Prophecy and Romance

Dr. Ray: Hello and welcome to Self Talk. I'm your host, Dr. Ray Self. This is a show that gives you real answers for tough issues, full of Spirit and Truth. It's been my heart for many years just to set captives free, to give people the answers but with love and compassion and the leading of the Holy Spirit, to overcome obstacles in

their life. Things that keep them from their promised land. That is the purpose of this show. Thank you for listening, be sure and check out our website, icmcollege.org/selftalk, that's where you can subscribe, you can follow us, you can also give us a great review. Thank you for listening to today's show.

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Dr. Ray: Hello, and welcome to Self Talk. I'm your host, Dr. Ray Self. So glad you're with me today, it's an honor and a privilege to have you here. Hey, don't forget to check out my new website. Go to icmcollege.org/selftalk and that's where you can subscribe, you can follow, you can give us a review, all kinds of cool stuff. You can also check out all my previous podcasts. So today, I want to do something very special. I have a very special guest today, her name is Dr. Christie Self and yes, we share the same last name, that's amazing, isn’t it? We must be related somehow. This is my beautiful wife, Dr. Christy Self and uh, say hello, Christie.

Dr. Christie: Hi. It's great to be with everybody today and with my husband doing this, stretching me.

Dr. Ray: Yes. Christie, I'm stretching her a little bit today, but that's kind of what I do, and then she keeps me in order and that's what she does, so. That's why, you know, we need each other, right? So, Christie and I um, met primarily because of God. What I wanted to talk about today is hearing God's voice and the significance and the importance of hearing what God has to say in relationships. I'm going to focus on our, when Christie and I met and how God began to speak to us supernaturally and miraculously, and powerfully, and how it just changed our life forever. And, if, the voice of God and getting confirmation from God is so important, especially in relationships so I'm going to take you back in time to when Christie and I first met and then how God spoke to us. And I'm hoping that maybe this will be an encouragement for you, that you can also hear God's voice. Now maybe you're not looking for a relationship, or single, or whatever, but still, the principles of hearing God's voice and the impact that the voice of God has had on our life is just- I cannot emphasize it enough.

Dr. Christie: Um, to, to give you some background, before Ray and I met, God had been speaking to me and telling me that, how I supported myself- I was a mom, single mom at that stage with two, two sons- and he began to tell me that how I supported myself and our boys was going to change, that it was going to involve ministry and it was going to involve travel, which would come true when Ray and I married, actually even a little bit before, but… Also, I was at a point, I had been married before in that marriage of, surprise, surprise for my husband, that marriage of 23 years had ended. Um, and God, I had just, really when that marriage ended I had really given my heart to God. I was a Christian during my marriage but I just gave my heart to God and just said Lord, it's yours. It's yours to keep, yours to give. I'm not going to date, I'm just giving my heart to you, Lord. Well, the Lord began to tell me some things at different times. 

I remember one time I was riding down the road, I was in the car and just out of the blue, in my spirit, I heard the Lord say “I have a son after my own heart for you.” And then he would tell me that he would bring us together. It was anything I needed to think about or worry about, but he would bring us together. There was also a time when two- the women ministry leaders at my church prayed over me and one of them prophesied that God had a son after his own heart for me and that God was going to tell him some real specific words which we'll share in a little bit. Then later, the Lord would give me another prophecy, he would show me that my future husband was ahead of me in the stream, which to me was telling me he was ahead of me in the Holy Spirit and that he had a very strong walk with the Lord and a strong walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. And then later he would give me a vision and show me some real specific things. He would show me that my future husband was on a flight over water, he was wearing a business suit, he was very, very weary, and he had pressure on his heart.

Dr. Ray: Let me, let me interject with that. At that time, folks you listening, I'm a single pastor, a single dad pastoring in the Memphis Tennessee area. Christie's living in Orlando and so to get from Memphis to Orlando, you will fly partly over the Gulf of Mexico, and I was wearing a business suit and I was working seven days a week and I was extremely tired. Of course, I didn't know that there was this lady down- and beautiful lady- down in Orlando who's receiving prophetic words about me…

Both: [Laugh] 

Dr. Christie: …and praying for this future husband that God was telling me about.

Dr. Ray: So, I'm up in, you know, I've been a single father for about eight years and I'm not going to go into the story of how I ended up single, but it was very sad, you know, a tragic thing. But I was, I think what really, the big moment happened, um, I had met Christie, you know, we met online as friends and we were just like a lot of things through some social media platform. We had, we had met and were emailing back and forth and had talked back and forth and she had politely informed me that I was like a big brother to her which is not something every guy wants to hear. So here I am like a big brother to christie, we're friends, and then one day, I got an invitation to preach in Vero Beach Florida, which is maybe an hour and a half or so from Orlando. So I, I said wow, I'm gonna be flying into Orlando. So I called Christie, my friend I had met in Orlando. I'd never met her, you know, physically, but I had met her through emails and telephone calls and said hey Christie, I'm gonna be preaching a revival in Vero Beach Florida, I'm flying into Orlando. Would you, you know, like to come hear me preach? 

Dr. Christie: And, prior to that, the Lord had been calling me to write the stories of his glory in my life, which I was doing and I was, I'm a journaler, so I was recording those stories. But I also felt like he was telling me that there were other stories he wanted me to write and I prayed and said Lord, if there's someone else's story you want me to write, send them to me, let me know. And when Ray called to ask about Vero Beach, what I knew about it and we started talking, I felt like the Lord was saying I was supposed to write his story. So I told him when you come down, I would love to come hear you preach and write your story while you're here. Get, get down in writing what the Lord has been doing in your life. So that's how that started.

Dr. Ray: Yeah. So, things started happening miraculously in Vero Beach. So I'm preaching at this church in Vero Beach, we're doing a three-day revival, it's a nighttime revival. Here I am with Christie, we had literally just met at the airport, I had never seen her before, just been talking to her, had seen a picture, but we met at the airport. She drives me very, you know, very nicely to Vero Beach to do this revival and one key moment was the first night we were there, the pastor took us to dinner. So we're sitting at dinner. Now, here I am with this woman that I had just met, okay? Literally maybe a couple hours before, and we're sitting at the dinner table and all of a sudden, the pastor looks at Christie and says…

Dr. Christie: What would you say if he asked you to marry him? 

Dr. Ray: And I'm literally falling under the table. I'm like, trying to hide under the table and I cannot believe she said that.

Dr. Christie: And I'm like a deer in headlights. I'm, I'm familiar with God speaking to me but I'm not really that familiar with prophecy from others. But I looked at her and just said well, God's got a plan…he's let me know, give me a vision of my future husband and I'm just waiting on the Lord and just, um thinking what is she saying? What is she doing? Um..

Dr. Ray: And I'm thinking oh my god, I cannot believe she just said that. Holy cow. But it turns out, it was prophetic. 

Dr. Christie: Yeah, and that, that weekend when Ray was preaching and when we were doing this story when we were together, especially when we were doing his story and I was getting his story down, the presence of the Holy Spirit was so incredibly strong and so long. Just, his presence surrounded us and I remember that weekend while he was ministering in Vero Beach, the Lord telling me that he, Ray and I, were going to minister together. And we started to sense there was something more but that that weekend of ministering together was just amazing, um…

Dr. Ray: It really was, it was. Every time we sat close to each other, I remember we were at the hotel because we had different rooms, folks, don't get any ideas, um, and she would be interviewing me. The presence of God was so strong that I mean literally, she would look at me and go- you looked at me and would go wow, you feel that? I went wow, yes. It was like the presence of God would just fall on us every time we got close to each other. It was uh, very, very supernatural.

Dr. Christie: Yeah.

Dr. Ray: And so I'm thinking oh man, something's going on here. Now, at this time remember, we're just friends.

Dr. Christie: Yeah.

Dr. Ray: And I'm thinking wow, something, something's different here. Something's really, really different.

Dr. Christie: Yeah. And I didn't know, I mean, we lived in two different states, um. But again the Lord was saying we're going to minister together. I didn't know what that was going to look like, um, but we just both were seeking the Lord. I think what was key was we both really were seeking the Lord, surrendered to him. And Ray was walking in his call to preach and teach and minister and I was walking in my call with the ministering, I was ministering, was over the single mom's ministry at our church, at my church in Central Florida, and that's where the Lord had placed me at this time. So we were just both walking in our calling when the lord really brought us together and began to use us together.

Dr. Ray: I want to share one, one story which I just thought was so, so cool, God thing. What happened during the revival. So this is a three-night revival and you know me, you know I don't always behave that well and stuff so, and I know I figured out one thing about Christie is Christie wanted to be in the background, you know. She did not want to be up front. She's more of a servant, has a servant's heart in the background, and so the, the service is televised and for, one of the first things I did was in front of the TV cameras is, I introduced Christie to everybody, including the TV audience and she stood up and was like again, uh, had the deer in headlights look, “I cannot believe you did this to me, you're introducing me to the TV.” But uh, toward the end of the service, a lady came up and wanted prayer and she had something going on with her chest, like a pain or something happening in her chest. And of course, she wanted me to pray for her. I'm thinking, well, I'm not going to lay hands on her, that's kind of a no-brainer. And so, so, I said, I called Christie up and here she is, sitting out in the middle of the church and I said come here, come here, come here. Again, we're in the middle of revival, the TV cameras are going, and now at this time uh, I have been flowing a lot in the gifts of the Spirit for years and moving in a lot of- God's been using me in a lot of really powerful ways, and Christie was too but she was newer to it. She, this was kind of more, I would say, more new for you.

Dr. Christie: Well yeah, and that before I met Ray, actually it was probably only a couple of months before he flew into Vero Beach, um, the Lord had given me a vision of a zip line like over the rocky mountains, jagged rocky mountains, but it wasn't a zip line you were belted into as more of a metal bar. The, the Lord said grab it and go. And I remember thinking in/////// this vision, I'm gonna fall, I can't hang on to this all the way down the mountain. I'm gonna fall and die. And the Lord said to me I'm gonna ask you to do things you've never done before and I just want you to grab it and go. Ao when Ray called me up to put my hand on this woman's chest and pray for her, I felt the Lord saying this is one of those times. It was like fire shot through my hand, this incredible power shot through my hand um, and then she had something going on with her knee too and so Ray asked me to put my hand on her knee and pray for her knee. And when I did, her knee started jumping all over the place and I remember Ray saying pray until you get release and I'm thinking, what is release? And he walks off and I'm like, what does that mean? What does that mean praying until you get released? But you know what? The Lord was there and he was in this and there came a point, I prayed for her for a little bit and then I just I felt that, I literally felt “okay, you're done,” um. So the Lord was working in both of us and, and began using us in that, that weekend of ministry, just using us powerfully. And I remember driving Ray back to the airport after those days of ministering and writing his story, and I remember thinking I shouldn't even be driving. I just felt like I was in a cloud or something because so much was going on and we knew there was something special. We knew that we were going to be ministering together however the Lord wanted to do that but we were both sensing there was something more, and um, we began praying separately. He in Tennessee, or Mississippi, Olive Branch Mississippi, me in Central Florida. And we both just began praying and seeking the Lord. 

Dr. Ray: It was um, really, it was really supernatural, I mean, there was such a strong anointing. Now remember, what I'm talking about in this show here is, you know, we were single parents and uh, God was showing us something prophetically and through his voice and through miraculous ways, he was getting, getting our attention, um. And so it was just um, an incredible time and, and I, I guess what I'm trying to get across, even in the show, is hearing God, getting confirmation, and knowing that God is speaking and God will confirm his will for you if you're open and receptive to it.

Dr. Christie: Well, and I think the most important decisions we ever make in life, the first one is to believe that God is who he says he is, that Jesus Christ is his son, that he died and rose for us, that we believe and seek in him, that's the first and most important thing we ever choose in this life. I think right, right, after that is, there's a spouse and so we want God's will in that, we want to seek him in that and let him lead us in that. I do remember after the Lord, you know, repeatedly let me know that he had a son after his own heart for me, I began to then pray specific things, um. Probably about six or seven things, a man of integrity, a man that would love and serve the Lord with his whole heart, a man that would be faithful, you know, there were specific things that I prayed for and I remember one of them was even surprise. I'd love to be surprised, so “Lord,” I said “Lord, surprise me.” Well, end up, every single thing I had prayed for was who Ray is and that actually, that was a surprise too. You know, I thought this future husband God had for me would be some of those things, but it was each of those things that I deeply desired in my heart and Ray had been praying about the same number of things and…

Dr. Ray: It was, it was really amazing. But I want to get, to me, what I think is the coolest God moment in our early years. We were meeting- to me this was the coolest God moment, this is what sealed the deal so to speak. Now remember, here I am single, I'm living 800 miles, now Olive Branch Mississippi, if you know, that is literally a suburb of Memphis Tennessee. So I was born and raised in Memphis, I did live some and pastor some at Olive Branch. So we're 800 miles away and so after I come back to Memphis from this revival I preached in Vero Beach, when these supernatural things started happening between, you know, every time Christie and I got together. So I'm back in Memphis and um, I'm teaching a class up in Memphis, a prophetic class, and I'm standing kind of by myself off to the side and all of a sudden, I heard almost like an audible voice say to me- I heard God speak- “Christie is my perfect gift to you.” In other words, God's perfect gift. And I heard that very, very clearly and it shook me up. It really shook- and remember, we're just friends. All of a sudden, I got this word from God that she's my perfect gift from God. So the next day, I'm doing my very spiritual thing, I'm playing golf- it's a holy game, 18 holes, get it? In the swing?

Dr. Christie: Yeah. *Laughs*

Dr. Ray: So um, I'm, I'm sitting there, I'm playing golf, and Christie calls and I'm trying to think um, do I tell her? Do I not tell her? I mean, I heard this amazing- do you, how do you tell somebody you know they're your perfect gift from God? And I'm really nervous and I'm on the golf course and we're talking and I'm thinking do I tell her? Do I not tell her? Do I tell her? And so finally, I got up the nerve and said Christie, I have something to tell you. I believe God spoke to me last night and he said you are my perfect gift from him, and then I'll leave the- how you reacted and what happened after that.

Dr. Christie: Amen. And when he said that, I just gasped and I said hold on, hold on, and I went running back into my bedroom and I grabbed my journal and I came back to the phone and I said I need to read something to you. And two women from the church, two of the women leaders in the church had prayed over me at one point and one of them had prophesied that God had a son after his own heart for me and she said God is going to tell him she is my perfect gift to you, the exact same words that God had just spoken to Ray, which of course, Ray did not know, um. So it- we, we were just both amazed by what God was doing and how he was speaking to us. And I remember, I remember one night going as I fell asleep, I remember praying and just saying Lord, if this is who you have for me, give us the same words in the morning. I kind of flew out, threw out a fleece, which I wouldn't typically do, but um. And then in the middle of the night, the Lord woke me up and he said- Ray and I would talk on the phone pretty much daily- and the Lord said to me when Ray calls, ask him what does a help mate look like to him. So in the morning when he called, I said what does a help mate look like to you?

Dr. Ray: I just said about five foot two, green eyes, oh, you're five foot three, I forgot, she’s five foot three, green, five foot three, green eyes, and um, I described, I don't know, it just popped out my mouth, I just described her and um, because… I don't know, it just, it just, I got kind of bold and just described who she is and that was another confirmation.

Dr. Christie: Yeah, that was another confirmation. And then I remember you planned a trip to fly down here on January 18th to propose which of course, I didn't know, but the Lord told you to fly not on the 18th but to instead book a ticket for January 17th.

Dr. Ray: And I did not know that the reason God did not want me to fly on January 18th- now Christie and I just met in December. He didn't want me to fly on January 18th because January 17th was Christie's birthday and I did not know. And so, I flew to Orlando, she picked me up, we drove straight to Vero Beach, I went to the place where we had met, walked out on the beach, got down on my knees, and proposed to her on her birthday. And uh, being prophetic, I thought I had surprised her, she saw it coming, ha ha ha.

Dr. Christie: Well the Lord had been speaking to both of us and we, we just met in person in December, but we had known each other since the summer before. Um, we had been friends but we actually met in person on December 8th and then I remember we both knew with our wedding, when we were planning our wedding, um, that we wanted, we wanted to write our own vows…

Dr. Ray: And we wanted to have five more children between us.

Dr. Christie: [Laughs]

Dr. Ray: Ahe didn't go for that part, I, I, I don’t know.

Dr. Christies: We had three going into college and one still at home…

Dr. Ray: So I thought, you know…

Dr. Christie: When we married. But um… I remember about a week before our wedding, we were talking on the phone, I don't even remember what we were talking about, but all of a sudden the Lord started to give me our vows- my vows for Ray. I didn't say anything to Ray, I just stopped talking, grabbed a pen, and started writing down what the Lord was giving me. And Ray was quiet too, and at the end of it, I said to him you're not gonna, I don't think you're gonna believe what just happened, and you said…

Dr. Ray: Yeah, you're not gonna believe what happened. God just gave me my wedding vows.

Dr. Christie: I said God just gave me my wedding vows for you. 

Dr. Ray: And we both got our wedding vows at the same time on the phone, 800 miles away, not knowing that each one of us was getting wedding vows from God at the same time. It was it was incredible. So, folks, the bottom line is God speaks, God confirms, God is love, and I hope maybe- what I want to get across to you is God loves you and the Holy Spirit is alive, and he still speaks and the voice of God has meant so much to Christie and I, in our life, and sometimes, honestly just going back and revisiting and thinking about this, it just- we're still getting confirmation does, that make sense? And God has used Christie and I to travel all over the U.S and, and do missions and… Uh, you know, Christie started off laying hands on that woman in Vero Beach who got, who but- who d- who did get healed, by the way. And since that time, my beautiful wife has laid hands on several thousand people and prophesied and ministered and flowed, and it's just been amazing the way God has used uh, Christie, and then used us together.

Dr. Christie: Yes.

Dr. Ray: It's been an amazing journey but it started off with just being able to hear God's voice and get the confirming, reassuring confirmation from God.

Dr. Christie: Yeah, yeah. I think again, just, the Lord wants us to draw near to him. He's already there waiting to speak, he just calls us to draw near, to open our ears. Uh, he has wonderful surprises in store for each of us, amazing plans, and he's just waiting for us to join him in what he's doing and to allow us to be used for his purposes. So, what an amazing adventure Ray and I have been on with all that the Lord has called us to together. So we're just happy to share this with you and encourage you uh, to just seek him and see what he has in store for you. Listen for his voice, listen for his confirmations. Let him write your story

Dr. Ray: Well let's close with prayer and uh, if you'd like to help us, Christie, and Heavenly Father, we just thank you for each person listening to this show. I pray Father that uh, each listener here would be encouraged and know that you are alive and you are speaking and you are confirming your will, Father. So Lord, open up our ears and open up our hearts to receive your voice, your word, your will, Father. Father, we just rebuke any distractions, anything that would keep us from hearing and knowing your voice, your will. And so Father, I just proclaim blessings, freedom, and healing and whatever the needs are for those listening to us now, father. We thank you, Father, for this time together. Thank you Jesus, thank you Lord. 

Dr. Christie: Father, we just thank you that you speak. Open our ears to hear your voice. Lord just work in our hearts to surrender to what you have for us because it's so much better than anything we can think or imagine. Lord I just thank you that you call us to partner with you in what you're doing, that we have the privilege of being used by you and for you. Lord just let your love flow in us and through us, and touch others for you, Father. We just praise you and thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Dr. Ray: Amen. So thank you for listening today, folks. You might want to check out my book, I think it would help you it’s called Hear His Voice, Be His Voice. Hear His Voice, Be His Voice. It's all about how to recognize and obey the voice of God. That's on amazon.com, Dr. Ray Self's book, Hear His Voice, Be His Voice. Please check out my new podcast website. Go to icmcollege.org, icmcollege.org/selftalk. That will take you to the page, there you can subscribe which will be great, follow. Also, write us a review, that really helps us a lot. If you would like to donate to help us to do this show because it does cost some money to do this show and we do try to bless as many people as possible, go to icmcollege.org/donate. Anyway, I love you much. Thank you for listening, this is Dr. Ray Self, and…

Dr. Christie: Dr. Christie Self. 

Dr. Ray: Okay. Bye, bye.

Dr. Christie: Bye

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Thanks again for listening to Self Talk. It's been my honor and privilege to be able to be with you today through the wonderful world of the internet. Be sure and check out my resources. There's many resources that can help you out at my website, icmcollege.org, that's the college, International College of Ministry. There are free lessons, you can get a free evaluation, there's a lot of things you can do on that website. Also, check out our podcast website which is icm, icmcollege.org/selftalk. Be sure and maybe consider purchasing one of my books, Hear His Voice, Be His Voice, or Redeeming Your Past, Finding Your Promised land on Amazon. Thanks again for listening, we appreciate you.