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Muscles grow strong as they are exercised.

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And in a similar way, faith grows as it is applied

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in particular situations where you need to trust and

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believe God’s revealed promises, and trust God

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in regards to his hidden plans.

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Welcome to open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith.

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I’m David pick and Colin.

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It sounds as if you’re saying that trials

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and challenges that we face in life are God’s

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exercise regime or like God’s gymnasium?

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Oh, it’s gymnasium.

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That’s a very good analogy.

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Indeed.

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Yeah.

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I mean anyone who’s ever broken a bone knows that

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after it’s been in a cast for a period of time,

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the muscle that’s around the bone really needs to

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be worked hard and exercised in order to be strengthened

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again the lack of use causes its strength to diminish

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no faith is like that.

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I think a muscle is a good analogy of how faith

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is and how it works.

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It needs to be applied.

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And we’re going to look at a story today where

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the disciples find themselves in a storm

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and Jesus said where is your faith?

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Well, he wasn’t questioning whether they had faith.

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Of course, they had faith.

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They were the followers of Jesus.

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The question is why are you not applying your faith

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to the situation that you’re in?

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And that’s the challenge.

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It’s applying my confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ

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to what I’m facing right now

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so that I walk by faith and not by sight.

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Faith always has to be applied.

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That’s exactly what we’re looking at today

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in the Book of Luke Chapter 8 and verses 22 to 25

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as we begin the message Applied Faith

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Here’s Colin.

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Every believer needs to grow in faith

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and in this series

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we’ve been trying to look in a very practical way

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at how that can happen.

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Over these last weeks,

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we’ve identified six strategies for growing in faith

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and today we’re going to come back

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to where we started with little faith

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and we’re going to add a seventh strategy

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for growing in faith

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and it’s this,

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faith grows as it is exercised.

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I find it helpful to think of faith

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as being like a muscle in the body.

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It grows in strength as it is used,

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as it is exercised.

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So if you break a limb

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and then you have your leg in plaster,

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the muscles weakened because they are not being stretched,

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they are not being exercised,

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they’re not being used

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and when the cast comes off

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you have to rebuild the strength of these muscles

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through exercise.

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Muscles grow strong as they are exercised

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and in a similar way faith grows as it is applied

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in particular situations

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where you need to trust and believe God’s revealed promises

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and trust God in regards to his hidden plans.

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Now the passage that’s before us today

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really gives us a perfect example

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of how faith needs to be exercised

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and applied in particular situations.

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Most of you know this story well,

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Luke tells us about the occasion

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when Jesus got into the boat with his disciples

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and he tells us that Jesus fell asleep in the boat.

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A storm came down on the lake

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and it must have been a severe storm

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because as the boat was tossed about,

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Luke tells us that it began to fill with water.

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He then tells us that the disciples wakened Jesus.

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It’s almost amazing to me

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that Jesus was still asleep during this storm.

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Only the son of God could have slept

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through a storm like this.

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But the disciples wakened Jesus

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and they say verse 24,

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Master, we are perishing.

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We’re gonna go down.

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This is going to be the end of us all,

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that’s what they’re saying.

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Notice they say, master, we are perishing.

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Here is the saviour of the world.

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Along with the 12, he has chosen

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to bring God’s message of salvation

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to the nations.

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The hope of the ages is floating

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in this one little boat

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and it seemed to the disciples

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that their whole purpose of God

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was going to go down and sink

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on this little lake.

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And Luke tells us that Jesus rebuked

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the winds and the raging waves

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and they ceased.

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And there was a great calm

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and then Jesus said to his disciples,

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where is your faith?

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Now, the disciples had faith in Jesus.

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They had left everything to follow him.

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They had been engaged in ministry on his behalf

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and Jesus is certainly not questioning

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the reality of the disciples’ faith.

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The question here is,

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why have they not applied the faith that they have

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to the particular situation they are in?

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Where is your faith?

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Why are you not applying it to this situation?

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Why are you not trusting me here in the storm?

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Now, every believer knows what this is like.

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You believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you really do.

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You’ve proved Him faithful in your life

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over many many years.

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You know that nothing is impossible for him,

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but when an unexpected storm arises in your life,

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you fear that this time it might be different,

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that this time you might actually go down.

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And Jesus asks this question now, where is your faith?

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Faith, why are you not exercising the faith

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that you have in relation to this situation you are now in?

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Now what I want us to see clearly today

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is that faith must be applied.

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It has to be exercised

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in regards to the particular circumstances

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you face at any time.

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In other words, it does not work automatically.

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Think about the heating system in your house.

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It probably works on a thermostat.

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You set the thermostat to the temperature

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that you want to maintain in your house,

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and when the temperature drops below

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the temperature that you have set,

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well, your furnace comes on automatically.

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Now faith is not like that.

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It does not work automatically.

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It has to be applied, it has to be exercised,

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it has to be engaged.

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And you do that as you trust God

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in relation to the particular circumstances of life

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that He is calling you to face.

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My van has an automatic transmission.

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I mean, it’s fine for driving here.

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After all, the land is pretty flat.

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I have to say, though, it never feels to me

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like real driving.

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And when I go back to Scotland, we rent a car,

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and I’ve noticed that when I get there,

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as soon as they look at my American driving license

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they say, oh, you’ll want an automatic vehicle.

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And I say, no, no, give me the real thing.

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There’s something about engaging a gear

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with a clutch that just makes you feel

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connected to the road.

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And never more so than when you come to a steep hill

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and you go down through the gears

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in order to harness the power that is in the engine

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for the particular circumstances that you know face.

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Now, faith does not work automatically.

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It involves an intentional engagement

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in which you trust the Lord Jesus Christ

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in the circumstances that you are facing right now.

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And this is the question of Jesus.

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Where is your faith?

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I have to tell you, I’ve come to treasure this question

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in my own life, including the rebuke that lies in it.

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I face a challenge where I can’t see a way forward.

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I need to hear this question from the Lord Jesus Himself.

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Where is your faith?

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You believe in me.

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You’ve trusted your very soul and your eternity to me.

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Why are you not trusting me in this?

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Where is your faith?

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You’re listening to Open The Bible

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with Pastor Colin Smith

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in our message today Applied Faith.

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And if you’ve missed any of the messages so far

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in this series or you want to go back and listen again,

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you can do that by coming online to our website,

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OpenTheBible.org.uk

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Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners.

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That’s folks just like you.

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And if that’s something you’ve been thinking about doing,

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this month, if you’re able to set up a new donation

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Now this is a book which will help us

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to grow in our relationship with Christ.

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If you’d like to find out more about that

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and support Open the Bible,

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visit our website, OpenTheBible.org.uk

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back to the message now, here’s Colin

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Now, I want us to focus today on three situations

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in which faith needs especially to be applied.

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Some of you will know the book Pilgrim’s Progress

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by John Bunyan.

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It was written in the 17th century

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and to this day it is still

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one of the world’s best-selling books.

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Bunyan pictured the Christian life as a journey.

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His main character was called Christian

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and Christian left his hometown that was called

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Destruction in order to go on a journey

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to the Celestial city,

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which was Bunyan’s way of referring to Heaven.

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So his book Pilgrim’s Progress

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is really a description of what happens

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in a life of faith pictured as a journey

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from the City of Destruction

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to the Heavenly or Celestial city.

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And the main character Christian

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has many adventures on the way

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and meets with many fascinating characters.

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Bunyan was a very wise and perceptive pastor,

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and he created characters in his story

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that really reflected the experience

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of believers he served.

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And one of Bunyan’s characters is called Little Faith.

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I’m sure he took that directly from the fact

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that, as we’ve seen, Jesus said,

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oh you of Little Faith on no less than five occasions.

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Now, let me tell you little Faiths story.

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Little Faith lived in a town called Sensea.

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And like Christian, he decided

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that he needed to leave this town called Sensea

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in order to begin a journey to the Celestial City.

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At one point in the story,

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little Faith went down an alley

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that was called Dead Man’s Lane.

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It had been given that lane because of the many murders

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that had taken place there in the past.

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And while he was in Dead Man’s Lane

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little Faith was confronted by thieves.

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There were three of them

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and their names were Faint Hart, Mistrust, and Guilt.

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Well, Faint Hart was the first to speak

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and a very threatening way

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he demanded that little Faith give the thieves his wallet.

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Little Faith was so terrified.

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He didn’t know what to do.

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He just stood there absolutely frozen to the spot.

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And so Mistrust stepped forward

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and seized little Faith’s wallet out of his pocket.

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At that moment, little Faith shouted for help,

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thieves, thieves.

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And at that, Guilt stepped forward

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with a big stick in his hand.

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He hit little Faith over the head

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and then beat him down to the ground.

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And then the three thieves ran off,

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leaving little Faith bleeding in Dead Man’s alley.

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Now notice what happened to little Faith in this story.

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He was threatened by Faint Heart.

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He was robbed by Mistrust

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and he was beaten up by Guilt.

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Now Bunyan here is giving to us

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a profound insight into Christian experience.

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Somewhere in your journey,

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you’re going to meet these three thieves.

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Faint Heart will threaten you,

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Mistrust will want to rob you,

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and Guilt will attempt to beat you up.

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And when you meet these thieves,

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you’re going to have to Exercise Faith.

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First then,

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Exercise Faith when Faint Heart tries to scare you.

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Now you’ll know what this is like in your own experience.

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You have perhaps an opportunity to serve.

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There’s something good that you would like

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to pursue, but Faint Heart hold you back.

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Fear grips you.

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You don’t want to fail,

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and so you don’t step forward,

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you don’t take a risk.

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You want to guard yourself at all costs

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against any possibility of failure.

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You remember Jesus told us about a

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Faint Hearted servant.

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In fact, there were three servants

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who were trusted by their master

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with large amounts of money.

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Two of the servants invested the money

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and gained a very good return,

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and the master was well pleased

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and He rewarded these servants.

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But you remember that Jesus tells us

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that the third servant was afraid.

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He was afraid.

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Faint Heart, in other words,

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was right there in front of him.

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Do you really want to take the risk

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of investing this money?

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Whatever the investment goes south,

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I mean, surely, the best thing you can do

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is dig a hole in the ground and bury it,

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at least then you won’t lose anything

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and you won’t be embarrassed.

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And that is what the third servant did.

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Fear ruled him.

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He took no risk.

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He pursued no initiative,

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and he gained no reward.

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Now, what are you to do

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when faint heart crosses your path

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and tries to scare you?

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The answer is you must exercise faith.

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And faith responds to faint heart

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by affirming the strength

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that is yours in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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I can do all things

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through Christ who gives me strength.

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So, when you come to something that seems beyond you,

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exercise faith.

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Christ will bring you to places in your journey

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where you have no alternative,

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but to depend upon Him.

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And faith grows when you see

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that what He calls you to is indeed beyond you

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and you have to trust Him

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to give you what you do not have.

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Tell, faint heart, that Christ is yours,

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and in Him is all the strength that you need.

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Your Savior is with you,

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and He who guards you will neither slumber nor sleep.

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His strength is made perfect in your weakness,

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and His grace is sufficient for you.

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Exercise faith when faint heart tries to scare you,

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And then secondly, exercise faith when mistrust

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attempts to rob you.

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Now in Bunyan’s story, remember little faith was beaten up

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by guilt, but it was mistrust who robbed him.

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And off the two it was mistrust who did the greater damage.

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See, little faith recovered from being beaten up,

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dusted himself off, recovered from his wounds and then

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pressed on in his journey to the celestial city.

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But since mistrust had taken his money,

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little faith had a much more difficult journey.

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Now to be clear, little faith was and is without question

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a child of God.

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Even with little faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,

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you belong to him and God indeed is your father

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and by his grace you will make it home.

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Despite being beaten up in Dead Man’s Lane,

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little faith at last arrived in the Celestial City.

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But here’s the thing with little faith.

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His journey was not a happy one.

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Bunyan says he was forced to beg as he went

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and that he went with many a hungry belly.

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That is a great description of a believer

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who is robbed by mistrust.

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As a believer, you are rich in the Lord Jesus Christ

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but mistrust can make you live

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as if you were poor.

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Mistrust took away little Faith’s joy.

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It was mistrust that made little Faith’s life

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and journey so difficult and often quite miserable.

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Now what are you to do then

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when mistrust tries to rob you?

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Well, Faith responds to mistrust

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by affirming the riches that are yours in Jesus Christ.

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You are blessed

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with every spiritual blessing in Jesus Christ,

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even if you only have a little Faith,

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you are loved, you are called,

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you are forgiven, you are redeemed.

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The Holy spirit of God lives in you

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and you are destined for a life of eternal joy

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in the glory of the Lord’s immediate presence.

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So, tell mistrust that Christ is yours

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and that all the riches that are yours in him

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can never be taken away.

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Tell mistrust, my God will supply

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all that I need according to his riches

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in glory in Christ Jesus.

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Pastor Colin Smith there looking today

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at how you can exercise faith

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when faint heart tries to scare you

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and when mistrust attempts to rob your faith.

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Next time we’ll look at how to exercise faith

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when guilt tries to beat you up.

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So I hope you’ll be able to join us then.

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You’ve been listening to Open the Bible

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with Pastor Colin Smith and today’s message

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00:22:07,819 –> 00:22:10,099

Applied Faith, part of our series

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Growing in Faith, Hope and Love.

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00:22:12,300 –> 00:22:13,959

And if you’ve missed any of the series

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00:22:13,959 –> 00:22:17,180

or you want to listen again, come online to our website

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00:22:17,180 –> 00:22:20,219

openthebible.org.uk.

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00:22:20,219 –> 00:22:23,739

There you can find all the previously broadcast messages.

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00:22:23,739 –> 00:22:26,579

Also on our website and available as a podcast

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00:22:26,579 –> 00:22:28,900

is Open the Bible Daily and that’s a series

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00:22:28,920 –> 00:22:31,859

of short two to three minute daily reflections

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00:22:31,859 –> 00:22:33,660

based on Pastor Colin’s teaching

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00:22:33,660 –> 00:22:35,900

and read in the UK by Sue McLeish.

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00:22:35,900 –> 00:22:38,219

There’s a fresh one every day and many Christians

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00:22:38,219 –> 00:22:40,660

find it a great way start the day.

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00:22:40,660 –> 00:22:45,579

Again our website address, openthebible.org.uk.

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00:22:45,579 –> 00:22:48,140

Whether you listen to Open the Bible on the radio,

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00:22:48,140 –> 00:22:50,439

on our website, or as a podcast,

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00:22:50,439 –> 00:22:51,660

it’s your generosity

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00:22:51,660 –> 00:22:54,699

that keeps Pastor Colin’s messages available.

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00:22:54,699 –> 00:22:57,180

So thank you for supporting the ministry.

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00:22:57,199 –> 00:22:59,079

If that’s something you’ve thought about doing

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00:22:59,079 –> 00:23:01,020

in the future, and you’re able to give

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00:23:01,020 –> 00:23:03,599

five pounds per month to Open the Bible

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00:23:03,599 –> 00:23:06,500

starting this month, we’d love to say thank you

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00:23:06,500 –> 00:23:09,500

by sending you a copy of Jerry Bridges’ book,

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00:23:09,500 –> 00:23:11,500

”Respectable Sins”.

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00:23:11,500 –> 00:23:14,219

Colin, how is this book helpful for you?

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00:23:14,219 –> 00:23:17,180

Well, I find it helpful in my own life in three ways.

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I mean, the first is that Jerry Bridges identifies

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00:23:21,180 –> 00:23:24,260

some of these sins that can easily hide

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in our hearts as Christian believers.

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00:23:27,619 –> 00:23:30,119

You can’t fight against what you don’t see.

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00:23:30,119 –> 00:23:32,619

You can’t confess what you don’t see.

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00:23:32,619 –> 00:23:34,500

So the first thing is to be able to see

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00:23:34,500 –> 00:23:35,979

what might be lurking there,

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00:23:35,979 –> 00:23:38,859

and that’s the great value of this book.

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So when you’re able to identify

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what you need to be fighting against more strongly,

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then the next thing to do is to confess it,

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00:23:45,619 –> 00:23:47,979

to seek the cleansing of the blood of Christ,

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00:23:47,979 –> 00:23:51,140

and then to begin to fight against it.

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00:23:51,140 –> 00:23:53,959

And Jerry Bridges has a chapter in here

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00:23:53,959 –> 00:23:56,800

that is absolutely worth its weight in gold.

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00:23:56,800 –> 00:23:59,819

It’s certainly well worth getting the whole book for.

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00:23:59,819 –> 00:24:03,239

Directions for dealing with sins.

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00:24:03,239 –> 00:24:05,300

How are you going to deal with the sins

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00:24:05,300 –> 00:24:07,359

that lurk in your heart and in your life?

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00:24:07,359 –> 00:24:10,040

He gives seven very practical directions.

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00:24:10,040 –> 00:24:11,540

It’s worth its weight in gold.

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00:24:11,540 –> 00:24:13,180

So this is a treasure.

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00:24:13,180 –> 00:24:15,859

It really helps us to move forward

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00:24:15,859 –> 00:24:18,280

so we don’t just become an older version

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00:24:18,280 –> 00:24:20,160

of the person we were before,

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00:24:20,160 –> 00:24:22,300

but actually become someone who is more and more

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00:24:22,300 –> 00:24:23,719

like the Lord Jesus Christ,

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00:24:23,780 –> 00:24:26,339

which is what every Christian really wants.

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00:24:26,339 –> 00:24:28,579

Jerry Bridge’s book, Respectable Sins,

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00:24:28,579 –> 00:24:30,739

is our gift to you if you’re able to begin

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00:24:30,739 –> 00:24:33,260

a new donation to the work of Open The Bible

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00:24:33,260 –> 00:24:36,319

in the amount of £5 per month or more.

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00:24:36,319 –> 00:24:37,859

Full details of this offer,

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00:24:37,859 –> 00:24:40,099

and to give online, come to our website,

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00:24:40,099 –> 00:24:43,660

openthebible.org.uk.

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00:24:43,660 –> 00:24:46,199

For Open The Bible and Pastor Colin Smith,

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00:24:46,199 –> 00:24:47,719

I’m David Pick and I hope you’ll be able

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00:24:47,719 –> 00:24:50,540

to join us again next time on Open The Bible.

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00:24:51,380 –> 00:24:52,939

There are three situations where faith

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00:24:52,939 –> 00:24:54,500

especially needs to be applied.

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00:24:54,500 –> 00:25:04,839

Find out where they are next time on Open The Bible.