Behold Your God, Part 2

Isaiah 40:9-11

Today, we’re diving into the poignant questions of “How can I know God?” and “Where can I find God?” as we explore Isaiah chapter 40. These timeless questions are more than just queries; they shape our eternity. Thankfully, we don’t have to craft our own answers—God has provided them.

Join us as we turn to the powerful words of the Bible, where God declares, “Behold your God.” Discover how the arrival and ministry of Jesus Christ reveal the very heart and essence of God. Witness His might, His love, and His unfathomable grace as we explore His presence in our lives.

Colin Smith beautifully articulates how looking at the life of Jesus uncovers the truths of God’s holiness and compassion. It’s a reminder that the story of Christmas marks the centre of human history—God manifested in flesh, making His glory accessible to us all. This Christmas, let’s reflect on why we need not run away but rather embrace His strength and mercy.

To further explore these insights, visit our website at OpenTheBible.org.uk, where you can access all past messages, or tune into our podcast available on major platforms. Plus, there’s a special offer: receive a free copy of Colin’s latest book, “Hike Through the Bible,” with a supportive donation.

Thank you for joining us on this journey. Until next time, behold the glory of God revealed in Jesus Christ and stay inspired by His eternal love and guidance.

100:00:00,620 –> 00:00:05,820How can I know God?200:00:05,820 –> 00:00:08,140Where can I find God?300:00:08,140 –> 00:00:09,780Who is He?400:00:09,780 –> 00:00:11,020What is He like?500:00:11,020 –> 00:00:16,080And these are good questions, these are the greatest questions you’ll ever ask in your600:00:16,080 –> 00:00:17,080life.700:00:17,080 –> 00:00:19,400They’re the questions that will shape your eternity.800:00:19,400 –> 00:00:23,879And here’s the good news, God has not left you to make up your own answer.900:00:23,879 –> 00:00:27,040Welcome to Out in the Bible with Paul to Colin Smith.1000:00:27,139 –> 00:00:33,259Well these are pretty heavy questions and if God hasn’t left us to make up our own answers,1100:00:33,259 –> 00:00:35,860where do we in fact go to find those answers?1200:00:35,860 –> 00:00:41,480Well we’re in Isaiah chapter 40 and these wonderful words, Behold your God, behold,1300:00:41,480 –> 00:00:42,480look!1400:00:42,480 –> 00:00:46,959And of course John the Baptist took this up when he pointed to Jesus he said, behold the1500:00:46,959 –> 00:00:48,759Lamb of God, look!1600:00:48,759 –> 00:00:54,639Look at Jesus Christ and then you will know who God is and what God has for you in His1700:00:54,860 –> 00:00:57,000hand and in His great kindness.1800:00:57,000 –> 00:01:01,900And this is a wonderful thing, we need to know where to look, that’s the question.1900:01:01,900 –> 00:01:06,059You could come to know God’s power by looking at the world, but you could never know that2000:01:06,059 –> 00:01:10,400God cares for you simply by looking at the greatness of creation.2100:01:10,400 –> 00:01:15,160You can know that when you look at Jesus Christ because this is revealed in Jesus Christ.2200:01:15,160 –> 00:01:16,160So look, look!2300:01:16,160 –> 00:01:20,040That’s why we always want to point people to Christ, why the Bible always points people2400:01:20,040 –> 00:01:21,040to Christ.2500:01:21,040 –> 00:01:22,779So that’s where we’re looking today.2600:01:22,779 –> 00:01:28,940So as you heard, we go to Isaiah chapter 40, as we continue the message, behold your2700:01:28,940 –> 00:01:29,940God.2800:01:29,940 –> 00:01:30,940Here is Colin.2900:01:30,940 –> 00:01:36,760The glory of the Lord is the full wonder of who God is.3000:01:36,760 –> 00:01:42,800It is the splendor of God Himself.3100:01:42,800 –> 00:01:49,720And those who know the Bible will perhaps immediately think of how earlier in the Bible’s3200:01:50,099 –> 00:01:55,739story, Moses who knew much about God, went up the mountain and on one occasion he prayed3300:01:55,739 –> 00:02:03,279with great passion and intensity, Oh God please show me your glory.3400:02:03,279 –> 00:02:09,320And when Moses prayed that, he was asking God simply this, show me the full wonder of3500:02:09,320 –> 00:02:13,419who you are.3600:02:13,419 –> 00:02:19,160And you can read in Exodus chapter 33 how God spoke to Moses on that occasion and said,3700:02:19,820 –> 00:02:26,699Moses you cannot see my face and live.3800:02:26,699 –> 00:02:32,520And so God hid Moses in the cleft of a rock, the bible says covered him with his hand and3900:02:32,520 –> 00:02:38,520then God caused his glory to pass by the cleft of the rock so that Moses was allowed to see4000:02:38,520 –> 00:02:45,520the afterburn of the glory of the Lord.4100:02:46,679 –> 00:02:48,699He’d seen an appearance.4200:02:49,460 –> 00:02:53,059He’d seen a reflection.4300:02:53,059 –> 00:02:58,660He longed to see the thing itself.4400:02:59,940 –> 00:03:08,820Last month marked 50 years since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.4500:03:08,820 –> 00:03:17,100And amongst the many programs that were made to mark that occasion, CNN ran a piece that4600:03:17,100 –> 00:03:25,800included reference to the pink suit that was worn by Jackie Kennedy on that day.4700:03:25,800 –> 00:03:29,300Now most of us can immediately picture that pink suit.4800:03:29,300 –> 00:03:30,300Right?4900:03:30,300 –> 00:03:32,600I thought, why do I even need to put a picture of that up on the screen?5000:03:32,600 –> 00:03:38,720Because everyone has a picture of the pink suit, the iconic pink suit fixed in our own5100:03:38,720 –> 00:03:39,720minds.5200:03:39,720 –> 00:03:40,720Why is that?5300:03:40,720 –> 00:03:47,139We have all seen many, many pictures, images of this in newsreel footage, and in magazine5400:03:47,139 –> 00:03:49,339photographs, and so forth and so on.5500:03:49,339 –> 00:03:52,220We have all seen a representation of the pink suit.5600:03:52,220 –> 00:03:57,179I would be almost certain that not one of us here has actually seen the thing itself.5700:03:57,179 –> 00:04:04,039And what was fascinating to me about the CNN report is the pink suit, they said, has never5800:04:04,360 –> 00:04:11,360been cleaned, that it was given as a gift to the people of the United States by Carolyn5900:04:12,020 –> 00:04:19,019Kennedy in 2003, which was 9 years after her mother’s death, and that the gift came with6000:04:20,880 –> 00:04:27,500the condition that it should not be put on display for 100 years.6100:04:27,500 –> 00:04:34,500So 2103, and even then it would be with the permission of that generation of the Kennedy6200:04:35,299 –> 00:04:42,299family, and not before that time. Further, the suit is now stored in the National Archives6300:04:44,859 –> 00:04:51,859Building in Maryland, and it is stored in a windowless vault in an acid-free container6400:04:51,899 –> 00:04:58,899in an acid-free container, where the air is changed three times every hour for the preservation6500:05:00,559 –> 00:05:07,559of the fabric, and the temperature is maintained between 65 and 68 degrees. And so it will6600:05:10,160 –> 00:05:17,119be for at least 90 years. Now, all of us have seen images of the pink6700:05:17,119 –> 00:05:21,220suit. I refer to the pink suit immediately. You have a picture as I have a picture in6800:05:21,260 –> 00:05:25,839my mind, but none of us have seen the thing itself.6900:05:25,839 –> 00:05:32,839It is locked up in a vault. It is hidden from public view. But 90 years from now, the children7000:05:36,359 –> 00:05:41,119of the youngest children here today, in their old age, may be able to go and see it if it’s7100:05:41,119 –> 00:05:48,119put on display in Washington. They may get to see the thing itself.7200:05:48,899 –> 00:05:53,760Earlier this year, Karen and I visited the Space Center at Cape Canaveral. Some of you7300:05:53,760 –> 00:06:00,140may have been there. Remarkable experience once in a lifetime just to be up close to7400:06:00,140 –> 00:06:06,880the thing itself. I mean, all of us have seen endless pictures of rockets. But at Cape Canaveral7500:06:06,880 –> 00:06:13,880we were able to see Saturn 5 suspended in a vast hangar so you can walk all its length.7600:06:14,399 –> 00:06:20,720The sheer scale, the sheer size of this was utterly overwhelming. It’s different to see7700:06:20,720 –> 00:06:27,720the thing itself no matter how many pictures you may have seen over many, many years.7800:06:29,679 –> 00:06:36,679Now, think about what is being said here. The glory of the Lord will be revealed. Oh7900:06:36,940 –> 00:06:41,140yes, reflections have been seen, the earth declares the glory of the Lord. There’s been8000:06:41,640 –> 00:06:47,519some reflection of this in the fire and in the cloud but the thing itself is going to8100:06:47,519 –> 00:06:52,179be put on display. It’s going to be after many hundreds of years beyond the time of8200:06:52,179 –> 00:06:57,279Isaiah. We’re going to get something that is more than the reflections of the glory8300:06:57,279 –> 00:07:04,279of the Lord that are unknowable and unapproachable and inaccessible. Isaiah says the glory of8400:07:04,320 –> 00:07:10,339the Lord will be revealed. What Moses longed to see will be put on display and it will8500:07:10,339 –> 00:07:15,940not be made accessible only to a few like Moses. All flesh will see it together.8600:07:15,940 –> 00:07:20,619The coming of Jesus Christ will bring about a position in which any person in the world8700:07:20,619 –> 00:07:26,940may come to know God as He is through His Son who is the image, the exact representation8800:07:26,940 –> 00:07:33,540of His being. God is going to make the full wonder of who He is made known in Jesus Christ8900:07:33,540 –> 00:07:39,220and that is why when you get to the Christmas story you have John saying, the word became9000:07:39,540 –> 00:07:50,820flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen His glory. The whole Bible story has been9100:07:50,820 –> 00:08:00,679leading up to this. The full wonder of who God is now made known in Jesus Christ so that9200:08:00,679 –> 00:08:06,660the knowledge of God may be accessible, God approachable to all who will come to the Father9300:08:06,820 –> 00:08:12,739through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the marvel. This is why the coming of Jesus Christ9400:08:12,779 –> 00:08:19,459into the world is the center point of human history and must always be so. The glory of9500:08:19,459 –> 00:08:24,799the Lord should be revealed. Now, in the light of this great reality that9600:08:24,799 –> 00:08:31,540we celebrate at Christmas, what are we to do? Well, says Isaiah, here’s what you do.9700:08:31,660 –> 00:08:40,099You behold your God. You look at what has been revealed. And do9800:08:40,140 –> 00:08:45,940you notice there that the word behold comes not once, but it comes three times? Behold9900:08:45,940 –> 00:08:54,820your God. Behold the Lord God comes with might. Behold His reward is with Him.10000:08:54,820 –> 00:09:01,059Now, to behold simply means look at it. Look at this. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed.10100:09:01,299 –> 00:09:06,559So look at your God. Look at His might. Look at His reward. That’s what Isaiah says. That’s10200:09:06,619 –> 00:09:13,080what we’re to do. And that’s what we’re to call other people to do.10300:09:13,099 –> 00:09:21,020Look at your God. See, here is the message of Christmas, and it is so wonderful. God10400:09:21,020 –> 00:09:28,880became man in Jesus Christ. And He is the image of the invisible God, He is the exact10500:09:29,119 –> 00:09:34,719representation of His being. I’m quoting the Scriptures here word for word.10600:09:34,719 –> 00:09:43,159God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell bodily in Jesus Christ. We have the light10700:09:43,159 –> 00:09:51,179of the knowledge of the glory of God, how, in the face of Jesus Christ.10800:09:51,179 –> 00:09:58,580The full wonder of all that God is, has been revealed in Jesus Christ, so that Jesus says whoever10900:09:59,580 –> 00:10:07,739has seen me has seen the Father, the astonishing statement.11000:10:07,739 –> 00:10:12,500So now here’s the question. Someone’s come into church today and you’re sincerely wrestling11100:10:12,500 –> 00:10:19,719with this question, how can I know God? Where can I find God? Who is He? What is He like?11200:10:22,039 –> 00:10:25,679And these are good questions, and these are the greatest questions you will ever ask in11300:10:25,739 –> 00:10:30,419your life. They are the questions that will shape your eternity. And here’s the good news,11400:10:30,419 –> 00:10:38,239God has not left you to make up your own answer. When you want to know who God is, look at11500:10:38,239 –> 00:10:44,320Jesus Christ. That’s the message here. And when you look at Him, here’s what you will11600:10:44,320 –> 00:10:52,039see. You will see holiness and compassion and justice and truth, and you will see mercy11700:10:52,039 –> 00:10:59,219and kindness and patience and love. Look at Jesus Christ, and you will see the heart of11800:10:59,219 –> 00:11:05,219God. You will discover who God is. The word was made flesh and we have seen His glory.11900:11:05,219 –> 00:11:14,159John, what was it that you saw? We saw that He was full of grace and of truth. If someone12000:11:14,159 –> 00:11:25,719should tell you that they hate God, you ask them to tell you about the God that they hate,12100:11:25,719 –> 00:11:38,059and then talk to them about Jesus Christ. Behold your God. This is who He is.12200:11:38,059 –> 00:11:42,640You’re listening to Open the Bible. We have to pause the message briefly there but we’ll12300:11:42,739 –> 00:11:48,460be back shortly. Merry Christmas from all of us at Open the Bible. It’s good to have12400:11:48,460 –> 00:11:53,179you with us today and maybe you’ve tuned in today because your schedule is a bit different12500:11:53,179 –> 00:11:59,260to the usual one. Well, today as in every day, it’s really easy to hear pastor Colin12600:11:59,260 –> 00:12:03,880Smiths’ teaching when you come online. You can find all the messages that have already12700:12:03,880 –> 00:12:10,859been broadcast on our website at OpenTheBible.org.uk and also as a podcast, and those are on all12800:12:11,260 –> 00:12:16,380the main podcast sites, you can find them by going to your favorite podcast site, searching12900:12:16,380 –> 00:12:21,780for Open the Bible UK, and subscribe if you want to receive regular reminders. You can13000:12:21,780 –> 00:12:28,780also find a link to the podcast on our website. Back to the message now. Here again is Colin.13100:12:29,659 –> 00:12:36,659Behold your God. And then Isaiah says more than that as your beholding your God, focusing13200:12:37,539 –> 00:12:44,539particularly on this, look at his might. Look at his strength. Behold the Lord God comes13300:12:47,140 –> 00:12:54,140with might. And his arm rules for him. As the glory of the Lord is revealed, what do13400:12:55,700 –> 00:13:02,700we see? We see the strength of Almighty God. And how wonderful this is. You see it in The13500:13:03,700 –> 00:13:08,440Life of Jesus. How he endures temptation and opposition and the relentless demands of so13600:13:08,440 –> 00:13:13,080many people. You see it in the power that is demonstrated in his miracles. Bringing13700:13:13,080 –> 00:13:20,080the renewing of life to so many people. You see it in his death. As he suffers physically13800:13:20,419 –> 00:13:27,419and spiritually and emotionally. In every way. And he endures what is indescribable.13900:13:28,020 –> 00:13:35,020And you say, what strength carries that cross with a lacerated back, and endures all this,14000:13:35,219 –> 00:13:41,820and trusts God still. What kind of strength is that? But, you see this strength even more,14100:13:41,820 –> 00:13:48,820and supremely, in the power by which Jesus Christ raises himself from the dead. We quoted14200:13:50,460 –> 00:13:56,299last week the words of Jesus, he says, now, nobody takes my life from me. I’m the one14300:13:56,299 –> 00:14:01,059who has power to lay my life down. I’m the one who has power to take it up again. And14400:14:01,059 –> 00:14:07,200that’s what he did on the third day. The power by which he raises himself from the14500:14:07,200 –> 00:14:13,539dead. Look at his might. Behold, your God comes with might, that’s what Isaiah says.14600:14:13,539 –> 00:14:20,539Now, think what a saviour with power like that could do for you. See, here you are,14700:14:21,380 –> 00:14:28,380and there are things about yourself that you’ve not been able to change. You set out on this14800:14:28,659 –> 00:14:33,419year with resolutions and all the rest of it and how you were going to improve and how14900:14:33,419 –> 00:14:36,739you were going to be different and you’ve found that it’s more difficult than you thought.15000:14:36,739 –> 00:14:42,359You’ve found, as the Bible says, the leopard cannot change its spot. You tried the turning15100:14:42,359 –> 00:14:47,059over a new leaf kind of thing and you know that you cannot reinvent yourself. You need15200:14:47,059 –> 00:14:54,059a power that is greater than yourself. Now look, behold the Lord comes in might. The15300:14:55,859 –> 00:15:00,659glory of the Lord has been revealed. There is a savior who comes. He’s strong. Look at15400:15:00,659 –> 00:15:06,580His strong hands. He’s reaching out to you and if your life were to be in His strong15500:15:06,580 –> 00:15:13,580hands how different that life could be. Look at your God. Why in the world are you running15600:15:14,340 –> 00:15:21,340away from fighting against a God who has grace and mercy and love that is reaching out to15700:15:22,000 –> 00:15:29,000you as you see it in Jesus Christ? Look at his strength. What difference can come15800:15:31,559 –> 00:15:36,039to your life if your life, instead of being lived in isolation from Him, is placed into15900:15:36,039 –> 00:15:41,179His strong hands? The one who has the strength to raise himself from the dead and one day16000:15:41,440 –> 00:15:46,400he’ll raise you from the dead and bring you into His immediate presence. What16100:15:46,400 –> 00:15:53,400a savior! Behold look! And here’s the last thing. Look at His reward. The most16200:15:54,580 –> 00:16:01,580wonderful of all, I think. Behold his reward is with Him and His recompense before Him.16300:16:01,580 –> 00:16:08,580The word is with Him, and His recompense before Him. And what does that mean?16400:16:11,619 –> 00:16:15,179Here’s the thing that I found most helpful in all the reading I’ve done of commentators16500:16:15,179 –> 00:16:20,539and scholars and linguists. Alec Meteer, who I’ve quoted to you before, I think the greatest16600:16:20,539 –> 00:16:27,539living scholar on the book of Isaiah, translates it literally like this. Look! His wage is16700:16:28,419 –> 00:16:35,419with Him, and His work is before Him. Meteer says that’s the most literal translation you16800:16:35,460 –> 00:16:42,460can get of the Hebrew, look. His wage is with Him, and His work is before Him. So, we’re16900:16:48,520 –> 00:16:55,520being told here that Jesus Christ comes to do a work, and to earn a wage and that the17000:16:56,200 –> 00:17:03,200wage is with Him, and when He comes into the world, the work is before Him. What is the17100:17:04,280 –> 00:17:09,800work that is before Him? Let Jesus Himself answer that question for you. What does He17200:17:09,800 –> 00:17:15,180say about why He came into the world? Why this Christmas story? He says this, the Son17300:17:15,180 –> 00:17:21,979of Man has come to give His life as a ransom for many. Here’s the great work that was17400:17:22,079 –> 00:17:28,680before Him. Here’s the great reason for which He came into the world. He took our flesh17500:17:28,680 –> 00:17:34,699on that first Christmas. The cross was before Him. Becoming a sacrifice and a substitute17600:17:34,699 –> 00:17:40,400for sinners was before Him. This was the great work, paying the price, being the ransom.17700:17:40,400 –> 00:17:47,400The Son of Man has come to give His life as a ransom, to pay the price to buy back many17800:17:47,880 –> 00:17:54,880is what He says. If that is the work, what is the wage? Think about this. What is Christ17900:17:56,920 –> 00:18:03,920wants so much that He would leave heaven’s glory? What is Christ wants so much that He18000:18:04,760 –> 00:18:11,760would stoop to take the frailty of human flesh to Himself? What is Christ’s desire so intensely,18100:18:12,339 –> 00:18:19,339what is the reward that He has set His Heart upon that He would be ready to earn it through18200:18:19,380 –> 00:18:26,380an unspeakable suffering endured on the cross? And the answer is right there in verse 11.18300:18:28,439 –> 00:18:35,439He will tend what? His flock, like a shepherd. What does Jesus Christ get out of all that18400:18:36,439 –> 00:18:43,439He endured in this world? What are the wages that He so desired? Answer? A flock of dirty,18500:18:44,500 –> 00:18:51,500smelly sheep. That is why He came into the world, that is why He endured all that He18600:18:55,060 –> 00:19:02,060did. To secure for Himself the great reward of a flock that needs tending and gathering18700:19:02,140 –> 00:19:09,140and carrying and leading? You see Jesus says this Himself in words that you will know well18800:19:09,439 –> 00:19:13,719and they’re really just taken straight out of Isaiah in chapter 40. Jesus says, I am18900:19:13,719 –> 00:19:19,479the good shepherd. I’m the one that Isaiah was talking about and the good shepherd lays19000:19:19,479 –> 00:19:26,479down His life for the sheep. The flock are what I earn, the wages that I earn and the19100:19:26,479 –> 00:19:33,380wages that I earn and the way that they become mine and that I obtain them is that I do this19200:19:33,380 –> 00:19:37,199work of laying down my life on the Cross. I am the good shepherd and the good shepherd19300:19:37,199 –> 00:19:44,199lays down His life for the sheep. The flock are His wages. Brother and Sister in Jesus19400:19:45,839 –> 00:19:51,780Christ You are His reward. You are the reason that He came into the world and you can be19500:19:51,780 –> 00:19:58,300sure that having purchased every one of these sheep at such a cost He will tend and He will19600:19:58,300 –> 00:20:05,079gather and He will carry and He will gently lead every sheep in His flock. And Jesus says19700:20:05,079 –> 00:20:12,079about His flock I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch19800:20:12,760 –> 00:20:19,760them from my hand. The glory of the Lord is revealed in Jesus Christ. Now look at Him.19900:20:24,380 –> 00:20:31,400Behold your God. Look at His love and His mercy and His compassion and His grace and20000:20:31,979 –> 00:20:38,979ask yourself the question why am I still running from this God who reaches out to me with love20100:20:39,380 –> 00:20:46,380like this? Look at his strength and ask yourself the question, what can my life become if it20200:20:46,640 –> 00:20:53,640is wholly placed into the strong hands of this Savior? And look at His reward and say20300:20:53,719 –> 00:20:59,599what greater thing could there be in all of the world than to be one of His sheep? And20400:20:59,599 –> 00:21:05,900when you come to that conclusion you will want then to trust Him with your life. You’ll20500:21:06,459 –> 00:21:12,099want to worship Him with all that you have and all that you are, and you will want to20600:21:12,099 –> 00:21:19,099follow Him all of your days. And you will join with all of the other redeemed flock20700:21:19,520 –> 00:21:26,520of God, who say together at Christmas, come let us adore Him, because He is Christ and20800:21:27,160 –> 00:21:30,280He is the Lord. police20900:21:30,280 –> 00:21:34,479You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called Behold21000:21:34,479 –> 00:21:40,280Your God, it’s part of a larger series called Waiting for the Lord, based on Isaiah21100:21:40,280 –> 00:21:45,119chapter 40. And if you’ve missed any of the messages, you can easily catch up, or go back21200:21:45,119 –> 00:21:51,619and listen again online at our website, openthebible.org.uk, also on iTunes, and then order one or two21300:22:22,619 –> 00:22:24,020to talk about these topics.21400:22:24,020 –> 00:22:30,640There you’ll find topics such as the Lord is my shepherd, meet Jesus Part 1, 10 Distinctives21500:22:30,640 –> 00:22:35,560of a Gospel-Centered Church, and How you can Florish.21600:22:35,560 –> 00:22:42,060Each topic takes you to a series of sermons, including a video introduction to each. Again,21700:22:42,060 –> 00:22:50,020to find these resources go to openthebible.org.uk, and select the menu item, Sermons.21800:22:50,020 –> 00:22:55,640Open the Bible is able to stay on this station and the Internet and available as a podcast21900:22:55,640 –> 00:23:00,739because of the generous financial support of our listeners, that’s people like you,22000:23:00,739 –> 00:23:04,880and if you already give to support the work, thank you so much.22100:23:04,880 –> 00:23:08,900If supporting Open the Bible is something you want to start doing, this month we are22200:23:08,900 –> 00:23:11,560delighted to offer a free gift.22300:23:11,560 –> 00:23:16,880When you set up a New Direct Debit to the work of Open the Bible in the amount of £522400:23:16,880 –> 00:23:22,939per month or more or a one off gift of £50 or more, we’d love to say thank you by sending22500:23:22,939 –> 00:23:28,119you a free copy of Pastor Colin’s new book, Hike Through the Bible.22600:23:28,119 –> 00:23:31,719Colin, where did the idea of this book come from?22700:23:31,719 –> 00:23:37,680Well we have Fly Through the Bible for those who are looking for a place to begin, then22800:23:37,680 –> 00:23:41,040Drive Through the Bible obviously takes people a bit further.22900:23:41,040 –> 00:23:44,920but for everyone that wants to get serious about the Bible’s story,23000:23:44,920 –> 00:23:47,719Hike Through the Bible is for you.23100:23:47,719 –> 00:23:49,839I mean, this is where you get your boots on the ground23200:23:49,839 –> 00:23:54,359and really get to grips with what the Bible is all about,23300:23:54,359 –> 00:23:57,140and you’ll discover that the whole Bible is one story,23400:23:57,140 –> 00:24:01,839that the whole of it points to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,23500:24:01,839 –> 00:24:06,420and I wrote this for people who want to have a better grasp of the Bible.23600:24:06,420 –> 00:24:10,680I wrote it for people who want to have a deeper love for the Lord Jesus Christ23700:24:11,560 –> 00:24:15,579Just by way of encouragement, if you think that hiking sounds like hard work,23800:24:15,579 –> 00:24:18,199you can hike at a gentle pace.23900:24:18,199 –> 00:24:20,540This is fifty chapters,24000:24:20,540 –> 00:24:22,920and that’s designed so that you can do one a week –24100:24:22,920 –> 00:24:24,839a nice gentle hike through the Bible –24200:24:24,839 –> 00:24:26,939so that at the end of the year,24300:24:26,939 –> 00:24:30,099you really have grasped the Bible as a whole,24400:24:30,099 –> 00:24:34,400and you’ve got a clearer grip on what it is God is saying into your life.24500:24:34,400 –> 00:24:37,119Well, we’d love to send you Colin’s new book24600:24:37,119 –> 00:24:39,300when you set up a new direct debit24700:24:39,640 –> 00:24:41,680five pounds per month or more24800:24:41,680 –> 00:24:45,420or a one-off gift of 50 pounds or more this month.24900:24:45,420 –> 00:24:48,520Full terms and conditions online at our website25000:24:51,520 –> 00:24:53,300and you can give online.25100:24:53,380 –> 00:24:55,900Don’t forget to leave your name and address25200:24:55,900 –> 00:24:57,739so we can send you your gift.25300:24:58,339 –> 00:25:01,000For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith,25400:25:01,000 –> 00:25:02,199I’m David Pick25500:25:02,199 –> 00:25:05,199and I look forward to being with you again next time.25600:25:09,939 –> 00:25:13,239David was far from perfect.25700:25:13,239 –> 00:25:16,699Discover what made him a man after God’s own heart25800:25:16,699 –> 00:25:19,500next time on Open The Bible

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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Sermons on Isaiah 40 Where would you look in the Bible for help when you feel jaded, discouraged, and generally worn out? Isaiah 40:31 says, “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.” That speaks to me. That’s what I need. But how do I get there? How do I get to Isaiah

Colin Smith

New! Graphic Novel

A man of crime. A ruthless empire. A fellow prisoner. A promise of Paradise. 

Discover the story of the thief on the cross, and his life-changing encounter with Jesus, in this brand new full colour graphic novel version of Colin S Smith’s Heaven, How I Got Here: The Story of the Thief on the Cross.

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