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The Life of Christ: Entering Rest and Peace
Episode #487
April 3, 2016
With Martha Kilpatrick and hosted by John Enslow
Special Guest: Carole Nelson
This is the continuation of a series of Podcasts started in Episode #483.
(J) Ok, so I just got this note here – lovin it. Ok, so this is a note I just put in the Hebrews 4 Scripture. To not enter the rest is to not enter Christ’s life, and to do so is to incur His wrath. It’s as if God is saying this; “If you will not enter the rest, which is the will and life of Christ, you will not enter the rest. He won’t share His glory with those that are willful and will not have His life be their life. The wrath of God rests on those who fail to enter the rest, which is Christ’s life.” It’s just so clear to me in this scripture. I’ve known, I mean, literally to use the phrase, you know, that you should fear nothing, I mean, fear nothing. He was basically, He got angry when they feared. You know, you fear in the boat. ‘What’s wrong with you boys? I’m God. Do you not think I have control over the…,” you know, I’d be over there probably wetting myself, you know? I’d have a real hard time, but I don’t like boats, and I don’t like water, and I don’t like the thought of drowning, you know? So, I’d be over there yuuueeeee. He got mad at them, but what He did say fear; the only thing you can really fear is not to enter the rest, because it’s…. Ok.
(Martha) That made me so afraid.
(J) Ok, and here it is. Here’s the bottom line of it, because it’s anti-Christ.
(Martha) What?
(J) To not enter the rest is to enter anti-Christ. “If you’re not for Me, you’re against Me.”
(Carole) Oh, my gosh.
(J) See, that’s what I’m saying. This whole thing is exploding in my head with almost every Scripture. I’m going, oh my gosh, This is everything. So “if you’re not for Me, you’re against Me. If you are not literally letting Me live your life, the only life. There is one Life. If you’re not letting Me live it,”
(Martha) “Then you’re against Me.”
(J) “Then you are against Me.” And that’s why His wrath is so on it. Anti-Christ. You are literally not, you’re not doing your own thing. You’re not just off on your own happy street. You’re literally counter to the Kingdom of God that is coming. He’s establishing a Kingdom here. He’s changing the world for a Kingdom in eternity, and if you are off on your happy street and you’re not entering the rest, entering the life of Christ, letting Him live His life through you, then you’re supporting Satan. It’s Satanic. It’s supporting Satan. You’re literally supporting a false kingdom. You always say, you always say, “There isn’t three minds, God’s mind, man’s mind and Satan’s mind. There’s only two.” You’re going to follow one or the other. So you’re either going to be the life of Christ or the life of Satan. That’s it. Those are the only two. Those are the choices. And it may seem like you’re doing a good thing. And if you had said, “No, I am going to take Kenneth to the end. I am going to serve him.” You literally would have been serving Satan by doing that, because it wouldn’t have been the life of Christ. And because you let the life of Christ come in, you have eternal reward and significance for that act. There’s something eternal because Christ… everything that Christ did was eternal. Everything He did was eternal. So, you literally had an eternal act by being in the priesthood and letting Him live His life through you. And it may not have appeared… Nobody would have known. You knew and we knew because you told us. No one else would have known that you weren’t doing anything other than what you would have done anyway. But, you know, I knew because of what you told me. I said, “Oh, yeah, this is real different.” And it was because it was the life of Christ. And because it was the life of Christ, it was ministering to everybody around us. It was ministering to Kenneth. It was ministering to the nursing staff, saved and unsaved. It was ministering to people in Vienna. It was ministering to people on the podcast. It was ministering to me and Carole and your family. Everybody saw the life of Christ because you said, “I choose the will of God, which is the life of Christ in this moment.”
(Martha) Umhmm. And you know, John, I had amazing peace and rest during that crisis of his last moments.
(J) You entered the rest.
(Martha) I entered the rest.
(J) King of peace reigned.
(Martha) And I was able to sit there and wait and read the Bible and just pray or wait to hear what to pray. I had peace.
(J) Ok, so here’s a question here. If we do allow Christ’s life to do His will – yeah, it’s strange sometimes, it doesn’t go on my comfort zone level. Sometimes it’s not for me. Sometimes it sacrifices me. Sometimes I’m hurt by the will of God. Ok. So, if I walk in the will of God, do I always experience the King of peace? Do I always experience peace and rest? Can I actually have that, because that’s, I mean, think about peace, peace. Everybody’s saying, “Peace, peace.” Do I actually only experience peace, actual peace and actual rest, when it is life, Christ’s life?
(Martha) Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. There is no other peace. It’s the angels coming to the shepherds. “Peace on earth to men of goodwill.” That’s what it really says. Only to men of good will is there peace on earth. Jesus, the Peace, came to earth, but only men of good will could experience that Peace. And I interpret that to mean men who would incline to the will of God. Surrender. And I’ve had incredible peace since he passed away, ongoing. I’ve been devastated in ways and physically decimated by just debilitating fatigue. But I guess compared to what I thought widowhood would be, I’ve had enormous peace.
(J) Carole had the same thing.
(Martha) Oh, yeah, she did. It was visible and unbelievably constant. It went on and on and on.
(J) She was carried.
(Martha) She was and umhmm.
(J) She wasn’t. He was.
(Martha) And I can identify with her now. It was a little bit troubling. You think you ought to be wailing and carrying on and screaming, and you don’t have it to do.
(Carole) And that’s where the Body really came in and ministered God’s will to me. Because it was, it was at times it was a little frightening. I’ll be honest, because I thought I was not in reality or off the wall. And I would come to you all and say this is the way I am, and you, Christ in you would assure me.
(Martha) I got this booklet, which I’m sure is very good. I opened it to one page, and it talked about the brain fog, not to make major decisions in grief. But that’s all I read, and I thought later, what I did read never pointed to Christ as my rest as a widow; never offered, “here’s what you do, you go to counseling and have these things…” And the funeral home sent me something too. They said, “We’re going to send you letters every week,” and I went, “Please don’t,” every month. The only way you get through anything is Christ, and you can get through anything in Christ. If Cori ten Boom could do it, if Richard Wurmbrand could do it… Only Christ is what you have, and only Christ is what you need in any situation.
(Carole) And you know what? Though there – I’m not going cast out some of the advice. In my spirit I would receive whatever I felt like was from the Lord, but I tell you, it was like the Lord would not let me get under even the law of the steps of grieving,
(Martha) Wow.
(Carole) Which was a law. He set me free to be individual. He was going to take me through it the way He chose to take me through it.
(Martha) Carole, that’s a book. That’s a booklet.
(Carole) Well, and it did not, it did not… And I thought, “I’m not going through these 1,2,3,4, 5 steps..
(Martha) I had the same experience. I’m not..
(Carole) I’m not getting under the law of this, because He has chosen to pick me up and carry me, and He will deal with what I need to deal with when He needs to deal with it. And I’m not going to get bound..
(Martha) Good.
(Carole) by that… And it’s a law. It can become a law. ‘And this is what you have to go though.’
(Martha) Umhmm. And if you don’t you think, like you say, “Am I in reality?” But there is a peace that He gives and a provision. You all have been an amazing provision for me. I’ve been pretty non-functional, and you all have been amazing. And I ask the Lord lots of time, really, really ask Him to let me sense what you needed, because I didn’t know. You can’t know about this until you go…
(Carole) And I didn’t know. I didn’t know. I didn’t know what…
(Martha) You didn’t know you had a problem sometimes.
(Carole) Right, I really didn’t. But He literally carried me.
(Martha) Your thinking would get off track, and He would say to me, “Call Carole.”
(Carole) And He is my Ishi. He is my Husband down to practical situations. And not just the spiritual and not just the revelation. I mean, He takes care of me absolutely practically in every way.
Thank you all, brothers and sisters (commenters too!).
xxx
Amen! Letting God be God. We live and move and have our being IN Him. Thank you for sharing the very real and personal love of God in your lives.
Yes John, absolutely!
the only words I have are liquid, a weeping thank you ….
I am overwhelmed by God’s perfect timing …
thank you for sharing such tender pearls …I promise to hold them carefully …
“The only way you get through anything is Christ,…”
Yes and amen.
And why would I want to live any other way? Oh how He has proven Himself faithful – without fail, without fail.
His peace is sometimes so surreal I wonder if I’m actually participating in the every day occurrences of this life that have so many around me in an uproar. So I ask Him.
Many times it’s actually the little things that He orchestrates, leaving only peace in its place, that blow my mind. He handles it ALL – tremendous or tiny.
Thank you Martha and Carole for sharing your most intimate, private times. You are both examples of Christ’s light and love walking among us.
John – you mention some of Martha’s writing: “There isn’t three minds, God’s mind, man’s mind, and Satan’s mind. There’s only two.”
The first time I read this I probably read it fourteen times over! I can recall wondering, “Did I really read what I think I just read!?” “Does this really say what I think it’s saying!?” Without a doubt I knew what I was reading was inspired by God.
It is truth.