1 John 2:15-19
15 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. 16 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. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. 20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
God is giving us the secret to everlasting life. Love Him, not this world. So many are linked to this world and all that it has to offer that even some Christians step over one another for fortune and fame or to see who has the ‘most members.’ Verse 19 tells us that there were some at John’s time who left them. He goes on to say that if they left them, they were not of them for if they were, they would not have left. Have you ever had someone leave you in realtime or online and it cut like a knife because you didn’t know what you did to make them leave? They either don’t talk to you or when they do they come up with a half-hearted excuse that almost insults your intelligence. They talk about you to others and don’t think that it’s getting back. You did absolutely nothing to deserve that. Have no fear because they may not have been totally on the same page with you when they were around. ( The Judas Syndrome.) Have you ever heard the poem, “If you love something set it free. If it returns it is yours, if it doesn’t it was never meant to be”? Jesus set Judas free and he killed himself….guilt. Verse 19 goes on to say that some left on purpose to prove to others that they were not associated with you. The Holy Ghost teaches you and shows you all things. He shows you exactly what happened, why and with which spirit they were of when they were with you.
God forewarns us that there are people who preach “another Jesus.” 2 Cor 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.
When researching the word “bear” in Strong’s concordance, it is 430 in the Greek dictionary which is the word “ane’chomai” which is to hold oneself up against, or put up with, bear with and endure, forbear, suffer. This tells me that even if someone is wrong, we are to put up with them and not necessarily run. This may be the greatest opportunity to correct a wrong train of thought and add another soul to the Kingdom. Jesus died for ALL men. Too many are timid now a days and would run from this type of situation. As old country folks used to say, “They are running around like chickens with their heads cut off.” These would be the spiritually immature. Timidity causes us to miss perfect, possibly God-given opportunities. “For God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind.” Some are still sucking on the milk of the Word instead of chewing the meat of the Word. Lacadaisical-ness and procrastination causes immature Christians.
lackadaisical |ˌlakəˈdāzikəl|adjectivelacking enthusiasm and determination; carelessly lazy: a lackadaisical defense left the Spurs adrift in the second half.DERIVATIVESlackadaisically adverbORIGIN mid 18th cent. (also in the sense ‘feebly sentimental’): from the archaic interjection lackaday, lackadaisy (see alack) + -ical.
Have we turned Christianity into a competition? These things only happen if we’ve turned from the original plan….to tell others about Jesus. Sometimes it seems that we push one another aside to tell a non-believer why they should listen to us to get saved and not the “other guy.” As long as we are teaching and preaching Jesus, we are both right. I heard someone say that no matter when Jesus is coming back, don’t live as though you are tired and ready to go, live evangelizing. Take advantage of every moment that you have until Christ’s return.
Don’t be lacadaisical.
Rev Esther R. Scott
revessie.com
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/newbirthministries
