Text: 1 John 2:1517

Topic: How to "love not the world"

Illustration: Hoke has a former FBI hostage negotiator talk about the Stockholm Syndrome, a phenomenon in which a hostage transfers hatred of his hostage taker to the police trying to rescue him. The hostage believes the hostage taker is protecting him.

Illustration: A reverse example occurred when a group of terrorists began killing their hostages. The next hostage to die asked if he could first give a message to his family, and by the time he was done, the terrorists could not bring themselves to kill him.

Illustration: Hoke describes one Christian girl's downward spiral once she hit the party scene in college; the world took her hostage.

Illustration: A Christian businessman let his career become more important than his family and God, and became another hostage of the world.

Illustration: Demas used to be Paul's friend and supporter, but then he abandoned Paul because he "loved this present world."

The Stockholm Syndrome has crept into the church; we now give the world the loyalty we once gave to God.

The first question to ask in loving not the world is: Who are our enemies today?

The Bible says there is a Devil and that he is the god of this world. He's deceptive, and he's our enemy.

The second question to ask is: Why do Christians succumb to worldliness?

• They have a nave view of the world.
• They are spiritually lax.

Illustration: After TWA 847 was hijacked, America invoked sanctions against Greece because of Greece's lax security. The Greek soldiers remained lax in the midst of this worldwide tragedy, much like Christians who are lax in their security against evil.

They are ignorant to Satan's devices.

• They are spiritually immature and lack Christian conviction.

• We're immersed in a materialistic, secular society and we don't realize that our guard is down.

Illustration: To boil a frog, put him in cold water and heat it up slowly; if you put him in boiling water from the start, he will jump out.

• We're brainwashed in our society to think that happiness comes from material things and a dramatic lifestyle.
• We're seduced by apparent kindnesses and a societal aversion to negativity.

Illustration: Hoke reports that once in Beirut, Muslim hostage takers held a banquet for their hostages, causing the hostages to feel sympathetic to their viewpoints.

• We're fearful of losing our lives—our popularity and status.

The fourth question to ask is: How can we be liberated from our captivity?

We've got to be redeemed from this world.

Illustration: Hoke uses the example of how the hostages got out of Beirut—the United States made a quiet deal with Israel; they were redeemed.

Our primary loyalty must belong to Jesus Christ.

We must resist the Devil.

We must return to our first love, Jesus Christ.

Illustration: If you were one of the hostages from Beirut and were on your way home, you wouldn't be wondering when you would return to Beirut. You would be thankful to be returning home.

• In I John 2:1517, John is saying that you can live effectively and triumphantly by not letting the world into your heart.