Positively Good Productions

The Scriptures clearly makes a distinction

 between friendship with God and friendship

 with the world. According to James 4:4, 

"friendship with the world is enmity with God." 

"Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the 

world becomes an adversary of God," he 

continues.

James uses strong words like "hatred" and

 "enemy" to emphasize that we can be in the

 world or the kingdom, but not both... because 

they are on opposite ends of the spectrum.

Absolute reliance on worldly pursuits and

 comfort leads people away from God and

 to disaster. If there is one god worshiped in

 our society today, it is the god of money, fleshly

 pleasures, and the comfort money can buy.

Many people want to be rich and powerful. The

 goal of government is economic growth and 

wealth, with the belief that if this goal is met, 

we will have everything we need. We may 

crave it, but possessing it does not provide the 

security and peace we expect.

Money can never buy life,

 happiness, or promote good 

in the heart of man.

The government, and even the church, fail to

 recognize that there are more important things

 than temporal wealth, and that such prosperity 

should be viewed as a byproduct of 

righteousness and godliness.

Riches alone cannot satisfy. They take you 

away from God. In the long run, they promote

 emptiness and eternal suffering.

Believers are not of this world, but sent into it. 

We are physically present, but not of it, not 

part of its values. 

John 17:14-15

Believers should make every effort not to live,

 think, or act like unbelievers. This is a grave 

disservice to God.

We are not to participate in the evil, depraved,

 and wicked activities that the world exalts, 

encourages, and prefers, nor are we to harbor

 the mundane, half-hearted, spiritless, corrupt 

minds that the world produces.

Our hearts are capable of deception. Our 

hearts will eventually deceive us. The Bible 

says of a heart that is disconnected from God, 

"The heart is more deceitful than all else and 

desperately sick; who can understand it?"

17:9 Jeremiah

The point is that evil-doing taints our hearts,

 dreams, desires, and desires. This point of view

 may not be politically correct or popular, but it

is Biblical, and until we understand it, we will 

never be truly satisfied or content. For everything

 in the world leads one from fad to fad, idol to idol,

relationship to relationship, and eventually breaks 

one down, frustrates them, and leaves them alone.

As Believers, we should be different from the rest

 of the world. We are no longer of the world, we are

 not ruled by wicked behaviors, and we are not 

bound by worldly practices.

We are not of the world, but instead sent into the 

world. Many people have lost their spiritual 

direction as a result of their carnal choices, and

 as a result, they are living a defeated life.

We are sent into the world to be a light to those

 who are in spiritual darkness. We've been saved 

from the darkness and given the Light not just to

 flee it, but also to help lead our steps as we return

 to the highways and byways to help relieve others

 of worldly burdens.

Some people ignore God's Word and go their own 

way, which leads to despair when they should be 

living a resolute and spiritually rewarding life. As 

Jesus did, we should have a liberating connection

 with humanity.

Being "in" the world also means that we can 

appreciate the things of the world, such as the

 beautiful creation that God has given us, but we

 must do so in a responsible manner.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, 

but let God transform you into a new person by 

changing the way you think. Then you will learn to

 know God’s Will for you, which is good, pleasing 

and perfect.

Romans12:2

We are reminded to detach from

the world. Avoid the world's traps,

allurements, and pretensions.

The world is ruled by Satan, and when we 

choose the world, we join his evil army and 

become enemies of God.

Those who choose worldliness choose to live in the 

enemy’s camp because all that is of the world is under

 the control of Satan. 

1 John 5:19

To attract and occupy people, Satan uses anything

 and everything as part of his system. When 

something takes over our lives and causes us to 

exclude God, we must recognize that it has 

become our world.

Jesus refers to Satan as the present ruler 

of the world... not Ruler of the world.

(John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11)

Satan, the god of "this age" is god of the

 unbelieving world. He has blinded the minds

of unbelievers with his false philosophies which

 people are deceived by. The unbeliever follows

 Satan's agenda. 

Although Satan is currently god of this world... 

he is NOT in control of this world. 

Satan and the army of demons that he has at 

his disposal can do nothing without God's

permission. Throughout the Scriptures there

 is one character mentioned who is said to 

be the enemy of God and God's people. He

 is known as Satan, Lucifer, the devil, the

 adversary. He is currently the god of the

 world.

Satan is obsessed with diversions and exterminating 

God and God's people. Satan's lies are cleverly 

mixed with truth. He can be convincingly logical. 

He even had the audacity to quote Scripture to 

Jesus.

Satan tries to shape every aspect of thought and

 behavior in such a way that the corrupted man is 

exalted and God is ostracized and rejected.

It is not unusual for Believers to encounter difficulties 

by belligerent and worldly minded people who make it 

their goal to pressure Believers into abandoning their 

Biblical values and compromise with evil.

Those of us who follow a hated Savior cannot be surprised 

when we encounter hatred, scorn, hostility, tormenting, 

antagonistic, contentious circumstances. We who put our 

faith in God must bear the cross of Jesus and expect to be 

crucified... there are no exemptions.

The more we love and honor God, the more we expose 

and unmask the evil of those who dishonor and reject 

God. They will hate us because of who we love and 

resemble. They hated Jesus and they will hate those 

who are trying to be more like Jesus.

This present evil cosmos, headed by Satan, makes it 

difficult to find relevant and edifying messages that can 

enhance and appeal to the heart, teach right from wrong,

 and add value to our society. Satan employs every device 

in his army to harass, hurt, divert, confuse, and tempt 

God's people.

The roots of a lotus are in the mud. The stem of

 the lotus flower grows up through the water, and

 the fragrant flower, which can be described as 

having a rich, warm, and tropical forest smell, 

rises above the surface of the water, where it 

can sunbathe in the sunlight. 

This gorgeous, blooming flower emerges from

 the dirty, murky, and muddy bottom of a pond,

 but still remains untouched and unstained by

 the murky waters surrounding it.

Being “in” the world and not "of" the world also 

means we can enjoy God's amazing creation, and

 not get caught up in the mindset of what the world

 values. We are set apart from the wickedness of

the cosmos as we seek to live a holy, righteous life. 

We are in the world, in contact with the world; yet,

we must retain our distinctive Kingdom character... 

refusing to allow the Cosmos to trick us into its 

corrupt and emptiness.

God wants us to become actively involved “in” 

the world so that we can fully accomplish all of

His perfect Will for our lives. God desires that we 

walk in our calling, our missions, our divine 

assignments.

Again, we cannot properly walk in our calling 

and accomplish our divine assignments if we 

are not willing to get actively involved “in” 

the world to some degree and to some extent.

 Jesus Himself went full scale into His 

surroundings. Jesus was constantly preaching, 

teaching, healing and delivering people. He 

was in the world, but did not allow the corrupt

 world to get in Him.

Jesus is telling His Father not to take us out 

of the world, since we all have a great commission

 and call from Him to share the Good News and

 help as many people as we possibly can.

We cannot “reach” the lost, the downtrodden, 

the helpless, the poor, the sinners, and the people 

who are being held in some type of captivity if 

we are not “in” the world trying to witness, 

teach, and reach them with the Good News.

We live in a world of darkness, but we are not 

part of that darkness. 

"We are ambassadors for Christ" 

(2 Corinthians 5:20),

spreading His fragrance 

(2Corinthians 2:15-16) 

through the world.

Our hearts will be less interested in the things

 of the world as we strive to be more like Jesus.

Separate from the world!

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of 

darkness, but rather reprove them.

Ephesians 5:11

James 4:4 says, 

“Don’t you know that friendship with the 

world is enmity with God?”

God gave us a strong and unequivocal command

 concerning the world in... 

1John 2:15:

“Do not love this world nor the things 

it offers you, for when you love the 

world, you do not have the love 

of the Father in you.”

Set your affection on things above, not 

on things on the earth.

Colossians 3:2

Some misinterpret what God is trying to tell them 

when He says that we are not to be “of” the world. 

Some may think they should be retreating from 

life and everyone in general becoming a recluse... 

hiding away from as much of the world as they 

possibly can.

So, when the Bible says that Satan is the "god 

of this world," it is not saying that he has 

ultimate authority. It is conveying the idea that 

Satan rules over the unbelieving world in a

 specific way.

The phrase “god of this world” (or “god of 

this age”) indicates that Satan is the major 

influence on the ideals, opinions, goals, hopes 

and views of the majority of people. 

His influence also encompasses the world’s

 philosophies, education, and commerce. The 

thoughts, ideas, speculations and false religions

 of the world are under his control and have 

sprung from his lies and deceptions.

This is not to say that he rules the world 

completely; God is still sovereign. But it does 

mean that God, in His infinite wisdom, has 

allowed Satan to operate in this world within 

the boundaries God has set for him. When the 

Bible says Satan has power over the world,

we must remember that God has given him

 domain over unbelievers only. Believers are

 no longer under the rule of Satan.

God wants us to remain unspotted from the world... 

not becoming too friendly or attached to the ways

 and material things of this world.

We are to stay “in” the world. We have a holy 

mission and calling from God on what it is He 

wants us to accomplish as we journey through 

this life.

Our number one goal in life should be to accomplish, 

to the best of our abilities, God’s perfect will for our 

lives.

Our goal should be to serve God and do what He 

wants us to do and not to chase after the world and 

all the material wealth and possessions of this world, 

which will do nothing but rot and perish the 

minute we leave and depart from this life.

We have to keep all of our priorities straight, 

and our number one priority should be to want

 to serve God and accomplish His perfect will

for our lives. 

If we make that our number one goal and 

aspiration in this life, then God will appropriately

 reward each one of us in due season. And those

 rewards will far surpass and exceed any of the

 material wealth and possessions that we could

 have gained in this fallen world.

Scripture warns us about being taken in by the evils 

of this cosmos. We must come out from among them

 and not get our worlds mixed up.

Ships and boats are designed to drift, glide, hover, 

and sail on top of the water... they were not designed

 to capsize and sink. Even though they are enveloped 

by water on all sides... an entire sea of water cannot 

sink a ship unless the water gets inside the vessel. 

It is good for the vessel to be in the water, but not 

a good thing if the water gets into the vessel... it 

only takes a small entry for that issues to unfold.

Separating evil from our lives has become even more 

essential since our homes are wired to bring much of what 

the Lord has condemned into our own living rooms if we 

are not vigilant.

We cannot allow the world's sewage to shape our minds

 or contaminate our thoughts. We should be vigilant in

 adverse circumstances and avoid potential danger that 

compromises our decisions.

Young people, don’t allow the enemy to deceive you! 

God’s plan for your life begins now and not just 

someday down the road.

We live in a sin-sick world where humanity is plagued

with extreme indulgence in worldly pleasures, depravity,

suffering, and unrighteousness. The world seems to sweat

wickedness, evilness, fits of anger, division, strife, 

dissension, enmity, jealousy, envy, idolatry, rivalries, and

highly unrighteous and immoral behavior from its pores. 

 Television, radio, news media outlets, print media, etc.,

 are increasingly cluttered with tons of suggestive stage-

crafting... than most unsuspecting people realize. The 

entertainment media is fostered by the cosmos. This 

relentless stream of content overload makes it extremely 

difficult to cut through and not get entangled in all of the 

noise and folly.

glorified perversion that corrupts, distracts, and deceives 

viewers, listeners, and readers. This is the world God 

warns us about.

Worldly pressures come through Satan 

in the form of sin and temptation. 

Every person has struggled with temptation. Even walking 

with God for many years does not eliminate or even 

minimize the dangers of temptation. 

In whatever sphere of life we discover ourselves to be in 

and whatever task we are employed… let us never forget:

 Satan’s desire is to steal, kill, 

and destroy. 

He uses temptation and sin to destroy Believers. Satan's

 hostile world-system makes every attempt to put pressure

 on us in every sphere of life in an effort to get us to 

conform to the patterns of the world. 

Believers will often find themselves faced with 

tormenting, antagonistic, hostile, and contentious 

circumstances from those who live and walk in Satan's 

kingdom.

The worldly person rejects God and seeks to live on 

their own, independently from God. They reject God 

as having any say over their life. They love things and

 people who are of the world, and despise those who are 

in the world, but choose not to be of the world.

In this age, in the hearts of many, the powers of evil, false 

doctrine, corrupt morals, strife, contention, persecution, 

greed, pride, opposition, competition, and fears abound 

and leading many into a lost eternity. 

There is an undercurrent in the cosmos... it runs against 

and in contradiction to the Way and Will of God. These 

currents are stirred and troubled by Satan. They are 

intended to entrap and ensnare God's witnesses.

Jesus warns that a person may "gain the whole world" (the 

material things of this passing age) yet lose life in the next 

(Matthew 16:26; parallels Mark 8:36 ; Luke 9:25). Paul 

expresses concern that believers may become so caught up 

in the affairs of this world that they will experience undue 

hardship in living for Christ (1Corinthians 7:29-35).

The present world is passing away even now (1John 2:17). 

Living in this transient world, one must not love it

(2Timothy 4:10), become conformed to its ways 

(Romans12:2), or fall in love with its godless "wisdom" 

(1Corinthians 2:6 ; 3:18-19; James 3:15). Instead one 

must live a godly life (Titus 2:12), avoiding the snares of 

the "present evil age" from which Christ's death has set

His people free. 

Galatians 1:4

We must stay awake and alert... increasing our awareness

 of the various influences in our lives.

Jesus says that His kingdom is 

“Not of this world.” 

John 18:36

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me  

before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world 

would love its own; but because you are not of the world, 

but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world 

hates you. 

John 15:18-19

Jesus recognized that Satan has a kingdom.

His kingdom is this world.

1 John 5:19  

In Matthew 10:16-22 God said that He was sending the 

Kingdom people forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.

God has given us a strong and unequivocal command

concerning the world...

`

“Do not love the world."

As believers, we need to know clearly what is meant by 

"The world" and who rules the world... so we can guard 

ourselves from loving it and being deceived and distracted 

by it.

Jesus says that those who believe in Him are no longer a 

part of the world. Sin has no power over us, and we do not 

have to be trapped by the corrupt precepts of the world.

As we shed the garment of the world we have peace not of 

this world. Our peace in any situation comes straight from 

the Lord, the Prince of Peace: 

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as 

the world gives do I give to you".

John 14:27

We are still in this world but we

are no longer of it.

John 17:14

We are still surrounded by all the horrors and tragedies of 

this life, but this is not our life (Philippians 3:8-14). The 

knowledge that we are not of this world gives Believers 

promise even in the darkest times (1 Peter 1:6-9); the 

promise that this world of darkness and despair will pass.  

God will wipe away every tear from our eyes; there will 

be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, neither shall 

there be any more pain: for the former things are passed 

away. How different it will be from the condition in the 

world's system.