Anthony Whitehorn - Class 1: Our Situation

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

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   This is day one of the 2008 Idaho Bible School. Our second period teacher is Brother Anthony Whitehorn. His general topic is a life worth living. Today's topic is our situation. Brother Anthony.

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   Well, good morning, brothers and sisters. I just love that. When I came to Palm Springs, and it was the first time that's ever happened to me, whereby I said, good morning, and the whole audience came back and said, good morning. It took me aback. And then when I went back to the UK, and I said, good morning, everybody. Silence.

3. 0:40

   I was like tapping the mic, thinking they haven't heard what I'm saying. So it's lovely. So thank you very much indeed. As you've already realised, I'm going to be speaking in English today. So I just hope that you're going to be following me, and a few subtitles will come up. So things like when I say pavement, that's sidewalk, and rubbish, that's garbage, and cinema is movie, and trousers. That's pants. Now, pants for us is something completely different, okay?

4. 1:10

   So let's not get that too confused. So it's going to be in English all the way through today. So I hope you're going to be following me. If you don't follow me, please come and let me know. What is interesting, when I was at Palm Springs, there was a brother who came up to me, and he said, well, thank you so much, Brother Anthony. I really enjoyed your talk today.

5. 1:28

   But tell me, what is God's wrath? And I said, well, I started to explain it to him. It was a little concerning, because the whole of my talk was about God's wrath. And he just thanked me for being great, and all the rest of it. And then he said, what is God's wrath?

6. 1:44

   And I said, oh, he said, you mean God's wrath. That's what I mean. So if there's something you don't understand, just come and let me know, please. Thank you very much. I'm going to start off with a story. There was a man who came out of a factory, and he was carrying a suitcase.

7. 2:02

   And the security guard stopped him. And he said, can you open the suitcase? So he unzipped the suitcase, and the security guard looked in there. There was nothing in there. So he shut it up, and he went off again. The next day, that self-same man came out of the factory carrying a suitcase.

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   The security guard stopped him again and said, what's in the suitcase? There was nothing in the suitcase. So he opened it up and had a look in there. And there was nothing in the suitcase. So he let him go on again. The third day, this self-same guy came out of the factory, and he stopped him.

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   And he said, what's in the suitcase? There's nothing in the suitcase. So he opened up the suitcase. He undid all the zips. He looked in there, and there was nothing in the suitcase. So he zipped it all up again, and he said to the guy, tell me, I'm not going to nick you.

10. 2:52

    I'm not going to do you here, but tell me, what are you doing here? And the guy turned to the security guard, and he said, I'm stealing suitcases.

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    And that's the issue, you know. So often, we, and I'm part of this, we look at the detail. We get stuck right into the detail, and we miss the big picture. And it was brought home to me about three or four months ago, when somebody said to me, tell me, what's the Bible all about?

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    Oh, and you think, hey, how long have you, you need to sit down here, and I'm going to give her the whole thing. And he said, no, no, just in a couple of words. In a couple of words. And that really made me think a lot about a number of books, and in particular the Bible, because what I ended up doing is I thought to myself, actually, to sum up the Bible in two words.

13. 3:53

    And I thought about it, and I thought like this, well, it's about relationships. It's about God's relationships. That's a summary of the Bible. It's a little bit like there was God, and he chose, he chose to have a relationship with a person, obviously, Adam, who let him down. And therefore, he looked around, and eventually he chose to have a relationship with Noah.

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    And it's interesting, isn't it, that Noah is one of the few people in the Scriptures who is identified as being blameless and righteous. You've got Job, who is characterized as being blameless. You've got Paul, who said he was blameless. But Noah was blameless and righteous. But, of course, Noah died. And then God wanted a relationship with not just a person, but a whole family.

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    So he chose Abraham and Abraham's children. Of course. And the whole of the Old Testament is about God's relationship with that family. But, of course, they also let him down. And so, now, God says, I want to have a relationship with those who want to have a relationship with me.

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    And that was really quite interesting for me, to go through that exercise and try and have the big picture, the helicopter approach. Because so often I'm in the detail. And I've tried to do that with a number of books in the Bible. For instance, the book of Judges. How well do we know about Samson and how well do we know about Gideon and Ehud?

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    We know about all those. But what's the big picture? I put it to you, it's the sin-salvation cycle. That's the big picture of the book of Judges. And I did the self-same thing with another book. It's this one here. It's the first letter of Peter. I happened to be reading it at the time and I thought, what is the helicopter approach?

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    The first letter of Peter. Now, I realised that I knew parts of Peter. I knew that little section about flesh is grass. And I knew that section about obeying authorities in 1 Peter 2. And I knew that section about Jesus judging the living and the dead. And the section about wives and husbands.

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    But what's the big picture? Well, when you actually get into the structure of the first epistle of Peter, it's really quite interesting. Because in doing that, we get the helicopter approach. In chapter 1, in fact, in verse 1, we see the recognition of our situation. Verse 3 to 12, we realise the appreciation of his grace and salvation.

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    And then in verse 13 of chapter 1 through until verse 12 of chapter 2, our response, and our response is to be separate, to be sanctified, to be holy. And then almost the rest of that letter is our responsibility. And Peter goes through and talks to those people who have appreciated, first of all, their situation, God's grace, and therefore their responsibilities because of their response.

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    This is their responsibilities. And he actually lists them, the responsibilities that they should do. And then there's a summary and conclusion. And really when you analyse that and you think about it, that's what I want to be thinking about over the next few days. Because the big picture, the helicopter approach, the first epistle of Peter, is actually one of hope.

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    Because he takes our situation and he analyses it, and he realises that actually it's hopeless. And therefore he says, you have been given the gift of grace. And because of that gift of grace, you are in a different situation, a different paradigm. And because of that, you need to make a response, and you therefore have some responsibilities.

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    And actually, that's what we're going to be doing. This week we're going to be looking at, first of all, our situation, just as Peter looked at, in verse 1. And then what is our status now? And then thirdly, what is our response to that? And fourthly, our responsibilities. And we'll be taking two elements of that, two sessions on that one.

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    And then the last one is almost a conclusion of all of what we've been considering there. Now, I tell you now, this is quite tricky. It's quite tricky to listen to. It's not a good way to start this, is it? It's going to be very tricky for you to listen to, because usually, when you perhaps do a character, you can follow it through.

25. 9:07

    Yeah, when he was at this stage, and then he grew up, and then he did that, and it's very easy to follow through. Or you do a book, and you start at the beginning of the book, and you walk through the book, and you can follow it. We're not going to be doing that.

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    We're going to be doing a process. Now, following a process is quite difficult. I'm sorry, but actually, I found it for myself really challenging. See, if you get nothing out of it, okay, but I got a lot out of this.

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    We're going to look at our situation, and then we're going to look at our status, our response, our responsibilities, because of that. And hopefully, you're going to be with me for some of the time. If you'll go off to the teenage class, I know that you just weren't with me whatsoever, so that's all right.

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    I understand that as well. So, let's just start off then. And I'd like to start off by telling you a story. When we go on holiday, my family and I, in the evenings, we play cards. Now, it's quite interesting, because times have changed. I used to love playing cards with my family, when my children were really small, because I always won, and it was great.

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    Now, they've got a little bigger. It's not so much fun. And actually, what happened, on the last holiday, and I remember it distinctly, my daughter, who's the youngest of our family, we'd been playing cards for about two nights, two or three nights, and we came to the conclusion of the game, and she won.

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    I tell you that because, not just because it was unusual for her to win, but also because of her response. She was overjoyed that she'd won. She'd beaten her brother, she'd beaten me, she thought it was fantastic. And at the end of that, it sort of lasted for about, I don't know, 15 seconds, because then we just got all the cards, and we put them back in the box.

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    And it was like, her whole demeanour changed. The game had finished. The cards had gone back in the box. And that was quite fascinating in itself, because it made me realise that, actually, that's our situation.

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    That's exactly what happens to us. The cards go back in the box. Solomon, the second wisest person to have ever lived, he realised that. He had everything. He had wealth, friends, power, and he said, actually, everything is vanity. Vanity, vanity. It's completely meaningless, this life. And it's really quite depressing, when you think of it like that.

33. 12:04

    But everything in life, is completely meaningless. And in fact, and I don't know whether it's the same in the States, or in Canada, or in New Zealand, but it's true in the UK. The most common ailment, that somebody goes to the doctor about, it's not a coronary, it's not cancer, it's depression. There are more people, who go to the doctor in the UK, about depression, than any other ailment.

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    We have approximately 65 million people in the UK, and over 6 million people each year, almost 10% of the population, go to the doctor with depression. And,

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    what is also true is, we are not, completely immune from that, as individuals. I know in our meeting, for instance, that there are, people who suffer from depression. I can think of three people, who are actually on antidepressants, in our meeting. It's a malaise, it's an ailment that we have. And, I would like you, therefore, to just take a look, at Ecclesiastes, chapter 3.

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    And, thinking about that ailment that we have, when Brother Morrie was just talking just now, I realised that that's what he was talking about, with that idea of being paralysed, and in pain. That is our human condition. Our human condition is, the cards go back in the box. And, that's what Ecclesiastes says.

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    And, it's one of those little verses, that you read, and you completely, you just pass over. But, somebody pointed it out to me. And, it's a beautiful little verse, this. It's Ecclesiastes, chapter 3. And, it's verse 10. And, I've underlined in my Bible, verse 10 and 11. I have seen the burden, God has laid on men.

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    I'm reading from the International Version. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set, eternity, in the hearts of men. Yet, they cannot fathom, what God has done, from beginning to end. Look at that. He has also set, eternity, in the hearts, of men. that's us. You know, we are never, ever, ever, going to be satisfied, in this life.

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    Why? Because, we're not built for this life. That's what it says. It says there, he has set, eternity, in us. And so, therefore, we're not going to be satisfied, by fame, by wealth, by self-fulfillment, by self-actualization. Why? Because, we are, not built, for this world.

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    I just want you to imagine, that you're inventors. And you have just invented, the fastest train, in the world. It's taken you, years and years. But you, as inventors, have just invented, the fastest train, in the world. It goes, 400 miles an hour, and it's, an amazing thing. And you go and present it, to the railway authorities, and they say, that's an amazing thing, that you have just invented.

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    And they say, I tell you what, we'd really like you, to run it, on our railways. You think, this is fantastic. What we'd like to do, is we'd like you, to run it from, North LA, to South LA.

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    No, hang on a minute. I've just invented, the fastest train, in the world, and you just want me, to run it, from North LA, to South LA.

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    That's not fulfilling, the purpose, for which it was made. And that's, a little bit, like ourselves. You see, why did God, make you, and me? Of course it says, in Genesis, we are made, let us make man, in our image. We're completely different, from any other animal, obviously, we're not a, we're not a set of reflex actions.

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    We have conscience, we have love, we have empathy. Why? Because God made us, so we can have a relationship, with him. We are the only ones, who can have a relationship, with God. And that's what this is all about.

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    And what God has done, is he has said, I want to have a relationship, with you. But, I want to have a relationship, with you, forever. That's why I made you. That's why I built you, the way that I have.

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    Think to yourself, why do you, want to be in the kingdom? Somebody asked me that, and I said, well, I want to live with Jesus, forever. That's, fine. I put it to you, that actually that's, that's possibly not, the answer.

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    Perhaps we should be saying, to ourselves, why do I want to be, in the kingdom? I want to be, in the kingdom, because I want to, fulfill, the purpose, for which, I was made. And that is, having a relationship, with God, forever. And we have, the template, in the Lord Jesus Christ, to enable us, to try and, we will, we will fail, but to try and live up to that.

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    We have nine months, whereby, we prepare, ourselves, for this world. we have 70 years, where we are, preparing ourselves, for eternity. There was, a man, who'd been out, on missionary work, and he was returning, after 20 years, on missionary work, and he's returning, on the ship. And as he came in, on the ship, the president, of the US, was on the same ship, as him.

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    And as they pulled, into harbour, so the fanfare, started, and the red carpet, came out, and the president, of the United States, had just been on, a little holiday.

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    He, got off the boat, and he walked down, to full of acclaim, lots of clapping, as he walked down, the red carpet. And the man, who had been, on missionary work, for the last, 20 years, he just, got off from a side door, and walked away. And he was really sad, and depressed, and he said to God, God, why, why aren't they, welcoming me home?

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    And God, turned to him, and said, the thing is, is you're not home yet. And that's you and me. We are not built, for this world. And that is our situation. This is only, a temporary, assignment. This is almost like, a waiting room.

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    Imagine, imagine that you've gone, to a motel. And when you go, to a motel, as you check in, you take, all your stuff out, and you then get, you then get the paint, and you start painting the walls, you start decorating, the whole thing. Yeah, I was about to say, you knit some, you don't knit curtains, do you?

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    No, you don't. You sew curtains, I'm useless. You sew curtains, and you put them up, you don't do that, do you? You don't do that, in your motel room, why don't you do that? You don't do that, because you're not there, long enough, and it's not yours. Good attitude. The cards, go back, in the box.

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    But it's hard, isn't it? It's hard to appreciate, our situation. It's really hard. When Tolkien wrote, Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien was a Christian, the main theme, of Lord of the Rings, is Frodo's mission. And Frodo's mission, for those of you who have read the book, Frodo's mission, was about destroying the ring.

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    But throughout, Lord of the Rings, there is Frodo's distraction. And Frodo's distraction, was about seeking, his own power, and glory. Our mission. What is our mission? Our mission, is to prepare ourselves, for a time, when we can have a relationship, with God, forever. That's our mission. Our distraction, is seeking, our own power, and glory.

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    And the thing is, is that, when we fail, to get that power, and glory, we get, frustrated. And sometimes, when we do get, some of that power, and glory, we don't feel fulfilled. Why? Because, we're not built, for this world.

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    And that's the issue. Our situation, is a, temporary, assignment. And that was what, Peter, was starting off, by telling us. We're going to look now, at just two passages. The first passage, is, Luke. Luke chapter 12.

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    Luke chapter 12, and we're going to be reading, from, verse 13. Luke chapter 12. Someone in the crowd, said to him, teacher, tell my brother, to divide the inheritance, with me. And Jesus replied, man, who appointed me, a judge, or an arbiter, between you? Then he said to them, watch out, be on your guard, against all kinds of greed.

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    A man's life, does not consist, in the abundance, of his possessions. And he told them, this parable. The ground, of a certain man, a certain rich man, produced a good crop. He thought to himself, what shall I do? I have no place, to store my crops. And then he said, this is what I'll do.

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    I'll tear down my barns, and build bigger ones. And there, I will store all my grain, and my goods. And I'll say to myself, you have plenty, of good things laid up, for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, you fool. This very night, your life will be demanded, from you.

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    Then, who will get, what you have prepared, for yourself? This is how it will be, with anyone, who stores up things, for himself, but is not rich, towards God. Now, this was, an individual, who obviously, came, to Jesus. And there was a rule, at that time, that an elder son, received double, a younger one's portion.

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    We don't really know, which one, this person was, necessarily. And there were many disputes, over such matters, where normally, they were settled, by the rabbi. And so, that's why, this man, came to Jesus, to settle this dispute. And Jesus said, you're completely, missing the point here.

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    And there, he talks about, in that, that lovely, you know, passage there, where he really says, for, there's a lovely translation, I've got here, it says, for even when a man, has more than enough, this does not, give him life. For, even when a man, has more than enough, this does not, give him life.

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    And in this, passage here, what we see here, is that in verse 16, he told in this parable, it wasn't the man, that produced a good crop, it was, the ground, God. God, had given him a good crop. It wasn't his at all. It was the ground, of a certain man, that produced a good crop.

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    But the problem was, is that this, this rich man, then goes on and says, what does he say? This is what, I'll do. I will tear down my barns, and build big ones, and there, I will store all my grain, and my goods, and I'll say to my, he goes on, nine times, he talked about himself, as if, he had done it.

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    This isn't about, wealth per se, this is about, the completely wrong focus. This is about, looking at, himself, at his greed. And this man here, is Nabal, Nabal of the New Testament. That's what this man is. Think about, Nabal of the Old Testament. And what does Nabal mean? It means, fool, and he was.

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    Why? Because Nabal said, shall I, take my bread, and my water? It's not his at all. Why? Because in the end, the cards go back in the box.

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    So, the two warnings, is that first one from Luke 12, verse 13 to 21. But there's another warning, and that one comes, in 1 Peter. 1 Peter, let's have a look at that one.

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    1 Peter, and, let's look at chapter 1. And this is where, where Peter identifies, and realises, our situation. And he says, at the very start, and just, just remember what Peter was, previously, how he had changed, how he transformed, from being, the fisherman, to a godly man. And he starts off, right at the very beginning, and he says there, in verse 1, to God's elect, strangers, in the world.

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    He reckoned, I think some translation says, aliens, or exiles, or foreigners. He recognises, what we are. That's what we are. We are strangers, and foreigners, and exiles, in this world. We are not built, for this world. And then in verse 17, it says the same thing. Since you call, on a father, who judges, each man's work, impartially, live your lives, as strangers, here, in reverent fear.

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    That is our job. Just flip back, to Hebrews 11. Keep your finger in, Peter. If you flip back, to Hebrews chapter 11. And of course, we have, in Hebrews 11, that, I like to call it, the hall of fame, of faith. And, just have a look, in verse 13. And what is the hallmark, of those individuals?

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    It says there, in verse 13, all these people, were still living, by faith, when they died. They did not receive, the things, promised. They only saw them, and welcomed them, from a distance. And they admitted, that they were aliens, and strangers, on earth.

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    Why, why, why were they there? Why are they put, in Hebrews 11? Because, they realised, their situation. Noah, I said, Noah is a, really interesting example. Just think about, about Noah. Noah probably, had never, ever seen rain before. Pretty certain, that he'd never seen, a flood before. And pretty certain, he'd never seen, a boat before.

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    And God comes along, and says, it's going to rain, you're going to have a flood, and I want you, to build a boat. I'd have said, can you just run, that over me again? Not Noah. He gets on, and does it.

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    And, I don't quite know, how long it took, I try to look into this, and this is an interesting one, somebody might like, come and tell me later, how long it took, from the first time, that God said to Noah, go and build a boat, the time it flooded. I read one commentary, and they said, it was over a hundred years.

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    I know that when Shem, Ham and Japheth, went on the ark, they were a hundred years old, at that stage. What I do know, is it says, in one, no need to look at it, but in one Peter three, verse 20, it actually says, that God, patiently, waited, while Noah, built the ark.

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    So, I sort of used to have this impression, when I was younger, actually, a couple of years ago even, so not so young, actually, that, as soon as God said, go and build an ark, and, in a couple of years, the ark was built, and then it flooded. I don't think, it was probably like that.

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    Let's say, it was 50 years. How do you think, Noah felt, after he built the ark, let's say it took him, six, seven years to build the ark, how do you think he felt, in year 49? He must have been thinking, oh, I've done this, and all those people are coming, what have you done here?

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    The sea's a long, long way away from here, Noah, and, we're pretty high up, it's going to rain, there's going to be a flood. Right.

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    But he realised, that life, was a temporary assignment, that he was a stranger, and an alien, and that God was getting him ready, for the kingdom. And likewise, Abraham, Abraham was well off, he had many possessions, and God said to him, I want you to leave this, the Ur of the Chaldeans, was a nice place, they had two storey houses, they even had a sewage system, and in those days, that was, that was, seriously, advanced, and civilisation, and God said, I want you to leave this, and, I'm going to take you somewhere else.

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    Did Abraham say, you need to just tell me, a lot more about this God, map it out for me, tell me where we're going, and a time schedule, no, he just, he just packed up, and he went, to Haram, and then finally on to Canaan. And then God, of course, promised him a son, and then he said, and now I want you to kill him.

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    Sorry? Just want you to kill him. Life is a temporary assignment. I'm a stranger, I'm a sojourner, and God is getting me ready, for the kingdom. And those men of faith, are, are great examples to me, not to get, all entrenched, and worried about, today. That's not what this life is about. God is not interested, in my status, in my popularity, in my wealth, in my achievements, in my reputation.

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    He's not even interested, in how I feel. He is only, only interested, in preparing me, for eternity. And that's what he's interested, only, in you as well. because he's built you, and me, such that we can have, a relationship with him, forever. And this, is just getting us ready for that. 1 Peter.

84. 33:10

    1 Peter 1. Let's have a look at, 1 Peter 1, and, verse, yeah, verse 6 to 7. So, 1 Peter 1, and verse 6 to 7, says this. In this, you greatly rejoice, though now, for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief, in all kinds of trials. So, when you go through, those problems at work, those problems, with your neighbours, those worries that you have, it says, in this you greatly rejoice, though now, for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief, in all kinds of trials.

85. 33:51

    These have come, so that your faith, of greater worth than gold, much better than all that wealth, that we've accumulated, which perishes, even though refined by fire, may be proved, genuine, and may result, in praise, glory, and honour, when Jesus Christ, is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him, and are filled with an inexpressible, inexpressible, and glorious joy.

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    We're being prepared, brothers and sisters. That's the purpose of this life. That is our situation. Just like the children of Israel. Israel. When they came out of Egypt, it is an 11 day journey, from Egypt, to the promised land.

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    But when they came out of Egypt, and they came to that, first barrier of water, they turned to God, they turned to Moses, and said, what have you done? If only we were back in, in Egypt. And Moses then, of course, parted the water, and they, I love that, they walked through on dry ground.

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    Isn't that lovely? But when God blesses, he really blesses. It wasn't like muddy ground, it was dry ground. But God realised, that here was a nation, that needed to be prepared, for the promised land. And it took 40 years, to do that. And when they came, to another stretch of water, God said to them, and of course, it was the River Jordan, which was springtime, and, the waters would have been, really high, and flowing fast.

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    And God said, what I want you to do, is get the Levites, carry the Ark of Covernance, on their shoulders, and walk into the water.

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    And they did. And the moment, that the water, touched the ankles, of the Levites, so God, stopped the water, up at Adam, and they walked through, on dry ground.

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    This, was a different people. Not just physically, but spiritually, but spiritually as well. But it took 40 years, to prepare, this people. And, when you think about, the children of Israel, I don't know how many of you, have ever been to, to Israel. Sally and I, and the children, a couple of years ago, we, we walked up Mount Sinai.

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    And, you might think that, that parts of, of Palm Springs, or not even the Palm Springs, but out there, the desert looks, looks bad. You want to go to Sinai. That, is, desolate. We walked up at night, because you can't walk, in the day. It is, so hot. So, we walked up at night, up Mount Sinai, to watch the sunrise.

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    And, when we were walking, we looked at, at the countryside. It was, desolate. We had, loads of water with us, and we were walking at night. I tell you what, how was it, for the children of Israel? It would have been, searing heat for them. I believe, that the cloud, that looked after them, by day, was covering them, absolutely.

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    And, that protected them. But, the countryside, was desolate. Where were they going? No wonder, they complained to God, I would have done. But, God, was making them realise, that this is, a temporary assignment. He is, moulding us, getting us ready, preparing, you and me, for the promised land.

95. 38:13

    And so, finally, this, final passage. You see, in our situation, today, we know, from Romans 8, we know, that in all things, God works for good, for those who love him. How well do we know, that passage? But, we know, we are absolutely sure, it is a certainty, writes Paul. This is, this is not, perhaps, this is, this is a certainty, that in all things, not in some things, but in all things.

96. 38:51

    That's 24-7. God, is so interested, in our salvation, that in all things. The moment, that we get up, in the morning, and we're walking here, God, is interested in us. I remember looking at, a video, a video, that takes me back, a DVD then, a DVD of, our Sunday school party, and, it was showing, everything that was going on, and then there was this shot, of, a row, of, parents, and all these parents, were staring at something.

97. 39:35

    And, the camera then, the camera then, panned, and you saw, they were staring at, their children. And all their children, were doing, they weren't doing anything, fantastic, they were, just playing.

98. 39:52

    And that's how God is. He is so interested, in our lives, that in all things, even when we're just playing, he's there, watching us. Why? Because God works. He is powerful, and effective, and dynamic, in our lives, today. And why? He does it, for good. Now, that doesn't mean, at all, if, you've been following me, for the last, 45 minutes, that it means, that we're going to be, popular, and wealthy, and powerful, he is not interested, in that, one bit.

99. 40:37

    He is working, for good. That means, he is working, for our salvation, for us, to be with him, forever, to have a relationship, with him. That's why. So, we know, we are certain, that in absolutely, everything, even when we're playing, God works, for good, for our salvation, for being there, for you and me.

100. 41:05

     Why? Because we love him. So, what does that mean then? It means, that all of our problems, all of our worries, all of our concerns, God is in control of them. He knows all about them. He's present with them. Some of them may well, have been induced by him. But he knows about them.

101. 41:28

     And they are there, for the good. But they're temporary. And they have a purpose. So, what is the conclusion? As Solomon would say, what do we have then, here, in the conclusion, of the matter? The conclusion of the matter, for our situation, is this. Brothers and sisters, this life, is temporary. And so often, so often, I forget that.

102. 42:02

     I'm so worried about, you know, what I'm doing at work, or what's going on with my family, that I forget. But eventually, the cards go back in the box. and also this.

103. 42:21

     It has a purpose. And what's that purpose? That purpose, and it might be 70, 80, 90, 30, 40 years. I don't know. only God knows, how long you have, on this earth, as a temporary assignment, to fulfil a purpose. And that purpose is, solely, to prepare, you, and me, for the time, when we will live, with God, forever, and forever, have that, relationship with him.

104. 43:02

     Because that, is the purpose, for which we were made. And do you know what? Ours is, therefore, the only life, worth living. Amen.