To Know Jesus is to Love Him, Part 4

Loving Jesus must be must begin and sustain my decision not by a feeling that when you get around when you feel like it has to begin with the mind with the procedure. It should not stop the wall on loving Jesus deeply must capture the imagination loving Jesus. The word must capture our ability and the gift of visualizer welcome to leading the way with Dr. Michael just sent author of the new book released earlier this month. Never give up just a moment. Dr. Yousef continues his encouraging audio series called to know Jesus is to love him. We'll open to Matthew chapter 22 and you'll find Jesus offering instructions to love God with all your heart, soul and mind, please do remember that leading the way is listener supported meaning that Dr. Yousef relies on your prayers and on your financial gaps to sustain and grow the reach into this community and into communities just like this all around the world learn ways to stand with Dr. Yousef when you call 866-626-4356 or when you go to LTW.org will help engaging with the ministry just a little later, but right now Dr. Michael you set Saunders have been telling us for many years, but the two sides of our brains respond differently to different stimuli. In fact the left hemisphere of the brain is a sod that is associated with logical analysis, rational judgment, the right side of the branders where you find the visual imagery word pictures and an emotional responses, etc. but regardless of which dog of the brain is dominant in each of us imagination, which is on the right side is indispensable for all the believers. So, what is imagination. Why is it important for loving Jesus intimately see imagination is the capacity to make us commit between the visible and invisible address is the ability to make connection between earth and heaven.

That's why you hear people that were there so much heavenly minded of no earthly good seal) and said no only go so heavenly minded out of any earthly value is the ability to make the connection between this world and the next world world to come see you in the unseen. In fact, if you read the Scripture and you look at it from this point of view, you discover this connection between those two operations and their grow in tandem will operate together. What are the two operations. While the information and the imagination they have to go together in a believer's life. Sadly, because of the incredible technological advances that we have in our culture today. Imagination cuts out in our devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Most people relies strictly on information on what they read in the Scripture basically as informational material, head knowledge of you like but why must the two information imagination go together. Why other, both necessary to be together in intimacy and in love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Because information keeps us grounded while imagination left our heads above the clouds information puts us in a harness but imagination. The pelvis into the ministry information reduces life into what is seen here and now but imagination expands life can be in the regardless of the right side left side of the brain both information and imagination must come together must operate together in continuous love and intimacy for the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact we saw in the last message.

The Bible said that the love Jesus with all your mind and with all your heart and with all your soul, that means to love Jesus with the information you gain from the Scripture and with the imagination of what's in the Scripture and as we saw in the last message I started with the mind how to love Jesus with your mind because the mind is the battlefield. When you win the battle in the mind you going to win the battle when your mind is transformed and been used by the power of the word of God then you're able to use your imagination and growing in your love for Jesus rest Roberts on the last message that loving Jesus must be must begin and sustain by a decision, not by a feeling that when you get around it.

When you feel it when you feel like it. It has to begin with the mind, with a decision, but I said it doesn't stop there.

It should not stop there.

It needs to go on for loving Jesus deeply must capture your imagination loving Jesus deeply must capture our ability and the gift of visualization was visualization stuff because are some people who use the gift of visualization imagination for evil does not mean that God's children can use it for good, which is what was intended for this is because evil users visualization. Some Christians have thrown the baby with the bathwater and this is no imagination, no visualization, only information for your head with with information but why, why, in fact, like all of God's gift imagination and visualization all of God's gift can be used for good or evil. But as believing parents, we need to teach our children how to love Jesus with their imagination.

Here's a word of advice to those who are inclined only to grow visual imagery of the Scripture.

They need to use logical analysis in response to the word of God and for those who only use logical analysis in their studying of the word of God. They need to develop visual imagery of the word of God for true growing in love for Jesus, you need both for true intimacy with Jesus, you need to develop those gifts and they must work in tandem. But the question still remains well. How do I love Jesus with my imagination. How can I love Jesus with visualization before answer the question I wanted to listen to something very very very important. You must never, never, never try to imagine things that are not in the Scripture must never try to imagine things that are not in the word of God.

I merely take the word of God from the pages of the Scripture and develop a word picture in my head as I develop in my love for Jesus. There are many times I am sitting spending time with the word of God not do this when I get to the book of Revelation.

I cannot tell you start reading about heaven. I just see what John saw through his eyes and the magnificent picture of heaven and all of the stuff that was going on right now in the very presence of God in my mind is really filled with such expectations for that day. I was sure one of those things that are doing the measuring in my love for Jesus using our imagination and my growth and love for him and thus across.

I allow the Holy Spirit of God to draw a picture in my imagination. I imagine how he must've felt just before the crucifixion that's really important. I often think of how he must've felt when his dearest friends rubberbanded him. I visualize how he must've felt when Judas, who was with him for 3 1/3 of the year sold them for a price of a slave. I visualize how we must felt when the chief disciple. The headman did not have any knowledge of him three times.

I often take time to visualize how my Lord felt when Peter denied him because the Scripture said on the third time I pleaded not in the third time, the Bible said and he turned and he looked at Peter. I visualize what that looked like. I imagine the look of pain.

The look of hurt the look of anguish. I imagine the look of deep disappointment. The look of inner agony and then I petition the Holy Spirit of God to help me and to empower me never to deny my Lord, no matter what the cost. You see, as fully God. Jesus knew that his disciples are going to run out on him as fully God. He knew that they all going to deny him and run away in the time of trouble, but as man of very man. He must've felt so deeply the anguish that he suffered. I visualize what was like for the God of glory, to be slapped across the face. The most humiliating and the most insulting thing you do to a person that time and the part of the world.

I visualize how he must've felt when one of his creatures spat upon him. I visualize what was like during that miserable night that I could never forget that site because is not a basement in Caiaphas's house, like your basement, but it is was a dungeon for walls they dropped them from a whole, and there he spent the night in the dungeon in Caiaphas's house before the crucifixion reciting Psalm 22, I visualize how he walked 2 1/2 miles from trial site. The trial site and then stop and remind myself that he did this for me I needed to for you.

I try to imagine what it must be like to sweat blood as a result of a traumatic emotional stress. And he did this for me.

I try to imagine the pre-cross crucifixion flogging, which was used by the Romans to exhaust the victim to exhaust the condemned person prior to the crucifixion. I tried to imagine these Roman whips that have leathers strips and at the end of each one of the straps of his small bone. The sheep bone at the end of each one of those is designed to tear the skin and stop and I said he did this for me. The Romans generally stripped their victims of their close and then they tied their hands above her upright post. The back buttocks in the legs and they get flogged first and he did this for me and is a flogging continued this little sheep bones at the end of each of the straps would cut into the skin until the underlying skeletal muscle begin to tear and he did this for me and think of the crucifixion itself. All my the upright wooden post weighs about 200 pounds and that always was in place was dug in and kept in place, but the horizontal crossbar, which weighs about hundred pounds is what the victim carried it was customer back then that the condemned man carries the crossbar to the place of the crucifixion, because the post was already in location, God of the universe who created all of the trees in the forest carried up crossbar after being flogged. I try to imagine the lack of food and water, sleep for a long period of time and the sheer exhaustion and then after all of that carrying that hundred pound crossbar for one third of a mile on his bare shoulders and I remind myself. He did this for me and for you, then at the site of the execution by law, the Romans would give the condemned person, a bitter tasting liquid. Drink helps as a mild sedative and then when he got to the place of the crucifixion there would throw him on the ground on his bare back, preparing to nail his wrists on the crossbar. His wounds from the scourging would be torn and become contaminated with the dirt and he did this for me with outstretched arms. His wrist was nailed to those crossbars with about 5 to 7 inch spikes and the reason they hammered them in the risks of not the palm of the hand is because the palm will tear, but nailing the risks, make the crucified person hang on the cross much longer after both wrists been fastened to the crossbar.

The crossbar is lifted with the victim wanted and then there would nail his feet directly into the fixed post needed. All of this for me now. His affect.

Jesus did not have to leave the splendor of heaven. He did not have to lay down his robe of glory.

He did not have to come to earth, but he did it for me and for you. He said I have authoritative layer that I have authority figures, but it is my decision. It is my will to let you down for you so that his blood pays the penalty that is rightfully yours and mine.

Someone here, my so will Michael. Lots of people tortured in and suffered yes to things. Don't ever forget they didn't have a choice heated and secondly they're not the God of glory and the God of power and might, none of them with the creator God. None of them know whether you have a right side. Brian left side brain dominance. It makes no difference. You cannot escape the imagery of the cross and you cannot escape the visualization of the cross, which can only deepen your love for Jesus, which can only create more intimacy with Jesus.

Why because he did it, for whom for me and for you.

Someone here was I will Michael Hewitt to say about the gift of visualization. I hear what you're saying about the gift of imagination, but would that be the same as the Buddhist meditation listen carefully, is a world of difference you see the bullets when I meditated tell you into your mind. For many distracting thoughts and focus attention on what just comes to mind naturally, not a million note of this gobbledygook. The only thing I can do is I use my Christian imagination and visualization and when my mind marks imagination are filled with the love of Jesus Christ and all that he went through all the other junk is going to come out is gonna crowded out so we fill our minds with Jesus without Intel mind with fill imagination with the one who died for you.

We fill our heart and soul with this is indescribable love which can only ignite a deeper love for him. A man is an important thing that you need to do after you fill your imagination your visualization with whatever is in the Scripture only just use the crosses example, you need to ask yourself some questions.

Do I love him in the same way you love me, do I love him with my whole bra love him sacrificially. Do I love him unconditionally. Do I love him with my energy dry love him with my possessions, though I love him with my time.

Do I love them with my emotion. Do I love him with my words do I love him with all of me. Your love them with my imagination for certain that he loved me with all of his other times with different scenarios that I try to visualize that help me understand and comprehend the often heard me say this, no imagery, no human imagery or lustration is perfect.

None. But it helps you as you think through the incredible love that he has for you often visualize myself standing before a judge in the court he pronounced me guilty and $10 million is the fine all my life is no way I can say my life is an impossibility if somebody comes along, whose total net worth is $2 million and he goes and sells everything he has any pays for my penalty owners your question answer truthfully want you to think about it. How am I going to spend the rest of my life in relationship to that person who just save me physically think about that how many spend my life for the rest of my life.

I wanted to come home. I'm gonna think with gratitude every waking moment I am filled with thanksgiving every dollar that iron I want to share with him every meal that I eat. I want to share with him every joy that I receive our share with him every blessing I get I want to share with him. And if I could do that for the rest of my life. I'll still feel that I did not do enough.

As I said, no imagery is perfect. This one is not perfect but if you fill your mind with love and gratitude to a human being who saved physically, how much more would you deeply love the one who saved you eternally.

How much more how much more of my gratitude and thanksgiving deeper love for the one who paid my penalty. How much more should that ignite in me and in my imagination a love that is not equal. The one who loved me and redeemed me and justified me and forgave me and adopted me and saved me. That is why I use my imagination as well as my mind and deepening my love for Jesus. I want to tell you something you cannot love Jesus with your imagination on the wrong standard love Jesus deeply and intimately. Imagination is fixed on its energy emotions accidentally picture all. After all, he loved you with is all you're listening to leading the way with Dr. Michael used to and some powerful words about how Jesus loves week is all listen to leading the way audio on the radio online by subscribing to the podcast or using the leading the way. Act you can learn more about all of these@ltw.org. When you click on the listen link earlier I mentioned Dr. Yousef's newest book. It's called never gather this is an engaging read that will uncover keys to spiritual endurance help you overcome spiritual burnout provide tools to live confidently for Christ in a culture that vehemently stand against Christian values and most importantly, this book will challenge you and equip you to never give up the spiritual endurance overcome spiritual burnout and train up the next generation to stand firm on Dr. Yousef's new book, never give up his life in prison. The apostle Paul urged his young disciple Timothy never give up on prayer. Never give up on biblical truth. Never give up on the once for all entrusted to the saints in his brand-new book, never give up. Dr. Michael Smith unpacks Paul's words of encouragement found in second Timothy hope you would do in the midst of danger and despair. Don't be ashamed of the word of God. Don't diluted to the point of recognition in this critical contribution bills for unique aspects of what it means to never give up biblical truth timeliness as Christians around the world face mounting pressure to compromise their faith and their biblical values. Dr. Yousef also shares personal examples from his life and ministry of health, the strength to stand for Christ amid the pressure to compromise or work on your get the feeling about receive two bonus resources exclusively completing the way. Be empowered to live for Christ in difficult times, and learn how to leave a lasting legacy of faith. For the next generation.

Whatever the future may bring surrender to never give up on biblical truth were your copy of Dr. Yousef's newest book never by giving the gift of any amount. Contact us today. The ordering and never give up when you call 866-626-4356 866-626-4356 or you can go to LTW.org timeline LTW.org you can connect with us via termination. You can expect twitter and other social networks. Learn more by going to LT W.