100:00:00,960 –> 00:00:09,640God has placed you at the centre of multiple spheres of influence and your influence matters!200:00:09,640 –> 00:00:17,820The only question is what that influence will be? So consider your sphere of influence,300:00:17,820 –> 00:00:23,940friends, family, work and church.400:00:23,940 –> 00:00:28,400Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick. Glad you could join500:00:29,340 –> 00:00:35,320Colin, all of us have spheres of influence. We have families, neighbours, co-workers and600:00:35,320 –> 00:00:39,180friends, but how do we know if we’re being an effective leader?700:00:39,180 –> 00:00:44,340Yeah well and I don’t want to rush over that. The influence of a mother, the influence of800:00:44,340 –> 00:00:50,799a father, a brother, a sister. I want us to think today about the circle of people God900:00:50,799 –> 00:00:56,639has placed around you. And then we are going to think about the kind of influence that1000:00:56,680 –> 00:01:01,340you can have on the people that God has placed next to you. And we’re going to look at seven1100:01:01,340 –> 00:01:07,480key questions that’ll help us evaluate where we are in terms of our own spiritual progress,1200:01:07,480 –> 00:01:11,180which is going to be a gauge of our readiness to be useful to others.1300:01:11,180 –> 00:01:17,160This is a really practical message so join us, if you can, in Psalm 23, as we begin the1400:01:17,160 –> 00:01:21,860message, seven questions for evaluating your progress. Here’s Colin.1500:01:22,379 –> 00:01:31,419First, God has placed you, whoever you are, at the center of a circle of influence. And1600:01:31,419 –> 00:01:36,860I want you to do something with me right now, if you would. Grab a pencil, or a pen, grab1700:01:36,860 –> 00:01:42,599the piece of paper that is in the worship folder, and draw a box on that piece of paper,1800:01:42,599 –> 00:01:50,000and divide the box into four sections. Into four boxes within the box. And in the first1900:01:50,160 –> 00:01:57,160box, I want you to write the word friends. The word friends. I want you to think about2000:01:57,879 –> 00:02:04,879your friends. God has placed them next to you. God has given you influence in the lives2100:02:07,660 –> 00:02:12,559of your friends. The only question is going to be what kind of influence that will be.2200:02:12,559 –> 00:02:17,679So I want you to use that box, beginning now and then, over this coming week. I want you2300:02:17,679 –> 00:02:21,860to fill that box out. You will very quickly find that the box needs to become a sheet2400:02:21,860 –> 00:02:27,119of paper in and of itself. Because God has given to you a circle of influence among your2500:02:27,119 –> 00:02:34,119friends. Your influence on these people will depend on where you are headed and the pace2600:02:35,399 –> 00:02:42,399at which you are moving. Then in the second box I want you to write the simple word family.2700:02:42,600 –> 00:02:47,919You can start filling this box out as well. You may find not everyone’s going to fill2800:02:47,919 –> 00:02:52,059out a whole lot of stuff in every box but you will find at least one box in which you2900:02:52,059 –> 00:02:56,440filling out a lot of stuff. For many of us by the time you’ve written in children3000:02:56,440 –> 00:03:01,300and grandchildren and brothers and sisters and uncles and cousins and second cousins3100:03:01,300 –> 00:03:08,100and all the rest of it you will find that there is a very substantial sphere of influence3200:03:08,240 –> 00:03:15,320in which God has placed you at the center and you can’t write down the names here3300:03:15,320 –> 00:03:22,320but remember to include the children not yet born. The children who may be born of your3400:03:23,479 –> 00:03:30,479line in fifty years or in a hundred years if Jesus Christ has not returned. Third box3500:03:31,220 –> 00:03:38,220think about your work, God has placed you at the center of another sphere of influence3600:03:38,600 –> 00:03:45,179there. Some of you are in sales. You have an order book. Think about your order book.3700:03:45,179 –> 00:03:51,580Think of whose names are there. There are folks therefore whom Christ has died. Some3800:03:51,580 –> 00:03:58,460of you are in business. Think about the people that you are privileged to employ and God3900:03:58,679 –> 00:04:04,080has placed them in your direct sphere of influence. Some of you teach. Think about the classroom.4000:04:04,080 –> 00:04:10,520Think about your colleagues on your staff. Some of these folks are not Christians. Perhaps4100:04:10,520 –> 00:04:17,519many. And for many of them, you. You may be the nearest that they ever get to the light4200:04:18,880 –> 00:04:24,820of Jesus Christ. God has placed you at the center of a sphere of influence. That’s4300:04:25,540 –> 00:04:30,839what leadership is all about. What is that influence going to be? For think about your4400:04:30,839 –> 00:04:37,839church. God has joined us together as the body of Christ. Some of us are full of joy.4500:04:38,899 –> 00:04:44,779Some of us are quite hard to please. What will be your influence be? What will be the4600:04:44,779 –> 00:04:49,920effect of your trajectory, your thoughts, your conversation on people who are around4700:04:49,920 –> 00:04:55,519you? What will they become like? They’ll become like you. Some are full of faith. Some4800:04:55,519 –> 00:05:02,519are full of fear. What will your influence be? Your influence matters to the whole trajectory4900:05:03,720 –> 00:05:07,000of the body of Christ.5000:05:07,000 –> 00:05:13,260Early one morning a man by the name of Henry Varley, was in a prayer meeting. A few other5100:05:13,540 –> 00:05:20,459men. And during the meeting Varley was moved to say this, he said, The world is yet to5200:05:20,459 –> 00:05:26,179see what God can do with and for and through and in a man who is fully and wholly consecrated5300:05:26,179 –> 00:05:31,679to him. And there was another man in that prayer meeting who heard Varley say these5400:05:31,679 –> 00:05:38,679words, and he said, By God’s grace, I want to be that man. His name was D.L. Moody. What5500:05:38,799 –> 00:05:47,799D.L. Moody, what kind of influence do you have? Christians desperately in our culture5600:05:50,480 –> 00:05:57,480need to feel the heat of a life that is seriously devoted to Jesus Christ. Why should that not5700:05:58,380 –> 00:06:05,279be you? Why should it not be you on the college campus? Why should it not be you in business?5800:06:05,399 –> 00:06:09,700Why should it not be you in your neighborhood? Why should it not be you right here where5900:06:09,700 –> 00:06:16,700Christians need to see a model of a more stretched out following after Jesus Christ? God has6000:06:16,940 –> 00:06:23,339placed you at the, the center of multiple spheres of influence. So, please, promise6100:06:23,339 –> 00:06:27,019me this. Let it be settled. Now, never say during the series there’s nothing here for6200:06:27,019 –> 00:06:31,220me, because you’re at the center of all these spheres, and your influence matters.6300:06:31,220 –> 00:06:38,220But the only question is what that influence will be. So, consider your sphere of influence.6400:06:41,260 –> 00:06:48,260Friends, family, work, church. It’s much bigger than we sometimes think. Much bigger.6500:06:48,920 –> 00:06:55,920Then I want to give this second invitation to you. I want to invite you with me to consider6600:07:03,339 –> 00:07:10,339your present position. Where are you in your journey? It is very important, from time to6700:07:10,339 –> 00:07:17,339time in a Christian life, your following Christ, perhaps for many years, it is very, very important6800:07:18,519 –> 00:07:25,519from time to time to have a moment where you stop and assess where you actually are in6900:07:27,220 –> 00:07:32,799relation to your following after Jesus Christ. I don’t know when you last did that, had7000:07:32,799 –> 00:07:37,140a serious review of where you are in your life in relation to your following after Jesus7100:07:37,619 –> 00:07:44,619Christ. He leads me, what does my following look like? Preparing for this series has,7200:07:45,839 –> 00:07:51,880along with other things, thrown me into the middle of that in my own life and I’m inviting7300:07:51,880 –> 00:07:58,880you to make that assessment of your life now, today. I want to offer to you 7 questions7400:07:58,880 –> 00:08:05,880and they’re simply questions that I have personally been wrestling with using as search7500:08:09,279 –> 00:08:16,279lights in my own life over these last days and weeks. This has been a significant year7600:08:17,940 –> 00:08:24,940in my life. I have now served here as long as I served in London. So I’ve had 2 ministries.7700:08:24,980 –> 00:08:31,880This one 16 years to this point and grateful for the privilege of looking forward, but7800:08:31,880 –> 00:08:38,880it’s a moment in life. So I’ve been a pastor now 32 years and that has forced the question7900:08:39,520 –> 00:08:46,520into my mind, well now, where am I now? Where is their growth? Where has ground been lost?8000:08:49,640 –> 00:08:53,299I am sure that there are other questions that could be added to the list, so you please8100:08:53,380 –> 00:09:00,239add your own as many as you want, but I urge you to note these down and to use them and8200:09:00,239 –> 00:09:05,840to say, this is a moment in which I’m being challenged to assess, in the light of where8300:09:05,840 –> 00:09:12,640I can influence others, where I am and where I’m going myself.8400:09:12,640 –> 00:09:19,640Question number one. Am I praying with faith? I could have just set the question, am I praying,8500:09:20,640 –> 00:09:26,500and that would be a good question. But this question goes further. In Luke chapter 18,8600:09:26,500 –> 00:09:33,500the Lord Jesus teaches us, he says that we ought always to pray. But at the end of the8700:09:35,539 –> 00:09:40,880section in which he teaches us that we ought always to pray, he asks a question, and the8800:09:40,880 –> 00:09:47,880question is, when the son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth? Why did Jesus8900:09:48,619 –> 00:09:53,659not ask the question since he’s teaching about prayer? Why did he not say when the son of9000:09:53,659 –> 00:10:00,659man comes, will he find prayer on the earth? And here’s the answer. Because what matters9100:10:01,520 –> 00:10:08,520is not that I say my prayers like the Pharisees did, or like millions of people in all religions9200:10:08,520 –> 00:10:13,059around the world are regularly doing. What really matters, what Jesus is getting at and9300:10:13,119 –> 00:10:19,640challenging me with, is this question, am I praying with faith? Do I have confidence9400:10:19,640 –> 00:10:26,159in God to do more than I can do, or have I wandered into a spiritual wasteland in which9500:10:26,159 –> 00:10:33,159I evaluate everything in terms of what I see as being humanly possible? Which is the easiest9600:10:33,340 –> 00:10:37,820thing in the world to do once you’ve been a Christian for ten, twenty, or thirty years.9700:10:37,960 –> 00:10:44,960Am I praying with faith? Second, am I serving with zeal?9800:10:45,679 –> 00:10:51,099Now I chose that word deliberately because it’s straight out of the Bible. Romans 129900:10:51,099 –> 00:10:58,099in verse 8 says that the one who leads must lead with zeal. There is something about heat10000:10:59,179 –> 00:11:02,919here, there is something about passion here, there is something about commitment here,10100:11:03,099 –> 00:11:10,099there is something about direction here. The leader must care passionately about where10200:11:11,039 –> 00:11:17,000he or she is going and about the progress of others also. That’s why in first Peter,10300:11:17,000 –> 00:11:24,000Peter says of leaders, be shepherds of God’s flock. That is under your care. Serve us10400:11:25,359 –> 00:11:32,359overseers, as pastors, as boardmembers, leaders, whatever, not because you must.10500:11:32,739 –> 00:11:39,739But because you’re willing, as God wants you to be. And there can so easily be a10600:11:42,119 –> 00:11:49,119sense of the treadmill of life that somehow gets into the way in which we are living10700:11:50,960 –> 00:11:57,960for God. Am I serving with zeal? I’m not giving you answers here. I’m just10800:11:58,719 –> 00:12:05,719raising questions because I want you to feel how much we need the instruction of the word10900:12:09,520 –> 00:12:16,520of God in what it means to be a person who goes someplace who takes others with them.11000:12:17,099 –> 00:12:21,299So I hope this is awakening some sense of need in you. Some sense of, I just can’t11100:12:21,419 –> 00:12:27,760keep drifting through church week by week. What’s happening to me? You’re trying to11200:12:27,760 –> 00:12:34,239rise concern about the state of your own heart. Or that will lead to a genuine hunger after11300:12:34,239 –> 00:12:37,760God. You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor11400:12:37,760 –> 00:12:43,140Colin Smith in a message called Seven Questions for Evaluating Your Progress and we’ll11500:12:43,140 –> 00:12:49,260get back to the message very shortly. In my family, we enjoy hiking and it would be great11600:12:49,679 –> 00:12:54,619a hike with you, Colin. Listeners have an opportunity to do that with the Hike Through11700:12:54,619 –> 00:12:55,760The Bible podcast.11800:12:55,760 –> 00:13:01,140Yes, I am inviting you to join me on a hike through the Bible and it is going to be a11900:13:01,140 –> 00:13:08,260gentle easy pace of a hike. Each week you’ll read a chapter of the Bible and a chapter12000:13:08,260 –> 00:13:14,380of my book, Hike Through The Bible. And in one year you’ll have read 50 chapters of the12100:13:15,179 –> 00:13:19,640You’ll have grasped the big picture of the Bible story and most of all, you’ll have12200:13:19,640 –> 00:13:26,159grown in your love for Jesus Christ. Now there’s a Hike Through The Bible podcast to help you12300:13:26,159 –> 00:13:30,340on this journey. In each episode, I read a chapter of the book12400:13:30,340 –> 00:13:34,559and then I discuss it with some friends. So get started now.12500:13:34,559 –> 00:13:39,440You can subscribe to the Hike Through The Bible podcast wherever you get your podcasts12600:13:39,520 –> 00:13:44,960And you can find out more information on OpenTheBible.org.uk12700:13:44,960 –> 00:13:47,280Back to the message now. Here again is Colin12800:14:09,440 –> 00:14:11,200with a temptation, with a habit that12900:14:11,200 –> 00:14:12,659is difficult to overcome.13000:14:12,659 –> 00:14:15,440Do I believe that God is able to deliver me13100:14:15,440 –> 00:14:18,380through the gospel?13200:14:18,380 –> 00:14:19,280I become tired.13300:14:19,280 –> 00:14:20,500I become discouraged.13400:14:20,500 –> 00:14:23,039I begin to wonder, how long can I continue?13500:14:23,039 –> 00:14:26,619Do I believe that the God who saved me is able to keep me?13600:14:26,619 –> 00:14:29,340Do I believe these things?13700:14:29,340 –> 00:14:32,599Ask my heart.13800:14:32,599 –> 00:14:36,280Number four, am I confessing with humility?13900:14:36,280 –> 00:14:39,479Martin Luther said, it was the first of his 95 theses,14000:14:39,479 –> 00:14:42,520when our Lord and master Jesus Christ says, repent,14100:14:42,520 –> 00:14:47,280he calls a person to a whole life of repentance.14200:14:47,280 –> 00:14:48,640In other words, repentance is not14300:14:48,640 –> 00:14:50,799a prayer at the beginning of the Christian life.14400:14:50,799 –> 00:14:57,280It is a life of turning ever more fully to Jesus Christ.14500:14:57,280 –> 00:15:00,200And a life of repentance is not a life of misery.14600:15:00,200 –> 00:15:01,780It is a life of growth.14700:15:01,780 –> 00:15:04,239It is a life in which the Holy Spirit is constantly14800:15:04,239 –> 00:15:08,500opening your eyes to how you can take the next step now14900:15:08,500 –> 00:15:09,739to become more like Jesus.15000:15:12,219 –> 00:15:14,179And a process of examination like this15100:15:14,179 –> 00:15:17,859may be the very means by which that reality starts15200:15:17,859 –> 00:15:20,659connecting with your life.15300:15:20,659 –> 00:15:23,380A Christian is a person who, at any time,15400:15:23,380 –> 00:15:25,299has light to see what there needs15500:15:25,299 –> 00:15:27,260to be more of in their life and what there needs15600:15:27,260 –> 00:15:30,700to be less of in their life.15700:15:30,700 –> 00:15:33,179And what that leads to is a life that15800:15:33,179 –> 00:15:36,020is characterized amongst many other things,15900:15:36,020 –> 00:15:38,260like thanksgiving and praise and worship,16000:15:38,260 –> 00:15:43,840it is also characterized by confession in which you16100:15:43,840 –> 00:15:46,460see your needs.16200:15:46,460 –> 00:15:47,500You see your failings.16300:15:47,500 –> 00:15:50,539You see your sins.16400:15:50,539 –> 00:15:56,119And you keep bringing them under the blood of Christ16500:15:56,119 –> 00:15:58,500so that you do not waste your life16600:15:58,500 –> 00:16:02,119in the shallow waters of a compromised obedience.16700:16:04,940 –> 00:16:09,460Can you name a sin that you have confessed in the last week,16800:16:09,460 –> 00:16:10,440in the last month?16900:16:13,219 –> 00:16:17,859Because if you’ve lost the sense of being a sinner who17000:16:17,859 –> 00:16:20,940needs to confess before God 30, 40 years17100:16:20,940 –> 00:16:23,000down the track of the Christian life,17200:16:23,000 –> 00:16:25,440then it will begin to play out in your worship.17300:16:25,440 –> 00:16:27,119Your heart will begin to go cold.17400:16:27,219 –> 00:16:29,099The sense of what God has done for you17500:16:29,099 –> 00:16:32,080in the cross of Jesus Christ will not17600:16:32,080 –> 00:16:36,900shine because your eyes have become17700:16:36,900 –> 00:16:40,219very dull to your need of it after these years17800:16:40,219 –> 00:16:42,820you’ve been a Christian.17900:16:42,820 –> 00:16:44,960It feels like something you used to need,18000:16:44,960 –> 00:16:47,940but it’s not a sense of need that’s18100:16:47,940 –> 00:16:51,580with you burning bright now.18200:16:51,580 –> 00:16:54,580And that leads straight into number five.18300:16:54,580 –> 00:16:58,520Am I worshipping with joy?18400:16:58,520 –> 00:17:01,479I come to worship.18500:17:01,479 –> 00:17:06,180Do I participate or do I observe?18600:17:06,180 –> 00:17:08,099In the presence of Jesus, there will not18700:17:08,099 –> 00:17:10,800be a single redeemed person who stands18800:17:10,800 –> 00:17:12,900there with their arms folded, listening18900:17:12,900 –> 00:17:17,280to the singing of the angels.19000:17:17,280 –> 00:17:20,319We will all sing.19100:17:20,319 –> 00:17:25,640We will all shout with praise and joy to God.19200:17:25,640 –> 00:17:27,339Am I worshipping with joy?19300:17:27,339 –> 00:17:28,579If not, why not?19400:17:28,579 –> 00:17:31,819What is wrong with me?19500:17:31,819 –> 00:17:35,619Number six, am I giving with gladness?19600:17:35,619 –> 00:17:38,619Giving is a register of love within marriage.19700:17:38,619 –> 00:17:43,880A marriage that is marked by withholding is not healthy.19800:17:43,880 –> 00:17:48,339And a Christian who is marked by withholding is not healthy.19900:17:48,400 –> 00:17:51,560Giving is a register of love to Christ,20000:17:51,560 –> 00:17:54,219and love to the Bride of Christ.20100:17:54,219 –> 00:17:57,680And I express my love to Christ in many ways,20200:17:57,680 –> 00:18:00,939and one of them is that I give to the Bride.20300:18:00,939 –> 00:18:05,800I work to earn money, and I give it gladly to the Bride.20400:18:05,800 –> 00:18:08,979Is that true of me?20500:18:08,979 –> 00:18:12,319Or am I tiring of that?20600:18:12,319 –> 00:18:16,079Number seven, am I reaching out with love?20700:18:16,680 –> 00:18:18,119Here we are in a world of need20800:18:18,119 –> 00:18:22,300where some Christians are stretched out in sacrifice20900:18:23,920 –> 00:18:27,000so that lost people on their way to an eternal darkness21000:18:27,000 –> 00:18:30,420may see the light of Christ through the gospel and be saved.21100:18:32,339 –> 00:18:35,839So I’m asking you with passion21200:18:35,839 –> 00:18:38,359because this comes out of questions21300:18:38,359 –> 00:18:43,280I have been deeply asking in my own life in these days.21400:18:44,140 –> 00:18:46,040Where are you in this journey?21500:18:46,040 –> 00:18:46,939Where are you?21600:18:48,319 –> 00:18:50,280Where are you headed?21700:18:50,280 –> 00:18:51,439Have you stopped?21800:18:52,859 –> 00:18:56,660Are you actually further back than you were 10 years ago?21900:18:56,660 –> 00:18:58,119I’ll tell you candidly friends,22000:18:58,119 –> 00:19:00,859I have given myself a mixed report.22100:19:02,520 –> 00:19:04,560Some areas where there is growth,22200:19:05,800 –> 00:19:07,260some where there is decline.22300:19:09,099 –> 00:19:11,540And God is using these questions22400:19:12,060 –> 00:19:17,060to bring to my attention what needs to be addressed22500:19:20,060 –> 00:19:21,319and I commend them to you.22600:19:23,380 –> 00:19:26,119So I want you to consider your sphere of influence.22700:19:28,060 –> 00:19:32,000I want you to consider where you are.22800:19:33,619 –> 00:19:35,699And just very, very briefly in this last moment,22900:19:35,699 –> 00:19:38,180I want you to consider who you are following,23000:19:38,979 –> 00:19:42,619and just to ponder this question in this last moment,23100:19:42,619 –> 00:19:45,400what will following Jesus Christ mean for you today?23200:19:45,400 –> 00:19:47,280I hope you are a follower of Jesus Christ.23300:19:47,280 –> 00:19:49,380If you’re not, then you will become a follower23400:19:49,380 –> 00:19:51,939of Jesus Christ that you’ll begin on this journey.23500:19:54,099 –> 00:19:57,060The mark of a godly leader is that he or she23600:19:57,060 –> 00:19:59,280is first a godly follower.23700:20:01,420 –> 00:20:03,359Leadership begins by learning to follow.23800:20:03,359 –> 00:20:06,500Can you say today, Jesus Christ leads me?23900:20:06,500 –> 00:20:07,599Can you really say that?24000:20:07,699 –> 00:20:09,119He leads me.24100:20:10,619 –> 00:20:12,339That’s where there’s movement in my life.24200:20:12,339 –> 00:20:14,380That’s where there’s following in my life.24300:20:16,459 –> 00:20:18,140My friend, only Jesus Christ knows24400:20:18,140 –> 00:20:19,380where he will lead you.24500:20:21,119 –> 00:20:24,560Only Jesus Christ knows what he has in store for you.24600:20:24,560 –> 00:20:26,040But you can be sure of this,24700:20:26,040 –> 00:20:29,239that there will be gifts of grace in abundance,24800:20:30,180 –> 00:20:33,040and that they will be mixed in with shattered dreams24900:20:33,040 –> 00:20:36,380and intense pressures and great sacrifices,25000:20:36,400 –> 00:20:38,859and if, in a world of convenience,25100:20:38,859 –> 00:20:41,260there are many people who are not interested25200:20:41,260 –> 00:20:42,459in that kind of journey.25300:20:44,660 –> 00:20:47,880Following Jesus Christ will lead you to take up a cross,25400:20:49,040 –> 00:20:50,180and it will not end there25500:20:50,180 –> 00:20:54,099because following Jesus Christ will lead you into glory.25600:20:55,540 –> 00:20:58,020He suffered, the Bible says it’s an example25700:20:58,020 –> 00:21:01,859that we may follow in his footsteps.25800:21:01,859 –> 00:21:02,880He said, that’s not possible.25900:21:02,880 –> 00:21:04,579He forgave people who wounded him.26000:21:05,479 –> 00:21:07,619He was in an agony and he reached out26100:21:07,619 –> 00:21:10,319to care more about others that he cared about himself.26200:21:12,280 –> 00:21:14,859He trusted the father when he could not even feel26300:21:14,859 –> 00:21:17,040the father’s presence in his hour of pain.26400:21:19,099 –> 00:21:21,520How could I possibly do that only in one way?26500:21:21,520 –> 00:21:25,699By his spirit living in you.26600:21:25,699 –> 00:21:27,819You can’t do this on your own.26700:21:27,819 –> 00:21:30,900It’s not in you to live like this.26800:21:30,900 –> 00:21:32,560Left to yourself, you will settle26900:21:32,560 –> 00:21:35,260into a Christianized comfort zone27000:21:35,260 –> 00:21:37,339and the people around you will do the same27100:21:37,339 –> 00:21:39,180because that will be your influence.27200:21:41,339 –> 00:21:43,239There’s only one way to live this life.27300:21:44,839 –> 00:21:49,199Christ awakens the desire for this life within you.27400:21:49,199 –> 00:21:50,699That’s my prayer for today.27500:21:50,699 –> 00:21:55,400That Christ will awaken this desire for this life in you.27600:21:57,459 –> 00:22:00,020That like D.L. Moody who heard Henry Varley say27700:22:00,020 –> 00:22:02,459the world has yet to see what God can do27800:22:02,459 –> 00:22:04,619with one man or indeed one woman27900:22:05,959 –> 00:22:08,359who is holy and unreservedly committed to him28000:22:08,359 –> 00:22:10,680that by God’s grace, you would say today,28100:22:10,680 –> 00:22:11,760I wanna be that man,28200:22:11,760 –> 00:22:13,119I wanna be that woman,28300:22:14,400 –> 00:22:15,560I wanna go after that.28400:22:16,900 –> 00:22:19,219Christ awakens this desire within you28500:22:19,219 –> 00:22:21,359and then Christ gives this life to you28600:22:23,099 –> 00:22:26,660and Christ walks this journey with you.28700:22:26,660 –> 00:22:28,079You’ve been listening to Open The Bible28800:22:28,079 –> 00:22:29,880with Pastor Colin Smith28900:22:29,900 –> 00:22:32,040and a message called Seven Questions29000:22:32,040 –> 00:22:36,239for evaluating your progress taken from Psalm 2329100:22:36,239 –> 00:22:38,239and if you ever miss one of our broadcasts,29200:22:38,239 –> 00:22:39,880it’s very easy to catch up.29300:22:39,880 –> 00:22:43,859Just come to our website, openthebible.org.uk29400:22:43,859 –> 00:22:45,439and there you’ll find all the messages29500:22:45,439 –> 00:22:47,160which have already gone out on air.29600:22:48,040 –> 00:22:50,619Open The Bible is able to stay on this station29700:22:50,619 –> 00:22:53,560and the internet and available as a podcast29800:22:53,560 –> 00:22:56,680because of the generous financial support of our listeners,29900:22:56,680 –> 00:22:58,500that’s people like you30000:22:58,500 –> 00:23:00,900and if you already give to support the work,30100:23:00,900 –> 00:23:02,760thank you so much.30200:23:02,760 –> 00:23:04,099If supporting Open The Bible30300:23:04,099 –> 00:23:06,199is something you’d like to start doing,30400:23:06,199 –> 00:23:09,520this month we’re delighted to offer a free gift.30500:23:09,520 –> 00:23:11,780When you set up a new direct debit30600:23:11,780 –> 00:23:13,380to the work of Open The Bible30700:23:13,380 –> 00:23:16,180in the amount of five pounds per month or more30800:23:16,180 –> 00:23:18,939or a one-off gift of 50 pounds or more,30900:23:18,939 –> 00:23:20,339we’d love to say thank you31000:23:20,339 –> 00:23:24,459by sending you a free copy of Pastor Colin’s new book,31100:23:24,459 –> 00:23:26,099Hike Through The Bible.31200:23:26,099 –> 00:23:28,380Colin, where did the idea for this book31300:23:28,380 –> 00:23:29,640come from?31400:23:29,640 –> 00:23:32,400Well, we have fly through the Bible31500:23:32,400 –> 00:23:35,479for those who are looking for a place to begin,31600:23:35,479 –> 00:23:37,020then drive through the Bible,31700:23:37,020 –> 00:23:39,140obviously takes people a bit further,31800:23:39,140 –> 00:23:41,540but for everyone that wants to get serious31900:23:41,540 –> 00:23:43,219about the Bible story,32000:23:43,219 –> 00:23:45,479Hike Through The Bible is for you.32100:23:45,479 –> 00:23:48,079I mean, this is where you get you’re boots on the ground32200:23:48,079 –> 00:23:52,380and really get to grips with what the Bible is all about.32300:23:52,380 –> 00:23:55,219And you’ll discover that the whole Bible is one story32400:23:55,219 –> 00:23:58,199that the whole of it points to our Lord32500:23:58,459 –> 00:24:00,239and Saviour, Jesus Christ.32600:24:00,239 –> 00:24:01,719And I wrote this for people32700:24:01,719 –> 00:24:04,839who want to have a better grasp of the Bible.32800:24:04,839 –> 00:24:07,239I wrote it for people who want to have a deeper love32900:24:07,239 –> 00:24:08,939for the Lord Jesus Christ.33000:24:08,939 –> 00:24:10,719And just by way of encouragement,33100:24:10,719 –> 00:24:13,239if you think that hiking sounds like hard work,33200:24:13,239 –> 00:24:15,959while you can hike at a gentle pace,33300:24:15,959 –> 00:24:18,140this is 50 chapters,33400:24:18,140 –> 00:24:20,819and that’s designed so that you could do one a week,33500:24:20,819 –> 00:24:22,760a nice gentle hike through the Bible33600:24:22,760 –> 00:24:24,739so that at the end of the year,33700:24:24,739 –> 00:24:27,880you really have grasped the Bible as a whole33800:24:27,880 –> 00:24:29,439and you’ve got a clearer grip33900:24:29,439 –> 00:24:32,859on what it is that God’s saying into your life.34000:24:32,859 –> 00:24:35,119Well, we’d love to send you Colin’s new book34100:24:35,119 –> 00:24:37,339when you set up a new Direct Debit34200:24:37,339 –> 00:24:39,880of five pounds per month or more,34300:24:39,880 –> 00:24:43,599or a one-off gift to 50 pounds or more this month.34400:24:43,599 –> 00:24:46,640Full terms and conditions online at our website,34500:24:46,640 –> 00:24:51,479openthebible.org.uk, and you can give online.34600:24:51,479 –> 00:24:53,780Don’t forget to leave your name and address34700:24:53,780 –> 00:24:56,239so we can send you your gift.34800:24:56,420 –> 00:24:57,479For Open The Bible,34900:24:57,479 –> 00:25:00,280and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick,35000:25:00,280 –> 00:25:02,880and I look forward to being with you again next time.35100:25:12,119 –> 00:25:15,339Do you think of yourself as a good person?35200:25:15,339 –> 00:25:17,979Do you lack clear convictions?35300:25:17,979 –> 00:25:21,079Have you still not found what you’re looking for?35400:25:21,079 –> 00:25:22,540You may be drifting.35500:25:22,540 –> 00:25:25,439Find out more, next time on Open The Bible.