Facing Reality

Go To Meeting

Norbert Bohnert—November 28, 2021

 - PDF | Audio | [Up]

Things just keep going on and they're not getting any better. This whole aspect of what we're facing in this world today has driven me to come up with this message today. Hopefully, it will be beneficial to all of us.

Are you and I personally living in reality? Maybe we should begin by defining reality! We know that it's noun and it's a definition of the world or state of things as we know they exist as opposed to an idealistic or emotional idea of them.

You've heard many times the expression 'he refuses to face reality.' I think we all have that tendency at times to face the reality that's going on about us.

In this physical world that we live in, and the many years that we have lived on this earth, we see many things transpire. We've seen lots of things that we've taken maybe for granted; there wasn't a reason to maybe thinking a little deeper than actually what was going on. Other things that we just become ignorant to the fact and not realize what is happening around us.

I'm going expound a little further on this, and then bring that to the point of a term that we hear and read of in the Bible: in the world, but not of the world!

Another definition of reality is the state or quality of having existence or substance! It's something that is neither derivative nor dependent, but exists necessarily.

In this world today, what is happening daily in our lives, especially in the last two years, gives a sense of a better understanding of what reality actually is and what is occurring out there presently.

What is the greatest thing that we, as called out ones by God the Father, have in this world and now is real and the basis of true reality? The basis of true reality of our lives? The calling of God is a real thing! We have been blessed to be part of that most real thing that God has provided for us!

To call us, and have that opportunity to be part of the Kingdom of God.

• Do we realize the extent and the magnitude of that?
• Do we understand and apply ourselves personally in building the momentum that we need to maintain it with the blessings and calling that we have received?

Our calling is real! That is the reality of being part of the Church! Part of the Body of Christ, which God the Father personally selected each one of us is the reality of what God is doing currently in our lives.

As we know, and have witnessed over the last two years, our daily lives have been altered, physically speaking, by the social circumstances that surround us. Those social circumstances sometimes have taken precedence over what we should be focused on, and the reality of our calling.

We all face a certain degree of uncertainty. That's been emphasized more so in the last two years. But we simply just don't know that much. There are so many things that we cannot have answers for. People have postulated this and that, and although those thoughts are interesting, but is that the whole truth?

That's the question that we must always ask ourselves. True reality should be based strictly on truth! Most times we cannot know what to take as truth and what's untruthful. Many, many times we are in a quandary of what to believe that happens out there in this world today.

We are not privy to all that's going on. We are not privy to all the things that are happening around us. We aren't privy to the correct information. So, that adds to a great deal of uncertainty for all of us as we move on in  our journey.

I think that with the knowledge that we have gained with the Word of God, and He opening that door and calling us out of this world, we can definitely see that Satan is working hard. His deviancy for the various agencies that are working out there in this world, this is all going to lead to a new world order.

A new world order has been spoken of in the Churches of God for many years, as long as I remember attending. We are seeing this beginning to transpire before our eyes; moreso now than ever before. But there's a lot yet to happen.

The new world order that Satan is developing is the Beast Power and will result in the Beast Power and the man of sin. That is where these events all lead to. They're all prophesied in the Bible, and the world today is being setup for this to occur, to come to fruition, and you might think about what's involved with the Beast Power and the man of sin.

Think about how we can possibly be looking at that from this vantage point. The world is not ready for this, yet. Well, though it may not be ready for it, but all things are leading to this point.

I can assure you that society is being primed right now as this occur around us for what is going to occur. I will reference this later on.

There are many social issues that have been building in the background, and coming out in the public and private life. Unfortunately, it is affecting each one of us to some degree, whether we appreciate that fact or whether we want to appreciate that.

Brethren, we are here still in this world physically and having to deal with these issues. I think that's part of determining how important that reality that we have been given by the calling of God the Father is really in our lives.

We have not seen things like what's happened before us in the world in the last 18-20 months. We've not seen that happen in the past. We must continue to regain that momentum with the calling that we have, to gain the momentum that we have heard at the Feast with the messages of the future that lies before us. The reality that lies before us with the Kingdom of God and what our positions will be in that Kingdom!

That is the momentum that we need to build on so that we will be justified to be there at that end-time. We need that momentum to grow stronger in the faith, as we move to the end-times. Whether it is ended on short notice, that we lose our lives here, or in the future.

We have to be evident to what is happening around us. Yes, we have to aware and careful. We cannot let what is happening around us affect us to the point that we lose that momentum of what we are striving for. That awesome reality of what is ahead for us.

1-John 4 gives us an example, and not the only place that we can find this:

1-John 4:4: "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because greater is He Who is in you than the one who is in the world. They are of the world; because of this, they speak of the world, and the world listens to them. We are of God; the one who knows God listens to us; the one who is not of God does not listen to us. By this means we know the Spirit of the Truth and the spirit of the deception" (vs 4-6).

There is the them, and there is the ussituation! Of the world and of God! It's all Scriptural! The world is a term that refers to all aspects of human life and the working of the human mind around the globe.

The world is the earth and all the life that is on the earth. The fact that Satan is the 'god of this world' as referenced here, "…greater is He Who is in you than the one who is in the world."

This has a great bearing on the direction that this world's influence takes us. The world under Satan's influence exerts tremendous influence upon the mind of men/women. We can clearly see that even moreso now than what is occurring around us.

For us to maintain momentum, we need a clear view of the world and it's implications. What can we say about the term 'worldview'; viewing the world. The 'worldview' is a view of the world used for living in this present world in which we live.

Is that a view that you have of the world not going to have some bearing on us all personally, whether we like it or not? It certainly will! With what is happening around us, does have bearing on us! A 'worldview' is a mental model of reality; a comprehensive framework of ideas and attitudes about the world.

Whereas, our lives and system of beliefs are personally customized theories about the world and how it works. We really have to sit back and assess what has occurring around us, and why it is occurring. I think we can all answer that question, but at the same time, we cannot be overwhelmed of what's going on around us and be overtaken by that. Forgetting what we have been called to do and forget the calling that God the Father has given us through Jesus Christ and that ability to live as Christ would want us to live and develop that mind and character of Christ.

That is the momentum that we must continue on, even in these troubled times, and with our limitations as human carnal-natured people. That is a difficult struggle! It's a little bit more complicated as to how it works within us in our mind. The view of the world to each one of us is different and is affected by many factors:

• by inherited characteristics
• by background experiences
• by our upbringing
• by our life situations that we've gone through
• by our values

Attitudes and habits developed over our lifetime! For each one of us it varies.

Therefore, even though parts of the worldview are shared by many people in a community, other parts differ for everyone. We all have a worldview, a view of what's happening out in the world I can truly say that none of them are identical.

There are similarities that are overlapping each other, but there are unique aspects of the worldview for each one of us, created by each one of us by what we see and how we see things happening around us.

But it has been based a lot on our upbringing, how we were raised and how we have conducted ourselves in our lives up to this point.

You can see the worldview can mean the basic way of interpreting thing and events that portrays a culture so thoroughly that it become a culture's concept of reality:

• what is good
• what is important
• what is sacred
• what is real

I hope you understand what I'm getting at by this concept of the world's view. It's important, this worldview that each one of us has will determine very much who we are, and what we are and where we will be going and are going. It is a critical aspect of human existence.

The view of the world that you personally have will either strengthen your spiritual well being, or it will weaken it.

We cannot overlook the factor in this worldview that we all have of the world, as I just referred to it.

John 12:27: "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? But for this very purpose I have come to this hour."

Christ is focusing on His coming crucifixion here, and it's weighing very heavily on His mind. The hour is has come that the Son of man—Christ—should be glorified. There is the conversation and then Christ says:

Verse 27: "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? But for this very purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.' Then a voice came from heaven, saying, 'I have both glorified it and will glorify it again'" (vs 27-28).

This is where Christ's mind is at; v 30: "Jesus answered and said, 'This voice did not come because of Me, but because of you. Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to Myself'" (vs 30-32).

There are few elements to those few verses. Some of it is very, very much a future of element of judgment. But Christ makes it clear that there's a distinction between Himself and 'the ruler of this world.' It's very clear distinction.

For us, the task before us is simply to develop a worldview that puts the world in a proper perspective, and enhances God in our lives at this time.

As I've said, each one of us has a worldview that has been created by heredity and the environment that we have lived under. Each one is different. We need to develop a worldview that God is the center of! That's basically the fundamental thing that we have to do. We have to develop a worldview that God is the center of.

The ruler of this world, Satan, exerts tremendous pressure on all of us, and influences us daily. We can see that all around us in what's occurring to others, but more importantly what is occurring directly to us.

Ephesians 2:2: "In which you walked in times past according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working within the children of disobedience."

Plain and simple, that's the 'prince of the power of the air,' which is Satan, of course!

Let's read this from a personal point of view. Where was our view of the world developed? Most of us did not grow up in the Church. Some of us may have, but the majority I would say, no. those who were not in the Church had a worldview created long before God and what we learned.

Verse 2: "In which you walked in times past according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working within the children of disobedience."

It's a real influence! It has been there all our lives, and it exerts tremendous influence and pressure on all of us!

• on our mind
• on what we do
• on what we think
• how we conduct ourselves

and many times

• by the actions that we do

What is usually the result of this? It usually can lead to disobedience! That is the result of Satan's influence on all of us.

Verse 3: "Among whom also we all once had our conduct in the lusts of our flesh, doing the things willed by the flesh and by the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as the rest of the world."

• the influence is there
• Satan is there

It's there, it has been and it will continue to be right to the end!

Is this not a typical worldview that flows from the 'prince of the power of the air'? Satan the devil! This is how people view the world, but Satan deceived the whole world. Rev. 12 makes that very clear.

People's worldview is formed in the world do not think of themselves in this way. This is not the way that they see themselves. Satan deceives them into thinking that their worldview, their ideas are correct, right and good. They're positive and they hold onto that.

We must be careful to not let anyone take that away from us what we have, that reality, that calling that God has given us. That is the reality that we have before us. Let us be our own person, not part of Satan's deceptions.

Scripture tells us that everyone does 'that which is right in their own eyes.' Each person's worldview is right. It is theirs, and 'it would not be there if it were not right.' That's the attitude many of us maybe still have today!

That is exactly the attitude that Satan wants from all of us. We cannot fall into that trap! We are generally blind to the reality of our own nature. The very problem that each one of us must face and address is that we are called and we approach repentance and conversion; we must put everything else aside, out of the way.

Unfortunately, too many times we become blinded to the reality of what our own nature is doing. Our human carnal nature gets in the way.

2-Corinthians 4:1—Paul says: "Therefore, having this ministry, according as we have received mercy, we are not fainthearted."

Paul did an excellent job, and from time to time he had to let them know that he has done his very best for them.

Verse 2: "For we have personally renounced the hidden things of dishonest gain, not walking in cunning craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the Truth, we are commending ourselves to every man's conscience before God."

Paul had every right to say that he did an excellent job, because he had done it under God's direction, influence and Holy Spirit. Paul pointed that out directly to the Corinthians he was speaking to.

Verse 3: "But if our Gospel is hidden, it is hidden to those who are perishing; in whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the Light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we do not preach our own selves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake" (vs 3-5).

The main point I really want to get across today is that the world gives us a very restrictive worldview. We have to break ourselves away from that! Paul is acknowledging the 'god of this world, of this age.' The influence and blinding the mind so that we cannot see. It is to be contrasted with those who can see the knowledge of God!

This is a good introduction to what we need to have as a worldview.

2-Corinthians 6:11: "O you Corinthians! Our mouths have been opened to you, and our hearts have been enlarged toward you. You are not suppressed by us, but you are restricted in your own hearts" (vs 11-12).

We are restricted by our own emotions. It is particularly crucial for us all to consider, because emotions can severely restrict our worldview, or misdirect or misguide us, and misguide a true vision of what's happening in the world around us.

We're all restricted by our own emotions, and the 'prince of the power of the air' is extremely good at stirring up that human emotion in us. We have all experienced it I am sure. He gives us those emotions and he works on it and lets the emotions override everything else that is happening around us. We see it in our environment, and more than ever we can see it clearly growing more and more prevalent in this world today.

We see the emotionalism going on around us, created by Satan in stirring us all up. The more people get drawn into these emotional situations, the less clearly they can see the true reality.

I'm specifically talking about the ones who have been called by God. We can be entrapped with this emotion, as well.

Ephesians 6:12: "Because we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against principalities and against powers, against the world rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual power of wickednessin high places."

What is flesh and blood? Basically people! We do not wrestle against other people. Here Paul is referring to the wiles of the devil, and goes on to make that statement. Do not wrestle against flesh and blood! What we do wrestle against is Satan and the demons around us.

Verse 12: "…we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against principalities and against powers, against the world rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual power of wickednessin high places."

That's what we're wrestling against. There are rulers, and it's happening according to the plan and purpose. It's become chaotic at times, but that beautiful cover that Satan is really wanting to accomplish. He is out there to deceive us above everyone else!

If we let our emotions take over and get involved, we are going to see flesh and blood. We are not going to see the physical more than what is going on in our spiritual lives. That's Satan's goal, to drive us away from the spiritual side and turn to the physical.

He restricts our vision! We are going to see a different worldview. If we focus on flesh and blood, we are going to miss the wiles of the devil. He will be able to slip something in very subtly that we will not see coming. We will not know where it came from, either!

Thus the way we view the world is so critical. We must not let Satan be able to stir us up emotionally in terms of flesh and blood, the physical, the things that we can see.

When Jesus Christ was approaching His crucifixion, it always struck me how incredibly focused He remained. That should not be a surprise. He obviously knew that His death was critical at the time it was occurring in the development of the relationship between God and mankind.

Clearly, He understood that, and saw what was coming! He was very mindful of the position, those called by the Father would be in.

John 17:6: "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, and You have given them to Me, and they have kept Your Word."

Christ's final prayer. See how much He was focused throughout. At this point, even though He had not yet been crucified, the Holy Spirit had been given, and the Church had not officially begun, it is taking us forward in thought and in application.

These verses apply to us because we have been called by the Father out of the world and brought to Christ. What Christ is thinking about here applies directly to each one of us.

Verse 7: "Now, they have known that all things that You have given Me are from You. For I have given them the words that You gave to Me; and they have received them and truly have known that I came from You; and they have believed that You did send Me" (vs 7-8).

Jesus is speaking of us! That is certainly not a human worldview. That is a spiritual worldview that is given, that is acquired from some place other than the human mind.

Verse 9: "I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world, but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. All Mine are Yours, and all Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them" (vs 9-10).

You can see this being projected down the line in th sense of the Church and the responsibilities and duties of the people who are called to be part of the Body of Christ.

Verse 11: "And I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one, even as We are one."

This 'them to us' situation is showing up here again.

Verse 12: "When I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. I protected those whom You have given Me, and not one of them has perished except the son of perdition, in order that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to You; and these things I am speaking while yet in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in them. I have given them Your words, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (vs 12-14).

See the concept of the world keeps coming up, and Christ is contrasting the two situations.

Verse 14: "I have given them Your words, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You would take them out of the world, but that You would keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (vs 14-16).

Christ has just said that these are in the world, then He says that they are not of the world. We must master the ability to be in but not of the world. We must master to be in the world, but not of the world!

That is what I'm trying to get across. These verses refer to us specifically, to you and to me!

Verse 17: "Sanctify them in Your Truth; Your Word is the Truth. Even as You did send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they also may be sanctified in Your Truth" (vs 17-19).

This is noticeably a clear delineation, a noticeably a clear distinction here made by Christ. IN the world, but not OF the world! The whole section of Christ's prayer is directed to us, the people the Father has called since Christ's blood has made it possible.

That is our reality! We are in the world, yes. We are still physical, yes, but we are not to be part of that world. This must be our view of the world, our worldview.

That's what we have to develop. This is not a natural thing for us to inherit by family. We grew up in a community, and raised by certain means. Many of us grew up coming into the Church, and we grew in that society.

Then we were called and acquired something special! That is where our reality actually begins!

That was given to us outside of ourselves. Who gave it to us? God gave that to us! It's a huge, huge perspective, and it's not an easy one, sometimes, to comprehend, to understand or to accept.

You have the 'prince of the power of the air' every minute of our lives, wanting to deceive you into accepting your personal worldview as being correct. We can all understand that with the human nature, the carnal nature that we have. We have read that many times, and rehearsed this many, many times, coming Passover time and other times, as well.

But do we still sometimes drift away and get off track. Does it come up:

I have this idea of mine. I have this emotional thing I want to share with you I'm involved with and I would like to have it validated.

People like to have their ideas validated by someone or a group of people. I hate to be blunt, but it does not work that way!

Our desire to be 'right in our own eyes' is a wrestle for all of us to constantly fight. Satan does not want us to have a clear worldview that allows direct access to God. And that's what we have, direct access to God! A firm access to God day in and day out.

That is what we're called to by God the Father. No one else called us! Through Jesus Christ's death we have been able to be there and build on that relationship, each one of us. We cannot let the 'prince of the air' come into our lives and influence us to the point of working with our emotions, feelings, attitudes and behavior.

Satan wants us to spiritually wobble! That's his biggest goal. From time-to-time that, unfortunately, happens. But we cannot let that get us down. God has given that instrument to us, the Holy Spirit, that can fight and direct getting back our lives to look to God, the ultimate God that has called us out of this world!

We cannot be emotionally setup and taken away from the Truth that God has provided for us. While we are still flesh and blood, which we are, we are not in the Kingdom of God. We all know that! We are in the world! While we are flesh and blood, we see flesh and blood. We can before our eyes the flesh and blood before us. We see all the situations. We see mankind operating; we see ourselves operating.

When Paul told the Ephesians that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, he was addressing the wiles of the devil!

Ephesians 4:14: "So that we no longer be children, tossed and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men in cunning craftiness, with a view to the systematizing of the error."

There is the world! That is the world we live in! that is what the rulers of the darkness of this world produce.

• How can we live as flesh and blood and at the same time not be of the world?
• How can we do that?

There is only one category of people on the face of the earth that can do that!

Christ again makes that distinction clear in John 8. Christ is having one of His 'pow-wows' with the Pharisees at that time. I think He might have enjoyed that discussion, but however, I'm not sure that the Pharisees did. These discussions would take place every so often, and this is what is happening here.

John 8:13: "Therefore, the Pharisees said to Him, 'You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.'

Verse 21: "Then Jesus said to them again, 'I am going away; and you shall seek Me, but you shall die in your sin. Where I am going, you are not able to come.'"

He basically told them that you are not able to come. That's cheerful news to the Pharisees. I'm sure they were delighted to hear that. They were going to die in their sins!

Verse 22: "Therefore, the Jews said, 'Will He kill Himself? Is that why He says, "Where I am going, you are not able to come"?' And He said to them, 'You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world" (vs 22-23). That's the distinction that was made!

Verse 24: "That is why I said to you that you shall die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins."

It is very natural to get drawn into the emotionalism of the flesh and blood, the physical. It's so easily done, and it's extremely easy to get drawn into making judgments by appearance, thinking that that is a righteous judgment.

Satan sees and very clearly does lead us into that direction if we are not careful, because we make wrong judgments. That's what we are doing in that case.

Our personal worldview, which we naturally think is right, will lead us into that kind of a situation. We must be careful of that. Righteous judgment implies the need for something to assist our ability to make correct judgments. We need something to help us make those correct judgments.

Isaiah 11:2: "And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD…. [qualities of the Spirit of God] …And His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. And He shall not judge according to the sight of His eyes, nor after the hearing of His ears" (vs 2-3).

The ability to not judge by physical factors—the ear, the eye, etc.—comes from the Spirit of the Lord. Without that Spirit, we will judge by appearances. We will be motivated by flesh and blood and emotions; physical/human emotions that are set off by the events that go on around us. We are confronted with many issues every day. They may be different, but there are many issues that we are confronted with.

We cannot escape that. The world is being turned upside down. We know that the formation of the one-world order, the one-world government is starting to form. But it is not a new world order created by a Bill Gates or anyone else. It is a new world order that is going to come and dominate this world. Yes, the world is being prepared for that, but we're not there, yet.

As I mentioned before, this is a crucial factor as far as making judgments is concerned. We do not know the exact truth and the exact issues that are occurring. We do not know. We are not given that information.

Our sources of information are so twisted and distorted. We must admit that we do not know, and can't be coerced to thinking that what we know and believe what is happening out there in this world today. We do not know exactly what is going on at the Vatican. A lot must still happen; we know that by prophecy. We have not seen the main players, so to speak, appear yet as prophesied.

So, let us be careful and not glandular an emotion and jump in and think that we have all the answers and that we know how it should be and turn out. We do not know! We do not know Satan as well as we think we know Satan. He's there to deceive us, to destroy us. We must be careful and not get entrapped by the wiles of Satan around us.

He wants us to gain that attitude of accepting what's happening around us. I know that all of us are affected by these thoughts one way or the other, and we all tend to have emotional reactions to the half-truths, the no truths, all the information that we hear on a daily basis, and are fed to us through many sources. Many of those sources are so untrustworthy, they're not even worth talking about.

It is normal for the human mind to judge by appearances, because that is what we can physically see. That is being in the world!

To judge righteous judgment we need to have the same mind that Christ has through His Spirit: the Spirit of wisdom, understanding and knowledge!

Of course, from Ephesians that is spiritual. There are two sets: one physical, one spiritual. The Spirit of the Lord gives us the wisdom, knowledge and understanding of a spiritual nature; not a physical nature, but a spiritual nature. That is what is meant by something from the outside coming into us to help us create a proper worldview.

Ephesians 3:14: "For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" (vs 14-17).

Not tossed back and forth by every wind of doctrine that comes our way; by every conspiracy theory that floats around us. Notice what His Spirit in the inner man does:

Verse 18: "And that being rooted and grounded in love, you may be fully able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height."

Our mind is opened to understand the depth of God's realm. That is opened to us by the Holy Spirit that's given to us, to understand God's plan and understand God's purpose.

This Spirit in the inner man gives a whole new mental outlook on life.

Verse 19: "And to know the love of Christ, which surpasses human knowledge so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now, to Him Who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that is working in us, to Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all generations, even into the ages of eternity. Amen" (vs 19-21).

In v 18 we see that we can "…comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height." That is not flesh or blood, this physical environment, but that is God's spiritual environment.

The Feasts picture that worldview of  the Kingdom of God yet to come. Let us not forget the messages that we heard, the fulfillment of God's overall plan of humankind. What is set before us all and let us move forward, trying and striving to be there and achieve our goal.

Let us stay focused on what we've learned, stay focused on the things that we can see rather than the things we can't see. Let our faith be strengthened. Spiritually we can see them, but the physical eyes cannot see the things that are important to us. The physical eyes cannot see that.

Paul knew this. We know that we are not in the Kingdom of God; not yet, because we re still flesh and blood. But in a sense, God has taken us into His Kingdom by experience.

Colossians 1:13: "Who has personally rescued us from the power of darkness and has transferred us unto the Kingdom of the Son of His love."

Verse 21: "For you were once alienated and enemies in your minds by wicked works; but now He has reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death, to present you Holy and unblamable and unimpeachable before Him; if indeed you continue in the faith grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which you have heard, and which was proclaimed in all the creation that is under heaven; of which I, Paul, became a servant" (vs 21-23)

There is no hint of emotionalism or emotional reactions to surround these situations. We are well, well grounded. The hope of the Gospel message requires spiritual sight with the Spirit of the Lord; something we must all acquire. We can see it, but not with the eye. By the Spirit we can see it in the mind. We have a mind that can see these things.

Christ overcame Satan; we know that. He did not accommodate one of Satan's temptations; we know that. His overcoming becomes our overcoming, and provides the ability for us to be able to overcome. That's the opportunity that we have been given.

We can overcome the 'prince of the power of the air.' One of the things that Jesus Christ did for us through His death.

Hebrews 2:14: "Therefore, since the children are partakers of flesh and blood, in like manner He also took part in the same, in order that through death He might annul him who has the power of death—that is, the devil."

We understand that there comes a day when Satan will be cast away—the Day of Atonement—but that statement is just for us to remember daily.

Through the Spirit of God we have the power to destroy Satan, through whom that power of death is referred to. Yes, it takes effort on our part. I understand that personally, and you do, too. But it is worth it, and we can overcome Satan, because Jesus Christ has given us that opportunity. We, through Christ, have been released!

Verse 15: "and that He might deliver those who were subject to bondage all through their lives by their fear of death."

There's an awful lot of things going on in this world today that appear to me that Satan is extremely trying very hard to bring us back into bondage to the elements of the world. We need to resist this and get our mind above all those things that are around us.

Verse 18—we need to embrace this: "For because He Himself has suffered, having been tempted in like manner, He is able to help those who are being tempted."

• the strength is there
• the power is there
• the Spirit of the Lord is there and available for us

There's a part that we have to play. Getting, acquiring and maintaining that. I encourage everyone to go forward on what we have learned. We need that Spirit working within us.

Christ destroyed Satan's ability to manipulate the human mind. We can be free from that, free from the 'knee-jerk' emotions—human emotions—that get in the way. We can be free from all of that!

1-John 3:8: "The one who practices sin is of the devil because the devil has beensinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God appeared that He might destroy the works of the devil."

How does He do that? By making the Holy Spirit available!

1-John 2:20: But you have the anointing from the Holy One…"—the Holy Spirit!

1-John 3:9: "Everyone who has been begotten by God does not practice sin, because His seed of begettal is dwelling within him, and he is not able to practice sin because he has been begotten by God."

We have the mind that can see God, and those things that pertain to God! This becomes a common worldview that you and I can share. There are certain aspects of our lives, the worldview that formed in us the human realm that we will always retain. That is okay. If our common worldview of this relationship with God overlaps that, if you have that worldview and I have that worldview and it overlaps our human worldview, we have some commonality. We have something that binds, builds and strengthens.

We will all have some unique aspects of the worldview because of the hereditary and environment that we had in our physical lives. But the Spirit provides a stronger view that allows us to have fellowship with God and with each other. That fellowship is precious; fellowship with God and with each other!

It should become the dominant worldview so that it influences that other physical worldview that we have. A mental mindset that is not of the world, is binding, bonding and strengthening. It does a great deal of good for us all.

Example of pertaining to where we are in life now: the Feast draws us to the Kingdom of God. We concentrate currently and we focus on that during that time. From Colossians we know that mentally we can relate to that Kingdom of God. We are released from the darkness and have conveyed it in the Kingdom.

We can mentally and spiritually perceive that Kingdom, although we are not physically in it or spiritually in it. The Kingdom of God is the Government of God! In today's turbulent times, man's government is generating a great deal of emotionalism. That should not be debated by anyone. We should appreciate that fact and realize that.

• What concept does government play in our lives?
• The government that you see?

or

• The government that you cannot see?
• Which is the dominant government feature in your life?

If our view the government relates more to politics, then we will become emotionally embroiled in the world.

• it will affect the way we see things
• it will affect the clarity of our view of God the Father and a relationship with Him

God's Government is not present in the politics of this world today!

There is a Stone coming and it's going to smash all of that system in this world into dust and blow that away. God's system is just not involved.

If we believe in all systems of men, by the minds of men and influence of people—'the prince of the power of the air'—will be destroyed, then we spiritually short-shift ourselves if we allow the emotional engagement of those systems.

If you get emotionally involved, it's going to be detrimental to your spiritual well being. We must be careful! We need to thin about where we are! Let's see what God tells us through Jeremiah. This is Jeremiah's version of what we see repeated in Revelation.

Jeremiah 51:6: "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and each man deliver his soul. Be not cut off in her iniquity, for this is the time of the LORD'S vengeance; He will give to her a just reward. Babylon has been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, which made all the earth drunk. The nations have drunk of her wine; therefore, the nations rage. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed. Wail for her; take balm for her pain, if perhaps she may be healed" (vs 6-8).

Proverbs 8:12: "I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge and discretion. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the perverse mouth. Counsel and sound wisdom are mine; I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign and princes decree justice. Princes rule by me, and nobles, and all the judges of the earth. I love those who love me; and those who seek me early shall find me" (vs 12-17).

• we need wisdom
• we need to seek wisdom

It's available through the Spirit of the Lord, through God's Holy Spirit.

God's wisdom focuses on God taking care of the direction that things are going. He will do this for us and be in our affairs if we continue to seek Him and have faith in that. We have the confidence that we leave it to God.

I want to talk about a formula that the Apostle Paul gives us. The Apostle Paul was particularly good at addressing in and out of the world. What greater authority could there be than someone who was thoroughly in and of the world before he was called and converted? What better source could you have?

He understood better than anyone else what it meant to be in the world and then come to the other side of not being in the world!

2-Timothy 3:1: "Know this also, that in the last days perilous times shall come; for men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, braggarts, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, despisers of those who are good, betrayers, reckless, egotistical, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; having an outward appearance of Godliness, but denying the power of true Godliness. But as for you, turn away from all these. For from men such as these come those who are worming their way into houses, and are gaining control over empty-headed gullible women given over to various sins, being driven by all kinds of lust. They are always learning but are never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth" (vs 1-7).

Paul clearly understood the world, what it meant to be in and of the world.

Verse 10: "But you have closely followed my doctrine, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions and sufferings—such as happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra. You know what sort of persecutions I endured; and the Lord delivered me out of them all. And indeed, everyone who desires to live Godly in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted" (vs 10-12).

There are no accommodations that we can make with this world. It does not work! It will not work! If you try and make accommodations with this world you will get your fingers burned!

Verse 13: "But wicked men and imposters shall become worse and worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves. But as for you, continue in the things that you did learn and were assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them" (vs 13-14).

Coming back to the trunk of the tree! That's crucial! Coming back to the trunk of the tree over and over. Not getting led off into the twigs, the branches, and the twigs getting far away from the trunk. We have to stay close to God!

Verse 15: "And that from a child you have known the Holy Writings, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus."

Because through Christ and the Spirit of the Lord opening our minds to wisdom, knowledge and understanding, and the power that assists, there is much that we can learn from the Scriptures.

Verse 16: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work" (vs 16-17).

That should be our motivation that should keep us going in the right direction.

• this is in the world, but is not of the world
• it is something you cannot see
• it is not flesh and blood, it comes from God
• our worldview needs to be in our heart

Psalm 119:10: "With all my heart I have sought You; O let me not wander from Your commandments. Your Word I have laid up in my heart, so that I might not sin against You" (vs 10-11).

Satan will do much to try and get you emotionally wander away from these principles, from the commandments and be scattered! Brethren, let us really know what our reality is; what the reality of our life holds for  us.

Our worldview needs to come from the heart, and that heart needs to be filled with the Word of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

That is going to be our motivation! That will provide you with the worldview that will:

• keep you strong
• keep you firm
• keep you pointed down the road

That narrow road that is available to us!

As we move forward, let us work on this principle of being in the world but not of the world!

• that is the reality of our calling
• that should be the focus of our life going forward from this point on
• that is living in reality as God has planned for us

Scriptural References:

• 1 John 4:4-6
• John 12:27-28, 30-32
• Ephesians 2:2-3
• 2 Corinthians 4:1-5
• 2 Corinthians 6:11-12
• Ephesians 6:12
• John 17:6-19
• Ephesian 4:14
• John 8:13, 21-24
• Isaiah 11:2-3
• Ephesians 3:14-21, 18
• Colossians 1:13, 21-23
• Hebrews 2:14-15, 18
• 1 John 3:8
• 1 John 2:20
• 1 John 3:9
• Jeremiah 51:6-8
• Proverbs 8:12-17
• 2 Timothy 3:1-7, 10-17
• Psalm 119:10-11

Scripture referenced, not quoted: Revelation 12

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 1/31/22

Copyright 2021—All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner. This includes electronic and mechanical photocopying or recording, as well as the use of information storage and retrieval systems.