LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 363: THE UNBELIEVABLE REVELATION OF GOD'S HEART FOR YOUR HOME, PART 4

Heaven is holy. The Holy of Holies was filled with the holiness of God. And God wants holy homes. It begins with holy courting and a holy marriage.

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

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. Here we are again, speaking about this wonderful revelation of God’s heart for our homes. I have been giving you four similarities between Heaven, the Holy of Holies, and our homes. It’s amazing how there are similarities in how God likens our homes to Heaven, and to the Holy of Holies.

The first one was GOD’S PRESENCE. It is God’s presence that really makes Heaven. Of course, it was God’s presence that dwells in the Holy of Holies. Then we talked about how each of those places are a HIDDEN PLACE. Even though they’re hidden, that does not mean that they’re inferior because God’s most treasured places are often His hidden places.

Now, it’s interesting ladies, that since I was talking to you last, I have found another Scripture about the Holy of Holies that I never noticed before in the Word of God. Once again, it comes in an obscure place. It’s in Ezekiel 7:22. Again, it’s in a context of God bringing judgement upon His beloved temple and even the Holy of Holies.

It says: “My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.” He was prophesying what was going to happen to the temple because of this turning away from Him. But in the Scripture, it calls the Holy of Holies “My secret place.” It’s referring to the Holy of Holies.

The word in the Hebrew is tsaphan. It means “to hide, to hide from discovery, to treasure.” Other translations give it as “My hidden place.”

Most translations translate it “My treasured place” because the same word, tsaphan, is used for “hidden,” as well as for “treasured.” It’s the hidden places that are most treasured by God. The commentary by Barnes says, “My secret place, the inner sanctuary, hidden from the multitude, protected by the Most High.”

The sad thing is that we read in history about the fulfillment of that Scripture. Actually, three different people violated and defiled God’s Holy of Holies. You may remember Antiochus Epiphanes, way back in 158 BC. He actually sacrificed a pig on the altar of incense. He also went into the Holy of Holies. At that time, only the High Priest could only go in once a year.

It was because of this that the Maccabees rose up. You have heard the story of the Maccabees and how they fought. Eventually, they got back the temple. Then they had to clean it all out and rededicate it again. That’s why they celebrate around Christmas time. We have the “Feast of Dedication,” that is remembering the Maccabees and when they had to rededicate the temple.

Then, in 63 BC, the Roman general Pompey also defiled the temple and the Holy of Holies. History says that he even took a prostitute into that Holy Place.

Then, in AD 70, you’ll remember how the Roman general Titus also desecrated the temple and went into the Holy of Holies.

That was prophesied before it even happened. They polluted what God called “My secret place, My treasured place.”

Actually, that word tsaphan is the same word that we read in Psalm 119:11 about the Word of God” “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” I learned that Scripture as a child. I hope that all your children know that Scripture. It’s a wonderful Scripture to memorize: “Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.” If we’ve got God’s word hiding right in the very depths of our hearts, it’s going to be a keeping power. Of course, it’s been a keeping power in my life, all throughout my life.

That word “hid” is the same word. It means not only to hide it, but to treasure it in our hearts. Just the other day, we read Job 23:12 because we’ve been reading through the book of Job in our daily devotions. It’s quite an interesting book to read through. We read through a lot of verses. Many of them, we don’t know quite what it’s all talking about. And yet, in every chapter, we’ve always found something that is so amazing.

The other day we read in verse 12 of Job 23: “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” What an amazing statement! I wonder if we can all truly say those words: “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than,” did you get that? “MORE THAN my necessary food.”

Are we getting more of God’s Word than how much we eat each day? Well, I think that would be a pretty huge challenge, wouldn’t it? Because we eat three meals a day, and sometimes we even snack in between. Wow! How many feeds of the Word of God are we getting? And even, how many snacks are we getting?

Thinking of snacks, you know, we go through seasons in our lives, don’t we, mothers? I’m in a season now when I can make time to spend in the Word. But there was a season when I could hardly get any time! That was the season when I was having all my little babies. I had three in 17 months, because when my eldest was 17 months, twins were born unexpectedly. Then I had four under four, and so on, as the years went on.

There were times when, oh, I didn’t have time to get away and spend an hour, or even three hours a day as I used to do before I was married, to wait on the Lord, and read His precious Word. So, I would have to get snacks. I would put the Bible on my windowsill where I was preparing the meal. I could look up and grab something. I’d have it at Psalms or Proverbs. I could get something to fill my soul. I could have a Bible in the toilet room. I could have a Bible where I was nursing the babies. I could get snacks from time to time.

If you’re in that snacking period, make sure you get snacks. But it’s not that season all of our lives. There comes the time when you can get into the Word more again, and treasure it more than your necessary food. I love that statement by that old-time preacher, Leland Wang. He said, “No Bible, no breakfast.” He would never eat food for his physical body until he’d first fed his spiritual inward man. That’s pretty good, isn’t it?

Proverbs 7:1: “Pay attention to My words. Treasure My commands that are within you.” It’s all that same word, tsaphan.

But anyway, we were talking about the Holy of Holies, and how it’s hidden. Also, how our homes are often hidden. Well, home is not really hidden, because there it is, often on the street for all to see. But we, as mothers, are hidden in our homes. However, it is not insignificant.

Then the GLORY OF GOD. Oh, the glory of God fills Heaven! Yes. I think of that Scripture in Revelation 21:23: “And the city has no need of the sun. Neither of the moon, to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” Isn’t that amazing, ladies, that we won’t even need the sun or the moon when we get to eternity? God, His glory, will fill . . .  will just fill that Heaven! It will fill it with light! Yes.

But then, was it last week? Yes, we talked all about the glory of God in our homes, and how our home is our glory, and motherhood is glory. Even breastfeeding is glorious. All these things are written in the Word.

There’s another one too. 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20: “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and our joy!” Now Paul was writing to the new Thessalonian believers, saying “You are my glory! And my joy. When I present you before the Father on the day when we stand before Him. You are my glory.”

But dear ladies, surely, we can say that about our children. The Thessalonian believers were not his flesh-and-blood children. You have flesh-and-blood children that God has given to you to raise for Him. It is your glory to raise these children for God, for Him, for eternity. When you stand before Him one day, He’s not going to ask you about what career you had, or all these other pursuits you pursued in life. He’s going to ask you about your children. He’s going to ask me about my children, and we want to present them to Him as our glory.

So, dear precious mothers, realize that raising your children, pouring your life into them, teaching them God’s ways, His thoughts, His Word, building into them godly character, and preparing them for the eternal world, is the greatest glory you can have on this earth.

4. HOLINESS

Now, let’s go on to the fourth similarity. That is holiness. We read in Isaiah 63:15: “Look down from heaven and behold from the habitation of Thy holiness, and of Thy glory.” Heaven is a dwelling place of glory. And it’s a dwelling place of holiness. That’s what it says: “Look down from your dwelling place of holiness.”

And then the Holy of Holies, of course. That is called not just the Holy Place, but the Holy of Holies because it’s where our Holy God dwells. But then, we come to our homes, because we’re talking about the three “H’s,” Heaven, the Holy of Holies, and our homes. God also wants our homes to be holy, ladies. So, we’re going to look at a few things about this today.

Just this last week, I was listening to, again, because I had listened before to some prophetic words of Kim Clement. I wonder if you have ever heard any of them. Kim Clement prophesied away back in 2007, that’s quite a number of years ago now, but he prophesied back then that President Trump would come in and would have two terms in office. Before he came in, that was 2007, Trump came into office in 2016. He came in for a first term and that prophetic word was fulfilled.

Many things that Kim Clement said . . . Quite an interesting prophetic word. He said, “I’m going to fool the people, because I’m bringing into My office, the highest office of the land, not a religious man, but I’m bringing in the man that I’ve chosen.” There are many people who have criticized Trump because he is not a godly man in the way they think he should be. But God said, “I’m not bringing into My office a religious man. I’m fooling the people. I’m bringing in My man, a man who I know can do the job.”

There were many, many things in this prophetic word that have been fulfilled and I’m sure will yet be fulfilled. And even though Trump didn’t get his second term (at the time), which he did win, he’s actually won three presidencies now. But he is now in his second term.

You would love to hear this prophetic word if you've never heard it before. You can just put in “2007 Kim Clement for President Trump.” And you will get that. But he has prophesied so many things. The interesting thing is, and sadly he passed away just before President Trump came into office, but his prophetic words are still available.

Anyway, this last week, I was listening to this prophetic word. It wasn’t anything about President Trump. It was a very, very spiritual prophecy, but I caught this word, and it just came out of nowhere.

It was as though God wanted to say it, and it was God speaking. He said, “I am close to the marriage altar.” Wow! I just picked up on these words. I listened to them again. “I am close to the marriage altar.” God was speaking for His heart . . .  God is very close to the marriage altar because marriage is ordained by God. Marriage is the very first institution that God ordained and it is a holy institution.

HOLY COURTING

I want to bring out a few thoughts. I first want to speak about holy courting because before we get married, we start with courting, don’t we? I believe everything about marriage is leading up to marriage. In the marriage, it should be holy. Yes, because it’s a holy institution, ordained by God. It is sacred.

I would like to say to the young people listening today, and mothers, if your young people are not listening at the moment, you can share this with them. But I believe that God waits at every marriage altar. He comes to the marriage altar where He wants to come. I’m wondering whether sometimes He may even have to depart, because it does sadden me.

Do you mind if I say this, ladies? I do believe it is very important what we wear to the marriage altar, specifically talking to young ladies. It seems that most women come to the marriage altar today in a strapless wedding dress because that’s mostly what’s available. You go to a wedding place for the wedding dresses, and it’s always an exciting thing to go out and see the wedding dresses. But mainly, they’re all strapless gowns. Often, you've really got to choose or go onto the internet or something to get a wedding dress that is fully covered.

But dear young ladies who are preparing for marriage, you are going to an altar. You are going to a marriage altar, and God is close to the marriage altar. God wants a young maiden, a young virgin, to come to that altar in a holy manner, not uncovered.

The sad part is that many of those strapless dresses don’t always hold up so well and they often show a lot of cleavage. Then there’s all the bridesmaids, and they’ve got all their strapless dresses on, and half of them are falling off. It’s so embarrassing! Not only is this beautiful young woman coming to this sacred altar, to her husband who is the one who has the privilege to uncover her. But many times, she’s already uncovered, or a little bit uncovered, or a bit more uncovered, depending.

I’ve been to some weddings where I don’t know where to look, let alone the men in the congregation! And think about that. Not only are they coming uncovered or slightly uncovered (they’re not wholly uncovered) but it’s enough that it’s not holy. They’re showing this to the whole congregation! “Well, here I come, everybody! I’m coming to my husband when he’s the one who says, ‘Uncover me.’ But I’m just showing to everybody else what I’ve got too!”

We have to be careful because this is even happening in Christian weddings. Remember, God is close to the marriage altar. I wonder if He sometimes has to leave because it’s not holy. This is a holy place.

And even before you get to the altar, lovely young ladies, please be careful what you wear, how you act. Your courtship must be a holy courtship. It’s so easy, in our modern day, when so many clothes are very revealing, just to wear these things because they’re normal, but they turn a young man on. You can easily turn a young man on, and that’s not holy. You have to do everything in your power to not do that.

The tights that men and girls wear today are literally unholy because you can see everything. They turn a man on. They’re not what we wear in a holy courtship. Always make sure that you're totally covered. Be discreet. Be circumspect. Be holy, because your courtship is before the Lord. It’s in the presence of the Lord.

I’ve just done another study recently, and I looked into the Word of God. I couldn’t believe it. In fact, when I sit down to do a real solid study on a subject, I can never really believe it. I found all the Scriptures where God describes what happens to someone who gets involved in fornication or adultery. I found over 30 descriptions.

There are more descriptions and warnings about fornication and adultery than any other sin in the Bible. It’s obviously something that is very concerning to the heart of God because it affects a marriage. To go into marriage on a foundation of fornication is a faulty foundation. That’s why the Bible says” “Run from sexual sin!” (1 Corinthians 6:18).

Well, that means you don’t put yourself in a place where you're going to tempt that young man whom you are courting, because you are wanting a godly man, a man after God’s own heart. Therefore, you’re wanting to be a woman after God’s own heart. Don’t put yourself in a place where you can tempt him, even in his mind, even if he’s godly.

Goodness me, your clothing can still mess with his mind and that is not fair! It is not right. Let’s have holy courting. When we get to our wedding day, we have a holy marriage. We come at it with holy clothes to that marriage altar, where God says, “I’m close. I am close to the marriage altar.”

HOLY MARRIAGE

Marriage means so much to God because marriage is the complete story of the whole Bible. That’s the story of the Bible. It’s a whole picture of God sending His Son to get a Bride. It ends with the supper of the Lamb. It’s the story of a whole courtship and wedding and God getting a Bride who has no other gods before her, who is totally ready and prepared for her Bridegroom.

Marriage is very precious to God. We want to have a holy marriage. What does it say? I’m wanting to read again the beginning of the marriage vows. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God and in the face of this company to join together this man and this woman in . . .” What? “In HOLY matrimony.”

Yes, it’s holy matrimony. “Therefore, it’s not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, and solemnly, into this estate . . .?” No, “into this HOLY estate” these two persons present now come to be joined.” This is right at the very beginning of our marriage. We’re coming into this holy estate.

And then we go to Hebrews 13:4: “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled. But whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” God is showing the difference here between adultery (which He will judge), and the marriage bed, which is holy, and honorable, and even more than that.

When you read “honorable,” yes, that’s a very powerful word, but it’s even more than that. I went to the Greek word as I love to do. It means not only “honorable,” but it means “most precious, more precious, of great price, beloved.” That’s what it means. That’s how God sees marriage. He sees it as very precious.

In fact, the same word is used in verses talking about “the precious blood of Christ,” in 1 Peter 1:19.

Then, where it talks about how “the trying of our faith is more precious than of gold that perishes.”

Let’s look at the Amplified version: “Let marriage be held in honor, esteemed worthy, precious, of great price, and especially dear in all things.” That’s talking about marriage as a whole, and the marriage bed, which in marriage is very, very precious and holy and honorable.

And it says: “Keep the bed undefiled.” The word “undefiled” means “unsoiled, uncontaminated, set apart.” It’s the same word that’s actually used of Jesus Himself, when it says here, Hebrews 7:26: “For such an high priest” (it’s talking about Jesus) “for such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” That same word, “undefiled,” is used in that place. So, ladies, we keep a holy marriage. Amen?

HOLY MARRIAGE BED

And even a holy marriage bed. Sometimes, even in Christian marriages, there can be husbands who want their wives to do things that are not holy. Keep your marriage bed holy. God created intimacy to be so glorious and wonderful that there is no need for anything that is contrary to God’s holiness, or anything that would defile or soil the marriage bed. Remember that ladies.

HOLY MOTHERING

1 Timothy 2:15 reminds us that “women will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.” Holiness is also contained in our wonderful career of motherhood. God wants us to be holy mothers, really. Holy mothers, yes, because as we seek to be holy mothers, we’re going to raise holy children in a holy home. This is what it’s all about.

I love Zechariah 14:20-21: “In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD” (that’s written in capitals in the Bible). “And the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts.”

I love that, because here, it’s written in holiness from a religious understanding of this in a very holy place, right down to the common places of even our home, and in the kitchen, where everything’s happening. Maybe everything’s in a mess, and you've got your pots out, and you're trying to prepare the meal. Here it says, “And every pot,” even every mundane pot, “will be holiness unto the Lord.”

Dear ladies, we have to see that as we’re mothering in our homes, that when Christ is in us (who is holy) everything in our home becomes holy and sacred, everything we do! When you're getting your pots out of the cupboard to prepare a meal, just think, “These pots are holy, because I’m touching them, and they’re in my home! This is a holy home unto the Lord.” Everything you do, every commonplace thing you do is holy unto the Lord. See yourself as holy mothering. Everything you do is holy and anointed by God because Christ is in you. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossian 1:27). Christ in you, who is holy. That’s who He is.

In Exodus 28:36-38, it says that Aaron wore a plate of gold on his head, with the words, “HOLINESS TO THE LORD.” (Once again, it is written in capital letters in the Bible). He was the high priest, and he had to wear it on his head so that even his thoughts and his mind would keep holy. But now, ladies, now we don’t have an earthly high priest, and we don’t have an earthly temple. Now you've become the temple of the Lord God, of the Holy God. Everything in your home is holy. So, begin to see it like that. Amen?

Well, we’ll talk more about this in the next session. The Lord bless you.

“Father. I pray again today for all the wives and mothers and young people listening. Oh, Father, we thank You that we can go into Your Word, which is so unbelievably amazing, and let You teach us your ways, and show us Your ways. Lord God, help us to be holy wives and holy mothers as we create a holy home on this earth. We ask it the Name of Jesus. Amen.”

We’ll talk about creating a HOLY HOME next week.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 362: THE UNBELIEVABLE REVELATION OF GOD'S HEART FOR YOUR HOME, PART 3

You may feel hidden in your home, but it is the most sacred and glorious places that are hidden. Find out more about our hidden God.

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

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! We are now up to our third session on “The Unbelievable Revelation of God’s Heart for Your Home.” Last week, we were talking about the hiddenness of your home. But even though you may feel hidden, you are doing a very powerful work that will possibly touch the world.

I forgot to tell you; I mentioned last week about a message that we went to listen to. We go every Saturday evening, and I’d like to tell you about these messages. They are with Brother Ray McCollum. You can go to his website, www.RayMcCollum.com. Then if you scroll down, you will find a tab with the word “Sermons.” If you click on that, you can then hear his sermons that he gives every Saturday night which are marvelous teaching messages. The particular one I was talking about is called “Jesus Incognito.”

Now, we are still talking about the hiddenness of our homes, because I do want to remind you, dear ladies, that in your home, the inner rooms . . .  What are the inner rooms of your home? Well, usually the center of your home is your kitchen. In your kitchen or your dining room, you have your table. These are usually the part of the home that is the heart of the home.

That is also what God is saying in Psalm 128:3: after he has said: “Your wife is a fruitful vine in the inner rooms of your home,” it goes on to say: “Your children will be like olive branches as they sit all around your table.” What a beautiful picture! We notice that it’s not just one or two sitting at the table, but the children are sitting all around the table.

There are many children. God loves to see that. Oh my! He loves to see families growing with more and more children sitting around the table. It may not be modern Christianity, but, ladies, it is Bible Christianity. God loves it. So, it shows the children sitting around the table.

This is where you’re gathering to eat. I want to remind you again. I talk so much about the table, and how important it is. But there’s nothing like another reminder, dear ladies. It’s so easy for life to just take you out of the home. So many of the activities that draw you out of the home, through sports and different lessons your children are learning, musical, whatever. It seems that most of them are around that evening mealtime.

This is what you've got to watch, because it’s a ploy of the enemy. If you need to do some of these things, you're going to have to ask the Lord to find a way where you can do them and they’re not at that time, because this is a powerful time of the day.

In fact, we go back to Genesis. Everything is written in the beginning for our learning. It is a prototype. We read of how Jesus came to spend time with Adam and Eve every day. When did He come? Did He come in the middle of the day, or throughout the day, when Adam was busy working in the garden? Because that’s what He gave him to do. It says: “He put the man in the garden to till it and watch over it.”

But no, God didn’t come then. The Bible says that “He came in the cool of the day.” The end of the day. Now, there’s a little breeze blowing. It’s cool, and it’s time to eat. It’s time to relax, and it’s time to fellowship. This is a very special time of the day. God established it in the beginning. After they sinned, when God came at the usual time to find them, the Bible says they were hiding! They were hiding from the presence of the Lord.

Now, I know that no family would ever mean to hide from the presence of the Lord. But that is actually what happened! Because God comes in the cool of the day. He wants to sit at the evening meal with us. He wants to manifest His presence with us. He wants to be with us, and He comes, and there’s no family there! There’s no mother in the home preparing the meal. There’s no beautiful aroma wafting up. There’s nobody there! They’re all out.

And yet, that’s the time of the day when God especially loves to come. So, be reminded, dear ladies. Yes, the table may be in your kitchen or in your dining room. It’s in the hidden part of your home, but, oh, it’s a powerful place.

In fact, I think if I look back, the table was the greatest place for us to influence, and nurture, and train our children, because it’s the place where we have them all together. We can dialog. We can talk. We can talk about things. We learn together. We discuss together. Then, of course, at the end of the meal, we never leave the table without feeding the soul and the spirit, because we’ve fed the body.

We can’t just eat and feed the body and leave the table. Goodness me, the most important parts are our soul and our spirit, and we must feed them. So, it’s such a powerful place. I encourage you today to just watch out for all those things that come upon us and begin to take over our lives and take over that time of the day.

Another thing that happens in many homes is that many mothers think, “Oh, wow! Well, I’ll just have to go out and help get in some money for the family.” But actually, it’s not your responsibility. It’s your husband’s responsibility to provide. It’s your responsibility to be there in the home with the family.

But some mothers I have had share with me, “Well, I’ve been able to get this job. My husband is home now. He’s home from work, so I can leave and go out and do this evening job.” I beg your pardon. Dearest lovely ladies, actually I don’t think I’m talking to anybody who’s doing that. But you may have friends who are doing it.

You’re walking out, or they are walking out, on the most important time of the day. When you're preparing a meal, when you're going to sit down with your family. The most important time is sitting down with them and sharing. And then, of course, having devotions together. To miss out on that time is huge.

So, lovely ladies, we’re talking about getting back to God’s way. OK, I’ll say it again.

It may not be the modern Christianity way. But it’s the biblical way! We cannot say we are a Bible-believing Christian if we can read the Word and do the opposite! We can’t. We’ve got to read the Word, and obey it, even if it turns our whole world upside down. That’s what the Bible does. It turns your whole world upside down. It doesn’t work out with the spirit of the world. You’ve got to determine to live your life according to what the Word says and what God says.

I’m just encouraging you today. Yes, and of course, I guess I should mention this again. What is one of the biggest things that happens in the heart of your home? Well, of course, it’s that stove. That stove in your kitchen is right in the heart of your home. That’s where you're going to spend a lot of time, because cooking is part of the heart of the home. It will take up a good lot of your time.

I want to encourage you, lovely ladies, to not despise these times. I think so many mothers think that cooking for your family, “Well, really, it’s a bit mundane, and it’s not the most important thing that I have to do in my home.” But no, that is not true. It is one of the most powerful things that you will do in your home. I really want to encourage you in that.

We go to 1 Timothy 5:10. This is in the context of Paul writing to Timothy about widows in the church. Timothy said, “What do we do with all these widows?” There must have been a lot of them, sadly.

Paul says, “OK, those who have children, or even grandchildren, must care for them and provide for them. That is the biblical word. But if they don’t have any family to care for them, this is what you do. If they are 60 years of age and older, a widow who is 60 years of age, and she has lived this lifestyle,” and here we read it in verse 10. If she has lived this lifestyle, you are to provide for her from the church. What Paul is saying is, “This woman has lived the way God intends for her as a woman. Now I want you to bless her, protect her, and provide for her.”

All right. What is the first thing she does? “She is well-reported of for good works.” That word in the Greek is kalos, and it means “beautiful, lovely, valuable.” So, what we’re going to read here are beautiful words. It’s the same word that’s used in Titus 2 where the older women are to teach the younger women. They’re to be teachers of good things.

The word that’s used there is kalodidaskalos, meaning didaskalos, “teacher,” and kalos, once again, “beautiful.” She is to be a teacher of beautiful, valuable, lovely things. Well, we know these things in Titus 2. Teaching the young women to love their husbands, love their children. And once again, to be keepers at home.

Now we’re here in 1 Timothy 5:10:

Number one: “If she has brought up children.”

First things first. Did she embrace children? And what is the word for “brought up”? It is a word that means, “to feed, to pamper, to nurture with food, to nourish with food.” And that’s the word that God uses to describe raising children. Yes, it talks about nurturing and nourishing, but with food!

Dear ladies, feeding our children is one of the biggest things we will do as mothers. And, of course, it begins in the heart of the home. This is where it happens, unless you are taking them out to fast foods or restaurants all the time. I remember having dear friends who, oh, they only had two children. Well, it wasn’t because they only wanted two children. They weren’t able to have children. And then God so wonderfully blessed them with twins. They were able to adopt these twins.

But as they grew up, I noticed that they were going out to restaurants, or eating out, rather than eating at home. I remember saying to my friend, “If you take your children to eat out all the time, how are they learning how to eat meals at home? What will they do when they’re married? You’re not even passing on this, not concept, it’s more than that, this mandate, this lifestyle that God ordains.”

But this woman, she brought up children. She fed them. Of course, feeding starts as we nurture a baby at the breast. Then we continue to feed them wholesome foods, because there are two words for food in the New Testament. Both of them mean, “to nourish with food.” Food that is not nourishing is not food. Therefore, we, as mothers have to be very careful.

When we go to the supermarket, when we purchase food, we must look at every single thing we buy, and ask, “Is this nourishing? Will it nourish the bodies of my children? Or is it filled with all this other junk?” We have to learn to read the ingredients. My, so many times, when I pick up something and read the ingredients, I put it back again because it’s filled with junk, actually! Our food must nourish our children.

All right. So, that’s number one.

Number two: “If she had lodged strangers.”

That means she’s showing hospitality. Once again, dear mothers, you can’t show hospitality without feeding, without cooking. There it is again, this cooking. Oh, don’t despise it. This is in the Bible. This is something God loves! This is your lifestyle. You open your home to people, to lonely ones, to other families. You bring them into your home, and you're cooking for them.

Number three: “If she has washed the saints’ feet.”

Well, back in Bible times, it was normal to wash the people’s feet as they came in the door, because they’d been out, just with sandals on, on the dusty road. Very dusty over there in Israel. Usually, the lowly servant would wash the feet of those coming in, although here it says that this woman washed their feet.

Once again, though, if people are coming into your home, why are they coming in? Because you're going to feed them. If people come into your home, you don’t just let them starve. No, it’s normal to provide food for them. Once again, you're cooking!

Then, what’s the last one?

Number four: “If she has relieved the afflicted.”

Well, when people are in need, you're usually going to be cooking something for them, aren’t you? Someone is sick, a young mother is sick. Maybe you’ll bake some bread for her. You’ll make a pot of soup, or you will make them cookies. But you’ll take something to her, to nourish her, and to help her feed her family.

Even if you're going to be going out to minister to someone in need, invariably you’ll want to take food. Food is so powerful. Food ministers to people, not only physically, but it ministers to them spiritually, and their insides as well. It says in the Word that God feeds us with food and gladness. They go together.

Just recently, I did some podcasts with you. I think it was 25 food twins, all the different things that God puts with food. So, there we are, ladies. Just reminding you again that cooking is so much a part of our role in the heart of the home.

I love this story from John 21. I wonder if I’ve told it to you before, of when Jesus wanted to meet with His disciples. It was after He had risen from the dead. He went down to the Galilee, knowing that’s where they’d be. He looked out, and there were the disciples. They’d been all night fishing and caught nothing.

He yelled out to them, “Have you caught any fish?” “No,” came the answer. Jesus called out, “Put down your nets on the right-hand side!” And so, they did, and what happened? They brought in a multitude of fish. They could hardly contain them. Then then realized it must have been the Lord. They actually caught 153 fish, the Bible says. But then, it was nearing morning, and they came onshore.

And Jesus was waiting for them. But He wasn’t just standing, waiting. The Bible tells us that Jesus was cooking. He made a little fire of coals on the shore. And then He began to cook bread and fish. Just a moment. Ladies, who was cooking?

This is Jesus, the One Who had just risen from the dead. He was the Lord of Glory, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and what was He doing? He was cooking. Yes, Jesus knew the power of cooking.

He called to His disciples, “Come! Come and dine!” And the Bible then says, “And Jesus served them.” He waited on them. He gave the food to each one of them. Can you imagine the beautiful fellowship and dialog they had together because it’s over food that you dialog and talk together.

But Jesus had something else in mind too. He wanted to get a special word to Peter who had denied Him three times. He took Peter aside, and He said to Him: “Peter, lovest thou Me?” Three times He asked that question, and three times Jesus answers: “Peter, feed My sheep. Feed My lambs.”

This was a special personal message that Jesus wanted to give to Peter. But do you notice how He did it, ladies? He didn’t go down to Galilee and call out, “Pete! Got a word for you, mate!” No. First of all, He cooked him a meal. He satisfied his hunger. When his hunger was satisfied, and he felt good, because when your tummy’s full, you feel good. And you even have oxytocin flowing, which is a calming hormone. So, Peter was relaxed. And then Jesus spoke that word into his heart.

That’s why we love to have our family devotions at mealtime, because the table is where we feed the body, soul, and spirit. After we’ve fed our children their dinner, and their tummies are full, and they’re no longer grizzling and crying but everybody’s happy. That’s when we read the Word of God, because they’re ready for it. Their physical appetite is filled, and now they’re ready to receive spiritual food. So, lovely ladies, be encouraged, won’t you?

No. 3. GLORY

Now, let’s go on to our third point. The third similarity that God equates with heaven, with the Holy of Holies, and with the home, is glory. Yes, of course, heaven is filled with the glory of God. Not only is it filled with the glory of what it will be like physically, but it is the glory of God that will make heaven. And that was also the defining thing of the Holy of Holies. It was filled with the shekinah glory of God.

Now our homes, these three “Hs,” Heaven, the Holy of Holies, and the Home, the three things that God uses the same phrase. He wants our homes also to be filled with His glory. Now, of course, we’re not going to have the glory of heaven, because that’s God’s glory.

HOME IS GLORY

We don’t live in God’s ultimate glory, but He has given to us something of His glory. He wants us to live in glory, even if it’s just something of His great glory. It’s amazing. We read Scriptures of how God equates glory with the home. I’m going to show them to you. It is so amazing. Once again, even though sometimes you can feel hidden away in the home, the home can be a place of glory.

All right. Let’s go, shall we, first of all to Micah 2:9. It’s amazing how we find Scriptures about the home, about motherhood, even in obscure places. Here this Scripture says: “And women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses.” Other translations say: “From the homes they love, from their children, you have taken away My glory forever.”

That is amazing. This was a pretty terrible thing. Whoever these people were, they were casting out women and children from their homes, the homes they loved. That is the worst thing anyone can do. And then it says: “And from their children have been taken away My glory forever.”  What is that talking about?

That is talking about how God intends children to be raised in the home. And it is the glory of children to be raised in the home. When children are taken out of the home, God says, “You are taking away My glory.” Wow!

Let’s have a look at some other translations, shall we?

The Complete Jewish Bible: “You are depriving the children of their glory forever.”

The New Living Translation: “And you are forever stripping their children of all that God would give them.”

The New English Translation: “You defraud their children of their pride in heritage.” Think about that. When we take children out of the home, or people pull them out of the home, the children are being defrauded of their pride and heritage which is to be raised in the home.

The Amplified Classic Translation: “You take away my splendor and blessing forever by putting your children among pagans, away from Me.” Help! We could equate that today with what is happening, with the majority of children, even Christian children, who are taken out of the home every day, and sent to school, public school, where they are taught by pagans! I beg your pardon. There it is, written in the Word.

You want to hear it again? In the Amplified Classic Translation: “You take away my splendor and blessing,” or in other words, “My glory forever by putting them among pagans, away from Me.” God says: “Mothers, I want to come into your home with My presence. I want My children I have given you to grow up in My presence, hearing My words, growing up in My ways. I don’t intend you to ever put them among pagans.”

The time will come when our children will be out among the pagans. We will not have them forever. We have them for such a short time. Let me tell you, dear mothers, it is such a short time. It’s like a blink of your eye. I can remember as my children were beginning to leave the nest. I would feel, “Wow! I haven’t had enough time!” I still wanted more time to input into their lives. It goes so quickly.

Oh, dear mothers, I know none of you have your children among pagans, but oh, do not ever be intimidated when you are homeschooling. You are doing what God wants you to do. When you think of friends and other family members and people who are putting their children among pagans to be taught, to be inculcated by their pagan ideology which is becoming more and more pagan and evil, it is unbelievable! We cannot do that.

But did you see there, how God sees the home as the glory of the children? That’s where He wants them to be raised. Home is the glory of the nation.

MOTHERHOOD IS GLORY

Well, I believe that motherhood is the glory of the nation. We read this in another one of these minor prophets, Hosea 9:11: “As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.”

This Scripture is in the context of judgement. God is bringing judgment upon Ephraim, another name for Israel, because of their sin in turning away from Him. He says: “My judgement upon you will be to take away your glory, that which you love most.” And what does it say is their glory? It is very specific.

Conception, the womb, from birth. It starts off with conception, and the growing of the baby in the womb, and the bringing forth of the baby. The raising of children. Motherhood. This is what motherhood is all about. Bringing forth children from the womb, and then raising these children. God says that this is the glory of the nation. Isn’t that amazing? Wow. This is glory. When you conceive, it’s glory. The baby growing in your womb is glory. Bringing forth the baby into this world is glory.

BREASTFEEDING IS GLORY

OK, the Bible even says that breastfeeding is glory. In Isaiah 66:11, that’s the last chapter of Isaiah. Here God is giving an allegory about Jerusalem, actually, but He’s likening Jerusalem to a mother. As we read this, we see how God sees motherhood: “That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.”

That is talking about the breasts: “That ye may suck, and be delighted with the glory of the breasts.”

Another translation, the Holman: “Drink deeply, and delight yourselves from her glorious breasts.”

The Jerusalem Bible also calls them “Her glorious breasts.”

Another one says: “Delighted with the full measure of her glory.”

Even breastfeeding is called glory. It’s amazing how God talks about these mothering things as glory. Oh, I know. Especially some of you young mothers with lots of little darlings all around you, and you're overwhelmed. You think, “Help! This is anything but glory!”  But dear mother, I want you to see what God says, because as you begin to see how He sees it, you will begin to see it yourself differently. And you will begin to live in the glory.

Many times, mothers never live in the glory of motherhood, because they have never embraced it. It’s only when you embrace your motherhood that you begin to live in the glory of it. You see, it’s more than loving your children. Every mother loves her children, but not every mother loves motherhood. It’s when you embrace and love the career of motherhood, that is when you begin to walk in the glory of motherhood, because you know you're in the perfect will of God, and you're walking in this glory that God intends you for, and what He created you for. He created you for this very purpose.

We see here, even when you're breastfeeding, oh, it’s such a beautiful Scripture here. It doesn’t even talk about food. It talks about all these beautiful things of satisfying, consoling, delighting, comforting. That’s what the breast does. It’s glory, and it’s a picture of God Himself, who is the Breasted One, and who loves to come and meet our needs. That’s what the breast does.

God is El Shaddai, the God Who Is Enough. It literally means, “The God Who is more than enough.” And then, we are not El Shaddai. We are little shads. The breast is shad. God is El Shaddai. We are little shads. We are little breasted ones.

The breast also means, “that which is enough.” A breastfeeding mother does not have to add bottles of water, or bottles of anything else, or this, or that. All she needs to do is put her baby to the breast. Not just for food, but when the baby needs comforting, when the baby needs delighting, when the baby just needs to suck. The mother is there to satisfy and delight.

But once again, our time has gone by, ladies. We will still be continuing this in another session.

“Dear Father, we thank You again that You are God, and yet You relate to us as mothers. In all our mothering, nursing our babies, nurturing our children, in making our home, Lord God, this is Your plan. You love it, and You want to be part of it with us. You want to be with us. We thank You.

“I pray for every precious, lovely wife and mother listening, that You will bless her today, and pour out Your Holy Spirit all over her. Just let her know that she’s living in the glory that You intended for her. I pray that You’ll fill every home, Lord, that I’m speaking into. Fill it with Your glory. Oh Lord God, in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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DON’T FORGET TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT THESE PODCASTS AND TRANSCRIPTS.

“LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell, Above Rubies”

DON’T KEEP THE BLESSINGS TO YOURSELF.

IT IS ENCOURAGING FOR ALL WIVES AND MOTHERS.

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 361: THE UNBELIEVABLE REVELATION OF GOD'S HEART FOR YOUR HOME, PART 2

You may feel hidden in your home, but it is the most sacred and glorious places that are hidden. Find out more about our hidden God.

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

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. Always lovely to be with you. I notice that we are now up to podcast 361! You’ve had many podcasts to listen to, haven’t you? Of course, we will do many more together.

Now today, we are continuing from last week about this wonderful revelation of THE HEART OF THE HOME. And today, I want to give you from the Word of God, because we only want to hear stuff that is from the Word. Isn’t that true? It’s only the Word. That is our foundation for everything. I want to give to you four similarities from the Word regarding Heaven, the Holy of Holies, and our Homes. It’s amazing how the things that God says about these things are all related.

No. 1. GOD’S PRESENCE

Of course, when we talk about Heaven, none of us know how glorious Heaven is going to be. It will be beyond our wildest, wildest imaginations. But of all the glory that will be there, and the beauty, and the wonder of things that we have never, ever seen on this earth, the ultimate of Heaven is the presence of God. Everything else will fall into nothingness compared to the presence of God.

Then, of course, in the Holy of Holies we talked last week about how it was filled with 23 tons of gold. It was awe-inspiring. And yet, that was nothing, compared to the presence of God. And God chose to dwell with His people on earth. He came, and He said, “I want to dwell with you.” He dwelt in the midst of His people!

He dwelt in a temporary dwelling because the tabernacle was temporary. They carted it from place to place, and God went with them from place to place. But He was there in all His shekinah glory although He was hidden there at the very far end of the tabernacle, and later the temple when it was established. Once again, it was the presence of God that was the ultimate thing.

And, of course, God wants His presence also to fill our homes. What He wants more than anything else is to come and be with us in our homes. He is a dwelling God. He dwelt with His people in the wilderness. He comes to dwell with us. And now, of course, He comes to dwell in our hearts, in our lives, by the power of His Holy Spirit.

I just love these Scriptures. We have two Scriptures, actually. 1 Corinthians 6 and 2 Corinthians 6. They both tell us the same thing.

1 Corinthians 6:19: “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you 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.”

Now today, there’s no longer a temple in Jerusalem, but God still has temples on earth today. But they are living temples. They are our bodies. That’s exactly what it says here. Your body, my body, is now the temple of the Holy Spirit. Isn’t that amazing? Yes, once God dwells in us . . .  especially in Jerusalem, the temple was so incredible. It was all paved with gold, just as in Heaven. Even the streets are going to be paved with gold there. But now we have become God’s temple. More than anything else, He want to live in our flesh and blood.

This word “temple” here actually means, not the whole temple, but the Holy of Holies where God dwells. We have now become His Holy of Holies. That’s enough to blow your brains! Sometimes we read the Scriptures, and we don’t see the enormity, the enormity of what they’re saying. But now God wants to fill us with His presence.

We go over to 2 Corinthians 6:16: “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God hath said, ‘I will dwell in them, and walk in them.’” Yes, wherever we go, He walks with us. Dear mother, in your home, in your kitchen, wherever you are with your children, whatever you're doing, God not only dwells in you, but He walks with you. Wherever you walk, He walks. He goes with you. He is with you. It is so amazing. “And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

Then, over in Revelation, we get to Revelation 17. It’s a wonderful Scripture that tells us that even in the eternal realm, God’s delight is to be with us and dwell with us. That is who He is, a dwelling God.

I’m just thinking now of John 14. This is something Jesus said when He was here on earth. Here it is. John 14:23: “And Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘If a man love me, he will keep My words, and My Father will love him.’” And listen to this, ladies. “And we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” Now Jesus is talking here. He doesn’t say, “I will come.” He says, “We, We will come, My Father, and Myself, and the Holy Spirit. We will come and make Our abode with him.” The triune God comes to dwell with you.

Oh, precious mother in your home, you are not forsaken. You are not on your own. God is with you. He is in you and loves to dwell in you. And He loves to dwell in your home because He is a dwelling God. He loves to be in your home. He wants to sit at the table with you. When you say your grace at the table, remember to invite Him in, to invite Him to sit at the table with you, because that’s where He loves to be.

We go to the Lord’s prayer. It says, if you know it: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” Whatever is happening in Heaven, God wants it to happen on earth. His presence fills Heaven and He wants His presence to fill you and fill your home.

In the Luke part of the Lord’s prayer, where it repeats it . . .  it’s in Matthew, but it’s repeated again in Luke. It just says these words: “As in Heaven, so in earth.” So very simple, but so powerful. “As in Heaven, so in earth.” We could say, “As in God’s house, so in my house.” That would be something wonderful to write up and put it on your wall, wouldn’t it?

“As in God’s house, so in my house.”

Here's another lovely Scripture, Hosea 6:2: “After two days, He will revive us. And the third day, He will raise us up, and we shall live in His presence.” God wants us to live in His presence, and He wants to bring His presence to our homes.

I love this quote from F.D. Gordon. He wrote a book called Quiet Talks on Home Ideals. In this book he says, “The influence exerted by the mother is great beyond the power of our minds to think, or of our words to tell. The making of a child’s character is in the mother’s hands to a degree that is nothing short of startling.”

In another passage he writes, “The atmosphere of the home is breathed in by the child and exerts an influence in his training more by far than all other things put together. The child receives more by unconscious absorption than in any other way. He is all ears and eyes and open pores. He is open at every angle and point and direction, and all between. He is an absorbing surface. He takes in constantly. He takes in what is there, and what he takes in makes him. The spirit of the home is the one thing on which the keen mind and the earnest heart of the father and mother will center most for the children’s sake.”

That’s all about bringing the presence of the Lord to your home so your children are going to grow up in His presence. “Well,” you say. “Goodness me, I don’t feel as though the presence of God is in my home. Sometimes I think it’s the last thing that’s happening!”

But dear ladies, we don’t go by feelings. We go by the truth. I love that Scripture in Isaiah, a beautiful Scripture for mothers. Isaiah 49:15, 16: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget. Yet will I not forget thee.”

Wow. It seems impossible, just about, for a mother to forget her nursing baby. I think it is impossible. It could be possible for a mother who’s not nursing her baby, because she doesn’t have the same hormones as a mother who’s nursing her baby. But it would be so rare. God says: “Even if they could forget, I will not forget you. I have graven upon the palms of My hands. Your walls are continually before me.” Isn’t that a wonderful promise?

The walls, even the walls of your home where you are, in your kitchen, or whatever room you are in the home, those walls are continually before the Lord. He is watching over them. He wants to be in your four walls. He wants to be part of everything that is going on.

Invite Him in. Go through your home. Invite Him into every room of your home. Into your kitchen where everything is happening, into your lounge, into your dining room, into your bedrooms. Yes, invite Him to come in because He longs to dwell with you. This similarity is the teaching of Heaven, and the Holy of Holies, and, of course, God relates the home to it too.

Not only does the presence of God fill Heaven and the Holy of Holies, but also the glory of God. The glory of God fills Heaven. But even before we get onto that, I think I’d like to talk about another aspect. And we’ll make this number two.

No. 2. HIDDEN PLACE

Heaven is a hidden place. We know that it’s somewhere in the north, but we don’t know where it is. The Holy of Holies was a hidden place, open only to the high priest once a year.

And God has also made the home a hidden place. You notice, you remember the word that we learned last week? “Your wife is like a fruitful vine in the inner recesses of your home.” That’s the Hebrew word yerekah, “recesses, hidden, the inner rooms, the far end,” that is what it means.

But lovely ladies, you may feel as though you are hidden, and you wonder what you are doing sometimes there in your home. But because a place is hidden does not mean to say it is unimportant. No, God hides His most special and most glorious things.

That’s why God’s presence was hidden in the Holy of Holies. It wasn’t out there on display for everyone. We have to come in, and we have to seek His presence, because things that are common are there for everybody to look at. But that which is most sacred is hidden.

Even the womb of the woman is hidden. It’s a hidden place within the mother but does that make it an unimportant place? No. It is such a powerful place. In fact, the womb, the womb is our most distinguishing characteristic as a woman. We are womb-men. We’re a man with a womb. In fact, there are only two kinds of people in this world, and that is a man without a womb, the male, and a man with a womb, the womb-man, the woman. It’s from the womb that everything in this life comes.

Now, I’d like to give you this quote. This is a quote from me, but I’ll read it, because it’s so important. “Let’s think for a moment of all the amazing things that have happened, are happening, and will happen in this world. The remarkable inventions, the amazing feats, both intellectually and physically. The astounding advancements and the brilliant discoveries. None of this happens on its own. Every single thing that happens in this world happens through a person. And that person comes through a womb. The womb of a woman. Without the womb, nothing happens in this world. It all comes to a halt.”

Another quote: “All the great things that take place in the world happen because of a mother’s womb. The womb is the place of destiny.”

And that’s so true, ladies. Without the woman, without the womb, the world ends. It comes to a halt, because everything comes forth from the womb. And yet, the womb is a hidden place. But it brings forth everything for this world. So powerful.

Yes, the hidden place, the hidden place is very powerful. Even God, the Bible tells us, God hides Himself. Isaiah 45:15: “Verily, Thou art the God that hideth Thyself. Oh God of Israel, the Savior.”

Then we go to Isaiah 8:17. Obviously it’s Isaiah crying out, and he says: “I will wait upon the Lord that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him.”

There are times, dear ladies, when God does hide His face. Our God is a hidden God but He’s also a revealed God. He reveals Himself to us through His Word and ultimately through the cross where He came to save us from our sins. We can’t really find God apart from those places. We can try. We can try to find Him and seek Him in our own minds, our own imaginations, or science, or what this one says, or that one says.

But no, the only place we’ll truly find God is where He is hidden in the pages of His Word. Often then, it’s not on the surface. You’ve got to dig to find. Here Isaiah is saying, “Oh God, You’ve hidden Your face! I can’t feel You, I don’t see You, but I will look for You!” So, lovely ladies, there are times, there are seasons in your life where you don’t feel God. You feel nothing.

But please, can I encourage you? Never, ever rely on your feelings. Feelings are so fleeting. Feelings are not the truth. Feelings come. Feelings go, but truth remains the same. And God has promised, “I am with you. I will never leave you or forsake you. Never, never, never” (Hebrews 13:5, 6). In the Greek, that is repeated three times because our God loves to dwell with us.

Really, ladies, this is how I live my life. I have learned, and I had to learn this way. I didn’t start off this way, but I have learned to live my life not ever by my feelings, but by faith. By faith in the Word of God. By trusting in His Word. What God says. If God says it, I believe it! That’s it. It doesn’t matter whether I feel it.

So, lovely ladies, lovely mothers in your homes, maybe at this time you feel discouraged. You feel down. You’re full of self-pity. “Poor me,” and you don’t even feel God is with you. No, that is not the truth. Don’t listen to those thoughts from the enemy. Don’t listen to your feelings. Trust in the living Word of God. And even in those times when God may seem hidden, He is still there. He is with you.

That word where Isaiah said: “I will look for Him,” it means “to look eagerly for, to patiently tarry,” Sometimes we have to just wait. Yes. I think that’s something that we all have to learn, how to wait. How to wait for God. How to wait for Him to show up, because sometimes God doesn’t show up immediately. Sometimes He hides from us, even though He’s there because He wants us to seek him.

If God was always showing us His love and His presence was with us and so mightily manifest, oh goodness me, we’d never have to seek Him, would we? We’d just live in the glory of His presence, as we will one day in the eternal realm.

But now, we live by faith. God has determined for us to live by faith. “The just shall live by faith.” That is how we live our Christian lives.

2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” If we can feel God, if we can see God, if He is always manifesting Himself to us, we would not have to live by faith. We would not have to seek Him. And He longs for our presence. He wants us to seek Him earnestly.

What is that Scripture in Hebrews 11? The beginning of the faith chapter, and this, of course, is how the faith chapter starts, isn’t it? Hebrews 11, the faith chapter here: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We live by that, ladies, by the things which we do not see.

Verse 6: “But without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that seek Him.” No, it says: “of them that diligently seek Him.” Don’t despair, ladies. Know that God is with you even if you do not feel Him. And even in the times when you feel He may be hiding, He’s still there. You may not feel Him, but He is there. And He wants you to come and seek Him diligently. He wants you to walk by faith, not by sight.

Let’s go to 2 Corinthians 4:16. Beautiful passage here: “For which cause, we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inner man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Oh, those are powerful words, dear mother. Dear wife, dear mother, are you going through a difficult time? Are you facing an affliction? Are you facing trouble and you just don’t know how to get through? I want to encourage you today. Just stay upon your God. Don’t give up. Continue to trust Him.

He says here, “your affliction.” You think, “It’s so heavy! I can’t bear it!” But God says, “In the light of eternity, it’s a light affliction.”

You think, “This is going on forever!” Forever! When is it going to end? I don’t see an end! I can’t even see any light at the end of the trouble, of the tunnel!” And what does God say? “In the light of eternity, it’s but for a moment.”

God wants us to begin to look at things in the light of eternity. And He wants us to look at the reward that we will receive. Look at this. Oh, God loves to use adjectives! I’m always telling you that, aren’t I? Because there are so many adverbs and adjectives in the Word of God to describe what God is trying to tell us because one word is not enough! Because everything in God is not normal. It’s above the normal.

And here He says: “This is what happens. This is your reward, even when you cannot see but you continue to trust. This is your reward. It is working for you. Listen . . .

FAR

MORE

EXCEEDING and

ETERNAL

WEIGHT OF GLORY!

How many adjectives for glory? Far, more, exceeding, eternal, weight of glory. Goodness, that’s five adjectives to describe the glory that will be revealed in us because we chose to trust, to walk by faith, and not by sight.

And know without a doubt that even when we don’t feel God, even when we think He is hidden, He is there. Amen, precious ladies. Oh, go to the Song of Solomon. This can be read as a picture of Christ and the church.

We read here in chapter five, verse six: “I open to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him. I called him, but he gave me no answer.” Verse eight: “I charge you, O

daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him that I am sick of love.”

We see there the bride reaching out for her Beloved. But in this little season, He’d gone. He wasn’t answering. She didn’t know where to find Him. But He was still there. He was just hiding. He was waiting for her to seek him. So, lovely ladies, be encouraged. Yes, our God is a hidden God. But of course, he does reveal Himself so gloriously through His precious Word. But we have to seek Him. We have to look for Him to find Him. But He is always there. Amen.

Well, it’s so interesting, because I had just been speaking this very word about how even though we’re hidden in the home, it’s such a powerful place. I was speaking about this hiddenness and then, last Saturday evening, we went into the city, where Colin and I go every Saturday night unless we are away ministering.

We go to hear this pastor, Pastor Ray McCollum. It’s at the Celebration Church. We love to sit under his teaching, even though we have been pastoring ourselves for over 60 years. We still love to go and be fed by others and have that accountability as well. Well, it was so amazing! The word he gave last Saturday was called, “Jesus Incognito.” How Jesus, and of course, God Himself, does hide Himself.

He began with a very interesting illustration. Actually, he played a video of it. It was about Joshua Bell. I guess you know who he is, one of the most famous violinists in our country. This guy, Joshua Bell, you may know that he owns a Stradivarius violin. It was put together in 1713. He purchased it in 2001 for just under $4 million. But they say the estimated worth of his violin now is $14 million. It’s 300 years old, by the way.

Well, anyway, Joshua Bell, this famous violinist, did this experiment. Back in 2007, Joshua Bell went down to a Washington DC subway during rush hour. Dressed in his jeans and sneakers, looking very incognito, he began to play his “just under $4 million violin.” He began to play some of his most intricate pieces.

Well, they had a hidden video camera behind the scenes, and this is what they found. While he played there for 45 minutes, 1,097 people passed by. Out of all those people, only seven stopped to listen. He managed to make, by people throwing in a few little bits and pieces, $32.17. People did not realize who it was. And yet, only two nights before, he had played at a sold-out theatre in Boston where the seats averaged $110! Isn’t that amazing? Just because he was incognito, they didn’t know who was playing for them.

He used that illustration. I thought it was rather marvelous. But it’s so true, dear ladies. Jesus, how did He come? Jesus came incognito. Jesus came hidden. The shepherds were the only ones, really, who knew He’d come that night. Of course, the angels came to tell them. But they were the only ones who knew. He didn’t tell the very important people of Jerusalem.

In fact, He didn’t even send His beloved son, the glory of Heaven, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords . . . you’d think He would have sent him in a golden chariot to let everyone know. He is royalty! Even in England, when they have royal weddings, they drive in these glorious coaches. But God sent His Son, hidden. Even as He grew, His family didn’t know who He was.

Twelve years old. You remember how He stayed behind in Jerusalem and was talking with the elders of Jerusalem. He was about His Father’s business. His mother and father didn’t even understand when they found Him. As He grew up, His brothers and sisters didn’t know who He was. He was just normal to them.

In fact, back when He was being dedicated at the temple as a baby. The temple was always filled with people coming and going, worshipping, things happening. But there were only two people in that whole temple that day who recognized who Jesus was. It was Simeon and Anna, two old people.

Even when Jesus came to the cross, oh ladies, this gets me more than anything else in the world. We read in 1 Corinthians 2:7-8: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world knew. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

You see, dear lovely ladies, Jesus had to come hidden to this world. He had to come incognito, because if He had revealed Who He was, which is the Lord of Glory, oh, if He had manifested Himself in His glory, not one person would have crucified Him because they would have been down on their faces, worshipping Him. But they didn’t know.

And Jesus Himself had to make Himself hidden, incognito, from who He really was, so that He could go to the cross and bear our sins and take our punishment. And yet, He really was the Lord of Glory. One day he will come as the Lord of Glory, and every eye will see Him in all His glory. Then He will bring all the nations of the earth into subjection to Him. All will come under subjection, and all will be brought to justice. That day is yet to come.

In all this, we do see the hiddenness of God. But dear ladies, you too are hidden in your homes. I think back when we were living on the Gold Coast of Australia. We lived ten years in Australia after leaving New Zealand and before coming to the States.

We lived in this very prestigious street. We were very blessed that we lived in this glorious home which was given to us with a very small rent because my husband had started a Bible school in Singapore. This woman who owned the home had been one of the students there, so when we came to Australia, she wanted to bless us with this home. Beautiful home.

We lived on a canal. Walked out the door and there was the pool. We pressed a button and out came this awning right over the back yard. Just walked down a few steps, and there was the jetty, although we didn’t have the boat to go with it.

Anyway, here I was, in this home, raising our children, very hidden. Every morning, all these women would be going out to their jobs in their flashy cars, going out to their careers. I think they must have wondered, “What was that woman doing in her home? She didn’t even go out to work! Help!” But they didn’t know what I was doing, that I was preparing children, not to stay in this home, but to come out of the home and to touch the world with His glory, and with His image.

I remember writing one day in our boys’ bathroom in that home. I used to love to write things in the bathroom and in places where the children would see them. I wrote that morning, because this is where we lived at 18 Wellby Street. I wrote these words: “Australia waits to see what will come out of 18 Wellby Street.” I noticed the boys coming out. They had left school by this time, and they were out in the workforce but still at home. I noticed their big smiles. Yes, they’d read it there.

But it was a true statement. In fact, it wasn’t really fully true. It was only half true, because not only Australia, but the world was waiting to see what would come out of my home. And out from my home have come children who have impacted the world, nations of the world. I’ve been to so many nations. But our children have been to even more nations to minister the gospel and to touch lives with the gospel of Jesus Christ and with His truth.

So, dear mother, it is the same for you. The world waits to see what’s going to come out of your home. You may feel that you are hidden, but oh my, you are doing a mighty work. You have yet to see what will be accomplished. Be encouraged, dear mother; in the heart of your home, you are accomplishing great and mighty things.

“Dear Father, we thank You so much for Your wondrous truths, and for showing us, Lord God, we’re not out there for all the world to see as we mother and nurture our children in the home. But we thank You, Lord, that You are with us, and we thank You that You have given us the mightiest work that is on this earth. There is nothing greater than to train, and nurture, and prepare Your children, which You’ve given to us for Your purposes, and for eternity. We thank You in the Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Well, lovely ladies, I haven’t even finished yet talking about all these similarities, so we’ve still got to do more next week.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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DON’T FORGET TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT THIS PODCAST, “LIFE TO THE FULL” WITH NANCY CAMPBELL.” DON’T KEEP THE BLESSINGS TO YOURSELF. IT IS ENCOURAGEMENT FOR ALL WIVES AND MOTHERS.

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 360: THE UNBELIEVABLE REVELATION OF GOD'S HEART FOR YOUR HOME, PART 1

It is amazing that God uses a phrase to describe three very important things in the Bible, and they all begin with H: Heaven, the Holy of Holies, and yes, your Home. You'll want to find out what it is. Every mother needs to hear this revelation.

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

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! Today I want to share with you something that is so precious to my heart. It’s a beautiful revelation of the Word of God, which I believe is so important for all of us mothers. I actually shared this at our recent Above Rubies retreat down in Florida.

But, of course, only a certain number were there. And so, I feel to share it with you all, all across the world, wherever you are, in this United States or in other countries. I know so many are listening right Down Under in Australia and New Zealand, and also the UK, and in many parts of the world. We welcome you all. Welcome into this podcast, where we’re going to go into the Word of God together about something that really relates to us as women.

I’m beginning with a familiar Scripture that I know you all know, Psalm 128:3. OK, who can say it? Can you say the words immediately? Or I wonder if you're thinking, “Well, what is that Scripture?” I believe this is a Scripture that we should all know because it’s a picture of who we are as mothers in the home.

It says: “Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house, thy children like olive plants, round about thy table.” That is a beautiful picture of the mother in the home. It’s so interesting that when God describes the mother, He describes her in the home, in the heart of the home. Because that word, that phrase I read, “By the sides of the house,” that’s King James language. It doesn’t really relate very well to us.

But if we go to the Hebrew, we find that it means, “in the very heart, in the recesses of the home.” This is where God pictures the mother, in the heart of the home. This is where she’s meant to be. And where are the children? They’re not scattered everywhere. They are also in the heart of the home. We see them pictured sitting around the table. The table is a piece of furniture that is in the heart of the home. So, this is a description that God gives of a family that’s blessed of the Lord.

But this phrase, “By the sides of the house,” is rather interesting. One day, I was reading in 1 Kings 6. I got to verse 16. It was talking about how Solomon was going to build the temple. It says these words: “And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house.” Now, when I read that phrase, I thought, “That’s interesting. I remember that phrase.” Of course, I remembered it back to Psalm 128:3, where it’s talking about the wife in the home. I thought, “Wow, that is interesting!”

Then I noticed other Scriptures. I noted a Scripture about Heaven. This is actually talking about when Satan rose up against God. But in Isaiah 14:13-14, it says, well, actually this is what Satan was saying: “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.” And there was that phrase again! I thought, “Wow, this is getting interesting!”

So, I looked up again this phrase, which I already knew, because I had looked it up many years ago. The Hebrew word is yerekah, and it literally means “in the recesses, in the very heart, in the innermost parts, far away, at the far end.” I began to see that God describes three different places, using this phrase, “by the sides of the house,” which, of course, when we get down to understanding it in real language, it means, “In the very heart,” or “in the far end, in the recesses.”

So, let’s start with this first place, shall we? By the way, these three things all start with “H,” Very interesting. So, the first one is HEAVEN. Now, ladies, where is Heaven? Do you know where Heaven is?

Well, not any of us really know where Heaven is, but God gives us a little inkling in His Word. We see that Heaven is somewhere in the north. Now, we don’t know whereabouts in the north, but it’s somewhere there. Let’s look at a few Scriptures, shall we?

Psalm 75:6-7: “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge.” We notice there that these things come from east, west, and south, but not the north. But God, who is the Judge is in the north.

Then I read the Scripture about Satan rising up in the sides of the north.

We go to Psalm 48:1-2: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.” We get this, “the sides of the north.”

We go to Exodus 40:20-23. God is telling Moses how and what to do for the tabernacle in the wilderness. He told him, and then Moses did what God told him. He put the table, which was the table of showbread, in the tent of congregation, “upon the side of the tabernacle northward and he set the bread there.” That was the showbread.

In the Hebrew, that is lechem ha panim, meaning “the bread of faces.” The bread upon the table represented the faces of Jesus Christ. As we feast upon the bread, of course, Jesus is the bread. Also His Word is the bread. As we feast upon Him, as we feast upon the Word, we get to see Who He is. He is not one face, for He is represented in many faces, many attributes. We don’t stop at one.

Jesus has so many attributes. We keep finding out more and more as we seek Him. But God says that bread had to be put on the table which was to be placed northwards. It was to be placed looking towards Heaven, because Christ Himself was in Heaven. That also pointed to Heaven.

We go over to Leviticus 1:11. Here it’s taking about the sacrifices. It says: “And he shall kill the sacrifice on the side of the altar northwards, in the presence of the Lord.” Once again, every sacrifice upon the altar pointed to Calvary, pointed to the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world. Jesus was the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world. This was upon Him from the beginning, in the eons of eternity, in the Heavenly realm.

And so, even the sacrifices had to be done northwards, facing the heavenly realm. So, we get this phrase, “On the sides of the north,” meaning in the very extreme recesses of the north. We don’t know where Heaven is, but it’s somewhere. It’s hidden. It’s somewhere in the far recesses of the north.

Now we go to second “H.” This is where I began to get this understanding of where I read of how Solomon was building this special place by the sides of the house. But then we find it’s the word yerekah, which means “in the recesses, at the far end.” What was it talking about, ladies? It was talking about the HOLY OF HOLIES. That starts with “H” too.

Let’s go to some modern translations so we can understand it more fully.

The New Living Translation says: “And he partitioned an inner sanctuary, the most holy place,” not the holy place, but “the most holy place at the far end of the temple.” They are translating that Hebrew word which means “the recesses, the far end.” They are translating it correctly “at the far end of the temple.”

Verse 10 says: “He prepared the inner sanctuary, the holy of holies, at the far end of the temple.”

The English Standard Version says: “The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.” So, ladies, we see that when Solomon was building the temple (it was the same when Moses was preparing and building the tabernacle in the wilderness), they were all patterned after the same pattern, which is a heavenly pattern.

The Holy of Holies was not at the entrance of the tabernacle or the entrance of the temple. No, it was at the far end, because in the Holy of Holies was where God dwelt in His shekinah glory. God is not put on display. We have to seek to find God.

So, when you came into the temple, what did you see at the beginning? I’m sure, if you're familiar with the tabernacle and the temple, you will know that the first thing that you see as you enter into the gate (and how many gates are there?) Of course, we don’t have a tabernacle any longer.

How many gates are there to the temple? Well, we don’t have a temple any longer either, do we? But back then, do you remember how many gates? Well, there was ONLY ONE. Everything was a type. There was only one entrance, one gate, because there is only one way to God, and that is through Jesus. “I am the Way, the Truth, the Life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).

There is only one door. But as you go through that one entrance, there is the brazen altar where they did the sacrifices, which of course, point to Jesus, the Lamb of God. That is the first thing. We come to Jesus. We come to Him as our Savior, the One Who shed His blood to cleanse us from our sins.

Then the next thing that we see is the brass laver. It was a place where they had to bathe, where they had to cleanse themselves. They had to do this before they even went into the Holy Place. And then, in the Holy Place, there were three pieces of furniture. It was all in the shape of a cross, pointing once again to the theme of the whole of the Word of God, Christ’s redemption upon the cross for us.

And then, on the north side, as we were sharing, was the table of showbread, facing the north, facing Heaven. On the other side was the menorah, the golden candlestick, and then, there was the table of incense. The golden altar of incense just before the curtain, just before you went into the Holy of Holies.

Back in those days, only the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies. As you know, he could only go in once a year, carrying blood. If he did not carry the blood which he had sacrificed for his own sins, and the sins of his family . . .  Then again, he had to sacrifice for the sins of the whole nation. Unless he carried that blood into the Holy of Holies, he could have been struck dead. He had to have the blood.

He also had to carry the incense, filling this Holy of Holies, filling it with that incense, because he could not look upon God. It had to be filled with incense. Of course, today we are living in the glorious day of grace. When Jesus died upon the cross, that thick curtain that separated the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom. Now we have access into the Presence of God, through the precious blood of Jesus. Oh, how wonderful! How glorious! How blessed we are!

But we don’t come blatantly into the Presence of God. We have to come first through the sacrifice of Jesus, through embracing His blood that was shed for us, through the cleansing of our sins, and through baptism. And then through the waiting on the Lord as we feast on His Word, and we receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit each day, which is represented by the menorah that they had to light by pouring in the oil, the oil which speaks of the Holy Spirit, every morning and every evening, and so on.

The Holy of Holies is there at the far end because it is the inner place. We have to come in the right way to find that fellowship with God. And then, dear lovely ladies . . . Oh, but before I go on, I must tell you a little bit more about the Holy of Holies in the temple. Back in the tabernacle, it was a 15-foot cube, that is high, deep, wide, whatever. It was a cube. It was 15 feet.

But when Solomon built the temple, he built it twice as big. It became a 30-foot cube. Now we have to realize what it was like. Did you know, ladies, that that Holy of Holies was made with cedar? But it was covered with pure gold. Not just gold, but pure gold. Ceiling, floor, sides, every part.

Then it was not only completely covered with gold, but on the ark of the covenant were two cherubim. I have seen pictures of the ark of the covenant with the cherubim on top. Most probably you've seen pictures too. You see these little cherubim covering the top. But according to the Word of God, that is not the true picture, because in the Word, it says that these cherubim filled the Holy Place from wall to wall, a 30-foot span.

There were two cherubim with two wings each, of course. Both 7-1/2 feet, which made the wings of one cherub 15 feet with both wings. The wings of the other cherub, 15 feet with both wings, which means they touched from wall to wall, the 30-foot cube. And they were covered with gold.

Now, can you guess how much gold was in that Holy of Holies? This is not the whole temple. This is just the Holy of Holies. Well, the King James Bible tells us there were six hundred talents of gold in the Holy of Holies. But we don’t really know what six hundred talents of gold are, but in the New Living Translation of the Bible, it relates it to what we can understand today.

It says that there were . . . wait for it, ladies. There were 23 tons of gold in that Holy of Holies! Can you believe that? Twenty-three tons? Actually, the Good News Bible says 25 tons. And every nail that was used was also made with 20 ounces of pure gold. Can you even imagine what it would be like to go into that much gold? But ladies, that was nothing. Nothing, compared to the Presence of God that filled that Holy of Holies. That was the real glory that filled that place.

So, we see that even though it was so amazing, and so special, so incredible, God didn’t put it out there for everybody to see. Oh, no. God’s most precious and most holy things are hidden. The Holy of Holies was hidden.

But now we come to the third “H.” And ladies, this is where it gets to us, right in our homes, because the third “H” is the word “HOME.” For this is the very same word that God uses for Heaven, for the Holy of Holies, and now He uses it for the home. “Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house.” Or let’s look at it in modern language. “In the heart of your home.”

Let’s look at some translations, shall we?

The New English Translation says: “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine in the inner rooms in your house. Your children will be like olive branches as they sit all around your table.”

The New King James version says: “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house.”

The Amplified Version says, “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the innermost parts of your house.”

And so, these translations, and so many, many others, are translating it correctly from the Hebrew word yerekah, which means, let me tell it to you again. The exact Hebrew rendering is “in the very heart, the inner rooms, the recesses, at the far end.”

And so, ladies, we see two things here. One, we see that this is God’s picture of the wife. He doesn’t picture her out in her career, leaving her little ones with someone else to mother. No, He doesn’t picture her driving around in her car everywhere, always here and there, out and about, running her home from the periphery of her home. No.

Well, we live in an age when every mother has a car, and of course, she’s got to go out to do her shopping, do her groceries, do this, do that. But the real picture is that God sees the woman in the heart of her home, in the inner rooms of her home, in the recesses of her home.

Now, I know this seems so foreign to the modern picture of the wife today. But ladies, we have to admit that God’s Word hasn’t changed. God’s Word never changes. The Word that He gave in the beginning is the Word that He gives today. His Word is for all generations. It never changes. This is His heart.

I believe that we need to be women who want and long and seek to adhere to God’s Word, to His heart. This is His heart for His mothers. He provided the home for them. The home is the place that God provided for women to raise their families.

If we go back to the very beginning in Genesis 1, and I’m sure I would have shared this with you before. But we see here in Genesis 2, actually, let’s go to Genesis 2:7: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.”

What do we read next? OK, it talks there that God formed the man. But we don’t read of him yet forming the woman. The very next thing that we read, the next verse, is verse 8: “The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.” OK, He created the man. Then He created the Garden of Eden, the home that he made for man to live in.

But there’s no mention of the woman yet. In fact, we don’t even read anything about the woman until verse 18: “And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for a man to be alone. I will make him a helpmeet for him.” Now we’re hearing about the woman, but she’s still not created yet.

The next thing it goes on to say is how He created all the animals, and the beasts in the field, and every living creature. They were created, and still the woman is not created. But eventually we get down to verse 21 where we read, “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”

The word there “made” is totally different from how He created the man. God said He formed the man from where? From the dust of the earth. Was woman made from the dust of the earth? No. No, she was the only thing that was not made from the dust of the earth. She was made from an existing creation. God brought her out from the man.

The word there is banah, “to build.” God built the woman. Very interesting. Totally different word. He built her, this intricate creation. She was His highest creation. She was left to the very last. She was the very highest creation of all, and built so intricately, to bring forth life into the world. Dear ladies, we are so blessed. We are so honored that we are one of the creations who God chose to bring forth His image into the world, to bring life into the world, and ultimately for eternity, to fill eternity.

But where was Eve when she woke up to life? Where was she? She was in her home. Do you see that God didn’t create her until He had the home ready? He created man without the home. I don’t quite know . . . Well, it wasn’t too much longer that He made the home. He was showing Adam what to do. He was showing Adam, “Adam, this is what we do. We got the home ready for this helpmeet that I am bringing to you.”

It is the man’s responsibility to prepare the home, provide the home. We see this right back in the very beginning. Then He puts the man in this beautiful garden home. It was a home, but it was a garden home. He had to till the garden and look after it.

Did you know, ladies, that a garden is synonymous with home? We don’t have to make that happen today because we live in this modern age where you can go to the supermarket and buy anything you want, from any country in the world, or any season of the year. You don’t have to worry. Just go and buy it. You don’t even need a garden.

Back there they needed one, but I believe it’s still God’s passion that the garden is part of the home. So much so. Did you notice what I read in verse 8? This is amazing. Let me go back to verse 8 here. “And the Lord God planted a garden.” Did you hear that, ladies? How did God create everything?

Let’s go back to chapter one. “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God said, ‘Let the waters under the Heaven be gathered together,’ and it was so.” And God said, and it was so. And God said, and it was so. He only had to speak the word, and it was so.

Well, God could have said, “Let there be a garden, and it was so.” But no. What does it say? “And the Lord God planted a garden.” God Himself got down on His knees and put His hands into the very earth and soil He created and planted. God was the very first gardener. Dear ladies, isn’t that amazing? Yes. Sometimes we can talk, “Goodness me, I don’t want to get my hands dirty in a garden.” Well, God was the first gardener.

Yes, and then we go back to how He built the woman. He built her so that she could then be the builder of families, and the builder of cities, and the builder of nations. How was the whole nation of Israel built? Well, we read back in the book of Ruth, where the people came to Naomi and they said about Ruth, “The Lord make the woman that has come into thy home like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel.”

I beg your pardon. Did Leah and Rachel build the house of Israel? I thought it was the twelve sons of Jacob. But no, God says Leah and Rachel built it, because that word “build” in the Hebrew, the word banah, means “to build, to repair,” but it also means “to bring forth children.” That is the very Hebrew word of banah. So, God created the woman to be a builder, to bring forth children, to build nations. Yes, because if there were no children, we wouldn’t even have a city.

In fact, the Word of God is so beautiful. Many times, you’ll read, and it says: “And build cities for your little ones.” Why do we have cities? That’s to provide for the families, for everything they need to build a house, for them to eat, for everything they need. If there were no families, you wouldn’t even need a city. Even cities are built because of families. It all happens through the woman and the home.

Dear ladies, can you get this revelation today? That God has equated you, as the mother in your home, with the Holy of Holies, where the Presence of God dwells in His shekinah glory. He also equated with the same word that He describes where Heaven is. Dear ladies, to be in the heart of your home is not insignificant. You may feel hidden. You may feel, “Oh, I don’t know what I’m doing here.” But I want you to know that you're in the very place that God intends for you, where He loves you to be, where it is His heart for you to be, and where He describes it in His Word.

OK. Next week, we didn’t get time to get onto it today, but next week we’re going to continue. And I’m going to bring to you four different things about Heaven, and about the Holy of Holies, and how these things relate to our homes. This is so powerful, dear ladies. Don’t miss this next session next week because God wants you to know the power of your homes, and it all relates with Heaven, and with the Holy of Holies. May God bless you.

“Dear Father, we thank You for the revelation that you give us in Your Word. It is so awesome. It is so powerful. And Lord God, we are living in a day when women are wooed out of their homes, out of the place where You have designed for them to be. Lord God, You are the One Who woos women into their homes. It is the devil who woos them out of their homes.

“I pray, dear Father, that You will bless every mother in her home today. Let her know she’s in this glorious place where You want her to be. Let her see the power of her home, and what she can accomplish in her home. Lord God, I pray that You will, oh, just come to her today, and let this revelation fill her heart, and she will rejoice and be filled with joy at the wonder and the glory of having a home where she can raise godly children for this world, and for eternity. I ask it in the Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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DON’T FORGET TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT THIS PODCAST, “LIFE TO THE FULL” WITH NANCY CAMPBELL.” DON’T KEEP THE BLESSINGS TO YOURSELF. IT IS ENCOURAGEMENT FOR ALL WIVES AND MOTHERS.