PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | Episode 97: REVEALING THE IMAGE OF GOD

FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell

PODCAST 97: Revealing the Image of God

Although God is Spirit, He has created us with physical bodies to reveal His nature and image. Are we being faithful to reveal His image?

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

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. Last week we talked about how taste is a food discerner, in the natural, and in the spiritual. The Bible also says: “First that which is natural, then that which is spiritual.” We have natural bodies, but we're not only physical, we are spiritual too. And God, Who is Spirit, has created us with physical bodies that can reveal His nature, even though He is Spirit.

We're going to look at a few more of these today. We'll look at the senses. We think of our  ears. We have physical ears that God gave to us to hear with, but we also have to learn to listen with spiritual ears.

In Job 11:12  it says: “The ear trieth words as the mouth tasteth food.” So just since we eat food, and “Oh, I love it,” or we don't like it, and we want to spit it out, the same with our ears. Ladies, we've got to become discerners with our ears. So when we hear things, we discern that, “Can I taste that? Can I believe it? Can I make it part of my life?? Or do I spit it out?

Now we  really do have to watch that, because to our minds constantly come negative thoughts and self-pity thoughts. Just gloomy thoughts. Somehow, they come to us so easily! But if we're a good discerner, we know that we're not meant to receive those thoughts at all. They don't belong to us. They don't belong to God. And they don't belong to the Kingdom of God. We belong to the Kingdom of God, so why are we going to embrace them?

No. When they come to us, and we can't stop them coming, but when they come, we SPIT THEM OUT! We reject them. So we learn to have sharp ears that discern. Our ears are like the gatekeepers. They discern before we take it into us. So we're either going to spit it out, or we're going to take it in, if it's good.

So why did Jesus say over and over again, “He that has ears to hear, let him hear.” Because we've got ears, and yes, we can hear people talking to us but are we discerning what God is saying to us?

Oh, I have to pray about this every day. “Lord Jesus, please reveal Yourself to me as I open Your Word. I want to hear You speaking to me. I want to know Your truth. I know so little. I'm so shallow. Lord God, I want to know the deep things of Your truth. I want to understand all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are in You.”

And so we cry after it, so that our inner ears can begin to hear what God is saying to us. We're going to reject the deception that is all around us. It's amazing how we can be deceived. Even Christians are deceived. The Bible says even the elect will be deceived.

And how can we be deceived? I believe the greatest deterrent to deception is the Word of God, so that the more we get the Word into us, the more we have an ability to discern, because the Word, it's the Word that discerns.

And if we know the Word, the Word will, “Oh, that's not right, that's not Biblical, that doesn't belong. No, I'm spitting that out.” But if we're not familiar with what God is saying, we're going to become gullible. May God save us from being gullible saints! Let's be those who are discerning saints, who have ears to discern.

I love the old hymn, I'll just read one stanza from it. It's one of Charles Wesley's hymns.

Now, Jesus, now the veil remove,
The folly of our darkened heart;
Unfold the wonders of Thy love,
The knowledge of Thyself impart;
Our ear, our inmost soul we bow;
Speak, Lord, Thy servants hearken now.

When we come to the Word, we have to have hearkening, listening ears, don't we? It's quite something to have listening ears. We do have to teach our children how to have listening ears. Many children grow up and they don't have listening ears. Oh yes, they can hear all right. But they don't hear with true hearing, because in the Bible, there's quite a few different words for “hearing.”

One of the most common is shama. It means “to hear with sharp ears, ready to obey.” And so when we begin teaching our children, right from when they're little, when we say something to them, we get down to their level. We make sure their ears are hearing. And then we tell them, “Okay, what did Mommy say?”

You get them to repeat it. Okay, now you do it. And we teach them that what they hear is not something they just listen to and carry on doing what they were doing. But no, they listen to obey. That's what true hearing is all about. As I used to say to my children as I was raising them”

TRUE HEARING RESULTS IN ACTION!

Another statement is:

DELAYED OBEDIENCE IS DISOBEDIENCE!

“I'll do it when I feel like it.” No, we listen, and we obey!

Now what about sight? We've all got eyes, we can see, but do we see with our spiritual eyes? Psalm 119:18 is a prayer: “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.”

Do you love to pray that when you come to the Word? Because we can see the words, oh yes, easy. You can read the words, and not really get anything from them. You see them right in front of you. But are we actually beholding wondrous things? That word “wondrous” is the Hebrew word pala, which means “extraordinary, miraculous, amazing.”

Oh, incredible things, and they are there in the Word, but we can't see them with our natural sight. We can only see them with our spiritual eyes that become sharpened and heightened to be able to see. And so we cry for that, so that we don't only operate in the physical, but we're becoming sharper in the spiritual.

And then what about touch? You see, all these things, God who is Spirit, He has them. He talks about hearing. He that created the ear, doth he not hear? And He has eyes to see. He beholds what we are doing. He beholds the nations of the world.

And touch, oh yes, God has given us hands to touch.

But He also loves to touch. Isaiah 41:13: “I will hold thy right hand, saying, fear thou not.” God comes. He's so tangible. He's so real. And when you're going through something, and you feel so vulnerable, you feel so alone, He comes to you and He says, “I will hold you.”

Let's just read it. I want to read verse 10 to you also. Isaiah 41:10 and He says to us here: “Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee. Yea, I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.” Do you notice in that Scripture there are seven promises? I love that. You can take one for every day of the week for seven days. Isn't that wonderful?

And then down in verse 13: “For I, the Lord thy God, will hold thy right hand saying unto thee, fear not, I will help thee.” Isn't that great? Oh, are you feeling something at the moment? Are you concerned? Are you full of worry? Take that Scripture. This is God speaking.

When you read His Word, it's God speaking to you. He says: “Fear not. I will help you. Just put your hand in Mine, and I will hold it.” Yes, God is Spirit, but He reveals that it's like His right hand is holding us. His right hand is His arm of power and authority.

He's given us hands. He gives us hands as mothers. And He wants to touch our children through our hands, but it's His hands, because our children need loving touch. They need caressing, holding, cuddling, loving, touching. Touching. Touching.

How do we touch? With our hands. Touch is one of the senses. But we feel it all over our body, of course. Our whole body feels touch. But we give touch with our hands. And so God, who loves to touch us, He's given us a physical body how we can touch others.

Our children, our husband, obviously need encouragement with our hands. How often do you touch your husband? Oh you can love your husband, you know you love him, but sometimes marriage can just get very boring. And really, you're not remembering to touch one another. You need to do it often.

Touching is showing God's care and compassion and love. As we show it to others, it's like they are feeling the hand of God.

We go over to 1 Timothy 5:10 and we read a description of a mother, of a woman who is living the way God intends for her. And we see here: “Well reported of for good works, if she has brought up children.”

The very first thing, number one, God always puts things in perspective. In the Word of God, nothing's here, there, or everywhere. It's in perfect order, and when He lists something, the most important is on the top of the list.

And here, the very most important thing about women is, have they brought up children? Raised children? Nourished children? For that is the word, “nourish.” “Brought up” is the word “nourish.” To feed, to nurture. It talks about feeding children, cooking meals. It starts off, of course, at nursing a child at the breast.

But then it goes on to feed. You're cooking meals every day, every week, every month, every year. You think, “How long am I going to do this? Forever and ever and ever?” Oh yes, you'll do it. You keep on doing it.

I've been married for 57 years, and I'm still doing it every day. And I'm using my hands. But as I use my hands to cook and to prepare meals, I am really, it's the hands of God through me. Because I'm ministering to my husband, to my children, and to those we bring into our home. And it's God doing it through me. He wants to touch people through our hands. He wants us to use our hands to bless our family and bless others.

And so she not only nourishes and nurtures and cooks, and raises and trains her children, but it says: “If she has lodged strangers?” Has she opened her doors in hospitality to those who need a place to come, and sit around a table where they feel loved and welcomed? A place to stay.

“If she has washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work” That's all about touching and working with our hands. Yes, and so we are doing this physically, but God is wanting to do it through us. Because that's what He wants to do, He wants to reveal Who He is through us.

And then another one of the senses is our smell. We can all smell, but did you know God smells too? Did you know that all of our senses God feels and experiences? There are so many Scriptures about God smelling. I'll only read a couple to you, or we'll be here all day! And I know you've got lots to do.

Genesis chapter 8: 21. This is after Noah, after he'd come out of the ark, and how he offered burnt offerings on the altar. He made an altar and offered burnt offerings. “And the Lord smelled a sweet savor. And the Lord said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground anymore for man's sake.” 

Yes, so back in the Old Testament, there are hundreds of Scriptures about how they did the burnt offerings upon the altar. And every time they did, it was a sweet savor unto God. He smells the sweet savor. Not only was He smelling the sweet savor of the sacrifices.

Maybe I'll give you one more, let's see . . . Leviticus 3:5: Yes, and here is Aaron burning sacrifices upon the altar, and it says here: “It is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord God.”

Let's go over . . . Then we see a counterpart of this in the New Testament. So we go over to Ephesians 5:2 and now it's talking about Christ, because every sacrifice upon the altar pointed to Jesus, pointed to Yeshua, pointed to the Messiah, the Lamb of God, who would be THE sacrifice.

It says here: “Be followers of God, as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.” Isn't that incredible? That even though God had to give up His own beloved Son, Who was actually One with Him, part of Him. He had to give Him up to be the Savior of the world, because He wanted to get a Bride. And that sacrifice, the sweet-smelling savor unto God.

But not only back there in the Tabernacle where they did the offerings, was there the beautiful, wonderful sort of smelling savor going up toward God, but also in the Holy Place.

They had to make the anointing oil. They had to light the lamps, they had to light the menorah every morning and every evening. That anointing oil, oh my, it was sweet, too. It was made with beautiful spices. You can read about it in Exodus 13. It was made of pure myrrh, and sweet cinnamon, and sweet calamus, and cassia. It was just so beautiful, and full of aroma and sweetness. When they lit the candles, the menorah, the seven-branched candlestick every morning and every evening it filled the Holy Place with that beautiful aroma.

Now people love to get sweet candles with aromas and fill their home. I love to do that too, but I don't like to buy the usual candles in the shop. They're all very artificial, and I don't think that they're very healthy, the aromas that they give off. But you can buy natural ones, and I love to use them, what do you call them? The aromas, oh goodness me, I'm just trying to think . . .

Oh, the essential oils! Ha ha. Nearly went from my mind. The essential oils that give off such a beautiful, beautiful aroma. They're so healthy, and such a blessing to your physical body. It's beautiful to fill our homes with these aromas, isn't it?

But that anointing oil, that was all just so glorious, natural glorious spices. Now, not only was the Holy Place, and the whole of the Temple was filled with this glorious aroma, but they had to light the altar of incense, and the incense was also made of sweet spices. Sweet, it was sweet incense. Everything was sweet, because God loves to smell.

So we just see how amazing it is that we have the physical, and we have the spiritual. Then we begin to think more about our physical bodies, and how, yes, they are natural, but there is more to it. Let's think of who we are as women.

Okay, who are we? We are distinguished as female by our breasts and our wombs. Let's talk about our breasts. They are physical. Our breasts, they are nurturing. God created them to be something that nurtures life when God gives us a little baby. We put the baby to the breast, and they nourish, and they nurture life. They're life-giving, they are nurturing.

But that's physical. Did you know, dear ladies, we also have the same anointing, not just physically, but innately, transcendentally? God has given it to us, and He has put within every female a nurturing anointing. It is divinely within us. It's divinely in every woman.

And even a precious woman who maybe hasn't been able to conceive, to give birth to her own babies, and maybe she hasn't married. She may not be able to nurture from her breast, but she still has this nurturing anointing within her. Isn't that amazing? She does not miss out. She is still divinely a nurturer.

And this is who God has created us to be, dear women. We are nurturers. God, who is Spirit, has created our physical bodies to reveal His image, to reveal His nature. It comes right back to God, because where do we get nurture from? Nurture comes from God. God is the ultimate Nurturer.

Oh He is the One who wants to gather us in His arms and hold us to Him, to love us, to nurture us, to caress us. This is who our God is. And we see this in one of the Names of God. God has many names. Each one describes another aspect of His character.

To have only one Name of God could not describe who He is. Every name is another aspect of who God is. And there are not yet, even in the Word of God, enough names to reveal who He is. But God has chosen to reveal what He wants to reveal. Because He is God, we will never know Him fully. Even in eternity there will be things that we will still never know, because He is God!

But in His wondrous love, He has chosen to reveal what He wants to reveal of Himself to us. There are certain things that He wants to reveal through us. And he has created our physical bodies for the purpose of it.

So when we read “Almighty,” what does that mean in the Hebrew? It's the Hebrew word El Shaddai. Of course, you all know that word. What does it mean?

El means “might, power, strength”.

Shaddai. The literal word in the Hebrew for “breast” is shad. Shad. Every time you see the word shad, it means “breast.” And dai, it means “that which is enough.”

Now the literal breast, the literal breast is “that which is enough.” When the baby comes to the breast, the breast is enough, especially if the mother allows the baby to nurse as much as the baby wants. She doesn't give a pacifier. She doesn't give little bottles of water, or bottles of juice. No. The breast is total, and as she just gives the baby the breast all day, all night, as the baby wants, the baby grows and thrives.

Not only does the baby grow physically, but the baby grows emotionally, because the breast is more than food. The breast ministers physically, but the breast ministers emotionally. In every way, it is “that which is enough.”

But when it's speaking of God, who is the originator of nurture, it is “He Who is Enough.” You see, that's who our God is. The Nurturer. The All Sufficient One. The God Who is Enough.

He is enough, no matter what we are going through. No matter what sorrows, what heartache. If we will push into God, we will find that He is Almighty. He is El Shaddai. He is the One who will comfort us, and nurture us, and nourish us, and gather us in His arms.

Part of nurturing is gathering. You want to gather. That's what a mother wants to do. She wants to gather. She wants to gather her children around her. .She wants them around her. That's instinctive.

The sad thing is, we're being so brainwashed in our modern feministic, humanistic society that mothers today often don't want their children around. They're quite happy to leave them. That's not instinctive to nature, not even the animals do that. If you go out, walk amongst the sheep, you will find that when it's lambing time, those little lambs are right around the mother. The mother won't leave her lambs. No, she stays close by them. That's instinctive to a mother.

So we want to gather, we want to gather our children and our families around the table as we prepare meals for them. We want them around. This is all part of El Shaddai, the nurturing anointed. And ladies, we have it physically. We reveal it tangibly in our experience.

That's why a nursing mother is a beautiful picture of God to the world. When painters want to paint mothers, they love... there's many beautiful paintings, not exposed paintings, just beautiful discrete paintings of mothers nursing babies because it's the ultimate picture of nurture. That's who our God is.

Now I hope you have received the latest edition of Above Rubies. In this edition, there is an article called “Nurturing the Nations.” No, it's called, something about that anyway. You'll see it there. It's by Daryl Miller. It's a wonderful article. Yes, it's called “Home is the Nursery of the Nation.” That's it. If you haven't read it, read it again.

And it's talking about nurture. This man has also written a book called Nurturing the Nations. I did a big sale on it before Christmas and sold out every single copy that they had left. They didn't have too many left. We sold them out.

Praise the Lord! They have reprinted it, and it's now available. You can go to my website. You can get it. And I would encourage you to get it because I had this book years ago. It sat by my bedside, like many, many books sit by my bedside. I don't get time to read them.

And this book, it, oh well, I didn't get round to reading it until one day, I felt I must read it. Then I couldn't believe why I hadn't read it before. It was filled with the revelation of truth about women and what God had already showed to me. I couldn't believe it, here was someone else who was speaking about it, writing about it. So I really want to make this book available. It's filled with truth. Do get it!

Here is a quote from his article in the magazine:

“Motherhood is beautiful, wonderful, and vital to the health of families, children, and the future of a stable and flourishing nation. No amount of cold, hard plastic toys will replace the warm human touch of a mother. No amount of staring into a screen will replace the loving gaze of a mother's eyes. No amount of material things will replace the art of being there.”

The art. Did you know, there's so much about mothering that is an art? It's an art we have to learn. We've not always “just got it” with our first baby. We learn it more and more.

Breastfeeding is an art. There's a wonderful book called the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, by La Leche League. It's a good book to read.

There is the art of birthing. The art of homemaking. The art of being there. There's the art of wifing. It all takes time to learn to be a wife, doesn't it? I'm still learning, nearly 57 years later! And so there is an art. Don't give up, ladies. Press into the art of all that's contained in our glorious and beautiful role of mothering and nurturing and homemaking.

And so he says: “Nothing will replace the art of being there. Our children, communities and nation are starving for the presence of the maternal nurturing heart.” God wants His nurturing heart . . . By the way, I've finished the quote. I'm speaking now. God wants His nurturing heart revealed in the earth. This is how He's revealing Who He is.

When we embrace motherhood, when we embrace who God transcendentally created us to be, not only physically with breasts, but innately to be a nurturer, and we reveal it to our families, and out into society, we show what God is like.

When we don't embrace it, when we resist it, and we say, “No thanks, I've got other things to do,” we no longer reveal the image of God. We blaspheme His image, because we're not showing who He is.

Another quote says:

“Our generation is becoming so busy trying to prove that women can do what men can do, that women are losing their uniqueness. Women weren't created to do everything a man can do. Women were created to do everything a man cannot do.” Amen!

Well, we not only have breasts. We have a womb. Our womb is our most distinguishing characteristic as a woman. We are a womb-man. But precious ladies, we not only have a womb, physically, where we can conceive and grow a precious eternal soul in our wombs, but our womb is the very seat of our emotions.

Our womb is a very powerful place. It's from where the anointing of pity and compassion and mercy flows. And God has also put that in us as a woman, innately, transcendentally. And once again, a woman who may be, is not able to conceive, she is still able to release that anointing of compassion from the very depths of her being. But there is a powerful thing when we can do it physically. God gave the physical to reveal this anointing.

Now here's something interesting, ladies. The word, well, there are four different Hebrew words for “womb” in the Bible. And I don't have the time to talk about them all today. I'd love you to get the book The Power of Motherhood, if you don't already have it. If you don't already have it, please get it. Go to the website and get The Power of Motherhood. I have a chapter called “The Womb,“ and I have about 18 different points about the womb.

Oh there is so much revelation about the womb. But did you know that the womb, there's four different Hebrew words, and they are interchanged. Sometimes it is speaking of the physical womb. Other times it's speaking about God's mercy and compassion. It is the same word! It's unbelievable.

Let me just give you a couple of examples. Olay, here we are, Deuteronomy 7. Just as we're winding down, ladies. Okay, Deuteronomy 7: 2-13. And God is talking here. “The Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy.” That word is racham. It means “compassion” and “mercy.”  It's God revealing His mercy.

But it's also a word that is used for the physical womb. And He's going to keep that mercy that He has promised: “And He will love thee and bless thee and multiply thee. And He will bless the fruit of thy womb.” And it's exactly the same word!

Yes. And so, and we see that when He shows His mercy, His racham, it's His wombness. When He reveals that, He says: “I'll love thee and bless thee. And then I'll multiply and bless the fruit of your womb.” That's how God wants to bless us.

We go over to chapter 13 in a rather negative story here, where there are some, God says, that there's some people who are going out to other gods. And if you find out it's really true, after you've searched diligently, you've got to smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, and totally annihilate them because, the reason was, if you don't do that, well, the little leaven leaveneth the whole lump, and soon the whole nation will be going out to other gods. But God said if you will do that, verse 17: “There shall nothing cleave to you of the cursed thing. Then the Lord will turn from His fierce anger and show you mercy and have compassion on you.”

Now both those words are racham, the word “womb.” Have mercy, have compassion, like it's a double whammy there. He repeats Himself. “Oh, I'll show you my compassion, and then I'll multiply you.” How will I multiply you? Through the physical womb.

And so the womb, once again, is a revelation of God. Another word for womb is meah, which means to be soft. It's talking about the internal intestines, including the womb. It's interesting how God uses every part of our body to reveal something of Himself. Here it's talking about a softening. It's the opposite of hardness.

Have you noticed when women turn away from family, and away from embracing their children, out into the career world, and into a real adamant feminism, that they become hard? You see, when you embrace your nurturing anointing, and your womb anointing, there comes a softening, there comes a compassion, there comes a wombness.

Yes, there's such a word, the wombness of God which He reveals through the physical womb. Oh, ladies, can we embrace who we are? In every way, in every physical aspect, God wants to reveal who He is through us. Isn't that beautiful?

Let's pray:

“Oh, Father, we thank You so much for the revelation of Your truth. Oh, God, help us to get it, to get it into our very being, to understand that we're not only a physical being walking around, but we are a physical being whom You created to reveal Your image, to reveal Your nature, to show what You are like.

Oh Lord God, help us to embrace our nurturing anointing, both physically and innately. Help us to embrace our womb anointing, physically and innately, Lord. Being nurturers to our own babies and children, but out to those who need Your love.

Oh God, that we will have open wombs, to reveal, Lord God, who You are. You are so amazing. You did not do one thing by mistake. Lord, every part of our body is for Your purpose and for Your revelation. Help us to be the revealing of You to our families and to the world. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Transcribed by Darlene Norris

 

NURTURING THE NATIONS

Reclaiming the Dignity of Women in Building Healthy Cultures

By Darrow Miller

This book is one of the greatest books I have read about women. It deals with the abuse and poverty of women in the nations of world but gives God’s answer. It exposes how the wrong concepts of women have led to prostitution, abuse, and suffering for women in the nations of the world. But it does not leave us in despair. Darrow Miller reveals God’s heart for women and the truth that sets them free into the glory God designed for them. It is a must read for all women, revealing God’s value and dignity of women and their highest purpose on earth.

Some of the chapter headings:

A World of Abuse of Women

The Crushing of Women

The Transcendence of Sexuality

God’s Motherly Love

The Dark Years and the Coming Dawn

The Wedding of the Lamb

God’s Design for Women: Nurturers of Nations

To order go to: https://tinyurl.com/NurtureNations

THE POWER OF MOTHERHOOD

What the Bible Says About You as Mother

By Nancy Campbell

This book is for every mother--young, middling, or older. It shares the revelation of God’s heart to mothers. Young mothers desperately need this encouragement. Older mothers need a refresher course in God’s plan for mothering, so they can take their place as the older mothers who teach the next generation.

This is the classic manual for mothers. Mothers need it by their side continually.

To order go to: http://bit.ly/PowerOfMotherhoodUS