PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | EPISODE 397: WELCOME TO THE LAND OF MORE AND MORE, Part 6

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 397: WELCOME TO THE LAND OF MORE AND MORE, Part 6

We talk more about Face-to-Face fellowship and also MORE FRUITFULNESS. We must never be stagnant, always adding to our faith, preparing for an ABUNDANT welcome into the everlasting kingdom rather than being “saved, so as by fire.”

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to the Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies, a magazine bringing strength and encouragement to families across the world.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. We are continuing our series about the “more and more” land. And we are up to the point, MORE AND MORE FACE-TO-FACE FELLOWSHIP. I have one or two more Scriptures to share with you about that. When Paul was writing to the Corinthians, he tells them about Titus, and he says: “His inward affection is more abundant towards you.”

In this point, we’re sharing of how Paul was continually writing to the new believers and telling them how he longed to see their faces more and more. He had such longing for fellowship with them. In Philippians 1:26, he tells them how “Epaphroditus longed after you all.”

Last session we talked about having that longing to have fellowship with the believers. To know that we long for this and we love them is proof that we are born again. As it says in 1 John 3:14: “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.”

One thing that I find sad at this time of my life is that, as we’re getting older, some of our dearest friends are passing away. When we hear that, I think, “Oh, if only I had more opportunity to fellowship with them!” You think of lost opportunities. I do believe that sometimes we have to make opportunities to be with the saints and the believers.

Just last week, we heard news of a very, very special friend who passed away. His name was Willi Tata. He was Maori from our land of New Zealand, from the Maori race. And, oh, what a wonderful man he was! Such a wonderful soul. We knew him in New Zealand. We knew him when we lived in Australia. He came and ministered at our church in Australia.

Then we came to the States. They came to the States although we live in Tennessee and they live in California. So, we did see them from time to time. Willie would come and stay with us. He would sing. Oh, he had such an amazing voice. Maori people are wonderful singers, and Willie was just an exceptional singer. How we loved to hear him sing his songs!

So, I was so sad when I heard that Willie had passed. It was such a shock. I didn’t know he’d been sick. I did hear that as he was going to be with the Lord, his whole family, children, and grandchildren, were all around the bedside. All were worshipping. That must have been a beautiful, beautiful sound, because they all loved to sing and worship. There’s nothing like hearing all his family sing together.

They said that Willie opened his eyes and tears were coming down his cheeks. I believe they were tears of joy to see his whole family around his bedside, worshipping the Lord. And like so many of us, they had faced trials and challenges along the way in their lives, but they had always been worshippers.

The one thing is that we know that we will see our beloved friends in heaven, in the new world that is coming, the eternal world. I can just imagine . . . I like to think that I will be able to have hospitality. I do believe that ladies, that we will carry on a lot of what we did in this life. One of my loves is hospitality, gathering the saints together, always thinking of an excuse to have them around. I’m sure that I’ll still do that in the eternal realm.

I think it will be a wonderful thing because I do believe that in our resurrected and glorified bodies, our gifts and the love that we have will be intensified. I can just imagine saying, “Oh, Willie, come over, and bring Mitch,” that’s his beautiful wife. “And the whole family! Come, and we’ll have a meal together. You can come and sing and worship. We’ll invite some others too, and we’ll worship the Lord together.” Because that was their favorite thing in life to do, to worship the Lord together. You walked into their house, and they just began worshipping. Whoever would come in, they would start worshipping too. It was so beautiful. What a hope we have of this wonderful, glorious heaven, this new earth and heavens that one day we will be living in. Isn’t that amazing?

Talking about face-to-face, I have just finished, in fact, I only finished last night reading the book called Theo of Golden. I wonder if you have read it. It seems that many people are reading this book. Beautiful, beautiful story. It was about a man called “Theo” in the book.

In this passage, he was writing to a friend. He says, “I read a lovely homily about faces this morning. The pastor offered the opinion that when we are born, our first instinct, far deeper than intention, is to find a face. Our weak and blurry little eyes, wide open, but not yet trained to see, search for something, someone, with which to bond. I’m inclined to agree with him.

“Do you recall the first time you leaned in close to look at your newborn daughter? Did you have a sense that you and she were both reaching toward each other? Somehow, to speak a language too deep for words? Didn’t it seem that our daughters were trying somehow to recognize and understand our faces when they first looked at us?

“I have a close friend who is an eye doctor, and a man of great depth. He holds firmly to the belief that the most important and formative and effortless thing a parent can do for a baby is to gaze into his or her face. To hold him or her close and engage the eyes. Could anything be simpler? Is anything more profound? Does anything more deeply change parents and child?

“I wonder, if like newborn children, we go though our entire lives, looking for a face, longing for a particular gaze that calms and fills us, that loves and welcomes us, that recognizes and runs to greet us. Is that, perhaps, what this day, Christmas, is all about?” (He was writing on Christmas Day.) “It is an imponderable thought that the Giver of faces, the Face of heaven itself, the Face to which every heart yearns, became a wee babe, misty-eyed and helpless, looking Himself for the tender face of his mother on the night of the angels.”

I thought that was beautiful. How true it is, that the baby, when the baby is born, even though it cannot yet see fully, it is still reaching. It’s reaching for the mother’s face. And that is the first thing the baby sees, is the mother’s face. The face is so important. The face is the mirror of the soul and who we really are.

No wonder it says in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that “we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” So, I believe we need more and more face-to-face with Jesus. We may not see His face but as we spend time and sit in His presence, we see, by the eye of our spirit, we see more and more of Who He is.

I love those words of that beautiful hymn. I wonder if you know it. This happened to be one of my mother’s favorite hymns.

Face to face with Christ, my Savior,
Face to face, what will it be
When with rapture I behold him,
Jesus Christ who died for me?

Only faintly now I see him
With the darkened veil between,
But a blessed day is coming
When his glory shall be seen.

Face to face, oh, blissful moment!
Face to face, to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer,
Jesus Christ who loves me so.

Going back to the baby looking for the mother’s face, I think it’s important to take time to look into our baby’s face, to engage their eyes. When a mother is nursing her baby, oh, it’s so easy (I have been guilty, back in my day of nursing, nursing, nursing, and so many times just reading a book while I’m nursing) and yet, missing out on that engagement.

Today, many mothers will have their iPhone as they’re nursing. They’re scrolling. They’re looking at social media. They’re taken up with their iPhone. Oh yes, they’re nursing their baby, but they are engaging in their iPhone. I don’t even think it’s healthy to have an iPhone next to a baby, apart from the fact that we’re missing out on that engaging of their face to face. There’s something so powerful about it.

Starting at the very beginning of life, I do believe that the engaging of the mother with the baby is a powerful foundation for a person’s life. It’s built on that foundation. Then, as we go through life, we still long for those face-to-face times of fellowship. I was reading those Scriptures to you last session.

Also, of course, it begins in the home with our face-to-face table fellowship, around the table, engaging our children. Oh my, once again, I don’t think you would do this. I don’t really think I have to say it to you, but you would never have iPhones at the table, would you?

Well, I have to admit that sometimes we will bring an iPhone to the table, maybe when we’re having devotions. We always read from the Word, but sometimes we might want to check out a word in the Hebrew and find out what it means, so we might do that. But bringing an iPhone to the table when we are fellowshipping and eating is sacrilege, I believe. We are meant to be having eye-to-eye, face-to-face, table fellowship, not looking at an iPhone at somebody else who’s not even there in our midst.

In fact, I have to say that I have noticed. . .  I’ve sometimes . . .  Sometimes a young person comes to our table. We’re always having people at our table. I see them looking down and I notice they’ve got an iPhone on their lap. Wow! They’re hiding it but they’re looking at it. And I’ve had to say, “Do you mind? We don’t have iPhones at our table. You can put it away.” Because that’s not what we’re there for. Anyway, may you be blessed.

Let’s go on to our next point:

No. 14. MORE FRUITFULNESS

This comes from John 15:2. We read in the first few verses there: “Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit . . . He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit . . . Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.”

Did you notice something there, ladies? We see a progression. Jesus is speaking, and He’s talking about bearing fruit. But then, He goes on to say that’s not enough. He wants more fruit. But even that’s not enough. He goes on to say: “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.”

God’s desire for us is that we bring forth much fruit for Him in our lives, yes, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which you all know are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, meekness, self-control, all these beautiful things. He wants more and more of them in our lives.

We see this in another passage, 1 Peter. Let’s go to it here. Actually, it’s 2 Peter 1:5: “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge self-control; and to self-control patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity (agape love).”

“For if these things be in you, and abound, (notice the word “abound”) they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 

What a powerful Scripture! Did you get that? So that you will have an entrance “abundantly into the everlasting kingdom.” When we get in, we belong to the kingdom of God now. But the day is coming when we’re going to enter into His eternal kingdom. Oh, what a glorious, glorious day! And we’re going to come into that kingdom with an abundance entrance.

Wow! Abundantly. Amazing. Oh, goodness me. The Word of God is so wonderful. We’re always reading the words “abundant,” “abound,” “abundantly.” Even in our reading this morning as a family, in our family devotions, we started 1 Timothy 1. There was the word “abundance” again. It’s always popping up.

Actually, it reminds me. I was reading as I mentioned to you, the book Theo of Golden. One of the characters in his book was called “Abundance.” Now, that’s a different name for a person, isn’t it? I love names that have a meaning.

I know there are some parents who love to call their names different things like that. I’m not thinking of them now, at the moment. But often, when our readers write in and they share the names of the children, oh, I love reading them. All the wonderful names they use, like “Courage,” things like that.

Here we have “Abundance.” In this book, this person who was called “Abundance” was called “Bun” for short. I thought, “Oh, what fun! It would be a great name for a person and to have a nickname of ‘Bun’ or ‘Bunny’!” But that was just a side point. We’re talking about abundance here. We are, if we are adding to our faith, we are producing more and more fruit, and we are going to have an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom.

But then, wow! There’s another Scripture that talks about another way some people will get into the kingdom of God. Yes, they’re going to get in, but shall we read about it? It’s in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. Actually, I’ve just memorized this passage. Amazing passage of Scripture. It says: “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble.”

Listen to this, ladies. “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

So, we can get into the glorious, everlasting kingdom with an abundance entrance. We’re welcomed abundantly into this kingdom. Or we’ll get in but saved as though by fire. In other words, it’s a picture of a burning building. The person, or maybe the whole family, is able to get out of the house just in time! They are saved! They are not burnt.

But everything in the home is burnt up. Everything they own, everything they put their lives into, is gone. That’s how some people will get into heaven. Yes, because they are born again, and they believe in Jesus Christ, and they applied the blood of Jesus to their lives, they will get in. But they may only just get in. They don’t bring anything with them because it’s all burned up.

Now it says there, remember, that if we build upon gold, silver, precious stones, these are things that are tried in the fire. This is how they purify gold and silver. It’s brought to a very, very fervent heat. As it is heated, the impurities and all the junk and stuff that comes to the top are taken off. Then they heat it again. Then they take all that stuff that comes to the top, they take it off. Then they heat it again.

In fact, Psalm 12:6 gives us this picture, talking about the Word of God. It says: “The Word of God is very pure; tried in a furnace of fire, and purified seven times.” Isn’t it amazing that this Word that we have has been purified seven times until it is so perfect? We can trust this Word because it’s a Word that’s been tried and purified.

Of course, we know that all of us face trials and things as we go through life. Well, sometimes we think that they’re big trials, when really, in the light of eternity, in the light of eternity, they’re not quite so bad. We think they are.

Then I think of so many believers today being persecuted. Oh, they’re in prison. They’re hungry. They’ve been tormented. Their bodies have been, oh, terrible things have been done to their bodies. They’re in pain. They’re suffering. They are truly going through it.

And here we are, we face our little trials and think we’re going through something really terrible. And yet, we’re facing nothing like them. And yet, they stand true. They will not give up the Name of Jesus. They stand true to His Name. And God is purifying them. They’re coming forth as gold. Oh, my. What crowns they will receive! Yes.

Did you know, dear ladies, I do believe that mothering is one of those things of gold? Most of you who are listening to me today are mothers in your home with your children. Now, it may not be that just because you are a mother because of giving birth that you are gold, because there are mothers who give birth to children, but they just leave them in day cares. They go off to do their own thing, to fulfill their own career.

But I believe when a mother embraces the children that God gives to her, she nurses those precious babies, she gives her life to feed them, and to nurture them, to cook for them every day, to teach them in the ways of God. She sacrificially pours out her life for these children. God sees it. He sees every little effort. And He sees it as gold. It is something that will stand the test of fire.

Motherhood is an eternal career because we are ministering into the lives of our children, who are eternal souls. As we embrace this role, it is a work that will come forth as gold. I think of that Scripture in 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord (there is that word “abounding” again) always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

When you embrace the children God gives you because when He gives you children, He doesn’t give them to somebody else. He gives them to you. You become responsible to not only care for them physically, but to minister into their souls, and to their spirits, and to prepare them for the eternal kingdom.

Yes, for it is not enough to bring children into the world. We must be responsible to lead them to Jesus, to pray over their lives, to let the Word of God become part of their lives so they will be ready to come to salvation, they are ready for the eternal world. We are ultimately preparing our children for eternity.

And dear mother, as you are mothering, can I encourage you to get an eternal perspective? Can you see that you are mothering for eternity? Keep it in your heart. Oh, pray for your children, that they will be prepared and ready to receive Jesus into their lives and be born again. It is one of the greatest things that you must do as a mother, to make sure your children are ready for the eternal kingdom.

But I find that sometimes, even homeschooling children can come through home, and yet not be born again? Oh, this is the most important thing in their lives. So, pray over your children. Watch over them. When you see that softness there to the Lord, talk to them. Say, “Have you yet asked Jesus to come into your life to be your personal Savior?”

If they haven’t, ask if they would like to pray with you. Pray with them. Lead them to Jesus. Oh, yes, lead them to Jesus. Oh, this is work that is gold. This will stand the test of fire. When you stand before the Lord, you’ll be able to present your children before Him. Oh, that is the most wonderful thing that you could ever do.

Let me see. I think it’s in Thessalonians. I’d love to just read it to you. Yes, Paul is writing to the Thessalonians, the new believers. He says to them: “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy” (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20).

When you stand before the Father, and you present your children to Him because they’ve been born again, and they’re ready for Jesus and to come into the kingdom, they will be your “joy and your crown of rejoicing.” Those are works that will come forth as gold.

What is the hay, wood, and stubble? Hay, wood, stubble, straw are all stuff that are burned up. When we live our lives to fulfill our own desires, just the things of this world, and for the material things, it’s all junk. It’s all just stuff that’s going to pass away. This life is just a vapor. We are here preparing for the eternal world.

So, lovely mothers, be encouraged today. You are doing eternal work. Your work as a mother will come forth as gold. You will have an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom. Not only yourself but bringing your children with you. Amen? Oh yes, that’s the kind of entrance you want, isn’t it? Yes, let’s be those who bring forth more and more fruit. No, that’s not enough. He wants MUCH FRUIT.

No. 15. MORE GENEROSITY

This is a wonderful point also. We have many Scriptures here of where God is encouraging us, not only to give, but to give generously. So, I think I’ll talk about it next time, because if I start, well, I won’t have time to finish. And it’s not just talking about money, OK? There is so much more where we need to be generous in our lives. So, we’ll find out about that next time.

“Dear Father, we thank You. The kingdom that You have brought us into is a more and more kingdom. Your Word is a more and more word. We just keep reading more of the “more” words in Your Word. And dear Father, I pray that You will help us all to be those who keep on, keep adding to our faith. Never stagnating but always moving on. We ask it in the precious Name of Jesus. For Lord God, we don’t want to be saved so as by fire. We don’t want to get into Your kingdom by the skin of our teeth. Lord God, we long to have an entrance abundantly into Your everlasting kingdom.

“I pray for these dear, precious wives and mothers. Lord God, some may be really feeling overwhelmed today, maybe facing difficulties and challenges. Father, I pray that, Lord, You will help them to know that You are with them. You will never forsake them. You will bring them through. Help them to keep their eyes upon You, I pray. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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