Bob Lloyd - Class 3: Life is a Test, Life is a Trust

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

1. 0:00

   But without reading serving as an introduction, I call upon brother Bob to give us an ex exciting installment of the way of life. Thank you.

2. 0:10

   Don’t move as fast as I used to. Well, good evening, two actors, good afternoon. The last two talks for now, we’ve had this wonderful meal and don’t you think these brothers and sisters have worked very hard and providing for our necessities and delivering that good food to us and we thank all of you who have worked. So tirelessly behind the scenes to make these kind of gatherings possible.

3. 0:36

   They don’t just happen, it’s a lot of people working together. Bring about these gatherings and so all of us who are here are recipients of that and we thank you for that. Well I hope you don’t haven’t got an overdose of me. I promise this is the last Talk of the day but there’s some more coming up tomorrow so I hope you’ll come back.

4. 1:02

   Our key verse. And all these classes is from John 14, which we read for a first-class where Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the father, but by me, so Jesus is the way. And we can’t come to the father except through Jesus. And we even when we pray, we pray in Jesus name.

5. 1:31

   And so, if we want to be in the way of life, we have to be following the Lord Jesus Christ, and as we’ve mentioned before, there are lots of wrong ways. But there’s only one, right way. And we not free to make up our own rules, and that’s the problem with the world today, people make up their own religion. And then say, if God is, just, he accept me for believing what I want to believe.

6. 1:55

   And we had the audacity to tell God what we’re going to do. He is the boss and if he’s the boss, you’re not the boss. And if he’s the boss, we find out what he wants us to do. And then to the best of our ability, we try to do it and aren’t we thankful for forgiveness?

7. 2:13

   Because if it weren’t for forgiveness, none of us would be in the Kingdom but because of the forgiveness and the mercy of God, we can all be in the Kingdom. We, if we want to be in the Kingdom, so we have to make that commitment that we want to be in the kingdom of God.

8. 2:32

   More than anything else in all the world. Jesus said to us in, Matthew 10, he that endureth to the end shall be saved. So, this is a matter of keeping on keeping on. You have to can’t just be a one-night. Stand, christadelphians are not Sunday christadelphians where seven days a week. 24/7 is a phrase we have over, are we going 24 hours a day?

9. 2:59

   7 days a week? And so that’s the way we serve the Lord all the time in our first class just as a review, we looked at the high hurdler who has to jump over the hurdles in order to win. We must overcome the hurdles in our life and so thinking of them as something bad, we need to think of them as something good helping us to get into the kingdom. Jesus said in Revelations 21.

10. 3:25

    He that overcometh shall inherit all things. And I will be his God and he shall be my son in our second class. We weren’t learned that God wants us in his kingdom, but we have to want it ourselves or we won’t be there. He that loveth father is Jesus talking talking to you. And to me, he that loveth father or mother more than me is. Not worthy of me.

11. 3:49

    Doesn’t mean you’re not to love your father and mother, you must love God. And Jesus more. But didn’t Jesus didn’t stop there, he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And certainly, we do love our children, and this room is full of beautiful little children, and I can tell that your parents are very much in love with him. And you’ve been working very hard to be a good parent and you are to love them.

12. 4:14

    But you must never even put your children ahead of God or ahead of the Lord Jesus Christ. So it’s a matter of prioritizing our life. So that the right things are number one. If God, and Jesus are not number one, in your life, it does not matter where they are. Now, you may say, well, they used to be number seven.

13. 4:36

    Another number for well, you’re going in the right direction, but until they are number one in our life. We are hopeless and so we have to have this all-consuming. Love love the Lord, thy God with all thy heart and all this. All this particular all them. It’s it’s the egg of a self-sacrificing love and you have to have that for God and if you don’t, you can get it. But you have to work at it.

14. 5:05

    Remember that, even Peter? Jesus asked him three times. Do you love me? Well, no he didn’t. He ask him to times. Do you a Gap? A me. Peter who had denied him three times couldn’t bring himself to say I can pay you. So Jesus says, do you have this self sacrificing all out?

15. 5:25

    Love for me and Peter would say, Lord, you know, I have a very warm and friendly feeling toward you. And Jesus will say, do you have this a Gap? A self-sacrificing. Love for me. And Peter said, Lord, you know, that I have a very warm and friendly love towards you and then Jesus changed the word to the word that Peter was using. Do you filial to you have this warm and friendly? Love to me?

16. 5:50

    No wonder Peter was grieved because this was the third time, but he now uses the same word that Peter was using. We lose a little bit of that in the English. But you all know how the words in the Greek there And so he was grieved, he said, you know, all things, you know, I love you, but the answer every time was what you do with what do you do with this love feed my Lambs, feed my sheep.

17. 6:12

    You know, this room is full of them. These brothers and sisters and sitting on each side of you behind you. In front of you. Those are the Sheep. We are to be feeding and others that are not here tonight. But are we conscious conscientiously looking after the needs of others? More than we look after our self.

18. 6:39

    Now the Lord Jesus gave us a good example of this because he was hungry. Now, you’re not hungry. Now you’ve just had a very nice meal and we all appreciated it but you have never in your life been as hungry as Jesus was Because I know you have never gone 40 days without food.

19. 6:58

    He was starving. He had the power to turn stones into bread. He could have used God’s power to feed himself, he refused to do that and he was really hungry, then he’s out preaching and he disciples, they sent the multitude of ways old know. They’ve been with us a few days that I’m afraid your fate. Let’s do a miracle and feed him.

20. 7:24

    So, Jesus would do a miracle to feed others. When he wouldn’t do a miracle to feed himself. Now, that’s the egg of a love. That’s the self-sacrificing that that’s the kind of love. We must have for God for Jesus, and we need to have it for each other. And so, and when Peter wrote his first letter, he said to the Brethren, take your fervent filial, love.

21. 7:56

    And see that you turn it into an a Gap, a self-sacrificing, love of one another, he said your filial love was, unfaithful you, it’s nothing phony. You really do love your brother and sisters but the question is are you putting their needs ahead of yours? If there was only one meal left and it was to several here, would you take it first?

22. 8:21

    What would you say? No, you have it. Are we sacrificing our self for others? Now, I tell you what. Having children shows us how to do this because a good parrot, really does. Put the needs of their little children ahead of their own. They’re tired, they’re sleepy. They’re in bed. The baby’s crying, you scold. You don’t want to get out of bed before, but you do You, you put the needs of a little child ahead of your own needs, and that’s the kind of love.

23. 8:55

    God is looking for us to do with each other, certainly our family, but also others. Do good unto all men, especially those of the household of faith. So if we love anything more than we love the Lord, then whatever that thing is, is our God, and it could be our family. I mean, even the mafia loves their mother. I mean, I mean, mama fixing up.

24. 9:32

    A big spaghetti dinner? You’re going out to whip somebody after you better go eat first, you know? So they, they do kind things to other people to help them do bad things. But you see our love is motivated because of our love for God and we just forget about yourself don’t even think about yourself.

25. 9:58

    Think. What can I do to help someone else? That’s the way Jesus lived. That’s the way he wants us to live and he said, take up your cross and follow me. Now, we want to in this class to examine our attitude because our attitude more than our attitude will determine our altitude. I hope you got that attitude attitude, attitude, attitude and altitude.

26. 10:28

    Because if you really want to soar High, you’ve got to have the right attitude. Now there I know this won’t shock you But there’s a lot smarter people in the world than us. I mean, there are people out there in the world with higher IQs than any of us have. There are some brilliant people in this world who have a lot of Savvy of the world. But that brain power that they have will not get them into the kingdom.

27. 11:05

    In fact, this is interesting because we remember that Jesus was called a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. Do you know something that made Jesus happy? It’s in. Luke chapter 10 verse 21 at that time. Jesus, full of joy. So here is a happy Jesus. It says he was full of joy.

28. 11:29

    Now, why was he so happy? Because he said this, he’s talking to God, I pray. Easy father, Lord of Heaven and Earth. Because now, what was it that filled Jesus, withdrew, because father, you have hidden these things from the wise in the alerted and revealed them to Little Children. Ye father for this was your good pleasure. So Jesus is actually happy that God withheld the truth saving truth that you and I know from these fiery smart mucky-mucks who are too intelligent.

29. 12:10

    To surrender to the Lord. So if you have a lot of brain power, that’s not a sin but if you don’t use it for the Lord, It’s a Sin. But you see not many mighty, not many noble are called. That’s what Paul tells us in First Corinthians for consider your calling Brethren. How that, not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful.

30. 12:34

    Not many were of noble birth. There’s no Blue Bloods in this group. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame? The wise God chose what is weak in the world to shame? The strong God chose? What is low? And despised in the world even things which are not to bring to nothing things that are now.

31. 12:57

    Why did you do that? God. So that no human might boast in the presence of God, you have nothing to be proud about. I confess. That I was born in Texas. Now, I was born because my mother was there and I wanted to be near her.

32. 13:23

    But Texans are famous for being braggarts. They’re the people of United States or fall probably filled with more false Pride than any other state. It’s not to say they have an exclusive on it, but there is the well-known within the United States as being that way. And if you go to Texas, you can sure see it there.

33. 13:46

    Bumper sticker says, Don’t Mess with Texas, you know? And so I’ve Left Texas. I hope the Texas attitude has left me. Because none of us have any reason to be proud about anything.

34. 14:11

    And that’s what Jesus taught policies. So that no human being might boast in the presence of God because God is a source of your life in Christ. Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness, and our sanctification, in our Redemption. Therefore it is written. Let him that boast boast in the, that’s the only thing you have to boast about that.

35. 14:30

    You know, the Lord and you’re not puffed up about it. You’re just thankful about it. Humility is a hard thing to talk about, because anybody who says they are humble, they are You know, I’m a humble man, and I’m proud of it, you know, talk about a contradiction of terms. So soon, as you say you off, I arrived and I’ve got, I got humble.

36. 14:52

    Well, you just got done humble, as you said that. But Jesus was so meek and lowly of anybody who had things. That would have put the human being up. He was a Son of God. He was born by a miracle. I mean, he had the Holy Spirit without measure and yet he got down on his knees. I think about this because you may have some enemies in life, sometimes, we even get them in the Ecclesia, we don’t want to, but sometimes it happens and somebody really doesn’t like you.

37. 15:33

    And so the normal reaction, well I don’t like them very much either. Jesus knew who was going to betray him. Jesus gave him the sup. Jesus got down on his hands and knees. In front of Judas, Iscariot. And washed his feet. Would you do that for your enemy? You see. Jesus not only told us to love our enemies and bless those that curse us and return.

38. 16:08

    Good for evil, he was showing as hell. Now meat being so human. If I had picked up that dirty foot of Judas Iscariot and I had it in my hand and I looked at his big toe, I would be very tempted to grab it. A Twist It Off. And that’s me and that’s wrong.

39. 16:37

    I’m confessing my sins to you because that would be my natural reaction. But you see my natural reaction must not be allowed to come out in my life. Jesus didn’t tell us what to do. He showed us what to do and so he’s actually happy that God has withheld. This wonderful promise of life eternal from all these wise people, all these educated people and they were true in his day to, how can this man? No, never having never learn.

40. 17:14

    Jesus didn’t have a college degree, his disciples were unlearned fisherman. not all of them, but many of them were God has chosen the simple things to confound the wife and this is why I’m not many wise, not many noble are called, because they are so puffed up with themselves that they can’t humble themselves before God. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, said Peter and he will lift you up in due time.

41. 17:42

    Now from the worldly view point. We’re all nobody’s Our names are not household names and if we die it doesn’t make the headlines of any paper man. That is an honor to understand if not. Well, they’re just like the animals are like the beasts that perish. So there’s some very famous people in this world and if they die their name is going to be in all the papers you and I die.

42. 18:06

    Nobody cares. Our families care brother and sisters care, but we would never leave a hole in the economy of the world as the people of the world come to if they fall away and die. So we need to just be thankful to have this attitude of gratitude that Jesus has called us and he says, no man can come to me.

43. 18:35

    Except my father sent me draw him out of the millions of people on the Earth, know the billions of people on the Earth and he’s asked you to follow Jesus to the kingdom. And with this attitude of gratitude, we just so grateful that we now know the truth. Not puffed up about it, that’s a oh I know something you don’t know.

44. 18:59

    Knowledge could puff that but love edifies. If we have the right kind of love. We will not be proud. We will not be puffed up. We will just be grateful and thankful to God. Now we have to realize that this life were now living is simply a dress rehearsal. For the kingdom that’s coming.

45. 19:20

    And so we view what’s going on in our lives different than the people around us. Do. We just had an election in the United States are the last Tuesday. I left Wednesday and it was a Bala Thursday, but it was a big deal in our country and some people are jumping up and down for joy and other people are are feeling their ruined because they’re their candidate or their things didn’t pass. It’s all according to plan.

46. 19:50

    God is ruling in the kingdoms of men. Whoever gets in there is who supposed to be in there. You don’t have to worry about the problem. You know, if I have was not a christadelphians, I’d be worried about Iraq. That’s a, it’s a quagmire of me. I mean, we’re losing boys every day and they don’t know who the enemy is. And yet that’s all according to God’s plan. Aren’t you thankful that he’s in charge? That means we’re not.

47. 20:21

    And so we don’t worry. It’s going to all be just, right? Because God is setting up Kings and he’s removing Kings, so our attitude towards the world and people around us is so different than it would be if we didn’t have the truth. But we have to be thankful for this not proud for it. Now Paul talked about his problems and he described them his it’s a light Affliction and it only indoors for a moment. Paul’s Light Affliction included. Stonings shipwrecks, beatings.

48. 21:03

    Things you and I have never gone through. It’s just a light Affliction only indoors for a moment. How long was his moment his entire life, how long is your moment your entire life? So our attitude toward these things are different because we know that it’s all going to work out, not just us personally but even for the world in general and so God is going to bring about the events and the time of trouble is coming such as never was since there was a nation even to that same. Time and Daniel and it is not here yet. We don’t know as a world.

49. 21:40

    What trouble is? And it’s coming and the world is not ready for it. We could have an economic collapse. We could have a military class. We have somebody pushed the wrong button, but, you know, God is going to step in and intervene because before says Revelation, those that would destroy the Earth, will destroy it. Now, when that was written in Revelation, how could you destroy everybody on Earth, I mean, you had a sword, you know, and you want to kill people, you’re going to do them one at a time unless you can line them up and shish kebab them. But you can’t kill very many people at a time back in those days.

50. 22:18

    And now we realize that because God has allowed knowledge to be increased and some idiot could push a button and start start a nuclear war that would blow everybody on Earth that Does it worry? You know, it’s not in God’s plan. He has a plan and there are people. That’s why I think this country is worried. As our country is, as Great.

51. 22:43

    Britain about Iran, getting a nuclear bomb about North Korea, getting one because those guys are crazy and what will they do if they get it? Does it worry you? Not at all? Does it worry the world? Well, Luke says their men’s hearts are failing them. Fear and for looking, after those things are coming upon the Earth, if you didn’t know the truth and you just look at the newspapers, you are to be quaking in your boots because there is no solution to the problems that this world is facing. And there’s only one solution and that’s God’s solution. And that is going to be carried out. And we want to be part of it.

52. 23:26

    So we don’t get mixed up with their Affairs because we will, we have a king and our man was not running for office in this last election. Because he’s going to be the king of the world. Now, have an interesting question, I want to ask you and I want you to say it out loud, but I just want you to answer this question for yourself.

53. 23:45

    How do you view your own life? How do you view your life? The way we see our life will sheep our life. We’re talking about the way of life that’s our subject. How do you view your life now? Different people after this different, even christadelphians circles, it will not all see the same, some of the describe their life as a circus.

54. 24:13

    My life is a Minefield and I knew the roller coaster. My line is a, my life is a puzzle. It’s a symphony. It’s a Some just grab their life like a merry-go-round going round and round and up and up and up and down and never get anywhere. Our subject is the way of life, it’s useful.

55. 24:36

    If each of us will just pick a short phrase of two or three words that two pictures in your own mind, your own life, So, I want you to think about this for a minute, what, what image comes to your mind when you ask, how do I view my life? You have a life metaphor. You, you have a even unconsciously, even if you haven’t thought it out and he has an effect upon your life. Now, you can tell what some people’s life metaphor is about, because they express it in the way they dress, or don’t in their jewelry when they’re caught a mobiles, they drive. in their hairstyle if I had hair to style in their Sports, in their Hobbies, And so these people are busy doing what they think is important and they have a my life metaphor and you have one even though if you haven’t verbalized it we’re going to do it this evening because I think you’ll help us. For example, if we were to say well my life is like a party. Well then your you principle of life will be to have fun. I see my life as a race, then you will value speed. I see my life as a marathon.

56. 25:54

    Well then you’re going to talk think about it. Durance. What is your life metaphor? And the question is, could you have a faulty life metaphor that needs to be replaced by a Godly life metaphor? And so, Paul speaking to us in Romans, 12 says, I beseech you. He’s pleading, he’s not bawling your eyes, please.

57. 26:21

    I beseech you, therefore Brethren by the mercies of God, that you present, your bodies, a Living Sacrifice, holy acceptable, unto God, which is your reasonable service and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove. What is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

58. 26:40

    Now, I like the Phillips translation. Don’t let the word around you, squeeze you into its mold and just think yourself as a mole and the and you’re being squeezed and the world is what mold and you’re being like a lump of clay. You’re being squeezed into God’s will in this book and what in the world do they turn on the television, your turn on radio. They tell you by sudsy, wudsy, soap do this, go there to whatever you and their programming. Don’t leave home without it.

59. 27:05

    What does that mean? Anybody know. Huh, and American Express, who told you? You see, American Express has sent millions of dollars to squeeze us into its mold. Now I think we shouldn’t leave home without a to but I don’t think it’s American Express, I think it should be literature. I think every time you walk out of your house you shouldn’t have literature on you and you never know who you’re going to get to talk to and they may ask you a question and you say oh there’s when I come back I’ll see I’ve been on a bit over Australia. Why did you go over Austria?

60. 27:42

    I went over there to get some talks to my church. What church Christian was? What’s that here you are? So I think everyone of you, I do not leave home without it but why don’t you don’t leave home without it some literature because you never know when you may be able to share it with somebody, but Paul here is saying I beseech you to present your body a Living Sacrifice and to do this, you do not be transformed. We do not conform but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

61. 28:20

    Now, you know that verse everything in the New Testament, Jesus comes from Greek word. And that word transformed comes from the Greek word metamorph. Ooh. And metamorph who is a reserved word for the wedmore metamorph us? And so I brought my little green caterpillar with me, I had trouble with this guy coming through customs, they look them up and usually I just bring him along and you know slippers Went through, but I was in South Africa with him a few years ago and they were go through my luggage. And the guy says, what’s that?

62. 28:59

    I got very passive sir that’s my stuff. Caterpillar some people like teddy bears, but I go for cat appears. He has no sense of humor. He threw it in my base is get out of here. So this time for the first time in my life I had a lady doing it and she says what is that? And I said it’s my stuff caterpillar and she’s watching stuffed with Isis.

63. 29:23

    I don’t even know. I think it’s some kind of beans. My daughter-in-law made this for me many. Maybe 20 years ago and I take him all around the world, because he belongs in Romans chapter 12. And Romans chapter 12 says, be not conformed to this world but be transformed into had it by the renewing of your mind.

64. 29:45

    Now, this little caterpillar talks to me and he says, Bob, I’m going to fly someday. This is, you never make it. You’re too fat. Yeah, you can’t fly and he says no, no, no. You don’t understand. I’m going to go through metamorphosis. I’m going to go into a cocoon, and I’m going to come out a beautiful butterfly. And you would never believe this, if you didn’t already know it, that little green caterpillars, turn into beautiful butterflies.

65. 30:16

    And that’s what Paul is talking about, in Romans 12. He says, I want you to change as much as a caterpillar changes when it becomes a butterfly and I’ll tell you how to do it. He doesn’t just say, do it without telling us how You do it, by the way, you think by the renewing of your mind.

66. 30:43

    And so what you think about is really important, are you thinking about the right things or are you letting the world squeeze you down into its mold and telling you, how you should think? So this life metaphor you that you have, I want you to come up with a couple of words that describe to you. Now, one of my business associates for many years, had a little sign on his death desk and it had two letters. H, A be a TT.

67. 31:16

    I guess you would say that habit not spelling, habit Moon and it stood for this have a ball all the time and he was a happy guy but that’s not a very good life metaphor just have a ball on the time but that was his We’re trying to find out what is yours. Now, the Bible is going to give us some metaphors. We’re going to talk about three and see if one of these can be yours.

68. 31:45

    They’re called the three, TS. Life is a test. What you like me to votes tests are being tested and you are being tempted, your just hurdles and your lane to jump. Another one life is a trust. And the third one, which we’ll talk about tomorrow. God willing is life is a temporary assignment. So we’re going to look at the first two of those. This evening life is a test and life is a trust. Now, God does test us words like trials, Temptations? Refining testing, they worker hundreds of times in the Bible. We’re told that God tested Abraham by asking him to offer up his Isaac.

69. 32:34

    God tested Jacob when he had to work. Another seven years for Rachel. God tested Joseph. Very severely and he came through with flying colors Adam and Eve failed their test. The Garden of Eden, David failed. Some of his test. We have examples of the faithful passing their tests such as Ruth and gesturing. Daniel.

70. 32:59

    Character is both developed and revealed by Tess and you need might as well recognize affect your life. Is a test. We’re always being tested by God and he’s watching to see how you respond to his test. And we ought not to be complaining when we are testing. There was one student in a high school.

71. 33:23

    He said, we this teacher of hours. She gives us a surprise test every Friday Now, if you get it every Friday, how is it a surprise? But you know, that in school you are tested in order to go to work in, many it I have to have a number of licenses. I’ve had to take all kinds of exams to get them.

72. 33:53

    I’m now so old and I’ve been an insurance agent so many years that I’m grandfathered and I don’t have to even study anymore. I also don’t know anything. I tell them at work, you know, it’s not that I don’t know anything. Everything I know is now wrong because Our business keeps changing. But we all of our employees except me every year, have to put in certain number of hours, to keep their license.

73. 34:20

    Interesting. So we’re doctors, you can’t just become a doctor, you have can’t become a law. You have to pass the bar, and I’m not telling bar that kind of bar the bar, the bar exam. But so life has tests and God tests us. God actually left King Hezekiah on his own to testing. We were told this so second Chronicle, 32:31 went invoices were set by the rulers of Babylon to ask Hezekiah about the miraculous sign that he had had a that had occurred in the land.

74. 34:57

    God left Hezekiah to test him and to know everything that was in his heart. Sadly, we know that Hezekiah failed that test his work. I had enjoyed a very close relationship to God and a crucial point in his life, God left him to test him and to reveal a weakness. He was forgiven for it. You’ve been tested, sometimes we pass our tests and sometimes we fail.

75. 35:27

    But if you just realize that life is a test, you’re not so upset about you. You accept it as a fact. Yeah, I’m being tested and God is watching to see how I react them to the test. God allows our adversaries to challenge us to see how we react. We must overcome as Jesus had told us to.

76. 35:50

    So, testing is part of life. Don’t consider it a terrible trial. When Nehemiah God wanted Nehemiah to build a wall around Jerusalem. He blessed him and had these King bless him and give him all the provisions. He needed, and he goes to build this wall and God. Wanting to build it. And what did God allow? He large sample and to buy it and give him and all these people to give him all kinds of trouble. You my was doing what God wanted. In still, God testing him.

77. 36:29

    You trying to do what God wants you to do is. Well, I’m trying to do your will God. Why am I having this problem? God is preparing you by the test. He gives you. So that could be your life metaphor. My life is a test and I’m going to pass it. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me and so that’s one life metaphor that could be yours but About another one and the second one is life. Is a trust.

78. 37:02

    And that’s true too. We are stewards of what God has given us. But God is the owner of everything. It’s in him with that we live and move and have our being Psalm 24, says the Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. The world and all who live by it. We never really own anything in our brief. Stay on Earth.

79. 37:28

    God loans, the Earth to us to live in for a little while and it’s God’s Property. He was his before. We were born and it will be his when we were long gone when God created Adam and Eve, he entrusted the care of his creation to them, he pointing those Trustees of his property.

80. 37:47

    The Garden of Eden did not belong to Adam and Eve. They were put there to, to be in charge of it and to keep it. The Lord God took the man and the woman and put them in the Garden of Eden, to work it. And Care for it. Now, the point is, I’ve talked about Pride.

81. 38:01

    Well, you can’t be puffed up about something. Someone just given you. And so we read in First Corinthians, the reading of what we had is already section. Who makes you different from anyone else. What do you have that? You did not receive if you did receive it. Why do you boast is though?

82. 38:16

    You did not You see, you can’t be proud of your abilities. A person who can sing can give praise and glory to God, there is a lot of music in me. I know this to be a fact because none of us ever got now. But I sit at the feet of people who are able to create music with this on the piano or violin or voice. And that’s not me.

83. 38:48

    I’m not proud of that night here, you know? I’m but it’s just a fact. So if you’ve got it then use it to the good if you don’t have it, well then find something you can do. Now, what? I’ll share a little story with you that happened in a collision You have visiting speakers. I’m comes to come to your pleasure and this Ecclesia had a visiting speaker, and he was giving a talk along these lines. Now, one of the leading members of this Ecclesia was a fairly well-to-do farmer.

84. 39:20

    He had a beautiful spread, his barns were an apple pie order. I mean, they were painted red, and they look good. And his cattle would jump, well-fed. And these crops were growing, well, he kept him. She’s in rehab. And this christadelphians brother comes to his meeting, and he’s explaining that nothing that you have was really yours. It’s just being lent to you by God, just for you to use. This didn’t sit too well with this christadelphians besides that, he was going to have him for dinner, that night that day. So, after the meeting was over, he takes him back to his farm and his wife serves, this visiting speaker, a beautiful home cook Cooked Farm meal.

85. 40:03

    That was really good. You know. And after the dinner was over the farmer says to the christadelphians and would you like to have a tour of my spread? I’d like to show you around my place. You know, I’d enjoy that fine. So we took him around and he said, look at those boy.

86. 40:17

    Look at those can look at those fields. Look at that Machinery. He’s a. Who do you think belongs owned all this stuff? Christadelphians brother who had given the talk said, do you mind asking me that question and another 100 years?

87. 40:36

    It won’t be his in. It’s only been loaned to you. What are you doing with what God is letting you use? So when somebody loans, you something you should take more care of it. I know there’s someone loans, me their car, I sure don’t want to put a dent in it, you know, I want to return that car. I feel terrible.

88. 40:57

    If I borrowed a car and then, you know, messed it up. so, This is the right attitude when someone’s been loaned to you you then take care of it and if you can just get the attitude that everything you have has been loaned to you by God and it doesn’t really isn’t really yours.

89. 41:22

    You will have a different attitude than it. This is my car. This is my bar, this is my farm is whatever it is when Elijah was helping the prophets. Build a larger meeting room. One of them was cutting down a tree in the ax, head fell into the water and you do my Lord he said it was borrowed. That was a right attitude.

90. 41:44

    He had borrowed somebody else’s acts and now he dropped it in the water. Well, you see you should care about other people’s things that you’ve borrowed and so Think about what you have at your house that you think is yours. It really isn’t yours? No, that’s my car. Well, you may be paid for but God’s letting you have that car and you want to use it for the Lord, you make sure your car goes to the right places, does it pick up other people who don’t have cars and get them to meeting?

91. 42:20

    How anxious are you? And using the things God is low and you too. Of others. Do you open your home to other people? Invite others to come in and share a meal? As the farmer had done little bit? Reluctantly, after you’d heard the exhortation, but who do you invite to your house and you say now?

92. 42:43

    Wait, wait, just a minute. This is my house. And that’s my food. I’m feeling you feel him. I think it’s my business who I invite to my house and Jesus is, no, I made it my business who you invite to your house That’s not really your home. guys, letting you use it for a few years but it doesn’t really belong to you even if it’s paid for Jesus makes Things that are everyday things in your life.

93. 43:17

    His personal business. You know, these verses I’m not reminding, you of some of you already know, Jesus said to his holes when he was invited, when you give a luncheon or you have a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, or relatives, or your evil rich, Neighbors, Tell you why. If you do, they’ll invite you back and you’ll be repaid.

94. 43:39

    I’ll tell you who you have at your house. When you give a banquet, you invite the poor, you invite the crippled, you invite the blame, invite the blind P. You ever watch a blind person, eats kind of messy? It sometimes gets it all over the place because they can’t see, you know, I don’t want to have him.

95. 43:56

    He’s, you know, bothers me to see him read. Jesus says, forget about yourself you do what’s right? And then you will be blessed. Because those that you invite the crippled, the lame, the blind, the poor, they can’t invite you back. They don’t have a place to invite you to. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just So the Lord Jesus Christ is actually interested in who you invite to your house.

96. 44:35

    Other people in your pleasure that have never been in your house. I mean, there’s some people are in your house maybe every week certain time, that’s family. They pop it in. All kinds of times you you enjoy meals with him. But is there an older sister and older brother? Somebody that just has a room, you invite them to your house. Well their death, they can’t hear anything as it. We have a sister that can’t hear anything. And we pick her up on Sunday morning and take her to meeting and we take her.

97. 45:04

    She He never says, thank you, much just she just just specs. It doesn’t matter. If you’re not looking for praise on this side, the kingdom. You’re trying to do what’s right? Do you put yourself out for other people? It’s required that those who have been given a trust must prove. Faithful. You have been given a trust.

98. 45:28

    If you have a home, it’s been loaned to you to use. If you have a car, it’s been loaned to you by God, to use anything you possess. But are you using these possessions that you have to satisfy yourself? Or are you using them to help others? Because God is watching? He is a test and it is at rest.

99. 45:54

    The Bible is full of examples of trust, you know, The Parables that Jesus told about the pounds and the tell each Steward was given five talents 10 talents to tell us wonder, they wasn’t theirs. They were to occupy and increase it while Jesus was gone. Now, you have been given a talent talents. I’ve had christadelphians.

100. 46:17

     Mm. Well, I do you don’t have any Talent. There is no such thing as a no-talent christadelphians. God did not make a mistake when he made you you make mistakes but you are not a mistake. And there are things you can do for the Lord question is, are you doing them? Are you using your time?

101. 46:40

     Your possessions to give glory and honor to God? Or you say boy that. I got this Lazy Boy, chair and I just love to sleep in this chair, you know. And are you saying to some more sister coming over and sitting in my chair, have you ever gone to a house? Where the man of the house, has his chair and nobody sits in that? But that man of the house, I mean see this is funny because it’s true.

102. 47:12

     We ought to be sharing, whatever we have with anybody that we wanted. When I go to somebody’s house, I kind of wait to see just because, you know, I do this when I go to a meeting, you know, today is different, but I grew as a guest speaker to another meeting. And you know, you you don’t know where to sit, that’s my seat.

103. 47:36

     And I get up with, you know, move backwards. Oh, Jesus said don’t take the high esteem but I’m not. It was even a low C, but you see, we seem to think we possess it even a particular seat in the meeting. That’s where we sit. And so I if your guests and you don’t know it, it’s kind of hold back and let them have theirs, but on the other hand, we ought not be possessive.

104. 48:03

     Even a seat in the meeting. Certainly not in our home, certainly not at our table, so be sure that you do invite to take it. When you get home, take your keys, your address in this town, just go down the names and pick out people. On your please address list that you have never invited to a meal.

105. 48:28

     And then invite him. And they will be thrilled and you will be serving God, you will be doing what Jesus said, our Ecclesia got up of us. We try new things and trying to get people to think about each other. And so we got up a list of the people that widows and the people who didn’t have much. And then we got people who were hospitable and we assign a person to a family each month.

106. 48:58

     So there’s a whole list of people who were inviting a home. Your people and some of these all sisters, you know, I didn’t find the brother Jo’s house. I’ve never been in his house and they were thrilled and brother, George actually enjoyed her. You know, I mean, sometimes, we need a little bit of prompting to do something, we ought to just be doing.

107. 49:16

     So if I have tweaking your conscience, I don’t apologize. For is the shoe fits wear it. But God and Jesus are taking into account, your personal actions, even who you have to your home for food and God is watching. And God is watching to see how you treat, the things he has loaned to you. And so in all those Parables, they time came when they had to account for whether they had increased that Talent or they had squandered her, you know, the man who There it is Talent. He was not a thief.

108. 49:57

     He did not abscond with the Lord’s money when the Lord came back he dug it up. Is so here it is he I know you’re a hard man, I’m giving you back just what you gave me. If you give back to God, just what he gave you.

109. 50:12

     The answer was condemnation, you’ve got to be increasing, what God gave you and so how are you using your money? In the truth. Are you giving we’re not commanded to tithe and sow whole most Personnel. Viens don’t But you know what? Happened in the mission field. If every christadelphians and your Collegiate, just simply gave ten percent, as least 90% for you.

110. 50:45

     You can’t outgive God. I don’t think we should tell anybody else what to do. Because Paul says, God loves a cheerful Giver in our Ecclesia. We do not pass a bag. We do not have a collection at all. We feel, if we have to stick a bag on your nose for you to put something in it, then you’re not putting anything in it.

111. 51:10

     So we have a box at the back and you go back there and put your own stuff in it. And when we started that, they said never work will go broke. We never have.

112. 51:22

     God loves a cheerful Giver e of your time of your money of your home of your car. So, Jesus said, if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly lap wealth, who’s going to trust you with true riches, if you’re using, whatever it is, you have for your benefit and not for other people’s benefit, you’re being selfish instead of self less.

113. 51:57

     And so our life on the truth it is a trust. And God is trusting you to give what he’s given you and share it with others. and so, That’s our third class. We’re coming to the end of it and I hope I haven’t worn you out this evening. But everyone who has been given much. Much will be demanded.

114. 52:27

     Everyone who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Life. Is a test. Work at passing the test except the fact that you are being tested by God and that the problems you’re having or allowed not caused always but that allowed by God and make sure that you don’t complain about them and that you do your best to overcome them.

115. 53:00

     And then life is a trust. God has entrusted you with so much. How generous are you with what God has given? You could you give a little bit more than you’re giving. I’m not just talking about money but it does include money. About your time. Well, you know, I work hard, when I get home from work.

116. 53:26

     I need my time to rest up. Well, I know. I can honor that, but somebody else is sitting at home alone, Lee and not hearing from you. Do you call him? Do you drop by to see them? Do you send them occur? We got a thing going in our Collision. Now we started it just a few weeks ago and we’ve given everybody in the Ecclesia to address list and on the first week you were to contact the person right below your name.

117. 54:03

     Some kind of a contact, he talked to him on the phone, you sent him a card or a letter, or you go see them and next week, you do number two in the next week. You do number three in next with you. Number four. And we’re up to now about number 38, and we were mining Arc, Asia every month.

118. 54:23

     Have you made your every week? Are you making your car? It’s, it’s such a simple thing. Some people you do contact, but there are people in your meeting. We have people that don’t Very often. You remember them? Do you send them a card? Their mother missed. See, we are our Brother’s Keeper life is at rest and God has trusting you to care about your fellow brothers and sisters and doing nothing.

119. 54:54

     Can never be right. So, what is your life metaphor and are you doing your best to fulfill it? Life is a test. And life is a trust. And God is testing you, and trusting you and brother and sisters. Our whole purpose for coming from California here, which is just a stir up your pure Minds by waiver members to talk about things.

120. 55:25

     You already knew, but might not have been doing as well. As you could, the biggest room you have in your house. Is the room for improvement. You can all do better than you’re doing and that includes me because when I point my finger at you three pointing at me. So these are the kind of things I need to remember.

121. 55:48

     So Paul says, I beseech you, I plead with you. Present your body a Living Sacrifice, holy and acceptable. God, don’t be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.