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Watching God Be a Good Shepherd
Episode #607
7-22-2018
With Martha Kilpatrick and hosted by John Enslow
This is the continuation of a series of Podcasts started in Episode #605.
In times of trouble or difficulty, whether it’s personal or that of a loved one, are we looking at God? Are we watching the Good Shepherd love His sheep?
Martha:
One of the things I told was that repentance takes you to the knowledge of God. And at this time we are… There is so much repentance going on. It’s so intense and beautiful and cleansing and I feel like He’s beginning with His house first. He’s cleaning and cleansing His House and that’s… I believe if we knew what was going on in the realm of the Spirit’s rule that we would be astonished at the repentance that’s going on. I’m… I believe it’s very intense visitation of the Spirit to prepare us for His coming and for the times preceding His coming.
John:
I love what you say in The Coming One: It’s not what is coming, it’s Who.
Martha:
And the Who! Everything… I didn’t say this in the tape but I can say it here, that everything, you say everything is God, everything is about who, not what, not when. I’m not interested so much in when. We don’t know when, but we can know Who. And the question in every situation is “Who are You?” I just spoke with someone about a very bad situation and I said, “But we don’t know His mind. We need to stop and ask His view, His word, His insight about this situation and then we’ll know how to proceed. Then we’ll know how to pray.” But listening has to come first. And I believe that everybody would agree that the earth is groaning and the earth is trembling and breaking. The volcanoes in Hawaii! I read that there was a volcano becoming active in New England. I don’t know anything about that.
John:
I don’t know either.
Martha:
And the storms of last year, the tornados were… I watched the damage. This was from a Christian site talking about the increase of catastrophe is phenomenal. It was phenomenal five years ago. Much more now! And the devastation of those tornados in last year was incredible. We’ve got to be walking so intimately with Him that we will be in the right place at the right time and in His will, kept by Him in His will. I am about to write… People that are our close…about this and if I get an anointing, I will do a Message of the Month on that, too, because I believe it. I believe the earth is groaning to see the manifestation of the Sons of God.
John:
Someone asked me yesterday, they said, “When you are having to witness someone go through sickness, illness, the Lord’s hand of trials where He’s kind of making way for Himself and clearing out the decks which is always painful, how are we to respond? How are we to deal with it, and, as a witness of that work?”
Martha:
And you would be the expert on that!
John:
Well I’m currently going through it and I told her that. I said, “Yeah, I literally am in that right now.” And if I go back to what we originally started this podcast with, is that it is our determined purpose to know Him and if we know that that is the purpose, and if we look to Him to be the purpose in that, if we thank Him for revealing Himself, and clearing the deck so He can reveal Himself, I think that that’s the biggest thing. I know that when you are in the middle of it, when you are in the throes of it you can get into fear, you can get into heartache; you can get your feelings hurt. And you can…
Martha:
You can get hurt with God at times.
John:
Yeah!
Martha:
That’s what you meant.
John:
Yeah. Um hmm. But He, if He is revealing Himself in every single situation, then you are laying your trust and your faith in that and you are laying your trust and faith in Him, and that faith brings Him pleasure; not my endurance, not my determined to survive it…
Martha:
Goodness!
John:
Or my goodness. It’s literally to determine to know Him.
Martha:
You have a blog that’s out today. What is the date today? 3rd July?
John:
Yeah.
Martha:
And it’s talking about serving another person and you have come to know Him by watching me suffer and serving the Lord for me. You, but your reward is you see Him.
John:
I am unable to do anything in the situation. I’ve been unable, I’ve been, you know, I’ve had the ability to listen and do what He says, you know. I’ve had the ability to watch but what I’ve really watched is Him minister to You.
Martha:
Really? Oh, my goodness!
John:
Because that’s all there’s been.
Martha:
Um hmm.
John:
I would have frustration with it because I’m saying, “Ok, what are You doing. Why are You not moving You’re…” It’s been aggregating, but I’ve watched Him. He said, “I need you to grab this and this and this for me.”
Martha:
At the store?
John:
At the store. And then I came and brought it and then it was perfect. It was utterly perfect.
Martha:
So you’re knowing Him on your side and you are watching Him on my side. So you are getting to know Him. You are getting rich.
John:
I am getting rich but it is not without…it is costly. It is not without pain.
Martha:
It’s harder! I know that experience. It’s, it is more painful to watch someone suffer and be unable to do anything than to suffer yourself.
John:
I think the biggest thing would be as to determine, have my determined purpose to know Him but also to hear Him, because I have to hear Him about you. I have to hear Him about how I am to respond.
Martha:
Well, when I injured my eye, which I tell about in the tape, I was going to let it be and you took one look at it and you said, “No, this is just hideous.”
John:
Absolutely not!
Martha:
“Absolutely not.” I probably would have gotten in real big trouble…
John:
Yeah, it would’ve been bad.
Martha:
…if you hadn’t heard God because we wait to hear God about doctors and so I knew that you had heard.
John:
And we had talked about that on the blog, actually. About, you know, about health and health crisis and health, being your health care, you know or Him being your health care. And…
Martha:
You have let Him be, too, John. You let Him be the source of who you are in this situation with me. You’ve had, and I recognize Him in your indwelling, His indwelling in you. Your subject of life is Christ in me the hope of glory.
John:
Um hmm.
Martha:
And He is manifesting through you that you don’t even realize. It’s so natural. I’m watching Him as a servant. I’m watching Him as a friend. He is my friend in you. He is my leader in you. He is, He is… I’m watching His servant hood in you. And then there’s the obvious, you know, manifestation of that. You drive me to where I need to be and see that I have nutrition and you do…you and the people around us.
John:
So I would say that the answer to how to respond in that is to get out of the way and let Him be. Because I can’t determine how He’ll manifest or what He’ll do or how He’ll live that life, you know?
Martha:
You can’t guess.
John:
I can’t. If I guess and if I…it’s going to be goodness, it’s going to be focus on you, it’s going to be, you know… Though I’m a shepherd, though I live as a shepherd, though I was trained as a shepherd with sheep and goats, and though I shepherd you, I’m aware.
Martha:
As you were with them.
John:
With them, yeah. But I’m aware listening, not aware knowing.
Martha:
And you’re not hovering and you’re not, and you’re not taking over. You’re just quietly watching and considering. You’re not exerting yourself so that it’s “JOHN.”
John:
That wouldn’t serve you at all. Actually it’d be detrimental.
Martha:
It’s just amazing what God is doing here. He’s revealing His Fatherhood to a number of us.
Watching God Be a Good Shepherd – Episode #607 – Shulamite Podcast
In times of trouble or difficulty, whether it’s personal or that of a loved one, are we looking at God? Are we watching the Good Shepherd love His sheep? There’s no harder time to raise our eyes but we will be made rich beyond compare if we do so!
Thank you both for such comforting words of wisdom and insight.
I think so often we find ourselves, when caring for those who are suffering, trying to make sure they know they matter to us. We don’t want to hurt feelings. We don’t want to seem heartless or uncaring. We don’t want them to feel alone in their suffering. We want to be seen as an excellent care giver.
Chambers said, “…if you try to prevent the suffering in another life, it will prove an obstruction between your soul and God.” (My Utmost for His Highest, Jan. 30)
His words keep me more on my knees on behalf of others and less in their face.
I am grateful for the way God reinforces these words through the both of you – who are so dear to me.
Love!
WOW, what a comment from Oswald. I will have to stare at that one for a while. Bless you and love you Tammy! Thank you for being family!!