332: David Smith – The Moral Imperative

1
00:00:13,300 –> 00:00:14,700
Welcome to good Chris Selfian
talks.

2
00:00:14,700 –> 00:00:15,980
I’m Levi.
I’m Chris.

3
00:00:16,180 –> 00:00:18,380
I’m Jason.
And I’m Brian, thank you for

4
00:00:18,380 –> 00:00:21,180
joining us this week.
On this podcast, we select one

5
00:00:21,180 –> 00:00:24,700
talk a week to help us get the
Bible in our Daily News feed.

6
00:00:24,900 –> 00:00:28,500
Each week we post talk that we
previewed from suggestions sent

7
00:00:28,500 –> 00:00:29,940
in by listeners from around the
world.

8
00:00:30,060 –> 00:00:33,660
Then we record a short intro
beforehand as a personalized

9
00:00:33,660 –> 00:00:36,500
recommendation to you on why we
are sharing the talk.

10
00:00:36,660 –> 00:00:39,640
And now let’s talk more about
this week’s talk.

11
00:00:50,600 –> 00:00:53,040
Welcome to the good
Christadelphian Talks podcast.

12
00:00:53,520 –> 00:00:57,760
This is brother Brian.
This week’s talk is a class that

13
00:00:57,760 –> 00:01:02,160
was given by brother David Smith
of the UK back in 2000.

14
00:01:03,400 –> 00:01:09,600
The classes title and topic is
the moral imperative or more

15
00:01:09,600 –> 00:01:14,280
specifically the idea of God
being the source of absolute

16
00:01:14,280 –> 00:01:19,120
truth and righteousness and how
that should be the foundation

17
00:01:19,120 –> 00:01:23,080
for our moral compass.
The class is structured very

18
00:01:23,080 –> 00:01:28,600
well along the lines of if we
accept this truth, then here is

19
00:01:28,600 –> 00:01:33,320
the next logical step.
And some of the key points that

20
00:01:33,320 –> 00:01:37,360
Brother David brings out are
obviously that our morals should

21
00:01:37,360 –> 00:01:40,960
not change with the times, but
that we should always be

22
00:01:40,960 –> 00:01:47,240
anchored to what and how God
declared to be right, and how

23
00:01:47,240 –> 00:01:53,760
the basis of our morality should
be driven by the doctrine that

24
00:01:53,760 –> 00:01:57,560
we believe.
And that if the black and white

25
00:01:57,560 –> 00:02:01,120
words on paper are not driving
us to change our behavior, then

26
00:02:01,120 –> 00:02:05,120
either our doctrine is wrong or
our hearts are.

27
00:02:07,120 –> 00:02:12,440
I found it to be a solid big
picture reflection on how we

28
00:02:12,440 –> 00:02:17,520
manifest the holiness of our
Father, even though we as his

29
00:02:17,520 –> 00:02:21,160
children can only return a
flawed version of God’s

30
00:02:21,160 –> 00:02:26,120
character.
But He wants us to think which

31
00:02:26,120 –> 00:02:28,840
parts are easier than others to
mimic.

32
00:02:31,400 –> 00:02:35,360
So, as always, we hope that this
strengthens your faith and

33
00:02:35,360 –> 00:02:39,040
brightens your day.
Brother David Smith, The Moral

34
00:02:39,040 –> 00:02:41,400
Imperative.
Good morning, brethren and

35
00:02:41,400 –> 00:02:44,920
sisters.
And Shalom very good.

36
00:02:44,920 –> 00:02:48,160
Not quite, but nearly.
You know, you see in Hebrew

37
00:02:48,160 –> 00:02:49,880
where if you meet somebody with
a Shalom, you’re going to have a

38
00:02:49,880 –> 00:02:51,840
Shalom back, but it’s going to
be a proper Shalom.

39
00:02:51,840 –> 00:02:54,840
Not 1/2 of Shalom or 1/4 Shalom,
but a whole Shalom.

40
00:02:55,440 –> 00:02:59,440
So brethren, sisters, Shalom,
wonderful.

41
00:03:00,040 –> 00:03:02,520
There we are.
I’m here just one minute and

42
00:03:02,520 –> 00:03:08,680
everyone’s speaking Hebrew.
I, I bring you good wishes and

43
00:03:08,680 –> 00:03:11,600
greetings of all the brethren
sisters on the North East coast

44
00:03:11,600 –> 00:03:13,640
of England.
That’s just about as far as you

45
00:03:13,640 –> 00:03:16,600
can get from California in
England, if you’re in England

46
00:03:16,600 –> 00:03:19,680
anyway.
And we don’t number too many in

47
00:03:19,800 –> 00:03:24,560
Sunderland, which is my home
ecclesia, just about 35.

48
00:03:24,560 –> 00:03:27,600
It’s probably the first couple
of rows, but we’re very pleased

49
00:03:27,600 –> 00:03:30,320
to see you all.
Should you drop across to the

50
00:03:30,320 –> 00:03:32,880
East Coast of England anytime,
Just drop in.

51
00:03:33,280 –> 00:03:35,320
A little notice would be
welcome, especially if you’re

52
00:03:35,320 –> 00:03:42,720
going to come at once.
My subjects, this Bible school

53
00:03:42,960 –> 00:03:48,960
are the moral imperative.
I want to talk about morality

54
00:03:48,960 –> 00:03:52,560
and this first session is about
the source of all morality, even

55
00:03:52,880 –> 00:03:57,400
even the Lord God himself.
Morality is not an easy subject

56
00:03:57,400 –> 00:04:02,680
to to discuss either publicly in
the political arena or indeed in

57
00:04:02,680 –> 00:04:05,640
in the brotherhood.
We don’t really like being

58
00:04:05,640 –> 00:04:09,600
challenged about what we do or
what we think or what we say.

59
00:04:09,600 –> 00:04:13,720
We feel uncomfortable about it.
And one of the first and one of

60
00:04:13,720 –> 00:04:17,120
the early reactions that we have
towards such a person who

61
00:04:17,120 –> 00:04:22,040
challenges in this way is, well,
I bet he’s no better, but he’s

62
00:04:22,040 –> 00:04:24,400
got a few skeletons in the
cupboard.

63
00:04:24,400 –> 00:04:29,120
It’ll beholds him to talk about
right and wrong.

64
00:04:29,160 –> 00:04:34,600
And that is absolutely correct.
Brothers and sisters, as far as

65
00:04:35,160 –> 00:04:38,200
this speaker is concerned, I
have absolutely nothing to offer

66
00:04:38,200 –> 00:04:41,320
you than what you already know
in terms of your own personal

67
00:04:41,320 –> 00:04:46,360
standards of morality.
But that is not a reason for not

68
00:04:46,360 –> 00:04:53,160
talking about morality.
In fact, if we had to wait for

69
00:04:53,160 –> 00:04:57,840
somebody who was a paragon of
virtue and an excellent exponent

70
00:04:57,840 –> 00:05:00,120
of all morality, we’d be waiting
a long time.

71
00:05:00,120 –> 00:05:03,040
In fact, this sort of subject
would never be addressed at all.

72
00:05:03,840 –> 00:05:06,800
So we need to address it for
ourselves, each one

73
00:05:06,800 –> 00:05:10,120
individually, not out of any
self righteousness or pride or

74
00:05:10,360 –> 00:05:14,360
arrogance or wishing to
challenge purely for the sake of

75
00:05:14,360 –> 00:05:17,440
challenge, but nonetheless we
need to talk about it.

76
00:05:18,120 –> 00:05:20,840
I’ve heard that another good
reason for not talking about

77
00:05:20,840 –> 00:05:27,560
morals is that godly principles
may on occasion appear to

78
00:05:27,560 –> 00:05:31,520
conflict with one another,
especially when they’re handled

79
00:05:31,800 –> 00:05:37,120
by flesh and blood.
And this has challenged our

80
00:05:37,120 –> 00:05:40,600
brotherhood for a very long
time.

81
00:05:40,800 –> 00:05:44,520
You see, on the one hand we have
the attitude that says we must

82
00:05:44,520 –> 00:05:48,640
contend for the faith.
We must uphold the highest of

83
00:05:48,840 –> 00:05:51,720
personal and community
standards.

84
00:05:53,000 –> 00:05:57,200
And yet, on the other hand, we
must deal with one another in

85
00:05:57,360 –> 00:06:01,560
love, not being the first one to
cast the stone.

86
00:06:02,760 –> 00:06:06,520
And there probably is very
little dispute between us about

87
00:06:06,520 –> 00:06:09,480
the principles or the standards
with which we have to deal.

88
00:06:09,680 –> 00:06:12,320
But how that in the community
and for the sake of the

89
00:06:12,320 –> 00:06:16,240
individual within the community
is handled when one should fall

90
00:06:16,240 –> 00:06:20,000
from those highest standards
that we espouse, that is very

91
00:06:20,000 –> 00:06:26,000
often a source of great tension.
And it’s there in the Scripture.

92
00:06:26,400 –> 00:06:28,840
It’s there in First Corinthians,
for example, Second Corinthians

93
00:06:29,080 –> 00:06:33,760
when the man took his step
mother and they effed and but

94
00:06:33,760 –> 00:06:37,440
about it and pontificated and
some defended and some didn’t.

95
00:06:37,520 –> 00:06:40,520
And the Apostle Paul stepped
straight in and said no, he must

96
00:06:40,520 –> 00:06:43,160
be excluded from the community.
But then he in the second

97
00:06:43,320 –> 00:06:46,080
epistle came back and said
don’t, don’t leave him.

98
00:06:46,080 –> 00:06:50,040
He will be over much grieved.
So this, this whole business of

99
00:06:50,040 –> 00:06:54,200
how you handle people who fall,
as it were, from grace within

100
00:06:54,200 –> 00:06:57,280
the community is a tension
that’s always been there and

101
00:06:57,280 –> 00:07:01,280
it’s just as much there today.
And we continue to wrestle with

102
00:07:01,280 –> 00:07:03,560
it.
But it didn’t stop the apostles

103
00:07:03,560 –> 00:07:07,000
talking about it and preaching
about it in a very forthright

104
00:07:07,000 –> 00:07:10,680
manner and very direct manner.
And it, it means that we must

105
00:07:10,680 –> 00:07:14,360
consider the whole issue of, of,
of morality ourselves today.

106
00:07:15,200 –> 00:07:20,480
I have been told by somebody, it
had been suggested to me that we

107
00:07:20,480 –> 00:07:28,520
should not overly burden our
young people with such high

108
00:07:28,520 –> 00:07:34,440
standards, such high demands of
morality, because they have to

109
00:07:34,440 –> 00:07:37,800
live out there in a very, very
difficult and a very, very

110
00:07:38,280 –> 00:07:40,800
immoral world.
And if they tried to observe

111
00:07:41,200 –> 00:07:45,280
these things in their world,
then they would inevitably fail.

112
00:07:45,280 –> 00:07:48,160
So they won’t try or they become
embarrassed by it, or if they do

113
00:07:48,160 –> 00:07:51,720
try and they fail, they’ll feel
terribly guilty about the whole

114
00:07:51,720 –> 00:07:54,160
process.
So let’s not start.

115
00:07:54,160 –> 00:07:57,160
Well, Brendan says, I, I can’t
go with that one, and I’m sure

116
00:07:57,160 –> 00:08:00,320
you can’t either.
That’s the quickest way to

117
00:08:00,320 –> 00:08:04,760
produce spiritual pygmies in our
community.

118
00:08:05,200 –> 00:08:09,280
And if we don’t teach the right
sort of behaviour today, then

119
00:08:09,280 –> 00:08:13,520
what will it be like tomorrow?
Will the Lord find faith on the

120
00:08:13,560 –> 00:08:15,160
earth?
And maybe it says something

121
00:08:15,160 –> 00:08:18,640
about the way we talk about
morality and the way we teach

122
00:08:18,640 –> 00:08:21,560
morality.
Perhaps we overemphasize the

123
00:08:21,560 –> 00:08:27,640
negative aspects of morality and
of God’s behaviour rather than

124
00:08:28,440 –> 00:08:32,320
the positive.
So to me, none of these reasons

125
00:08:33,120 –> 00:08:39,760
are good enough to not consider
the whole business of morality

126
00:08:39,799 –> 00:08:42,000
and to challenge ourselves
again.

127
00:08:42,520 –> 00:08:45,800
Perhaps one of the best known
passages is in Second Timothy 3,

128
00:08:45,960 –> 00:08:50,880
which talks about the last days.
And you know, it’s talking there

129
00:08:51,040 –> 00:08:58,600
about perilous times, perilous
times, fierce times, lunatic,

130
00:08:58,600 –> 00:09:04,640
literally lunatic times where
it’s almost impossible to

131
00:09:04,680 –> 00:09:07,520
govern.
And what what are these times?

132
00:09:07,520 –> 00:09:11,240
In what way are they perilous?
Well, if you have a look at

133
00:09:11,600 –> 00:09:17,600
second Timothy three the first
few verses this know also that

134
00:09:17,600 –> 00:09:21,280
in the last days perilous times
shall come.

135
00:09:22,000 –> 00:09:26,200
And of course, we use this
standardly in evening talk or a

136
00:09:26,200 –> 00:09:31,920
gospel proclamation to point out
how bad and how immoral the

137
00:09:31,920 –> 00:09:34,320
world is.
And I’m sure that the Apostle

138
00:09:34,320 –> 00:09:38,480
Paul is doing it in a similar
way, but he is couching it in

139
00:09:38,480 –> 00:09:44,200
the terms of the ecclesia being
in the context of that society.

140
00:09:44,960 –> 00:09:48,520
The same level of immorality
that’s out there may well creep

141
00:09:48,520 –> 00:09:51,880
into the ecclesia.
And so the last day warning is

142
00:09:51,880 –> 00:09:56,120
not merely about perilous times
out there, but it’s about

143
00:09:56,240 –> 00:09:58,680
perilous times within the
community.

144
00:09:58,680 –> 00:10:02,600
And what is the perilous bit?
The perilous bit might well turn

145
00:10:02,600 –> 00:10:07,800
into violence or severe
deprivation of one sort or

146
00:10:07,800 –> 00:10:10,960
another for one part of the
community or an individual or

147
00:10:10,960 –> 00:10:13,800
another.
But the essence of the perilous

148
00:10:13,800 –> 00:10:17,680
nature of the times is that they
are immoral.

149
00:10:18,280 –> 00:10:20,640
We have a look at that in verse
2.

150
00:10:20,640 –> 00:10:24,360
For men shall be lovers of their
own selves.

151
00:10:24,360 –> 00:10:27,200
Revised Version.
They shall also be lovers of

152
00:10:27,440 –> 00:10:31,640
money, boastful, and all the
rest of the list of things that

153
00:10:31,640 –> 00:10:37,960
lovers of pleasure rather than
lovers of God.

154
00:10:38,600 –> 00:10:42,240
So the perilous nature of the
times in which we live are that

155
00:10:42,240 –> 00:10:49,680
they are immoral and all the
priorities are completely upside

156
00:10:49,680 –> 00:10:52,160
down.
And he goes on to say something

157
00:10:52,160 –> 00:10:56,640
interesting there in verse five.
He says these are people who

158
00:10:56,720 –> 00:11:03,800
have a form of godliness, but
they have denied the power

159
00:11:04,200 –> 00:11:08,760
thereof.
The sort of godliness that is

160
00:11:08,760 –> 00:11:15,240
displayed can be a sham.
It can be avenir like clothes

161
00:11:15,240 –> 00:11:20,280
that we put on and take off so
easily, not deep rooted within

162
00:11:20,400 –> 00:11:26,600
our own hearts.
People have denied the power of

163
00:11:26,600 –> 00:11:30,400
godliness.
That’s the same word that’s used

164
00:11:30,400 –> 00:11:36,080
of the apostles.
Peters denial of the Lord Jesus

165
00:11:36,080 –> 00:11:38,360
Christ.
He said no, surely you know this

166
00:11:38,360 –> 00:11:40,080
man.
No, never heard of him.

167
00:11:40,080 –> 00:11:42,320
But you’re a Galilean.
Your speech betrayed you.

168
00:11:42,600 –> 00:11:45,160
No, no, no, no, I sorry.
It’s nothing to me.

169
00:11:45,200 –> 00:11:52,480
No, He heard himself say no.
And we hear ourselves say no to

170
00:11:52,480 –> 00:11:56,160
the power of godliness on a
daily basis, don’t we?

171
00:11:56,720 –> 00:11:58,400
But the Duncan’s mentioned it
already.

172
00:11:58,480 –> 00:12:01,800
We hear something said, perhaps
with which we don’t agree, but

173
00:12:01,800 –> 00:12:06,200
for the sake of of not being
embarrassed or upsetting

174
00:12:06,200 –> 00:12:13,600
somebody, we say no to the power
of godliness.

175
00:12:14,240 –> 00:12:18,280
And we need to be very careful
about that.

176
00:12:18,280 –> 00:12:22,320
So we need to pay attention to
godliness because godliness is

177
00:12:22,320 –> 00:12:27,960
the whole essence of this moral
imperatives, it’s the whole

178
00:12:27,960 –> 00:12:31,320
essence of our morality in these
days.

179
00:12:31,320 –> 00:12:34,520
And the pastoral epistles and
particularly the ones written by

180
00:12:34,520 –> 00:12:39,360
Timothy have got a lot to say
about godliness.

181
00:12:39,360 –> 00:12:46,320
God likeness, choosing to live
optimally with God according to

182
00:12:46,320 –> 00:12:48,840
his character.
Indeed, if we turn back, where

183
00:12:48,840 –> 00:12:51,840
do we get godliness from?
Turn back to First Timothy 6.

184
00:12:58,000 –> 00:13:01,880
The foundation of our godliness
as it comes to us, as it’s

185
00:13:01,880 –> 00:13:08,360
perceived by us, as we share it,
as we grow in it, is the essence

186
00:13:08,360 –> 00:13:13,720
of doctrine.
You see, our doctrine very often

187
00:13:15,760 –> 00:13:20,360
is merely black words on white
pages, and there’s a list of

188
00:13:20,360 –> 00:13:23,360
them, and you probably know them
very well, and probably you,

189
00:13:23,360 –> 00:13:28,040
like me, made sure that you knew
them to 1° or another when you

190
00:13:28,040 –> 00:13:30,720
made your statement, your faith.
And no doubt you believed it as

191
00:13:30,720 –> 00:13:34,800
I believed it, and still do.
But it’s not the sort of thing I

192
00:13:34,800 –> 00:13:36,400
carry around with me, Brendan
sisters.

193
00:13:36,840 –> 00:13:39,720
So the sort of thing I can quote
to you in terms of the

194
00:13:39,720 –> 00:13:42,240
declaration.
But I know I’ve got to live that

195
00:13:42,240 –> 00:13:44,440
doctrine because if doctrine
doesn’t change lives, it’s no

196
00:13:44,440 –> 00:13:47,840
doctrine at all.
Either the doctrine is wrong or

197
00:13:47,840 –> 00:13:51,800
we ain’t got the doctrine.
I think that’s the essence of

198
00:13:51,800 –> 00:13:55,680
what the Scripture is saying
with regard to doctrine.

199
00:13:56,040 –> 00:14:01,240
Doctrine changes lives and it
produces godliness.

200
00:14:02,400 –> 00:14:09,040
So if you believe in the nature
of man, for instance, or the

201
00:14:09,040 –> 00:14:13,480
return of the Lord Jesus Christ,
or you believe in the Kingdom of

202
00:14:13,480 –> 00:14:17,000
God as espoused by ourselves, or
the nature of the Lord Jesus

203
00:14:17,000 –> 00:14:22,800
Christ as we do, then in what
way does that impact upon your

204
00:14:22,800 –> 00:14:26,840
life practically and morally?
Because if it has no impact, and

205
00:14:26,840 –> 00:14:29,400
go through all of the
fundamental doctrines in that

206
00:14:29,400 –> 00:14:34,520
way, if it has no impact upon
your life, if the fact that the

207
00:14:34,520 –> 00:14:37,560
Lord Jesus is going to return
has no impact upon your life,

208
00:14:38,120 –> 00:14:39,360
then you’ve got the doctrine
wrong.

209
00:14:39,360 –> 00:14:41,720
Either the doctrine is wrong, or
your perception of it is wrong,

210
00:14:41,720 –> 00:14:46,760
or my perception of it is wrong.
And so he says here that the

211
00:14:46,760 –> 00:14:49,120
whole business of doctrine is to
produce godliness.

212
00:14:49,120 –> 00:14:54,040
If any man, verse three, if any
man, teach doctrine or teach

213
00:14:54,040 –> 00:14:57,720
otherwise.
And consent not to wholesome

214
00:14:57,720 –> 00:15:05,000
words, sound words, healthy
words, good life, giving words,

215
00:15:05,360 –> 00:15:07,920
even the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ.

216
00:15:08,440 –> 00:15:13,800
And to the doctrine which is
according to godliness, he is

217
00:15:13,800 –> 00:15:18,800
proud, knowing nothing.
So doctrines got to change

218
00:15:18,800 –> 00:15:22,360
lives.
Doctrines got to produce

219
00:15:22,960 –> 00:15:27,240
godliness.
And of the doctrines that we

220
00:15:27,240 –> 00:15:31,720
espouse, which is the one that
most impacts upon morality?

221
00:15:31,880 –> 00:15:37,160
I know they all do, but which is
the one that impacts most upon

222
00:15:37,160 –> 00:15:40,240
morality?
Just think for that about that

223
00:15:40,240 –> 00:15:43,160
for a minute yourself.
Get it labeled in your mind,

224
00:15:43,200 –> 00:15:47,320
underlined it.
Which is it to me, it is the

225
00:15:47,320 –> 00:15:53,400
doctrine of God and what we
believe and understand about the

226
00:15:53,400 –> 00:15:59,320
Lord God and his manifestation
throughout the whole of creation

227
00:15:59,440 –> 00:16:05,760
right up to this present time.
And I’ve been through what’s

228
00:16:05,760 –> 00:16:08,160
written in our statement of
faith.

229
00:16:08,760 –> 00:16:11,520
And there are under each of the
statements, as you know, a

230
00:16:11,520 –> 00:16:14,520
number of passages which
underline and emphasize the

231
00:16:14,520 –> 00:16:16,080
importance of the things that we
believe.

232
00:16:16,680 –> 00:16:20,720
And there are in the under the
heading of the statement of the

233
00:16:20,720 –> 00:16:23,920
our doctrine of God.
Many passages in Isaiah in

234
00:16:23,920 –> 00:16:27,640
particular emphasize the
supremacy and the power and the

235
00:16:27,640 –> 00:16:31,920
uniqueness and the oneness of
God, His all knowing, omniscient

236
00:16:32,080 –> 00:16:36,560
omnipresence, concentrating
heavily upon His power, and that

237
00:16:36,560 –> 00:16:41,320
He knowses better than we know
ourselves the supremacy of the

238
00:16:41,320 –> 00:16:44,320
living God.
And that is fundamental in our

239
00:16:44,320 –> 00:16:48,000
understanding.
But there are quite a few verses

240
00:16:48,000 –> 00:16:53,520
missing under that statement
that talk about the character of

241
00:16:53,520 –> 00:16:58,040
the Lord God and knowing Him.
And one of the things that you

242
00:16:58,040 –> 00:17:00,560
might do, those of you who are
charged with the responsibility

243
00:17:00,840 –> 00:17:05,280
of organizing Bible classes, is
to get that out and to go

244
00:17:05,280 –> 00:17:10,280
through it again and to fill in
all the gaps, because the

245
00:17:10,280 –> 00:17:14,480
doctrine of God is the
fundamental doctrine that

246
00:17:14,480 –> 00:17:19,000
impacts upon our behaviour.
Now then that was always the

247
00:17:19,000 –> 00:17:20,760
case.
For example, if you go back to

248
00:17:20,760 –> 00:17:25,680
the prophets and you go back to
Jeremiah 9, you will find there

249
00:17:27,560 –> 00:17:32,200
statement by the prophet in a
chapter which by and large is

250
00:17:32,200 –> 00:17:37,400
relatively gloomy.
There are two beautiful shining

251
00:17:37,400 –> 00:17:46,000
verses that come out of it.
It’s a chapter all about

252
00:17:46,840 –> 00:17:49,640
entropy.
Brother Stan was describing

253
00:17:49,640 –> 00:17:55,360
yesterday a breakdown of a
decline in the community and

254
00:17:55,360 –> 00:17:59,840
judgement to come.
The Duncan’s been talking about

255
00:17:59,840 –> 00:18:04,000
that this morning.
Verse 23.

256
00:18:04,560 –> 00:18:09,120
But this is the whole purpose of
belief in doctrine.

257
00:18:10,120 –> 00:18:14,440
Thus saith the Lord.
Verse 23.

258
00:18:14,760 –> 00:18:20,000
Let not the wise man glory in
his wisdom, neither let the

259
00:18:20,000 –> 00:18:26,440
mighty man glory in his might,
let not the rich man glory, or

260
00:18:26,440 –> 00:18:31,960
boast, or take comfort, or
solace, or conviction and hope

261
00:18:32,000 –> 00:18:34,840
in his riches.
And you note that the apostle

262
00:18:34,840 –> 00:18:41,880
Paul picked this up in the 1st
chapter of his Epistle to the

263
00:18:41,880 –> 00:18:46,840
Corinthians, when he talked
about not many wise, not many

264
00:18:47,320 –> 00:18:51,800
mighty, not many noble.
After the flesh are those that

265
00:18:51,800 –> 00:18:58,960
are said, but those that are
poor, those that are weak, those

266
00:18:58,960 –> 00:19:02,760
that are base in this world.
These are the things that the

267
00:19:02,760 –> 00:19:07,600
Lord God has chosen, that no
flesh should boast in His

268
00:19:07,600 –> 00:19:10,960
presence.
Rather, verse 24.

269
00:19:11,200 –> 00:19:18,080
But let him that Gloria glory in
this, that he understandeth and

270
00:19:18,080 –> 00:19:24,240
knoweth me, that I am the Lord,
which exercise loving kindness,

271
00:19:24,240 –> 00:19:26,480
judgement and righteousness in
the earth.

272
00:19:26,840 –> 00:19:31,720
For in these things I delight,
saith the Lord.

273
00:19:32,000 –> 00:19:33,560
This is the number of it Roman
sisters.

274
00:19:33,880 –> 00:19:39,440
The bottom line is to what
degree do we know the Lord God

275
00:19:39,440 –> 00:19:45,440
not merely know about, we know
about all sorts of things in in

276
00:19:45,440 –> 00:19:48,680
this life.
And you’ll have your own

277
00:19:48,680 –> 00:19:53,000
particular favorite subject.
I know people, for example, in

278
00:19:53,000 –> 00:19:56,960
my country, brethren and sisters
who know an enormous a lot about

279
00:19:57,120 –> 00:20:01,360
tiny little things.
You know about engines in cars

280
00:20:01,360 –> 00:20:04,520
and double overhead Cam shafts
and the thickness of what it

281
00:20:04,520 –> 00:20:07,160
should be between a spark plug
and this, that and the other and

282
00:20:07,160 –> 00:20:10,520
all the latest of this, that and
the other and computers or sport

283
00:20:10,520 –> 00:20:13,080
or whatever it is.
There are people with a huge

284
00:20:13,080 –> 00:20:16,840
amount of knowledge and
commitment to all sorts.

285
00:20:17,160 –> 00:20:22,720
Of things and yet, and yet, what
do?

286
00:20:22,800 –> 00:20:27,520
What do we know of the Lord?
It is not a knowing about.

287
00:20:27,800 –> 00:20:31,560
This is an actual knowing.
It’s a knowing that comes by

288
00:20:31,840 –> 00:20:37,040
observing and reflecting.
It’s a knowing that comes by

289
00:20:37,360 –> 00:20:44,320
experiencing.
Try and see that the Lord is

290
00:20:44,320 –> 00:20:47,040
good.
That’s the process.

291
00:20:47,320 –> 00:20:50,600
And we are challenged in this
very fundamental foundation

292
00:20:50,600 –> 00:20:55,600
principle of morality to know
the Lord our God like that.

293
00:20:56,320 –> 00:21:02,400
Now, how well do you know about
God and how well do I actually

294
00:21:02,400 –> 00:21:06,760
know and understand the living
Lord God?

295
00:21:07,160 –> 00:21:09,800
Do you have an image?
Do I have an image of the Lord

296
00:21:09,800 –> 00:21:12,840
God game we used to play?
What is the shape of your God?

297
00:21:12,840 –> 00:21:17,040
What does he look like, the old
man, grey beard, nice smile?

298
00:21:17,960 –> 00:21:19,720
Or is it the God, it’s just
light?

299
00:21:19,760 –> 00:21:23,040
Or is it the God which is just
vast and you’re not going to

300
00:21:23,040 –> 00:21:25,000
shape of God in your mind?
Difficult, isn’t it?

301
00:21:25,320 –> 00:21:28,440
Brother and sisters, inevitably
we have to come back down to

302
00:21:28,440 –> 00:21:32,400
what the Scripture says as it
paints the Lord God in all of

303
00:21:32,400 –> 00:21:36,360
his supremacy.
But the bottom line is, how well

304
00:21:36,360 –> 00:21:40,640
do we really know God?
Lord Jesus Christ picked up the

305
00:21:40,640 –> 00:21:46,520
same story in John 17.
If you have a look there at the

306
00:21:46,520 –> 00:21:55,160
end of the Last Supper, sharing
these most intimate moments with

307
00:21:55,160 –> 00:21:57,960
His disciples, what did He leave
them with?

308
00:22:07,000 –> 00:22:15,760
John 17 verse one these words
spake Jesus lifted up his eyes

309
00:22:15,760 –> 00:22:20,800
to the heaven and said, Father,
the hour is come, glorify thy

310
00:22:20,800 –> 00:22:25,840
Son, honour thy Son, that thy
Son may also glorify thee.

311
00:22:25,840 –> 00:22:27,880
And and, and the Lord had been
honoured.

312
00:22:28,120 –> 00:22:33,440
He had been glorified in being
given the message of life, of

313
00:22:33,440 –> 00:22:38,080
eternal life to hand on to those
in his generation.

314
00:22:38,080 –> 00:22:42,240
But more particularly, would he
be glorified when he was raised

315
00:22:42,640 –> 00:22:45,800
from the dead?
And this is what he said to

316
00:22:45,800 –> 00:22:50,280
them, verse 3.
This is life eternal.

317
00:22:51,000 –> 00:22:55,000
That’s a quality of life that
happens now in the same way that

318
00:22:55,000 –> 00:22:59,360
we follow Kingdom principles in
our lives now.

319
00:22:59,800 –> 00:23:05,080
It’s got that quality of
eternity about it, that eternal

320
00:23:05,080 –> 00:23:07,440
spirit.
That’s what we pick out of the

321
00:23:07,440 –> 00:23:10,960
word of God, out of the mind of
God, out of the mind of the Lord

322
00:23:10,960 –> 00:23:15,200
Jesus Christ himself.
This is life eternal.

323
00:23:15,200 –> 00:23:18,040
The same way that Duncan has
been talking about judgement as

324
00:23:18,040 –> 00:23:22,200
a now thing, we need to talk
about eternal life.

325
00:23:22,400 –> 00:23:25,200
Don’t get me wrong.
Please don’t get me wrong.

326
00:23:25,400 –> 00:23:28,120
I’m not challenging any
fundamental principles about the

327
00:23:28,120 –> 00:23:31,080
real nature of eternal life and
the eternity that we shall share

328
00:23:31,080 –> 00:23:35,160
with the Father, but but this is
talking about the quality of

329
00:23:35,160 –> 00:23:41,400
life, an eternal quality of life
which we are called upon to have

330
00:23:41,400 –> 00:23:45,960
and to know about now.
And it’s what distinguishes us

331
00:23:46,440 –> 00:23:49,880
from any other group, community
or individual.

332
00:23:50,400 –> 00:23:58,760
This is present tense life
eternal that they might should

333
00:23:59,080 –> 00:24:05,440
know not know about, but know
completely and understand

334
00:24:05,720 –> 00:24:11,800
completely, take knowledge of so
that the understood thing is

335
00:24:12,040 –> 00:24:16,840
recognized and realized.
Like that word realized.

336
00:24:17,000 –> 00:24:19,400
It’s got the idea of real, isn’t
it?

337
00:24:20,600 –> 00:24:26,680
Where the knowledge of God is
made real in our thinking, in

338
00:24:26,680 –> 00:24:30,800
our daily intercourse one with
another and within ecclesial

339
00:24:30,800 –> 00:24:34,840
life.
This is present tense life

340
00:24:34,840 –> 00:24:39,880
eternal, that they should know,
not merely know about the the

341
00:24:39,920 –> 00:24:46,000
only true God and Jesus Christ
whom thou hast sent.

342
00:24:46,720 –> 00:24:52,440
And that’s the bottom line of
the doctrine that we hold of the

343
00:24:52,440 –> 00:24:55,440
Lord God and of God and of God
manifestation.

344
00:24:56,040 –> 00:25:01,760
We have got to know it.
And the Lord Jesus did, of

345
00:25:01,760 –> 00:25:06,160
course, and he more than any
displayed his Father.

346
00:25:06,400 –> 00:25:10,240
Verse four.
I have glorified thee on earth,

347
00:25:10,240 –> 00:25:13,400
I’ve honored thee.
I have accomplished the work

348
00:25:13,640 –> 00:25:17,760
which thou gave us, me to do.
And sisters, we’re called upon

349
00:25:17,920 –> 00:25:22,080
to glorify the Father as well in
the way that we live in our

350
00:25:22,080 –> 00:25:26,120
godliness and we achieve
godliness when we do the work

351
00:25:26,120 –> 00:25:31,000
that He has asked us to do, and
that is to manifest His name.

352
00:25:31,280 –> 00:25:36,080
Verse 6, the Lord Jesus could
say I have manifested, I have

353
00:25:36,080 –> 00:25:40,800
shown, I have openly revealed, I
have made it patently clear.

354
00:25:41,320 –> 00:25:45,480
You cannot miss the fact that
the character of the Lord God

355
00:25:45,560 –> 00:25:51,320
oozes out of the Lord Jesus
Christ in everything that He did

356
00:25:51,840 –> 00:25:54,720
and said, in all of His
demeanor.

357
00:25:55,320 –> 00:26:01,920
And we are called upon to
manifest the name of the Lord

358
00:26:01,920 –> 00:26:04,720
God.
I have manifested Thy name unto

359
00:26:04,720 –> 00:26:08,720
the men which thou gave us Me
out of the world thine they

360
00:26:08,720 –> 00:26:10,680
were, and Thou gave us them to
me.

361
00:26:10,680 –> 00:26:13,600
And we are within.
I believe we’re within that

362
00:26:13,600 –> 00:26:19,120
company of people who are, as
John later says in his epistles,

363
00:26:19,360 –> 00:26:26,680
called to be the sons of God.
And beloved, that is what we are

364
00:26:27,280 –> 00:26:34,160
called upon, to display the Lord
God to any and all who will see

365
00:26:34,160 –> 00:26:36,600
it.
It’s meant to ooze out of us,

366
00:26:37,080 –> 00:26:42,960
and it’s tough and it’s hard.
That’s the role of the believer

367
00:26:43,280 –> 00:26:50,320
for today.
Now, I suppose that what we need

368
00:26:50,320 –> 00:26:55,800
to do then is get fairly clear
in our minds, just to emphasize

369
00:26:55,800 –> 00:27:01,080
and underline the point that it
is God that we are manifesting,

370
00:27:01,400 –> 00:27:04,360
to remind ourselves of the
supremacy of God.

371
00:27:05,120 –> 00:27:11,560
I’m going back to to Exodus,
Exodus 33 and 34, but on the way

372
00:27:11,960 –> 00:27:19,600
I’m calling in at Psalms and
it’s Psalm 50 that I’m looking

373
00:27:19,600 –> 00:27:27,080
at.
Because there is in our world by

374
00:27:27,080 –> 00:27:36,160
its very nature, a predilection
to diminish the character and

375
00:27:36,160 –> 00:27:41,720
the standing and the status and
the power and the holiness of

376
00:27:41,720 –> 00:27:49,080
the Lord God, to make him a mini
God, to reduce him in size and

377
00:27:49,080 –> 00:27:54,080
to make him contingent upon the
needs of other people.

378
00:27:54,960 –> 00:27:58,200
So it depends what people need
in terms of whether they turn to

379
00:27:58,200 –> 00:28:01,880
God or not.
And that would be the gravest of

380
00:28:01,880 –> 00:28:04,920
mistakes if we were to fall into
that trap.

381
00:28:05,880 –> 00:28:10,200
The essence of this particular
talk is that God is God.

382
00:28:10,760 –> 00:28:19,280
And when you look at Psalms 50,
you’ll see that that’s what the

383
00:28:19,280 –> 00:28:24,040
people of God were doing.
They were picking and choosing

384
00:28:24,040 –> 00:28:27,880
on on their morality.
How?

385
00:28:27,880 –> 00:28:31,320
Look at verse 18.
Thou sawest a thief, then thou

386
00:28:31,320 –> 00:28:35,840
consensus with him, and has been
partaker with adulterers.

387
00:28:35,840 –> 00:28:38,960
Maybe not done it yourself, but
you know you make excuses for

388
00:28:38,960 –> 00:28:41,120
those that do.
Verse 19.

389
00:28:41,120 –> 00:28:44,480
Thou give us thy mouth to evil,
thy tongue frame with deceit.

390
00:28:44,480 –> 00:28:48,160
And sometimes we hear ourselves
saying and thinking the wrong

391
00:28:48,160 –> 00:28:51,720
sort of thing, and we we marvel
at our stupid.

392
00:28:51,720 –> 00:28:54,760
Some of the things that we do
and say and think are thou.

393
00:28:54,760 –> 00:28:57,480
Sit us 1st 20 and speak as
against thy brother.

394
00:28:57,600 –> 00:29:01,520
The very thing that brother
Duncan was talking about, Thou

395
00:29:01,520 –> 00:29:03,800
slanderous thy known mother’s
son.

396
00:29:03,800 –> 00:29:07,120
These things, verse 21 This is
the verse.

397
00:29:07,280 –> 00:29:13,360
These things hast thou done.
And I kept silence.

398
00:29:14,000 –> 00:29:22,240
Thou thoughtest that I was all
together such an one as thyself.

399
00:29:23,000 –> 00:29:26,640
But I will reprove thee, and set
them in order before thine eye.

400
00:29:27,520 –> 00:29:31,080
By making excuses for ourselves
and our indulgences against the

401
00:29:31,080 –> 00:29:34,160
Lord God, we can diminish the
Lord God that thought us that I

402
00:29:34,160 –> 00:29:38,640
was merely just like yourself.
I’m not like that.

403
00:29:39,080 –> 00:29:43,440
And we must never cheapen or
reduce the supremacy of God in

404
00:29:43,440 –> 00:29:48,880
our minds.
So no proper talk on the moral

405
00:29:48,880 –> 00:29:55,720
imperative and God manifestation
could miss out on Exodus 33 and

406
00:29:55,720 –> 00:30:01,920
34 called the occasion when
Moses was right at the

407
00:30:01,920 –> 00:30:09,320
crossroads with the people of
Israel and the Lord God said

408
00:30:09,320 –> 00:30:14,680
that he wouldn’t go up with the
people because there were stiff

409
00:30:14,680 –> 00:30:18,440
necked people.
They wore all their wealth

410
00:30:18,960 –> 00:30:21,560
superficially, everything that
they brought out of Egypt that

411
00:30:21,560 –> 00:30:24,200
they thought was theirs that had
been given to them by the Lord

412
00:30:24,200 –> 00:30:29,080
God, they wore it and dripped
and oozed and displayed their

413
00:30:29,080 –> 00:30:33,720
wealth like ornaments.
And the Lord God said if he went

414
00:30:33,720 –> 00:30:37,040
up with them and they were like
that in their morality, then he

415
00:30:37,040 –> 00:30:41,760
would end up consuming them.
And so Moses interceded and

416
00:30:41,760 –> 00:30:45,200
said, well, Lord, if you’re not
going to go, I ain’t going.

417
00:30:45,520 –> 00:30:48,800
If your presence doesn’t go with
us, then we are lost.

418
00:30:48,800 –> 00:30:53,840
I’m not moving an inch.
And so there was this godly

419
00:30:53,840 –> 00:30:57,120
negotiation, as it were in verse
15.

420
00:30:57,280 –> 00:31:00,080
If thy presence go not with me,
carriers not.

421
00:31:00,640 –> 00:31:05,120
Hence verse 17 The Lord said to
Moses, I will do this thing

422
00:31:05,120 –> 00:31:10,920
also, that thou hast spoken, for
thou hast found grace in my

423
00:31:10,920 –> 00:31:14,840
sight.
I know thee by name.

424
00:31:15,960 –> 00:31:23,200
And Moses said, I beseech thee,
show me thy glory, Show me the

425
00:31:23,200 –> 00:31:25,600
weight of the quality of what
you are.

426
00:31:25,720 –> 00:31:29,440
You know, the Old Testament word
for glory has got this sense of

427
00:31:29,440 –> 00:31:34,240
a heavyweight to it.
And we still assess the quality

428
00:31:34,240 –> 00:31:37,600
of something, something these
days even by assessing the

429
00:31:37,600 –> 00:31:41,040
weight, don’t we?
Whether it’s got quality or

430
00:31:41,040 –> 00:31:48,120
volume or or or gravitas to it.
And so Moses asked to see the

431
00:31:48,120 –> 00:31:55,600
quality of the Lord God, and God
said, I will make all my

432
00:31:55,600 –> 00:32:01,560
goodness pass before thee, and I
will proclaim the name of the

433
00:32:01,560 –> 00:32:07,280
Lord Yahweh before thee.
I will be gracious to whom I

434
00:32:07,320 –> 00:32:13,440
will be gracious, and will show
mercy on him on whom I will show

435
00:32:13,640 –> 00:32:16,960
mercy.
So this underlines again the

436
00:32:16,960 –> 00:32:21,560
fundamental importance of the
supremacy of the Lord God.

437
00:32:21,840 –> 00:32:26,800
He worketh all things after the
counsel of His own will.

438
00:32:26,920 –> 00:32:31,920
He is supreme.
He has no equally, dwells alone,

439
00:32:32,200 –> 00:32:36,600
and knows no equal.
From everlasting to everlasting.

440
00:32:36,800 –> 00:32:43,840
Thou art God, I am God, and
there is none else, the only

441
00:32:44,000 –> 00:32:49,720
true God, and we are as nothing
in thy sight.

442
00:32:49,720 –> 00:32:53,400
The nations.
The nations are like a drop in

443
00:32:53,400 –> 00:32:58,680
the bucket or the small dust on
a balance they don’t even

444
00:32:59,680 –> 00:33:02,680
register.
This is the quality of the

445
00:33:02,680 –> 00:33:07,720
supremacy of the Lord God with
whom we have to do.

446
00:33:08,280 –> 00:33:12,160
We contemplate His knowledge as
He does whatever He needs to do.

447
00:33:12,440 –> 00:33:14,960
Thou knowest my down sitting and
mine uprising.

448
00:33:16,120 –> 00:33:18,560
There is not a word in my
tongue, but LO Lord, thou

449
00:33:18,560 –> 00:33:23,600
knowest it all together.
We are naked and laid open with

450
00:33:23,600 –> 00:33:29,640
Him with whom we have to do.
This is the vastness of the Lord

451
00:33:29,640 –> 00:33:36,600
God and we got to get a grip and
a sense of humility in coping

452
00:33:36,960 –> 00:33:41,720
with that.
It says here verse 20, thou

453
00:33:41,720 –> 00:33:46,520
canst not see my face.
This is the Lord God who is the

454
00:33:46,520 –> 00:33:51,040
only immortal God who dwells in
light which is unapproachable by

455
00:33:51,120 –> 00:33:54,480
man.
And we should feel a sense of

456
00:33:54,480 –> 00:33:59,120
awe that needs working out.
Brothers and sisters, it’s all

457
00:33:59,120 –> 00:34:03,600
too easy to expect to turn on a
quick sense of awe, and I don’t

458
00:34:03,600 –> 00:34:08,159
think that comes without
considerable meditation and

459
00:34:08,159 –> 00:34:14,120
contemplation and being quietly
by ourselves with our God.

460
00:34:14,840 –> 00:34:19,360
But it is a skill and it is a
pastime and an activity that we

461
00:34:19,360 –> 00:34:23,199
ought to cultivate.
I know, for example, when I’ve

462
00:34:23,199 –> 00:34:27,040
been in the Caribbean, that I
was quite surprised to wake up

463
00:34:27,040 –> 00:34:29,159
one morning.
I was staying with a, an elderly

464
00:34:29,159 –> 00:34:33,320
sister who was looking after me
and I woke up and I, there was a

465
00:34:33,320 –> 00:34:36,760
very strange wailing sound and I
thought, well, I wouldn’t can’t

466
00:34:36,760 –> 00:34:38,480
actually make out whether it was
a dog or whether it was

467
00:34:38,480 –> 00:34:42,360
something else, but it actually
it was, it was the sister.

468
00:34:42,560 –> 00:34:46,719
I don’t mean to be critical of
her singing, but it was the

469
00:34:46,719 –> 00:34:49,960
sister.
And she was going through her

470
00:34:49,960 –> 00:34:54,199
daily devotions and she had her
hymn book open and she was

471
00:34:54,199 –> 00:34:56,639
singing to herself.
And then she read aloud every

472
00:34:56,639 –> 00:35:02,120
day her readings and talk to
herself about them.

473
00:35:02,720 –> 00:35:06,560
And, you know, I was humbled by
that experience.

474
00:35:07,080 –> 00:35:09,920
And I felt as though I’d
intruded very much on the

475
00:35:09,920 –> 00:35:15,960
privacy of her devotions when I
when I rather clumsily burst

476
00:35:15,960 –> 00:35:19,240
into the room.
And she quietly sat me down and

477
00:35:19,240 –> 00:35:22,000
continued going through her
devotions in her own way.

478
00:35:22,880 –> 00:35:27,000
That taught me a very great
lesson, and it’s one that we

479
00:35:27,000 –> 00:35:34,040
could all do with emulating.
And so it is that we are called

480
00:35:34,040 –> 00:35:38,440
upon to sense the awe of the
Lord God, even as Moses would

481
00:35:38,440 –> 00:35:41,920
have done when the Lord God
passed by him and then removed

482
00:35:41,920 –> 00:35:45,680
his hand and he just got a
little glimpse of the after glow

483
00:35:45,920 –> 00:35:49,360
of the power of God.
But it’s in the next chapter,

484
00:35:49,360 –> 00:35:54,240
isn’t it, that we read about
what he actually saw or felt or

485
00:35:54,240 –> 00:35:57,280
heard, because we have to
experience, experience the

486
00:35:57,280 –> 00:35:59,440
character of God to understand
it.

487
00:35:59,440 –> 00:36:01,800
That means going out there and
trying it.

488
00:36:02,040 –> 00:36:06,320
Verse 6, The Lord passed by
before him and proclaimed the

489
00:36:06,320 –> 00:36:10,320
Lord Yahweh, the Lord God, full
of compassion.

490
00:36:10,360 –> 00:36:15,600
Revised Version, gracious, slow
to anger, plenteous in mercy and

491
00:36:15,600 –> 00:36:19,600
truth, keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity

492
00:36:19,760 –> 00:36:23,920
and transgression and sin.
And this is the weight of the

493
00:36:23,920 –> 00:36:27,360
glory of the quality of the
character of God.

494
00:36:28,040 –> 00:36:33,040
And this is what we are called
upon to know and to understand.

495
00:36:33,920 –> 00:36:38,200
And it takes a lifetime.
I speak to those younger members

496
00:36:38,200 –> 00:36:40,760
of the audience.
Make a start.

497
00:36:41,520 –> 00:36:46,560
And if you don’t know how to go
about the process of meditation

498
00:36:47,200 –> 00:36:53,160
or the process of prayer or
reflecting upon verses like this

499
00:36:53,440 –> 00:36:58,400
or making a phrase come to life
for yourself, then go and get

500
00:36:58,400 –> 00:37:01,160
somebody who does.
And those of you older brothers

501
00:37:01,160 –> 00:37:04,120
and sisters who have learnt
these skills, personal or

502
00:37:04,120 –> 00:37:08,920
otherwise public, maybe make
sure that you pass this on to

503
00:37:08,920 –> 00:37:14,400
the next generation because we
are called upon to manifest the

504
00:37:14,400 –> 00:37:18,200
name of God.
Now I want you to turn to

505
00:37:18,240 –> 00:37:26,960
Ephesians 5.
You know the Apostle Paul when

506
00:37:26,960 –> 00:37:33,560
he in his writings as he was,
won’t reflected and meditated

507
00:37:33,560 –> 00:37:37,960
upon the the quality of the
character of God.

508
00:37:37,960 –> 00:37:43,200
Sometimes you find just a little
burst of praise in his writings.

509
00:37:44,400 –> 00:37:46,880
This is a digression.
As you’re turning to Ephesians

510
00:37:47,840 –> 00:37:52,760
chapter 5, you find a little
burst of praise that suddenly

511
00:37:52,920 –> 00:37:55,120
pops out.
It’s almost as if he wasn’t

512
00:37:55,120 –> 00:37:57,680
thinking about it, but he was
overtaken when he was writing

513
00:37:57,680 –> 00:38:02,960
about the quality of the Lord
God, and he can’t stop himself

514
00:38:03,480 –> 00:38:06,640
from speaking out the name of
God.

515
00:38:06,640 –> 00:38:08,600
I’ll just read 1 to you if you
want to make a note of it.

516
00:38:08,600 –> 00:38:13,160
It’s in Romans 11, verse 33.
Oh, the depth of the riches,

517
00:38:13,160 –> 00:38:18,160
both of the wisdom and the
knowledge of God, the knowledge

518
00:38:18,200 –> 00:38:24,000
of God, such knowledge is too
great for me, said the Psalmist.

519
00:38:24,200 –> 00:38:27,760
How unsearchable are his
judgements and his ways past,

520
00:38:27,760 –> 00:38:31,760
finding out who hath known the
mind of the Lord, who hath been

521
00:38:31,760 –> 00:38:35,640
his counsellor, who hath first
given to him, and it shall be

522
00:38:35,640 –> 00:38:40,080
recompensed unto him again.
For of him and through him and

523
00:38:40,080 –> 00:38:44,160
to Him are all things to whom be
glory forever.

524
00:38:44,240 –> 00:38:47,720
Amen.
And he just pops out like that

525
00:38:48,640 –> 00:38:52,000
has a great sense of awareness
of the presence of God in what

526
00:38:52,000 –> 00:38:53,960
he was doing.
And there’s another one in, in,

527
00:38:53,960 –> 00:38:58,320
in first Timothy 1 and verse 17.
Now unto the only wise God,

528
00:38:58,320 –> 00:39:01,440
immortal, invisible, eternal.
And he just, he just has to

529
00:39:01,440 –> 00:39:06,800
throw it in as he’s overtaken by
the thought of knowing the great

530
00:39:06,800 –> 00:39:13,280
God of all the universe who has
stretched out the heavens like a

531
00:39:13,280 –> 00:39:15,680
span.
And you’d have thought that if

532
00:39:15,680 –> 00:39:18,840
that kind of God came and lived
in your house, people would know

533
00:39:18,840 –> 00:39:23,640
about it, wouldn’t they?
Anyway, it’s knowing the quality

534
00:39:23,640 –> 00:39:27,160
of God in that way that brings
us to Ephesians 5.

535
00:39:27,520 –> 00:39:33,520
Now, because we’ve been saying
all the way through that this is

536
00:39:33,520 –> 00:39:35,840
the fundamental issue with
regard to morality.

537
00:39:36,040 –> 00:39:40,720
We must know, not merely know
about God, we must understand

538
00:39:40,720 –> 00:39:43,880
him.
And it says here in chapter 5

539
00:39:43,880 –> 00:39:51,440
and verse one, be ye therefore
followers or imitators or mimics

540
00:39:51,640 –> 00:39:55,040
of God.
We’ve just been reading in

541
00:39:55,040 –> 00:39:58,440
Romans 11 that his ways are
unsearchable and past finding

542
00:39:58,440 –> 00:40:02,080
out who can know him, who can
counsel him, and yet we’re

543
00:40:02,080 –> 00:40:06,360
called upon here.
This is non negotiable, brethren

544
00:40:06,360 –> 00:40:08,200
and sisters, this is the point,
isn’t it?

545
00:40:08,520 –> 00:40:12,960
If we have the knowledge of God,
if we understand an iota of the

546
00:40:12,960 –> 00:40:17,640
quality of the mind and the
character of God, then we are

547
00:40:17,640 –> 00:40:21,600
responsible.
Some of you will not perhaps

548
00:40:21,600 –> 00:40:23,960
have made your decision yet
whether to go with the Lord

549
00:40:23,960 –> 00:40:29,280
Jesus Christ or or not, but if
you have some of this knowledge,

550
00:40:29,840 –> 00:40:33,640
you are responsible.
Not in a threatening way, but in

551
00:40:33,640 –> 00:40:38,280
a whole together glorious way of
manifesting what you know about

552
00:40:38,280 –> 00:40:41,600
the Lord God.
To others, it says, be therefore

553
00:40:41,640 –> 00:40:47,160
mimics of God himself as dear
children.

554
00:40:47,960 –> 00:40:50,040
Isn’t that lovely?
It brings it back to our level

555
00:40:50,040 –> 00:40:54,960
again.
We’ve all seen our own children

556
00:40:55,360 –> 00:41:01,720
studiously observe fathers and
mothers and copy them almost

557
00:41:03,080 –> 00:41:06,360
imperceptible.
But day by day we see our

558
00:41:06,360 –> 00:41:11,520
children grow up, and they are a
wonderful book of what we are or

559
00:41:11,520 –> 00:41:15,080
what or what we should have been
or what we might have been.

560
00:41:16,280 –> 00:41:21,000
And day by day, the exposure
that children have to us means

561
00:41:21,000 –> 00:41:24,640
that they pick up all the little
features of the parent.

562
00:41:25,320 –> 00:41:30,080
And we’ve got to do exactly the
same because it says in the

563
00:41:30,080 –> 00:41:36,480
previous chapter that we have
put on verse 24, we have put on

564
00:41:36,480 –> 00:41:42,440
the new man, which after God is
created in righteousness and

565
00:41:42,440 –> 00:41:46,880
true holiness, our lives have
taken a completely different

566
00:41:46,880 –> 00:41:50,680
dimensions.
We now have not we, you’ve heard

567
00:41:50,680 –> 00:41:52,960
the phrase the heebie Bee Gees,
haven’t you?

568
00:41:52,960 –> 00:41:58,440
Or something like that.
Well, this is the holy He be be

569
00:41:58,480 –> 00:41:59,120
ye.
You got that?

570
00:41:59,320 –> 00:42:03,480
He be be ye.
It’s the holy He be be ye.

571
00:42:03,480 –> 00:42:08,480
What do I mean by that?
He be meaning what God is he God

572
00:42:08,480 –> 00:42:14,840
is holy, therefore be ye holy.
He God is merciful.

573
00:42:14,840 –> 00:42:19,960
We read it in Exodus 34.
Therefore be ye merciful, as

574
00:42:19,960 –> 00:42:22,960
your Father which is in heaven
is merciful.

575
00:42:23,240 –> 00:42:25,520
Our God by nature is a God of
love.

576
00:42:25,800 –> 00:42:29,000
Therefore the the new
commandment that we have is that

577
00:42:29,000 –> 00:42:33,160
we love one another.
He God is faithful.

578
00:42:33,280 –> 00:42:40,560
Therefore be ye faithful.
He God is patient therefore be

579
00:42:40,560 –> 00:42:42,640
ye patient.
James chapter 5 and verse 8.

580
00:42:43,240 –> 00:42:48,520
These are the holy, He be be
ye’s, and we observe them in the

581
00:42:48,520 –> 00:42:55,000
character of God our Father.
And because we observe them, and

582
00:42:55,000 –> 00:43:01,480
because we profess that we know
the Father, he who emits life

583
00:43:01,480 –> 00:43:05,680
eternal, it is non negotiable.
Brethren, sisters, our morality

584
00:43:06,120 –> 00:43:09,640
has to change.
Our doctrine tells us we have to

585
00:43:09,640 –> 00:43:14,240
change, that we might manifest
the Lord God in all of His

586
00:43:14,240 –> 00:43:20,320
beauty, in all of His Holiness,
all of His righteousness, in all

587
00:43:20,320 –> 00:43:36,450
of His love.
Thank you for listening to the

588
00:43:36,450 –> 00:43:38,050
Good Christadelphian Talks
podcast.

589
00:43:38,890 –> 00:43:41,330
We hope this talk helped you in
your walk and brightened your

590
00:43:41,330 –> 00:43:43,690
day.
If you would like to hear more,

591
00:43:43,690 –> 00:43:45,450
please subscribe for new
episodes.

592
00:43:45,850 –> 00:43:49,090
We are on all major podcast
platforms and also on YouTube.

593
00:43:50,210 –> 00:43:52,690
If you enjoyed this particular
talk, please share it with

594
00:43:52,690 –> 00:43:54,610
someone else who you think might
enjoy it too.

595
00:43:55,530 –> 00:43:58,240
For show notes on the talk you
just listened to, visit

596
00:43:58,240 –> 00:44:02,080
[email protected]
or check out the Show Notes

597
00:44:02,080 –> 00:44:05,800
section of your podcast player.
Please share your thoughts on

598
00:44:05,800 –> 00:44:08,840
the talk from this week on our
Facebook or Instagram pages

599
00:44:08,840 –> 00:44:11,760
where we are at Good
Christadelphian talks, or leave

600
00:44:11,760 –> 00:44:14,560
a comment on our YouTube channel
where these talks are posted as

601
00:44:14,560 –> 00:44:16,280
well.
If you enjoy listening to the

602
00:44:16,280 –> 00:44:18,920
talks that we post and hear one
that you think we should share,

603
00:44:19,160 –> 00:44:22,400
please tell us about it.
You can send a suggestion using

604
00:44:22,400 –> 00:44:25,520
the Contact Us tab on our
website or message us on any of

605
00:44:25,520 –> 00:44:28,200
our social media accounts.
Thank you for listening.

606
00:44:28,480 –> 00:44:30,400
God bless and talk to you next
week.