Fantasy – Dangerous Imaginations - Self-Deception
Series 25 – Purity 1114
Purity 1114 08/07/2023 Purity 1114 Podcast
Purity 1114 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of an apocalyptic mushroom misty
morning sunrise over an almost ghostly overgrown dew drenched field comes to us
from yours truly as I captured this foggy scene yesterday morning just beyond
my countryside home while out on a “freedom walk” with my canine pal,
Harley.
It was chilly enough yesterday morning to put on and
zip up my three season hoody as I walked through a fog shrouded landscape but I
was pleasantly surprised later that this scene wasn’t the beginning of another “white
sky summer” day as the misty morning dream like haze was only temporary as the
air cleared, the sky was revealed to be blue, and the chilly temperatures
became a distant memory as the sun burned away any fears that summer was “almost
gone” less than an hour later. Yesterday was so sunny and bright, if I didn’t
know better and have photographic evidence to prove it, I could have thought
that the morning’s fog was just a dream or a figment of my imagination.
But even though I am still living in the suspended
reality of “vacation” for another week and the continual traipsing through quasi-ethereal
realm of God’s kingdom as I walk in the Spirit, I try to keep myself grounded
by simultaneously agreeing with the eternal truths of who I am in Christ and
humbly and contentedly accepting where I am in life. While I have great hopes for a future life
of full time ministry, somewhere, somehow, to some call – someday, I try to
avoid daydreaming or imagining what that may be too much because when we fantasize
about a future happiness elsewhere, we have a tendency to become discontented,
ungrateful, and downright bothered with the present. When we imagine “what it
could be like” too much, it isn’t long before we begin to lament “why does it
have to be this way!” about what was previously a life of contentment.
Our imaginations can dream up amazing possibilities for
the future or they can help us take a break from our current struggles, but if
we are not careful with keeping our thoughts and “fantasy lives: under wraps
they can drive our emotions, and subsequently our actions, into all kinds of
directions and unintended destinations.
And that brings us to our current series on Self-
Deception, where we have decided to investigate some of the ways we deceive
ourselves by walking through Step 2, Deception Vs. Truth, of the Steps to
Freedom in Christ to see what ways we may have been deceived by “the world” and
ourselves and in what ways we have wrongly defended ourselves.
So we present the second of the “Ways to Wrongly Defend Yourself”:
2. Fantasy
The Steps to Freedom in Christ describe fantasy as
“escaping reality by daydreaming, TV, movies, music, computer or video games,
drugs, or alcohol.”
As a general warning I share Meier, et al’s comments
regarding fantasy, Under the topic of schizophrenia where they write:
“Fantasies and daydreams increase as such individuals withdraw more and more
from the external world. [1]
So what is the harm in indulging in a little
fantasy?
Besides being associated with mental illness, fantasy
is defined as the “the faculty or activity of imagining things, especially
things that are impossible or improbable”
and it is proven to be synonymous with “a lie” because one of fantasy’s
opposites is “truth”.
According to Dr. Neil Anderson’s book Victory Over
the Darkness, one of the things that drives depression is having a goal that is
“impossible”. Now while I will be the first one that tells you to question what
is impossible, because with God many things are possible, I would ask you to consider whether or not it
is a good idea to continually imagine things that are “impossible or improbable”
a good ide?
When we also considering the things that are
associated with “fantasy” – TV, music, video games, drugs and alcohol (why is
sex not listed?) – we have to wonder what the content of our fantasies will be
like. With those things in the mix, do you
suppose that our fantasies will be centered on all the good we could do in the
world for the kingdom of God?
While that’s possible, it’s more likely that the
content of fantasy will stem from dark desires rather than good intentions. Violent
or Sexual fantasies that are played out through these various media forms are
considered murder and adultery according to Christ (Matthew 5: 22,28) Drugs and alcohol lower inhibitions and I
know from experience that the vicious cycles they create wreak havoc on your emotions and can
contribute to all kinds of sin.
Besides these obvious traps of the enemy that are
laid with fantasy, we also have to remember that even fantasizing about good
things can be a danger as Adam & Eve’s original sin stemmed from a desire
to “be like God”. Even our thoughts to
do good or bet better can cause problems by either inflating our
self-righteousness and pride or driving us to despair and discontentment over
not living “our best life now”.
In our spiritual walk, the battlefield is the mind.
This is where the world, the flesh, and the devil come against us to drive us
outside of God’s will for our lives and so we have to be careful to take every
thought captive to the obedience to Christ (meaning our thoughts don’t go
against God’s word or wisdom) and that we are not led astray by our own
imaginations, thinking too highly or too lowly of ourselves. Instead of engaging in fantasy, we should
endeavor to align ourselves with the truth by knowing what God’s word says, how
it applies to the real world, and what it tells us about who we are in
Christ.
Rather than supposing what we could do , could have, or could be through our own means, we should meditate on who we are in Christ and follow where the Holy Spirit leads us and see what we could do with God’s help. God has given us a sound mind in Christ, and we should avoid imagining anything that would take us out of it.
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For
those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide,
I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
Today’s
Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By
John G. Kruis.
(
While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick
google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late
author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )
This
morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Affliction, Discipline,
Chastisement, & Trials.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
(NKJV)
7 And lest I should be
exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh
was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above
measure.
8 Concerning this thing I
pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made
perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in
my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure
in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for
Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Today’s
verses fall under the eleventh point of our counseling reference guide
resource’s section on Affliction, Discipline, Chastisement, & Trials
11. “Paul was given a thorn in the flesh, a continual affliction to bear. God promised him that His grace would always be sufficient.”
Today’s passage of scripture demonstrates that even a faithful servant of the Lord, like the Apostle Paul, can have their prayers requests denied and have to suffer in life. Our world is broken by sin, pain, suffering, and death but they are not with their purposes. The Lord used Paul’s thorn in the flesh to keep him from pride and to make Him realize his complete and utter dependence on God.
Although I can’t claim anywhere close to the things Paul suffered for the kingdom, I understand how suffering pain, grief, and loss can cause us to draw close to God. In times of affliction, I have prayed for mercy, healing, comfort, and peace and sought the Lord’s presence and guidance and even though I can’t claim instant relief and miraculous healings to all my requests, I can tell you that the Lord helped me because He never left me or forsook me. While I had to suffer much, He was with me through it all and I have learned that it is only through the Lord that we can ever find healing or peace. And so we suffer what comes with patience and trust that the Lord will be with us and help us until we see Him face to face.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from The Holy Spirit By A.W. Pink.
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage you all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available online
for $0.99 (https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Spirit-Arthur-Pink-Collection-ebook/dp/B008CM5292/ref=sr_1_3?crid=AHKAQOM39CTN&keywords=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit&qid=1684376225&sprefix=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit+%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-3)
A.W. Pink’s The Holy Spirit
18 - The Spirit Indwelling
What
“Indwelling” Denotes
“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell
in you” (Rom. 8:9). Three things are denoted by the Spirit’s “indwelling.”
First, intimacy. As the inhabitant of
a house is more familiar there than elsewhere, so is the Spirit in the hearts
of Christ’s redeemed. God the Spirit is omnipresent, being everywhere
essentially, being excluded nowhere: “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or
whither shall I flee from Thy presence?” (Ps. 139:7). But as God is said more
especially to be there where He manifests
His power and presence, as Heaven is “His dwelling place,” so it is with His
Spirit. He is in believers not simply by the effects of common Providence, but
by His gracious operations and familiar presence. “Even the Spirit of truth;
whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him:
but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:17).
The world of natural men are utter strangers to the Spirit of God, not being
acquainted with His sanctifying operations, but He intimately discovers His
presence to those who are quickened by Him.
Second, constancy: “dwelling” expresses a
permanent abode. The Spirit does not affect the regenerate by a transient
action only, or come “upon” them occasionally as He did the Prophets of old,
when He endowed them for some particular service above the measure of their
ordinary ability—but He abides in them by working such effects as are lasting.
He comes to the believer not as a Visitor, but as an Inhabitant: He is within
us “a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). He lives
in the renewed heart, so that by His constant and continual influence He
maintains the life of grace in us. By the blessed Spirit Christians are “sealed
unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30).
Third, sovereignty: this is also denoted under
the term “dwell.” He is owner of the house, and not an underling. From the fact
that the believer’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle points
out the necessary implication that he is “not his own” (1 Cor. 6:19).
Previously he was possessed by another owner, even Satan—the evil spirit says,
“I will return into my house”
(Matthew 12:44). But the Spirit has dispossessed him, and the sanctified heart
has become His “house,” where He
commands and governs after His own will. Take again the figure of the
sanctuary: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of
God dwelleth in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16). A “temple” is a sacred dwelling, employed
for the honor and glory of God, where He is to be revered and worshipped, and
from which all idols must be excluded.[2]
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tomorrow------------------------
Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage
Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the
mt4christ247 podcast!
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts
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These teachings are also available on the
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Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and
to be encouraged.
My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian
encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ), her
Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on
Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)
For those who require the assistance of a Deeper
Walk International Prayer Minister to experience healing or your freedom in
Christ, I highly recommend Christy Edge’s Life on the Edge Freedom Prayer
Ministry. You can schedule a session by going to : https://cedge216.wixsite.com/life-on-the-edge
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this
publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to
reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries,
or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication,
and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the
author may represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1] Paul
D. Meier M.D. et al., Introduction to
Psychology and Counseling: Christian Perspectives and Applications,
Second Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1991), 281–290.
[2]
Arthur Walkington Pink, The Holy Spirit
(Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, n.d.).
