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My Sheep Hear My Voice

In John 10:27, you will see those words. They are the words of Jesus. The verse states;

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

When I was in second grade, I was attending a private catholic school. They were preparing us for our first communion. That meant that we must have our first confession. The nuns and priests were leading us through the traditions of the catholic church. Matthew 15:8-9 states;

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.(vs.8)

But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (vs9)

At one point, the priest came into my second grade classroom to ask us if we had any questions about confession. I raised my hand and he called on me. I asked him why we had to talk to God through him. Why couldn't we talk to God directly? He immediately became very upset and started to yell at me. He said that only he was to talk to God and that God would tell him what to say to us. We were neither allowed to or able to speak directly with God. He also said that Catholics did not question the way things were done and that I should NEVER ask those kinds of questions again. He then left the room (and mine was the first question) in a fit of anger. For the next four years in that school, he would never call on me again.

That was a spirit in that man's mouth. To be more plain, it was a demon. The devil surely doesn't want us to know we can talk to God and that He will talk to us. If we hear God's voice, we can then obey Him. If we obey God, then we are not obeying the devil. There are only two options. We either obey God or the devil.

Shortly after I started attending Water Of Life church, something happened that got my attention. My wife and I were at the front of the church and Doyle was praying for people. At one point, he stopped in front of us. He looked at me and said that he wanted to speak with me the following day. He asked me to call him and set a time to meet him. The following morning, I went into work. I was running a restaurant and usually once I got there, I would walk through the restaurant and inspect the condition of the building. I had gone into the Ladies room to see if it was cleaned properly. While there, I was considering what Doyle might want to talk to me about. I then told God that I was well able to hear Him, and that if He wanted to tell me something, He didn't need to go through Doyle. I was saying this because Doyle had ministered to us that we were able to hear God and it was coming out of my heart. At that point something impossible happened. God spoke to me. The reason I say impossible is that when I was in second grade, that priest said God wouldn't speak to me. God told me something that would probably stir up 95% of the people out there. He said that He wanted me to be the spiritual head of my family. He said a few more things and then our conversation was over. You might ask how I heard him? It was a still, small voice that I heard with my ears.

Well, my appointment with Doyle was that afternoon. I went to the church to meet him. As we were walking into Doyle's office, I told him that God had told me something that morning. I told him that God had told me that He wanted me to be the spiritual head of my family. I told Doyle a few more things that were said, and he just looked at me. He then said that our conversation was over. God had told me everything that Doyle was going to tell me. He didn't need to say anything to me any more.

There was another incident that was quite funny. Shortly after I had become a Christian, I wanted to get a concordance to help as I read the bible. I decided that I would buy one. While I was on my way, God told me that I shouldn't buy a concordance. He said that Kathie (my wife) was getting me one for Christmas. I laughed out loud when He told me this. Shortly after this conversation, Kathie and I were speaking. The subject of Christmas came up and during the conversation I told her that I knew what she was getting me. She didn't believe me until I told her that God had told me that she was getting me the concordance I wanted. She was surprised that I knew exactly what she had purchased. She chose to go ahead and give me my gift early. After all, I already knew what it was.

God has proven to me many times that I can hear His voice. I have learned that what He says will always line up with His word. If you look at the bible, you will see countless times where God spoke to a man or woman. He is the same today. Jesus said that we can hear His voice. If you want to obey God, simply listen to Him.