John Launchbury - Class 2: Subject to Vanity

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

1. 0:00

   You’re listening to a Bible. Talk recorded at the 2011. Western Chris, delphian Bible School of Manuka, the speaker is, John launch party with the second class in a series. The transformed mind, this address is entitled subject to vanity and was recorded on July 26, 2011. Good morning. So theme is the transformed mind. Yesterday, we talked about one barrier to transformation. The barrier is that of thinking of our religion as an externally imposed set of rules rather than internal transformation, internal real change.

2. 0:43

   Today, we’re going to be discussing another barrier to transformation. So today is another dismantling day when we’re taking things apart, And then the next few days are much more of constructing things in their place. Subject to vanity is is our theme here. But I’d like to start heard it from a slightly strange perspective and think about for a moment, the kingdom of God, think about what we think about, when we think about the kingdom of God, and I’m sure I thoughts go immediately to things like Revelation 21.

3. 1:23

   I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth, and the all the beautiful things that are being described there. No more suffering, no more pain. Or there’s the thrilling kind of Prophecy that we get in Daniel 7 where he sees one like a son of man coming with the Clouds Of Heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days was led into his presence, was given Authority, glory and Sovereign power, all people Nations, and Men of every language worshipped him.

4. 1:48

   His Dominion is an everlasting Dominion. It will not pass away. His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. And these are the kind of thrilling exciting future things that we think about when we think about the kingdom of God, and this is all true and it’s all wonderful. I don’t want us to lose it.

5. 2:08

   I’d like us to add to it however, because I think we miss a great deal, if we only think of the kingdom of God as something in the future, The kingdom of God. Very clearly in scripture has a past and a present Dimension about it to the Fulfillment. Of all of these promises is still in the future, but there is very much, a present part of the kingdom of God that we’re able to participate in and I’d like us to go to a few verses so that we get the sense of that.

6. 2:42

   From from this set of verses, let’s start with Mark one. Mark chapter 1 and verse 15. For context, I’ll read for you verse 14. After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the good news of God. The time has come. He said the kingdom of God is near repent and believe the good news. Now, the word Nia has two possible meanings. Something could be near in time, or it could be near in space. It could be close to you.

7. 3:23

   And I for years and years. I thought when he said the kingdom of God is near that he was in some sense of talking about the second coming, the establishment of the what we think of as the kingdom, the Fulfillment of the promises. But if I was calling the plumber and he said, yeah, I’ll be there very soon, and it was 2,000 years later before he arrived.

8. 3:47

   I’ll probably be calling another plumber. I don’t think Jesus. Here is saying I’m about to establish the Fulfillment of everything that we have is the promises including the second coming. He’s talking about a different aspect of the kingdom of God. That is near its it’s so close. You could touch. It is the idea that he’s getting at here.

9. 4:14

   And again, even though I’m going to be emphasizing this in this talk, please don’t take it that I’m in any sense. Diminishing the beautiful Vision that we have of the restoration of creation. That is all true. That is the wonderful hope that is laid out, not just for the group sitting here, but for the whole of the creation that God has constructed that it Be renewed.

10. 4:38

    But I am saying, don’t let us let the Brilliance of that Future Vision. Fog our willingness to see the present dimension of the kingdom of God. Now, we often think of the idea of Kingdom as territory, the United Kingdom, where I was born is a land, it’s a territory, but I think the idea of the the word kingdom is not so much territory, but it’s about kingship, it’s about rain, it’s about sovereignty, it’s about domain.

11. 5:14

    You can, you can think of Jesus. Is saying, the reign of God is near The Domain, of God is near and you get to as it were step into it or step back out of it, as to whether you step into the reign of God. Luke chapter 17, I think this is Jesus trying to say a similar kind of thing.

12. 5:40

    Luke chapter, 17, and verse 20 This is a classic one that christadelphians spend a long time debating. And unfortunately because we’re trying to emphasize the Future Part Of The Hope in. Debating this we miss the think, I think. Actually, the thing that Jesus is trying to say verse 20 of Luke 17 once having been asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God would come Jesus replied. So the question is a wonderful Christian offering question, where we say to Jesus, When will the kingdom of God, come? What has to happen?

13. 6:19

    What nation has to go up against what other Nation? Tell us. What’s the timetable, when’s it going to happen and we would love him to give the answer of. Well, this happens and then this happens and then this happens and then I’ll come back and the kingdom will be established. Ah, we will be so happy if that was the answer Jesus gave but it’s not It’s not the answer that he gives.

14. 6:43

    And so that tells us that we need to sort of stand back a little bit from our question. The answer he gives to the very question. We would love to ask is the kingdom of God. Does not come with your careful observation. Nor will people say here it is, or there it is. Because the kingdom of God, is present among you within you people debate, precisely what word should be there, but I don’t want to get into the debate. Jesus is saying that there is a dimension of the Kingdom that is right here and now Again, he’s not trying to say that this is all that the kingdom is about, but the reign of God is present. Now if we choose to enter into it and I think part of what he’s saying is that the future is irrelevant. The Future Vision of the kingdom is irrelevant, if it’s not a present reality to us today, if we don’t take the opportunity today to step into the reign of God, and to live in the reign of God, Then why do we think that in the future that we will be living in the reign of God?

15. 8:08

    It’s a choice that we make today to enter into his domain and we might, of course, be thinking, well, enter into the domain of God, that means doing all the things that God has said, following all the rules. But no, of course, we’ve dismantled that yesterday. It has to be about entering the domain of God, has to be about accepting the inner transformation that he calls Upon Us calls for us to do.

16. 8:34

    So I think in my in my experience, we tend to argue these words away here in Luke, rather than saying, I’m just going to kind of let these words of Jesus stand with me for a while. As something that almost has me and asked the question that I would have liked to ask.

17. 8:58

    He’s telling me to think about the question of the coming of the kingdom of God, in a different way than I might have thought about it before. Look at Mark chapter 12.

18. 9:15

    Mark chapter 12 and verse 34. One of the teachers of the law has asked Jesus which is the most important commandment and Jesus said hear o Israel the Lord Our God, the Lord is one, love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength and the second is this, love your neighbor as yourself.

19. 9:35

    There’s no command greater than these. This, this man thinks about it. It’s beautiful here in verse 30 32. He says, well said teacher, you’re right. You’re right in saying that God is one and there’s no other but him and to love him with all of your heart and your understanding and your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.

20. 10:02

    That’s got to be that’s got to be more important than all of these sacrifices in them. And Jesus I think has a sense of wonder as he looks at this, man. Read in verse 34, Jesus saw that he had answered wisely and said to him you are not far from the domain of God. Beautiful.

21. 10:31

    You are not far from the domain of God, that that understanding that you have just grasped. That God is one and, and to find the way in which we can just give of ourselves to him and to each other. And Jesus says, you are so close. So close to the domain of God,

22. 10:57

    It’s like with the Centurion. And I Think Jesus is similarly, had this sense of wonder as this man said you don’t need to come under my roof. I’m not worthy to have you. You just say the word. My servant will be healed.

23. 11:12

    Angie’s. I haven’t seen so much Faith. Even in Israel. Just I love the moments where Jesus is just caught with Wonder at the people that he interacts with. So the question that we will be challenged with is what are the barriers we Face to living in the reign of God today. What what are the things that actually stop us taking the step and just entering into the reign of God and living our lives in the reign of God?

24. 11:54

    There’s an old fashioned word in the King James which describes it wonderfully. The word is Mammon. Mammon Jesus says, this is Matthew 6:24. No one can serve two masters, either he will hate one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God.

25. 12:17

    And the NIV has money because it’s trying to make sense of of Mammon, but Mammon is more than just money. Mammon is way more than just money, it is money. That’s part of it. It’s like riches. And, you know, I asked the kids, I did this class with the teens earlier, I asked who’s rich and, you know, they weren’t really sure whether they should put, we are all immensely Rich Solomon.

26. 12:45

    Never slept on a mattress as good as the one you slept on last night. I used to look at the things in the Bible when it talks about the feast went on for seven days as a teenager, I thought I will be so good to have a feast that goes on for seven days. I didn’t realize That I live in a world that go Has A Feast for 365 days every year.

27. 13:10

    How we eat is like their feast days. We are so well provided we are so unbelievably wealthy in this age compared with vast portions of the world but not just in comparison with other parts of the world. Now if you go in history, we are incredibly Rich. Jesus said it is so hard for a rich man to step into the reign of God. It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to step into the reign of God. I’m paraphrasing just slightly, but you get the idea because we get caught up in the things of this world. We get caught up in the, in the riches, in the planning, that’s associated with riches.

28. 14:08

    We’re like the The Wedding Banquet where Jesus is already saying, I have prepared a kingdom for you to step into, of course. Again let me in case I get taken out of context, the future fulfillment is still too. but the present Dimension, it’s already prepared for us to step into and we say, I bought me a house.

29. 14:35

    I’ve bought a cow. I’ve married a wife. I can’t come. I can’t take that step because I’m too invested in this world. The Rich Young Man.

30. 14:57

    What should I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus says well you know, the Commandments list them off. Richmond young man says, I’ve been doing all of these since I was a kid. Jesus looks at Jesus really looks at him like deep into his heart and he loves him.

31. 15:23

    Just loves this young man. He says you are so invested in the world and I can see it. I can see it in your eyes and your heart. Tell you what you need, you need to just sell everything that you have. Then you’ll be able to enter into eternal life.

32. 15:51

    That was what he needed. And Jesus diagnosis was correct. That man, at that point could not imagine giving up all of those things. And he went away and he was very sad. Or in an earlier time.

33. 16:25

    Sorry, this one’s emotional. He looks at each of us, you know, he looks at each of us and he says, what is it you need to do. I didn’t know your time said to this wonderful man. You need to take your son.

34. 16:56

    You’re your only son whom you laugh, sir, you need to give him up. Because you are so invested in your son. That is what you have, put your life around Abraham. Take your son.

35. 17:21

    Take him to Mariah. We all of course we all see the the the wonderful picture of Christ and and all of that. But this is the only way I’m able to make sense of what God was asking if Abraham. Abraham wasn’t bound up in his riches. He didn’t he didn’t. He was a rich man. He didn’t care about his riches.

36. 17:48

    But he cared about his son more than anything. It’s a mark of the stunning faith of that, man. That he’s able to take his son. And he’s able to give him up.

37. 18:16

    Religious standing is another thing that prevents us from entering into the kingdom of God. We care too much about our standing within a particular religious community and and it’s nothing new John chapter 9. Look at it. John chapter 9. These are the parents of the man who has been who was born blind and The Disciples. Of course, had wondered who sinned that. This man would be born, blind.

38. 18:43

    Jesus said no one sinned. Was born blind so that the power of God might be revealed in him. That man had nothing. Jesus gave him everything that he possibly had. He had no reason not to just completely throw his lot in with Jesus. I don’t know who the man is. I just know he told me to do something and I did it and I can see But his parents. Verse 22, sorry verse 20.

39. 19:23

    We know he is our son. The parents answered and we know he was born blind but how he can see now or who opened his eyes. We don’t know, ask him, he’s of age, he will speak for himself. His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews for already. The Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. Galatians chapter 2.

40. 19:57

    This is the conflict as to whether you eat as a Jew whether you eat with Gentiles in the New Covenant. Verse 11 of General, Galatians 2, when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he was clearly in the wrong before certain men came from James, that is from the conservative Jerusalem, Ecclesia, before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles but when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles. Because he was afraid of those who are from the circumcision group, the other Joy Jews.

41. 20:42

    Joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy, even Barnabas was led astray. John chapter 12. Verse 42. The context is reading, Isaiah 53. Lord, who has believed our message to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed and his blinded, their eyes and dead in their hearts, so that they can neither see with their eyes nor understand with their hearts, nor turn and I would heal them. Isaiah said, this because he saw Jesus glory and spoke about him verse 42 yet.

42. 21:26

    At the same time, many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they would not confess their faith for fear. They would be put out of the synagogue for they loved praise from men. More than praise from God.

43. 21:45

    All of this is Mammon. It’s all Mammon, it’s not just money, it’s social standing. It’s it’s the things that we strive. After the things that define us, the things that make us sort of give our sense of identity almost and those become more important than allowing ourselves simply to step into the domain of God.

44. 22:16

    One of the challenges that we have in this world in this age, is that we’ve inherited something called the Protestant work ethic. People heard of it Protestant work, ethic, hard work and frugality. Those are the things that make you worthy before God. That’s what the Protestant work. Ethic says, And that’s why in our nation. We view a self-made, man, as a high sign of achievement. And you often see that of people who are running for president, it’s it’s great that they are self-made that they they started out poor and now they they’re Millionaires and they did it all themselves.

45. 22:59

    Of course. Nobody ever does it all themselves but but that’s the story that gets told that’s the narrative in our society. It’s this Protestant work ethic and and partly it comes from passages. Where Paul says if a man does not work, neither shall he eat? it seems to promote it in some sense, the importance of this, the sort of hard work and yet Jesus Jesus, the one that we follow never had a job. Never had a job.

46. 23:35

    So, Paul was addressing idleness and a sense of entitlement, that that’s what he was really addressing. If a man will not work, neither shall he? That that’s really what he was getting at. Do you think Jesus would mind if they wasn’t lunch or dinner or breakfast the next day or lunch or dinner or breakfast, the next day and Jesus, Jesus says to the disciples, you know, when they said we don’t have any bread, he says, don’t you understand?

47. 24:05

    I mean, how many loaves did we have left over when we fed the 5,000? How can you be worrying about bread? Jesus has so much stepped into the domain of God, the things like, what’s the next meal are just so irrelevant to him? And yet, we inherit this drive from our society, this drive that is like a disease.

48. 24:32

    It’s rampant, it’s out of control. Here’s a, here’s a quote from The quote that I’d lost, no find it again. Here’s a quote, from an indigenous American. This is from Carl Jung. In his book talks about this, he talked with an indigenous American called aqua, be a know who was Pueblo Indian. And this is what our Qui EST, be honest it and this is a middle of the 19th century. How cruel the whites are their lips are thin their noses, chop their faces furrowed and distorted by holes. Their eyes have a staring expression. They’re always seeking something. What, what are they seeking?

49. 25:23

    The white always want something that always uneasy and Restless. We don’t know what they want. We don’t understand them. We think that they’re mad. Our society has this drive like a disease. It’s rampant. It’s out of control and we share it. I know I do mean I’m not sort of standing here preaching that I don’t have this as a problem in there.

50. 25:52

    I’ve overcome it and so on that means a lot of my effort is going into serving Mammon. And yet the one that I claim to call my master tells me, you can’t do that and serve God.

51. 26:09

    Jesus is very explicit. Don’t lay up, treasure for yourself where moth and rust and thieves, just take it away and make it worthless, make it empty. See, Jesus has really very clearly got the sense of how empty, how worthless the things of this world, and they the great Endeavors that we engage in as individuals.

52. 26:35

    And as a society, How empty they are. How passing look at Ezekiel chapter 7. Ezekiel chapter 7. That’s 19. This is about the day of judgment on the nation of Israel. They will throw their silver into the streets and their gold will be an unclean thing, their silver, and gold will not be able to save them in the day of the Lord’s wrath. They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it for.

53. 27:26

    It is made them stumble into sin. They were proud of their beautiful jewelry used it, to make their detestable idols and vile images. Therefore, I will turn these into an unclean thing. For them, silver and gold, can’t eat it. When it becomes worthless, it’s completely worthless. There is no value, no end, no purpose to it.

54. 27:55

    Now Ecclesiastes is the book par Excellence which describes this this meaninglessness of human striving of the of the path of Mammon. It just says it is empty. It is meaningless. What one of the things I like to do is take books of the Bible and create a pricey so that you can read it just in a few minutes and so could I have some help handing out some copies of this maybe three or four people.

55. 28:27

    Can I give that and perhaps and that and split them each side and maybe some teen teen could come down and get get some. So what we’re going to do is as I say I’ve let’s let’s do this as quickly as we can if possible. Thanks what we’re going to do then is is collectively read through this summarized version of Ecclesiastes.

56. 28:56

    What I found was when I produced this precis I was shocked and stunned at how Stark the teaching. Is it just hits you over the head about the emptiness of human? Have a and how worthless it is. So does everyone have a copy? I think you guys up there are getting a copy in just a minute. Okay, perfect.

57. 29:36

    So this is Ecclesiastes in brief. This is what the teacher says, it’s futile. All the effort in the world accomplishes, nothing things. Start they finish. They start again. Nothing really gets done. And all will be forgotten by generations, to come. I tried to understand what goes on in the world. My what a burden.

58. 30:06

    God has laid on mankind. All that effort. Achieves nothing. even the pursuit of wisdom is like, chasing after the wind I wondered whether pleasure could provide satisfaction, I decided to conduct great projects to amass, all kinds of wealth and Majesty to myself and to indulge in every conceivable pleasure. But then I step back and realized how empty it was. Nothing was gained.

59. 30:36

    Even wisdom, doesn’t. Last wisdom is better than Folly, but death makes fools of us all. I began to hate life because of the empty labor. I toiled over what will happen to the things I laboured for. When I die, maybe squandered by a fool who comes after me. How useless what was accomplished by all that anxious toil of sleepless nights? Then I realize this is all from God. Those who please him May gain daily satisfaction, those who don’t as simply storing up wealth for others and futility for themselves.

60. 31:18

    The activities of the world, all have their own time and place and Beauty arises now and again but God has put a sense of Eternity in our hearts and then comes the awful realization while God’s work indoors forever. Ours has no lasting effect. I looked out at the world, I saw wickedness instead of Justice. I thought God would intervene, but then I realized he holds back so that we can appreciate how much we’re like animals. The same breath the same fate dust. We cannot rely on anything or anyone in the world. Moreover, when I saw all the oppression that was taking place, I reckoned the dead and especially the stillborn a better off than the living.

61. 32:08

    All this drive to achievement, is being driven by meaningless Envy, why is there? No contentment instead, there is work building amassing and for what At least it is said when there are two or three together, they can help and support each other strength in numbers yet. Even when I saw a wise man, come to power by mass Acclaim the Next Generation reviled him in his time. Chef utility.

62. 32:38

    When you go to the house of God, go to listen, rather than to speak. He is so much greater than you. Be careful what you promise before and why provoke is condemnation. rather stand in, or Don’t be surprised if you see the rights of the poor being violated striving after possessions is an addiction and no amount of money is enough.

63. 33:08

    Yet wealth is a mixed blessing. It brings sleeplessness, it’s easily lost and it’s worthless in the nakedness of death simply to be able to find satisfaction in work. And possessions is like a gift from God. All too often. However God grants a man wealth and honor but not the ability to enjoy them in a instead, a stranger enjoys, the fruit of his work.

64. 33:33

    This is the futility of the world. If a man cannot enjoy the fruit of his labor, right to the end, then the stillborn child has more peace than he however, Richie became A man striving has no end. But it achieves. No victory. What will happen? After he’s gone.

65. 33:56

    The living must take to heart that they will die. Death is the destiny of everything they have done. Sorrow is designed to drive this message home and lead to wisdom. And while wisdom and money can both provide shelter, wisdom can preserve life, think about it. God has made the world crooked who can possibly straighten it, There are good times and there are bad times. All from God, a righteous man dies and a wicked man lives long The one who fears God will think about both aspects of life. Yet because I found life, so hard to understand. I tried to investigate wisdom itself to see how the world works.

66. 34:40

    I wanted to understand the stupidity of wickedness in The Madness of folly. I saw how bitter a woman snare can be and how men pursue many schemes. But I discovered no deep truths, except that wisdom, brightens a man’s face. A king will do just what he wants. No one has the power to question him. There is no one who can predict the future prevent the day of his death or escape from the effects of the wickedness. He practices I saw a ruler’s lording, it over others and the wicked receiving, praise all because of a failure to bring judgment in due time even though things ought to go better for those who fear God, I saw the wicked and the righteous Each other’s reward more futility.

67. 35:26

    So, here’s what I recommend. Simply enjoy your daily labor as best as you can. I see what God has done. He has deliberately deprive the world of significance. Each person is in God’s hand but no one can know his own future whether good or bad. The tragedy that pervades the world is that everybody shares a common Destiny.

68. 35:55

    The hearts of men are full of Madness while they live and then they joined the Dead. There’s nothing left, the living have hope, but the dead have nothing, and they evaporate from the Affairs of the world. While God favors your effort in the world, be glad and joyful because there’s no labor to be done in the grave. No planning, no knowledge, no wisdom. I saw something else out in the world. It’s not always the brilliant who become rich, or the strong who win battles, the turmoil of Life, twists, all that around and evil times fall unexpectedly. Consider the wise peasant who saved the city but then was forgotten his wisdom.

69. 36:48

    Despised wisdom is good, but it can be so easily overturned. I’ve seen fools elevated to rulership and their dullness pervades. Everything, what a tragedy for that land. So, for evil times with generosity, don’t hesitate waiting for the right moment for you cannot hope to predict the outworking of this world that God has established Light is sweet until darkness comes to underscore its emptiness. Be happy while you can but know that God’s judgment will come. And so remember your creator while you’re young before the days of trouble come upon you and the sun grows dim and Pleasures depart and mourners Tramp the streets. Remember him before that final tragedy when the dust has returned to the ground and the breath to God, who gave it? There are many weighty and tedious theories around, but focus on these wise words, fear, God and keep his Commandments. This is the essence of mankind for God will bring every thing we do into judgment.

70. 38:03

    This says it way stronger than I would ever dare to say it. I mean, I still read Ecclesiastes and I am just deeply shocked by it again and again and I think often as a community, we don’t know what to do with it.

71. 38:20

    But what he’s really talking about is the futility of human efforts of trying to build things, establish things, make things Grand of vision of the big outer purpose that we have of setting up from my mighty career of building, this great church or whatever it is. The world is bound over to futility. Paul says the same thing in his mini Book of Ecclesiastes in Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8. The context is present, sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory, that will be revealed in US. He says in verse 19 of Romans 8, the creation waits in eager expectation, for the sons of God to be revealed for the creation was subjected to King.

72. 39:14

    James has vanity. Was subjected to vanity and Ivy has frustration. It’s the same idea that Paul was talking about the creation was subjected to meaninglessness. God made this creation meaningless, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it in. Hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to Decay and brought into the Glorious freedom of the children of God. So the meaninglessness that God has built into the world. The vanity, the chasing after the wind the fact that what we try and do here has no real effect. No real impact is God’s choice.

73. 40:06

    He has done it so that we will not find satisfaction in the things of this life. He has done it so that we will be driven to seek that satisfaction in the reign of God to step away from Mammon and to commit ourselves to God. The world finds new ways all the time.

74. 40:31

    Finds new ways to shower us with glitter and and and just things that catch our attention to say this is so much so much better. And it may be glitter is superficially. Maybe wonderful ideas or intricate things to follow. And I mean, you know me, I’m a scientist and I love exploring ideas and I’m a mathematician and are the mathematics of cryptography. I’m deep into at the moment.

75. 40:58

    It’s just Exquisite but it’s meaningless. It’s meaningless. Somehow I have to be able to take that message. Deeply on to myself, I have to be able to think about it in the context of my daily work find satisfaction day by day. In the things that I do but not have any belief or expectation. That there is some Grand purpose to the work that I do day by day whether it’s growing grain or writing software. The daily work find satisfaction to the extent that you are able. And similarly, I believe in the occlusal world, our job is day by day to engage in a cliche life and to find satisfaction and not to worry about What’s tomorrow, what’s the future? How do I establish this Ecclesia in Portland so that for the next 50 years, it will be a huge lat.

76. 42:01

    I have no idea what God has in mind for her. Atlantic leisure. I have my own Visions, my own ideas, but those are my Visions, my ideas. And if I take the message of Ecclesiastes, in the mission message of Romans, I have to recognize that God has actually built even into the occlusal life subject to vanity and frustration. And I have to find a way day by day to to live with what God has provided.

77. 42:36

    And it’s not like I’m making this up, Jesus in Matthew chapter 6, these are words again that we stress about, we don’t know what to do with them because we are so invested in the world that that I think is that is the core of our problem. And when I say the world, I don’t just mean the outside world. I mean, the affair.

78. 42:56

    As of this life, whether they are religious Affairs in terms of the structures of our religion or whether their business Affairs or family Affairs, or social Affairs or whatever, we’re so invested in them that we don’t actually know how to step out of them. And just enter into the domain of God. Verse 33 seek first God’s domain and his righteousness. And all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow. I call myself a disciple of Jesus. But I don’t follow him.

79. 43:44

    I heard a story once of one of the European explorers who went went East and in the early days, when the East was sort of being opened up to the Europeans and came across, I think it was probably a Buddhist teacher and he was amazed at all of these followers all wearing the robes, or whatever, and talking to the Buddhist teacher, and he said to him, wow, how many disciples do you have? man, quietly looked over the crowd and said, I think about five.

80. 44:22

    And I wonder to what extent Jesus in his love and his compassion looks over us. And says, yeah, this person ever, really has taken my teaching on board and this person and maybe one other Did you know what I mean? And I’m not saying this to guilt us. This is Jesus diagnosing, our problem.

81. 44:52

    This is Jesus. Identifying the the like the the delusion that we’re under. We’re under this delusion that the world is important and the things we do in this life are important. In terms of the structures that we build in the things that we accomplished and what’s going to happen tomorrow and the day after, and the day after that,

82. 45:16

    And Jesus says, no. Don’t don’t think of it that way at all. Now, that’s not to say that it is inappropriate ever to have an outer purpose or a plan, like a lot of effort went into making this Bible School happen and it was a lot of thinking ahead to make it happen.

83. 45:39

    We could call that sort of an outer purpose of the things that we do where we look ahead and we say I have a vision of something that I’d like to do. At the same time, we have an inner purpose of the transformation that God is carrying about in a stay by day. That’s the training as it were.

84. 46:01

    Now whether the outer purpose succeeds or fails is actually irrelevant as far as God is concerned. Mean, I’m delighted Jim and Jane that your outer purpose in creating the school happened. But if God had stepped in or circumstance or time it stepped in and the school didn’t happen, it wouldn’t affect our transformation, our Salvation, our change wouldn’t affect it one wit and yet we would stress about it so much because we had let people down and we’re disappointed people. And as opposed to Jesus saying, Don’t worry about tomorrow. and by all means, I think, I think it would agree by all means have an idea of what you would quite like to accomplish, but don’t set your heart on it, don’t make that the meaning in your life because it will pass You may gain the world. But lose your soul.

85. 47:04

    It’s like exercising. I might get so caught up and I’m training for the Olympics. I’m not training for the Olympics but hypothetically Let’s be real here.

86. 47:18

    I’m training for the Olympics, you know, but I don’t want to train in this blue room. I really want a red room to train in. I mean, that’s the level in some sense that we are. When we are being transformed, we have the opportunity today to step into the domain of God and to experience the peace that passes all understanding overwhelming us. And yet we worry about whether we happen to be in a blue room or a Red Room, whether our treadmill is this kind of that kind and our trainer says that’s that’s not what it’s about. whether I have this kind of career or that kind of career, the time is short.

87. 48:07

    We live each day as if it’s our last at least. That’s what we tell ourselves. And yet, we don’t we are so much invested in our imagined future that we actually forget to live today as today. I think there’s an interesting thing that happened when Harold Camping and the the thing whatever it’s called didn’t happen.

88. 48:37

    What’s the word begins with our the, the rapture? There’s this big deal about all of his followers sort of selling or leg goods and giving it up and going up on a mountain and so on. And something was disquieting about to me about this because in one sense, of course, they’re doing what Jesus exhorts other people to do, you know, sell everything give it out. But, but here’s what was disquieting about it. There was a sense in which they were switching their investment from in the world to Jesus coming back and then Jesus didn’t come back.

89. 49:12

    Now, they were lost as it were. Did you see it? What Jesus, I think is actually encouraging us to do is in some sense, get rid of our investment in the world. And again, I’m not talking about money, I mean money, maybe part of it for some of you and it may not for others, social standing religious standing, all of these kinds of things.

90. 49:33

    What Jesus says is, let’s get rid of your investment in the world and live in the domain of God. Then it doesn’t matter. Whether Jesus comes back tomorrow or next year, or in another 2,000 years, because today, you are living and walking. In the domain of God, you’re actually fulfilling some of the things that he is calling us to day by day.

91. 50:01

    Like to finish just with Philippians chapter 4. Verse 12, this is Paul. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have. Plenty.

92. 50:36

    I have learned the secret of being content. I’ve learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. That’s, that’s very powerful. I have learned the secret of being content. The excitation here is to not be caught up in outer purpose.

93. 51:03

    As if that had any meaning or value, don’t be caught up in striving and seeking and I’m not saying this as a commandment or a legal regulation or anything like that. It’s an excitation, it’s like a diagnosis of the challenge we face and to be Call to it. Paul says I have learned the secret of being content. And are you there?

94. 51:32

    I’m not. I’m not there. But as I’ve been doing these studies, they’ve opened my eyes to it much more and through God’s grace. He will take me there.