300: Bob Lloyd – Friendship with the World

1
00:00:13,280 –> 00:00:14,680
Welcome to good Christophian
talks.

2
00:00:14,680 –> 00:00:15,960
I’m Levi.
I’m Chris.

3
00:00:16,160 –> 00:00:18,360
I’m Kristin.
And I’m Brian, thank you for

4
00:00:18,360 –> 00:00:21,160
joining us this week.
On this podcast, we select one

5
00:00:21,160 –> 00:00:24,680
talk a week to help us get the
Bible in our Daily News feed.

6
00:00:24,880 –> 00:00:28,480
Each week we post a talk that we
previewed from suggestions sent

7
00:00:28,480 –> 00:00:29,960
in by listeners from around the
world.

8
00:00:30,080 –> 00:00:33,680
Then we record a short intro
beforehand as a personalized

9
00:00:33,680 –> 00:00:36,480
recommendation to you on why we
are sharing the talk.

10
00:00:36,640 –> 00:00:39,640
And now let’s talk more about
this week’s talk.

11
00:00:50,440 –> 00:00:52,840
Welcome to the good Chris
Adelphian Talks podcast.

12
00:00:53,040 –> 00:00:57,960
This is brother Brian this
week’s talk for episode 300 we

13
00:00:57,960 –> 00:01:01,440
return to where it all started
with a recommended talk by

14
00:01:01,440 –> 00:01:04,480
brother Bob Lloyd.
This is the 4th class from a

15
00:01:04,480 –> 00:01:08,080
series he gave on James back in
1998.

16
00:01:08,440 –> 00:01:11,280
The title of this particular
class is Friendship with the

17
00:01:11,280 –> 00:01:14,040
World.
My favorite point, or part of

18
00:01:14,040 –> 00:01:19,360
this particular class, is the
focus on how important the act

19
00:01:19,360 –> 00:01:25,480
of showing our faith is, based
on James’s decree that pure

20
00:01:25,480 –> 00:01:29,880
religion is to visit the orphans
in the windows in their distress

21
00:01:30,120 –> 00:01:32,680
and to keep yourself unspotted
from the world.

22
00:01:33,000 –> 00:01:39,320
And while a big chunk of the
class and series focuses on the

23
00:01:39,320 –> 00:01:43,560
unspotted aspect, which I think
is Chris Adelphian’s We Take a

24
00:01:43,560 –> 00:01:48,000
Lot of Pride in, it’s the first
aspect of getting involved in

25
00:01:48,000 –> 00:01:51,680
the lives of the needy that I
find even harder to do.

26
00:01:51,960 –> 00:01:56,000
Even though it does sound so
simple on the surface, it’s an

27
00:01:56,000 –> 00:02:00,880
aspect of my own discipleship
that I feel is severely lacking

28
00:02:00,880 –> 00:02:04,680
and that I spend a lot of time
thinking about but not doing

29
00:02:04,680 –> 00:02:06,960
enough of.
And especially as Brother Bob

30
00:02:06,960 –> 00:02:11,160
importantly ties it into the
harsh warning from Christ

31
00:02:11,160 –> 00:02:16,160
Himself in Matthew 25 that those
who fail to feed the hungry,

32
00:02:16,640 –> 00:02:19,560
clothe the naked, and visit the
sick essentially have a

33
00:02:19,560 –> 00:02:21,160
judgement already waiting for
them.

34
00:02:21,560 –> 00:02:25,520
Or as Brother Bob points out, we
already know the script as you

35
00:02:25,520 –> 00:02:29,320
have done it or have not done it
unto the least of these, you

36
00:02:29,320 –> 00:02:31,880
have done it or done it not unto
me.

37
00:02:32,280 –> 00:02:36,760
Faith without works is dead.
And Brother Bob has a lot of

38
00:02:36,760 –> 00:02:41,640
impactful ways of pointing out
how we can go about taking

39
00:02:41,640 –> 00:02:45,880
action and transforming into
doers of the Word and not just

40
00:02:45,880 –> 00:02:48,040
heroes only.
So with that, I’ll turn it over

41
00:02:48,040 –> 00:02:50,720
to the man who actually
recommended the talk himself

42
00:02:51,200 –> 00:02:54,680
nearly three years ago.
Jason, what are your thoughts?

43
00:02:55,160 –> 00:02:58,320
Thanks, Brian, and hi, everyone.
This is Jason Hensley.

44
00:02:58,440 –> 00:03:02,320
As you know, we’re going to be
listening to Uncle Bob for this

45
00:03:02,320 –> 00:03:05,520
300th episode, and what I just
wanted to contribute here is a

46
00:03:05,520 –> 00:03:07,720
little bit different.
This class is all about

47
00:03:07,720 –> 00:03:11,600
friendship with the world, and
it’s a lot of the fun, standard

48
00:03:11,600 –> 00:03:15,080
things that made Uncle Bob
really helpful for a lot of

49
00:03:15,080 –> 00:03:16,320
people.
So I think you’re going to

50
00:03:16,320 –> 00:03:18,720
appreciate it for that.
I just wanted to quickly tell a

51
00:03:18,720 –> 00:03:23,200
little bit of a story.
Uncle Bob has a very special

52
00:03:23,200 –> 00:03:26,600
place in my heart.
He was really one of my major

53
00:03:26,680 –> 00:03:29,360
mentors.
He lived about 45 minutes away

54
00:03:29,360 –> 00:03:32,240
from my house.
And so as I was in my late

55
00:03:32,240 –> 00:03:37,560
teens, early 20s, I used to
visit him every Friday and we

56
00:03:37,560 –> 00:03:40,160
would spend a few hours together
every Friday.

57
00:03:40,160 –> 00:03:43,840
And it was just, it was
incredibly helpful and a really

58
00:03:43,840 –> 00:03:46,720
big deal for me.
So I just want to put out there

59
00:03:46,720 –> 00:03:52,840
that I’m really excited that we
get to have Uncle Bob here again

60
00:03:52,840 –> 00:03:56,440
for our 300th episode.
I’m really thankful for the

61
00:03:56,560 –> 00:04:00,200
impact that he had on me and
that he had on a lot of others.

62
00:04:00,480 –> 00:04:04,960
And hopefully as you listen to
this episode, he will have that

63
00:04:04,960 –> 00:04:10,560
same impact on you, that you
will be moved, encouraged.

64
00:04:10,600 –> 00:04:15,360
And I think most of all, what he
really does is he motivates us

65
00:04:15,640 –> 00:04:19,880
and motivates us to say, because
I follow the Lord Jesus Christ,

66
00:04:20,120 –> 00:04:24,480
I am going to live differently.
And so I think you’ll experience

67
00:04:24,480 –> 00:04:29,120
that as you listen to him talk
about what true religion really

68
00:04:29,120 –> 00:04:31,600
means.
So with that said, I’m going to

69
00:04:31,600 –> 00:04:34,120
go ahead and pass it off now to
Levi.

70
00:04:34,560 –> 00:04:37,160
Wow, I so enjoyed this class.
This was such a fun listen.

71
00:04:37,560 –> 00:04:41,320
Uncle Bob, I think at his prime,
late 90s, definitely the peak of

72
00:04:41,320 –> 00:04:43,440
his mental acuity.
He’s still very much a

73
00:04:43,440 –> 00:04:45,360
professional, very active at
this age.

74
00:04:45,520 –> 00:04:48,200
I would argue he kind of does
slow down into the 2000s and 20

75
00:04:48,200 –> 00:04:50,920
tens.
His style, you know, having all

76
00:04:50,920 –> 00:04:53,520
the stories and doing so much
illustration is perfect for

77
00:04:53,520 –> 00:04:56,080
books like James.
I really enjoyed the point where

78
00:04:56,080 –> 00:04:59,440
he talked about the tongue is a
fire, talking about how a forest

79
00:04:59,440 –> 00:05:01,560
fire can be started with such a
small match.

80
00:05:01,560 –> 00:05:04,160
And that is so, so true in our
ecclesial life.

81
00:05:04,360 –> 00:05:06,920
And it’s something I’ve made the
mistake quite often that, you

82
00:05:06,920 –> 00:05:09,600
know, you can say one little
thing and it can go on to cause

83
00:05:09,600 –> 00:05:11,440
so much more damage than you
would ever expect.

84
00:05:11,440 –> 00:05:13,320
We have to be guardians of our
tongue.

85
00:05:13,320 –> 00:05:16,200
We have to be, you know, wiser
about that and talk less.

86
00:05:16,760 –> 00:05:18,560
So, yeah, very, very thankful to
listen to this.

87
00:05:18,560 –> 00:05:21,600
It hit me at a really good time
because our business, the

88
00:05:21,600 –> 00:05:24,160
business that I’m still working
in that Bob Lloyd technically

89
00:05:24,160 –> 00:05:27,480
founded 65 years ago, the
insurance industry is in

90
00:05:27,480 –> 00:05:30,280
California, is totally turned
over due to the fires.

91
00:05:30,360 –> 00:05:32,720
We’ve had massive forest fires.
And he kind of mentions that off

92
00:05:32,720 –> 00:05:35,080
handed 99.
It’s almost prescient the way he

93
00:05:35,080 –> 00:05:37,560
says that.
So super happy to share this

94
00:05:37,600 –> 00:05:39,600
here for episode 300.
Sending it over to Chris.

95
00:05:40,200 –> 00:05:43,080
Thank you, Levi.
This is Chris to close us out

96
00:05:43,080 –> 00:05:46,480
and with one little comment
before we get over to Uncle

97
00:05:46,480 –> 00:05:49,400
Bob’s talk.
For me, the thing that stood out

98
00:05:49,400 –> 00:05:53,360
in this particular talk was the
importance of what visiting

99
00:05:53,360 –> 00:05:56,080
meant.
This is something that I think I

100
00:05:56,080 –> 00:06:00,160
have understood more as I’ve
gotten a little bit older and

101
00:06:00,280 –> 00:06:04,200
being able to spend time with
our brothers and sisters and not

102
00:06:04,200 –> 00:06:07,600
just the sort of casual, hey,
how you doing, but actually

103
00:06:07,600 –> 00:06:12,680
getting to spend time with them.
I really appreciated Jason’s

104
00:06:12,680 –> 00:06:15,920
comment about the time he got to
spend with Uncle Bob and the

105
00:06:15,920 –> 00:06:18,520
importance that that had in
spending time with him.

106
00:06:18,880 –> 00:06:22,760
And Uncle Bob covers that in his
class in a way that I think is

107
00:06:22,760 –> 00:06:26,040
is really, really powerful.
One little anecdote that kind of

108
00:06:26,040 –> 00:06:27,800
goes off of that that I wanted
to share.

109
00:06:28,040 –> 00:06:31,760
Leo I mentioned as he got older
and sometimes he would make

110
00:06:31,760 –> 00:06:34,640
comments about how young people
like to avoid the older members

111
00:06:34,640 –> 00:06:37,480
of the Ecclesia.
And one of my fondest memories

112
00:06:37,480 –> 00:06:40,280
of Uncle Bob is if there was a
young person that was trying to

113
00:06:40,280 –> 00:06:43,960
get by him at Verdugo Hills, he
would keep trying to get ahead

114
00:06:43,960 –> 00:06:46,400
of that young person to force
them to have to at least

115
00:06:46,400 –> 00:06:49,640
acknowledge his presence and say
hello before he would let them

116
00:06:49,640 –> 00:06:51,240
pass.
It was one of his favorite

117
00:06:51,280 –> 00:06:55,200
little games that he would play.
So I just thought both that

118
00:06:55,200 –> 00:06:58,400
anecdote and the story that he
told really reminded me of the

119
00:06:58,400 –> 00:07:00,920
importance of visiting and
spending time with one another,

120
00:07:00,920 –> 00:07:05,140
really understanding each other.
So that was the the little take

121
00:07:05,140 –> 00:07:08,560
away that I had from that.
So with that, I’m going to turn

122
00:07:08,560 –> 00:07:12,720
it over to Uncle Bob Lloyd for
his class, taken from his series

123
00:07:12,720 –> 00:07:15,600
on James entitled Friendship
with the World.

124
00:07:18,120 –> 00:07:22,320
If anyone was to ask you this
question, are you religious,

125
00:07:24,040 –> 00:07:26,440
what would you say?
Well, of course I’m religious.

126
00:07:26,480 –> 00:07:31,200
I’m a Christadelphian.
I go to meeting on Sundays, I do

127
00:07:31,200 –> 00:07:34,360
my Bible readings.
I always give thanks before I I

128
00:07:34,360 –> 00:07:36,760
eat.
Of course I’m religious.

129
00:07:38,320 –> 00:07:42,560
Well, I’m going to ask it again.
Are you religious?

130
00:07:43,320 –> 00:07:47,880
You really haven’t answered the
question the way James is going

131
00:07:47,880 –> 00:07:56,080
to ask us to answer it.
We believe that we are Bible

132
00:07:56,080 –> 00:08:02,200
Students and I believe we are.
But James is going to give us a

133
00:08:02,200 –> 00:08:04,640
different definition than
anything that we would have ever

134
00:08:04,640 –> 00:08:08,840
come up with had we been on our
had we not had his help.

135
00:08:08,880 –> 00:08:12,200
And it’s in James chapter one.
We’re going to be looking at

136
00:08:12,200 –> 00:08:17,160
verse 26.
If any man among you seem to be

137
00:08:17,160 –> 00:08:21,000
religious.
So I could certainly say are you

138
00:08:21,000 –> 00:08:22,240
religious?
And you could certainly say,

139
00:08:22,240 –> 00:08:27,040
yes, I seem to be religious.
But James says, well, you might

140
00:08:27,040 –> 00:08:32,400
seem to be religious and you may
not be religious if you don’t

141
00:08:32,400 –> 00:08:36,640
bridle your tongue, but you
deceive your own heart.

142
00:08:36,640 –> 00:08:38,200
He says this man’s religion is
vain.

143
00:08:38,200 –> 00:08:40,640
Now, those are very strong
words.

144
00:08:40,640 –> 00:08:44,000
I wouldn’t dare come all the way
from California up to talk to

145
00:08:44,000 –> 00:08:46,320
you wonderful brothers and
sisters who mostly are from

146
00:08:46,320 –> 00:08:49,400
Canada and some from other
places in the world and tell you

147
00:08:49,680 –> 00:08:53,000
this, if it weren’t inspired by
God.

148
00:08:53,920 –> 00:08:59,480
So we may seem to be religious
and not be religious if we do

149
00:08:59,480 –> 00:09:03,760
not bridle our tongue.
And then he goes on and gives us

150
00:09:03,760 –> 00:09:06,200
the definition of pure religion
in verse 27.

151
00:09:06,560 –> 00:09:09,080
Pure religion is undefiled
before God, and the Father

152
00:09:09,080 –> 00:09:12,440
exists to visit the fatherless
and the widows and their

153
00:09:12,440 –> 00:09:15,720
affliction and to keep himself
unspotted from the world.

154
00:09:17,960 –> 00:09:25,720
Now of all the things that we
would cite to make us feel we’re

155
00:09:25,720 –> 00:09:29,000
religious, we would certainly
mention the fact that we are

156
00:09:29,000 –> 00:09:32,880
Christadelphians, that we beat
on the meet, on the Birmingham

157
00:09:32,880 –> 00:09:36,120
Amended Statement of Faith.
We are particular who we

158
00:09:36,120 –> 00:09:39,040
fellowship.
We call a spade a spade.

159
00:09:39,560 –> 00:09:42,720
We don’t mince words.
We stand for purity, the

160
00:09:42,720 –> 00:09:48,280
doctrine.
And yet, all that being true and

161
00:09:48,280 –> 00:09:53,600
all that being important and not
in any way minimizing one of

162
00:09:53,600 –> 00:10:02,840
those things, we still could not
be religious because we do not

163
00:10:02,840 –> 00:10:08,440
watch what we say.
If we bridle, if we don’t bridle

164
00:10:08,440 –> 00:10:12,320
our tongue, if we just have
running off of the mouth and we

165
00:10:12,320 –> 00:10:17,000
just say whatever comes into our
hearts and minds, we could have.

166
00:10:17,440 –> 00:10:22,080
All the truth could be vain.
All the wonderful things we

167
00:10:22,080 –> 00:10:26,360
stand for and believe and and
defend to others could all be in

168
00:10:26,360 –> 00:10:31,880
vain if we don’t bridle the
tongue.

169
00:10:34,400 –> 00:10:38,160
It was that serpent’s tongue in
the garden that first planted

170
00:10:38,160 –> 00:10:40,480
the rebellious thought in the
mind of Eve.

171
00:10:41,440 –> 00:10:45,080
As a result of that, we know he
was accursed by God.

172
00:10:46,840 –> 00:10:50,400
Now David tells us in the
Psalms, Deliver me, O Lord, from

173
00:10:50,400 –> 00:10:54,440
evil men, preserve me from
violent men who plan evil

174
00:10:54,440 –> 00:10:56,000
things.
In their hearts they continually

175
00:10:56,000 –> 00:10:58,640
gather together for war.
They sharpen their tongues like

176
00:10:58,640 –> 00:11:00,880
a serpent.
The poison of ASP is under their

177
00:11:00,880 –> 00:11:03,080
lips.
Well, that’s not us, of course,

178
00:11:03,160 –> 00:11:06,000
but that’s we’re who we’re being
warned about.

179
00:11:06,720 –> 00:11:09,720
But this little tongue of ours
is an amazing instrument.

180
00:11:10,480 –> 00:11:14,400
It’s quite small.
I don’t know if you ever see New

181
00:11:14,400 –> 00:11:17,680
Zealanders, but in the New
Zealand war dances, the New

182
00:11:17,680 –> 00:11:20,760
Zealander warriors, they stick
their tongues out at you and I

183
00:11:20,760 –> 00:11:22,680
guess they practice it.
Their tongue comes all the way

184
00:11:22,680 –> 00:11:27,520
down here.
They must, I don’t know, it may

185
00:11:27,520 –> 00:11:30,120
just New Zealanders have all New
Zealanders have long tongues.

186
00:11:32,760 –> 00:11:35,320
But when you go to a doctor,
what does he do?

187
00:11:35,320 –> 00:11:38,840
He says, well stick out your
tongue and he looks at it and he

188
00:11:38,840 –> 00:11:41,800
can tell pretty much your
condition of your health by

189
00:11:41,800 –> 00:11:46,840
looking at your tongue and James
to sell say you we can determine

190
00:11:46,840 –> 00:11:50,320
the determine we can determine
the condition of your spiritual

191
00:11:50,320 –> 00:11:54,560
health with that same little
instrument.

192
00:11:56,880 –> 00:12:01,120
Jesus said out of the abundance
of the heart, the mouth speaks

193
00:12:02,680 –> 00:12:05,520
and first Peter, Peter, of
course we’ve looked at this

194
00:12:05,520 –> 00:12:07,760
before.
Peter and and James are on the

195
00:12:07,760 –> 00:12:12,280
same wavelength and he says for
he who would love life and see

196
00:12:12,280 –> 00:12:16,000
good days, let him refrain his
tongue from evil and his lips

197
00:12:16,000 –> 00:12:18,720
from speaking deceit.
But when he said that, he’s

198
00:12:18,720 –> 00:12:21,280
quoting Psalm 34, which is back
to David again.

199
00:12:22,560 –> 00:12:28,360
And of course, if you in verse
26 of James one any among you

200
00:12:28,440 –> 00:12:31,080
thinks he is religious and does
not bide his tongue, you’re

201
00:12:31,080 –> 00:12:34,080
deceiving your own heart and
your religion is useless

202
00:12:34,080 –> 00:12:38,400
according to the new King James.
Now we just read chapter 3 of

203
00:12:38,400 –> 00:12:40,880
James and we’re going to look at
some of those verses again

204
00:12:40,880 –> 00:12:44,840
because the word tongue is all
the way through of those verses.

205
00:12:45,480 –> 00:12:48,440
Turning to chapter 3, coming in
at verse 2.

206
00:12:48,480 –> 00:12:53,000
For we all stumble in many ways.
If anyone does not stumble in

207
00:12:53,000 –> 00:12:56,800
Word, he is a perfect man, able
also to bridle the whole bottle

208
00:12:56,880 –> 00:13:00,320
body.
Indeed, we put in horses mouths,

209
00:13:00,960 –> 00:13:03,400
we put bits in horses mouths
that they may obey us.

210
00:13:03,720 –> 00:13:07,560
We turn their whole body, Look
out at the ships.

211
00:13:08,080 –> 00:13:11,240
Although they are so large and
driven by such fierce winds,

212
00:13:11,240 –> 00:13:14,400
they are turned by a very small
rudder wherever the pilot

213
00:13:14,400 –> 00:13:19,360
desires.
Even so, the tongue is a little

214
00:13:19,360 –> 00:13:25,280
member and boasts great things.
See how great a forest A little

215
00:13:25,280 –> 00:13:29,160
fire Kindles, and the tongue is
a fire of iniquity.

216
00:13:29,600 –> 00:13:33,160
The tongue is so set among our
members that it defiles the the

217
00:13:33,160 –> 00:13:35,680
whole body.
Your whole body can be destroyed

218
00:13:35,680 –> 00:13:41,840
by your tongue, James says.
For verse 7, Every kind of beast

219
00:13:41,840 –> 00:13:44,800
and bird and reptile and
creature of the sea is tamed and

220
00:13:44,800 –> 00:13:48,440
has been tamed by mankind, but
no man can tame the tongue.

221
00:13:48,480 –> 00:13:51,440
It is an unruly evil full of
deadly poison.

222
00:13:52,680 –> 00:13:57,000
With our tongue we bless our God
and Father, and with our tongue

223
00:13:57,560 –> 00:14:01,880
we curse men who have been made
in the similitude of God.

224
00:14:02,760 –> 00:14:06,960
Out of the same mouth precede
blessings and cursings.

225
00:14:06,960 –> 00:14:10,000
My brethren, these things ought
not so to be.

226
00:14:11,160 –> 00:14:14,040
Does the spring bring forth
fresh water and bitter from the

227
00:14:14,040 –> 00:14:16,400
same opening?
Can a fig tree, my brother, and

228
00:14:16,400 –> 00:14:21,640
bare olives or grape figs?
No, no, spring yields both salt

229
00:14:21,640 –> 00:14:27,960
water and fresh.
Just think of the the damage

230
00:14:28,480 –> 00:14:31,960
that can be done to us by our
tongue.

231
00:14:33,320 –> 00:14:37,560
James compares it to a fire.
We know we live in a We’re in a

232
00:14:37,560 –> 00:14:40,880
beautiful area where forest
fires could be devastating.

233
00:14:41,360 –> 00:14:45,920
With one little match, you can
start a fire that can destroy

234
00:14:45,920 –> 00:14:50,320
thousands of acres and many
homes and much wildlife and

235
00:14:50,320 –> 00:14:55,640
sometimes people.
Missus O’leary’s cow kicked over

236
00:14:55,640 –> 00:14:59,440
a Lantern, and the whole city of
Chicago burnt down as a result.

237
00:15:01,040 –> 00:15:03,600
So the tongue is like that, says
James.

238
00:15:04,200 –> 00:15:07,840
He can start something that it
cannot stop.

239
00:15:09,360 –> 00:15:11,960
He says no man has ever been
able to tame the tongue.

240
00:15:12,880 –> 00:15:16,120
But the good news is that God
can remember.

241
00:15:16,120 –> 00:15:20,280
On one occasion Jesus met a
Wildman and he drawed among the

242
00:15:20,280 –> 00:15:22,760
tombs, and he wore no clothes,
and he cried out to Jesus.

243
00:15:22,880 –> 00:15:25,920
What am I to do with you, Jesus,
our Son of God Most High?

244
00:15:26,280 –> 00:15:33,560
I beseech you to torment me not.
Jesus tamed the untamable, and

245
00:15:33,560 –> 00:15:39,240
we next see him sitting and
clothed, and in his right mind

246
00:15:40,680 –> 00:15:44,040
we see the young man’s soul
breathing out threatenings and

247
00:15:44,040 –> 00:15:45,680
slaughters against the
disciples.

248
00:15:46,720 –> 00:15:48,920
And through Jesus his tongue is
tamed.

249
00:15:48,920 –> 00:15:54,040
And he says, Lord, what wilt
thou have me to do?

250
00:15:56,040 –> 00:15:58,040
David has a lot to say about the
tongue.

251
00:15:58,640 –> 00:16:02,440
Let the words of my mouth and
the meditation of my heart be

252
00:16:02,440 –> 00:16:08,160
acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord,
My strength and my Redeemer.

253
00:16:09,880 –> 00:16:12,160
Set a guard, O Lord, over my
mouth.

254
00:16:13,320 –> 00:16:16,400
Keep watch over the door of my
lips.

255
00:16:16,560 –> 00:16:20,840
This is David asking God’s help
in taming his tongue.

256
00:16:23,360 –> 00:16:28,600
I said I will guard my ways lest
I sin with my tongue.

257
00:16:30,120 –> 00:16:32,200
I will restrain my mouth with a
muzzle.

258
00:16:32,880 –> 00:16:39,400
All the wicked are before me.
So coming back to James, we have

259
00:16:39,400 –> 00:16:43,280
James telling us that no man can
tame the tongue without God’s

260
00:16:43,280 –> 00:16:47,760
help.
We we are hopeless, no matter

261
00:16:47,760 –> 00:16:51,080
how faithful we might be, at all
the things which we consider

262
00:16:51,080 –> 00:16:53,360
important to be a good Christian
alphion.

263
00:16:54,600 –> 00:17:02,600
If we talk too much, if we
gossip, if we betray the

264
00:17:02,600 –> 00:17:06,839
confidence of those who have
confided in us, if we spread

265
00:17:06,839 –> 00:17:15,400
rumors, not just rumors, if we
spread the truth that ought not

266
00:17:15,400 –> 00:17:22,280
be told, well, it was true.
Well, it might be true, but it

267
00:17:22,280 –> 00:17:29,960
might not be kind, it might not
edify, it might not help.

268
00:17:31,600 –> 00:17:36,280
So out of our same mouth, we
come to a meeting and we talk

269
00:17:36,280 –> 00:17:38,480
about the truth and how
wonderful it is.

270
00:17:39,520 –> 00:17:45,880
And then we say things to and
about others that hurt and wound

271
00:17:46,840 –> 00:17:52,720
and destroy.
And James says you might be a

272
00:17:52,720 –> 00:17:59,720
Christadelphian, but your
religion is in vain.

273
00:18:02,400 –> 00:18:06,400
So this is this is the kind of
thing we need to take home with

274
00:18:06,440 –> 00:18:12,040
us because it’s so important
that we think before we speak

275
00:18:13,240 –> 00:18:20,960
that we consider will this help
or hurt some in, in in Paul’s

276
00:18:20,960 –> 00:18:24,240
day, those that lived in Athens,
they, they only wanted to learn,

277
00:18:24,240 –> 00:18:28,280
hear and tell some new things.
And I don’t know if you have the

278
00:18:28,280 –> 00:18:31,560
Christadelphian Grapevine up
here as we do down our way,

279
00:18:32,080 –> 00:18:35,800
something can happen and it
spreads all over so fast.

280
00:18:36,320 –> 00:18:38,760
Now we have a Christadelphian
tree in our ecclesia.

281
00:18:38,760 –> 00:18:42,040
We call it a tree because in
order to get word out.

282
00:18:42,840 –> 00:18:46,480
But if someone hears something
that they should be told, they

283
00:18:46,480 –> 00:18:49,080
tell these and these tell these
and pretty soon they’ll hold

284
00:18:49,080 –> 00:18:52,080
ecclesias.
No, they’ve it’s been said this

285
00:18:52,080 –> 00:18:55,520
is not true that the fastest
communication or telephone

286
00:18:55,520 –> 00:19:00,960
Telegraph and tell a woman I
already said it wasn’t true.

287
00:19:06,840 –> 00:19:13,280
Hebrews 11 I mean hymn 111, one
of my favorite hymns.

288
00:19:13,320 –> 00:19:18,920
The second verse goes like this.
Take my voice and let me sing

289
00:19:19,080 –> 00:19:27,240
Always, only or for my King.
Take my lips and let them be

290
00:19:27,920 –> 00:19:35,680
filled with messages from Thee.
So let’s watch what we say.

291
00:19:35,680 –> 00:19:38,480
We are responsible for what we
say.

292
00:19:38,840 –> 00:19:43,440
We talked yesterday about Moses
when he spoke unadvisedly with

293
00:19:43,440 –> 00:19:47,680
his lips, and as a result he was
kept out of the Promised land.

294
00:19:48,440 –> 00:19:54,040
We must be careful what we say.
If we just learn to stop before

295
00:19:54,040 –> 00:19:58,000
we speak, take a moment to say,
will this help?

296
00:19:59,200 –> 00:20:01,560
Will this encourage or
discourage?

297
00:20:01,560 –> 00:20:04,000
Will it?
Will it send someone away or

298
00:20:04,000 –> 00:20:08,840
bring them closer to God?
And don’t take comfort in

299
00:20:08,840 –> 00:20:11,800
telling something just because
it’s true.

300
00:20:11,800 –> 00:20:16,520
There are a lot of true things
that are terrible, and if we

301
00:20:16,520 –> 00:20:21,640
know something, that won’t help.
Or let it stay with us.

302
00:20:23,480 –> 00:20:26,120
So James is now bringing us to
this definition of pure

303
00:20:26,120 –> 00:20:28,520
religion.
We’ve just learned that the

304
00:20:28,520 –> 00:20:32,240
person who does not control his
tongue, his religion, is vain.

305
00:20:32,800 –> 00:20:34,920
Now he’s going to turn to
something positive.

306
00:20:35,520 –> 00:20:37,640
We talk about the negative, and
now we’re going to talk about

307
00:20:37,640 –> 00:20:39,920
the positive.
Again, this is not the

308
00:20:39,920 –> 00:20:42,240
definition that Christadaphians
would give.

309
00:20:42,600 –> 00:20:44,520
I won’t give you a definition of
pure religion.

310
00:20:44,520 –> 00:20:46,680
And we would immediately bring
up the Birmingham Mental

311
00:20:46,680 –> 00:20:49,080
Statement of Faith.
We would talk about the

312
00:20:49,080 –> 00:20:51,800
exceeding great and precious
promises made to the Father, to

313
00:20:51,800 –> 00:20:55,880
the to the patriarchs.
We would condemn the false

314
00:20:55,960 –> 00:20:58,840
creeds of Christendom that
contradict the true teachings.

315
00:20:58,960 –> 00:21:00,640
And we would be right in all of
that.

316
00:21:01,560 –> 00:21:03,320
But that’s not what James talks
about.

317
00:21:04,240 –> 00:21:07,320
He doesn’t say that at all.
Not that we’re minimizing those

318
00:21:07,320 –> 00:21:09,000
things.
Please don’t misunderstand this.

319
00:21:09,000 –> 00:21:10,280
And I don’t believe these are
important.

320
00:21:10,280 –> 00:21:13,440
I believe they are important.
But if we don’t do what he’s

321
00:21:13,440 –> 00:21:15,880
going to say next, it doesn’t
matter what you believe.

322
00:21:16,720 –> 00:21:20,600
It doesn’t matter how pure your
doctrine is and how straight

323
00:21:20,600 –> 00:21:24,440
your fellowship is.
If we’re not doing what he next

324
00:21:24,440 –> 00:21:31,840
says to do, he’s going to say
pure religion and undefiled

325
00:21:33,040 –> 00:21:42,720
before God and the Father.
Is this to visit orphans and

326
00:21:42,720 –> 00:21:46,800
widows in their trouble and keep
himself unspotted from the

327
00:21:46,800 –> 00:21:50,600
world?
We would never come up with that

328
00:21:50,600 –> 00:21:52,400
definition if James didn’t help
us.

329
00:21:54,000 –> 00:21:59,520
Now, Brother Neville Smart wrote
a book on the book of James, and

330
00:21:59,520 –> 00:22:02,160
I’m going to quote a little bit
from his book because he talked

331
00:22:02,160 –> 00:22:06,160
about the word visit.
And when we we might have a

332
00:22:06,160 –> 00:22:09,560
different definition of visit
than the one he’s going to share

333
00:22:09,560 –> 00:22:11,640
with us.
I mean, sometimes we go to visit

334
00:22:11,640 –> 00:22:13,680
somebody and we pop in and say,
how are you?

335
00:22:13,680 –> 00:22:15,000
And they, they say, I’m
terrible.

336
00:22:15,000 –> 00:22:16,320
He says, that’s good.
And you’re gone again.

337
00:22:16,320 –> 00:22:20,200
You know, visit, it takes some
time.

338
00:22:21,040 –> 00:22:26,400
Visits takes a part of you.
You you can’t visit without

339
00:22:27,200 –> 00:22:29,520
making a personal sacrifice to
do so.

340
00:22:30,760 –> 00:22:42,040
And so brother Smart quotes 333
places in Luke Pardons to our

341
00:22:42,040 –> 00:22:47,000
brother Peter.
Luke 1 and 68 Blessed is the

342
00:22:47,000 –> 00:22:52,000
Lord God of Israel, for he has
visited and redeemed His people,

343
00:22:52,960 –> 00:22:56,880
Luke 178 through the tender
mercy of our God, with which the

344
00:22:56,880 –> 00:23:00,440
Dayspring from on high has
visited us.

345
00:23:01,080 –> 00:23:06,760
And Luke 7 verse 16 Then fear
came on all upon all, and they

346
00:23:06,760 –> 00:23:10,120
glorified God, saying, a great
prophet has risen up among us

347
00:23:10,400 –> 00:23:17,640
and God has visited his people.
So brother Smart comments on

348
00:23:17,640 –> 00:23:19,600
that.
And he says this visiting was a

349
00:23:19,600 –> 00:23:24,000
testimony to the interest and
the sympathy and the love of God

350
00:23:24,400 –> 00:23:28,560
in regard to man.
So when James exhorts his

351
00:23:28,720 –> 00:23:33,200
readers to visit, he’s
suggesting much more than a mere

352
00:23:33,200 –> 00:23:35,520
visit in our modern sense of the
term.

353
00:23:36,280 –> 00:23:41,200
He implies we must manifest a a
lively interest in the needs of

354
00:23:41,200 –> 00:23:45,600
others and earnest, warm hearted
solicitude of their well-being.

355
00:23:46,240 –> 00:23:50,280
Only by such an attitude do we
show ourselves to be children,

356
00:23:50,280 –> 00:23:55,920
indeed of the Father who visited
us in our own need.

357
00:23:57,120 –> 00:24:00,280
Other virgins say, take care of
orphans and widows, go to the

358
00:24:00,280 –> 00:24:03,280
help of orphans and widows, look
after others.

359
00:24:04,000 –> 00:24:07,160
The only picture we have of the
judgment seat of Christ has this

360
00:24:07,240 –> 00:24:09,680
subject.
And we all know this.

361
00:24:09,680 –> 00:24:12,520
It’s in Matthew 25.
And I, I, I only stir up your

362
00:24:12,520 –> 00:24:14,160
pure minds by way of
remembrance.

363
00:24:14,680 –> 00:24:17,240
But this is a picture of the
judgment seat.

364
00:24:18,080 –> 00:24:23,600
My brother says you’re gonna be
there, you’re gonna be there.

365
00:24:25,240 –> 00:24:27,280
You’re gonna be there if you’re
ready or not.

366
00:24:28,560 –> 00:24:31,000
You’re gonna be there if you
want to be there or not.

367
00:24:32,080 –> 00:24:37,480
We’re all gonna be there.
And this is what the King will

368
00:24:37,480 –> 00:24:42,480
say to you and to me.
We already have the script.

369
00:24:46,640 –> 00:24:53,160
Then shall the King say unto
them on his right hand, Come,

370
00:24:54,800 –> 00:25:00,280
come ye blessed of my father,
inherit the Kingdom prepared for

371
00:25:00,280 –> 00:25:02,640
you from the foundation of the
world.

372
00:25:03,400 –> 00:25:05,640
And those are the words we long
to hear.

373
00:25:06,440 –> 00:25:10,040
But he’s going to tell us why
we’re on the right hand and

374
00:25:10,040 –> 00:25:12,160
others, you’re going to tell him
why he’s on their left hand.

375
00:25:12,160 –> 00:25:14,240
When he says, depart from me.
I don’t even know who you are.

376
00:25:15,480 –> 00:25:19,320
And, and, and the same reason is
why you’re on this side or

377
00:25:19,320 –> 00:25:22,800
you’re on that side.
And so he goes on to say, for I

378
00:25:22,800 –> 00:25:27,160
was unhungered.
You gave me meat.

379
00:25:29,320 –> 00:25:31,880
I was thirsty and you gave me
drink.

380
00:25:33,480 –> 00:25:36,640
I was a stranger.
You took me in naked and you

381
00:25:36,640 –> 00:25:38,760
clothed me.
I was sick and you visited me.

382
00:25:38,760 –> 00:25:41,200
I was in prison and you came in.
We don’t remember doing that for

383
00:25:41,200 –> 00:25:41,960
you.
Jesus.

384
00:25:45,240 –> 00:25:48,440
Eat as much.
You should have done it until

385
00:25:48,440 –> 00:25:50,520
one of the least of these, my
brethren.

386
00:25:51,920 –> 00:25:58,840
You’ve done it unto me.
So James and Jesus are in

387
00:25:58,840 –> 00:26:07,240
agreement that this is pure
religion and we’d better listen.

388
00:26:08,200 –> 00:26:11,320
No, we’d better do more than
listen.

389
00:26:12,360 –> 00:26:16,480
We’re to be doers of the Word
and not hearers.

390
00:26:16,480 –> 00:26:20,920
Only Apostle John agrees with
this.

391
00:26:20,920 –> 00:26:24,680
Whoso hath this world’s good,
see if his brother have need,

392
00:26:24,680 –> 00:26:27,360
and shut up with his bowels of
compassion from him.

393
00:26:27,960 –> 00:26:29,680
How dwelleth the love of God in
him?

394
00:26:30,840 –> 00:26:34,880
You, you know a brother or
sister that’s having a tough

395
00:26:34,880 –> 00:26:38,520
time, and you’re not doing
anything about it.

396
00:26:39,840 –> 00:26:41,960
How can the love of God dwell in
you?

397
00:26:42,200 –> 00:26:47,480
Says James.
John, My little children, let us

398
00:26:47,480 –> 00:26:54,280
not love in Word, neither in
tongue, but in deed and in

399
00:26:54,280 –> 00:27:00,560
truth.
James, when he comes to compare

400
00:27:00,560 –> 00:27:05,800
faith in works, uses the same
example in James 214.

401
00:27:05,800 –> 00:27:07,640
What does it profit, my
brethren?

402
00:27:08,120 –> 00:27:10,240
The old man say he hath faith
and hath not works.

403
00:27:10,240 –> 00:27:14,280
Can faith save me save him?
If my brother or sister be naked

404
00:27:14,280 –> 00:27:17,800
or destitute of daily food and
one of you say unto him,

405
00:27:17,800 –> 00:27:21,080
departed peace be warmed and
filled, it’s going to be all

406
00:27:21,080 –> 00:27:22,480
right.
Don’t worry about it.

407
00:27:24,320 –> 00:27:28,880
You don’t do anything.
He said what does that prophet

408
00:27:30,560 –> 00:27:34,600
so so how, how, how are we
measuring up to pure religion

409
00:27:34,600 –> 00:27:43,240
and undefiled before gone the
sisters that are busy helping

410
00:27:43,240 –> 00:27:47,720
other sisters in rest homes
visiting the sick.

411
00:27:47,840 –> 00:27:50,560
The visiting committee on an
ecclesia is probably one of the

412
00:27:50,560 –> 00:27:52,480
most important.
We think, Oh the exhorting

413
00:27:52,480 –> 00:27:56,120
brethren visiting is more
important.

414
00:27:57,600 –> 00:28:04,440
We need to care about each other
in in very real ways.

415
00:28:07,520 –> 00:28:13,320
When was the last time that you
visited one of those, we call

416
00:28:13,320 –> 00:28:15,640
them convalescent hospitals over
our way.

417
00:28:17,320 –> 00:28:22,480
It’s pitiful to go to them.
There’s so many people in there

418
00:28:22,480 –> 00:28:24,880
that are they they send you
there to die.

419
00:28:26,320 –> 00:28:29,320
Most of them never come out
alive.

420
00:28:31,240 –> 00:28:36,360
And while a lot of them are out
of their mind, we stopped at a

421
00:28:36,360 –> 00:28:40,240
convalescent hospital halfway
here in Medford, OR to visit

422
00:28:40,440 –> 00:28:43,760
somebody that won’t even know we
were there because his mind is

423
00:28:43,760 –> 00:28:49,440
gone.
But the sister wife was saying

424
00:28:49,440 –> 00:28:53,960
some members of the ecclesia
won’t visit this man because

425
00:28:53,960 –> 00:28:56,800
he’s out of his head anyway.
What does he, what will he know?

426
00:28:58,880 –> 00:29:02,160
And then I don’t think they
realize how much she’s hurting

427
00:29:02,480 –> 00:29:06,920
because they won’t visit her
husband who is out of his mind.

428
00:29:07,480 –> 00:29:09,080
He does smile.
You don’t know.

429
00:29:09,080 –> 00:29:13,080
You don’t know what’s going on
when you talk to somebody like

430
00:29:13,080 –> 00:29:15,920
that.
The subconscious mind, some

431
00:29:15,920 –> 00:29:24,320
things get through.
I think sometimes we don’t

432
00:29:24,320 –> 00:29:30,400
realize how how important it is
just just to sit and hold a hand

433
00:29:30,400 –> 00:29:34,840
and say a prayer over someone
who who could even be in a coma.

434
00:29:35,240 –> 00:29:41,000
They say people in comas can
hear a little Side Story on

435
00:29:41,040 –> 00:29:43,480
this.
A family had a, had a, had a

436
00:29:43,480 –> 00:29:47,560
father that was dying.
And the family all gathered at

437
00:29:47,560 –> 00:29:51,520
the bedside and they, they, they
knew that he had very short time

438
00:29:51,520 –> 00:29:53,200
to live.
And they said to the doctor,

439
00:29:53,200 –> 00:29:56,680
well, what, what do we see?
What do we do, you know, And he

440
00:29:56,680 –> 00:30:00,240
was in a coma.
And the, the doctor said, why

441
00:30:00,240 –> 00:30:02,720
don’t you just stand around his
bedside and talk about

442
00:30:03,640 –> 00:30:07,280
experiences that that you all
remember together as a family.

443
00:30:08,400 –> 00:30:10,560
And I guess this man was
somewhat of a character.

444
00:30:11,120 –> 00:30:13,600
And so all the children started
recalling different things that

445
00:30:13,600 –> 00:30:17,320
Daddy had done over the years.
And as they were, were telling

446
00:30:17,320 –> 00:30:20,040
you remember when Daddy did this
and they would all be laughing.

447
00:30:20,560 –> 00:30:22,440
And they, we had, well, you
know, dad did that.

448
00:30:22,440 –> 00:30:25,480
And they were all laughing and,
and they looked down and he was

449
00:30:25,480 –> 00:30:31,120
laughing and he died.
True story.

450
00:30:31,880 –> 00:30:36,880
He died laughing at the happy
things that his family were

451
00:30:36,880 –> 00:30:41,400
recalling about his life.
And nobody thought he they, they

452
00:30:41,440 –> 00:30:43,120
didn’t know he was here
listening.

453
00:30:44,400 –> 00:30:48,120
It went through until he in that
subconscious mind, he was

454
00:30:48,120 –> 00:30:51,840
laughing and that they as he
laughed, he breathed his last.

455
00:30:52,000 –> 00:30:54,480
So what a nice way to go, isn’t
it?

456
00:30:55,520 –> 00:30:58,200
But you see, you’re needed
there.

457
00:30:58,200 –> 00:30:59,680
You can say, well, why should I
go see them?

458
00:30:59,680 –> 00:31:05,040
You’re in a coma.
I don’t think very many of us

459
00:31:05,120 –> 00:31:10,800
enjoy visiting people in some of
these places.

460
00:31:12,240 –> 00:31:15,720
I know my own mother was in one
for years and years and years.

461
00:31:15,720 –> 00:31:19,960
And I went to see her every day.
I went to see her just a few

462
00:31:19,960 –> 00:31:21,720
hours before she died.
But I didn’t know she was going

463
00:31:21,720 –> 00:31:23,880
to die.
I wouldn’t have left because she

464
00:31:23,880 –> 00:31:27,760
was in that same situation for,
for for for months.

465
00:31:28,720 –> 00:31:32,760
And I went to see her and I left
and I went to calling the

466
00:31:32,760 –> 00:31:34,440
customer.
When I got there, they, they

467
00:31:34,440 –> 00:31:36,920
phoned and rang and they said
you have a message, your mother

468
00:31:36,920 –> 00:31:38,640
just died and went right back to
the home.

469
00:31:38,640 –> 00:31:41,480
And there she was.
She just just as I’d left her

470
00:31:42,040 –> 00:31:43,280
before.
They hadn’t even come to take

471
00:31:43,280 –> 00:31:46,040
her away yet.
Of course I felt terrible to

472
00:31:46,040 –> 00:31:49,200
think that I had left and not be
with her at the time of it.

473
00:31:49,280 –> 00:31:52,440
But no one knows.
But when Peggy’s father was

474
00:31:52,440 –> 00:31:55,080
going to die, he, he lived there
almost 102.

475
00:31:55,280 –> 00:31:56,960
They said he’s not going to live
through the night.

476
00:31:58,520 –> 00:32:00,440
So we decided we were going to
stake out.

477
00:32:00,440 –> 00:32:03,520
We we stayed with him all night.
They said he will not live till

478
00:32:03,520 –> 00:32:06,720
morning.
And so because he was totally

479
00:32:06,720 –> 00:32:08,880
deaf, we knew that he couldn’t
hear.

480
00:32:09,480 –> 00:32:11,240
So we kept physical contact with
him.

481
00:32:11,280 –> 00:32:15,040
We took turns holding his hand,
rubbing him and kissing him and

482
00:32:15,040 –> 00:32:17,760
that kind of thing.
He didn’t die till 6:00 in the

483
00:32:17,760 –> 00:32:21,200
morning.
He lasted all night and we

484
00:32:21,200 –> 00:32:24,280
watched him die, but we were
there.

485
00:32:27,200 –> 00:32:30,680
That’s what God wants us to do
is to be there with others when

486
00:32:30,680 –> 00:32:34,440
they need us.
And you can’t do it by remote

487
00:32:34,440 –> 00:32:37,840
control.
It is good to clone.

488
00:32:37,840 –> 00:32:42,240
That is good.
And when you, when you know

489
00:32:42,240 –> 00:32:46,000
someone is not well and you can
reach it by phone, you can talk

490
00:32:46,000 –> 00:32:48,800
to them.
I’ve, I’ve prayed and cried on

491
00:32:48,800 –> 00:32:51,920
the phone with people.
I had a phone call one night.

492
00:32:51,920 –> 00:32:56,560
It was about 11:00 at night and
it was a sister.

493
00:32:56,560 –> 00:32:59,320
She says you don’t know who I am
but I’m going to kill myself

494
00:32:59,320 –> 00:33:02,560
tonight.
It’s 2:00 in the morning where I

495
00:33:02,560 –> 00:33:05,520
live so I figured out she was
somewhere on the East Coast 3

496
00:33:05,520 –> 00:33:08,280
hours from me.
She says my husband is already

497
00:33:08,280 –> 00:33:10,800
asleep and she says when he
wakes up in the morning I’ll be

498
00:33:10,800 –> 00:33:13,440
dead.
But I had to tell somebody I

499
00:33:13,440 –> 00:33:19,520
thought I’d call you.
So we I thought can’t hang up on

500
00:33:19,520 –> 00:33:22,000
this lady.
We just kept talking.

501
00:33:22,840 –> 00:33:26,000
We talked and we prayed and we
cried together.

502
00:33:26,880 –> 00:33:29,800
And the happy thing is she
didn’t do it that night.

503
00:33:29,960 –> 00:33:31,480
I think she was just reaching
out.

504
00:33:32,360 –> 00:33:35,960
She probably was needed someone
to talk to.

505
00:33:36,760 –> 00:33:41,800
Sometimes that’s all you need to
do is just be there to, to

506
00:33:42,000 –> 00:33:47,800
someone to talk to.
Abraham Lincoln was president of

507
00:33:47,800 –> 00:33:51,040
the United States and he was at
war with the South.

508
00:33:51,040 –> 00:33:53,160
And there was a it was a
terrible war.

509
00:33:53,280 –> 00:33:56,000
More Americans were killed in
the Civil War than all of the

510
00:33:56,000 –> 00:33:59,040
wars that America has ever been
involved in because they were

511
00:33:59,040 –> 00:34:03,280
killing each other.
And he was up against it.

512
00:34:04,280 –> 00:34:07,880
And he sent a telegram to
Illinois, to a friend of his.

513
00:34:09,480 –> 00:34:11,280
He said, you’ve got to come to
Washington.

514
00:34:11,280 –> 00:34:16,199
I’ve got to see you.
So this man got on a train, It

515
00:34:16,199 –> 00:34:20,159
wasn’t no planes in those days.
And he travelled a distance from

516
00:34:20,159 –> 00:34:25,719
Illinois to Washington, DC And
the president had a coach and,

517
00:34:25,840 –> 00:34:28,239
and a horse and carriage meet
him at the station.

518
00:34:28,600 –> 00:34:30,239
And they brought him to the
White House.

519
00:34:31,560 –> 00:34:34,199
They ushered him into the White
House and the president was

520
00:34:34,199 –> 00:34:37,400
waiting for him.
And when he when he got there,

521
00:34:37,480 –> 00:34:40,000
the president walked up and he
said, I am so glad to see you.

522
00:34:40,000 –> 00:34:42,040
Thank you for coming.
Sit down.

523
00:34:42,040 –> 00:34:46,080
I’ve got to talk to you.
And then the president began to

524
00:34:46,120 –> 00:34:50,480
walk and he talked and he paced
and he told his friend all of

525
00:34:50,480 –> 00:34:53,120
these problems.
And if I do this, the cabinet’s

526
00:34:53,120 –> 00:34:54,719
after me.
If I do that, the Congress is

527
00:34:54,719 –> 00:34:57,000
going to get me.
The troops are losing here.

528
00:34:57,080 –> 00:35:00,200
And he talked and he did this
for about 3 hours.

529
00:35:00,320 –> 00:35:04,400
This one just sat there.
He never, he never said any more

530
00:35:04,400 –> 00:35:08,840
than hello, Right, Abe.
And for three hours, Abe Lincoln

531
00:35:08,840 –> 00:35:10,760
poured his heart out to this
friend.

532
00:35:12,360 –> 00:35:14,280
At the end, he said, it’s so
nice for you to come.

533
00:35:14,440 –> 00:35:17,640
You’ve helped me greatly.
And the man got on a train and

534
00:35:17,640 –> 00:35:24,400
went back home.
But he had to be there to be of

535
00:35:24,400 –> 00:35:26,920
help.
You wouldn’t say, what will I

536
00:35:26,920 –> 00:35:29,320
say?
Just be there.

537
00:35:30,480 –> 00:35:33,360
Just care.
There’s pure religion under

538
00:35:33,360 –> 00:35:36,080
file, says James.
James knew what he was talking

539
00:35:36,080 –> 00:35:43,320
about.
We have to care enough to go

540
00:35:43,320 –> 00:35:47,600
where we’re needed to be and be
with those who need us.

541
00:35:49,200 –> 00:35:52,640
Telephones are wonderful,
letters are great, e-mail is

542
00:35:52,640 –> 00:35:54,560
fantastic.
I don’t understand it, but it

543
00:35:54,560 –> 00:35:59,040
works.
But there’s nothing that takes

544
00:35:59,040 –> 00:36:08,440
the place of being there.
And so if you know someone that

545
00:36:08,440 –> 00:36:12,600
would be helped by your visit,
be there.

546
00:36:13,760 –> 00:36:17,760
And it’s more than just popping
in you.

547
00:36:17,800 –> 00:36:21,040
You just have to stay a while.
My mother, in her her weak

548
00:36:21,040 –> 00:36:25,520
condition, she said, I wish we
could get an extra bed and put

549
00:36:25,520 –> 00:36:28,400
it in here beside me and you can
sleep here.

550
00:36:30,360 –> 00:36:35,120
I was an only child and spoiled
rotten and that was not

551
00:36:35,120 –> 00:36:38,200
possible.
But yeah, you can’t just pop in

552
00:36:38,960 –> 00:36:43,920
you, you just have to be there.
We went to see a brother, Bill

553
00:36:43,920 –> 00:36:47,960
Robinson, who’s had a stroke up
in Brantford and he has to be

554
00:36:47,960 –> 00:36:50,360
fed.
We have timed it so we could be

555
00:36:50,360 –> 00:36:53,920
there to feed him.
And the nurses let us feed him.

556
00:36:53,920 –> 00:36:57,240
And he’s a he’s a dear brother
that we love very much.

557
00:36:57,240 –> 00:37:02,160
But it’s so pitiful to see
someone who’s so full of life

558
00:37:02,200 –> 00:37:08,040
just a few days before and, and
now, thanks to a stroke, as

559
00:37:08,120 –> 00:37:10,360
totally incapacitated.
But he could talk.

560
00:37:11,560 –> 00:37:16,640
And he, he, he gave us some good
words of wisdom.

561
00:37:16,680 –> 00:37:19,520
In fact, we’ve written a
meditation about our visit with

562
00:37:19,520 –> 00:37:25,440
him because he said good enough
is not good enough.

563
00:37:27,520 –> 00:37:29,960
And that’s true, isn’t it?
And that was a, a Pearl of, of,

564
00:37:30,080 –> 00:37:32,360
of a jewel that he shared with
me.

565
00:37:32,920 –> 00:37:34,600
And the more I think about it,
the more true it is.

566
00:37:34,600 –> 00:37:38,000
So in, in our life, in the
service and the truth, good

567
00:37:38,000 –> 00:37:41,400
enough is not good enough.
Are you just doing enough to get

568
00:37:41,400 –> 00:37:43,760
by?
I think if I do this much at

569
00:37:43,760 –> 00:37:47,240
all, I ought to be enough for
God if I just do my Bible

570
00:37:47,240 –> 00:37:48,720
readings.
Well, thank, I’ve done that,

571
00:37:48,720 –> 00:37:51,920
God.
I think sometimes we think that

572
00:37:52,440 –> 00:37:55,400
doing the Bible readings is sort
of like a debt we owe Jesus.

573
00:37:56,040 –> 00:37:57,760
OK, I’m supposed to do the Bible
readings now.

574
00:37:57,760 –> 00:37:59,680
I’ve done that now.
Now the rest of the day is mine.

575
00:38:02,160 –> 00:38:04,840
It’s wonderful to do the Bible.
Please don’t think I’m not

576
00:38:04,840 –> 00:38:06,560
putting that down.
I am not.

577
00:38:07,280 –> 00:38:12,280
But would you say that’s the
maximum or the very minimum that

578
00:38:12,280 –> 00:38:18,800
you do for the Lord?
Good enough is not good enough.

579
00:38:19,520 –> 00:38:21,960
And I wouldn’t have been able to
to have shared that with you if

580
00:38:21,960 –> 00:38:25,800
I hadn’t bothered.
It was no bother but to go to

581
00:38:25,800 –> 00:38:29,800
see if a brother, very dear
brother in the hospital.

582
00:38:30,720 –> 00:38:34,000
So who benefits?
I’ve already talked about Diane

583
00:38:34,000 –> 00:38:36,880
Grandchamp.
Those who see her benefit from

584
00:38:36,960 –> 00:38:40,440
visiting her because she is such
a wonderful personality and

585
00:38:40,440 –> 00:38:42,920
she’s so cheerful.
You got to cheer her up and she

586
00:38:42,920 –> 00:38:44,760
cheers you up.
But you got to stay a while.

587
00:38:45,080 –> 00:38:47,200
You don’t just pop and say hi,
Diane, nice to see you and gone

588
00:38:47,720 –> 00:38:48,680
think.
Well, I did that.

589
00:38:48,680 –> 00:38:53,000
I mean, I think that’s the way
some doctors make their rounds.

590
00:38:54,520 –> 00:38:57,360
And of course, you can.
You can always be misunderstood

591
00:38:59,200 –> 00:39:04,520
in trying to do good.
There was a sister who had

592
00:39:04,520 –> 00:39:08,400
several little children and an
old sister Jones lived down the

593
00:39:08,400 –> 00:39:11,160
street 3 or 4 doors down South.
One morning she said to her

594
00:39:11,160 –> 00:39:14,440
children, would you would you
run over and see how old sister

595
00:39:14,440 –> 00:39:17,880
Jones is today?
She was wanting to be thoughtful

596
00:39:17,880 –> 00:39:20,280
of how this, so the Kitty said,
sure, mom.

597
00:39:20,280 –> 00:39:23,360
And they ran off and they came
back in a few minutes and they

598
00:39:24,080 –> 00:39:26,680
they said, she says it’s none of
your business how old she is

599
00:39:26,680 –> 00:39:39,960
today.
So sometimes in doing good, you

600
00:39:39,960 –> 00:39:45,760
can be misunderstood.
And so sometimes people who have

601
00:39:45,760 –> 00:39:50,040
been misunderstood for the good
they wanted to do said, well,

602
00:39:50,040 –> 00:39:51,920
that’s the last time I’m ever
going to do good.

603
00:39:52,960 –> 00:39:57,000
And so we have to keep on doing
good whether we’re misunderstood

604
00:39:57,000 –> 00:40:01,480
or not.
If you turn to Second Samuel 10,

605
00:40:01,480 –> 00:40:05,520
you’ll see a a wonderful example
of a person who tried to do good

606
00:40:05,520 –> 00:40:09,400
and was misunderstood for it.
And as a result, many thousands

607
00:40:09,400 –> 00:40:19,960
and thousands of people died.
Second Samuel 10 And a king has

608
00:40:19,960 –> 00:40:23,200
died.
A king has died who had been

609
00:40:23,200 –> 00:40:28,280
kind to David.
And as a result, David said, I

610
00:40:28,280 –> 00:40:30,680
will show kindness unto Hainan.
This is verse 2.

611
00:40:32,720 –> 00:40:35,520
The son of Nahash, as his
father, showed kindness to me.

612
00:40:36,160 –> 00:40:39,680
And David sent to comfort him by
the hand of his servants for his

613
00:40:39,680 –> 00:40:41,840
father.
And David’s servants came into

614
00:40:41,840 –> 00:40:43,520
the land of the children of
Ammon.

615
00:40:44,080 –> 00:40:47,520
And the Princess of the children
of Ammon said unto Haman, Hainan

616
00:40:47,520 –> 00:40:50,520
their Lord, thinkest thou that
David doth honor thy father,

617
00:40:50,960 –> 00:40:52,240
that he sent comforters unto
thee?

618
00:40:52,240 –> 00:40:54,960
Hath not David rather sent his
servants unto thee to search the

619
00:40:54,960 –> 00:40:57,240
city, and to spy it on and
overthrow it?

620
00:40:58,440 –> 00:41:02,880
Wherefore Heinan took David’s
servants, shaved off half of

621
00:41:02,880 –> 00:41:05,680
their beards, and cut off their
garments in the middle, and even

622
00:41:05,680 –> 00:41:07,440
to their buttocks, and sent them
away.

623
00:41:08,760 –> 00:41:16,800
And you know the story as a
result of that. 700 Chariots,

624
00:41:17,200 –> 00:41:25,040
40,000 horsemen and show back
the Campton died 40,701 people

625
00:41:25,040 –> 00:41:28,200
died as a result of a
misunderstanding.

626
00:41:29,960 –> 00:41:34,040
So but David didn’t stop doing
good just because one person

627
00:41:34,040 –> 00:41:37,600
misunderstood his good actions.
And sometimes you can go to

628
00:41:37,600 –> 00:41:43,080
visit someone and you can tell
that they they weren’t prepared

629
00:41:43,080 –> 00:41:46,160
for you to come.
So it’s an act of kindness if

630
00:41:46,160 –> 00:41:49,440
you’re going to people’s homes
to to call them and say, is it

631
00:41:49,440 –> 00:41:54,080
Lord, if I, if I stop over?
You can kill some people with

632
00:41:54,080 –> 00:41:56,240
kindness.
Certainly when you go to

633
00:41:56,240 –> 00:41:59,080
hospitals, if they’re really
desperately, I’ll you don’t sit

634
00:41:59,080 –> 00:42:02,760
by their bed too long because
company wears people out when

635
00:42:02,760 –> 00:42:05,480
they’re sick.
So then you say, well, then I

636
00:42:05,480 –> 00:42:08,000
won’t go at all.
You see, it takes takes a little

637
00:42:08,000 –> 00:42:11,920
bit of common sense to know what
type of visit and how much of A

638
00:42:11,920 –> 00:42:16,040
visit is required.
But the point is, if we’re not

639
00:42:16,040 –> 00:42:19,320
doing this according to James
and our religion is in vain.

640
00:42:21,280 –> 00:42:26,920
And so let’s remember to think
of others instead of ourselves.

641
00:42:27,800 –> 00:42:32,920
Who can I write to today?
Who can I telephone today?

642
00:42:33,760 –> 00:42:40,720
Who can I visit today?
The second part of the test is

643
00:42:41,840 –> 00:42:46,160
keep yourself unspotted from the
world.

644
00:42:49,040 –> 00:42:51,640
Now this is easier said than
done.

645
00:42:53,560 –> 00:42:56,760
It was hard to do this when
James wrote it.

646
00:42:58,240 –> 00:43:03,040
It’s a lot harder now because
when James said don’t get

647
00:43:03,040 –> 00:43:06,720
spotted by the things of the
world and there were no daily

648
00:43:06,720 –> 00:43:09,160
newspapers, printing had not
been invented.

649
00:43:09,680 –> 00:43:12,800
There were no magazines to be
delivered into your mailbox.

650
00:43:13,480 –> 00:43:16,840
There was no radio and there was
no television to pipe the world

651
00:43:16,840 –> 00:43:20,360
right into the your home where
you could see and hear all the

652
00:43:20,360 –> 00:43:22,720
sounds of the world that are
going on all around you.

653
00:43:24,880 –> 00:43:27,800
You probably have gone, you
ladies love to go shopping.

654
00:43:28,600 –> 00:43:32,200
You probably have gone to a
store and you saw piles of

655
00:43:32,200 –> 00:43:35,040
clothes of bargain basement kind
of thing.

656
00:43:35,040 –> 00:43:40,360
And there’ll be a sign up that
says slightly soiled, greatly

657
00:43:40,360 –> 00:43:51,960
reduced, and getting spotted by
the world greatly reduces our

658
00:43:51,960 –> 00:44:01,520
value to God.
How thankful we are that as

659
00:44:01,520 –> 00:44:04,080
Isaiah spoke to us in Isaiah
118.

660
00:44:04,080 –> 00:44:08,760
Come now and let us reason
together, saith the Lord.

661
00:44:08,760 –> 00:44:13,320
Though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow.

662
00:44:13,320 –> 00:44:17,960
Though they be red like Crimson,
they shall be as wool.

663
00:44:19,000 –> 00:44:23,200
Friendship with the world causes
stains and spots.

664
00:44:26,080 –> 00:44:30,320
Paul makes a a whole long list
of very serious sins and then

665
00:44:30,320 –> 00:44:34,280
proceeds to tell us that none of
those who do these things will

666
00:44:34,600 –> 00:44:38,360
be in the Kingdom.
And then he adds, Such were some

667
00:44:38,360 –> 00:44:41,520
of you.
It’s in one Corinthians 69.

668
00:44:42,160 –> 00:44:45,280
Don’t you know that the
unrighteous will not inherit the

669
00:44:45,280 –> 00:44:48,560
Kingdom of God?
Don’t be deceived.

670
00:44:49,480 –> 00:44:54,680
Neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor

671
00:44:54,680 –> 00:45:00,680
homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor

672
00:45:00,680 –> 00:45:04,000
drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners will inherit the

673
00:45:04,000 –> 00:45:07,320
Kingdom of God.
And such were some of you.

674
00:45:08,880 –> 00:45:14,160
But you are washed, but you are
sanctified, but you are

675
00:45:14,160 –> 00:45:18,400
justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of

676
00:45:18,400 –> 00:45:25,440
our God.
So all of us have received

677
00:45:25,440 –> 00:45:29,720
spots, James says, to keep
ourselves unspotted from the

678
00:45:29,720 –> 00:45:33,920
world.
And we all have gotten spots on

679
00:45:33,920 –> 00:45:38,360
us, and the spots greatly reduce
our value.

680
00:45:39,320 –> 00:45:43,240
But thanks to forgiveness, we
can have all the spots removed.

681
00:45:44,240 –> 00:45:48,160
We don’t have to stand before
the judgment seat with dirty

682
00:45:48,160 –> 00:45:51,840
garments unless we want to be
that way.

683
00:45:55,560 –> 00:46:00,520
John to the seven of Cleesians,
mature in Asia, grace be to you,

684
00:46:00,520 –> 00:46:06,680
and peace from him who is and
who was and who is to come, and

685
00:46:06,680 –> 00:46:10,680
from the seven spirits which are
before his throne and and from

686
00:46:10,720 –> 00:46:13,720
Jesus Christ, the faithful
witness, the first born from the

687
00:46:13,720 –> 00:46:15,800
dead and the ruler over the
kings of the earth.

688
00:46:15,960 –> 00:46:23,920
To Him who loved us and washed
us from our sins in his own

689
00:46:23,920 –> 00:46:30,120
blood.
If it were not for Jesus, we

690
00:46:30,120 –> 00:46:32,680
could not keep ourselves
unspotted from the world because

691
00:46:32,840 –> 00:46:36,720
we could not be forgiven.
It’s only through Him that we

692
00:46:36,720 –> 00:46:44,760
have washed or robes and made
them white by his blinds.

693
00:46:46,160 –> 00:46:49,640
So just how do we keep ourselves
unspotted from the world?

694
00:46:51,080 –> 00:46:54,200
Well James is going to give us a
whole list of things that spot

695
00:46:54,200 –> 00:47:00,520
you up, defile you, make you
dirty and so these things are

696
00:47:00,520 –> 00:47:05,520
spots that we want to avoid.
There is a wishy washy double

697
00:47:05,520 –> 00:47:09,360
minded person who is easily
influenced to do wrong.

698
00:47:10,120 –> 00:47:13,880
This person is soon spotted by
the world.

699
00:47:15,400 –> 00:47:19,480
James one verse six.
But let him ask in faith with no

700
00:47:19,480 –> 00:47:22,440
doubt.
For he who doubts is like a wave

701
00:47:22,440 –> 00:47:25,240
of the sea driven by the wind
and tossed.

702
00:47:25,680 –> 00:47:28,520
Do not let that man think that
he will receive anything from

703
00:47:28,520 –> 00:47:31,760
the Lord.
He’s double minded and he’s

704
00:47:31,760 –> 00:47:34,320
unstable in all his ways.
So we have to be single minded.

705
00:47:34,320 –> 00:47:37,640
We have to be focused, otherwise
we’re going to get spots on us

706
00:47:39,080 –> 00:47:43,280
there.
There was in James’s day and in

707
00:47:43,280 –> 00:47:49,920
our day those who respected the
rich and despised the poor and

708
00:47:49,920 –> 00:47:54,000
this was a spot.
James 2 verse one.

709
00:47:55,040 –> 00:47:59,640
My brethren, do not hold the
faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,

710
00:48:00,440 –> 00:48:02,720
the Lord of glory, with
partiality.

711
00:48:03,800 –> 00:48:06,840
For if there come into your
assembly a man with gold rings

712
00:48:06,840 –> 00:48:11,160
and fine apparel, and there
should also come in a poor man

713
00:48:11,160 –> 00:48:15,680
in filthy clothes, and you pay
attention to the one wearing the

714
00:48:15,680 –> 00:48:18,720
fine clothes, and say to you,
Oh, sit here in a good place,

715
00:48:19,240 –> 00:48:22,320
and say to the poor man, you
stand over there, or sit here at

716
00:48:22,320 –> 00:48:25,640
my footstool.
Have you not shown partiality

717
00:48:26,200 –> 00:48:28,520
among yourself?
You become judges with evil

718
00:48:28,520 –> 00:48:31,720
thoughts.
Listen, my brothers and sisters,

719
00:48:31,880 –> 00:48:35,800
has God not chosen the poor of
this world to be rich in faith

720
00:48:36,080 –> 00:48:38,640
and heirs of the Kingdom which
he has promised to those that

721
00:48:38,640 –> 00:48:41,240
love him?
But you have dishonored the

722
00:48:41,240 –> 00:48:44,200
poor.
Do not the rich oppress you and

723
00:48:44,200 –> 00:48:47,200
drag you into the courts?
It’s still true today.

724
00:48:47,200 –> 00:48:51,480
We must not respect riches.
We look up to people who may be

725
00:48:51,480 –> 00:48:54,480
rich and look down on people who
may be poor.

726
00:48:55,000 –> 00:48:57,160
And we’re we’re the poor of this
world.

727
00:48:57,160 –> 00:48:59,760
God has not chosen the rich
people, the faint, the famous,

728
00:48:59,760 –> 00:49:02,560
the mighty.
He God on purpose has chosen us.

729
00:49:02,560 –> 00:49:06,920
And then for us to respect
someone higher up and not show

730
00:49:06,920 –> 00:49:10,120
respect to our brothers and
sisters who who may not have

731
00:49:10,120 –> 00:49:12,760
very much.
It’s a spot.

732
00:49:14,560 –> 00:49:18,960
We’re supposed to keep ourselves
unspotted from the world.

733
00:49:21,360 –> 00:49:32,760
There are spots caused by envy
and strife, James 31416 But if

734
00:49:32,760 –> 00:49:37,320
you have bitter envy and self
seeking in your hearts, do not

735
00:49:37,320 –> 00:49:41,040
boast and lie against the truth.
This wisdom does not descend

736
00:49:41,040 –> 00:49:44,960
from above, but is earthly,
sensual, demonic.

737
00:49:45,800 –> 00:49:51,160
For where envy and self seeking
exist, confusion and every evil

738
00:49:51,280 –> 00:49:56,480
thing are there are we envious
of others?

739
00:49:57,720 –> 00:50:04,400
Are we full of strife?
You know, there are, there are

740
00:50:04,400 –> 00:50:07,840
Christian Alphians that wherever
they go, there’s, there’s

741
00:50:07,840 –> 00:50:10,960
strife.
I, I like to tell the story

742
00:50:10,960 –> 00:50:15,640
about a, a realtor who was
showing a home to prospective

743
00:50:15,640 –> 00:50:19,560
buyers as they showed this home
in the morning to a family.

744
00:50:19,560 –> 00:50:22,040
And they, the family said to the
realtor, what kind of neighbors

745
00:50:22,040 –> 00:50:25,520
will I have here?
And the realtor says, what kind

746
00:50:25,520 –> 00:50:27,480
of neighbors do you have where
you are now?

747
00:50:28,040 –> 00:50:29,520
They say, oh, we have lovely
neighbors.

748
00:50:29,520 –> 00:50:31,240
They’re, they’re really nice.
We get along.

749
00:50:31,240 –> 00:50:33,120
They, they water our flowers
when we’re gone.

750
00:50:33,280 –> 00:50:35,680
We feed their cat when they, we
get along just great.

751
00:50:36,160 –> 00:50:38,560
She says, you’re going to have
the very same kind of neighbors

752
00:50:38,560 –> 00:50:42,240
here In the afternoon.
She showed the same house to

753
00:50:42,240 –> 00:50:45,680
another family and they said,
they said, what kind of

754
00:50:45,680 –> 00:50:47,600
neighbors will I have here?
She says, what kind of neighbors

755
00:50:47,600 –> 00:50:49,600
do you have at home?
She says, they’re terrible.

756
00:50:50,160 –> 00:50:52,080
Oh, we go get along.
We don’t even speak.

757
00:50:53,120 –> 00:50:55,800
They, they don’t want our dog on
their yard and their kids.

758
00:50:56,200 –> 00:50:57,680
We chase them off for them.
Whoa.

759
00:50:57,680 –> 00:51:00,640
It’s terrible.
You’re going to have the same

760
00:51:00,880 –> 00:51:06,160
kind of neighbors here.
See, wherever we go, there we

761
00:51:06,160 –> 00:51:10,920
are.
And if, if there’s always strife

762
00:51:10,960 –> 00:51:16,240
and confusion and bitterness and
problems around you, you have

763
00:51:16,240 –> 00:51:19,360
sighted the enemy.
And it is me.

764
00:51:20,520 –> 00:51:23,200
We are the one.
There are some people who are

765
00:51:23,200 –> 00:51:25,040
everybody’s out of step but
them.

766
00:51:26,040 –> 00:51:30,560
That’s a spot, the big spot.
We need to look ourselves in the

767
00:51:30,560 –> 00:51:33,760
mirror, says James, And realizes
that we’re the problem.

768
00:51:34,240 –> 00:51:38,120
You know, you could never, ever,
ever, ever belong to an occasion

769
00:51:38,120 –> 00:51:42,880
that’s pure.
Because when you join it, it

770
00:51:42,880 –> 00:51:54,600
won’t be.
We are the problem to allow

771
00:51:54,600 –> 00:52:00,040
other people to have problems,
not to allow them to have the

772
00:52:00,040 –> 00:52:03,840
problem, but allow be be
compassionate about their

773
00:52:03,840 –> 00:52:07,680
problems.
So often we have a double

774
00:52:07,680 –> 00:52:15,360
standard.
We, we want justice for other

775
00:52:15,360 –> 00:52:23,400
people and mercy for ourselves.
I like the story about the stop

776
00:52:23,400 –> 00:52:25,720
sign that that illustrates this
one to me.

777
00:52:25,720 –> 00:52:27,360
You may have heard it before,
but I want to hear it again.

778
00:52:31,440 –> 00:52:35,720
You’re driving down the street
and you come to a four way stop

779
00:52:36,160 –> 00:52:38,640
and you make a good solid stop
and you’re just about to start

780
00:52:38,640 –> 00:52:41,040
up and all of a sudden here’s
comes a car and you can see he

781
00:52:41,040 –> 00:52:46,440
is really barrelling and he goes
flatly and you turn to the

782
00:52:46,440 –> 00:52:47,760
people in your car.
You know, we could have been

783
00:52:47,760 –> 00:52:49,840
killed.
I was there first.

784
00:52:49,880 –> 00:52:52,800
It was my turn to go.
And had I gone when I should

785
00:52:52,800 –> 00:52:54,800
have gone, he would have hit us
broadside.

786
00:52:54,960 –> 00:52:56,560
Nobody.
We could have all been killed.

787
00:52:56,840 –> 00:52:58,720
I wish he was a copier to get
that guy.

788
00:52:58,720 –> 00:53:03,800
Oh, he’s a Minnesota highway.
You want justice for him?

789
00:53:05,400 –> 00:53:09,080
You’re same same, same car, same
day, same, same, same occupants.

790
00:53:09,080 –> 00:53:12,480
You’re driving along and you’re
now in the neighborhood where

791
00:53:12,480 –> 00:53:14,080
you’re not.
Don’t normally drive.

792
00:53:14,080 –> 00:53:16,560
And you’re, you’re driving along
and you’re having a really good

793
00:53:16,560 –> 00:53:18,960
conversation on the truth.
And you, you go through an

794
00:53:18,960 –> 00:53:21,200
intersection and as you get
through, everybody says, did you

795
00:53:21,200 –> 00:53:22,440
know there was a stop sign back
there?

796
00:53:22,560 –> 00:53:25,440
There was, oh, I hope there’s no
cop around here.

797
00:53:28,000 –> 00:53:31,240
You see, we when we do something
wrong, we don’t want to get

798
00:53:31,240 –> 00:53:33,440
caught as somebody else does.
We want them to pay.

799
00:53:35,360 –> 00:53:40,280
So if we’re like that, it’s a
spot, and we need to realize

800
00:53:40,280 –> 00:53:47,200
it’s a spot and the more
merciful of the other fellow and

801
00:53:47,200 –> 00:53:52,600
perhaps be more hard on
ourselves by being a friend of

802
00:53:52,600 –> 00:53:58,280
the world, we get spotted.
James Ford, Ford, adulterers and

803
00:53:58,280 –> 00:54:00,480
adulteresses.
Do you not know that friendship

804
00:54:00,480 –> 00:54:02,080
with the world is empathy with
God?

805
00:54:02,960 –> 00:54:05,320
Whosoever therefore wants to be
a friend of the world makes

806
00:54:05,320 –> 00:54:10,520
himself an enemy of God.
But we want to be friendly with

807
00:54:10,520 –> 00:54:13,200
the world, don’t we?
We like to have worldly friends.

808
00:54:14,240 –> 00:54:19,080
If all your friends are worldly,
you go to a meeting on Sunday.

809
00:54:19,720 –> 00:54:22,400
But when you want to really have
a good time, you you choose to

810
00:54:22,720 –> 00:54:25,240
to spend your time with people
who are not in the truth.

811
00:54:26,840 –> 00:54:33,520
It’s a spot.
Recognize it as a spot and

812
00:54:33,520 –> 00:54:36,040
realize that you can’t serve God
and mammon.

813
00:54:36,760 –> 00:54:38,960
If you’re trying to teach these
people the truth, that’s one

814
00:54:38,960 –> 00:54:41,640
thing.
But if you’re doing the worldly

815
00:54:41,640 –> 00:54:47,240
things that they do with them,
then you’re mixing too much with

816
00:54:47,240 –> 00:54:49,960
the world.
You’re spending too much time

817
00:54:49,960 –> 00:54:55,600
with those who don’t love Jesus
and recognizes as that and do

818
00:54:55,600 –> 00:55:00,720
something about it.
If we speak evil of one another,

819
00:55:01,520 –> 00:55:07,960
we become spotted.
James 411 Do not speak evil of

820
00:55:07,960 –> 00:55:11,640
one another, brethren.
He who speaks evil of his

821
00:55:11,640 –> 00:55:14,840
brother and judges his brother
speaks evil of the law and

822
00:55:14,840 –> 00:55:17,800
judges the law.
But if you judge the law, you’re

823
00:55:17,800 –> 00:55:20,040
not a doer of the law, but a
judge.

824
00:55:21,440 –> 00:55:28,040
So bite your tongue.
Don’t say anything bad about

825
00:55:28,040 –> 00:55:31,120
anyone.
That’s that’s a very good rule.

826
00:55:31,240 –> 00:55:33,520
There’s a saying, if I can’t say
something good about a person, I

827
00:55:33,520 –> 00:55:34,760
won’t say anything about him at
all.

828
00:55:34,760 –> 00:55:37,200
And then somebody said, what do
you think about him?

829
00:55:37,200 –> 00:55:38,680
He said, I have nothing to say
about him.

830
00:55:40,640 –> 00:55:46,360
So you can you can even in a
roundabout way, try to say

831
00:55:46,360 –> 00:55:48,560
something unkind without well, I
didn’t say anything, did I?

832
00:55:49,720 –> 00:55:52,680
But you LED them to know what
you feel.

833
00:55:54,920 –> 00:55:58,080
We there’s so much good in the
my mother taught me this poem.

834
00:55:58,080 –> 00:55:59,880
I hope I can get it out now.
There’s so much good and the

835
00:55:59,880 –> 00:56:01,560
worst of us and so much bad and
the best of us.

836
00:56:01,560 –> 00:56:04,280
It doesn’t behold any of us to
speak I’ll of the rest of us.

837
00:56:05,560 –> 00:56:08,320
And so when I point my finger at
you through your pointing at me,

838
00:56:08,320 –> 00:56:10,320
I’ve got so many problems.
I don’t have to be talking about

839
00:56:10,320 –> 00:56:13,400
yours.
If if it’s, if it’s a arranging

840
00:56:13,400 –> 00:56:15,440
brothers meeting, we’re we’re
dealing with the situation.

841
00:56:15,640 –> 00:56:19,640
That’s that’s not gossip, but
don’t let it get outside that

842
00:56:19,640 –> 00:56:22,840
meeting either.
I mean, sometimes something

843
00:56:22,840 –> 00:56:24,840
comes up in a arranging brothers
meeting and before you know it,

844
00:56:24,840 –> 00:56:26,120
the whole occasion is the word
of something.

845
00:56:26,200 –> 00:56:28,880
You thought only a few knew.
Somebody sinned.

846
00:56:29,640 –> 00:56:31,240
That kind of thing happened.
Somebody sinned.

847
00:56:32,520 –> 00:56:34,280
We have to be careful that
that’s a spot.

848
00:56:34,960 –> 00:56:36,280
Spots can keep you out of the
Kingdom.

849
00:56:37,560 –> 00:56:39,200
So let’s don’t speak evil of
each other.

850
00:56:39,680 –> 00:56:44,440
Try to only say good things.
We get caught up too much in

851
00:56:44,440 –> 00:56:47,960
this world’s mad rush to get
things.

852
00:56:48,520 –> 00:56:54,840
We get spotted.
James 4 verse 13 Come now, you

853
00:56:54,840 –> 00:56:57,680
who say today or tomorrow we
will go into such a city and

854
00:56:57,680 –> 00:57:01,520
spend a year there and buy and
sell and get a profit, whereas

855
00:57:01,520 –> 00:57:03,400
you do not know what will happen
tomorrow.

856
00:57:04,000 –> 00:57:06,360
For what is your life?
It is even a vapor that appears

857
00:57:06,360 –> 00:57:08,480
for a little time and then
vanishes away.

858
00:57:09,000 –> 00:57:12,280
Instead, you ought to say if the
Lord will we will do this or

859
00:57:12,280 –> 00:57:15,280
that.
You, you put the Lord will in

860
00:57:15,280 –> 00:57:16,920
front of all the things you’re
going to do.

861
00:57:18,080 –> 00:57:20,440
I think if and then do you do
something you don’t think the

862
00:57:20,440 –> 00:57:23,920
Lord would will you do?
You can’t say Lord willing.

863
00:57:23,920 –> 00:57:27,040
I’m going to go to the racetrack
and bet on Sleepy Sullivan on

864
00:57:27,040 –> 00:57:30,680
the fifth race.
There’s no Lord willing in that

865
00:57:30,680 –> 00:57:33,840
thing.
I mean, let’s be careful that we

866
00:57:33,840 –> 00:57:37,240
don’t say Lord willing to do
something that we think the Lord

867
00:57:37,240 –> 00:57:41,920
would not will us to do.
We can simply be too interested

868
00:57:41,920 –> 00:57:45,960
in having a good time.
And therefore I have no time for

869
00:57:45,960 –> 00:57:48,960
God.
This is a real spot.

870
00:57:50,880 –> 00:57:54,320
James 55.
You have lived on the earth in

871
00:57:54,320 –> 00:57:57,960
pleasure and luxury.
You have fattened your hearts as

872
00:57:57,960 –> 00:58:03,160
in the day of slaughter.
We mustn’t spend our time just

873
00:58:03,240 –> 00:58:06,840
having fun.
We can begin to boast and to be

874
00:58:06,880 –> 00:58:12,440
cuffed up and this is certainly
a spot. 1st chapter 4 verse 16

875
00:58:13,120 –> 00:58:15,000
but now you boast in your
arrogance.

876
00:58:15,000 –> 00:58:19,120
Such boasting is evil.
We should be humbling ourselves.

877
00:58:19,120 –> 00:58:21,040
Humble yourselves in the sight
of the Lord.

878
00:58:21,360 –> 00:58:26,560
He will lift you up.
Verse 10 of chapter 4, all the

879
00:58:26,560 –> 00:58:30,640
things that the world considers
to be with pride and they, they

880
00:58:30,640 –> 00:58:32,680
say pride is a virtue and we
know it’s a sin.

881
00:58:33,720 –> 00:58:39,360
And so Jeremiah 923 God says,
let not the wise man glory in

882
00:58:39,360 –> 00:58:42,320
his wisdom.
And yet people say, well, you

883
00:58:42,320 –> 00:58:48,280
know, I’m a PhD or call me
doctor or whatever.

884
00:58:48,280 –> 00:58:52,800
And, and I, I, you know, some
real smart people who, who just

885
00:58:52,800 –> 00:58:55,520
use big words that I don’t
understand just to make me feel

886
00:58:55,680 –> 00:58:57,960
stupid.
It’s been too hard to make me

887
00:58:57,960 –> 00:58:59,880
feel stupid.
I already know I am.

888
00:59:00,560 –> 00:59:06,800
But if you have, if you’re wise,
don’t flaunt it.

889
00:59:06,880 –> 00:59:12,400
This is what Jeremiah is saying.
Nor let not the mighty man glory

890
00:59:12,400 –> 00:59:15,680
in his might.
We have a beach down our way,

891
00:59:15,720 –> 00:59:18,040
Santa Monica, called Muscle
Beach.

892
00:59:19,040 –> 00:59:21,760
And the people with big muscles
go there and they flex them, you

893
00:59:21,760 –> 00:59:24,040
know, and, and the girls go, oh,
and all.

894
00:59:25,440 –> 00:59:29,200
And he says, if you’re strong,
use it for the Lord.

895
00:59:29,200 –> 00:59:32,000
I mean, there’s too many people
willing to carry the bench when

896
00:59:32,000 –> 00:59:39,000
a piano needs to be moved.
If you’re strong, help us move

897
00:59:39,000 –> 00:59:42,560
the piano, but don’t wear tight
sleeves and let us know how

898
00:59:42,560 –> 00:59:46,760
strong you are.
And nor let the rich man glory

899
00:59:46,760 –> 00:59:49,320
in his riches.
Well, what a rich is for if you

900
00:59:49,320 –> 00:59:52,200
can’t flaunt him, That’s what
the world thinks.

901
00:59:53,360 –> 00:59:55,200
But let him get glory, says
Jeremiah.

902
00:59:55,200 –> 01:00:01,880
Glory in this, that He
understands me, that I am the

903
01:00:01,880 –> 01:00:08,200
Lord.
Exercising loving kindness,

904
01:00:09,360 –> 01:00:13,360
judgment and righteousness than
the earth for in this I delight

905
01:00:13,680 –> 01:00:19,480
says the Lord.
So there are all kinds of spots,

906
01:00:19,520 –> 01:00:24,400
brothers and sisters, that we
can we can have and pure

907
01:00:24,400 –> 01:00:26,880
religion is to keep yourself
unspotted from the world.

908
01:00:28,160 –> 01:00:33,720
And so let’s try to get rid of
our spots by first asking for

909
01:00:33,720 –> 01:00:35,760
forgiveness and God will wipe
them out.

910
01:00:37,160 –> 01:00:41,720
And then by knowing how it’s so
easy to get them and what what

911
01:00:41,720 –> 01:00:45,680
little things we do that end up
with a spot on us that we

912
01:00:45,680 –> 01:00:47,680
shouldn’t have.
So we’re just going to close

913
01:00:48,880 –> 01:00:52,480
with some beautiful words from
Isaiah chapter one.

914
01:00:54,880 –> 01:00:57,440
Wash yourselves and make
yourselves clean.

915
01:00:58,720 –> 01:01:01,520
Put away the evil of your doings
from before my eyes.

916
01:01:02,000 –> 01:01:05,920
Cease to do evil, Learn to do
good.

917
01:01:06,440 –> 01:01:09,600
Seek justice.
Rebuke the oppressor, defend the

918
01:01:09,600 –> 01:01:13,880
fatherless, plead for the widow.
Come now and let us reason

919
01:01:13,880 –> 01:01:18,240
together, says the Lord.
Though your sins be like

920
01:01:18,240 –> 01:01:22,560
scarlet, they shall be as white
as snow.

921
01:01:23,800 –> 01:01:29,600
Though they be red like Crimson,
they shall be as wool.

922
01:01:45,840 –> 01:01:47,960
Thank you for listening to the
good ’cause Adelphian Talks

923
01:01:47,960 –> 01:01:50,560
podcast.
We hope this talk helped you in

924
01:01:50,560 –> 01:01:52,040
your walk and brightened your
day.

925
01:01:53,240 –> 01:01:55,280
If you would like to hear more,
please subscribe for new

926
01:01:55,280 –> 01:01:57,800
episodes.
We are on all major podcast

927
01:01:57,800 –> 01:02:01,880
platforms and also on YouTube.
If you enjoyed this particular

928
01:02:01,880 –> 01:02:04,360
talk, please share it with
someone else who you think might

929
01:02:04,360 –> 01:02:07,120
enjoy it too.
For show notes on the talk you

930
01:02:07,120 –> 01:02:11,240
just listened to, visit
[email protected]

931
01:02:11,520 –> 01:02:14,040
or check out the Show Notes
section of your podcast player.

932
01:02:15,280 –> 01:02:17,760
Please share your thoughts on
the talk from this week on our

933
01:02:17,760 –> 01:02:20,280
Facebook or Instagram pages
where we are at good

934
01:02:20,280 –> 01:02:23,760
Christadelphian talks, or leave
a comment on our YouTube channel

935
01:02:23,760 –> 01:02:25,320
where these talks are posted as
well.

936
01:02:25,720 –> 01:02:28,320
If you enjoy listening to the
talks that we post and hear one

937
01:02:28,320 –> 01:02:30,600
that you think we should share,
please tell us about it.

938
01:02:31,160 –> 01:02:34,160
You can send a suggestion using
the Contact Us tab on our

939
01:02:34,160 –> 01:02:37,200
website or message us on any of
our social media accounts.

940
01:02:37,800 –> 01:02:40,680
Thank you for listening.
God bless and talk to you next

941
01:02:40,680 –> 01:02:40,920
week.