Bob Lloyd - The Way of Life - Class 4 - Life is a Temporary Assignment

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

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   The theme of our weekend has been the way of life, and this morning, as part of his exhortation, Brother Bob will address this topic, Life is a Temporary Assignment. My beloved brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus Christ, we bring with us the loving greetings of our home ecclesia, known as Verdugo Hills, in the city of Los Angeles in the state of California.

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   We love coming here. We've been here before, and it's wonderful to see so many of you again that we've come to know and love from previous trips. And then there's the bonus of meeting new ones, which we have not met before, and we're so pleased that we can come together around this table to remember our Lord this morning.

3. 0:49

   Now, our normal practice on Sunday mornings, if we're exhorting, is to base our comments on the daily readings. And our daily reading this morning was the last chapter of Acts, and it's filled with exhortation. So we had a temptation of should we stray, but then we were trying to do a study on the way of life, and so we decided that we would use one of those studies and adapt it to the exhortation.

4. 1:20

   So we hope you'll forgive us for not commenting on the book of Acts, because it's not because there's not good exhortation there. It's just that there's not enough time to do that justice and cover the subject which is part of the way of life. And that subject for this morning is life is a temporary assignment.

5. 1:44

   In our last class yesterday, some of you were here but not all, we considered the way of life was a test, and the way of life is a trust. But now we want to concentrate on another aspect of our walk in the truth, that our way of life is a temporary assignment. Now the Bible is full of metaphors that teach us about how brief, how temporary, how transient in nature is our life.

6. 2:19

   God in the Bible describes life as a mist, as a fast runner, as breath, as a wisp of smoke, and as grass. For as a man, his days are like grass. He flourishes like a flower of the field, as David said in the Psalms. Isaiah said, Who are you that you fear mortal man, the sons of men?

7. 2:46

   They're just but grass. Again, Isaiah says, The voice said, Crying. He said, What shall I cry? The answer was, All flesh is grass, and all the goodness thereof is as a flower of the field. So grass is not permanent. We mow it and throw it away. And our life is like grass. Psalms 78, David says, For we remembered that they were but flesh, a breath that passeth away and does not come.

8. 3:18

   Just a breath and we're gone. Man is like to vanity, says Psalm 144. His days are like a shadow that passeth away. And in Ecclesiastes, Solomon said, One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the earth abideth forever. Isaiah 29, Moreover, the multitude of thy strangers shall be like the small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away.

9. 3:46

   Hosea says, Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, you know, cloud just across and it's gone, as the early dew that passeth away, as chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as smoke of a chimney. None of these things have any permanence. And so there's two points we want to stress as we come here to meet our Lord.

10. 4:07

    And the number one is that compared to eternity, our life is very short. And number two, we won't be here long as a mortal, so don't get too attached to it. We need to ask God to help us see life as he sees it. From God's viewpoint, try to put yourself in his shoes, so to speak, which we know it cannot do, but let's try.

11. 4:36

    Have you ever thought about Methuselah? Well, of course, Methuselah's famous. He lived longer than anybody who ever lived, 969 years. Poor Methuselah, he never lived to see Monday morning. Now let me explain that. Peter tells us that a thousand years is just like one day to God. A thousand years is like one day.

12. 4:58

    Now, Methuselah lived 969 years. He died before Monday morning if he was born at 12.01 a.m. Sunday morning. He didn't live a whole day. We think that we'll have a long life if we lived 70 or 80, maybe 90 years. If you're 15 years old, you haven't even lived 22 minutes. If you're 30, you've lived less than 45 minutes.

13. 5:24

    And if you're 62 years old, you've only lived an hour and a half. Nobody in this room has lived to see 3 a.m. because 3 a.m. is 125 years basing a day to represent a thousand years. So that tells you how temporary we are all here. And so we need to pray the prayer that David prayed.

14. 5:52

    He said, Show me, O Lord, my life's end. And the number of my days, let me know how fleeting is my life. You're young, and you're full of life, and you think you're going to live forever. Or you're old, and you realize you're coming to the end of your days. And all of it, just like a puff of smoke, a puff.

15. 6:14

    We're here, and we're gone. And so the Bible is trying to teach us that we live here only temporarily. And we live here as if we were a stranger. We don't really belong. You say, Well, I'm an Australian. I was born and bred here in Australia. Goodie for you. But this is not your country.

16. 6:34

    You want to be in the kingdom of God more than anything else in all the world. And so where you live is just your temporary abode while you're waiting for Jesus to come. So Scripture defines our life as being an alien, as being a pilgrim, as being a foreigner, as being a stranger, as being a visitor, as being a traveler.

17. 6:57

    David said in Psalm 119, I am a stranger on earth. Do not hide your commandments from me. Peter says, Since you call on a father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverence. Paul tells us that our citizenship is in heaven. I came here with a passport.

18. 7:22

    You cannot travel to Australia without a passport. Not only that, you have to get a visa. Most countries allow Americans to come without a visa, but you don't. You used to have to go down to the consulate to get it, but now they do it on electronic. It costs $25. You can't just come to Australia because I'm a visitor.

19. 7:41

    I'm not allowed to work here. You want to hire me? You can't. Not that you wouldn't want to anyway. But I am strictly a stranger and a foreigner here in Australia. But you know, that's not a sin. I'm thankful for that. And if you come to visit us in America, you will be a foreigner and you won't be sinning by doing that either.

20. 8:05

    Because all of us need to get this mentality that we don't really belong where we live. We live where we live, but we don't belong where we live because our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, that we've come to remember with these emblems.

21. 8:26

    And so Paul tells us what we are while we're waiting. This is what you are. We are ambassadors for Christ. As though God did beseech you to us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. So I'm looking at a crowd of ambassadors for Christ. You're not Australian. I'm not American.

22. 8:51

    We're ambassadors for Christ living in Australia or living in America or living in Canada or living in England or wherever we might live. But we're all here temporarily. Don't get too comfortable that you belong where you're living. Now, just to pretend that George Bush, he never heard of me, he came from the same town in Texas that I used to live in, but I had moved before he was even born.

23. 9:19

    If he were to call me up and say, Bob, we want to send you to Australia as the ambassador for the United States. Now, that's a very high position. It's an honor to be an ambassador in another country representing your own. And so every country, you have ambassadors all over the world. Our country has ambassadors all over the world.

24. 9:39

    But when you go to where you're going to live, where do you live? You live in the country to where you are assigned as an ambassador. But do you belong there? No. You're there temporarily. As soon as we get a new president, you'll be gone. You'll get a new ambassador. Now, when you get there, what do you do?

25. 9:59

    Well, you drive on the left side of the road if you're in Australia. And if you became the ambassador of Australia to the United States, you would drive on the right side of the road. And if you were the ambassador of Australia to Russia, you'd live in Moscow, you would try to learn a few words of Russian.

26. 10:15

    And you would respect their laws, but you would not get involved in any of their politics. You don't really belong there. You're an ambassador from the country that sent you to the country you're living in. And that's our role right now, brothers and sisters, as we wait for Christ. You don't really belong here.

27. 10:39

    Thankfully, you live here. It's a nice place to live. But don't feel too comfortable that, well, this is my home. This is my country. We have a song over my country. Peter says, I beseech you. I'm pleading with you, brothers and sisters. Get this point. This is so important. I beseech you as aliens.

28. 10:59

    So you're an alien. I live in Australia, born in Australia. You're an alien. And an exile. And you're supposed to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wades against your soul. Now, while you're living here as an alien, how are you going to behave? Well, maintain good conduct among the Gentiles. You obey the laws in this country, unless it was a law that was conflicting with the law of Christ.

29. 11:24

    You drive on their side of the road. You obey their rules. You're respectful of their government. But you don't get involved in anything they're doing. And that's what we're supposed to be doing now. Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution. Constitution. I'm just reading Peter. These are words you already know.

30. 11:47

    It was Peter who said, I want to stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance. So I didn't come here to tell you something you never heard before. We've come here to just remind you of something you already knew. but we all need to be reminded of it in order to be more faithful in living it.

31. 12:09

    Because our life in the truth is not something to talk about. It's a way to live. So be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution. Whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.

32. 12:28

    For it is God's will that by doing right you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. You are going to live such a squeaky clean life in Australia that nobody can point to the face and say, oh boy, he's a troublemaker. she's a problem. No. You behave yourself where you live but not because you belong there because you're representing Christ wherever it is you're living.

33. 12:58

    And that gives different light on our activities in life. This will put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Think about Daniel. I mean, Daniel was involved helping the Medes and the Persians and he was kept pure to God and he had some enemies and he says, we've got to get him. What do you know, what dirt can you dig up on Daniel?

34. 13:30

    Only thing they could think of was that he prayed. I hope that your neighbors, the people that you work with and for, the people you go to school with, your teachers, everybody that knows you cannot find anything bad about you except that you worship God. And so you know the end of the story.

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    He ended up in the lion's den because he stood up for what he believed was right. Now, I have to confess that if I had been Daniel, I might have said, you know, this is only 30 days, God. They made this temporary decree just to get him, 30 days. So for 30 days, no one's to approach anybody except the king.

36. 14:14

    Well, that made the king feel pretty important, you know. What a stupid rule it was. I mean, he bought their line, hunk, line, and sinker. He loved Daniel. He was just duped by Daniel's images to get him. But if you'd been Daniel and you had my kind of mind, you say, God, you understand it's only 30 days.

37. 14:36

    Now, I normally get down on my knees and pray to you. But I'll tell you what I'll do, God. Just for 30 days, I'm going to just crawl in bed and I'm going to close my eyes and they're going to look in and they're going to look, they'll think I'm asleep. But I'm awake.

38. 14:51

    I'm praying, God. I'm just not going to do it on my knees like I usually do. You understand, God, just for 30 days, okay.

39. 15:00

    Daniel didn't do that, did he? He did what was right in spite of their rules and that's what we have to do. But aren't you thankful you live in a country where you're not forced to do things against what God has taught you? Perhaps only in this example of voting, which I know you don't do, but which you're commanded to do by this country.

40. 15:22

    In our country, it's not a law. I don't vote and I don't break any law but if it was a law to vote, I would have to break that law because we have to break the laws of conflict with the laws of God. But we live in countries which allow us to worship God as we see fit.

41. 15:41

    But God never said you can worship me as you see fit. You have to worship him in spirit and in truth. You've got to do what he said no matter where you live because you are his ambassador. Now in our country we have a paper that's revered by Americans called the Declaration of Independence.

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    I don't know if you've ever heard of it or not but it's supposed to grant all Americans the inalienable right to pursue happiness. I mean that's built into the Constitution. You have the right to pursue happiness and boy do we do it over there. You get on the freeways and they're pursuing it in every direction.

43. 16:18

    Woo, woo, woo. It doesn't say you have the right to happiness. It has you have the right to chase it. Now one wise man who was an American said the pursuit of happiness is a ridiculous phrase. If you pursue happiness you'll never find it. But most people are not wise enough to realize how foolish that statement is.

44. 16:43

    And so what do they do? They're out chasing it. They get up in the morning and we've got a fat thing of happiness today. And the harder you chase it the more elusive it becomes. You will never catch happiness by pursuing it. A little story it's a silly story but it teaches a lesson.

45. 17:04

    Jesus used lots of stories to drive home lessons. This is a story which although you know it's far fetched the lesson it teaches you is worth remembering. And it has to do with two cats. There's an alley behind this house and there's an old tomcat. He's sitting up on the fence just sitting there you know purring away.

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    And down in the road below him is a young cat. And this young cat is full of vim and vigor. And this cat is chasing its tail.

47. 17:40

    Just going around and around and the old cat says what are you doing down there? And the young cat being young you know young people know everything I just graduated from cat college. And I learned in cat college that happiness is found in the tail of the cat. If I can just catch my tail I'll be happy.

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    And the old cat says well I never got to go to college. I just grew up in the back alleys of Sydney. But I also know that happiness is found in the tail of the cat. But I have also learned that if I will just go straight forward and do what's right happiness will follow me all the days of my life.

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    And so there's an old cat that had more wisdom than the young cat who just graduated from cat college. And I hope that we learn the lesson that you don't get happiness by pursuing it. You get happy by going forward doing what's right and happiness just comes as a byproduct. The people who want to be happy and say I want to be happy are the most miserable people around.

50. 19:03

    Solomon. Why is King Solomon? He says I decided to enjoy myself and find out what happiness is. He hadn't heard the cat story yet. He said I decided I found that I decided to enjoy myself. I found that whatever I did was useless. I got whatever I wanted. I did anything that made me happy.

51. 19:22

    He could. He was a king. But most of all I enjoyed my work. Then I thought about everything that I had done including the hard work. It was simply chasing the wind. Nothing on earth is worth the trouble in a modern translation. You know King James is vanity of vanities all is vanity.

52. 19:45

    Solomon found out that living a life of self indulgence was empty and not satisfying. And although he had tried it it did not work. He could not get happy trying to be happy. He was so what does it what does it take for you to be happy? Well if we're wise we're ambassadors for Christ we listen to the Bible.

53. 20:08

    The Bible is going to tell us the answer. Happy is the man who has the Lord for his God and trust in him. Happiness comes from finding wisdom. Happiness comes from doing God's will. Happiness comes from caring and helping others. along the way. Now people who are not Christadelphians actually have discovered the same truth.

54. 20:32

    William James said if you want to make others happy practice compassion. If you want to be happy practice compassion. Mark Twain said cure yourself up by trying to cheer somebody else up. think about the way to happiness is to put your life in God's hands and realize as Mark Twain and William James said think about others.

55. 21:03

    And when you're trying to help somebody else and you're doing for them all of a sudden you find out you're happy. You've forgotten about trying to be happy and the people who sit back I just want to be happy are miserable. it's an interesting thing and the world has not learned it like the cat right out of college had not learned it.

56. 21:23

    So our temporary assignment as we journey on the way to the kingdom is to forget about ourselves. Just forget yourself and learn to think of others. The more you think of others the happier you will be the more you think of yourself the more miserable you will be. Jesus gives us the only picture we have of the judgment seat.

57. 21:45

    Again you know this well. Nothing new to you. It's in Matthew chapter 25 and he tells us how it will be at the judgment seat. And he's going to talk to you. You know you're going to be there. All those that are going to partake of these emblems this morning are going to be there.

58. 22:04

    Whether you're ready or not you're going to be there. And the point is get ready because it's going to be too late to get ready when you get the call. The master is coming and calls for you. So now is our time to be getting ready. But what are you doing while you're getting ready?

59. 22:19

    Jesus is going to explain it to us. The king says come. You know I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I have to thank all you brothers. You've been so kind to me this weekend. people have to be bringing me water and I bring me food.

60. 22:38

    Being conscious of my needs. I'm an old man and I don't get around like I used to. But you're showing thoughtfulness. When you're doing that you're making yourself happy but that wasn't what you were trying to do. You were trying to help me. And it made me happy too to see you help me.

61. 22:54

    So it was a win-win situation. And the person who cares only about themselves they're miserable. If you walk out a door and you see the person right here just slammed it in your face. All the things about I wouldn't go out the door. You hold it open for somebody else. If it's a door that's going to close on you.

62. 23:11

    So Jesus is saying this is what you did to me. And he's talking to you. It's going to be you. You're going to be there. He's going to say this to you. I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me some drink. I was a stranger and you took me in.

63. 23:28

    I was in prison. Oh have you ever visited a prison? They're not a very pleasant place to go. Would you visit a Christadelphian in prison? We have Christadelphians in prison. Do you go see them if that happens to them? They're sick. Do you go to the hospital? Do you go to the nursing homes?

64. 23:45

    Do you go to these places that sometimes are smelly? I've had Christadelphians say I don't go to those places because they don't smell good. And then they turn out to be in one themselves as a patient. Strange how life comes that way. You invited me to your home. We talked about that yesterday.

65. 24:04

    And you know they didn't remember any of this. And they said Lord we never went to prison to see you. We didn't feed you. We didn't give you anything to drink. Oh but you did. In as much as you did it in one of the least of these my brethren you did it for me.

66. 24:20

    And then he's going to turn to those who didn't do it. Who were wrapped up in their own life. And I just want to make sure I'm comfortable. I'm well fed. I have enough to drink. I'm well clothed. Sorry about you. Too bad. Be warmed and filled. Just go take your salary. So James talks about that.

67. 24:39

    Thinking of self and miserable. Thinking of others and happy. So this is a true win-win situation. If you learn to put yourself out for others. Now you will be happy now. And when Jesus comes you're going to be happier than you have ever been when he says come ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

68. 25:09

    And all the little things that you did that you didn't realize were for Jesus they were for him because you did it for others. are we doing this brothers and sisters? You're only living here temporarily. Don't get too comfortable where you live but just realize that while you are here as an ambassador your job is to look after other people.

69. 25:35

    Old people young people people in between someone doesn't have a car give them a ride to a meeting people who can't go out to get groceries we go buy groceries for them and just little things a glass of water this is not a very big deal. Jesus said if you just give a glass of water in my name I'll remember it.

70. 26:04

    You will not lose your reward for that. But somebody was thoughtful enough to realize that the speaker might need a glass of water during the talk. And so they put themselves out a little bit by saying it's even cold water. So they've been careful about the little details because they care. So I thank that person whoever they were.

71. 26:27

    They didn't do that to be thanked but I do appreciate it. But the more important thing is so does the Lord. Now James is going to tell you about pure religion. Now this is the definition of pure religion. It's not the definition that Christadelphians would normally give. If you didn't know about this verse this is certainly not what you would have said.

72. 26:44

    I want you to tell me you're a Christadelphian. Yes I'm a Christadelphian. Well that's pure religion. Oh that's pure religion. What is pure religion? Well let me tell you about pure religion. We don't get involved in the world of course. We probably come up the Birmingham statement of faith. We meet on the Birmingham we're trying to keep the doctrines pure.

73. 27:05

    We're trying to keep hold high the standards of the truth. You know that's all correct and right. It's not what James said at all. That's not what he said. I don't want you to think that I don't think those things are important because I know they're important. But if you keep the standards of the truth high and you keep yourself very pure but you don't do anything for anybody else your religion is vain.

74. 27:28

    It's worthless in spite of the fact that it's pure. If you don't get busy doing for other people and caring for their insignificant little needs your religion is in vain. I wouldn't dare come all the way from California and say that to you. Except I'm only telling you what James said and he was speaking by inspiration.

75. 27:52

    So he's right even though I could easily be wrong. So how are we doing? We're going to partake of these emblems in a minute. They represent a body that was given for you. You can't do more than give your life. That's the ultimate sacrifice. He laid down his life for you. When you partake of the bread and the wine you are in symbol taking Jesus inside you.

76. 28:20

    The Lord Jesus Christ is being consumed by you. And what did he say? Follow me. And what did he do? He had compassion. on the multitudes. Even some of the people that killed him he was kind to them. Now if you are a pretty young girl and I come up to you and tell you I'm going to give you a kiss and you don't want one you can make it very difficult for me.

77. 28:59

    You know I'm going to give you oh no you're not you're struggling I might overpower you if I was stronger than you but you would be giving it reluctantly because you don't want a kiss from an old man like me but Jesus knew that Judas was going to kiss him and he knew that that would be the sign he was being betrayed it was a death kiss and Jesus called him friend wherefore art thou come and he allowed Judas to kiss him through what meant his arrest you see he never looked after himself he just forgot himself and helped others and that's the Lord that we're coming now to remember the one who gave his life for you are you going to do that for him are you too wrapped up in this life are you too busy with the things of this life you have no time to help your brothers and sisters poor Paul Paul was in prison we just read about him in prison in Rome in today's readings and he writes a letter to the Philippians and he says I'd like to send somebody to you but you know of all the brothers and sisters I know they're all wrapped up in their own affairs except Timothy one exception he cares about you he's willing to come and visit you because I can't I'm in jail you go visit somebody you jump in your car and you drive on paved roads and you pull up into their house and no great effort Timothy had to walk to take a boat driven by the wind it took not days it took weeks

78. 30:58

    maybe even months for them to get around would you get in a sailing boat and sail across the Pacific to my house to see me because he heard I was sick well I don't have time I've got a job to do that would be true I know most bosses won't give you that much time off but you see how involved are you in this world that you don't have time to do these things for the Lord well I have a job to do I have homework to do I can't I can't go visit that sister I have a test tomorrow well that's probably right you have to prioritize your time and there is a time and place for all things and you can't always do what you want to do when you want to do it but the question is are you thinking about trying to help others and are you making ways to help others or are you just filling yourself with your own life and your own activities I don't have time to go to the Bible class I know it's a nice thing CYC is going on I'm busy how many of you are Timothys the answer I would like to say is all of you are Paul couldn't say that and I can't because I don't know you that well all I'm saying is this exhortation is about becoming a Timothy it's about forgetting yourself it's about devoting your life to Jesus so in as much as you do these things to other Christadelphians you do them for him and in as much as you don't do it you don't do

79. 32:39

    it to him and so your religion needs to be pure and you have to keep yourself unspotted from the world but you do that by getting involved in your ecclesia you get involved in and today it's so much easier all you young people have email and you text messages all over the place sometimes send one to an old guy you know young people sometimes think old people are invisible they can walk right by you they don't even speak to you because you're old you know and some old people don't notice the sweet young people and so we care about each other the young cares about the old the old cares about the young we all love each other and we're trying to help each other get into the kingdom and so you do that by extending your hand to others and helping them along the way just remember you're only here as a puff of smoke you're not here long get involved in your ecclesia things find out who's sick find out who needs to be visited find out what you can do you got a brother that hurt himself he can't mow his lawn go over and mow his lawn for him mundane things that you can do for other people that shows that you love God because you're trying to help them because everything you're saying is being and doing is being recorded in heaven and all the things you're not saying and doing you know there's sins of omission and there's sins of commission and you can say well I never did anything bad to anybody I just never did anything and that

80. 34:28

    can't be right so our message as we come to these emblems is Lord you died for me I'm going to show how much I love you by the way I treat my brothers and sisters