Imaginations

[00:00:20] Welcome to Become A Competent Biblical Counselor. I'm Dr. Dave Jones and today we're going to be discussing imaginations.

[00:00:28] And I'm going to be referring to 2 Corinthians 10 5. In reading from the King James Version it says,

[00:00:36] Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God

[00:00:43] and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

[00:00:48] So what I want to talk about today is 2 things. Number 1, imaginations. And secondly, bringing into captivity every thought.

[00:00:58] Every thought to the obedience of Christ. And how do you do that? Okay, so let's get started.

[00:01:06] I found a very well written piece in a website called Christianity.com.

[00:01:13] And the author has written a very well thought out piece that addresses these two issues that I'm going to be making reference to this article as well.

[00:01:25] Paul immediately starts this verse with casting down imaginations.

[00:01:32] Let's talk about imaginations real quick.

[00:01:36] There are good imaginations and there are bad.

[00:01:39] And what Paul is saying here and not saying here is don't have imaginations.

[00:01:44] Sometimes the imaginations which are bad can really create a lot of stress and fright and uneasiness

[00:01:51] because of how we imagine things might turn out.

[00:01:55] We might imagine how things might become.

[00:01:59] And then there are good imaginations.

[00:02:01] Baseball player at the plate.

[00:02:03] He has an imagination.

[00:02:04] He's going to see this ball and he's going to hit it out of the park.

[00:02:07] That's a good imagination.

[00:02:08] He's already planned what he's going to do.

[00:02:11] So imaginations have to be very, very carefully analyzed.

[00:02:17] If you find yourself or you find a counselee who's using their imagination and imagining all kinds of stuff that can happen,

[00:02:24] they don't have any details, they don't have any assurance with respect to what's happening,

[00:02:28] that they're thinking about, what they might imagine might happen.

[00:02:32] These are bad and these are problems that really have to be overcome.

[00:02:37] And we're going to talk about the second part of the topic today.

[00:02:41] And it's the answer on how to overcome negative imaginations.

[00:02:44] And that is how to take every thought captive.

[00:02:49] So let's get into it.

[00:02:50] So it's one thing to say taking every thought captive.

[00:02:54] That is truly the answer to negative thoughts and negative imaginations.

[00:03:01] That is the answer.

[00:03:03] So we can more or less just go ahead and close out this episode and say, there you go.

[00:03:07] You got it.

[00:03:08] Oh, but wait a minute.

[00:03:09] This goes just a little bit farther.

[00:03:12] And we're going to talk about what does it mean to take every thought captive.

[00:03:19] As a way of life, taking your thoughts captive means choosing what you allow to take root in your mind.

[00:03:26] This looks like asking for God's guidance, turning from sinful sources or behaviors,

[00:03:31] and maintaining a continual relationship with Scripture.

[00:03:36] Knowing His Word is how we discern if a thought is a pretense that sets itself up against God.

[00:03:44] Taking your thoughts captive means speaking God's authority over them and believing what God desires for you.

[00:03:53] God doesn't desire you to condemn yourself.

[00:03:55] He calls you to His mercy.

[00:03:57] And if your thoughts are making you feel unworthy and unlovable, it's time to tell Satan to get back.

[00:04:04] Author Christina Patterson says,

[00:04:07] Our thoughts lead to our beliefs, which lead to our actions, which lead to the quality of our lives.

[00:04:17] Our thoughts have too great of an impact for us not to guard them and keep our mind on God's will.

[00:04:24] One of the biggest problems that I have with Christian psychology or Christian counseling is that we're very quick to tell people,

[00:04:35] Well, this is what you do.

[00:04:37] Just stop thinking that way and start thinking differently.

[00:04:40] But with respect to imaginations, we're talking about things that are untrue, unfounded,

[00:04:46] that we have decided to make very true and very sincere and very correct.

[00:04:52] And to tell yourself or to tell the counselee to cast off your thoughts and everything will be all right.

[00:04:59] What does that mean?

[00:05:00] I think a lot of times we need to take detail and give people exact steps of what they can do to actually apply Scripture to our lives.

[00:05:10] So let's consider four ways to take your thoughts captive.

[00:05:16] Number one, rise up and activate your whole being.

[00:05:22] The writer of Hebrews 12, 1 says,

[00:05:25] Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,

[00:05:30] and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

[00:05:34] The book of Hebrews confirms that the authority of Jesus supersedes all other voices, idols, and temptations.

[00:05:41] The writer is encouraging us even today to persevere.

[00:05:45] It's saying that even when we're down,

[00:05:48] we are still surrounded by a supernatural cloud of witnesses to God's majesty that will make the enemy his footstool.

[00:05:56] When Satan is messing with your mind, you might find it helps to activate your body.

[00:06:02] Get up.

[00:06:03] Change your surroundings.

[00:06:05] Go for a walk.

[00:06:06] Or even better, run.

[00:06:08] Cleanse whatever is clogging up your thoughts with the auction of God's creation.

[00:06:13] We are whole beings, and when our minds threaten to paralyze our bodies, it may be time to get some fresh air.

[00:06:22] Number two, realize your thoughts through journaling or confession.

[00:06:27] 1 Peter 5, 7 says,

[00:06:29] Cast all, get that all, your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

[00:06:35] If your thoughts start imprisoning you in doubt, fear, or worry, it can feel like a tidal wave or a brick wall is forming.

[00:06:44] Sometimes just the motion of pen to paper or knees to the floor can actually release the hold your thoughts have over you and cast them into the hands of God.

[00:06:56] He is not afraid of your sinful thoughts, your tendency to idolize, your struggle to believe.

[00:07:02] You belong to him, and you don't have to keep your thoughts pent up, away from him.

[00:07:08] Write, shout, or cry it out and ask God what he would have you believe instead.

[00:07:15] Number three, memorize the truth.

[00:07:20] Ephesians 6, 17.

[00:07:22] Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

[00:07:27] A great way to take every thought captive is by creating truth cards that keep the voice of God top of mind.

[00:07:36] As you are emptying your negative thoughts, consider capturing them as a lie on one side of an index card.

[00:07:43] Then replace that lie with the truth from Scripture on the other side.

[00:07:49] Over time, learn to say these truths out loud when that negative thought tries to sneak its way into your mind.

[00:07:56] Read these truth cards regularly and let them flourish in your spirit.

[00:08:01] This is how we demolish arguments and every pretension and make our thoughts obedient to Christ.

[00:08:06] I was a banker when I got out of college, and I went through a period of very negative thinking.

[00:08:13] And I did this.

[00:08:15] I had a stack of index cards that I kept in my suit pocket.

[00:08:19] And during the day, whenever I had thought problems or fear problems or whatever,

[00:08:25] I would pull out those index cards where I had previously written down promises and positive comments of Scripture.

[00:08:34] And I would read those verses with those index cards all throughout the day.

[00:08:40] And so it just kept me focused on how to control my thoughts, how to take them captive.

[00:08:48] And it's important to put into practice that after you read the verse or the thought on the index card,

[00:08:54] to stop, look around, and do exactly what the verse just said you should do.

[00:09:02] Pray it back to God in the first person singular.

[00:09:05] God, I will do this.

[00:09:07] I will do that.

[00:09:08] I will not do this anymore.

[00:09:09] Exactly what the verse said.

[00:09:11] You pray it immediately back to God.

[00:09:13] And you do that all day long.

[00:09:15] I was pulling out those index cards 20, 30 times a day, but they got me through the day.

[00:09:21] It's nothing that I came up with, no thought concept that I came up with or anybody else came up with.

[00:09:26] It was actual Scripture that I was using to pray back to God to get through the day and to get past and over those negative thoughts.

[00:09:36] And number four, pray continually.

[00:09:39] Ephesians 6, 18.

[00:09:42] And pray in the spirit of all, get that, there's that little word again, all occasions with, here's another one, all kinds of prayers and requests.

[00:09:54] See, you're not alone in the battle with your thoughts.

[00:09:57] At any time, in any of the previous three steps, you can pray to God for guidance.

[00:10:02] While you're exercising, journaling, searching for scriptural truths to replace lies that taunt you.

[00:10:09] Prayer doesn't have to be planned or perfect.

[00:10:12] That's just another thought you can take captive.

[00:10:15] Prayer is offering your thoughts to God and asking for Him to shape them.

[00:10:20] Prayer is the voice you seek.

[00:10:24] A lot of times, I had this lady the other day say to me that she needed to go to church to pray.

[00:10:31] And I said, well, okay, yeah, if you want to do that, that's fine.

[00:10:36] But no, you do not have to go to church to pray.

[00:10:40] I just pray all day long.

[00:10:41] And it's not that I'm going to a corner where I'm bowing my head or on my knees.

[00:10:47] You can do that.

[00:10:48] But I just talk to God all day long like He's just a friend that's walking along with me.

[00:10:53] I'm driving the car.

[00:10:55] I talk to God.

[00:10:57] That's another form of prayer.

[00:10:59] That's how I choose to pray.

[00:11:00] That's how I choose to thank God and argue with God and ask God what I should do next.

[00:11:07] It's a form of prayer, but it's something that I do all day long.

[00:11:11] And sometimes people might notice that my mouth is moving and they might say, well, who are you talking to?

[00:11:16] I'm just talking to God.

[00:11:18] He and I have a dialogue all day long.

[00:11:21] Anyway, so we mentioned imaginations.

[00:11:25] How do you control your imaginations, especially the negative ones?

[00:11:29] You take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ.

[00:11:32] Now you do that.

[00:11:33] These four ways are a start for you.

[00:11:36] Make sure you do them.

[00:11:37] You have to be consistent with applying these scriptures to your life and pray them to God in the first person singular that you're going to do what these verses say.

[00:11:47] And then talk to Him throughout the day, all day long.

[00:11:50] And be blessed.

[00:11:52] Thanks for listening.

[00:11:53] Thanks for listening.