Pleasure: Life On Empty Part 1

She then said you only go around once in life grab all the gusto you can. This of course is a two-day challenge, pleasure, mad culture that is infecting the church a challenge to reach for the real pleasures God offers from the Moody Church in Chicago this morning with Dr. Erwin Blitzer Jane make it across the finish line vasculature. Never in history has there been so many diversions getting to all of us.

How can we shut out all the alluring voices we hear today the answer is simply this, it is very difficult to shut out those voices but I'm also very interested in the fact that you quoted an ad that appeared many years ago. The younger generation will not remember it but I do you only go around once in life and grab for all the gusto you can. One ally, this series of messages I think is incredibly important because it tries to help us get rid of those distractions that you've talked about for a gift of any amount.

These messages can be yours so that you can listen to them again and again. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 ask for this series of messages. The seven snares of the enemy breaking free from the devil's grip, how we need to hear from God about matters that touches so deeply. Now we go to the pulpit of Moody church were once again will be opening our Bibles and talking about the pleasures of the world and the pleasures of God, you have to do what is best for you therefore pursue pleasure, go for it.

What's wrong with that statement. Is there anything wrong with that statement when I surprise you if I were to say that there's nothing wrong with it that it is true both psychologically and ethically properly understood, that might be a surprise. It is true psychologically because Pascal was not the only person who knows that as human beings we always seek pleasure and to seek ways to avoid paying in this series of messages you remember we talked about alcoholism and drugs and pornography and what have you.

And those are all ways that people are what are they trying to do that they're trying to seek happiness and avoid paying doing it in the wrong way but nonetheless that's their motivation, but that's true of all of us. We seek pleasure and avoid pain. Secondly, it is true ethically. In this sense that there is nothing wrong with the pursuit of pleasure. The real point is what pleasures are you pursuing the Bible is very clear that there are two different kinds of pleasure there is what we would call worldly pleasures and were going to talk about those today but there are also on pleasures. Imagine this in thy presence there is fullness of joy at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore what's heaven going to be heaven is going to be our pleasure and delight thyself also in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart, all I hope that you are listening to the choir as they sang DAs to Joy of man's desiring holy wisdom, love, most bright and speaking of those who receive their joy from Christ. There is is beauties fairest pleasure.

There is wisdom's holy treasure about us to ever leave thine own in the love of joy is unknown goal for pleasure, but make sure that you're seeking the right ones. A man by the name of Henry Sue Goll wrote that the soul of man happy and at a ranging and in extinguishable first and that first seeks to be quenched. You and I are born with Apostol called it that God -shaped vacuum, but we are born with a ranging verse and the question is where can our thirst be quenched when the Bible talks about pleasures of the world it always does so in a negative light. Talks about the pleasures of God, very positively, obviously, but the pleasures of this world negatively and we live in a pleasure crazy world worldly pleasures. This past week.

I finally decided to scan Neil postman's book amusing ourselves to death, and in the book.

He said that it used to be that there were cities that represented America Boston the intellectual liberal establishment you have.

For example, also Chicago.

This city of industry you have New York as the melting pot.

He said the city that best characterizes us today is Las Vegas glitz and glamour money 24 hour a day parties. That's the age in which you and I live people are doing all kinds of things for pleasure. Problem is that they are running on empty because they are the wrong pleasures, as we shall see today.

I mentioned a moment ago that the Bible speaks negatively of of the pleasures of this world. Remember in second Timothy chapter 3, he says in the last days perilous times are going to come. Men will be lovers of their own selves, and then he says, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, and that's really the key is that these pleasures lure us and crowd God out. You say, well, a pastor loser. This is a series of messages. Title VII the secret snares and we talked about some of those snares out this late. What about the snare of pleasure I mean is that really a serious snare. As I began to reflect on this and prepare this message. I began to understand how they are a very serious it really is so serious that it's probably the one thing that we find the most difficult to accept the one snare that we most easily fall into without even knowing it. And God today can show us how easily we fall into it and what the marks of that tough call really are.

We will have achieved something because you and I are loath to accept the message that I'm just going to preach today. Take your Bibles now and turn to first John first John three verses three powerful verses. This is not the gospel of John. Now, first John is near the end of the New Testament. Just a few pages before the book of Revelation.

Andrew John is speaking here in the first John chapter 2 verse 50 Dean do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him for everything in the world. The cravings of sinful man, your translation might say, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes that says and the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the father but from the world, the world and its desires pass away, but the man or woman who does the will of God lives forever like us to do today is to see why we must avoid the snare of the world which is a snare really pleasure. First of all because of what the world is because of what it is. You'll notice that he speaks of the world that we are supposed to hate.

Now let me be very clear that the word world in the Bible is used in various ways. For example, there is the world of people forgot love the world, that's not the world were supposed to hate, there is the world of nature. We don't have to hate the world of nature, though it can mislead us. This is the world as an organized system. It's a world really that is antagonistic toward God and his truth. We sometimes use the word world.

In that sense in other ways. For example, you hear a news reporter sample to bring you a report from the world of sports, talking about some other planet that's out there. He's talking about the organized system that we call sports. Though some sports do appear to be on organized but that's what's meant now this world system. What do we know about it. First of all, it is a very subtle satanic system because your Bibles are open to first John chapter 2.

Notice what John says now in chapter 5, verse 19, we know that we are children of God and can you even believe this.

The whole world is under the control of the evil one. He is the organizing principle. He is the prince of the power of the air.

He is the one who keeps the system the unified to the extent that it is he is the one who has the goals and the desires and aspirations that he loves to impose upon people who do not know that they are being the lead by him.

So it is a very subtle system. It is a seductive system. As we'll see in a moment because it comes to us very innocently. The world presents itself to us as something that we need because it is tied in with some very legitimate needs and aspirations and desires and sometimes we don't know where to separate the one from the other were talking here about powerful seduction.

It is also a world though that competes for our love for God love not the world nor the things that are in the world.

If any man love the world. Notice the love of the father is not in him. If you love the world, you may not be born again.

The love of the father is not in you.

That's how antagonistic the world is to God there to love this to loves in verse 15, the love of the world, the love of God.

Many years ago there was a book written.

I think all that I ever learned I learned in kindergarten something like that is close enough for my purposes, I could write a book entitled all the theology I ever learn I learned from my children's question you talk about being a father. Fathers have to be marvelous theologians or else simply tell their children to be quiet and asked the pastor you. That's the option that you have when their daughter Lori who is always ahead of herself. Maybe seven or eight years old said to me, as we are praying together or preparing to pray.

She said dad should we love everybody you can know that when a child asks the question in that tone of voice. There is a catch coming. I said yes of course we should love everybody a little hesitantly. I said that and then she said well you know what that means.

That means that we should love Satan to, shouldn't we also child, no.

Lori, we love people, but we do not to love Satan. Satan is God's antagonist and we have absolutely no room in our hearts to love him at all and he does not deserve love and he is on a trajectory that is going to lead him to the eternal and eternal judgment which he so richly deserves. We don't allow the devil and if we don't love the devil we don't love the world, there is a kind of love God actually hate if any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him. Do you sense the antagonism here to love this. We should love the world because of what it is. Secondly, we should love it because of what the world does because of what the world does and now we begin to really unpack what John has in mind. Now we begin to get convicted where those snares that we've talked about. We do ask that we not fall into the snares into the pits that they been speaking about 12 notice this. It says 16 for everything in the world. The cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the father but from the world, the world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. One of the snares. First of all, the lust of the flesh which my translation says that craving up sinful man craving up sinful man. You and I were born with certain desires. We are born with a desire to eat. We are born with a desired to drink because we become thirsty that we are born with the desire to sleep and sexuality and all those desires are part of who we are, but you see the temptation now is to take these desires.

These cravings and to satisfy them in ungodly way, and that's why we read here that the cravings of men are sinful to see our desire to eat can become a gluttony are desires for water just like our thirst can become alcoholism or our weariness can become laziness and our sexuality can become immorality and that's what the cravings of sinful flesh, are you stable. Have I ever had those cravings listen to this list of sinful cravings. They accept sinful nature are obvious sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, there you go, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and the drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. There you have a pretty complete list but Paul was afraid he might even leave some out and says things like these, and you see because these cravings, desire, and then they promised happiness is saying were tempted to find pleasure in all the wrong places. The place that leads us to empty nests that we need to hurry on the lust of the flesh. Notice the lust of the eyes back here in first John chapter 2 verse 16 the lust of the eyes. There is such a thing as eyes having an appetite. We heard the expression, feast your eyes on this feast your eyes on this.

We want to have this this appetite and it may refer to even the finer things of life. I needed could be art. It could be works of art.

It could be nature, it could be going to an opera.

It could be all kinds of things you stable is that sinful well in a moment I'm going to answer that question, not right now but you need to hang on the simple fact is that the lust of the eyes also may refer to covetousness where we desire that which is not ours and therefore our desires are never ever fulfilled because we we mistake the cure for the real cause of the problem and the cause is within our heart, so you can see here that there refers to the lust of the eyes. Thirdly, the boastful pride of life, and this is certainly one of the snares we don't even see we we don't see ourselves as boastful just because we want the things of this world. We don't see ourselves as prideful, just because we judge others so quickly when they fall into sin and have that good smug feeling that we would never do that.

Like the Pharisees did you see that's the kind of thing that only God can show us what's wrong with all these things to give you a couple of ideas here. First of all because they make the same promises as God. Remember, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of the life they are all shouting this way to happiness this way to pleasure. We are where it's at where it's at. God is the only one who has a right to make a promise like that you come onto me and you will be filled us in Jesus. You, then you drink from me, the living water. Jesus you are the one who fulfills our desire, the lust of the flight. The world comes along and says we'll do it will do it will do it will do it and you and I are so 10 to believe and to try the first makes the same promises of God.

Secondly, it detracts us from God that the world does. Now, here we come to some quote innocent pleasures summaries as well.

There certainly is nothing wrong with the sports is there. There's nothing wrong with watching doubles or.com are the bears these other animals that we have sometimes running around in various contexts is nothing wrong with that. I want all of you to listen as if you've never heard me speak for the first time because this is so, so critical I don't believe that the devil minds whether it is sports, whether it is even something terrible like the addictions that we've talked about he isn't that concerned as to what it is doesn't care what it is. As long as these things absorb our attention and take the ways of God and even the good pleasures in life that remarkably well they squeeze out God will my dear friend, this is Pastor Luther, of course, there's nothing wrong with watching sports. Oftentimes you find that the ads can be very offensive. But at the same time we must recognize that God is put within us a desire for competition and if we have a special team that we like. We are going to want to watch them when but the point that I made in the message is very critical. It's possible that these kinds of things detractors from God. More enthusiasm is exercised regarding sports then God and what we need to do is to see things in perspective these messages I believe are very critical in today's world and were making them available to you messages regarding gambling, alcoholism agreed to sexual sin, pleasure, etc. here's how they can be yours so that you can listen to them again and again for a gift of any amount what you do is go to RTW offer.com RTW offer.com. By the way you ask Ben for the series of messages titled seven snares of the enemy breaking free from the devil's grip RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 and as you connect with us.

Thanks in advance for remembering us in prayer. Thank you for your gifts because together we are making a difference and we thank God for the many opportunities we are given to connect with thousands upon thousands of people by radio time again for another chance for you to ask restaurants are a question about the Bible or the Christian life.

Today's question arose from the world of politics and has to do with Mormonism.

Betty from Hanoi rights.

I have questions about Mormonism, especially in light of Mitt Romney's comments during the campaign that I believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior.

It sounds good but I wonder how many Christians know that the Jesus that Romney believes in is not the Jesus of the Scriptures, but rather that there is quote another testament of Jesus Christ, Betty, you're absolutely right.

I hope everyone realizes that when Mormons speak of Jesus Christ. They are not talking about the same Jesus. They are talking about a Jesus who is a brother of Lucifer. For example furthermore you need to understand that Mormonism has many occult teachings it teaches. For example, the deity of man as God now is so man once was and then I think the quote continues as God now is so man will be. That's occultism at the root of false religion always is the deification of man. Bottom line, you have to understand that there's some people who use the same terminology that we do, but they mean something very different.

Best advice to listeners going to a bookstore find a book about Mormonism and study and discover what they really believe it isn't Christianity. Thank you. Documents are if you'd like to hear your question answered.

Go to our website@rtwoffer.com and click on ask restaurants are or call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 these days Christians are awash in a sea of pleasures. Having time for everything with God. Many waste their time in a myriad of ways of the options only keep increasing. There is a price to be paid for wallowing in the short term pleasures of this world. Next time I'm running to win a challenge to all of us to get our priorities straight. Pastor Luther will give us the faithful bottom line for those pursuing a life of leisure and not seeking the pleasures of God, for Dr. Erwin Luzerne this is Dave Callister running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church