November 2009

CLU Student Newsletter

Greetings of love to you all in the Precious Name of Jesus! In previous newsletters, I have shared some of my students’ testimonies with you. This time, I felt led to share mine along with Christine’s. Enjoy and be blessed by God’s amazing grace!

Delivered from My 20-Year Tunnel!
by
Dr. Karen Joy King

As a child, I loved hearing Bible stories and singing the little Sunday School choruses. These gave me a hunger to know and to serve God. I gave my life to Christ by the age of 13. However, since my church didn't teach true Christian living, I desired to know much more.

Eventually, God led me to a holiness church, in which I developed a very close walk with God and enjoyed having an anointed ministry. Then, a Jezebel spirit came into the church. Eventually, many lives and marriages were ruined, mine included.

Due to years of erroneous Biblical teachings, church and marital abuse, I suffered a complete break down in 1982. It was so severe, the doctors couldn't figure how I lived through it (but God knew!). After the break, I was confined to bed for many years.

My extreme illness hindered the prayer life and fellowship with God I had enjoyed before the break. Everything became dark, and I entered into, what I call, my 20-year tunnel.

My pastor/Christian Day School teacher husband gave me no help nor encouragement and constantly berated me. Eventually, after an affair with another "Christian" woman, he divorced me. I was deeply hurt and became engulfed by anger, bitterness, oppression, depression, etc. I didn’t want to be like this, but no matter how I prayed, was prayed for, fasted, and or tried to meditate on the Word, I couldn't break out of the tunnel. Once in a while, I would see a little hope in that tunnel, only to have it extinguished time and again.

After 20 years of struggling to regain a close, victorious relationship with God, I finally threw my hands up in total surrender and told God that if He wanted me to be a Christian, He was going to have to take over and do it through me. I couldn't do this any more. I was tired of trying! I was done! What a blessed place at which to finally arrive! Now, God could take over and lead me to victory since I was out of the way.

Shortly after that, a friend suggested that I go back to school and earn a Master's degree in Counseling. God, through her, planted a seed. After praying for a couple of months, I felt God wanted me to do this and began to search the internet for the right university; but none of the hundreds of universities I researched interested me.

After two weeks of searching, I prayed once again, “Father, if You want me to do this, show me the right school now.” I was tired of looking and wondered if I should do this after all. I went back online. Immediately, Christian Leadership University popped up. I hadn’t seen it before. While reading the CLU catalog, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, this was the one.

By faith (since I had been too ill for many years to work a steady, decent job, my income was very low), I signed up for a Master’s in Christian Counseling. This program promised to minister to me, which I desperately needed. I knew I needed help before I could help others.

Mark Virkler called to welcome me as a CLU student. Before the conversation ended, not only was I signed up for a Master’s but also a Ph.D. in Christian Counseling at a price I could afford! When the phone conversation ended, I was soaring, rejoicing, and praising the Lord!

I was so excited and wanted to share this with someone, so I called my pastor. Immediately, he "threw ice water" on me by warning me against this and tried to talk me out of it. When I hung up, I felt totally deflated; but instead of entertaining the doubts, I reviewed all God had worked out for me and was again reassured that this was God's will, which caused me to rejoice even more. Needless to say, I soon left that church.

During my first course, Communion with God, God began to tear away the many years of hurt, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc. through the 2-way journaling, visions, and dreams. He showed me how much He loved me and wanted to help me. The course was a great help and an encouragement as I walked through it with Jesus and applied it to my life. After that, Counseled by God, strengthened me even more and led me into a deeper relationship with Him. By this time, I loved hearing Him speak to me through the journaling and seeing Him in the visions!

Then I started Prayers That Heal the Heart and hit a “brick wall.” Every lesson was a BIG struggle. I knew that satan was fighting, but I was determined to be set free!

Since I was entrenched in so many strongholds, I needed a counselor to help me but not just any counselor. I needed someone who understood the PTHTH deliverance/counseling method since it really changes lives rather than just “putting a band-aid on an infested sore” like some counseling does.

After explaining my difficulties and needs to Mark Virkler, he offered to do the deliverance/counseling with me. At first, I didn’t want to go that far since it was a nine-hour drive. Plus, I was scared to death and embarrassed to go through this process, but I couldn’t continue life as I was. Finally, I decided to put the fears aside and get help.

The original four-hour session Mark had offered to do turned into an all-day session since I had so many issues. Mark went through the Contributing Strands Worksheets I had started (a big stack of them—one for each issue) with me. One by one, each issue was addressed by allowing the Holy Spirit to show me my heart’s needs and then directed the process for my healing. After God had given me some wonderful journaling and visions and we had prayed through the deliverance prayers, I still felt the same as when I came. I was very disappointed; but by faith, I claimed deliverance and victory.

While driving home and sharing the things God had shown me during the deliverance session with a friend who had gone with me; suddenly, my heart eyes saw the top of my tunnel burst open, God's glorious light shine in, and His hand picking me up out of the tunnel. At that moment, I was delivered out of my 20-year tunnel! I saw it and I felt it! Praise the Lord!

I am a new woman who is enjoying life outside the tunnel with a glorious relationship with God and ministering in the callings God has given me as the CLU graduate professor, Christian Counselor, musician, and other areas. God is so good and faithful! He will set anyone free who seeks Him! Since He did it for me, He will do it for you!

CWG Has Challenged Me
by
Christine Holden

The deepest desire of God’s heart is to have an intimate relationship with His children and for them to be so in tune to Him that they move as one with Him. CWG has challenged me to step out in my faith and grow deeper in my intimacy with Jesus.

Many trials came my way while taking this class, but by learning to encounter God on a deeper level, I was able to respond to them. The four keys to hearing God’s voice have enabled me to quickly tune my heart to His voice.

My daddy, who is eighty-two years old, fell from the roof of his home while trimming a branch. A blood clot formed inside his skull between his eyes. After several surgeries, things did not look good. I decided I needed to return home, which is three hours away, for some more clothes. On my return trip, I was worshiping the Lord, talking with Him, and interceding when the cloudy sky opened up and beams of light shone forth. As I continued to worship and look in the spirit, I heard the Lord’s voice clearly, as if He was setting next to me in the car, say, “I am speaking with your father now.” My eyes filled with tears as I could feel the Father’s love.

Upon returning to the hospital, I shared what I had experienced with my two sisters, and they also got a witness in their spirit. We hugged, prayed, and thanked the Lord for His love and sweetness for giving us this message. From that point, Daddy started making progress. I anointed his head with oil and prayed God’s healing over his body. On the third day, he awoke from his coma, turned his face towards me (the room was filled with daughters), and said, “I was talking with Jesus.” Everyone in the room felt God’s Spirit.

Experiencing intimacy with the Lord has taught me the value of listening to His voice and walking in faith even when I cannot see what He is doing. One day while spending time with the Lord, He asked me to fast ten days for my nephew who has walked in rebellion for the last five years. This would be difficult because I have never fasted that long. Using the Daniel fast, I began praying and fasting. In the natural, no changes were seen. In fact, his father called and said his son’s behavior was getting worse.

As I sought the Lord on my nephew’s behalf, I could feel God working in my spirit. My prayers seemed bolder against the enemy and clearer in the direction of how God wanted me to pray. In the Spirit, I began to see breakthroughs, such as my nephew running from fire and chains falling off. God moved on his heart to come to our home.

One afternoon, we went into the living room to worship the Lord. About thirty minutes into worship, the Spirit of God filled the room. My nephew sat weeping in His presence. As we continued to worship, God began breaking the wall down around his heart. However, after we had spent time praying with him, he left our home and returned to his life of drinking and partying.

I cried out to the Lord, “How can this be?” The Lord impressed upon my heart John 6:16-17. Right after Jesus had performed miracles and fed the five thousand, He went away to be by Himself. The disciples got into a boat heading for Capernaum. Scripture says, “It was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.”

This Scripture seemed to burn on my heart, so I asked the Lord, “What are You saying to me?” As I continued to meditate on it, the Lord revealed this, “When it was obvious that I was working in your nephew’s life, you had great confidence in Me and your faith was strong. But when you can no longer see Me working with your eyes, you are like My disciples in the boat when I had not yet come to them. Remember, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). God later showed me that as I was crying out to Him, He was speaking to my nephew.

God placed it on my heart to go to his apartment. I went not knowing exactly what I was going to do when I got there. I knocked, but no answer. I knocked again, still no answer. Then I said, “Lord, did I get this wrong?” I knocked one more time and the door opened. He said, “Auntie, I can’t believe you are here. I just was laying on my bed reaching for my phone to call you.” I called him by name and said, “What’s up?” He answered, “I can’t do this any longer. I need help.”

These are examples of experiencing intimacy with the Lord; and because of this, I am now able to hear His voice, love the unlovable, touch lives for His kingdom, heal the broken hearted, and set people free from the enemy’s chains.
I love spending time with God. I like to visualize Jesus sitting on a rock. I come to Him as a child, sit at His feet, and gaze into His eyes. I lay my head on His knee and feel His hand caress the top of my head. His words are so full of love, even when He corrects me. My words to Him often come in the form of tears, for they express my love and desire to be like Him.

My journey through the Communion With God course has changed my personal relationship with the Lord immensely. I now have the sense of being connected and being aware of His presence throughout the day. I am able to immediately tune to His flow as I journal. Having had these experiences with my daddy and my nephew, God has shown me how to intercede and stay connected to His Spirit as I walk into such situations. I have been blessed by this course.

How to Connect with CLU Students and Alumni

NEW!
Koinonia Network:
The Online Home for Spirit-Filled Believers

Looking for a new way to meet your peers who are currently enrolled in CLU, or those who have taken this educational journey in the past? Now it's easier than ever! Koinonia Network is created as an alternative to MySpace and Facebook. It is for all Christians who profess to love, serve and obey Christ and hunger to walk in intimacy with the Holy Spirit.

If you have a Facebook or Myspace account, you can also get involved there:

Facebook Group: Christian Leadership University
Myspace Group: Christian Leadership University

Become a fan of CLU on Facebook
Become a fan of CWG Ministries on Facebook