128: Jamie Scott - Exhortation: The Ecclesia of God

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

1. 0:13

   Welcome to Good Burger selfie and talks. I’m Levi and I’m Chris and I’m Brian, thank you for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one taco week to help us get the Bible in our daily news feed. We post a new episode of the start of each week with a short intro before. Hand to kind of set the stage for the talk. You’re about to listen to and now let’s talk more about this week’s talk.

2. 0:51

   Welcome to the good Chris at Alfea and talks podcast. This is brother Brian. And before we get into the Talk itself, I just want to remind our listeners of our addition to the platform in that by request. We now will be posting each week’s talk on our YouTube channel, the day after it posts.

3. 1:11

   So each Monday morning on our YouTube channel, this talk will post. This is just meant to be another accessible option for anyone that’s looking to get the Bible in their daily news feed and without the need for any podcast, specific apps So this week’s talk is an expectation by Brother, Jamie Scott which was given at the Cumberland Ecclesia in South Australia from this past.

4. 1:38

   August in 2020, it comes from a recommendation we received and the accompanying letter was so incredibly hard felt and it brought this talk to life before I even open the link. So to The Listener who sent this in, Thank you for making the time to choose the words that you did as it was just such an encouragement for me, just to read it.

5. 2:10

   So we have a bit of parallel themes from the past few weeks on g, c t. So just like last week’s talk this excitation as well. Evidently was steeped in some Ecclesia specific issues. Then yet we’re reminded that. These could be words for any Ecclesia to hear and to soak in. So there are a few points made in the first few minutes that make it seem a bit like, hmm, where’s this going?

6. 2:41

   But I sure you by the end, the brother makes an ending remark that will give you Goosebumps and relight your fire for this week. Another interesting parallel by coincidence is that a few weeks ago we heard from Brother David Hill on the beautiful breakdown of our weekly Memorial mindset when we read through 1st Corinthians 11.

7. 3:06

   And, you know, I meant to consider the company that we share well for this. Excitation, the focus chapters are also on First Corinthians spread out a little bit more from First Corinthians, 10 to 13 and brother. Jamie focuses on. And why these four chapters need to be read and lived together as an Ecclesia rather than segmented and highlighted for their specific thematic content.

8. 3:37

   So we hope this strengthens your faith and brightens your day brother. Jamie Scott, the Ecclesia of God. Good morning, brothers and sisters and what a beautiful bunch of people. You asked to look out on this morning, you know, brothers and sisters this morning. We’ve got a full Ecclesia. The event was sold out. I think, brother, Phil sent the little message around last night, which means that we’ve got enough. Well, people in our Ecclesia without sniffles and sneezes and sore throats this morning that we can have 133 people here. And and the other funny thing is, you come to the occasion. There’s so many things at the moment is look at on and and amuse me.

9. 4:18

   All right, maybe it’s just my childish mine but I’ll see you Uncle Barney out there looking like, he’s working at the airport with his Hive is on and I expect him to see a pair of ping pong bats. Guiding you to the chair like this as he’s bringing the plane until the end and you’ve got, it won’t stop there and sit down and and I’ll see brother Ian walk in And out in the back hall there and he’s doing this with his hands and hmm, alcohol with the scent of grape and everything is alcohol with a scent of something else.

10. 4:46

    Now isn’t it? And brother Mack wigs. Of course, the Lord of doors lie, he comes in late, fashionably late every time, you know, he rocks up 10 minutes on time late to every meeting. He goes to he’s perfectly on time 10 minutes late. It could be 10 minutes early. But that’s what he chooses to do and there’s all sorts of funny things, aren’t there? That just are amusing.

11. 5:07

    When you look out on the Ecclesia as we come together and the other one is this morning. All four of us doing things on ele, Brother, Ali, and and Uncle Mac there and myself. We’re all feelings this morning. That’s not according to the schedule. Just Chuck it all away. And here we are all feeling in doing things to exhort, and encourage our brothers and sisters this morning.

12. 5:27

    And always seems a little bit sobering, a little bit somber on a Sunday morning, isn’t it? But if you have an immature mind like mine, you start to get the giggles. And of course when you giving the exhaust that’s no good is Is it but of course when I when I got asked to fill in this morning, I open up the daily readings and and really brothers and sisters. I’ve hit the exaltation Lottery.

13. 5:48

    Jackpot this morning, have an eye with first acquaintance 11, 12 and 13 are the readings for this weekend. 11 yesterday, 12 and 13 for today. And how could I, how could I speak on Elijah? Or how could I do a talk on Jeremiah. When I’ve got first 2 Corinthians to look at this morning?

14. 6:08

    And we’re very, very familiar with these chapters, aren’t we? And we’re very familiar and we’re very good at taking each of the themes in these chapters and extracting them from the context of Corinthians and expanding amount. And looking at the meanings and giving exultation Zahn, parts of these chapters. And we’re at home with that.

15. 6:31

    And we could probably tell you what, all of these chapters are about individually. And yet, brothers and sisters, Paul didn’t write the letter of Corinthians like that, he wrote it as a continuous thought, process from start to end and what I realized something that I never appreciated before. When I started to look at these chapters all together, is that when you take each of those topics that we know so much about and you put them back into the Text of Corinthians, the exultation here, this morning is is a Oneness of Mind in the Ecclesia. That’s the thought that he’s trying to to get the brothers and sisters in Corinth to think about its Oneness of mine. That’s what he’s doing through the, through the whole of the book of Corinthians.

16. 7:21

    And really, when we want to start to look at this section here in Corinthians, 11 12 and 13. It starts back in chapter 10, doesn’t it because inverse 17 of chapter 10. He he talk in the middle of talking about a section on Fellowship. He says for we being many are one bread and one body for we are all partakers of that one bread and then after making that statement, he goes on to Prime up his readers with a couple of very searching statements and questions for what is coming, in the following chapters. And in particular these statements in these questions are referring to the, the issue of eating meat, offered to Idols.

17. 8:08

    But in reality, these same questions and statements are the very Foundation the basis of our ecclesial life, aren’t they? So he says stuff, like in verse, 23, and 24, all things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me but all things edify. Not let no man seek his own. but every man another’s, wealth and what he’s really saying here is that, you know, I have the right to do anything I want But that’s not always helpful in an occlusal context. I’ve got the right to do whatever I want, but that doesn’t always build up my Ecclesia. So rather I seek to build up my brothers and sisters rather to build than to build up myself.

18. 8:52

    And that’s what he says in that, those two verses there, isn’t he? But then he comes over to verse 29 and he asks a very relevant question. He says, at the end of twenty nine will, why is my Liberty judged of another man’s conscience? Why? Indeed, it’s an excellent. Question isn’t it? Why should I give up?

19. 9:10

    What is my right? What I can have for another person’s sake? And he goes on to say, in verse 33, here is the reason even as I please all men in all things not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many that they may be saved and that is the reason isn’t brothers and sisters.

20. 9:31

    That last word there that my brothers and sisters, I would give up what is my right? That my brothers and sisters might be saved and it’s short-term pain. Isn’t it for long-term gain in the future and what he does here in this chapter, is he points out and he highlights the anomaly of ecclesial life in Christ because we do have Liberty in Christ and there are many many things in a collegial life that a perfectly lawful and perfectly OK at is as a citizen of kingdom and as a citizen of Australian or whatever country, we happen to be in that a perfectly lawful and Acceptable for us to do. And the truth is logical and the truth from the gospel is straightforward and the principles we use to govern our lives that they’re simple and they’re sound, they’re not complicated, are they brothers and sisters and yet in a clear visual life for the sake of our salvation of our brothers and sisters, we would be willing to take that Liberty. We would be willing to take all of that logic and all of that freedom in Christ and throw it away. Wouldn’t we just throw it out the window to do something illogical?

21. 10:41

    Cool for the sake of our brothers and sisters, we would be willing to do something irrational. Now, that doesn’t make sense. That curbs, our freedom or curbs, our Liberty. So that others in the Ecclesia would feel nurtured and and safe and cherished. Because the reality is that the longest time that that difficult is going to extend for all that curbing is 70 years, maybe a little bit more. For the sake of having our brothers and sisters beside us forever.

22. 11:16

    And that brothers and sisters is also logic, not logic, is in the way that we would logic. But logic to the mind of Christ logic to one who accepts the mind of Christ, to take that Liberty and throw it away. And that awareness of our brothers and sisters and their needs becomes the theme.

23. 11:36

    And not the only theme, but it becomes a theme for the next three chapters. And with that he then segues into 1st Corinthians chapter 11 that we know so well.

24. 11:54

    So brothers and sisters, he starts off in verse 2. Now I Praise You Brethren that you remember me in all things and keep the ordinances as I delivered them to you. So he see starts off by praising them for keeping the ordinances that Christ delivered to him and that he delivered to them, but he wants to give them some more information behind one of those ordinances in particular at this point in the chapter and that’s the chapter relating. That’s It.

25. 12:24

    That’s the theme of head. Coverings in an occlusal setting and it does this by painting occlusal Life as a spiritual Parable. And in verse 4, he says every man praying or prophesying having his head, covered dishonoureth his head and in verse 7 for a man indeed ought, not to cover his head forasmuch as he is the image and the glory of God. But the woman is the glory of the the man. And so a brother in an occlusal setting, he comes to the Ecclesia with his head uncovered because he is the image and glory of God.

26. 13:03

    And in the parable of a closure life, when we meet together, he simply represents the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the Lord Jesus Christ. Who loved the Ecclesia? And who gave himself for. He literally died because of the love he had for the Ecclesia. And it’s a sobering thought for brothers, when they come to the meeting with that, thought in mind, what are we prepared to give that the Ecclesia of God might live? What are we prepared to give for our brothers and sisters here that meet here today?

27. 13:40

    Would we die if that was what was necessary for our brothers and sisters to live? It’s an interesting thought, isn’t it? Brothers and sisters and I’ve often wondered how that would work out in our occlusal setting and maybe it’s a little bit hard to imagine what it would take for a brother to have to give up his life for his brothers and sisters. Would it be in another country that we were meeting in that the Army burst through the door?

28. 14:06

    And decided to take us or decide to start killing at random. With our brothers here, be willing to give up their life for our sisters, or brothers and sisters in this Ecclesia. It’s a very sobering thought, and our, and our answer to that might be an indication of our Brethren’s investment in this Ecclesia here or in the inclusion of God in the family of God, but it’s a pretty sobering thought isn’t it?

29. 14:29

    Would you do that Brothers? And of course a sister in a classroom setting she covers her hair that natural beauty that that our God has given her because she is the glory of the man and in the parable of a collegial life. When we meet together, she represents this Ecclesia here. That Cumberland, not not the equator here at Cumberland in total, but that’s what our sisters here, represent.

30. 14:52

    But the Ecclesia of God worldwide really is what they represent. And to give us a background to this parable of a cliche life. Paul takes us back to Genesis to, he takes us back to the creation of Adam and Eve and they’re in the garden, Our Father performed, a miracle, we know this quite well. He formed, Man, Out of the Dust of the ground. And he breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life, and Man became a living Soul, God, created life. From nothing at all.

31. 15:23

    And when Adam realized that he was alone, God put him into a deep sleep. And while he was asleep, he pierced his side, he took out a rib and he formed a woman to make him whole to complete him and when he woke up, God brought the woman to him and he loved her and he loved her because his comment was when he met Eve for the very first time, he said to her, this is part of my own body.

32. 15:55

    That’s incredible isn’t it brothers and sisters because in that Parable we see four thousand years later God once again created life from nothing. The Holy Spirit Came Upon a virgin called Mary and without the input of any man, a baby was conceived and in 1st Corinthians, 15, just a few chapters on from where we are Paul calls him the last Adam or in Colossians 1. He refers to him as the firstborn of Every creature and he was the beginning of a new creation. And at the end of his mortal life, our Lord Jesus Christ was put into the sleep of death.

33. 16:35

    And what happened or the Romans pierced his side, didn’t they? With the spear? And when he woke up, I bribed the Ecclesia was formed and our Lord. Jesus Christ. Loved it. He absolutely loved it. And when we come to First Corinthians 11 and verse 11 and 12 it says here, nevertheless, neither is The Man Without The Woman.

34. 17:02

    Neither the woman without the man in the Lord, for, as the woman is of the man. Even, so is the man, also by the woman, but all things are of God and NaturallySpeaking, a man, and a woman, do their very existence to each other.

35. 17:19

    Is he in the beginning? Eve was taken out of Adam. And the formation of Eve, was due to the very existence of Adam in the first place. But from that point on Every man owes his existence to a woman giving birth from generation to generation. And so Paul says, as the woman is of the man even also is the man by the woman, every woman has been born due to the input of a man.

36. 17:53

    And every man has been born of a mother. Men and women are totally dependent on each other. That’s the message of Genesis chapter 2, but all ultimately owe their existence to their father in Heaven. And so, when we look at these natural lessons from that story of Genesis, chapter 2, We see that they can also be seen in the second creation. The Ecclesia of God, owes its existence to the Messiah. Who was the beginning, the firstborn from the dead yet at that.

37. 18:29

    Same time from that time. Sorry, the Ecclesia that was first form. Begins to grow, doesn’t it? And it begins to grow from generation to generation as brothers and sisters are born into that family by water, and by spirit. And by this, the Ecclesia is nourished and sustained. Our own Allegiant, is nourished and sustained throughout the ages.

38. 18:55

    And when we think brothers and sisters, Of the baptisms that we’ve had over the last couple of years. You know, that a lot of those baptisms have not come from within this, Ecclesia, Eric Leisure has been added to by the by God, hasn’t he? You know, when we see brothers and sisters, like, brother, Greg and sister Corrine Patterson when we see brother, Tim and brother, Ellie and brother Bill, And we see also sister Haley and sister Emily, you know the Ecclesia grows from within and from without they are added to by the father and this brothers and sisters is the parable of the Ecclesia, isn’t it? That there is in this Parable, a complete entwined dependence of the Ecclesia and our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as there is a complete entwined dependence of men and women upon each other.

39. 19:50

    We are inseparable from our Lord. You cannot have an occasion without the Messiah, and the purpose of Messiah is made void. If there is no people to save and when we meet as an Ecclesia, we need both brothers and sisters willing to come together to submit to each other in love, in the fear of God in order to show this parable.

40. 20:15

    Brothers willing to come to the meeting with their head uncovered signaling, their intent to give himself to build up the Ecclesia that exist here at Cumberland And sisters willing to come to the enclosure with their beautiful hair. The glory that God has given them covered. Showing the Ecclesia that this group that meets here is not saved by their own strength, or by their own might, but by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that language of covering is not foreign to us, is it come over to Galatians chapter 3. Because we see it here as well.

41. 20:48

    Galatians chapter 3 and verse 26. Any Galatians 3 and verse 26. He’s talking about the family of God. He says for ye are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ like a Garmin completely covered like a coat so that when our father looks at us, he sees his son in us the Lord Jesus Christ.

42. 21:26

    There is neither Jew, nor Greek. There is neither Bond nor free. There is neither male or female for, ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs, according to the promise. You know, brothers and sisters. This Parable can only be properly properly represented in our Ecclesia.

43. 21:46

    If you are willing to put aside our differences from time to time early, And look for the edifying and the building up of our brothers and our sisters. When we see our brothers and our sisters come together and humbly and act these symbols and play their part in the Ecclesia of this. Parable, a brother committing to his sits sisters to die for this occlusion to literally die. If that is, what is required and a sister come to the Ecclesia and saying to her brother’s, I Empower you to be that man, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the seclusion. And Paul is telling us here that a family needs each other, don’t we?

44. 22:26

    We need each other. We cannot dwell alone. We need each other for our identity to be strong. We can’t exist alone because you can love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, your mind, your soul, and your strength on your own. You can love him with all of that. But you can’t love your neighbor as yourself without anyone to love.

45. 22:46

    Kenny. So, you can only fulfill half of that greatest commandment without your brothers and sisters. and as with the natural family, you can’t choose who your brothers and sisters are. You might want to be a part of somebody else’s family from time to time and we sometimes express it, don’t we? I wish I was part of such and such as family. They have heaps more fun than we do. But you can’t you get what God is given and they are good for us.

46. 23:16

    But you also can’t get to know him without letting them intimately into your life. So when we, when we look at a natural family, if you have one brothers and sisters, sharing rooms, I’m I shared a room with my brother till I left home sharing rooms. You’re on top of each other. You’re in each others face. You’re fighting.

47. 23:33

    You’re laughing. You’re carrying on. You go through the whole of life together. That’s what the occlusal family is in each other’s Pockets, annoying, the heck out of each other, from time to time and yet there is something about brothers and sisters that can never be removed through time. They have that commonality of spending so much time together. There is a bond there that can never be replicated and that’s the natural lesson that we’re trying to achieve. Isn’t it brothers and sisters with our Ecclesia to let each other intimately into our lives to get to know each other and that lesson Is dependence on each other. Come back to First Corinthians 11, brothers and sisters because now he moves into another section where he begins to talk about the bread and the wine and we know this section. So, well, don’t we were here at almost every single Sunday And he starts.

48. 24:28

    In this section here by rebuking the Ecclesia for the way that it is acting. When it comes together. Have a look at verse 17. Now, in this that I declare unto you, I praise you. Not that when you come together, not for better. But for the worse and the manner in which they were coming together was destructive rather than building each other up, wasn’t it?

49. 24:50

    And in verse 20, he says, when you come together therefore into one place that is, this is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For eating everyone taketh before another his own supper, and one is hungry. And another is drunken What have you not houses to eat into drinking? Despise you, the Ecclesia of God and shame them that have not.

50. 25:14

    What shall I say to you? Shall I Praise You In This? I praise you. Not and the manner in which they were coming together in that occasion to celebrate the Lord’s. Feast also have the memorial Feast was not an imitation of the supper that the Lord set out was it. And so we have a section of scripture here that we have read.

51. 25:37

    Almost every Sunday of the year. That’s really a solution for a selfish attitude that existed in the Corinthian. Ecclesia. Because the brothers and sisters in coming together, we’re taking some of them were taking food before another, rather than sharing between themselves as the Lord did in his last supper. Remember what he did.

52. 26:04

    He, he imitated what he did in the feeding of the 5000, didn’t he? And he broke the bread and he distributed to them evenly so that they all shared of the same Loaf and they all took of the same cup. But these brothers and sisters here, some of them were taking before another and they were eating through access.

53. 26:23

    Those that could provide for themselves at this Memorial Mill were coming and they were having the time of their life in the occlusion. And there were other brothers and sisters. Who are coming together. They were ashamed to be there because they didn’t have anything to eat. They either couldn’t provide or they didn’t have time to provide for themselves.

54. 26:45

    And so the section here causes us to think about Selfishness, doesn’t it? because in verse 23, on the same night in which he was betrayed, the night of Terror, a night of pain and fear for our Lord, the night of doubt. A night of uncertainty in which the Lord Jesus Christ wanted to run away and hide the worst night of our Lord’s life.

55. 27:16

    The night he submitted his will to his father, he took bread. He shared it amongst his disciples, he gave them a symbol of his body that was about to be broken for them. And he said to them in verse 24 This do in remembrance of me. And in verse 25, he took the cup and he gave them the symbol of his blood shed. And he said this do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

56. 27:49

    And then he says in verse 26, for as often as ye, eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death till he come and it’s an unusual Focus, isn’t it? Brothers and sisters that he should focus. On one part. Of the Lord’s death and Resurrection. Because when we come to a memorial Feast, we would say that this is the Lord’s life, his death and his resurrection and the death has no.

57. 28:18

    Meaning at all, without the life, to give it power, the resurrection from the dead again and yet Paul focuses only on the breaking of the body, the shedding of the blood, the Lord’s death, till he come, why does he do that? Why does he only focus on the Fiction the Death part of the memorial Feast here. Well, the answer is brothers and sisters that before life. Came a painful death that the Ecclesia might be saved and the enclosure at Corinth had forgotten what it meant to die to self.

58. 28:55

    They needed to be reminded that before they could walk in newness of life with their lord. Jesus Christ. They first, had to sacrifice themselves for other brothers and sisters in the Ecclesia. By crucifying the lust, crucifying the flesh with the lusts and affections. I had to give up their rights and what they wanted to do for their brothers and sisters. And it causes us to stop and pause for a minute, doesn’t it? Do we come to and the Ecclesia here? When we meet for better or worse, does our attitude make our meeting with the Ecclesia Better or Worse? Does that attitude build the Ecclesia? Despite the difficulties that we might face from time to time? Or does it pull it down?

59. 29:38

    and when we come together as an Ecclesia, We have to realize don’t weed that like the brothers and sisters here in Corinth that Fellowship that Oneness of mind, will certainly come at a personal cost somewhere along the line. And so that’s why Paul picked to focus on the death and the crucifixion of our Lord. Jesus Christ.

60. 30:00

    Only in first of Corinthians 11 here. And he says, when you meet together in verse 28, let a man examine himself, let a man examine himself. Let him think about his attitude to the Ecclesia. Let him think about the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. And whether he has put to death that which Rises up in him the natural process of selfishness, let him put that to death. And let him eat and drink of that bread, and that wine. And in Romans 12, he says, to us present your bodies a Living Sacrifice, it’s an impossibility, isn’t it? Brothers and sisters, you can’t have a Living Sacrifice. A sacrifice is dead.

61. 30:51

    Except that in Romans 6. He says we’re dead to sin, but we’re alive to God or in Galatians. I am crucified but Christ lives in me. That’s a Living Sacrifice, isn’t it? And it’s an attitude that is in us. That’s others centered rather than self-centered. And what greater example could we have them when we come this morning to a memorial meeting? To remember a man who took care of the needs of his brothers and sisters on the night that he was going to die. That’s dying to self.

62. 31:23

    Isn’t it? Brothers and sisters? What an example. and so then we find ourselves in 1st Corinthians, chapter 12, And here the theme of our exultation is written plainly. In fact it’s reinforced five times. Isn’t it in verse 4 to 6? Now there are diversities of gifts but the Same Spirit, there are differences of administration’s but the same Lord, there are diversities of operations but the same God, which works in all. And then in verse 12, he says, for as the body is one and hath many members and all the members of that one, body being many are one body, So also is Christ, come over to verse 14. For the body, is not one member, but many and in verse 20. But now are they many members yet? One body.

63. 32:18

    And finally, in verse 27 now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular, and Paul is telling us that after we learn to appreciate that the members in the Ecclesia are completely dependent on one another after we learn to appreciate. The spirit of self-sacrifice is the only way and Ecclesia can live harmoniously together.

64. 32:42

    Will also come to understand that all the members of the family are different from one another, with different strengths, and different weaknesses, and have a look at why that is in verse 18 now. God has set the members every one of them in the body as it hath pleased. He makes us different because he wants us to be different, that’s why we’re different. He could have made us all clones which would have had a perfect harmonious Ecclesia.

65. 33:13

    We would have all been going in the same direction and yet, brothers and sisters. He chose not to, he chose to take the most disparate group of people you can possibly have and plot them into one occasion. That’s it. Now, you are a family work it out.

66. 33:32

    And brothers and sisters. People cannot say I’m not of the body. I’m not at the body. I’m not a leg. So I can’t be part of the body and the Ecclesia can’t say, because you’re not a knows you’re not part of the body. because in verse 24, God hath tempered the body together. He’s made everyone different.

67. 33:57

    He’s put us all together. And in verse 25, he wants us to understand that so that there will be no Schism in the body, but that all the members should have the same care, one for another And this appreciation of difference. Is what he wants us to understand in chapter 12 here. And that careful one. Another can only stem from a patient, understanding that there are no two people in an occlusion that are the same. And that the talents and the abilities within an Ecclesia are so varied, and different situations will see those natural gifts that the father has given to each one of us come to the surface and shine.

68. 34:51

    But it will take time, why not? And it will take persistence and sometimes it will take years and years and years. Before we at the value of any part of the body becomes evident

69. 35:07

    But to understand that the father has placed value on each member in the body, whether it’s evident or not and he has brought them to be a part of this family. Is enough for us to love that, brother and sister. and when we look at an occasion, there is such diversity in and Ecclesia.

70. 35:28

    It really is a big Melting Pot of humanity, isn’t it? And at times that, diversity will produce a unified Direction just like the first century occlusion, they had all things in one Accord, they were moving in the same direction, weren’t they? But at other times within the Ecclesia, it’ll produce times of tension, and both are okay.

71. 35:50

    It’s okay to have tension in a closure if we are willing to stick it out. If we are willing to play the long game with our brothers and sisters to see the value that God sees in them, and to work through those times of difficulty, so that we can enjoy those times of unity. and those times of difficulty, produce opportunities, for self Examination for self-sacrifice and to grow in understanding of our brothers and sisters, Because those times of unity and those times of tension are just passing stages in our overall life, aren’t they? And we’ve all seen them both a cliches, go in cycles and sometimes they’re good and sometimes they’re not as good. But they’re passing Cycles.

72. 36:36

    They do not abide forever yet. The one thing that abides forever and that will exist after all of those occasions have passed is our attitude to the Ecclesia during those times. And so we have our segue into first 2. Corinthians 13 verse 4. Because here is the attitude that abides forever. Love suffereth long.

73. 37:03

    Now that’s important, isn’t it brothers and sisters because sometimes it feels like we do have to suffer long in and Ecclesia when things don’t feel Rosy and you have to keep rocking up and keep talking to people and brothers and sisters. Those long-term relationships are what we’re looking for. And I’ve personally seen the benefits of working in a collegial life and a, my own workplace of being somewhere.

74. 37:28

    I’ve been working the same place for 20 years. And I work with the same people, the same six people for the last 10 years, you know exactly what makes them tick. You know what their triggers are, you know, how to get the good and the bad out of all of them. It’s the long game we’re playing isn’t that patient, waiting that long suffering with brothers and sisters to allow God, to extract that value out of them in an occlusal environment and show it to the Ecclesia? love suffers long, its kind It doesn’t Envy. Doesn’t want itself and is not puffed up. It does not behave itself unseemly. It seeks not her own.

75. 38:19

    It’s not easily provoked, thinketh no evil. It rejoices not in iniquity, but it rejoices in truth. It Bears, all things believes all things, it hope of all things. It endures all things. Love never fails. and when we get to the kingdom, brothers and sisters in verse 13, Now, abides faith, hope, and love these three, but the greatest of these is love.

76. 38:51

    Why? Because in the Kingdom age Faith, and Hope will be realized everything that we have looked forward to will be realized Faith and Hope will be made a reality. They’re finished with. But love is not it continues on. And it continues on past the kingdom age, it continues on into Revelation, 21 and 22 beyond the kingdom age. And brothers and sisters, when we think about that Kingdom age. When we stand with our Lord, Jesus Christ, praising the Father in heaven.

77. 39:25

    For all the work that he has done. if we haven’t learned to love our brothers and sisters, it’s going to be a whole, isn’t there? If we don’t want our brothers and sisters in the kingdom of God, says no, they’re going to be there, so, whatever you’re going to feel in the kingdom.

78. 39:41

    When you stand beside those brothers and sisters in immortality, let’s try and develop that now. And you can only love what, you know. And you can only love your brothers and sisters. If you spend time with them, if you choose to work with them, through every situation that arises in a collegial life, both joyful both, sorrowful both happy and sad.

79. 40:04

    Both enjoyable and both difficult. All of those situations give us the opportunity to spend time with our brothers and sisters and develop that love their a First Corinthians chapter 13. And the reality is that, at the end of this life, when the angel knocks on our door. And at that point, This life is ended.

80. 40:28

    We’re going to step into a new life, aren’t we? At that point, that’s it. This life is over. There are only two things that we walk out of the house, with only two things. Our relationship with our father in Heaven. And our relationship with our brothers and sisters at that point in time.

81. 40:49

    Nothing else matters. And so what would be the perfect environment to develop those relationships with our brothers and sisters to develop that attitude of love? Here it is. Brothers and sisters. This is what we have. Look around you. The perfect Ecclesia is the imperfect leisure.

82. 41:12

    Because the imperfect Ecclesia gives opportunity. For courage to develop, when fear is there for love to develop when hate and anger, is there for self-control when annoyances there, the imperfect Ecclesia. Rubs the natural man in us up the wrong way, doesn’t it? And gives us opportunity to overcome it. That’s where the perfect occlusion is in the imperfect occlusion. And here, brothers and sisters.

83. 41:43

    When you look around, you here by the grace of the father are the Saints of the coming age. Here are the vessels of Honor. Being shaped by the hands of the master Potter himself. Look at your brothers and sisters, see the lines of worry on their face when things are stressful. That’s the father’s hand, pressing into them to shape their character. See the corner of their eyes, which have got lines from smiling and laughing.

84. 42:13

    That’s the father’s hand strengthening, and squeezing the best out of that vessel. That is making on The Potter’s Wheel. All of those lines on our brothers and sisters face, are the marks of the Potter. And he’s working on them till the very last breath. and when he’s done, he takes that vessel off of the wheel and he puts it on the Shelf, a vessel of Honor, ready for a time of his calling.

85. 42:45

    Every one of our brothers and sisters are his workmanship. A family created to fill the world with his glory and here are brothers and sisters of Cumberland. I just a small part of that entire cage around late, but it’s what we’ve got to work with our brothers and sisters. Here are a small part of the Ecclesia of the Living.

86. 43:08

    God, the pillar and ground of the truth. Thank you for listening to the good christadelphians talks podcast. We hope this talk helped you in your walk. If you would like to hear more, please subscribe for new episodes and leave a review and apple podcast or whatever service you are using to help more people find the show when they search for it.

87. 43:43

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88. 44:23

    Thank you for listening. God bless and talk to you next week.