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Between God And Self
Episode #307
With Martha Kilpatrick and hosted by John Enslow
Special guest: Julie
(M) Well, the first thing they said in that thing was humans are better than hardware. What they meant was that it’s not the gun that is the issue, it’s the human, the element of the human being and who that person is that makes it, that is effective in warfare. The world is full today, especially the United States, of people who are complete narcissists, and that person is dangerous even in everyday life.
(J) Hmhmm. Hmhmmm.
(Julie) Could you define a narcissist as simply someone who doesn’t have a vision beyond himself?
(M) I would define it as someone who has refused to have a vision beyond themselves to only… Because I know that God is so available, especially in these days. If you want God, you will find Him. If you want to hear God, you will hear Him. And if you don’t take hold of the vision, it’s by sheer selfish focus, that you don’t want anything outside of yourself. I had to say this morning in the meeting nobody who’s deceived is deceived by something outside themselves. Sin brings deception. Deception comes from sin. And we have been on, just on itching ears; what teachers that give pleasant things, a lot of that is happening today. But its every person is responsible, because we make a choice between God and self. Everything is a choice between God and self. We can’t have both ‘self’ and God.
(Julie) I just thought, that goes back to the scripture that I was on in Matthew 13 in the prayer meeting, when the disciples came and asked Jesus, “Why do you only speak to them in parable’s?” And His answer to them has always puzzled me, but He essentially said, I speak to them in parables because; this is the reason I speak to them in parables, this is verse thirteen, “Because having the power of seeing, they do not see, and having the power of hearing they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand.” And He basically just says then in verse fifteen, “This nations heart has grown gross, fat and dull, and their ears heavy and difficult of hearing, and their eyes they have tightly closed.” So it was a choice; it was a choice not to see, and not to hear, and not to comprehend.
(J) There you go with your refusal to train. Does that not represent that?
(Julie) Yeah. It’s sobering, it’s sobering to see that even the military understands that we have, we fundamentally have a choice.
(M) Well, the day, our meeting, and then watching this film, has left me with enormous excitement, because most will not finish the course. That’s a reality that they, they factor in from the beginning. In 220 candidates, it went down to half that, and then 30% of that was gone, or something like that. And so it’s, the opportunity’s available to…
(Julie) I was just thinking of the numbers of that. They said less than 25% will actually complete the training that they get to enter after that two weeks. And I think they said 110 entered the training. So you think about that. Out of every group of over 200 soldier’s, they’re gonna end up with like 30. I mean I really had hoped that would encourage you. (Martha laughs.)
(M) It does, but “Few there be that find it.” I don’t want it to be few. My great heartache is that I don’t want it to be few. I want it to be many. But the reality is, “few there be that find it,” because it is it’s not exclusive at all. It’s wide open. But there’s a price, and the price is discipline and vision. But vision gives the discipline according to Proverbs. Something, something’s on your mind.
(Julie) Well, I think there’s a different way maybe to see it, that it has to do with the worth of what is culled out to the Lord. I meant this is the Bride; everything you’ve been talking about lately is the Bride. So it’s the incredible worth that He goes to that much trouble to find those few. Think how much worth that must be to Him that we don’t comprehend.
(M) This is a good place to end, it’s Phil. 2:15, “That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God and without blemish in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation, spiritually perverted and perverse, among whom you are as bright lights, stars or beacons shining out clearly in the dark world.” Now there’s a vision. That is the vision He has for us, and that’s, that’s what I want. That’s the vision I want to impart, that in this darkness, it’s possible to shine as stars in the dark world. That is our, I can say our calling, a possibility, a great, great destiny.
(J) Well, we’re asking for those that are coming to the conference, come with anticipation and open hearts to see what the Father would say and do, and how He would be. And we’re just excited to see how He will reveal Himself, and what He’s going to tell His children. So, hopefully we’ll see you soon.
Further comments:
(J) Well, we had a comment come in to the ministry from a real dear precious sister of ours, Helen Whaley. She’s actually in Washington state, and she’s the one that actually transcribes all the podcasts, which we are so grateful for. But she wrote something to the ministry, and to me to reference the podcast that she had just transcribed which was #304 “The Revelation Of God’s Glory”, about the Green Berets. And so we wanted to read this because had a little extra time on this podcast and then comment about it, and talk about it. So, Martha would you like to read that?
(M) Sure. She says, “Dear John, I’ve been bumping into that very word lately, refusal, and that’s what I’ve called it. It’s presented as something else of course, and not seen for what it is, but really it is absolutely a cross that comes that is resisted. I hear people say they just aren’t ready yet, as if we can choose the ‘when’ or ‘what’ of our obedience to the Lord. There really isn’t any such thing as a ‘wait just a little longer, Lord’, as if obedience is actually in their heart, and certainly on it’s way. (Martha laughs) It is a refusal It is a no. It sometimes seems like there is a doctrine called ‘slow growth’, ‘go at your own pace’. God’s timing has been turned around to mean, it must not be God’s timing, because I’m not ready.” Now this is the punch line of her message. “His message and His provision are our readiness.” Helen is a great writer of her faith. “He is so right there with us, so present, how can we refuse Him? I keep thinking about the verse in Revelation that says, ‘there comes a time when time is no longer’, there will be no more delay, and things are in motion for that day.” Then she says she loved your pillow comment, John. “All of this podcast was such a needed message. Julie’s, “Whether you will give yourself to a vision outside yourself”, wow, amen. People are so limiting themselves to their own personal little lives. Another word on my mind lately has been ‘alleviate’, as I see that is so often the stance of a life. To alleviate pain, problem, uncertainty, insecurity, rather than our stance being God’s interest and purpose, which is eternal gain. Amen to Martha’s, ‘The glory completely transcends, obliterates, the darkness.’ We’re so with you in spirit.”
(J) The fascinating thing to me is they really are with us in spirit, because a lot of what she just said is what we just said in a meeting yesterday. And it’s like God, the transcendent, the seeds of transcendence that Julie talks about, the seeds of transcendence are in all of His believers that are following in obedience in His will. And that means that we’re all kind of walking together in this path whether we are circumstantially or location-wise with each other. We’re still all moving forward in a single direction towards Him. And the message from the Spirit is corporate and global, and which I’m fascinated by. But she’s said a couple things that just were brought up in our meeting, and I had, you know, it’s just; this is cool. So…
(M) Well, you know years ago it shocked us when we were a small group and we would go to a big meeting, and the subjects we had been on, they would be preaching about. And it is true the Holy Spirit moves in one sweep through the corporate Body of Christ. And those who are led of the Spirit and are walking in the Spirit catch that move of the Spirit. So, this is apparently the message that’s going everywhere; as you say it’s global. That is absolutely fascinating. I always think of it as being, you know, just our seeing, our repentance, our light, but especially this group in Washington; they are so very much with us. And she’s saying she also had been on that word refusal.
(J) Well, it’s amazing that God can make something so individual and so corporate at the same time, because all the words are very individual because of the circumstances that He’s working in our lives. So they reflect on us individually, they affect us individually, and they touch us individually. But corporately it also is completely in connection. And when you touch other parts of the Body that are in distance or whatever, you see that there was a unity and a co-joining of His Body, because I guess it is His Body, One Body with Him as head. So if He is One Body, if He moves in a particular direction, the Body…
(M) The Body gets it. And strangely, she was sort of illuminating for us what we experienced in our Body life even yesterday. (she laughs) So, it’s mutual, you know. People send us notes and sometimes comments that are real instructive. I will never forget the woman who said, “Have you read “Himself” by A.B. Simpson” in the comment, and I went to find it. And I have lived in that writing since then. And so have all of us. I carry it with me everywhere, so. This Body life is active in these ways of communicating. It’s just wonderful.
(J) Well, I hope you enjoyed seeing the Body function, and hearing about the Body function in a unity and co-joined way.
(M) And we’ll be reading more of Helen’s writing in the future.
