Imagine Everything!
All material herein is expressly copyrighted in 2002 and 2001 by Clark & Alyse Smith

The purpose of this book is to help Christians mature in desiring God’s blessing and despising Satan’s temptations.  The major concepts in this book revolve around a life of praise to God through faith and avoiding the temptations which lure us away from our praise relationship with God.

The setting and premise of this work is the Garden of Eden. It was perfect beyond our imaginations and even included the presence of God, Himself. A choice, and the consequences that flowed from it, separated my from personal fellowship with God, but not from His love, His holiness, and His will. Christian living is the challenge to live in harmony with God, though separated from Him. That kind of living requires faith. Faith is the key spiritual discipline addressed by this book.

A few key verses are:

"The people whom I formed for myself, will declare My praise.” (Isaiah 43:21 NAS)

Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 NAS)

Whatever is not from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23 NAS)

Without faith it is impossible to please Him for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6 NAS)

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32 NAS)

Section One – Imagine Everything!

The Garden of Eden was a living demonstration of God’s rich blessings.  God withheld nothing from man that would bring fulfillment and completion to his life.  Although we now live in a fallen world outside the Garden, the rich blessings of God are still available to us when we pursue them in living faith.

Section Two – Choosing Less

Adam and Eve did not rightly value the Garden setting.  They did not comprehend how complete their lives were.  Satan’s temptation to Eve was to cause her to think that there was Much More available to her than what God had given.  Her sin, and Adam’s, revealed that Satan is a liar – delivering Less Than the rich blessings of God.  Our lives today continue this spiritual battle – a challenge to discern and reject the lies of Satan and seek through faith everything that God lovingly provides for us.

Section Three – Imagine Much More!

The most wonderful mystery in scripture is that we get back Much More in Christ’s death than we lost in Adam’s fall!  Although we are living this side of heaven and the New Garden, God still intends to bless our lives beyond our comprehension.  All is not lost.  Everything is still within reach if we will open our hands to receive from God.

Section Four – Living (in) Faith

Rejecting sin is an ongoing spiritual battle.  Faith is our victory, but we must learn to use faith to conquer sin at the point of temptation, rather than just to claim forgiveness.  All the blessings of God are available to us if our desire is for Him and his righteousness.

The Tempation to accept Less Than all that God offers
A copyrighted excerpt from SECTION TWO of Imagine Everything! by Clark & Alyse Smith

(The context of this section is how did Eve come to sin in spite of God's clear command not to eat the fruit.)
     
Either Eve hadn't seriously regarded God's command or Adam hadn't properly  "given her the word." She didn't respond appropriately to Satan's mangling  of the Word of God.  In Gen 2, Adam was given the prohibition of the tree before Eve was created. Had Adam appropriately told her what God said? Maybe Adam did the "man thing" and simplified God's instruction, "Don't eat the fruit of that tree. As a matter of fact don't even touch it." This is exactly what Moses did in Exodus 19:15, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman." (NAS) God didn't say to stay away from women, but Moses threw that in for good measure - simplifying, but perverting the Word of God.
     
It is amazing to see the importance of the husband ministering the Word to his wife. Remember that mysterious passage Paul writes about the husband's  duty to his wife:
           

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless. (Ephesians 5:25-27 NAS)

Jesus' relationship with us is like a husband's with his wife. Our future sinlessness will be because of the Word washing us clean. What would life have been like if Adam had washed his wife adequately with God's Word?  Perhaps her sinlessness would have been preserved just as ours will be gained. Maybe this is too much conjecture, but remember that God holds Adam responsible for the sin and throughout the rest of the Bible, Adam is named as the original sinner.
       
Not to extend this fantasy too far, but Eve's clumsiness with scripture in the face of Satan's temptation not only had dire consequences for her, but it points to a larger problem - misunderstanding the loving character of God. God wanted to preserve Adam's chaste heart, so He lovingly told Adam  how to avoid the curse. Our self-centered world sees commandments as prudishness  on God's part. Moses' little addition (in Exodus 19) casts God's commands  as contrary to even our most basic needs / desires. These glosses skew the  sense of the prohibition and hide the sensibleness of the command.  We wind up seeing God as a grumpy grandpa rather than the gracious Father that He is.

Just What Is Sin Anyway?
A copyrighted excerpt from SECTION TWO of Imagine Everything! by Clark & Alyse Smith

At the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England I laughed out loud.  To be sure it is an almost solemn place steeped in centuries of history, but I laughed just the same.  There,  where scientific greats life Newton and other great minds left their mark on history, the world is divided in half – eastern and western hemisphere.  The funny part (to me) is how zero degrees longitude is marked.  There on the expansive lawn that descends south down the hill from Royal Observatory – like a Mel Brooks movie – the royal observers have chalked a broad white line.  Simple as that; east meets west.  A six-inch chalk line that would be at home in the National Football League divides the world neatly in half.  Philosophies, cultures, schools of thought, music, and cuisine are defined by whether they fall to the left or right of this lime powder line that runs a hundred or so yards down the hill and disappears into a thicket of oaks.  I’m sure that I’m not the first goofball to leap back and forth over the line, “east, west, east, west.”  What a globetrotter I proved to be!  It is comical that something so utterly profound as the division of eastern and western hemispheres should be so clearly marked – literally in green and white.  If only the hemispheres or right and wrong were so clearly separated.

In many cases, sin is a black and white issue.  We know what is true before we ever speak the lie.  We feel anger boiling before we hurl a fist or an insult.  We know whether our behaviors are intended to curse or bless.  We know whether we are speeding down the highway or not (yes, as a matter of fact – speeding is a sin).

But very little of our lives is actually spent in such clearly marked territory.  One of the first great revelations for the maturing Christian is that dubious category of “sins of omission.”  Just when we were convicted to the hilt of all the things we are doing wrong, along comes a rapidly growing list of all the right things we aren’t doing at all.  That is a painful revelation.  Like communism in the mid-twentieth century, sins of omission seem to be lurking behind every bush.  We can scarcely read a chapter of the New Testament without being made aware of some new social obligation, act of piety, Christian discipline, etc.  Indeed, sins of omission comprise a huge category of unrighteousness in the life of the Christian.  But, you need to know, sins of omission and commission, all bundled together, don’t comprise the even tip of the sin iceberg.

Let’s survey our “thou shalt not” landscape.  Let’s play “Is It Sin or Not?”
Is wearing a Rolex (or even a Timex) watch a sin?
Is working hard for an ‘A’ wrong?
Is being well groomed inappropriate?
Is a daily jog a matter of good health or vanity?
Is enjoying a family stroll through the neighborhood at night on October 31 an act of Satanism?
What’s your stand on singing in the church choir, teaching a Sunday School, marching in a pro-life rally?

As unrelated as the items on this list may seem, they are all perfectly related – they all fall into categories of right and wrong not by their social or biblical context, but by whether we undertake them as matters of faith.

Timepieces are neutral to God.  You may think that the price a Rolex is a squandering of money, but there are nations where the cost of Timex at an American department store would feed a family for a year.  The matter of sin is not in the purchase price, but in the reason the watch is worn.  If you are wearing a watch to impress other with how you earn or spend money, then you are squarely approaching upon the sin of vanity.  If you jog to preserve your health – good for you.  If you run to measure your physique or commitment against someone else, then you need to rethink your motives.  If you are teaching Sunday School because you have to make certain sacrifices to attain heaven or even to prove God wise for bestowing grace upon you, then you have entirely missed that salvation is free – not earned or warranted.

Sin, we come to learn at last, is not a matter of whether we have rightly understood and obeyed ‘the List’.  Sin, my dear Christian friend, is a matter of whether we have asked God whether this thing or that thing, this behavior or that behavior will honor Him.  In faith we ask, in faith we follow.  Those aspects of our life that we don’t approach with faith that they glorify God – those are the uncharted, uncounted icebergs that imperial our voyage of life that is pleasing to God.

Either we respond to God in faith or we are sinning.  Long before you get to the Ten Commandments and other lists of Thou Shalts and Thou Shalt Nots, we have to come to a personal assessment of whether a behavior or thought is God-honoring.  If it is not, then our desire to declare His praise will cause us to cease the behavior or thought.  If this is a general test for all sin, then it certainly is a good test for the first sin.  Note, Paul’s context for this landmark claim is even about food!

But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because {his eating is} not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23 NAS)

Facing Temptation and  Avoiding Sin
A copyrighted excerpt from SECTION FOUR of Imagine Everything! by Clark & Alyse Smith

Key point: Satan wants us to cease praising God and follow him to our own  destruction. Satan will not allow a  temptation to be turned into and opportunity for praise. If you don't want to sin, if you want to  succeed in declaring God's praise, the way to defeat Satan is at the point of  temptation.

For all of our similarities as human beings, each one of us is a unique  creature - even our fingerprints are ours alone. Have you ever thought about the fact that our  sin natures are totally unique as well? It's true. God revealed this to us through Isaiah who  wrote, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to  his own way" (Isaiah 53:6 KJV).  Ever wonder why "the way is narrow that  leads to life," but "the way is broad that leads to destruction" (Matthew 7. 13-14 NAS)? It's simply because Jesus Christ is the only  path to salvation (see John 14. 6), but  each one of us has our own wandering path of sin that leads us away from  intimate fellowship with God. The "way"  has to be broad to accommodate all of us!

Although our actual sins may not be unique, our reasons (excuses!) for sin  will differ from person to person. I may  tell a lie because I am afraid of the consequences of the truth. You may tell a lie simply to confuse or  aggravate the hearer. The one thing that  unites all of us creative sinners is that each and every one of our sins happens  as a result of a temptation that is not deflected by the shield of Faith. The sad fact is that we tend to look backward  on our sins and think, "how could I have done that?" or "I didn't see that  coming - I sinned before I really thought about it. It is not typical for Christians be alert to  the many disguises that Satan wears when he tempts us. While we may regret them and hope to repent of  our many sins, we rarely devote much effort to preparing for the temptations  that come into our lives on a daily basis.

While we often go to bed at night convicted of our sins, we do not usually  wake up in the morning realizing that we will be tempted. Wouldn’t it be better to start the day right  rather than end it with what went wrong? Be Prepared! This preparation is illustrated by a  fascinating situation in the life of Paul. Understanding the "Agabus Principle" has has  encouraged me greatly in the area of being prepared to face temptation and avoid  sin. Consider this passage from the  accounts of Paul' missionary travels: And as we were staying there for some  days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound  his own feet and hands, and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this  way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him  into the hands of the Gentiles. '" And  when we had heard this, we as well as the local residents {began} begging him  not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul  answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not  only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.  "(Acts 21:10-13 NAS)

First, notice that Agabus is led by the Holy Spirit to say what he did. That is key to understanding this passage.  He speaks words of caution to Paul, but  Paul can't figure out why Agabus would say such a thing. Since Paul is perfectly willing to die for  Christ, words of warning would never dissuade him from complete his mission.  The fruit from the seeds Agabus sowed is  harvested when Paul arrives in Jerusalem. Before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa, Paul is  cool, calm, and collected. Not only is he  extremely persuasive in his speech (see Acts 26. 28), but Paul has even had the  time to formulate an "exit strategy" which would take the gospel all the way to  Rome at the Roman governments expense!

"Forewarned is forearmed" the saying goes. That is the "Agabus Principle"! God commands us to be alert to the wiles of our  adversary, Satan (I Peter 5. 8) and He will help us be alert. We know we will be tempted daily. Shall we succumb to the temptation or prevail  over it? The choice is entirely ours and  it is a choice that depends on how much faith we put in the sufficiency of God's  grace. Just as the Holy Spirit through  Agabus prepared Paul to face a difficult situation with God's purposes in mind,  so too we should expect the Holy Spirit to guide us to trust in the sufficiency  of God's grace, flee from sin, and, Much More, find a way to praise God in the  midst of the temptation.

Every Christian needs to learn to identify "his own way" - the common pattern  of temptation and sin that plagues his life and prepare to meet Satan head on  with faith when the temptation is presented. Remember, "whatever is not from faith is  sin."  Our only hope of resisting  temptation is to call upon the grace of God through faith. Take a few minutes right now to write out a  list of the sins that you find recurring in your life. It won't be hard and it won't take long. You need to confess "your way" of doubting the  sufficiency of God's grace and replace that doubt with faith. When your list is complete - well, when you get  writer's cramp and need to take a break - you are ready to attack the sin at the  point of temptation and begin to have victory over that predator Satan. Remember, Satan will not allow a temptation to  be turned into an opportunity for praise. He will remove the temptation rather than allow  you to praise God through the temptation.

Effectively Praying In Advance of Temptation

Here are some things to confess, to agree with: 

I want to declare God's praise.

Satan wants to interfere with my praise.

I know that I am going to be tempted today.

Rather than anticipate prayers for forgiveness of sin at the end    of the day, I want to start this day with prayers which prepare me to triumph    in faith over temptation.

If those statement are true for you, then put reword these prayers so that  they are your own make Satan wish he had never tempted you today:

Lord, I know that I am weak in certain areas of my life. Here is a list of sins that immediately come to  my mind. I know that there are specific  circumstances or people that I will encounter today that will pose roadblocks to  my walk of faith. Help me be alert to the  temptations so that I recognize them and let the Holy Spirit remind me of the  sufficiency of your grace.

If I encounter the temptation of lust today I pray:

If I encounter the temptation of greed / covetousness today, I pray:

If I encounter the temptation to be proud today, I pray:

If I encounter the temptation of self-doubt today, I pray:

If I encounter the temptation of bitterness or resentment today, I pray: