Podcast: Download (8.8MB)
Subscribe: RSS
Podcast (podcast-mp3): Download (6.4MB)
Subscribe: RSS
Preparation of The Bride for King Jesus
Episode #708
06/28/2020
With Martha Kilpatrick and hosted by John Enslow
Special Guest: Joan Wentzel
This the continuation of a series of podcasts started in Episode #706
The Lord has a deep meaning behind all things. It relates to the Bride and the Jesus, our Bridegroom. It is a life of adventure where our life can be absolutely fascinating.
John:
So even looking at, at Rachel and seeing that, see that’s all a part of the preparation. That’s all the pointing towards the ultimate fulfillment.
Martha:
Hu huh.
John:
It’s saying, “This is how I’m going to do it.” So you can go back in the OT, you can go all the way through the, the OT and NT it’s all pointing, “Hey, this is where we’re going with this.”
Martha:
That was a shock to me when I began to look at the Bible as the story of the bride and the King Jesus and the sitting on the throne. When I began, my life view became that. I could see the whole Book [Bible] is about this subject-the marriage of the Lamb, the preparation of the bride, the ruling and reigning; those who made it and those who didn’t make it; those who ruled in this life; not domination, that’s evil; not control, not intimidation but service. And when…The, the actual ruling and reigning is through the common service. I read Oswald today in his devotional and he made the statement “Jesus’ life was made up for menial tasks.”
And the scripture says, “When He come, when He returns, is He going to find people working and serving or are they going to be beating their fellow slaves and are we going to find them preparing food when it was needed for others?”
So it’s not that you go out and radically serve. It’s where God takes you. What situation He puts you in you have to become a servant. And the irony is the Apostle Paul, all that he suffered, unbelievable experiences, shipwreck, bitten by a snake, left for dead, beaten countless times but the Apostle was the servant of all. He was the highest authority position but he was a servant of everybody. And so if you want to be great in the Kingdom just be the least.
But it’s, it’s written down. It’s all formulated and it’s all possible. That’s what’s so amazing. This incomprehensible picture of, of the bride in Christ seated together on the throne at the right hand of God ruling the nations, judging. And, and we’re going to be on this earth doing that. The, the kingdoms will be on this earth in that day in the millennium.
Joan:
Well, and like John said in his post it’s a privilege and a blessing but the responsibility is not to serve the people, not to serve the circumstances, but to serves the God of the circumstances and of people. What does He want? It’s extending Christ’s rule not my rule, not my thoughts, not even my service but what does He want and serving Him, loving Him in it and serving Him. Not, not the whole situation but Him. And that way His government comes into the situation. He brings His rule into it. But our willingness to say, “What it is You want here?”
John:
That’s what I was going to say is I was going to say in the post I basically said the qualifier of all of this is the will of God. That’s the grand equalizer. Everything…You know, it’s amazing to me that He says, “Who’s My family?” Well, it’s those who do the will of God. “This is My mother, this is my brother, sister. These are them who do the will of God. They are My family.” And, and the same thing it’s, it’s all under the will of God. You’re not going and dictating. You’re not going and saying, “Ok, well, I’m going to reign and rule and I’m going to make this happen because I want this happen because it will make me happy.”
No, Joseph obviously was, was given the, the point that he didn’t know what was best because he would have taken himself out of prison. That wasn’t best. But he submitted.
David had to submit. All of them had to submit to God’s will…
Martha:
Uh huh.
John:
…ultimately. Ok, even Christ. “Not My will but Yours be done.” And that, that is the, the mandate, the requirement.
Martha:
The requirement.
John:
Yeah, the requirement and the goal and the, and the program. The program is the will of God period. And His will bringing His will to earth as it is in heaven down to earth. That is reigning and ruling. That is bringing His reign and rule here through me, through you, through us.
Martha:
In the last few months I’ve been in Psalm 119 and I’ve marked every place, this is the word love is mentioned. And I, I became astonished that whoever wrote Psalm 119 was absolutely in love with the will of God. The passion for God’s will was in that Psalm. And that’s what happens to you if you do His will. If you begin to do His will, obey what you hear, what you think, even, is His will, you, you, move on it and obey it, you will discover the secrets of the kingdom. He will share with you the wisdom of the ages and the riches more precious than gold and silver is wisdom.
But if once you tap into the will of God specifically for you alone, just between you and God, you find the, the ways of God and the adventure of your life absolutely fascinating. There’s fulfillment in obeying His will for you as a human. You’re wired for an adventure. You don’t like boredom. You want to, you want to move. Now He doesn’t always let you move when you want to but the point I’m trying to make is you, you discover the absolute fascination and of the wealth of His thinking and His knowing and His wisdom and you have a perfect guide with you, dwelling within you. You have a councilor within you, the Holy Spirit.
So there is no…You don’t want to get there and realize what you’ve missed for a donut or a piece of candy or a something selfish that you, that you lived for this world. You don’t want to get there. That would be unbearable.
And, and in Psalm 119 it talks about His commandments but you change that word to His will. His will is His commandments personally to you. And…But it’s, it’s the greatest adventure there could possibly be. He will allow you to be with and meet people who are wonderful and people who are terrible. He will give you both…
John:
Both. Absolutely both.
Martha:
You can both, you know, have both. Paul warns over and over again, “Watch out, the false prophet will arise from your own midst and that you didn’t even know.” So you learn from that and you overcome that and you win that person to Christ and you have won.
So it’s, it’s an adventure. The only, it’s the only adventure worth following, dying for, investing in, receiving. It’s all about receiving the abundance of grace. And grace means power to live it. You’ll be given the power to live through whatever He asked of you. And He will give you all the support that you could possibly imagine.
So the real living out of this is what I want to convey a little bit that, that it’s much easier to do, to go for the prize of the king than it is to live a good productive even ministering life that amounts to nothing. And that’s what the church is full of today. We are, we are, we are enamored with the world and the world has captured us. But there’s, there’s a rising and I believe in the current awakening. I believe in it fully. There is a rising up of passion to know God. Do you think, is that right?
John:
Well, you had a lady, a precious sister that, that follows us and she’s just really special. She called the other day and she was saying that…She’s from Arkansas. She, she said that she remembers you saying that, you know, your prayer that you said, “God, you have to shut all the thoughts that are the enemy and thoughts, shut all my thoughts because I’m going to do what I hear.” And I love that. I love that. And basically you’re going in faith that He is going to do it. And that’s what you’ve done. You’ve committed to do His will. You’ve committed to be obedient. And, and then you said, “Ok, just make sure I hear Your voice. You’re my shepherd make sure I hear Your voice.”
Martha:
Thank you, John. That’s many, many, many years ago…
John:
It is.
Martha:
…and it’s nice to remember it because I remember what He would tell me to do. In the beginning it was very simple. “I want you to go down to the little café for lunch.” I went, “Ok.” So I went. Ordered my lunch. A man sitting next to me…I had on a cross and it happened to be Christ on the cross. A little silver thing. He said, “Does that mean something to you? Does that really have meaning to you?” I said, “Oh, yes.” And I don’t remember now what I told him but I was…God took me there for that man. And I couldn’t have orchestrated such an event if I had tried all day. I don’t know what happened. Perhaps very little. Perhaps a lot. But I just told him I was born again, you know.
And then another time He said, “Go look in the back of your car.” And I don’t remember why I didn’t want to do it but I thought, “Oh, I don’t…I have to get up and put on shoes and…” But that was my leading so I went. I went to back seat and there was a little present. And I opened it and it was from someone very sweet and I called her and she said, “Oh, Martha, I thought you were hurt that I gave you a present. I thought you were mad at me.” And I…It had been there several days and I hadn’t noticed it. But God wanted that, that person to be comforted and, and to be, to know that she was not rejected. “Oh, my goodness, no I loved it. Of course not. I’m just so sorry I didn’t see it.” And she just had this big sigh of relief that she thought she was rejected and I was offended with her. You know how we can do. I can do that. I can make up a whole world of truth, of untruth and believe it to be true. So…And it is the adventure.
John:
But it’s also this, this is the amazing part of it. Those two examples are part of reigning and ruling because you were being trained to reign and rule and it does start in the small thing. Don’t, don’t despise the days of small beginnings because there’s something so grand ahead but He has to train you small. You don’t immediately go and become the president, you know. That’s not it.
Martha:
No.
John:
You start small. You start with the momentary little things “Go to you car. Go to this restaurant.” He’s training us.
Martha:
Uh huh.
John:
That’s how He’s reigning and ruling. He was training you to reign and rule.
Martha:
And in the, in the midst of it He was using me…
John:
Absolutely.
Martha:
…to somehow touch others. I couldn’t, you know, I’d love to touch people but I couldn’t orchestrate that. Only He did.
So He will put you in the right place at the right time with, with enormous result if you live that life. And James say, “Don’t look in the mirror and forget who you are. Be a doer of the word not just a hearer.”
Preparation of The Bride for King Jesus – Episode #708 – Shulamite Podcast
There is a purpose for all that happens and is happening. This is such incredible news, especially as we live in times of seeming uncertainty. So what is the purpose? The Whole of Human history is about the preparation of the Bride for the King Jesus, our Bridegroom. This not only makes things tolerable, but infuses them with deep meaning.
