Experiencing Joy in the Midst of Warfare – Episode #554

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Experiencing Joy in the Midst of Warfare
Episode #554
July 16, 2017

With Martha Kilpatrick and hosted by John Enslow
Special Guest: Carole Nelson and Jennifer Wentzel

This is the continuation of a series of Podcasts started in Episode #553.
Regardless of circumstance, victory is our reality. Do you know the joy of the Lord that comes when you hold onto His reality despite the enemy’s onslaught?

(Martha) Most of the book on forgiveness has been written for some time. I’d say I thought it was nearly finished, but it wasn’t, because when I began to work on it, it took a different turn. And it’s fascinating, because it’s not so much about forgiving as it is to convince you that you are forgiven by what happened on the cross. And the emphasis is more on what Jesus did, so that we can know what we have and receive the forgiveness, so that it’s simple to forgive and be forgiven and live in it. But that has been amazing to me. It’s absolutely… He said to me, “Begin with the cross,” and originally the book did not begin with the cross. I started writing it probably ten years ago. It didn’t begin with the cross. But when He put me on that, “Begin with the cross,” that’s when the riches of what Christ did on the cross began to be revealed. And so, it’s not like, I don’t think it’s like any other book I know about forgiveness. Jennifer says it isn’t and John says it isn’t. It’s some really amazing insights.
(Carole) I just know as Martha would share chapters with us that there is such a powerful anointing of the Spirit on the words, on the sentences, on the phrases that they really carry you to a whole new place, to a whole new realm. They carry you to Him. They carry you to a revelation of who He really is, discarding all the… oh, stripping away all the garbage of what I have seen through my own grid. And all that drops off as it carries us to Him, who He really is and what He has really done, and what He’s really accomplished. It’s just, it’s just been an amazing thing to watch, because when the resurrection began, and I feel like there has been a time of being in such a grave for a fairly long period of time. When the resurrection began, WOW, the Spirit just began to flow. Oh, I wish you’d tell that story about the trees.
(Martha) I just thought of it, Carole. I’d love to tell it, because I feel like that was an epiphany, and I wrote about it in a post.
(Jennifer) The year-end letter.
(Martha) The year-end letter in a post I wrote about it. I was driving in the mountains in the dead of winter, and the trees were like black skeletons against the sky. But it was probably March and I realized looking at that, they looked dead, absolutely dead, no fruit, no leaves, no green. And I realized the most powerful action was taking place inside them, because the sap was going to begin drawing from the earth the nutrients, run up that tree in some mysterious way that I don’t even know how. And pretty soon the mountains would be green. And I told about it, but it was like the Lord showed me that to say, “Be patient with the black skeleton that you are.” There is a whole lot going on even inside of me when I didn’t feel it. And that’s the truth. “My Father’s working and I’m always working.” So that was kind of the vision He gave me, and I hope I never get over it, because it just gave me hope that there was a lot going on of life rising, resurrection life rising. And my whole health has just turned around amazingly. And probably isn’t consequential, but I had asked the pastor and assistant pastor of the Methodist Church where I’m involved, I asked them to anoint me with oil, and they did. And I’ve been significantly better. My daughter called me and said, “Mom,” and I know she had gotten this in prayer, “Take your vitamins.” Very simple. And when I don’t feel well, I don’t take my vitamins, and I don’t have the appetite I need to. But I started taking the vitamins. And between those two healings I’m just a different person. Am I not? It’s incredible. I have written some days six and eight hours a day. Writing is such hard work. It’s not that it’s hard to get it, but it’s intense. And it takes all of the energy you have to focus and get it into words. So, it’s been a resurrection time. I’m glad you mentioned that. It was obviously the Lord that wanted me to share that.
(John) Writing is literally like you’re being squeezed out, like it’s, yeah, it’s a birthing, and it’s a pressing, like the oil out of the olives. It’s just, you’re being just crushed and the oil comes forth.
(Martha) That reminds me of Oswald Chambers talking about this. “Pressed out wine and broken bread.” And it really is a breaking and a crushing. And it’s wonderful, I love it, and you do too. But it is intense, and it takes a lot of prayer to keep it, to keep the unction of the Spirit.
(John) Writing on the blog, it’s not like, you know, I just sit down and say “la la” and write it down. No, no, I’m, you know, pressed like a, you know, a wine press or olive press. You’re being squeezed to get that out of you. I mean, anybody can write their opinion, but if you’re going to bring something of the Spirit to come out of you it’s just a pressing. And then the anointed words come.
(Martha) Well, it’s like I was at a meeting and someone said, “How did you get this book?” (pointing to Adoration) “How did you discover that?” And I went, “I lived it.” And so, anything written that has life in it has to come from your experience in life. And the Holy Spirit… And Sparks writes about this. The Holy Spirit uses the messenger when He wants to give a message. And so, it’s like, it is like your very being is pressed to express. And it’s a wonderful privilege and a wonderful thing, but it is… You’ve described it well.
(John) Well, I can tell you that your book on forgiveness is… I thought I knew what forgiveness was, and I thought I understood what it was for basically. And you’ve literally, you came down one morning, and you exploded my thoughts about it. You literally exploded the way I look at it, the way I see it, the way I understand it, the way I view it. You exploded it. And, you know, I will never see it the same way. I’ll never see forgiveness the same way. So, if this momentary light affliction that we’re experiencing is kind of what we have to go through, then it’s worth it all, because it is a way to glory that will come out of all of this. It will come out of the books, and it will come out of the conference. And so, we really, we’re begging you for your prayers for this season, really for the conference and for these two books. It’s not over until it’s over, and we don’t have it submitted yet, but we are in the process of. But timing wise, you know, that’s got to fall all into place to be able to get it in time. And we print it from up north and bring it down. So, it’s going to take a while to get all this situated. So, we’re asking for your prayers. And if you didn’t know about the conference, and you would like to come to the conference, I’ll put a link in the transcript down below (“The Road That Leads to Life”). And we invite you. We would love to have you come, and we would love to have you enjoy this. It’s going to be a time of fellowship. It’s going to be a rejoicing time. It’s going to be a wonderful, amazing message.
(Martha) And He’s already given me… It’s like I go from the conference to the book, to the book and back and forth. Right now I’m on the forgiveness, and the discipleship book is finished. But I have just lots of material for the conference already. I’m not the slightest agitated about it, because it will be… And see every, also every warfare thing we go through, above it is God’s purpose, and God’s purpose is our overcoming. And so, when we overcome, we get the reward that was trying to be taken from us by the enemy. So, all of it is very exciting, very challenging, and we’ve just had a lot of joy about it. There have been times when it was just work, but it’s not that way now. The resurrection life is full. As you said, Jennifer, working with joy, the power and strength of joy. “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” And so, we’re experiencing His joy in giving this out. And I’m so aware it’s not given to me for me. It’s not at all given… It’s given for you, given for those He has chosen to give it to. So…
(Jennifer) In addition to asking everyone to keep praying for us, I want to thank all the people who are praying, because maybe the reason that this whole process is speeding up in terms of getting hit on the head and then being brought back into health and wealth and happiness is because of the power of prayer that we’re feeling. That, you know, we’re being buoyed in a very substantial way as we move through this. And that is so crucial, you know, because yes, we’re getting hit. We’re getting hit a lot. Seriously it’s an anthill we stepped on. That’s what it feels like…hahahaha… That’s partly sad laughter. But it is not stopping anything. Nothing is stopped. And the distractions, though they are annoying, super annoying, they’re not stopping anything.
(Martha) And so many times they have a purpose. One of them for me is to not get into distractions. That’s the purpose of distractions for me right now, and not getting sidetracked. And the other is to give us an overcoming. So, it’s just all a victory and all joy in the end. And I’m learning so much to spot the devil. I haven’t been very good at spotting the devil. If I wake up, and I’m a little bit weary and don’t want to face the day or… And it can be mild. And you think, “That’s not going to get me down. I can just plod on through that.” No, then I say, “That’s the enemy,” and I throw it off in Jesus’ Name. And then it’s gone. There’s so much subtlety. I’m catching on to the subtlety of the enemy. And that’s how subtle it is. If he hits you over the head, you know it’s the enemy. But if it’s just kind of a vague nothingness or a vague…
(Jennifer) Sapping, sapping of your life…
(Martha) Sapping and a distraction from where you want to go. I’m learning. I’m learning to destroy the works of the devil, because they were destroyed at the cross, and to throw it off and, “Get behind me, Satan!”

Experiencing Joy in the Midst of Warfare – Episode #553 – Shulamite Podcast

There is great joy in overcoming warfare and stepping into the victory of Jesus! Regardless of the circumstances, victory is our reality. Have you experienced the joy of the Lord that comes when you hold onto His reality in spite of the enemy’s onslaught?