Part 3B: “Use Your God-Given Imagination to Quicken Dead Things to Life.”
Praise Almighty God, after last week’s Sermon, we have come into a fuller knowledge and understanding that through the operation of the circumcision of the “heart,” our entire inner-being—spirit, soul, and mind has been regenerated and made brand new by God in Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, the Holy Ghost is the faithful witness to all that God has done through Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost has sealed our hearts until the day of our redemption. (Col.2:11-15 & Eph. 4:30) Therefore, our hearts (spirit, soul, and mind) are complete, pure, and perfect in Christ Jesus and the wicked one the devil touches us not! (I John 5:20)
Last week, I made mention of four laws that God has placed in the hearts of every spiritual king and priest (born-again Christian). (Heb.10:16) One of the laws, which is vitally important for today’s message is called, “The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.” God has placed the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus in our hearts and written it on our minds.
At Romans 8:1-2, the Apostle Paul wrote these words concerning the Law of the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ. It says,
There is therefore now no condemnation to them
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit
of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the
law of sin and death.
The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus refers to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on His cross and resurrection from the dead, which made every person who would believe in Jesus Christ, free from the law of sin and death under the Old Testament Law of God.
For consider that Jesus Christ bore all of our sins in His own body on the cross, including every ordinance, curse, penalty, judgement, and condemnation that the “law of sin and death” subjected mankind to under the Old Testament Law of God. Jesus’ finished works redeemed us from the law of sin and death, and ushered in the blessing of Abraham, which we received through the Holy Ghost by faith in Jesus Christ. (Gal. 3:13-14)
The life of every born-again Christian, the new and real you—spirit, soul, and mind, which comprises the heart, is hidden with Jesus Christ in God. (Col. 3:3) Therefore, God sees and relates to us through the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ, which is holy and righteous in His sight.
I wish that every Christian would come to understand, that in Jesus Christ, there is no condemnation (no adjudging guilty, shame, blame, or wrong) because the Law of the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ has made us eternally free from the law of sin and death.
There is no sin, iniquity, or transgression in Jesus Christ, and because your life is hidden in Him, there is no sin, iniquity, and transgression in you! We have been baptized into His death and raised to the newness of life with Jesus Christ.
Moreover, praise the Holy name of Jesus Christ, that God has chosen to never remember our sins—past, present, or future. (Heb.10:17) Jesus has destroyed the entire body (work) of sin. (Rom. 6:6) So you can stop thinking about sin, and the sins of others. Instead, set your thinking on the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus that dwells in you. You are completely governed by the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
We have all assurance that the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is awesomely super powerful and dynamic in its working. The Spirit of God (Holy Ghost) dwelled in the heart of Jesus Christ, and God by the Holy Ghost raised up Jesus from the dead on the third-day. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead was solely because of the Spirit of Life within Him. It was not possible for death to hold Him, as Jesus Christ is the “Prince of Life”! (Acts 2:24, 3:15)
The Spirit of life in Jesus Christ is exceedingly greater than sin, death, hell, and the grave. Since the fall of Adam, the one thing mankind has feared all their lives is “death.” Even today, attend a funeral service, and casually observe people, especially men, who are in attendance who do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. During the funeral service, they sit in the pews with stoic looks at the casket, nervous and sweaty hands—so nervous that the role up the funeral program like a diploma. But, Jesus Christ came and abolished death and brought life and immortality to light! (II Timothy 1:10)
Oh Saints of God, see the power of the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that after Jesus Christ descended into hell, He defeated Satan and snatched away from him the keys of death, hell, and the grave. (Rev.1:18) Jesus preached the gospel to the Old Testament saints that were held captive by Satan against their will in a compartment of hell, and afterwards Jesus ascended with them leading captivity captive. (Eph. 4:8).
The Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ is so mighty in its working that many of the bodies of the Old Testament saints which slept, were quickened, arose and came out of their graves, walked in the streets of Jerusalem, and appeared unto many. (Matt. 27:50-54)
The Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ also loved us so much that even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, our hearts were all quickened together, raised up together, and made sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:1-6)
Moreover, because the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, dwells in us. On the day of the Lord’s return, God is going to quicken our mortal bodies by the Spirit that dwells in us. (Rom. 8:11)
I hope you are following where I am going with this. The Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is on the inside of your heart and quickens dead things, dying things, failing things, barren things, unproductive things—and brings them to life! It’s the Law of God. The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is unchangeable and immutable, and applies and works for all those who are in Jesus Christ.
You have the power on the inside of you to quicken dead things to life by faith in Jesus Christ. Truly, “death and life are in the power of the tongue,” and those who love it shall eat its fruit. (Prov.18:21) I always say: “whatever you love to say is what you love to have in your life.” The stakes are very high—so as the spiritual kings and priests unto God, I encourage you to put life on your mouth at all times!
Your heart is precious to God, and He has deposited the precious treasure of the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ in every born-again Christian. Right now, the Holy Ghost is witnessing to you that the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ is in you!
Somebody ought to shout for joy saying: “The Law of the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ is planted in my heart and written on my mind—just as God promised He would!” And, “that which is planted in my heart shall bring forth bountiful harvests of life because everything God sows, He also reaps!” Everywhere you go speak life, life, life to dead things!
Christians, therefore, must be on alert and diligently guard their hearts, for out of the heart comes the issues of life. (Prov. 4:23) God designed mankind to live from the abundance of the thoughts and imaginations contained in the heart. Anything we imagine in our hearts and put full effort toward will come to pass. As I mentioned last week, even when mankind imagines to do evil things, as the case was with the people of Babylonia, in building the city and Tower of Babel, with determination, they can accomplish it. (Gen.11:6)
On the other hand, born-again Christians have the “heart of God” (God’s Laws) living inside them, and not the heart of the world. Therefore, out of our hearts flow the issues of the God-kind-of life—the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ, which quickens dead things to life. Like God our Father, from our hearts, we quicken things by calling things that be not, as if they already existed. (Rom. 4:17) We speak forth solutions from eternity to the problems and troubles that people face in this world.
Guarding our hearts, is not about protecting the heart (spirit, soul and mind) from evil thoughts and sin, because God through the Holy Ghost has already sealed our hearts until the day of redemption. Sin is a complete reproach to the born-again heart of the Christian that resides in God in Jesus Christ, and can never gain access into the inner-being.
Only the Word of God is quick and all-powerful to divide, both the soul and spirit. (Heb. 4:12) The Word of God received with meekness into the heart is able to nurture and prosper the soul. (James 1:21) Further, we plant the Word of God (Seed) into our hearts and produce manifold harvests from the kingdom of God residing in the spirit part of the heart. (Mark 4:14, 20, 26-29)
As we walk-out the Christian life, in guarding the heart, we identify and arrest every evil thought and imagination perpetrated by Satan and the kingdom of darkness, which seeks to exalt it’s self against and above the knowledge of God in our human brains. (II Cor.10:4-6)
As Christians, we are on the offence not defense! We are the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, forever marching forward and against, and tearing down the gates of hell by capturing every fiery dart and evil imagination Satan tempts us with. We tread down on serpents and scorpions, and nothing by any means shall hurt us. We put on the whole armor of God to withstand the whiles of the devil and all evil. (Matt. 16:18, Luke 10:19, & Eph. 6:10-16)
Satan desires to place his throne (strong-holds) in your human brain. For born-again Christians, the human brain is the only point of access Satan has to try to keep us from living the God-kind of life that flows from, and through the born-again heart. Satan wants Christians to walk in the carnal mind, rather than the spirit-filled mind of Christ. (Rom. 8:5-9)
Satan wants you to conduct your life according to the world’s way of thinking and doing things. Allowing your brain to focus exclusively on contemporary living, social norms and interactions, and past experiences—which turn on carnal thinking, behavior, and actions that are opposed to God’s Word. Satan wants to deceive Christians into greeting one another by saying, “Hello”—rather than saying, “Praise the Lord,” which is the greeting of the Saints!
Walking in the carnal mind only produces death. So we must tear down all carnal thoughts and imaginations and make them obey the Word of God planted in our hearts—which produce thoughts and imaginations from God.
Examine Luke 4:1-14. After being baptized by John the Baptist and receiving the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God lead Jesus Christ into the wilderness where He was tempted of the devil 40-days.
But, notice how Jesus Christ handled the assaults of Satan’s temptations, which were intended to cause Jesus to become self-absorbed and taken over by carnal thoughts. (Luke 4:3-12)
With every temptation Jesus Christ captured the sinful thought and bought it into the obedience of the Word of God. Notice how each time, when Jesus answered Satan with the Word of God, he immediately moved on to another temptation until finally he left Him for a season.
The Word of God spoken in faith paralyzes the devil, causes him to try another tactic of temptation, and eventually will make him flee from you. (James 4:7)
Thereafter, Jesus’ ministry was launched and He returned from the wilderness into Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the fame of Him spread like a wild fire! Resisting the temptations of the devil to enter into carnality with the Word of God, only intensifies the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus in your ministry.
Let’s go deeper now into our understanding of the regenerated hearts of Christians. From our hearts, the Holy Ghost reveals Godly imaginations of how we are to live on earth. The life we see in our imagination is the knowledge of God, they are eternal, and overrule that which we see in the physical temporal world. Examine this Scripture at II Corinthians 4:18.
While we look not at the things which are seen, but
the things which are not seen: for the things which
are seen are temporal: but the things which are not
seen are eternal.
The things we see in our hearts are imaginations planted by God. These imaginations are eternal, new, fresh, and alive. We see them through the eyes of the soul. These imaginations are produced by the power of the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ to quicken dead things in the temporal world, to life.
We are instructed by the Apostle Paul to behold these things, for “all things have become new” now that we are in Christ Jesus. (II Cor. 5:17-19) These imaginations contain restorative power to exchange mankind’s problems for the promises of God. Thus, we have been given the ministry of reconciliation.
Please recall the story of the woman with the issue of blood. (Matt. 9:18-22, Mark 5:22-43 & Luke 8:41-56) The woman was diseased with an issue of blood for 12-years. The woman had suffered from many medical procedures performed by doctors, and had spent all of her money on trying for a cure. But, had only gotten worse.
However, she saw a great crowd of people following and surrounding Jesus Christ and the disciples, as they were making their way to the house of Jairus to raise his daughter from the dead. But seeing Jesus, “she said within herself, “if I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.”
In an anemic and weakened state she pressed and crawled her way, and made contact with the hem of Jesus’ garment, and immediately she was healed. Among the throng of people touching Jesus, He asked the disciples who had touched Him. The woman came and fell before His feet and admitted she had touched Him. Jesus told her, “Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath made the whole…” (Matt. 9:22)
On that day, the woman received her miracle because she believed Jesus Christ was able to make her whole. She blocked out all thoughts about how she had suffered and endured medical treatments, and the loss of all financial resources. She focused on an image in her heart of being made whole by Jesus. Within in her soul, she saw herself physically touching the tassel of Jesus’ garment and being made whole.
Thereafter, she demonstrated her faith by moving and pressing her way toward Jesus until she finally touched Him. She refused to let any obstacle stand in her way, even though by Jewish ceremonial law she was prohibited from being in public.
Had she not acted on what she imagined in her heart, she never would have been made whole. The woman’s willingness to act out on the imagination of her heart—to do whatever it would take to reach and touch Jesus to be made whole, caused Jesus to say “be of good comfort; thy faith has made thee whole.” She was instantly made whole spiritually, physically, and financially.
Every miracle Jesus Christ performed in His ministry was born out of His heart’s imagination, revealed by the Holy Ghost. Jesus’ testimony of His ministry works was that He only said and did whatever He saw and heard His Father God doing. (John 5:19-20 & 12:49) The Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ went about healing all that were sick and diseased, oppressed and possessed by the devil, raising the dead to life, and much more.
Likewise the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ in you continually produces Godly imaginations of wholeness. Right now, Godly images of wholeness are flowing through you. These are God- ordained pictures of healing, deliverance, prosperity, and ministry. Let me prove it to you now with simple illustrations.
--Look in your heart (soul) and visualize your bank account. Notice that the image you see is of a much larger amount than what actually exists in your checking and savings accounts! In fact, it’s likely you see more money than you have ever had in your life! Quicken your bank account and say the amount you see in your heart. Remember, we call those things that be not as though they already exist.
--Look within your heart and imagine the house God has for you. Again, you can see that the house in your heart, is not the one you currently live in. Rather, it is larger and grander than the one you currently reside in. Go ahead now and call that new house to you with all the trappings you desire in it! So shall it be done!
--Envision in your heart 10-disabled people sitting in wheel-chairs, notice how they all immediately rise up, push away from the wheel-chairs and walk! Now, try and push them back down in the chairs, and observe how quickly each person stands up again and moves away from the wheel-chair!
These are all examples of Godly imagination—God’s knowledge at work in you. These are pictures of the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ. The last Adam, Jesus Christ, was made a quickening spirit. (I Cor. 15:45) The more you think on the images, the greater clarity comes.
Take time out and look up Bible verses related to the images you see. Sow the Word of God into your heart (believing to ownership that you have received the images by faith in Jesus Christ). The Holy Ghost will inspire you to decree and declare what you see only in the imagination of your heart, and quicken dead things to life.
In your physical body, if you have any sickness or disease just follow the example of the woman with the issue of blood—look only in your heart and see the Godly imagination of wholeness, and speak forth what you see! Let wholeness come forth exceedingly and suddenly in the mighty and precious name of Jesus Christ!
In closing, having our hearts circumcised by God is an exceedingly great blessing from God in Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ is flowing like rivers of living water through our hearts and minds. There is no mountain in life we cannot move and cast into the see. As we have Faith in God, we have whatever we say. (Mark 11:20-26) Next week, we will examine this supernatural phenomenon.
Now that we are in God in Christ Jesus, our born-again hearts have been made pure by God, and are not capable of doubting God’s Word! There is nothing that has been pronounced dead and useless in this world that we cannot quicken to life by the name of Jesus Christ.
If we are willing and obedient to walk in the love commandment of Christ—to love others as Christ loved us and forgive all who offend us, then with our mouths we will rule our worlds.
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ
has made us free from the law of sin and death.”
(Rom. 8:2)
Next week, we will talk about “Believing the Words You Say.”