Spirit Of The Age

The “world” is a spirit or a force that opposes, attacks, and outright rejects the Spirit of Christ. Don’t be fooled by the spirit of this present age, it’s not good. In fact, Scripture teaches that the spirit of the world is antichrist: “Every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world” (1 John 4:3).

When a society becomes addicted to comfort and consumed by wealth, it enters into a state of self-indulgence where its citizens are overcome with the spirit of the world: pride, lust, greed, vanity, violence and the likes. The current condition of America affirms the truth of Jesus’ words, “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God” (Mark 10:25).

When feeding the flesh becomes the primary ambition of a given society, individualism replaces any real sense of community. In this state, God is essentially forgotten. This is what’s happening in America right now.

Our corporate conscience is seared. We are desensitized. Nothing’s shocking. Bloodshed doesn’t faze us. We live with a sense of entitlement. We don’t believe in boundaries. Nothing’s off limits. We demand privilege. We fight over politics as if we can legislate righteousness. We offer shallow condolences and “prayers” in light of tragedies like the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas, the worst in our nation’s history, yet after a few days life goes on as usual.

We have everything we need; we actually have a lot more than we need. In our attempts to gain the world I’m afraid we’re losing our soul (Matthew 16:26). Evidence of this is an increasing lack of satisfaction. We medicate our emptiness with drugs, alcohol, porn, shopping, gambling, sex, cutting, overeating, television, video games, work, and various other addictive behaviors. Looking for fulfillment, we become ever more empty. Some end up so empty that their last resort is sitting in a hotel room with an automatic machine gun opening fire on people before taking their own life.

In all of our alleged enlightenment, the fabric of American society is being stripped away. The spirit of the world is deceiving the masses. Our insensitivity to sin and unwillingness to confront it has left us near reprobate. We believe if we pass the right laws that “love” will become the chief expression of the human heart. We think we can end systemic evil with never-ending conversations about human rights. We believe fighting for social justice will bring real change in people’s hearts. We’re delusional.

It’s impossible to legislate depravity. Sin is the condition of the human heart, and it’s a spiritual condition. Outside of leading people to a personal life-transforming relationship with Jesus, there is no hope. No amount of dialogue, reasoning, legislation, protesting, or social justice will ever eradicate the sin that feeds on the spirit of this present age. That’s not to say we shouldn’t be involved in these things, it’s only to point out that they don’t offer a solution to the sin problem.

There’s only one answer, and we don’t like to talk about Him very much anymore. In fact, we’ve all but kicked Him out of the country. We’ve disguised self-righteousness with political correctness and made it near impossible to invoke the name of Jesus in the public square.

Conservatives think if they create wealth and economic growth then everyone will be happy because money makes people happy, right? Wrong. Liberals live under the illusion of legislating a sense of equality because passing the right laws will erase the lines that divide us and bring peace, right? Wrong. Neither of these imaginary utopias can remedy the problems of our nation.

In fact, the current Republican Party is so far removed from conservative values that many have labeled them the “new liberals.” And the Democrats are nothing more than social elitists who don’t even speak the language of common people anymore. They’re socialists at best and communists at worst.

Without a deep sense of repentance all of our marching, protesting, propagating, tweeting, posting, politicizing, and debating is waste of time. We can create imaginary enemies all day long, but the real enemy isn’t flesh and blood. Remember, Lucifer was also a social justice warrior fighting for his rights in the heavenlies.

The power of the Kingdom comes in the form of a person. Yet, in America, we’re forced to pray publically without citing His name. Even in times of tragedy, we play the political-correct card because we don’t want to upset those who practice other religions. Think about that, we claim to worship the One who is the way, the truth, and the life, yet we’re afraid to invoke His name in the presence of those who bow down to idols, demons, and false gods.

As long as the spirit of this present age continues to gain ground our words, condolences, and prayers mean nothing. If they aren’t directed to the One who holds the keys to life then they’re vanishing in the air as soon as they leave our lips. We know the truth, yet because of the hostility of this age, we’re afraid to speak.

Beyond the social and political spheres, the spirit of antichrist has also invaded the ranks of the church. By and large, the progressives within the church align with the liberal political agenda of the day and call it the gospel, and the conservatives do the same with the Republican platform. No political party will ever change the spiritual climate of this nation, that’s the church’s job.

Revival is our only hope: A Great Awakening. An authentic move of the Holy Spirit is the only thing that’s going to heal our land. Until we become courageous enough to look the world in the face and proclaim: “Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life, and nothing changes until we turn back to Him,” our dilemma will only worsen.

Make no mistake, the spirit of the age steers the ship that is the United States of America. Revival is the only hope for a better tomorrow. Let’s unite, humble ourselves, and pray for the Lord of all Creation to heal our land.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).