Jim Styles – Living as a Member of God’s Family – Class 2 – Elevating our life to God’s Moral Code

1
00:00:00,760 –> 00:00:04,120
So the goal today is to look at
elevating our life to God’s

2
00:00:04,120 –> 00:00:06,280
moral code.
That’s hopefully what we will

3
00:00:06,280 –> 00:00:09,680
get to.
So it starts out with some of

4
00:00:09,680 –> 00:00:12,200
these things where people
sometimes challenge us as a

5
00:00:12,200 –> 00:00:14,880
community about, well, why do
you even need God?

6
00:00:15,960 –> 00:00:18,440
And these are answers that we
have to be able to give to our

7
00:00:18,600 –> 00:00:21,000
our teens as they’re growing up
when they get challenged in

8
00:00:21,000 –> 00:00:23,400
their world today of like, you
can be an atheist and you can

9
00:00:23,400 –> 00:00:25,480
still be good and all these
different things that you’ll

10
00:00:25,480 –> 00:00:27,600
hear.
So you’ll see things like this

11
00:00:27,600 –> 00:00:29,800
about, you know, just be good
for goodness sake, right?

12
00:00:30,000 –> 00:00:32,759
We don’t need God or.
You know, are you good without

13
00:00:32,759 –> 00:00:34,520
God?
Millions are right.

14
00:00:34,680 –> 00:00:37,320
And you know, these are things
we see in California all the

15
00:00:37,320 –> 00:00:39,720
time.
Our kids see them online.

16
00:00:40,160 –> 00:00:43,320
And so they get challenged about
this whole idea of do you really

17
00:00:43,320 –> 00:00:46,400
need God to be good, you know,
or can you just be good in

18
00:00:46,400 –> 00:00:48,840
yourself?
Or millions of people are good

19
00:00:48,840 –> 00:00:50,160
without God?
You don’t need.

20
00:00:50,160 –> 00:00:54,400
Religion to be a good moral
person and and this is something

21
00:00:54,400 –> 00:00:57,320
that this society today is
challenging us with and the

22
00:00:57,320 –> 00:01:00,880
atheists are are certainly doing
that and our kids they’re being

23
00:01:00,880 –> 00:01:03,160
exposed to this and we have to
come up with ideas.

24
00:01:03,160 –> 00:01:05,519
You really need religion to
guide you morally.

25
00:01:05,880 –> 00:01:09,760
Couldn’t you figure out that
murder is wrong by yourself and

26
00:01:10,000 –> 00:01:13,400
what happens is these think they
sound great to our our

27
00:01:13,400 –> 00:01:15,240
teenagers.
It’s like yeah we don’t need we

28
00:01:15,240 –> 00:01:16,760
don’t need God we can just be
good.

29
00:01:17,080 –> 00:01:20,120
But the problem is when you
start looking at them is that

30
00:01:20,560 –> 00:01:23,920
they they start to fall apart.
When you get into the specifics

31
00:01:24,280 –> 00:01:27,040
it sounds great as the general
principle sure want a better

32
00:01:27,040 –> 00:01:28,560
world?
You you don’t have to pray about

33
00:01:28,560 –> 00:01:29,640
it.
You just have to be.

34
00:01:29,640 –> 00:01:32,960
Better.
People, but we understand as

35
00:01:32,960 –> 00:01:36,560
Christadelphians, as God tells
us, that look, man is not

36
00:01:36,640 –> 00:01:40,320
morally good when it comes right
down to IT.

37
00:01:40,440 –> 00:01:43,240
People might be good in some
areas, or they might want to do

38
00:01:43,240 –> 00:01:46,680
things to help somebody else.
But when it comes time to other

39
00:01:46,680 –> 00:01:49,560
things, what are the answers in
humanism for?

40
00:01:49,560 –> 00:01:52,520
Well, should we pay taxes?
Is, is that something?

41
00:01:52,520 –> 00:01:55,920
Is that, is that being good?
Or should you have the right to

42
00:01:55,920 –> 00:01:57,720
just decide, well, I don’t want
to pay taxes?

43
00:01:58,040 –> 00:02:00,280
Or what about?
Divorce and remarriage or gay

44
00:02:00,280 –> 00:02:05,200
marriage or premarital sex and
nudity, polygamy, war and ISIS

45
00:02:05,200 –> 00:02:08,360
and vengeance and stealing from
the rich and slavery and abuse

46
00:02:08,360 –> 00:02:10,680
and all these things.
Who’s going to define what is

47
00:02:10,680 –> 00:02:12,880
good?
That that’s the problem you’re

48
00:02:12,880 –> 00:02:13,800
into?
So what are you going to do,

49
00:02:13,800 –> 00:02:16,880
like government decide then?
Is government going to be our

50
00:02:16,880 –> 00:02:20,600
decision about what our morality
is and we have to encourage our

51
00:02:20,600 –> 00:02:22,280
kids that?
No, we’re going to turn to God

52
00:02:22,280 –> 00:02:24,000
to find out what our morality
is.

53
00:02:24,000 –> 00:02:26,400
Because who’s going to define
these morals?

54
00:02:26,800 –> 00:02:30,400
And what we do is we can
thankfully turn to our Bibles

55
00:02:30,440 –> 00:02:35,000
and and be assured that God is
going to give us a good moral.

56
00:02:35,000 –> 00:02:38,640
Way to live.
When you’re you’re talking to

57
00:02:38,640 –> 00:02:41,200
people that have this kind of
philosophy, I think it’s really

58
00:02:41,200 –> 00:02:45,040
good to expose him to the idea
that all of that stuff about

59
00:02:45,040 –> 00:02:48,440
being good and treating people
nice and all, it’s all about

60
00:02:48,440 –> 00:02:52,800
this life, this life.
If you’re only living for this

61
00:02:52,800 –> 00:02:55,800
life, sure, go ahead and define
good whichever way you want.

62
00:02:56,720 –> 00:02:58,560
But we’re not living for this
life.

63
00:02:59,280 –> 00:03:02,680
We’re we’re aiming for the life
to come and then the life to

64
00:03:02,680 –> 00:03:04,760
come.
That’s a whole different story.

65
00:03:05,080 –> 00:03:07,360
God has to train us for the life
to come.

66
00:03:07,720 –> 00:03:10,800
We aren’t going to naturally be
the kind of people that can just

67
00:03:10,800 –> 00:03:12,840
grow up and be a part of his
Kingdom.

68
00:03:12,840 –> 00:03:15,760
Oh no, His family involves
suffering.

69
00:03:15,760 –> 00:03:18,520
As as Jack’s been going through
with us in the second period.

70
00:03:18,840 –> 00:03:22,400
God has to bring trials into our
life to shape us and to mold us

71
00:03:22,600 –> 00:03:25,800
into different people.
He’s trying to change us into

72
00:03:25,800 –> 00:03:28,800
somebody else, trying to work on
our minds and and and change our

73
00:03:28,800 –> 00:03:31,000
minds about.
How we actually live and

74
00:03:31,000 –> 00:03:33,520
function, we’re not living for
this life.

75
00:03:34,320 –> 00:03:36,880
And sometimes we need to be
right reminded about that

76
00:03:36,880 –> 00:03:39,160
because we can get all caught up
in this life.

77
00:03:39,560 –> 00:03:41,600
You look at the young people
today, you know you’re you’re

78
00:03:41,600 –> 00:03:43,640
being asked to make decisions
about where you’re going to go

79
00:03:43,640 –> 00:03:45,680
for university, what job are you
going to get, who are you going

80
00:03:45,680 –> 00:03:47,760
to marry and where you’re going
to live and all these different

81
00:03:47,760 –> 00:03:49,880
things.
But it’s not about.

82
00:03:49,880 –> 00:03:52,440
This life.
You know, I used to watch the

83
00:03:52,440 –> 00:03:54,760
counselors at my school.
They would encourage kids.

84
00:03:54,760 –> 00:03:56,840
They’d bring them into the
counseling office and they would

85
00:03:56,840 –> 00:03:59,600
tell them, what do you want to
be, go out there and be all that

86
00:03:59,600 –> 00:04:01,240
you can be.
And they’d say, well, I.

87
00:04:01,320 –> 00:04:05,280
I want to go into to the NFL and
they’d think, yeah I’m going to

88
00:04:05,440 –> 00:04:08,000
be a football player and and and
they realize.

89
00:04:08,040 –> 00:04:10,920
Wait a minute.
Hardly anybody makes it to that.

90
00:04:10,920 –> 00:04:13,080
You’re going to have skills to
do that.

91
00:04:13,560 –> 00:04:16,640
You can’t just be all that you
want to be or somebody else goes

92
00:04:16,640 –> 00:04:18,279
into drama.
I want to be an actor.

93
00:04:18,279 –> 00:04:20,519
And then you find out, well, how
many jobs are there out there

94
00:04:20,519 –> 00:04:22,280
and that, or maybe you’re not a
good actor.

95
00:04:22,280 –> 00:04:27,400
But we’re not into this life.
This life is just a mechanism to

96
00:04:27,400 –> 00:04:30,280
get us to the next one.
It’s a training ground.

97
00:04:30,640 –> 00:04:32,960
So you don’t get to go out there
and do all the things that you

98
00:04:32,960 –> 00:04:36,240
want to do in this life.
And that’s OK because God wants

99
00:04:36,240 –> 00:04:39,200
you for the future.
This life is about training for

100
00:04:39,200 –> 00:04:41,960
the future.
Not about just being happy in

101
00:04:41,960 –> 00:04:44,760
this life, doing all the things
you want, having all the toys of

102
00:04:44,760 –> 00:04:47,520
this life and you work, work,
work, work, work, so you can

103
00:04:47,520 –> 00:04:50,720
have all these great things of
this life and you watch your

104
00:04:50,720 –> 00:04:53,960
spiritual life just fade away.
That’s not really what it’s

105
00:04:53,960 –> 00:04:58,040
about, but humanism is.
It’s all about this life, all

106
00:04:58,040 –> 00:04:59,520
that stuff that you hear on
those things.

107
00:04:59,520 –> 00:05:02,200
While you can be good and
everything, it’s just about this

108
00:05:02,200 –> 00:05:05,320
life and what God’s trying to do
is train us for the life to

109
00:05:05,320 –> 00:05:07,640
come.
His morality is is really

110
00:05:07,640 –> 00:05:10,280
designed for a much higher
purpose.

111
00:05:10,840 –> 00:05:14,680
He’s training us to learn to
live like him, our Heavenly

112
00:05:14,680 –> 00:05:17,520
Father and and we have.
To get there, brethren and

113
00:05:17,520 –> 00:05:20,320
sisters, you know, some people
have this idea that they can

114
00:05:20,320 –> 00:05:23,320
just get through this life right
now and, you know, just sort of

115
00:05:23,320 –> 00:05:25,520
work on things.
And then, oh, when Christ

116
00:05:25,520 –> 00:05:28,040
returns, where people are
resurrected from the dead and

117
00:05:28,040 –> 00:05:30,560
the judgment occurs, I’m just
all of a sudden God’s going to

118
00:05:30,560 –> 00:05:33,480
give me immortality and I’m
going to be a good moral person

119
00:05:34,800 –> 00:05:36,880
just like that.
That isn’t how it.

120
00:05:36,880 –> 00:05:39,840
Works.
This is the training ground.

121
00:05:40,360 –> 00:05:43,720
This is where we’re practicing
righteousness right now.

122
00:05:43,960 –> 00:05:46,760
I love the way John writes that
in the first John, if you use a

123
00:05:46,760 –> 00:05:49,720
modern version besides the King
James, you’ll see the the words

124
00:05:49,720 –> 00:05:52,600
that he uses of instead of just
sin and and righteousness, he

125
00:05:52,600 –> 00:05:55,240
uses the words practicing sin in
the Greek.

126
00:05:55,600 –> 00:05:57,920
You’ve got to practice those
things.

127
00:05:58,240 –> 00:05:59,560
And that’s what this is all
about.

128
00:05:59,560 –> 00:06:01,880
You come here to a Bible school
and we’re practicing

129
00:06:02,120 –> 00:06:04,880
righteousness on how we treat
each other, how we behave this

130
00:06:04,880 –> 00:06:08,280
week as well as we’re learning
things as up for the future.

131
00:06:08,280 –> 00:06:12,160
But God is really designing us
for His future, and He’s told us

132
00:06:12,160 –> 00:06:14,000
that we have to become holy.
We.

133
00:06:14,000 –> 00:06:16,440
Must be holy, he said.
For I am holy.

134
00:06:16,720 –> 00:06:18,680
That’s not just.
Jesus in the New Testament

135
00:06:18,680 –> 00:06:21,320
saying you want to be perfect as
your Heavenly Father is perfect.

136
00:06:21,600 –> 00:06:25,040
That is the bar right there.
He is holy, and we have to aim

137
00:06:25,040 –> 00:06:28,640
to be that way as well.
And he is the one who defines

138
00:06:28,640 –> 00:06:31,280
all these moral terms.
He’s the one that defines

139
00:06:31,280 –> 00:06:33,440
goodness.
It’s all about God.

140
00:06:33,720 –> 00:06:36,680
And so all these things go on in
life and people get challenged

141
00:06:36,680 –> 00:06:39,240
with the wars that are going on
and all the persecutions that

142
00:06:39,240 –> 00:06:42,120
are happening, all the abuse,
the abuse that goes on in life

143
00:06:42,120 –> 00:06:45,680
today, slavery that went on for
years and still goes on today.

144
00:06:45,960 –> 00:06:48,920
And you know, the guns that are
out there at in the United

145
00:06:48,920 –> 00:06:51,680
States, it’s become a big
problem in gun violence and

146
00:06:51,680 –> 00:06:53,600
racism and all these different
things.

147
00:06:54,000 –> 00:06:54,920
And I’m.
Sure I’m not.

148
00:06:55,080 –> 00:06:56,680
Sure.
Who those guys are up there, but

149
00:06:56,680 –> 00:06:58,600
they they must be people you
would recognize.

150
00:06:58,840 –> 00:07:01,280
I just googled some Australian
politicians that.

151
00:07:02,880 –> 00:07:05,920
So hopefully that’s not Jack up
there, is it?

152
00:07:06,880 –> 00:07:10,600
No, I can’t be jacked.
I’ve got to get the accents

153
00:07:10,600 –> 00:07:15,880
right.
So you’ve got politics.

154
00:07:15,880 –> 00:07:19,520
That’s what people in politics,
they’re living for this life

155
00:07:19,760 –> 00:07:23,320
only it’s all about now.
And they’re so influenced by all

156
00:07:23,320 –> 00:07:26,160
the constituents and the people
that are buying their votes and

157
00:07:26,160 –> 00:07:27,840
all this stuff.
We are not.

158
00:07:27,840 –> 00:07:31,000
Like that, Brothers and sisters,
that is not what makes us work.

159
00:07:31,240 –> 00:07:34,360
We are in it for God.
And our goal is to be part of

160
00:07:34,360 –> 00:07:36,880
God’s family.
And if it takes suffering like

161
00:07:36,880 –> 00:07:39,480
Job is going through this, we’re
looking at our second class.

162
00:07:39,680 –> 00:07:43,720
If that’s what it takes to help
everybody get there, it’s worth

163
00:07:43,720 –> 00:07:46,080
it.
And just remember, Jesus Christ

164
00:07:46,080 –> 00:07:48,600
is always the model.
Look at what he went through.

165
00:07:48,600 –> 00:07:53,000
Look at what God put his Son
through to win the victory over

166
00:07:53,000 –> 00:07:55,400
sin.
To put all those principalities

167
00:07:55,400 –> 00:07:58,160
and powers under him and destroy
them all.

168
00:07:58,440 –> 00:08:01,720
And he won a great victory in
the Lord Jesus Christ.

169
00:08:01,760 –> 00:08:04,760
But it was all done by
suffering, A suffering that

170
00:08:04,760 –> 00:08:08,400
taught Jesus to learn obedience
by what he suffered a.

171
00:08:08,400 –> 00:08:10,960
Cross that reminded him that
that’s where he’s headed.

172
00:08:11,320 –> 00:08:13,720
But all the way through life it
was for us.

173
00:08:14,120 –> 00:08:18,080
He always did it for us so that
we could follow in his steps.

174
00:08:18,080 –> 00:08:21,160
He left us an example, as Peter
says, that we would follow in

175
00:08:21,160 –> 00:08:25,480
his steps.
So God has guidelines for us.

176
00:08:25,480 –> 00:08:29,720
God is the one who defines our
morality and one of the the

177
00:08:29,720 –> 00:08:32,360
famous verses that they use a
lot at young people’s gatherings

178
00:08:32,360 –> 00:08:34,039
in North America.
I don’t know if you guys get

179
00:08:34,039 –> 00:08:36,919
them here, but we go to these
Bible camps and you see this

180
00:08:36,919 –> 00:08:38,880
where there is no vision that
people perish.

181
00:08:39,240 –> 00:08:41,840
And so they tell all of our
young people you have to have a

182
00:08:41,840 –> 00:08:43,880
vision of the Kingdom.
What is your vision of the

183
00:08:43,880 –> 00:08:45,800
Kingdom and?
People go around and say, well,

184
00:08:45,800 –> 00:08:47,360
my.
Idea the Kingdom is I’m going to

185
00:08:47,360 –> 00:08:48,960
be doing this.
I’m going to be playing

186
00:08:48,960 –> 00:08:51,400
basketball or whatever, you
know, Yes, little kids that.

187
00:08:51,400 –> 00:08:54,200
And that’s what they come up
with and they come up with their

188
00:08:54,200 –> 00:08:56,320
vision of the Kingdom.
That’s not what this passage

189
00:08:56,320 –> 00:08:59,040
means though.
You know it’s if you if you use

190
00:08:59,040 –> 00:09:01,640
a different version besides the
King James, it actually comes

191
00:09:01,640 –> 00:09:03,880
out a lot clearer.
But it’s not about.

192
00:09:03,880 –> 00:09:06,760
You creating your vision of the
Kingdom.

193
00:09:07,000 –> 00:09:10,000
If you look within the context
of the Proverbs, the modern

194
00:09:10,000 –> 00:09:12,680
versions have caught it right.
They say that where there is no

195
00:09:12,680 –> 00:09:17,600
revelation from God.
The people cast off restraint.

196
00:09:17,880 –> 00:09:20,560
It’s not about us creating the
vision of the Kingdom.

197
00:09:20,760 –> 00:09:23,400
It’s about God.
Revelation.

198
00:09:23,640 –> 00:09:25,240
He’s the one that sets the
boundary.

199
00:09:25,240 –> 00:09:27,360
He tells us about what the
future will be.

200
00:09:27,600 –> 00:09:30,600
It’s about God.
It’s not about what we think or

201
00:09:30,600 –> 00:09:32,320
what we want.
And without.

202
00:09:32,320 –> 00:09:35,560
God in our life.
In in bringing these moral

203
00:09:35,560 –> 00:09:39,080
values into our life, the people
cast off restraint.

204
00:09:39,400 –> 00:09:41,320
You’ll see that if you read the
verse before it.

205
00:09:41,320 –> 00:09:43,120
And correct your.
Son and he.

206
00:09:43,120 –> 00:09:45,720
Will give you rest.
Yes, he will give delight to

207
00:09:45,720 –> 00:09:48,000
your soul.
It’s about correction.

208
00:09:48,200 –> 00:09:52,160
It’s about moral restraints that
we bring into our children.

209
00:09:52,440 –> 00:09:55,120
And it ends.
Verse 18 with happy is he who

210
00:09:55,120 –> 00:09:58,880
keeps the law.
In verse 19 a servant will not

211
00:09:58,880 –> 00:10:02,600
be corrected by mere words.
It’s all about correction

212
00:10:02,800 –> 00:10:05,480
instruction.
And that’s what God is trying to

213
00:10:05,480 –> 00:10:08,200
do with us all the time.
So when we do our Bible

214
00:10:08,200 –> 00:10:09,800
readings, when we’re.
Bible marking.

215
00:10:09,800 –> 00:10:12,720
We go to gatherings.
It’s all about learning these

216
00:10:12,720 –> 00:10:16,400
things and getting God’s
instruction about putting

217
00:10:16,400 –> 00:10:19,600
parameters into our life where
he’s trying to guide us into a

218
00:10:19,600 –> 00:10:21,280
way of life.
Or.

219
00:10:21,280 –> 00:10:23,800
When you look at I, I really
think the story of Job’s a great

220
00:10:23,800 –> 00:10:27,160
one of that he he sometimes he’s
trying to get us to see issues

221
00:10:27,480 –> 00:10:30,480
that we don’t see.
We grow up in a culture

222
00:10:30,480 –> 00:10:33,720
sometimes like maybe those three
friends, they had this culture

223
00:10:33,720 –> 00:10:36,320
of thinking that you know God
will get you in this life for

224
00:10:36,320 –> 00:10:38,880
what you do wrong and they had
this fear based relationship

225
00:10:38,880 –> 00:10:41,640
that God’s going to get us.
And later on you see that coming

226
00:10:41,640 –> 00:10:44,360
out in Job that he thinks God’s
shooting arrows at him and all

227
00:10:44,360 –> 00:10:47,000
these things and it’s like
that’s their that’s their

228
00:10:47,000 –> 00:10:50,800
understanding of God.
And God doesn’t want us to have

229
00:10:50,800 –> 00:10:53,280
that.
He wants us to have a love based

230
00:10:53,280 –> 00:10:56,920
relationship with him and he
wants us to have the right

231
00:10:56,920 –> 00:10:59,080
stuff, the right understanding,
so that.

232
00:10:59,080 –> 00:11:03,400
We can make good decisions about
how we live ourselves and how we

233
00:11:03,400 –> 00:11:07,040
treat one another.
Look at how God’s family members

234
00:11:07,040 –> 00:11:09,080
behave.
I I’m really impressed.

235
00:11:09,160 –> 00:11:11,760
I love studying the angels
because I finally came to

236
00:11:11,760 –> 00:11:14,640
realize that God has revealed
enough about angels in the

237
00:11:14,640 –> 00:11:18,080
Scriptures and how they behave.
That he’s showing us through the

238
00:11:18,080 –> 00:11:20,680
angels.
Look at my family members

239
00:11:20,680 –> 00:11:23,960
already behave like this.
This is what my family members

240
00:11:23,960 –> 00:11:25,320
do.
You want to be one of his

241
00:11:25,320 –> 00:11:26,640
children?
Here’s what.

242
00:11:26,720 –> 00:11:28,400
Here’s the way God’s children
behave.

243
00:11:28,760 –> 00:11:31,480
You look at Psalm One O 3.
It ends there with the Lord has

244
00:11:31,480 –> 00:11:34,120
established His throne in
heaven, and His Kingdom rules

245
00:11:34,120 –> 00:11:37,240
over all.
Bless the Lord, you His angels,

246
00:11:37,240 –> 00:11:39,920
who excel in strength.
Oh, they’re they’re mighty all

247
00:11:39,920 –> 00:11:45,080
right, but they do His Word.
They heed the voice of His word.

248
00:11:45,480 –> 00:11:47,240
They.
Obey him, which is what he’s

249
00:11:47,240 –> 00:11:51,280
always been after is obedience.
Bless the Lord, all you His

250
00:11:51,280 –> 00:11:54,840
hosts, you ministers of His who
do His pleasure.

251
00:11:55,240 –> 00:11:57,520
They’re those ministering
spirits.

252
00:11:57,800 –> 00:12:01,080
Sent forth to Minister for.
Us who are the heirs of

253
00:12:01,080 –> 00:12:04,560
salvation.
That’s how God’s family members

254
00:12:04,560 –> 00:12:06,760
behave.
You’re you’re not going to just

255
00:12:06,760 –> 00:12:08,800
get this.
When you receive immortality,

256
00:12:08,800 –> 00:12:11,520
you just all of a sudden become
like that.

257
00:12:12,040 –> 00:12:14,760
This is what we are aiming for
in this life.

258
00:12:14,760 –> 00:12:17,840
This is why we are in families.
This is why we come to Bible

259
00:12:17,840 –> 00:12:19,680
school.
This is why we have jobs and God

260
00:12:19,680 –> 00:12:23,880
has us work with people.
We are learning how to heed His

261
00:12:23,880 –> 00:12:28,640
voice, follow His ways, trust
Him in everything, and do His

262
00:12:28,640 –> 00:12:31,040
pleasure.
That’s how God’s family members

263
00:12:31,040 –> 00:12:34,200
behave.
You can trust the coach when he

264
00:12:34,200 –> 00:12:36,880
says something and he and he
says this is the right way to

265
00:12:36,880 –> 00:12:39,360
live and he brings these moral
values into our life.

266
00:12:39,640 –> 00:12:45,200
He knows what he’s doing and he
loves us so much that for 4000

267
00:12:45,200 –> 00:12:48,360
years after Adam and Eve sinned,
and even before that, when he

268
00:12:48,360 –> 00:12:52,720
knew it would happen, he planned
to watch his son die on a cross

269
00:12:52,960 –> 00:12:56,040
and go through all of that and
and for us.

270
00:12:56,800 –> 00:12:59,880
And and it’s not like, you know,
we were he’s saying and seeing

271
00:12:59,880 –> 00:13:02,200
me one day that hem out of what
was it?

272
00:13:02,200 –> 00:13:05,080
The Praise the Lord book.
I think it was 177 and and it

273
00:13:05,080 –> 00:13:08,320
talks about, you know, Jesus at
the end when Jesus is on the

274
00:13:08,320 –> 00:13:11,520
cross and he’s bearing our sin
that God turned away because he

275
00:13:11,520 –> 00:13:12,320
couldn’t.
Look at it.

276
00:13:12,640 –> 00:13:15,600
Those are things that come from
the Christian Church, Brother

277
00:13:15,600 –> 00:13:17,880
and sisters, and especially
young people.

278
00:13:18,280 –> 00:13:21,680
Those aren’t Bible concepts.
God doesn’t turn away.

279
00:13:21,920 –> 00:13:25,240
He loved his Son.
He was watching the greatest

280
00:13:25,320 –> 00:13:28,200
victory that had ever been
accomplished in the history of

281
00:13:28,200 –> 00:13:30,280
mankind.
And God is the one who

282
00:13:30,280 –> 00:13:34,920
orchestrated it so that he could
save his son and save all of us.

283
00:13:35,360 –> 00:13:38,760
He’s not an angry God like
Christians will teach.

284
00:13:38,960 –> 00:13:42,360
He doesn’t turn his, his his
face away and and punish his son

285
00:13:42,360 –> 00:13:45,280
and he can’t even look at it.
That isn’t the God that we

286
00:13:45,280 –> 00:13:47,440
worship, brothers and sisters
and young people.

287
00:13:47,440 –> 00:13:50,400
And we do have to be careful
that we don’t get caught up into

288
00:13:50,400 –> 00:13:53,800
the Christian philosophy today
of who our God is.

289
00:13:54,360 –> 00:13:55,960
You look at David.
And how he.

290
00:13:55,960 –> 00:14:00,560
Felt the power of God’s counsel,
the influence of God’s morality

291
00:14:00,560 –> 00:14:04,000
into his life, that he would
write, oh, I how I love your

292
00:14:04,000 –> 00:14:07,240
law.
It’s my meditation all the day.

293
00:14:07,840 –> 00:14:11,480
You, through your commandments,
make me wiser than my enemies.

294
00:14:11,960 –> 00:14:14,640
You know, this is David’s
feeling about the law.

295
00:14:14,800 –> 00:14:16,560
And for those of you that end up
thinking.

296
00:14:16,560 –> 00:14:17,920
Oh, the law.
Was all bad.

297
00:14:17,920 –> 00:14:19,480
The law.
The young Jesus took away the

298
00:14:19,480 –> 00:14:21,840
law.
No, the law was good.

299
00:14:22,040 –> 00:14:25,760
It brought guidelines into
people’s lives, parameters it.

300
00:14:25,800 –> 00:14:29,880
It was misused by the Jewish.
People, they misused the law and

301
00:14:29,880 –> 00:14:32,200
thinking they were going to use
it to establish their own

302
00:14:32,200 –> 00:14:35,160
righteousness.
But the law itself, in its

303
00:14:35,160 –> 00:14:38,080
design was good.
It brought good things

304
00:14:38,080 –> 00:14:39,880
restrictions into people’s
lives.

305
00:14:39,880 –> 00:14:43,480
It told us how to live good
moral lives.

306
00:14:43,720 –> 00:14:47,360
You look in verse one O 1 of
Psalm 119 that I have restrained

307
00:14:47,360 –> 00:14:50,400
my feet from every evil way that
I may.

308
00:14:50,400 –> 00:14:53,480
Keep your word.
This is the influence of the

309
00:14:53,480 –> 00:14:55,880
law.
If if it was done properly, it

310
00:14:55,880 –> 00:14:59,720
could bring restraints and
guidelines into our lives to

311
00:14:59,720 –> 00:15:03,360
elevate our life to God’s moral
character.

312
00:15:03,800 –> 00:15:06,760
Verse one O 4.
Through your precepts I get

313
00:15:06,760 –> 00:15:10,160
understanding and therefore I
hate every false way.

314
00:15:10,480 –> 00:15:13,040
This is what God’s Word can do
for us.

315
00:15:13,360 –> 00:15:17,720
It can change the way we live
and guide us into living like

316
00:15:17,720 –> 00:15:22,000
God’s family members live.
I remember one time listening to

317
00:15:22,000 –> 00:15:25,040
a class on Acts by Brother John
Martin, and he went through Acts

318
00:15:25,040 –> 00:15:28,400
3 at this point.
And it’s just, it really blew my

319
00:15:28,400 –> 00:15:32,760
mind that I had for all my life.
I had misunderstood a huge

320
00:15:32,760 –> 00:15:34,760
component of the promises to
Abraham.

321
00:15:34,760 –> 00:15:37,080
I don’t know about you all.
When you grow up and you go to

322
00:15:37,080 –> 00:15:38,560
these places and they ask you
like what?

323
00:15:38,560 –> 00:15:40,400
What do you think the promises
to Abraham were?

324
00:15:40,560 –> 00:15:42,840
And we learned these things
well, you got the land right.

325
00:15:43,200 –> 00:15:45,480
And you know, you, you, you.
Memorize these components about

326
00:15:45,480 –> 00:15:48,040
the promises to Abraham.
It’s got to have a son and and

327
00:15:48,040 –> 00:15:52,000
all these different components.
But the the blessing of Abraham,

328
00:15:52,000 –> 00:15:54,680
the the real blessing of
Abraham.

329
00:15:54,680 –> 00:15:59,120
When Peter talked to the Jews of
what they had done and crucified

330
00:15:59,120 –> 00:16:02,640
the Messiah, and they come to
listen to him in Acts chapter 3,

331
00:16:02,920 –> 00:16:06,760
And he tells them you are sons
of the prophets in verse 25 and

332
00:16:06,760 –> 00:16:09,200
of the covenant which God made
with our father saying to

333
00:16:09,200 –> 00:16:13,520
Abraham, And in your seed all
the families of the earth shall

334
00:16:13,520 –> 00:16:16,440
be blessed.
But that’s the blessing of

335
00:16:16,440 –> 00:16:18,440
Abraham, the promises that he
was given.

336
00:16:18,840 –> 00:16:23,520
But Peter says to you first, God
having raised up his.

337
00:16:23,520 –> 00:16:26,840
Servant Jesus sent him to bless
you.

338
00:16:27,920 –> 00:16:30,440
What?
With land, with immortality,

339
00:16:30,560 –> 00:16:33,840
with all that kind of stuff?
No, the blessing was that he

340
00:16:33,840 –> 00:16:37,520
would turn everyone away of you,
every one of you away from your

341
00:16:37,520 –> 00:16:40,640
iniquities.
There was a huge component of

342
00:16:40,640 –> 00:16:43,600
the promises to Abraham God’s
going to change your life.

343
00:16:43,920 –> 00:16:46,920
He’s willing to work with you
and work with your children and

344
00:16:46,920 –> 00:16:49,600
God says I’m going to take Isaac
and I’ll work with him.

345
00:16:49,600 –> 00:16:52,280
I’m, I’m not going to do that
with with with with Esau.

346
00:16:52,280 –> 00:16:54,920
I’ll I’ll take or with with
Ishmael.

347
00:16:55,120 –> 00:16:57,840
I’m going to take Isaac and I’ll
work with him and later on with

348
00:16:57,840 –> 00:16:59,680
Jacob.
He says no, I’m going to take

349
00:16:59,840 –> 00:17:01,920
with Isaac is I’m going to take
Jacob and.

350
00:17:02,240 –> 00:17:04,720
I’m going to work with him and
I’m not going to do that with

351
00:17:04,720 –> 00:17:08,839
with Esau.
It’s all about God turning us

352
00:17:08,839 –> 00:17:11,720
away from our iniquities.
It’s not that we’re better

353
00:17:11,720 –> 00:17:13,599
people than anybody else out
there.

354
00:17:13,920 –> 00:17:16,319
We we didn’t start out better
than the people in this

355
00:17:16,319 –> 00:17:19,400
neighborhood out here.
We we started out like Jacob.

356
00:17:19,520 –> 00:17:23,040
We started out like all the rest
of these Bible characters, and

357
00:17:23,040 –> 00:17:26,720
God is turning us away from our
iniquities.

358
00:17:27,040 –> 00:17:30,600
That’s the blessing of Abraham.
Did you realize that is the

359
00:17:30,600 –> 00:17:33,720
basis upon which God can forgive
our sins.

360
00:17:34,240 –> 00:17:36,920
He doesn’t just forgive our sins
because we joined the

361
00:17:36,920 –> 00:17:40,200
Christadelphians.
We got baptized and we answered

362
00:17:40,200 –> 00:17:42,840
all these questions in an
interview and we went into the

363
00:17:42,840 –> 00:17:45,960
water and came back out.
We don’t get our sins forgiven

364
00:17:45,960 –> 00:17:48,760
because we just joined the right
church and the other people

365
00:17:48,760 –> 00:17:51,640
didn’t.
We have our sins are forgiven

366
00:17:51,640 –> 00:17:55,560
because we we have joined with
Christ in his death to sin.

367
00:17:55,760 –> 00:17:59,760
We want God to work on our life.
We want him to to turn us away

368
00:17:59,760 –> 00:18:02,480
from our iniquities.
And he says wow, you’ve joined

369
00:18:02,480 –> 00:18:05,040
my family.
This is what my family members

370
00:18:05,040 –> 00:18:09,320
do, and now I can righteously
forgive your sins.

371
00:18:09,800 –> 00:18:12,520
That’s how it works, brothers
and sisters and and young

372
00:18:12,520 –> 00:18:14,800
people.
It’s not some mystical thing.

373
00:18:15,040 –> 00:18:19,120
There’s a basis behind the
righteousness of God at which he

374
00:18:19,120 –> 00:18:23,920
can forgive us, and it’s because
we joined the family, really

375
00:18:23,920 –> 00:18:27,880
joined the family.
We want his eternal way of life.

376
00:18:28,120 –> 00:18:30,560
We love it.
And we’ll hold on to that.

377
00:18:30,560 –> 00:18:34,560
No matter what happens to us in
this world, no matter how low he

378
00:18:34,560 –> 00:18:38,000
brings us, what troubles we run
through, we’re going to hold on

379
00:18:38,000 –> 00:18:39,960
to that.
Like like Joseph did when he was

380
00:18:39,960 –> 00:18:42,600
sold away to slavery.
He’s out there, he’s falsely

381
00:18:42,600 –> 00:18:46,120
accused, he ends up in prison.
He’s holding on to the fact that

382
00:18:46,120 –> 00:18:49,840
God is righteous and I love his
way of life.

383
00:18:50,040 –> 00:18:52,000
I’m not going to take Potiphar’s
wife.

384
00:18:52,040 –> 00:18:54,440
I’m not going to, you know, yell
at these people.

385
00:18:54,440 –> 00:18:57,160
I’m not going to, you know, do
all the things that the folks of

386
00:18:57,160 –> 00:19:00,640
this world would do.
I love God’s way of life.

387
00:19:00,720 –> 00:19:02,800
It’s my life.
That’s what I want, no matter

388
00:19:02,800 –> 00:19:05,520
what happens.
That’s the kind of character

389
00:19:05,520 –> 00:19:07,360
that God can establish in
people.

390
00:19:07,560 –> 00:19:11,200
He can change how we live, and
that’s what he set out to do.

391
00:19:11,200 –> 00:19:15,160
As Peter says in Acts 3, the
real blessing of Abraham was

392
00:19:15,160 –> 00:19:17,840
that he will turn.
Us away from our iniquities.

393
00:19:18,400 –> 00:19:20,240
Then I’ve watched.
This a lot in doing baptismal

394
00:19:20,240 –> 00:19:22,120
interviews back in North
America.

395
00:19:22,400 –> 00:19:24,600
But a lot of times I’ll start
off with questions with the

396
00:19:24,600 –> 00:19:26,960
young people and I’ll say, well,
why do you want to be baptized?

397
00:19:26,960 –> 00:19:30,120
Why do you want to be baptized?
And that the common answer I

398
00:19:30,120 –> 00:19:32,760
always get from my young people
is so I can be forgiven of my

399
00:19:32,760 –> 00:19:35,960
sins.
And maybe that’s what we said

400
00:19:35,960 –> 00:19:39,240
too, and that that’s true.
That is part of the reason we

401
00:19:39,240 –> 00:19:42,320
want to be baptized.
But oh, that’s not the big

402
00:19:42,320 –> 00:19:45,000
reason really.
What we really should want,

403
00:19:45,000 –> 00:19:47,840
brothers and sisters, is angels
working in our life.

404
00:19:47,840 –> 00:19:51,920
God involved Jesus directing and
controlling it all to where it

405
00:19:51,920 –> 00:19:54,760
will turn us away from our
iniquities.

406
00:19:55,240 –> 00:19:57,000
That’s what this life is all
about.

407
00:19:57,320 –> 00:19:59,960
It’s a training program to
become a different person.

408
00:20:00,360 –> 00:20:04,160
And because of that our our
commitment to that when we go

409
00:20:04,160 –> 00:20:07,440
down into the waters, when we
come out and and we want to live

410
00:20:07,440 –> 00:20:12,320
a life after the resurrected
Jesus, because of that, he can

411
00:20:12,320 –> 00:20:15,960
righteously forgive our sins
within the righteousness of God.

412
00:20:16,440 –> 00:20:19,720
So God’s morality, it really
does have a higher purpose.

413
00:20:20,000 –> 00:20:25,000
He’s not just worried about this
life, He’s training us to fight

414
00:20:25,000 –> 00:20:28,520
the weaknesses of our flesh
because he’s preparing us for a

415
00:20:28,520 –> 00:20:31,880
future life.
I I think that whole question of

416
00:20:31,880 –> 00:20:33,800
suffering Why does God allow
suffering?

417
00:20:33,800 –> 00:20:36,760
Why do the righteous suffer Why
why do all these things happen

418
00:20:37,000 –> 00:20:39,720
we we so often focus on?
It’s not fair.

419
00:20:39,920 –> 00:20:42,280
I I shouldn’t get this.
I have to go through this

420
00:20:42,280 –> 00:20:43,680
problem.
I look at other brothers and

421
00:20:43,680 –> 00:20:46,200
they don’t have the same.
Problem that I have, they’re not

422
00:20:46,200 –> 00:20:49,400
experiencing in their lives the
same troubles and trials that

423
00:20:49,400 –> 00:20:52,720
I’m experiencing, but brother
and sister.

424
00:20:52,720 –> 00:20:56,080
We have total faith and
confidence that when God sends

425
00:20:56,080 –> 00:20:59,720
out his angels to work in our
lives, they are bringing the

426
00:20:59,720 –> 00:21:05,960
right circumstances to save us
and and and to accomplish bigger

427
00:21:05,960 –> 00:21:09,720
things beyond us in all of this.
And we learn to trust them like

428
00:21:09,720 –> 00:21:13,240
Joseph must have in being sold
off to slavery or like Jesus

429
00:21:13,240 –> 00:21:15,000
did.
I mean, imagine if Jesus had

430
00:21:15,000 –> 00:21:16,600
said to God in the prayer in the
garden.

431
00:21:16,800 –> 00:21:19,560
Not just is there any other way,
but I I shouldn’t have to go

432
00:21:19,560 –> 00:21:22,000
through this.
I didn’t commit any sins.

433
00:21:22,520 –> 00:21:26,520
How can it be just and righteous
that you require me to die on a

434
00:21:26,520 –> 00:21:28,000
cross and go through all of
this?

435
00:21:28,280 –> 00:21:31,040
How can that be within the
righteousness of God?

436
00:21:32,360 –> 00:21:35,480
Jesus never said that, but Job
did, didn’t he?

437
00:21:35,480 –> 00:21:37,800
See, Job got pushed into that
corner.

438
00:21:38,160 –> 00:21:40,600
Jesus realized from Job’s
experiences.

439
00:21:40,600 –> 00:21:42,880
Oh no, I’m not going to focus on
me.

440
00:21:43,160 –> 00:21:46,400
It’s not just about me.
It’s about the others that God

441
00:21:46,400 –> 00:21:48,840
has come to save.
That’s all a part of it as well,

442
00:21:49,320 –> 00:21:52,200
and he understood that.
And and for those of you that

443
00:21:52,200 –> 00:21:55,720
are listening online, I think
it’s good to realize today we’ve

444
00:21:55,720 –> 00:21:58,240
been challenged by COVID.
Some people just stay home now

445
00:21:58,240 –> 00:22:01,000
and they think, well, this is
great, I can stay, stay home and

446
00:22:01,000 –> 00:22:04,120
watch online and I can get my
spiritual life together.

447
00:22:04,120 –> 00:22:05,880
I just, I don’t need to hardly
get dressed.

448
00:22:05,880 –> 00:22:09,040
I’ll wear my pajamas and I can
have my lunch sitting there

449
00:22:09,040 –> 00:22:12,320
while I’m watching.
And we do all this for

450
00:22:12,320 –> 00:22:14,760
ourselves.
But think about it.

451
00:22:15,240 –> 00:22:17,280
What are you doing to help
anybody else in the community

452
00:22:17,280 –> 00:22:19,840
here today?
I mean, that’s what fellowship

453
00:22:19,840 –> 00:22:23,280
is all about, isn’t it?
It’s about God’s program is

454
00:22:23,280 –> 00:22:28,200
about turning us into angels and
angels, they are ministering

455
00:22:28,200 –> 00:22:31,240
spirits that are set forth to
serve others.

456
00:22:31,240 –> 00:22:34,520
It’s all about service.
So God’s morality.

457
00:22:34,520 –> 00:22:37,520
When he when he says don’t
steal, it’s like you accept your

458
00:22:37,520 –> 00:22:40,120
situation in life and you accept
what God has given you.

459
00:22:40,400 –> 00:22:42,680
You don’t look out there as
covetous as people do today.

460
00:22:42,680 –> 00:22:44,280
And they want stuff, so they
take it.

461
00:22:44,680 –> 00:22:48,360
Or there’s no other gods before
him, because he knows if we

462
00:22:48,360 –> 00:22:52,480
worship other gods we will
become the God that we worship.

463
00:22:53,160 –> 00:22:56,600
And if all those other gods have
no morality to them, the people

464
00:22:56,600 –> 00:22:59,480
of this life, the pagans, they
loved it because they got to

465
00:22:59,480 –> 00:23:02,240
practice all their.
Sexual immorality, as Paul was

466
00:23:02,240 –> 00:23:06,240
dealing with in Corinth, you
become the God that you worship,

467
00:23:06,280 –> 00:23:09,480
is the sad thing of life.
Don’t divorce or commit

468
00:23:09,480 –> 00:23:11,840
adultery.
We we practice faithfulness.

469
00:23:11,840 –> 00:23:15,880
That’s what God wants us to do.
We we faithfully take care of

470
00:23:15,880 –> 00:23:18,080
people.
He wants faithfulness to be a

471
00:23:18,080 –> 00:23:22,640
part of our character, as it is
in His in in Exodus 34, we learn

472
00:23:22,640 –> 00:23:25,760
submission to one another
because God’s training us to

473
00:23:25,760 –> 00:23:29,040
submit to Him, and we don’t.
Take vengeance.

474
00:23:29,280 –> 00:23:32,400
We don’t take vengeance in this
life like so many people do.

475
00:23:32,400 –> 00:23:34,560
They think they’ve got to go out
there and take their vengeance.

476
00:23:34,800 –> 00:23:37,840
We trust God to take care of it.
He’ll bring the right

477
00:23:37,840 –> 00:23:39,840
circumstances into people’s
lives.

478
00:23:40,200 –> 00:23:43,360
He’ll take care of it all.
And we try to get rid of pride

479
00:23:43,360 –> 00:23:46,520
because God’s children all day,
they all humbly acknowledge

480
00:23:46,520 –> 00:23:48,920
God’s hand in every aspect of
their life.

481
00:23:49,520 –> 00:23:52,520
And forgiveness and mercy and
compassion.

482
00:23:52,880 –> 00:23:55,080
Those are characteristics of our
God.

483
00:23:55,520 –> 00:23:58,240
Our.
God is that way, and we have to

484
00:23:58,240 –> 00:24:01,640
become like him.
We have to have compassion on

485
00:24:01,640 –> 00:24:04,240
people.
When we see people struggling in

486
00:24:04,240 –> 00:24:07,040
life, they may have made a
mistake, they’ve done something

487
00:24:07,040 –> 00:24:10,200
for which it it was wrong.
But now that’s cost them.

488
00:24:10,560 –> 00:24:13,080
We we don’t just look at them
and say, well, you know, you

489
00:24:13,080 –> 00:24:15,360
made bad choices.
You get what you deserved.

490
00:24:15,360 –> 00:24:16,800
You, you know you.
Dug your own.

491
00:24:16,800 –> 00:24:19,400
Grave there.
We go out there and we help

492
00:24:19,400 –> 00:24:21,000
them.
What can we do to help?

493
00:24:21,280 –> 00:24:23,920
How can we get you out to this
or get this, get you through

494
00:24:23,920 –> 00:24:26,560
this?
That’s the spirit of the angels,

495
00:24:27,000 –> 00:24:30,320
that’s what they do and that’s
what we should be doing as well.

496
00:24:30,800 –> 00:24:33,240
So.
God’s morality isn’t just for

497
00:24:33,240 –> 00:24:35,480
this life.
He’s really preparing us for

498
00:24:35,480 –> 00:24:37,920
immortality.
Look at how Paul deals with this

499
00:24:37,920 –> 00:24:41,240
in Colossians chapter 3 when he
says if you were raised with

500
00:24:41,240 –> 00:24:44,400
Christ, if you really have come
out of the waters of baptism and

501
00:24:44,400 –> 00:24:47,680
you’ve been raised to this new
way of life, seek the things

502
00:24:47,880 –> 00:24:50,880
which are above where Christ is
sitting at the right hand of

503
00:24:50,880 –> 00:24:53,440
God.
And set your mind on things that

504
00:24:53,440 –> 00:24:55,640
are above, not on the things on
earth.

505
00:24:56,000 –> 00:24:59,640
For you died and your life is
hidden with Christ and God.

506
00:24:59,960 –> 00:25:03,440
And when Christ, who is our
life, appears, then you will

507
00:25:03,440 –> 00:25:07,680
also appear with him in glory.
You see, he Paul realized it was

508
00:25:07,680 –> 00:25:09,480
all about the future.
It’s.

509
00:25:09,480 –> 00:25:12,680
Not about now.
We may be asked to do all kinds

510
00:25:12,680 –> 00:25:15,400
of things in this life by God
right now, and and suffer

511
00:25:15,400 –> 00:25:17,120
through those things and and
work.

512
00:25:17,120 –> 00:25:18,000
Our way through.
Them.

513
00:25:18,200 –> 00:25:22,240
But it’s because he’s preparing
us for when Christ, who is our

514
00:25:22,240 –> 00:25:25,600
life, appears, then all these
things will be fixed.

515
00:25:26,200 –> 00:25:28,080
I just think you’ll see that
even as we’re.

516
00:25:28,080 –> 00:25:30,600
Going through Job, Job came to
that conclusion as well.

517
00:25:31,520 –> 00:25:34,560
You look at the natural world
today so often, at least here in

518
00:25:34,560 –> 00:25:36,880
in Australia, I think in
California we can too.

519
00:25:37,040 –> 00:25:39,760
You can walk outside and you can
see the sunrise in the morning.

520
00:25:39,760 –> 00:25:42,880
You see the the the sky in.
In Michigan, probably half the

521
00:25:42,880 –> 00:25:45,840
days were cloudy.
So we sometimes saw the sun, a

522
00:25:45,840 –> 00:25:48,040
lot of times we didn’t, but in
California we do.

523
00:25:48,320 –> 00:25:51,240
But when you gaze up into the
sky and you see that blue sky up

524
00:25:51,240 –> 00:25:54,880
there, you know God was hoping
that the natural things just

525
00:25:54,880 –> 00:25:58,920
waking up and seeing the sunrise
every day would remind us about

526
00:25:58,920 –> 00:26:00,640
resurrection from the dead.
You.

527
00:26:00,640 –> 00:26:02,920
Slept all night.
It was like going in the grave

528
00:26:03,120 –> 00:26:06,440
and and the day will come when
the sun of righteousness arises

529
00:26:06,440 –> 00:26:09,520
with healing in his wings.
And it will be a day in which

530
00:26:09,560 –> 00:26:12,560
all things are finally worth it
and they’re made right.

531
00:26:13,040 –> 00:26:16,480
It’s not just this life right
now that’s one of the great

532
00:26:16,480 –> 00:26:19,360
lessons in Ecclesiastes I think
you’ll see too.

533
00:26:20,400 –> 00:26:24,000
So look further on in Colossians
5 when he in Colossians chapter

534
00:26:24,000 –> 00:26:27,960
3, when he says therefore he
says look it, we got to put to

535
00:26:27,960 –> 00:26:31,080
death our members which are on
the earth fornication,

536
00:26:31,080 –> 00:26:34,720
uncleanness, passion, evil,
desire, covetousness, which is

537
00:26:34,720 –> 00:26:37,120
idolatry.
Because of these things, the

538
00:26:37,120 –> 00:26:40,240
wrath of God is coming upon the
sons of disobedience.

539
00:26:41,360 –> 00:26:44,440
You see?
You see the difference in the

540
00:26:44,440 –> 00:26:46,680
New Testament of how this is
handled.

541
00:26:47,080 –> 00:26:49,960
And in the Old Testament, God’s
wrath was always on the nation

542
00:26:49,960 –> 00:26:52,560
of Israel.
They’re a stiff, necked people.

543
00:26:53,000 –> 00:26:56,560
And in the New Testament, when
people volunteered to join the

544
00:26:56,560 –> 00:26:59,840
community, he, Paul, can write
to them and say, all right, I

545
00:26:59,840 –> 00:27:02,440
know you have these problems,
but look, let’s get on top of

546
00:27:02,440 –> 00:27:06,160
this and put to death these evil
things, because the wrath of God

547
00:27:06,160 –> 00:27:09,120
is going to come upon the sons
of disobedience.

548
00:27:09,400 –> 00:27:14,040
And he says in verse 7 in which
you yourselves once walked when

549
00:27:14,040 –> 00:27:18,000
you lived in them, Don’t make
the mistake of of taking our

550
00:27:18,000 –> 00:27:22,360
community today and thinking
that we are just like national

551
00:27:22,360 –> 00:27:25,520
Israel of the past and whom God
is always angry with the

552
00:27:25,520 –> 00:27:27,800
community, always disappointed
with the community.

553
00:27:27,960 –> 00:27:31,000
Call them all just stiff.
Necked people that is not us,

554
00:27:31,000 –> 00:27:33,720
brothers and sisters.
We are children of God.

555
00:27:33,720 –> 00:27:37,840
We are sons of light and and
don’t get so discouraged and

556
00:27:37,840 –> 00:27:39,320
don’t discourage the young
people.

557
00:27:39,320 –> 00:27:42,480
And end up saying it all,
Everything’s going downhill.

558
00:27:43,120 –> 00:27:47,760
God is changing us day by day,
you know, incident by incident

559
00:27:47,880 –> 00:27:51,880
into his sons and daughter.
And so he put on that new man.

560
00:27:52,160 –> 00:27:56,080
That’s what he’s really after.
So what God did is he carefully

561
00:27:56,080 –> 00:27:59,000
designed a way in our natural
life where he could teach us

562
00:27:59,000 –> 00:28:01,280
some of these principles about
his character.

563
00:28:01,640 –> 00:28:04,280
He put us into families.
And you didn’t really get a

564
00:28:04,280 –> 00:28:06,640
choice, did you, about, you
know, you look at the people

565
00:28:06,640 –> 00:28:08,520
that are here today.
Did you choose your parents?

566
00:28:09,040 –> 00:28:11,000
No, you don’t get to choose your
parents, right?

567
00:28:11,400 –> 00:28:13,720
You get to choose your spouse,
maybe, but not your parents.

568
00:28:14,800 –> 00:28:17,680
So aren’t you glad you didn’t
live under those days when you

569
00:28:17,680 –> 00:28:19,760
know I still watch some of the
Muslim community?

570
00:28:19,760 –> 00:28:21,440
They pick out their spouses for
them.

571
00:28:21,440 –> 00:28:24,680
There’s other areas of the world
that do that, but you you get to

572
00:28:24,680 –> 00:28:26,720
choose that.
But there’s a lot of times where

573
00:28:26,720 –> 00:28:29,640
you just have to accept what God
has given us.

574
00:28:29,720 –> 00:28:32,520
We’re born into a family.
You look at the parents around

575
00:28:32,520 –> 00:28:34,320
here.
Did all of you choose your

576
00:28:34,320 –> 00:28:36,600
children?
No.

577
00:28:36,600 –> 00:28:37,960
See, you didn’t.
Did you?

578
00:28:38,120 –> 00:28:39,680
You ever had that feeling where
you looked?

579
00:28:39,680 –> 00:28:43,360
Around and said, wow, I wish my
kids could be like those kids,

580
00:28:44,400 –> 00:28:47,000
Look at them, sit there at the
table they’re using.

581
00:28:47,000 –> 00:28:48,880
You know, they they’re not
yelling at each other.

582
00:28:48,880 –> 00:28:50,320
They’re not jumping out of their
chairs.

583
00:28:50,520 –> 00:28:52,160
They actually sit.
Down for a meal.

584
00:28:52,600 –> 00:28:54,680
I had a son who just like,
couldn’t sit down.

585
00:28:54,680 –> 00:28:57,080
He’d stand at the edge of the
table and eat there, moving

586
00:28:57,080 –> 00:28:59,240
around all the time.
He was just like, so active.

587
00:28:59,680 –> 00:29:02,480
But you know, we can do those
kind of things, but.

588
00:29:03,000 –> 00:29:05,960
It’s all within God’s God’s
operation.

589
00:29:05,960 –> 00:29:09,480
These are all in God’s control.
He’s given us parents, you can

590
00:29:09,480 –> 00:29:12,280
be assured.
He’s given us the children that

591
00:29:12,280 –> 00:29:15,480
are right.
For you and and for children.

592
00:29:15,480 –> 00:29:18,080
He’s giving you parents that are
right for you.

593
00:29:18,480 –> 00:29:22,800
Everyone gets challenged, we all
do, But God is using that to

594
00:29:22,800 –> 00:29:25,920
fine tune us so that he can
train us for his family.

595
00:29:26,400 –> 00:29:29,640
I still remember as as as a
teacher, a school teacher in in

596
00:29:29,640 –> 00:29:31,800
at least in the United States.
I’m sure here in Australia you

597
00:29:31,800 –> 00:29:34,280
get the same thing and more and
more as time went on they

598
00:29:34,280 –> 00:29:37,120
pressured us to like, get to
know all of our students

599
00:29:37,120 –> 00:29:41,040
individually, find out what
their learning style is and then

600
00:29:41,040 –> 00:29:41,520
make.
Sure.

601
00:29:41,520 –> 00:29:44,880
When you get to class for those
thirty kids that you teach each

602
00:29:44,880 –> 00:29:49,000
one of them in the learning
style that they need, and we’d

603
00:29:49,000 –> 00:29:51,360
look at them like, wow, is this
ever a theoretical.

604
00:29:51,360 –> 00:29:54,160
Class it’s like.
Who’s who in the world’s ever

605
00:29:54,160 –> 00:29:57,640
going to be able to do that?
I had 150 kids and it’s like

606
00:29:57,760 –> 00:30:00,440
maybe by the end of the year I
might at least know what they

607
00:30:00,440 –> 00:30:02,920
need, but I I can’t.
Teach each one by their

608
00:30:02,920 –> 00:30:06,320
individual needs.
But you realized what in God’s

609
00:30:06,320 –> 00:30:10,360
family, when he sends angels out
to work in your life, you are

610
00:30:10,360 –> 00:30:16,320
getting individualized, custom
made experiences to train you

611
00:30:16,320 –> 00:30:18,960
for his family.
And so they’re going to be

612
00:30:18,960 –> 00:30:21,720
different from somebody else.
You don’t get the same

613
00:30:21,720 –> 00:30:24,160
experiences that I did.
I don’t get the same ones that

614
00:30:24,160 –> 00:30:26,800
you did.
God brings all the challenges

615
00:30:26,800 –> 00:30:29,600
with with our children and
parents and ecclesias and all

616
00:30:29,600 –> 00:30:33,400
the ecclesial members.
They’re all custom designed by

617
00:30:33,400 –> 00:30:35,600
angels.
And we are, we can be.

618
00:30:35,600 –> 00:30:40,200
Assured, he’s in control, and he
promises that if we cooperate

619
00:30:40,200 –> 00:30:43,040
with the program, we will win
the race.

620
00:30:43,400 –> 00:30:46,640
You will get the prize at the
end, but if you fight it.

621
00:30:47,200 –> 00:30:49,200
You say that’s not fair.
I shouldn’t have to go through

622
00:30:49,200 –> 00:30:53,080
this if if that’s our approach,
you may not make it.

623
00:30:53,440 –> 00:30:58,120
You’ve got to keep that faith
with us until the end, all the

624
00:30:58,120 –> 00:31:00,640
way through.
Look at how God he, you know,

625
00:31:00,640 –> 00:31:03,560
when he made our families, he,
he could have used communes if

626
00:31:03,560 –> 00:31:06,600
he wanted to, could have used
polygamy, Not although you see

627
00:31:06,600 –> 00:31:09,440
polygamy in the Bible.
It really was never the divine

628
00:31:09,440 –> 00:31:11,160
ideal.
And you see that.

629
00:31:11,160 –> 00:31:13,680
Like, look at with Jacob with
his four wives.

630
00:31:13,680 –> 00:31:16,320
I mean, if you think any of you
guys think that’s the way you

631
00:31:16,320 –> 00:31:19,040
want to go, read Jacob’s life
story again and see how well

632
00:31:19,040 –> 00:31:24,040
that worked for him.
I think he probably had the most

633
00:31:24,040 –> 00:31:26,200
dysfunctional family in the
Bible.

634
00:31:26,200 –> 00:31:29,320
It’s like, so don’t don’t think
that’s going to somehow solve

635
00:31:29,320 –> 00:31:31,160
all your problems.
You just get more wives.

636
00:31:31,280 –> 00:31:33,320
It doesn’t work.
Look at Solomon and look at what

637
00:31:33,320 –> 00:31:35,920
it did to him.
But you look at how in Genesis 2

638
00:31:35,920 –> 00:31:39,440
and verse 18 the Angel said that
it is not good for man to be

639
00:31:39,440 –> 00:31:41,880
alone.
Well we looked at Genesis 18

640
00:31:41,880 –> 00:31:46,000
where they said those 3 angels
said we’ve known Abraham.

641
00:31:46,000 –> 00:31:49,640
We have intimately known him as
our friend, that he might

642
00:31:49,640 –> 00:31:53,440
command his children that that’s
what that’s how the relationship

643
00:31:53,440 –> 00:31:56,200
that they had with him.
Or in Ephesians step chapter

644
00:31:56,200 –> 00:31:59,000
three, that when he talks about
the Father of the Lord Jesus

645
00:31:59,000 –> 00:32:03,240
Christ from whom the whole
family in heaven and earth is

646
00:32:03,240 –> 00:32:05,840
named.
The whole family is named that

647
00:32:05,840 –> 00:32:10,160
way, and but God put us in
families so that we could learn

648
00:32:10,160 –> 00:32:14,400
these family principles that are
so essential to become part of

649
00:32:14,400 –> 00:32:16,600
his family.
Don’t resist them.

650
00:32:17,040 –> 00:32:20,600
Learn to cooperate with them.
Learn to work with God and with

651
00:32:20,600 –> 00:32:23,000
the angels that are bringing
these things into your life.

652
00:32:23,280 –> 00:32:26,520
In the lives of others, this is
how you can be effective

653
00:32:26,520 –> 00:32:29,520
counselors to people who are
going through problems.

654
00:32:29,880 –> 00:32:31,920
Not like Job’s three friends.
Oh no.

655
00:32:32,240 –> 00:32:35,080
When we’ve talked to people
today, we try to explain to them

656
00:32:35,080 –> 00:32:36,920
that there there are reasons for
these things.

657
00:32:37,120 –> 00:32:39,720
God is working with you like he
worked with Joseph.

658
00:32:39,880 –> 00:32:42,840
And it may be for the sake of
other people, God is working

659
00:32:42,840 –> 00:32:45,040
with us.
As Elijah will later on say.

660
00:32:45,040 –> 00:32:48,800
He says, look at God uses
suffering as a preventive

661
00:32:48,800 –> 00:32:51,960
maintenance program.
He doesn’t wait until we go off

662
00:32:51,960 –> 00:32:53,800
down the pathway and then try to
bring us back.

663
00:32:54,040 –> 00:32:57,320
He sometimes uses suffering to
make sure we don’t go down the

664
00:32:57,320 –> 00:33:00,400
pathway in the first place.
That’s what God does with us.

665
00:33:00,400 –> 00:33:04,720
It’s it’s a different way of
looking at life, but it’s all

666
00:33:04,720 –> 00:33:07,360
designed by God.
So marriage was a big part of

667
00:33:07,360 –> 00:33:08,840
that.
Look at how many of you here,

668
00:33:08,840 –> 00:33:11,520
here today are, are married.
And when you get married, you

669
00:33:11,520 –> 00:33:14,440
know, all of a sudden you have
to merge characters and cultures

670
00:33:14,440 –> 00:33:16,920
together.
And it’s not an easy thing.

671
00:33:17,320 –> 00:33:21,160
But we learn how to submit to
one another, as Peter would say,

672
00:33:21,360 –> 00:33:24,520
when when we marry and what God
has joined together, we we don’t

673
00:33:24,520 –> 00:33:26,920
want to separate.
We don’t fight it and just say,

674
00:33:26,920 –> 00:33:29,160
well, this one didn’t work.
I picked the wrong person.

675
00:33:29,480 –> 00:33:31,520
That that isn’t the kind of life
we want to have.

676
00:33:31,760 –> 00:33:34,320
And for young people, I I do
think that’s one of the problems

677
00:33:34,320 –> 00:33:37,120
with picking our spouses today
is that you go out and you pick

678
00:33:37,120 –> 00:33:39,360
a spouse and then later on in
life you look at your wife and

679
00:33:39,600 –> 00:33:42,520
your your husband and you think,
well, maybe I picked the wrong.

680
00:33:42,520 –> 00:33:46,000
1.
Do you believe God’s working in

681
00:33:46,000 –> 00:33:47,560
your life?
You pray about it.

682
00:33:47,600 –> 00:33:51,280
You pray that God will bring the
right person to you trust them

683
00:33:51,280 –> 00:33:54,720
for the rest of your life.
He he is working in this we we

684
00:33:54,720 –> 00:33:58,840
don’t just walk away from it.
We work through it and and

685
00:33:58,840 –> 00:34:00,360
others help us work through
that.

686
00:34:00,640 –> 00:34:04,400
Or you look in Malachi chapter 2
when Malachi says what when when

687
00:34:04,400 –> 00:34:08,239
the angels were making Adam and
Eve, when they were creating Eve

688
00:34:08,239 –> 00:34:11,560
for Adam and and did he not make
one?

689
00:34:11,960 –> 00:34:14,080
1.
Yet he had the residue of the

690
00:34:14,080 –> 00:34:15,320
Spirit.
And.

691
00:34:15,320 –> 00:34:17,800
And why one, You know, see, see
the argument there?

692
00:34:17,800 –> 00:34:21,000
It’s like when the angels made
Eve, couldn’t they have made two

693
00:34:21,000 –> 00:34:24,199
Eves for Adam?
They could have, but they made

694
00:34:24,199 –> 00:34:26,400
three.
Could have made ten.

695
00:34:26,880 –> 00:34:27,920
What do you think?
The angels.

696
00:34:27,920 –> 00:34:29,520
Were out of.
Spirit like they ran out of

697
00:34:29,520 –> 00:34:33,120
juice and the batteries were
dead and and that’s why no, they

698
00:34:33,120 –> 00:34:36,600
made one and and why did they
only make one?

699
00:34:36,800 –> 00:34:41,960
Because he’s seeking godly.
Offspring and God realized the

700
00:34:41,960 –> 00:34:44,520
best way to raise children and
the.

701
00:34:44,520 –> 00:34:47,440
Truth.
Is to have a mom and a dad

702
00:34:47,679 –> 00:34:50,800
working together, illustrating
the principles of God’s

703
00:34:50,800 –> 00:34:52,880
character and raising those
children.

704
00:34:53,440 –> 00:34:56,000
It’s another one of those things
you can see with with Joseph’s

705
00:34:56,000 –> 00:34:59,360
family that when you have more
than one wife, look at the the,

706
00:34:59,440 –> 00:35:02,640
the envy and the jealousy and
all the confusion that that

707
00:35:02,640 –> 00:35:06,800
caused, it’s not really a great
way to raise godly offspring.

708
00:35:06,800 –> 00:35:09,840
So take heed to your spirit.
And none of you deal

709
00:35:09,840 –> 00:35:13,600
treacherously against the wife
of your youth as they were at

710
00:35:13,600 –> 00:35:16,680
that time.
So God is the one designed this

711
00:35:16,680 –> 00:35:20,600
way, a man and a wife to
illustrate to the children.

712
00:35:20,880 –> 00:35:25,880
Our goal as parents is that we
have to learn God’s character so

713
00:35:25,880 –> 00:35:29,720
that we can treat our children
the way God treats us, so that

714
00:35:29,720 –> 00:35:33,160
as our children grow up through
the teen years, they’ll realize

715
00:35:33,160 –> 00:35:35,760
that all they got to do is
transfer that relationship they

716
00:35:35,760 –> 00:35:39,440
have with us as mom and dad to
the Heavenly Father.

717
00:35:39,840 –> 00:35:43,280
It’s just a simple transfer of
relationship, but they don’t

718
00:35:43,280 –> 00:35:46,040
have to learn some something
about, oh wow, now I have this

719
00:35:46,040 –> 00:35:49,320
God that that loves me and he
and he treats me mercifully and

720
00:35:49,320 –> 00:35:52,000
Mom and Dad didn’t.
I mean, that’s not easy to

721
00:35:52,000 –> 00:35:54,760
adjust to.
A lot of times when when we

722
00:35:54,760 –> 00:35:57,760
treat our kids judge mentally
and we’re always punishing them

723
00:35:57,760 –> 00:35:59,720
and we use those words, you’re
going to be punished.

724
00:36:00,320 –> 00:36:02,720
And and our children grew up
thinking, well, that’s what God

725
00:36:02,720 –> 00:36:04,880
will do to me.
I think that’s what Job’s

726
00:36:04,880 –> 00:36:06,000
friends thought.
They thought they were going to

727
00:36:06,000 –> 00:36:09,720
get punished by God, and they
used that word punished a lot.

728
00:36:10,280 –> 00:36:12,440
Did you realize?
Think for yourself, run your,

729
00:36:12,560 –> 00:36:15,040
your, your mind through the New
Testament passages?

730
00:36:15,880 –> 00:36:18,760
Where in the New Testament does
it ever say that God is

731
00:36:18,760 –> 00:36:22,360
punishing us?
Have you ever noticed that or

732
00:36:22,360 –> 00:36:25,080
does it say in the New Testament
that, that God punishes us?

733
00:36:26,360 –> 00:36:28,800
It does, all over the place in
the Old Testament with Israel,

734
00:36:28,800 –> 00:36:32,400
because they were national, they
were a nation and he punished

735
00:36:32,400 –> 00:36:35,280
the nation.
But when he punished the nation,

736
00:36:35,280 –> 00:36:40,000
was he punishing Caleb and and
Joshua when he punished the

737
00:36:40,000 –> 00:36:42,960
nation?
No, he was punishing the nation.

738
00:36:42,960 –> 00:36:44,360
They were a stiff, necked
nation.

739
00:36:44,760 –> 00:36:47,920
But in the New Testament, you’ll
find the word punished does

740
00:36:47,920 –> 00:36:49,080
show.
Up in our Bibles.

741
00:36:49,080 –> 00:36:52,360
A few times.
But who is it he’s punishing?

742
00:36:52,360 –> 00:36:54,800
The wicked.
When the Lord Jesus Christ

743
00:36:54,800 –> 00:36:57,560
returns in First Thessalonians
one, he will be inflicting

744
00:36:57,560 –> 00:37:01,640
vengeance on those who know not
God, who disobey the the, the

745
00:37:01,640 –> 00:37:03,880
Word of God.
Don’t Those are the wicked.

746
00:37:04,520 –> 00:37:06,560
He’s not.
Coming back to punish us?

747
00:37:06,880 –> 00:37:08,960
That isn’t the God who we
worship.

748
00:37:09,320 –> 00:37:10,920
And don’t raise our children
that way.

749
00:37:10,920 –> 00:37:12,880
Don’t.
Don’t talk about punishing your

750
00:37:12,880 –> 00:37:16,200
children.
What the Bible uses is training,

751
00:37:16,520 –> 00:37:20,560
instruction, discipline.
They’re positive things.

752
00:37:20,560 –> 00:37:22,720
They’re they’re working towards
a better goal.

753
00:37:23,000 –> 00:37:25,200
Punishment is like, you’re going
to get what you deserve.

754
00:37:25,200 –> 00:37:26,400
You did this.
You’re going to get it.

755
00:37:26,720 –> 00:37:30,560
But we know God doesn’t punish
us according what our sins

756
00:37:30,560 –> 00:37:32,400
deserve.
That isn’t how he treats us.

757
00:37:32,720 –> 00:37:37,360
And so we shouldn’t be treating
our our children that way and

758
00:37:37,440 –> 00:37:39,640
arranging brotherhood and
ecclesial members that vote.

759
00:37:39,640 –> 00:37:42,400
We shouldn’t be treating our
membership that way either.

760
00:37:43,040 –> 00:37:46,280
When young people make mistakes
or somebody commits adultery and

761
00:37:46,280 –> 00:37:49,800
they’re sorry and they come back
to us, we should be treating

762
00:37:49,800 –> 00:37:54,280
them like God treated David.
We can forgive them.

763
00:37:54,280 –> 00:37:57,400
We can treat them in a in a
whole different way of thinking

764
00:37:57,400 –> 00:38:00,000
that I have to bring the
punishment on them for what

765
00:38:00,000 –> 00:38:02,840
they’ve done wrong, that that
isn’t what we find in our

766
00:38:02,840 –> 00:38:05,800
scriptures.
Sure, we might, we might protect

767
00:38:05,800 –> 00:38:09,680
people against consequences if
somebody is an an abuser of

768
00:38:09,680 –> 00:38:12,400
children or something like that.
There might be restrictions put

769
00:38:12,400 –> 00:38:16,200
out there, but we have to have
the spirit of our God, the

770
00:38:16,200 –> 00:38:19,600
spirit of Jesus, of forgiving
people and moving on.

771
00:38:19,640 –> 00:38:21,720
And if we don’t do that with our
children?

772
00:38:22,040 –> 00:38:26,240
Our children will grow up and
never understand God without a

773
00:38:26,240 –> 00:38:27,920
lot of Bible reading on their
own.

774
00:38:27,920 –> 00:38:30,400
It’s just one of those areas we
really have to work on.

775
00:38:30,840 –> 00:38:34,440
So we need to, as parents and
grandparents, We have to give

776
00:38:34,440 –> 00:38:38,440
our children good Bible counsel.
We have to.

777
00:38:38,440 –> 00:38:42,280
Understand our God like that’s,
you know, Job’s three friends.

778
00:38:42,280 –> 00:38:43,320
That’s what they’re going
through.

779
00:38:43,320 –> 00:38:46,160
They’re learning about God.
And so is Job through this whole

780
00:38:46,160 –> 00:38:48,280
process.
I really believe when he says at

781
00:38:48,280 –> 00:38:50,320
the end that, you know, I I
heard about you.

782
00:38:50,320 –> 00:38:52,720
Oh yeah, I read my Bible and all
those things.

783
00:38:52,720 –> 00:38:56,040
I listened to classes, but now
my eye sees you.

784
00:38:56,040 –> 00:38:58,840
He came to understand how God
works.

785
00:38:59,200 –> 00:39:01,920
We wanted to do that for our
kids.

786
00:39:02,200 –> 00:39:04,720
And so that they’ll understand
our God and that we’ll treat

787
00:39:04,720 –> 00:39:07,040
people the right way.
That’s what we’re really after.

788
00:39:07,400 –> 00:39:10,800
So yeah, we do give counsel that
yes, our marriages should be in

789
00:39:10,800 –> 00:39:14,600
the Lord, as it says there in
the RSV in in 2nd Corinthians 6.

790
00:39:14,600 –> 00:39:17,960
Do not be mis mated with
unbelievers, because what

791
00:39:17,960 –> 00:39:20,720
partnership has righteousness
with iniquity and so on.

792
00:39:21,040 –> 00:39:22,680
You know we.
Want to be different.

793
00:39:22,680 –> 00:39:26,680
We want to get marriages that
both partners are working for

794
00:39:26,680 –> 00:39:29,080
the same goal.
They’re raising their children

795
00:39:29,080 –> 00:39:33,000
to be godly children.
And then God will be a father to

796
00:39:33,040 –> 00:39:35,960
us, and you shall be my sons and
daughters, says the Lord

797
00:39:35,960 –> 00:39:37,960
Almighty.
That’s what we want to do.

798
00:39:37,960 –> 00:39:40,920
That’s the kind of council
because we want to be raising

799
00:39:40,920 –> 00:39:43,520
godly children.
That is the goal.

800
00:39:43,720 –> 00:39:46,760
That was the goal in Malachi.
That’s why he only made one.

801
00:39:47,040 –> 00:39:50,480
So yes, somebody needs to be
home instructing our children.

802
00:39:50,800 –> 00:39:54,280
Our focus and our family should
be on when we make decisions.

803
00:39:54,560 –> 00:39:56,560
When you when young people when
you get married and you’re.

804
00:39:56,560 –> 00:39:57,800
Trying to decide where are you
going to live?

805
00:39:57,800 –> 00:39:59,280
What kind of job are you going
to take on?

806
00:39:59,520 –> 00:40:00,080
It’s.
All.

807
00:40:00,080 –> 00:40:03,000
Within the framework of not just
oh, I’m going to go out and do

808
00:40:03,000 –> 00:40:05,600
what I want to do.
It’s within the framework of

809
00:40:05,600 –> 00:40:09,160
what can I do to where if God
gives us children, they can grow

810
00:40:09,160 –> 00:40:12,240
up with other children and we
can be near an Ecclesia, near an

811
00:40:12,240 –> 00:40:15,640
active ecclesia with young
people in Sunday school and CYCS

812
00:40:15,800 –> 00:40:20,200
and things that that help our
children become godly children.

813
00:40:20,480 –> 00:40:23,280
It’s not just I’m going to go
out and move and go somewhere

814
00:40:23,280 –> 00:40:26,520
and just follow my job.
It it it’s a challenge and we

815
00:40:26,520 –> 00:40:29,560
may have to make some tough
decisions but keep the focus,

816
00:40:29,600 –> 00:40:32,440
right.
It’s on raising godly children

817
00:40:32,800 –> 00:40:34,360
and what we do with our
children.

818
00:40:34,360 –> 00:40:35,680
You’re going to find out as
parents.

819
00:40:35,680 –> 00:40:38,720
It’s so similar to what angels
do with us now.

820
00:40:38,760 –> 00:40:41,640
It’s I think it’s really
unbelievable to watch angels in

821
00:40:41,640 –> 00:40:44,320
the Bible and and watch how they
how they do things.

822
00:40:44,680 –> 00:40:48,080
And I now read Genesis like
totally different because you

823
00:40:48,080 –> 00:40:50,920
know, when it came time for all
the earth becoming bad in

824
00:40:50,920 –> 00:40:53,520
Genesis chapter 6, I I think,
you know, they they probably

825
00:40:53,520 –> 00:40:56,520
decided to to bring the flood,
destroy everybody.

826
00:40:56,760 –> 00:40:58,920
And then they realized when it
was all over that, you know,

827
00:40:58,920 –> 00:41:02,000
we’re never going to do that
again next time around when when

828
00:41:02,000 –> 00:41:04,160
things got bad, they tried
changing languages.

829
00:41:04,480 –> 00:41:06,160
Well, that didn’t work so great
either.

830
00:41:06,440 –> 00:41:09,080
And then they finally decided in
Genesis 12, why don’t we just

831
00:41:09,080 –> 00:41:12,160
take one minute, we’ll pick
Abraham, we’ll work with him and

832
00:41:12,160 –> 00:41:15,960
and God gives them some
flexibility to try different

833
00:41:15,960 –> 00:41:19,120
things to see what works.
And I I think you’ll see that

834
00:41:19,120 –> 00:41:22,360
when in terms of like watching
how angels operate, I know my

835
00:41:22,360 –> 00:41:24,320
tendency when I was younger to
read all these things.

836
00:41:24,320 –> 00:41:26,080
He just said God did this, God
did that.

837
00:41:26,440 –> 00:41:28,720
But look, look at God already
knew what was.

838
00:41:28,720 –> 00:41:30,240
Going to happen when he did the
flood.

839
00:41:30,440 –> 00:41:33,960
He knew about the languages.
He knew about picking Abraham.

840
00:41:34,120 –> 00:41:37,120
He knew all those things.
But the angels didn’t.

841
00:41:37,280 –> 00:41:39,640
These these are things that they
long to look into.

842
00:41:39,640 –> 00:41:43,080
They’re learning as they go
along, and isn’t that fun to

843
00:41:43,080 –> 00:41:46,040
realize that that’s part of what
we will be doing in the Kingdom

844
00:41:46,040 –> 00:41:48,160
Age.
God willing, when you are made

845
00:41:48,160 –> 00:41:50,560
equal to the angels, you’ll be
working with the mortals and

846
00:41:50,560 –> 00:41:52,120
you’ll be learning.
You’ll be talking to one

847
00:41:52,120 –> 00:41:53,120
another.
What can we do?

848
00:41:53,120 –> 00:41:54,880
How do you think we can solve
this, you know?

849
00:41:54,880 –> 00:41:56,480
One Angel says.
Look, I’m working with Jim, and

850
00:41:56,480 –> 00:41:59,360
he just doesn’t see this idea.
I’m trying to get him to see it,

851
00:41:59,360 –> 00:42:00,680
but he still can’t figure it
out.

852
00:42:00,880 –> 00:42:03,520
You got any good ideas?
You got any good ideas of how I

853
00:42:03,520 –> 00:42:06,760
can bring circumstances into his
life that he’ll finally get it?

854
00:42:07,240 –> 00:42:08,000
And I I.
Really.

855
00:42:08,000 –> 00:42:10,600
Do believe that is what angels
are doing right now.

856
00:42:10,600 –> 00:42:14,880
Today they’re trying to figure
out how do we train these these

857
00:42:14,880 –> 00:42:19,480
mortal people to to to get the
character of God to understand

858
00:42:19,480 –> 00:42:21,400
God.
What can we bring into their

859
00:42:21,400 –> 00:42:24,400
life to challenge them.
And this is our practice time

860
00:42:24,400 –> 00:42:27,400
brothers and sisters.
This is when we practice, we

861
00:42:27,400 –> 00:42:31,560
practice righteousness today and
and the way that we treat each

862
00:42:31,560 –> 00:42:34,800
other and we learn to work.
So you look at examples of this

863
00:42:34,800 –> 00:42:36,640
in the scriptures.
Look at how this worked out.

864
00:42:36,800 –> 00:42:39,160
Zechariah chapter three, you
remember these stories.

865
00:42:39,440 –> 00:42:42,880
So he showed him in verse one.
He showed him Joshua the high

866
00:42:42,880 –> 00:42:44,520
priest.
He’s standing there before the

867
00:42:44,520 –> 00:42:47,280
Angel of the Lord who we find
out in June 9 is actually

868
00:42:47,280 –> 00:42:50,600
Michael and Satan who is
probably the Samaritan standing

869
00:42:50,600 –> 00:42:53,040
at his right hand to oppose him
and the Lord.

870
00:42:53,120 –> 00:42:56,040
So this is the Angel now who’s
standing there because it told

871
00:42:56,040 –> 00:43:00,120
it was the Angel of the Lord,
And the Lord said to Satan, the

872
00:43:00,120 –> 00:43:02,840
Lord rebuke you, Satan.
The Lord who has chosen

873
00:43:02,840 –> 00:43:05,920
Jerusalem rebuke you.
Is this not a brand plucked from

874
00:43:05,920 –> 00:43:07,920
the fire?
All right, so this is all about

875
00:43:07,920 –> 00:43:09,760
standing there.
And he sees his vision of the

876
00:43:09,760 –> 00:43:13,240
Angel of of God standing there.
And this is what the Angel says.

877
00:43:13,960 –> 00:43:17,520
Now that story comes up in the
New Testament.

878
00:43:17,800 –> 00:43:21,280
And what, what I’m just
fascinated by what Jude does

879
00:43:21,280 –> 00:43:23,480
with this.
When this comes up in the New

880
00:43:23,480 –> 00:43:27,520
Testament, Jude brings up this
incident to show us how

881
00:43:27,560 –> 00:43:30,560
archangels behave.
This is the Archangel.

882
00:43:30,560 –> 00:43:33,360
This is not just some Angel.
He is the Archangel.

883
00:43:33,640 –> 00:43:36,160
He’s the top one up there.
He’s the one who has all the

884
00:43:36,160 –> 00:43:39,440
power and all the authority.
He could do it, you know, God

885
00:43:39,440 –> 00:43:41,480
has empowered him already to do
things.

886
00:43:41,480 –> 00:43:44,640
Like when when the Angel told
Moses, You ever watch this guy,

887
00:43:44,640 –> 00:43:48,200
he’s going before you, this
Angel, and my name is in him and

888
00:43:48,200 –> 00:43:51,280
he will not, you know, hold you
let you go when you when you

889
00:43:51,280 –> 00:43:53,000
sin, he will hold you
accountable.

890
00:43:53,360 –> 00:43:57,520
You know this Angel is powerful.
Well, when when Jude looks at

891
00:43:57,520 –> 00:44:01,720
this in Jude five, he talks
about how afterwards, you know,

892
00:44:01,720 –> 00:44:03,760
God destroyed those that did not
believe.

893
00:44:03,760 –> 00:44:06,880
And he talks about Korah’s
rebellion in verse 6, the

894
00:44:06,880 –> 00:44:09,320
angels, the messengers with
Korah who did not keep their

895
00:44:09,320 –> 00:44:12,640
proper domain, and so on.
And he reminds us that these

896
00:44:12,680 –> 00:44:15,440
angels, they were supposed to
learn something from them.

897
00:44:16,120 –> 00:44:20,360
So when you get to verse eight,
he says, Likewise these dreamers

898
00:44:20,360 –> 00:44:22,880
in a collegial life today, these
people that are causing all this

899
00:44:22,880 –> 00:44:25,760
trouble, look at these guys over
here of Jude’s day.

900
00:44:26,040 –> 00:44:29,200
They defile flesh, reject
authority, speak evil of

901
00:44:29,200 –> 00:44:31,680
dignitaries, look at how they
behave.

902
00:44:31,680 –> 00:44:33,480
These ecclesial members who yell
and.

903
00:44:33,480 –> 00:44:35,080
Scream.
And just act like they’re

904
00:44:35,280 –> 00:44:38,400
they’re top notch dogs and they
they they mistreat people.

905
00:44:38,680 –> 00:44:42,200
And he says in verse 9.
But look at yet Michael the

906
00:44:42,200 –> 00:44:46,280
Archangel in contending with the
devil when he disputed about the

907
00:44:46,280 –> 00:44:49,640
body of Moses.
This is Zechariah 3 all right in

908
00:44:49,640 –> 00:44:52,600
contending with the devil, he.
And shooting about the body of

909
00:44:52,600 –> 00:44:57,240
Moses dared not bring against
him a reviling accusation.

910
00:44:58,680 –> 00:45:01,680
Do you find that fascinating?
I I just was dumbfounded when I

911
00:45:01,680 –> 00:45:06,280
realized that Jude is using the.
Behavior of an Archangel to

912
00:45:06,280 –> 00:45:09,360
exhort all of us about how we
behave.

913
00:45:09,720 –> 00:45:12,200
That’s what finally opened the
door to me to realize I got to

914
00:45:12,200 –> 00:45:14,760
be more careful about reading
about angels.

915
00:45:15,040 –> 00:45:18,960
They’re there to teach us how
God’s family members behave.

916
00:45:19,240 –> 00:45:21,000
They don’t yell and scream at
each other.

917
00:45:21,200 –> 00:45:22,920
They don’t.
They don’t do things like you

918
00:45:22,920 –> 00:45:25,720
might see in some business
meetings and arranging meetings

919
00:45:25,720 –> 00:45:29,040
and all this, and husbands and
wives having arguments and

920
00:45:29,040 –> 00:45:32,560
disputing that’s not how they
behave and they have a lot more

921
00:45:32,560 –> 00:45:35,880
power and authority than we do.
But instead, what did the Angel

922
00:45:35,880 –> 00:45:37,720
do?
He didn’t bring a reviling

923
00:45:37,720 –> 00:45:40,560
accusation.
He just said the Lord rebuke.

924
00:45:40,560 –> 00:45:44,520
You let God take care of it,
That’s what he did, and they’ll

925
00:45:44,520 –> 00:45:47,080
but these people, they spoke
evil of what they do not know.

926
00:45:47,080 –> 00:45:48,960
And so on.
Have you ever thought about the

927
00:45:48,960 –> 00:45:52,200
angels being an example to you
in this life of how to behave?

928
00:45:52,760 –> 00:45:55,640
Be more careful in the readings
when you watch angels

929
00:45:55,640 –> 00:45:58,440
interacting with Gideon and with
all these different Bible

930
00:45:58,440 –> 00:45:59,840
characters.
Watch.

931
00:45:59,840 –> 00:46:02,760
How they behave.
And try to mimic their behavior.

932
00:46:02,760 –> 00:46:04,840
Do you remember the angels with
Lot?

933
00:46:05,040 –> 00:46:07,560
Remember what they did with Lot
when they brought Lot out of

934
00:46:07,560 –> 00:46:09,920
Sodom and Gomorrah?
They were so patient.

935
00:46:10,080 –> 00:46:12,960
You know when you look back in
Genesis 19, they came to Sodom,

936
00:46:12,960 –> 00:46:15,480
the two angels, the other one’s
still over there with Abraham.

937
00:46:15,800 –> 00:46:19,080
And they they they come to there
and they’re they say look a lot

938
00:46:19,080 –> 00:46:21,680
we’re going to stay out there.
We want to stay out in the city.

939
00:46:21,840 –> 00:46:24,480
We’re we’re here to find out how
bad things really are And lots

940
00:46:24,480 –> 00:46:26,520
insisting with them.
You know come in the house, come

941
00:46:26,520 –> 00:46:29,320
in the house, come in the house.
They don’t just say it a lot in

942
00:46:29,320 –> 00:46:30,360
the end.
Well, look, you know I’m not

943
00:46:30,360 –> 00:46:31,680
going to come in the house.
We’re angels.

944
00:46:31,720 –> 00:46:34,360
You know we we can do what we
want that that isn’t what they

945
00:46:34,360 –> 00:46:35,840
do.
They say it a lot.

946
00:46:35,840 –> 00:46:38,280
OK.
He strongly insisted in verse 3.

947
00:46:38,280 –> 00:46:41,760
So they turned into him.
They accommodated lot in this

948
00:46:41,760 –> 00:46:43,640
case.
And he said they say to him,

949
00:46:43,640 –> 00:46:46,400
look, have you anyone else here
in verse 12, sons in law saw

950
00:46:46,400 –> 00:46:48,840
your sons, daughters, whoever
you have in the city.

951
00:46:49,280 –> 00:46:51,040
Let’s get them out of here.
Go collect them.

952
00:46:51,320 –> 00:46:56,200
The angels waited all night for
a lot to go find whoever he

953
00:46:56,200 –> 00:46:59,520
could to get out of that city.
They are so patient.

954
00:46:59,520 –> 00:47:01,360
Brethren and sisters, they don’t
just.

955
00:47:01,360 –> 00:47:04,360
Rush people through it.
They waited all night.

956
00:47:04,600 –> 00:47:07,920
And then when it came time to go
in the morning in verse 15, the

957
00:47:07,920 –> 00:47:11,720
angels, they urged lot to hurry
saying get your wife, your

958
00:47:11,720 –> 00:47:14,840
daughters, you got to get out of
here so that you don’t get

959
00:47:14,840 –> 00:47:19,280
consumed into punishment and.
While he lingered, just picture

960
00:47:19,280 –> 00:47:21,560
this.
Two angels grabbed Lot and his

961
00:47:21,560 –> 00:47:24,440
wife and his two daughters.
They grabbed them by the hand

962
00:47:24,600 –> 00:47:27,280
and they literally walked them
out of the city.

963
00:47:27,920 –> 00:47:31,400
That’s the kind of compassion
that God’s family members have

964
00:47:31,400 –> 00:47:33,680
for for brothers and sisters
that are struggling.

965
00:47:34,200 –> 00:47:37,760
They walked them by the hand.
They didn’t just yell at them

966
00:47:37,760 –> 00:47:40,480
and say, I told you, get out of
here, hurry up and get going and

967
00:47:40,480 –> 00:47:43,440
all that.
That’s how they behave and we

968
00:47:43,440 –> 00:47:45,240
that’s the way you got to behave
with our kids.

969
00:47:45,400 –> 00:47:48,440
We have to treat everybody this
way, brothers and sisters.

970
00:47:48,680 –> 00:47:51,440
And so they say, look, escape
your life and get out of there

971
00:47:51,440 –> 00:47:53,400
and and so they get going.
Did you?

972
00:47:53,400 –> 00:47:56,800
Ever notice in verse 18 that Lot
said to them, Please know my

973
00:47:56,800 –> 00:47:59,520
Lords, indeed, that your
servants found favor in your

974
00:47:59,520 –> 00:48:01,920
sight.
That word for Lords in in our

975
00:48:01,920 –> 00:48:05,120
Bible is this lowercase.
But if you get online sometime

976
00:48:05,120 –> 00:48:09,880
and and research the 137 or 136
places that the Sulfurum changed

977
00:48:09,880 –> 00:48:12,560
the Hebrew text and they wrote
notes in the margin because they

978
00:48:12,560 –> 00:48:16,280
couldn’t understand how Yahweh
could be used there about these

979
00:48:16,280 –> 00:48:19,160
two angels when Yahweh was still
back there with with Abraham

980
00:48:19,160 –> 00:48:21,760
standing before Yahweh.
It’s one of the greatest.

981
00:48:21,760 –> 00:48:24,880
Examples is how when you have
the Yahweh name, it’s not just

982
00:48:24,880 –> 00:48:27,720
one Angel.
It’s not one Angel like some of

983
00:48:27,720 –> 00:48:30,640
our brethren think.
There are multiple angels who

984
00:48:30,640 –> 00:48:33,200
are called Yahweh.
And this is one of the clearest

985
00:48:33,200 –> 00:48:35,960
cases of it that even the Jews
couldn’t understand.

986
00:48:36,160 –> 00:48:39,800
That’s actually the Yahweh name.
So I’ll just leave you with that

987
00:48:39,800 –> 00:48:43,280
one because it’s it’s sort of
fun to watch that when he says

988
00:48:43,280 –> 00:48:46,880
please let me escape there, look
at how the angels accommodated

989
00:48:46,880 –> 00:48:48,400
him.
And they say, look, I favored

990
00:48:48,400 –> 00:48:51,880
you in this, I won’t overthrow.
And they waited until he got to

991
00:48:51,880 –> 00:48:53,880
Zoar.
Brother and sisters.

992
00:48:53,880 –> 00:48:57,320
We’ve got to be more patient and
compassionate with one another.

993
00:48:57,480 –> 00:49:00,760
We’ve got to learn to behave
like angels because they’ve left

994
00:49:00,760 –> 00:49:04,840
us an example of how to treat
one another in ecclesial and

995
00:49:04,840 –> 00:49:06,480
family life.
Thanks.