The resources section has ideas/links for left behind packages


August 20, 2015

Okay. This is part two of Mark Virkler. And, I've done my best to separate my words from his, but it's a little awkward sometimes. When you hear a long pause, that usually means I'm switching over to his words, or back to my words. So, Mark goes on "Because David knew that the Lord was always with him, he determined in his spirit to see that truth with the eyes of his heart as he went through life, knowing that this would keep his faith strong.

We say, 'A picture is worth 1000 words.' I believe that is because pictures are the language of the heart. We notice that Jesus used pictures constantly as He taught (Matt. 13:34). When I use pictures in my prayer time, fixing my eyes on Jesus, I am speaking the language of my heart and that moves me quickly into heart/spirit realities getting me beyond my mind.

Okay, so - my perception here. You've got your rational, intellectual mind, and you've got your intuitive, heart mind - so to speak. What he's just saying here, is that he shifts into that hemisphere - the heart hemisphere of his mind. And, I call that using the Godly, sanctified imagination. Because, the Lord gave us imagination, He gave it to us to use for holy purposes. The enemy uses it for unholy purposes, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It just means he's manipulating it, and using it against God's will.

"So I choose to do what King David did and I develop 'Godly imagination,' which I define as 'picturing things God says are so."'

So, Mark pictures them that way, okay? So, the Lord says that something is "this way", he pictures them as that way.

"Obviously, if I am picturing that Jesus is NOT with me, that would be picturing a lie, which is unwise. I can't imagine any reason I would want to picture unscriptural things. So, I see Jesus at my right hand, always. I add to this Paul's prayer for God to enlighten the eyes of my heart (Eph. 1:17,18). Then I tune to the flow of the Holy Spirit, and He brings the scene alive. I find I can step from these Godly imaginations, into a divine vision."

Now, this is also what we've been trying to teach you. If you have a picture, or you are in a place where you visualize the last place, the last time you were with the Lord. Usually, it's on a dance floor for me. I visualize that place again, and the Lord is always there. So, I reach out to Him in the vision, in imagination - sanctified imagination - and He responds by taking over the vision. And, I believe I did a video on this not too terribly long ago. You make the overture, you move in that direction. You move into that focus and THEN the Lord takes over from there.

"It is amazing, simple and child-like! Of course it would need to be, as we are told that to enter the kingdom we must become as little children. My 6-year-old granddaughter can do this and she shares with me her journaling and the visions of the angels standing on both sides of her protecting her and watching over her. You will find your young children can do these four keys easier than you can! Try it with them and see.

"From Genesis to Revelation God gave dreams and visions, and He specifically said that in the last days He would pour out His Spirit and we would see dreams and visions (Acts 2:1-4, 17).

We must look if we want to see! Daniel saw a vision in his mind and said, "I was looking...I kept looking...I kept looking" (Dan. 7:2,9,13).

"So I needed to repent for not looking, and begin presenting the eyes of my heart to the Lord."

As an aside, here, I think this is a place where a lot of us have gotten stuck in unbelief. We're going to need to jump this hurdle, ask the Lord for wisdom and confidence to jump this hurdle. Because we need to present the eyes of our hearts to the Lord in a vision and allow Him to take over

"As I pray, I look for Jesus, and I watch and listen as He speaks to me, doing and saying the things that are on His heart. Many Christians will find that if they will only look, they will see flowing pictures, in the same way they receive flowing thoughts."

Okay, so this is a beautiful concept that I want to share with you, about perceiving flowing thoughts drifting through our minds. We can tell the source of those thoughts by their character. If they stir up fear and anxiety, then they're from the evil ones. But, if they stir up peace and wisdom and good fruits, then they're from the Lord. In the same way - we have streaming visions. We'll see flowing pictures and they will be flowing pictures that are good and holy and bring us into the presence of the Lord. For instance, one night I was praying and I saw clouds and angels holding a dance floor in the heavens. And, then I saw myself dancing with Jesus on that dancefloor in the heavens. Now, that's something I never would have thought of! So, it's more likely, when you think of things that are that outrageous, that it's really coming from God, and not yourself. Because, it's not something in the ordinary course of things that you'd be thinking about. So, we're going to see flowing pictures, and those flowing pictures are an invitation to us to enter into the vision with the Lord. Just as the flowing thoughts are an invitation to enter into a conversation with the Lord, and listen to Him.

"Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us (Matt. 1:23). It is as simple as that. You can see Christ present with you because Christ is present with you."

In fact, I would add to that, He lives in us - He has made His dwelling place inside of us.

"In fact, the vision may come so easily that you will be tempted to reject it, thinking that it is just you. But if you persist in recording these flowing pictures, your doubt will soon be overcome by faith as you recognize that the content of them could only be birthed by Almighty God."

Just like that vision of the dance floor, with the angels holding it up. And, other people have had visions like that, too. So, you give it a chance. You let those flowing pictures go on and you give them a chance. And, I want to share with you here that, when I'm listening for the Lord's voice, many times, He'll begin speaking to me. And, I usually discern before I allow myself to listen. But, sometimes I don't. But, even when I do, and I listen - I KNOW it's Him, I feel such...opposition, sometimes. Such...like a spirit of unbelief comes over me and I have to fight it, to listen to the Lord's words. I have to fight it the entire time He's speaking to me. Then, when I'm done, and I go back and READ the words, they're so Heavenly, all my doubt evaporates. So, I think what's happening at that point is, I'm getting opposition when I listen to Him. So, don't be surprised if you feel awkward, or you feel, 'Oh, that couldn't be God...What am I doing this for? It must be the enemy.' You know - give Him a chance. Give Him a chance with the visions, and give Him a chance with the flowing thoughts. Flowing thoughts and flowing pictures. So, even though the vision comes so easily, don't be tempted to reject it, thinking that it's just you.

Give it a chance.

"Persist in recording these flowing pictures. Your doubt will soon be overcome by faith as you recognize the content."

He goes on to talk about a lifestyle:

"Jesus demonstrated the ability of living out of constant contact with God, declaring that He did nothing on His own initiative, but only what He saw the Father doing, and heard the Father saying (Jn. 5:19,20,30).

"Is it possible for you to live out of divine initiative as Jesus did? Yes! It is called "abiding in Christ" (Jn. 15). Fix your eyes upon Jesus. The veil has been torn, giving access into the immediate presence of God, and He calls you to draw near (Lk. 23:45; Heb. 10:19-22). 'I pray that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened' and you will see His visions. They are His gift to you, freely given (Acts 2:17)."

And, here I want to add, it's a matter of faith and believing the veil has been torn. The Lord has made the way for us to be able to see and hear Him. So, when people go back to the Old Testament and start saying, "God doesn't speak to YOU. God doesn't speak to people." Well, that was the Old Testament - more the Old Testament thinking. But, when Jesus died, He tore that veil down the middle, giving us all access to the Holy of Holies. You can remind people of that - this is New Testament. This is what the Lord did for us. He opened Heaven and made it possible to be able to commune with God.

Key: Journaling, the writing out of your prayers and God's answers, brings great freedom in hearing God's voice.

Now, this is true. I did a lot of journaling, in fact, I still journal...except, this time I type on the computer. Yeah, from the very beginning, I would write down my thoughts and feelings, and I would listen for His voice and He would answer me. And, I could tell that they were His answers, because they brought me peace. If they brought jealousy, fear, or anything like that... I was so confused as a new believer, I didn't know how to recognize the enemy. It took me years to figure that one out.

"God told Habakkuk to record the vision (Hab. 2:2). This was not an isolated command. The Scriptures record many examples of individual's prayers and God's replies (e.g. the Psalms, many of the prophets, Revelation).

And, you know, many people have gone to Heaven, and come back to tell about all the books in Heaven, the libraries filled with journals of events on Earth. So, this again, is a Scriptural thing.

"I call the process 'two-way journaling,' and I have found it to be a fabulous catalyst for clearly discerning God's inner, spontaneous flow, because as I journal I am able to write in faith for long periods of time, simply believing it is God."

You know, some people will get just one word, and they'll feel good about that. And, other people will get long sentences, paragraphs and books! The two-way journaling is a good way to cultivate the longer messages - it's a very good way to cultivate it.

"I know that what I believe I have received from God must be tested.

"However, testing involves doubt and doubt blocks divine communication, so I do not want to test while I am trying to receive (Heb. 11:6). With journaling, I can receive in faith, knowing that when the flow has ended I can test and examine it carefully, making sure that it lines up with Scripture (1 Thess. 5:21)."

Okay, so here's one point where we differ. I try to test the spirits before I begin writing. And, here he allows himself to receive, and then he tests it later. That's up to you, what you want to do. I test it by using the Bible Promises. If I get Holy Spirit when I go to the Bible Promises, if I open to that chapter, then I know that the Lord is with me, and that it is indeed His thoughts - His stream of thoughts that I'm picking up on.

"Remove doubt: Doubt may hinder you at first, but throw it off, reminding yourself that recording God's words and visions is a biblical concept, and that God is present, speaking to His children. In the Bible, Satan is constantly casting doubt by saying, "Did God really tell you...?" (Gen. 3:1 GNB). Okay, so for all of our naysayers, "Did God really tell you that, Clare?" Or for myself, "God, is that really You speaking to me?"

"Learn to relax! When we cease our labors and enter His rest, God is free to flow (Heb. 4:10). Sit back comfortably, take out your pen and paper (or computer or iPad), smile, and turn your attention toward the Lord in praise and worship, seeking His face."

That's exactly what I do, very day when I come before the Lord to receive a message for you. It's exactly what I do.

"Write down, 'Good morning, Lord! I love You. What do You want to say to me?' Then become still, fixing your gaze on Jesus. You will suddenly have a very good thought. Don't doubt it; simply write it down. Later, as you read over your journaling, you will be blessed to discover that the content is amazing and that you are indeed dialoguing with God!"

Absolutely. I have experienced that so many times. In fact, I'll tell Ezekiel, "Honey, I'm just writing this down. I'm having a heck of a time believing it's the Lord, but I'm not gonna stop. I'll write the whole thing down, and then, when I go back to check it out, it's beautiful! It's absolutely divine in origin. I don't know what it is that causes me to have those scruples when I'm doing it, but later on I see exactly that it is the Lord.

Hear God through illumined Scripture: "Knowing God through the Bible is a vital foundation to hearing His voice in your heart, so you must have a solid commitment to knowing and obeying God's written Word. We are commanded to meditate on Scriptures (Josh. 1:8). As we pray over Scripture, we find verses leap off the page and hit us between the eyes. This is another very powerful way that God speaks to us."

THAT'S the rhema word to us. That's what I've been trying to teach you with the Bible Promises. To read those two pages and enter into rest with the Lord, and whatever really "pops" off the page - that's where God's focus is in that moment.

"It is also very important for your growth and safety that you be related to solid, spiritual counselors. All major directional moves that come through journaling should be confirmed by your counselors before you act upon them."

I agree with him, very much. Trying to find those counselors can be a job, and very disheartening, I have to say. "The Bible says in the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact is to be established (2 Cor. 13:1)."

Well, that's why we go to the Bible Promises, sometimes two and three times to get a second and third witness, that only Holy Spirit has access to.

That's about all that he has to sake, except that, "We guarantee that if you will use these four keys together, they will work for you and you will hear God's voice. Try them as a bundle and see how they work for you." And, what he talks about here is that he absolutely give a 100% guarantee on his college courses, his CD's, his DVD's, his MP3's...anything you buy from him, he guarantees that you WILL hear from the Lord. You will learn to hear from the Lord, or you will get a free refund. (chuckle) Oh, my goodness...

So, he's quite sure of himself, and this is because he's experienced this with thousands of people. They have on five continents, I think he said, they've got people all over the world that have instituted these programs and they're hearing from the Lord, clearly.

So, as I began this conversation I told you, if you're on this channel and you're telling me you never hear from the Lord, you're probably on the wrong channel. Because Mark is going to make SURE that you hear from Him! The Lord bless you tonight, and I will leave this PDF on our website. It's a PDF from Mark Virkler and Communion With God Ministries, and you can follow up there. He's got books and CD's and tapes and Youtubes and everything. So, I highly recommend that you listen to this man, that he can help you get established in your communication with the Lord.

The bless you all, and may the Lord open your eyes and your ears to His presence in your lives.

(the following is from their advertising flyer, also posted on this site where the picture of Mark is, under the August PDF page.)

We guarantee that if you will use these four keys together, they will work for you and you will hear God's voice. Try them as a bundle, and see how they work for you. We have free downloadable music you can listen to as you journal. It is available at cwgministries.org/galilee. The first part of the recording takes you for a visionary walk with Jesus along the Sea of Galilee, and guides you into using all four keys together. We encourage you to give it a try! May you be restored to taking walks with the Lord in the garden in the cool of the day. May you experience the fullness of a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May communion with God be deepened in your life, and may His healing and creative rays fill you through and through.

Go deeper: For a complete teaching on this topic, visit cwgministries.org for many more free articles, free downloadable books plus CD, DVD, MP3 and Video Download series on hearing God's voice.