Is the World Seeping into Your Life?

I'll get right into the sermon with a question. Are you overcoming the world, or is the world overcoming you? We know that many scriptures admonish us to overcome. In fact, when we read the messages to the seven churches, at the end of each message to each of the church, each church, it says to you will read, to him that overcomes, or he who overcomes. You'll find that at the end of each message to the seven churches.

Many, many scriptures then admonish us that we must overcome in order to be granted eternal life, in order to reign with Christ for a thousand years, and to inherit all things. Well, the implication of overcoming is that it will not be easy. It will be a struggle, and it will require effort and dedication on our part. And maybe the implication is that not everyone will succeed in overcoming. Today, let's understand more about overcoming and how we can win this struggle that we are in.

First of all, let's consider what must we overcome. There are three general areas that we must overcome. Number one would be our human nature, the self, you might say. Jeremiah 17 and verse 9 says the human heart is deceitful above all things. We must overcome that deceitful heart. Romans 8 and verse 7 says the carnal mind is imity against God and is not subject to God's law.

We must fight against then that carnal mind and overcome it. And notice in James chapter 4 that we then must fight against our own selves. So you might say the first area that we must overcome is self, our own human nature. James chapter 4 and verse 1, where do wars and fights come from among you?

Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? So we're fighting against things that are within ourselves, our carnal human nature. And verse 5 in this chapter says, do you think that the scripture says in vain, the spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously. Or as the New English Bible says, the spirit in man turns toward envious desires. So we have to fight against self. Number two is an evil world all around us.

You might say society. So the first thing we must overcome is and fight against is self. The second thing is an evil world about us. Galatians chapter 1 mentions this present evil world, and Revelation 12 mentions the whole world being deceived by Satan. Let's turn to 1 John chapter 2.

And so we are constantly fighting against the world around us as it comes at us with many evil temptations that we have to overcome. 1 John chapter 2 and verse 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. 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. And the world is passing away and the lust of it, but he that does the will of God abides forever.

So if we do God's will, if we overcome, we will abide forever. But we're fighting against the lust of the flesh, and against the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. So we have to overcome the world, society around us. And the third thing we must overcome is Satan, the God of this world. He has deceived the whole world, Revelation 12 and verse 9. And 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 4. Let's turn and read this verse. And this evil being is real.

He is somewhere right now on this earth. Up in the air somewhere on the earth, Satan right now is here. And his evil spirit beings that rebelled with him are here as well. 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 4. Whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. So the God of this world is striving to blind people to the truth, and we have to overcome his evil influence.

He's broadcasting his evil impulses. He's striving to get those evil impulses to affect us in our thinking and in our minds. So we're fighting against an evil spirit being, Satan, the God of this world. You might say, then, that we have to overcome the three S's, self, society, and Satan. Many, many scriptures admonish us to come out of this world and to be separate. Those who have their eyes set on the kingdom of God actually live in a different world. This is not our world.

This is Satan's world. Our minds are on a different world. We live in a different world than this one. This is not the one that we long for. It's not the one that we love. We love and long for a totally different world. Let's read a few verses about how we are not of this world. We're of a totally different world than this one.

In John chapter 8 and verse 23, we are following one who was not of this world. In John chapter 8 and verse 23, Jesus here said to the Jews, You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. So Jesus was of something above, not something here below.

Do you know that we are also of something of something above? We have set our affection on things above, not on things here below. And we are not of the world in the same way that Jesus was not of the world. Let us in John chapter 15 and verse 18. John chapter 15 and verse 18, If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, because see we're not, 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. We are not of the world.

We don't identify with this world. We don't relate to this world and the way it is going. We hate the way things are going in the world, in Satan's world. In John chapter 17, God has called us out to be separate and to be different from others in the world. In John 17 and verse 14, Jesus, on the night before he died, was praying, I have given them your word. And God has given us his word. He's given us the truth of the Bible. We open our Bibles and we understand it, because God has given us the word of God.

He's given us that understanding. I've given them your word. And the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. We're not taken out of the world. We're very much in the world. It's all around us. But we're not of the world.

We're totally different than what is all around us. Verse 16, they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctified them, and that word means to set apart.

Sanctified to make holy, to set apart by your truth. God's truth does set us apart.

Your word is truth. So that word, this Bible that we have been given to understand and live by, sets us apart. Let's turn to 2 Corinthians 16. So God has called us to come out of the world and to be different. Different than others. Now, that's something a true Christian has to be willing to do. A true Christian has to be willing to be different. If a person wants to conform and be like others all around him, he's not going to be able to be a Christian. A Christian has to be willing to be different. Even if he's the only one, like at a business or in his neighborhood, he has to be willing to be different than others. 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 17, Therefore come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. In chapter 7, verse 1, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

And this is going to involve some overcoming of self, some overcoming of society, and some overcoming of Satan the devil, if we are to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of God. Other verses in the book of Revelation, chapter 18 verse 4, tell us to come out of Babylon, that we be not partakers of her sins. And in chapter 17 of Revelation, it calls this Babylon the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. Yes, the earth is a very, very evil place, isn't it? We don't have to even look at it very closely to see that there's so much evil that is going on, and we just feel very bad, whether it's our country or another country. Look what's happening in Egypt right now. Egypt is in a mess, and how is this going to develop? What's going to happen there? Will the king of the south eventually arise out of all of this in some way? We know that there's a prophecy about that. But this world is certainly in a mess, not just Egypt, and it's a very, very evil world that we live in. So what should we do?

Should we become a monk? The dictionary definition of a monk is a man who retires from the world and lives in solitary self-denial for religious reasons. We certainly have religious reasons to do that. Go find an island somewhere. Find a wilderness area, and get away from it all. No, Jesus did not pray that we would be taken out of the world, but that we would be left in it, but that we would not be of the world.

So we have to come out and be separate as we have the evil world all around us all the time.

So Jesus then said we would be in the world. We would not be of the world. It's all around us. It's coming at us constantly. That means that the world's values are all around us. It's standards. It's way of thinking. When you turn on television, you have the world's values and standards. When you look, if you try to look for a movie to go to, then you've got to be very careful. That's the world's publication. The music, you turn on the radio, magazines. At work, the people that you work with are in the world that you shop with, that you drive on the highways with, your neighbors, relatives, and your family. So a question for us is, it's going to be a challenge, isn't it, for us to overcome the world? The question I'd like to ask is, could the world seep into our life? It's all around us. God doesn't take us out of the world.

Could the world seep into your life? You know, the simple answer is yes, it could, if we let it.

And it will, unless we constantly and actively fight against the world's evil ways. Yes, it's going to take some effort on our part, a constant struggle, in fact, and battle to come out and be separate and to overcome the world. It's not a simple thing. He, to him, that overcomes, he that overcomes will be granted eternal life and to reign with Christ and ultimately to inherit all things. Let's just take some examples to make this real plain and clear of how the world is coming at us and our struggle and battle. I think these examples, as we go along, will be very important to show what we must overcome and where we must constantly struggle and fight to come out of the world and be separate and be different. Take the issue of same-sex marriage, that is coming into the news more and more and more recently a Supreme Court decision that just tends in that direction of legalizing it across the board. They didn't go that far yet, but down the road you can really surmise that it's going to go that route because it's being promoted as a human right. And yet the Bible is very clear that it is a human wrong. It's not a human right.

That God created marriage to be between a man and a woman. And there are verses that say it's unnatural. In fact, it is even an abomination. The word abomination is used in regard to same-sex or homosexual relationships. So, but it's all around us. Could we ever ourselves begin to feel well? You know, if two people want to make that decision to live together, two men or two women, that's their doing. I don't agree with it, but, could we sympathize with the same-sex movement? We should not. We should hate it. And we should feel sorry for those who have been so deceived by Satan to think that same-sex marriage is the way to go. That is not the way to go. It is not the way to success. It's not the way to happiness.

And we should never feel anything but a hatred toward that act. But we should not hate the individuals involved in it. They lived in a deceived world. And we should feel sorry for them. And we should pray for the day that will come when they will see it as God sees it, through God's eyes and through God's Word, and be able to repent and be able to have the right viewpoints toward family, which will be, of course, God's viewpoints in the Bible. So we must hate this evil and never somehow condone it or feel like that it's not something that is evil and bad. It is evil. It is bad. We should hate it. But we should not hate those who get involved in it, but feel sorry for them and pray for them. What about the pursuit of money and things and stuff? Things are often referred to as stuff today. We live in a consumer age, and people work hard for money to buy more stuff.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in our Constitution has become a pursuit of materialism.

And yet the Bible warns us of mammon. Jesus said, you cannot serve mammon and God. What is mammon? Mammon is just a set in your heart and mind on the physical, on money and physical things.

And we live in a world where that is happening with many, many people. Jesus said, like the weeds that choke the Word of God, the seed that fell among the thorns, and the weeds was choked out. He said that just pursuing physical things will choke out the Word of God.

Let's go to Luke chapter 21. We must never then let materialism and seeking after physical things choke out God's Word. We must overcome what is really all around us, and where people are working so hard for, for materialistic things. We should not set our eyes, then, and worry about these things all that much. In Luke 21 and verse 34, take heed to yourselves.

Here's a warning then, isn't it? Take heed to yourselves. Lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life. All the materialistic pursuits, then, pursuit of money and stuff, and that day come upon you or on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. And then that verse that tells us what we must be doing if we are to overcome materialism and this pursuit of things and money that's all around and about us, watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. So we do not want to let materialism and the pursuit or mammon to seep into our lives, to begin to pursue after the physical things that most people set their minds on all about us.

What about the lovers of pleasure? That goes along with it. In verse 34 here, take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, all that fits into a life of indulgence, a life of seeking pleasure. Many, many people, I'm sure not everyone in our country, but many, many people around us are mainly seeking a life of pleasure and indulgence. And Paul warned about that in 2 Timothy chapter 3 that perilous times would come and one of those conditions would be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. So certainly just becoming a lover of pleasure could seep into our lives and that is something we must not allow to happen. What about the kind of books that we read, the music we listen to, programs we watch on TV, movies we might go to see? Frankly, I don't think there are very many movies that are fit for a Christian to see. Most of them are R rated. They have so much language, sex, and other objectionable things that they're not fit for us to go to. So we have to be very, very selective. There's so much immorality, murder, filthy language, and many of them are R rated on purpose because that's what people want. They want R rated. Many people want R rated movies, obviously, because that is what they go to. But it's not something Christians should go to. And if we did, we would be letting the world kind of seep into our life. We'd be exposing ourselves to all that R rated material. And it'd be seeping in. It would be affecting us. And it'd be like opening a door to Satan and to his world. So I hope that nobody—I hope we are being very selective. The same thing is true of music. If the song does not have the right words or even in some music is the melody and the music is so harsh that it's not really soothing and uplifting to the human spirit. It's not doing what music is intended to do and does harm. So we have to be very selective in the music we listen to and the programs we watch on TV and movies and the books we read. Or we open a door to Satan and his world to seep into our lives and affect us in a negative way. What about dressing like the world dresses? I want to spend just a little bit of time on this. The scriptures teach, as we know, what? Modesty. Modest dress so that you look at someone, there's no sexual thought, there's nothing that is suggestive of of anything that is wrong. The dress being very tasteful and in good taste and also modest in every way. Let's notice a couple of verses on this in 1 Timothy chapter 2.

The dress actually should be modest as this passage will bring out.

It should actually, the most important dress that we have is that inward character and personality that comes from within. The godliness that should be reflected in our lives. The outward dress is important as he brings out in 1 Timothy 2 in verse 8, therefore, I desire that the men pray everywhere at the public worship services we believe. This is one verse that supports that the men have that responsibility. I desire that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. And like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel. There's the Bible teaching on dress. Modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with all kinds of things that try to accentuate the outward person. It's not that fixing your hair, wearing gold or pearls, or even costly clothing is wrong, unless that is the accent. Unless you're trying to impress others and not really being the right person inwardly, as he goes on to say, that it should be women professing godliness with good works. Let a woman learn, well, in silence with all submission. That fits into the responsibility God has placed upon the men and the public worship services.

But the dress, then, is to be modest dress. You could also, if you would like, well, we could turn over to 1 Peter chapter 3 and read those verses as well, that also emphasize that the outward dress should not be the main thing that we are trying to work on in our lives. The thing that is most important is the inward person, but the outward dress ought to be in moderation and balance. In 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 3, Let not your beauty be that outward adorning, this is not where the stress is to be, then the outward dress, the outward adorning of arranging the hair, wearing gold, putting on fine apparel. Again, not that those things are wrong, unless that's the stress. But let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit which is very precious in the sight of God. In this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God adorned themselves being submissive to their own husbands. And so, modestly in dress, but today, so much dress, as we all know, is provocative. And it's meant to be that way. Those who design, designers, design the dress so that it will incite, it will provoke. So many dresses are too short and show way up into the leg. And guess what that does? It incites or causes a person to think sexual thoughts that he has. And that's what it's meant to do. And for dresses that show breast exposure, they're designed that way on purpose. And of course, that causes also a person to think sexual thoughts. Some dresses are too tight. Now, could our members be affected by this? Yes. Could this seep into the church? Yes, it could, but it should not.

Ladies, when they go to buy a dress, should not buy a dress that overexposes the body.

In the breast area and in the legs, those are two areas. And the tightness. I have seen dresses, and you have too, that are so tight that, you know, everything is revealed. It's just... And it's not the modest kind of dress that God wants a Christian lady to wear.

Men's clothing can also be immodest. It can be sloppy. I've seen some men that wear their pants so low that you can, you know, so low where you can see in the back the dividing.

And so, you know, men have to dress appropriately and in proper modesty as well. I want to then say that we have to beware that we do not allow the world's values and standards and dress to seep into our lives. And I would say this is not just a church that we should think about this, but we should also think about it when we go to work. We should think about it in our neighborhood.

Wherever we are, we need to set a good example, a good Christian example, and dress every one of us.

And not let the world's values and standards seep into our lives. We have to overcome the world.

You know, we're not the only ones, the only age that has had to think about modesty and dress. Obviously, Paul had to think about it because he wrote about it.

Peter had to think about it because he wrote about it. Let's see another example where dress was not right, was provocative and sexual in the way they were wearing their dress. That's in Isaiah chapter 3. Maybe a chapter or a passage you're not, don't turn to all the time. And yet it does fit into this discussion on dress, modesty in dress, and verses in modesty and dressing in a provocative manner. In Isaiah chapter 3 and verse 16, moreover the Lord says, and this is talking to ancient Israel and especially ancient Judah, so moreover the Lord says, because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk without stretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go. The wanton eyes in the margin says seductive eyes. Do we have any of that around today? Oh, yes. The way ladies dress in advertisements, exposing. You know, we need to teach our children. They are seeing the world, and their values could be affected by what they see on television. I mean, it's not hit, it's not in the hours late at night, it's any time of the day. You can have advertisements that you have to explain to your children that that's not God's viewpoint, that's not God's way. But in a way, these daughters of Zion back around 600 or 700 BC, the daughters of Zion are haughty. They walk without stretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, making a jingling with their feet. Therefore the Lord will strike with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will uncover their secret parts. And that day the Lord will take away the finery, the jingling anklets and all these other things. And I don't think we'll take time to read all of it. It shall be that in verse 24, instead of a sweet smell, there will be a stench, instead of a sash or rope, instead of a well-set hair baldness. Could this just have an application for ancient Judah? Could this have an application for our nation today? Where, obviously, there's some very wrong kinds of dress. There's a modern application of this. We see it all around us.

If we don't see it, we're blind. You can see it if you're out grocery shopping on magazine covers. You can see it on TV advertisements. You can see it on billboards.

So it applies to us today. This is in the Bible, and it does apply to modern-day Israel. I want to read from the Living Bible on verses 16 on down just a bit because it says it so well.

Next, he will judge the haughty Jewish women who mince along noses in the air, tinkling bracelets on their ankles, with wanton eyes that rove among the crowds to catch the glances of the men. The Lord will send a plague of scabs to ornament their heads. He will expose their nakedness for all to see. No longer will they tinkle with self-assurance as they walk, for the Lord will strip away their artful beauty and their ornaments, their necklaces and bracelets and veils of shimmering gauze. Gone shall be their scarves and ankle chains, headbands, earrings, and perfumes, their rings and jewels and party clothes and negligees and capes and ornate combs and purses, their mirrors, lovely lingerie, beautiful dresses and veils. Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, they'll stink. For sashes, they will use robes. Their well-set hair will fall out. They'll wear sacks instead of robes.

So again, this is a prophecy that is in or a scripture in the Bible. It had an ancient application, I believe. Does it have a modern-day application? It's there in the Bible. Modern-day Israel is going to go in the captivity. And we're not following the right principles of God in dress or other ways either. I want to read from the Expositor's Bible commentary on this passage.

If there is still some moral fiber in the women of a rapidly deteriorating society, the situation is not without hope. For it is the women who, through the home, have the most formative influence on the younger generation. The arrogant pride seen in the rulers of Judah was, however, just as evident in its women. They all were in a deteriorating society, men and women.

The arrogant pride just as evident in its women. The prophet linked the look on the face like a Sodom-like parade of sin, perhaps suggesting that all was not right in the sexual life of the community. I would say it's not right today, is it? This passage moves swiftly from the ostentatious posturing of these women as they parade in the streets of Jerusalem to language that suggests far from samely attempts to attract male attention. So we live in this world that's all around us whether we want to admit the reality of it or not. Are you going to let it seep into your life?

Are you going to let it affect the way you dress? Or are you going to come out and be separate and overcome the world? Are we going to overcome the world or let the world overcome us? That's the question today. So why is the wrong kind of dress wrong? Because it draws attention sexually and tends to incite sexual awareness and thoughts, whereas modest dress does not. So as God's people, let's not wear, let's not dress like the world dresses. Let's dress like God's people should dress. Other things that where the world could seep in, what about excessive eating and drinking? You know, today you can go to some of these buffets and get a big old plate of food and eat and enjoy. Meanwhile, the waiter or waitress will put an empty plate on your table and you can go get another plate and another plate and it happens. So we have to be careful then that we strive to be moderate in eating. And what about drinking? Also, over-drinking is a problem that some have had in God's church. And, you know, we teach moderation and drink, but over-drinking is something the Bible condemns. A person becomes a slugger and it leads a very unproductive life.

So certainly we want to use self-discipline as far as eating and drinking. Let's turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 9. We want to be in self-control, as Paul here mentions. So there's a balance and a moderation that we want to practice. It involves self-control and self-discipline. In 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and in verse 27, But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others I myself should become disqualified. So we do want to use self-control and self-discipline. What about filthy and ungodly communication? Could evil, filthy words, four-letter words, ever come out of your mouth? Cursing, swearing? The world is full of it. I worked in a job one summer in one of the younger years of my life, a construction job. We were building apartment buildings, and about every other word of many of the workers was a curse word. When you're around that all the time, you could be affected by it. Could that kind of creep into your life? Could that creep into your vocabulary? Ungodly words could. They could seep in. Notice how important this is in Matthew 12 and verse 33. What we say, what comes out of our mouth, is very important.

Matthew 12 and verse 33, either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad. For a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers. You know, Jesus didn't pull any punches, did he? Brood of snakes. How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth good things. And an evil man, out of the evil treasure, brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they shall give account of it in the day of judgment. So what we say is important, and we do give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

So we need to be very careful. Filthy communication is actually more than just words. There's, it reflects the filthiness of our hearts. There's something that's not clean. A clean heart will not say filthy words, will not have filthy communication. So, but this could seep into our communication if we allowed it to happen. Does it ever come out of your mouth? Filthy communication?

Has it seeped into your life a little? I have had some members who were surprised at the language they heard when they went to work with other members. In my ministry, I've had some some who have expressed surprise at the language used by other members in the congregation. So, filthy communication could creep in. Yes, the world could seep into our lives. It's all around us.

Of course, you hear it, you know, if you want, you could hear it on a television program, sometimes a decent television program. They'll throw in some filthy language. So we have to constantly be on guard. What about disrespect for authority? That could creep into our lives. Today, I think there's disrespect for authority is much higher than it was at one time.

Respect for teachers and for policemen. People are not afraid to spit out the name of the president or the governor. And yet the Bible admonishes us not to do that. Let's notice in 1 Peter, chapter 2. 1 Peter, chapter 2. God's people are different, you see. And we get in that idea. We are to be different than the world. We're to come out of the world and be separate. We don't act like the world acts. We don't have the same goals the world has. We don't dress like the world dresses.

We don't live like the world lives. We don't talk like the world talks. In 1 Peter, chapter 2, in verse 13, therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man. For the Lord's sake, obey the laws of the land then, whether it be to the king as supreme or governors, as those who were sent by him, for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. So we strive to do things that are good. And that puts to silence those who might accuse us. As free, yet not using our liberty as a cloak for vice, but as servants of God. Honor all people. We strive to do that. We don't put down anybody. We strive to honor all. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. We strive to honor civil leaders and to be respectful toward those in positions of authority. And we pray for them. How often do you pray for the president? How often do you pray for the governor? Scriptures encourage us to do that. Let's read 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 1. Today you're more likely, and there's a lot of disrespecting news programs that you can hear. So many times there's not a president that has put before the name. It's not Mr. They spit out the name. And there's an attitude that's behind it. Because it's an age of disrespect. Respect for authority and law and order has gone down in our time. It could seep into our lives so that we have disrespect for law and order and officials in positions of authority. In 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 1, therefore I exert first of all that supplication, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and all who are in authority. Oh, everyone that's in the position of authority, that they may, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

And to have this respect for civil leaders, then, is good. Verse 3 says, this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. So could we allow the unruly spirit of this world, the God of this world, to cause us to begin to disrespect law and order and authority? We could. That could seep into our lives if we let it. But we must overcome the world. We must not allow that to happen. You know, these are just a few of the ways. We could go into many other ways that the world is coming at us. When you're out driving on the road, I spend a lot of time driving. And the world could seep into me. It could seep into you. It could be dog-eat-dog.

Somebody wants to get into the line of traffic. You don't let them. There's not consideration.

There's a lot of inconsideration on the road. A lot of human nature comes up on the road.

There's a lot of the world out there on the road. But we are to overcome the world and not drive as others drive. What about our families? Men are to be godly heads of their families, of their wives and their children, providing and guiding and directing. But that's not the way the world is doing it. There are men that are not really leading their families at all and providing for them. Women that do not submit to their husbands, as Sarah did. The world is coming at us again. Many, many different ways. Children who do not obey their parents. There's a lot of child disobedience and disrespect today that goes on. So again, we're to teach our children to be obedient and submissive. So yeah, on and on it goes. There's so many ways the world is coming at us all the time. And we must actively resist the values and standards and the attitudes of the world. We must not let the world's standards and attitude seep into our lives. Let's read a few verses in conclusion in James chapter 1. James chapter 1 and verse 27. Here's our job and it's a big one. The last part of this verse. James chapter 1 and verse 27. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this. To visit the orphans and widows in their trouble.

That's pure and undefiled. Visiting the needy, the orphans and the widows, in their trouble. And then it goes on to say, as a part of pure and undefiled religion, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. Not to let the world seep in. As part of pure and undefiled religion. What we're talking about today. Not to let the world creep into your life.

But to keep ourselves unspotted from the world.

Could we ever return? Could we ever go back? Once we now have started on this road out of the world, are striving to be different than others and not of the world, what would it be like in 2 Peter 2? Here's what it would be like if we ever went back to the world. 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse 20.

If after they have escaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome. Instead of overcoming the world, the world overcomes us. Entangled and overcome by the world. Well, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn from the Holy Commandment delivered to them.

But it's happened to them according to the true proverb, a dog returns to his own vomit. It would be like going, like a dog eating his own vomit if we went back into this evil world and a sow having been washed to her wallowing in the mire. Now, we don't want to go back into the pollutions of the world. And yet, if we allow it to gradually seep into our lives, it could happen. We must not allow then this world any foothold into our lives. Our calling is to go on to overcome the world and escape the corruptions and the evils of the world.

In 2 Peter 1, the previous chapter, chapter 1 and verse 4, here's our calling. By which we have been given, or has been given to us, exceedingly great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature that is our calling to partake of the divine nature, the holy and righteous nature that God has, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

So our calling is to overcome the world and escape the corruptions that are in the world. And as God's people then, we must not allow the false values and standards of the world in any aspect of our lives, but instead we must resist them from seeping into our lives. You can be sure that Satan, the God of this world, is always trying to find ways to have these things seep into our lives, these things in his world. He's trying to get us back into his world.

Let's not let him do it. Let's read as our final scripture, Ephesians chapter 4, Ephesians chapter 4 and verses 17 through 24. This kind of sums it up, what we're striving to do, to come out of the world and keep ourselves unspotted from the world and to be separate, to be in the world, yes, but not of the world. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 17, this I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind, or not to walk like the rest of the world walks, not to live as the rest of the world lives.

Having their understanding darkened, and this world is darker than ever in its understanding. Being alienated from the life of God, this world is certainly cut off from the life of God. Because of the ignorance that is in them, they just don't know. And we feel sorry for them and all the bad results of the way they are living.

Because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart. God just doesn't soften that heart yet. Who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to last sensuousness to work all uncleanness with greediness. Yeah, we want to come out of that. That's what this message is all about. We don't want it to kind of creep into our lives either. We want to constantly be on guard from this world, trying to seep into our lives.

Verse 20 goes on to say, you have not so learned Christ, not the way of life we've been taught by God, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off concerning your former conduct, the old man, which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. Yeah, we are to put that old way out, and we are to keep it out and not let it back in. And verse 23, be renewed in the spirit of your mind. That's what's happening to us. We're being renewed in the spirit of our mind.

And that you put on the new man, which was created according to God, created according to God in His divine nature, His holy and righteous character, as it goes on to say, in righteousness and true holiness. Brethren, let's remember that, yes, we live in the world, but this is not our world. Don't allow this evil world to seep into your life.