LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 318: Altar Building, Part 11

Allison Hartman is with me again. We finish the last two points about what God calls a DUTY, and we get to the last point, No. 25 about Altar Building, THE FAMILY ALTAR PAVES THE WAY FOR REVIVAL! Don't miss!

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. Allison Hartman is with me again. We’re going to be talking about a number of things, but we are continuing our series. We are at the tenth point of the Scriptures God gives us about things that are a duty. Therefore, we need to take notice.

This one is Hebrews 5:12. It’s teaching others who are younger in the faith. I’m reading from the New Living Translation for this Scripture. “You have been believers so long now that you ought (you see that word again, opheilo, which means “it is your duty”) that you ought to be teaching others. Instead you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s Word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skills to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”

So, that’s a challenge, too, isn’t it, ladies? That God wants us to be those who move onto maturity and are able to teach others. When we first come to Jesus, we are on the milk of the Word. When a baby is born, it has milk from the mother. It’s not ready for strong meat. But as the baby grows, it gets stronger, and it gets teeth. Eventually, it is able to eat solid food and even chew meat as they get teeth.

That’s normal progress physically. It should be normal progress in our spiritual life also. Dear lovely mothers, I’m sure most of you, maybe some of you, are new in the faith. You are new Christians and so you are like 1 Peter 2:2 says: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”

But I know that many of you have been walking with the Lord for a long time. So, what are you eating spiritually? Are you still on milk? Or are you now on the solid food? If you are maturing and have known the Lord for some time, you should, as the Bible says, it’s our duty to be teaching others.

Of course, we can really take this to us as mothers, can’t we? Because we, as mothers, are the teachers of our children. One of the biggest things we do as mothers is teach our children. We teach them everything they know when they are little. Oh, we are born to be teachers. There are some mothers who think, “Oh, I couldn’t homeschool my children! I’m not good at teaching.”

Oh yes, you are. You are a mother, and God has put in mothers that inclination, even that normality to teach. You’ve got teaching! Even your baby, from just a little baby, you teach your little baby, “Here’s your little toesie-woesies.” You’re showing them their toes, and you teach them what is their nose and their ears. Then you teach them the animals, and you begin teaching them all these little things, so they know so much. And who was their great teacher? It was you.

But the greatest thing that we are to teach our children is God’s Word. And we don’t want all our children to stay little children in the Lord. We would be getting very concerned that our children at four and five years of age were still not able to eat their food on their own, and even chew up some good meat. We would be very, very concerned. They’d obviously have a problem.

And yet, some of our children come to know Jesus at a young age. I hope so, because I believe our children should come to know the Lord at a young age. They should be growing in the Lord. What about even as our children get to the teens, are they on strong meat of the Word? Or are they still on milk?

I meet many, many young people, many even having grown up in homeschooling families. I have to tell you they don’t have any meat of the Word in them. Oh, they’ve got some milk, yes. They know the basics, but they don’t know much more. You ask them questions. They don’t even have an answer. They don’t have any meat of the Word in them.

Dear mothers, it comes back to us. Our responsibility, our duty. Here it speaks of it. It’s our duty to be on strong meat so we can be teaching it to others. The first ones we’re going to teach are our children. You don’t teach it to anybody else unless you’re first teaching your children.

Do your children even know the teaching of the tabernacle? Could they understand their salvation from the teaching of the tabernacle? That should be normal. Did you know that back in Bible days, when Paul was teaching, it tells us about this in the last book of Acts, and that every day Paul preached the kingdom from the Torah and from the Prophets. He didn’t have the New Testament. He would be teaching from all the principles and all the furniture in the tabernacle, and everything they had to do, because it was all a type of our great salvation (Acts 28:23 and 31).

When Jesus was talking to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, the Bible says that He spoke to them from Moses, that’s the Torah, and from the Prophets (Luke 24:27). They didn’t have a New Testament then. But Jesus revealed everything about Himself from the Old Testament. What do our children know of Jesus in the Old Testament? Are we teaching them? Are they strong in the faith? Are they strong in the Word? Well, it comes back to us. What do you say, Allison?

Allison: Definitely. That was very convicting. You see in our culture this way of raising our children to where everything’s separate. Even growing up, my mom would go to ladies’ Bible studies. We would be either at home, or in the little nursery, or in the children’s programs. What you’re talking about, you have to have your children with you, either studying the Bible, Family devotions, you would do them together. You wouldn’t just cover a verse or two. You would really get in and talk about it with them.

Nancy: You notice that what we do at family devotions, it’s never Colin just reading the Word. We get onto so many things, looking up this, and looking up that, talking about this, talking about that, children discussing. Children have to be involved in the discussion and in answering the questions to really get it into their hearts and minds.

Allison: Right, so it can be their own, instead of just them regurgitating everything you just told them and they’re just repeating. They’ve got to own it.

Nancy: Yes, they do.

Allison: The best way I have found is through, when we do family devotions, we ask, “What do you think? What do you think this means?”

Nancy: Exactly. Yes, yes. And then they’ve got to think. And then, “OK, well, let’s look up this.” They’re getting it that way. I think many parents will just rely on taking their children to church on Sunday and hope they’ll get a bit of meat.

Well, many times, of course, the children are not even in the main service! They’re not even hearing the meat. They’re all out in the nursery, or they’re out in all their age group Sunday school, where they’re getting it watered down so it’s like milk for the little children.

But do you know what? We’re not wanting to keep our children as little children. We’re wanting them to grow in the Lord. Grow in the Lord so that they can take some meat!

Allison: I’ve done a podcast with you before, entitled “Raising Adults.” It’s no different than what we’re talking about right now. If I want to raise children, well then, I would put them in children’s Sunday school. If I want to raise adults, then I want to put them in an adult Sunday school.

The best adult Sunday school is around your table or bringing them in as you go to a church where you go to an actual building. We have a home church, but you have to have them in there with you. How can you discuss the service and the sermon if they weren’t in there?

Nancy: True.

Allison: If they’re listening to and watching Veggie Tales in children’s Sunday school, or listening, like you said, to a watered-down story version, you can’t share that sermon, and piece it out, and think about it, and discuss it.

Nancy: I know. And often, really, it’s just a babysitting service so the parents can concentrate. But if they have trained their children at home, and we do that, we get children coming with their Bibles, and even with a notebook.

Oh, I have loved that at some of my Above Rubies retreats, some of the most wonderful things that are such a blessing to me is to see some little children on the front row. Only five, six, seven years of age, and maybe some can only draw pictures yet. Others are beginning to write, and they’re up there. Their mothers have said, “Now, I want you to take notes for me.” Sometimes the mother’s nursing a baby.

 “I said to my child,” they’re telling me later, “I just couldn’t take notes. I was nursing. So, I got my children to.” I see what they have written. It’s unbelievable! They are actually writing down stuff that is so good. It’s so wonderful. But they’re being part of it. They’re listening to some meat!

Children can take meat if we have been growing them in it. What do we do, especially when you have your first baby? By the time you get to five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, you’re much longer starting them on solids because you just nurse away. You know, they don’t have to start on solids so early.

But when you have your first baby, you can’t wait to do everything new, and you can’t wait until they have their first little solid on a spoon. You can’t wait for every new little thing they’re going to do, because it’s another milestone, and they’re growing! Well, that’s how we should feel about their spiritual lives, isn’t it?

Allison: We were talking at family devotions just the other day with you. My husband had mentioned about back in the Bible days, even by the time they were four or five, they had memorized the Torah. We can’t even imagine!

But yeah, we were at our home church, and we were talking to a family. They had started to go to a church that they really liked, but this church only did family-integrated once a month. They loved the idea of it, but they didn’t want to do it too often. And this family thought, “How sad!” This is something we should . . . this should be common. Church should be a place where the family comes together, not the family divided.

Nancy: Well, that’s true, because in the Word, you never ever, ever saw one example of them separated. Whenever God spoke to His people to come together, He would remind them again. “Come, with the wives, and the children, and the little taphs, which is the Hebrew word for the toddlers, those little ones just tripping around. God said they’ve got to come too.

Allison: It makes church very difficult to pay attention, right?

Nancy: Yes! But God doesn’t want any of them left. He doesn’t want them out in the nursery. He wants them there. Even the nursing mothers. He specifies all these ages to come together. God created the family, and He wants the family. Today we live in a day of the fragmenting and the separation of family and all the different age groups. God is in the strengthening and the bringing-together of families.

Allison: Do you realize, it is so difficult to find a truly family-integrated church nowadays. It just doesn’t exist in many cities. But they are out there.

Nancy: That is wonderful when that can happen. But it’s like everything. It always comes back to us as mothers. The fathers, too, have a responsibility to teach the children. What does the Scripture say? “The fathers to the children shall make known Thy truth” (Isaiah 38:19). I love that Scripture.

But it also speaks of the mother’s teaching. We’re the ones who are with the children so much. We can teach them. That’s why I often, when I’m talking to young people, I don’t know whether I get through to them or not. But I believe that the greatest preparation for marriage is to be getting into the Word while you are young and before you have all the responsibilities of children all around you and waking you in the night and you’re 24/7 mothering.

But when you are single, you just have you. You have time to get into the Word, and let it get into your heart, and into your mind, so it comes out your mouth, so that when you move into motherhood, you're going to have the Scriptures coming out of your mouth. They’re going to be pouring into your children. That’s how God intends it.

What I am speaking is not just to mothers. It’s for young people. This is the time to get strong in the Word, so you are a meat eater! Oh, goodness me! Yes, we’re milk drinkers for a little while, but we dare not stay on the milk for long. We’ve got to get onto the meat and be meat eaters! Amen? If you're a meat-eater, you’re ready to teach others, which is our duty. Amen.

               No. 11. We talked about it because that’s the one we actually started with. IT’S A DUTY TO HAVE A FAMILY ALTAR

It was a duty for the priests to attend to the altars morning and evening, and, of course, we are all now priests and kings unto God.

No. 12. UNWORTHY SERVANTS SIMPLY DOING OUR DUTY

The last Scripture about duty is, I think, the most challenging of all. I’m always challenged when I read this passage. It’s a parable Jesus told. He told this parable about this servant who went out and was working for him all day long. Then he comes in, and you think, “Oh, wow! Now he can just relax! He’s worked all day for his master.”

But no. He comes in, and his master, without a word of thanks, his master says, “Put on your apron. Prepare my meal and serve me.” Then it says, “And then you can eat later.” You can read the story in Luke 17:7-10.

I think, “Wow! That is so amazing! Help!” We can hardly take that in in our culture today, because we are a culture demanding our own rights, and our entitlement of what we are entitled to. I think this is where many mothers perhaps get frustrated, and get miserable, and get down in the dumps, because they think they are entitled to their beautiful life where they can have time to do everything they want to do. They’re not yet used to this serving, laying-down-your-life kind of lifestyle, which motherhood is.

But when we get down to it, ladies, that was the lifestyle that Jesus lived. Jesus said Himself in Matthew 20:28: “I did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give My life a ransom for many.” If we can just get the right attitude, “OK, if I walk like Jesus walked, I’m going to be serving. I’m going to serve my husband. I’m going to be serving my children. I’m going to be serving others. But although it’s my duty, it’s my delight.”

At the end of this story, it says in Luke 17:10: “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants: we have only done that which was our duty to do.”

That was the last Scripture about duty. To me, it’s the most challenging of all. So that, even when we’ve served to the end of our serving ability, oh, wow! And we think we’ve done it all, well, Jesus says, “Just say, I’m an unprofitable servant. I’ve only just done that which is my duty. I haven’t even gone any further than that.” [laughter]

Wow! Sometimes we think we’re going the second mile when we’re trying to help somebody, and put ourselves out to help somebody, Jesus says, “You’ve only done what is your duty. That’s what you're meant to do!” That’s the Jesus lifestyle, isn’t it?

Anyway, ladies, those were the Scriptures about duty that God has given us in His Word. So now, let’s get back to our last two points about altar building. We’re going to finish them this session. I can’t believe it! How amazing!

So, this will be point . . .

No. 24. THE FIRE OF GOD FALLS AT ALTARS

We’re actually going to see more of this in point No. 25, but I want to take you back to Leviticus 6:12, 13. There, in that passage, God is telling them how to build the brazen altar. That was the altar where they did all the sacrifices. God says, “I’m going to have a fire.”

Interestingly, when they dedicated that altar, God lit the fire supernaturally. That is so amazing. But then He told the priests how they could keep it going. They had to keep it going by attending to it morning and evening because God said: “THIS FIRE MUST NEVER GO OUT.” There was always a fire at the altar. The fire must never go out.

In fact, it says we bring our children daily to this altar. That’s how we keep the fire of God burning in their hearts, because we’re coming into His presence, and we’re hearing His Word. And we’re communicating with Him. So, it keeps that fire of God burning in our hearts.

I remember once going to a family retreat where Colin and I were speaking. We were a little late. as we were flying in. We arrived and the people were singing. They were singing a hymn I hadn’t heard before. It was about the family, about Christian homes. Oh, I loved the words! This was one of the lines I picked up as they were singing.

God, give us Christian homes,

Homes where the children are led to know,

Christ in His beauty, who loves them so.

Homes where the altar fires burn and glow,

God, give us Christian homes.

I thought, “Wow! That hymn is singing about Leviticus chapter six! The fire upon the altar. This is where the name that nobody hardly ever uses today, the family altar, this is where they got this name. At this altar, where they did the sacrifices, and where the fire was never to go out. Here in this hymn, they’re talking about the altar fires, that these altar fires will burn and glow in these homes, and they’ll never grow dim!

I got up and I said, “We’ve been singing about the altar fires. Can anyone please tell me what we are singing about?” Of course, nobody knew. There wasn’t one hand that was put up! They were all singing it but not one person knew what they were singing about! So, I was able to tell them, “This is about the family altar, the altar fire in your home.” This is how we keep the fire of God burning in our homes, dear ladies.

Let’s go on to . . .

No. 25. THE FAMILY ALTAR PAVES THE WAY FOR REVIVAL

We’re going to see in this point examples of where the fire of God actually fell. But my point for this one is, the family altar is preparation for revival, because in these examples, we’ll see some of where, yes, the fire of God fell, but many other times, it was where they were repairing the altar. Every time that they repaired the altar, or the fire of God fell on the altar, wonderful things happened. Let’s look at a few of these examples, shall we?

               Number one: the example of Elijah. You all know that story in 1 Kings 18. You can go back in your own time and read that wonderful story of how Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal, and how he challenged Jezebel who had all these prophets, because she was not serving the living God. She was serving the prophets of Baal.

We know the story of how Elijah got all these prophets of Baal together. He said, “We’re both going to make a sacrifice. We’re going to see whose god will bring the fire!” Well, that was a real step of faith for him, wasn’t it?

The prophets of Baal, of course, made their altar. You know the story of how they were dancing around it, and calling out on their gods, and nothing happened. They even began cutting themselves, and going to all manner of extremities just hoping that their god would bring down fire from heaven! But no, no fire came at all. So, the day is going on, and they haven’t been able to bring fire.

Now it’s Elijah’s turn. He builds an altar. Actually, he repaired it. If you read it in the Scripture, in that chapter it says, verse 30: Elijah “repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.” You see, the altar was broken, so he repaired it. Sometimes in our own homes, the altar breaks down. Oh, it breaks down with our getting busy with other things that come into our lives. This poor family altar, the most important thing in our home, breaks down. We let other things take it over.

Well, anyway, Elijah is repairing it. Then he builds it up, and then he tells them to get 16barrels of water and pour it over the altar. Imagine it, water is drenching it all. Most probably there is a trench all around the altar. The water is filling it all up.

Then he prays. It was his turn to pray. He called upon God, and guess when it was? It was at the time of the evening sacrifice. Remember? They were to come to this altar every morning and every evening. It’s amazing. When we read the Word of God, God never did anything at just any old time. No, He did this at the time of the evening sacrifice.

And when Elijah prayed, it says in verses 38, 39: “The fire of the LORD fell . . . And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, He is the God; the LORD¸ He is the God.” So, God answered by fire at the time of the evening sacrifice, and the fire fell. Even though the altar was drenched, the fire ate up the wood and licked up the water. That was amazing. The fire of God falls at altars.

               Now let’s go to the second one, Manoah. Do you remember who Manoah was? Manoah was the father of Sampson. God came to Manoah and his wife; first to his wife and spoke to her about how they were going to have a son and how he was to be a Nazarite. His wife came and told Manoah.

My, he wanted to see this person who was telling them this too. So, the Lord came again, and this time “Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it [as a sacrifice] upon a rock, unto the Lord” (Judges 13:19). I’m sure it was the Lord. Then it goes on to say: “And the angel did wondrously,” but I’m sure it was the Lord, because he said: “unto the Lord.”

Judges 13:19, 20: “And the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came to pass, when the flame (the fire) went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar.” So, the Lord accepted Manoah’s offering, and nobody lit the fire. God once again lit this fire and ascended in the fire. So that was another time where God came with fire upon the sacrifice.

               Number three: King Asa. You can read the story of King Asa in 2 Chronicles 15. In verse 8 it says: “And when Asa heard . . . the prophecy of Oded the prophet” (obviously the prophet was coming to show him what was wrong, and what God wanted him to do). It says: “He took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and . . . renewed the altar of the LORD.”

Then we see, because he renewed the altar of the Lord, we then read the blessings that happened. You have to read this chapter later, but I’ll just read a little bit now. 2 Chronicles 15:11: “And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.” Wow! What a lot of sacrifices they made!

“And [all of Judah] entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul.” This was all after they had renewed the altar. “That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest.”

Also, Asa got rid of his mother. Yes, and “he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol.” He eliminated everything! Wow, amazing things happen when you renew the altar of the Lord. If yours is broken down, or you’ve been forgetting about it, renew that altar.

               Number four: Manasseh. Oh, he was such a wicked, wicked, wicked king! But God came to him, and through circumstances, I haven’t got time to talk about them today. Go to 2 Chronicles 33, and you can read all about it.

He humbled himself and repented. And what happened, when he humbled himself and repented? It says in verse 16: “And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.”

So, that was the fruit of his repentance. It was to repair the altar of the Lord. And then, the Bible happened. He commanded the whole land, all of Judah, to serve the Lord. So, they began to all serve the Lord instead of other gods. Isn’t that amazing?

               Next one: David. Oh, this is an incredible story. You can read about it in two places, actually. 1 Chronicles 21. You can also read it in 2 Samuel 24. Read the story in both places. It’s a powerful story.

David has sinned against the Lord, and the Lord came to him and said, “I’ve got to punish you, David.” Because God is a God of justice. God gave him an opportunity. God said, “Three things. Which will you choose?” David said, “I’m going to choose, Lord, falling into Your hands, not to my enemies.”

So, God did bring judgement upon the land. God brought a plague, and thousands were dying from this plague. David was desperate. Oh, he was so full of repentance! He knew he had to make an altar to the Lord. So, he came to this guy, and he said, “Please, please, can I build this altar at your place?” We talked about this in a recent podcast.

He said, “Yes, yes, you can have my threshing floor, and you can have all my animals. Have what you like, King David.” David said, “No, I will not do anything. I will not sacrifice to the Lord that which cost me nothing.” And David paid him.

But let’s get onto this part. 1 Chronicles 21:26: “And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings . . . and called upon the LORD; and He answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.” God sent the fire, and God stopped the plague.

Yes, powerful things happen when we make an altar to the Lord. Maybe you are going through a very difficult time in your family’s life. Even things that are just not right. Oh, there’s upheaval in your family. You’re not even facing what David was. He was facing a plague, and thousands were dying. God answered him by fire.

Make an altar to the Lord. Begin your family altar. Gather your children around with your husband and begin the family altar. You will see God do wonderful things.

All right, just two more examples.

               In the dedication of the tabernacle in Leviticus 9:24, it says that when they dedicated that altar, God answered by fire.

               Then also later, when they built the temple, and now Solomon is king. In 2 Chronicles 7:1, once again, they are dedicating this altar now, the new altar. This was in the temple. What happens? God comes and answers by fire. Supernaturally. It was fire from heaven. Nobody else lit it.

Dear ladies, when we make an altar, it prepares the way for revival. I believe if every God-believing family would begin, and continue, and be faithful to the family altar in their home, with their children, that we would see a great revival in this nation. Great and mighty things would happen!

Oh, time is up. Well, can you believe it, ladies? We got to our last point about the altar! These points are so powerful. I think one day, when you have time, you need to go back and listen to them again and go through the Scriptures. Let’s pray.

“Lord, we thank You so much that You do not leave us ignorant, but You show us the way. Lord God, You even show us the way for revival. Lord, help us to be those who prepare Your way for revival. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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