100:00:00,000 –> 00:00:09,480God sees what other people have missed. And Jesus said that even a cup of cold water200:00:09,480 –> 00:00:15,160that is given in His name certainly will not go without its reward. The judgment of God300:00:15,160 –> 00:00:22,219that should bring fear to those who carry secret sins should bring comfort and joy to400:00:22,219 –> 00:00:26,400those whose good works in Christ are hidden from view.500:00:27,400 –> 00:00:31,580Welcome to Open The Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pickett. It’s great that600:00:31,580 –> 00:00:36,360you could join us today, and Colin, we’re continuing a message in which we’re examining700:00:36,360 –> 00:00:39,480what leadership looks like in a Gospel centered Church.800:00:39,480 –> 00:00:46,119Yes, and I think there can hardly be a subject that is more often discussed and debated among900:00:46,119 –> 00:00:51,160Christian believers these days than the subject of Christian leadership. What should we look1000:00:51,160 –> 00:00:56,959for in leaders? What should Christian leaders, leaders in the Church be like? And of course,1100:00:56,959 –> 00:01:02,580the big question is, does God have anything to say about this? And we’re looking in 11200:01:02,580 –> 00:01:09,919Timothy in chapter 5 at the most wonderful wisdom in the word of God in regards to Christian1300:01:09,919 –> 00:01:16,160leadership. And I hope that as we look at this today that it will be genuinely helpful1400:01:16,160 –> 00:01:21,680and perhaps even healing for all of us as we submit our minds and our hearts to the1500:01:21,680 –> 00:01:26,040word of God today. Well join us today if you can in 1 Timothy1600:01:26,040 –> 00:01:32,940chapter 5 in verses 17 to 25, as we continue the message, Gospel Leadership. Here is Pastor1700:01:32,940 –> 00:01:38,120Colin. Now I hope you have your Bible open so we can see what it says here. Let’s look1800:01:38,120 –> 00:01:44,379first, leaders who are serving well and they are held in honor, verses 17 and 18. The elders1900:01:44,419 –> 00:01:51,419who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those2000:01:51,620 –> 00:01:58,480whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says do not muzzle the ox while2100:01:58,480 –> 00:02:05,480it is treading out the grain, and the worker deserves his wages. Anyone who is going into2200:02:06,260 –> 00:02:13,259pastoral ministry should expect to extend himself and to work hard. And Paul says, the2300:02:13,259 –> 00:02:19,259church that calls him should pay him for his work. Now that pattern is very clear in2400:02:19,259 –> 00:02:25,059the Bible. In the Old Testament the priests were supported by the people of God, by the2500:02:25,059 –> 00:02:29,679great congregation, so that they could give themselves to the work God had called them2600:02:29,820 –> 00:02:35,479to do on behalf of the people. Paul himself received support from churches that he2700:02:35,479 –> 00:02:40,460planted and churches that he visited, though at times he supported himself as a tent maker.2800:02:43,820 –> 00:02:47,940Here Paul makes it clear that those who serve the church should receive their living from2900:02:47,940 –> 00:02:52,080the church. That’s the principle in this verse. And it’s stated again, if you want3000:02:52,080 –> 00:02:57,339to follow this up, in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 14, where Paul says those who3100:02:58,039 –> 00:03:03,360preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. Now some churches have3200:03:08,279 –> 00:03:12,880given such emphasis to the priesthood of all believers that they have really lost3300:03:15,440 –> 00:03:20,580sight of God’s particular call to pastoral ministry. So let me just ask this question3400:03:21,520 –> 00:03:27,820and then I want to answer it. Is it right to hire a pastor? Dangerous questions for3500:03:30,559 –> 00:03:36,000this guy to ask! Candidly, you know this, the largest part of our church budget is3600:03:41,539 –> 00:03:47,539devoted to supporting our staff. Is this the right thing to do? My answer to that question3700:03:51,100 –> 00:03:55,699and from the scripture is absolutely it is the right thing to do. It is the right thing3800:03:55,699 –> 00:04:02,699for a church to do, because ministry advances through God’s people under the leadership3900:04:03,080 –> 00:04:08,880of those who are called by God and recognized by the church to devote themselves to this4000:04:08,880 –> 00:04:09,979work.4100:04:09,979 –> 00:04:14,360Now that’s only the beginning. Let’s move on. Because not only do we have a beautiful4200:04:14,960 –> 00:04:21,940portrait here of leaders who are serving well and are held in honor. That’s a beautiful4300:04:21,940 –> 00:04:24,619thing for us to pursue.4400:04:24,619 –> 00:04:30,660But also Paul speaks here, and this is very important, about leaders who are protected4500:04:30,660 –> 00:04:37,100and at the same time held accountable. And again I want to speak from the scripture and4600:04:37,100 –> 00:04:42,140to encourage you with regards to the way this is exercised in our church.4700:04:42,140 –> 00:04:49,239Leaders who are protecting and accountable. Notice verse 19, Do not entertain an accusation4800:04:49,239 –> 00:04:55,980against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Then he says verse 20,4900:04:55,980 –> 00:05:02,940those who sin are to be rebuked publicly so that the others may take warning.5000:05:02,940 –> 00:05:09,299Now there are two points here, and they are both of great importance. And many of you5100:05:09,359 –> 00:05:13,839have been around church for long enough to understand the great significance of these5200:05:13,839 –> 00:05:20,839two things. Number one, good leaders need to be protected from bad people, and number5300:05:22,579 –> 00:05:29,579two, good people need to be protected from bad leaders. These two things are always threats5400:05:30,839 –> 00:05:36,079to the work of The Church of Jesus Christ, and both of them are addressed in two verses5500:05:36,079 –> 00:05:41,399that must always be kept together and they’re right here in verse 19 and 20 of 1 Timothy5600:05:41,399 –> 00:05:47,540chapter 5. Good leaders must be protected from bad people and good people must be protected5700:05:47,540 –> 00:05:54,540from bad leaders. Now look at what’s said about protection here. Godly leaders, remember5800:05:54,760 –> 00:06:01,640this, will always be under the attack of the enemy. We all are. Satan is the accuser of5900:06:01,640 –> 00:06:08,640all of us but when a person is put in a position, where people are put in a position by a congregation6000:06:10,000 –> 00:06:14,480and asked to take the lead and trusted with the responsibility of leadership you can be6100:06:14,480 –> 00:06:21,480certain that Satan sharpens his arrows and points them in that direction. That is why6200:06:24,179 –> 00:06:31,179we all need the belt of truth as the first part of the Christian armor. Otherwise when6300:06:32,179 –> 00:06:36,500Satan will surely have a rout among us.6400:06:36,500 –> 00:06:40,660Now John Calvin says this commenting on this very verse. I think he must have been having6500:06:40,660 –> 00:06:46,540a bad day when he wrote it but let me tell you what he wrote. He says, none are more6600:06:46,540 –> 00:06:53,540exposed to slanders and insults than godly pastors. They may perform their duties correctly6700:06:54,540 –> 00:07:01,540and conscientiously yet they never avoid a thousand criticisms. He must have had a bad6800:07:04,299 –> 00:07:09,100breakfast that day. Who had visited his study before he wrote that? I don’t know.6900:07:09,100 –> 00:07:16,100But you know what? It’s true. Paul was constantly slandered by false teachers7000:07:16,679 –> 00:07:23,679and our Lord Jesus Christ was repeatedly slandered and falsely accused. The gossip about him7100:07:31,859 –> 00:07:38,859was that he was a glutton and a drunkard. It’s what people said about him. And then7200:07:41,079 –> 00:07:45,640others even went so far as to say, you know what’s the deal with him? He’s got Beelzebub.7300:07:46,359 –> 00:07:51,799Which means he’s devil-possessed. It’s what they said about the Lord Jesus.7400:07:51,799 –> 00:07:56,880And you know the pattern with slander is always the same. Someone comes up with7500:07:56,880 –> 00:08:04,179some story or some false statement, and it gets passed around. And then the next7600:08:04,179 –> 00:08:10,320hundred people say, finish the statement for me. Well, there’s no smoke without7700:08:10,540 –> 00:08:16,980fire. You see? Now next time you hear that phrase, there’s no smoke without fire,7800:08:16,980 –> 00:08:25,739just remember that they said about Jesus, He’s a glutton and He’s a drunkard.7900:08:25,739 –> 00:08:30,200So, I don’t know how that fits with no smoke without fire. The truth is that8000:08:30,200 –> 00:08:37,479Satan sometimes brings lies and slanders and he seeks to do it to the destruction8100:08:37,479 –> 00:08:43,460of the local church. Therefore, because Satan works havoc in the church8200:08:43,460 –> 00:08:51,400through these things, elders must restrain the fabricators of gossip8300:08:51,400 –> 00:08:55,919and slander and lies. That is a holy calling that is given8400:08:55,919 –> 00:08:58,840to spiritual leaders in the church, and that is the whole point that is8500:08:58,840 –> 00:09:03,280the center of verse 19. Because Satan works havoc in the church8600:09:04,059 –> 00:09:08,760through these things, elders must restrain the fabricators of gossip8700:09:08,760 –> 00:09:16,419and slander and lies. So as God has granted to us in these days8800:09:16,419 –> 00:09:22,460such abundant blessing, I want you to see what a gift this is8900:09:22,460 –> 00:09:27,400and what a stewardship it is, and how Satan would seek9000:09:27,419 –> 00:09:33,239that we should do less for the gospel.9100:09:33,239 –> 00:09:35,179And let us commit ourselves in our own mind and heart that we9200:09:35,179 –> 00:09:38,559will not be the promoters of the rumors and untruths, and that9300:09:38,559 –> 00:09:44,179we will not be willing to believe the evil and not the good.9400:09:44,179 –> 00:09:48,979Protection. Good leaders do need to be protected from bad people.9500:09:48,979 –> 00:09:52,900Thank God for spiritual leaders, for elders who will do this.9600:09:53,000 –> 00:09:55,520I thank God for that.9700:09:55,520 –> 00:09:58,359But alongside that, and we must not separate these two things.9800:09:58,359 –> 00:09:59,960There’s always the other side.9900:09:59,960 –> 00:10:03,280Good people need to be protected from bad leaders.10000:10:03,280 –> 00:10:05,099And that’s the whole issue of accountability.10100:10:05,099 –> 00:10:06,099Verse 20.10200:10:06,099 –> 00:10:09,559Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may10300:10:09,559 –> 00:10:10,559take warning.10400:10:10,559 –> 00:10:14,780Now, Paul is clearly here talking about a leader, a pastor, an10500:10:14,780 –> 00:10:19,200elder who harms the church by his sin.10600:10:19,200 –> 00:10:22,760Paul says that the elders here have a special responsibility to10700:10:22,760 –> 00:10:24,359deal with this also.10800:10:24,359 –> 00:10:27,280In other words, what we’re being taught here is that leaders10900:10:27,280 –> 00:10:32,159must be held accountable.11000:10:32,159 –> 00:10:36,140And again for your encouragement, I want you to know how11100:10:36,140 –> 00:10:41,659much I thank God for the wisdom with which this is practiced11200:10:41,659 –> 00:10:44,719in our church.11300:10:45,059 –> 00:10:47,580Teachers including myself,11400:10:47,580 –> 00:10:51,539are accountable to the church board.11500:10:51,539 –> 00:10:55,000We serve under their authority.11600:10:55,000 –> 00:10:58,940And their authority was given to them by you, the congregation,11700:10:58,940 –> 00:11:01,419who approved them to be the members of the board.11800:11:01,419 –> 00:11:06,359They have been given authority to protect us, the pastors,11900:11:06,359 –> 00:11:11,580and to hold us the pastors accountable.12000:11:11,580 –> 00:11:13,500This is a good thing.12100:11:13,500 –> 00:11:17,599The board can deal with difficulties that may arise12200:11:17,599 –> 00:11:22,700in a way that would not be possible for the entire congregation as a whole.12300:11:22,700 –> 00:11:26,659And that is something for which thinking people should be deeply12400:11:26,659 –> 00:11:30,820and continually thankful to God.12500:11:30,820 –> 00:11:35,580So what we have here, folks, is a wonderful pattern for pastors and12600:11:35,580 –> 00:11:39,900lay leaders and congregation to work together in a partnership that is12700:11:39,900 –> 00:11:43,760productive for the advance of the gospel.12800:11:43,760 –> 00:11:47,020The congregation appoints the board, and the board12900:11:47,020 –> 00:11:49,659is responsible to the congregation.13000:11:49,659 –> 00:11:53,340The board trusts the leadership of ministry to the pastors and13100:11:53,340 –> 00:11:57,099the pastors submit themselves to the authority of the board.13200:11:57,099 –> 00:12:01,059The pastors are called and trusted to lead, and the board holds13300:12:01,059 –> 00:12:07,400them accountable for their leadership on behalf of the congregation.13400:12:07,400 –> 00:12:10,919Now just before we move on from this, you will understand,13500:12:10,919 –> 00:12:15,900perhaps not be surprised, that it’s quite common for us here to receive either13600:12:15,900 –> 00:12:20,239letters or phone calls from leaders of churches who say, can you recommend13700:12:20,239 –> 00:12:22,760a pastor, we’re looking for a pastor, do you have someone who might want13800:12:22,760 –> 00:12:25,039to come and so forth and so on.13900:12:25,039 –> 00:12:28,659And a lead leader from another church was talking to one of our14000:12:28,659 –> 00:12:32,460people just within the last week or so.14100:12:32,460 –> 00:12:34,400And he said, this.14200:12:34,419 –> 00:12:37,900He said, we’re looking for a pastor.14300:12:37,900 –> 00:12:45,820And we don’t want anyone telling us what to do.14400:12:45,820 –> 00:12:53,979And, so, my question was, who would go there?14500:12:53,979 –> 00:13:00,239Who would I recommend?14600:13:00,239 –> 00:13:06,880You know, at risk of offending dog owners, that is always a risk, they were looking for14700:13:06,880 –> 00:13:09,880a poodle pastor.14800:13:09,880 –> 00:13:13,460Now, why do people say these things?14900:13:13,460 –> 00:13:17,239Because they’re quite often heard.15000:13:17,239 –> 00:13:23,039Sometimes it is because a little group of lay leaders want to run things themselves.15100:13:23,039 –> 00:13:26,039But sometimes, there’s always another side.15200:13:26,039 –> 00:13:33,400It is because they have been hurt by an authoritarian pastor in the past, and they’ve said, we’re15300:13:33,400 –> 00:13:36,979never, never, never going to have that again.15400:13:36,979 –> 00:13:44,200So, if you were once bitten by a rottweiler, it stands to reason that you might think next15500:13:44,200 –> 00:13:46,380time you’ll go for a poodle.15600:13:46,380 –> 00:13:50,099But, folks, here’s help.15700:13:50,099 –> 00:13:55,239We don’t want poodle pastors, and we don’t want rottweilers either.15800:13:55,239 –> 00:13:59,039We want leadership and accountability.15900:13:59,039 –> 00:14:02,919We want trust and we want submission.16000:14:02,919 –> 00:14:08,979And these are good gifts from God to be celebrated.16100:14:08,979 –> 00:14:14,719And I hope that you are thanking God right now and will continue to thank God for these16200:14:14,719 –> 00:14:18,859gifts among us today.16300:14:18,859 –> 00:14:23,219You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, and a message called Gospel Leadership.16400:14:23,219 –> 00:14:29,059And when we come back, we’ll hear how leaders can bear fruit both now and forever, so I16500:14:29,059 –> 00:14:30,320hope you’ll stay with us.16600:14:30,320 –> 00:14:34,460If you ever miss one of Colin’s messages, you can easily catch up or go back and listen16700:14:34,460 –> 00:14:40,700again online at our website, openthebible.org.uk16800:14:40,700 –> 00:14:44,059Back to the message now, here again is Pastor Colin.16900:14:44,059 –> 00:14:48,159Now here’s the last thing – we’ve looked at leaders serving well and held in honour.17000:14:48,159 –> 00:14:51,539We’re looking at leaders who are protected and who are accountable.17100:14:51,539 –> 00:14:53,059Here’s the last thing…17200:14:53,059 –> 00:14:59,119Leaders who are bearing good fruit, both now and forever.17300:14:59,119 –> 00:15:06,359Now verse 24 and 25, Paul’s beginning to broaden it out in ways that speak to all of us in17400:15:06,359 –> 00:15:08,960our service for Christ.17500:15:08,960 –> 00:15:15,979The sins of some men verse 24 are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them.17600:15:15,979 –> 00:15:19,460The sins of others trail behind them.17700:15:19,539 –> 00:15:26,840In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.17800:15:26,840 –> 00:15:33,659Now what he is saying here at the end of the chapter is that all of us, congregation, board,17900:15:33,659 –> 00:15:39,500elders, pastors, whatever the role that we have within the body of Christ, all of us18000:15:39,500 –> 00:15:43,580serve in the light of the coming judgment of God.18100:15:43,580 –> 00:15:49,340And God sees all things, and He knows all things, and He hears all things, and He forgets,18200:15:49,419 –> 00:15:51,940and He forgets no things.18300:15:51,940 –> 00:15:54,859Nothing is hidden from Him.18400:15:54,859 –> 00:16:01,039Paul says, the sins of some men are obvious.18500:16:01,039 –> 00:16:04,179In other words, some people are just obvious sinners.18600:16:04,179 –> 00:16:11,000You see very, very quickly a pattern of life that is destructive, and it is just very obvious.18700:16:11,000 –> 00:16:17,239But he says remember this that the sins of others trail behind them.18800:16:17,380 –> 00:16:22,419Sinners may present themselves in a way that seems very compelling and very attractive,18900:16:22,419 –> 00:16:29,479and yet behind that, behind what you see at first, there is a life that is filled with19000:16:29,479 –> 00:16:30,520all kinds of evil.19100:16:30,520 –> 00:16:31,520That is what he is saying.19200:16:31,520 –> 00:16:35,260The sins of others trail behind them.19300:16:35,260 –> 00:16:38,460John Stott in his commentary calls this the iceberg principle.19400:16:38,460 –> 00:16:40,200You know the iceberg?19500:16:40,200 –> 00:16:44,760What is it . . . nine-tenths below the surface you only see one-tenth on the top?19600:16:44,799 –> 00:16:49,719He says the same is true with regards to our first impressions of people.19700:16:49,719 –> 00:16:55,440He says attractive personalities often have hidden weaknesses, whereas unprepossessing19800:16:55,440 –> 00:17:02,919people often have hidden strengths . . . and Timothy must learn to discern between the19900:17:02,919 –> 00:17:06,780appearance and the reality.20000:17:06,780 –> 00:17:12,880People are not always what they appear on the surface, and that is why we should exercise20100:17:12,979 –> 00:17:17,979caution in appointing people to positions of leadership—that is the whole point of20200:17:17,979 –> 00:17:23,060verse 22 where Paul says, don’t be hasty in laying on hands.20300:17:23,060 –> 00:17:26,560What he’s talking about there is commissioning a person to leadership.20400:17:26,560 –> 00:17:28,979He said, don’t be too quick to do that.20500:17:28,979 –> 00:17:34,000You get to know the character of people over time.20600:17:34,000 –> 00:17:37,699Because over time you will find that character emerges.20700:17:37,699 –> 00:17:40,339Sometimes you will see good that was hidden for a long time.20800:17:40,420 –> 00:17:44,520But other times things will come to light that were not obvious at the beginning.20900:17:44,520 –> 00:17:47,579This is simply Christian wisdom for the church.21000:17:47,579 –> 00:17:51,319And where it is followed, it will keep the church healthy, and it will protect the church21100:17:51,319 –> 00:17:54,500from dysfunction.21200:17:54,500 –> 00:17:59,300Then he goes on to say this, in the same way.21300:17:59,300 –> 00:18:07,500Good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.21400:18:07,500 –> 00:18:13,239So what he’s saying here is that some good works are immediately recognized, but other21500:18:13,239 –> 00:18:21,979good works, ministries that remain very quiet, hidden, things that Gods people do that others21600:18:21,979 –> 00:18:23,459don’t know about.21700:18:23,459 –> 00:18:29,079Well, remember this, that the God who sees and will judge secret evil is the God who21800:18:29,079 –> 00:18:32,420sees and will reward hidden good.21900:18:32,420 –> 00:18:35,459That’s a marvelous thing for our encouragement.22000:18:35,819 –> 00:18:41,880William Barclay calls this in a beautiful phrase the impossibility of ultimate concealment.22100:18:41,880 –> 00:18:44,260The impossibility of ultimate concealment.22200:18:44,260 –> 00:18:47,079What is hidden will be made known.22300:18:47,079 –> 00:18:52,380What is secret and hidden with regards to sin will be brought to account on the day22400:18:52,380 –> 00:18:59,479of judgment, and what has been unnoticed in beautiful acts of service will be recognized22500:18:59,479 –> 00:19:04,140for what it is in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.22600:19:04,140 –> 00:19:05,219Barclay says this.22700:19:05,219 –> 00:19:10,060There are some whose good deeds are plain for all to see and they have already won the22800:19:10,060 –> 00:19:14,319praise and thanks and honor and congratulations of men.22900:19:14,319 –> 00:19:19,780But there are others whose good deeds have never been noticed.23000:19:19,780 –> 00:19:24,099They have never been appreciated, never thanked, never praised, never valued as they ought23100:19:24,099 –> 00:19:26,099to have been.23200:19:26,099 –> 00:19:32,400They have always been taken for granted.23300:19:32,520 –> 00:19:40,020I wonder if the reason that he ends here, Paul ends here, is that in a healthy church23400:19:40,020 –> 00:19:43,160leaders are often thanked.23500:19:43,160 –> 00:19:48,099Your encouragement to me is a blessing more than I could put into words.23600:19:48,099 –> 00:19:55,819But the person who does the most hidden job in the church most of us don’t even know.23700:19:55,819 –> 00:20:00,540There may be things that you do for the cause of Christ that only you and maybe a couple23800:20:00,540 –> 00:20:03,680of other people know about.23900:20:03,680 –> 00:20:08,719And so after all this talk about leadership, positions where there is in the nature of24000:20:08,719 –> 00:20:15,599things, things that are seen and visible to the congregation, Paul wants us to remember24100:20:15,599 –> 00:20:19,939this that God sees what other people have missed.24200:20:19,939 –> 00:20:25,219And Jesus said that even a cup of cold water that’s given in His name will certainly not24300:20:25,219 –> 00:20:28,099go without its reward.24400:20:28,119 –> 00:20:34,660The judgment of God that should bring fear to those who carry secret sins, should bring24500:20:34,660 –> 00:20:41,180comfort and joy to those whose good works in Christ are hidden from view.24600:20:41,180 –> 00:20:47,819It’s beautiful, the impossibility of ultimate concealment.24700:20:47,819 –> 00:20:57,900So, if you have not received the honor that is due, if you have not received the protection24800:20:58,060 –> 00:21:07,180that you should have been given, remember the Lord Jesus Christmas to whom you belong,24900:21:07,180 –> 00:21:10,359leaders held in honor.25000:21:10,359 –> 00:21:15,859When the Son of God came into the world, we could not honor the one who angels adore with25100:21:15,859 –> 00:21:18,060as much as a bed to be born in.25200:21:18,979 –> 00:21:27,660And when he extended himself in ministry to the point of exhaustion, he was constantly25300:21:27,660 –> 00:21:35,500slandered, glutton he is, drunkard, beelzebub.25400:21:35,500 –> 00:21:40,660He received no protection but was condemned without the proper testimony of witnesses25500:21:40,660 –> 00:21:41,880agreeing together.25600:21:41,880 –> 00:21:47,140That’s the world for you, that’s the world in which we live.25700:21:47,219 –> 00:21:51,880But here’s the good news, the world never has the last word, God does, that’s good news25800:21:51,880 –> 00:21:53,479isn’t it?25900:21:53,479 –> 00:21:57,900And God vindicated our Lord Jesus Christ, exalted him to the highest place that at the26000:21:57,900 –> 00:22:03,979name of Jesus every knee shall bow so that now, through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ26100:22:03,979 –> 00:22:07,880there is forgiveness of sins.26200:22:07,880 –> 00:22:12,199And through the resurrection life of the Lord Jesus Christ there is the power to live a26300:22:12,199 –> 00:22:18,459new life and to bear new fruit, that over time will become evident to all so that people26400:22:18,459 –> 00:22:25,199would see the work of the Spirit and the life of Christ in us.26500:22:25,199 –> 00:22:31,479Christ who dies and Christ who rises again holds these gifts in his hands as he offers26600:22:31,479 –> 00:22:34,900himself to us today.26700:22:34,900 –> 00:22:38,959You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith on Open The Bible.26800:22:38,959 –> 00:22:41,839Wrapping up the message, gospel leadership.26900:22:41,880 –> 00:22:47,420If you ever miss one of our messages come to our website openthebible.org.uk and there27000:22:47,420 –> 00:22:51,079you’ll find all the message which have already been broadcast.27100:22:51,079 –> 00:22:53,640Open The Bible is supported by our listeners.27200:22:53,640 –> 00:22:58,599It’s people just like you who enable us to stay on the radio and on the internet and27300:22:58,599 –> 00:23:03,000we’re extremely grateful for the support we receive from you, so if you already give to27400:23:03,000 –> 00:23:05,719Open The Bible thank you so much.27500:23:05,719 –> 00:23:10,160If you’re considering beginning to support Open The Bible financially, this month we27600:23:10,239 –> 00:23:12,239have a great offer for you.27700:23:12,239 –> 00:23:18,000If you’re able to begin a direct debit of five pounds per month or more or a one off27800:23:18,000 –> 00:23:24,020gift of sixty pounds or more, we’d love to say thank you by sending you a copy of John27900:23:24,020 –> 00:23:26,959Stott’s book, The Incomparable Christ.28000:23:26,959 –> 00:23:29,500Colin, who was John Stott?28100:23:29,500 –> 00:23:35,300Oh well John Stott was one of the most influential Christian leaders of the 20th century – a28200:23:35,300 –> 00:23:40,560faithful preacher, a wise pastor, a brilliant scholar who has served the Church faithfully28300:23:40,560 –> 00:23:45,719for over 60 years, and he really is one of my heroes of the faith.28400:23:45,719 –> 00:23:52,260You know, and I valued the advice I was given years ago, Steve, choose a book by its author28500:23:52,260 –> 00:23:57,819– and so this is a really good author, but it is a really good author on a really great28600:23:57,819 –> 00:23:58,819subject.28700:23:58,819 –> 00:24:03,140I mean this is John Stott on the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.28800:24:03,140 –> 00:24:04,420Who is Jesus?28900:24:04,459 –> 00:24:09,260Jesus was the central focus of all of John Stott’s work and life, as he should be the29000:24:09,260 –> 00:24:15,939central focus of all of our lives, and this wonderful book just opens up the glory of29100:24:15,939 –> 00:24:21,219the Lord Jesus Christ as we find him in the New Testament, as he’s inspired people throughout29200:24:21,219 –> 00:24:26,060history, and as one day we’re going to see him when he comes again in power and glory.29300:24:26,060 –> 00:24:32,400For anyone who loves Jesus, to read a great book about Jesus Christ is a good thing to29400:24:32,979 –> 00:24:37,540do, and I think this is one of the best books you can read about the person of our Lord29500:24:37,540 –> 00:24:38,199Christ.29600:24:38,199 –> 00:24:43,439Well, this book by John Stott, The Incomparable Christ, is our gift to you when you begin29700:24:43,439 –> 00:24:49,459a new direct debit to the work of Open the Bible in the amount of £5 per month or more,29800:24:49,459 –> 00:24:55,280or another gift, a giveaway of £60 or more, this month. Full terms and conditions are29900:24:55,280 –> 00:25:02,280on our website that’s at openthebible.org.uk and you can give online. Don’t forget to30000:25:02,400 –> 00:25:06,579leave your full name and address so we can send you your free gift.30100:25:06,579 –> 00:25:12,160For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick and I look forward to joining30200:25:12,160 –> 00:25:19,780you again for our next program.30300:25:19,780 –> 00:25:27,500How can you find joy in what you have especially when God gives you far less than you had before?30400:25:27,500 –> 00:25:29,579Find out next time on Open the Bible.