Anthony Whitehorn - Class 5: Our Responsibity

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 five 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 Two. Let me come through first. Well, good morning brothers and sisters. Good morning. Great. Oh dear. Breakfast. Let me just explain breakfast.

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   It's an English word and it comes from breaking the fast. Because that means that you have not been eating for a long period of time and therefore when you come to breakfast you have nice delicate food. Like porridge. Cereal is good. Reconstituted beans. And spicy relish. No. They are not breakfast foods. That's for dinner. Okay. Toast marmalade. Good. Right. So, you know, we'll get you there. You're going to get there eventually.

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   Okay. So, what have we been thinking about so far? Well, we've been thinking about our situation beginning of the week. The state that we're in. The cars go back in the box. That's it. Finito. We're living under a sentence of death. But our status has changed. We were down there. We were living under God's righteous judgment. And now we are living under God's grace. And it's marvellous.

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   It's a wonderful thing that has been done for us to enable us to live under God's grace now. But it demands a response from us. First of all, in terms of our attitude. Being more like clay than hard pieces of brittle clay. That we should be mouldable. Mouldable? Moulded by him. And also, we should be ready to spring into action. This is not a passive life.

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   What has been done for us requires us. Because we feel motivated. That we want to get up and do things for the Lord Jesus Christ. Because he's done so much for us.

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   You know, there are some famous Americans that we know about. We know about George Bush. We also know about a guy called Larry Walker. Now, some of you might have heard of Larry Walker. If you haven't, let me tell you about him. He's quite famous in our country. Larry Walker was around in the 1980s. Larry Walker is one of those big Americans who used to, on most afternoons, lie outside on his, we say, debt chair.

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   I think you say sun lounger. And he would lie there. And what he thought to himself one day is that he would, well, he would actually tie 45 helium balloons to his lounger. And he did that. And he took with him. Because what he wanted to do is he wanted to float up around about 30 feet above the ground.

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   And what he would do is he'd get his friends, he'd get his friends round and they held on to the lounger. And he tied these 45 helium balloons to the lounger. And he took with him a little pellet gun. Such that as he went up he could shoot the balloons. So actually he could actually then hover it around about 30 feet.

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   He took with him a six pack as well so he could have a little drink while he's up there at 30 feet. As you do. He got his friends round. They tied the 45 helium balloons to his lounger. And they let go.

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    At 16,000 feet, he levelled off. They had to shut LAX. They had to shut Los Angeles airport because he was actually in the flight path. That's a typical American as far as we're concerned.

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    Eventually, he was so scared as he went up that he couldn't shoot the balloons. So he just kept on going up. Eventually he did manage to shoot the balloons and gradually, gradually he came down. He was interviewed at the end of all of this. And he said just five words. And the five words are this.

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    You just can't sit there. And that's our life. That's what the response demands. That's what grace demands of us. You just can't sit there. We have to do something. And now we're thinking about what? What have we got to do? We talked about yesterday that we have responsibilities in terms of stewardship, in terms of looking after certain things.

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    But what are we being given to look after? 1 Peter 4. Because this is how Peter works through. Peter works through exactly the way that I've been talking through. He talks about the situation, the status, the response. And a lot of his letter is all about the responsibilities that we have. 1 Peter 4 and verse 7 to 11 says this.

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    1 Peter 5. In various forms. That's what we should be doing using the gifts that God has given us. So, what gifts? I'm going to look at just four areas. Hopefully this will be very practical as well. And here they go. This is the first area.

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    Luke 12 verse 8 to 9. John 20 verse 21. Again Jesus said, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. Acts 8 verse 31. How can I? He, the Ethiopian eunuch, said, unless someone explains it to me. So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

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    2 Corinthians 5 verse 19. That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ. Not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. Colossians 4 verse 5 to 6. Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders. Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace.

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    Seasoned with salt. So that you may know how to answer everyone. Romans 10 verse 14 to 15. How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

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    And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. 2 Timothy 4 verse 2. Preach the word. Be prepared in season and out of season. Correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. 1 Peter 3 verse 15.

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    But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. What are our responsibilities? I could have gone on. But there were just nine passages there that tells you and me of the stewardship that we have.

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    We've got this. And we have an absolute responsibility. When Jesus returned to heaven, Gabriel met him. And Gabriel said, You must have suffered terribly. And Jesus said, Yes, I did. And Gabriel then turned to him and said, Well, do they know that you love them and what you did for them? And Jesus turned and said, Well, some of them know.

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    Just a handful. Just a few people in Israel. And Gabriel turned to Jesus and said, Well, what have you done to let the rest of the people know? And Jesus said, Well, there's Peter and there's James and there's John. And they can tell the others. And in turn, they can tell other people.

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    Until all of humankind will know. And Gabriel looked at Jesus and said, But what happens when they grow weary? When perhaps they forget or perhaps they're too busy? Have you made any other plans? And Jesus turned to Gabriel and said, No. I've made no other plans. I'm counting on them.

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    And that's our responsibility. You know, God could have written in the sky all the things that Jesus had done for you and me. And for the whole world.

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    But he didn't. The only way of letting people know about this is you and me. Have you ever noticed? Have you ever noticed? It's so easy to spot a young lady who's just got engaged. All of a sudden they become very, very left-handed. And somebody said, Oh, you're engaged. And they go, Oh, did you notice?

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    That's how it is. And why is it? Because they're just so full of the joy of being engaged. And so are we. We are betrothed. And are we going around doing everything left-handed so that people can see it?

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    That parable, that parable about the sower, it's the obvious one about preaching. And of course, it's a ludicrous one. As I keep on saying, when you come to those parables, they are ludicrous. Because it's about God's grace. And God's grace just goes everywhere. It doesn't just go on the good ground. It goes on the path.

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    It goes in the thistles. It goes in the rocks. It isn't discerning at all. It is just thrown everywhere. The trouble is, is that I'm pretty good about hiding behind that little phrase about casting your pearls before swine. Complete misunderstanding, that is, of my part. Because that just means a certain teaching in accordance with their spiritual capacity.

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    But the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ, heck, that's a simple good news that everybody can understand. And we have the responsibility, every single one of us, to personally, all of those knowing quotes, none of them was about me standing up here. they were all about me out there. And that's the responsibility, the stewardship that we have.

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    And I love, out of all of those, well, I don't love this one, but it's the one that is most challenging, where it says, preach, where it says, in season or out of season. And I love that translation where it says, preach, when it's convenient and when it's inconvenient. I am great when it's convenient.

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    When someone has got me to a side and sits me down and says, now tell me all about the Christadelphians then and I'll sit here and listen to you. That's when it's convenient. That happens about once in every 2,000.

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    The other 1,999, that's when it's inconvenient. And that's what we're told to do. Be prepared when it's convenient but absolutely when it's inconvenient. And the thing is, is that we're sitting there and I sit there and I say, actually, I'm no good at it. And I'm a bit of a salesman but actually, I am rubbish at personal preaching.

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    But all of us can hide behind that. And we all do. We all say, the thing is, is that so and so, it's much easier for him because he's got that sales bit in him.

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    Funnily enough, it doesn't say that in any of those passages. It doesn't say, and if you're a salesman, this is going to be a lot easier for you so we expect a lot more of you. But if you're not a salesman, don't worry about it. It doesn't say that at all. It's talking to all of us, every single one of us in this room and says, be prepared when it's convenient and absolutely when it's inconvenient.

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    So, here's a little practical help to personal preaching. The first is this. I've called it raising the flag. And it's this idea that as quickly as you can, whenever we're with somebody, it's to almost raise our flag just so they know the position that we're in. And it's really easy to do that in our conversation.

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    The number of times that I now do it didn't use to be, oh, he was hopeless at it. But with a bit of practice is the number of times I would say, we can talk, we talk about anything. And I can say, oh yes, I was talking to my friend at church last week and actually he does the same as you do.

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    I've just raised the flag. I've just said, yeah, actually I go to church. It's so easy to do just dropping that in saying, this is me, this is where I am. And you're not just hitting someone over the head from the very outset saying, right, I'm going to talk to you all about the gospel.

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    It's just saying, this is where I am. It's the easy way to introduce it. That's how I do it. But also, that's what I call proclamation. Just by raising the flag, just by dropping in this idea that I go to church. The other one is acclamation, which is the things that I do and say.

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    And I have to say, I've had a number of people who've come up to me and say, actually you never swear, do you? Why is that? Great. What an opportunity. So it's just saying, this is where I am in my everyday life. Let me tell you, I am hopeless at it. I do it wrong more times than I do it right.

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    But it takes practice. And that's surely why we're on this earth, isn't it? Is to transform, is to change, is to improve with the stewardship that we've been given. So raising the flag is just saying, this is where I am, just to let you know, this is where I am. And when we've raised that flag, surprisingly enough, we can ask some questions.

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    And the questions might go along the lines, oh, you've got a church, do you? So tell me, what church do you go to? And here we go. I go to the Christadelphian church. Now here we are. They'll always say, what? And actually, it's a great thing. It's a great thing that we are members of a church called the Christadelphian church.

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    It's a massive blessing in preaching. Because, if you just said, I go to the Baptist church, let's go, oh, right, and move on. See, I go to the Christadelphian church, they go, sorry? The Christadelphian church. So already, it's this idea, actually, you're drawing them in. So the Christadelphian church, perhaps sometimes you're a bit embarrassed by it, but to be absolutely honest, it's a great opportunity to preach.

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    So, what do you say now? And this is it, isn't it? What's the next thing that you say? Let me tell you what you might say. You'll say, ah, Christadelphians, well, they don't believe in the immortalities and they don't believe in the Trinity. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on, one moment. That is the natural way of doing things.

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    Let me just, I'll tell you a little story. In the, the rugby, you know what rugby is now, because I mentioned that earlier. Good. The rugby World Cup. Let me just explain World Cup to you. World Cup is when the whole world plays each other, okay, as opposed to World Series when it's just the Americans who play themselves.

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    in the rugby World Cup when England won it, okay, back in 2003, in the very last 11 seconds, the ball came to the fly half. He's, he's the fly half, right? He came to the fly half. A guy called Johnny Wilkinson. Johnny Wilkinson is naturally left-footed. Okay, so the ball comes to him and he's got the Australian pack bearing down towards him.

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    When it came to him, the scrum was over there, it came to him like this. If he had stepped onto his right foot and kicked the ball with his left foot as was natural, he would not have scored the three points that won the World Cup. The ball came to him and in one kick with his right foot he dropped the goal and it went over.

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    How did he do that? It was completely unnatural. He did it because he had trained many, many times that if the ball came to him like that he could in one kick knock the ball over. And it happened in the World Cup. So we have a responsibility that when we are asked what do the Christadelphians believe who don't naturally say as we would kicking left-footed well they don't believe this and they don't believe that I would suggest.

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    we have to train ourselves to kick with the right foot. What do we say? Well, I would suggest that we might say something like this. First of all be positive about it. And secondly can I suggest that we say I and not they. You see being positive actually draws people even further into you.

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    And also when you're saying I it's me. It's all about me. It's not about this mysterious body over there. It's about me. What do I say? Well, I always start off by saying well I obviously believe that there's one God and that he has written to me in the Bible. and I leave it there.

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    People will always say after that and say yeah, okay but how are you different from everybody else? And in doing that you're actually drawing them further in. Do you give them everything all at once? That's it. You've answered all their questions. But just saying well, I believe in one God and I believe that he's communicating to me through the Bible.

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    Yeah, but the Christadelphians then what's so different about them? And I will always say well I go along to Christadelphian church because that's where I feel that I can get have the closest relationship with God. And one of the reasons of that is because we are a little bit different in the way that we run our services.

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    We are not told by an individual what we should believe. What we have is we have the Bible and we don't have a pastor or a clergyman. We have individuals like myself who sometimes stands up in front of people and says this is what I think the Bible is telling me. it's incredibly democratic.

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    The number of people who go wow that's really interesting and it's a global organisation as well. Now you've been very very positive about the whole of the Christadelphians you've talked about what you like about it your association with it and you've told them a huge amount about it. You have said this is important you have said it's about a relationship with God and it's about your relationship with God and the church enables and facilitates that.

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    Now in doing all of that and this is just what I do and it's by no means the right way of doing it because we are all different and by doing all of that you've actually drawn people into you.

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    Out of interest how many of you here have ever ever been asked what do the Christadelphians believe? Oh that's everybody. how many of you here believe that you will be asked what do the Christadelphians believe again? How many think they'll be asked oh they are. So let me just think this one through.

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    If I were in business in my company and one of my salesmen said to me I said to one of my salesmen now this problem is going to come up and it's always coming up how are you going to deal with it? And he says no idea. He wouldn't last very long in my company.

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    Why do we run our spiritual lives like that as well? We know it's going to come up. We have a responsibility to train ourselves. It is a discipline absolutely it is. Paul writes to Timothy and says train yourself in godliness. this is part of that responsibility that we have.

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    Here's something else that you might find helpful that is a bit of a challenge for you as well. It's this one. There's a brother at my church who is a great preacher. He's a tyre fitter. I don't know what you'd call tyre fitters. A tyre. You know tyre. You understand that bit. Fitter.

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    He fits tyres. So he's a tyre fitter. He's a mechanic. And he rubs shoulders with some real roughnecks. And he has brought more people to the meeting than anybody else.

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    And he is a great, great brother. And for a year we had this little thing going. And he said to me on one Sunday, he said to me, who do you talk to about Jesus this week? Oh dear. And I said, well who have you talked to? And he then listed a few people, which made me feel really embarrassed.

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    And what we then did is every Sunday for a year, we went up to each other and we asked each other and said, so who have you talked about Jesus this week? He always had two or three people that he talked about Jesus in the week. It was fantastic when I'd actually talked to somebody about Jesus this week.

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    I could actually say to him, yep, I talked to so and so this week. Encourage one another to good works. Isn't that why we are in a church together? I would ask, how about that? Just going up to somebody this week and say, do you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to ask you to ask me next Sunday who I've talked to about Jesus this week.

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    There's a challenge. Provoke one another to good works. That's what we should be doing. Now, the thing is, is that I can already feel you're a bit worried about this. Okay, just remember this. Preaching starts on your knees, not on your feet.

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    Now, what Dave does, this brother, what he does is he says every morning on his way to work, he prays and he asks God for an opportunity. how many of us in here believe that God answers prayers?

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    Absolutely right. Do you think he really, really would like to give us opportunities? Absolutely right. So here we are, we're now praying a prayer to God saying please give me an opportunity to preach today. I promise you he'll give you an opportunity. Ooh.

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    Now, that's when it becomes really scary. So, that's the issue. That's the thing that I put towards you now and for me, that this will happen, that we have a responsibility in terms of stewardship right here and we have been encouraged to use it. So, the first point is personal preaching. The second point is personality.

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    I've talked about this a little bit already in terms of we are all very, very different. Let's just turn to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10. And it says this. For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works. That's why we're created to do good works.

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    To be stewards of the things that we've been given. Which God prepared in advance for us to do. And we can't use that excuse that, actually, if only I was a slightly different person. That's not on. God's made me the way that I am. He's made, I always pick on Dick, it's great.

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    He's made Dick the way Dick is as well. And that's important. Dick has a responsibility to use the personality that God has given him. When you look at the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Galilee is full of life. Why? Because it takes in water from Mount Hermon and it gives out water into the River Jordan.

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    A little bit lower down is the Dead Sea. It is stagnant, there is no life. Why? Because it takes in water, but it never ever gives out water.

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    We are a particular type of personality. We have to use it. And you might say, yeah, but I'm a bit different to everybody else. Dead right you are.

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    But the thing is that God deals with all of that and he made us the way that we are. Think about Jacob. Jacob was insecure. God used it. Moses stuttered. God used it. Rahab was immoral. God used it. Elijah was suicidal. God used it. Jeremiah a depressive. God used it. Jonah a sceptic.

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    God used it. Peter was impulsive. God used it. Martha was a worrier. God used it. John the Baptist was eccentric. God used it. And Timothy was timid. And God used it. He wants to use you. And our responsibility is, as stewards of our own personality, to use them. But don't try to be somebody that you're not.

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    You know, and I know, the easiest person to get on with is actually the genuine person. The person who actually doesn't put on any airs and graces. Doesn't put on a mask. mask.

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    And actually, that's what Jesus said as well. In the time of Jesus, there were actors. And actors in the play were called hypocrites. That's what the phrase was in Jesus' time. And they were hypocrites because they wore masks. And the interesting thing is, is that the Jews never used to go and watch these plays because they thought that it was a little bit immoral.

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    and pagan. So you can imagine how Jesus really stung them when he turned to the Pharisees and said, you're wearing a mask. You're trying to be somebody that actually you're not.

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    We're not hypocrites, are we? We have our own personality. We are God's workmanship. And we have a responsibility to use that personality that God has made in us for good works.

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    The interesting thing about Peter is that what Peter does, he talks a little bit about personal preaching, doesn't really talk about personality, but he absolutely talks about this one here. He talks about circumstances. And we all have different circumstances in life. I mean, Peter lists them. He says, right, some of you are husbands.

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    Let me tell you the circumstances of a husband, how you can use that. You've been a steward as a husband, how you've got to use that. Wives, let me tell you as steward, steward as being a wife, there's a circumstance there. This is how you should use it. Slaves, masters, old, young, you've all got responsibilities and you have got to use them.

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    That's what Peter is saying. He's got us to this stage and now he's saying, right, you've got a circumstance, you absolutely have the responsibility to use them.

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    So, we've looked at personal preaching, we've spent a little bit of time on that one. Personality, you're all different, so I can't talk very much about your personality, you know what your personality is like and talk to other people in terms of what your personality is like to actually develop that and your circumstances.

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    And the circumstances is not just your overall circumstances, it's the individual circumstances. God works for good in all things. That's the important thing, all the time, 24-7, God is working the circumstances. circumstances. And we are stewards of those circumstances. And they are day-to-day. Nothing I put to you, nothing is out of God's control.

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    He is looking at it. He knows what's going on. He knows. He can count, it's not easy with me, he can count every hair on your head. And he knows when just one drops out. I mean, I'm hopeless. My wife, when she has her hair done, I come home, we'll talk a bit, and then she'll say, what do you think?

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    And I go, nice dress. Oh dear. But God, not only spots when she's had her hair done, he knows when one has dropped out. So don't you think he's really interested in the little things that go on in your life? Of course he does. And they are there to help us in developing our relationship with him.

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    So every single circumstance is important. And the final area, I said we'd look at four areas. Personal preaching, personality, circumstance. When you look at stewardship on the internet, in Christian stewardship, 99% of all the material on the Christian stewardship is is about this.

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    It's about money. Now, the key on this one, of course, is it's not yours. Well, we know that, but it's sometimes a little bit difficult to forget, to remember that. You see, we, God has made us a desiring people, an ambitious people. The problem is, well, why did he do that? Because he wants us to be ambitious for him.

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    He wants us to desire him. The problem is, is that we have abused that personality trait that God has given us and we become desiring and ambitious for that, for money. The world, as well, fuels that. The world says, you really need to be financially secure. And we subliminally are fed that every day of the week.

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    You've got to be financially secure. And what does that do? Actually, that flies in the face of us, as Christians. Because, really, it stops us giving. Because, if you give away your money, you are reducing your security, your protection. protection. You see, with God, if you give, your protection and your security is elsewhere, other than the bank.

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    And if we give, we are showing that we have confidence that God will look after us. I used to live in digs. You don't know what digs are, do you? Do you know what digs are? Okay, digs is lodgings, still blank. Okay? Right. When I was much younger, I used to go and live with an old couple.

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    Still blank. Is this English that I'm speaking? Lodgings, digs, yes? Yes. Boarding. Thank you. Thank you for boarding. I used to board with a brother and sister. An elderly brother and sister. A guy called Brother Don Smith. He died very recently. And I went to his funeral and his son gave the funeral.

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    And they were a lovely couple. And I loved Don. And at the funeral, his son talked about, he was actually doing his estate. He went through his estate, his state of affairs, and all the bank accounts of Don. And he said, he got up and he said, I think that Don, Don Smith, got it all wrong.

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    He got tithing, completely wrong. He said, because when I went through all of his bank accounts, I think he thought that tithing meant keeping 10% for yourself.

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    That was really quite something for me. And Jesus, with his disciples, he said to them, hey, don't take any money. Don't take any money. Rely on me. Lot's wife. Lot's wife is a strange story, really, isn't it? But it's a really good litmus test for me. Just imagine that Jesus came back right now.

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    And he said, come on, Anthony. And I walked out the house. And all I'd have to do is just look back at my possessions. And that's all that Lot's wife did. She just looked back.

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    So, it's not yours. And the other point as well is, don't deceive yourself. Have a quick look at Matthew. Matthew chapter 19. Matthew chapter 19. This is all about the rich young man. And you know it well. So, I shan't read it in terms of the person comes up to him and says, teach me what must I do.

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    And he goes through the commandments. And then, of course, in verse 20, all these I have kept. The young man said, what do I still lack? And Jesus answered, if you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor. And you will have treasure in heaven. And then come follow me.

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    Whew. Go sell everything. That's really quite something. And even there in verse 25, when the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, who can be saved? What is Jesus saying to you and me? Is he saying, you've absolutely, you lot, have got to go and sell everything then. Is that what he's saying to us?

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    Actually, perhaps not. I mean, Zacchaeus was very, very wealthy. But actually, Jesus didn't say to him, go and sell everything. I put it to you, is that this, who was this man? He was Jesus. He was approaching Jericho. That was the Levitical city. And when he went through those commandments, they were the first four commandments.

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    It was part of the Decalogue. And it was therefore a Levitical interpretation. I think that this person was a Levite. And what does it say about the Levites? In Deuteronomy chapter 10, it says, Levi hath no portion nor inheritance with his brethren. A Levite should have nothing at all. I think that we meet this person again.

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    I think we meet this person in Acts. Acts chapter 4. This person is Joseph. Joseph. Acts chapter 4, verse 36. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostle called Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, sold the field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostle's feet. I would suggest that this man here came to Jesus as a Levite and Jesus said, hey, what you're doing is you're deceiving yourself.

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     You think that you're being very clever because you've got an offshore account and nobody knows about it. Actually, God knows absolutely everything. And I think that what happened, because it says back there in verse 22 of Matthew 19, it says back there, it says that the man was greatly troubled by what Jesus said.

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     And it was almost like it was gnawing away at him. And so therefore, perhaps he came again and thought, actually, I realise I've been deceiving myself and deceiving God. I've hidden this bit back. I haven't given it to what I should have done. And so he was the son of exhortation. Perhaps that's why he's called.

102. 41:14

     Because Jesus had exhorted him. And he had responded. Here, perhaps, are some interesting principles about our attitude in terms of money. Some practical principles. It is not 10% is God's, but 100% is God's. It is not give what is left, it is give what is right. It is not give until it hurts, but give until it feels good.

103. 41:47

     And it is not, what do I need to give? But how may my giving reflect what God has given to me? And he has given me absolutely everything.

104. 42:06

     Because God looks at the heart. He doesn't look at the hand. He knows our motives. isn't it interesting that the woman with the two mites actually had three choices. She could have given nothing, she could have given two mites, or she could have given one mite, and kept one for herself.

105. 42:32

     You know what? I think I might have been a little bit more giving the one mite. And that's why Jesus points her out, said this woman is totally dependent on God. And it wasn't the hand that was being looked at, it was the heart. And here is the challenge. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

106. 43:00

     So, brethren and sisters, we've been given much. We've been given the gospel, we have been given our personality, we've been given our circumstances, and we've absolutely been given wealth. But the issue is, and much will be expected of us as stewards, of God. Amen.