PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | EPISODE 207: THE LAND OF MOTHERHOOD, PT 18
LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell
EPISODE 207: THE LAND OF MOTHERHOOD, Part 18
The land of motherhood is also a HOLY land. I talk about holy marriage, holy mothering, and a holy home. It's also a CHALLENGING land, and a FAT land. No, I'm not saying you'll get fat!
Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.
Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! Thank you for joining me again today in our wonderful journey through the land of motherhood.
We’re currently on point number 12: IT IS A HOLY LAND. We spoke last time about how God wants us to have a HOLY MARRIAGE. He also wants us to have HOLY MOTHERHOOD. We actually looked at that Scripture last time, last week, 1 Timothy 2:15, that we will be “saved through childbearing, if we continue in faith, love, and holiness, and self-control.”
The Scriptures combine motherhood with holiness. God wants us to be holy mothers. This word is often translated “sanctification,” or “sanctified.” It means “to be sanctified, to be set apart, to be sacred.” This is what motherhood is. It’s a set-apart calling. It’s a sacred calling. It’s not common or inferior. No! It is sacred. It is very special.
There’s an interesting Scripture in the Apocrypha. Now the Apocrypha was not chosen to be part of the Word of God, but some of the books are very interesting reading. In Ecclesiasticus 1:16, it says: “Wouldst thou be wise? The first step is fear of the Lord. It goes with holy motherhood.” I love that phrase, “holy motherhood.”
It’s important to know who we’re meant to be, and to be aware that we are meant to be holy mothers. As we have this awareness, we will seek to walk more in holiness, and also to realize that everything in our home is holy, because when Christ comes to dwell in our hearts by His Spirit, He is dwelling within us. He dwells within us with His holy life. His life is holy, and He is walking about our house in us. That’s an amazing, incredible revelation, isn’t it? We sometimes forget all about it, and we’re not aware of that. But it’s so important to be aware of these things that God wants us to embrace holy motherhood.
I love that Scripture over in Zechariah, the last chapter of Zechariah. Zechariah 14:20-21: “In that day,” it’s talking about a day that is to come, “shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots . . .” Most other translations say: (and the cooking pots) in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts.”
The Message Bible, which is a paraphrase, says: “And all the pots and pans in all the kitchens of Jerusalem and Judah will be holy.” I love to think of my utensils, and the bowls, and the cooking pots in my kitchen, that they are holy, because if God dwells in my heart, and if He dwells in my home, that means that everything in my home is sacred. It’s set apart for Him.
Even when I come to prepare meals, I’m not doing a job grudgingly. “Oh, better cook another meal.” No! I am doing a sacred task. Christ dwells in me, so therefore He is working with me. As I pick up a pot, it’s sacred. It’s set apart. It’s for God’s glory. As I’m preparing this meal, I’m doing it for His glory. It’s a sacred task. It’s as important as I am talking to you now. It’s most probably even more important, as I am there, preparing a meal for my family.
Begin to see your tasks in the home, dear mother, as sacred . . . to changing your baby’s diaper. It’s a sacred task. As you’re preparing meals, cleaning the house, doing all the things that you have to do in your home, see them as sacred. Oh, it totally changes your attitude, as you realize that you are living in a sanctuary! You see, God had His sanctuary on earth. It was the tabernacle, later the temple, where He dwelt. Now we no longer have a tabernacle/temple today. God doesn’t dwell in temples. He dwells in our fleshly temples.
We go over to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
What incredible words! And it says that your body is the temple. Now, that word “temple” there is the Greek word naos. That word literally means “the holy of holies.” It’s that special, sacred place in the tabernacle, and later the temple, where God dwelt between the cherubim, in all His shekinah glory.
Now God is saying, “I no longer dwell there, but I dwell in you! Your body has become my holy of holies.” Oh, ladies, it’s pretty hard to take in, isn’t it? You know, sometimes we know, “OK, I’m born again. I’m saved from sin. I’m going to heaven.” But we forget that Jesus not only died to save us from our sins, but to come and dwell in us, and live His holy, glorious life through us! Oh, and this is what He wants to do every day in your home, with your children all around you, whatever you are doing. He wants to live through you.
We also go over to 2 Corinthians 6:14-18: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
There again, same word. You are the temple, the naos, the holy of holies of the living God! Whoo! That is just so amazing, isn’t it? We can’t not walk in holiness when we are His “holy of holies.”
Let’s move on, shall we, to our HOLY HOME. Not only does God dwell in us, but He wants to dwell in our homes. Oh, let me take you to a glorious Scripture.
Hebrews 9:1: “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.” Now, that’s King James language. It’s not very easy to really understand what it’s saying.
Let’s go to another translation, the J. B. Philips Translation. This Scripture is talking about the tabernacle, back in the wilderness. The tabernacle, of course, was a type of the tabernacle, the temple that is in the heavenly realm, that is there right now. It was all a type. It says: “And the tabernacle had a sanctuary, a holy place in this world for the eternal God.”
Oh, don’t you love those words, dear ladies? Can I say them again?
“A holy place in this world for the eternal God.”
God chose this place, this tabernacle, where He dwelt in the holy of holies. It was where God was dwelling on this earth, on this sinful earth. There were sinful nations all around. Sadly, there was even sin in the camp of the Israelites. They were always sinning and turning away from the Lord.
But in the midst of all sin and degradation, there was this sanctuary for the holy God. Oh, He made His presence known. It was His footstool. But now God dwells in us, and He wants to dwell in our homes. Dear ladies, can you get this? He wants to make our homes a dwelling place for Him in this world. He wants our homes to be a holy place for the eternal God, in the midst of this sinful and deceived world.
We live in a deceived and sinful society. We live in a nation, oh, it’s so hard to believe that this nation, which is supposed to be a Christian nation, is a nation that has now made homosexuality law. That it’s made abortion law. How can we even accept it? How can we ever get used to it?
But in the midst of all this degradation, and sin, and murder, and hate, and evil, and horror, God wants light in this darkness. He wants holy homes in the midst of this sinful world. We are His light. We are a glimpse of God’s holiness in the midst of all this world.
This is what He wants you to make your homes, ladies. Can you get a vision for this? To make your home a holy home. Let me say it again. It’s worth typing these words out and pinning them up on your wall:
“My home is a holy place in this world for the eternal God.”
Amen? Oh, yes, yes.
Let’s go over to Ezekiel 43:12. This is talking about Ezekiel’s temple. It says: “This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.” What was the law of the house in Ezekiel’s temple? That not only the temple, but all the land round about, it was all to be most holy unto the Lord.
As I believe, as we read the Scriptures, we first read it on a literal level. This is speaking about Ezekiel’s temple, which is yet to come. But there are levels and levels, and God speaks to us His truth personally through every Scripture, through every Scripture He makes known His truths. Oh, and sometimes there’s more than one. It goes down and down. There are more levels of revelation.
I believe that God not only wants us to build the holy home in the midst of this sinful world, and that’s not easy. Especially when we’re not perfect creatures, and we’ve got all these sinners in and out of our home. And our children are certainly not born saints. They’re born sinners.
But in the midst of this, oh, we teach God’s holiness. We teach His grace, and His forgiveness of sin. How wonderful that the power of the cross, and the power of the blood of Jesus is absolutely able to cleanse us from all sin! Every sin that we confess and repent of comes under the blood, and is not only forgiven, but is forgotten. That is the power of the blood of Jesus.
So, although we are not perfect, we seek after holiness, and we embrace the power of the blood of Jesus in our lives. We seek to not only make our homes holy, but all around our homes. You may only have just a tiny, little, wee section or little plot of land, or you may have many acres. But whatever God has given you, you’re responsible to keep it holy.
We not only know what’s going on in our home, but around our home. What are our children doing inside the home? What are they doing outside of the home? What is going on outside our home? Oh, yes, we as mothers are watchdogs, always watching, checking things out. We have a responsibility to pursue holiness in the home and all round about. Amen? Yes.
Holiness in the home begins with us. We are the heart of the home. Dear ladies, will you make it your vision today, to make a holy place for God in the midst of this sinful world?
Hebrews 12:14: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”
All right. Let’s move on to the next point.
No. 13. IT IS A CHAELLINGING LAND
Deuteronomy 1:7: “Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south” which was speaking of the desert, which is south Israel.
It wasn’t all plain sailing. There were hills. There were valleys. There were deserts. God said, “I want you to go in and take it all.” Yes, even the challenging situations.
What about Deuteronomy 9:1-2? “Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak!”
And there’s an exclamation mark, right after it, because the children of Anak were the giants. The Anakims were the giants. God says, “Here you are. You’re going to go into the land today, my people! But you’re going to face challenges greater and mightier than you are. Yes, there are cities with fences that are walled up to heaven! Yes, there are giants there! But go in and possess.”
My, sometimes we have fears and concerns about embracing the whole of the land of motherhood. Young mothers go into the land and sometimes they go in with fear about having babies. So many young people today have grown up in small families. They’ve never been around little babies and mothering. They don’t even know anything about this realm!
They have lots of fears and questions. They’re scared that they might have too many children. They’re scared of this. They’re scared of that. They worry about this. They worry about that. All these little things loom up as giants in their minds.
But what does God say to His people? When he said, “OK, you’re going in to face these greater and mightier nations than you. You’re going in to face giants.” Then He said, “Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is He which goeth over before you.” God goes before us. God is with us.
And, yes, all of us face challenging situations in different ways. I’m sure as I’m talking to you today, every one of you has faced difficult situations, challenging situations. Oh, you didn’t know how you would ever come through, but God has brought you through into a large place, into a glorious place.
Some of you are going through things now. You wonder, “Oh, my, how can I do this? How can I face this? How can we ever get through this?” I want to remind you, dear ones, God is with you. He will not let you go. Look up to Him. Trust Him. Confess that He is with you.
Say, “Oh, Lord God, I don’t know where to turn, but I thank You that You are with me. I thank You, Lord God. You’ve promised to go before me. You’ve already been before. You know what to do. I’m trusting You, Lord God. I trust You. I trust You. Thank You, Lord. Oh, my trust is in You! I look to You! I’m not looking to these circumstances. I am looking to you.”
Make this your confession. As you do, as you truly put your trust in Him, you will be amazed how God will bring you through. Many times, the problem doesn’t suddenly disappear. But God carries you through. He’s gone before, and He is with you, and He will never forsake you. He has promised. Yes, every single challenge that you face, He will be with you.
We see it again in Joshua 12:8: “Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession, according to their divisions.” Where did they possess?
“In the mountains,
and in the valleys,
and in the plains,
and in the springs,
and in the wilderness,
and in the south country (which is the desert).”
So, we see that all these are not all the same. It’s not only all plains. There are the springs. Oh yes, wonderful springs. There are the valleys. There are the mountains to climb. There are the wilderness times. They’re all there. But God is with us in every one.
I have another reference here. I must just check it out.
Joshua 11:16: “So Joshua took all that land” (that God had promised them)
“the hills,
and all the south country,
and all the land of Goshen,
and the valley,
and the plain,
and the mountain of Israel,
and the valley of the same.” and so on.
We see it over and over again, that there are all the different seasons and circumstances that we will face in our land. But we can be sure, no matter what we face, that God is with us.
God is with you, dear precious wife.
God is with you, dear precious mother.
He will never forsake you, never, never, never.
That is the understanding in the Greek of Hebrews 13:5-6, where it says: “I will never, I will never, I will never (three times for emphasis) leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Amen?
I love the lines of this chorus where it says:
“Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?
Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?
God specializes in things thought impossible.
He can do what no other can do.”
Amen? And amen!
Let’s go on to our next one.
. Isn’t it amazing, all the different descriptions that God uses to describe His land? Let’s look at Nehemiah 9:25: “And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.”
Here we have the description of it being a “fat” land. In fact, it tells us that they became fat. Well, I don’t think any of us want to become fat, do we? No. We’re all trying to keep slim. But I don’t think it’s meaning they just got fat. I don’t think that back there in those days, we saw any fat Israelites. They were so fit. Of course, the food that they lived on, although God called it a “fat land.”
But what was it? It was oliveyards, and fruit trees, and all the good things that He created. They weren’t living on all these fatty fast foods. They were living on the good foods that God gave to them.
We go on to Nehemiah 9:35. Now if we move down the chapter, Nehemiah is telling the people what God did for them, and then what they did, and how they turned away in disobedience. Then he says, “For they have not served Thee in their kingdom, and in Thy great goodness that Thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which Thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.”
We notice in that Scripture quite a few things; how God gave to them their kingdom. He also called the land their “kingdom.” The land of motherhood is also our kingdom, ladies. It’s our realm that God has given us to manage, and to rule over. You are not some inferior person. You are a queen!
Yes, queen of your domain. Queen of your home, and all that goes on in it, and not only training and raising godly children, but opening your home in hospitality to bless people. The visions that you have of projects that God has put on your heart to do. Everything that’s happening in your home. It’s your kingdom, your domain, and you rule over it.
He's given us a kingdom. He’s given it to us. You notice that, again, yes, this kingdom that He gave to you. Of course, it’s called a “large and a fat land.” It goes on to verse 36. This is getting a bit negative now. “Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. . . Also, they have dominion over our bodies. We are in great distress.”
Whoo! That’s a very powerful Scripture. In the last couple of years, many, some more than others, and in some countries more than others, and in some situations, more than others, many began to experience that the government had dominion over our bodies. That is a curse that comes when we walk in disobedience in the land that He gives us.
When we walk in obedience, we experience the fat of the land, and the good of the land. We enjoy the kingdom He’s given us to rule over, and to manage, and to enjoy. But when we walk in disobedience, God brings that curse of a government taking dominion over our bodies. My, I hate that.
And so many, many people, because of fear, gave into a government, and to people who demanded that they be vaccinated for this so-called covid, which was another strain of the flu. That is so sad. There were many who entered hospital, mainly through fear, because fear brings on something and makes it worse.
The sad part about it was that there were many who did not return from hospital, because they were given remdesivir. We know that that was commanded by Fauci to all hospitals, to give those who came in with the C-O-V-I-D, I don’t even like saying the word. They were to be given remdesivir. They were not allowed to have hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin, which had been proved, and has been continually proved to be a complete healer.
But instead, they gave them this poison, which poisons the kidneys. Most people who received that diagnosis died. They died, not through covid, but through remdesivir. They took dominion over their bodies. It was murder. I still cannot understand all that happened. Where will the justice come? Will justice come for all these precious people who died unnecessarily?
But that’s the negative, isn’t it? Oh, the positive is that God wants to bring us into this fat land to enjoy it.
One more Scripture as we close. Ezekiel 34:13-15; this is now where the people have been thrown out of the land because of their disobedience. But God has promised to bring them back, because He will never fail His promises.
He says, “And I will bring them. . .to their own land,” to their own land, “and. . . I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.”
God wants you to enjoy the fatness of the land of motherhood. God has given us a table of fatness. Every day that table is filled with nourishment for us, to come in and partake of. We can partake of it as we come into His presence. We can partake of that fatness as we come into His Word and receive what He has to say to us. The commands and the promises that He has given us for this kingdom in which we live, for this land in which we live. Oh, what a great and wonderful God we have!
Dear Father, we thank You. We are full of thanks for all Your goodness to us, for this fat and large land that You’ve brought us into, for all the good things You give us daily. We are so blessed. We want to be a thankful people. Help us to be full of thankfulness and gratefulness and joy every day as we mother in our land. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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