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Chapter Ten
- IMAGINATIONS
(Nothing written
yet, but here is a video response to this topic.)
(Transcript
of video)
One of the things
that people have said over and over is that imaginations are bad and
that the imagination is bad, and visualization is bad, that it's new
age, and evil and that God cast down imaginations etc. I've had
people "see" out in front of them the sin like
unforgiveness and take their sword of the Spirit and hack it up into
a million pieces and ask the Lord to wash it away by the blood of
Jesus. And the reaction of some is that it's imagination,
that it's bad, wrong, and using visualization etc.
First of all lets
look at some Scripture and I'll show you how ridiculously man-made
that particular little bit of doctrine is. Here's the verse
that they always point to:
2 Corinthians 10:5
- Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ. (King James Version)
Okay that's what
we're supposed to be doing; it's casting down imaginations and every
other high thing, imagination being one of those high things if it
exalts itself against the knowledge of God. So, the argument
has been that we're to cast down imaginations, which a) is totally
dopey, and impossible, and b) isn't Scriptural.
Well, how about
this one: this is David's thanksgiving and prayer to God:
1 Chronicles 29:18
- O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep
this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy
people, and prepare their heart unto thee. (King James Version)
He is saying that
this thing that the Lord has done, keep it ever in the imaginations
of the people so that they could re-live and re-experience and
remember this thing that He had done for them.
Again, David
exhorts the people to fear God in
1 Chronicles 28:9
- And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and
serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD
searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the
thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou
forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. (King James Version)
He's not telling
him to have no imagination, or to not imagine anything, he's telling
him to make sure that the thoughts and imaginations of his mind are
pure because the Lord searches those things.
In Proverbs 6:18 "An
heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in
running to mischief," are listed as some of things that God
hates. Now this isn't a heart that devises imaginations,
this is a heart that devises WICKED imaginations. Do you
see the difference? He tests our hearts; He knows the
intentions of our hearts and the meditations of our mind. That
doesn't mean we're not to have meditations of our mind, it means
we're meant to have PURE meditations of our mind. That we're to
think on good things, not to NOT think at all!
Rom 1:21 - Because
that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither
were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their
foolish heart was darkened. (King James Version)
The problem wasn't
that they had imaginations; the problem was that their imaginations
became vain. It became all about themselves, and what they were
going to do. That's when their hearts became darkened, and
their imaginations became vain, not when they had imaginations.
Jer 7:24 - But
they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the
counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went
backward, and not forward. (King James Version),
There are lots of
those in Jeremiah, simply do a search on "blueletter bible"
on imagination or imaginations. Sometimes what he's talking
about is the mind, or just the thoughts, and it talks a lot in
Jeremiah how they walked in the council and the imagination of their
evil heart. So the problem is not that they imagined or
visualized, the problem is that they walked in the imagination of
their evil heart.
What we need to
understand is that our imagination, what we think, is the gateway to
reach God. That is where faith comes from. If you believe
because you can see it in your mind, because you can feel it, because
you can visualize it, because you understand it that Jesus died on a
cross went to the grave, rose again, and died for you, you have
visualized, you have imagined, and you have believed that it is
true. That's where faith comes from, because it's the evidence
of things not seen, which means it's internal.
Jesus said that He
came to fulfill the law - what used to be; if you committed adultery
with someone, then that's a violation of the Big 10, Jesus said I
came to make it even harder, I came to spiritualize what was a
natural law is now even bigger and broader because it's also
spiritual. From now, if you have sex with a woman, you're
guilty of adultery, if it's not your wife, and if you have sex with
her in your head, you're even thinking about having sex with her,
you're guilty of adultery also, because in the spiritual realm, you
really did do what you just imagined. You had sex with that
pin-up or that centerfold, or your neighbor's wife, etc, in the
spiritual realms, and satan watched and took notes, and God had to
watch and Jesus had to stand there and watch while the guy you say is
your husband watches you have sex with whatever. And it
happened in my imagination, and it's my vain imagination that's in my
heart that he's talking about.
Now if you believe
that demons are real and that they're big, and you're little, and
that they're going to crush you, and you're defenseless against them,
you will be. You will be little, and they will be big, and they
will crush you, because if you bind it on earth, it will be bound in
heaven. If you believe that every morning you're visualizing
putting on your Ephesians 6:10 armor, and go through that process of
putting on that armor every morning, it will defend you, it will
protect you. The same people that are saying not to visualize,
or we're not to imagine anything, probable are also telling you that
you need to get your armor on! Well, that armor is spiritual;
that armor happened because of faith inside your head, inside the
spiritual realms you believe that it happens, and it does. If
you believe that you can rebuke demons in the name of Jesus, and they
will go; they'll go.
I once heard about
a pastor who was rebuking a demon off of somebody, and he was shaking
his Bible at it, and the demon said, "You can't get me off,
that's a NIV!", so he changed the whole church to the King James
because the demon told him that the NIV didn't count! Demons
lie! You don't create doctrines based on what demons tell
you! But if you believe that NIV is not going to work when you
shake it at a demon, it's not going to work.
I don't think I
need a King James, or a NIV to shake at a demon; I believe Jesus said
"Go" and they went, and that's all it should take.
You shouldn't have to sprinkle them, or blow at them, or shake people
until they leave, He said "Go", and they go. If you
don't have enough authority for them to go when you say go, then you
probably have open doors that you need to get closed.
Like the video on
your cup at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpephy9PZaI, seeing your
cup, understanding what's in your cup, asking the Lord to show you
what's in your cup. If you insist that imagination is wrong,
and you try to disconnect entirely from that, then you're not going
to be able to connect to Him in the spiritual realms because you're
shutting down the way that He accesses us, which is by faith, which
happens in our mind. We believe He's real because we stand in
faith, and know that we can close our eyes and see Jesus because we
know that He's there, and we know that He's real.
Take a look at the
Bible, I think I've shown you already. There are examples where
the Lord says, Store it up in your mind, and meditate on these
things. Fill your heart with good things, think on good things,
lovely things&ldots;. That's imaginations, and He's not saying to NOT
have any imaginations, He's saying to let Him have
control of your mind, and let it be pure, not vain or your own
foolish heart.
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