong with buying things or getting things - but not at the cost of our soul. Not at the cost of the Lord Jesus Christ - and He calls us to Himself this day to have a change of mind. Is there anybody in need of a new mind today?

I pray that even this hour you would call upon the Spirit of God that you would allow Him to do a work in your mind. That He would flush away the darkness, that He would bring us back in this mind - to have a mind back as in the garden, a mind that was ready to walk with the Lord their God a mind that was set to find all satisfaction, to find all that they needed in the Lord Jesus. Amen?

Finally, we need a change of will. Let’s look at verse 17. “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” The world is going to pass away, but those who do the will of God.

Now, this is a very simple test of our love for the world or the love for God. As we awake each day, as we go throughout our living, our jobs, and our daily, you know, things that we do, how much are we concerned on the will of God? How much are we saying, “Father listen, I know that I’m in the classroom right now, but I just want to know what You desire for my life - I just need to know that You're with me...”? Those who are after the will of God - you can't go a day without hearing from His Word. Those who are, you know, in the will of God and who are concerned for God can't go a day without His presence. And that's what He is calling us to today. If you don't get that Word, if you don’t come into the presence then you're saying, “Father, I will wait. I will do what it takes. I’m gonna go talk to somebody. I'm gonna go be somewhere. You know what? There's two services this week, I’m gonna make it to both. You know what? This week I heard there’s a group getting together - I've got to get there because God, I want to be in Your will.”

Many talk about the love of God, but not many speak about love for God. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will obey My commands.” In other words, “If you love Me, you will do My will, you will do the will of My Father.”

You see, those who profess to follow the Lord demonstrate a love for God by doing the works and completing His will on earth - just as it's being done in Heaven. Now I’m not just talking about any old works I'm talking about the works of faith, the works of faith that God only can do in our life, the work that no man can do on his own - but not the works of the flesh but the works of God.

Now we remember, some of us, the story of Jesus being with the disciples right? And the disciples said, “Jesus, listen! We’ve got to go to Jerusalem right now! There were people there waiting for You. You’re gonna be famous! This is a great opportunity - You’ve got to go!” And what was Jesus’ response? “No, you go.” Right? And I love it because that moment was not in the will of God. He eventually went. But it wasn't about what the world was gonna expect - it wasn't about the opportunity - it was about doing the will of His Father. See today we are not called to do Christian things - we are called to do the Father’s will, to follow His leading. There’s a major difference of just trying to do that which is good in our own hearts in our own minds, compared to doing the will of God. Amen?

And so He calls us to have a change of will. You know I remember a couple years ago we went to Honduras. And prior to going to Honduras - many of you know me personally - I could probably speak a little bit of Spanish, but I'm not fluent. Okay? Now, going to Honduras a Spanish-speaking country Pastor Janeth, you know, said “You guys are gonna lead the worship.” And I'm thinking in my mind, “I can't speak fluently, I'm learning these songs, this is a challenge. God, I can't do it.” But the one thing I did know is that it was God's will that we were gonna go and do what He called us to do. So I put the work in, I practiced as much as I could but at the end of the day, I was gonna need a miracle! And I remember being on the stage the very first night with a few people on the worship team, and I remember not even saying a word yet, and the glory of God beginning to fill that place! And I'm seeing people begin to come into the presence of God - something that no man could ever do - but because people set out to do the will of the Lord. See when God calls you to do His will, He will also empower you to do the will! He will also raise you up!

I remember being so blessed and many that were blessed that day, and this is to be our daily lives with the Lord! Beckoning His leading! See nothing else matters for the Christian but to simply be in the will of the Father. We set our hearts on His will, and He will carry us through. Amen.

Lastly, there is hope in doing the will of God. You see, when we strive for the things of the world this Scripture makes very clear that this world is going to pass away. Think about a time in your life where you’ve strived for the things of the world where you’ve gone after it. And think about what God says - we go after something that is going to perish, it’s going to come to an end.

You see we cannot take our trophies with us when we leave this life! We cannot even take our diploma. We cannot take all the money. The Scriptures, the Word of the Lord says “naked we came, naked we shall leave.” But this is the trick that the world plays on us and it's a vicious one! When someone's will is all out for building and working up for things in this life they waste it all away, not realizing the hopelessness of an end that they have chosen to pursue. But those who love the Lord - He says those who do the will of the Father shall not pass away, but we shall live not only just now with God, but one day we will close our eyes to open up our eyes again - living forever with the Father because we have decided that we are gonna follow His will, that He has done a work in our hearts this day and brought a change in our lives.

There is hope in the Lord Jesus! No matter what circumstance we face. Whether it's good or bad, all things work for the good of those who love God - who seek to do His will. Whatever loss, whatever trouble we face as Christians, we seek the Word and the will of the Lord. Even in the worst of day, we find peace and we find rest knowing - that God will lead us through His way and in His power.

Do you know the peace of God in such a way today? Do you know the will of the Father for your life? Has it been about His will? For those who trust in Him will never pass away but live forever. This is what drives the Christian.

Finally today, you know as we're thinking about doing the will of the Lord and what is gonna pass away but what's gonna last forever you know we think of our lives. We think of our youth and how so many live their lives as though our lives will never end. We are taught to just go about, to do whatever feels good, no fear of God no cause for seeking His face - no cause to think about the consequences of sin - and it's so dangerous. But that's just what the world does: It sets our will. It programs it to go after the “good life,” to enjoy everything that we see, everything that is temporary, disregarding that which is eternal - disregarding the goodness of God. “Don’t mind God maybe you can follow Him later.” But the world plays this trick. I don't know if I have later. I don't know if I have today. I don't know if I have tonight. But one thing I can know is that those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ have been given a hope that no moth can destroy, no rust can take away, no man can rob you of, no darkness can take from you, but only God can sustain - it is the hope of Jesus!