Today we want to look more closely at how the imagination works for someone who is not filled with the Holy Ghost. If you are one such person, I pray that you will open your heart to believe God’s report about your spiritual state. After the disobedience of the first man, Adam, the whole world was separated from God:
Genesis 6:5
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Without the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, mankind is filled with thoughts of rebellion towards God and godliness. These thoughts came from the spirit of iniquity, the devil:
John 8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
If you don’t have the Holy Ghost in you, these verses apply to you. Your evil imagination is not merely a barrage of recommendations for what sin to do; it is a prison that is filled with the devil’s lusts and desires. He cares nothing about you, and only desires to steal, kill and destroy your soul in hell. Jesus called him a strongman, because of the power that he exerts over your human mind. He forcibly gets you to live out his evil imagination through deception and lies.
For example, if someone does something that’s offensive, but it wasn’t intentional. Immediately, your mind is filled with thoughts about the person, and scenarios of how the person could have done things differently if they really loved you. Before you know it, rage and resentment are building in your heart and you want to retaliate. What just happened? The devil counseled you with lies. If you recall yesterday’s sunrise, our imagination paints vivid pictures of scenes that feel real - even if they are not. This makes them more convincing to the soul and the body, and therefore we are more inclined to believe them. Because the devil has control over your imagination, whatever he wants your soul and body to feel is what you will feel. Even if you started out believing that the person’s motives were not to harm you, by the time the devil has had his way, you will be ready to start a fight.
Romans 7:11 [Amp]
For sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, beguiled and completely deceived me, and using it as a weapon killed me [separating me from God].
The devil is a master of disguise. He will feed your mind and soul with his desires, and make it seem like they are your own desires. He knows that you would be less resistant, if you feel like “this is just the way I am”. But ask yourself this, why do you seek to be free from his bondage? It is because your heart is desiring something other than the sin and evil that is being presented to you. A desire to be washed and changed in your mind and heart can only come from hearing the gospel. The gospel is the truth about God’s word; it will confront you about your spiritual state and will always point you to receiving the Jesus / the Holy Spirit as the answer. Unfortunately, not every preacher is preaching the true gospel, because the devil has his ministers too. But God loved us before we even thought about Him, and He promised that He would draw us by His Spirit. God makes that His obligation, so trust that He will lead you to Him.
To be saved, you must accept the wretched state that you are in. No matter how good you may be at making resolutions and sticking to them, this is one thing that you can never change. Only God can deliver you by sending Jesus to evict the spirit of iniquity, and to live in you. Your desire for His salvation must be that “can’t eat, can’t sleep” desperation. You must hate your very life. Only then will Jesus live within you, and cleanse your imagination.
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Tomorrow, we will look at the power of the imagination for those who are saved. If you are saved, you don't want to miss it! This series was taken from the book, “Fingerprints on the Mind”:
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