027: Steve Mansfield - Gifts

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   Welcome to the Good Christadelphian Talks podcast. I'm Levi. And I'm Chris. Thank you so much for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help each one of us get the Bible in our daily news feed. We post at the start of each week for you to listen with a short intro beforehand to kind of set the stage for the talk you're about to hear. And now let's hear more about this week's talk. This week's talk is by Brother Steve Mansfield. It's an exhortation that he gave in Australia. We don't know exactly know where, but we know it was kind of a guest speaker situation because he thanks the presider at the beginning. It's a really beautiful exhortation on the concept of gift giving. And whether it's better, you know, the quote is, it's better to give than to receive.

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   Examining our motivations when we're both giving and receiving gifts, and obviously how that relates to our relationship with our Heavenly Father. And, you know, how that and that whole dynamic, how we need to recognize it as a gift and also be thankful for our gifts. I really loved that point he made about the 10 lepers and the one that turns back. Well, what that one leper was doing in turning back was remembering to thank the Lord for the work that he had done in his life. So, and we often forget to do the same. This talk was a suggestion, so we thank very much to the person that sent us this suggestion. We really live off these. It is a challenge to find, to weed through so many wonderful talks that we have in our community. So, please, if you have any suggestions, forward them to us.

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   Or even if you want us to tell you some talks to listen to and let us know which one out of that we should use, that would be something that we could arrange. Also, before we get to the talk, we wanted to give a special plug for another podcast by Brother Sam Taylor called Pause to Consider. Sam is doing single, short devotionals that are absolutely wonderful. I've been really enjoying listening to them.

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   Listen to them very encouraging. So, you can search for that podcast on any, on all the same places that you listen to this podcast, any app that you use. Search for Pause to Consider and give that a listen. So, thank you so much to Sam for the work that he's doing for that. Again, thank the person who sent us this talk, which is Steve Mansfield, an exhortation on gift giving.

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   Thank you very much, Brother Keith. And thanks, brethren and sisters, for inviting me along to your memorial service. And Jenny and I are very happy to come along. It was a lovely welcome as I walked in. Ben's oldest boy, who I can't remember his name. What's your name? Daniel came up to me, gave me a high five and he said, I remember you. We go way back. You're the guy that gave the pomegranate talk. So, thank you very much for that lovely welcome.

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   Now, this morning, brethren and sisters, we're going to talk about the wonderful power and joy it is to give gifts and also to receive gifts. And if we've gone to a birthday party or something like that, you know the energy that's in that room. People are giving gifts and there's a lot of excitement.

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   There's a lot of fun. There's a lot of positivity, isn't there? And there's lots of love. When was the last time you went to a child's birthday party and you saw somebody with a grumpy face give that child a birthday gift? Can you remember? Of course, we could hardly ever think of an occasion where anyone would go with a grumpy face giving a gift. You know, it's just something there's joy about it, isn't it? Giving gifts to people. It's part of us. It's in our DNA because it's in God's DNA DNA and it's in his son's DNA as well. There is something God-like about giving gifts and the joy that comes from giving that gift. That's something that God has given us as a beautiful emotion because that emotion has come from him. It was once said, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

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   And yet we're in this world, this transactional world. It seems the wrong way around. Isn't it better to get something than to give it? Why would it be that it's better to give something away than to receive it? How could giving possibly be better than getting something? We all know the answer to the question. It's because there is some joy that we have inside here that we get when having spent some money and bought a gift and wrapped it and put a card on it and put some words. When we give that gift, even though it's cost us time and money perhaps, there is something about giving that gift that is even more joy than the person that receives it. But for that to be true, for that to really be true, it all depends on the motive and the spirit of both sides when that gift is exchanged. For instance, if you were the giver of a gift, but you expected something in return, do you think that spoils the spirit of giving? It does. If you're the giver of the gift and you have a sense of power or superiority over that person, say you're going to give a gift of charity, it spoils the spirit of the giver. If you've given a gift and you've done so indifferently because, well, you know, I have to do it. It's their birthday. So I'll scramble together, I'll find something, I'll give them a gift and here you go, there's your gift. If that's the approach that you take because you're compelled to do it or there's a routine about it, in every one of those cases, the spirit of giving is diminished. Would you agree? It's all about this

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   in here. What made you be motivated to give that gift in the first place will be the barometer by which the spirit of giving is greater than something being received. On the same token, the person that's receiving that gift, if they are receiving the gift, knowing that they have to pay back, then the spirit of receiving the gift is destroyed.

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    Or if they receive the gift knowing that they expected a gift coming, equally will ruin the spirit of the exchange. So this true spirit of saying it is better to give than to receive is so true, but it only occurs if the giver is selfless and loving and the receiver has genuine thanks and gratitude, understanding that the person that gave that gift did so with effort, sacrifice and love.

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    You put all those things together, we, brethren and sisters, this morning are receiving a beautiful gift, gift of the gift of the body of Christ, the gift of asking and receiving back forgiveness of sins. And do you think for a moment in that exchange of our seeking for forgiveness and God extending it to us, it is something that we deserve, it is something that we are owed, and do you think God starts to get a little bit stale on giving it because it's now just part of a routine, or he feels that he's got to do it because he said he was going to do it?

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    No. When we seek for forgiveness of our sins, we do so asking God with no expectation, except knowing that he's a loving Father in Heaven that loves to give good gifts to his children and expects nothing back than simply gratitude. And we'll talk a little bit about that a bit more. Let's have a look at Acts chapter 20.

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    Acts chapter 20 is the first example we're going to look at the gift of giving and receiving. It is the reading that we had this morning. Now in Acts chapter 20, we're in Ephesus. Verse 17. From Miletus, Paul was sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the ecclesia. And when you read the whole of this chapter, you get the impression Paul stayed in Ephesus for a long period of time, many, many months.

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    And he did a lot of things during that time he was in Ephesus. Let's just get a bit of a feel for it. Verse 19. It says, He served the Lord with all humility of mind. He did so with tears. He did so having temptations. Verse 20. He kept back nothing that was profitable unto you.

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    Anything that would help the brethren and sisters of that ecclesia to get into the kingdom, that man was prepared to give. So in verse 20, He taught them publicly and from house to house. What did he teach them? Verse 21. Repentance and faith. And he did so. Verse 23. In bonds and afflictions.

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    Verse 25. He preached the kingdom of God. And verse 27. He never shunned to declare unto them the counsel of God. That is a summary of a man's active life in an ecclesia he was not a member of, but he was there working tirelessly day and night for that ecclesia, giving anything possible to help them on their walk to the kingdom.

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    He gave, brethren, sisters, and kept giving, cheerfully, self-sacrificing his personal time, his energy, his life to the point of exhaustion and the risk of death. He did all of that. And it is so easy for me just to verbalize that. But for months, you think about what Paul did for that ecclesia. And it wasn't even his own home meeting.

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    He was there giving everything for them. And if it meant getting up in the early hours of the morning and helping a brother or sister, he'd do that and he'd keep doing it. And he wasn't hesitating in helping that ecclesia. He was gift giving day in, day out. And what was the reaction that ecclesia had when finally Paul said, I have to leave this ecclesia and move on to Jerusalem?

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    And they knew that when he walked onto that pier and onto that boat to go down to Jerusalem, the likelihood was they would never see him again. What was the reaction? We read about it this morning. Let's have a read of it again. Verse 36. And when he had thus spoken, now here he is, he's on the pier, he's about to go on the boat.

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    He kneeled down and he prayed with them all. And they all wept sore and fell on Paul's neck and they kissed him, sorrowing most of all the words that he spoke, as they knew they wouldn't see him again. And they accompanied him to the ship. Brethren and sisters, Paul gave and he gave and he gave.

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    And what did that ecclesia do back in return? It's a beautiful scene. Of absolute unbridled gratitude and love in response. It's all Paul could have ever asked for. He wasn't asking for anything. When Paul got that reaction, you could imagine it went right to the heart. You couldn't have thanked him more than the way those people thanked him.

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    They were weeping on him. It says, verse 37. They all wept sore. They were thanking that man for the energy that he injected into that meeting. Their help, the support, the gift giving that he kept giving all the time he was there. And they were kissing him. And they were sorrowful to see him go.

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    Brethren and sisters, that is unbridled love and gratitude. And it made all of the gift giving that Paul had done for the weeks and months previously, it made it all worthwhile. Because he could see they appreciated it. And they understood that it was all God based. Brethren and sisters, there is a God like joy in making other people happy and blessed.

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    Verse 35. This is the last words of Paul. The last bits of advice he's going to give to these people. He will not see until the kingdom comes. And what does he say in 35? I have showed you all things. How that so laboring, it is now your turn to support the weak.

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    Now the baton was being passed to them. This is the last words. He doesn't talk to them about doctrines. He doesn't talk to them about prophecies or anything else. He says, this is where it all comes down to. Support the weak. This is my last stirring words before I leave. As I received it from Jesus Christ, and I was supported, and as I have then passed that on to you, and I have supported you, as I now leave, I can only implore you, as I received it from Christ, and me to you, it is now your turn to pick up that baton and to support the weak.

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    Help them. And if you feel that you possibly might be a bit short-changed, if you feel that you might spend day and day and day and night helping these weak people and getting nothing back in return, just remember a well-known saying. Verse 35. I want you to remember this. Something that the Lord Jesus said, but I also footnote, was never recorded.

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    How he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. You've probably known that passage most of your life. Would that be true? It is more blessed to give than to receive. Have you ever wondered where that came from? It came from the words, it came from the mouth of Jesus Christ himself.

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    It was never recorded, except in that one verse. It obviously was something that was well-known amongst the brotherhood, those words. It didn't even have to be written down. Everyone knew it because everyone understands that. It's in here, isn't it? When it's done right, when you give right and it's received right, it's a beautiful thing that it's better.

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    You feel more happier to give something up than actually to receive it. So, I'm leaving now on this boat. This is my last concluding thing I can say to you. Help the weak. And if you feel that you're giving and not receiving back, think about what Jesus said. It is more blessed to give than to receive.

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    because you will feel enriched in that giving. You will not be short-changed and God will make sure of that. It'll come back to you tenfold in the joy that you will get, in the expression of gratitude that you will receive, if not from the people that you try to help, from God himself at the judgment seat.

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    And in that kingdom, it will be acknowledged and there will be a reward for that. It is a godly principle. And every one of us, we know, has been touched by being given the gifts from God himself. What has God given us? The first thing God has given us is the book that's on the knees of everybody here this morning.

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    A life-giving book that contained in that is the message of his only begotten son that he caused to come to this earth that we, this day, can seek for the forgiveness of our sins and have a hope of eternal life and a kingdom to come in which we will share not only being part of his eternal family, but we will also share part of his eternal nature.

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    Gift-giving. And does God hold back? He extends to us an invitation to be part of his family, to be a son and daughter, to live on this earth forever, sharing his nature. God holds nothing back in what he's prepared to give to us. Do you think he holds back while we wait for that to happen?

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    That he's going to make it so that we can't achieve that gift? That he won't be extending that gift to us? Of course not. Our God wants us in that kingdom. He's our heavenly father and he will move heaven and earth in our life to make sure we're there that day and for eternity with him.

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    God has held nothing back. Just as Paul in verse 20 said, I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you. He gave to that ecclesia that they may grow and feel loved as Jesus did for Paul, Paul did for them and they do for the weak as we do at Mount Waverley. Help the weak.

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    Help each other along the way. we've received signs of the times. Amazing events that have been happening over the last couple of years has just been staggering. Imagine if Daniel the prophet could be here this day to see the unravelling of those prophecies in fulfilment. That must excite us to the core. You know, when Daniel was given the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, he said in verse 23 of chapter 2 of Daniel, he said, I thank you, God, and I praise you, God of my ancestors.

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    You have given me wisdom and power. You have made me to know what we ask of you. You have made me to know the dream of the king. And here we are with all of the knowledge of hindsight and history of all people. We must be bursting out of our skin in excitement about what is going on in this world.

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    And on our pillows at night, do we ever just stop and thank God in our prayers just for the way in which he's encouraging us in these last days to keep going despite the craziness of the world out there that the things that we're seeing prophetically answering right before our eyes. what also has God given to us?

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    When we sin, when we make mistakes, when we're weak in our faith, when we repeat a sin that we keep repeating over and over and we've asked God a hundred times for forgiveness, what does God do? Does he hold back? We know that if God held back his grace, if he counted our sins, none of us, brethren and sisters, will get into the kingdom.

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    Not one of us. We're all hopeless sinners in that sense. But we've got this wonderful God up there, our Father, that for every time we go to him, knowing that we've made a mistake, we seek for strength and encouragement and forgiveness. God is there like the Father and the Prodigal Son waiting for us at the end of that path and he's just so happy to hear those words of repentance and the seeking for change in our life and he's there with us all the way to help if we just bring him in.

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    Brethren and sisters, that's why he calls it a gift of mercy, a gift of forgiveness because it's not something we earn. the prophet Micah chapter 7 verse 18, in characterizing our Father he said of God, he delights in mercy. He delights in mercy. Mercy is a gift and he delights in giving gifts just like you do, just like I do.

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    And what's the gift he gives to us? mercy, amongst other things. Forgiveness, setting us right in our mind again. Encouragement, courage, strength. He gives that to us as soon as we whisper it on our lips. God is there to listen and to give. He delights in mercy. mercy. He doesn't like us sinning, but he loves it when we humbly go to him and faithfully seek for forgiveness.

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    And he loves forgiving us when we're like that. So when brethren and sisters we feel that weight of guilt coming off our shoulders when we genuinely go to God in prayer, we seek for forgiveness and we really do feel that that weight has just been taken off us and we feel that God has made us let it go.

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    We feel joy. We feel light-footed, don't we? We feel as though we're back on track again and we're moving ahead and we're making ground in spiritual growth. when we feel like that, know this, God's even more happier than we are because he made us feel like that by the gift that he gave of forgiveness.

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    Imagine that. How's that for a father? Every time he makes us feel great, he even feels better for it because he loves giving mercy. That's how wonderful our father is in heaven. What can we do in return? What can we possibly do to give him something back and to say thank you? Let's go to our second reading.

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    1 Chronicles 29. Now 1 Chronicles 29 is a great chapter. It's the last chapter of the first book of Chronicles and at the end of this chapter will be the death of David. So we're at the end of this great man David's life. What can he do? He can't build a temple because he's a man of blood.

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    We know that. So what does he do? The best thing he can do is start to assemble as many things as he can in all the materials to make that temple ready to go for Solomon the builder who's going to build that temple. And so that's what we've read. Our brother read to us all of the things he assembled.

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    Verse 2 he says I have prepared with all my might for the house that I won't see because I'll have passed on by then but I've got gold and silver and brass and iron and wood and stone and all sorts of colourful things of precious stones. I've done everything I can within my power and in this nation's power to assemble whatever we can to help the building God of your house.

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    house. And he's just over awed by the willingness of the nation to get involved enthusiastically in preparing for all of these materials. It's an exciting time in Israel's history. It's probably one of the most happiest blessed times I think that they experienced. And David he's just blown away with the whole thing. And you can see it in the expression of his prayer to God in verse 11.

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    He prays to God and he says, Thine, O Yahweh, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty for all that is in the heaven and the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Yahweh. You are exalted. You're above all. Both riches and honour come of thee and you reignest over all and in your hand is power and might and in thy hand it is to make great.

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    And to give strength unto all. How great you are. And then he has a bit of a moment. What can we do to possibly thank him for all of that? Because he owns everything. He owns even us. There's nothing that we can do that he hasn't made himself. And David's a little bit perplexed.

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    What can I do? What can we as an ecclesia do to thank God for his magnificence? He even expresses that in verse 14. Who am I? And what is my people that we should be able to offer so willingly after what you've given me? And this ecclesia, for all things come of thee and of thine own have we given thee.

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    what can we give back to God that God doesn't already own or has given to us? And it's hidden in that verse. Can you see it? One word. Can anyone think of it? something we can give back to God.

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    Our will. Our willingness. Could you see it if you are just a bit scared to say something? It's our willingness isn't it? That's something that's ours. It's not God's. It's our will.

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    And they chose to give because they wanted to give of their gold and their silver and all of the things, their talents, their skills, their time, their energy to help Solomon build this temple. What can we give brethren and sisters but a willing heart? God loves that. Because that comes from us. A willing heart.

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    Have a look at verse 13. This is also something that we can give back to God. Now therefore our God we thank you and we praise your glorious name. There's something we can give back to God, our lips. Our lips of thankfulness for what God has done for us and praising him for what he is.

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    With our mind, verse 15, we willingly devote ourselves humbly to him. Because verse 15, aren't we just strangers and sojourners? Our days on the earth are just a shadow. You're the only one that abides forever. So when we with our lips thank him and praise him, and with our mind we acknowledge where we are in our situation in relation to him, we understand humbly where we are.

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    There's one thing we can do, verse 17. He says, I know also, my God, that you try the heart and you have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart, I have willingly offered all these things, and now have I seen with joy thy people which are present here offering willingly unto thee.

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    Three things we can do in thankfulness to God. Our lips, we praise him and we thank him. With our mind, we're humble, and with our heart, we willingly try to live an upright life. And David said in that verse, I look around and I can see the ecclesia all doing that, and the joy they have in giving that back to God.

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    So this returning of a gift back to God, the only thing we can do are those three things. David identified it in that chapter, and David says, I look across my nation, and I just see unbridled joy in my brothers and sisters giving God back a gift because we all love giving gifts to each other.

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    Wouldn't it be wonderful to give back to God the gift we can give him? Our humility, our praise, our thankfulness, and a willing heart. That's what we can do.

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    And so it's a great little chapter, isn't it? What would happen, though, if we didn't thank God for all the things that he's done for us? Let's go to another story, Luke 17.

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    If we had three readings, Brother Keith, we would have read Luke 17, but we only had two. But let's have a look at what happens when we do return back to God thankfulness. In Luke chapter 17, we have the story of Jesus Christ, and he's in Samaria. And what do we see in verse 11?

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    And it came to pass as he went to Jerusalem that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men, and they were lepers, and they stood afar off. We understand the lepers, they stand afar off, don't they? They're outcasts, they're neither welcomed by the Jews, or by the Samaritans, they just are there, and they're outcasts.

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    And verse 13, they, plural, note that, they lifted up their voices, plural, note that, and they said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And if we know anything about leprosy, in advanced forms of leprosy, often the voice box is affected, and they end up talking in a very high-pitched voice, very weak, high-pitched voice.

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    So it's interesting in that verse, carefully it says that together they worked, they said those words, Master, have mercy on us. And what does Jesus say? And when he saw them, he said unto them, go show yourself to the priests. And it came to pass that as they went, they were healed. So what did Jesus do?

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    It was a test, wasn't it? He said, go to the temple and visit the priests. Now this is something they would never do. Firstly, they would never walk from Samaria to Jerusalem. They wouldn't do that as a leper. They were very much pigeonholed in their own little village. They would be very terrified going to Jerusalem, let alone to the steps of that gigantic temple where all these people are, let alone go up those steps and go to the priest.

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    It was a test of their faith. And that's all Jesus said to them. And what did they do? They turned around and off they went to Jerusalem and they were still lepers. They hadn't changed. It was an act of faith Jesus was seeking for. And it was as they were going to Jerusalem, the scaly skin started to fall off.

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    They started feeling strong again. Blood started flowing through their muscles and they felt strong once again. They were being healed as they went to the temple. there were ten of them. But only one of them returned to thank the person that had given them that gift of healing.

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    Verse 15. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, so he was on his way to the temple. He hadn't got there yet. When he saw that he was healed, what did he do? he turned back, and note this if you haven't before with a pencil, with a loud voice on his own.

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    His voice box was clean. He was healed. He was strong. With a loud voice, what did he do? He glorified God. He fell down on his face with humility and he gave thanks to Jesus Christ knowing he was a Samaritan. Isn't he doing exactly what David did and the people of Israel in thanking God with that temple?

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    What does he do? With his lips, he praised God. With his mind, he understood he was a Samaritan. He had humility and he praised God. And God and Jesus answering said, were not there ten cleansed? Where's the nine? The nine were on their way, healed men, going back to the temple. But, brethren, sisters, they had forgotten the source of their healing.

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    It was only that one that understood that his clean skin, his voice that had now been restored, was all because someone had given him a gift that he wanted to firstly go back and acknowledge and to thank. And Jesus said in verse 18, there's not found that returned to give glory to God save this stranger.

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    And he said unto him, arise, go thy way, thy faith had made thee whole. I think what Jesus is saying there is the other nine, though they were no longer leprous, still had some more healing that had to be done. For this man, though, his faith was made whole because in the receiving of that gift, he was acknowledging the source of that gift.

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    how often, brethren and sisters, we cry to God in our prayers with feeble voices seeking for a gift of healing, the helping hand, the guidance in our life. We seek for forgiveness, we seek for strength, we seek for courage when we're having troubles. And how often, brethren and sisters, in some amazing way, our life does have that answered, but we forget to go back and to thank the one who gave it to us.

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    That completes the healing process. It's so important. The expression of humble gratitude completes the exchange. I give a gift and that person says, thank you. And it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. The only one that made Jesus feel complete in the giving of his gift was that one man. But that's all he needed.

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    And he received, can you believe this? He would have received more joy in the giving of the gift of healing than a leper who is near death receiving it. could that possibly be? Could it possibly be that Jesus' joy was more than the man who was a leper who's now healed? It's hard to believe.

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    But Jesus said himself, it is more blessed to give than to receive. That day, if that leper felt happy and joyous and on cloud nine, Jesus was even more happier, more joyous because of the joy of seeing that man's faith made whole. It makes us feel, brethren and sisters, so important to help one another and to give gifts to each other, to receive and to give in this ecclesia, to do so lovingly, to do so humbly, and both of us along our journey in life will feel joy together.

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    Studies reveal, university studies reveal, that giving and gratitude is healthy for your soul. It's a proven fact. It is healthy for your soul. We go grumpily to a birthday party and give a gift. There's no joy in that. Or we receive a gift and we feel as though, well, I owe him one.

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    There's no joy in that. But studies have revealed giving and showing gratitude clears the mind. And if it's done in a habit form in our life, it has such power of positivity, it makes us less envious, happier, less self-centered, more optimistic, kinder, and physically it actually improves our sleep. It makes us less sick and less subject to depressive symptoms.

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    These are well-known facts. No wonder the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians chapter 5, give thanks always to our heavenly Father, to God and to our Father. Ephesians 5 verse 20. No wonder he said in 1 Thessalonians 5 18, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

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    Even the apostles when they were beaten in prison thanked God because those stripes on their back was a gift from God because they knew they were witnesses of Jesus Christ. And even the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 finally after 14 years came to the realisation that the epileptic symptoms that he had was actually a gift from Jesus Christ because it humbled him and made him believe that it is through his weakness that he can be made perfect because of the strength of Jesus Christ and he said as a result most gladly therefore I would rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Jesus will rest upon me and he thanked God for the gift of epilepsy that's just something this world doesn't understand the brethren sisters we understand and so here we are Sunday morning and we're about to partake of the emblems let's have a look at Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2 in conclusion Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2 each one of us is going to pray to God very soon in a few minutes and part of that will be asking him for things and part of it needs to be thanking him for certain things as well Hebrews 12 verse 2 looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross he despised the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God what was the driving force that made a perfectly obedient man die like a criminal on a cross and endure such beatings as he did it says

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    the answer is it was the joy that was set before him that made him be able to do that what was the joy that was set before him was it the joy of immortality yes it would be wouldn't it in three days time he'd be immortalized was it the joy that he'd be sitting at the right hand of his father in heaven yes it would be that too was it the joy that one day he knew that he would meet us all at the judgment seat and impart unto us the joy of eternal life and to see in us a mortal person wracked with weakness to be suddenly made strong like that leper and to be forgiven and all of that put to one side and us being given eternal life knowing this that he himself will receive more joy in giving us eternal life than us receiving it could that possibly be true that on that day of judgment seat we will stand there and Jesus is going to say well done now good and faithful servant enter into the kingdom of God and his eternal life your nature has been changed I can't think anybody could be any more happier than what we will be that day but we will look into the eyes of Jesus Christ and believe it or not he's actually going to be even happier than us for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross because he can't wait for the day when he's going to be absolutely ecstatic to see us entering into that kingdom even more than how we're going to feel that

84. 46:37

    day such is the incredible love and the incredible power of giving gifts what an amazing day of gift giving that is going to be and so it is better to give than to receive to imagine our joy of receiving that gift will be surpassed by Jesus Christ's excitement in giving it is just truly remarkable no wonder our meditation hymn our meditation reading this morning we read in Luke chapter 12 verse 32 fear not little flock for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom of God praise Yahweh oh give thanks unto him for he is good for his mercy endures forever thank you for listening to the good Christodelfian talks podcast please subscribe for new episodes and leave a review on apple podcasts or whichever service you are listening from to help people find the show when they search for it if you enjoyed this talk share it on social media so other people can find it too for show notes and links to the talk that you just listened to visit our show page at anchor.fm slash gct we want to encourage everyone to share their thoughts from the talk this week on facebook or instagram where we are at good Christodelfian talks or on twitter where we are at gct underscore podcast if you know of a great talk we want to know about it too send a suggestion to good Christodelfian talks at gmail.com or message us on any of our social media platforms thank you for listening god bless and talk to you next week

85. 48:39

    good