Repentance from Dead Works
A foundation of repentance from dead works (Heb. 6:1)
A dead work—
Man doing things through his abilities (see Hebrews 6:1—to be repented of).
A live work—
an activity birthed and sustained by the Holy Spirit (see John 5:19-20,30).
Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus—
the energizing we experience as we fix our eyes upon Jesus and ask for His life to flow within our spirits filling us with a rush of transforming power, wisdom and emotional well-being (see Romans 8:2). This produces live works.
Theology – What Does God Consider Foundational Theology/Experiences?
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of: (Heb. 6:1-2)
- Repentance from dead works – I stop doing things that originate from self or self’s power. The flesh profits nothing (Jn. 6:63).
- Faith toward God – I put ALL my trust in the power of the Spirit which works within (Rom. 14:23).
- Instruction about baptisms – I experience baptism in water, in Holy Spirit, into the body of Christ, and in fire (testing/purifying).
- Laying on of hands – Through the laying on of hands I receive healing, deliverance, impartation, spiritual authority.
- Resurrection of the dead – I experience a resurrected life in Jesus Christ now, and a future resurrection of my body into a glorified, heavenly body (1 Cor. 15:40-43).
- Eternal judgment – when I judge others, I release the same judgment into my life (Matt. 7:1-5). In the future, my works will be judged by God (Heb. 9:27).
Three Kinds of Thoughts
1. Spontaneous positive thoughts we will assume come from the Holy Spirit. They line up with the names and character of the Holy Spirit, including Edifier, Comforter, Teacher, Creator, Healer and Giver of Life.
2. Spontaneous negative thoughts we assume come from demons, and thus will line up with the names and character of satan, which include accuser, adversary, liar, destroyer, condemner, thief and murderer.
3. Analytical thoughts come from self, from our own reasoning process, and are sensed as cognitive, connected thoughts.
Choose ONLY God’s Thoughts – Take every thought captive to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5)!
Three Kinds of Pictures
1. Godly imagination—picturing things God says are true (see 1 Chronicles 29:18 KJV).
2. Vain imagination—picturing what I want (see Romans 1:21 KJV).
3. Evil imagination—picturing demonic things (see Jeremiah 16:12 KJV).
Choose ONLY God’s pictures!
Letting the Spirit Utilize Your Mind
Spirit-led reasoning—
reasoning together with God (Isa.1:18). You picture Jesus at your side (Acts 2:25; Heb. 12:1-2) and ask Him to anoint your reasoning (Eph. 1:17-18). Tune to the Holy Spirit (Jn. 7:37-39), and let the Spirit’s flow guide your reasoning process. Divine creativity is released this way.
Spirit-led pictures—
yielding the eyes of your heart to the Holy Spirit to experience godly imagination, dreams and visions. If you then pray and ask the Holy Spirit to take over the godly imagination, and tune to flowing, spontaneous pictures, you can step from the godly imagination into a vision (Eph. 1:17-18; Jn. 7:37-39; Rev. 4:1-2; Acts 2:25; Ps. 16:8).
Godly imagination—
picturing those things God says are so. Examples include: seeing Him with me (Acts 2:15; Ps. 16:8), seeing that He has provided “more than enough” (Deut. 28:1–14), seeing His Spirit joined to my spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), seeing my new glowing heart (2 Pet. 1:4), my clean heart, my healed heart, my empowered heart (Ezek. 36:26), etc…
Five Faculties of Man’s Spirit/Heart – When Filled with God Release Miracles
- Ears of my heart—where I hear spontaneous thoughts from the spirit world (see John 5:30).
- Eyes of my heart—where I see spontaneous pictures from the spirit world (see John 5:19; Rev. 4:1).
- Mind of my heart—where I ponder, meditate, and muse (see Luke 2:19).
- Will of my heart—where I establish convictions that I speak and live out of (see Acts 19:21).
- Emotions of my heart—deep underlying emotions that affect my behavior; we can pick up God’s emotions or demons’ emotions (see 1 Kings 21:2-5).
Heart faith—Faith born by a rhema word and a vision from God. Both are held in the heart through pondering, speaking and acting upon until a miracle is released. Note that all five senses of my heart are filled by God (Mk. 11:23). More here…
What Faculties Do I Present to the Holy Spirit to Fill and Flow Through?
The Faculty:
My spirit- Receives What?: Union with Holy Spirit
- Scriptures: 1 Cor. 6:17; Jn. 7:37-39
- Experienced as…Flow…
- Missing the Mark: Not honoring the Holy Spirit’s flow
The Faculty:
Ears of my heart- Receives What?: God’s voice
- Scriptures: Jn. 10:27
- Experienced as…Flowing thoughts
- Missing the Mark: Cognition alone
The Faculty:
Eyes of my heart- Receives What?: God’s vision
- Scriptures: Eph. 1:18
- Experienced as…Flowing pictures
- Missing the Mark: Vain imaginations
The Faculty:
Mind of my heart- Receives What?: Mind of Christ & biblical meditation
- Scriptures: 1 Cor. 2:16; Josh. 1:8; Isa. 1:18
- Experienced as…Flow guiding the reasoning process
- Missing the Mark: Me guiding the reasoning process
The Faculty:
Will of my heart- Receives What?: God’s decisions
- Scriptures: Acts 19:21
- Experienced as…Flow creating convictions
- Missing the Mark: Me expressing preferences
The Faculty:
Emotions of my heart- Receives What?: God’s emotions
- Scriptures: Gal. 5:22; Ezek. 3:14; Matt. 14:14
- Experienced as…Flowing emotions as I look at Jesus
- Missing the Mark: Surface reactions & emotions
The Faculty:
My hands- Receives What?: Miracle power
- Scriptures: Hab. 3:4
- Experienced as…Flowing power, warmth, tingling
- Missing the Mark: See my hands, not Jesus’ overlaying
The Faculty:
Capacity to believe- Receives What?: Gift of faith
- Scriptures: Mk. 11:22; Rom. 10:17
- Experienced as…Flowing faith
- Missing the Mark: Faith in satan
Man’s/satan’s Philosophies vs. God’s Reality
Satan’s temptation in the Garden of Eden was to step from direct spiritual encounter with God on a daily basis (mysticism), to rational humanism (“You can be like God, knowing…” see Genesis 3:5).
Humanism—
puts human effort (you) as the center of life (Gen. 3:5).
Rationalism—
puts man’s reasoning process (knowing) at the center of life (Gen. 3:5).
Christian Spirituality—
puts releasing the Holy Spirit at the center of life (1 Cor. 2:9-10). For the Protestant church, this is best described as “Christian Spirituality.”