330: Jim Styles – Exhortation: Biblical Guidance on our Memorial Service

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Welcome to good Chris Selfian
talks.

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I’m Levi.
I’m Chris.

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I’m Jason.
And I’m Brian, thank you for

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joining us this week.
On this podcast, we select one

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talk a week to help us get the
Bible in our Daily News feed.

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Each week we post a talk that we
previewed from suggestions sent

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in by listeners from around the
world.

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Then we record a short intro
beforehand as a personalized

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recommendation to you on why we
are sharing the talk.

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And now let’s talk more about
this week’s talk.

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This week’s talk is an
excitation by brother Jim Styles

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that he gave on December 15th at
the Simi Hills Ecclesia, which

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is where I go.
So this is my first time

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suggesting a talk that I heard
at my own hall, which is

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something I’ve been trying to
avoid for no really good reason.

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But this was absolutely
excellent and I was really

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excited to share it.
I had kind of a funny experience

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because if you listen to the
talk by Brother Tom Peel,

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Cohesion and Convergence, which
is a couple episodes ago, the

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last episode I did, I posted
that the morning before going to

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memorial service.
And then Brother Jim really

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talked about the same topic
again.

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His title was Biblical guidance
for the memorial service.

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His readings were Exodus chapter
12 about the Passover in First

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Corinthians 11 about the, you
know, Paul kind of helping the

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Corinthians clean up their
process for the breaking of

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bread.
And it was very, very good talk.

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Really.
It was really a re examination

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of first Corinthians 11 kind of
arguing that from the context in

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the key verse where it says
examine yourself during that

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breaking your bread.
We often take that as it’s often

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understood, as you know, the
breaking bread is a time to

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examine yourself, consider your
sins, you know, quietly meditate

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on how you can improve as a
believer.

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But Jim makes the point that the
problem that Corinthians

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ecclesia was having was that
some were feasting while others

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were starving for the memorial
meal, which was obviously not

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good.
And that’s what the greater

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context of the chapter is about.
And so he argues that the

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purpose of gathering together in
memorial service is to rejoice

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about what God has done for us
and to encourage each other.

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It is not to kind of have your
quiet time, quiet meditation.

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He says the example we have from
Jesus is to remove yourself to

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the mountain and do that by
yourself.

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So he makes a lot of really good
points here and very clearly at

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knowing brother Jim and having
listened to him and talk to them

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quite often.
He had, he has an extra level of

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passion, I would say, in this,
in this exhortation that was

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also fun to hear.
He’s really talking about

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something he’s very much
thinking about and caring about

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at the time.
And he also, like Tom Peel did

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in my previous episode, kind of
lines up on the limitations of

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meeting together over Zoom near
the end, which and he talks,

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He’s he’s very sensitive to
those who are physically unable

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to meet together, but but he
talks pretty critically about

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the necessity of getting
together when we can.

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So yeah, I really, really enjoy.
This is obviously something I’ve

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been thinking about as well, and
I was really excited to share

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this.
So here’s the next station by

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brother Jim Styles.
Biblical Principles of the

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memorial service.
Well, good morning everyone,

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goodies hooked up here.
Well, I’m like Levi.

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When I come here, I don’t bother
putting on the tie and all that

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set the I’m glad you do, Levi,
but not me.

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Anyways, if they’re raising six
children, some of them had some

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real behavioral problems.
And well, at least while they

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were sitting in memorial
service, I had a lot of time to

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think about why I even came to
meeting.

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There were days where Still and
I showed up to our ecclesia and

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we looked at each other and we
just said we made it.

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And then we endured through the
meeting, kept everybody quiet.

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And it was like, wow, that was a
lot of work.

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Did you hear anything?
No, I didn’t hear anything.

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And that was the way it was.
And with six kids that went on

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for over 10 years, 10 years, not
very often did soon I ever get a

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chance to just sit here and
peace and quiet, meditate and do

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all those things that people do
when they come to meeting.

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But it gave me a lot of chance
to sit and think about what do

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we come to meeting for?
We we didn’t have Vimeo back

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then.
You couldn’t go home and like

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listen to it again like we do
now.

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You know, I do that every week.
I go home and listen to Brad’s

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announcements or gyms or
whatever doesn’t because I

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usually don’t hear them.
And it’s a great thing that we

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had today to be able to listen
to things a second time around.

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But what we used to do is we
found that work for us is we got

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tapes in from cassette tapes,
right?

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We got tapes in from other
cities and other areas,

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sometimes from Australia,
different places.

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And we listened to exitations at
home before we ever came to

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meeting.
So that meeting to us was

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something totally different than
it is for many of you.

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And that hasn’t changed a lot
with having grandchildren around

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this.
I spend most of my time outside

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with Theo and all his little
friends that are out there with

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him probably right now.
And that’s what we do.

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You know, there’s speakers set
up out there, but I know some of

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you don’t like it because it
echoes over here because we

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never really got the speaker
that’s real time with with this

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meeting.
So it’s always a delay of 15 or

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20 seconds.
But it gave Sue and IA lot of

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opportunities to think about
what the purpose of memorial

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service really is.
Why do we come to memorial

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service?
You start looking back in, in,

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you know, our memorial service
and you wonder like, well, what

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are we here for today?
And I bet if we ask all of you,

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if we did one of Luke’s surveys,
we’d find out that everybody had

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a lot of different reasons as to
why they’re here from memorial

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service.
And I know for Rebecca, it would

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be the snacks.
That’s why she would be here.

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And you know, for some people,
you know, you ought to

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understand, some people come
here just to talk to an adult

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for once.
It’s, there’s so many different

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reasons that people are here and
it’s, it’s important to

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sometimes look in the Bible and
find out what are the hints in

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the Bible about why we should be
here.

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And of course, 1st Corinthians
11 that Andrew just read, that’s

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one of the big ones we go to.
So our Christian Elphin

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community, as we grew up, our
culture that we have inherited,

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does a lot of stuff about
examining yourself.

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That’s what we were trained to
do.

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You come to meeting and you sit
there and you think about all

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the mistakes I made during the
week, all the failures that I’ve

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had this week, and you examine
yourself.

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And so let him eat of the bread
and take of the wine.

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And that was the culture I grew
up with.

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I ended up deciding in the end,
though, that didn’t work for me.

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That wasn’t really what I was
here for.

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And in the end I decided that’s
not actually what Paul’s talking

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about in First Corinthians 11.
It’s actually something quite

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different than that, which
turned things all around.

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So that’s what I want to look at
this morning.

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What I did is started going back
and looking at what if you were

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just starting from scratch with
a Bible in your hand, how would

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you develop memorial service?
Where would you go in the Bible

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to try to figure out what did
they do?

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You know, you’d start reading
through the Acts maybe and start

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looking for New Testament
things.

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You might actually go back to
the old or at least the Gospels

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and go back to Jesus.
And that’s what I did.

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I started going back to these
things to figure out like, what

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did people do in Bible times?
What was the Bibles?

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What did God really want us to
do when we all come together?

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This actually answered for me
the problem about why so many

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Christadelphians had trouble
coming back to meeting after

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COVID.
Like Levi said, you know, he, he

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couldn’t wait to get back here,
but there were many people who

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thought, you know what, I can do
a better job at home because

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they were coming for a different
reason.

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That was very interesting to me
to watch that play out in our

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community because what it did is
it revealed to us why people

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were coming to meeting.
And it was the, the history that

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I had.
It was like they were coming for

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the reason I was, I grew up
with.

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And in the end, you know what,
if you’re here to just meditate

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and, and, and consider your week
and all those different things

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and you want quiet time to do
that, go home.

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You can do a much better job of
that at home.

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And that’s what we found out
during COVID.

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But that isn’t why we’re here
today, at least biblically.

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That’s not why we’re here.
That’s not why God says that we

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should all gather together.
So what I want to do is look

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back at the memorial service and
look at the at least the history

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that we can get in the Bible
from that.

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So let’s have a look.
The background for this is in in

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Luke 22 or one of the Gospels.
We know these verses now, Jesus

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as Andrew just read, because
Paul quoted that with fervent

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desire.
He said I have desire to eat

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this Passover with you before I
suffer.

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Jesus knew that the Judas was
going to betray him and that the

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others were going to run away,
but he didn’t.

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Focus on himself and see what we
want to do this morning is think

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about aren’t we here for ourself
or are we here for others?

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And I really believe if you’re
here for yourself, you’re better

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off staying home.
You, you could do a much better

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job for yourself.
I can’t at least sitting in my

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bedroom with my computer on and
I can, or listening to tapes

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walking around the neighborhood,
I can listen to Vimeo again.

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That’s not really why we’re here
from God’s perspective.

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That’s not why Jesus had the
Last Supper, the Last Supper,

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which he said was this Passover.
So it was based off of the

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Passover, the Last Supper.
That was the connection to the

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Passover.
It wasn’t about yourself.

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Jesus sat with his disciples and
what did he do during that

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Passover?
He’s told him, He said, I

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desired fervently to eat this
with you before I supper.

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And then what did he proceed to
do?

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The Gospels record his effort to
help his disciples get through

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that night.
He’s facing the toughest night

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of his life.
And what does he do?

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He tries to help them get
through that night.

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And he takes the bread and says,
this is my body.

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And he takes the cup, and this
is the new covenant in my blood

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and says, do this in remembrance
of me.

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What does that mean?
Do this in remembrance of me.

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What are you remembering about
what Jesus did that night?

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What are we remembering?
What he did?

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Is he?
He got the hound while there,

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you know, arguing about who’s
going to be greatest in the

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Kingdom.
He gets down on the ground and

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washes their feet.
That’s what he did.

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He tells Peter that.
Peter, you know Satan’s desire

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to have you.
But I have prayed for you,

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Peter, that your faith will not
fail.

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His focus was all on helping the
others, not on himself, not when

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they were all gathered together.
See, that’s where we are today.

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We’re in that situation like
Jesus, when he’s there with all

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his disciples.
And when he was in that

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situation, he wasn’t focused on
himself.

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He was thinking about how can I
help this person?

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How can I help this person?
How can I pray for this person?

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That’s what he was doing.
And when he wanted time to

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meditate, quiet meditation time,
what did he do?

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Think about it, What did he do
when he wanted that quiet

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meditation time?
He walked up to the garden and

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went off by himself.
You can do that at home.

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Really, you can do that at home.
But what Jesus focused on at

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that time was he wanted them to
make it.

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He wanted, he thought, what do
they need?

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What do other people here need
today?

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That’s why we’re here.
We talk to each other and we do

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all these things.
That’s what Jesus did.

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So he prayed for them as you
watch as he’s walking up to the

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to the garden, he’s praying
Father, make them one as we are

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one.
And he told him he’d send them

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the comforter to help them as
soon as he got to the Father.

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That’s what he did.
And when you think about it,

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that’s what he meant when he
said, do this in remembrance of

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me.
Think about other people, talk

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to people, find out what you can
do for them, help them, pray for

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them, get involved in their
lives.

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That’s why we’re here.
And you can’t do that from home

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00:12:33,360 –> 00:12:35,880
very well.
You actually have to be here.

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I know there’s people at home
right now watching on video.

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You don’t have much choice.
You, you have to be at home.

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That’s that’s a different
situation.

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But when we when we have the
health to be here, we have the

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resources to be here, what God
wants us to do is come together

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00:12:50,680 –> 00:12:53,920
and talk to each other and and
encourage each other and build

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each other up.
That’s what he wants us to do.

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It’s not really all about us.
So we read in in the the reading

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this morning when Rodney went
through that good and Rodney

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00:13:04,360 –> 00:13:07,280
came up at the right time.
We got through Exodus 12 and you

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00:13:07,280 –> 00:13:09,520
look at that celebration of the
Passover.

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That’s where all this came from,
the Passover.

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What was it designed to do?
Well, God said you will keep it

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as a feast, a feast, a
celebration.

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That’s what it was all about.
You ever noticed how you you

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don’t find anything about this
phrase that we use.

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Examine yourself and reading the
Passover.

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Nothing about looking at all
your sins and all your trouble.

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Instead, the Passover focused on
look at what God has done for

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00:13:37,040 –> 00:13:40,920
you excitement.
Look at you got picked you

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you’re he’s you’re one of the
people he’s working with.

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Look at His great salvation.
He’s worked out for you.

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That’s the focus of the
Passover.

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That’s that’s what we’re
supposed to remember.

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That’s why God required 3 * a
year that all the males would

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00:13:56,640 –> 00:13:59,400
show up in Jerusalem.
Why don’t you want them to all

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00:13:59,400 –> 00:14:00,680
come together?
It wasn’t.

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00:14:00,720 –> 00:14:03,160
There’s nothing recorded about
so that you can sit there and

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00:14:03,160 –> 00:14:06,320
focus on all your sins and all
your mistakes and how bad a

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00:14:06,320 –> 00:14:09,520
person I am.
It was all about celebration,

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00:14:10,080 –> 00:14:14,320
excitement, rejoicing, all the
fun things that God had done for

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00:14:14,320 –> 00:14:16,520
them and that’s what they were
supposed to do.

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That’s what we should be doing.
When you, when you look at that

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00:14:19,280 –> 00:14:23,040
Passover meal, see what happened
like in in some of the areas of

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00:14:23,040 –> 00:14:25,640
our world, people were so
focused on ourselves and our

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00:14:25,640 –> 00:14:28,640
quiet meditation time.
They said, well, let’s put the

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children off in another location
because children don’t belong

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00:14:31,640 –> 00:14:34,600
here.
That’s not what God said.

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He wanted them there at the
Passover.

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00:14:37,160 –> 00:14:40,680
He wanted them to witness it.
He even said that he, he

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00:14:40,680 –> 00:14:43,520
actually orchestrated that the
kids were supposed to ask

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00:14:43,520 –> 00:14:47,560
questions during that memorial
service during that Passover so

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00:14:47,560 –> 00:14:50,480
that they could understand his
great salvation.

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00:14:51,080 –> 00:14:54,800
That’s what God records see.
We’ve gotten so far away from

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00:14:54,800 –> 00:14:57,440
that as a community.
We, we don’t want, you know,

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00:14:57,440 –> 00:14:59,280
noise.
We don’t want all these things,

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00:14:59,520 –> 00:15:01,680
but that’s what real life is all
about.

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00:15:02,000 –> 00:15:05,360
There’s noise all the time.
And God wanted that to be

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00:15:05,360 –> 00:15:08,000
communicate to those kids.
He wanted them there.

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00:15:08,000 –> 00:15:09,680
You don’t want them somewhere
else.

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00:15:09,680 –> 00:15:13,200
He wanted them to be part of it.
And that’s really when you start

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00:15:13,200 –> 00:15:15,120
looking for at least as to what
God wanted.

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00:15:15,200 –> 00:15:17,280
He wants them to be here right
now.

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00:15:17,600 –> 00:15:20,280
And sure, if people are going to
make noise, kids do make noise,

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00:15:20,600 –> 00:15:22,640
but then they can ask those
questions.

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00:15:22,640 –> 00:15:25,680
You can talk to them at home
about why were we here today?

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00:15:25,680 –> 00:15:27,800
And you said, Leah, why do you
think we came?

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00:15:27,800 –> 00:15:30,720
And, and you, you, you talk to
them about what we’re doing

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00:15:30,720 –> 00:15:32,840
here.
And, and it’s not just about

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00:15:32,840 –> 00:15:36,240
quiet meditation times.
We’re here to celebrate the

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00:15:36,240 –> 00:15:39,320
great salvation God’s
accomplished for us in Jesus

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00:15:39,320 –> 00:15:41,440
Christ.
What a privilege that we have

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00:15:41,760 –> 00:15:43,760
that, that, that God has been
willing to do that.

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00:15:44,800 –> 00:15:47,600
You know, you start looking at
in the Old Testament, we could

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00:15:47,600 –> 00:15:49,840
go through it, which I did, you
know, I went through Leviticus

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00:15:49,840 –> 00:15:52,360
23 and I looked at the Feast of
Booths, the Feast of

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00:15:52,360 –> 00:15:55,080
Tabernacles, as you call it.
And you start looking at, well,

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00:15:55,080 –> 00:15:57,520
what do you compile about the
Feast of Tabernacles?

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00:15:57,880 –> 00:16:01,520
He says, like in Leviticus 23
and verse 40, that you shall

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00:16:01,520 –> 00:16:04,280
rejoice before the Lord your God
seven days.

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00:16:04,400 –> 00:16:08,160
You shall celebrate it as a
feast to the Lord for seven days

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00:16:08,160 –> 00:16:11,800
in the year that your
generations may know that I made

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00:16:11,800 –> 00:16:14,720
the people of Israel dwell in
booths when I brought them out

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00:16:14,720 –> 00:16:17,160
of the land of Egypt.
I am the Lord your God.

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00:16:17,800 –> 00:16:20,360
You see how the focus is all on
God.

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00:16:21,160 –> 00:16:23,960
It’s not on me.
It’s not on what I need.

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00:16:24,360 –> 00:16:29,080
It’s about what God has done for
us and what Jesus showed is what

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00:16:29,080 –> 00:16:30,400
we want to be doing is looking
for.

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00:16:30,400 –> 00:16:35,280
How can we help others to to get
excited about that, to encourage

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00:16:35,280 –> 00:16:39,080
them to build each other up.
That’s what we’re supposed to do

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00:16:39,080 –> 00:16:43,440
when we all come together.
Do you understand?

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00:16:43,440 –> 00:16:46,960
Like why, you know, I sat there
in my home during, during COVID,

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00:16:47,120 –> 00:16:49,400
having a meeting at home
thinking, boy, if if I just

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00:16:49,400 –> 00:16:52,800
wanted to think about me, this
was a great way to do it in

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00:16:52,800 –> 00:16:55,360
front of my computer, still on
the other side of the room.

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00:16:55,360 –> 00:17:00,000
She had hers and it was nice,
quiet time, but that’s not

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00:17:00,000 –> 00:17:03,560
really what our our, our life
and the truth is really all

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00:17:03,560 –> 00:17:05,240
about.
It’s about being here.

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00:17:05,599 –> 00:17:08,480
You can go through all of the
feast and show the exact same

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00:17:08,480 –> 00:17:11,040
thing that what God wanted
people to do is to come

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00:17:11,040 –> 00:17:15,720
together, celebrate, talk to
each other and build each other

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00:17:15,720 –> 00:17:17,319
up.
That’s really what it was all

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00:17:17,319 –> 00:17:19,359
about.
When you look at those feasts,

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00:17:19,359 –> 00:17:22,839
you find out what they all had
in common, all those 3 * a year,

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00:17:22,839 –> 00:17:26,520
the Passover and the the Feast
of Booths and the the Pentecost

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00:17:26,520 –> 00:17:29,480
when they would come together.
He said you will have a feast.

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00:17:29,720 –> 00:17:31,120
You’re going to eat a meal
together.

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00:17:31,640 –> 00:17:34,400
You’re going to share your lamb,
your peace offerings, and your

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00:17:34,400 –> 00:17:37,880
food with others.
You’re going to rejoice in God’s

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00:17:37,920 –> 00:17:40,200
great salvation He’s
accomplished for you.

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00:17:40,920 –> 00:17:43,960
And remember that you know,
where we would be without that

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00:17:43,960 –> 00:17:45,680
intervention.
That’s true.

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00:17:45,680 –> 00:17:48,320
We do look back and think about
without God intervening in our

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00:17:48,320 –> 00:17:50,520
life, I would never be what I am
today.

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00:17:51,000 –> 00:17:53,120
And he changes us into different
people.

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00:17:53,120 –> 00:17:56,480
And then I got thinking about in
our memorial service today as we

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00:17:56,480 –> 00:17:59,600
spend time here together with
Sunday school and, and, and our

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00:17:59,600 –> 00:18:03,760
memorial service, what part of
our service matches up the best

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00:18:04,160 –> 00:18:06,600
with those feast days that got
established?

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00:18:07,360 –> 00:18:09,880
And to some of you, it may shock
you, but to find out it’s

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00:18:09,880 –> 00:18:14,360
actually our snack time.
Snack time, the very time that

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00:18:14,360 –> 00:18:17,560
some of you wish we didn’t even
have you know, it’s it’s like

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00:18:17,560 –> 00:18:21,600
that’s what God was after.
Come together, have a meal

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00:18:21,600 –> 00:18:25,800
together and talk to each other
and celebrate what God has done

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00:18:25,800 –> 00:18:28,400
for us.
I all the kids are there.

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00:18:28,440 –> 00:18:31,280
Everybody’s there is a family.
We can all go out there and

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00:18:31,280 –> 00:18:33,360
enjoy snack.
Maybe when it’s a little warmer

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00:18:33,360 –> 00:18:35,520
we would, but some of you
probably ate inside.

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00:18:35,880 –> 00:18:39,160
But what a great thing that we
have that we can do that as a

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00:18:39,160 –> 00:18:42,440
community.
Not all Eclis have that, but you

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00:18:42,440 –> 00:18:45,840
can see how it’s, it’s such a
great time for people to come

355
00:18:45,840 –> 00:18:48,440
together and celebrate what God
has done.

356
00:18:48,840 –> 00:18:53,040
It’s, it’s all about emphasizing
the feasting, the rejoicing, the

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00:18:53,040 –> 00:18:56,520
thankfulness and the sharing.
That’s what all those feast days

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00:18:56,520 –> 00:18:58,840
were all about.
So then you look at First

359
00:18:58,840 –> 00:19:01,360
Corinthians 11, you find out,
well, what, what does Paul

360
00:19:01,360 –> 00:19:04,680
actually say about the memorial
service and what is the context?

361
00:19:05,440 –> 00:19:08,240
Now you know from reading
through Corinthians, the context

362
00:19:08,240 –> 00:19:11,840
of Corinthians as you’re going
through the letter, the context

363
00:19:11,840 –> 00:19:14,760
is all about problems from
selfishness.

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00:19:15,360 –> 00:19:18,000
Me, I’m, I, I want to take care
of myself and I don’t really

365
00:19:18,000 –> 00:19:22,000
care what happens to all of you.
He he starts out chapter 1

366
00:19:22,000 –> 00:19:24,960
warning them about the brothers
causing divisions in the

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00:19:24,960 –> 00:19:27,560
community.
In chapter 3, don’t have

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00:19:27,560 –> 00:19:29,560
divisions.
Every member is important.

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00:19:29,560 –> 00:19:32,880
He says, remember it’s God’s
family, not yours.

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00:19:33,760 –> 00:19:35,880
Chapter 6, you get to don’t sue
your brother.

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00:19:35,880 –> 00:19:38,280
That’s what they were doing,
taking advantage of each other.

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00:19:38,600 –> 00:19:41,960
Chapter 8, the food offered, the
idols, Paul would say, look at

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00:19:41,960 –> 00:19:45,720
we all have the knowledge, but
knowledge puffs up and love

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00:19:45,720 –> 00:19:48,560
builds up.
You get to Chapter 9 and Paul

375
00:19:48,560 –> 00:19:50,920
says, look at all these rights I
could have as an apostle.

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00:19:50,920 –> 00:19:52,880
I could do this.
I could demand to view this.

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00:19:53,120 –> 00:19:54,520
I could ask you to take care of
me.

378
00:19:54,520 –> 00:19:56,720
I could ask you to house me and
feed me and all these things.

379
00:19:56,720 –> 00:19:59,600
And he said, I never, I never
took advantage of all those

380
00:19:59,600 –> 00:20:01,560
rights.
That’s what not that’s not what

381
00:20:01,560 –> 00:20:03,720
I did.
But you see, you’ll get that

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00:20:03,720 –> 00:20:05,640
verse up there of a key verse
for today.

383
00:20:06,040 –> 00:20:09,760
His focus was always on helping
others.

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00:20:09,760 –> 00:20:12,800
That’s what Paul was after.
That’s what he wanted to do.

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00:20:12,800 –> 00:20:15,920
He wanted to help the others get
through this so that they could

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00:20:15,920 –> 00:20:18,760
make it as well.
I sort of compiled 2 verses to

387
00:20:18,760 –> 00:20:22,320
there when it says that let no
one seek his own good but the

388
00:20:22,320 –> 00:20:25,320
good of his neighbor.
This is out of chapter 10.

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00:20:25,320 –> 00:20:28,960
This is the the chapter before
he gets the memorial service.

390
00:20:29,200 –> 00:20:33,880
He lay in the background for it
and he says later on in verse 35

391
00:20:33,880 –> 00:20:38,560
or 33 there just as I try to
please everyone and everything I

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00:20:38,560 –> 00:20:42,800
do not seeking my own advantage,
but that of many that they may

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00:20:42,800 –> 00:20:45,600
be saved.
And then Chapter 11 starts out

394
00:20:45,960 –> 00:20:49,360
the imitators of me as I am of
Christ.

395
00:20:50,040 –> 00:20:53,120
See, that’s the context of first
Corinthians 11.

396
00:20:53,240 –> 00:20:57,400
Don’t be selfish, don’t take
advantage of your rights.

397
00:20:57,680 –> 00:21:00,680
Don’t demand that I want this
and I need this to to come to

398
00:21:00,680 –> 00:21:04,720
meeting, but instead look out
for the interests of others.

399
00:21:05,680 –> 00:21:08,560
So you get to chapter 10 there
that the warning is all about

400
00:21:08,560 –> 00:21:10,920
the the idolatry that they are
going through, which is all

401
00:21:10,920 –> 00:21:14,000
about self-service as well.
And then he starts out in

402
00:21:14,000 –> 00:21:17,360
chapter 10 and starts into the
idea, the bread and the wine in

403
00:21:17,360 –> 00:21:20,000
verse 16.
Aren’t we fellowshipping the

404
00:21:20,000 –> 00:21:24,400
body and the blood of Jesus?
And down at verse 36 there he’s

405
00:21:24,400 –> 00:21:26,280
not 33.
He’s not going to seek his own

406
00:21:26,280 –> 00:21:30,280
advantage.
So what Paul did is he tried to

407
00:21:30,280 –> 00:21:33,440
get people to focus on the needs
of others.

408
00:21:33,880 –> 00:21:35,760
Don’t take advantage of your
rights.

409
00:21:35,760 –> 00:21:39,280
Don’t sit here and think about
what I need at this meeting, but

410
00:21:39,280 –> 00:21:42,000
look around and find out what
can I do to try to help other

411
00:21:42,000 –> 00:21:44,160
people?
And in doing that, a lot of

412
00:21:44,160 –> 00:21:47,200
times that’s actually what
becomes helpful to us.

413
00:21:47,840 –> 00:21:50,600
I found Pauls exhortation in in
Philippians 2.

414
00:21:50,600 –> 00:21:53,080
That’s something that I’ve
always found it very useful that

415
00:21:53,080 –> 00:21:57,520
that whole idea that he brings
out in Chapter 2 where the NASB

416
00:21:57,520 –> 00:22:02,000
says do nothing from selfishness
or empty conceit, but with

417
00:22:02,000 –> 00:22:07,640
humility of mind, regard one
another as more important than

418
00:22:07,640 –> 00:22:09,600
yourselves, not better than
yourselves.

419
00:22:09,600 –> 00:22:12,000
The other versions that because
people will look at that.

420
00:22:12,200 –> 00:22:14,560
Remember Colin Badger when he
talked to me one time about it

421
00:22:14,560 –> 00:22:17,120
and we were doing a Philippian
study and he said, how can you

422
00:22:17,120 –> 00:22:19,040
look around and say somebody’s
better than me?

423
00:22:19,480 –> 00:22:21,760
Like look at, you know, Deb
playing the piano today.

424
00:22:21,760 –> 00:22:24,480
There’s no way I’m going to say
that, that I’m better than her

425
00:22:24,480 –> 00:22:26,840
at that.
Or there’s other times where she

426
00:22:26,840 –> 00:22:28,920
could look at that and say,
well, you know, she’s going to

427
00:22:28,920 –> 00:22:30,960
look at me and say, well, you’re
better than I am.

428
00:22:31,080 –> 00:22:33,960
Because if I did that, there’s
no way I could play those hymns.

429
00:22:34,520 –> 00:22:37,920
So it’s not about better, but
it’s what Jesus did.

430
00:22:37,920 –> 00:22:43,200
He considered the others that he
came to save more important than

431
00:22:43,200 –> 00:22:46,600
himself that that’s an attitude
of mine.

432
00:22:46,600 –> 00:22:49,320
So that’s what Paul actually
calls that in the in Philippians

433
00:22:49,320 –> 00:22:52,440
2.
He said do not merely look after

434
00:22:52,440 –> 00:22:56,280
your own personal interests, but
also the interests of others.

435
00:22:56,680 –> 00:23:00,400
Have this attitude in
yourselves, which was also in

436
00:23:00,400 –> 00:23:03,320
Christ Jesus.
That’s the attitude we want to

437
00:23:03,320 –> 00:23:05,840
have.
So when we come together then in

438
00:23:05,840 –> 00:23:08,520
First Corinthians 11, there you
start looking at the chapter.

439
00:23:08,640 –> 00:23:11,600
He said, all right, here’s what
happens at memorial service.

440
00:23:11,840 –> 00:23:14,360
I’m going to give you these
instructions and in doing this

441
00:23:14,360 –> 00:23:18,280
I’m going to praise you because
when you come together in verse

442
00:23:18,280 –> 00:23:21,640
17, he says it’s not for the
better, but it’s for the worse.

443
00:23:22,120 –> 00:23:24,720
And first of all, when you come
together as a church, I hear

444
00:23:24,720 –> 00:23:27,440
that there’s divisions among you
and I part believe it.

445
00:23:27,440 –> 00:23:30,720
So they haven’t solved this
problem of their divisions, but

446
00:23:30,720 –> 00:23:34,200
they must be factions, you know.
But what happens in verse 20,

447
00:23:34,200 –> 00:23:37,920
therefore, when you come
together in one place, it’s not

448
00:23:37,920 –> 00:23:40,560
to eat the Lord’s Supper the way
you’re doing it isn’t what

449
00:23:40,560 –> 00:23:43,400
Christ did.
No, you’re doing it out of

450
00:23:43,400 –> 00:23:47,520
selfishness and what you want
and and taking care of yourself

451
00:23:47,800 –> 00:23:49,840
for an eating.
Each one goes and takes his own

452
00:23:49,840 –> 00:23:52,600
supper ahead of others and one
is hungry and another’s drunk.

453
00:23:52,960 –> 00:23:55,600
What do you not have houses to
eat and drink in?

454
00:23:55,960 –> 00:23:58,880
Or do you despise the Church of
God and shame those who have

455
00:23:58,880 –> 00:24:01,560
nothing?
You know, this is what Paul’s

456
00:24:01,560 –> 00:24:03,040
going after.
He said, look, I don’t praise

457
00:24:03,040 –> 00:24:05,720
you in this.
So some of the members came to

458
00:24:05,720 –> 00:24:08,840
meetings so focused on
themselves, they didn’t even

459
00:24:08,840 –> 00:24:12,000
consider what everybody else in
the ecclesia actually needed.

460
00:24:12,360 –> 00:24:15,280
They were just worried about
what they needed at the memorial

461
00:24:15,280 –> 00:24:18,080
service.
And instead of thinking about

462
00:24:18,080 –> 00:24:22,840
when Jesus said do this in
remembrance of me, see, we can

463
00:24:22,840 –> 00:24:26,120
change the focus of that and we
can say, you know, if we want to

464
00:24:26,120 –> 00:24:28,440
at least we can make it into
some other idea.

465
00:24:28,880 –> 00:24:32,040
But when you think about where
that came from, that came from

466
00:24:32,040 –> 00:24:36,840
the very night that he was going
to be betrayed and he takes the

467
00:24:36,840 –> 00:24:40,600
bread and he’s trying to help
his disciples get through this

468
00:24:40,600 –> 00:24:42,720
time where he’s going to be in
the ground for three days.

469
00:24:43,440 –> 00:24:47,000
That’s what that was his focus.
And that’s what we want to do in

470
00:24:47,000 –> 00:24:50,600
remembrance of Jesus Christ.
That’s really the background to

471
00:24:50,600 –> 00:24:53,960
1st Corinthians 11.
So if Paul says, therefore, I

472
00:24:53,960 –> 00:24:56,600
received from the Lord what I
also delivered to you in verse

473
00:24:56,600 –> 00:25:01,720
23, that the Lord Jesus on the
same night in which he was

474
00:25:01,720 –> 00:25:05,640
betrayed took bread.
See, Paul emphasizes that he he

475
00:25:05,640 –> 00:25:07,440
was going to face a terrible
night.

476
00:25:08,040 –> 00:25:11,400
Sometimes we come here thinking
about all the rough life that I

477
00:25:11,400 –> 00:25:13,640
have and the frustrations of
this week.

478
00:25:13,640 –> 00:25:16,920
And you know, we’re we’re so
focused on ourselves.

479
00:25:17,400 –> 00:25:20,920
Jesus, on the very night in
which he was betrayed, took

480
00:25:20,920 –> 00:25:24,160
bread and when he had given
thanks, broke it and said, take

481
00:25:24,160 –> 00:25:26,400
heed.
This is my body which is broken

482
00:25:26,400 –> 00:25:30,440
for you.
Now do this in remembrance of

483
00:25:30,440 –> 00:25:33,480
me.
See, that brings a whole new

484
00:25:33,480 –> 00:25:35,760
meaning to context to what that
meant.

485
00:25:35,800 –> 00:25:39,760
Do this in remembrance of me.
Think about the Lord Jesus

486
00:25:39,760 –> 00:25:41,960
Christ on the very night he was
betrayed.

487
00:25:42,240 –> 00:25:46,040
He’s thinking about how he can
help the other people and he

488
00:25:46,040 –> 00:25:48,760
took the bread and broke it and
said I’m doing this for you, for

489
00:25:48,760 –> 00:25:50,320
you.
I’m going to go through this.

490
00:25:50,880 –> 00:25:52,600
And in the same manner he took
the cup.

491
00:25:52,680 –> 00:25:56,120
But the New Covenant, that was
the very night in which he was

492
00:25:56,120 –> 00:26:00,560
betrayed.
So when Christ wanted quiet

493
00:26:00,560 –> 00:26:03,720
meditation time, which he did,
and we all need that, everybody

494
00:26:03,720 –> 00:26:06,040
here needs some time to quietly
meditate.

495
00:26:06,360 –> 00:26:09,840
What he did is he walked out of
the room, He falls the pathway

496
00:26:09,840 –> 00:26:12,200
going up to the the Garden of
Gethsemane.

497
00:26:12,560 –> 00:26:14,800
And as he’s walking up to the
Mount of Olives, actually he’s

498
00:26:14,800 –> 00:26:17,440
walking up to the Mount of
Olives and he goes into the

499
00:26:17,440 –> 00:26:21,600
garden and he prays.
And really, I think for us, we,

500
00:26:21,600 –> 00:26:24,760
we have to get focused on the
idea that more about it’s OK if

501
00:26:24,760 –> 00:26:27,680
people are talking right up to
the last minute and they come

502
00:26:27,680 –> 00:26:30,400
into a meeting and people are
socializing out there enjoying

503
00:26:30,400 –> 00:26:33,440
the snack and all that.
That’s actually biblical.

504
00:26:34,280 –> 00:26:38,120
And, and this idea of wanting
all this quiet time, I’ve, I’ve

505
00:26:38,120 –> 00:26:41,680
watched ecclesias argue this in
my lifetime for years about

506
00:26:41,680 –> 00:26:45,040
those who want the quiet time,
those who don’t think about what

507
00:26:45,160 –> 00:26:48,800
Jesus did, he did everything he
could to help them.

508
00:26:48,800 –> 00:26:52,240
And when he wanted the quiet
time, he did it in the garden.

509
00:26:52,600 –> 00:26:55,320
He went somewhere else to get
that, to get that meditation

510
00:26:55,320 –> 00:26:57,600
time.
And we can all do that at home.

511
00:26:57,960 –> 00:27:01,160
Everybody can, we can do it at
home and you can come prepared

512
00:27:01,160 –> 00:27:04,960
for meeting, but we want to be
thinking about doing this in

513
00:27:04,960 –> 00:27:07,760
remembrance of Christ being like
him.

514
00:27:08,320 –> 00:27:12,120
Our our memorial service really
isn’t supposed to be a selfish

515
00:27:12,200 –> 00:27:16,360
opportunity to just come here,
have our batteries recharge and

516
00:27:16,360 –> 00:27:18,120
come here to strengthen
ourselves.

517
00:27:18,400 –> 00:27:20,760
Although that should be an
offshoot of what actually

518
00:27:20,760 –> 00:27:23,640
happens.
The the emphasis in the emphasis

519
00:27:23,640 –> 00:27:27,480
in the Bible about when we all
come together, it’s an

520
00:27:27,480 –> 00:27:30,960
opportunity to talk to each
other, to encourage one another

521
00:27:31,160 –> 00:27:34,280
to socialize with one another,
to get involved in people’s

522
00:27:34,280 –> 00:27:36,200
lives.
What can we do to help you this

523
00:27:36,200 –> 00:27:38,880
week?
That’s what memorial service in

524
00:27:38,880 –> 00:27:41,320
all these feast days were really
all about.

525
00:27:41,920 –> 00:27:45,560
And so when you come to 1st
Corinthians 11 then, and we read

526
00:27:45,560 –> 00:27:50,000
so often verse 27.
Therefore, whoever eats this

527
00:27:50,000 –> 00:27:53,840
bread or drinks the cup of the
Lord in an unworthy manner,

528
00:27:55,080 –> 00:27:56,920
What?
What is that in an unworthy

529
00:27:56,920 –> 00:28:01,120
manner within the context?
An unworthy manner is that I’m

530
00:28:01,120 –> 00:28:04,760
doing it just for me, what I
need, what I want here this

531
00:28:04,760 –> 00:28:07,320
morning.
Well, that’s what it really is

532
00:28:07,320 –> 00:28:10,040
about.
It’s selfishness versus thinking

533
00:28:10,120 –> 00:28:14,400
of others will be guilty of the
body and blood of the Lord.

534
00:28:15,200 –> 00:28:19,880
But let a man examine himself.
So what does the exam himself?

535
00:28:19,880 –> 00:28:24,160
In First Corinthians 11, the
problem they were having was

536
00:28:24,160 –> 00:28:26,800
that people were so focused on
themselves.

537
00:28:27,160 –> 00:28:31,120
They weren’t there to help other
people and they weren’t really

538
00:28:31,120 –> 00:28:33,200
doing it in remembrance of
Jesus.

539
00:28:33,800 –> 00:28:37,160
And so when he says let a man
examine himself, it’s not about

540
00:28:37,160 –> 00:28:40,160
looking back at all your past
sins this week, all your

541
00:28:40,160 –> 00:28:43,240
failures, all the things that
that just didn’t work out, the

542
00:28:43,240 –> 00:28:46,120
mistakes that you made.
God knows those things.

543
00:28:46,680 –> 00:28:49,080
You don’t need to be here at
meeting to get forgiveness of

544
00:28:49,080 –> 00:28:50,840
those things.
You can do that at home.

545
00:28:51,440 –> 00:28:54,520
You can do that all the time.
God is forgiving us of our sins.

546
00:28:55,080 –> 00:28:59,560
What what when we examine
ourselves is examine ourselves

547
00:28:59,560 –> 00:29:04,800
about why are you here?
Are you really here for just

548
00:29:04,800 –> 00:29:09,440
yourself or are you going to do
this in remembrance of Jesus who

549
00:29:09,440 –> 00:29:13,440
was always giving his life to
the others, thinking about other

550
00:29:13,440 –> 00:29:15,880
people, what can they do?
What can I do to help?

551
00:29:16,360 –> 00:29:19,280
That’s what he was there for.
It’s not about looking bad at

552
00:29:19,280 –> 00:29:22,840
all our sins, all our bad things
that we did during the week.

553
00:29:23,160 –> 00:29:27,120
But what God wants us to do is
he wants us to focus on the

554
00:29:27,120 –> 00:29:32,000
positives, the positives of look
at the great salvation that we

555
00:29:32,000 –> 00:29:34,480
have, look at what he’s willing
to forgive us about.

556
00:29:34,760 –> 00:29:36,200
And we’ve made all these
mistakes.

557
00:29:36,200 –> 00:29:38,320
But what can I do in response to
that?

558
00:29:38,800 –> 00:29:40,480
I, I can try to help somebody
else.

559
00:29:40,640 –> 00:29:44,040
I can try to help other people.
See, I think what happened is

560
00:29:44,040 –> 00:29:46,640
that when you look at the feast
days and you look at all these

561
00:29:46,640 –> 00:29:49,040
different situations in the
scriptures that come up about

562
00:29:49,040 –> 00:29:52,640
this, when everybody’s gathered
together, but you have to make a

563
00:29:52,640 –> 00:29:54,560
decision.
Do you, do you want to focus on

564
00:29:54,560 –> 00:29:57,440
all the mistakes that you’ve
made and all the failures that I

565
00:29:57,440 –> 00:30:01,080
made or do I want to focus on,
look at what God’s doing in our

566
00:30:01,080 –> 00:30:03,080
life.
Look at the changes he’s making

567
00:30:03,080 –> 00:30:05,200
me.
Look how he’s making progress

568
00:30:05,480 –> 00:30:08,600
and sure, I failed, but look at
what he’s done over time.

569
00:30:08,960 –> 00:30:13,760
Look at his great salvation.
See what God knows, brethren and

570
00:30:13,760 –> 00:30:17,840
sisters and young people, is
that you will be more motivated

571
00:30:17,840 –> 00:30:21,800
to walk out of here today if you
walk out of here excited,

572
00:30:22,080 –> 00:30:25,680
focused on what God is doing
and, and all the things that

573
00:30:25,680 –> 00:30:29,520
he’s doing in your life instead
of just going out with despair

574
00:30:29,560 –> 00:30:32,280
with your head down.
Just like, oh, I failed again.

575
00:30:32,280 –> 00:30:33,680
I made a lot of mistakes this
week.

576
00:30:34,080 –> 00:30:37,720
That doesn’t change people.
All the emphasis in the

577
00:30:37,720 –> 00:30:42,960
scriptures is to focus on the
rejoicing on God’s what he’s

578
00:30:42,960 –> 00:30:46,240
doing in our life, not on all
the negatives of, on more

579
00:30:46,240 –> 00:30:47,920
failures.
We can come here.

580
00:30:48,120 –> 00:30:51,520
I could have come here for like
what, 50-60 years of my life now

581
00:30:51,560 –> 00:30:53,600
and done that and just focused
on the negatives.

582
00:30:53,920 –> 00:30:56,040
I didn’t find that that changed
me a whole lot.

583
00:30:56,440 –> 00:31:00,000
But rejoicing as we sang in that
first hope, in that first hymn,

584
00:31:00,280 –> 00:31:03,000
rejoicing in God’s salvation.
Oh, that’s a whole different

585
00:31:03,000 –> 00:31:06,840
story when you look at what how
God has turned us into different

586
00:31:06,840 –> 00:31:10,920
people and the emphasis is on
God and what he’s done and what

587
00:31:10,920 –> 00:31:15,600
can we do to help other people.
So let’s think about then this

588
00:31:15,600 –> 00:31:19,120
whole idea of when we take the
bread and wine this morning in

589
00:31:19,120 –> 00:31:22,320
remembrance of him, what are you
remembering?

590
00:31:22,320 –> 00:31:26,120
So that matters are you just
remembering, you know, the fact

591
00:31:26,120 –> 00:31:29,120
that that that Jesus died and I
should have died and I should

592
00:31:29,120 –> 00:31:32,720
have done better this week or is
remembrance of him thinking

593
00:31:32,720 –> 00:31:35,600
about look at how he gave his
life for others.

594
00:31:36,000 –> 00:31:38,960
Look at what he did on the very
night in which he was betrayed.

595
00:31:39,400 –> 00:31:42,280
Let’s be more like him.
Get down and on the ground and

596
00:31:42,280 –> 00:31:44,520
wash them.
Not unless they wash the feet of

597
00:31:44,520 –> 00:31:46,680
people, but serve in our
ecclesia.

598
00:31:47,040 –> 00:31:49,680
Get involved in helping other
people and getting involved in

599
00:31:49,680 –> 00:31:52,360
their lives.
And let’s remember the words

600
00:31:52,360 –> 00:31:54,040
that Paul gives and his
exhortation.

601
00:31:54,040 –> 00:31:54,920
Philippians 2.
I.

602
00:31:54,920 –> 00:31:57,000
I really found those very
helpful for myself.

603
00:31:57,360 –> 00:32:01,240
Do nothing from selfishness or
empty conceit, but with humility

604
00:32:01,240 –> 00:32:04,320
of mind.
Regard one another as more

605
00:32:04,320 –> 00:32:08,560
important than yourselves.
Do not merely look out for your

606
00:32:08,560 –> 00:32:12,600
own interests, but also for the
interests of others, and have

607
00:32:12,600 –> 00:32:16,880
this attitude in yourselves
which was also in Christ Jesus.

608
00:32:30,120 –> 00:32:32,240
Thank you for listening to the
good Chris Adelphian Talks

609
00:32:32,240 –> 00:32:34,800
podcast.
We hope this talk helped you in

610
00:32:34,800 –> 00:32:36,320
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611
00:32:37,480 –> 00:32:39,560
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627
00:33:24,960 –> 00:33:25,200
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