PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | EPISODE 136: THE UNMISTAKABLE SCENT OF CHRIST
FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell
EPISODE 136: The Unmistakable Scent of Christ
How can we reveal the sweet perfume of Christ in our homes? How can we triumph in our challenging situations? How can we possess all that God has given to us?
Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, From Our Home to Yours, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.
Nancy Campbell: Hello ladies. Good to be with you. I am sharing this podcast on a Monday afternoon, so you will get it on Tuesday morning when it comes out each week. Although you may not listen to it when it comes out immediately, I know you listen to it at all different times.
Anyway, here we are together. Before I get onto the series that I want to talk about, I'd like to share with you a little revelation that I got as I was reading the Word the other morning. It's so good to share something that's fresh from the Word of God.
Well, actually, I find every single morning, when I come to the Word, when I get up, and get into the Word each morning, it's just so wonderful. Every morning I see something new, even though I've read the Word over and over again. There's always something new and fresh. That's the wonderful thing about God's Word, isn't it?
GOD HAS GIVEN US EVERYTHING WE NEED TO COPE WITH LIFE
I was reading in 2 Peter, chapter one, and noticing what God has given to us. Dear precious ladies, He has given us everything we need. We are so blessed. In 2 Peter 1:3, it says: “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things (not some things, but all things) that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue.”
Isn't that wonderful? I've always loved this Scripture of how God has given us, not only everything we need for godliness, but for LIFE! To live life everyday life. Life in your kitchen, cooking your meals with little toddlers hanging around you. A baby needing you. The meals needing to be done. Everything sometimes all happening at once!
God has given us everything we need to cope with life. And not only just to cope with life, but to live a godly life. Isn't that amazing? Of course, we find it all in Christ. Because He has everything that we need, and He dwells in us.
So not only does it say He's given us everything, all things that pertain unto life and godliness, but the next Scripture, verse 4, says: “Whereby are given . . . “ (More giving from God! Because God is a giver! He just loves to give! “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises.” God doesn't only say, “Look, I'm going to give you some promises.” No! They are “EXCEEDING GREAT and PRECIOUS promises!”
And as I've often mentioned to you, the Word of God is filled with adjectives. God is always “more than.” More than the average, more than the normal, more than the status quo. He uses adjectives to describe what He gives to us.
So we're given these “exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” And so God has given us everything we need to overcome the spirit of the world, to overcome lust, to overcome the temptations of worldly things, to live a godly and overcoming, abounding, abundant life, because that's what Jesus came to give us.
“I came to give you life, and to give it to you more ABUNDANTLY,” Jesus said in John 10:10. Isn't that wonderful? Oh, I love the Word of God.
But I noticed the other day, as I was reading, that after God says He's given us everything, you would think, “OK, praise the Lord, I can just sit back and relax! God has given it all to me. I don't have to do a thing!”
Well, of course, we don't have to do a thing for our salvation. I mean, we cannot do one thing to receive salvation, because Jesus did it by giving up His life, by shedding His blood, by dying upon the cross and taking our punishment for our sins. Jesus did it all, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,” Ephesians 2:8-9 says.
WE MUST POSSESS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN
But it goes on to say here, in 2 Peter 1:5: “And beside this, giving all diligence . . . ” OK. So although God has given us everything, we have to exert diligence to confess what He has given to us.
When God gave this land of Israel, the land of Canaan, the land of milk and honey, “A land flowing with milk and honey,” He promised them. And He said, “This land that I am giving to you, it's yours.” God gave it to them by a divine decree. And He said, “I'm giving it to you for an everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:8). And even today, the land of Israel belongs to His people. He gave it to them. He has never taken it from them. And look out anybody who does take it from them!
We read in Joel 3:2 how that there will be those who have divided up the land of Israel, how they will receive great judgment from God, because it's ultimately God's land, but He has given it to the people of Israel. So it's an everlasting possession.
But even when they went into the land, they had to possess it. They had to fight the giants. They had to overcome their enemies. They had to wipe them out. They had to fight. So even though it belonged to them, they had to fight to possess it. We also, we have everything we need, but God wants us to have diligence, to pursue, to possess all that He has given to us.
We read how He wants us “to add to our 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,” and so on.
And then, we go down to verse ten, and He says again, “Give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” So we have to have diligence.
Now that word “diligence,” in the Greek, it's spoudazo. Well, actually there's two different words. In verse five, the word is spoude, and it means “speed, to urge on, eagerness, earnestness.” So it's something we have to be urgent about, dear ladies. We don't just, “Oh, well, you know, someday, I'll just get really hot for God.” No! We've got to be urgent. We've got to use speed. We've got to urge one another on.
In verse ten, the word is a similar word, but it's spoudazo. And it also means, “to use speed, to make an effort, to be prompt, earnest, endeavor, labor, study.” It's the same word that's used in 2 Timothy 2:15: “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”
I memorized that Scripture when I was a young person. Out of that Scripture, I took the goal that I had for my life. And it was the degree that I wanted to get. I never actually got a B.A. or an M.A,, but I wanted to get this one. And it's the A.U.G.
Have you ever heard of the A.U.G. before? Here it is in this Scripture. “Study to show thyself approved unto God.” A - approved, unto - U, G - God. There it is! I want to have those letters after my name: Approved Unto God. I think that's the best degree that we can encourage our children to have too. To pursue, to study, to be eager and earnest, and to have speed about getting that degree, Approved Unto God.
It's the same word (it’s amazing how these Greek words, when they're translated in the Bible, they're translated with different English words. So here it is, the same word in Hebrews 4:9-11; “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” God has given us rest. Then it goes on to say, “Let us labor” (there's the word, spoudazo) “let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. “
So it's all given to us, but I'm reminded you today, as I was reminded as I read this, we've got to do our part. We've got to be diligent in possessing all that God has for us. As mothers at home, we have to do that because we are learning how to live in victory.
We're learning how to live an overcoming life, not just when we go out to church on Sunday, or when we go out visiting. No, we're learning how live it in our homes where it's all happening, where we face the trials, and the difficulties, and the challenges, and the frustrations, yes, that are there every day. But we're learning, as we have diligence, how to live this overcoming life that God has given to us.
THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
Another thing I noticed in these few Scriptures in this chapter, three times in this chapter it talks about the knowledge of God. In 2 Peter 1:2, it says: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.” Dear mothers, if you want to live in grace in your circumstances, in your home, if you want to live in peace, knowing His peace all over you, even in dark times, even in difficult times, it's “through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus.”
Dear friends, we've got to pursue the knowledge of God. The more we know of Him, the more we know of Christ, the more we will live in this overcoming life that He has given to us. It comes through the knowledge of Him and the knowledge of His Word. If we don't have that, we don't really, we often don't know how to live in all that He has given to us.
I think of a true story. A dear friend of mine in England, she used to be the director of Above Rubies for a number of years. She originally came from New Zealand as I have. She told me about her brother. He had bought some land in New Zealand and he hoped that it would be land he could earn a living from. But sadly, he found that the land was really not up to scratch. It wasn't fruitful enough. It wasn't fertile enough to earn a living and provide for his family. So he just used it as a hobby farm and owned it for many years.
Well, the time came, and he thought, “Well, I don't know, I think I'll sell this land. It's just been a hobby farm.” So when he went to sell it, he found out that he had another ten acres that he didn't even know he had! And it was the most fertile land of all the land he owned. And all these years, he didn't even know he had it!
His neighbor, he was using the land and profiting from the land. He went to him, and he said, “How dare you use my land! This is my land!” The guy said, “Well, you never came and asked me or told me,” so he just kept on using it. That land would have enabled him to provide for his family, and he didn't know he had it.
But that's like us, ladies. Because we haven't got the knowledge of all the land that God has given to us. We don't live in it! We fall short. We never live in the fullness of all that God has for us. It comes through the knowledge of God.
Then we go down to verse three. Yes, we read this one before, how that He has given to us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. How? “Through the knowledge,” once again. We have to have the knowledge of God and His Word. “Through the knowledge of Him that has called us to glory and virtue.” He's called us to glory! But half the time we never live in glory. We're meant to.
Now the next one, verse eight. Yes, and it tells us that if we pursue these things, that we will not be “barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.“ And so if we want to be fruitful (we don't want to be barren). I don't want to live a barren life, do you? I don't want to live a shallow life. Oh my, how easy it is to not come into all that God has, into the sea of His blessing and fullness.
And we put our little toes in the water, or we maybe get to our ankles, and we just sort of splash around. But we never ever get out into the depths. It's like that chapter in Ezekiel 47 where it talks about the waters, and when it comes to the ankles and then to the knees, and then to the thighs. Then there are waters to swim in. That's what I long for, don't you? To get out there in the waters where you have to swim and to get into the depths.
So it all comes through the knowledge of God. There's many other Scriptures about pursuing the knowledge of God. I'll just take you to one more.
2 Corinthians 2:14: “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ and maketh manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every place.”
Really, ladies, there's so much in that Scripture. Later on, you need to go to the Word. Read it. Meditate on it and embrace every little part of it. Because here, it's telling us that God wants us to reveal, to show, that's the word “manifest” that we read, “to manifest.” That means “to reveal, to show,” “the savor of His knowledge.”
What we have learned of Him, how we've learned to experience Him in our lives, and to possess our possessions. To possess all that He has given us, and how to walk in victory, and in peace, and in longsuffering, and in patience, and in all the virtues that are in Christ, because He is in us. And we have to learn how to yield to His life and to Him rather than to this flesh. Then we learn how to live in the savor of His life.
IT BEGINS IN YOUR HOME
But this Scripture tells us that this is God's plan for us—that you are to be revealing the savor, the aroma of the knowledge of God. Where? In EVERY place. Say those words with me again. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, walking with your earphones, doing the dishes, or sitting quietly nursing your baby. Let's say those words: “in EVERY place, in EVERY place.”
Now, that means where you are now. That means in your home. That means proving this in your home. We cannot reveal the savor and the aroma of God when we go out amongst people if we can't do it in our homes. If we can't do it and show that to our husbands, If we can't show that to our children, forget trying to do it anywhere else.
It begins in the home. And it starts right here, in every place. And ALWAYS, notice those words, always, every place. No, we've got no way out, because it's always and in every place. Yes, and how are we meant to do it in every place?
TRIUMPHING
Triumphing! Did you get that word? Triumphing in Christ! Triumphing in Christ. Not down in the dumps. Not filled with self-pity. Not morbidly filled with depression. Oh, dear mums, I know. I've been there until I learned how to walk in victory.
But it's so easy to get into a state of self-pity. Did you know? Well, you do know, don't you? You don't even have to try. It's so easy. You don't have to try and make yourself get into self-pity. Wow! It can just happen. You have to have diligence to keep yourself out of it! Have you found that? Yes, you have to have diligence. You've got to take it by the scruff of the neck and throw it out! Is that what you do with it?
Yes, I remember as a young mum, starting off with, you know, I have times of feeling filled with self-pity, and sorry for myself. Poor me! But I had to learn that that was utter junk, and that was just totally opposite to the life Jesus wants to live in me. So I had to be diligent, you see. We've got to use diligence. And we get that thing by the scruff of the neck and we throw it out! We will not have it in our lives!
Instead, we are going to triumph in Christ. Triumph in Christ. Oh, don't you love this Word? I mean, this is just one Scripture! And it's just filled and packed with power of how He wants us to live! Oh, I love it.
Let me read it to you in another translation. I love the King James, but I love to look at other translations too. The Holman's translation says: “But thanks be to God, Who always puts us on display in Christ, and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” Amen?
The New Living Translation says: “Now wherever we go, He uses us . . . ” He uses us, He wants to reveal Himself in the earth. Jesus wants you to reveal Him to your husband, to your children, to those nearest and dearest to you, even before you start doing it when you go out of the home. And so He uses you to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, “like a sweet perfume.”
WE SHOULD HAVE THE UNMISTAKABLE SCENT OF CHRIST
Are you a sweet perfume in your home?
And then there's the J. B. Phillips translation. I read this translation of this Scripture years and years ago, and I've always loved it. It says: “We should have about us the unmistakable scent of Christ.” Isn't that wonderful? So ladies, this Scripture is talking about manifesting, showing the beautiful savor, aroma, the perfume of Christ.
Now, I'll give you a little secret here. You can't do it with a mask on! No. Doesn't work. God created our faces to be where we mostly reveal His glory, His sweet perfume, and savor. Yes, we do it with our actions, but even when we're using our actions, our feet, our hands, we still need our face.
Imagine a faceless person trying to minister to someone. It does not work. We minister through our faces. And so, it doesn't really work with a mask on, of course. You know, the devil loves masks. He loves to cover us up. God wants us to reveal His image.
All right. Those were the little thoughts I had the other morning and I wanted to share them with you. So today, Monday, tomorrow Tuesday. This podcast will go out Wednesday, help! Wednesday will be Inauguration Day.
WE MUST ALWAYS SIDE WITH TRUTH
I don't know what is going to happen. But, dear ladies, this is one thing I have to say to you, because I've got to say this because we're facing this in our nation right now. We are in one of the most critical, in fact, terrible times in our nation. Maybe you're not aware of it. Maybe you are, but we are facing a stolen, fraudulent election, which is actually treason. Treason has been committed in this nation.
If you only listen to fake news, of course, you won't be understanding this, because you will have been brainwashed that this is not true. But I'm sorry, the fake news is fake news. It is lies, propaganda. It is the spirit of the false prophet. It is absolutely untrue.
In fact, the information is so overwhelming that it keeps coming out more and more. They have now got down to the bottom of these Dominion voting machines and found out what really happened.
There were millions, yes, not a few hundred, not a few thousand, but millions of votes that were taken from President Trump. They have proved now, through these voting machines, that he won in 49 states. The only state he didn't win was New York. Even California was red according to those voting machines.
But this election was not only fraudulent here in this nation, but there was international interference, from Italy, from China. China mostly paid for that. Most of the parts of the machines, of course, were from China. Other countries were involved, Germany, others.
In fact, this is another devastating thing, that the Italian government wrote an affidavit confessing their part in this election. It was brought to the House just before they made their final decision to go ahead and put Biden in. We know that Ted Cruz and some others were objecting, but our vice-president did not accept them, sadly.
Anyway, it's amazing that actually, our whole, our whole, everything that this country is founded upon, really, committed treason. Treason, because we have three branches of government, as you know, the legislative, executive, and judicial.
Now the legislative branch of government, they committed treason. The democrats, they know they stole it, of course. They know that. And of course, many republicans have stood with them.
Sadly, in fact, Joe Biden said, well, I think a couple of years ago he actually said this, and you could find it on YouTube. It's in writing. He said these words, “We have put together, I think, the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in the history of American politics.” He spoke those words a couple of years ago. It was all planned.
And so, not only through the most, according to even Joe Biden, “the most inclusive voter fraud in the history of American politics.” So not only the democrats, but even many, as I said, republicans, stood with them. So many in the legislative branch have committed treason.
Even in the judicial, the Supreme Court would not accept the cases. Not because they were not valid, but they did not want to get involved. They were so wimpy. Chief Justice Roberts himself belongs to the swamp.
Even the executive! Can you believe it? Which is, of course, the president, who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the head of state. But the vice-president, and the cabinet, the State Department, the Defense Department, and other executive departments, they are all under the executive branch. Many of them, and of course, our vice-president, also sided with this stolen election. Treason.
So I don't know what's going to happen, dear ladies, but we cannot side with it. We cannot, because it's not truth. And we must always side with truth. God is truth. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” When it's not truth, it's lies. The Bible says that the devil is the liar from the beginning. He is the father of lies.
It is sad. I hear many, even Christian people, saying, “Well, this happened. We've just got to get with it. You know, you can't do . . . you've just got to accept.” No! No, you cannot accept treason. You cannot accept a totally stolen election.
I mean, let's get with what God says. I am, look, I keep saying I'm starting this series off, and I want to do a few different subjects on, OK, who are we listening to? Who do we really listen to? Do we listen to what everyone is saying in society? Or do we listen to the Word of God? I mean, listen to what God says about fraud.
FRAUD IS AN ABOMINATION TO GOD
2 Chronicles 19:7, New Living Translation: “The Lord our God does not tolerate perverted justice.”
Proverbs 11:1: “A false balance . . . (that’s fraud, stealing, lies, just what has been happening here) is abomination to the Lord.” Abomination. That's what God uses.
Proverbs 20:10: “Differing weights and differing measures, both of them are abominable to the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 25:15, 16: “But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously are (guess what, here's the word again) an abomination unto the Lord thy God.”
So, do we side with an abomination? No. We do not.
Micah 6:11 says: “Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances (Dominion voting machines?) and with a bag of deceitful weights?” That word “deceitful” there means “fraudulent, false, treachery.” There it is. This is an abomination. It is treason. It is treachery.
So, dear lovely ladies, I didn't even start my new series. Well, I did in a way, because this is one of the things where, who are we listening to? Are you listening to society, or are you listening to the fake news? Or are you listening to God? We've got to learn to be on God's side. God's side.
I always think of that Scripture in Romans, Romans, let me go to it here. Romans, I think I actually mentioned it the other day, but I've got to come back to it. Romans 3:4: “God forbid, yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.” Am I prepared to listen to what God says? His truth? Even though everyone else is saying something different.
So I don't know what's going to happen. Here we are, so close. I don't know. I am holding onto this promise. I'll close now, because as I mentioned, our time is gone. I'll just close. This is the promise I'm hanging onto. This is the promise that can only happen through a miracle of God.
But I believe we are at the Red Sea. It's like a Red Sea situation. We have nowhere to go. What do we do? Without God, without God, what is going to happen to this nation? Because not only are we accepting something that only happens in the third world, a treasonous election, but if it continues, it will take us down a communist route. This is their plan. Joe Biden is totally, absolutely, sold out to China. He is a puppet of China. They will take control in every area of our nation if we continue.
But this is what I'm hanging onto. You can join with me. It has to be a miracle. And when they were at the Red Sea, they had nowhere to go. The sea was in front of them, the Egyptians were coming behind them. And Moses said unto the people because he had a word from God: “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you today: for the Egyptians, whom you have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace”(Exodus 14:13, 14).
PRAYER
“Oh, Father, we come to You in the Name of Jesus. We cannot believe what we are facing in our nation. But dear Father, oh God, we know, Lord, that You have plans for this nation. Lord, we acknowledge we're at the Red Sea. Lord. What can we do, except You come?
But You are the Lord of hosts, the Lord of the armies of heaven. We ask that You will send Your warring angels, oh God, to war against these wicked spirits, Lord, these demonic spirits that are seeking to control DC and all that is happening there.
We pray that You will come, that You will show forth Your mighty right arm, that You will do a miracle, Lord, that no man could do. We ask, because we cry out for this precious nation, Lord God. Oh, Father, we cry out to You that all wickedness will be overthrown, because we know it's not just the treasonous election, Lord. There is so much wickedness in the swamp, going on behind the scenes. The wickedness, the wickedness, that's going on in these high places. The wickedness of many of these people involved in child trafficking and child sacrifice. Lord God, it is just so grieving to our hearts, and we pray that You will expose it all, Lord God.
And that You will come with Your power, and your mighty right arm, and that you will show us victory. We look to You, Lord God, that You will move by Your Spirit, Lord, and we trust You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.”
Transcribed by Darlene Norris
P.S. Have you listened to this YouTube?
ABSOLUTE PROOF