Bob Lloyd – James – Unspotted from the World – Class 2 – Practicing God’s Word

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This is Winfield Bible School
1998.

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The theme for this week is Next
Year in Jerusalem.

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This is the talk by brother Bob
Lloyd and his theme is Unspotted

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from the World, taken from the
letter of James.

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And today’s class is practicing.
God’s word for the Bob.

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Well, good morning, my beloved
brothers and sisters and young

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people, It is a good morning.
This is the day which the Lord

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hath made.
We will rejoice and be glad in

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it.
I want to welcome those new

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faces which are here today that
didn’t come yesterday.

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And it’s a joy to see you here.
I’m thinking of Ruth’s dibs

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right in front of me now, and I
know there’s some others that

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have come up today.
And so pleased to see you all

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and share our fellowship around
the Word this morning.

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If you have your Bibles open to
James chapter one, we’re going

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to begin looking at verse 5.
If any of you lack wisdom, let

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him ask of God that giveth to
all men liberally, and that

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breadeth not, and it shall be
given him.

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But let him ask in faith,
nothing wavering.

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For he that wavereth is like a
wave of the sea, given with the

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wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that

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he shall receive anything of the
Lord.

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That really ties in with what we
talked about yesterday.

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Because remember we looked at
verse 2 yesterday where James

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had told us, my brethren counted
all joy when you fall into

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divers temptations.
Now James realizes this is hard

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to do, to count it joy when
you’re being tried, when you’re

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having problems, when you’re
being tempted.

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So he, he says, OK, if this is
too hard to do, if you lack

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wisdom in knowing how to do
this, then I tell you what you

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ought to do.
We should then ask God to help

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us and give us this godly wisdom
to see things in their proper

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perspective.
And the wonderful assurance that

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comes from God is that this pair
will be answered positively.

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Sometimes God says no to our
prayers.

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We don’t always get what we ask
for.

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And rightly so, because some of
the things I’ve asked for I

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shouldn’t have had, and what God
gave me was better than what

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I’ve even asked for.
But here’s a prayer that if you

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ask, God will say yes if there
is a qualification.

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If you ask in faith, nothing
wavering.

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Now the the point is being
addressed to those who lack

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wisdom.
Now there are two groups of

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people who lack wisdom, and the
first group is those who don’t

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know.
And realize they don’t know.

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And then unfortunately, there’s
another group they don’t know

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and they don’t know that they
don’t know.

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They’re the ones that says
Mommy.

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I’ll do it myself.
There’s no such thing as a self.

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Made man or woman.
Now there’s an Indian proverb

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that that expresses this thought
quite well.

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This is the way it goes.
I can’t.

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Speak to it, say it in Indian,
but in English it goes like

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this.
He who knows not and knows that

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he knows not is ignorant
teaching.

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He who knows not and knows not
that he knows not is a fool.

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Avoid him.
So the first thing we need to

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recognize is that we all lack
wisdom.

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And of course you remember that
Paul told us.

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If any man thinks that he
knoweth anything, he knoweth

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nothing yet as he ought to know,
so that know it all attitude

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cannot be helped.
There are people who are so

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puffed up with themselves that
you can’t teach them anything.

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And now it’s not a sin to lack
wisdom.

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Don’t ascend to lack wisdom and
not knowing.

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That you lack wisdom.
Solomon is an excellent example

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as a young boy.
I believe he was about 19 when

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this took place.
Since Second Chronicles chapter

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one you know the story very
well.

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He has just ascended the throne
in of his father David.

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And imagine a 19 year old boy
going to sleep at night and

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having God speak to him in a
night vision that night God

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appeared to Solomon.
This is two Chronicles, one

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verse seven.
And God said to Solomon, ask

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what I shall give you.
Can you imagine having God

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Almighty ask us what do you want
me to give for you do for you?

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And this young boy, 19, he was
wiser than many 19 year olds

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because at 19, some people know
everything.

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Mark Twain, he left home, I
think when he was about 17.

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He said his father didn’t know
anything.

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He came back at 25 and was
amazed how much his father had

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learned in a few short years.
But here’s a 19 year old boy who

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didn’t know and knew he didn’t
know and asked God to help him.

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And that’s the very point that
James is telling all of us.

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He hasn’t appeared to us in a
night vision, but he is really

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saying to each one of you.
Ask me, and I will provide.

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And so Solomon said to God, Thou
hast showed great mercy unto

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David my father, and has made me
reign in his stead.

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Now, O Lord God, let thy promise
unto David my Father be

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established, for thou hast made
me king over a people like the

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dust of the.
Earth in multitude.

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Give me now wisdom and
knowledge, that I may go out and

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come in before this people, For
who can judge this thy people?

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That is so great.
End of his request.

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Verse 11.
And God said to Solomon, Because

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this was in thine heart, and
thou hast not asked for riches

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or wealth, or honor, nor the
life of thine enemies, neither

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hath.
Ask for long life, but ask for

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wisdom and knowledge for
thyself, that thou mayest judge

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my people over whom I have made
thee king.

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Wisdom and knowledge is granted
unto thee.

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What you ask for I will give
you.

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That’s what James says.
Ask and you shall receive, but

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ask nothing wavering you have to
believe.

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What you’re asking for?
And I will give you riches and

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honor and wealth such as none of
the kings have had before thee.

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So God is willing to pour out,
to open the windows of heaven

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and pour out blessings on us if
we really honestly, totally

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commit our lives to him.
But we have to realize that we

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cannot do it ourselves.
The people who are puffed up

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with their own self importance
are not able to be helped.

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The the Alcoholics Anonymous,
which is very famous, a group,

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it’s all over.
The world and I don’t know if

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you’ve ever been to an
Alcoholics Anonymous meeting or

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not.
I don’t want to know, but I went

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to one.
I was working with a, a medical

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Doctor Who was studying for me
to be baptized and he was

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baptized, but he went to a A and
he said to me, Bob, would you go

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to an, a, a meeting with me?
I said, you want me to?

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He said, yes.
I said, OK, I’ll go if you want

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me to.
Well, they have a book.

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It’s not like the ALS diary.
It’s big.

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It has all the addresses of
every a a meeting in the I

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guess, and and this was a big
just California, but I guess

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they have them for everywhere
now.

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I thought since he always went
to an A a meeting near his home

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and he lived over over on the
complete other side of town for

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me.
Out by the beaches and I live up

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by the mountains.
In Southern California, he drove

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2030 miles every week to to to
spend an evening with me.

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I thought, well.
This would be my turn to go and,

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and go to his meeting where he
goes.

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He was so thoughtful.
He looked up in his book and

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found that there’s a, a, a
meeting about eight blocks from

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my house.
Now, I didn’t want to go to an,

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A, a meeting eight blocks from
my house.

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I, I’ve lived in that town for
40 years and I didn’t know who I

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was going to see.
And they’re going to say, well,

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you’re here, huh?
But he was only being thoughtful

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of me.
So we went to the one eight

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blocks from my house and it was
interesting.

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But they, they everybody who
speaks in an, A, a meeting, the

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first thing he has to do or she
when they get up, they say, hi,

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I’m Bob Lloyd and I’m a drunk.
You have to say that every time

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because you are always a
recovering alcoholic.

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You can’t say I used to be an
alcoholic or I used to be a

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drunk.
And we can say we are sinners,

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can’t we?
And we are, we are forgiven

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sinners, but we, we are sinners.
But you see, they can’t be

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helped until they admit that
they can’t help themselves.

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They have to surrender their
life, they call it to a higher

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being.
I was amazed at how many

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similarities there were in their
meeting to a Christadelphian

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meeting.
I’ve never been to one before

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and never been to one since.
But they have the book.

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The big book was it’s not
inspired.

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It’s their book.
But and and the and the the to

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be brother who is now brother.
He we walked in together.

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He they never said, I didn’t
know anybody there.

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I was so glad.
But we walked in and we sat down

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and they came over to him and
they said would you would you

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read for us tonight?
I’m glad they didn’t ask me, but

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I didn’t.
I would have, but I mean I don’t

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know they could.
Tell each other, we walked in

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together now, now our brother
has been sober for 10 or 15

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years.
You have a birthday if you’re in

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a a, your birthday is the last
is the day that you stopped

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drinking.
And so they had a birthday party

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that night and they had a
birthday cake.

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And this little old lady, she
was about 75 years old and she

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had a, it was her 25th birthday,
25 years, she’d been dry and we

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sang happy birthday to her.
But it was interesting.

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It’s based on very good
principles.

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Again, what did Jesus say?
Children of this world and their

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generation, wiser than the
children of life.

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They don’t know the truth, but
they certainly take the

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principles of the truth and they
apply it to help people get over

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being a drunk so.
The alcoholic has to admit that

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he’s an alcoholic.
And ask for help, or they can’t

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be helped.
And we need to admit that we

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need knowledge and we need
wisdom, or we can’t be helped.

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Now, according to Webster,
knowledge is defined as clear

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and certain perception of
something, information,

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acquaintance with facts, wisdom,
the faculty of making the best

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use of knowledge.
Now there are some people who

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have a a whole lot of knowledge
and no wisdom.

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We may know how to drive a car,
but we don’t have sense enough

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to drive it safely.
It’s important for us to

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remember that God, through James
here, is offering to give us

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wisdom, which is the right use
of knowledge.

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And I’m always amazed at the
amount of knowledge people in

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the world can accumulate.
On something that is so

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unimportant, at least to me,
it’s unimportant.

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I used to call on a company and
one of the fellows there was a

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baseball buff.
He could tell you you just name

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a year and he would tell you who
won the World Series.

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He knew the winner of the World
Series since there was World

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Series and he knew the batting
averages of all the the famous

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baseball players of old and, and
all the ones that they were all

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we’re currently playing.
He had thousands of facts and

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he’s fingertip or his tongue tip
about baseball.

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He had to have applied himself
to a lot of study to have

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acquired all that knowledge with
no wisdom as far as I’m

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concerned.
What good will that do you when

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Christ comes and the people on
some of these quiz programs and

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they they they can rattle off
stuff about.

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I don’t even know what the
category means alone.

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The answer to the problem
question like so we we have to

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decide what kind of knowledge we
want to have and then we have to

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ask God to give us the wisdom to
use that knowledge in the right

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way.
You want to come to Hosea please

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Hosea chapter 4 because he talks
about this subject.

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Hosea 4 and verse one hear the
word of the Lord, ye children of

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Israel.
So listen up.

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He says God is speaking for the
Lord hath a controversy with the

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inhabitants of the land.
What what, what what’s the

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00:13:58,240 –> 00:14:01,600
problem God?
Well, they there is no truth nor

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00:14:01,600 –> 00:14:05,320
mercy nor knowledge of God in
the land.

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And that’s sure true of our
lands.

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We have a lot of people who have
a lot of knowledge about a lot

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00:14:11,440 –> 00:14:15,320
of things, but they have no
knowledge of God.

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00:14:16,040 –> 00:14:18,960
You know, some of these quiz
programs, sometimes they’ll,

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00:14:18,960 –> 00:14:22,640
they’ll answer questions about
Greek mythology and, and movies

224
00:14:22,640 –> 00:14:24,760
and stuff and I don’t even know
what they’re talking about.

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00:14:25,000 –> 00:14:28,480
And then there’s a simple
question about the Bible and

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00:14:28,480 –> 00:14:32,440
they miss it.
They have no knowledge of God.

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00:14:33,600 –> 00:14:37,640
Coming down to verse six, My
people are destroyed for lack of

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00:14:37,640 –> 00:14:39,840
knowledge.
Because thou hast rejected

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00:14:39,840 –> 00:14:45,200
knowledge, I will also reject
you that you shall be no priest

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00:14:45,200 –> 00:14:49,440
to me, seeing you have forgotten
the law of the God.

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00:14:49,480 –> 00:14:56,080
I will also forget your children
verse six for I desired mercy

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00:14:57,160 –> 00:15:02,120
and not sacrifice and knowledge
of God more than burnt offering.

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00:15:04,840 –> 00:15:11,040
We all of us know a lot of
useless things that useless so

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00:15:11,040 –> 00:15:13,200
far as our salvation is
concerned.

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So what we need to do is
prioritize our mind to acquire

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00:15:18,080 –> 00:15:22,960
the right kind of knowledge and
then ask God to use to give us

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00:15:22,960 –> 00:15:25,840
the wisdom which he promises to
do if we don’t, don’t doubt him

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00:15:26,680 –> 00:15:31,040
to use that knowledge in a wise
way.

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00:15:32,560 –> 00:15:35,480
So we’re back to the point that
James is trying to teach us.

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00:15:36,040 –> 00:15:41,040
If we know that we are supposed
to be joyous when we are facing

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00:15:41,040 –> 00:15:46,600
troubles and we have a hard time
accepting this, we we, we know

242
00:15:46,600 –> 00:15:50,560
that we’re supposed to jump for
joy when we have problems, but

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00:15:50,560 –> 00:15:54,800
it’s not easy, then we should
ask God for the wisdom to

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00:15:54,800 –> 00:15:57,840
rightly apply this knowledge
that we are to be joyous and

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00:15:57,840 –> 00:16:00,440
tribulation.
And then God will supply us with

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00:16:00,440 –> 00:16:03,600
the wisdom to rightly apply this
knowledge which we know.

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00:16:04,120 –> 00:16:08,080
But we’re having trouble
applying that that I won’t

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00:16:08,760 –> 00:16:11,920
repeat it but.
I hope that made sense.

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00:16:12,880 –> 00:16:15,560
Not only will God supply this
wisdom.

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00:16:16,480 –> 00:16:19,520
He will do it.
Liberally, whatever God does, he

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00:16:19,520 –> 00:16:26,120
does super abundantly.
He, we remember when just we

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00:16:26,120 –> 00:16:29,320
just read about Solomon, he
asked for wisdom and he gave him

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00:16:29,320 –> 00:16:31,400
all kinds of things besides
wisdom.

254
00:16:32,320 –> 00:16:36,000
And Paul tells us now to him
that he’s able to do exceedingly

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00:16:36,000 –> 00:16:38,680
abundantly.
Above all that we ask or think

256
00:16:39,280 –> 00:16:40,840
according to the power that
worketh in US.

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00:16:40,880 –> 00:16:43,880
God wants to pour out blessings
from heaven on us.

258
00:16:44,520 –> 00:16:48,800
In the parable of the prodigal
son, he only asked to be treated

259
00:16:48,800 –> 00:16:52,480
as one of the hired servants,
yet the father killed the fatted

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00:16:52,480 –> 00:16:55,720
calf calf and put a gold ring on
his finger.

261
00:16:56,960 –> 00:17:00,800
Jacob left home with a rod in
his hand and he came back with

262
00:17:00,800 –> 00:17:05,200
four wives, twelve sons, one
daughter, 2 bands of of

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00:17:05,319 –> 00:17:07,640
livestock.
I’m looking down at Malachi.

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00:17:07,880 –> 00:17:11,240
Almost said he came back with
two bands of Malachi Shows how

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00:17:11,240 –> 00:17:14,440
the mind could jump from one
thing to the other.

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00:17:14,480 –> 00:17:17,119
Two bands of a lifestyle.
We’re going to go to Malachi

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00:17:17,119 –> 00:17:20,920
next.
Malachi 310 Because Malachi lays

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00:17:20,920 –> 00:17:24,200
down a challenge to us.
Just put God first in your life

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00:17:24,200 –> 00:17:25,800
and see what I’ll do, says
Malachi.

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00:17:26,160 –> 00:17:31,600
Just just try me.
Malachi 310 Bring ye all the

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00:17:31,600 –> 00:17:34,560
ties into the storehouse, that
there may be meat in my house,

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00:17:34,840 –> 00:17:37,000
and prove me now.
Herewith Seth, the Lord of

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00:17:37,000 –> 00:17:42,000
hosts, if I will not open you
the windows of heaven and pour

274
00:17:42,000 –> 00:17:44,760
out a blessing that there shall
not be room enough to accept it,

275
00:17:46,480 –> 00:17:49,760
just try me.
Brothers and sisters, just try

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00:17:49,760 –> 00:17:53,760
God, just put him totally first
in your life.

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00:17:54,760 –> 00:17:57,720
Bring him what he has coming to
him and see what he will do for

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00:17:57,760 –> 00:17:59,680
us.
He’s I’ll open the windows of

279
00:17:59,680 –> 00:18:01,360
heaven and pour out a blessing
on you.

280
00:18:02,480 –> 00:18:05,040
And there are people who will
never receive that blessing

281
00:18:06,840 –> 00:18:13,240
because they’re never, ever able
to let go of themselves and of

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00:18:13,240 –> 00:18:16,960
what they think is important and
put God first.

283
00:18:17,040 –> 00:18:22,240
And so we often go through life
lacking when God wants to bless

284
00:18:22,240 –> 00:18:29,120
us super abundantly.
In Mark 10, we have the story

285
00:18:29,120 –> 00:18:33,960
where the Peter asked Jesus,
well, what are we going to get

286
00:18:33,960 –> 00:18:36,800
out of it?
He he’s just been sad because he

287
00:18:36,800 –> 00:18:41,440
loved this young boy, young man
who came to him and asked what

288
00:18:41,440 –> 00:18:43,720
good thing could he do to
inherit eternal life.

289
00:18:44,480 –> 00:18:50,600
You know the story well.
And he went away grieved because

290
00:18:50,600 –> 00:18:56,520
he had great possessions.
We’re all pretty well blessed.

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00:18:56,520 –> 00:19:00,160
If you go to places like Guyana
or India and places in Africa,

292
00:19:00,160 –> 00:19:01,600
they don’t have great
possessions.

293
00:19:01,600 –> 00:19:04,600
And sometimes the clothes on
their back is about all they

294
00:19:04,600 –> 00:19:08,960
have when they sleep, sleep in a
mud Hut or they don’t have much

295
00:19:08,960 –> 00:19:11,960
to give up.
We have a lot, brother and

296
00:19:11,960 –> 00:19:16,920
sisters, we’re thankful that God
has blessed us, but we mustn’t

297
00:19:16,920 –> 00:19:21,120
let what we have get in the way
of the Lord.

298
00:19:21,920 –> 00:19:25,800
And so Jesus had said it was
harder for a camel, a rich man

299
00:19:25,800 –> 00:19:28,160
to enter the Kingdom of God than
a camel to go through the eye of

300
00:19:28,160 –> 00:19:30,400
a needle.
And they said, well, who can be

301
00:19:30,400 –> 00:19:31,920
saved?
And he said, well, God, that

302
00:19:32,960 –> 00:19:35,400
man, it’s impossible.
There’s no way you can be saved.

303
00:19:35,440 –> 00:19:38,160
I mean, salvation is not a do it
yourself kit.

304
00:19:38,800 –> 00:19:40,880
Without the Lord you cannot be
saved.

305
00:19:40,880 –> 00:19:42,560
But he wants to give you eternal
life.

306
00:19:43,600 –> 00:19:46,360
And so Peter, dear Peter, he
says, well Jesus, we’ve left

307
00:19:46,360 –> 00:19:47,720
everything to follow you.
What are we going to get?

308
00:19:48,880 –> 00:19:51,840
So we come into verse 29 and
Peter, Jesus is going to answer

309
00:19:51,840 –> 00:19:56,680
Peter’s question.
Jesus said to Peter and to the

310
00:19:56,680 –> 00:20:01,200
others, Verily I say unto you,
There is no man that hath left

311
00:20:01,200 –> 00:20:05,080
house, or brethren, or sisters,
or father, or mother, or land,

312
00:20:05,360 –> 00:20:09,840
or wife, for my sake in the
Gospels, tell you what I’ll do,

313
00:20:09,840 –> 00:20:15,000
says Jesus just.
Same, same challenge as as, as

314
00:20:15,000 –> 00:20:17,200
Malachi, put me first in your
life.

315
00:20:17,800 –> 00:20:23,920
Put me ahead of your family, put
me ahead of your career, put me

316
00:20:23,920 –> 00:20:29,200
ahead of your possessions, put
me first and I, you will receive

317
00:20:29,200 –> 00:20:33,280
verse 30 a hundredfold.
You know that that’s multiplying

318
00:20:33,280 –> 00:20:36,760
it by 100 and and that’s right
now.

319
00:20:36,760 –> 00:20:38,760
That’s not in the future.
Right now.

320
00:20:38,760 –> 00:20:43,040
God says if you put me first in
your life, I’ll multiply by 100

321
00:20:43,040 –> 00:20:48,800
times with look what he says
with houses and brethren and

322
00:20:48,800 –> 00:20:50,560
sisters and mothers and children
and lands.

323
00:20:50,960 –> 00:20:53,160
Oh, you don’t have persecutions
because that’s part of life.

324
00:20:53,680 –> 00:20:55,280
And besides.
That in the world to come,

325
00:20:55,280 –> 00:21:01,560
eternal life.
No one can read these verses and

326
00:21:01,560 –> 00:21:04,480
understand them and turn God
down.

327
00:21:05,280 –> 00:21:10,000
This is an offer.
It’s just not too good to be

328
00:21:10,000 –> 00:21:12,600
true because it is true because
it’s coming, coming from the

329
00:21:12,600 –> 00:21:17,040
Lord.
But but it means letting go of

330
00:21:18,000 –> 00:21:22,600
what we feel is important and
letting God take over in our

331
00:21:22,600 –> 00:21:25,360
lives.
And then he opens the windows of

332
00:21:25,360 –> 00:21:28,120
heaven and he pours out these
blessings on us.

333
00:21:30,040 –> 00:21:32,640
I was in a Bible school in New
Zealand, then another one in

334
00:21:32,640 –> 00:21:35,160
Australia the same year with two
back-to-back.

335
00:21:35,560 –> 00:21:38,560
It was a young brother there.
Some of you may have heard of

336
00:21:38,560 –> 00:21:40,840
him.
His name is Hong Tran.

337
00:21:42,800 –> 00:21:47,960
Winton knows him, and Hong Tran
was a Vietnamese refugee who

338
00:21:47,960 –> 00:21:53,880
left Vietnam in a boat and
landed safely and ended up in

339
00:21:53,880 –> 00:21:57,280
Brisbane.
Never heard of Christadelphians

340
00:21:57,280 –> 00:21:59,160
or no Christadelphians in
Vietnam at the time.

341
00:21:59,160 –> 00:22:02,760
There were no, no, no, no
Christians of any kind in that

342
00:22:03,120 –> 00:22:06,320
in Vietnam at that time.
And he met Christadelphians.

343
00:22:06,400 –> 00:22:08,720
His whole family had been on
this boat and they’re all

344
00:22:08,720 –> 00:22:13,560
Buddhists and he met Christian
Alpheans and he fell in love

345
00:22:13,560 –> 00:22:16,720
with the truth.
And he he decided to be

346
00:22:16,720 –> 00:22:21,160
baptized.
And his uncle who was the head

347
00:22:21,160 –> 00:22:23,040
of the clan.
And they’re, they’re very, very

348
00:22:23,040 –> 00:22:25,840
close knit in the Vietnamese.
We have a Vietnamese couple in

349
00:22:25,840 –> 00:22:31,080
our ecclesia and another brother
who wants nothing to do with the

350
00:22:31,080 –> 00:22:34,040
truth is ahead of their clan.
And there’s problems because he

351
00:22:34,040 –> 00:22:36,840
keeps interfering with their
spiritual life.

352
00:22:37,800 –> 00:22:43,800
But this uncle of Hung Tran said
to his nephew, if you get

353
00:22:43,800 –> 00:22:49,280
baptized, I’m putting out a
contract on your life and the

354
00:22:49,280 –> 00:22:53,480
person who kills you will get
$25,000 Australian money.

355
00:22:57,600 –> 00:23:00,840
And Huntran had to be baptized
in secret and had to go on

356
00:23:00,840 –> 00:23:04,080
hiding.
See what Jesus is saying here.

357
00:23:04,080 –> 00:23:07,440
If you put me first in your
life, you have to leave your

358
00:23:07,440 –> 00:23:10,080
brethren and your sisters and
your father and your mother and

359
00:23:10,120 –> 00:23:13,880
your wife and your children.
You got to put me first and hung

360
00:23:13,880 –> 00:23:16,840
Tran did.
He became a Christian Alpha.

361
00:23:16,880 –> 00:23:20,040
Now the good news, and it’s a
wonderful story because the good

362
00:23:20,040 –> 00:23:23,760
news, they didn’t kill him, of
course, that’s the real good

363
00:23:23,880 –> 00:23:28,440
news.
But he his his his uncle

364
00:23:28,440 –> 00:23:33,680
relented after he saw he was
steadfast and immovable. 1 to

365
00:23:33,680 –> 00:23:37,640
always abound in the work of the
Lord took off the contract and

366
00:23:37,640 –> 00:23:41,360
now that young brother has
married an Australian sister and

367
00:23:41,360 –> 00:23:43,600
they’re back in Vietnam teaching
people the truth.

368
00:23:43,600 –> 00:23:48,840
There’s a little occasion now in
in Hanoi and he’s a moving

369
00:23:48,840 –> 00:23:51,560
force.
God’s using him to to bring the

370
00:23:51,560 –> 00:23:55,000
truth to other Vietnamese right
in in Vietnam.

371
00:23:55,000 –> 00:24:01,280
And it’s very dicey because it’s
actually they frown on

372
00:24:01,280 –> 00:24:05,280
Christians being in Hanoi.
So he he’s even suffering

373
00:24:05,280 –> 00:24:11,560
persecutions now.
But the, the most of us won’t be

374
00:24:11,880 –> 00:24:14,160
murdered by somebody else
because we get baptized.

375
00:24:14,480 –> 00:24:17,040
We had people who’ve been cut
off by their families.

376
00:24:17,480 –> 00:24:20,080
We had a sister in our pleasure.
Have you ever heard of the Rose

377
00:24:20,080 –> 00:24:23,280
parade on New Year’s Day?
We have a rose parade and we

378
00:24:23,360 –> 00:24:26,040
decorate floats with flowers.
Well, this young Christian

379
00:24:26,040 –> 00:24:27,880
Adelphian brother went down to
help every.

380
00:24:28,120 –> 00:24:29,560
It’s fun.
You know, young people do it.

381
00:24:29,560 –> 00:24:32,080
And you, you set up all night
gluing flowers on these things.

382
00:24:32,320 –> 00:24:34,480
And it was a young girl who was
a college student.

383
00:24:34,480 –> 00:24:38,360
She was there donating, donating
her time, sticking off a lot.

384
00:24:38,520 –> 00:24:41,920
And they met, she was a very
good Catholic girl going to a

385
00:24:41,920 –> 00:24:44,600
very rich Catholic school, very
rich parents.

386
00:24:45,440 –> 00:24:50,440
And they fell in love and she
became a Christadelphian.

387
00:24:51,440 –> 00:24:56,320
And they, they ostracized her,
cut off her, threw her out of

388
00:24:56,320 –> 00:24:57,640
college, wouldn’t pay for her
college.

389
00:24:58,160 –> 00:25:01,280
She had to give up all of that
to become a Christadelphian.

390
00:25:02,040 –> 00:25:04,200
But look, she got a whole new
family.

391
00:25:04,840 –> 00:25:09,960
You see, she had a family she
had to lay aside for a family

392
00:25:09,960 –> 00:25:14,080
much bigger worldwide of her
brothers and sisters.

393
00:25:14,680 –> 00:25:17,440
Now, not too many of us face
those kind of persecutions, but

394
00:25:17,440 –> 00:25:21,720
we still let other things get in
our way.

395
00:25:23,760 –> 00:25:26,240
So James tells us that God
promises to give us wisdom

396
00:25:26,240 –> 00:25:28,200
liberally.
And God says God won’t upgrade

397
00:25:28,200 –> 00:25:29,840
us, which means he won’t make
fun of you.

398
00:25:30,280 –> 00:25:33,400
He won’t be.
Critical if you lack wisdom, a a

399
00:25:33,400 –> 00:25:36,800
wise parent, you know, will be
very patient with a little child

400
00:25:37,080 –> 00:25:41,200
who says, daddy, you know why?
And that’s all kinds of

401
00:25:41,200 –> 00:25:45,480
questions because they learn we
have a heavenly Father that

402
00:25:45,480 –> 00:25:50,000
realizes we lack wisdom.
And if we ask him, he says he

403
00:25:50,000 –> 00:25:52,320
will give it to us and he won’t
be critical.

404
00:25:52,320 –> 00:25:55,560
He won’t upgrade us.
He’s willing, he’s willing to

405
00:25:55,560 –> 00:26:00,040
bless us if we’ll just open
ourselves up to him.

406
00:26:01,760 –> 00:26:05,480
Now, it’s possible to give God
lip service and say, oh God, we

407
00:26:05,480 –> 00:26:11,160
want wisdom, but we’re really
secretly angry with God.

408
00:26:12,360 –> 00:26:16,760
We’re having a trial or a
problem and we we’re angry that

409
00:26:16,960 –> 00:26:19,520
God is.
Doing this to us or?

410
00:26:19,520 –> 00:26:23,840
Perhaps we have a temptation
that we don’t really want to

411
00:26:23,840 –> 00:26:26,240
resist.
This is a story about a little

412
00:26:26,240 –> 00:26:29,560
boy who was praying to God and
he says, Oh Lord, make me pure,

413
00:26:30,800 –> 00:26:36,360
but not yet.
And we could be like that too.

414
00:26:36,520 –> 00:26:40,920
I mean, we’re not really quite
ready to give up the things of

415
00:26:40,920 –> 00:26:44,480
this life for God.
And if we’re like that, we’re

416
00:26:44,560 –> 00:26:50,280
double minded.
So James 1-6 and seven, let him

417
00:26:50,280 –> 00:26:53,320
ask in faith nothing wavering,
for he that wavereth is like a

418
00:26:53,320 –> 00:26:55,920
wave of the sea, driven with the
wind and touched.

419
00:26:55,920 –> 00:26:57,280
Let.
Not that man think he will

420
00:26:57,280 –> 00:26:58,480
receive.
Anything of the Lord.

421
00:26:59,280 –> 00:27:03,680
Now I want to read this to you
from the Phillips translation.

422
00:27:03,680 –> 00:27:07,600
I’m going to start at verse 5
and you just follow it in your

423
00:27:07,600 –> 00:27:11,080
Bible, whatever version you
might have 5 through 9.

424
00:27:11,800 –> 00:27:17,680
If in the process any of you do
not understand how to meet any

425
00:27:17,680 –> 00:27:18,960
particular.
Problem.

426
00:27:19,560 –> 00:27:23,920
He only has to ask God, who
gives generously to all men

427
00:27:24,080 –> 00:27:27,640
without making them feel foolish
or guilty, and he may be quite

428
00:27:27,640 –> 00:27:30,800
sure the necessary wisdom will
be given him.

429
00:27:31,960 –> 00:27:36,720
But he must ask in sincere
faith, without secret doubts as

430
00:27:36,720 –> 00:27:38,800
to whether he really wants God’s
help or not.

431
00:27:39,800 –> 00:27:44,120
The man who trusts God but with
inward reservations is like a

432
00:27:44,120 –> 00:27:47,720
wave of the sea carried forward
and by the wind one moment and

433
00:27:47,720 –> 00:27:51,720
driven back the next.
That sort of man cannot hope to

434
00:27:51,720 –> 00:27:52,880
receive anything from God.
And.

435
00:27:54,040 –> 00:27:58,320
The life of a man of divided
loyalty will reveal instability.

436
00:27:59,160 –> 00:28:05,200
At every turn there is another
aspect we want to consider in

437
00:28:05,200 –> 00:28:07,080
asking God for wisdom, and that
is this.

438
00:28:07,840 –> 00:28:13,600
It’s not a shortcut to success.
It’s not a shortcut to avoid

439
00:28:13,600 –> 00:28:16,360
studying.
We can’t get down on our knees

440
00:28:16,360 –> 00:28:20,320
and say, oh God, make me smart
so I don’t have to study.

441
00:28:22,240 –> 00:28:24,440
We do have to still have to do
our homework.

442
00:28:24,640 –> 00:28:28,120
We still have to put our our
nose in the good book and

443
00:28:28,160 –> 00:28:29,920
faithfully do our Bible
readings.

444
00:28:30,240 –> 00:28:32,400
I told the children yesterday,
the young people, they won’t be

445
00:28:32,400 –> 00:28:35,960
called children, but I, I’m sure
you all know this, but they

446
00:28:35,960 –> 00:28:40,600
didn’t know it, you know, You
know, Solomon says if you don’t

447
00:28:40,600 –> 00:28:43,280
do your Bible readings, don’t
bother to pray.

448
00:28:45,600 –> 00:28:48,280
You know what’s in the Bible.
That’s kind of a loose

449
00:28:48,280 –> 00:28:54,040
translation.
I’ll read you right out of the

450
00:28:54,040 –> 00:28:58,560
King James.
But that’s the sense of what if

451
00:28:58,560 –> 00:29:01,560
you don’t do your Bible
readings, don’t bother to pray.

452
00:29:02,360 –> 00:29:06,440
And this is how that’s how
Solomon put it.

453
00:29:07,120 –> 00:29:12,160
It’s in Proverbs 28 and verse
nine, he that turneth away his

454
00:29:12,160 –> 00:29:15,000
ear from hearing the law that’s
doing your Bible readings.

455
00:29:15,200 –> 00:29:19,160
You hear the the law of the word
of the Lord when, when, but when

456
00:29:19,160 –> 00:29:22,400
you turn your ear away from it,
well, even your prayer will be

457
00:29:22,400 –> 00:29:24,880
an abomination.
So.

458
00:29:25,640 –> 00:29:28,760
I know some people in the world
that pray all the time, but they

459
00:29:28,760 –> 00:29:34,120
never read the Bible.
God says don’t bother if we If

460
00:29:34,120 –> 00:29:38,760
you don’t have time to do your
Bible readings, your prayers

461
00:29:38,760 –> 00:29:41,160
will be drier.
You’ll notice that of your own

462
00:29:41,240 –> 00:29:43,040
self.
But.

463
00:29:43,040 –> 00:29:45,560
But you see, there are some
people who want to do all the

464
00:29:45,560 –> 00:29:47,680
talking.
Have you ever been around a

465
00:29:47,680 –> 00:29:51,120
person all the.
Time this one poor fella.

466
00:29:51,320 –> 00:29:52,800
His wife was divorcing.
Him.

467
00:29:54,000 –> 00:29:56,440
And she told the judge, my
husband hasn’t spoken to me in

468
00:29:56,440 –> 00:30:00,400
20 years.
And and the judge was aghast.

469
00:30:00,400 –> 00:30:03,200
He said, is that right?
He said, yes, your honor.

470
00:30:03,840 –> 00:30:06,320
He said, well, why not?
He said, I didn’t want to

471
00:30:06,320 –> 00:30:14,640
interrupt her.
There are those kind you.

472
00:30:14,640 –> 00:30:19,320
See, and there are those kind
with God, they want to do all

473
00:30:19,320 –> 00:30:22,880
the talking they want they quite
happy to pray.

474
00:30:22,880 –> 00:30:24,240
And tell God everything they
want they.

475
00:30:25,000 –> 00:30:26,840
Don’t have time to listen to
God.

476
00:30:26,840 –> 00:30:29,600
So when we open our Bibles, God
speaks to us.

477
00:30:29,600 –> 00:30:36,200
So we we we must continue to
acquire all the knowledge we can

478
00:30:36,200 –> 00:30:37,600
of the things that are
important.

479
00:30:38,080 –> 00:30:41,840
Then God will give us the wisdom
to rightly use that knowledge

480
00:30:41,840 –> 00:30:46,400
which we’re acquiring to bring
glory and honor to His name.

481
00:30:48,120 –> 00:30:52,120
James one verse 8A Double minded
man is unstable in all his ways,

482
00:30:52,920 –> 00:30:55,800
not not some of his ways in all
his ways.

483
00:30:56,800 –> 00:30:59,360
Now double mindedness is no
doubt the cause of most of the

484
00:30:59,360 –> 00:31:03,120
failures in life, both in the
truth and and out of the truth.

485
00:31:05,120 –> 00:31:09,480
To be double minded is to divide
the mind and the word worry

486
00:31:09,480 –> 00:31:12,960
comes from a Greek word that
means to divide the mind.

487
00:31:13,560 –> 00:31:16,040
So if you’re worried, you have a
divided mind.

488
00:31:16,040 –> 00:31:20,240
So I believe worry is a sin.
And we know that a divided

489
00:31:20,240 –> 00:31:24,280
house, a house divided against
itself cannot stand.

490
00:31:25,680 –> 00:31:29,160
Now again, the children of this
world and their generation wiser

491
00:31:29,160 –> 00:31:32,000
than the children of life.
If you go to any motivational

492
00:31:32,000 –> 00:31:34,600
seminars or you, you go to
these, you read any of these

493
00:31:34,600 –> 00:31:38,040
books by people or how to tell
you to be successful in life,

494
00:31:38,680 –> 00:31:42,040
they will teach you that you,
you can’t be double minded.

495
00:31:42,840 –> 00:31:45,880
We we, we have to know where we
want to go.

496
00:31:46,160 –> 00:31:49,400
We have to make goals or how to
get there and we have to make

497
00:31:49,400 –> 00:31:55,880
decisions and stick to them.
The people who are most likely

498
00:31:55,880 –> 00:31:59,080
to be successful in life, and
this is anything in life are,

499
00:31:59,160 –> 00:32:01,400
are able to make up their mind
rather quickly.

500
00:32:02,000 –> 00:32:04,920
They can gather the facts
together and make a decision and

501
00:32:04,920 –> 00:32:07,200
when they get it, they usually
stick to it.

502
00:32:08,440 –> 00:32:11,840
And the people who are failures
in life are people who have a

503
00:32:11,840 –> 00:32:14,880
lot of trouble making decisions.
They, they, they, they gather

504
00:32:14,880 –> 00:32:17,680
the information and they go back
and forth and they can’t sleep

505
00:32:17,680 –> 00:32:19,400
and they think about it.
And then they finally make a

506
00:32:19,400 –> 00:32:21,040
decision.
Somebody goes, did you make?

507
00:32:21,040 –> 00:32:23,800
Oh, OK, I’ll change it.
In fact, one person said to me,

508
00:32:23,800 –> 00:32:26,920
so I have a very clean mind.
I change it all the time.

509
00:32:30,040 –> 00:32:36,880
So a double minded person is a
person who changes their mind

510
00:32:37,360 –> 00:32:39,560
too often.
We need to decide where we’re

511
00:32:39,560 –> 00:32:42,920
going.
Again, if you go to any success

512
00:32:42,920 –> 00:32:45,000
seminars, they tell you have
written down goals.

513
00:32:45,000 –> 00:32:48,760
I hope you do have written down
goals because if you don’t know

514
00:32:48,760 –> 00:32:50,640
where you’re going, you probably
won’t get there.

515
00:32:52,360 –> 00:32:55,240
Alice in Wonderland is a little
famous story, you know, that

516
00:32:55,240 –> 00:32:58,600
they tell the little children.
Alice has come to a corner and

517
00:32:58,600 –> 00:33:00,880
there’s several roads going off.
There’s a cat sitting up on the

518
00:33:00,880 –> 00:33:04,320
fence and she turns to the cat
and she says which Rd. should I

519
00:33:04,320 –> 00:33:06,560
take?
And the cat says well where do

520
00:33:06,560 –> 00:33:08,600
you want to go?
And she’s well, I don’t know.

521
00:33:09,000 –> 00:33:14,120
He says any road will do and if
you don’t know where you want to

522
00:33:14,120 –> 00:33:18,760
go, any road will get you there.
So we of all people need to be

523
00:33:18,760 –> 00:33:21,480
focused.
We need to know where we’re

524
00:33:21,480 –> 00:33:25,000
going.
We need to have a a goal of the

525
00:33:25,000 –> 00:33:28,800
Kingdom of God set in our mind.
And when you have a goal and

526
00:33:28,800 –> 00:33:31,600
things come along that would
detract you from your goal, you

527
00:33:31,600 –> 00:33:33,640
say, Oh no, I’m I’m going this
way.

528
00:33:35,120 –> 00:33:38,720
Beautiful verse that Jesus tells
us to be take my yoke upon you

529
00:33:38,720 –> 00:33:40,960
and learn of me for meek and
lowly in heart and you should

530
00:33:40,960 –> 00:33:44,640
find rest under your souls.
But when you yoke up with Jesus

531
00:33:45,160 –> 00:33:48,200
and you’re going down the road
with Jesus, I I have a picture

532
00:33:48,200 –> 00:33:51,360
of a little little cart with two
donkeys and they yoke together

533
00:33:51,360 –> 00:33:53,880
and they’re going down the road
together and they come to a fork

534
00:33:53,880 –> 00:33:56,000
of the road and one donkey wants
to go this way.

535
00:33:56,080 –> 00:33:58,680
One donkey wants to go that way.
They can’t do that.

536
00:33:58,680 –> 00:34:02,560
They’re yoked together.
They both now if you’re going

537
00:34:02,560 –> 00:34:07,520
down the road of life on the way
to the Kingdom yoke to Jesus and

538
00:34:07,520 –> 00:34:13,400
you come to a a fork in the road
and one Rd. looks pretty nice.

539
00:34:13,400 –> 00:34:16,840
It’s wide and it’s paved and
it’s downhill and maybe it’s a

540
00:34:16,840 –> 00:34:18,440
toll road.
We had came on a toll.

541
00:34:18,440 –> 00:34:20,719
Road up here.
A lot faster than the other Rd.

542
00:34:22,159 –> 00:34:26,440
But the road to the Kingdom is
narrow and windy and sharp

543
00:34:26,440 –> 00:34:31,320
curves and harder to go.
So if you’re yoked up to Jesus

544
00:34:31,320 –> 00:34:34,639
and you come to this fork in the
road and you Jesus says we’re

545
00:34:34,639 –> 00:34:37,400
going to turn right and you say,
oh, that other Rd. sure looks

546
00:34:37,400 –> 00:34:40,440
nice to me.
You’re going to either have to

547
00:34:41,120 –> 00:34:44,760
suppress what you want to do and
go with Jesus the way you should

548
00:34:44,760 –> 00:34:47,920
go or unhook from Jesus and go
it alone.

549
00:34:49,040 –> 00:34:53,000
And sometimes people do that.
We sometimes people in the truth

550
00:34:54,120 –> 00:35:02,280
unhook their yoke from Jesus and
try to go it alone and the end

551
00:35:03,400 –> 00:35:10,680
is failure and death that James
one verse 8 double minded mind

552
00:35:10,680 –> 00:35:13,680
is unstable in all these ways.
He only uses this word double

553
00:35:13,680 –> 00:35:16,080
minded twice.
There it is in verse eight

554
00:35:16,360 –> 00:35:21,400
chapter 4 verse eight again,
draw an eye to God and he will

555
00:35:21,400 –> 00:35:24,280
draw an eye to you.
Cleanse your hand ye sinners and

556
00:35:24,280 –> 00:35:27,080
purify your hearts ye double
minded.

557
00:35:28,000 –> 00:35:34,120
So we must not be double minded.
But he alludes to the fact of

558
00:35:34,120 –> 00:35:36,320
being double minded when he
doesn’t use the words.

559
00:35:37,040 –> 00:35:40,400
Let’s look at some others.
James 24.

560
00:35:41,520 –> 00:35:44,600
If any man among you seem to be
no.

561
00:35:44,600 –> 00:35:45,640
James.
Yeah.

562
00:35:45,680 –> 00:35:49,040
James 126 If any man among you
seem to be religious and

563
00:35:49,040 –> 00:35:51,560
Bridleth not his tongue deceive
with his own heart.

564
00:35:51,560 –> 00:35:55,000
This man’s religion is vain.
So if you if you are running off

565
00:35:55,000 –> 00:35:57,760
the mouth, you’re you’re you’re,
you know, you’re double minded.

566
00:35:58,280 –> 00:36:02,160
We we all talk too much.
Maybe I mean God, you know God.

567
00:36:02,200 –> 00:36:07,560
It gave you 2 ears, one mouth.
Listen twice as much as you

568
00:36:07,560 –> 00:36:11,160
talk.
So there’s double mindedness

569
00:36:11,160 –> 00:36:14,560
there.
James 24 Are ye not then partial

570
00:36:14,560 –> 00:36:16,920
in yourselves and become judges
of evil thoughts?

571
00:36:17,360 –> 00:36:23,040
James 216 And one of you say
unto them, depart in peace, be

572
00:36:23,040 –> 00:36:25,720
warmed and filled,
notwithstanding you don’t give

573
00:36:25,720 –> 00:36:28,040
them what they need for the
body.

574
00:36:28,040 –> 00:36:30,640
What profit is that?
You talk a good fight.

575
00:36:30,640 –> 00:36:33,560
Oh, I I care about the poor.
I hope you’re going to get along

576
00:36:33,560 –> 00:36:34,880
OK.
But we don’t do anything about

577
00:36:34,880 –> 00:36:38,360
it again.
James 310, Out of the same mouth

578
00:36:38,360 –> 00:36:40,600
proceed.
Blessings and cursings, my

579
00:36:40,600 –> 00:36:42,160
brethren.
This ought not to be.

580
00:36:43,000 –> 00:36:45,400
How can the same mouth say good
things and bad things?

581
00:36:45,520 –> 00:36:47,240
Well, we know it happens, don’t
we?

582
00:36:47,400 –> 00:36:50,080
That’s double mindedness, that
mind saying good things and

583
00:36:50,080 –> 00:36:51,400
saying bang out of the same
mouth.

584
00:36:52,480 –> 00:36:55,800
James 313.
Who is wise man and a dude with

585
00:36:55,800 –> 00:36:58,000
knowledge among you?
Let him show out of a good

586
00:36:58,000 –> 00:36:59,960
conversation.
He’s worked with meekness and

587
00:36:59,960 –> 00:37:03,080
wisdom.
If you have bitter envying and

588
00:37:03,080 –> 00:37:06,760
strife in your hearts, glory not
and lie not against the truth.

589
00:37:07,880 –> 00:37:13,760
So we can have be envious and
have strife in our hearts and

590
00:37:13,760 –> 00:37:17,680
say how wonderful the truth is.
And the problem is that’s being

591
00:37:17,800 –> 00:37:21,240
double minded.
Now Jesus condemned double

592
00:37:21,240 –> 00:37:25,400
mindedness, although he didn’t
use the word come to Matthew 6,

593
00:37:28,120 –> 00:37:32,440
Matthew 624.
No man can serve 2 masters for

594
00:37:32,440 –> 00:37:34,640
either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will

595
00:37:34,640 –> 00:37:35,960
hold to the one and despise the
other.

596
00:37:35,960 –> 00:37:40,800
You cannot serve God and Mammon.
That’s double minded.

597
00:37:41,640 –> 00:37:44,440
Trying to serve God and trying
to serve Mammon so.

598
00:37:44,520 –> 00:37:47,120
So being double minded could be
our undoing.

599
00:37:48,360 –> 00:37:51,640
We have to be single minded and
focused on our goal.

600
00:37:52,080 –> 00:37:59,760
Revelation 3, verse 14 under the
Angel of the Ecclesia of the

601
00:37:59,760 –> 00:38:04,040
latest sins, right.
These things set the Amen, the

602
00:38:04,040 –> 00:38:06,320
faithful and true witness, the
beginning of the creation of

603
00:38:06,320 –> 00:38:09,800
God.
I know thy works, but thou art

604
00:38:09,800 –> 00:38:14,200
neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were cold or hot.

605
00:38:14,840 –> 00:38:18,200
Be one or the other.
Don’t try to be lukewarm.

606
00:38:18,320 –> 00:38:21,400
The lukewarm is double minded.
They’re neither this and they’re

607
00:38:21,400 –> 00:38:25,560
neither that.
So because you are lukewarm and

608
00:38:25,560 –> 00:38:27,520
neither cold nor hot, I will
spew you out of my mouth.

609
00:38:28,120 –> 00:38:30,280
What was the problem?
Well, verse 17 is because you

610
00:38:30,280 –> 00:38:34,360
say I am rich, I’m increased
with goods and have need of

611
00:38:34,360 –> 00:38:36,200
nothing.
Knowest not that you are

612
00:38:36,200 –> 00:38:39,280
wretched and miserable and poor
and blind and naked.

613
00:38:40,040 –> 00:38:43,240
I counsel thee divide me.
Gold tried in the fire that thou

614
00:38:43,240 –> 00:38:48,240
mayst be rich and white remnant
that thou mayst be clothed, that

615
00:38:48,240 –> 00:38:50,280
the shame of thy nakedness do
not appear.

616
00:38:50,720 –> 00:38:53,040
Anoint thine eyes with eyesight
that thou mayst see.

617
00:38:54,000 –> 00:38:55,760
As many as I love, I rebuke and
chase it.

618
00:38:55,840 –> 00:38:57,160
Be zealous therefore, and
repent.

619
00:38:57,480 –> 00:39:00,000
There was, there was still hope.
There’s still hope for us,

620
00:39:00,000 –> 00:39:03,080
brothers and sisters, but we got
to realize we have a problem.

621
00:39:03,400 –> 00:39:07,960
We are, we have the tendency to
be double minded and that we can

622
00:39:07,960 –> 00:39:10,080
solve the problem through God’s
help.

623
00:39:10,800 –> 00:39:13,720
We lack wisdom.
We ask God for it, He will give

624
00:39:13,720 –> 00:39:19,920
it to us, but we have to decide
that the truth is everything in

625
00:39:19,920 –> 00:39:24,360
our life or it might as well be
nothing.

626
00:39:25,680 –> 00:39:30,440
If you say, well, I’ve got a
good job and I’ve got a, I’ve

627
00:39:31,080 –> 00:39:33,920
got some hobbies that I like.
I really enjoy those.

628
00:39:33,920 –> 00:39:37,840
And I’ve the family and I, we,
we like to camp, we like to fish

629
00:39:37,840 –> 00:39:38,840
on Sundays.
We like to.

630
00:39:40,160 –> 00:39:43,720
The truth used to be about #6 in
my life.

631
00:39:43,720 –> 00:39:47,040
And now it’s number three.
Well, it’s going in the right

632
00:39:47,040 –> 00:39:50,080
direction until it gets to
number one.

633
00:39:50,080 –> 00:39:54,240
It’s nowhere.
If God is not first in our life,

634
00:39:55,120 –> 00:39:58,680
He might as well not be in our
life because He really isn’t in

635
00:39:58,680 –> 00:40:00,960
our life.
He won’t say play second fiddle

636
00:40:01,440 –> 00:40:04,160
to any other things that you
think are important.

637
00:40:05,760 –> 00:40:09,840
Can’t be double minded with
something else and the truth.

638
00:40:11,280 –> 00:40:20,280
And so we have to work at making
sure that we are on fire for the

639
00:40:20,280 –> 00:40:24,000
truth.
When I was a young boy, there

640
00:40:24,000 –> 00:40:28,040
was a song and I, I won’t sing
it because I Can’t Sing and

641
00:40:28,040 –> 00:40:31,040
you’ll be glad of that.
I don’t want to set the world on

642
00:40:31,040 –> 00:40:33,800
fire.
I just want to start a flame in

643
00:40:33,800 –> 00:40:36,480
your heart.
Now the old, old people may

644
00:40:36,480 –> 00:40:39,120
remember the song and the old
young ones will not have a clue

645
00:40:39,120 –> 00:40:42,440
what it’s all about.
But, but, but the, the, the, the

646
00:40:42,440 –> 00:40:44,560
thought of that is worth
thinking about.

647
00:40:44,560 –> 00:40:45,800
I don’t want to set the world on
fire.

648
00:40:45,800 –> 00:40:50,480
I just want to start a flame in
your heart for the Lord Jesus.

649
00:40:51,720 –> 00:40:55,080
The two that walked with Jesus
from Jerusalem to Emmaus said

650
00:40:56,000 –> 00:41:00,720
did not our heart burn within us
while he talked with us by the

651
00:41:00,720 –> 00:41:03,040
way, and while he opened to us
the scriptures?

652
00:41:04,360 –> 00:41:08,320
If our heart is not right with
God, then we’re double minded.

653
00:41:09,080 –> 00:41:13,920
It’s time to change and the good
news is that we can.

654
00:41:15,440 –> 00:41:20,920
There’s no use asking God to
help us if we’re only bent on

655
00:41:20,920 –> 00:41:25,560
pleasing ourselves.
Joshua channel challenges the

656
00:41:25,560 –> 00:41:31,280
people of his day to not to be
double minded and this is Joshua

657
00:41:31,280 –> 00:41:32,960
24.
It’s the last words we have

658
00:41:32,960 –> 00:41:36,800
recorded of Joshua now therefore
fear of the Lord and serve him

659
00:41:36,800 –> 00:41:40,000
in sincerity and in truth.
That’s what we should be doing

660
00:41:40,000 –> 00:41:42,080
right?
Fear of the Lord and serve God

661
00:41:42,080 –> 00:41:44,880
in sincerity and put away the
gods which your father served on

662
00:41:44,880 –> 00:41:47,440
this side of the flood.
What gods do you have in your

663
00:41:47,440 –> 00:41:49,640
house?
What is it that’s?

664
00:41:49,960 –> 00:41:51,240
It causes you to be double
minded.

665
00:41:52,000 –> 00:41:55,640
We have the truth here.
We have television, we have

666
00:41:55,640 –> 00:42:01,080
radio, we have CDs, we have
videos, we have worldly

667
00:42:01,080 –> 00:42:05,160
magazines, We have.
Sports we have, gardenings we

668
00:42:05,160 –> 00:42:08,960
have none of those things
necessarily are a sin.

669
00:42:09,880 –> 00:42:13,120
A lot of them are a waste of
time, but.

670
00:42:13,200 –> 00:42:17,360
Anything that consumes your time
and takes you away from the

671
00:42:17,360 –> 00:42:22,480
truth, you’re double minded.
You read the truth all right,

672
00:42:23,960 –> 00:42:28,640
but something else is taking too
much of your attention.

673
00:42:29,560 –> 00:42:33,640
And so this, this is an
important thing for us to learn

674
00:42:33,640 –> 00:42:38,840
as we look at James, because
Joshua said, put away the

675
00:42:38,840 –> 00:42:41,360
strange gods that are among you
and clang your heart into the

676
00:42:41,360 –> 00:42:44,760
Lord God of Israel.
That’s what we must do too.

677
00:42:44,760 –> 00:42:47,880
And when Joshua said that they,
they agreed they would do it.

678
00:42:48,800 –> 00:42:52,840
Unfortunately, they, they said
it, but they didn’t do it.

679
00:42:53,720 –> 00:42:58,280
And that can be true of us.
Elijah, challenge the people who

680
00:42:58,280 –> 00:42:59,760
is there.
How long do you halt between two

681
00:42:59,760 –> 00:43:02,520
opinions?
If the Lord be God, follow him.

682
00:43:03,480 –> 00:43:06,480
And if Baal, then follow him.
If you don’t have the Kingdom of

683
00:43:06,480 –> 00:43:08,880
God first in your life, then go
for whatever it is you want to

684
00:43:08,880 –> 00:43:10,440
do because you’re not going to
get the Kingdom.

685
00:43:11,240 –> 00:43:13,040
That’s harsh words, but they’re
not ours.

686
00:43:13,880 –> 00:43:16,640
If there’s something in your
life that you love so much that

687
00:43:16,640 –> 00:43:20,360
the truth is sometimes a bother,
then that could be your God.

688
00:43:22,880 –> 00:43:25,560
Whatever it might be, it’s a
very poor God.

689
00:43:27,040 –> 00:43:29,920
So how long do we halt between
two opinions?

690
00:43:31,160 –> 00:43:35,880
See, talk is so cheap.
In Joshua’s day they said they

691
00:43:35,880 –> 00:43:40,000
would do it and they didn’t.
In Elijah’s day, they they

692
00:43:40,200 –> 00:43:43,720
killed the prophets of Baal, but
they kept right on worshipping

693
00:43:43,720 –> 00:43:49,040
Baal.
We have a a zealous king in

694
00:43:49,400 –> 00:43:55,480
Second King chapter 10, and the
name is Jehu and he drove

695
00:43:55,480 –> 00:43:58,000
furiously.
We have Christadelphians who

696
00:43:58,000 –> 00:44:07,880
drive the same way and he he
said all the right things, but

697
00:44:08,600 –> 00:44:15,360
he didn’t live what he said
Fail.

698
00:44:16,520 –> 00:44:22,280
And he he he says, is your heart
in chapter 10 of second Kings.

699
00:44:22,680 –> 00:44:27,920
He he he sees John the dab, the
son of Recab in verse 15 and he,

700
00:44:27,920 –> 00:44:31,360
he salutes him.
He says, is thine heart right as

701
00:44:31,360 –> 00:44:33,880
my heart is with thine heart?
Not a nice thing to say.

702
00:44:34,000 –> 00:44:36,360
Is your heart right with my
heart if my heart is with your

703
00:44:36,360 –> 00:44:38,760
heart.
There was another song years

704
00:44:38,760 –> 00:44:41,200
ago.
I don’t even know the tune of

705
00:44:41,200 –> 00:44:41,920
this one.
The other one.

706
00:44:41,920 –> 00:44:43,200
I knew the tune, but I wasn’t
going to hum it.

707
00:44:44,320 –> 00:44:48,160
This one, this one, the the the
song title is If My Heart Had

708
00:44:48,160 –> 00:44:54,120
Windows, you would see a heart
full of love just for you.

709
00:44:55,520 –> 00:44:57,720
Now what do we do when we have
windows?

710
00:44:58,320 –> 00:45:03,560
We put blinds on them so that
you can’t see out.

711
00:45:04,360 –> 00:45:09,520
And I wonder if we had a if my
heart had a window, would I pull

712
00:45:09,520 –> 00:45:13,080
a little blind down so that when
you came up and looked in my

713
00:45:13,080 –> 00:45:15,680
heart, you wouldn’t see that I
don’t really love you.

714
00:45:17,680 –> 00:45:22,080
I mean, we don’t have windows in
our heart, but in a way we do.

715
00:45:22,080 –> 00:45:24,560
God has a window into everyone’s
heart.

716
00:45:24,560 –> 00:45:27,960
He he knows the thoughts and
intents of our hearts.

717
00:45:29,040 –> 00:45:31,440
And so Hughes and your heart
right with my.

718
00:45:31,440 –> 00:45:33,240
Heart.
Then come up in the chariot with

719
00:45:33,240 –> 00:45:36,080
me, and see my zeal for the
Lord.

720
00:45:37,200 –> 00:45:47,000
And they rode together, and
chapter 10, verse 31, ye who

721
00:45:47,000 –> 00:45:52,000
took no heed to walk in the law
of the Lord God of Israel with

722
00:45:52,000 –> 00:45:56,480
all his heart, for he did not
depart from the sins of Jeroboam

723
00:45:57,200 –> 00:46:01,640
who made Israel sin.
So there was a fellow who talked

724
00:46:01,640 –> 00:46:05,280
to good fight and didn’t live as
he talked.

725
00:46:06,720 –> 00:46:10,560
Double mindedness is so common
and it’s fatal.

726
00:46:11,640 –> 00:46:15,840
We need to keep reaffirming that
we really do love God with all

727
00:46:15,840 –> 00:46:17,280
our heart, soul, strength and
mind.

728
00:46:17,920 –> 00:46:20,800
We need to have this flame in
our heart for God.

729
00:46:21,320 –> 00:46:25,080
Double mindedness and will be
burned out and go away.

730
00:46:26,200 –> 00:46:29,680
We try to love the world at the
same time we’re being double

731
00:46:29,680 –> 00:46:32,160
minded.
John says do not love the world,

732
00:46:33,440 –> 00:46:35,000
don’t love the things in the
world.

733
00:46:36,320 –> 00:46:38,240
If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in

734
00:46:38,240 –> 00:46:44,160
Him, for all that is in the
world the lust of the eyes and

735
00:46:44,160 –> 00:46:45,280
the lust of the flesh.
And.

736
00:46:45,840 –> 00:46:50,320
The pride of life, not of the
Father, it’s of the world.

737
00:46:51,360 –> 00:46:53,800
The world is passing away in the
lust of it.

738
00:46:54,400 –> 00:46:57,880
For he does.
The will of God abides forever.

739
00:46:59,360 –> 00:47:03,680
So we need, as we study James,
to realize we need this total

740
00:47:03,680 –> 00:47:11,360
dedication, total commitment,
single mindedness, aiming for

741
00:47:11,360 –> 00:47:14,640
the right thing.
And I have a silly story, but it

742
00:47:14,640 –> 00:47:17,440
it teaches a lesson.
You can tell the story is not

743
00:47:17,440 –> 00:47:18,920
true.
It’s too fantastic.

744
00:47:19,760 –> 00:47:22,280
But the but the lesson is, is is
a true lesson.

745
00:47:22,320 –> 00:47:26,520
Jesus told stories that weren’t
true, but the lesson was true.

746
00:47:26,920 –> 00:47:30,640
Rich man and Lazarus was not a
true story, but the lesson it

747
00:47:30,640 –> 00:47:32,640
taught.
He took one of their own fables

748
00:47:32,640 –> 00:47:35,240
and used it against him.
This story has to do with a

749
00:47:35,240 –> 00:47:39,520
farmer calling Farmer Jones.
He was a very nice farmer and

750
00:47:40,680 –> 00:47:43,360
all the animals loved him.
So they got together and said,

751
00:47:43,360 –> 00:47:46,520
what can we do to show Farmer
Jones how much we appreciate

752
00:47:46,520 –> 00:47:48,720
what he’s done for us?
So they appointed a committee.

753
00:47:48,720 –> 00:47:50,120
That’s where you do appoint a
committee, you know.

754
00:47:50,640 –> 00:47:53,440
So they appointed a committee of
the pig and a chicken.

755
00:47:54,520 –> 00:47:57,120
And so the this committee gets
off at a corner and then what

756
00:47:57,120 –> 00:48:00,440
can we do for Farmer Jones to
show how much we appreciate?

757
00:48:01,320 –> 00:48:02,440
All of a sudden, the chicken
says.

758
00:48:02,440 –> 00:48:03,200
I got it.
I got it.

759
00:48:03,200 –> 00:48:06,320
I got it, you know.
He was a bird brain, but he

760
00:48:06,320 –> 00:48:08,000
says, what do we do?
He says, well let’s, let’s serve

761
00:48:08,000 –> 00:48:10,800
Farmer Jones on ham and egg
breakfast.

762
00:48:14,120 –> 00:48:15,640
And the pig looked at the
chicken.

763
00:48:15,640 –> 00:48:19,520
He said for you that’s a day’s
work, but for me that’s total

764
00:48:19,520 –> 00:48:24,480
commitment.
Now the moral of the story is

765
00:48:24,480 –> 00:48:28,520
God’s looking for total
commitment from us.

766
00:48:28,720 –> 00:48:31,560
Total.
We can’t serve 2 masters.

767
00:48:32,240 –> 00:48:35,880
Jesus said it couldn’t be done.
We know deep down that we can’t

768
00:48:35,880 –> 00:48:39,000
do it either.
Again, the children of this

769
00:48:39,000 –> 00:48:40,880
world are wiser than the
generation of the children of

770
00:48:40,880 –> 00:48:44,320
light.
A young medical internist went

771
00:48:44,320 –> 00:48:50,440
to his professor, a famous
medical doctor, and he asked him

772
00:48:50,840 –> 00:48:53,600
what commitment does it take to
be a good doctor?

773
00:48:54,600 –> 00:48:57,120
The elder doctor said to the
young man, either get your heart

774
00:48:57,120 –> 00:48:59,640
into it or get yourself out of
it.

775
00:49:01,200 –> 00:49:03,920
And so that’s true of us and we
got to get our heart into the

776
00:49:03,920 –> 00:49:07,720
truth totally, totally committed
to God.

777
00:49:07,720 –> 00:49:12,280
And so coming back to James
chapter one, verse nine, let the

778
00:49:12,280 –> 00:49:16,240
lowly brother glory in his
axultation, but let the rich in

779
00:49:16,240 –> 00:49:19,800
his humiliation, because as the
flower of the field, he will

780
00:49:19,800 –> 00:49:22,720
pass away.
For no sooner has the sun risen

781
00:49:22,720 –> 00:49:25,960
with a burning heat, but it
Withers, the grass and flowers

782
00:49:25,960 –> 00:49:28,760
falls, and beautiful appearance
perishes.

783
00:49:29,280 –> 00:49:32,600
So the rich man also shall fade
away in his pursuit.

784
00:49:33,880 –> 00:49:38,120
Seems like a paradox, but the
rich are made poor and the poor

785
00:49:38,600 –> 00:49:40,600
are made rich.
Now it seems that James has

786
00:49:40,600 –> 00:49:43,040
changed his subject, but really
he hasn’t at all.

787
00:49:43,640 –> 00:49:47,440
You start off with the premise.
I counted all joy when you fall

788
00:49:47,440 –> 00:49:52,760
in the divers temptations.
Now in verse 12 blessed is a man

789
00:49:52,760 –> 00:49:55,880
that endures temptations for
when he has been approved he

790
00:49:55,880 –> 00:49:59,480
will receive the crown of life
which the Lord has promised to

791
00:49:59,480 –> 00:50:01,680
those who love him.
In the meantime, it’s all

792
00:50:01,680 –> 00:50:03,520
connecting to give us a powerful
expectation.

793
00:50:03,720 –> 00:50:07,200
Verse five he says that God will
generously provide wisdom

794
00:50:07,640 –> 00:50:11,520
required to properly endure the
trials. 6:00 to 8:00 we learned

795
00:50:11,520 –> 00:50:14,400
the fact that underscored the
double mightedness will keep us

796
00:50:14,400 –> 00:50:17,040
out of the Kingdom.
Now in nine and 10 he commits

797
00:50:17,160 –> 00:50:19,240
comments on a problem that is
the cause of much double

798
00:50:19,240 –> 00:50:24,080
mindedness or attitude toward
money and material possessions.

799
00:50:25,120 –> 00:50:31,520
Money itself is not bad or good,
it’s the love of it that’s the

800
00:50:31,520 –> 00:50:34,200
problem.
In James Day there were some

801
00:50:34,200 –> 00:50:39,920
really poor Christadelphians, so
poor that the ecclesias around

802
00:50:39,920 –> 00:50:43,000
the world took up a collection
to send to the poor, poor

803
00:50:43,000 –> 00:50:47,760
Christadelphians in Jerusalem.
And so count it all joy when you

804
00:50:47,760 –> 00:50:52,000
fall into divers temptations.
Let the lowly brother glory in

805
00:50:52,000 –> 00:50:54,800
his exhortation, and you go to
the third world countries.

806
00:50:55,080 –> 00:50:59,080
And these brothers and sisters
are so full of the truth and

807
00:50:59,080 –> 00:51:00,720
they have nothing and they’re
happy.

808
00:51:01,640 –> 00:51:04,880
Sometimes I see Christian Evans
who have almost everything in

809
00:51:04,880 –> 00:51:06,720
this world’s good and and
they’re miserable.

810
00:51:08,400 –> 00:51:12,160
Money does not bring happiness.
It does help you to be

811
00:51:12,160 –> 00:51:15,840
comfortable in your misery, but
it doesn’t bring happiness.

812
00:51:18,920 –> 00:51:21,040
Now the warning to the rich is a
humbling 1.

813
00:51:23,040 –> 00:51:25,680
Common characteristics of the
rich is to be puffed up.

814
00:51:27,120 –> 00:51:33,120
Psalm One O 3 ISM verse 15 As
for man, his days are like

815
00:51:33,120 –> 00:51:35,680
grass.
We look at the grass and we’re

816
00:51:35,680 –> 00:51:37,840
being compared to grass.
James compares this to grass.

817
00:51:38,080 –> 00:51:40,240
David compares this to grass.
Isaiah compares this to grass.

818
00:51:40,440 –> 00:51:43,720
Peter compares this to grass.
Grass is a pretty fleeting

819
00:51:43,720 –> 00:51:47,760
thing, you know, you mow it up
and you throw it in the trash.

820
00:51:47,760 –> 00:51:54,360
Man, man and his days are like
grass.

821
00:51:54,360 –> 00:51:56,760
As the flower of the field, so
he flourishes, for the wind

822
00:51:56,760 –> 00:51:59,640
passes over it.
It’s gone, and this place

823
00:51:59,640 –> 00:52:03,600
remembers it no more.
Isaiah says, Cry out, What shall

824
00:52:03,600 –> 00:52:06,920
I cry?
All flesh is grass, and all the

825
00:52:06,920 –> 00:52:10,120
loveliness is like a flower of
the field.

826
00:52:10,120 –> 00:52:13,280
The grass Withers.
The flower fades because the

827
00:52:13,280 –> 00:52:17,040
breath of God blows upon it.
Surely the people it’s grass

828
00:52:17,920 –> 00:52:22,360
first Peter one verse 21.
All flesh is grass, and all this

829
00:52:22,360 –> 00:52:23,800
glory of man is the flower of
the grass.

830
00:52:24,200 –> 00:52:26,000
The grass Withers and the flower
fails.

831
00:52:26,240 –> 00:52:28,280
You know, we’re just only here
temporarily.

832
00:52:29,000 –> 00:52:32,360
We, we mustn’t put our trust in
the things of this world.

833
00:52:34,000 –> 00:52:37,120
Again.
We’re double minded when we are

834
00:52:37,280 –> 00:52:40,800
balancing the things of this
life with the things of the

835
00:52:40,800 –> 00:52:42,640
truth.
We have to have our priorities

836
00:52:42,640 –> 00:52:45,440
right.
The truth must come first in our

837
00:52:45,440 –> 00:52:48,760
life.
And so I’m going to ask you to

838
00:52:49,480 –> 00:52:54,120
make a commitment this morning.
It’s right out of James and I’ll

839
00:52:54,120 –> 00:52:56,320
read it to you.
It’s James chapter one, verse

840
00:52:56,320 –> 00:52:59,240
27.
Pure religion and undefiled

841
00:52:59,240 –> 00:53:00,920
before God and the Father
exists.

842
00:53:01,680 –> 00:53:03,800
So visit the fatherless and
widows in their affliction, and

843
00:53:03,800 –> 00:53:06,120
keep himself unspotted from the
world that’s.

844
00:53:06,280 –> 00:53:08,560
Pure religion.
We’re going to deal with that in

845
00:53:08,560 –> 00:53:11,800
a in a future class.
But now after you learn the

846
00:53:11,800 –> 00:53:17,320
verse, there’s more.
I’m asking you, and don’t tell

847
00:53:17,320 –> 00:53:18,280
me if you do or.
Don’t.

848
00:53:19,080 –> 00:53:21,440
It’s really none of my business.
I’ve given these out in England

849
00:53:21,440 –> 00:53:23,200
and people bring them back to me
and say and say here, here’s

850
00:53:23,200 –> 00:53:24,800
your slip.
I don’t want them back.

851
00:53:26,640 –> 00:53:30,720
This is for you.
Oh, why English do that, Peter?

852
00:53:34,120 –> 00:53:39,120
But I promise this is not a vow.
I promise to the best of my

853
00:53:39,120 –> 00:53:42,440
ability to comply with this
definition given by James.

854
00:53:42,680 –> 00:53:44,880
Now, if you will take that, it’s
got a place to date it and sign

855
00:53:44,880 –> 00:53:46,200
it.
You put in your little Bible

856
00:53:47,120 –> 00:53:50,160
when you do, when you do your
Bible readings, not if, but when

857
00:53:50,960 –> 00:53:53,960
you look out and you’ll say,
well, on August, whatever today

858
00:53:53,960 –> 00:53:59,360
is, I signed that And it reminds
you of a commitment you made

859
00:53:59,360 –> 00:54:01,560
today to God or whenever you
signed it.

860
00:54:02,200 –> 00:54:05,400
So I hope that you will take one
and that you will sign it.

861
00:54:05,520 –> 00:54:09,520
And it’s, it’s really between
you and God.

862
00:54:10,800 –> 00:54:17,200
But it’s so important that we
realize that we have to be

863
00:54:17,200 –> 00:54:22,400
totally committed to God and his
Son.

864
00:54:23,640 –> 00:54:26,840
And when we do that, He promises
to open the windows of heaven.

865
00:54:27,160 –> 00:54:34,120
I’ll do exceedingly abundantly
above all that you ask or think.