408: Bob Lloyd - The Way of Life

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

1. 0:03

   Welcome to Good Christophian Talks. Thank you for joining us this week on this podcast. We select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our Daily News feed. Each week we post a talk that we previewed from suggestions sent in by listeners from around the world. Then we record a short intro beforehand as a personalized recommendation to you on why we are sharing the talk. And now let’s talk more about this week’s talk. Hello everyone, welcome back.

2. 0:35

   This is brother Ruben and we’ll be listening this week to a talk given by brother Bob Lloyd given in Australia. I’m not sure when, but it’s Part 1 of the series he gave under the title of The Way of Life. And this talk is called Thank God for Hurdles. And the reason I chose this talk was because I’m very fond of it and have very fond memories of it because me and my father used to listen to it and always quote it back to each other. And he’s very easy to remember his quotes from by the Bobbies and he he just has the skill of saying things that just stick in your mind so you remember them for future reference. And he’s very practical in this talk, and he speaks on how to deal with trials and how to respond to them and the need for trials.

3. 1:30

   And he uses some great examples that really stick in my mind and hopefully will stick in everyone else’s. He especially speaks to me when he talks about thanking God for your trials and rejoicing in them, and even to the point of jumping for joy, leaping for joys, Jesus says. And I find that very challenging, but very helpful to think about. So I hope you enjoy it as much as I have, and I’ll hand you over to Brother Bob speaking to thank God for the hurdles. Good afternoon, my beloved brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus Christ and all you young people and all our friends. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be here with you. I never thought I’d be back, and here I am again. And I’m so thankful that you were kind enough to remember to invite me.

4. 2:25

   I have this problem. If you invite me, I have to say yes. And sometimes it disturbs my wife a little bit. But if you can do something and God’s asking you to do it, I believe we need to try to do it. So as long as God gives us the strength, we’re going to try.

5. 2:41

   But it’s you’re getting less everyday as you get older. I can say something to you that none of you can say. I left Los Angeles Wednesday evening and I did not sin on Thursday because when we landed it was Friday so I I had no Thursday to sin. Unfortunately on the way back I get 2 Mondays so I probably wake up for lost time.

6. 3:18

   But it’s wonderful to think that you can get in an airplane and a few hours later be with so many people you know and love that you haven’t seen for such a long time. I know there’s some new ones here that we are meeting for the first time, and I’m looking forward to talking to you.

7. 3:35

   And it’s certainly wonderful to see the faces of those that we’ve known and loved for over the years. I see Steven Eggington down there. I raced him in 1979 across a bridge and I won because I cheated. I’ve been doing that all over the world. But the last time I did it, I was already in my 70s and they, I, the guy beat me so bad I could hardly see him at the end. But so I don’t do that anymore.

8. 4:05

   But I maybe I could beat him now. We both aged the same amount, except I had such a big head start. Well, our subject is the way of life. There are two ways you can go in your life and you have a choice. We can choose the way of life, which is our subject and live forever.

9. 4:29

   We can choose the way of death and perish forever. Now that doesn’t sound like a very difficult decision to make. Doesn’t life or death and yet I know you’re going to realize this is true nearly nearly everybody in the whole wide world, every year, every decade, every century, they all choose death because they do not want to take the way of life.

10. 4:59

    And so that’s going to be our subject. How can we be sure that we have taken and are in the way of life? So our studies this afternoon, this evening and tomorrow, God willing, are going to try to help us see clearly the way and then walk ye in it, the prophet Isaiah told us. And I and I shall hear a voice behind me, the saying, this is the way, walk ye in it when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left.

11. 5:32

    And that’s what we need to do. We need to hear this voice of God which we get from our scriptures saying, this is a way, a walk ye in it. In Jeremiah’s day the Lord said to Jeremiah, and to this people, ye shall say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Simple, right?

12. 5:53

    Choose life. Most people don’t, but we want to make sure that all of us make the right decision and choose life. Again, words you’re familiar with, and you might want to look them up there in Deuteronomy chapter 30, because Moses is challenging the children of Israel just before he dies. And he’s an old man.

13. 6:15

    He’s even older than I am, and that’s pretty old. And he’ll, he calls them together as you have come together this afternoon. And he said, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing.

14. 6:38

    Choose life that you and your descendants may live, and again you. If you know the history of the children of Israel, nearly all of them chose death out of some two and a half million or more who left Egypt. Two of those original ones, over 20, walked across the Jordan into the Promised Land. Joshua and Caleb, all the rest perished in the wilderness. And so history attest to the fact that most people do not choose the way of life.

15. 7:16

    And we want you to do that now. The term the way is a biblical term and we don’t use it as much today as we used to in in years past. In fact, the word appears 374 times in the King James Version of the Bible and many years ago in the Christadelphian magazine in what they used to call the intelligence section. It’s it’s really the news.

16. 7:41

    But they would report, record something like this. Our dear sister XYZ has fallen asleep in the Lord. She had been in the way for over 60 years.

17. 7:58

    Now we know what they meant, but it sounds like she’s was blocking traffic for a very long time. But this phrase, the way is quite scriptural, so we’re just going to look at a few of them, Solomon says. He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction. So now there’s a little clue for us.

18. 8:19

    If you want to stay in the way of life, you got to listen to some instructions, and instructions we’re going to find are in our Bible. And so he says, I have taught thee in the way of judgment and wisdom. I have led thee in right paths. The Bible was written so that we would know the way of wisdom and judgment.

19. 8:39

    It’s clear that God wants us to avoid the wrong way. So Solomon says, forsake the foolish and live and go in the way of understanding. He is in the way of life that keepeth. Instructions in the way of righteousness is life. Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way. The hoary head is a crown of glory if it be found in the way of righteousness.

20. 9:04

    He that is upright in the way is the abomination of the wicked. You wicked people don’t like you to be in the way of truth. They don’t like you took to stand up for what’s right. And so Solomon actually warned us and said there is a way as he was writing to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. So the consequences of choosing the wrong way is fatal to choose the right way.

21. 9:33

    It’s life and peace, and so it’s easy for us to deceive ourselves. And when we want to really do something, how often we rationalize it. What we want to do is right when we really know it isn’t so. Solomon warns us in the very first chapter of his Proverbs. My son, walk not thou in the way of them.

22. 9:56

    Refrain thy foot from their path. Young people have a lot of peer pressure. As you get older, your peers start dying. My father-in-law lived with us till he was 102 and we had a big party for him of Christadelphians on his 100th birthday. And I got up and I said granddad, we call him affectionately.

23. 10:25

    Granddad has solved the peer pressure problem. He didn’t have any peers. He was 100 and nobody else in the room was anywhere near that. But we do have peer pressure problem. And so Psalmist saying don’t listen to those people who want to tell you to do the wrong things. And so we read in John chapter 14, Jesus trying to comfort us and he says, let not your heart be troubled. You have troubles.

24. 10:54

    I know that you can’t get a room of people this big and not have people a lot of troubles. You know the only people in the world had no trouble at all are dead. Be glad you have a few problems. It shows you’re alive. And so let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me.

25. 11:12

    Then he said, where do I go? You know, and the way, you know, we’re talking about the way. They didn’t know what he was talking about. Thomas was bold enough to speak up and ask the question. Thomas says, Lord, we know not whither you’re going. How do we know the way? And Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

26. 11:38

    No man cometh unto the Father but by me. So the right way, the only way, is to follow Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life. And so Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. So are you following Jesus? So our goal is to follow Jesus.

27. 12:06

    He says if any man will serve me, let him follow me. And where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my Father honor. And then he said, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.

28. 12:30

    Now what Jesus is saying is it’s not going to be easy. He’s saying if you want to follow Jesus, you have to pick up a cross and follow him. And you know what crosses were for? They were to die on. We don’t literally die on a cross. We have to crucify our flesh. We have to stop doing those things that our body tells us that it wants to do.

29. 12:55

    So these things have I spoken to you that in me you might have peace. He says in the world you will have tribulation, but cheer up. I’ve overcome the world. Now, did you hear what he said? He said you’re going to have trouble, big trouble. Cheer up. Now that sounds like a contradiction of terms, doesn’t it? You’re going to have trouble.

30. 13:13

    I’m full of cheer up. And that’s what Jesus is saying. And that’s what we should be trying to do because we’re going to talk about something in this first class that you’ve heard before. I am not going to tell you anything you haven’t already heard, because if I did, it probably would be wrong. You’re all better Bible Students than I am. But I’m going to try to stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance and try to make it stick. So when I thought goes in here, it doesn’t go flying out there. We’re going to try to put a hook in the middle and it’ll hang up and the thoughts will stay in the middle as we try to present them to you.

31. 13:45

    And so Jesus is saying, you’re going to have trouble. Cheer up. I’ve overcome, so can you. And that’s why Paul, who understood that, said I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. He could and you can too. So Paul travelled among the ecclesias and he tried to comfort them with similar words he said. He said that he exhorted them to continue in the faith and that we must, through much tribulation, enter into the Kingdom of God.

32. 14:21

    So Paul is telling us, like Jesus told us, that you’re going to have troubles. Be followers of me, said Paul then, even as I am of Christ. So the first lesson we want to learn in this class is that the way of life is a way less traveled. It’s strewn with problems and hurdles and potholes and detours and you have to expect them and know how to conquer them because that means to overcome.

33. 14:52

    Now, not too many years ago you had the Olympics here in Sydney and it was a very big deal for the whole world and particularly for NSW and certainly for the city of Sydney. Now just imagine that you were somehow able to get tickets to the field and stream, field and track of the fence and you’ve got in the stand and this place is packed and I know it was packed. I don’t know if any of you went, I’ve never been to Olympic game. We had one in Los Angeles but I couldn’t get tickets. But just imagine now we’re in the stands and your boy from NSW is the runner for the high hurdles, representing the great country of Australia.

34. 15:36

    And the band is playing in the wave, the flags are waving and, and we’re getting all ready for this race and all that. You know, I don’t do this very good anymore. But you know, they’re all getting ready to go and there’s the blocks are out there for them to to put their feet in and the guy’s got their gun. He’s going to sound the gun.

35. 15:52

    He said on your mark, get set, go and said take your position and then Australia and run and get down. You get the seat in the stock and he looks down the road, no hurdles. This is a high hurdle race and somebody forgot to put hurdles in his lane and the guy thinks on your mark, gets that, hey, don’t do shoot that gun, don’t do shit the gun. What’s the matter?

36. 16:14

    There’s no hurdles in my lane. I can’t win the gold medal for Australia if there’s no hurdles to jump over. I want hurdles to jump over so I can win that. That’s not too hard to understand, is it? Can you equate that to your life, that God is literally putting hurdles in your lane in your life so you can overcome?

37. 16:44

    Jesus said he that overcometh. You can’t overcome if there’s no hurdles. So the whole stadium waited while the groundskeepers set up hurdles in the lane for the Australian runner and then they ran the race. And you and I are in this Race for Life eternal and we’ve got hurdles in front of us and every morning when you get up there’s hurdles for you to jump. Instead of saying, oh woe is me, look at all those hurdles, just say thank God for hurdles.

38. 17:25

    A loving God is preparing me for something bigger and better than this life. In order for me to achieve it, I have to overcome. And so every hurdle is to jump. And I can do it because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Again, if you have your Bibles on your lap, Hebrews chapter 12 verses thoroughly familiar to all of you, and they’re about the subject on which we’re now considering chapter 12 of Hebrews coming in at verse 6.

39. 17:59

    For whom the Lord loves, He chastens. You want God to love you, and you know what’s going to happen. You’re going to be chasing. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom the Father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons and King James bastards, as you know. Furthermore, we have all had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect.

40. 18:29

    You’re thankful when your Father loves you enough to correct you and teach you the right way. You have a Heavenly Father that loves you enough to correct you and guide you in the way of life. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as it seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His Holiness. Now this next verse is so obvious and you already knew it. No chastening seems to be joyful for the present. You can’t say, wow, this is your fun, having this problem, this problem.

41. 19:11

    Hurdles are to jump. Yes, they are an obstacle to overcome. But strengthen your hands and hang down in the feeble knees and make straight paths for your feet. You can do it, brothers and sisters. And that’s the first lesson we want to drive home is if you are going to have hurdles in your life. And I want to talk about how you face them because you they make or they break us.

42. 19:41

    So what does Paul say? Look, come to Romans chapter 5 and Paul is going to tell us about suffering. Romans chapter 5 being at verse one. This is from the RSV. Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have obtained access to the grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

43. 20:06

    More than that, this is Paul talking. We rejoice in our sufferings. Now are you doing that? Are you rejoicing in your suffering? You’ve got a problem. I just met a very nice little boy out in the parking lot. He was explaining to me that he has some pins in his neck. It’s not easy to rejoice when you have pins in your neck, but if God has been put there by the medical doctors to help you, be thankful that they’re there and that they’re doing their job. So Paul says more than that we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which he has given to us.

44. 21:00

    Hope helps us to cope, and he’s saying there we rejoice in our troubles. Now Paul had a problem. You already know about it. He called it a thorn in the flesh. I know a lot of people know what it is that Paul didn’t tell us what it was, but I’m glad you already know. We had lots of different answers to that, and I’m willing to listen to yours.

45. 21:24

    But the point is, we don’t need to know what it is. We just happen to know that thorns stick and they don’t feel good. And if you have a thorn in your flesh, you don’t like it either. And Paul didn’t like it, and that’s only normal not to like it. So what did he do? He took it to God in prayer, and he prayed to God once, twice, three times.

46. 21:46

    God, please take away this problem, this thorn. It hurts God. And God said no to Paul. Paul’s going to be in the Kingdom. He won’t have the thorn then. And he had it all his life. Listen, listen to this in Second Corinthians chapter 12 again, you know all this, but three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But God said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

47. 22:21

    God says you’re going to have to live with that problem. Well, how would you react if God tells you you must live with the problems that you have? And he said, I will the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me for the sake of Christ, which I am content with.

48. 22:46

    For the sake of Christ, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecution, calamities, all these problems I’ve got. Thank God for hurdles. Thank you God for giving me these problems. So you have problems like Paul did. How are you reacting? That’s our lesson we want to learn from this first class. How are you going to react to the problems you already have and some that you’re going to get that you haven’t even had yet?

49. 23:16

    I have people. I just can’t take it anymore. Do you know that your subconscious mind does not have a sense of humor? When you talk to yourself and you tell yourself, I can’t take this anymore, Your, your body, we will react. You probably won’t be able to. Somebody sees it and he says, oh, I’m going to get a cold.

50. 23:35

    You order a cold, OK, you get a cold. Why do we program ourselves to fail instead of to succeed? Don’t ever say negative things for yourself. Oh, I just can’t handle it. You can handle it. If you didn’t couldn’t handle it, God wouldn’t let you have it in the first place. So you see, we can take lots more than we think we can take if we just trust in God to provide us the strength to get through what it is we have to go through. And so James now Paul has said that we gladly boast in weaknesses.

51. 24:09

    James chapter 1 is going to say, consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of any kind. You got you’re really being tried. Oh boy, are you you’re full joy, right? No, Well, James says yes, when you have problems, we are to thank God for our troubles because you know this is not a maybe thing, because you know that the testing your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. So James is in complete agreement with Paul. How do you react when you have problems? Rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance.

52. 24:57

    Now, this is not normal in the world. It’s totally unknown. You’re not in the world. You come out from the world. We have to be different from everybody else, and we do have problems. But you see, God, because he loves you, is going to make sure that you never have a problem that you can’t handle.

53. 25:21

    If you couldn’t have handled it, God wouldn’t have let you have it. And so sometimes when I’ve had a really big problem, I said, God, you think I’m up to this one. But since I’ve got the problem, the answer is yes, I am or you wouldn’t let me have it. And so now this is I want I really want you to look up Luke chapter 6.

54. 25:39

    And this is Jesus because where did Paul get the answer to rejoice in trouble? Where did James get the answer to rejoice in trouble? They learned it from Jesus Christ. And so Jesus is going to answer this once and for all. How do we handle our troubles on the way of life? Luke chapter 6 and coming in at verse 20 looking at his disciples and this is what Jesus he looks right at you and he said blessed are you poor for yours is the Kingdom of God. We’d love to go to weddings.

55. 26:13

    Christian Davis go to weddings. That’s one place you can get people out. They don’t come to some other things. They’ll come to a wedding. So big wedding in your area and all the little children were in the audience and after they got home, they decided to play play wedding. So one little boy, he was going to be the preacher and a little girl was playing the role of the bride and the little boy was pretending he was the groom and the the little, the little fellow who was doing the marrying, He said to the little girl, do you take this man for a richer or for a poorer? And he said, she says for richer. She thought she had a choice.

56. 26:48

    She didn’t understand what the whole thing was. But but you see, that’s what we normally do. We oh, we choose the rich, we see the healthier. Now listen to what Jesus says. Blessed are you who are poor,

57. 27:04

    for yours is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall. Blessed are you when men shall hates you and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of God.

58. 27:19

    But I don’t want people to not like me. I don’t. I don’t want people to reject me. See peer pressure. You have to stand up for the truth against your peers. And if they’re all going the wrong way, you don’t go that way just because everybody else is going that way. Anything that everybody else is doing is probably wrong.

59. 27:35

    So if ever you come to your parents and say, well, everybody’s going, if I was your father, I’d say, well, that’s why you’re not. Anything they’re all doing is probably not a good thing to do so. And when you do that, they are going to exclude you and insult you and reject you. And now we’re coming to the key verse, verse 23. Rejoice in that day.

60. 27:56

    And Jesus said it. That was a dumb thing to do. One day I just jumped. I don’t jump as high as I used to, but he didn’t really mean that. Do you think you think Jesus really meant? Let’s read it again, verse 23. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy. I don’t think Jesus ever said silly talk. I think Jesus meant that when you have a problem, you should leap for joy.

61. 28:36

    Now you look at this room and you look at the people in this room and you look at the problems that all of you are facing. This ought to be a jumping place

62. 28:47

    because we’ve all got problems. Now I’ve taken this verse absolutely literal because Jesus said to now I know I don’t leap like I used to leap. And and if you’re at bed fast, you may not even be able to get bed. You go, you could, you could mentally leap even though you can’t get out of bed. And I have to tell you a story.

63. 29:09

    We, we have a Bible class in our home on Tuesday nights and a brother comes to this class who is in the television business. He’s a producer for a newscast, Channel 7. And he has to be on duty at 5:00 in the morning. So he has to leave the house about four. So, so he soon as the class is over, he’s got to get out of there because he’s got to get up real early.

64. 29:31

    And we talked about Jesus telling us to leap for joy. And soon as the class is over, we close with prayer and we, my wife always has a refreshments and everybody sits around and we have a nice time together. But he he said, thanks folks, he’s on, he’s gone. So later on, the sister, his wife was talking to my wife on the phone and she said, you know, after we left your class, Fred was jumping all the way down your driveway. He was sleeping for joy as he left the class because Jesus said to there’s actually something therapeutic. I gave this in in England at a place called Wessex camp. Wessex is a was a farm.

65. 30:19

    They rent a farm and the farmer rents them a great big field and they bring in a big tent called they call them a Marquis. There were 750 people broke bread in a tent that weekend and everybody brings their caravans and their tents and everybody camps. And on a Saturday I mentioned this to leap for joy in the morning session.

66. 30:43

    And then we all broke and everybody went back to their caravans and tents for lunch and we came back for the afternoon session. And the sister came up to me and says, oh Bob, my head’s killing me. I said, what happened? She said, well, I went into my caravan and I I leapt for joy and I hit the door.

67. 31:01

    So when you do it, make sure you have clearance. But there was a medical doctor in the audience and I saw him later on that same week and he says, you know, I went home and I did some research medically about what you said. Was it me? It was Jesus said it. He says it actually has therapeutic value.

68. 31:27

    Now, you see, we’ve read that. How many times have you read Leap for Joy? And how many times have you actually done it? You see, Jesus meant what he said and, and, and when you have a problem, the fellow doing the hurdles is going to leap. He’s going to hit the hurdle if he doesn’t jump. So when you have problems, listen to Paul, listen to Peter, listen to James, listen to Jesus who say this is how you handle problems.

69. 31:56

    You thank God for your hurdles. You leap for joy. You recognize that God loves you or you wouldn’t have this problem and so therefore he’s helping you to overcome it.

70. 32:12

    We find as we get older we can’t move as quickly as we used to, but it’s, it’s doesn’t need to be a physical leap at all. It simply needs to be a mental 1. And so even when you are down in bed, you still can leap for joy.

71. 32:35

    Jacob had to limp for the rest of his life because he wrestled with an Angel. That was a good limp. He didn’t complain. He was one of God’s chosen, and God left him a limp to remind him of what had happened. And so when you have problems, God leaves you with reminders of them. Our hearing may go, our teeth may fall out. We may we may, may be able to walk. We have to use crutches or maybe in a wheelchair. Maybe we can’t get out of bed.

72. 33:16

    But just recognize the fact that our problems are sent to us by a loving Father who’s preparing us for bigger and better things. And so when Paul was called on the way to Damascus, Ananias was to told told him that he must learn those things which he must suffer for my sake, said God to Ananias about Paul.

73. 33:46

    And then you think about Jesus, our Savior, our Lord, we’re told that he had to learn obedience by the things that he suffered. He was the Son of God. He never sinned. We sometimes suffer because of a sin that we’ve committed, and sins do bring consequences. But not all your problems are caused by your sins. Some of them are caused by God helping you to want to be in the Kingdom more than anything else in all the world. And so that dear sister who fell asleep in the Lord after being in the way for 60 years, she had 60 years of overcoming troubles. Because everyone who is a Christadelphian is going to have problems promised by God, promised by Jesus. Cheer up the world, you will have troubles, but be of good cheer, because I have overcome the world. So I want you to realize how special you are. You have come here because you’ve been called. There’s millions of people in Sydney. This room couldn’t hold everybody who want to come here. If all the people realize that we have the answer to all their problems, but they don’t believe that and they wouldn’t listen if they came.

74. 35:15

    You have been called by God. Jesus said no man can come to me except the Father, which has set me dry. So you’re hand picked out of the millions of people, no billions of people on this earth, how few of us really know the true gospel message? We know the planet purpose with God. We know what’s going to happen.

75. 35:36

    We’re looking for Jesus. We are so blessed and sometimes we take it for granted. Yes, I’m a Christadelphian. I’ve been a Christadelphian for more than 666 years. Last July I was baptized. So I’ve been in the way a long time, and some people think I’m in the way, but because I gave my life to God, He is directing my paths in the way of life to the Kingdom. And I believe that with all my heart. And when I stray from the way, He’s gently brings me back. He’s guiding your feet.

76. 36:19

    You know God will guide your feet, but you have to get up and shuffle them yourself. You say, Oh yes, I want God to guide me, but I’m just sitting back and taking it easy. God can’t guide you if you don’t try to get moving. But once you’re going, God can guide your feet in your way of life. So Jesus says you can’t even come to me unless my Father has drawn you.

77. 36:47

    So those of you who are in this room, not baptized, you’re being called. You just haven’t said yes yet. Some of you, it’s because you’re too young. For others, there’s other reasons. We don’t know what they are, but they’ve allowed me to have a special class, not tomorrow, but a week from tomorrow for everybody that’s not baptized. If you’re baptized, you can’t come because everybody in the whole world that’s not baptized is not baptized for a reason. And if you’re not baptized, there’s a reason. And we want to find out what it is. See if we can help.

78. 37:20

    So if you’re not baptized, please try to reserve that time a week from tomorrow in the evening for that professional class. But the fact is you’ve been called or you wouldn’t even come today even if you just came to light day with with with with a neighborhood of Christadelphia. You’re hearing something maybe you haven’t heard before.

79. 37:38

    Most of us, this is old stuff you’re hearing. But the point is we are being called by God and it’s up to us to say, yes, we may have to live through life as a result of our encounter with an Angel. But you see, that’s all right. God didn’t promise us a bed of roses.

80. 38:03

    He Jesus said you will have troubles, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. So God said to Jeremiah back in Jeremiah chapter one, just as Jeremiah book begins, God says to him, before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee before thou alchemist forth of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nation.

81. 38:38

    So what’s that got to do with us? Well, God is telling Jeremiah that before he was even conceived, God knew all about him. And you know that’s true of you. If you’ve been called, God knew you were going to be born when you were born, before your parents even met each other, you were in God’s plan to be in the Kingdom because he’s calling you and he wants you in the Kingdom.

82. 39:10

    And we have to respond by saying, yes, thank you, Father, we want to be there. We’re called to walk in the way of life, and we have to know what that way is. And then we have to get up moving and go that way. Now Jesus warned us that the way would not be easy.

83. 39:32

    In Matthew 7 he says enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy. That leads to destruction. Those that enter in by it are many. You have very good roads here in Australia. I’m, I’m amazed you’re wrong. Drive on the left side of the road, but you have very good roads to go on and they’re busy traffic everywhere. But when you choose to go in the way of life, you’re going to turn off the big motorways, you’re going to take an off ramp from the road where everybody else is going. And you’re going to take that long, narrow, winding uphill road to the Kingdom, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life.

84. 40:23

    And those that find it are few few that be the find it says the King James. So this these talks are about the way of life. And we want you this weekend to totally rededicate yourself that you are in the way and you’re going to keep moving in the way. You may have to take baby steps, but don’t sit down, Stay on your feet and keep moving toward the Kingdom. It’s not an easy Rd.

85. 40:54

    God didn’t promise it would be easy. He just promised that He would help you if you would try. But some people won’t try. Can you imagine going back to that example of the Olympics? In the morning of the big race, our star hurtler went to the coach and he says, coach, I don’t feel good today. You know, there are days when we don’t feel good. It’s true of all of us.

86. 41:22

    I don’t think I want to try to ride. You spent a lifetime getting ready to compete for Australia in the Olympics and you don’t feel good and you’re not going to try. That would drive the coach crazy. You get in there and do the best you can. Well, I don’t feel good, coach.

87. 41:43

    We don’t always feel good. We don’t always have energy, we don’t always know exactly what to do. So we ask God to help us. He will guide your steps. Trust in the Lord with all my might and lean out under their own understanding and all your ways. Acknowledge Him, that’s God, and He will direct your paths, but He won’t direct it if you won’t try.

88. 42:10

    And so we who are baptized have already made that commitment. On the day of our baptism, we gave our life to the Lord. Now, unfortunately, all of us have fallen back, taking steps in the wrong direction since our baptism, because none of us are perfect. But aren’t you thankful for forgiveness? Because if it weren’t for forgiveness, none of us could be saved.

89. 42:40

    And so, brothers and sisters, you are now in the way of life. You who are not baptized, you now know about the way of life. And you know it’s the only right way. There’s lots of wrong ways, but there’s only one right way. And God is inviting you to participate and offering you the greatest reward that’s ever been offered to human beings, to live and reign on this earth with the Lord Jesus Christ forever.

90. 43:16

    And people say no, if, if we could just paint for the people. We’re trying to teach the truth to the picture of the goal of the Kingdom. We would be drawn to it. It’s a wild horses couldn’t keep you out of the way. Let me get baptized. What we’re fighting in the mission field and it’s it’s sad in a way that we have to go so far. It’s God is working and he’s bring calling people out of the Gentiles for his name in all these countries where there were no Christadelphians a few years ago. And now there’s lots of Christadelphians in India, in China.

91. 43:57

    My grandson has been a missionary in China for the last year. He went over there and learned Mandarin and he was doing actually doing translating in Mandarin in China and, and just a young boy, but he’s on fire for the truth. But you see when you talk to your neighbors about this. Oh, what’s the telly?

92. 44:18

    I’m going to the ball game. We’re we’re having a card party tonight. We’re doing this. We’re doing everybody in the world around you probably is crowding God out of their life and they’ve chosen the way of death and they’re going to get what they chose. I know that you have labor unions in Australia, we have them in America. And the people who belong to a union often times go on strike and they get little signs and they walk up and down picketing. They want more money.

93. 44:53

    Well, now you have earned something and you’re going to get it. And you don’t have to pick it to get it. You’re you earned it. You’re going to get it. The wages of sin is death, and nobody has ever gotten out of this life alive. Nobody ever got out of this life, not even the Lord Jesus Christ. But he did not sin, so the grave could not hold Him. And because of Christ and His sacrifice for us, if we commit our life to Him, the grave will not hold us either. So whether we live, we live unto the Lord. Whether we die, we die to the Lord. Whether we live or die, we are the Lords and we are in the way of life, and we’re thankful to be in that way. We’re thankful that we’ve come together this afternoon to talk about this way.

94. 45:54

    We have two more classes today and then some more tomorrow, but I just want to thank you for inviting me to come and share thoughts with you. I realize it’s not something you’ve never heard before, but I hope that it will drive home this reaffirmation in your mind. This is the right thing.

95. 46:14

    And I am going to resist temptation. I am going to give my life the Lord. I’m going to be able to say no to the problems, and I’m going to be able to accept the problems that I have and rejoice that God loves me enough to give me these problems. So be willing to turn off the Broadway to the narrow way that leads to life eternal. God promises to wipe away all tears from our eyes. God gave us tear ducts on purpose, but in the Kingdom we won’t need them.

96. 46:52

    But Jesus wept, it’s OK to weep when you’re having problems, but then you have to get a hold of yourself and say, yes, but I, I had this problem because God, you’re testing me and you’re preparing me for something better and, and, and I can handle it. Don’t say you can’t, because you can, because the time is coming. There should be no more death.

97. 47:12

    Neither sorrow nor crying. Either shall be any more pain. Can you imagine that? Almost all of us experience pain. Some of us are in pain all the time. Pain is very debilitating. It’s very hard to keep a stiff upper lip when you’re hurting all over. And that’s true of some of you in this audience. You’re hurting.

98. 47:31

    Thank God for your hurdles. God is allowing this hurt. If you can get medical care that will help you do it, do it. It’s not wrong, but what you have and you cannot change except and thank God for it. And so we can bring our first class to a close and you’re going to be giving a little handout and the brethren, we’re going to be passing those out now. And I got one in my pocket, but I don’t want to deal with it. It’s are they ready to go now?

99. 48:05

    When you see it, you won’t know what it is. So I got to explain it to you. It’s unpronounceable. I’d like to tell you it’s my business card, but it doesn’t have a phone number. So there’s no way you can contact me if you’re anymore can pass out from the back and we

100. 48:29

     we’re going real soon. I I want you to put this up card in your pocket because I want you to look at it and be reminded of what is telling you and what is telling you that’s an acronym of a bunch of letters. Thank you very much. And I don’t know if you know what they are, but now you will because I carry these cards with me. And when somebody, when I do something wrong, not if because I do do things wrong, people do make the mistakes I do. And I’ll just hand them one of my cards. Yeah.

101. 49:10

     Tell you what, it helps. Even if your boss is jumping on you because you did something wrong, just hand him one of your cards. You can make thousands of these are easy to make. And it stands for this. Please be patient with me. God is not finished with me yet.

102. 49:33

     And that’s the good news about our way of life. God is not finished with you yet. He’s got big plans for you and His Kingdom. He’s called you to be steadfast and unmovable. I’m always about in His work. He wants you to hang in there and jump those hurdles and stop complaining about them.

103. 49:55

     The children of Israel were always complaining. They even complained about the food. They ate angels food and complained about it. Be thankful that God loves you enough children #1 called you #2 giving you some troubles, some hurdles. Be of good cheer, said Jesus in the world. You’re going to have troubles, but I have overcome the world, said Jesus. And the good news is, you can too. Thank you for listening to the Good Christadelphian Talks podcast.

104. 50:49

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105. 51:05

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106. 51:38

     God bless and talk to you next week.