John Launchbury – Class 2: Subject to Vanity

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You’re listening to a Bible.
Talk recorded at the 2011.

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Western Chris, delphian Bible
School of Manuka, the speaker

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is, John launch party with the
second class in a series.

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The transformed mind, this
address is entitled subject to

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vanity and was recorded on July
26, 2011.

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Good morning.
So theme is the transformed

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mind.
Yesterday, we talked about one

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barrier to transformation.
The barrier is that of thinking

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of our religion as an externally
imposed set of rules rather than

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internal transformation,
internal real change.

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Today, we’re going to be
discussing another barrier to

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transformation.
So today is another dismantling

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day when we’re taking things
apart, And then the next few

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days are much more of
constructing things in their

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place.
Subject to vanity is is our

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theme here.
But I’d like to start heard it

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from a slightly strange
perspective and think about for

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a moment, the kingdom of God,
think about what we think about,

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when we think about the kingdom
of God, and I’m sure I thoughts

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go immediately to things like
Revelation 21.

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I saw a new Heaven and a new
Earth, and the all the beautiful

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things that are being described
there.

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No more suffering, no more pain.
Or there’s the thrilling kind of

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Prophecy that we get in Daniel 7
where he sees one like a son of

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man coming with the Clouds Of
Heaven.

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He approached the Ancient of
Days was led into his presence,

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was given Authority, glory and
Sovereign power, all people

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Nations, and Men of every
language worshipped him.

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His Dominion is an everlasting
Dominion.

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It will not pass away.
His kingdom is one that will

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never be destroyed.
And these are the kind of

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thrilling exciting future things
that we think about when we

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think about the kingdom of God,
and this is all true and it’s

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all wonderful.
I don’t want us to lose it.

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I’d like us to add to it
however, because I think we miss

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a great deal, if we only think
of the kingdom of God as

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something in the future, The
kingdom of God.

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Very clearly in scripture has a
past and a present Dimension

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about it to the Fulfillment.
Of all of these promises is

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still in the future, but there
is very much, a present part of

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the kingdom of God that we’re
able to participate in and I’d

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like us to go to a few verses so
that we get the sense of that.

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From from this set of verses,
let’s start with Mark one.

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Mark chapter 1 and verse 15.
For context, I’ll read for you

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verse 14.
After John was put in prison,

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Jesus went into Galilee
proclaiming the good news of

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God.
The time has come.

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He said the kingdom of God is
near repent and believe the good

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news.
Now, the word Nia has two

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possible meanings.
Something could be near in time,

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or it could be near in space.
It could be close to you.

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And I for years and years.
I thought when he said the

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kingdom of God is near that he
was in some sense of talking

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about the second coming, the
establishment of the what we

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think of as the kingdom, the
Fulfillment of the promises.

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But if I was calling the plumber
and he said, yeah, I’ll be there

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very soon, and it was 2,000
years later before he arrived.

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I’ll probably be calling another
plumber.

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I don’t think Jesus.
Here is saying I’m about to

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establish the Fulfillment of
everything that we have is the

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promises including the second
coming.

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He’s talking about a different
aspect of the kingdom of God.

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That is near its it’s so close.
You could touch.

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It is the idea that he’s getting
at here.

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And again, even though I’m going
to be emphasizing this in this

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talk, please don’t take it that
I’m in any sense.

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Diminishing the beautiful Vision
that we have of the restoration

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of creation.
That is all true.

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That is the wonderful hope that
is laid out, not just for the

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group sitting here, but for the
whole of the creation that God

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has constructed that it Be
renewed.

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But I am saying, don’t let us
let the Brilliance of that

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Future Vision.
Fog our willingness to see the

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present dimension of the kingdom
of God.

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Now, we often think of the idea
of Kingdom as territory, the

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United Kingdom, where I was born
is a land, it’s a territory, but

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I think the idea of the the word
kingdom is not so much

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territory, but it’s about
kingship, it’s about rain, it’s

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about sovereignty, it’s about
domain.

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You can, you can think of Jesus.
Is saying, the reign of God is

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near The Domain, of God is near
and you get to as it were step

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into it or step back out of it,
as to whether you step into the

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reign of God.
Luke chapter 17, I think this is

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Jesus trying to say a similar
kind of thing.

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Luke chapter, 17, and verse 20
This is a classic one that

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christadelphians spend a long
time debating.

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And unfortunately because we’re
trying to emphasize the Future

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Part Of The Hope in.
Debating this we miss the think,

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I think.
Actually, the thing that Jesus

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is trying to say verse 20 of
Luke 17 once having been asked

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by the Pharisees, when the
kingdom of God would come Jesus

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replied.
So the question is a wonderful

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Christian offering question,
where we say to Jesus, When will

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the kingdom of God, come?
What has to happen?

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What nation has to go up against
what other Nation?

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Tell us.
What’s the timetable, when’s it

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going to happen and we would
love him to give the answer of.

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Well, this happens and then this
happens and then this happens

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and then I’ll come back and the
kingdom will be established.

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Ah, we will be so happy if that
was the answer Jesus gave but

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it’s not It’s not the answer
that he gives.

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And so that tells us that we
need to sort of stand back a

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little bit from our question.
The answer he gives to the very

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question.
We would love to ask is the

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kingdom of God.
Does not come with your careful

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observation.
Nor will people say here it is,

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or there it is.
Because the kingdom of God, is

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present among you within you
people debate, precisely what

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word should be there, but I
don’t want to get into the

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debate.
Jesus is saying that there is a

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dimension of the Kingdom that is
right here and now Again, he’s

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not trying to say that this is
all that the kingdom is about,

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but the reign of God is present.
Now if we choose to enter into

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it and I think part of what he’s
saying is that the future is

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irrelevant.
The Future Vision of the kingdom

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is irrelevant, if it’s not a
present reality to us today, if

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we don’t take the opportunity
today to step into the reign of

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God, and to live in the reign of
God, Then why do we think that

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in the future that we will be
living in the reign of God?

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It’s a choice that we make today
to enter into his domain and we

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might, of course, be thinking,
well, enter into the domain of

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God, that means doing all the
things that God has said,

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following all the rules.
But no, of course, we’ve

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dismantled that yesterday.
It has to be about entering the

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domain of God, has to be about
accepting the inner

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transformation that he calls
Upon Us calls for us to do.

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So I think in my in my
experience, we tend to argue

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these words away here in Luke,
rather than saying, I’m just

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going to kind of let these words
of Jesus stand with me for a

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while.
As something that almost has me

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and asked the question that I
would have liked to ask.

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He’s telling me to think about
the question of the coming of

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the kingdom of God, in a
different way than I might have

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thought about it before.
Look at Mark chapter 12.

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Mark chapter 12 and verse 34.
One of the teachers of the law

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has asked Jesus which is the
most important commandment and

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Jesus said hear o Israel the
Lord Our God, the Lord is one,

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love the Lord, your God with all
your heart, with all your soul,

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with all your mind and with all
your strength and the second is

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this, love your neighbor as
yourself.

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There’s no command greater than
these.

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This, this man thinks about it.
It’s beautiful here in verse 30

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32.
He says, well said teacher,

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you’re right.
You’re right in saying that God

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is one and there’s no other but
him and to love him with all of

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your heart and your
understanding and your strength

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and to love your neighbor as
yourself.

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That’s got to be that’s got to
be more important than all of

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these sacrifices in them.
And Jesus I think has a sense of

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wonder as he looks at this, man.
Read in verse 34, Jesus saw that

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he had answered wisely and said
to him you are not far from the

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domain of God.
Beautiful.

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You are not far from the domain
of God, that that understanding

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that you have just grasped.
That God is one and, and to find

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the way in which we can just
give of ourselves to him and to

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each other.
And Jesus says, you are so

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close.
So close to the domain of God,

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It’s like with the Centurion.
And I Think Jesus is similarly,

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had this sense of wonder as this
man said you don’t need to come

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under my roof.
I’m not worthy to have you.

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You just say the word.
My servant will be healed.

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Angie’s.
I haven’t seen so much Faith.

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Even in Israel.
Just I love the moments where

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Jesus is just caught with Wonder
at the people that he interacts

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with.
So the question that we will be

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challenged with is what are the
barriers we Face to living in

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the reign of God today.
What what are the things that

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actually stop us taking the step
and just entering into the reign

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of God and living our lives in
the reign of God?

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There’s an old fashioned word in
the King James which describes

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it wonderfully.
The word is Mammon.

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Mammon Jesus says, this is
Matthew 6:24.

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No one can serve two masters,
either he will hate one and love

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the other or he will be devoted
to the one and despise the

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other.
You cannot serve both God.

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And the NIV has money because
it’s trying to make sense of of

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Mammon, but Mammon is more than
just money.

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Mammon is way more than just
money, it is money.

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That’s part of it.
It’s like riches.

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And, you know, I asked the kids,
I did this class with the teens

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earlier, I asked who’s rich and,
you know, they weren’t really

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sure whether they should put, we
are all immensely Rich Solomon.

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Never slept on a mattress as
good as the one you slept on

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last night.
I used to look at the things in

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the Bible when it talks about
the feast went on for seven days

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as a teenager, I thought I will
be so good to have a feast that

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goes on for seven days.
I didn’t realize That I live in

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a world that go Has A Feast for
365 days every year.

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How we eat is like their feast
days.

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We are so well provided we are
so unbelievably wealthy in this

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age compared with vast portions
of the world but not just in

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comparison with other parts of
the world.

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Now if you go in history, we are
incredibly Rich.

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Jesus said it is so hard for a
rich man to step into the reign

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of God.
It’s easier for a camel to go

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through the eye of a needle than
for a rich man to step into the

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reign of God.
I’m paraphrasing just slightly,

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but you get the idea because we
get caught up in the things of

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this world.
We get caught up in the, in the

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riches, in the planning, that’s
associated with riches.

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We’re like the The Wedding
Banquet where Jesus is already

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saying, I have prepared a
kingdom for you to step into, of

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course.
Again let me in case I get taken

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out of context, the future
fulfillment is still too. but

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the present Dimension, it’s
already prepared for us to step

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into and we say, I bought me a
house.

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I’ve bought a cow.
I’ve married a wife.

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I can’t come.
I can’t take that step because

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I’m too invested in this world.
The Rich Young Man.

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What should I do to inherit
eternal life?

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Jesus says well you know, the
Commandments list them off.

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Richmond young man says, I’ve
been doing all of these since I

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was a kid.
Jesus looks at Jesus really

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looks at him like deep into his
heart and he loves him.

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Just loves this young man.
He says you are so invested in

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the world and I can see it.
I can see it in your eyes and

217
00:15:37,100 –> 00:15:41,600
your heart.
Tell you what you need, you need

218
00:15:41,600 –> 00:15:43,600
to just sell everything that you
have.

219
00:15:45,200 –> 00:15:48,900
Then you’ll be able to enter
into eternal life.

220
00:15:51,300 –> 00:15:58,000
That was what he needed.
And Jesus diagnosis was correct.

221
00:15:59,100 –> 00:16:04,200
That man, at that point could
not imagine giving up all of

222
00:16:04,200 –> 00:16:09,300
those things.
And he went away and he was very

223
00:16:09,300 –> 00:16:20,300
sad.
Or in an earlier time.

224
00:16:25,800 –> 00:16:32,200
Sorry, this one’s emotional.
He looks at each of us, you

225
00:16:32,200 –> 00:16:35,600
know, he looks at each of us and
he says, what is it you need to

226
00:16:35,600 –> 00:16:45,300
do.
I didn’t know your time said to

227
00:16:45,300 –> 00:16:53,100
this wonderful man.
You need to take your son.

228
00:16:56,500 –> 00:17:04,500
You’re your only son whom you
laugh, sir, you need to give him

229
00:17:04,500 –> 00:17:09,099
up.
Because you are so invested in

230
00:17:09,099 –> 00:17:14,000
your son.
That is what you have, put your

231
00:17:14,000 –> 00:17:19,200
life around Abraham.
Take your son.

232
00:17:21,900 –> 00:17:26,000
Take him to Mariah.
We all of course we all see the

233
00:17:26,300 –> 00:17:30,800
the the wonderful picture of
Christ and and all of that.

234
00:17:32,600 –> 00:17:36,100
But this is the only way I’m
able to make sense of what God

235
00:17:36,100 –> 00:17:41,800
was asking if Abraham.
Abraham wasn’t bound up in his

236
00:17:41,800 –> 00:17:43,400
riches.
He didn’t he didn’t.

237
00:17:43,500 –> 00:17:46,800
He was a rich man.
He didn’t care about his riches.

238
00:17:48,000 –> 00:17:51,900
But he cared about his son more
than anything.

239
00:17:59,900 –> 00:18:04,100
It’s a mark of the stunning
faith of that, man.

240
00:18:06,500 –> 00:18:11,600
That he’s able to take his son.
And he’s able to give him up.

241
00:18:16,500 –> 00:18:20,700
Religious standing is another
thing that prevents us from

242
00:18:20,700 –> 00:18:22,500
entering into the kingdom of
God.

243
00:18:23,100 –> 00:18:28,100
We care too much about our
standing within a particular

244
00:18:28,100 –> 00:18:32,100
religious community and and it’s
nothing new John chapter 9.

245
00:18:32,100 –> 00:18:34,100
Look at it.
John chapter 9.

246
00:18:34,300 –> 00:18:38,500
These are the parents of the man
who has been who was born blind

247
00:18:39,000 –> 00:18:40,900
and The Disciples.
Of course, had wondered who

248
00:18:40,900 –> 00:18:43,200
sinned that.
This man would be born, blind.

249
00:18:43,900 –> 00:18:47,400
Jesus said no one sinned.
Was born blind so that the power

250
00:18:47,400 –> 00:18:51,100
of God might be revealed in him.
That man had nothing.

251
00:18:51,200 –> 00:18:54,100
Jesus gave him everything that
he possibly had.

252
00:18:54,200 –> 00:18:58,000
He had no reason not to just
completely throw his lot in with

253
00:18:58,000 –> 00:19:01,600
Jesus.
I don’t know who the man is.

254
00:19:01,800 –> 00:19:05,600
I just know he told me to do
something and I did it and I can

255
00:19:05,600 –> 00:19:21,900
see But his parents.
Verse 22, sorry verse 20.

256
00:19:23,000 –> 00:19:25,900
We know he is our son.
The parents answered and we know

257
00:19:25,900 –> 00:19:30,400
he was born blind but how he can
see now or who opened his eyes.

258
00:19:30,400 –> 00:19:33,900
We don’t know, ask him, he’s of
age, he will speak for himself.

259
00:19:34,600 –> 00:19:39,300
His parents said this because
they were afraid of the Jews for

260
00:19:39,300 –> 00:19:41,600
already.
The Jews had decided that anyone

261
00:19:41,600 –> 00:19:45,900
who acknowledged that Jesus was
the Christ would be put out of

262
00:19:45,900 –> 00:19:52,100
the synagogue.
Galatians chapter 2.

263
00:19:57,700 –> 00:20:03,600
This is the conflict as to
whether you eat as a Jew whether

264
00:20:03,600 –> 00:20:06,300
you eat with Gentiles in the New
Covenant.

265
00:20:12,600 –> 00:20:16,900
Verse 11 of General, Galatians
2, when Peter came to Antioch, I

266
00:20:16,900 –> 00:20:20,700
opposed him to his face because
he was clearly in the wrong

267
00:20:21,100 –> 00:20:24,400
before certain men came from
James, that is from the

268
00:20:24,400 –> 00:20:27,600
conservative Jerusalem,
Ecclesia, before certain men

269
00:20:27,600 –> 00:20:31,500
came from James, he used to eat
with the Gentiles but when they

270
00:20:31,500 –> 00:20:34,600
arrived, he began to draw back
and separate himself from the

271
00:20:34,600 –> 00:20:38,200
Gentiles.
Because he was afraid of those

272
00:20:38,400 –> 00:20:42,300
who are from the circumcision
group, the other Joy Jews.

273
00:20:42,400 –> 00:20:46,600
Joined him in his hypocrisy, so
that by their hypocrisy, even

274
00:20:46,600 –> 00:20:52,300
Barnabas was led astray.
John chapter 12.

275
00:20:55,400 –> 00:21:03,900
Verse 42.
The context is reading, Isaiah

276
00:21:03,900 –> 00:21:05,500
53.
Lord, who has believed our

277
00:21:05,500 –> 00:21:11,400
message to whom has the arm of
the Lord been revealed and his

278
00:21:11,400 –> 00:21:14,000
blinded, their eyes and dead in
their hearts, so that they can

279
00:21:14,000 –> 00:21:16,800
neither see with their eyes nor
understand with their hearts,

280
00:21:16,800 –> 00:21:22,500
nor turn and I would heal them.
Isaiah said, this because he saw

281
00:21:22,500 –> 00:21:26,100
Jesus glory and spoke about him
verse 42 yet.

282
00:21:26,100 –> 00:21:30,200
At the same time, many even
among the leaders believed in

283
00:21:30,200 –> 00:21:33,300
him.
But because of the Pharisees,

284
00:21:33,300 –> 00:21:36,300
they would not confess their
faith for fear.

285
00:21:36,300 –> 00:21:39,800
They would be put out of the
synagogue for they loved praise

286
00:21:39,800 –> 00:21:42,400
from men.
More than praise from God.

287
00:21:45,000 –> 00:21:52,100
All of this is Mammon.
It’s all Mammon, it’s not just

288
00:21:52,100 –> 00:21:57,500
money, it’s social standing.
It’s it’s the things that we

289
00:21:57,500 –> 00:22:00,100
strive.
After the things that define us,

290
00:22:00,100 –> 00:22:05,800
the things that make us sort of
give our sense of identity

291
00:22:05,800 –> 00:22:10,400
almost and those become more
important than allowing

292
00:22:10,400 –> 00:22:14,900
ourselves simply to step into
the domain of God.

293
00:22:16,500 –> 00:22:21,300
One of the challenges that we
have in this world in this age,

294
00:22:21,400 –> 00:22:24,600
is that we’ve inherited
something called the Protestant

295
00:22:24,600 –> 00:22:28,200
work ethic.
People heard of it Protestant

296
00:22:28,200 –> 00:22:31,900
work, ethic, hard work and
frugality.

297
00:22:32,100 –> 00:22:35,200
Those are the things that make
you worthy before God.

298
00:22:35,500 –> 00:22:40,800
That’s what the Protestant work.
Ethic says, And that’s why in

299
00:22:40,800 –> 00:22:44,900
our nation.
We view a self-made, man, as a

300
00:22:44,900 –> 00:22:49,600
high sign of achievement.
And you often see that of people

301
00:22:49,600 –> 00:22:52,600
who are running for president,
it’s it’s great that they are

302
00:22:52,600 –> 00:22:56,800
self-made that they they started
out poor and now they they’re

303
00:22:56,800 –> 00:22:59,100
Millionaires and they did it all
themselves.

304
00:22:59,100 –> 00:23:00,300
Of course.
Nobody ever does it all

305
00:23:00,300 –> 00:23:03,800
themselves but but that’s the
story that gets told that’s the

306
00:23:03,800 –> 00:23:08,100
narrative in our society.
It’s this Protestant work ethic

307
00:23:08,500 –> 00:23:11,300
and and partly it comes from
passages.

308
00:23:11,300 –> 00:23:15,500
Where Paul says if a man does
not work, neither shall he eat?

309
00:23:16,700 –> 00:23:19,700
it seems to promote it in some
sense, the importance of this,

310
00:23:19,800 –> 00:23:25,700
the sort of hard work and yet
Jesus Jesus, the one that we

311
00:23:25,700 –> 00:23:32,800
follow never had a job.
Never had a job.

312
00:23:35,900 –> 00:23:40,500
So, Paul was addressing idleness
and a sense of entitlement, that

313
00:23:40,500 –> 00:23:42,000
that’s what he was really
addressing.

314
00:23:42,100 –> 00:23:44,000
If a man will not work, neither
shall he?

315
00:23:44,000 –> 00:23:45,900
That that’s really what he was
getting at.

316
00:23:46,700 –> 00:23:52,200
Do you think Jesus would mind if
they wasn’t lunch or dinner or

317
00:23:52,200 –> 00:23:55,300
breakfast the next day or lunch
or dinner or breakfast, the next

318
00:23:55,300 –> 00:24:00,300
day and Jesus, Jesus says to the
disciples, you know, when they

319
00:24:00,300 –> 00:24:04,900
said we don’t have any bread, he
says, don’t you understand?

320
00:24:05,000 –> 00:24:09,000
I mean, how many loaves did we
have left over when we fed the

321
00:24:09,000 –> 00:24:12,700
5,000?
How can you be worrying about

322
00:24:12,900 –> 00:24:16,000
bread?
Jesus has so much stepped into

323
00:24:16,000 –> 00:24:21,300
the domain of God, the things
like, what’s the next meal are

324
00:24:21,300 –> 00:24:28,600
just so irrelevant to him?
And yet, we inherit this drive

325
00:24:28,600 –> 00:24:32,400
from our society, this drive
that is like a disease.

326
00:24:32,600 –> 00:24:35,000
It’s rampant, it’s out of
control.

327
00:24:35,500 –> 00:24:42,400
Here’s a, here’s a quote from
The quote that I’d lost, no find

328
00:24:42,400 –> 00:24:44,500
it again.
Here’s a quote, from an

329
00:24:44,500 –> 00:24:49,500
indigenous American.
This is from Carl Jung.

330
00:24:49,900 –> 00:24:54,000
In his book talks about this, he
talked with an indigenous

331
00:24:54,000 –> 00:25:00,300
American called aqua, be a know
who was Pueblo Indian.

332
00:25:01,400 –> 00:25:07,100
And this is what our Qui EST, be
honest it and this is a middle

333
00:25:07,100 –> 00:25:11,600
of the 19th century.
How cruel the whites are their

334
00:25:11,600 –> 00:25:14,800
lips are thin their noses, chop
their faces furrowed and

335
00:25:14,800 –> 00:25:17,700
distorted by holes.
Their eyes have a staring

336
00:25:17,700 –> 00:25:20,100
expression.
They’re always seeking

337
00:25:20,100 –> 00:25:22,800
something.
What, what are they seeking?

338
00:25:23,300 –> 00:25:27,800
The white always want something
that always uneasy and Restless.

339
00:25:28,200 –> 00:25:31,000
We don’t know what they want.
We don’t understand them.

340
00:25:32,200 –> 00:25:42,100
We think that they’re mad.
Our society has this drive like

341
00:25:42,100 –> 00:25:43,400
a disease.
It’s rampant.

342
00:25:43,400 –> 00:25:46,100
It’s out of control and we share
it.

343
00:25:46,700 –> 00:25:51,400
I know I do mean I’m not sort of
standing here preaching that I

344
00:25:51,400 –> 00:25:52,900
don’t have this as a problem in
there.

345
00:25:52,900 –> 00:25:57,000
I’ve overcome it and so on that
means a lot of my effort is

346
00:25:57,000 –> 00:26:01,300
going into serving Mammon.
And yet the one that I claim to

347
00:26:01,300 –> 00:26:06,200
call my master tells me, you
can’t do that and serve God.

348
00:26:09,100 –> 00:26:14,000
Jesus is very explicit.
Don’t lay up, treasure for

349
00:26:14,000 –> 00:26:20,500
yourself where moth and rust and
thieves, just take it away and

350
00:26:20,500 –> 00:26:22,900
make it worthless, make it
empty.

351
00:26:23,600 –> 00:26:27,500
See, Jesus has really very
clearly got the sense of how

352
00:26:27,500 –> 00:26:31,600
empty, how worthless the things
of this world, and they the

353
00:26:31,600 –> 00:26:35,000
great Endeavors that we engage
in as individuals.

354
00:26:35,000 –> 00:26:38,700
And as a society, How empty they
are.

355
00:26:38,700 –> 00:26:43,300
How passing look at Ezekiel
chapter 7.

356
00:26:47,200 –> 00:26:53,800
Ezekiel chapter 7.
That’s 19.

357
00:27:00,100 –> 00:27:04,300
This is about the day of
judgment on the nation of

358
00:27:04,300 –> 00:27:11,700
Israel.
They will throw their silver

359
00:27:11,700 –> 00:27:17,300
into the streets and their gold
will be an unclean thing, their

360
00:27:17,300 –> 00:27:20,900
silver, and gold will not be
able to save them in the day of

361
00:27:20,900 –> 00:27:23,700
the Lord’s wrath.
They will not satisfy their

362
00:27:23,700 –> 00:27:26,800
hunger or fill their stomachs
with it for.

363
00:27:26,800 –> 00:27:29,100
It is made them stumble into
sin.

364
00:27:29,800 –> 00:27:33,600
They were proud of their
beautiful jewelry used it, to

365
00:27:33,600 –> 00:27:36,600
make their detestable idols and
vile images.

366
00:27:37,100 –> 00:27:39,700
Therefore, I will turn these
into an unclean thing.

367
00:27:40,100 –> 00:27:44,300
For them, silver and gold, can’t
eat it.

368
00:27:45,500 –> 00:27:49,300
When it becomes worthless, it’s
completely worthless.

369
00:27:49,300 –> 00:27:53,800
There is no value, no end, no
purpose to it.

370
00:27:55,400 –> 00:28:00,400
Now Ecclesiastes is the book par
Excellence which describes this

371
00:28:00,400 –> 00:28:06,100
this meaninglessness of human
striving of the of the path of

372
00:28:06,100 –> 00:28:08,700
Mammon.
It just says it is empty.

373
00:28:08,700 –> 00:28:12,700
It is meaningless.
What one of the things I like to

374
00:28:12,700 –> 00:28:17,600
do is take books of the Bible
and create a pricey so that you

375
00:28:17,600 –> 00:28:20,800
can read it just in a few
minutes and so could I have some

376
00:28:20,800 –> 00:28:25,100
help handing out some copies of
this maybe three or four people.

377
00:28:27,000 –> 00:28:31,100
Can I give that and perhaps and
that and split them each side

378
00:28:31,200 –> 00:28:34,400
and maybe some teen teen could
come down and get get some.

379
00:28:35,500 –> 00:28:45,300
So what we’re going to do is as
I say I’ve let’s let’s do this

380
00:28:45,300 –> 00:28:47,100
as quickly as we can if
possible.

381
00:28:47,100 –> 00:28:52,200
Thanks what we’re going to do
then is is collectively read

382
00:28:52,200 –> 00:28:55,200
through this summarized version
of Ecclesiastes.

383
00:28:56,000 –> 00:29:00,700
What I found was when I produced
this precis I was shocked and

384
00:29:00,700 –> 00:29:04,100
stunned at how Stark the
teaching.

385
00:29:04,100 –> 00:29:10,400
Is it just hits you over the
head about the emptiness of

386
00:29:10,400 –> 00:29:14,300
human?
Have a and how worthless it is.

387
00:29:15,900 –> 00:29:22,100
So does everyone have a copy?
I think you guys up there are

388
00:29:22,100 –> 00:29:26,200
getting a copy in just a minute.
Okay, perfect.

389
00:29:36,600 –> 00:29:39,300
So this is Ecclesiastes in
brief.

390
00:29:43,100 –> 00:29:46,400
This is what the teacher says,
it’s futile.

391
00:29:48,000 –> 00:29:50,800
All the effort in the world
accomplishes, nothing things.

392
00:29:50,800 –> 00:29:53,800
Start they finish.
They start again.

393
00:29:54,700 –> 00:29:58,800
Nothing really gets done.
And all will be forgotten by

394
00:29:58,800 –> 00:30:02,600
generations, to come.
I tried to understand what goes

395
00:30:02,600 –> 00:30:06,400
on in the world.
My what a burden.

396
00:30:06,400 –> 00:30:09,600
God has laid on mankind.
All that effort.

397
00:30:09,600 –> 00:30:14,100
Achieves nothing. even the
pursuit of wisdom is like,

398
00:30:14,100 –> 00:30:19,300
chasing after the wind I
wondered whether pleasure could

399
00:30:19,300 –> 00:30:23,300
provide satisfaction, I decided
to conduct great projects to

400
00:30:23,300 –> 00:30:27,300
amass, all kinds of wealth and
Majesty to myself and to indulge

401
00:30:27,300 –> 00:30:32,100
in every conceivable pleasure.
But then I step back and

402
00:30:32,100 –> 00:30:35,800
realized how empty it was.
Nothing was gained.

403
00:30:36,600 –> 00:30:39,500
Even wisdom, doesn’t.
Last wisdom is better than

404
00:30:39,500 –> 00:30:42,600
Folly, but death makes fools of
us all.

405
00:30:45,100 –> 00:30:48,600
I began to hate life because of
the empty labor.

406
00:30:48,600 –> 00:30:51,800
I toiled over what will happen
to the things I laboured for.

407
00:30:51,800 –> 00:30:55,600
When I die, maybe squandered by
a fool who comes after me.

408
00:30:55,800 –> 00:30:59,300
How useless what was
accomplished by all that anxious

409
00:30:59,300 –> 00:31:05,200
toil of sleepless nights?
Then I realize this is all from

410
00:31:05,200 –> 00:31:09,000
God.
Those who please him May gain

411
00:31:09,000 –> 00:31:13,500
daily satisfaction, those who
don’t as simply storing up

412
00:31:13,500 –> 00:31:17,000
wealth for others and futility
for themselves.

413
00:31:18,600 –> 00:31:22,300
The activities of the world, all
have their own time and place

414
00:31:22,800 –> 00:31:26,100
and Beauty arises now and again
but God has put a sense of

415
00:31:26,100 –> 00:31:30,500
Eternity in our hearts and then
comes the awful realization

416
00:31:31,100 –> 00:31:33,400
while God’s work indoors
forever.

417
00:31:33,800 –> 00:31:40,100
Ours has no lasting effect.
I looked out at the world, I saw

418
00:31:40,100 –> 00:31:44,100
wickedness instead of Justice.
I thought God would intervene,

419
00:31:45,000 –> 00:31:47,900
but then I realized he holds
back so that we can appreciate

420
00:31:47,900 –> 00:31:52,200
how much we’re like animals.
The same breath the same fate

421
00:31:52,800 –> 00:31:56,700
dust.
We cannot rely on anything or

422
00:31:56,700 –> 00:32:01,200
anyone in the world.
Moreover, when I saw all the

423
00:32:01,200 –> 00:32:04,300
oppression that was taking
place, I reckoned the dead and

424
00:32:04,300 –> 00:32:07,600
especially the stillborn a
better off than the living.

425
00:32:08,100 –> 00:32:11,900
All this drive to achievement,
is being driven by meaningless

426
00:32:11,900 –> 00:32:16,200
Envy, why is there?
No contentment instead, there is

427
00:32:16,200 –> 00:32:22,400
work building amassing and for
what At least it is said when

428
00:32:22,400 –> 00:32:25,200
there are two or three together,
they can help and support each

429
00:32:25,200 –> 00:32:29,600
other strength in numbers yet.
Even when I saw a wise man, come

430
00:32:29,600 –> 00:32:34,200
to power by mass Acclaim the
Next Generation reviled him in

431
00:32:34,200 –> 00:32:37,100
his time.
Chef utility.

432
00:32:38,700 –> 00:32:44,600
When you go to the house of God,
go to listen, rather than to

433
00:32:44,600 –> 00:32:48,200
speak.
He is so much greater than you.

434
00:32:48,400 –> 00:32:51,200
Be careful what you promise
before and why provoke is

435
00:32:51,200 –> 00:33:00,100
condemnation. rather stand in,
or Don’t be surprised if you see

436
00:33:00,100 –> 00:33:04,000
the rights of the poor being
violated striving after

437
00:33:04,000 –> 00:33:08,000
possessions is an addiction and
no amount of money is enough.

438
00:33:08,200 –> 00:33:11,700
Yet wealth is a mixed blessing.
It brings sleeplessness, it’s

439
00:33:11,700 –> 00:33:18,000
easily lost and it’s worthless
in the nakedness of death simply

440
00:33:18,000 –> 00:33:20,500
to be able to find satisfaction
in work.

441
00:33:20,500 –> 00:33:23,300
And possessions is like a gift
from God.

442
00:33:24,300 –> 00:33:27,200
All too often.
However God grants a man wealth

443
00:33:27,200 –> 00:33:31,000
and honor but not the ability to
enjoy them in a instead, a

444
00:33:31,000 –> 00:33:33,100
stranger enjoys, the fruit of
his work.

445
00:33:33,300 –> 00:33:35,200
This is the futility of the
world.

446
00:33:36,000 –> 00:33:39,700
If a man cannot enjoy the fruit
of his labor, right to the end,

447
00:33:39,700 –> 00:33:43,200
then the stillborn child has
more peace than he however,

448
00:33:43,200 –> 00:33:47,000
Richie became A man striving has
no end.

449
00:33:48,400 –> 00:33:50,100
But it achieves.
No victory.

450
00:33:51,700 –> 00:33:53,300
What will happen?
After he’s gone.

451
00:33:56,200 –> 00:33:59,100
The living must take to heart
that they will die.

452
00:33:59,800 –> 00:34:02,200
Death is the destiny of
everything they have done.

453
00:34:02,600 –> 00:34:06,200
Sorrow is designed to drive this
message home and lead to wisdom.

454
00:34:06,400 –> 00:34:10,100
And while wisdom and money can
both provide shelter, wisdom can

455
00:34:10,100 –> 00:34:16,000
preserve life, think about it.
God has made the world crooked

456
00:34:16,000 –> 00:34:20,000
who can possibly straighten it,
There are good times and there

457
00:34:20,000 –> 00:34:24,000
are bad times.
All from God, a righteous man

458
00:34:24,000 –> 00:34:29,100
dies and a wicked man lives long
The one who fears God will think

459
00:34:29,100 –> 00:34:34,800
about both aspects of life.
Yet because I found life, so

460
00:34:34,800 –> 00:34:37,100
hard to understand.
I tried to investigate wisdom

461
00:34:37,100 –> 00:34:39,500
itself to see how the world
works.

462
00:34:40,199 –> 00:34:42,900
I wanted to understand the
stupidity of wickedness in The

463
00:34:42,908 –> 00:34:47,100
Madness of folly.
I saw how bitter a woman snare

464
00:34:47,100 –> 00:34:50,400
can be and how men pursue many
schemes.

465
00:34:51,600 –> 00:34:54,800
But I discovered no deep truths,
except that wisdom, brightens a

466
00:34:54,808 –> 00:34:57,000
man’s face.
A king will do just what he

467
00:34:57,000 –> 00:34:59,300
wants.
No one has the power to question

468
00:34:59,300 –> 00:35:01,400
him.
There is no one who can predict

469
00:35:01,400 –> 00:35:05,200
the future prevent the day of
his death or escape from the

470
00:35:05,200 –> 00:35:08,600
effects of the wickedness.
He practices I saw a ruler’s

471
00:35:08,800 –> 00:35:12,600
lording, it over others and the
wicked receiving, praise all

472
00:35:12,600 –> 00:35:16,300
because of a failure to bring
judgment in due time even though

473
00:35:16,300 –> 00:35:19,900
things ought to go better for
those who fear God, I saw the

474
00:35:19,900 –> 00:35:24,600
wicked and the righteous Each
other’s reward more futility.

475
00:35:26,900 –> 00:35:33,100
So, here’s what I recommend.
Simply enjoy your daily labor as

476
00:35:33,100 –> 00:35:37,200
best as you can.
I see what God has done.

477
00:35:38,100 –> 00:35:41,700
He has deliberately deprive the
world of significance.

478
00:35:42,900 –> 00:35:47,400
Each person is in God’s hand but
no one can know his own future

479
00:35:47,400 –> 00:35:52,200
whether good or bad.
The tragedy that pervades the

480
00:35:52,200 –> 00:35:55,500
world is that everybody shares a
common Destiny.

481
00:35:55,600 –> 00:35:59,400
The hearts of men are full of
Madness while they live and then

482
00:35:59,400 –> 00:36:03,600
they joined the Dead.
There’s nothing left, the living

483
00:36:03,600 –> 00:36:08,600
have hope, but the dead have
nothing, and they evaporate from

484
00:36:08,600 –> 00:36:15,000
the Affairs of the world.
While God favors your effort in

485
00:36:15,000 –> 00:36:19,300
the world, be glad and joyful
because there’s no labor to be

486
00:36:19,300 –> 00:36:23,600
done in the grave.
No planning, no knowledge, no

487
00:36:23,600 –> 00:36:28,700
wisdom.
I saw something else out in the

488
00:36:28,700 –> 00:36:32,200
world.
It’s not always the brilliant

489
00:36:32,200 –> 00:36:38,500
who become rich, or the strong
who win battles, the turmoil of

490
00:36:38,500 –> 00:36:42,100
Life, twists, all that around
and evil times fall

491
00:36:42,100 –> 00:36:44,900
unexpectedly.
Consider the wise peasant who

492
00:36:44,900 –> 00:36:48,000
saved the city but then was
forgotten his wisdom.

493
00:36:48,000 –> 00:36:52,600
Despised wisdom is good, but it
can be so easily overturned.

494
00:36:52,600 –> 00:36:56,100
I’ve seen fools elevated to
rulership and their dullness

495
00:36:56,100 –> 00:36:58,200
pervades.
Everything, what a tragedy for

496
00:36:58,200 –> 00:37:01,400
that land.
So, for evil times with

497
00:37:01,400 –> 00:37:05,600
generosity, don’t hesitate
waiting for the right moment for

498
00:37:05,600 –> 00:37:09,200
you cannot hope to predict the
outworking of this world that

499
00:37:09,200 –> 00:37:15,700
God has established Light is
sweet until darkness comes to

500
00:37:15,700 –> 00:37:20,400
underscore its emptiness.
Be happy while you can but know

501
00:37:20,400 –> 00:37:24,700
that God’s judgment will come.
And so remember your creator

502
00:37:24,900 –> 00:37:27,900
while you’re young before the
days of trouble come upon you

503
00:37:28,400 –> 00:37:31,300
and the sun grows dim and
Pleasures depart and mourners

504
00:37:31,300 –> 00:37:34,700
Tramp the streets.
Remember him before that final

505
00:37:34,700 –> 00:37:37,800
tragedy when the dust has
returned to the ground and the

506
00:37:37,800 –> 00:37:42,500
breath to God, who gave it?
There are many weighty and

507
00:37:42,500 –> 00:37:47,400
tedious theories around, but
focus on these wise words, fear,

508
00:37:47,400 –> 00:37:53,000
God and keep his Commandments.
This is the essence of mankind

509
00:37:53,800 –> 00:37:57,300
for God will bring every thing
we do into judgment.

510
00:38:03,900 –> 00:38:08,500
This says it way stronger than I
would ever dare to say it.

511
00:38:09,000 –> 00:38:12,800
I mean, I still read
Ecclesiastes and I am just

512
00:38:12,800 –> 00:38:16,400
deeply shocked by it again and
again and I think often as a

513
00:38:16,400 –> 00:38:18,200
community, we don’t know what to
do with it.

514
00:38:20,300 –> 00:38:24,300
But what he’s really talking
about is the futility of human

515
00:38:24,300 –> 00:38:28,800
efforts of trying to build
things, establish things, make

516
00:38:28,800 –> 00:38:34,100
things Grand of vision of the
big outer purpose that we have

517
00:38:34,100 –> 00:38:38,100
of setting up from my mighty
career of building, this great

518
00:38:38,100 –> 00:38:43,900
church or whatever it is.
The world is bound over to

519
00:38:43,900 –> 00:38:46,700
futility.
Paul says the same thing in his

520
00:38:46,700 –> 00:38:53,000
mini Book of Ecclesiastes in
Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter

521
00:38:53,000 –> 00:38:57,900
8.
The context is present,

522
00:38:57,900 –> 00:39:00,400
sufferings are not worth
comparing with the glory, that

523
00:39:00,400 –> 00:39:05,800
will be revealed in US.
He says in verse 19 of Romans 8,

524
00:39:06,200 –> 00:39:10,100
the creation waits in eager
expectation, for the sons of God

525
00:39:10,100 –> 00:39:14,100
to be revealed for the creation
was subjected to King.

526
00:39:14,100 –> 00:39:19,400
James has vanity.
Was subjected to vanity and Ivy

527
00:39:19,400 –> 00:39:23,800
has frustration.
It’s the same idea that Paul was

528
00:39:23,800 –> 00:39:28,900
talking about the creation was
subjected to meaninglessness.

529
00:39:30,000 –> 00:39:35,000
God made this creation
meaningless, not by its own

530
00:39:35,000 –> 00:39:38,800
choice, but by the will of the
one who subjected it in.

531
00:39:38,800 –> 00:39:42,300
Hope that the creation itself
will be liberated from its

532
00:39:42,300 –> 00:39:46,600
bondage to Decay and brought
into the Glorious freedom of the

533
00:39:46,600 –> 00:39:51,600
children of God.
So the meaninglessness that God

534
00:39:51,600 –> 00:39:54,300
has built into the world.
The vanity, the chasing after

535
00:39:54,300 –> 00:40:00,200
the wind the fact that what we
try and do here has no real

536
00:40:00,200 –> 00:40:04,100
effect.
No real impact is God’s choice.

537
00:40:06,300 –> 00:40:11,600
He has done it so that we will
not find satisfaction in the

538
00:40:11,600 –> 00:40:16,900
things of this life.
He has done it so that we will

539
00:40:16,900 –> 00:40:22,200
be driven to seek that
satisfaction in the reign of God

540
00:40:23,100 –> 00:40:27,500
to step away from Mammon and to
commit ourselves to God.

541
00:40:27,800 –> 00:40:31,300
The world finds new ways all the
time.

542
00:40:31,300 –> 00:40:37,100
Finds new ways to shower us with
glitter and and and just things

543
00:40:37,100 –> 00:40:41,300
that catch our attention to say
this is so much so much better.

544
00:40:41,300 –> 00:40:44,000
And it may be glitter is
superficially.

545
00:40:44,400 –> 00:40:48,100
Maybe wonderful ideas or
intricate things to follow.

546
00:40:48,100 –> 00:40:52,500
And I mean, you know me, I’m a
scientist and I love exploring

547
00:40:52,500 –> 00:40:56,000
ideas and I’m a mathematician
and are the mathematics of

548
00:40:56,000 –> 00:40:58,000
cryptography.
I’m deep into at the moment.

549
00:40:58,000 –> 00:41:01,100
It’s just Exquisite but it’s
meaningless.

550
00:41:03,100 –> 00:41:07,100
It’s meaningless.
Somehow I have to be able to

551
00:41:07,100 –> 00:41:11,800
take that message.
Deeply on to myself, I have to

552
00:41:11,800 –> 00:41:17,700
be able to think about it in the
context of my daily work find

553
00:41:17,700 –> 00:41:21,700
satisfaction day by day.
In the things that I do but not

554
00:41:21,700 –> 00:41:26,700
have any belief or expectation.
That there is some Grand purpose

555
00:41:27,100 –> 00:41:31,400
to the work that I do day by day
whether it’s growing grain or

556
00:41:31,400 –> 00:41:36,500
writing software.
The daily work find satisfaction

557
00:41:36,500 –> 00:41:40,700
to the extent that you are able.
And similarly, I believe in the

558
00:41:40,700 –> 00:41:47,600
occlusal world, our job is day
by day to engage in a cliche

559
00:41:47,600 –> 00:41:51,900
life and to find satisfaction
and not to worry about What’s

560
00:41:51,900 –> 00:41:56,800
tomorrow, what’s the future?
How do I establish this Ecclesia

561
00:41:56,800 –> 00:42:01,000
in Portland so that for the next
50 years, it will be a huge lat.

562
00:42:01,200 –> 00:42:03,800
I have no idea what God has in
mind for her.

563
00:42:04,200 –> 00:42:08,800
Atlantic leisure.
I have my own Visions, my own

564
00:42:08,800 –> 00:42:11,500
ideas, but those are my Visions,
my ideas.

565
00:42:12,300 –> 00:42:14,800
And if I take the message of
Ecclesiastes, in the mission

566
00:42:14,800 –> 00:42:18,100
message of Romans, I have to
recognize that God has actually

567
00:42:18,100 –> 00:42:22,800
built even into the occlusal
life subject to vanity and

568
00:42:22,800 –> 00:42:29,900
frustration.
And I have to find a way day by

569
00:42:29,900 –> 00:42:35,200
day to to live with what God has
provided.

570
00:42:36,100 –> 00:42:39,700
And it’s not like I’m making
this up, Jesus in Matthew

571
00:42:40,000 –> 00:42:44,900
chapter 6, these are words again
that we stress about, we don’t

572
00:42:44,900 –> 00:42:48,300
know what to do with them
because we are so invested in

573
00:42:48,300 –> 00:42:51,700
the world that that I think is
that is the core of our problem.

574
00:42:51,900 –> 00:42:54,800
And when I say the world, I
don’t just mean the outside

575
00:42:54,800 –> 00:42:56,700
world.
I mean, the affair.

576
00:42:56,900 –> 00:43:00,900
As of this life, whether they
are religious Affairs in terms

577
00:43:00,900 –> 00:43:04,100
of the structures of our
religion or whether their

578
00:43:04,100 –> 00:43:07,500
business Affairs or family
Affairs, or social Affairs or

579
00:43:07,500 –> 00:43:11,100
whatever, we’re so invested in
them that we don’t actually know

580
00:43:11,100 –> 00:43:15,900
how to step out of them.
And just enter into the domain

581
00:43:15,900 –> 00:43:23,100
of God.
Verse 33 seek first God’s domain

582
00:43:24,000 –> 00:43:27,500
and his righteousness.
And all these things will be

583
00:43:27,500 –> 00:43:30,900
given to you as well.
Therefore don’t worry about

584
00:43:30,900 –> 00:43:37,700
tomorrow.
I call myself a disciple of

585
00:43:37,700 –> 00:43:42,600
Jesus.
But I don’t follow him.

586
00:43:44,700 –> 00:43:49,100
I heard a story once of one of
the European explorers who went

587
00:43:49,400 –> 00:43:52,900
went East and in the early days,
when the East was sort of being

588
00:43:52,900 –> 00:43:57,700
opened up to the Europeans and
came across, I think it was

589
00:43:57,700 –> 00:44:01,400
probably a Buddhist teacher and
he was amazed at all of these

590
00:44:01,400 –> 00:44:05,400
followers all wearing the robes,
or whatever, and talking to the

591
00:44:05,400 –> 00:44:10,300
Buddhist teacher, and he said to
him, wow, how many disciples do

592
00:44:10,308 –> 00:44:13,500
you have?
man, quietly looked over the

593
00:44:13,500 –> 00:44:17,000
crowd and said, I think about
five.

594
00:44:22,200 –> 00:44:26,500
And I wonder to what extent
Jesus in his love and his

595
00:44:26,500 –> 00:44:34,800
compassion looks over us.
And says, yeah, this person

596
00:44:35,500 –> 00:44:39,500
ever, really has taken my
teaching on board and this

597
00:44:39,500 –> 00:44:45,000
person and maybe one other Did
you know what I mean?

598
00:44:45,300 –> 00:44:47,500
And I’m not saying this to guilt
us.

599
00:44:48,800 –> 00:44:51,900
This is Jesus diagnosing, our
problem.

600
00:44:52,200 –> 00:44:59,200
This is Jesus.
Identifying the the like the the

601
00:44:59,200 –> 00:45:03,600
delusion that we’re under.
We’re under this delusion that

602
00:45:03,600 –> 00:45:06,900
the world is important and the
things we do in this life are

603
00:45:06,900 –> 00:45:08,800
important.
In terms of the structures that

604
00:45:08,800 –> 00:45:11,500
we build in the things that we
accomplished and what’s going to

605
00:45:11,508 –> 00:45:14,000
happen tomorrow and the day
after, and the day after that,

606
00:45:16,100 –> 00:45:22,300
And Jesus says, no.
Don’t don’t think of it that way

607
00:45:22,300 –> 00:45:27,300
at all.
Now, that’s not to say that it

608
00:45:27,300 –> 00:45:33,700
is inappropriate ever to have an
outer purpose or a plan, like a

609
00:45:33,707 –> 00:45:36,900
lot of effort went into making
this Bible School happen and it

610
00:45:36,900 –> 00:45:39,600
was a lot of thinking ahead to
make it happen.

611
00:45:39,900 –> 00:45:43,100
We could call that sort of an
outer purpose of the things that

612
00:45:43,100 –> 00:45:46,800
we do where we look ahead and we
say I have a vision of something

613
00:45:46,800 –> 00:45:50,800
that I’d like to do.
At the same time, we have an

614
00:45:50,800 –> 00:45:53,900
inner purpose of the
transformation that God is

615
00:45:53,900 –> 00:45:59,900
carrying about in a stay by day.
That’s the training as it were.

616
00:46:01,300 –> 00:46:06,200
Now whether the outer purpose
succeeds or fails is actually

617
00:46:06,200 –> 00:46:09,400
irrelevant as far as God is
concerned.

618
00:46:09,700 –> 00:46:13,400
Mean, I’m delighted Jim and Jane
that your outer purpose in

619
00:46:13,600 –> 00:46:18,300
creating the school happened.
But if God had stepped in or

620
00:46:18,300 –> 00:46:21,900
circumstance or time it stepped
in and the school didn’t happen,

621
00:46:22,400 –> 00:46:26,000
it wouldn’t affect our
transformation, our Salvation,

622
00:46:26,000 –> 00:46:30,200
our change wouldn’t affect it
one wit and yet we would stress

623
00:46:30,200 –> 00:46:33,900
about it so much because we had
let people down and we’re

624
00:46:33,900 –> 00:46:38,100
disappointed people.
And as opposed to Jesus saying,

625
00:46:39,000 –> 00:46:44,100
Don’t worry about tomorrow. and
by all means, I think, I think

626
00:46:44,100 –> 00:46:46,900
it would agree by all means have
an idea of what you would quite

627
00:46:46,900 –> 00:46:50,900
like to accomplish, but don’t
set your heart on it, don’t make

628
00:46:50,900 –> 00:46:57,300
that the meaning in your life
because it will pass You may

629
00:46:57,500 –> 00:47:00,600
gain the world.
But lose your soul.

630
00:47:04,800 –> 00:47:09,600
It’s like exercising.
I might get so caught up and I’m

631
00:47:09,600 –> 00:47:11,400
training for the Olympics.
I’m not training for the

632
00:47:11,408 –> 00:47:15,800
Olympics but hypothetically
Let’s be real here.

633
00:47:18,200 –> 00:47:21,600
I’m training for the Olympics,
you know, but I don’t want to

634
00:47:21,600 –> 00:47:24,800
train in this blue room.
I really want a red room to

635
00:47:24,800 –> 00:47:29,100
train in.
I mean, that’s the level in some

636
00:47:29,100 –> 00:47:32,800
sense that we are.
When we are being transformed,

637
00:47:32,900 –> 00:47:37,300
we have the opportunity today to
step into the domain of God and

638
00:47:37,300 –> 00:47:41,800
to experience the peace that
passes all understanding

639
00:47:42,100 –> 00:47:47,000
overwhelming us.
And yet we worry about whether

640
00:47:47,000 –> 00:47:50,800
we happen to be in a blue room
or a Red Room, whether our

641
00:47:50,800 –> 00:47:56,100
treadmill is this kind of that
kind and our trainer says that’s

642
00:47:56,100 –> 00:48:00,400
that’s not what it’s about.
whether I have this kind of

643
00:48:00,400 –> 00:48:06,500
career or that kind of career,
the time is short.

644
00:48:07,800 –> 00:48:10,400
We live each day as if it’s our
last at least.

645
00:48:10,400 –> 00:48:15,200
That’s what we tell ourselves.
And yet, we don’t we are so much

646
00:48:15,200 –> 00:48:21,000
invested in our imagined future
that we actually forget to live

647
00:48:21,000 –> 00:48:27,600
today as today.
I think there’s an interesting

648
00:48:27,600 –> 00:48:33,300
thing that happened when Harold
Camping and the the thing

649
00:48:33,300 –> 00:48:34,700
whatever it’s called didn’t
happen.

650
00:48:37,300 –> 00:48:40,500
What’s the word begins with our
the, the rapture?

651
00:48:43,000 –> 00:48:45,900
There’s this big deal about all
of his followers sort of selling

652
00:48:45,900 –> 00:48:49,500
or leg goods and giving it up
and going up on a mountain and

653
00:48:49,500 –> 00:48:52,700
so on.
And something was disquieting

654
00:48:52,700 –> 00:48:55,700
about to me about this because
in one sense, of course, they’re

655
00:48:55,700 –> 00:48:59,200
doing what Jesus exhorts other
people to do, you know, sell

656
00:48:59,200 –> 00:49:02,600
everything give it out.
But, but here’s what was

657
00:49:02,600 –> 00:49:05,800
disquieting about it.
There was a sense in which they

658
00:49:05,800 –> 00:49:10,300
were switching their investment
from in the world to Jesus

659
00:49:10,300 –> 00:49:12,700
coming back and then Jesus
didn’t come back.

660
00:49:12,800 –> 00:49:15,500
Now, they were lost as it were.
Did you see it?

661
00:49:16,000 –> 00:49:20,800
What Jesus, I think is actually
encouraging us to do is in some

662
00:49:20,800 –> 00:49:23,200
sense, get rid of our investment
in the world.

663
00:49:23,200 –> 00:49:26,700
And again, I’m not talking about
money, I mean money, maybe part

664
00:49:26,700 –> 00:49:31,100
of it for some of you and it may
not for others, social standing

665
00:49:31,200 –> 00:49:33,800
religious standing, all of these
kinds of things.

666
00:49:33,900 –> 00:49:36,800
What Jesus says is, let’s get
rid of your investment in the

667
00:49:36,800 –> 00:49:39,400
world and live in the domain of
God.

668
00:49:40,500 –> 00:49:42,600
Then it doesn’t matter.
Whether Jesus comes back

669
00:49:42,600 –> 00:49:47,600
tomorrow or next year, or in
another 2,000 years, because

670
00:49:47,600 –> 00:49:50,100
today, you are living and
walking.

671
00:49:50,100 –> 00:49:55,100
In the domain of God, you’re
actually fulfilling some of the

672
00:49:55,100 –> 00:49:59,200
things that he is calling us to
day by day.

673
00:50:01,000 –> 00:50:05,600
Like to finish just with
Philippians chapter 4.

674
00:50:21,400 –> 00:50:28,400
Verse 12, this is Paul.
I know what it is to be in need

675
00:50:30,600 –> 00:50:33,600
and I know what it is to have.
Plenty.

676
00:50:36,100 –> 00:50:39,300
I have learned the secret of
being content.

677
00:50:40,300 –> 00:50:44,100
I’ve learned the secret of being
content in any and every

678
00:50:44,100 –> 00:50:49,400
situation, whether well fed or
hungry, whether living in plenty

679
00:50:50,300 –> 00:50:55,200
or in want.
That’s, that’s very powerful.

680
00:50:55,400 –> 00:50:58,900
I have learned the secret of
being content.

681
00:50:59,300 –> 00:51:03,900
The excitation here is to not be
caught up in outer purpose.

682
00:51:03,900 –> 00:51:08,000
As if that had any meaning or
value, don’t be caught up in

683
00:51:08,000 –> 00:51:13,100
striving and seeking and I’m not
saying this as a commandment or

684
00:51:13,100 –> 00:51:16,400
a legal regulation or anything
like that.

685
00:51:16,800 –> 00:51:20,900
It’s an excitation, it’s like a
diagnosis of the challenge we

686
00:51:20,900 –> 00:51:26,600
face and to be Call to it.
Paul says I have learned the

687
00:51:26,600 –> 00:51:30,600
secret of being content.
And are you there?

688
00:51:32,000 –> 00:51:35,400
I’m not.
I’m not there.

689
00:51:37,900 –> 00:51:42,200
But as I’ve been doing these
studies, they’ve opened my eyes

690
00:51:42,200 –> 00:51:44,900
to it much more and through
God’s grace.

691
00:51:46,100 –> 00:51:47,100
He will take me there.