Poised Before Almighty God
by Dr.
Mark Virkler
I desire earnestly to live as Jesus did, out of the Father’s
initiative, doing only what He saw His Father doing (Jn. 5:19,20; 8:38).
However, before I could live that way, I needed first to learn how to become a
seer. In a rationalistic culture where seeing with the eyes of the heart is
generally looked upon with scorn, it takes a monumental effort to become at ease
with seeing vision as Jesus did. It is a huge step even to believe that such a
thing is possible.
My experience, as well as the experience of many others, has convinced me
that once we have grown accustomed to looking expectantly into the spirit world
for a vision from the Lord, it most readily appears. The simple act of looking
in faith opens one up to begin seeing that which is there.
I am convinced that the spirit world is there, whether or not I am seeing
it. In becoming a seer I am simply
learning to see what is. In learning
to see, I am learning to bring alive an atrophied sense (i.e., my visionary
capacity) and then present it to God to be filled.
Once my visionary sense has been rejuvenated and presented before
Almighty God, I am offered the opportunity to live as did Jesus of Nazareth, out
of the continuous flow of divine vision.
The Prophets of Israel could simply say, “I looked,” and as they
quieted themselves before God, they saw (Dan. 7:2,9;13).
I have found that once I have reclaimed the use of my visionary capacity,
I too can simply quiet myself in the Lord’s presence, look, and see the
visions of Almighty God. I am a
“seer” simply because I have become a “looker.”
The Bible says we have not because we ask not.
For years I never saw, because I never looked.
As I teach people to look, I find that they become seers.
This sounds simple, and it is for many, particularly those who are
intuitive, spontaneous, and visionary by nature, and who have not allowed the
pressure of a culture which idolizes logical, analytical and cognitive functions
to cut off their natural, spontaneous openness to vision.
However, for those like myself,
who were born naturally logical, analytical and cognitive and have had these
inherent leanings reinforced by the rationalism of their culture, seeing the
vision of God may not be so easy. Often
the intuitive and visionary functions have literally atrophied and died through
lack of use; therefore, for these people, the process in not as simple as just
“looking” and “seeing.” Even
as a muscle which has atrophied through lack of use must be exercised in order
to restore its vitality, so must an unused, and thus atrophied, sense be
exercised.
This involves three steps:
-
Repenting of the sin of scorning that which God has created,
-
asking
God to breathe new life into this inner sense of seeing, and
-
developing this
sense which God is restoring.
This
development involves standing (in belief that God will do this), taking the
first wobbly steps, and gaining strength to the point of walking with ease,
allowing God to direct the pathway.
This is exactly what has happened with vision in my life, as well as in
the lives of many others. Through
the scorn heaped upon it, and through continuous disuse, my visionary capacity
had atrophied and died. Therefore,
when I began “looking to see” the vision God wanted to present to me, I saw
nothing. I had so scorned my
visionary capacity that it was unable to function when called upon to do so.
As pastors have often preached, our heart is like a radio; we must tune it so we can hear God’s voice.
We must also tune it to see God’s vision.
However, in this case, my heart’s
radio was not only out of tune; I would characterize it more as utterly broken and
needing to be totally revived by the Master.
I began the process of restoration by repenting of my scorn toward my
visionary capacity. I asked God’s
forgiveness for not honoring and using that which He had created and given me.
I also repented of participating in the idolization of logic and
analytical thinking which had swept over me, as well as over my culture.
I covenanted to honor and seek His ability to flow through vision as much
as I had honored and sought His ability to flow through analytical thought.
Then I asked God to breathe upon my visionary capacity and restore it, to
bring it back to life and teach me how to allow Him to flow through it.
Now I was ready to take my first few wobbly steps.
As I sat in my study seeking God’s face, I was drawn to a scene from
John 4 in which Jesus sat by the well and talked with a Samaritan woman.
Sensing that God wanted to sit and talk with me, I pictured the scene
with a slight adaptation. Instead of
seeing the woman talking with Jesus, I saw myself talking with Jesus.
As I peered intently into the
picture and looked to see what might happen, it came alive through the Holy
Spirit and Jesus moved and gestured, as someone often does when he is talking.
With His movement, there came into my heart His words and directives for
my life. I sensed God’s voice as
spontaneous, good thoughts.
(Note: We all know that the evil
one comes to us with spontaneous evil thoughts which is why we take every
thought captive – 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. So
why wouldn’t God’s voice come to us as spontaneous, flowing, good thoughts
– John
7:37
-39?)
This was the first time I had ever sought for vision in this way, and I
was thrilled to see it so readily come alive and be taken over by the power of
the Holy Spirit. You see, I had in
essence poised myself for the divine flow by setting the scene and then asking
God to fill it. I found as I
repeated this experiment in subsequent days that God continued to move through
these “self-made” scenes, causing them to come alive with His own life and
become supernatural visions direct from the throne of grace.
Now, let’s answer a few questions you may be asking.
First, “Don’t you limit God by forcing Him to fit into the scene you
have set for Him to fill?” The
answer is, “Absolutely yes!” Of
course God has some flexibility as He takes over the scene which you have set.
He can move it to a certain extent in one direction or another.
However, if your scene is totally removed from that which God wants to
show you, you will find that nothing happens.
The scene does not come alive. It
remains dead. God is not able to
move in it. When this happened to
me, my response has been simply to relax and say, “God, how do You want to
reveal Yourself in this situation?” With
that, God implants a vision through which He can and does move.
A second question is, “Well then, why don’t you just look for His
vision, rather than begin by manufacturing your own?”
As I have said before, that works fine for the naturally intuitive and
visionary person. However, the one
with an atrophied visionary capacity will often need a learning tool to get him
started. Once accustomed to vision,
he will be able to discard the learning tool, and simply “look” and
“see.”
A third question is, “Are you saying that your manufactured image is a
divine vision?” Of course not!
My image is my image; God’s supernatural vision is His vision.
We never confuse the two. We
never say that my “priming of the pump” is God’s vision.
It is simply my priming the pump, it is godly imagination.
However, when that inner “click” is experienced and the vision moves
with a life of its own, flowing from the throne of grace, it then is obviously
no longer my own. Now it has become
God’s. Mine is mine, and God’s
is God’s.
A fourth question is, “Where does the Bible teach that we are to set
the scene ourselves, in order for God to begin flowing in vision?”
My response back is, “Where does the Bible say that we are not
to set a scene and ask God to fill it?” I
do not think there is a clear teaching on either side, which means we will have
to marshal some verses that we could interpret as supporting one of these
viewpoints.
Another option would be to allow
each individual Christian the liberty of working out his own salvation in this
area, since there is no absolutely clear biblical teaching on the issue. The
closest verses that could conceivably speak against setting a scene are those
which speak of avoiding vain imaginations and not setting up any graven images.
According to Webster, a graven
image is “an object of worship carved usually from wood or stone.”
Obviously, the scene we set in our minds is not carved or worshiped.
It serves simply as a stepping stone to the living flow of divine images.
Webster defines “vain” as
“having no real value; idle, worthless.”
I do not see a learning tool as something having no real value, or being
idle and worthless. Learning tools
are valuable, having an active place in the learning experience.
The fact that the Bible speaks of vain imaginations tells us that there
is also a “non-vain” use of imagination.
I believe that the setting of a scene for God to fill is one of these
non-vain uses of imagination.
On the positive side of this issue, I would like to make several points:
1.
All children and two-thirds of the adults I have polled normally
picture Bible scenes as they read them.
2.
As we read our Bibles, praying for a spirit of revelation (Eph.
1:17
), God causes the stories to come alive and He speaks to us out of them.
This is essentially the same process which we are describing when we say
“prime the pump.”
3.
One-fourth of the adults I poll usually picture the scenes of the
songs they are singing, and as God inhabits their praises, these scenes come
alive and move with a life generated from the throne of God.
This, too, is the same process I am describing when I suggest painting
the first scene.
This process of seeing a scene is being used naturally and without
conscious effort by many in Christianity today, particularly by those who are
intuitive and visionary by nature, and in reality it is not a new thing at all.
It is a definition and statement of that which has always happened rather
naturally among some, but now this process can be experienced by the rest of us
to help us become more sensitive to the divine flow within us.
It must be remembered that the conscious setting of a scene is only a
temporary learning tool, needed only by some individuals.
The naturally intuitive person will not need this learning tool.
He will simply look to see, and the vision will be there.
The analytically-oriented person may shortly put aside this learning tool
as he learns how to open himself naturally and normally to vision.
It is possible that if we lived in a more biblical culture, we would not
have so many obstacles to overcome in learning to live regularly and naturally
in the divine flow of vision. If we
typically discussed our dreams at breakfast with our families and sought God’s
interpretation, as Joseph and other Hebrews did, we would find a natural skill
built into our lives concerning visionary things.
However, who in
America
takes their dreams seriously, and discusses them regularly in a family
gathering? Practically no one.
If we did, we would be viewed as strange.
Is it any wonder that skill in, and openness to, visions are almost
totally lacking in our culture?
As a church, we need to repent for having allowed the rationalism of our
time to distort our own perspective of a balanced lifestyle. (This rationalism
was introduced into the Western World through the writings of St.
Thomas Aquinas in 1225–74.) Some fear that there may be seeds of
Eastern thought in some of the teaching of the Church today.
Did we ever stop to realize that Jesus was not a Westerner, that God did
not intend for us to idolize logic and treat vision with scorn?
No, it was Thomas Aquinas who influenced us in this direction.
Church, let us come back to the balance of Jesus of Nazareth, Who did
nothing on His own initiative, but only that which He saw and heard the Father
doing (Jn 5:19,20,30;
8:26,28,38). I have shared my struggle
and walk that has brought me to an ability to live this way.
I challenge you to find the way that will work for you.
The veil is torn, access is available, fellowship with the Holy Spirit is
possible. Will you enter in?
Will you find the way? Will
you enter within the veil and experience God in direct encounter, or will you be
satisfied to experience Him only through the book He has written?
God is calling for those who will make Jesus their perfect example.
For those who will aspire to live and walk as He did.
For those who will do nothing on their own initiative, but will live as
Jesus did, out of a constant flow of rhema and vision within.
Will you search until you find the way to that lifestyle and experience?
Will you not stop with theology, but continue on until you discover Him?
Will you find Him?
“You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have
eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling
to come to Me, that you may have life.”
Prayer: Lord, we come to You.
We repent of allowing our culture to dictate scorn for the visionary
capacity which You have created and placed within us.
We ask Your forgiveness and ask that You restore to our hearts a proper
use of dream and vision. Restore our
ability to hear and to see. Draw
each of us into all that You have for us, into ongoing divine encounter. Thank
You, Lord!
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