Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

Text:

Finish the saying, “It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, but it’s _________.” Fathers have comforted their children with these words for many generations. And it’s true when it comes to sports and games where nothing is at stake. A couple nights ago, Abby and I played monopoly after the kids went to bed. Something you have to understand about us is that we’re very competitive people. Well, she beat me. She almost always does. But that’s okay, because it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, but it’s how you play the game.

But when it comes to real life and eternity, it matters whether you win or lose.

“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 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 desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions–is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:12-17)

The first half of this passage is actually quite puzzling to me. It seems to be pretty straightforward at first. There’s certainly a poetic pattern that the writer establishes. The apostle names and addresses three groups of people: children, fathers, and young men. But a closer look at this text brings up a few difficult questions.

The text uses two different words for “children.” The first word used in verse 12 is the same word John uses many times in his letter to refer to the church (v. 1, 28). Does one refer to the church, while the other refers literally to children? Or do they both refer to the church? Or do they both refer literally to children? Why are there no references to women? Was John only writing to men? Why is John so repetitive when addressing fathers, and a little less repetitive when addressing young men, and not at all repetitive when addressing children?

I think the best way to answer all of these questions at once is to note that this whole letter is written to encourage children of God. The specific groups named here are merely representative of those that John was writing to. What John wrote to each group, we ought all seek to make sure is true of all of us. Make sure that your sins are forgiven through Christ. Make sure that you know Him who is from the beginning. Make sure that you know the Father. Make sure that you are strong, and that the Word of God abides in you, and that you overcome the evil one.

It matters whether you win or lose. If you do not overcome the evil one, then this means that the evil one has overcome you. We ought to experience victory in Christ, not defeat. But what does this practically look like? How do we know we have not been defeated by the evil one?

John tells us that those who love the world do not love the Father (v. 15). When is love a bad thing? When it’s focused on the wrong thing. Love can be misplaced, and when we love the world, we cannot love the Father. Jesus talked about this in Matthew 6:24. If we want to find our ultimate joy in God, we must not find our joy in the world.

But in some ways, we are to love the world. God loved the world (John 3:16). Just as God does, we are to love the people in the world. But do not love the world, that is, what the world offers, or the things in the world. For the world and everything in it is passing away.

The world tempts us with many desires. I’m going to oversimplify these desires this morning and just label them as temptations which appeal to our natural instincts, but demand we obey these desires rather than God. The desires of the flesh demand that we serve our bodies. The desires of the eyes demand that we get what we see. The pride in possessions, or some of your Bibles may say, the pride of life, demand that we enjoy life and where we’ve come in life. We have to be very careful about this one, because it can disguise itself as joy.

I must confess to you that I’ve allowed this sin to creep into my life lately. I’m no more better than those pastors who have preceded me in this place. I’m not in competition with them, but ought to be working with them to see this community turn to Christ, building upon their faithful work. The pride of life tempts us to enjoy life despite obedience to God. The world tempts you in all these ways. And the world says, “Obey these desires!” But there’s a problem with that. These things are not from God, they’re from the world. And if you give in to these temptations, you’re allowing the world to overcome you. Remember, it matters whether you win or lose. We have the opportunity to embrace an everlasting purpose which will give us greater joy than this world can even come close to providing.

But here’s the catch: we’ve got to be patient to receive eternal joy from God. This is really the battle that each of us faces every day. Do I give in to the desires of my flesh, or do I do the will of God? The world offers instant gratification. Do I settle for cheap happiness now? Or do I overcome the world, and receive eternal joy? Enjoying life is a good thing, but not when it comes at the expense of doing the will of God.

But if we’re patient, we’ll receive greater joy than anything this world can give. Paul wrote that we are to press on for the prize set before us (Philippians 3:14). He also quoted an Old Testament Scripture describing what is awaiting us (1 Corinthians 2:9).

A missionary by the name of Henry Morrison spent forty years doing work in Africa. Eventually he felt he was too old to continue on in the work, so Morrison began his journey back home to America, boarding a large ship that carried many other passengers as well. On the same boat was Theodore Roosevelt. When the ship entered New York, there was a huge fanfare at the port. But none of it was for Morrison, it was all for Roosevelt. Morrison slipped into America unnoticed by anyone. Morrison was hugely disappointed that he had arrived home and had received no recognition after 40 years of hard work on mission service. But then a small voice spoke to Morrison and said, “Henry, you’re not home yet.”

All of our work, struggling, and service to God will be rewarded, but we must be patient. We must not turn from God’s will, but must pursue it vigorously, knowing that our reward is yet to come. Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame (Hebrews 12:2). What hope would we have if Jesus decided to live the easy life? What if he decided to simply make a living selling rocking chairs and tables? But why did Jesus endure the cross? “For the joy set before him.” Did Jesus enjoy going to the cross? Absolutely not. He prayed that the cup would be taken from him. He cried tears and sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. He cried out to God, “Why have you forsaken me?” Did Jesus enjoy going to the cross? Absolutely not! But it was for the joy set before him that he endured it.

We have joy set before us as well. Paul considered that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). This is not to say that we will not be happy during this life. To the contrary, we should find ultimate fulfillment and joy in knowing that we are pursuing the purpose that we were created for. But this joy should be found in Christ, not in what the world offers, not in the desires of the flesh, not in the desires of the eyes, and not in the pride of life. Because this world isn’t going to be around forever. Look at verse 17.

One of the last things that we read in the book of Revelation, at the very end of the Bible, is that one day God will reveal a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and earth had what? Passed away. If you’re on the world’s team, you’re on the losing team. But whoever does the will of God abides how long? Forever.

This starts by forsaking the world, and following Jesus. Forget about your desires. Forget about your possessions. Forget about your ambitions, your skills, your money, your plans. If you don’t give it all to Jesus, subjecting yourself to his will, then you show that you don’t belong to the Father. You belong to the world. And you’re passing away. Jesus defined eternal life as knowing God and Himself. Do you know Jesus Christ? I’m not asking if you know of him, but if you know him personally. I know of the President, but I don’t know him personally. I’ve never spoken with him, and he doesn’t even know my name. We need more than mental knowledge of Jesus to be saved. We must place our faith in him. Do that today.