Why I Believed I Could NEVER Be Part Of Revivals & WHAT CHANGED MY MIND

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While at Roberts Wesleyan College, majoring in Religion Philosophy and minoring in Psychology, I did a paper for my psychology course which I titled “The Psychology of Revivals.” I truly desired to be part of a revival.


Revivals are Christological in focus and emotionally fervent

My concluding statement in that paper was that “revivals are Christological in focus and emotionally fervent.” To put that in plain English, revivalist preaching focuses on the life of Jesus, and revivals involve a great amount of emotional intensity.

That saddened me for several reasons. I was taught dispensationalism, the belief that the lifestyle of Jesus was not available to me during this time period. That meant I could not hear God's voice, see visions, or move in the power of the Holy Spirit. This belief pushed me toward preaching from Paul's epistles since doctrine now became central, displacing an intimate love relationship with Jesus. Another reason I rejected revivals was because there was no way I was going to lower myself to be governed by my emotions. You see, at that point in my life I strongly believed that emotions were soulish, unreliable and untrustworthy. They had no place in a mature Christians lifestyle. Theology and the mind ruled.

So I made a terrible decision 

It’s too bad that I will never be able to be part of revival." 

However, today God has completely changed my mind about this. I have rejected dispensationalism and I believe that I can live the lifestyle of Jesus. I believe Jesus’ death on the cross provided at least 12 divine life-transforming exchanges. My preaching centers on us replicating the lifestyle of Jesus. Jesus lives within us through the Holy Spirit. His love, grace and power flow out through the heart of every Christian and this transforms every aspect of our lives.

I now live focused on Jesus, seeing Jesus at my right hand (Acts 2:25; Ps. 16:8), and turning to Him for His input about everything I do. I no longer need to ask, “What WOULD Jesus do?” I now ask, “Jesus, what ARE You doing?” He isn’t dead or un-communicative. He is alive, Immanuel, God with us. As His sheep, we hear His voice (Jn. 10:27). We get to live and walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:25).


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Concerning emotions: Are they really all that bad?

Spurgeon discusses the fact that the compassion Jesus felt was so strong the Gospel writers needed to create a new word to describe it. They turned the word "compassion" from a noun to a verb. Jesus, moved by compassion, healed (Matt. 14:14). Compassion was the carrier wave upon which healing power rode.

God sent Ezekiel “embittered in the rage of his spirit" (Ezek. 3:14). Here we find an example of an emotion that is in his spirit, not his soul. It was put there by God and it was a driving force of his ministry! Wow!

Roaring sure involves emotional intensity. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah roars at the enemy (Hos. 11:10). This emotional intensity, once again, is a carrier wave for the power of the Holy Spirit to destroy the works of the enemy.

Proper use of mind, will and emotions

It is interesting that even though I believed mind, will and emotions were soulish and to be set aside by a spiritual Christian, all I actually set aside was emotions (except anger, which I clung on to). I still used my mind to build a theology concerning the Lord, and I still set my will to come against sin in my life. So it was really only most emotions that I rejected. However, that way of using my mind and the will was also incorrect.

  1. Now I present my mind to the Lord, asking for Him to illumine my thoughts as He did the disciples on the Emmaus road, and the result is that I experience my heart burning within as He opens Scriptures to me (Lk. 24:32).
  2. Concerning my will: Now, rather than setting my will to attack sin, I set my will to come to Jesus and ask Him to circumcise my heart of sinful desires, and give me a new heart. I set my will to ask the Holy Spirit to anoint me with the power of Almighty God. He does.
  3. Concerning emotions, I gaze upon the pictures God gives me, and His resulting emotions flow. This is because emotions are by-products of the pictures I gaze upon. So I can always have the Kingdom emotions of love, joy and peace (Rom. 14:17) by simply deciding to ONLY gaze upon the pictures of what Jesus is doing!

Does honoring emotions cause marriages to become unstable, or might emotions strengthen a marriage?

People might ask, "Well, what happens when the emotion of romance wears off in your marriage? If you are allowing emotions to influence you, aren't you setting yourself up for a divorce?" Not really, because I have already asked God for His vision concerning my wife and our marriage. His response was to honor Patti the way He made her and to love and cherish her and help her fulfill her destiny. She is perfectly designed by God to complement me and help me fulfill God’s destiny for my life, even as I help her fulfill God’s destiny for her life. Since emotions are by-products of pictures, and I am gazing upon godly pictures concerning the gift that my marriage is, love and romance continue strong. Even lost love can be restored by remembering your first love, and going back to do the things you once did (Rev. 2:4,5). Gazing upon God’s picture of the gift that your spouse is will restore love, honor and appreciation for the fact God puts opposites together so we can become whole. A woman wants and needs to feel emotional warmth from her husband, so honoring emotions will strengthen your marriage.

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The Throne Room Worship below releases the anointing of the Holy Spirit. People experience a touch from God, are healed, and transformed. Listen and experience the Spirit.

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Complete Library of Virkler Books (Not All Items Pictured)

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Benefit from 40+ years of writings by Drs. Mark and Patti Virkler. They are passionate to lead you into Spirit-anointed living by providing biblically-based, real life, "how to" training manuals on Christian spirituality. Their down-to-earth teachings are perfect for personal and small group training experiences. Special Bonus: Includes books by their daughter, Charity Virkler Kayembe. This is an excellent library of materials for a home, church or Christian school to have on hand.

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Benefit from over 40 years of training by Drs. Mark and Patti Virkler. They are passionate to lead you into Spirit-anointed living by providing biblically-based, real life, "how to" training manuals on Christian spirituality. Their down-to-earth teachings are perfect for personal and small group training experiences. Special Bonus: Includes teaching materials by their daughter, Charity Virkler Kayembe. This is an ideal library of materials for a home, church or Christian school to have on hand.

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Counseled by God Master Package USB Flash Drive

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Have you ever been defeated by negative emotions such as anger, fear, guilt, inferiority, condemnation or depression? Have you tried to fight them off unsuccessfully? Is there an answer that is deeper than simply trying to mentally reason yourself out of these emotions? Is there a way that Jesus can speak a word of life into the depths of your emotional despair and bring healing on a deep level? Is there a form of Christian counseling that begins and ends with the movement of Christ within your heart, rather than simply with the words of man?

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Dream Your Way to Wisdom Complete Discounted e-Package

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Do you often wake up feeling there was a significant message in your dream, but you’re just not sure what it is? Like Daniel and Joseph, do you long to be able to help others understand their own dreams and win them to Christ as you explain His night messages to them? This downloadable training package contains two PDF ebooks, two sets of MP3s, and one set of digital videos. Mark Virkler authors one series and his daughter, Charity Kayembe, the other.

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You don't have to wait 20 years, like I did, to move in the supernatural power of God. Once you know WHAT to do, it is simply a matter of doing it. You take your newfound understanding of how to move in the Spirit and you walk out on the water in faith and discover the anointing of God rests upon you and flows through you. Let us teach you how!

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You don't have to wait 20 years, like I did, to move in the supernatural power of God. Once you know WHAT to do, it is simply a matter of doing it. You take your newfound understanding of how to move in the Spirit and you walk out on the water in faith and discover the anointing of God rests upon you and flows through you. Let us teach you how!

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You can partner with Heaven's angelic hosts!

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Fulfill Your Financial Destiny Complete Discounted Package

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Newly recorded for 2023! Though the economic system (mammon) of this world is under a curse, we have received instructions for how to move out from that dominion and into the blessing of the Kingdom of God. God’s promises to His children have not changed with the whims of government or Wall Street, nor have His directions for how to walk in those promises. We can “choose not to participate” in the economic recession that is around us if we instead choose to obey the logos and rhema of the Lord and enjoy the blessings that result.

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Have you ever wished you could just sit down and have a long talk with the Lord? Wouldn't it be wonderful to move beyond having a theology that states that God loves you to actually hearing Him whisper words of love into your heart? When you're worried or confused, wouldn't you love to see the situation from His perspective and hear how He wants you to respond?

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How Do YOU Know? Complete Discounted Package

by Mark Virkler | 180-Page Book | 12 Audio and 12 Video Sessions | LEARN Workbook | Retail Price: $143.80

How do you know? What is the process you use to discover truth? I did not ask that question during the first 25 years of my life. I used eleven different methods for discovering truth including: if my parents said so, then it was so. If my teacher said it was so, then it was so. If my pastor said it was so, then it was so. If my theology said it was so, then it was so. I have discarded them all and adopted a twelfth method, which is in harmony with what the Bible teaches. We teach you this method in this series. 

This package includes a 180-page book, a 12-session video series and a 12-session audio series, a 40-page workbook, all packaged at a 10% discount!

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