THREE THINGS

1 John 2:15-17 New King James Version (NKJV)
Do Not Love the World
15 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. 16 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. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Let’s break the three things down but before we do that, let us look at the definition of lust.
Lust
Lust in mankind definition means “a psychological force producing intense wanting or longing for an object, or circumstance fulfilling the emotion.”
In this verse, God instructs us not to associate ourselves with the world. By mentioning the world HE means the things of the world which are evil and not of God. What are the three things that are of the world? They are clearly mentioned in this verse
1.       The lust of the flesh
2.       The lust of the eyes
3.       The pride of life
To emphasize on this, let’s look at the verse below.
John 15:19 New King James Version (NKJV)
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
Another verse to support this is…
John 17:16 New King James Version (NKJV)
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Believers, Jesus Christ (God who came on earth as Man) Himself declared that He is not of the world and therefore as His disciples we should not be conformed to this world for we are not of this world.
Let’s now breakdown the three things:
1.       Lust of the Flesh
This not only refers to sexual sin but of every desire that please the body and griefs the Spirit who is in you. Let’s look at the verse below to understand what causes lust of the flesh>

Galatians 5:16-21 New King James Version (NKJV)
Walking in the Spirit
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: [a]adultery, [b]fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, [c]murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Another verse to support this is…
Jeremiah 17:5 New King James Version (NKJV)
5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his [a]strength,
Whose heart departs from the Lord.
2.       The Lust of the eyes
This refers to what we see and entertain in our eyes bringing about greed and evil desire
2 Samuel 11(How David committed adultery with Bathsheba and kills Uriah) … Read more on this through the following link https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+samuel+11&version=NKJV
The lust of the eyes happens when you see and desire what is evil in the eyes of God and is against His Word.
3.       The Pride of life
Daniel 4:29-33 New King James Version (NKJV) (The Fall of Nebuchadnezzar)
29 At the end of the twelve months he was walking [a]about the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”
31 While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! 32 And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven [b]times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”
33 That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

Pride overcame Nebuchadnezzar and this became his downfall.
Believers, pride comes before a fall and therefore we should shun away from it.

In conclusion,
Once you have overcome the three things of the world, you therefore have victory in Jesus Christ.
EMPHASIS
Jesus Christ endured the three things before starting the ministry and this should be our baseline and reference point in our walks of salvation.
Let’s look at the verse below. The highlighted verses show how the three things are mentioned.

Luke 4:1-13 New King James Version (NKJV)
Satan Tempts Jesus
4 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit [a]into the wilderness, 2 being [b]tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”…(THE LUST OF THE FLESH)
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, [c]but by every word of God.’ ”
5 [d]Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”…..(THE LUST OF THE EYES)
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, [e]“Get behind Me, Satan! [f]For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’
11 and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”……(THE PRIDE OF LIFE)
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not[g]tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
13 Now when the devil had ended every [h]temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

Brethren, how do you overcome this:
1.       Be filled with the Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:16-17 New King James Version (NKJV)
Walking in the Spirit
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
2.       Meditate on the Word of God
Joshua 1:8 New King James Version (NKJV)
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you[a] shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

3.       Prayer
1 Thessalonians 5:17 New King James Version (NKJV)
17 pray without ceasing,
Be Blessed

This message was brought to you by Pastor Mary Mugo on Her Birthday. A devoted disciple of God full of the Holy Spirit and blessed by God

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