PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | EPISODE 170: LIFE TO THE FULL, Part 5
LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell
EPISODE 170 – LIFE TO THE FULL, Part 5
More about the FILLED life. Filled with His presence, filled with His praises, filled with His goodness, and filled with His glory. God wants His Holy Spirit to shine from us. How can we do this?
Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, LIFE TO THE FULL, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.
Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! We’re back together again. And I’m still continuing our series, “LIE TO THE FULL.” Also, I have renamed our podcast LIFE TO THE FULL, because that’s what it’s all about. I love to share with you from God’s Word how He wants us to live.
As we discover and read through the Word of God, we find that it is LIFE TO THE FULL. At the moment, we’re discovering all the different things which God tells us with which He wants us to be filled! He doesn’t want us to be half-filled. He wants us to be filled! And, FILLED TO OVERFLOWING.
Today, I want you to come with me to John 12:3. Here we read the beautiful story of Jesus coming to stay with Lazarus, and Martha, and Mary. Then it says: “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.”
It must have been a beautiful aroma to inhale and smell this aroma that was filling the house. It wasn’t just a little whiff. You know how you can pass someone, and you get a little whiff of their perfume? No, this wasn’t a little whiff. This was a fullness. The house was FILLED with it, the odor of this ointment that came from her worship and her love for Jesus.
This is how we fill our lives and fill our homes with a beautiful perfume and a beautiful odor. It’s with our love and worship for the Lord. This is a beautiful thing for our own personal lives and for everyone in our homes. So, let’s be encouraged, lovely ladies, to always have a heart of worship, a heart of thankfulness, a heart of prayer.
We go back to the Old Testament in Exodus, chapter 30. It tells us there about how God told them to build the altar of incense in the Holy Place. It was a place where they took fire from off the altar and then they burned the incense on it. So it filled the Holy Place with this beautiful aroma. It was a sweet incense. It was made with beautiful, sweet spices.
It tells us about that in Exodus 30:34: “And the Lord said unto Moses, take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight.” Then they were to grind it, and grind it, and temper it, to make it very, very refined. It was to be this pure and holy and sweet incense.
God told them that they were to light that incense every day. In fact, not only every day, but every morning and every evening. Because when they lit it in the morning, this beautiful, sweet aroma filled the place. God loves to smell. The Bible talks about even the sacrifices went up to Him as a “sweet-smelling savor. “
Isn’t it beautiful how the things we do in life, like even smelling, how we love to smell a beautiful fragrance! Isn’t it lovely? Or, the opposite, to smell something that is horrible, or it’s off, or putrid. Oh, goodness me, you can’t stand it!
It's so glorious to smell something beautiful. God loves it. He just wanted the sweet incense wafting and filling the Holy Place all day long. But as the day wore on, it would begin to fade. So once again, they had to come in the evening and light it again, so it was always there. In the Bible, this altar of incense always speaks of prayer and worship unto the Lord.
We go over to Revelation. We were talking about something back in Exodus, but then we go over to Revelation, at the very end of the Bible. We read about it throughout the Word, but let’s go to the very end and see that the Bible is still talking about this altar of incense.
John, on the Isle of Patmos, was banished there for his faith. But on that island, that little Greek island, God came to him and showed him so many visions, and what was going to happen in the end times. John saw a vision of Heaven, of the Holy Place in Heaven. Because back in Exodus, where it talks about the tabernacle, that was created and built and made in the same way as the heavenly. It was built according to the pattern of the heavenly (Hebrews 8:6).
And then, all those years later, John looks into the heavenly realm. He sees it! There’s the altar of incense! It’s still there! Isn’t that amazing? And you know what, ladies, it’s still there now. It’s still in the eternal realm.
Revelation 5:8: “When he had taken the book (that was the Lamb’s, slain from the foundation of the world), the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials FULL OF INCENSE (and it goes on to say) which are the PRAYERS OF SAINTS.”
You see, our incense, that beautiful perfume that goes up to God is our heart of worship, our heart of prayer that is going on continually throughout the day (but it was specific times to light that incense, the morning and the evening).
And then we go over to Revelation 8:2-3. John is looking into this heavenly realm again: “And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar of incense.” Wow! We read about it in Exodus. John is still seeing it now in the heavenly realm, here in Revelation.
“And there was given unto him MUCH INCENSE, that he should offer it with the PRAYERS OF ALL SAINTS upon the golden altar which is before the throne.” You see, ladies, the altar of incense was the altar that’s right before you went into the Holy of Holies, where God dwelt in His shekinah glory. And the heavenly realm, the altar of incense is right before the throne of God.
And now, we are so blessed. We can come, not with a veil between us. But we come, with open face, with an opening, the veil torn apart, into the presence of God’s throne, the throne-room of God to bring our prayers, to bring our worship before Him.
It’s like incense! Yes! So, precious, lovely ladies, if you want your life to be filled with this beautiful odor, this sweet incense, remember worship and prayer create this incense. Dear worshiping mother, be a praying mother. Try and make these times in your home, where every morning and every evening you light the incense, where you gather your whole family together. You pray together.
Is praying part of your home? Is it just natural in your home? Natural to you, natural to your children? As you come together each day, make sure everyone prays, right down to the littlest one who’s just learning to talk. Prayer should be like breathing to us.
I was talking recently to a mother. She was in a prayer meeting. She was telling me afterwards, “You know, Nancy, I haven’t been in a prayer meeting like that since I was in college.” I was so surprised. I mean . . . a prayer meeting? We should be having prayer meetings every day in our homes with our families.
Then, I trust that your church has a prayer meeting every week. That was normal for every church life. If it doesn’t, well, have a prayer meeting in your home. Invite some other people in. The more you have prayer in your home, the more it is filled with this beautiful odor.
I love that Scripture in 2 Corinthians 2:14. In the JB Phillips translation it says: “We should have above us the unmistakable scent of Christ.” Isn’t that beautiful? Now, the way we get that is that as we pray, as we worship, make prayer such a natural part of your life, it will fill your whole being and it will fill your home. Amen?
Well, that point was number 17. I actually have 20 points of all these things with which God wants us to be filled. So, let’s go to the next one.
No. 18. GOD WANTS US TO BE FILLED WITH HIS GOODNESS
(Sorry ladies, I now realize I actually talked about being FILLED WITH HIS GOODNESS in No. 10. I forgot I covered his point, although what I am saying here is different than what I shared in No. 10).
Jeremiah 31:14: “And I will satiate the soul of the priest with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.” What a glorious Scripture! “And I will SATIATE.” Oh, I love that beautiful word, “satiate.” Just say it. When you say it, it fills you with the meaning of it. “Satiate.” It’s the Hebrew word ravah. It means “to slake the thirst, to make drunk, to fill abundantly, to satisfy.”
Oh, how beautiful that is. God wants to do that in our lives. He wants to come to us and satiate us. Of course, He can only do that if we come to Him. He waits for us to come to Him. As we come to Him, He will then come to us and satiate us.
Actually, it’s very, very interesting that that same word is used in a passage about married couples. In that passage in Proverbs 5:19, it’s talking about marriage. It talks about the husband and the wife. I’m thinking of it because it’s the same Hebrew word. It says here, “Let her be (that’s the wife) Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.” That’s the same Hebrew word there they used “satisfy,” that the wife is to ravish and satisfy her husband.
But here it’s talking about how God wants to satiate us. Then it goes on to this other word: “And my people shall be satisfied.” That’s the Hebrew word saba. It means “to fill to satisfaction, to satiate, to satisfy.” Wow! That’s incredible! That's not just, oh, God will comfort and console and fill us just a tiny little bit to get us through. No, He want to satiate us. He wants to satisfy us with His goodness because God is a good God. That’s Who He is, dear ladies. He is a good God. You must know Him as a good God.
If you don’t know Him as a good God, you don’t know Who your God is. For He is good. I would encourage you to do a study. Get a concordance out. Have you ever used a concordance? Look up all the Scriptures about how God is good. As you read these Scriptures, they will go into your being, and they will begin to satiate you. Just the goodness of God will fill your soul.
There’s many Scriptures that talk about God’s great goodness. He’s not just good. It talks about the great goodness of the Lord.
Psalm 107:9: “For He satisfieth the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” Yes.
In Psalm 65:4, it talks about being “satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, even of Thy holy temple.” That’s a beautiful thing, too, to come to the house of God, to the gathering of the saints. To be satisfied with and satiated with the goodness of God’s house. That’s not just a building, but it’s a gathering of God’s people. It’s a beautiful thing.
You see, the gathering of God’s people is not just, “Oh, well, we come to church, we worship, we hear a message, and we go home.” Well, that’s good. You can get a great message and be encouraged in your soul. But that’s only just half of it. God wants the gathering of His people to be where we do gather, where we fellowship, where we interact, where we speak to one another, where we pray for one another, where we’re togethering. That’s real fellowship. That’s when we learn to understand and experience the goodness of His house.
Now, maybe at your church, well, maybe you don’t have that fellowship. Or perhaps you have home meetings where you can do that. Often, just going to church, and going home is not enough. We need that fellowship together. If you’re not getting it, well, make it happen! Invite some fellow believers into your home. Invite them for a meal. Have rich fellowship around the table. Oh, there’s nothing like it, to fellowship over the things of God!
The sad part about it is, many people today, you want to do that, you try to do it with them, but, wow, they don’t have much to say. You want to say to them, perhaps, “Now, what’s God been saying to you in the Word recently? What’s He saying?” You don’t even get an answer. It’s very sad.
It’s my favorite question to ask, and it’s so lovely. Often, we’ll have folk around our home, and some, they don’t have anything to share. Well, we’ll just bless them and share with them. But often, it’s other folks who will come, and oh, the richness! Because they’ve been in the Word! God’s been speaking to them, and they can share. We’re all blessed together. It is so wonderful!
Isaiah 66:11. Oh, yes, this Scripture is interesting. This is actually an allegory about Judah. In this allegory, God is liking Judah to a nursing mother. We see two things here. We see the relationship of Judah to God. Or it can be our own relationship with God. We also see the relationship of a baby and his/her mother. It says here: “They will suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations.”
Now, that is an allegory. It’s revealing how a mother nurses her baby. When the little baby sucks from the mother, this little baby’s not only sucking for food, but it’s also sucking to be satisfied, to be consoled, to be comforted. Nursing a baby is far more than food. Here we see this. The baby sucks and is satisfied. Not just satisfied with the milk, but satisfied with the breast of her consolations, her comfort, and her consoling that comes from within her. It is far more than just food.
But then we take it spiritually. We also need to come to Christ, in His presence, and suck from Him. What does the New Testament say? 1 Peter 2:2: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.” So, we come to Christ. We come to suck. We come to draw from Him.
Maybe you are going through a difficult time. You’re going through a trial. Oh, goodness, you hardly know how to get through. Look, don’t languish on your own, precious one. Come to God. Just come to Him. Suck from Him. Draw from Him. As you come and pour out your heart before Him, you will find that He will console you, He will comfort you, He will satisfy you, He will satiate you.
But that comes as you come. God waits for you to come. You will be satisfied with His consolations and His great goodness.
Now, OK. Maybe you are, you’re going through this tough time. Somehow you wonder, “Goodness, how can I say God is a good God?” I want you to know, no matter what you’re going through at this time, no matter what you will face in the future, or what all of us may face in the future, God is good. We must get into the habit of acknowledging God is good. He is a good God. Oh, I will praise the great goodness of the Lord!
We go back to Genesis. We read about Joseph. Don’t you love the story of Joseph? Joseph was ripped away from his family at about 17 years of age and taken to a foreign land. He was lonely, but he pressed into God. God blessed him and he became ruler over everything in Potiphar’s home.
But then we know how Potiphar’s wife . . . He must have been a handsome young man. She was trying to get him for herself. As he ran from her because he wanted nothing to do with it, she held a piece of his cloak in her hand and used that against him. He was thrown into prison.
So now, not only is he away from his beloved family, his beloved father, but here he is. He’s in prison. He’s left. No one knows about him. He’s there in prison.
Now, if you were languishing in prison, would you be saying “God is a good God”? I’m sure that Joseph was, because he wasn’t in a state of self-pity. Instead, he showed who he was. He began to be someone who was always helping. In the end, he was put over the prison and over all the other prisoners! Because he rose to the top. You can never rise to the top when you’re in self-pity and “Poor me! Why is this happening to me?” That keeps us at the bottom.
Even in trials, you can rise to the top! That's what happened with Joseph. Now, with many, many years, it didn’t happen quickly. But eventually, we know the story, of how he was brought before Pharoah and interpreted the dream and became next to Pharoah in the whole of the land.
But God allowed Joseph to go through all this because He had a bigger plan. And, dear ladies, how can we go through these difficult times? We think, “God has forgotten me.” But God has a bigger plan. You’ve got to trust Him. He is always good. And He wants us to be continually filled with the goodness of the Lord.
I love what Joseph spoke to his brothers in Genesis 45:7-8 when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers after they had been coming back to get food because of the famine. This time, they’d gone back again, and the food had run out, and this time they came back again. This time, Joseph revealed himself to them.
And he said: “And God sent me before you to preserve your posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now, brothers, it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”
But you see, Joseph was able to see God’s hand. Yes, all the suffering, loneliness, abandonment, that he went through, he saw it was all for a purpose. God allowed it. God allowed it, because God had a greater plan, to save his family alive from a famine, and to save a nation, and many other nations around.
Then we go over to the last chapter, Genesis 50:18-21. Now, his father Jacob has died, and his brothers come to him again. They’re scared. “Oh, now our father has died. He’ll really get us this time!” But, no, Joseph comes to them again: “And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you thought evil against me; but GOD MEANT IT UNTO GOOD.”
All the tough times he went through, God was working it out for good: “But God meant it unto good, to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.”
So, be encouraged! God is good, even in the tough times, even in the difficult times. God is working out everything for good. You know, we have to see life, see our difficulties. Maybe we’re going to be facing more and more persecution in times to come. Even at this time, there are many, many people who are facing the fact they have to leave their jobs or be fired from their jobs because they’re not prepared to take the vaccine.
It’s tough. But you know, they trust God. God will show His hand. Even if we have to go through difficult times, we have to keep eternity in view. This life is but a vapor. And the real world is the eternal world.
As we read through Revelation, we see so many of the saints. John looked as he got the vision, and he looked into the eternal realm. There were the saints who were beheaded for sake of the gospel. They were there waiting for more of their fellow brethren to also be beheaded and to join them (Revelation 20: (Revelation 20:4).
Well, maybe in the future, we will face that. But even in that, God is good! Because look, all we’re doing here on this earth is to learn how to conquer evil, walk with God, that we will be ready for the eternal realm, which is the real world, the world forever and ever!
Oh, we can never even dream of what it’s going to be like. God is getting us ready for that. Oh, He is a good God!
I was thinking the other day about Hebrews and the cloud of witnesses that are watching us. Hebrews 12:1: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus.”
That cloud of witnesses, I’m sure many of them, those who got there by being beheaded, or tortured for their faith, but they are now there, just waiting, urging us on. So, the goodness of the Lord. All right. Now that was number 18.
No. 19: GOD WANTS US TO BE FILLED WITH HIS GLORY
(I can’t believe it. I actually talked about this point also in No. 1. I began with it and forgot about it. But there’s still more to share).
Oh, isn’t that amazing? Glory. I’ve been speaking so much about glory. I did a series on the glory of womanhood. Recently, I did another series about glory and moved on to how God even wants us to dress with glory.
Everything about God is glory. He is the God of glory. Jesus is the Lord of glory. The Holy Spirit is the God of glory. God, who is all glory, He longs to come and fill us with His glory.
1 Peter 5:8. Actually, that's not the right Scripture. I must have put down the wrong reference there. But it’s talking about we are to be filled with “joy unspeakable, and FULL OF GLORY” (1 Peter 1:8). Wow!
I will just tell it to you. “Rejoice with joy unspeakable, and FULL OF GLORY.” Amen?
Well, I want to talk a little bit more about glory, but our time is going, so I think we’ll close off this session. Next week I will talk a little more about it, because there’s still more about glory. I want to give you a few more Scriptures about it.
So, let’s pray.
“Oh Father, we thank You so much that You want us to be a filled people—filled with wisdom, filled with Your goodness, filled with righteousness, filled with love, filled with peace, filled with joy, filled with Your glory. Oh, God, help us and save us from going around half-filled. Help us to be those who are filled to the top and overflowing, so we can bless those around us—our husbands, our children, people that we meet. We ask this in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.”
Before I close, I’d love to read you the words of a lovely hymn. We were talking about having our lives filled with the odor of the ointment, the sweet incense, which speaks of His presence, and, of course, our prayer and our worship unto the Lord. But do you know this lovely hymn which says: “Fill Thou my life?”
Let me read. I love the words:
Fill Thou my life, O Lord my God,
In every part with praise.
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being, and Thy ways.
Not for the lip of praise alone,
Nor e’en for the praising heart,
I ask, but for a life made up
Of praise in every part.
Praise in the common things of life,
It’s going out and in;
Praise in each duty and each deed.
However small and mean.
Fill every part of me with praise;
Let all my being speak
Of Thee and of Thy love, O Lord,
Poor though I be and weak.
So shall no part of day or night
From sacredness be free,
But all my life, in every step
Be fellowship with Thee.
“The Lord pour His blessing upon you, upon your husbands, upon your children, upon your homes, and may your homes be filled with the beautiful, sweet incense of His ointment, His aroma of prayer and worship unto Him. Amen!”
Blessings from Nancy Campbell * www.aboverubies.org
Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
I have shared two other podcast series on the Glory of God, if you would like to check them out:
THE GLORY OF WOMANHOOD, Parts 1 – 10 (Nos. 68 – 77).
LET’S GET BACK THE GLORY, Parts 1 – 6 (Nos. 159 – 164).