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Author
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Topic: Casting down imaginations
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Michael Harrison
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Member # 6801
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posted
For all things are revealed to Him:
Heb 4:13 "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do."
I remember that the Pastors Wife at the Lutheran Church where I attended many years ago, was visibly dissagreable with this, and vocal concerning it (although I don't remember what she said). Isn't it amazing? All I did was mention this scripture in a letter. She was evidently uncomfortable with this, which is good, except that she had the wrong response to it. There is another response that blesses our Lord, if we would find it. Amen? Amen!
Posts: 3273 | From: Charlotte N.C. | Registered: Sep 2007
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Michael Harrison
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Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.
Notice that it does not say that we are ordained to "DO" good works. We are ordained unto them. He does the doing.
See here! It says: "1 Corinthians 3:9
For we are laborers together with God: you are God's husbandry, you are God's building."
....we are God's building. We do not build ourselves.
Psalm 37:23 "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delights in His way."
The steps of a good man are ordered, but He (God)doeth the works. Else one is not yielded, but precedes Him by their zeal, in a work of the flesh.
See, some people just do not believe that HE is real. Oh, He is real, they insist, but not personal. HE is way out there somewhere, and we will see Him some day, these think. But by faith, He can be 'all the way' close to you. Yet these who relegate Him to somewhere else, till they are supposed to 'do' this or that in His absence, so that they will have His approval on that day when He is close, and personal, and sees, are quite afraid for Him to be close and personal now. Even spiritual Christians are afraid of His being 'close and personal'. They are afraid of it. Hear me!
The ones who deny the existence of some of the ways that He manifests Himself, want a 'cozy with themselves and their efforts' faith. (Efforts are meaningless when the work is already done, and all we have to 'do' is walk in it. Effort doesn't profit, it confounds! For it doesn't 'receive'. It builds rubble.)
Even those with spiritual eyes by way of the gift of His Spirit, keep Him at arms length, afraid for Him to be any closer. Everything that I have written addresses this. It is the bottom line to all of my communication in this matter. It is the bottom line of the Apostles exortations by way of epistle.
Christians are afraid to let Him near, and do keep Him at a distance in all of their various ways. It is tantamount to 'loving the darkness'. It is praising Him, while still being secret as they are wrapped up in themselves. It is beholding one's self in a mirror, and forgetting what He has made them to be when they look away. Take this to the bank! It will profit you.
Posts: 3273 | From: Charlotte N.C. | Registered: Sep 2007
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Eden
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Yes, Michael Harrison, I do agree with you. Jesus is made unto us righteousness and wisdom, and when we TRUST in that or have FAITH in that saying from God, then we CEASE from our own works and we start to DO THE WORKS that the Father does, as communicated to us BY HIS wisdom and BY HIS righetousness, through Holy Spirit, when we TRUST that God will also DO what He said Jesus would DO and BE in us. It's a matter of TRUST or FAITH that He WILL DO what He said He would do.
Stand back and see what the LORD will do; but since it happens IN me, I need to be an active participant with the LORD in what the LORD does IN Me, else it is all for nothing.
1 Corinthians 3:9
For we are laborers together with God: you are God's husbandry, you are God's building.
Luke 10:2
Therefore said he to them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.
Psalm 37:23
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delights in His way.
with love,
eden
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Michael Harrison
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Casting down imaginations:
1Co 1:30 "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:"
|He is made unto us wisdom. That means that you 'have' His wisdom, if you will 'receive' it. Notice the condition here. If He is made unto you this, then you don't have to do it. He is made unto you this.
|If a man and his wife want to go out for the evening, they may hire a baby sitter. That baby sitter will be caretakers of the children. Therefore the baby sitter is 'made unto them' the necessary tenders of the children, who both protects, and serves them, to meet their needs. What do the children do? They rejoice and play. (Show me a kid that doesn't play joyfully when the parents are away.)
|Jesus of God is made unto us righteousness. If He is made unto you righteousness. You 'have' righteousness, His righteousness, if you'll receive it - not if you don't, but would rather work for it!
|He is 'made unto you' sanctification. If He is made unto you this, what will you 'do' to 'do' it, if He is made unto you. You therefore 'have' it - if you will receive it?
|He is made unto you redemption! If He is made unto you redemption, what did you 'do' to receive it?
Col 2:6 "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:"
Posts: 3273 | From: Charlotte N.C. | Registered: Sep 2007
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Michael Harrison
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Of course Eden. You don't just lie in bed and say, He is doing it all. That is what everyone takes from what I am saying. However, the believer doesn't 'do' anything. He just believes. God does the doing. He is doing the doing. He will ever 'do' the doing. You get to participate, but you do not initiate. You go with the flow as the Spirit moves you. But then, He is moving, and He is doing.
Moses glorified God when he stretched forth the Rod. But Moses was just 'having' what God was doing, as was all of Israel. He did not sin in his heart as though he 'did' anything.
You get to participate, but you do not initiate. It is more important to 'know' Him than to go out and 'do' for Him. This is where His heart is at. If you 'know' Him, then this other stuff will 'happen'. Everybody wants to make it 'happen', while neglecting to 'know' Him. This wounds His heart.
The first goal is to know Him, then you will find yourself 'moving with the Spirit', as He moves!
Posts: 3273 | From: Charlotte N.C. | Registered: Sep 2007
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Eden
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Hello, Michael Harrison. You said quote:
The doctrine of doing vs. the revelation of having!
"Not by power nor might, but by My Spirit, says the Lord."
It was by God's Spirit - not by Jesus' determination. He didn't determine. He followed.
Jesus did not only "follow". Jesus also acted upon what He saw the Father do thru the Holy Spirit. But that was Jesus, the Word of God Himself.
We Christians are just LEARNING about the Word of God, and I have recently understood more clearly that the Christian's doing consists of reading and learning the Word of God.
So Michael Harrison, yes, the Spirit of God does a lot of stuff inside and alongside and for us. That does not mean that we therefore do not have to do anything.
While the Holy Spirit works from the inside, the Christian must read and study the Word of God, and the one activity the Spirit does, but the second activity the new Christ does.
Indeed, it may well be one of the main reasons why Christians remain carnal and that is...because they do not do their part, namely to read and study the Word of God.
I have lately been thinking that the Spirit of God works from the inside of a Christian, but if there is no written Word of God input from the outside, then even the Spirit of God cannot do much.
It seems that the Spirit of God in us illuminates the Word of God on the outside of us, and when the Word of God is not being read, Christians stay carnal eventhough they have the Spirit of God.
So Michael Harrison, let me repeat what you said quote:
The doctrine of doing vs. the revelation of having!
"Not by power nor might, but by My Spirit, says the Lord."
Yes, Michael Harrison, the revelation of having the Spirit is one thing, but it is next to having no thing if we don't do our part, which is to read the Word of God.
Reading the Word of God is like the catalyst which activates the Spirit of God inside. But I know you have the Word of God. Then you said quote:
We cannot do anything
Unless a new Christian starts to read the Word of God, not much is going to happen. The Spirit of God DOES, but the Christian also must DO, my friend.
It is a cooperative work in which both parties must be present in order for it to work, just like encryption keys on the Internet. Having the Spirit is absolutely necessary, and reading the Word of God is absolutely necessary. If one of the two is missing, it doesn't seem to work.
with love,
eden
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Michael Harrison
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The doctrine of doing vs. the revelation of having!
"Not by power nor might, but by My Spirit, sayeth the Lord."
It was by God's Spirit - not by Jesus' determination. He didn't determine. He followed. There must therefore of necessity have been relationship by which the will of the Father was done in His life.
We cannot do anything. We can have His will done in our life. He credits us with doing, because by faith His will is made manifest in us. This is redemption. This is to the praise of His Glory, Amen!
Posts: 3273 | From: Charlotte N.C. | Registered: Sep 2007
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Eden
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Hi, Michael Harrison. What are some of these "imaginations" that people should cast down?
eden
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Michael Harrison
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Unfortunately Eden, people don't cast down their imaginations, they build them up!
Posts: 3273 | From: Charlotte N.C. | Registered: Sep 2007
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Eden
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Hi, Michael Harrison. You said quote:
People talk about casting down their imaginations as though they are supposed to do so themselves. They sight 2Cor 10 for their authoritive inspiration to so do. The difficulty with this is that they don't recognize what is their imagination when it comes to the understanding of the word. Therefore, it is difficult for them to do. That is why God gave apostles.
I think that is why God gave us the Word. Our old ways of thinking have to go, and we must "renew the mind":
Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Ephesians 5:26
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word.
It's not the apostles (although in their day their preaching of the Word before the printed Word was widely disbursed, also worked) but in our day it is the printed Word which brings down the imaginations of the heart and mind and of the world, and puts new things in there:
Matthew 13:52
Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe who is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.
be blessed,
eden
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Michael Harrison
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People talk about casting down their imaginations as though they are supposed to do so themselves. They sight 2Cor 10 for their authoritive inspiration to so do. The difficulty with this is that they don't recognize what is their imagination when it comes to the understanding of the word. Therefore, it is difficult for them to do. That is why God gave apostles.
In 2 Cor 10, Paul is addressing the body concerning his authority. The Corinthians disregard him as though he is just another speaker wanting to get in on the action, and say his part. He was talking to hardheads who were selfsupposed to be as correct as the next person.
Here is what he said:
2Co 10:1 Now I Paul do myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ in whom I abide, and do not mislead anyone, who in your presence am not high and mighty, but when being absent, I am bold toward you:
2Co 10:2 But I beseech you, that I may not have to be bold when I am present with you, with that confidence wherewith I have to be bold against some which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
2Co 10:3 For though we walk in carnal bodies, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not merely carnal, or self invented, but mighty through personal contact with God, to the pulling down of strong holds of unbelief;)
2Co 10:5 and of Casting down your imaginations, and every confused high minded thing which exaltes itself against the knowledge, or knowing of God, the way He is calling one to know Him, and then bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ once you have finally understood;
2Co 10:6 then having a readiness to revenge all disobedience, once your obedience [understanding] is finally fulfilled, so that you will not follow every wind of doctrine.
2Co 10:7 Do ye look on the outward appearance? If any man believes, or trusts to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's, as shaping tools in the Potter's hand.
Paul, called of God to be an Apostle to enable the church to fruitfully understand the meaning of their relationship with the Christ.
What do people take from their reading of the scriptures? Visit any church to hear. Listen to radio programs, read what people write, listen to what they say. They are no different today than when Paul was around to organize peoples thinking to the Father's satisfaction. The narrow way is pretty broad, with one pulling this way, and another pulling that, all in the lusts of carnal understanding i.e. 'doing' what they think that they know. Sad!
Therefore must there of necessity be Apostles even to this present hour because the sheep are unable to find the door. They do not understand that their imagination is misleading them. We are not talking about whether they are saved or not, but whether their relationship is cohesive, synchronized, melded, directed by Him.
Posts: 3273 | From: Charlotte N.C. | Registered: Sep 2007
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