114: James Gurney - Exhortation

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

1. 0:00

   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. And 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.

2. 0:33

   And now let's hear more about this week's talk. For this week, we're listening to a unique exhortation that was given by our brother James Gurney. And this exhortation, fair warning, is a little bit shorter than some of the average classes that we sometimes will post for the podcast. But this is brother James' first exhortation.

3. 1:05

   And one of the things that struck both Levi and I when we listened to this was how moving this exhortation is in the sense that a lot of times we talked about, we talk about personal things during exhortations and things that are about our journeys and lessons that we've learned. But this exhortation is almost more of a testimony from brother James on his journey to the truth and how he came to be baptized.

4. 1:36

   I won't spend too much time going into it because brother James does a great job of telling his own story, as you might expect. So I don't want to steal any of his thunder, but I just found it to be an incredibly powerful testimonial of both his journey of faith, the brothers and sisters of the ecclesia that he is now a member of, and the feeling that he got from coming to join the Christadelphians, which I just found to be a really touching expectation of one that both Levi and I are like, we know it's both, it's a little shorter than we might normally post, but we think it's definitely worth it.

5. 2:21

   And hopefully you all find it to be just as uplifting as we did. And also I'd just like to apologize for us not getting one posted last week. That's on me. Had a rough week last week and wasn't able to get a recording done for this one, but wanted to get this one posted nonetheless.

6. 2:41

   So appreciate you being patient with us with one missing. We'll get you another one in a week's time. So as always, thank you for the support and the recommendations. We've gotten several emails recently from people that are really appreciating the spiritual upliftment, and we're glad the podcast is serving in that way for everybody and being encouraging to you.

7. 3:06

   If you have any talks, you hear exhortations or classes. I know there's been a lot of upcoming youth weekends. If there's any classes that come out of those that any of you are hearing that are particularly powerful, feel free to send them our way. We're always open to getting more. So with that, thank you as always for listening, and we will turn it over to our brother James Gurney for his first exhortation.

8. 3:32

   I've been in college. I've taken one public speaking course. So I apologize if this is too good. Anyway, I'd like to start by reading from Colossians chapter 4, beginning of verse 2. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak.

9. 4:13

   Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. So as many of you know, and for those of you online who do not know me, I was not raised in Christadelphia, nor did I even know it existed.

10. 4:37

    I was raised Catholic by my loving parents, just as their parents raised them and their parents before. But like all things do without God, our relationship to our church faded, eventually to the point of non-existence. And it was not until high school, when I met my beautiful wife Rachel, that I was introduced to this amazing family.

11. 5:03

    And so while I was trying to think of what I wanted to talk about for my first exhortation, I've been keeping a list in my phone for the past two years labeled exhortation ideas. I write down little things that I might hear or learn about from podcasts or during a class, and I think that's interesting.

12. 5:25

    Maybe one day I can make an exhortation out of that. And now I finally had the chance to go to that list and say that's what I want to talk about. But that's not what I did. Because there's something that I realized I wanted to do before that, but I never got the opportunity or the platform to do that.

13. 5:46

    And that is to say thank you to all of you. And so I want to take the rest of my time to talk about you guys, what you've helped me learn, how you've impacted my life so positively, and how the love you've shown me so greatly exemplifies the love that we learn about in the word of God.

14. 6:09

    From Psalm 119, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it to keep your righteous rules. I am severely afflicted. Give me life, O Lord, according to your word. The first time I came to this meeting house was Saturday, April 8th, 2017.

15. 6:31

    Our brother Rich Janine Jr. was giving class for the Ecclesia's annual study weekend, and I remember thinking, wow, this guy knows a lot about history. And that being followed up by Rachel saying, that's my uncle, I was very intimidated. But I can gladly say, other than the minute stress of a 17-year-old kid meeting his girlfriend's parents and 50 other strangers for the first time, that was the most intimidating part of the day.

16. 7:01

    Because I soon realized, just from the short time of being at this place, that it's not like the rest of the world. The world where people care what shoes you have on, or how clear your skin is, or how fit you are, or what kind of car you drive. A world where you'll be judged for your personality, or your intelligence, and be neglected simply because of an impression you made.

17. 7:28

    Not at all. This was, and is, a place where people had a genuine acceptance for who you are. And I thought it was weird.

18. 7:38

    Before, when I went to church, the only time we talked to the other members was a part of service when you turned to those around you and you said, peace be with you, or the occasional chit-chat while walking out. And our brother Steve, without me knowing, talked about this in his exhortation this morning.

19. 7:57

    And it just kind of puts emphasis on the point that we had no relationship to the other people who shared in that faith. And it wasn't until I had the chance to sit down and read and study the word when I truly registered why it is this ecclesia, this community, and this family is so much different.

20. 8:21

    Brother Steve, a few weeks ago, you graciously asked if I wanted to help with my exhortation for today. And I promise I will take you up on that. But the truth is, I did not want you to help in preparing your own thank you. Because this truly is a thank you to you.

21. 8:41

    When Rachel and I didn't know where to begin in my education of the truth, you were there. You opened your home to someone you did not know. You cared for a lost boy who was not your own.

22. 8:59

    Without the help of this brother, without the wisdom, the kindness, the advice, and the knowledge that he shared with me, I know I wouldn't be up here today.

23. 9:14

    I've learned just as much about scripture and the character of Yahweh from the way you act as from your classes. The selflessness and the care that you and Sister Sandy showed me without even knowing two things about me is one of the foundational reasons why I believe today. reading from James chapter 2.

24. 9:38

    Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works and faith was completed by his works. The scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness and he was called a friend of God.

25. 9:58

    You see that the person is justified by works and not by faith alone. I think now a lot about those who are lost. The people who have the same daily struggle that can't be broken. Those who are in a vulnerable position like I was and I wonder why don't they come here. Love abounds so greatly in this hall.

26. 10:21

    Whether there be joy or sadness, distress or sickness, whatever it is among us, there is always love. The simple answer to that question though is there is simply just not enough of you people. There is not enough love in this world for it to be spread. From the short time I have been here, I have been able to find so much love and joy and appreciation for life.

27. 10:51

    I see the beauty and the craft of God's creation. I have a new admiration for animals and the ecosystem and the natural balance the earth possesses thanks to God. And this makes life easier. Love is the greatest remedy for most of our problems. When we're a part of an environment like this that is forgiving and encouraging and promotes self-discipline and growth, it's easier to recover and to rekindle our strength.

28. 11:22

    But I've also had the burden of realizing the destruction the man has caused to God's garden. Rachel and I enjoy going up to New Hampshire a lot and we enjoy hiking up there. And every time we go to a hike we get to the pinnacle of the mountain and we're able to overlook the entire valley of Conway.

29. 11:45

    And when we do that you get a real perspective of the beauty of God's creation. From 1 John 5.19 we know that we are from God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

30. 12:02

    The world does not wish to build us up. The world does not wish to help us. The world works to build itself up and to esteem itself to greater power. To those who are ill or handicapped the world does not act out of compassion to aid their suffering. They are but a speed bump on the world's road to their success.

31. 12:25

    And there is no way for us to stop that. At this time during what's happening in this world it's undeniable that the kingdom is coming. And that God is the only one who can put away the evil. And so my exhortation to all of you is to continue following in God's commandments just as you have.

32. 12:51

    To test everything and hold fast to what is good. Because I believe that the character and the nature portrayed by this ecclesia really is what God commanded. It's because of people like the ones I'm before right now that our community can grow. A common problem that I hear brought up time and again is how can we grow our faith?

33. 13:18

    How can we reach out and bring in the world? I was one of those people and it was because of the kindness and the welcoming nature offered by this ecclesia that I was able to adapt and learn so finely about what is good. I'm so thankful for that.

34. 13:39

    I was lost but now I've been found and I know that I've been reborn into the greatest family imaginable. For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thank you all.

35. 14:06

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36. 14:22

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37. 14:41

    If you know of a great talk we want to know about it too. send a suggestion to goodchristadelphiantalks 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.