PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | EPISODE 168: LIFE TO THE FULL, Part 3
LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell
EPISODE 168 – LIFE TO THE FULL, Part 3
How can you be FILLED with joy, peace, hope, and all the fruits of the Spirit? Find out how we can make this work in the nitty gritty of everyday life.
Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, LIFE TO THE FULL, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.
Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. We are currently on our third session of this series, which is called, “LIFE TO THE FULL.”
I’m also changing the name of this podcast, which was From Our Home to Yours. But I feel to change it, because I think I don’t really speak about everything I’m doing in the home all the time. I’m speaking more about the life that God wants us to live in our homes, and it is LIFE TO THE FULL. We’re going to be learning more about it today. So, everything’s the same, only just the name change, LIFE TO THE FULL with Nancy Campbell.
So glad you are here and listening. We do need the encouragement of one another, don’t we? It’s so important. I remember when I was raising our children. I think one of the greatest blessings was the fact of having fellowship with other mothers.
I always had a Bible study in my home and would invite other mothers in with all their little children and babies. We always had more children than mothers. Often the children would wreck my house, but it was still worth it, because we could have fellowship together.
I think, mothers, one of the biggest things, the hardest thing, I think, for mothers, is being in your home and not having fellowship with anyone else. But when you can get with other mothers, it’s so great.
So, we would go through a mother’s Bible study together and we would encourage one another. We’d laugh with one another. We’d cry with one another. We’d pray for one another. And then we’d always eat together and have fellowship lunch together.
We did the togethering, just like God wants us to do togethering. That’s the whole lifestyle of the early church. It’s God’s plan for His people, to be a togethering people. That’s why He says, “Don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together.” It’s a togethering lifestyle. We will grow so much more in our faith as we come together.
So, if you’re feeling rather lonely, and you know, you don’t seem to have anyone to fellowship with, look out for another young mother. Look out for one at church, or maybe someone. Invite them to your home. Invite them to lunch. Enjoy this time together, and then, you may even decide you’d love to do a Bible study together.
A lot of people love to use my manual, The Power of Motherhood. It’s a great Bible study for mothers. It takes you into the Word of God to see what God says about being a mother. Not what the world says, but what God says. And He has so much to say.
This manual has questions at the end of each chapter, which you can do personally. Or you can get some other mothers do it with you, and you can chat about it, and do it together. In fact, it can take quite a long time to get through this book, because there’s so much there, and so many Scriptures. You may even like to choose the chapters that you want to do. But anyway, that’s something you may love to do.
Now, we are currently on our third session of “LIFE TO THE FULL.” We began, starting with Genesis, about how God wants us to be fruitful, multiply, and fill—fill our homes and fill the earth. But now we’re moving on to see also, how God wants us to be filled with so much! Oh, we talked about how He wants to fill our homes with His presence and His glory, how He wants to fill us with the Holy Spirit.
And then we talked about being filled with joy. We didn’t quite finish that, and I’d like to give you a few more Scriptures about being filled with joy. Because when we read about joy in the Bible, there are so many Scriptures that don’t only talk about joy, they talk about being FILLED with joy.
Let’s go to John 15:11. Jesus is speaking, and He says: “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” There it is ladies. Not a little bit of joy but FILLED with joy.
Now, the only way we can truly be filled with joy is, we have the joy of Jesus in us. Because what did He say? “My joy. That My joy may abide in you. When My joy is in you, your joy will be full!” Isn’t that good? Yes.
When we only have our joy, we are dependent on our circumstances. If they’re not going too well, we’re not going to be very joyful, are we? And that can happen so many times in life, because life isn’t perfect. Life doesn’t always go just the way we want. Therefore, we’ve got to get Jesus' joy, His joy in us.
And, if we’re born again by His Spirit, we have His joy. Because when He comes into our lives, He doesn’t leave His joy out, or any of His other beautiful attributes out. He comes as who He is. And so, we can be filled with His joy.
Let’s go to Acts 2:28. This is when Peter was preaching on the day of Pentecost, and he says, in verse 28: “Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; Thou shalt make me full of joy with Thy countenance.”
Once again, how do we get full of joy? As we’re looking at the face of Jesus. Look to Him. If we look to our circumstances, look to what’s happening, look to what’s happening around this world at the moment, and in our nation, and how they’re trying to lock us down again, all these negative things happening, well, it doesn’t give us a lot of sources for joy.
But you see, our joy comes, not from looking at our circumstances, it comes from looking at the face of Jesus, at His countenance, His presence. This is when we’ll be filled with joy. Are you getting the picture?
Let’s go to 1 Peter 1:8. Peter is writing here to the saints, actually to the strangers scattered through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, way out, to all these places. Do you know where they were? They were way out in Turkey. In fact, Cappadocia is a way out in the middle of Turkey. I have been blessed to visit Cappadocia.
Colin and I used to take tours to Israel. And then we would also take our people to another country as well. So, one year, we did Israel, and then we went to Turkey. We visited the sites of where the seven churches of Revelation were located. That was just the most wonderful experience.
And then we went right out into the middle of Turkey, to Cappadocia. Oh, it was like visiting the moon! It was like visiting a whole other world because this whole place was filled with these cone-like structures. They were just so amazing. You cannot even think them up in your brain! Maybe if you went to the internet and put in Cappadocia, they would most probably show you some of these most amazing shapes.
People lived in these places, and they also had underground cities where they lived. This was a place where many of the Christians fled to in the times of persecution. They were living underground. So, it’s an amazing place, out there in Cappadocia. It was such a privilege to go out and see it.
So, Peter is writing to these people in these different places. He says, talking about Jesus: “Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Wow! Isn’t this amazing?
The Bible doesn’t just talk about, “Oh, well, you’d better have joy.” And it’s just a bit of joy. You’re half-filled with joy. Or maybe, you may be, perhaps, two-thirds filled with joy. No! It talks about being filled with joy! FILED WITH JOY. “Joy unspeakable, and full of glory.”
Sometimes, when we read these words, we realize that we’re really not living the true Bible lifestyle. We’ve got to come up, come up from all our doldrums and self-pity, and our grumblings and groanings, and let’s get with it! Let’s get into the real lifestyle that God talks about in His Word!
My, no wonder we don’t draw people into the Kingdom of God! We’re not living the Kingdom of God lifestyle which is a lifestyle that is filled with joy.
All right, let’s go to 1 John 1:4: “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” There it is again!
Let me take you to one more. Luke 6:22-23. Jesus is speaking again here. He said: “Blessed, (happy) are you, when men shall hate you.” Wow! You wouldn’t expect us to be happy when people hate us, would we? But this is what Jesus said: “And when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.”
So, here it talks about leaping with joy. It’s not leaping with joy when everything is going great, when you’re having a great time! Wow, everything’s fantastic! So, you can leap for joy!
No, this is leaping for joy when people hate you, when they separate you from their company. They don’t even want you. They think you’re crazy. They think you’re stupid. They don’t even like you! And they want to separate from you.
And when they reproach you, and when they call you evil, Jesus says: “Leap for joy!” Wow, have you ever tried that? That’s something different, isn’t it? Do you get it, ladies? The lifestyle that Jesus talks about in His Word is so foreign to the way we live. It’s the opposite to the way we live.
So, maybe, next time you’re having a little bit of persecution, or even family members are not very happy with you, you’re getting spoken about, or spoken to because you’re homeschooling, or maybe you’re having another baby . . . Well, what are you going to do? Get all upset? No! Try leaping for joy.
I have tried it. When you leap for joy, when you do an action, it has power over your whole body. It's amazing. It can change the way you feel, just through doing an action. And leaping is something that you do with excitement because it’s fun, it’s great, it’s wonderful! So, you can change your whole attitude by trying it out. Try it out. Leaping for joy. Amen?
No. 4. GOD WANTS US TO BE FILLED WITH PEACE
God want us to not only be filled with the Holy Spirit, not only be filled with joy, but He wants you and me to be filled with peace.
Let’s read Romans 15:13: “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
What an amazing Scripture! I love this Scripture. I have it memorized. I’d encourage you to memorize this Scripture. Here it says that we are to be filled with joy. We’ve talked about that. But also, to be filled with peace. So, God wants us not only to have peace, but to be FILLED with peace.
Yes, this is the lifestyle of the Kingdom of God. It’s not just scraping the barrel. It’s being filled, filled to overflowing! As it says in Philippians 4:7 that we will have “peace that passes all understanding.”
I love Isaiah 24:3, 4. This is also one of my favorite Scriptures, which I have memorized, and which I love to constantly say. It tells us here that, goodness me, I said I’ve got it memorized, and now I just go to say it to you and I’m forgetting how it starts. Isn’t that amazing?
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.” Don’t you love that? Oh, I have to go to that Scripture constantly.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace.” That’s a double word there. It means “peace, peace, perfect peace.” It’s a plural word. We will have perfect peace, peace that passes understanding, as we keep our minds fixed upon the Lord, looking to the Lord.
So, we forget looking at our circumstances and we put our eyes upon the Lord. Amen? That's how we are filled with peace. We will not be dependent on what’s happening around us because our eyes are upon Him. Amen?
No. 5. GOD WANTS US TO BE FILLED WITH HOPE
But this Scripture, Romans 15:13, speaks about another wonderful attribute, hope: “That ye may abound in hope.” Now it doesn’t say “filled with hope,” but it means the same. “May abound in hope.”
So, this is number five. The word “abound” is perissueo. This word, you often hear me talking about this word. It comes up so often. It’s one of the reasons I changed the name of my podcast to LIFE TO THE FULL because I’m often talking about this Greek word, which is often translated “abounding, exceeding, abundant.” This is what it means.
If you go to a lexicon or a concordance, you will see all these different English meanings for this one Greek word: “to superabound, in excess, abundance, enough and to spare, over and above, filled to overflowing.” So, God wants us to be filled to overflowing and abounding in hope.
Hope. What is hope? Hope is believing that God is going to do good things because He is a good God. Yes, there are so many Scriptures that we could read about God being a good God. But let me just go to 1 Peter 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope.” Well, that’s King James language. Most translations say: “to a living hope.” It’s alive! It’s active! “A living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
This hope means that we can trust God, that He is going to do good things. He is working everything out for good even if it doesn’t look good. Oh, it may look bleak! Terrible! No light, even at the end of the tunnel!
But we can put our trust in God because He has it all in control. He is always working everything out for good. I’m just thinking now, as I talk about this, of Joseph, one of my favorite stories in the Bible. We know of all that Joseph went through: how the young teen, of about 17, he was taken away, ripped away from his family and everything that he knew, taken to a strange country. But everywhere he went, God blessed him.
It was in Potiphar’s house. Even then, someone betrayed him, and he was thrown into prison. Then he was just left there. You know, goodness. I mean, most of us would have thought, “God’s finished with me. He has forgotten me. I mean, God doesn’t even know what’s happening to me! Here I am, languishing in prison, forgotten by my family, forgotten by everyone!”
But God was in control! And God was working everything out for good! Oh, I love that Scripture! Let’s see if I can find it. Oh yes, Genesis 50. This is the most incredible moment when Joseph is revealing himself to his brothers. Actually, this is after that. He’s already revealed himself to his brothers. His father has died now.
So, his brothers are scared. “Oh, goodness, our father has died. Now Joseph will really get back on us for all that we did to him in selling him down to Egypt.” But Joseph says to them, in Genesis 50:19: “And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”
God had allowed Joseph to suffer and go through this because there was a greater plan. He was going to be used to save his own family from famine. And the whole nation of Egypt, and many, many other nations around. It was a huge thing.
And also, God raised him up and promoted him. He became next to the Pharoah of Egypt. God was working it out for good. He always is because He is a good God. Amen! So, we’ve got to be filled with hope.
No. 6. GOD WANTS US TO BE FILLED WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS
God wants us to be filled with righteousness. Philippians 1:11 tells us that we are to be “filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Christ Jesus.” Well, we don’t have any of our own, do we?
I mean, all our good works, the Bible says, are as filthy rags. None of our good works will ever get us into heaven or ever get us salvation. It’s only through Jesus’ death upon the cross and through His precious blood that He shed for us.
You all know Ephesians, don’t you? Ephesians 2:8-9. Once again, a Scripture that every one of us should know and have memorized. If you don’t know it, learn it. This is one of those wonderful Scriptures. Get your children to memorize them so they know them. Many of these Scriptures I learned as a child, so, being with me for life.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” But then verse ten goes on to say: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
So, we have no righteousness of our own, no good works of our own, but we can only come to salvation through the precious blood of Jesus. But when we do come to salvation, then God has some good works planned for us from the foundation of the world that He wants us to walk in. And He gives us His righteousness. We’ve none of our own. But our righteousness comes by Jesus Christ and that’s what we can be filled with, righteousness. Isn’t that great?
If we were relying on our own, we might be able to muster up a tiny little bit of righteousness and think we’re so great. That would be nothing. We’re only filled with righteousness because it’s the righteousness of Jesus in us.
And, when He comes into our lives, He comes into us with all His righteousness. He is the One who hates evil and loves righteousness. Hebrews chapter one tells us that, oh, let me take you to that Scripture. Here it’s talking about Jesus. Hebrews 1:8: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” Isn’t that amazing?
It’s here sharing a picture of Christ, who was filled with righteousness. He loves righteousness and He hates iniquity. Because of that, He has more joy that all His contemporaries. You see, joy is a twin with righteousness. Righteousness is not a killjoy. No. When we have righteousness, the righteousness of Christ, not some righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, but the righteousness of Jesus, it will also fill us with joy. Jesus was filled with joy above His fellows because He loved righteousness and hated iniquity.
1 Corinthians 1:30: “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” It’s all through Jesus Christ. It's all through His life in us. You see, the gospel, ladies, is so huge. It’s not only that Jesus came to die for us, and take our place, and suffer for our sins. He did that so we could go free, so we could inherit eternal life.
But He also died and rose again and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God, and He sent His Holy Spirit to indwell us, fill us with His Spirit and all these beautiful fruits of the Spirit of joy, and peace, and hope, and now it’s righteousness. And it’s all His life in us.
Dear ladies, are you getting this? Are you getting that Christ is in you, the hope of glory? Dwells in you, not in a little way, but He wants to dwell in you in fullness. He wants to fill you with all these beautiful fruits. We are to be filled, not a little bit, but filled. That’s the word.
I like Isaiah 33:5 too, where it says: “The Lord is exalted; for He dwelleth on high: He hath filled . . .” There’s this word again. It comes so much in the Bible. “He hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.” God was talking about Israel there, but Zion also represents the people of God.
The church of God, the church of God’s redeemed saints, is meant to be filled with judgment. The word is actually “justice,” and righteousness. The church of God is to be filled with righteousness because it’s filled with people who are filled with righteousness.
It is sad that as we look out across the body of Christ today, there's so much worldliness. There is sin in the church. There is often adultery. There’s backsliding. There’s so much sin, but God wants a testimony that we are filled with righteousness. When we begin to experience this, we’ll be filled with joy. Also, we will begin to have an impact on the people who live around us.
No. 7. GOD WANTS US TO BE FILLED WITH GRACE AND TRUTH
Jesus wants us to be filled with grace and truth. Here are some more twins. Grace and truth go together. Yes. John 1:14-16: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
This was a picture of Jesus. Jesus came with grace, and He also came with truth. They are twins that are mixed together. This is something that we really need in our lives too. Sometimes we can have truth. Truth on its own can sometimes get hard and legal. Or we may be someone who’s full of grace. But grace on its own can be very wishy-washy and compromising. So, we need them both. We need grace and truth just as Jesus had. He was full of grace and full of truth.
Sometimes it’s more difficult for us to know how to be filled with both at the same time. We may be hammering truth, or we may be showing such grace that we’re actually compromising. But no, somehow, we’ve got to get it together. I think that we can get it together as we allow Jesus to have His way in our lives
As we also search His Word of truth, we have to know the truth, to be filled with truth. You can only be filled with truth as you know the truth, and you cannot know the truth unless you are filling yourself with God’s Word, and that you’re daily in His Word. You say, “Oh, help! How do you expect me to be reading the Bible for hours every day? I’ve got all these little children, and a new baby, and I’ve got so much to do. How do you expect me to do this?”
Well, I understand, ladies. Before I was married, as a teen, well, I was about 18 years of age. I had come to the Lord as a little child, but I was 18 when God got a hold of my life. I began to seek God with all my heart and began to spend at least three hours a day in the Word and waiting upon God.
But then I got married! Wow! And that was fine. But then, in one year, it was just about the time of our anniversary, we had our first baby. And then, seventeen months later, I had another two babies! By surprise! Didn’t even know I was having them until I was giving birth.
Suddenly, I didn’t have any time! How could I sit around reading the Bible? I could hardly get through the day as I looked after these three little babies. I had no help. We’d just come back from the Philippine Islands where we’d been doing missionary work. So, I had to learn to get little snippets of the Word wherever I could. I’d put a Bible in the toilet, a Bible on my windowsill above where I was preparing meals, a Bible where I would be nursing the baby so I could just get something, even at Proverbs or Psalms where I could pick up a little Scripture and get it, to feed me.
Of course, too, another wonderful thing is that when you make your plan of your day to have your devotions as a family morning and evening, you’re getting the Word there. And so, you have seasons in your life, seasons when you have more time, and then seasons when you’ll be with little children, and God understands.
But even in those times, you can get your little bits to feed you. Because we want to be filled with truth and filled with grace. So, when we’re speaking to people, we’re not going to compromise on the truth. Never, never, never, never! But we’re going to do it with grace, and with love, and with compassion. So, we’re filled with both.
But where did time go? We’re at the end of another session. Let’s pray.
“Dear Father, we thank You so much again. We’re always thanking You, Lord. I can’t stop thanking You for Your Word, which is so filled with life and truth, and showing us the way to live.
Lord, we do confess before You that we live so substandard to the way that You’ve planned for us. You’ve given us everything we need. You’ve come to dwell in us by Your Spirit and fill us with all Your beautiful fruits. Lord, we invite You to fill our lives. We will be filled with them. Lord, not just in a tiny bit, but filled to overflowing. We ask it in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
Blessings from Nancy Campbell * www.abovwerubies.org
Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Would you like to email Darlene and thank her so much for faithfully and freely transcribing these podcasts every week for your benefit?
THE POWER OF MOTHERHOOD
What the Bible Says About You as a Mother
Every mother needs this book. At her side and beside her bed.
Young mothers desperately need the encouragement! Middling mothers need it! And even older mothers need it. Older mothers need a refresher course in God’s plan for mothering, so they can take their place as the older mothers who teach the next generation.
You will be amazed at what God has to say to you as a mother! You will receive wonderful understanding through the 245 pages of this manual.
Mothers can use it as a study guide for their older daughters. Many women use this manual as a guide for their Motherhood Bible Study groups.
Go to: POWER OF MOTHERHOOD - New Updated Edition - Study Manual by Nancy Campbell (mybigcommerce.com)
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