Heaven on Earth
Every church has its own culture – its own feel, or atmosphere. Church culture is the behavior (rituals), values (beliefs), principles (rules) and atmosphere (felt presence).
Atmosphere can be experienced but not always explained. Every person, home, business, church, city and nation has a unique atmosphere. The word “atmosphere” means a pervading or surrounding influence or spirit, a general mood or environment.
We need know that evil can manifest itself in a very real felt presence and that atmosphere if encountered for a long enough period of time, could actually influence your mind, emotions and will. There is an unseen world, with unseen but felt powers, both good and evil (Eph 6:12; Heb 11:27).
You Change it! – The Negative Power of Atmosphere
1. The atmosphere of chaos, emptiness and darkness [Gen.1:1-2]
IN THE beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.
Darkness in this context is associated in sense with the “formless waste” in the preceding clause. Darkness therefore refers to the presence of chaos and the lack of order that existed at the time when God began to create. Darkness refers to a covering under which everything is influenced.
There is a blanketed darkness in our city that affects every person, every institution, every church and every family in a subtle and consistently invasion manner. We see a description of the character traits of a people overcome by darkness in 2 Tim 3:2-5.
“There will be people who are …”
Lovers of self. The term denotes a love that is selfish with an emphasis on self-importance; hence “self-centered”. This vice is mentioned first and all the other vices seem to stem from it.
Lovers of money denotes an attitude of loving wealth; “covetous,” “greedy” (TEV), “greedy for money” (Phps). “People will love only themselves and money”.
Proud and arrogant are synonyms. The first of these describes a person who is proud but without any basis (hence “pretentious pride,”) and who continuously brags about it (hence “braggart,” “boasters” [NRSV], “boastful” [TEV], “full of big words” [Phps]). The second describes a person who is shamelessly proud; hence arrogant, “haughty” (NABR), “contemptuous,” “looks down on others.”
Abusive is literally “blasphemous,” which in this context means “slanderous,” “insulting” (TEV), “rude” (NJB), “disrespectful.”
The next five vices:
Being disobedient to parents is a very grave sin, especially in a situation where the family is the most important social unit in society.
Ungrateful appropriately follows disobedient to parents, since ungrateful people don’t show any appreciation for the acts of kindness done to them by others.
For unholy Except in these two places the word appears nowhere else in the New Testament. The word here denotes failure to give due honor and respect particularly to those aspects of life that need to be treated with decency (hence “irreligious” [TEV, NJB], “no reverence” [TNT], “devoid of piety” [REB], or “no place for God in their lives”).
2 Timothy 3.3.
Inhuman translates a word that denotes a lack of love or affection, especially for close associates and members of one’s family,; hence “heartless” (JB), “no natural affection” (NEB), “devoid of gratitude” (REB), “unkind” (TEV), or “treat other people roughly.”
Implacable describes an unwillingness to be reconciled to others; hence “unforgiving” (NIV), “unappeasable” (JB), “remorseless” (Phps), “merciless” (TEV).
The final group of vices deal with behavior toward others, either by words or by actions.
Slanderers translates a word that can literally be rendered “devils” but which is derived from a Greek verb that means “to slander”; hence “scandalmongers” (REB), “gossipers.”
Profligates pertains to people who are completely lacking in self-control; hence “intemperate” (NEB), “licentious” (NABR), and even “violent” (TEV).
Fierce describes behavior that is wild, vicious, and untamed; hence “savages” (NJB), “brutal” (NIV, NABR), “violent” (REB), “brutes” (NRSV).
Haters of good pertains to people who are against anything that is good; hence “hostile to all goodness” (REB), “enemies of everything that is good” (JB). The word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.
2 Timothy 3.4.
Treacherous is derived from the verb that means “to betray” and denotes breaking one’s faithfulness to another by handing someone over to the control of that person’s enemies; hence “traitors.”
Reckless refers to doing things impulsively without thinking; hence “impetuous,” “rash” (NIV).
Swollen with conceit is derived from a verb that means “to be insanely arrogant,” “to be extremely proud,” hence “swollen with pride” (TEV), “puffed up with pride” (CEV), “demented by pride” (JB), “swollen with self-importance” (REB).
Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God contrasts two words that are similar in form, the first one denoting fondness and love for pleasure and enjoyment, and the second one denoting affection and love for God. This final sentence may be restructured as follows: “Instead of loving God, they will love pleasure” (CEV).
2 Timothy 3.5.
The list concludes with a description of false piety. Holding is literally “having.” In the present context it refers to mere appearance that has no relation to reality (so “outward form” [TEV, NRSV], “outward appearance” [NJB], “make a pretense” [NABR], “maintain a facade” [Phps]).
They enjoy the outward expressions of the Christian faith, but they themselves haven’t changed. “They act as if they worship God, but they don’t really believe in him at all” or “… but they have really stopped believing in him.”
Timothy is urged to avoid such people, that is, to “keep away” from them, and “have nothing to do” (TNT) with them at all.
2. The atmosphere of corrupt earth [Gen 6:5-8]
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination and intention of all human thinking was only evil continually.
6 And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved at heart.
7 So the Lord said, I will destroy, blot out, and wipe away mankind, whom I have created from the face of the ground—not only man, [but] the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air—for it grieves Me and makes Me regretful that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace (favor) in the eyes of the Lord.
Genesis 6 describes not only the condition of Noah’s time, but also our present day in which the wickedness of humanity has become great and seems to be growing increasingly wicked. Look at the depth of corruption expressed through media, music, writing and conversation. Our culture appears devoid of embarrassment. Any subject is fair conversational game. No matter how crude the topic, nothing is beyond impropriety.
The atmosphere of earth has been insidiously and pervasively corrupted by impurity. Only the grace of God will be able to combat a corrupt earth atmosphere.
3. The atmosphere of a corrupt city [2 Peter 2:6-8]
6 And He condemned to ruin and extinction the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, reducing them to ashes [and thus] set them forth as an example to those who would be ungodly; [Gen. 19:24.]
7 And He rescued righteous Lot, greatly worn out and distressed by the wanton ways of the ungodly and lawless—[Gen. 19:16, 29.]
8 For that just man, living [there] among them, tortured his righteous soul every day with what he saw and heard of [their] unlawful and wicked deeds—
When these words are used to describe a city we all know exactly what they mean. They depict a place given totally to ungodly, filthy conduct where righteous people are tormented by daily sights and sounds of the atmosphere.
The atmosphere of rebellion, immorality, political corruption, violence, child abuse, divorce and other degenerative conduct reminds us daily that all cities carry some seeds representative of Sodom and Gomorrah. Living in this atmosphere, our lives will be contaminated unless we daily put on the whole armor of God (Eph 6:11-17).
4. The atmosphere of a disorderly, ungodly house [Prov. 17:4; 18:21; 19:13; 21;19]
17:4 An evildoer gives heed to wicked lips; and a liar listens to a mischievous tongue.
18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].
19:13 A self-confident and foolish son is the [multiplied] calamity of his father, and the contentions of a wife are like a continual dripping [of water through a chink in the roof].
19:21 Many plans are in a man’s mind, but it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand.
19:19 A man of great wrath shall suffer the penalty; for if you deliver him [from the consequences], he will [feel free to] cause you to do it again.
We understand from Scripture and other research that the home is the school ground where young people are being trained in the values and virtues of living. When parental authority in the home becomes divisive and unstructured in its disciples and godly values, an atmosphere is created that breeds confusion, insecurity, sorrow and rebellion.
Many young people live outside of God’s divine order and blessing of their lives. The seeds of their destruction have been sown during their years of living in a disorderly, ungodly atmosphere. To restore the atmosphere of the home, the structure of the home must be realigned with God’s authority and values.
5. The atmosphere of accepted demonic activity [Rev. 18:2-4]
And he shouted with a mighty voice, She is fallen! Mighty Babylon is fallen! She has become a resort and dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every loathsome spirit, an abode for every filthy and detestable bird.
3 For all nations have drunk the wine of her passionate unchastity, and the rulers and leaders of the earth have joined with her in committing fornication (idolatry), and the businessmen of the earth have become rich with the wealth of her excessive luxury and wantonness.
4 I then heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out from her, my people, so that you may not share in her sins, neither participate in her plagues.
The occult is riddling our society with diabolic messages through media, advertising and other forms of communication. Palm reading, fortune telling and psychics have become an acceptable part of life, affecting millions of people in our nation.
New Age and satanic worship centers have peppered our society with demonic activity. Fascination with the paranormal and supernatural are evidenced by the popularity of television shows such as “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which are both geared toward our youth.
In our syncretistic society (the combination of different systems of philosophical or religious belief or practice), witchcraft, ghosts, angels and demons are blended into an appealing fantasy world that has become a box-office draw for the entertainment industry.
We have become just like the great city of Babylon described in the book of revelation as “a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit and a cage for every unclean and hated bird” (Rev. 18:2) Demons don’t always look the way we expect them to, so it’s time to wake up, identify them and realize that they are influencing the atmosphere of our city, homes and church.
6. The atmosphere of corrupt individual attitudes [Prov. 21:24; 22:24; 1 Cor. 15:33]
Proverbs 21:24 The proud and haughty man—Scoffer is his name—deals and acts with overbearing pride.
Proverbs 22:24 Make no friendships with a man given to anger, and with a wrathful man do not associate,
1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character.
Every person carries an atmosphere – what we refer to as personality, aura or vibes. A person’s atmosphere may be one of anger, impurity, egotism, righteousness, selfishness or servanthood. The Bible says we are to be aware of the atmosphere of others and not allow them to negatively influence our lives or change our own personal atmosphere. We become like what we associate with – look at Proverbs 22:24; 21:24.
We are all fully responsible for the choices we make and the atmosphere we create. As born again Christians, our atmosphere should be characterized by love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.