PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | EPISODE 314: Altar Building, Part 7
LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell
EPISODE 314
: Altar Building, Part 7
How do we combat the onslaughts of the enemy as a family? How do we teach our children to fight the enemy? Are we prepared for coming difficulties and crises (spiritually, physically, and nationally) as a family? I discuss these questions in this podcast.
Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.
Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! Back again to talk about the family altar. We are up to point No. 14. Remember, I’ve got 25 points, so we’re gradually getting there! There is so much in the Word of God about this wonderful subject.
No. 14. WE ARISE EARLY TO BUILD AN ALTAR
In Exodus 24:4, it says: “And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Again, we read later in Judges 21:4, “And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.”
We see that they rose early to build an altar. I think that is a good point. I believe that, especially for our personal altar. Remember we’ve talked about how it is important to have a personal altar, and then we have our family altar.
But I have found that if I don’t have my personal altar, my personal time of reading the Word in the morning, especially the earlier I can the better, I don’t get time during the day. I’m sure it’s the same with you. The days are so busy, aren’t they? There is so much to be done, and so much happening. If we don’t take that time in the morning, it’s just gone! I think that’s such a good habit to get into.
For our family altar, we begin the day with it, as we end the day. We usually have our early morning family altar at breakfast time. We always have our altar around the meal times, because that’s when we gather as a family. Families gather to eat. It’s the best way to gather your family together.
When your children are little, it is easier to get them together. Maybe if you wanted to have your family altar at a different time, you can gather your little ones around. But let me tell you, as your children grow, and they get older, and they hit the teens, and you’ve got older young people living in your home, some of them may be already going out to work. They’re all getting involved in their various things.
Unless you establish times for your family altar, you will never ever get them there. In fact, I don’t find you can get them there unless you have it at mealtimes because mealtimes are when they want to eat.
You’ve got them there, and you keep them there to end the meal with feeding their spirit, because the table is a place where we feed the whole man, body, soul, spirit. We don’t just feed tummies. We feed souls and spirits, don’t we? It’s a great time to do it after breakfast, and at the evening meal.
We rise early, and that means planning your whole household. As children get older, there is a trend these days for young people to stay up very late. Then they can’t get up in the morning. Young people do need their sleep. That is important, but if they can’t get up in the morning, well, they’ve got to get to bed a bit earlier. We do have to encourage them to get to bed at a reasonable hour so that we can all start the day as a family.
I don’t believe we should be haphazardly having people getting up at all different times. I remember a mother staying with me in our home. She was sharing with me how her teens slept later because they were up so late at night. She cleared the breakfast dishes, and it would be all cleaned up. Then they’d get up and have their breakfast. Then there would be another mess.
I said, “How on earth can you even manage your home? You’ve just got messes all day!” No, you can’t do that. How can you even have a family altar if everyone is not getting up at the same time? It does take strategy, and it does take making things happen. We have a time in our home when, OK, this is our time for our family devotions. People have to have breakfast before then, ready for that time. So, we have to begin to make sure we’re starting the day at a reasonable hour.
I like to think also, that if we go back to when God provided manna for His people, we read in Exodus 16:21: “And they gathered it every morning.” Notice that? “Every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.” They had to go out every morning if they wanted to eat and get that food before it melted! I think that is exactly the same with us getting our spiritual food. We’ve got to get up, and make a habit of getting up.
Can I put in the little parentheses here? Yes, there are seasons in life, and maybe some of you have got a new baby. You’re nursing your baby, and your baby is being nursed into the night. You’ve just got to sleep a little later with your baby.
It’s a season. God understands our seasons, especially for mothers. “He gently leads those that are with young” (Isaiah 40:11). I want you to know, dear mother, God understands your seasons. There will be seasons when, because you’ve got this little darling baby, it won’t be perhaps like it has been, or will be again. God understands that. But where possible, you’ll get everybody going in the morning so that we can all make that time to meet with the Lord. OK?
No. 15: WHEN WE BUILD A FAMILY ALTAR, IT IS A SWEET SMELL UNTO GOD
In many of the Scriptures where we read about the sacrifices, it talks about how the Lord smelled a sweet savor. In Numbers 28:6, it tells us that the burnt offerings upon the altar were ordained in Mount Sinai for a sweet savor.
Even as we shared last time, Jesus Himself, when He sacrificed His own body to the Lord for our sins, became a sweet-smelling savor to the Lord. When we sacrifice and make time for our family altar each day, God sees it as a sweet smell unto Him, a sweet-smelling savor unto Him. So, be aware of that, dear ladies.
I know it takes effort. It takes time. It takes everything to make it happen in your home. But know that it is worth it, and it’s a sweet-smelling savor unto the Lord.
No. 16: WE KEEP A DAILY ALTAR BECAUSE WE DAILY FACE THE ONSLAUGHTS OF THE ENEMY
Let’s go back to a passage in Exodus 17. This was where the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites. Moses said, “OK, Joshua, I want you to grab all the army men and get out there and fight those Amalekites. Tomorrow morning, you get out there and fight and I will go up the mount. I will hold up the rod of God and trust God that He will give you the victory!”
So that’s what happened. Joshua went out to fight the Amalekites and Moses was up on the mountain, watching over them. He could see what was happening down below. He had his hands raised up before the Lord, holding up the rod of God.
But, if any of you know, it’s not that easy to keep your hands raised up for very long, is it? Many of us love to raise our hands in worship unto the Lord. I know that there are some people who don’t do that, although I must pop in, that it is very Scriptural. There are many, many Scriptures where it says we are to raise our hands unto the Lord. But when you do that, you can’t keep them up for a great length of time before they begin to get tired.
That was happening with Moses. You’ll know the story of how Aaron and Hur, his brothers, came alongside him. They found a stone for him to sit on, and they held up his hands before the Lord. What happened? When his hands were raised up, the Israelites overcame the Amalekites and prevailed.
But before Aaron and Hur began to hold up his hands for him, if he let his hands down, immediately the Amalekites would begin to prevail and overcome the Israelites. It was so important to keep his hands raised up before the Lord! Aaron and Hur came alongside and helped him.
That’s a wonderful illustration too, of how we need to help one another in prayer and come alongside one another and hold one another up in prayer. Even in prayer meetings, we encourage one another as we come together to pray.
Corporate prayer meetings are very, very powerful. I hope you belong to a corporate prayer meeting. We have two corporate prayer meetings in our Hilltop fellowship, Monday and Wednesday. They are both such wonderful nights of the week. If you don’t have one, or your church doesn’t have a corporate prayer meeting, well, just start one in your home. Invite a few families over and pray together as families.
You don’t do it as a separate thing as just adults. No, we have all the family, right down to the little babies, and the toddlers, and the little ones. They are all there, part of the corporate family prayer. It is so great.
And so, the Israelites eventually won the battle. Praise the Lord! After they won, it tells us, in verses 15 and 16 that “Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah Nissi: for he said, because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
The New Living Translation says: “They have raised their fists against the Lord’s throne, so now the Lord will be at war with Amalek, generation after generation.”
There Moses made this altar, calling it Jehovah Nissi, “the Lord is my banner,” because a banner speaks of victory. It speaks of winning the battle. When an army has won a battle, they come home with their banners waving high and flying. In fact, even when they go out to battle, they’ve got their banners high. Jehovah Nissi, “The Lord, My Banner, The Lord, My Victory.”
But it says here, and this is an important point, ladies, it says that from now on, we would have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Amalek speaks of the flesh and of the enemy. It didn’t just happen there. It happens from generation to generation. This is why we need a family altar, because we are constantly going to face the onslaughts of the enemy. We’re going to be battling with Amalek. We constantly battle with Amalek from day to day.
You know yourself we are in a battle. We face battles in our family life. We find that the enemy will seek to come and intrude into our family life in different ways. We have got to battle that, and hold up our hands in prayer, and get the victory.
We have to battle in our nation. We are facing incredible battles in our nation. We’ve got to learn how to battle in prayer. If we don’t have the family altar where we come together as a family, to be encouraged in the Word of God, and to be able to cry out to the Lord, how are we going to survive? We won’t survive in the battles. Oh, you might survive when everything’s going good. But you won’t survive the battles without that family altar.
No generation is going to miss out. We see this in another passage in the Word of God. We go to Judges 3:1. It says here: “Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof; namely, five lords of the Philistines,” and it mentions them, the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites, and so on.
God said that He would allow war in every generation so each new generation would learn how to fight. This is a Scriptural principle. Every generation must learn how to fight the battles of the Lord. As parents, we have to teach our children how to fight the battles, because they’re going to face battles. If we are not teaching them how to fight the battles against Amalek, against the enemy of our souls, they’re not going to be ready to face life.
Where is the greatest place we can teach them how to fight the battles? It’s at the family altar, because at the family altar, it’s the time to pray. It’s the time where we have everyone in the family praying, where they learn to pray. This is the greatest place where we fight our battles. It’s in prayer.
In many ways we fight battles, but the greatest one is in prayer. That’s our most powerful weapon against the enemy, in prayer. We’re teaching our children, right from when they are little how to fight the enemies of the Lord. That’s why I’ve mentioned before, I think in a previous podcast recently, about how we have our prayer boxes.
We’re not only praying for our little needs and our little family. No, we are praying for the needs in Israel as they fight this war against Hamas. We are praying for the persecuted church. We are praying for great needs in our nation. We are praying for the nations of the world. We are bringing up our children to pray for the battles that are out there. They are learning how to fight battles. Another new generation is learning how to war against the enemy.
This is a very important part of establishing family devotions, teaching them how to fight against Amalek, and how to win the victory against Amalek, because when we come fighting in prayer, we’re going to win the victory in prayer. Amen? Are you getting it, ladies? You’re not missing out on this important thing of teaching your children.
We raise up the banner, Jehovah Nissi, The Lord is My Banner. In Psalm 60:4, it says: “Thou hast given a banner to them that fear Thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth.” We’re at our family devotions. We’re lifting up the banner of truth as we read the Word of God. We’re imparting the truth into our children. We’re getting them filled up richly with the truth. They’re going to be strong in the truth because that’s how they will overcome.
I’m just thinking now of over there in 1 John 2:14: “I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the Word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” How do we teach our young men to be strong and overcome the wicked one? Because they have the Word of God in them and they know how to pray. Amen.
Psalm 20:5: “In the name of our God we will set up our banners.”
Go to Song of Solomon, the picture of Christ and the bride. Song of Solomon 6:4 is a picture of the Bride. “Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.” That word “terrible” means “frightful, awesome.”
Go down to verse 10. Here again, it’s speaking about the bride. “Who is she that looketh forth as the morning,” notice “forth as the morning.” She arises in the morning, with the dew. Yes, “fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible [or awesome] as an army with banners?” Amen. We’ve got to hold up our banners. Yes.
ARE YOU READY FOR THE FUTURE?
And so, I believe, as we’re looking at this Scripture of how we are constantly, in every generation, going to fight and face the onslaughts of the enemy, I feel to share a few thoughts with you today, ladies, about things that I believe, and many, many believe, are coming in our nation. There are many men of God who believe, and have received from the Lord, what they feel could be happening in our nation, maybe round about election time, and coming in the following year.
But not only from the church has this word come, but it’s in the secular. If you have your ear to the ground, you will also know that you are hearing constantly that there will come, not could come, but there are going to come, at some stage, food shortages, and maybe power shortages, and maybe even a closing down of the whole grid for some time.
That is information. That is not hearsay. It’s given by our government itself, if you know where to find that. Some people have their head in the sand and they’re merrily going along. But I believe that we, as the people of God, should be prepared.
I think one of the important ways of being prepared is a family that is establishing the family altar in their home, because I believe we’ve got to be prepared spiritually first of all. Foremost spiritually, but then also mentally, emotionally, physically, and practically. In all these ways, we must be prepared.
I think practical preparation is an important thing, but what’s the use of it if we are not prepared spiritually and we are not strong in the Lord? And if we have not learned yet to trust the Lord. I believe we have got to be people who learn how to trust the Lord. What is that old hymn that says, “I’ve learned to trust Him.” Beautiful old hymn. The words have just eluded me at the moment.
But it’s so true. We have to learn to trust the Lord. When we’re facing little things, learn to trust the Lord instead of getting in a panic and getting upset. Just learn to put your mind and your heart upon the Lord and confess out loud your trust in the Lord. As you trust in Him, you will find that He is faithful. It doesn’t mean to say you won’t face hard things, but you know God is with you.
It’s not just our learning to trust the Lord. We have got to teach our children how to trust the Lord for themselves. This is an important thing, a very important thing. This is something we do at the family altar, where we have the Word, and we begin to talk about things together, because the family altar is a great place where we talk together. We discuss together as we’re reading the Word. “What does this really mean? What does God want us to do?” We’re talking, and we’re teaching them how to trust the Lord.
I believe that is one of the greatest things in preparation for things that I think are not going to maybe happen, but will, at some stage. Maybe they will be temporary, or we don’t know how long. But it is important to be prepared.
The family altar is a great preparation, spiritually. I believe families without an altar, who are not used to coming into the presence of the Lord morning and evening, are going to be weak and devoid in times of crisis. But in times of crisis, when this is a habit in your home, it is going to be such a powerful thing.
But we also need to be prepared physically, mentally, and emotionally, so we’re strong in all these ways. Have you done any practical preparedness? Do you have any food stored away? You know, of course, it is a fact that supermarkets only have enough food for four days if transportation stops, and they could not get the food to the supermarkets. In four days, they would all be empty.
How much food do you have to keep you going? For how long? A week? Three weeks? Three months? Whatever. We’re thinking about, what about water? If suddenly power is gone and you have no water, what are you going to do? In fact, if the power’s gone, what are you going to do? How are you going to cook? Do you have something?
These are things to think about. They are important to think about. The wise mother in the home will be thinking about them. I think of Proverbs 31, of course, the Proverbs 31 Woman. Verse 27: What does it say about her? “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.”
“She looketh well.” That word in the Hebrew is exactly the same word used of a watchman on the wall, or a watchman in the watchtower, looking out for protection of his city. It also means, “to peer into the distance.” A real watchman on the wall is not just sitting reading a book. No, he is peering into the distance. He is looking. His eyes are out there to see, is anyone coming to attack this city?
An above rubies woman is a watchwoman and she is looking to see. She’s not only looking to today. She’s looking into the future. She’s looking—what is going to happen? And is my family prepared for what is going to happen?
That’s why, in another place in this passage in Proverbs 31, it says: “She laughs at the future” because she is prepared. She can laugh at the future because she is prepared. She has things prepared. If there comes this time of crisis, her family is prepared. That is a very important thing.
We think of Proverbs 6. Some people say, “Oh well, I’ll just trust the Lord!” Yes, we’ve got to learn how to trust the Lord, No. one. But trusting the Lord does not mean you do nothing, because the Bible speaks of preparation.
Proverbs 6:6: “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest” (so that she has food for that time when there may be no food). “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.”
It is important. We think of Joseph, how God sent him ahead. Just think of all the trials that Joseph went through. Not only was he taken from his beloved father and family, just as a teenager, but he was accused falsely. Then he was thrown in prison. Then he was forgotten. And all that he went through, but it was all in preparation for God to feed and protect his family in the time of famine.
At the very end of the story, I always love this Scripture, Genesis 50:20. Here, this is after Joseph has brought his family down to Egypt and is providing for them because Joseph has now become second to Pharoah in the whole of the land, and is being used to provide food for the people in the seven years of famine.
But now his father has died, and now his brothers think, “Wow, now he’s going to get to us because we sold him into slavery. Now he’ll do away with us.” But he said to them: “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” And God allowed Joseph to go through all that time because He was preparing him to save much people alive, not only in Egypt, but also his whole family, and many other nations as well.
Preparedness, preparation, all the preparedness that Joseph did in the seven years of plenty, he put aside all the food, and prepared it and built those big storehouses. And it saved millions of people alive. We see the principle of preparedness in the Word of God.
But, of course, we practically prepare. It is important. It is Scriptural. We do that. I just popped that in today because I do believe if you haven’t thought— (many of you, I know, are. Many people are great preppers. That’s another little thought too. They have done studies and found that no matter if you’re the greatest prepper in the world, if you are isolated, if you are on your own, you may not survive. People need one another. It is when people get together as communities that they will have more chance of survival).
But in saying these things, let me end with this Scripture, Proverbs 29:25: “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” I was looking up the Hebrew word for the word “safe” and it’s so wonderful. It means “to be inaccessibly high, to be too high for capture.” Isn’t that amazing?
Yes, when you put your trust in the Lord, you’re putting your trust in the Name of the Most High God. You’re running into Him.
What does it say in Proverbs 18:10: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is saved.” Same Hebrew word again! When we run into that high tower, we are inaccessibly safe. We are too high for capture. Wow, that is so incredible, isn’t it? Such a wonderful promise.
We are going to learn, and teach our children at our family altar, how to fight the battles. We’re going to prepare them for difficult times ahead. We’re going to teach them how to trust in the Lord. But of course, we will also be practical. We will be doing some preparation. Amen? Because we are watchwomen in our home, along, of course, with our husband. We are peering into the future, and we are preparing, not only just for today. We’re not living just for today, but we are preparing for the future.
That was point number 15. So important. You need your family altar, because you’re going to be facing the battles and the onslaughts of the enemy. Every generation will face them.
I think time has gone again. All right, ladies. We will get through all these points, won’t we? Oh, may you be blessed today. Can I pray for you?
“Dear Father, I pray Your blessing on every family listening today. I pray, Father, that You will, Lord, help them to make their families strong. I pray, Lord, that all of us, Lord, that we will learn to be strong in the Lord, because our strength is in You, Lord. Our strength, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, in every way, is in You.
“Lord, I pray that You will help these mothers to teach their children how to be strong in the Lord. Teach their children how to fight against the enemy, and how to overcome the enemy. Help us all, Lord, to be those who are watchwomen on the wall, watching, knowing the times; that we will be like the children of Issachar who had ‘understanding of the times, to know what Israel should do.’ Help us, Lord, to know what we should be doing in this hour. We ask this in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.”
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
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Transcribed by Darlene Norris
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“LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell”
DON’T KEEP THE BLESSINGS TO YOURSELF.
IT IS ENCOURAGING FOR ALL WIVES AND MOTHERS.
Here are the words to the lovely hymn I was trying to remember:
’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”
Refrain:
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!
Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!
Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.
I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.