Believe! Part 1

Psalm 73:23-26
Broadcast Featured Image

Are you feel discouraged? In today’s broadcast, we’re diving into the poignant story of Asaph from Psalm 73. Despite his initial discouragement, Asaph’s journey becomes one of incredible transformation. We’re focusing on the crucial fourth element of his five-part spiritual turnaround: learning to believe.

Join us as we explore how Asaph moves away from self-absorption and frustration to find solace and strength in God’s unwavering trustworthiness. Pastor Colin guides us through Asaph’s revelation that true faith isn’t dependent on one’s ability to trust, but rather on God’s reliability. This message is sure to resonate with anyone feeling weighed down by doubt or self-doubt.

As Pastor Colin delves into the psalm, we discover how stepping into a deeper relationship with God can illuminate even the darkest paths. If you’ve been battling with discouragement, this episode will offer a beacon of hope and encouragement.

100:00:00,520 –> 00:00:07,000Biblical faith is utterly God centered.200:00:08,040 –> 00:00:13,160By the way that is good news, faith is not about your capacity to believe.300:00:14,360 –> 00:00:19,240If faith was about your ability to trust then frankly some of us would have a great advantage400:00:19,240 –> 00:00:27,559over others. So thank God, that faith, Christian faith is not about your ability to trust it is500:00:27,559 –> 00:00:32,439about the trustworthiness of God and that’s the same for all of us.600:00:32,439 –> 00:00:37,480Welcome to Open The Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I am David Pick. Glad you could be with us.700:00:37,480 –> 00:00:42,439And Colin today we will have an encouraging message as we continue the story of Asaph800:00:42,439 –> 00:00:48,279from Psalm 73. He was discouraged but God turned him around. And we are looking at the900:00:48,279 –> 00:00:54,200first three points of a five-point turn really, aren’t we? Asaph had to stop, he had to think1000:00:54,200 –> 00:00:56,040and he had to confess.1100:00:56,119 –> 00:01:00,520And today were moving onto the fourth part that he had to believe and this is a huge1200:01:00,520 –> 00:01:04,680turning point for Asaph. And it’s going to be a huge turning point for a discouraged1300:01:04,680 –> 00:01:11,080person who’s listening today. Asaph had become absorbed with himself, all of his own1400:01:11,080 –> 00:01:18,279thoughts, all of his own frustration, a bit of self-pity put in there as well and as God1500:01:18,279 –> 00:01:24,459begins to deal with him in a very deep way, his eyes get taken off himself and he begins1600:01:24,459 –> 00:01:30,540to get his eyes onto God and he sees something in God that he did not see before and suddenly1700:01:30,540 –> 00:01:35,900there’s some light that begins to dawn for him and he moves from the place of feeling1800:01:35,900 –> 00:01:40,639there’s no point going on, to feeling yeah I have to go on, because I’m walking with1900:01:40,639 –> 00:01:46,099God and God is walking with me. This is a story of tremendous encouragement and I hope2000:01:46,099 –> 00:01:51,559that it will be a real blessing and a lift to a person who’s been really down on themselves,2100:01:51,559 –> 00:01:56,980really frustrated and today’s going to be the point where you move to the place of believing2200:01:56,980 –> 00:01:59,839and find the help and the light that comes from God.2300:01:59,839 –> 00:02:05,519so I hope you’ll join us today if you can in Psalm 73 at verse 23 as we begin the message2400:02:05,519 –> 00:02:07,059Believe! Here’s Colin.2500:02:07,059 –> 00:02:12,800We continue to follow this marvellous story of Asaph, who tells us about how God brought2600:02:12,800 –> 00:02:21,179him through a great crisis in his life. Now remember that Asaph was a mature believer2700:02:21,179 –> 00:02:26,820but he’s telling us in this psalm about a time when his feet had almost slipped. That’s2800:02:26,820 –> 00:02:37,440verse 2 -‘I almost lost it’, he says, -‘I almost gave up.’ and we’ve seen that even2900:02:37,440 –> 00:02:42,919the strongest Christian can come to an experience like this. There was a time in Asaph’s journey3000:02:42,919 –> 00:02:48,160as a believer when he could make no sense of what God was doing in the world. Couldn’t3100:02:48,160 –> 00:02:53,399really understand what God was doing in his own life and could no longer really see the3200:02:53,399 –> 00:03:00,119point of pursuing a godly life. And the good news of this psalm, because all of us may3300:03:00,119 –> 00:03:05,860come to such times in our lives, is that God can bring you through an Asaph experience3400:03:05,860 –> 00:03:12,399and Psalm 73 tells us how that happened. God brought this man we’ve been seeing through3500:03:12,660 –> 00:03:19,279a five point turn, and we’re discovering that Asaph’s five point turn is really a pattern3600:03:19,279 –> 00:03:24,360of what needs to happen when we feel that our feet are also slipping, and we are in3700:03:24,360 –> 00:03:31,279danger of leaving God’s path for our lives. And just to review where we’ve come very quickly,3800:03:31,279 –> 00:03:36,679we saw that the first part of that five point turn was that Asaph had to stop. If you’re3900:03:36,679 –> 00:03:42,119going to turn around, the first thing that you have to do is to stop, you have to stop4000:03:42,160 –> 00:03:48,199moving in the wrong direction. This happened for Asaph when he made a decision of loyalty4100:03:48,199 –> 00:03:54,119to God and loyalty to his people, remember, the first step in turning your life around4200:03:54,119 –> 00:03:59,679is not to get an answer to all your questions, it is to make a decision of loyalty to God4300:03:59,679 –> 00:04:05,559and to his people. Then we saw that Asaph had to think. He went into the sanctuary,4400:04:05,559 –> 00:04:10,419he remembered God’s truth, he met with God’s people, he considered the ultimate outcome4500:04:10,899 –> 00:04:16,540of life, and that’s when the light went on for this man and God straightened out his4600:04:16,540 –> 00:04:22,160thinking as he came into the presence of God in worship. One of the wonderful blessings4700:04:22,160 –> 00:04:28,140of coming together in worship is that God ministers to us in this way, in his presence.4800:04:28,140 –> 00:04:34,160And as we seek his face, he straightens out our thinking around his truth. Then we saw4900:04:34,160 –> 00:04:39,179that in the light of that thirdly, Asaph had to confess. There are some sins we saw to5000:04:39,260 –> 00:04:45,220which you and I are especially prone when our hearts are grieved and Asaph confesses5100:04:45,220 –> 00:04:52,220these. I was bitter, he says, I let my heart rule my head. I acted on impulse. I was like5200:04:52,920 –> 00:04:58,179a brute beast before you, the beasts always acting on impulse.5300:04:58,179 –> 00:05:05,179Now, today, we’re coming to the third dimension of Asaph’s turnaround, and I want us, as we5400:05:06,179 –> 00:05:13,179come to it, to notice the progression that there is through this five-point turn.5500:05:14,399 –> 00:05:21,399Last week we noticed how the discovery of truth leads to prayer. We saw that prayer5600:05:22,260 –> 00:05:28,119flows out where truth flows in, that the pattern was very simply that God straightened out5700:05:28,119 –> 00:05:32,380this man’s thinking when he came to worship, and the result of the encounter with truth5800:05:33,179 –> 00:05:37,779is that he begins to pray. Prayer flows out where truth flows in.5900:05:37,779 –> 00:05:44,779Now, what flows out where prayer flows in? What comes of prayer? And the answer is faith.6000:05:45,839 –> 00:05:50,700Faith flows out where prayer flows in, you see. There’s a progression here, truth bringing6100:05:50,700 –> 00:05:57,339him to prayer, prayer building his faith, and there is a logical progression there,6200:05:57,339 –> 00:06:03,899his faith is simply truth embraced and applied to life. It’s not just truth heard, it’s6300:06:03,899 –> 00:06:08,320truth embraced and applied to life. So this man hears and rediscovers the truth6400:06:08,320 –> 00:06:17,720of God, he embraces it and applies it in prayer, and the result is that his faith grows, a6500:06:18,440 –> 00:06:27,640mind opened, a soul cleansed and a faith restored.6600:06:27,640 –> 00:06:30,940Now that’s really where we’re headed today in these next verses, because we’re going6700:06:30,940 –> 00:06:36,119to see how Asaph’s faith was restored, and so our one simple word today of course is6800:06:36,119 –> 00:06:41,640the word, believe. Now let’s begin with the big picture. Before6900:06:41,700 –> 00:06:48,519we get to Asaph’s affirmation of faith, I want you to notice the radical shift that7000:06:48,519 –> 00:06:51,220is taking place in these verses.7100:06:51,220 –> 00:06:57,239See, the first 14 verses of the psalm, the whole of the first half, Asaph has been completely7200:06:57,239 –> 00:07:02,519and utterly absorbed with himself. What’s it been about? Why are things going wrong7300:07:02,519 –> 00:07:08,320in my life? Why can’t I make any sense of what God is doing in the world? Why is God7400:07:08,480 –> 00:07:13,239blessing other people more than me? What is the point in me pursuing a godly life? When7500:07:13,239 –> 00:07:20,239I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me. Now see, Asaph has been absorbed with7600:07:20,920 –> 00:07:27,299himself and it’s only really when he comes into the presence of God that he understands7700:07:27,299 –> 00:07:31,799the problem. See throughout the first half of the psalm, he’s been quite convinced7800:07:32,279 –> 00:07:38,299that the problem is with God and he’s been quite convinced that the difficulties that7900:07:38,299 –> 00:07:45,299he is facing are the root of all his unhappiness, but when he comes into the presence of God,8000:07:46,160 –> 00:07:50,779God turns on the light and then Asaph sees that the real problem that he’s struggling8100:07:50,779 –> 00:07:57,779with is himself. My heart was grieved, my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant,8200:07:58,779 –> 00:08:05,779I was a brute beast before you. After all this time he’s saying, when I was going round8300:08:06,679 –> 00:08:11,440and round and round trying to make sense of all of this, wrestling with these great questions8400:08:11,440 –> 00:08:16,579of God and about life and about everything that’s happening, I discovered after all8500:08:16,579 –> 00:08:22,940of this, when I came into the presence of God, that the real problem is actually myself.8600:08:23,059 –> 00:08:27,179And you know that’s his discovery, that’s his confession.8700:08:27,179 –> 00:08:34,179Let me quote here from Doctor Mark Lloyd-Jones, who is writing on this is I found so insightful,8800:08:34,520 –> 00:08:46,520he says, self is our most constant enemy. It is the most prolific cause of all our unhappiness.8900:08:47,219 –> 00:08:54,219It’s true, self is our most constant enemy, it is the most prolific cause of all our unhappiness.9000:08:59,080 –> 00:09:06,080What’s the biggest cause of your unhappiness? Yourself.9100:09:07,280 –> 00:09:12,780What’s the biggest cause of my unhappiness? Myself.9200:09:13,640 –> 00:09:20,200Lloyd-Jones continues, as a result of the Fall of Adam, we are self-centered.9300:09:20,200 –> 00:09:26,340We are sensitive about ourselves. We are always selfish, always detecting ourselves.9400:09:26,340 –> 00:09:31,460Always ready to imagine offences, always ready to say we’ve been wronged and9500:09:31,460 –> 00:09:35,400dealt with unfairly. He said I am speaking from experience,9600:09:35,400 –> 00:09:42,380may God have mercy on us on us. It’s the truth about us all. You recognise that?9700:09:42,960 –> 00:09:53,659Now if self is the problem, what is the deliverance? The answer is God is the9800:09:53,659 –> 00:10:01,659deliverance. If self is the problem, God is the deliverance. Now let me just read9900:10:01,659 –> 00:10:05,460these verses with some emphasis and I think you’ll see how Asaph moves from10000:10:05,460 –> 00:10:10,960the misery of preoccupation with himself to the joyful freedom of confident faith10100:10:11,000 –> 00:10:16,039in God. Look at these verses with me just for a moment, beginning with Verse 22.10200:10:16,039 –> 00:10:23,200I was senseless, I was ignorant, I was a brute beast before you. Yet I’m always10300:10:23,200 –> 00:10:30,460with you. You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel. Afterward10400:10:30,460 –> 00:10:35,580you take me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I10500:10:35,580 –> 00:10:40,619desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail but God is the10600:10:40,619 –> 00:10:44,320strength of my heart and my portion forever. Now do you see the movement? It’s10700:10:44,320 –> 00:10:52,340very marked. Asaph discovered the glorious freedom of a God-centered life,10800:10:52,340 –> 00:11:00,780the deliverance from preoccupation with self. And that’s what faith is about10900:11:00,780 –> 00:11:08,059because biblical faith is utterly God-centered. By the way that is good11000:11:08,059 –> 00:11:15,859news. Faith is not about your capacity to believe. If faith was about your ability11100:11:15,859 –> 00:11:21,000to trust, then frankly some of us would have a great advantage over others. Some11200:11:21,000 –> 00:11:25,260of us find it very easy to trust. Some of us find it very difficult to trust and11300:11:25,260 –> 00:11:29,659frankly your ability to trust has a great deal to do with your past11400:11:29,799 –> 00:11:33,479experiences of whether trust has been honoured or whether your trust has been11500:11:33,479 –> 00:11:38,619let down. If faith is about your ability to trust then some of us will find it11600:11:38,619 –> 00:11:42,200easy because of our background, some of us frankly will find it hard or almost11700:11:42,200 –> 00:11:47,919impossible. Thank God that faith, Christian faith, is not about your11800:11:47,919 –> 00:11:53,179ability to trust. It is about the trustworthiness of God and that’s the11900:11:53,940 –> 00:12:00,140And the whole point of a God-centered faith is that I am12000:12:00,140 –> 00:12:08,320liberated for myself and my hurts and my wounds and I am centered in him, who is12100:12:08,320 –> 00:12:14,919all together trustworthy. Now this is the great movement that takes place for12200:12:14,919 –> 00:12:22,359Asaph. There is a God in heaven and he can be trusted. Your faith will grow as12300:12:22,500 –> 00:12:28,700you get your eyes off yourself and fixed on to him.12400:12:29,700 –> 00:12:33,239You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called12500:12:33,340 –> 00:12:39,080Believe, part of our series I Almost Gave up, based on the story of ASAPH as we12600:12:39,080 –> 00:12:44,320find it in Psalm 73 and if you ever miss one of our messages you can always catch12700:12:44,400 –> 00:12:50,900up or go back and listen again online at our website openthebible.org.uk or as a12800:12:50,900 –> 00:12:54,880podcast you can find them on all the main podcast sites. Search for Open the12900:12:54,880 –> 00:13:00,140Bible UK or follow the link from our website. Open the Bible is supported13000:13:00,140 –> 00:13:04,299entirely by our listeners and that’s something we’re very grateful for. If13100:13:04,299 –> 00:13:08,359you’re thinking of beginning to do that yourself perhaps you’d like to hear from13200:13:08,359 –> 00:13:12,380Pastor Colin later on in the program about the special offer we have for you13300:13:12,380 –> 00:13:16,400this month. Back to the message now here’s Colin.13400:13:16,619 –> 00:13:22,159This is then the fourth dimension of the Five-Point Turn. We’ve expressed it in13500:13:22,159 –> 00:13:29,700this one word, to believe. To come to a God-centered faith, and really what we13600:13:29,700 –> 00:13:34,159have in these verses before us is one of the finest expressions of faith that you13700:13:34,159 –> 00:13:41,119will find anywhere that you will ever hear. Let’s look at it in three ways as13800:13:41,200 –> 00:13:50,479we focus in on verses 25 and 26. First is this, he affirms a faith in God who is in13900:13:50,479 –> 00:14:05,640heaven. God in heaven for you. Whom have I in heaven but you. Verse 25. Now the14000:14:05,640 –> 00:14:09,280first thing that you need to know about heaven of course is that heaven is14100:14:09,280 –> 00:14:16,799utterly God-centered when John saw his vision of heaven that’s recorded in the14200:14:16,799 –> 00:14:21,119book of Revelation you remember that he saw he states it twice in chapter 5 and14300:14:21,119 –> 00:14:30,280in chapter 7 that the Lamb of God, that Jesus Christ was at the center. If there14400:14:30,280 –> 00:14:36,780is just one thing that you need to grasp about heaven it is that Jesus Christ is14500:14:37,059 –> 00:14:42,140at the center of everything there14600:14:43,599 –> 00:14:50,140God wants you to know that he is at the center of all things in heaven so that14700:14:50,140 –> 00:14:58,659knowing that you will know how to live your life wisely on earth. Now of course14800:14:58,659 –> 00:15:05,099there are other people in heaven besides Jesus so let’s take a moment to think14900:15:05,219 –> 00:15:16,880about Asaph question together. Whom have I in heaven but you. Who do you15000:15:16,880 –> 00:15:25,200have in heaven? Let me tell you who I have in heaven I have a grandmother and15100:15:25,200 –> 00:15:32,640a grandfather in heaven to whom I was very very close very very close indeed.15200:15:32,840 –> 00:15:38,539I look forward to seeing them again. I have another grandmother I have another15300:15:38,539 –> 00:15:41,739grandfather in heaven who I only ever met once in my life.15400:15:41,739 –> 00:15:48,140I look forward to getting to know them in heaven.15500:15:48,159 –> 00:15:55,719I have a pastor who shaped my life in a formative way through his personal care15600:15:55,719 –> 00:16:01,979and through his ministry when I was a teenager. He’s in heaven I have15700:16:02,039 –> 00:16:09,080thought many many many times how much I would love to share my life with him now15800:16:09,080 –> 00:16:15,500but he died twenty years ago just in his early fifties.15900:16:15,500 –> 00:16:22,599Now some of you have a husband or a wife in heaven, some of you have a child in16000:16:22,599 –> 00:16:27,099heaven. Sometimes you think about seeing them16100:16:27,340 –> 00:16:35,479and you wonder what it will be like. There are people in heaven and one of16200:16:35,479 –> 00:16:43,440our great joys when we arrive there will be that reuniting with them.16300:16:43,440 –> 00:16:52,119Wonderful thing. Then there are pleasures in heaven. Psalm 16, At your right hand there16400:16:52,140 –> 00:16:58,580are pleasures for ever more. The psalmist says, we’re not told very much about these pleasures.16500:16:58,580 –> 00:17:02,520They’re largely hidden from us but we’re certainly told very clearly that they’re there.16600:17:02,520 –> 00:17:09,119Paul says that the human mind can’t conceive what god has prepared for those who love him.16700:17:09,119 –> 00:17:12,819We wouldn’t be able to imagine it frankly even if God told us.16800:17:12,819 –> 00:17:19,780And there are possessions in heaven. Certain things will be given to you in heaven that16900:17:19,780 –> 00:17:29,979you do not have now. Crowns, rewards, many songs have been written about the things of17000:17:29,979 –> 00:17:37,579heaven. I’ve got a mansion just over the hill top, remember that one? I’m going to walk17100:17:37,579 –> 00:17:45,819the streets of gold, remember that one? Now, it’s surely significant that the bible says17200:17:45,819 –> 00:17:55,760very little about the people, the pleasures, and the possessions of heaven. They are there17300:17:55,760 –> 00:18:02,000but the one thing that is made unmistakably clear because it is the central thing, is17400:18:02,000 –> 00:18:10,459that Jesus Christ is in heaven, to be in heaven is to be in the presence of Jesus. Now it17500:18:11,380 –> 00:18:17,359precisely the point that Asaph has grasped. He comes to a God centered fashion, and it17600:18:17,359 –> 00:18:30,719begins here. Whom have I in heaven but you? Any other perspective on heaven, and you’ve17700:18:30,719 –> 00:18:39,880completely missed the point. Let me try and illustrate this for you. Imagine with me please17800:18:39,939 –> 00:18:46,479Tom and Mary. The young couple engaged and about to be married. The wedding is just five17900:18:46,479 –> 00:18:54,439days away and Tom takes Mary out for a candle lit dinner. And looking over, get in a bit18000:18:54,439 –> 00:19:02,359of a romantic mood here will you? You know, looking over the candle. Tom says, I can hardly18100:19:02,359 –> 00:19:09,359wait till Saturday comes. Mary smiles as she looks back over the candle into Tom’s eyes18200:19:10,280 –> 00:19:20,160and tells me she says why are you so excited about Saturday? Now all Tom has to do at this18300:19:20,160 –> 00:19:28,719moment is to say, because on Saturday, I get to marry you, but Tom is a bit of a dummy.18400:19:28,719 –> 00:19:38,239He doesn’t always get his cues. So he says you know, Saturday my great uncle Jack is18500:19:38,239 –> 00:19:45,000coming in from Boston and I haven’t seen him for 10 years or he says Saturday the guys18600:19:45,000 –> 00:19:48,119from the football team at college are all going to be here and you know we’re going18700:19:48,119 –> 00:19:54,359to go out on Friday night. Or he says, Oh, the reception’s going to be at the Grand18800:19:54,359 –> 00:20:02,520Hotel ballroom and I love the food that they serve there. Now of course, all these things18900:20:02,520 –> 00:20:06,199may be wonderfully true. It is great that uncle Jack and the football team’s coming19000:20:06,199 –> 00:20:13,800in and there will be a marvelous meal. The problem is that by making them his focus,19100:20:13,800 –> 00:20:22,760Tom has completely missed the point, right? Do you know that surveys show that something19200:20:22,760 –> 00:20:34,040like 90% of all Americans think they’ll be in heaven. Heaven’s big among the people19300:20:34,040 –> 00:20:42,160that work beside you, they think they’ll be there. A good question to ask someone who19400:20:42,160 –> 00:20:52,339thinks they’ll be in heaven is this, why would you want to go there? Actually, your19500:20:52,339 –> 00:20:57,959answer to that question may just be one of the most revealing things about you, because19600:20:57,959 –> 00:21:05,699the reality is that for a lot of people their conception of heaven is about people, possessions19700:21:05,699 –> 00:21:13,199and pleasures, that’s all it is. And their idea of heaven is as christ-less as their19800:21:13,199 –> 00:21:24,020life on Earth. There is only one heaven and Jesus Christ is at the center of it. Heaven19900:21:24,180 –> 00:21:34,819is about Christ. Eternity – eternity – is about Christ. And once you’ve grasped that20000:21:34,819 –> 00:21:41,819God-centred Christ-focused reality of eternity, then you know how to live life in this world.20100:21:43,939 –> 00:21:47,739You’ve been listening to Open The Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called20200:21:47,900 –> 00:22:16,380Open The Bible is able to stay online and on the air, as a result of the generous giving20300:22:16,459 –> 00:22:21,099by our listeners, so if you already give to support the work, thank you so much.20400:22:21,660 –> 00:22:26,380If that’s something you’re considering doing in the future, we have a special offer for you.20500:22:26,939 –> 00:22:30,699If you’re able to begin a new direct debit to the work of Open The Bible,20600:22:30,699 –> 00:22:37,420in the amount of £5 per month, or more, or a one off gift of £50, we’d love to thank you20700:22:37,420 –> 00:22:43,979by sending you a copy of Pastor Collinsmith’s book For All Who Grieve, along with 5 lovely20800:22:43,979 –> 00:22:51,739greetings cards with a verse from Psalm 23. Colin what was it that inspired you to write this book?20900:22:52,380 –> 00:22:57,420Well, I’ll never forget it. I was away on a study break when I picked up a voicemail21000:22:57,420 –> 00:23:04,219with the terrible news that a couple in our church had lost their son in a tragic accident and21100:23:04,859 –> 00:23:08,859in the days and weeks that followed I had the privilege of walking with them21200:23:08,859 –> 00:23:13,260through the funeral and the first days of their grief. And I said to them at one21300:23:13,260 –> 00:23:19,819point you know there are others in the church who have lost a child. Would you be interested21400:23:19,819 –> 00:23:26,619in meeting with some others who have gone through this most awful experience and they jumped at21500:23:26,619 –> 00:23:32,300that and a few days later we gathered a group of people who had gone through the same experience in21600:23:32,300 –> 00:23:37,500our home. And oh it’s one of the most moving experiences of my life to have heard these21700:23:37,500 –> 00:23:42,939folks sharing their stories with each other! And then in the weeks that followed we continued to21800:23:42,939 –> 00:23:48,380meet and opened up the book of Lamentations. A whole book of the Bible that’s given to the21900:23:48,380 –> 00:23:55,819subject of navigating your way through the valley of sorrow and loss. And it was remarkable to hear22000:23:55,819 –> 00:24:02,699folks relate their experience to Scripture and Scripture to their experience. And sometime after22100:24:02,699 –> 00:24:09,020that several in that group felt that they would be happy to share their stories. And so really22200:24:09,099 –> 00:24:15,660what this book, For All Who Grieve, is, is it’s a combination of the stories with what we learned22300:24:15,660 –> 00:24:21,180from the book of Lamentations together. So if you would have liked to have been in that group,22400:24:21,180 –> 00:24:25,500if you would like to have been a fly on the wall and to have heard what these folks said,22500:24:25,500 –> 00:24:31,979you have the opportunity to do that. And we’ve put this together in order to share a testimony22600:24:31,979 –> 00:24:39,579to the sufficiency of God’s grace in the most painful and sorrowful valleys. And I hope that22700:24:39,579 –> 00:24:45,020it really will be a means of help and comfort and encouragement for all who grieve. Well,22800:24:45,020 –> 00:24:50,140we’d love to send you a copy of Colin’s book along with five lovely greetings cards with a22900:24:50,140 –> 00:24:56,140verse from Psalm 23 if you’re able to begin a new direct debit to the work of Open The Bible23000:24:56,140 –> 00:25:02,380in the amount of five pounds per month or more or a one-off gift of 50 pounds or more this month.23100:25:02,939 –> 00:25:09,180Full terms and conditions can be found on our website and you can also give online . For Open23200:25:09,180 –> 00:25:14,300The Bible for pastor Colin Smith I’m David Pigg and i hope you’ll join us again next time23300:25:15,180 –> 00:25:23,739Are you looking forward to heaven? It’s possible to long for23400:25:23,739 –> 00:25:29,660heaven but still to completely miss the point Find out why next time on Open The Bible

Details

Sermon Series
Date
Primary Audience

Monthly Offer

Get a free copy of this month’s book, Gospel Stories by Andrew Wilson, when you set up a monthly direct debit of at least £5, or give a one-off gift of at least £50…

Donate

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.

Linked resources

Sermons on Psalm 73 Sometimes even the strongest Christians feel like giving up. That’s what happened to a man named Asaph, and in Psalm 73, he tells us how God turned him around. Discover Asaph’s “five-point turn” and find out how God can deliver you from discouragement.

Colin Smith

Easter Heaven Pack

Church Leaders: reach your local community this Easter with our FREE Heaven Film Event Pack! Get instant access to the film link, social media and publicity resources, an event guide and much more.

Search

Search

Header Submit Search