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Breaking the World’s Enchantment, October 6
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth
the will of God abideth for ever.
1 John 2:17
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The lessons of Christ are of that character to show the relative im-
portance of heaven and earth. He presents before the mind’s eye that the
claims of heaven are first in importance. God’s claims are supreme. He
demands the whole heart, mind, might, and strength. Earthly things He
assigns their place, to be subordinate to the eternal interests.
The temptations of Satan present earthly things and make them all-
absorbing and attractive, so that the heavenly realities are eclipsed and
the attachment to the world made first; and this has become so great a
power that Omnipotence alone can dislodge it. Satan’s work is to chain
the senses to this world. Christ came to break the satanic enchantment,
counterwork the work of Satan, and charm the mind away from the earthly
to the heavenly. He alone is able to break the enchantment.... A few years
and the world and all its glory, which has through the bewitching power
of the great deceiver become an object of worship, are to be burned, with
all the embellishments of the art of man. Then what will be found to
compensate for the loss of the human soul?
The Prince of life calls the attention to the eternal world.... He would
have the infinite grandeur of the future hold the attraction of human minds,
and the present world take its subordinate place in the affections. He sets
in order things that Satan has transposed. Having taken the world from
the throne where it has become a ruling power and worshiped as a god,
He assigns it its proper place....
With eternal realities in view we will habitually cultivate thoughts
of the presence of God. This will be a shield against the incoming of
the enemy; it will give strength and assurance, and lift the soul above
fear. Breathing in the atmosphere of heaven, we will not be breathing the
malaria of the world. We will not remain in the darkened cellar, but come
up into the upper chambers where every window that looks toward heaven
is open and catches the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness.
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