Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Denying Worldly Lusts Pt.1

It is good to be home, and I just want to thank everybody for their prayers. Janet was able to make the trip well and was strong throughout the three weeks we were gone, and we're thankful for that. It was a good time of refreshing for both of us. She started her treatments again yesterday. The doctor said that the cancer had five weeks in which to grow (she was not able to receive treatments prior to our leaving), so we're not to be alarmed that the cancer had made significant gains. We're just not believing that. We'll know toward the end of this week where the marker count is. We're believing that will be the first indication that God is doing a work in her body. We're believing for that and expecting a miracle! As we've said, this is something that they've said is a hundred percent fatal, but we're just accepting the promises of God and not the understanding and the lack of wisdom in man.

Let's go ahead and turn to Titus. While you're turning there, let me give you a quick update on Africa. We just heard from the guys, and things are going along well. It's our understanding now that the land is available. All of the legal work has been done as far as the paperwork and the registrations, etc. We're just praying as to what we're going to do at that moment. We are seeing some growth in the church in Nairobi. The church has grown now from the six people that we had when we were meeting in the YMCA. I think that when we had our first meeting out there, we had one individual. Now, with adults and children, we've outgrown the 50 chairs that we bought! Can you say "Praise God!" for that? I think there are 36 adults, 14 children, and growing, praise God! We're believing God for some great things to be done, so continue to pray. It's exciting to see what Father's doing. They found a van there, so they're able now to transport the larger speaker system, which means we can begin some of these open-air meetings that we were wanting to hold. We'll literally be able to reach thousands of people with the equipment that we've been able to send over there. So be prayerful; and we're going to believe God for a continued increase in those areas.

Titus Chapter 2 is a passage that we're all very familiar with, and something that we want to emphasize again in light of the hour that we're living in--looking for that blessed hope, the Scripture says. But in preparation for that, John says it this way: "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure" (1 John 3:3). The Apostle Paul says it this way: "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts [two distinct things: ungodliness and worldly lusts], we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people [a set apart people], zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee" (Titus 2:11-15). We realize, then, that this kind of message can bring a despising of the nations and a despising of the professed church.

It's interesting what Paul is saying here as we're looking at his writing to Titus, wanting to set him up in his oversight. He said, "Here's what I want you to do. Make this message of the gospel clear, that those who have really received us--those who have become new creations in Christ Jesus, those who have experienced the renewing of the mind that comes from an encounter with the resurrected Christ through the illumination of the glorious gospel--there has to be in those people a recognizable denying of ungodliness.

Now, what is ungodliness? It's not just that these people are living lives that are decadent and lives that are offensive in their lasciviousness. It's just people who are living separate from God. Some of them are very moral people, very nice people; but the fact of the matter is: they worship other gods. They deny the one true God. As we read the Old Testament, there's one thing that we see God was concerned about always, and that's why it was so emphasized in the Ten Commandments. He said, "You're to have no other gods before Me or in addition to Me. For there's only one God, and there is no other. I don't want to find you worshipping graven images, and the stars, and the moon. I don't want you worshipping the creature more than the Creator."

We find that in our society today that's where we are. Most of us aren't involved in astrology. None of us in here read the horoscope or give any credibility at all to that. Most of us aren't deceived by the false religions of the world. We're not into reincarnation. We're not as dingy as Shirley MacClaine and some of these others who believe in reincarnation and the lives they've lived previously. We're not deceived by the false gods of the different Asian religions, but how many of us here can say that we're not influenced by the major religion of the world: secular humanism (the worship of man)? It's man's ability to replace God through the very gifts and mercy that He has bestowed upon man. They've defected from Him, and depend now in that God-ness that's innate within us (His creation) that gives us the ability to not only create, but to understand. In the process, he's denied the very Creator in worshipping the creature. Ungodliness, then, is serving other gods, whatever they might be.

We're going to talk about that spirit as it relates to this next phrase in Titus that says we are to be denying ungodliness. The consequence or fruit of ungodliness (especially of this god of secular humanism) is worldly lusts. The world has attracted you, seduced you, and entrapped you. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things have entered in and choked the Word of God out of your life. If we've been affected by the world, then we are involved in ungodliness, a denying of absolute dependence upon God. Let me say it again. If we're not totally dependent upon God, then we are involved in ungodliness. If we're controlling any area of our lives, ungodliness has taken root in us.

And so, we want to talk about that and identify it, and look at many of the subtle things that are given place in the lives of people today, the little foxes. We're not always aware of what's going on around us. We don't become aware many times until it's crunch time, until having to make decisions against our own emotions, against our own intellect, making decisions to deal with the fears that enter into the natural mind when we're walking in absolute faith and dependence upon God. Really, when we're talking about this walk in the Spirit, we're talking about an absence from any reliance in the flesh. Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. We think that walking in the Spirit is just a moral thing. It's not just about morality. Walking in the Spirit means an absence from reliance on self. Walking in the Spirit is denying our ability to control our own lives. Walking in the Spirit, as we study the Scriptures out, is to be spiritually minded, which is life and peace. To be spiritually minded (as we've shared many times from Romans 8) is to be totally intent upon spiritual things, seeking the things that are above, where Jesus is seated at God's right hand. Walking in the Spirit has to do with absolutely not having thoughts (but pulling them down) of wanting to control our own lives. It's making decisions that are contrary to what the world's system says is wisdom. "The thing that's wise for you right now would be to make this investment." "The thing that's wise for you now is to take advantage of all of your physical attributes."

We've had different ones here in the fellowship. The question comes up, "Why haven't you taken advantage of this scholarship? Why haven't you taken advantage of this opportunity to imbibe this particular spirit over here that will make you a success in business?" And many of our young people have said, "No, man; I want to be part of the community of God. I want to be a part of the household of faith. I have treasures that are not on earth; they're in Heaven." We have people in our congregation say, "I don't know if that was a wise decision. You have many years to live; you're only a young person now." They've made the wisest decision. I want you to understand that. Yet, how many of us as parents are wanting our children to be "successes" in the natural, in the physical, in the temporal realm, and we're almost fearful when they put their number one treasure in the unseen, the eternal, the things that the world says are foolishness? You say, "I'm not there."

Richard called me when we were on vacation and said, "We're having a little bit of a problem." [They addressed it here, and I'm not going to deal with any of the details.] There are certain families that are having trouble with basketball, and their kids playing, or not playing, and all of this. I said, "Just ask them this. Have they ever come to you and said, 'I'm really concerned that my children aren't on the front lines of the witnessing team, and why they're not given opportunity to lay their lives down for Jesus, and to come up and clean the toilets, and serve the rest of the body'? "Why aren't they given the honor that's due them, and the recognition of their great ability to die to self and serve the kingdom of God first? We've never had any parents come and complain like that. We've never had any parents come and say, "I just don't feel my children are getting enough opportunity to lay their lives down, their ability to die to the world and selflessly serve others is not being recognized." Oh, but they come when it's, "How come this one doesn't get to sing, or play?" or whatever.

It really begins to reveal where our hearts are. Instead of being thankful for the opportunity to be in a community where all of these temporal things are de-emphasized, and the most important things are the spiritual aspects... We'll do it hypothetically. Let's say, for instance, that our basketball coaches are not as good as Wooten. Now, we know that they are, but let's just say they don't have quite that ability. Of course, we all know that you as parents are more knowledgeable than anybody on the planet! And so, now we have these two hypotheticals. How about, instead of looking at the lack of ability of the coaches, being thankful that God brought them to your children, and that they are superior in character, and godliness, and Christ-likeness. Maybe they don't make the right basketball decisions, but I want you to know they're examples to be followed in the spirit; praise God! Now, where's our real treasure, and what are we thankful for? You ought to be rejoicing that godly people are willing to give their time to lead your children to the things that are more important than bouncing a rubber ball.

That is the spirit of worldly lusts. You thought it was spending too much money on a new car. Worldly lust: spending too much money on our credit card; worldly lust: involved in some type of lascivious behavior. Worldly lust is just the elevation of self-will and self-importance, the placing of my feelings, and my family, and my treasures above everybody else. That's what's in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--the pride that I'm the most important thing on the planet; I'm the smartest on the planet. It's that subtle spirit that we have to deal with every day, practically every moment of every day. And so, what we want to do, in this time that we're going to have together in our study, is to be able to identify that worldliness and how to deny it--the grace that enables us, Paul says, to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. And then look at what he says. By denying these things, we then will live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.

Now, it doesn't tell us that this is done through legalism; it's done in the spirit. Look at what it says. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation..." The word "salvation" (soteria) in it's generic term means "wholeness." The man who's been born-again, who was lacking in the spirit life now becomes whole. He becomes a total individual, not limited to the soulical realm. We're not limited to the bondage of our lusts or the sin that's in our members. We now have the capacity in our spirit man to deny this ungodliness. Before, we were slaves to it; we couldn't help ourselves. We were carnally minded, Romans 8 says. To be carnally minded is death; ungodliness is death. To be carnally minded is to have my mind governed (controlled) by worldliness, or my mind intent upon those things. I'm seeking them; I'm in agreement with them. I agree that God has no right to control my life.

I was on one of the machines. I don't remember which, what it's called. It's that one that you kind of kuhh, kuhh, kuhh, run on the thing that's kind of combination Stairmaster, ski, treadmill thing. I'm on this thing, and I'm minding my own business. This lady's on there next to me. We're up at Tahoe. I was in there one day, got to see Colette, and they came in to work out, Colette and Bea. They're over there burning those treadmills up. I'm on this thing, and I'm working out; and this lady's next to me, and whoo, whoo, I can't remember how the conversation went. We're, I'm going; I'm minding my own business. Oh, I know what it was. I was watching ESPN, and she was watching some Kathy Lee, Jesse Raphael, something. The little effeminate guy with the curly hair, the workout guy came on. I don't remember his name. He comes busting on the scene, and so he's selling something new; and she makes the comment. He said, "Well, I work out; I live on 1200 calories and work out two hours a day." I looked at him, I thought, "I thought I had a bad metabolism" because he's kind of, he's a little soft right now and pudgy. I mean he's better than he used to, you know, was. I'm sure not in any place to give anybody a hard time. This woman says, "Yeah, like I want to look like you." She says to the TV; she's talking to the TV now.

I was there all this time, a human being; she never said a word. She talks to the TV. She's on there, and she's doing her thing; and she says, "Yeah, like I want to look like you. Here I live on a 1000 calories a day and starving myself' and now she turn to me and says, "Because men are only interested in one thing, the way we women look." I'm watching ESPN, man. I'm trying to get ready for the Super Bowl. I'm a whole lot more interested in Warner than her. Here I am minding my own business, and I said, "Well, yeah." No, I didn't say that. I said, "Not all, not all men are. There's that nature in man that is" but I said, "Born-again Christians have more of an interest than just the physical." She says, "I'm a born-again Christian, and I love sex." I'm going, "Oh, man." I'm still, I'm hoping that Colette and Bea come in. Thankfully, there were a number of people in there working out.

To try to make the conversation--I'll try to condense this for you; it was a very interesting conversation. I said, "Yeah." But I don't believe that God, da, da, da, she went on talking. I said, "I want to tell you something" and just to condense the whole thing, I said, I said--she's talking about how miserable she was and all this. I said, "You know the problem is you're saying you're a Christian, and the fact of the matter is you're denying the Word of God, you're denying the lordship of Jesus Christ; you're an entity unto yourself." I began to share with her the Biblical principles, and I asked her point blank. I just looked at her, I said, "Who do you think you are to judge God? You've already proved (I said this to her) how stupid you are, and you're boasting against the wisdom of God's Word." I said, "To be carnally minded is death, and you need to bow your knee and your pride to the wisdom of God. You may not understand or even agree in your own flesh with the wisdom of God and the dictates of confining these physical activities to marriage, but none of that's the problem. The problem is the pride in your own heart and your own lust to control your life, your ungodliness. You're a god-hater. How dare you take His name upon your lips." She finished and left. It's so good how light dispels darkness, man, I was able to just keep working out. Ruined her day big time, man, or set her free.

Who knows what the scattering of the seed of God's Word can do. I mean, I got in this lady's face. It was one of those things when the anointing just rises up in you, the hatred for the sin and the defiance of God in someone who professes themselves a Christian.

She said, "Well, the one thing I want you to know" she said, "I believe that all of my behavior is under the blood of Jesus." Here's this woman that's professing her own promiscuity, and I said, "I want to tell you something, lady, disobedience and rebellion are not under the blood of Jesus." Now, there's a blatant example of ungodliness and the bondage of worldly lust. There's a mistaken, you know, this woman went to too many Baptist churches. There's a woman who misunderstood the grace of God. His grace is sufficient, and all of this is under His blood, and I said, "Rebellion and disobedience is not under the blood." The grace of God enables us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts that we might live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.

Now, let's talk about a couple of the practical things here, and then we'll get back to the Titus passage. I think it's important for us to understand the biblical perspective and what God reveals worldliness is. We know that in the old time holiness movements, worldliness was perceived just as forms of recreation. Worldliness was dancing. Worldliness was going to the pool hall. Worldliness had something to do with fashion and the length of your hems. We began to see worldliness just as certain activities and thought there was a piety in refraining from these things. There might be wisdom in refraining from activities, but there is no piety. There's no holiness that's derived from abstaining from any of these activities. It doesn't make us better. We may abstain because we are better, because we are walking in the Spirit, because we are better off in the spiritual realm than some of our contemporaries; but it doesn't make us better. And so, we have to understand what the Bible calls worldliness.

To be a friend of the world, the Scripture says, is to be an enemy (or to be at enmity) with God. Worldliness, then, is just opposing God. So, get it down in your notes: Worldliness is opposing the wisdom of God. Worldliness is not shooting, snorting, drinking, or smoking. Those are all the consequences (the fruit) of worldliness, but that's not worldliness. Turn if you would to James Chapter 4, verse 4. "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." Powerful, powerful! The grace of God allows us to deny worldly lusts.

When we talk about worldliness, we're really talking about opposition to godliness. It's not just a passivity; it's an opposition. The spirit of worldliness is not content to live absent from God, but to replace God. It denies God's right to exist. It denies God's existence. When we talk about worldliness, we're talking about more than just a philosophy. We're talking about something that's beyond man's understanding or systematizing of some form of philosophy. We're talking about a spiritual force that's in opposition to God and would ascend above the throne of God.

And so, worldliness is not fashion. Worldliness has nothing to do with politics. Worldliness is the power of sin, the exaltation of Lucifer (Satan) expressed in a myriad of ways. All I'm saying is this: when you use the word "worldliness," don't dilute it by thinking of just some of these behavioral things. We're talking about a spirit of hatred, the enemy of God. Worldliness is the enemy of God. To be a friend of the world makes you an enemy of God. Just like being spiritually minded makes you a child of God, to be carnally minded makes you an enemy of God. It doesn't mean that you're just living to yourself, and God's going to let you go. No man lives to himself or dies to himself, the Scripture says. Any man that is not a child of God, a child of light, is an enemy, a hater, in opposition to the kingdom of God.

Now, when we talk about it that way, does it cause us to look upon those people that we work with on a daily basis a little differently? I'm talking about the "nice" people, the people that greet you every morning, the ones that say, "Hey, man! Have a cup of coffee. How've you been? How'd your weekend go?" Do you understand who these people are? They hate your Father. They hate the blood of Jesus Christ. They deny His deity. They deny His death and His resurrection; because if they didn't deny it, they would have accepted it. We have to begin to relate to these people, then, with a little better understanding. We need to see how dangerous they are in our contact with them. What do we do then? Do we go to work and not talk to anybody? We don't go in there and wrap our Pharisaical robes around ourselves; but we can't go in there ignorantly. We have to go in there with the full of armor of God. How many of you can say that you've been going to work vulnerable when you begin to look at it from this perspective? Have you been going in a vulnerable state? Have you just kind of taken work as a daily occurrence?

The prayer that was prayed tonight was just absolutely in line with the spirit of what we're wanting to talk about here. As he prayed, he said, "Thank God for this oasis, for this place where we can come and be refreshed, and come out of the world, and realize that we're a people who are peculiar to God, and to be strengthened in our lives." Are we thankful for this? Do we understand how precious these times are that we have together, the times of prayer like we had last night, and all of those different things? Have you somehow been deceived into thinking that maybe in your own strength you're standing out there, that maybe you're just a little sharper than all of the other guys, so you can kind of work your way around? "I can join up with them, but they're not sharp enough to take me down, man! They'll never know that cutting my hair will take my strength. I'll just play some games with them. I can handle it." Without Him we can do nothing. Our weapons are not carnal; they're mighty through God. If you don't put on the full armor of God, you will not stand.

Has the world convinced us that they're not really that dangerous? "The dangerous people are the ones that are down in Southeast D. C. The dangerous ones are the drug addicts. The real dangerous ones are the ones that are bound with a love of money, and they're deceiving people, and cheating, and lying, and manipulating, and trying to get rich. Those are the dangerous people; but this environment that I'm in is really not all that bad." We begin to look around, and things that are favorable to them look pretty good to us, too. Then we make the mistake. Colossians 3:2 says, "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." The lust of the eye--we look around, and we see things; and that's not bad in and of itself. But what about when we have the spirit of Esau, to where we didn't get what we thought was rightfully ours from our father, so we now lift up our eyes, we see a woman, and we say, "That's the one I want!"? "In defiance, just because God said I couldn't, I'm taking that. Just because my father didn't treat me right, I'll get it for myself. My brothers and my sisters were prospered by God. They were made rich, and there was no sorrow apparently that was added with it. But I have a right to that, so I'll acquire it in my own strength." And I set my affections on the things of the earth instead of the things that are above.

Should I state it in a very simple way? Worldliness is setting your own standards. That's what the world does. It establishes certain standards. It tells us what a success is; it tells us how to become a success. It has its own rules that it plays by. The Scripture makes it very clear that we're to set our affections on the things that are above, to seek the establishing of treasures in the heavenlies. What is it in the world that's attracting you? What is it that's causing a distraction? What is it that you have your eyes riveted upon that's robbing you of your ability to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? As we all know and have seen in the Scriptures, there's nothing wrong with things. But are you being distracted? Are the cares of this world, or the attractions, distracting you? (We shared with you years ago from the parable of the sower that, in the Greek, the "cares" referred to being "distracted by an attraction.") Are the attractions of the world distracting you from your first responsibility of seeking first and absolutely the kingdom of God? "I just want to do what God wants me to do. Whatever Father has for me is what I want for myself. I can't set my own standards."

The world (the enemies of God) says, "The fact of the matter is: God's not just. If you want anything, you're going to have to watch out for yourself. The one thing that I know in life is that you can't trust God. He'll always fail you. He'll always leave you short. Has God said? Don't you understand that God's holding out on you? Don't you understand that if you'll take this one fruit, your eyes will be opened and you'll be as gods?" That force is continually bombarding us and saying God's ways don't work. "Humbling yourself will not get you ahead. Being servant of all is not being the greatest. Whatever you do, son, understand this; listen to me. You'd better lay up for yourself; you'd better start taking thought for tomorrow!"

Isn't that what's in the world? How much of that is in us? I'm not going right now into the other biblical principles of the wisdom of laying up, and saving, and all of the different aspects of how to wisely apply our bounty and the abundance that God's given us. That's not what this is about. We know those truths. This teaching is about asking ourselves these questions. How seduced are we in our minds with the world's wisdom? How convinced are we that the path we're on is right? How much of the course that I'm walking on is because of the conviction of my own heart, and how much is the momentum of the community that's carrying me along? What is my history? What is the track record of what I do under pressure?

Denying worldly lusts, or (let's say it another way) worldly wisdom, or (let's say it another way) carnal mindedness, which is death. Let's begin to look at the definition of what worldliness really is. In Matthew 16:26, Jesus makes this comment. "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" It sounds to me, then, like gaining the world is losing your soul. Some of the decisions we're making, some of the false messages we're sending our children, some of the value we're putting on the world is devaluing their souls. Some of the value that we're putting on the world in the eyes of our children could cost them their souls.

What are we talking about practically? Now remember, none of these things in and of themselves are the problem. It's the spirit that we're talking about, the spirit of the world. Let's just ask ourselves a question then. What happens when we let our children dress like the world? I think it's going out as a fad right now, but what about the guys that walked around and had to hold their pants up? (They became the one-armed bandits of society!) What's that all about? Why would anybody do that? You have to walk around holding your pants up! There was a guy sitting in front of me at the races, and he was sitting on his pants. He's got these boxers on, and his boxers are just out there, and his pants took up three seats! The whole row could have gotten in there with the guy! I don't even know where you buy pants that big. I'd have to find something with an 84-inch waist to dress like the world! But we're a peculiar people. Now, we don't have to dress in a way that is so distinct like traditional Pentecostal women that wore the long sleeves, and the high necks, and white powder on their faces and looked like they'd been embalmed. We're not talking about that. The fact of the matter is: we don't need to go to the world's trends.

How many of these kids do you think are going to be sorry when the trend changes from tattoos ? "Whoops!" You know, parents, it's one thing to let your kid get a goofy haircut, but a tattoo? You've got Beavis and Butthead tattooed on your nose, and you're going to go through life with that thing? Somewhere Beavis and Butthead are going to go out of style; but it's a tattoo; they don't go away! Don't let your kid be stupid. Tell them, "If you're going to go down there, just go ahead and have them add 'IDIOT' on your forehead, and get it over with!"

We go into all of the trends, and you get the goofy hairdos. I saw that these stupid shoes are coming back again--the ones that people fall off of and get hurt! What's this Herman Munster look? I don't understand that. "Oh, you're in a hurry? Let me take my shoes off!" They're walking instruments. Our kids go to these extremes. So, here we are. "We want our kids to be fashionable." Why? Who's pulling those strings? "Well, the world doesn't have any influence on me. Hey, this is only fashion." Well I've got a question. Who are those 12 queers that are designing all this stuff that you're following? Do you understand who you're following? Do you understand who it is that's telling you what's cool and what's in, and that you don't look right if you don't look like a fruit? I'm talking about the subtlety of this spirit, beloved. If we're going to embrace the world in these ways, then what else are we embracing? How strong is that spirit? They tell us how to dress. They tell us where to live and how to live. And the world begins to influence us.

Then for different forms of recreation, of course, we come up with all of the different games that are available today. We have all of the games--the video games, and whatever. I don't even know what the new ones are. I'm beyond "Pac-man." How many of you remember "Pong," the original video game? We had one. There were two white lines and one little white dot, and they'd go "bong, bong, bong," across the screen. That's where it started. Now, we're into the "Nintendo" stuff. If it's gone beyond that, I'm not aware; but that's where we are. Okay; there's nothing wrong with playing a few little games. Then they got into the perverted part of it, to where there were the dragons, and dungeons, and occult type things. Now they're into sadomasochism and all of this kind of stuff. "Well, we're not into that." Okay, that's cool. You're not into dismembering people and eating their parts. Good! Now, what about the fact that your kid can't go on a twelve-minute ride from here to Tyson's Corner without some little video game just beeping away? Do they even know what street you're turning on? Do they know how to find their way home?

I'm talking about the world and how it's influenced us. I'm talking about these things that are ungodly. That's ungodly behavior. Now, let me explain to you why. It's ungodly because godliness says that we're to teach our children while we're in the way, not give them some stupid video game. "Here's how you don't run over pedestrians." (Well, one of the ways is don't turn around and look at them while you're talking to them!) We begin to instruct them in life, and we're showing them different things, and we're explaining things. "You see, that's not the one-way sign. That person was not pleased with that other person's maneuver!" We're explaining things to them as we're going down the road. A child left to himself brings his parents shame. What are we doing to leave our kids to themselves? How much time are they spending with video games? What movies are they watching that you're not there instructing them in life? "Well, it takes so much time." You shouldn't have had the kids then if you're not going to raise them. The responsibility that we have with this godly seed and next generation is what we're going to talk about in Deuteronomy in our next study. We have to understand, beloved; we're being vexed; we don't know it. And it's not the obvious things. It's not the defiance. "I don't want to go to church; I'm not going to do that. I'm going out and make a million!" It's not that. It's just all of these distractions and these things that the world's doing that we're embracing. They seem innocent, but they're ungodly, because the Bible says we're to train our children up when we walk in the way and when they lie down.

We were talking about that today at the house. Years ago, we had a number of teenagers at the house. Janet went in, and she was tucking the kids in, telling them goodnight, and speaking peace upon them. She gave the little girls that were visiting a hug and a little kiss on the forehead. This one teenage girl said, "Does your mom always do that?" She said, "Yeah." I don't think that was very common to this child. "It's time to go to bed!" They go up with earphones, telephone, television, computer, extra-terrestrials coming in, and you don't even know it! Worldliness--there's no place for that in the kingdom of God. We know what our children are doing. We're instructing our children in the way they ought to go, so that when they're old they will not depart from it. We're not letting little computers suck our kids' brains out! If you're going to sit there that long with anything in your hands, let it be the Word of God.

Those who are worried about their kids in basketball--let me ask you this. How much Scripture do your children know? I guarantee you that if they spend as much time with the Word of God being pumped into their minds, the grief in your heart will not manifest, because this Word will wash you from all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. And so, all of these little things are acceptable. As I said, I don't even know what the current little games are. I'm not that concerned with what they are (unless it's the "eat-your-friend" ones!). The question is this. (Turn back to the Titus passage.) Is there sobriety in our lives? In denying worldly lusts, we are to live soberly. And so, we have to ask ourselves if we have a renewed mind, if we're letting this mind be in us which was in Christ Jesus, if we're pulling down every thought and every evil imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. If this is where we are, if we are spiritually minded, and life and peace is dominant within our being, then the one thing we know is this: our lives are going to be sober; they're going to be under control. Are our lives under control? Is the Word of God controlling our lives?

I'm using the children, but put yourself in there. You're the one that's making these decisions; so really, it starts with you; the root is you. Your child comes home and says, "You know, all the kids, man, they're getting these new Ubangi plates, and I was wanting to get one of those things. And I want to hang a hippo off this ear, and I want a tattoo over there. I need pants to fall down and twelve computer games!"

Do you want to know what godliness is? Let me show you godliness. You're either going to deny godliness or be involved in it. Here's godliness: "NO!" That's godly. You see, we don't understand what godliness is. Godliness is a father being able to say, "Follow me as I follow Christ." It's being able to exalt Jesus' lordship, to be able to make the Word of God preeminent. Godliness is being the priest of your home, being jealous for the holiness of God, being a representative of Him. These children are not yours. They're lent to you. They belong to the Lord. This woman is not your possession, but a gift of God. I want to tell you something. Any job you have, any hobby you have, any appetite you have that takes you away from that God-given responsibility is ungodliness. Anything that causes you to deny that life of sobriety and godly behavior is worldliness at work in your life. The cares and the roots of this world have engulfed your soul. To be a friend of the world is to be at enmity with God.

In this study (and we'll be a few weeks in this), when we talk about spiritual mindedness, we're not talking about "woo-woo" spirituality. We're talking about practical spirituality. We're talking about not letting your kids dress like the world or spend their time with all those stupid games. We're talking about teaching our kids to be servants and to prefer others better than themselves. We're talking about spending time as a family, and talking to one another, and communicating. We're talking about being able to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. That is spiritual mindedness. It's not all the spiritual "woo-woo" things that people try to put off as spirituality. It's obedience; it's discipline; it's sobriety. It's righteousness--being right with God, being in right standing, which really just means living the Word of God. Righteousness (right standing) carries with it the fruit of obedience, the fruit of exalting the Word and the wisdom of God over the wisdom of the world. The spirit of righteousness looks for those that the world calls weak and uncomely (I'm not talking about the weak of the world; I'm talking about the meek of the kingdom that the world calls weak) and says, "I want to be a partaker of that kind of a spirit. There's a person that, because of their faith and obedience, cannot in the natural accomplish what God has given them to do."

We talk so much about faith and trusting God. Ungodliness is expressed in direct correlation to how much you're trusting in your own ability and the ability of the world around you, the natural versus the spiritual, the temporal versus the eternal, the seen versus the unseen, the momentary as opposed to the everlasting.

Father, open our eyes and cause us to see the power of the world in which we live and its seduction. Cause us to understand that if we do not prepare ourselves daily with the full armor of God, we're not going to be able to stand.

The world's system, as it promotes itself as caring and concerned with men, is a devourer of men's souls, because to gain the whole world is to lose our own souls. To gain the world by worldly methods is to lose our own souls. Demas forsook the missionary team because he loved the present world. He started out with God and was a very productive member of the apostolic team. But he loved the present world, the momentary world, the momentary experience. As the apostle told us in Ephesians, it was in times past that we walked according to the course of this world. There's a course. There's a way to walk in the world that will make you a success. I have no question in my mind that what I've learned from the Word of God about human nature, I could turn around the principles and be a success in the world. There's a course, and the Word of God reveals it, and it says to shun it. It's broad, and many there be that take it, but it leads to destruction. It's a course that isn't limited by human ability, but it's according to the power of the prince of the air. That wisdom is not natural; it's supernatural. It's in opposition to God, but it's supernatural. It's demonic; it's earthly; it's sensual; it's devilish. It doesn't present itself that way, but that's its source. Any time we make a decision, any time we involve ourselves in their worship, any time we bow to their gods, we imbibe that spirit.

Father, we ask that You would set us free in the name of Jesus. We ask that You would cause us to be arrayed in the full armor of God, and that every fiery dart hurled against us would be quenched by the shield of faith. We ask You for the helmet of salvation that would make us sober and sound in our thinking, and that the insane thoughts of an unregenerate man would have no course in our lives. We ask that we would be renewed in our minds, and that we would "think upon these things," as Philippians says. For that we trust; in that we hope; and the other we deny. I deny ungodliness and worldly lust to operate in my life, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's stand before the Lord tonight. As Gary begins to play--we've gone a little long. Our kids' batteries have run down. Do any of you have those things in your cars that your kids can play on the way home from church? "I mean, it's five minutes; they've got to do something!" God forbid we'd ask them what happened in children's church. I'm not talking to all of us. I understand that. We can talk about some other areas as we go on. "Whatever you do, take thought for tomorrow!" Let's cast our care upon Him; He cares for us. As we come into a time when it's going to be very unstable, we don't have any idea what the judgment of God is going to bring in our generation. What we do know is that a man's righteousness will sustain him. Do you want to give your kids something to build on in the future? Give them some righteousness. Give them the ability to trust in God, because everything that the world's putting their trust in is going. The world's availability to the children of God is going. There will be still be provision for those who will take the mark. We're going to be gone. It doesn't concern me; it's not for me. I've not been appointed to the hour of wrath.

This passage in Titus has to do with looking for the blessed hope. You cannot be looking for the blessed hope and be involved in worldliness at the same time. Impossible. Each generation is looking for that coming and not necessarily leaving a whole lot behind in the natural except a heritage. And the next generation looks, and they're sustained from generation to generation in godliness and in no dependence upon the world's system. Even so come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Father, we just thank You for the Word of God. We ask that You would open our eyes now to the hour that we're living in and to the subtlety of the one who seduces us. We ask that You would give us an understanding of all that we've been blessed with and that we'd not believe the enemy's lie that something is being held back from us. Keep us safe by our knowledge of Your love for us. For that, we'll give You the praise, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Turn to somebody next to you and say, "Love not the world." Amen. Go in peace; God's love go with you.

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