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The Mission Is Love
Episode #257
With Martha Kilpatrick and hosted by John Enslow
Special Guests: Don and Carole Nelson
(Carole) That journey, it comes as all of that, it’s not about just giving it out. It’s about being formed…
(M) Exactly.
(Carole) …for the purpose.
(Don) Well, isn’t that, isn’t that part of the excitement? A journey is full of the unknown.
(J) Yeah.
(M) Yes.
(Don) And that’s what makes it exciting. It is ‘not knowing’ what evolves out of the journey; what God has for the journey. So we ought to be open to know there is excitement associated with the journey we are on, but we don’t know what will unfold from the journey that we have.
(J) And maybe it’s, maybe it’s control. Maybe that what it is if I think I’m gonna be the one that’s pouring out; I’m going to be the one that’s giving, I’m going to be that vessel. Maybe that’s more a statement of control to prevent being out of control. You know what I’m saying? Did that make any sense?
(Don) No, I do, well if you’re in control then God’s not. Ok? So it is your purpose, your journey, you have your agenda, you have all ready set all of that forward, then you miss the best of what God would have for you on that journey.
(J) I agree, hmhmm.
(M) Well, it reminds me that when I began to go out to the nations, the Lord gave me Song of Solomon seven, at the end of the book where the maiden says to Him, “I belong to my beloved, and His desire is for me. Come my beloved, let’s go to the field, let’s spend the night among the henna blossoms. Let’s go early to the vineyard to see if the vine has budded and the blossoms opened. There I will give you my love.” And I was talking to a young woman going to join YWAM, and I said to her, you are going to the mission field, not for a project, but you are going there to love Him, there.
(J) Yes.
(M) And every time I’ve gone out, but when I’m praying to get ready, He always says, “You are going to Spain to love Me there.”
(J) Yes. Yes.
(M) And so not only does our journey include love for others, it really is about loving Him.
(J) That’s right.
(M) And letting His love, love you. And “there I will give you My love.” And I said to her, wherever you go, whatever nation you go to, past your training, you are going there to love Him. And He’s, He’s captured her, and she’s in love with Him. And, but that’s, that is really the mission. It’s not just to take His love, or even to receive His love from others. It is to love Him through the journey, to love Him everywhere.
(J) I’ve seen you say that; I’ve heard you say that, and I’ve watched that. And I’ve never seen it as clear as I’m seeing it right now; what you’re saying. I’ve so heard you say I’ve been called to love Him out there in the nations, and now I completely see. It was, it’s so all encompassing. It’s, I’m gonna love Him… You’re like a ground zero of His love. I’m gonna love Him, He’s gonna love me, and He’s gonna bring His love forth from me, and you just literally become like a ‘contagion’ of love.
(M) Yes.
(J) A virus so to speak, or a whatever, you know?
(Carole) And that morning for me, as I’m looking back from what you’re saying, for me, He was speaking to me to love Him in that moment when I was alone in the cabin praying for you. That was what His call was, to love Him at that moment, and, and listen for the purpose. Listen for what He wanted, He wanted in that moment, at home, silent, no people, just He and me.
(M) So the vision really is, “Lord, what do You want, I want You to have whatever You want.” It’s not about what do the people need…
(J) Hmhmm.
(M) …”what do, what should I do, what should I speak; it’s what is Your pleasure, because I want You to have Your pleasure.” And….
(Carole) Yesterday as we were on the journey we went into a little store, and just looking at some native art here in Alaska. And as we’re browsing and looking at it and admiring different articles, I picked up these little cards. And the essence of the cards, they were just precious. On every card was a drawing, kind of an abstract drawing, colorful abstract drawing of a woman. And every card, on the front, began with, “One day, I decided to…. forgive myself.” “One day I decided to love myself.” “One day…” And there were different, ah, decisions. But that was part of my journey, because it was the Lord. He was speaking through those cards. That was a discovery I made yesterday on my, on my journey, that He had prepared for me to find.
(M) And it had to do with vision.
(Carole) Yes.
(M) The “panoramic” vision, even included that. “One day…” One of them was, ah, “One day I decided I was a hero all along.” I got that for someone I know is a hero. And I have decided to… “One day I decided to decorate myself.” They weren’t particularly selfish at all, they were just a bigger vision of even myself, and a bigger vision of what was possible. I decided things that seemed impossible yesterday.
(Carole) And Martha, you have told us that everything begins with decision, everything. And, and it was an empowering of, of the decision. It was an empowering of my own decision. Wow! I can really just quit ‘wringing my hands’ over this thing? I can quit trying to forgive myself? You mean I can just say, “Lord, today, I decide to forgive myself, because You have already done that work.” Anyway, it was, it was all part of the adventure and journey of the mission. John, you’re right, it is a mind-set, it is a heart-set, it is a mind-set; it is the place that we choose to see from; perspective.
(J) Well, I had a deep encounter with the Lord yesterday morning of repentance, because I saw that a lot of my physical ailments, and a lot of the limiting factors in my life, physically, have been because I have chafed against the love of God and prevented that love from coming forth. And it is literally been ‘pushed out’ of me, and it’s kind of like a birthing. It’s like the ‘baby’, the Personhood of Christ was going to come forth in love, and my chaffing against that was kind of like a birthing process and it was the ripping, was my resistance to letting it come out. And ah, I just, I, it’s horrible, but you were saying that it was the process.
(M) Well what happened in the meetings was that He came to you in love. Love was all over you for a newborn baby.
(J) Hmhmm.
(M) And you, you were speaking to that eleven week old little boy, and he wasn’t even able to hold up his head, but when you spoke to him in this enormous love it melted all of us. He was staring straight at you with his mouth open, with a steady gaze for a, much longer than he was capable of doing. So love came through you, and love came through you for a couple of other people in such a powerful way. And, and it was, there was a response of love that came. And I think you, I think the Lord just as you said ‘pushed through’, and that’s why you have this revelation. Love is really scary.
(J) Its totally scary.
(M) And God’s love is so radical and jealous and melting that it takes courage to love.
(J) And so vulnerable.
(M) That’s it. If it’s not vulnerable it’s not love. It’s completely… It’s like wearing your heart on the outside of your body, and anybody can shred it. But I’m going to go back to the statement He gave me. “Love either takes you over or it won’t have you.”
(J) Well, what I saw in that, you know, anybody who’s heard my testimony knows that I had a kind of a ‘Paul’ encounter with the Lord where He came in and gave me a blinding light and said, “You’re either going to live for Me or I’m going to ‘take you out’”. Well, all of a sudden yesterday when we were driving we were thinking about doing the podcast, and we started doing it, but we couldn’t do it because of the, the road. I saw that God’s statement really could evolve and really was, ‘love either takes you over or takes you out’. And that’s kind of what He was saying, “You’re either going to live for love, or I’ll take you out.” It was all about love.
(M) I don’t think any of us know that love is the beginning, the end, and the middle when we begin with the Lord. I don’t think we get it. The mission journey is the discovery experience and willingness to love, and the challenge to love Him with everything. See, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” That is letting love take you over; it’s loving Him in every, every area.
(J) And some of us remain controlled, speaking of myself, remain controlled and curb that love because of fear.
(M) The fear leads to unbelief.
(J) Umhmm.
(M) And ah, but He solves it, that’s the journey. He cracks open those walls. Everybody has them. I asked you all yesterday, if you could answer the question why do people resist love? What did you all say?
(Carole) To protect, to protect ourselves.
(J) Umhmm, save our life, that’s what I…
(Don) I think I said because we’re selfish.
(J) That, that is what you said, hmhmm.
(M) Yeah.
(Don) We’re selfish.
(M) Meaning we don’t want to give love.
(Don) He is, He is such a, He is such an example of love to us. And yet even through that example, look how selfish we can be. Just, man…
(Carole) Well I went back this morning as I was thinking about this, to John 3:16, because we only love because He loved us first. As He takes you into that love you start seeing scripture in totally…
(J) Absolutely.
(Carole) …different light. And Jn.3:16 that we kind of spout off as the beginning and the end of, what, evangelism or whatever, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” He did not come into the world to condemn us. And that was brand new to me this morning, in a new light. All of this, all of this journey, even, even His declaration to me that my life is a mission journey, is because “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son”.
(J) And I said, “No greater love”, what’s the complete scripture?
(M) “Love has…” let’s see, “Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend.” Is that what you mean?
(J) And so, see you have to… In order to love you have to lay down your life. And that’s, that has been the chastening back upon my body is that ah, I’ve resisted the love. But He says lay down your life in love, and where I have not done that my body has, has literally…
(M) Tensed up.
(J) Constricted.
(Carole) John is it laying down your life really to receive His love?
(J) Yeah, it’s, it’s both to receive and to give and to be a vessel of it.
