PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | Episode 58 – How Can We Change The World? - Part 24

FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell

Podcast 58 - How Can We Change the World- Part 24 (last podcast on this subject)

Rocky Barrett: Welcome to the podcast, From Our Home to Yours, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello ladies. I mentioned in my last podcast that I would explain to you more what the word “meditate” means.

When you look it up in the Hebrew it is the Hebrew word hagah. It has a number of meanings.

The first is, of course, as we would imagine, “to meditate, to ponder, to think about.” Now that’s about how we would think of meditating on the Word. But there is more to it.

In fact, this Hebrew word actually means “to emit a sound, to murmur, to mutter, to read in undertones, to recite quietly.” So it’s speaking about when we read the Word that we’re meant to speak it out loud. Either very loudly or very quietly, but we’re speaking it under our breath. But apparently the best way we are to read the Word is to verbalize it.

Thirdly “to speak out loud.” which I had mentioned. It can be quietly, sort of muttering under your breath; or it can be loudly. Back in Bible times that’s what they did. They read the Scriptures, always reading audibly. Either to themselves, just quietly under their breath, or they were reading them aloud to others.

Now I’m quite challenged about this because I love to read but I don’t always bother to read out loud. That always takes a little more effort. And so I am being challenged about that, even when I am doing my personal reading to start doing that out loud, or if someone’s around, to read it quietly under my breath.

This word also means “to study, to memorize, to moan or groan.” Have you ever groaned with conviction when you read God’s Word? I have. Have you ever moaned with the weight of a revelation that God gives you as you are reading a passage, or even God’s judgment on sin?

I mean, you go through some of the major prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and so on, or even the minor prophets, and you read the prophetic words of God’s judgment upon Israel and then of His coming judgment on the day of the Lord. Wow. Oh goodness me, they are so powerful, and you can just moan.

That’s why I believe we need to be people who are constantly reading the Word because as we read the Word, we get the fear of God into us.

I often say to people that it’s a good idea to read the book of Revelation every now and then. It puts the fear of God into you. We do need that. I believe the fear of God is missing from so much of the church of God today. People don’t walk or live or act as though they live in the fear of God.

Often, it’s the opposite. There’s no fear of God in their lives by what they say, do, or watch. There’s no fear of God. The only way we get the fear of God is in the Word of God.

As we’re reading it, we realize that this God that we serve here is a loving, merciful God, but He’s also a God of judgment and justice. And at this present time of grace, with great patience, He waits for more and more to come to repentance. For He is not willing that any should perish, but He waits, and He waits.

There is coming a time when He will deal with sin. He will deal with the nations. And He will deal with people personally. As you read in the Word, that’s not going to be a nice time. It’s a fearful day of judgment. Sometimes you can even moan and groan as you read it. I just cry out to God and say, “Oh, God, I just want to be walking in your fear, I want to be right with You. I don’t want to be in that place where I’m going to receive that judgment for sin.”

Of course we know that every sin that we bring to Him and to His forgiveness that He forgives and forgets, and it comes under the blood of Jesus and will be remembered no more. But if we are walking in sin, when Jesus comes and the Day of the Lord comes and the judgment comes, we will have to face that.

It also means “to growl.” In Isaiah 31:4, it talks about the lion growling and just as a lion growls, chews, rips, and tears its prey to eat it, so that’s how we’re meant to eat the Word of God.

We get into it and we chew it and bite it and, oh, we just want to get into it! It’s far more than just having a little read. We’re to be just like that lion that’s tearing its prey and just wants to get it into his mouth.

This is also one of the pictures of that word, “meditate.” Meditating in God’s Word is the opposite to the alternative meditation people like to do today— yoga meditation, or Buddhist meditation, which is so pacifist. No, when we’re meditating on God’s Word it’s not being passive at all, it’s getting into it. It’s speaking it aloud. It’s studying. It’s using your mouth.

In fact, we can also look at Joshua 1:8, which is similar to Psalm chapter one that we read in last week’s podcast. It says: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth[Do you notice the word “mouth” there? It’s our mouths. We have to get the Word of God into our mouths. We’re to be speaking the Word of God. This is very important]; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night [exactly the same as Psalm chapter one], that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

That’s exactly the same promise in Psalm chapter one where we meditate “day and night” and “you will prosper.”

The word for “prosper” actually means “you will be wise, you will get wisdom and understanding, and you will know the right thing to do.” All when we have the Word in us.

We notice this mouth business. Then I think of Isaiah 59:21: “As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy MOUTH. . ..”

Do you see it again? “Thy words which I have put in thy MOUTH.” Have you got the Word in your mouth? Is it coming out of your mouth? That’s where it has to be, dear ladies. In our mouths.

It goes on to say that it: “. . . shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed [your children], nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed [your children’s children], saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.”

What a powerful Scripture. I believe that this is the vision that God gives to us parents and mothers. He wants us to have the Word abiding in us, not only in our hearts, but in our mouths so we can speak it.

We’re always speaking it out when we come together at breakfast time, and after breakfast, our Bible reading time. So often before my husband even reads the Word, I’m bursting to share what God has already given me. “Oh, I’ve just got to tell you what God has said to me this morning through His Word!” and so I’m speaking it out.

When you speak it out it becomes more part of you. That’s why God wants us to get it into our mouths.

But then it says He wants us to get it into the mouths of our children. How much of the Word is in your children? How much of the Word comes out of your children’s mouths? Do they really have it in their mouths?

Dear lovely ladies, this is our responsibility. Yes, this is what God says, “This is My covenant, this is what I want you to do. I want you to get it into the mouths of your children.”

Now, that’s going to take a lot. That reminds me of that wonderful book, Ten P’s in a Pod. I’m sure many of you have read this book. It’s an old book, written many, many years ago, but I still have it available for sale at Above Rubies. I’m doing a sale at the moment so if you pop on to the web page at www.aboverubies.org you can order Ten P’s in a Pod.

It’s a wonderful story of this family. The father had a great vision to get the Word into His children. He didn’t have only his Bible reading time once a day or even twice a day.

In our home we do it twice a day because we believe that is a Biblical principle. If you want to know about it and understand the Biblical principle you can go onto my web page and put in the search, “The Evening and Morning Principle” (or it might be “The Morning and Evening Principle”). It shows all the Scriptures there of God’s principles of getting His Word into our hearts morning and evening and coming to Him in prayer, praise, and worship every morning and evening.

The morning and evening really are a minimum of coming into His presence as a family each day.

But this father—oh, he had an even bigger vision than that. He wanted to fill his children with the Word! So he would read to his children for an hour after breakfast every morning. After lunch, he would read to them for an hour again. After suppertime, he would read to them for an hour again.

Then as their children got a little older and they could read for themselves, he encouraged them to have 15 minutes before they came to breakfast. As they got older, they had to get up to an hour.

They were in the Word for four hours a day, so consequently most of the children could recite the whole of the New Testament verbatim and so many passages of the Old Testament because the Word was in them. But not only was it in them, they had all these opportunities for reciting it out, so it was getting out of their mouths.

Now this guy, the son of father, he wrote this book and it’s not only about that. It’s about their exciting million-mile journey as they went through the whole of USA and Canada preaching the Gospel, all the things that happened and the funny things that happened.

He also said that they stayed in many Christian homes along the way because people would host them. But his father would never deviate from this principle. So even if he was staying in someone else’s home, a lovely Christian home, he would say to the host and hostess, “We love to read the Word of God after our meals, so would you mind if I read the Bible to my children?”

They would always say, “Oh, of course, go ahead! You’re so welcome.”

Then he would say, “Would you like to join with us?”

Well, the son wrote in his book that not one person ever said yes. They were Christian homes. But not one ever stopped to stay with them.

Anyway, my husband and I were blessed to meet this guy recently. He’s now a grandfather, the son who wrote the book when he was only 21. He came to visit, and oh, it was so delightful to meet him.

God has blessed him throughout the years and now he has children and grandchildren. It was so wonderful to talk with him and see the blessings and the fruit of their lifestyle still continuing down the generations.

Recently I was staying with some folk and visited a most lovely family. Some of you will know this family, Brayden and Tali Waller. He’s the oldest son of the Waller family who is doing this incredible ministry in the heartland of Israel on the West Bank. Ha Yovel is the ministry. They take families and young people from all over the world to go to the heartland of Israel, the West Bank and harvest the grapes and the olive orchards, minister and bless the farmers on the hills of Samaria there.

Anyway, I wasn’t in Israel, but I was staying at their home in Missouri. It was so amazing to see their four little children. Their little children got up and recited to me a whole chapter of the Bible. They did it together. They’re just little ones and they knew the whole chapter. In fact, they already know chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Matthew, and chapters 15, 16, and 17 of John. They can recite Isaiah 40, plus many of the Psalms, they know hundreds of the Psalms.

Here are these little ones already being filled with the Word of God and speaking it out because they have lots of opportunity to say it together and speak it out. The Word is coming out of their mouths.

So I want to encourage you in that, dear ladies. That’s what the word “meditate” really means. Did you get it? Not just to think about, but to speak it quietly under your breath or out loud. To study, memorize, or even moan and groan, or even to growl. It’s all to do with coming out of your mouth!

I trust that you will be an Isaiah 59:21 family!

That’s a great vision to have. You can tell your children about that. Say, “Children, we are going to be an Isaiah 59:21 family.”

You could print this Scripture out and put it up on your wall, reminding you all to get the Word of God into your mouth, and into the mouth of your children, and into the mouth of your children’s children and henceforth forever. It’s meant to carry on for generations.

We don’t want to be, like we were talking in the last podcast, like the generations that are degenerating. We want to be regenerating for God. Amen? Absolutely!

Let’s carry on, shall we? We are going to move on today to our last two points. I think that we will complete them today.

No. 18. ECSTATICALLY REJOICING

We know God wants us to rejoice. It tells us: “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” We all sing that little chorus, don’t we?

Once again, we have an adjective. God not only wants us to rejoice, but to EXCEEDINGLY rejoice. What does it say in 1 Peter 1:8? We’re to rejoice with “. . .joy unspeakable and full of glory.” That’s a great description, isn’t it?

Let’s look at some other situations where God wants us to rejoice. God doesn’t only want us to rejoice when everything’s going good. That’s easy. We all rejoice when everything’s great. We’re happy, we’re having a good time, we’re laughing, we’re rejoicing. But the rejoicing God talks about is rejoicing when everything’s not going so well.

We’re going to talk about when people speak against you. I wonder— have you ever rejoiced when someone has spoken against you? It’s certainly not the thing that we would naturally do, is it?

No, we want to do the opposite. We get very offended and quite mad. How dare they say that about me! That’s not true! Help, I can’t even believe it! And we get indignant and we get offended.

But what does the Bible say? Matthew 5:11-12: “Blessed are ye [that means happy. Happy are ye], when men shall revile you, and persecute you [that’s even more than just saying something a little derogatory about you] and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

Those words, exceeding glad, is a word in the Greek, agalliaō. It means (listen for it, ladies!), “to jump and leap for joy, to show one’s joy by leaping and skipping, ecstatic joy and delight.”

That’s absolutely the opposite to how we feel when someone speaks about us.

Maybe you have friends who just think you’re a nutcase because you’re have more children than the 1.9 that American’s have.

They think you’re a nutcase because you’re homeschooling. Maybe they even talk about you behind your back and you can get so sad and upset.

But here Jesus says when people revile you, persecute you and talk about you falsely, rejoice and be exceeding glad! Now I wonder, have you ever in your life jumped, skipped, and leaped with joy when that has happened to you? Well, if you haven’t, you haven’t been biblical.

I must confess, I don’t do that all the time but because I know the Scripture and I know what it means I have tried to do it a few times. Yes, I have jumped and leaped and skipped around the room when I’ve heard of horrible things spoken about me because I know that’s what God wants me to do.

It really does work because there’s something about bodily action. You start jumping, leaping, and skipping, “Oh hallelujah, Lord, I’m just so rejoicing in you! What does it matter what they say? I’m trusting and I’m jumping and I’m leaping!” Really, you can’t feel mad or upset after that if you’re leaping and skipping because you’re jumping it all out of you.

So perhaps you could try it the next time that maybe this happens, because it’s sure to happen. I don’t think there’s one of us who have ever missed out and will certainly face it again. We will always have to face these things in the future. So let’s know what to do.

Another thing that we should do is to pray for them and bless them. In the same Scripture, in Matthew 5, it talks about that, too. Matthew 5:44: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

The Bible never lets us off, does it? It always shows us what to do. God’s Kingdom principles are always the opposite to how we feel. We don’t want to do that; we don’t want to do any of it. But if we do, amazing things happen. We get free inside. All the bitterness, hurt, and feeling upset, it goes as we bless those who hurt us, do good to them, pray for them and skip, leap, and rejoice!

The next one, when you go through temptations and difficulties. First Peter 1:6-7: “Wherein ye greatly rejoice [greatly rejoice. Actually that “greatly rejoice” is the same Greek word that means to jump, and leap for joy, and skip with ecstatic joy and delight. So, when you’re going through trials you greatly rejoice], though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: whom having not seen, ye love. . .” So there it is.

Now the third one: When you’re going through a fiery trial. First Peter 4:12-13: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

There we have it again. Not just joy, but EXCEEDING joy. Even when we’re going through trials.

Of course our greatest, exceeding joy will be on that day. Even when we’re going through trials here, we can trust God, we can know that this is only a season, it’s only for a little time. There’s going to be a day of great rejoicing.

“If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. . ..” (1 Peter 4:14).

And so lovely ladies, not only in our homes with our precious children, but even going through difficult times, fiery trials, temptations, and when people speak against us, in all these Scriptures God tells us to exceedingly rejoice.

Once again, we’re not going to be normal people. We’re not going to be average. We’re not going to be status quo. We are going to be those who are totally different, over the top, above and beyond, because we are mothers who are going to change the world. Even when we go through these tough times we will rejoice with exceeding joy. We will just skip, leap, and jump around the room. Do you think you could do that?

I wonder if I could just tell you the rest of these quickly so we can finalize this amazing series of CHANGING THE WORLD.

No. 19. GREATLY PRAISING

God doesn’t want us to only praise Him but praise Him with our whole hearts. David was continually confessing in the Psalms: “I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart.”

Here’s one of hundreds, Psalm 11:1: “Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.”

We like to sing to end our Bible reading and prayer. Do you like to do that? It is important to also sing when you come together for Bible reading, because when we come together morning and evening it is a type of how they lit the altar of incense every morning and evening. The altar of incense speaks of prayer, worship, and praise unto our God.

So as we come together as a family it is important to sing. When you do sing, how do you sing as a family? Do you sing boringly? Do you sing just averagely? Or do you sing with all your hearts?

My husband has taught our children to sing with all their hearts and our grandchildren, too, because this is how he grew up. His whole family, the children (there were nine children in the family), lived on a farm, and they had to milk cows every morning and every evening. They would sing in the cowshed. They would sing at the top of their voices! The neighbors could hear them for miles around.

They still all love to sing today. They open their mouths wide and they sing with all their hearts. It’s such a wonderful thing to praise the Lord with all our hearts.

Sometimes if he notices the children are not singing, or are singing very boringly, Colin will say, “Come on now, we’re going to do it with all our hearts! Stand up, put your heads back, open your mouths wide and sing with all your hearts!”

Often our children, when they sing the chorus to one of their favorite hymns, “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand” (oh how they love that one!) they open full throttle and sing it.

So let’s do it with all our hearts.

The last one . . .

No. 20. WHOLEHEARTEDLY SEEKING

God wants us to seek after Him. Not only to seek Him, but to seek Him with all our hearts, with every fiber of our being.

Psalm 119:2: “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the WHOLE HEART.”

Psalm 119:10: “With my WHOLE HEART I have sought thee. . ..”

Hebrews 11:6: “. . .He is a rewarder of them that DILIGENTLY seek him.”

Mark 12:30: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with ALL THY HEART, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. . ..”

Amen?

So, precious ladies, let’s be those who change the world because we’re never going to be boring or average. We’re going to do everything unto the Lord with our whole hearts. Amen?

“Dear Father, I ask that You will bless every precious soul who is listening—every mother, grandmother, daughter, and child. Pour out Your blessing all over them.

“Father, we have to confess we have been so slack in getting Your Word into our mouths and the mouths of our children. Oh God, I pray that You would pour out Your Spirit over each one listening. Give them a new love and longing and delight in Your Word, Lord God.

“Lord, give them such a heart and such a passion to make sure that they have these times with their children each day. A minimum of the morning and evening, Lord God, of the principle You have given us.

“That You would help them get Your Word into their mouths that their children would be Word-speaking children, as Your Word says. That they would be Isaiah 59:21 families, Lord God, filled with Your Word, speaking it out of their mouths to one another and wherever they go in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.”

P.S. This transcript was transcribed by Morgan Roth, who was one of my previous Above Rubies helpers. Morgan transcribes all the even numbers and Kayla Lewis; another previous Above Rubies girl transcribes the uneven numbers of the podcasts. They do such a wonderful job. I’m so grateful to them.

P.S. I mentioned Brayden and Tali Waller of HaYovel. You can check out this wonderful organization at www.hayovel.com

P.S. Talking about singing loudly to the Lord, I read this Scripture the other day:

Psalm 105:2 (Msg): “Sing him songs, BELT OUT HYMNS, translate his wonders into music.”

P.S. I mentioned the book, TEN Ps IN A POD. Here is further information for you to order.

TEN P’S IN A POD

A Million-Mile Journal of the Arnold Pent Family

By Arnold Pent III

This book is one of my favorites. It has always been a challenge to me of the impact of reading God’s Word to our children. The author of this book wrote it when he was 21 years old and it is still popular today. Recently my husband I enjoyed meeting this wonderful couple in our home and he testified of not only the impact of the Word in his own life as a young person but in the following generations. This habit is now continuing with his grandchildren.

It is the story of the million-mile journey of Arnold Pent, Jr. and his wife and eight children as they travelled through US and Canada together. The father preached along the way. But no matter where they were, or whoever they stayed with, they never gave up their practice of daily Bible reading and memorization.

Go to: https://tinyurl.com/10PsBook

WHAT DO PEOPLE SAY?

“TEN P’S IN A POD should be required reading. I still count it among one of the handful of most important books I have ever read.” 

~ Andrée Seu Peterson, World Magazine Columnist

“Your book is a breath of fresh air.”

“In a society where the Bible is rarely read, even in Christian homes, this book should be necessary (but enjoyable) reading for EVERY Christian family.”

 “How this husband and wife were able to take a family of eight children across both the United States and Canada throughout the 1950s and early 1960s in various old cars is a story worth reading.”

 

This book is also available on Audio.

TEN P’S IN A POD AUDIO CD BOOK

A Million Mile Journal of the Arnold Pent Family

Read by the author.

Join a family of ten on a million-mile journey of evangelism, home education, and discipleship. Journaling his family’s travels, experiences, and ministry, Arnold Pent III (the third of eight children) first published this story in 1965 at the age of 21. You’ll learn of his father’s commitment to family Bible reading, Scripture memory, and singing together, as well as enjoy all the antics one might expect from piling eight children into two old cars and hitting the road to take the gospel message anywhere they found a group willing to listen.

Gather the family around and hear the story read by the author himself (now 75) and enjoy this heart-warming story. You and your family will be inspired.

Also contains music and Scripture recitations from the Pent Family Archives. Seven discs.

Go to: https://tinyurl.com/10PsAudioBook

What do people say?

“We have so enjoyed your print book and the audio version that we play several times a year in the car.” 

—

“My husband and I listened to your book with our children during a road trip from South Carolina to Maine. Then on our way from Maine to Ohio, we listened to it again. The last CD we listened to three times, repeating track 13 eight times.”