The spirit and order of the age is contrary to and seeks to resist the Lord and his motives.
We are beginning to realize there is an order to the Kingdom of God, tho few know much about it.
We should also realize that there is an order that the spirit of the age seeks to impose upon us. This same order is what is referred to in the scripture when it declares that this “whole world” lies under the power of the evil one. This world – this eon or age – is under the control of darkness.
Those of us who have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness, and brought into the kingdom of God's dear son, have been rescued from this prison of darkness and are commissioned as emissaries to those who are still trapped inside.
The order of the age has a logical system of right and wrong, complete with a rewards system, and a system of punishment. Sometimes we don't realize this system exists, and thereby we get it confused with the truth.
One of the ways that the world system seeks to punish us is through guilt. Guilt that cannot be overcome thru repentance is not coming from God. Surely there is a sense of guilt that is present when we fail or knowingly violate the truth or God's will. However, repentance is the means given to us by God to get free of this guilt. If you have failed, and have repented (first step is asking forgiveness), then you should not continue to labor under guilt. If you do, you are likely being influenced by the spirit of the age, not the spirit of Christ. Jesus makes us free from guilt and free to move on, go forward.
The spirit of the age observes no nationality. What I mean is that these master spirits prosecute their wickedness the world over, without regard to national boundaries. You cannot get away from the influence of this age by physically relocating. This entire realm is subject to such. The only way to escape the influence of this age is to be in Christ, tho it is possible to actually be in Christ and still yield to the influence of the age. I pray that we do not do this.
The more we realize and cultivate our awareness of the God's kingdom – the kingdom we are NOW citizens of – the more we enter into the freedom that prevails under God's influence. Our minds are being renewed thru the knowledge of God, of His ways, and of His nature. We enter into our true selves, the ones created in God's image, progressively by this means. We are putting off our old, fallen selves, and putting on the nature of Christ.
A lot of what we observe around us is under the influence of darkness, but because we are used to this order, we may think it is “just the way things are.” If we approach things this way, we may unwillingly or unknowingly give consent to and support the realm of darkness. Lord open our eyes to see things as You see them, the way they are, and not as they appear.
Tho I am highlighting a few elements of the spirit of the age, I do not mean to encourage you to focus on or give great study to the spirit of the age. We begin to recognize the influence of the spirit of the age by contrast when we see and know more about the Lord and His kingdom. That is why the scriptures teach us to set our minds on things above, not on the things that are on this earth. The more we know the Lord and realize things about His kingdom, the more we can see the traps that are set to keep us from walking in His freedom.
Unfortunately, many of us believers still walk the earth as mere men, motivated and animated by things we are not aware of. Be certain, the spirit of the age is specific in it's malignant intent, and it does not mind using clueless vessels to carry out it's plans. We must become and stay free from such influences.
I want to encourage you to go deeper in your pursuit of the Lord Himself. Even in the midst of these thoughts you might realize that you have been being moved along by the wrong ideas. Don't be surprised at your capacity for evil, God isn't. Rather, offer your weakness to God. Ask Him to continue to make you free from the influence of the world. Ask Him to help you keep your mind on the realm of HIs rule, the kingdom of Heaven, until you become an effective and powerful agent of His heavenly influence.