LARRY: Welcome to another exciting episode of Something More. I’m Larry Sparks; I’ll be your host. Today we’re going to talk about how to go Heaven – before you die. Y-you heard me correctly. It is possible for you to experience Heavenly realms, here on Earth – before you leave this world and go to the next – before you “transition”, before you die. I know so many people think, “Well that’s when I get to Heaven, and I kinda just have to endure until I get there”. Let me just let you know right now, Christianity is not supposed to be some sort of lifelong endurance race, where you just kind of endure, going through motions, lists of do’s and don’ts; it is a dynamic experience with the person called God. And I believe today an invitation is going out to whoever would receive it; to actually, “Come up here…”, just like John was told on the Island of Patmos. “Come up here,” and actually experience the Heavenly realm. And I have got an exciting guest today, Judy Franklin. She has written
this book, “Experiencing the Heavenly Realm”, which to me is an invitation for anybody.
JUDY: Yes.
LARRY: Not –
not special, super-spiritual people, not Pastors and leaders; yeah, they’re included; but an invitation for “whosoever” would actually receive this invitation. So Judy, how did these Heavenly experiences start in your life?
JUDY: When I first recognized it, it was in February of 1997.
LARRY: Mm.
JUDY: And I went to bed, and I just started saying my prayers, and I saw a door open – [music] about a foot –
and something came out, and it laid on me. And it scared me.
LARRY: Wow.
JUDY: And I thought, “What is this?”, and then I realized
it felt so good!
LARRY: Yeah.
JUDY: It was just [music ends] – I know now that it was His Presence, and I started worshipping. I had never worshipped before.
LARRY: Mm.
JUDY: I’d seen the songs, and I praised, “Thank You God. You’re great; You’re great; You’re wonderful. You’re -“, but worship, in looking at the Word and what it actually means, it means to kiss!
LARRY: Hm!
JUDY: It’s uh intimate! And I started worshipping Him; and after awhile, it stopped, and I saw this Presence go back into this door and shut, and I thought, “I’m crazy.”
LARRY: (chuckling) Uh huh.
JUDY: Um, “Don’t know what that is”; but I wasn’t going to tell anybody either. And the next night, go to bed, start to say my prayers, the same thing happened. It happened every time I turned my attention to God, —
LARRY: Mm.
JUDY: to Jesus. It would happen, and I thought, “This is really weird”. And I’d have them for about two or three months, and I went
to Toronto.
LARRY: Mm; (chuckling) yeah.
JUDY: And um, the last night we were there, I was singing a praise song, and I had my arms up in the air; and I heard a voice, and it said, “What are you looking up for? I’m right here.”
LARRY: Mm!
JUDY: And I brought my head down, looked, and Jesus was standing in front of me. And He put His
[music] hands out, and I took His hands; and I just kept singing! And
I put both of His hands in o- – one of mine, and just caressed His hand, and I felt the nail scars.
LARRY: Mm.
JUDY: And as soon as I recognized what it was, He learned forward and He said, “You know something, I did that for you”,
and it was life-changing, — [music ends]
LARRY: Mm.
JUDY: at that point.
LARRY: Yeah.
JUDY: The next day, we went home to – I lived in Redding, California, and went to Bethel Church. [music] And I went home to that church, and
Beni, the Pastor’s wife, had me come up and share what had happened, so I went up and shared. And I suppose they both prayed for me; I don’t know; I just know I was down, —
LARRY: Yeah; yeah.
JUDY: and – for the count – for the whole service. And the Lord was showing me things, and – and that then towards the end, I happened to look up, and I saw God’s Glory. I didn’t know how I knew what it was, but I knew exactly what it was!
It was the outshining of His Presence, and it was coming down to me. And I kept saying, [music ends] “Look at how beautiful it is! It is so beautiful!”
LARRY: Mm.
JUDY: And it just kept coming down; and it got so bright, that I was going like this. But finally I had to close my eyes, and it came – kept coming down. And every breath I breathed, I breathed it in; it permeated every cell of my body.
LARRY: Yeah.
JUDY: And it was heavy; and it kept getting heavier and heavier, and I thought, “Well I’m going to die now.”
LARRY: Mm.
JUDY: And, I didn’t; —
LARRY: Wow.
JUDY: and the Presence withdrew.
LARRY: Yeah.
JUDY: And that night changed my entire life.
LARRY: Wow.
JUDY: I no lotter – longer thought the same way. I totally fell in love with God, because with in His Glory was His love —
LARRY: Yes.
JUDY: this incomprehensible love – and I was just – I knew I was loved by Him. The next night, I was home; I knew what was going to happen. I go [music] to bed, start to pray, waiting for this,
but instead of the door opening a foot, it opened wide, —
LARRY: Wow.
JUDY: and I moved in. And there were two figures; I knew one was God, and one was Jesus – they were shadowy – and I just started talking to them! Whenever I prayed, that’s where I would be – with them, –
LARRY: Mm.
JUDY: …talking.
LARRY: Yeah. Well, and you – uh hold that thought right there. I want to encourage you, as we’re getting ready for this next segment. The reason we’re talking about this testimony I wanted to have Judy share is because, will your experience with God [music ends] – in the Heavenly realms – will it look exactly like hers? May not be; God is a personal God. But here’s the thing: I believe God wants to ignite a hunger in you that is so deep, that drives you into a place where you say, “God, there must be something more. Lord, You didn’t create me, you didn’t save me, you didn’t fill me with the Holy Spirit just so I could have a – a static, religious approach to God.” God was never intended to be a concept; He is a person for you to relate with. And I believe an invitation is going out for whosoever would receive it, to encounter God, and to engage Him in these Heavenly places. And when we come back, Judy is actually going to tell you how you can go to these Heavenly places with God in your [music] everyday life.
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