“Phew, let me catch my breath. . . . .
Yah know, I sure was lucky. I got away just
in time.”
“What do you mean, Simon, yah sure were
lucky.”
“Like I said Allie, I sure was
lucky. I went back to Southie to visit with Cutter and the gang, and like the
cops blew in and everybody scattered. The last I saw of Cutter and Duke, they
were scampering over the top of the fence and the cops were right behind them.
There I was, Big Tough Simon, the calmest bird East of the tracks running from
the cops again.”
“Hey Simon, I thought you had decided not to go down there, at least not without
someone else from The Salvage Yard.”
“Yeah, I know, but when Tina called and told me that Duke was back, I decided to
go say Hello. Can you blame be for wanting to see some of my old friends. And,
besides we weren’t doing anything. No one had any drugs or anything. We were
just hangin.”
“Do you know why the cops were there?”
“No Allie, I am not sure. Oh Hey Chopper.”
“Hey Simon, that trip from across the railroad tracks sure is a long one when you
walk it. Let me sit a while, my toes are dog tired.”
“What were you doin over in
Lincoln Heights Chopper?”
“Mom’s been sick and I went for a visit.”
“I hope she feels better.”
“Thanks Simon, I am praying for her and am sure Jesus will take care of her.”
“Yah know, Duke use to deal drugs, do you think he is still sellin?”
“I don’t know Allie. . . . But Duke was a good friend, I just wanted to say
hello to a friend I had not seen in a while.”
“Been back down to Southie again Simon?”
“Hey Chopper, Like I said, Duke
was a good friend.”
“I know but Southie is pretty dangerous.”
“Yeah. But I thought just this once wouldn’t hurt. Hey Chopper, why did you say
you did not want to go again?”
“I just felt like God was saying he did not want us to go.”
“Yeah, but you say that all the time. I just think your being too cautious.
Besides which I really wanted to see my old friends.”
“But you have to remember Simon, when we learn to listen to the Lord, he not
only directs us but he also keeps us out of trouble.”
“You have said that before Chopper, what do you mean by that.”
“Well, Allie, I guess we see some of the benefits of listening, but we don’t
always see the troubles we avoid when we listen to what the Holy Spirit tells
us. If we had chosen to both go down to Southie, who knows,
with this bad ankle the cops may have caught both of us even though we did not
do anything.”
“You mean that God was trying to keep us out of trouble. And all he was asking
was that we trust him and do as he says.”
“That’s right Simon.”
“Wow! I can sure use some help
staying out of trouble.”
“Whoa, God doesn’t only keep you out of trouble, if you will listen and learn
to obey him, he will also use you to help other people.”
“What do you mean Chopper?”
“Well Allie, I couldn’t sleep last night. I got up and prayed for a while, and I
just felt that God was telling me to go see my Mom. When I got there, she was
tired and not feeling well. I got the chance to love her as she once loved me
when I was a pup. When I left she really seemed greatful that I had come.”
“Man Chopper, I don’t understand, I thought you were being overly cautious. You
mean God is really talking to you?”
“Yes Simon. I guess it started with a burning desire to have a deeper
relationship with God.”
“What do you mean Chopper.”
“Well Allie, I just somehow could
not believe God did not want a deeper relationship with us. As I heard through
the years about the relationships that Moses, David, Peter, Paul, and even
Thomas had, I kept coming to the same conclusion. Why couldn’t we have a
relationship with God as they had.”
“You know I have felt that way too.”
“Yeah Allie, I think a lot of people feel that way they just do not understand
what they are feeling.”
“One passage kept coming back over and over:”
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the
door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who
enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens,
and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name
and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them;
and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no
means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice
of strangers.”
Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He
spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again,
"Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came
before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the
door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find
pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I
have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I
am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a
hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the
wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and
scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care
about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am
known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I
lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this
fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will
be one flock and one shepherd.
John 10:1-16 (NKJ)
“I couldn't help but think about the portion that says
‘I know my sheep’;
‘I
call my sheep by name’;
‘my sheep will hear my
voice’; and
‘am known by my own’. Jesus
knows his sheep intimately, he knows our strengths, weaknesses, our needs, our
desires and loves us. Jesus calls us not in a group but by name, he wants to
have an intimate dare I say friendship with us. JESUS SAID WE WILL HEAR HIS
VOICE. And Jesus said that we will known him.”
“You mean, Jesus is calling me by name?”
“Yes Simon.”
“Cool, I can dig on that. Simon Gephano Black. Jesus is calling my name. I
never realized God cared so much.”
“Not only that, God desires to speak to you too
Simon. He desires to speak to you in many ways and desires that you know him
as he knows you.”
“What do you mean to speak to you in many ways?”
“That’s right Allie, God has desired a
friendship with us. In Exodus the bible says:”
The LORD would speak
to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.
Exodus 33:11(NIV)
“And
in I Kings the bible says:”
And there he went into a cave, and spent the
night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said
to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
So he said, "I have been very zealous for the
LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn
down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and
they seek to take my life."
Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain
before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind
tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the
LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not
in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the
fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah
heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the
entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you
doing here, Elijah?"
And he said, "I have been very zealous for the
LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant,
torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left;
and they seek to take my life."
Then the LORD said to him: "Go, return on your
way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king
over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel.
And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in
your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will
kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. Yet I have
reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and
every mouth that has not kissed him."
I King 19:9-18 (NKJ)
“Yeah, but I thought
this was only for biblical days, and for the prophets?”
“Allie, I thought about this too, and took a look at what Jesus said in John:”
"If you love me, you will obey what
I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor
(comforter, helper, intercessor, advocate, strengthener, standby) to be with you
forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither
sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in
you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world
will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will
live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me,
and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one
who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love
him and show myself to him."
John 14:15-21 (NIV)
"Now I am going to him who sent me,
yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' Because I have said these
things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good
that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but
if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world
of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin,
because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going
to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment,
because the prince of this world now stands condemned. "I have much more to
say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth,
comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he
will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to
come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and
making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is
why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to
you.”
John 16:5-15 (NIV)
“Ok, Chopper, if we are
suppose to listen, what should we listen to?”
“Well Simon. . . . What I have found is that
God has spoken to me in a number of ways, but I always have to test what is
being said to make sure I am hearing right. I have found that God will talk to
me through his Word. But as I have come expecting God to speak as he promised,
I have heard him in the quiet of the night as a small voice; in messages spoken
at Church; through messages spoken on TV, and even through friends.”
“Wow, you mean not only knows how to get to us, but he can use many different
ways to speak to our hearts?”
“Yeah Simon, how do you think he touched you,
God used Allie here to reach out and tell you about her Love for Jesus.”
“You mean the Holy Spirit spoke through me to teach Simon? Cool”
“Yes, Allie, but we also have to test what we hear with God’s Word to make sure
that what is being said is from God.”
“You see, if we will listen to the Lord, he has said that he will speak to us.
He will speak to us to encourage us; to correct us; to give us direction; to
warn us; and to tell us when to reach out and touch others with God’s Love; and
most of all so that we might learn to know Jesus.”
“In fact in Ephesians, Paul talks about Spiritual armour this way:”
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all
occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert
and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Eph 6:17-18 (NIV)
“When Paul wrote Ephesians, his word was the
parts of the Old Testament known to him at the time, and he did not have the New
Testament. But he did have the Holy Spirit that taught him about Jesus and
God. Jesus promised us the same Holy Spirit which is still here to guide us.”
“Hey Chopper, you mean I could have avoided trouble if I had listened to God?”
“And I could love more people and share Jesus with more people if I listened to
God?”
“Yeah
and most of all so that we might learn to know
Jesus.”
“I know we are suppose to listen to God through his word.
But I don't understand what is a small voice?”
“That's right Simon we are suppose to listen to God through his word.”
“Yes Allie, but also to God's voice. Remember that Jesus said, we would hear him
calling our name, and hear his voice.”
“Hey Chopper, does the
Bible talk about people who heard God calling their name?”
“Yes Allie it does. In 1 Samuel chapter 3 the bible tells us about a
story of God talking to Samuel.”
“You mean he really called Samuel by name?”
“Yes Simon he did.
Let's look at what the bible says:”
Then the boy Samuel
ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those
days; there was no widespread revelation.
And it came to pass
at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun
to grow so dim that he could not see, and before the lamp of God went out in the
tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying
down, that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, "Here I am!" So he ran to
Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And he said, "I did not call; lie
down again." And he went and lay down.
And the LORD called
yet again, "Samuel!" So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for
you called me." And he answered, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." (Now
Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to
him.)
And the LORD called
Samuel again the third time. Then he arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I
am, for you did call me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy.
Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you,
that you must say, 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.'" So Samuel went and
lay down in his place.
Now the LORD came
and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel answered,
"Speak, for Your servant hears." Then the LORD said to Samuel: "Behold, I will
do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
"In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his
house, from beginning to end. "For I have told him that I will judge his house
forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile,
and he did not restrain them. "And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli
that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or
offering forever." So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the
house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.
Then Eli called
Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son!" And he answered, "Here I am." And he said,
"What is the word that the LORD spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God
do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that
He said to you." Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And
he said, "It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him."
I Samuel 3:1-18 (NKJ)
“You see God called Samuel with a small voice in
the night. When Samuel was quiet. God's small voice can only be heard
when you are quiet before him.”
“That's important isn't it. I mean it sounds like
Samuel was expected to respond to Eli's call in the middle of the night.
Samuel must have trained himself to set aside the cares of the day so that if
Eli called, he could respond.”
“That's right Simon. Samuel
was able to hear God's voice cause he was listening for Eli's faint voice.”
“And you know, when Samuel
first heard God he wasn't sure who it was. Samuel came out and asked Eli if it
was Eli calling him. God kept calling in the night until Eli realized it must
be God.”
“You mean if we listen quietly we need to be sure
that what we hear is from God?”
“That's right Allie, When Eli heard what God had
said to Samuel, he knew in his heart that God had spoken, for God had been
speaking to him about the same thing. And also
we need to be obedient as Samuel was to act on what God has asked us to do,
even though we might be afraid.”
“Ok Chopper,
how do we know that what we hear is from God?”
“Well Simon,
we know God would not contradict what he has said in his Word. We also
know that what God says often confirms what we already are being taught by his
Holy Spirit.”
“So Chopper, what God is saying is if we desire to seek him, and to
find him, we need to come before him quietly to listen for the Holy Spirit to
call our name and for the small voice.”
“Yes Allie, it seems so.
I'm not sure what he will say to us but I do know Jesus promised us he would.”
“Maybe we
should challenge one another to begin listening to God more. What do you think
Chopper?"
"I think that is a great idea Simon. What do you think Allie?"
"Yeah Simon, that is a great idea."
* * * * * * *
Here at The Salvage Yard, we recognize our
weakness and dependence upon God. Without the Holy Spirit’s encouragement,
direction and instruction we are lost. If you feel as Simon, Allie and Chopper,
will you pray this prayer with us:
Father in heaven, We have not always listened to you and been obedient as you
desire, we have failed you when you have tested us. We have not listened when
you have called our name, and not heard your voice.
Your Son told us ‘I know my
sheep’;
‘I call my sheep by name’;
‘my sheep will hear my voice’;
and ‘am known by my own’.
Lord we pray that we are not only known by you, but that you will begin calling
us by name, please have the Holy Spirit teach us to hear your voice and teach us
so that we might know your Son. Lord teach us not only to listen but to be obedient that
we might please you. Father we ask that you would honor these requests and raise
up a generation of people who desire to seek after you, that desire to serve you
and follow you as you have intended. In Jesus Christ Name we pray. Amen.
The following is a poem written by one of The Salvage Yard writers that speaks
of a desire to hear from the Lord:
Open Heaven
Open my mouth so I might sing your praise
Open my ears so I might hear your voice
Your praises flow out like rivers
Your voice: I drink it like rain
As you come down and touch me again
My heart overflows with joy
And as I feel your arms around me
My soul will hear your voice
You are my God and my soul provider
I sing my worship to thee
And as they lift up into the heavens my Lord
Your ears: they listen to me
I'll open my ears, so you might speak to me
I'll open my mouth, that I might sing your praise
Your glory flows like a river
For your love: I drink it like rain
Copyright © 2000 by
Pauly Hart.
Used with permission.
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