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IN THE BEGINNING…IMAGINATION

Every great achievement starts within the imagination of man. Again, Jesus said, “All things are possible to him that believeth.” What would it be like if you could experience that truth? What would you do with your life? Did you know that everything starts with a thought, dream, vision, imagination, or image of something hoped for? Every improvement in the world, for example, was the result of someone imagining something better. God designed us with the power of prophetic imagination to use as a method for great achievement. Prophets like Samuel, Gad and Asaph were seers in the Bible. In a sense, imagination makes us all seers. Through imagination ideas are formed, songs composed and inventions conceived. By imagination thoughts of “What if” are pondered? Prophetic imagination inspires one to act, to try something different or to dream of better things. Dr. Lester Sumrall in his book “Imagination” said, “In the birth of human imagination we witness the genius of the Almighty.”

After the fall of Adam and Eve, however, sin entered the imagination. Instead of images of all good things possible, unremunerative imaginations entered the earth. The first murder was the result of Cain’s evil imagination that fueled jealousy, anger and rage. Afterward, man’s imagination was used for destruction, carnal lust and rebellion against God. Scripture says, “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” (Genesis 6:5). God missed nothing. He saw the power of man’s imagination for both good and evil. “And the Lord said, ‘Behold, the people is one and they have all one language and this they begin to do and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do’” (Genesis 11:6). From this verse we learn the power of human achievement through imagination remained.

NO LIMITS… NO BOUNDARIES

Prophetic imagination has no boundaries and is never hindered by a lack of education. With it you can enter the past and the future. What a wonderful tool to manifest the Kingdom of God in your life. After the fall man did not lose his ability to use imagination, the imagination, however, became corrupted. It could now see both good and evil. The good news is that you can cast down vain imaginations and redirect your imagination to think, create and bring forth God’s purpose for your life.

All creativity and innovation comes through prophetic imagination. Think about this, all things visible were created first in the realm of the unseen, the prophetic imagination. God created you with the ability to dream and to do great things. He continues to have high expectations. He expects us to multiply, produce, increase, subdue and take dominion of this world (Genesis 1:27). Imagine that.

As a born-again believer you are part of a royal priesthood, a priesthood of kings. Have you ever heard it said that Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords? Who are these kings and rulers? The answer is you and I, born-again believers. God created you with the ability to change the world starting with your world. Nothing can stand in your way. Believe today and use your prophetic imagination to change your circumstances and order your life for Christ in a brand new way.

GOD’S ORIGINAL DESIGN

The power of prophetic imagination is part of your human design. We were created with the ability to be led by the Spirit of God in our inner man and created with the capacity to see all things possible within our redeemed imaginations. Creation and the ability to bring forth is part of the nature of God who created all things from an image He saw and brought into being. God created us spirit, soul and body. Scripture declares, “I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Before we can unlock prophetic imaginations within us we need to understand our spirit design. As a born-again believer you are a spirit, you have a soul and you live in a body. Your body is not you. Your body is only the house your spirit lives in. Before you were born again your spirit man was separated from the life of God, it was dead in trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:1). But when you repented of your sins and asked Jesus to come into your heart your spirit man came alive. You became a “new creature in Christ Jesus, old things are passed away behold all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Now you have the ability to “see” God’s Word working in your life. You can now image “all things possible to him that believeth.” That’s the power of prophetic imagination.

THE INNER TREASURE

Scripture declares, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matthew 12:35). The Greek word for “treasure” is thesaurus. Twenty years ago the word thesaurus would not have impacted me like it does today. As a writer I often use a thesaurus to help me. Writers use a thesaurus as a tool to aid them to be more concise and descriptive. A thesaurus is an index, a storehouse and a place for word processing. Used appropriately, it enables the skilled wordsmith to paint a full picture through the proper use of words. Jesus said that a good man has a good thesaurus, treasure. Your treasure is the repository of truth in your born-again spirit. It is the dwelling place of “all things possible,” the prophetic imagination. It is the storehouse of your dreams, imaginations and the blueprint of your future.

A good man’s treasure has tremendous value. Jesus said, “The Kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field, the which when a man hath found he hideth and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth that field” (Matthew 13:44). Jesus taught His disciples the value of the Kingdom of God. As born-again believers we have access to the Kingdom of God through our born again spirits. The Kingdom of God is not a place “out there” somewhere on the other side of the planet Pluto. The Kingdom of heaven for the Christian is all around him or her in another realm Jesus called the Kingdom.

Jesus also said the “Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). Today many call the Kingdom of God the realm of the Spirit. In that Kingdom realm there is abundance, peace and fullness of joy. Again, Jesus said, “The good man out of the good treasure (thesaurus) of the heart bringeth forth good things.” Notice that treasure and heart live in the same location. Where you find one you always find the other. Your treasure is the birthplace of dreams, imaginations, and all things hoped for. It is the repository of all the elements that make up your future. From the treasure of the heart a good man will bring forth good things. Imagine the possibilities of all things possible to him that believeth.

DESIGNING YOUR OWN VIRTUAL WORLD

Through prophetic imagination you can design your own virtual world. Gustav Klimt was a famous Austrian Art Nouveau painter. His painting “Portrait of a Lady in Red” sold at Christie’s auction house for $4 million dollars in 2001. He said, “Anyone who wants to know something about me ought to look carefully at my pictures.” God could surely say the same, “Anyone who wants to know more about Me should look at My pictures.” His grandeur is seen from mountaintop to mountaintop and from shining sea to shining sea.

What about you? What pictures are you painting in your life? Many are dreaming about one life while living another. If you are unhappy with your life there is a way to change your circumstances. I want to encourage you to dream again and envision yourself achieving something great. You can master plan your life by imagining something new and fresh then setting sensible goals for attainment. I can’t stress this enough, imagination without specific goals for achievement is vain fantasy. Go ahead, dream again. Scripture declares, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Be specific and biblical with goal setting by writing your prophetic imagination down, making it plain so you can run toward your destiny.

Prophetic imagination also provides unlimited potential to you. It is the igniter of tremendous ideas that can be built on, expanded and brought into fruition. “Whatever you can believe, you can receive. Jesus said, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). If necessity is the mother of invention then imagination is the father. There are new inventions waiting for someone to see as possible and unknown worlds to be conquered by those who dare to dream. The world is waiting for you to unlock the creative ability of imagination.

Prophetic imaginations create theories, what ifs, innovations and views of possibilities. They help us come up with new ways to solve problems and succeed in life and ministry. Prophetic imaginations create your own virtual world of ideas. In that world you can simulate your environment, try new things and envision something better.

Virtual worlds are used in classrooms around the world to educate. They simulate possibilities while encouraging student participation. The ever-explosive computer games, for example, take children into a place where they can save the world from invading aliens. In 1982 Steven Lisberger introduced a virtual world in the movie “Tron,” a world where a video game designer is abducted by a computer. Lisberger got his inspiration for the movie after seeing video games for the first time. The movie’s tag line was, “A world inside the computer where man has never been. Never before now.” Just like Lisberger designed the virtual world of “Tron,” you too can design your virtual world. Use the prophetic imagination that God gave you and frame your world out of unseen possibilities.

BETWEEN IMAGINATION AND REALITY

In 1959 Rod Serling introduced the American television audience to serious science fiction. The narrative for his new television series was, “There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area we call the ‘Twilight Zone.’” That place, Serling described was, “the place between imagination and reality.” The show was a major hit and contained 156 programs in the original series. Obviously it unlocked possibilities to millions of viewers. How many engineers and scientists today began to see the possibility of a better world? Serling introduced the realm of imagination as a powerful force.

With proper use, imagination causes us to transcend limitation and empowers us to change our realities. Get into agreement with the Holy Spirit. Christ said all things were possible to him that believeth, so use your faith and unlock your ability to see. Scripture declares, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3). If God can frame the world with things unseen then you too can frame your world.

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