Fantasy – Dangerous Imaginations Self Deception Series 25 – Purity 1114

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. 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 to put on and zip up my 3-season hoodie 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 dreamlike 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— and continually traipsing through, uh, the 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, 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, or 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. They can help us take a break from our current struggles. But if we aren't We are not careful with keeping our thought, uh, 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 versus Truth of the Steps to Freedom in Christ to see what ways we 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, and, uh, that way is number 2: fantasy. The Steps to Freedom in Christ describe fantasy as escaping reality by daydreaming TV, movies, music, computer or video games, and drugs and out— and drugs or alcohol. As a general warning, I share Meyer 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. So what is the harm in indulging in a little fantasy? Besides being associated with mental illness, fantasy is defined as the faculty or activity of imagining things, especially things that are impossible or improbable, and it is proven to be some 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, um, when we also consider the things that are associated with fantasy— TV, music, video games, drugs, and alcohol. Why isn't sex listed? Uh, we have to re— we have to wonder what the content of our fantasies will be with those things in the mix. Do you suppose that our fantasies will be centered on all the good we can do in the world for the kingdom of God? Probably not. While that's possible, it's not likely that the content of fantasy will stay You know, 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 those— these various media forms are considered murder and adultery according to Christ in Matthew 5:22 and 28. Drugs and alcohol lower inhibitions, and I can— I know from experience that the vicious cycles they create wreak havoc on your emotions and 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, fantasizing about good things can be a danger, as Adam and Eve's original sin stemmed from a desire to be like God. Even our thoughts to do good and be 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 of 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, what we could do, what we could have, or what we could B, 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 can 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. Today's Bible verses come to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verses come from the section on Affliction, Discipline, Chastisement, and Trials. Today's verses are 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, and the word of God says, unless 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 exalt— be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord 3 times that it might depart from me. 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. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities and the reproaches and needs and persecutions and distresses For Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Today's verses fall under the 11th point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on Affliction, Discipline, Chastisement, and Trials. And that's number 11: Paul was given a thorn in the flesh, a continual affliction to bear. God promised him that his grace would be sufficient. Today's per— the passage of scripture demonstrates that even a faithful servant of the Lord like the Apostle Paul can have their prayer requests denied. And have to suffer in life. Our world is broken by sin and— sin, pain, suffering, and death, but they are not without 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 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've 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. 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. So today we're continuing to share from A.W. Pink's The Holy Spirit as we are sharing from chapter 18 on the Spirit Indwelling. And today's section, in case you didn't know, is what the indwelling denotes. So what does it mean for the Spirit of God to dwell in you? Well, if you want to know, you can find out, or at least find out what A.W. Pink has to say about that, by going to mtforchrist.org and going to the bottom of today's blog post, and you'll see that resource. As always, we share these things to encourage ourselves and anyone who's reading or listening to keep walking and talking with God on this— on the path of spiritual fulfillment, you know, this path of Christian discipleship where we just live in the context, in the presence of the Lord and try to do his will, um, by, by knowing what the word says, the word of God says, and applying it to our lives. And to not thinking too highly or lowly of ourselves or imagining things that go against the word of God. Um, recently I've been, uh, you know, hoping, you know, for an opportunity to, uh, step out in faith and and just immediately go into full-time ministry with no changes, no compromises, and just finding the perfect, miraculously finding the perfect position to enter into full-time service for the Lord. But is it impossible? No, I wouldn't say it's impossible. Was it improbable for something just to drop out of heaven and fall in my lap? Yeah, maybe, maybe that's improbable. So we have to try to remember, you know, where we are and how we get to things. In my past, I've often imagined, uh, you know, an opportunity just falling out of heaven. You know, this person will invite you to be whatever with their ministry, or, you know, and, and off you go. Um, and that's certainly possible. Is it improbable? Well, not necessarily. There's usually a process to things, and selection process, application process, and, uh, you know, putting yourself out there, being trained, and, and, uh, you know, pursuing it. And, you know, to keep it real, you got to make— sometimes you have to make sacrifices, um, to be willing to do things. And, and beyond our willingness, we have to recognize when, um, the timing might not be right for certain things. So I, I don't imagine any of the bad things I used to fantasize about in the old days, um, as I was a victim, uh, to alcohol and drugs and media of all sorts that would not lead me to do good things. Since I've left that behind, I have to be careful of imagining, you know, good things that are improbable, because what that would do is sow seeds of discontentment, my current, you know, my current place in life. You know, why do I have to work where I work? Why do I have to, you know, do this or whatever? I want to do something good for the Kingdom of God, and off you go running. While you could, um, you have to consider all the factors in your life and most importantly consider where the Lord is calling you to. So I'm going to try to keep it grounded, um, all the way around. I said the guy who has a podcast. Um, anyway, it encourages me if nothing else. Um, but I'm, I'm, uh, I'm greatly encouraged by by the— by our faith. Whenever I'm drawn to distraction, the Lord brings something to my attention to realize, oh, this is the way you should go. If you're feeling down, worship music will come on and you have an opportunity to sit and stew in your thoughts of discontentment or whatever, or you can enter in and worship the Lord. And, and we get that opportunity every week really with church gatherings, you know, where we can come and focus on the good things of the assembly of the saints and the word that's preached and the worship that's there and reflect on all the things that God has provided us with. When we do that, we stay grounded in the truth and our emotions are all over the place. So that's why I keep practicing, because it's not about perfection, it's about progress, and it's about balance, and it's about peace, and it's about doing what we can with the things we have and, and trusting God to help us and be with us throughout, throughout it all. So that's what we encourage with a lifestyle of Christian discipleship, where we jump in to each day with a practice of gratitude, prayer, and Bible study to keep things, you know, balanced and, you know, keep our heads straight in terms of who we are in Christ. So that's what we recommend. And, um, and we recommend our, our Bible, our Bible study that we do with the Sincatis. We did one yesterday called Faith Is the Substance, uh, that's on the podcast and our YouTube channel. And our decision discipleship classes that are based on Dr. Neil Anderson's work, Victor Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ. They teach you all about who you are in Christ and about resolving those spiritual and personal conflicts you might have so you can experience your freedom in Christ. So if you don't know what that's like and you're discontented and fantasizing about all kinds of things, I recommend going through those discipleship classes and specifically through the Steps to Freedom in Christ and repenting, turning from the worldly ways of this world and deciding to forsake them to experience the life that God has for you by following him. Yeah, so, well, it is— we're going to keep it real today. Even though I'm on vacation, I'm going to dive into an assignment that I have to do for my school of ministry work that is really, you know, I have all the material for, um, the experience has been done. I just have to do a write-up, and you think that would be easy, but it hasn't been. So I'm putting aside, aside time today to do that specifically, and I'm trying to make myself accountable by talking about it here on the podcast. So pray for me that I accomplish the work I need to do, and so can I— can move forth with the freedom of accomplishing what I was supposed to do. And you know, it's not due yet, but, uh, if we do things now, we won't have to do them later, right? So maybe we should do those things. Um, speaking to all the procrastinators out there, um, of one, I am your— I am definitely one of you. Um, but, uh, you know, learning. Anyway, um, I think I'll pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you for, uh, for everything you've done for us and for who you've made us to be in Christ, and how you never left us or forsake us, uh, forsook us, uh, during all the times of our lives where we, uh, were going the wrong way or suffering and, um, we needed your help. And you gave it to us, and, um, you always give it to us when we stay with you. So we thank you for your guidance and your strength. And Lord, we ask for it again today. We need you to be with us. We need you to keep us on track. We want you to show us the things you want us to see, and we want you to lead us into the things you would have us do. And Lord, we pray for anyone who's listening or, reading today's message, uh, that you would come alongside them and their prayer request and bless their walk of faith. Because Lord, we all desperately need your help and your wisdom and your guidance and strength, uh, every day, um, because all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom and, uh, do what you would have us do. Um, so Lord, we just pray for you to help us and for you to be with us today. And, uh, Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.