Dominated By This World

By Rev. Ernest O'Neill

So that was His will, loved ones. In friendship with Him, we would get all the sense of security that we needed because that's what love gives you. We would get all the sense of significance or importance that we needed because that's what somebody who loves you does for you. And we would have all the sense of happiness we needed because if you've had a dear friendship or a dear loved one whom you cared about, you didn't need anything else. You had all the happiness you needed with them. That was the Father's will.

Now loved ones what happened? We men and women decided we would get what we need from the world ourselves. We will get this by our own knowledge of good and evil. Adam said, "Why listen to Him telling you about getting juice from the tree? You know that you got juice from that tree last year, why not note that down in a book and we'll establish a knowledge of good and evil. It is good to get juice from this tree. It is evil to get it from that tree. Let us set up a whole series of laws and precedents that will enable us to use this world to get what we need from it. We will live by our own knowledge of good and evil.

In actual fact you know what has happened. We had to go to the world for our security so we came under the domination of things. You know how we're trying to get the security from the number of things that we can amass. We turn to people for our sense of importance and significance and with four billion others trying to do the same thing, there isn't much significance to go around. So, there are many of us that have trouble with self-esteem. We go to people for that. Then of course you know the domination we come under with circumstances because we're always trying to make our circumstances right so that we can get some kind of happiness for ourselves.

Loved ones, that's how we came into our present state. Now, if you say, "What has this to do with spirit and flesh?" This is living by the spirit -- living down that way. And this is living by the flesh. (Pastor is referring to a diagram). It doesn't need to be sexy at all. Living by the flesh is dependence on the world for the love, the security, the significance and the happiness that God intends us to get from Him.

Those who live according to the flesh will die. You will. A terrible thing has happened to this part of us when we decided to depend on the world. So as you go through this coming week, ask the Holy Spirit to show you how you yourself are living because loved ones, being in Jesus is a very practical everyday choice that you make moment by moment. You are making it even this afternoon. The interesting thing is, it's not WHAT you do. It's WHY you do it and the attitude with which you do it. You can see that.

We can all go to Hawaii. We can all have wonderful holidays everywhere if we have the attitude to God that is right and receive it as from Him. But if there is in us "iron in our soul" -- trying to grab what we want with that spirit, then that brings death to us. So do ask the Holy Spirit to give you light this coming week so that you will actually live in Christ during this coming week.