The Audible Voice of God

First, please let me know if you would like to be removed from our email list. We completely understand.
Second, we have grass sprouting up in our front yard. God is good and he has been faithful to bring the “rain” and the reign! There is more than a big brown patch of dirt there is GREEN stuff! For those a bit crossed eyed, this refers to my first email.

Emie and I have emailed a bit over the last few weeks. It has been wonderful to hear all the stories and how the Lord is speaking to her. Though it is so wonderful, my heart was beginning to get restless and I wanted to talk on the phone. So I set out on a determined course to find a way we could talk and one that would not be an exorbitant amount of money. I finally received from Emie a number that I could reach her at. So I purchased an international calling card and dialed as fast as I could. Nothing! So I dialed again, nothing! So I dialed again and again and again. Still nothing was happening. AHHH!

The next day I had a realigned focus, but still nothing was going through. I wondered if she even had the phone on, if I was even dialing correctly, or if the demons in the air where rerouting my call to some little man in Tokyo. Nothing was happening. I even found myself wondering if Emie was behind it all, maybe she didn’t really want to talk with me, so then I was getting frustrated with her (which, by the way, is really stupid and I got over it!).

Then I called the international operator and asked if I had the right number to Pemba. They assured me I did. So I kept dialing. Still there was no connection. Days went by and I had given up hope of actually hearing her voice until December 19th. I phoned the International operator again out of desperation and frustration. They said I wasn’t getting through because I had to use an operator located in Mozambique to contact anyone in Mozambique. “Really? And how much would that cost?” “That would only be $9.48 the first minute and $8.48 every minute after that and a $6 service charge, sir.” “Really?” “Would you like us to go ahead and do that sir and bill it to your phone carrier?” “Ah, NO!”

Three days later Emie actually called me! Praise the Lord . . . except I wasn’t home! Ahhhh!

I had one more option, Skype.com (uses your computer as a phone). I wasn’t sure if they had to use this famous operator in Moz. also. I emailed them and a few days went by with no reply. I resolved to give it a try even if I wasted the $10 it would cost to get the Skype credit. So I clicked in all the numbers and pushed send. Nothing! I gave it a second try and nothing, a third, then a fourth and still nothing. One last attempt before I told Judah he would have to go to bed.

“Hello?”

I love email. It has many positives; one is that it helps us encourage the body of Christ around the world with ease. If you know any missionaries, take a moment to send them an encouraging email. It also allows us to communicate with our spouses when they are on the other side of the world. A major drawback is the personal touch. We miss the body language, eye contact and most importantly, the voice. Jesus tells the Pharisees that they search the scripture because they think it will give eternal life. Then he tells them that it speaks of HIM! They have missed the LIFE of Scripture; it WAS and IS JESUS still today! They got the email but failed to realize who IS the email. Karl Barth (a theologian) says it this way; “The Word became flesh and then through theologians became words again.”
These last few weeks in trying to speak with Emie has given me a greater appreciation for the voice of God. I love the Word of God but I also love the voice of the Holy Spirit. This is why I believe the prophetic is key in the body of Christ, it confirms what the Lord is already “speaking” to us (1 Cor. 14:22). The Word is ALIVE. We are not reading text alone we are reading a person! He can be known through touch, sight, smell, taste and sound. We can hear him. He speaks still today.

Well, my wife still speaks today also even though it had been 26 days (but who’s counting) since I had last heard her voice. It was Emie’s voice on the other side and we rejoiced to finally hear each other. Now I am so addicted, I want to talk with her every day. Another reason why I love the voice of God, it is addicting!
I am actually overwhelmed with what the Lord is saying right now to us. I also don’t know how to share all that Emie and Abiel are experiencing. There is always the need to have context for everything (which is how we should study the Bible, in context) in what I want to pass on to you all. This would end up being a rather large book. I will try to give highlights.

Emie and Abiel still love it and are more confident now than ever that they don’t want to come home. Emie has four boys she wants to adopt now (I have attached a picture of Adelino below, the one I first wrote about).
Abiel is making effort to connect with the Africans and is enjoying playing with them. Adelino has helped in getting her more comfortable. She is not sure about eating rice all the time, but that seems to be the only thing holding her down. Emie is really trying to give Abiel the most realistic picture of an African child’s life. As a result they have only eaten at a restaurant once. Abiel loves climbing the massive trees. The other day on the phone she told Judah he had to come to Africa because she gets dirty and then swims in the ocean that is warm all the time. “You’ll love it Judah!”

Emie has had many wonderful times with the Lord. Many times she has been laid out on her face in worship and rose to realize hours had past. In these times the Lord has given her visions for her, our family and brought clarification on visions she has had in the past. He is speaking to her very clearly and she is soaking it all in.

This past week Iris Ministries was having a conference with 3,000 people in attendance. They all stayed on the base where Emie and Abiel are staying. They asked the students to pray about being apart of a deliverance team to pray with people. Emie prayed about it and felt the Holy Spirit told her to be apart of it. The next day she was slandered by a housemate in front of her other house mates. After that she had decided not to be on the team, it was just too much. The following day an Iris staff member came to Emie and said they wanted her to lead the deliverance team. Ahhhh! She knew she was called there to minister, so knowing God was leading her she accepted the “position”. I am not sure what has happened, but I can’t wait to hear the stories. Ahhhh! I love the fact the Jesus has disarmed the evil rulers and authorities by his death on the cross (Col. 2:15). We are fighting an armed less enemy, now that makes things a lot easier.

Here are a few stories she has shared with me through email: Read cautiously, you just might find yourself living in Mozambique one day! OK, I just have to give you an insight into what is happening there in Moz. What is taking place is unheard of in Church history. Over 1 million Muslims have come to Christ, over 7,000 Churches have been planted and over 85 people have been raised from the dead. This is not including all the miracles, signs and wonders and the 12,000 people they feed everyday and all this in less than 10 years. Bill Johnson says it best; “We can’t have the same results the New Testament Church had if we are more devoted to a book they didn’t have than to the Holy Spirit they did have.” We must learn to hear the voice of God and obey in faith. We must become confident in the fact that the sheep really do HEAR the Shepard’s VOICE! Amen!

OK back to the stories from Emie:
*** The Heather Clark’s song “Price of Love” and the lines "I have grieved and walked away in silence. But I have learned to be free. I have stared into the face of injustice, but I have learned to be free.” Many situations cause me to grieve and the injustices are sometimes overwhelming but I have to learn to be free. I'm in process.
One night I was saying goodnight to Adelino and one of the more ornery boys was teasing him, then the house mom joined in laughing along with other boys and Adelino was extremely hurt. I was crying as he cried and I prayed as I tried to talk about forgiving and the jealousy of Marcell that causes his torment. But the injustice was more than I could take. I asked Adelino if he wanted me to stay away so he wouldn't be teased and he emphatically answered, “NO, please come!”
Things have mellowed as I have taken on more of the boys, but it is just overwhelming at the reality of these children having no one to tuck them in, kiss them goodnight, rub their backs, look them in the eyes to say I LOVE YOU, or put Band-Aids on wounds that aren't a big deal. I make the boys look me in the eyes when I tell them I love them. Only Adelino will look me square in the eyes. All the others struggle with this intensely, but I still try to make them. I want them to see Jesus in my eyes.

*** One day Jesus said, "Let the Son pour into you today. Just receive today. You will always be giving if you're truly receiving from me”

*** One day I was sitting appreciating the breeze and thinking about how much I hate the wind at home. I asked the Lord why and he said, "The closer you get to the son, the more intense the heat and you welcome the wind! As it is in the spiritual realm, the closer you get to My Son, the more intense the heat and fire and you will welcome more of my Spirit, no matter what it looks like or if you have despised Him before.

There is so much more to share that it would be to confusing without pages of context. All this to say God is pouring out more of himself in Emie and Abiel as they have obediently walked in faith to receive more of His Kingdom. Faith to the world is absurd but to God it’s what pleases him. It is like a man who found a treasure hidden in a field; he went and sold all he had to purchase the field. At times people look at us Christians and laugh because all they see is dirt, but we know what is buried in that dirt. So we smile and wave back. Don’t ever be ashamed of your plot of dirt, because you gave up everything to get it. We have faith the world can’t comprehend, they can’t see, they can’t grasp. It is our confidence and our evidence (Heb. 11:1). It has substance to it; we can hang on by it and receive hope from it. So read HIS “email” to obtain more faith (Rom. 10:17) and if it takes awhile to hear his audible voice, keep dialing!

Blessings
Heath Locke 11/06