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Anthony Whitehorn - Class 4: Our Responsibilities

March 8, 2021 45 min

Class 2 from this series was used for GCT Episode 131.

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

  1. 0:00

    This is day four of the 2008 Idlewild Bible School. Our second period teacher is Brother Anthony Whitehorn. His general topic is a life worth living. Today's topic is Our Responsibilities, part one. Brother Anthony. Thank you. Well, good morning, everybody. Okay. When I was in Japan around about, oh, a long time ago now, first time I went there, I'd spent a whole week eating sushi, which is basically raw fish. And on the last day, I looked at the menu for breakfast, and I noticed, or I hadn't noticed before, and it said, English breakfast. I ordered that, and it came. And we had, I had two fried eggs, a couple of rashers of bacon. Fabulous. Two big, thick pork sausages. Fabulous. And some cabbage. It's like you so nearly got there, but you got the cabbage. Why did they put cabbage? Last night, we had an English roast dinner. You had English roast lamb. You had nice baked potatoes. You had carrots.

  2. 1:22

    You had those beans. And you had a fairy cake. You guys, you guys, you told me it was cornbread. That's not cornbread. That, to me, is a fairy cake. It looks just like a little fairy cake that we have at tea time. It's not right. You know, I need to teach you what a good roast dinner is. Anyway, that was yesterday. This is today. We're now going to go and talk about, well, let's think what we've been talking about so far. So, so far, we've been looking at our situation. And our situation, if you remember the first day, was, we're dead. Cars go back in the box. We're right down here. And when we're down here, it is a hopeless situation.

  3. 2:08

    But actually, it isn't checkmate after all. Why? Because our status has been changed. We have that opportunity if we just trust, just rely on God's grace, that it is sufficient that we can move from down here, a hopeless situation, and it's not checkmate after all. And we come up here to this status of living in grace. And it doesn't happen at the end of our life at judgment. It happens now. And so, what is, as we looked at yesterday, what is our response to that? Well, there are two responses. The first response is, what is our attitude? We're up here now. We're living in this state of grace. What is our attitude?

  4. 2:56

    And yesterday, we realised that our attitude should be one of being like a piece of clay, allowing God to mould us, to make us into a pot, which he wants us to be, not into a pot that we really want to be ourselves, and being rigid and close-minded. Because naturally, that's how we are. So that's our attitude. And we also realise that our response should be some actions. What are those actions? And that's what we're going to be looking at today and tomorrow. I want to start off by giving you two scenarios. My daughter. My daughter comes to me, first of all, and she gives me, she sits on my lap and she gives me lots of hugs and kisses and strokes. I thought that's my hair. My balding head. Okay? And gives me a kiss on the head there. And she seems really loving to me. Why? Because she wants me to pay for a ticket for her to go to the movies. That's scenario one. Scenario two. I bought her a ticket to go to the movies. She comes home. She comes and sits on my lap. She strokes my balding head. She hugs me and she kisses my balding head. Which of those two are better?

  5. 4:31

    Absolutely. It's the second one, isn't it? Because the first one, she was doing something in order to try and get something. But the second one, she did it as a response as what had been done for her. The thing is, is that her actions looked exactly the same. But her motives were completely different. And that's what's so important about our response and our actions.

  6. 5:06

    You see, I put it to you that God is actually not really interested in what we do. He's not really interested in the things that we do. He is only interested in why we do them. We might teach in Sunday school. We might clean the hall. We might do the flowers. He's actually not interested in what you do. He's interested in why you are doing it. So why do we do those things?

  7. 5:45

    Why do we do those things in the meeting? In our lives? Do we do it in order to try and curry favour with God? In order to sort of, we know it's not, we're not going to, but sort of, you know, get up the pecking list in terms of earning our way to the kingdom. Is that why we do those things? Or do we do it as a response as to what has been already done for us? And that's really, really important. And that's something that I have learnt over the last five years or so, as to my reason for doing things is not because I want to curry favour with God, it's because what God has already done for us. He's already bought me the movie ticket.

  8. 6:44

    I'm already in this state of grace and because of that, I should be motivated to go off and do things. And that's completely different from trying to do something in order to get something. So, those are the actions and that's the motivation behind it and that's why I've tried to lead us to where we are now in terms of our situation, our status and therefore our response and why we do things. And what two things should we do? Well, we talked about it really yesterday.

  9. 7:23

    The two responsibilities as Christians are these. We should be transformers. We should change absolutely we should change. That's why we are like pieces of clay. We should not be the same person as we were yesterday or the day before. This is a progression. But also, and what I'm really going to talk about, because I talked about transformers at Palm Springs, this is what I'm going to be talking about.

  10. 7:52

    We are stewards. We should look after what we have been given. So, let's think now, for the rest of this session, about that idea of stewardship. We've been given certain things. So, let's now, because of that, because we live in this state of grace, let's now move forward. Let's think a little bit about what stewardship is. Well, there you go. A Greek word, two Greek words for it, really. The first Greek word is epitropos, which means a manager. Epi means above or over. Anthropos is a way, a character, a style, a mode. And oikonomos, which is overseer. And oikos means family. Nomos, to pass and out, to protect, to separate. Now, it's mentioned, despite, when you think about it, you know, this is our responsibility as Christians. Our responsibility is to transform and to steward. And yet, stewardship is mentioned only 12 times in the scriptures. Actually, one of them was mentioned last night. Do you know which one it was? The ant? Absolutely. So, there's one of them. We shall not do the other 11. But absolutely.

  11. 9:14

    So, the ant doesn't have an overseer, it said. So, this is our responsibility as a steward. Now then, what is stewardship then? As you now already know, I gave a seriously expensive and a very sentimental watch to Linda last night. There it is. Linda, how do you feel about looking after it? Oh, I was very careful.

  12. 9:48

    Careful. I was very honoured. Okay. I was very respectful. I felt really precious. Okay, good. So, she felt honoured about it. It was really precious. She looked after it. And showed it off. And you showed it off. Okay. That is actually some really interesting concepts. And did you use it? I sure did.

  13. 10:08

    Okay. Okay. Actually, that is really interesting. I've done this once before at a conference. And I gave it to somebody. And they were really worried about it. And what they did is, they also kept it overnight. So, what they did is, they took it away and they put it in a drawer in a drawer and locked the drawer up. And then the next morning, they got it out and they came to the little class that we had and they gave it straight back to me. You're going to be giving it back to me, okay? Just to let you know that bit.

  14. 10:36

    And there's an interesting contrast there. Because what happened here is that Linda actually went around showing it off and used it. Whereas the other person made sure that it was all protected and locked it away. Let's just think a little bit about then what stewardship... Which of those two is stewardship. Because they both looked after it. Here is a working definition that I've just put together as to what I think stewardship, our responsibility today, happens to be. I put it to you that it is a way of life in which we regard ourselves and our possessions as a trust from God. To be used in his service as a response to what he has done for us.

  15. 11:33

    Now, we're going to sort of dig into some of those to see whether my proposition as a definition is worthwhile. And I'm saying here it's a way of life. It's not just something that we happen to do on a Sunday. But it's something that we do 24-7. And we look at ourselves, individuals.

  16. 11:54

    So God has given us our personality that we have to steward, I'm suggesting. And our possessions. He's given us money. He's given us a house. He's given us our family. And it's a trust. It ain't ours. It's just on loan. I'm going to be having that watch back at the end of this session. And that's the same with God. It's not mine. It's his.

  17. 12:28

    And the key thing there, it is to be used. How? In his service. Why? As a response. To what he's already done for us. He's put us in this state of grace. And I want to use the things that he's already given me in his service. Let's now, what we're going to be doing now, we're going to do a little bit of Bible exegesis. We're going to have a look at a few passages. They're going to come up on here. So there's no need necessarily to turn them up. If you want to, you can do. I don't mind. And that's where Peter got to. As I said on the very first day, what I'm trying to do here is actually summarise the first epistle of Peter. And we're now actually at around about, parts of this is up at about chapter four. We've done the situation. We've done the status. We've done the response. And now we're in responsibilities. And it says this, each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful servants of God's grace in its various forms. So here it says, each of you, every single, it doesn't say some of you, it says each of you or all of you, every single one of us should put it in a drawer. No, no, should use. The Christian life is an active life. It is a dynamic life. It is a purposeful life. Therefore, use is a really important word in terms of stewardship. Whatever gift. And it's on loan. It's been given to us. It's completely undeserved. And God said, yep, I like your dick. There you

  18. 14:16

    go. I'm going to give you this type of personality. That's yours. Now go and use it. Why? Why? To serve others. You know, I gloss over that so many times. That's why he's given us this gift. To serve others. If you ever look at Galatians, don't need to turn it up. Galatians 6 verse 2 is a really interesting passage. And it says, carry one another's burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ. If ever you look at the good news version, that's the one with the pictures in it. There's a great picture. There's a really, really good picture on the good news version depicting this passage. And what it does is it shows somebody carrying a burden, which is going behind them. And then somebody lifting up that burden and carrying their own burden. And there's somebody behind lifting up that burden and so it goes in a long line. What is quite interesting as well is that they have quite big burdens. Just think, if you had a little burden, it'd actually be quite difficult, wouldn't it, for the other person and you've got this big one. And that's why it's important as well to show other people that you have a burden to carry. You know, a number of people have talked to me in the last couple of days about, I think it was on the first session, I talked about depression. And that depression was one of the, it is the biggest malady that is taken to doctors in the UK. And from what everybody's saying, it's exactly the same in the States. We are rife with depression. And I tell you what,

  19. 16:05

    that is not immune from our community. We have many people in our community who are depressed. Our problem is, is that we don't tell anybody else about it. We wear those faces in our churches because everybody else seems to be doing fine. Oh, if I have an ailment, a physical ailment, you can see that and we all feel sorry for you. But depression or a mental ailment, oh, we don't want to be sharing that one because that shows weakness. We should be. Confess your sins, your problems to each other. And so in that way, your burden will be there for other people to lift up.

  20. 16:51

    And that is a responsibility. There are people in this room who are fabulous, fabulous at caring. The trouble is, is that they can't use that gift very well because they don't know that you need caring. So, Galatians 6 verse 2 is, carry one another's burdens because you'll be able to see them. And so fulfil the law of Christ. We all know John 3, 16. And isn't the Bible wonderful?

  21. 17:22

    Because how many of you know one John 3, 16? Let's just look at it. John 3, 16. For God to love the world, he gave his one and only Son, who shall believe in him, shall not perish. Now then, John 3, 16. 1 John 3, 16 says, This is how we know what love is.

  22. 17:52

    Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. Isn't that wonderful how John 3, 16 links in with 1 John 3, 16? And that's our responsibility. Is to share one another's burdens. And so fulfil the law of Christ. And serve each other. That is why we've been given a gift.

  23. 18:23

    That is stewardship. And what does it say there? As faithful stewards of God's grace. God's grace has many facets. And you are just displaying some of them.

  24. 18:44

    I am displaying just some of God's grace facets. And we have a responsibility to show them. That's what that passage is saying to you and me. So it's all about using. It's all about serving each other. And it's all about as a response to God's grace. Okay. So that's the first bit. Let's now have a look at another passage.

  25. 19:11

    In terms of thinking about stewardship. So Romans 12, verse 4 to 8. I'll read it to you. For just as each of us has one body with many members. And these members do not all have the same function. So in Christ we, though many form one body. And each part belongs to all the others.

  26. 19:32

    We have different gifts. According to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying. Hey, then prophesy in accordance with your faith. If it's serving, then serve. If it's teaching, then teach. If it's to encourage, then give encouragement. If it is giving, then give generously. If it's to lead, then lead diligently.

  27. 19:54

    If it's to show mercy, do it cheerfully. The great thing there is, is that we have different gifts. We are not all the same. I said before, we all look completely different. There's nobody in here who actually looks identical. We're all slightly different. That's how we can identify each other. And so it is with our gifts.

  28. 20:18

    We all have different gifts. There is nobody in here who's got the same gifts. Nobody. And I like that bit there where it says that and each part belongs to all the others. We belong to each other. We don't go to a church. We are the church. We are part of this body.

  29. 20:52

    And being part of that body, we have a responsibility as well. And what is that responsibility? That responsibility is to use the gifts that we have been given by God. Because it says, we have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us. It's been given to us. There's nothing that I've done.

  30. 21:14

    And isn't it sad when people say, oh, if only I was like so and so. Or I wish I could do such and such.

  31. 21:27

    Actually, that's not what God wants you for. He doesn't want you to be like so and so. He doesn't want me to be able to do the things that you can do. We should be grateful for what God has given us. How he's made us. He's made us completely different. And thank God that he has.

  32. 21:47

    And of course, it then goes on and says, use it. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy. How should you do it? In accordance with your faith. If it's serving, well then serve. And teaching, teach. If it's to encourage, well then give encouragement. If it's giving, well I tell you what, don't just give.

  33. 22:08

    Give generously. And if it's to lead, then lead diligently. And if it's to show mercy, well do it cheerfully. And I love some of those ones down there because we would understand that someone who perhaps can prophesy or someone who can do something that's quite dramatic, we'd say, that's a real gift from God.

  34. 22:32

    But what about encouragement? Would you say that encouragement was a gift from God? Well, not really. Absolutely it is. And in fact, it's exactly the same in terms of the hierarchy as it is in prophesying. There's no league table saying, the speaker, whoa, that's a great gift. But the person in the audience who listens, oh, that's a much lower gift.

  35. 23:01

    I tell you what, you're miles more important than I am. And the reason being is that if you weren't here, actually, I would look really sad. But you'd get anybody to come up here.

  36. 23:16

    And you don't know what a great gift it is. There's a brother in our meeting who has the gift of listening. What do you mean listening? When you are a speaker, and speakers who know this, you look at your audience. It is so great when you've got someone in the audience nodding their head.

  37. 23:35

    You're going to be nodding your head now, aren't you? They're nodding their head and looking at you, and you can tell that they're with you. That's actually a real gift. It's a real gift for a member of the audience to be able to do that. I'm not very good at it. Some people have been given that gift.

  38. 23:52

    And it is so, it is almost a gift. Well, it is. It's a gift of encouragement. Use it. Let's now have a look at a tricky passage in terms of stewardship. Here we go. You probably can't read it. I'm going to read it to you. It's Luke 16, and it's the first eight verses.

  39. 24:16

    Jesus told his disciples there was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, what is this that I hear about you? Give an account of your management because you cannot be manager any longer. The manager said to himself, well, what shall I do now?

  40. 24:35

    My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg. I know what I'll do, so that when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses. So he called in each of the master's debtors, and he said to the first, tell me, how much do you owe my master?

  41. 24:54

    Ooh, 800 gallons of olive oil, he replied. The manager told him, take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it 400. Then he asked the second, and how much do you owe? A thousand bushels of wheat, he replied. He told him, take your bill and make it 800. The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.

  42. 25:18

    For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, you'll be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will be dishonest with much.

  43. 25:42

    So if you have been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he'll be devoted to the one and despise the other.

  44. 26:03

    You cannot serve both God and money. The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men. But God knows your heart. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight. That's a tricky one, that one, isn't it?

  45. 26:27

    And I've read so many different commentaries on this. Just point out a couple of things, first of all. It says there, in verse 6, How much do you owe my master? Eight hundred gallons of olive oil. You know how, whenever it was, a couple of days ago, we talked about that, when we talked about grace, and we said that Jesus' parables were ludicrous.

  46. 26:54

    This is absolutely ludicrous. Eight hundred gallons of olive oil is a complete year's crop of 450 olive trees. There is no way that somebody would owe that amount. That is a losing amount. And what else does he owe? He owes, this other person owes, a thousand bushels of wheat. That is a year's crop from a hundred acres of land.

  47. 27:25

    There is no way that someone would owe that amount. But that's how much God's grace is. It's ludicrous in its generosity. And what has the servant, the steward, been doing with that? Well, it sort of says that he's commended, but if you say he's because he acted shrewdly, it says there in verse eight.

  48. 28:03

    And in the Septuagint, that is exactly the same word that is used in Genesis three, verse one, about the serpent. I would therefore suggest that actually it isn't a particularly good trait. But the real key is that verse nine, I tell you, the worldly, I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, you'll be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

  49. 28:30

    Oh, what's all that about? Well, just remember, first of all, who was Jesus referring to these stewards? Who were these stewards? Well, we know in verse 15, at the bottom there, that God, that Jesus was saying, these stewards are the Pharisees. That's who you are. You are the stewards. Okay. So that verse nine, what does it actually mean?

  50. 28:56

    If you've got an authorized version, it's a, it's a much better translation because it says in the authorized, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. Now, make yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. Now, that word friends of is the Greek word ek, ek, ek, and it can be translated as friends of or friends away from.

  51. 29:30

    So let's just read it in a different way. Make to yourselves friends away from the mammon of unrighteousness. friends. In other words, don't make friends with mammon. Why? So that when mammon is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Because what the Pharisees had done is they had diluted what they were in charge of.

  52. 30:02

    And it seemed in everybody's eyes that they were doing a good job. And Jesus is saying, you are bad stewards. Why? You've diluted the responsibility that God has given you.

  53. 30:15

    And where there should be a thousand bushels, actually, you've only got 800. And so they were not good stewards. They had actually used the world to make friends with the world and endear themselves to the world. And God said, that's no good. Because God was, of course, the master, the rich man. The Pharisees were the stewards.

  54. 30:46

    But this isn't about the Pharisees. This is about you and me. Because we have been given gifts. And the question is, are we trustworthy with them? Are we using them responsibly? Are we even using them? Or are we diluting those gifts that God has given us? Turn if you would to Luke. Luke chapter 12.

  55. 31:24

    Luke 12, verse 47 and 48. Here's one. Here's one that really sort of pokes us in the eye. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

  56. 32:05

    Let's read that last bit again. From everyone, verse 48, from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. We have been given a huge amount. In the teenage class, one of the things we looked at, we looked at money.

  57. 32:29

    And we did a little bit of research and we realised that all of us here, on this camp, are in the top 1% in the world in terms of wealth. All of us. We've been given a huge amount of money. And we've been given this. And we'll be talking a lot more about that tomorrow.

  58. 32:51

    In terms of this is a wonderful gift. That just by being here, we've got a major responsibility to use. And are we diluting it? Are we being like the Pharisees? Because much has been given to us and entrusted to us, but much more will be asked. So we have a responsibility. responsibility.

  59. 33:15

    And that's of course the parable of the talents and the minors. There are two parables. Stupidly enough, a couple of months ago I didn't realise there were two different parables. I thought there was just one, but there's two. There's the minors and there's the talents. The difference between the two, you all know this, is that on the minors, they were all given one minor.

  60. 33:37

    But on the talents, they were given five, two, and one. And that's the difference. Sometimes we're all given exactly the same gift. That'll be this one. That's the minor. But on the talents, we've all been given different gifts. And of course, we still have responsibility to use them whatever they happen to be.

  61. 34:06

    And isn't it interesting, is that Linda used the talent that she was given but the other person that I gave it to, they put it in a drawer and locked it up. How similar is that to the person who's given the one talent? Who said, I knew you to be a hard man and so I hid it.

  62. 34:31

    And what did the master say? He said, you wicked and lazy person. Wow, that's a bit strong, isn't it? It's a bit strong because actually, he hadn't done anything wrong. No. Because he hadn't done anything. And that's what Jesus was saying. Jesus is saying, hey, it's no good not doing anything. You have to do something.

  63. 35:03

    And that is the key to the talent that we have been given. And that's what he was castigated for. Because he really didn't know the master.

  64. 35:15

    Because that therefore said he had no faith. He was still down here. And he hadn't stepped up to here. And as a response to what God has given him, think, then I need to use it. He was down here all afraid. It's no good being afraid. We've got to get up here and use it.

  65. 35:34

    So let's go back to that original quote that I said or original idea that I put forward about Christian stewardship. I said it's a way of life. I said in which we regard ourselves and our possessions as a trust from God. It's on loan to be used absolutely. How? In his service. Why?

  66. 35:59

    As a response to what has been done for us. You know, the best selling chair in the United States is the lazy boy. You're all nodding. You know it. Strangely enough, it's not called the work hard boy.

  67. 36:23

    And the manufacturer of lazy boy, they have made millions out of it. That's how we are. We like just sitting around. And we like having a remote control, don't we Fratelli? Did you know? Did you know? Amazing this. Did you know you can now get a remote control whereby when you clap your hands because you've lost it, it will beep.

  68. 36:52

    The amazing thing is that half of you are thinking I need one of those. And that's how we've got to. That is our whole nature in life. It is about just taking it easy. But we should be motivated because what has been done for us to get up and do. Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5.

  69. 37:33

    verse 16. Ephesians 5. Verse 16. Says this in my version. For him the whole body, that's the wrong one. Turn over the page. It says, making the most, so be very careful in verse 15. Be very careful then how you live. Not as unwise but as wise. Making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.

  70. 38:07

    Again, the AV says, I think it puts the better, it says, redeem the time. Redeem, absolutely. That is our response. We should redeem, we should buy back the time. Time. You know, a watch keeps it, a winning team plays for it, a basketball coach asks for it, a punctual person is on it, a conductor beats it, a railway train misses it, but the man of God is told to redeem it.

  71. 38:40

    That is our responsibility. Why? Why is it that when you get on an aircraft, that you're sitting on a seat and it might have cost you $400. There's a guy sitting next to you on his seat, he's going exactly the same direction as you and that seat has cost him $20. That seems unfair, doesn't it?

  72. 38:58

    I'll tell you for why. The reason being is that it's a perishable commodity. When it's gone, it's gone. And they realise that actually, if we don't sell it for $20, we ain't going to get anything for it. That's exactly the same with time. It's perishable. You can't get back the last five minutes.

  73. 39:23

    It's gone. So make the most of every opportunity. Use the gift that God has absolutely given us. Because it will never ever happen again. And that's what Jim was talking about last night, about the ant. That's the role of the ant. He realised that he had to make the most of every opportunity.

  74. 39:47

    We have to do something. We bought for my daughter a doll's house house when she was about six. And it had written on the outside, some assembly required.

  75. 40:03

    Her birthday is what, doll's house, is that right? Yes, fine, okay. My wife does some translation every now and then, so that's good. Okay, so, her birthday, my daughter's birthday is on August the 30th. On August the 29th at about nine o'clock, I said to Sally, you really need to do that doll's house now.

  76. 40:25

    Not a problem. Hey, yeah. I get to this box, I open it up, it looks like firewood. I then presented my daughter with just the box and the firewood in it and I said to this is your present, we'll make it up for you.

  77. 40:49

    I gave it to my father-in-law and he eventually put it together and he gave it back to her at Christmas. Some assembly required your kitty. It was a serious amount of assembly required but actually that's what it says on our box as well. It says some assembly required.

  78. 41:13

    You've got all bits, the trump is it looks like firewood at the moment and we have a responsibility to put it together. God's principle is do something, absolutely do something but I also promise you, he said, I will never ever abandon you. You're up here, your job now is to get on and do it because what I've done for you, but don't worry you're not on your own.

  79. 41:37

    The trouble is, you've got to take the first step. Think about poor old Naaman, there he was, he went out, wash, wash, wash, wash, wash, wash, wash, wash, wash, wash, wash, wash, seven times, and what do you feel on the sixth time? It's still there, I'm still leprous. It wasn't until the seventh time that God acted.

  80. 41:57

    And that's how it is throughout scripture. Noah, 120 years, I've now been told it's 120 years since he was told that he was to build the art right the way through and then God acted and brought the flood. That's how God works, but he says you take the first step. I'm not going to leave you and then I will act.

  81. 42:17

    That's his principle. There's a great book called Art and Fear and it's a book on teaching ceramics. You're going to be out and getting that one, aren't you? And in that there's a little experiment that was done by a teacher of ceramics. What he did is he got two groups. The first group he said right, all I want you to do is I want you to make as many pots as possible.

  82. 42:43

    He said to the second group, I want you to make the best pot you possibly can. Just one. Do you know what? the best quality pot was made by the people who had made lots of them.

  83. 42:58

    And that's the thing. You see, we learn from our mistakes. And that's what this is all about. This is Timothy. 2 Timothy 1 verse 14. So, keep at your work his faith and love rooted in Christ exactly as I set it out for you. It's the sound of the day you first heard it from me.

  84. 43:23

    Guard this precious thing placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit which works in us. We're to guard it. We're to nurture it. It's like a parent looking after the child.

  85. 43:37

    We have custody over it. And the Holy Spirit will work in us. God will work in us if we take the first step. That's what the scriptures say.

  86. 43:54

    So, what do we realise then? We should be motivated by what he has done for us. Not what we think we can get out of it. And that's completely different.

  87. 44:10

    We are stewards and transformers. we are a doing people. We have different gifts and they are given to different stewards. And there is absolutely no gift which is better than another one.

  88. 44:33

    But we go first and then God actively helps directly in our lives. that's what he says. About the Holy Spirit working in our lives. And Peter picks all of that up in that move that we've been going through in the book of Peter. And says this, Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul.

  89. 45:09

    Live such good lives amongst the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. We should be active, we should be doing good deeds, but what are those good deeds? Well, that's what we're going to be talking about tomorrow.

  90. 45:31

    God.

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