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What do I want to say?

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Whatever the course of your life may be-

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if you do not guard your heart-

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the springs of life will always be blocked up for you.

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Because wherever you go you are carrying this fountain of unhappiness in your own heart.

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Guard your heart. Keep your heart.

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Because from it, not from a change in your circumstances

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flow the springs of life.

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Welcome to Open The Bible with pastor Colin Smith.

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I’m David Pick and today we’re continuing a message we began last time called Caring for Your Soul.

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And Colin, today we’re continuing to look at what it means to guard your heart.

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Yeah, we’re in Proverbs chapter 4 and verse 23 where we read,

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Keep your heart with all vigilance because from it flows the springs of life.

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In other words, everything that comes from a person’s life-

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the choices, the direction, it all comes from the condition of the heart

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And you’ve got to guard the heart. That’s the thing that really matters.

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And we got to the point last time of saying, well, now how are we to do that?

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The first thing to say that is watch.

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Remember Jesus said, watch and pray.

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Well, the book of Proverbs is saying the same,

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you’ve got to guard your heart with all vigilance,

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you’ve got to be watchful, very, very careful.

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But that’s only the beginning. That’s where we start.

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There are five ways in which we can specifically watch our hearts

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and guard our hearts. That’s where we’re focused today.

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So as you just heard Colin say we’re in Proverbs 4.

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I hope you’ll join us there as we continue our message,

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Caring for your soul. Here’s Colin.

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What would a dashboard for your soul look like?

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What about a dashboard for your soul?

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There would be red lights and there would be green lights.

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Let me suggest to you some of the red lights

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to arrange on your dashboards to watch your soul.

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Fear would be one. Pride would be another.

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Greed would be a third.

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What about self-pity or resentment

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or cowardice or anger?

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You could add to that hard thoughts about God.

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Here I am a Christian believer

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and God has blessed me in Christ

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in so many ways,

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but I’m finding creeping into my heart

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these thoughts that God is somehow

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not done right by me and owes me

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and I’ve got these hard thoughts towards God

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and they’re creeping into the heart.

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You want to watch that.

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Coldness in worship.

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I remember times of coming and having such joy

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and love for Christ.

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And now it just feels like I’m going through a routine

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Well, that’s a change

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that’s something that needs to be watched

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and I’m suggesting that you might like to include

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these things in the dashboard of your heart.

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Now these are just a few suggestions

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that I’m giving to you for starters.

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They’re ones that I have found to be very useful,

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but remember this that God says to you,

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keep your heart.

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Keep your heart.

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So be a student of your own heart.

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Nobody can know the impulses

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that are most threatening to your heart

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better than you can.

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You have to be the world expert on your own heart

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because nobody else can be.

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I can be learning much about my heart,

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but you need to be the person

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who is the world expert on your heart.

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And if you take some time to really think about it,

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you will be able to identify

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some of the characteristic red lights

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that ought to be on the dashboard of your heart.

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So take what I’ve suggested,

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include some or all of them.

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Include others that you are aware of

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or danger areas in your own heart,

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ways in which there is this secret perpetual

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and alarming tendency towards a departure from God.

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How does that manifest itself in your heart

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and put them on the dashboard.

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Don’t be a stranger to your own heart.

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Calvin said on one occasion,

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nearly all the wisdom we possess comes in two parts.

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I love the simplicity of this.

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You want to be wise?

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Two things.

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One is the knowledge of God,

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the other is the knowledge of yourself.

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You get the knowledge of God

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by studying the Bible.

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You get the knowledge of yourself

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by studying your own heart,

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in the light of the Bible.

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And there are many Christians

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who being part of a small group

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and hearing preaching on Sunday,

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are regularly used to learning about God from the Bible,

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but don’t really have much familiarity at all

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with regards to what it really means

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to look at your own heart

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and to come to an honest evaluation

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of what’s actually going on there.

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And the word of God says to us,

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you gotta keep your heart

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and you’ve got to do it with all vigilance.

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And just as those of you who are in business

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all the time are watching dashboards with trends,

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and the first thing you’re looking for

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is where’s there any change.

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That’s almost what we look for on a dashboard.

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So it is with the dashboard of the heart.

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W Pink puts it this way,

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for the Christian to keep his heart

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means for him to pay close attention

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to the direction in which his affections are moving.

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To discover whether the world

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is gaining a firmer and fuller hold over him

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or whether affection for the world

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is losing its charm for him.

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Remember as C.S Lewis said in Screwtape Letters,

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one of the devil’s great, great tactics

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is to make a man or a woman feel

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that they are making their way in the world

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when all the time, it is the world

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that is making its way in them.

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So keep your heart with all vigilance.

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The power of sin

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is like a stone rolling down a hill.

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And at the top of the hill,

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when the stone’s just beginning to roll over,

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it’s actually not that difficult

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to be able to grab hold of it

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and to put it in its place.

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But if you let a stone go rolling down a hill

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for half a mile, it is getting so much momentum,

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so much speed that you try and stand in its way,

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it can blow you apart and to hold that thing

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is just so, so much more difficult.

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And this is why keeping your heart

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is of such huge importance, friends.

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Every time you come across a sad story

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of a Christian who has gone into complete,

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total and utter moral collapse,

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you can be very sure that behind that story

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has been a long story of not keeping the heart.

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And what’s happened is that the stone

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that in the heart began to roll some long time ago

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has gained more and more and more momentum

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and then in the end it just blew the guy away.

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Keep your heart,

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with all vigilance

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because from it flow the springs of life.

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So you gotta watch, world expert on your own heart,

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know what’s going on there,

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monitor what’s changing very, very carefully.

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Second, and I’ll move through these more quickly,

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investigate, investigate.

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So there’s a little flicker on one of these red lights,

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why, what’s causing that?

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On one occasion Paul spoke

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writing to the Galatians, he asked this question.

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You were running well, he said to these Christian believers.

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Who hindered you?

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That’s a very important question

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and he doesn’t give an answer,

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he just puts the question out there for them.

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This is the question you have to answer,

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who hindered you?

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What was it that got in the way of your spiritual progress?

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You had a heart for God,

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you had a great joy in Christ,

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your love for the savior burned very very brightly.

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At one point you had great passion

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for the advance of the Gospel,

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you made significant sacrifices.

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You had courage in the way that you stood for Christ.

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You battled with deeply set sins

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and you made some significant progress,

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you grew in holiness.

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All these things were happening in you.

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Now, what has changed?

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What has got in the way?

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What have been the factors that have slowed you down?

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Investigate.

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Is there a person?

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Is it company?

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Is it a set of circumstances?

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What has happened?

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Where has the problem come?

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And when you ask these questions?

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And I say, I don’t know.

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Well, if you don’t know, ask God.

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Psalm 139, use this prayer,

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I’m seeing this change, Lord, in my heart.

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Now, search me and know my heart

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and try me and know my thoughts.

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Help me to understand what’s going on in this heart

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because I need to guard it, I need to keep it

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because from it flow the springs of life,

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I’m seeing a change here.

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I need to know what’s behind it.

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How can you deal with the problem

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if you don’t even know what it is or why it is there?

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These impulses that have the tendency

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toward secret, perpetual and alarming departure from God.

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You’re listening to pastor Colin Smith on Open the Bible

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and a message called Caring for Your Soul.

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It’s part of our series called Soul Care,

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and if you ever miss one of our messages

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or if you want to go back and listen again,

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you can always do that by coming online to our website,

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openthebible.org.uk.

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You’ll also find on the website

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other devotional material by Pastor Colin Smith,

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so I hope you’ll check that out while you’re on the website.

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That address again, openthebible.org.uk.

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Back to the message now,

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we’re in Proverbs, in chapter four.

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Here’s Colin.

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How to keep your heart confessed,

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watch, investigate, confess.

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You know this verse so well,

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if we confess our sins,

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He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins

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and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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So here’s this marvelous promise that we love,

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but there is a condition isn’t there?

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There’s an if.

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If we confess our sins,

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so how much of that are you doing,

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what was the last sin that you can remember

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particularly confessing to God?

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E.W. Pink says this,

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and see if you think this is a good and accurate description

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of the Christian world in our country today.

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Many talk about salvation,

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but few experience the joy of it.

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There is much of the form of godliness,

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but very little of its power.

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Oh, how rare it is to find any

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who know anything in their experience

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of the power that separates from the world,

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delivers from self, defends from Satan,

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makes sin to be hated, Christ to be loved,

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truth to be prized, and error and evil to be departed from.

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You see, what’s missing is this honest, heart work

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that is the business of the Christian life.

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Life.

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A confession, of course, is first to God,

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but it will help you if you are able to talk honestly

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with a friend, someone who loves you and who knows you

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and who cares about you and about your spiritual life.

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I was doing this recently in a conversation

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with a few of our lay leaders.

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Seeing some changes in my own heart.

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I don’t like what I see.

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I listed several of these things.

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One of them is, I see myself becoming less patient

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and there’s a red light that’s flashing on the dashboard,

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that’s one of them, and it needs to be addressed.

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And, to identify it clearly has been helpful to me.

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I was talking with a friend the other week,

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he’s in his early 70s, and experiencing another

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of these passages of life in which things are changing,

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moving away from being at the center of

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a number of things and so forth,

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away from responsibilities that had been trusted

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and carried with joy before.

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And, he said to me,

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Colin,

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I can see from here the path to becoming a grumpy old man.

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I can see it.

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I can see how guys become grumpy old men.

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I can see it.

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I can see it from here.

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Oh, and I was so determined not to go down that path.

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I don’t wanna fight that with him,

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but I can see it.

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I can feel it!

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That world in which one ends up living

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that nothing is as good as it would have been

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if I was doing it or when I was doing it,

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or all the rest of it.

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And, he said, I need to guard my heart.

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Guard your heart with all vigilance,

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for from it flow the springs of life.

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I’m gonna be a miserable old person.

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So, watch, investigate, confess.

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And commit, here’s Number Four.

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As you arrange your dashboard,

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I hope some of you’re really gonna draw this

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on a bit of paper and keep it in a journal

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and use it because we want to be doers of the Word of God,

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not only hearers of the Word of God.

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You might like to arrange under every red light

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that you identify that could be flashing,

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a green light that would be its corresponding opposite.

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And, it’s very easy to pull together that list.

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You just go to Galatians in chapter five

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and verse 22, which of course is the fruit of the Spirit,

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and that will give you some great starters.

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Love and peace and joy and patience and kindness

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and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness

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and self-control.

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Green lights on the dashboard,

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what we want to be flashing much.

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And, that’s not an exhaustive list.

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I mean, there’s others that you could add.

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Forgiveness would be one.

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Courage would be another.

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But even looking at the fruit of the Spirit

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will help you to identify other things

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that are the opposite that should be

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on the red light side of the dashboard.

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And, thinking about the red light side of the dashboard

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will help you to see the opposites

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that should be on the green light side of the dashboard.

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All of you who are bringing up younger children know this,

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and those who remember it know it too,

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that whenever a child is moving the direction

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of something that’s gonna be harmful,

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you know the little fingers that are going

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in the direction of an electric socket or something,

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the most helpful thing to do is

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to move the child’s attention onto something else

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that’s going to be better.

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And, A.W. Pink using that picture says this,

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the best security for the soul

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against the allurements of Satan

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is to have it engaged with a lovelier

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and a more satisfying object.

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The heart that is filled and engaged with the good

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is the one that is best protected against the evil.

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So identify the green lights and commit to pursuing them.

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Lord, by your grace, I renounce this impatience

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or whatever else is the red light

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or the red lights that you’re needing to address

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at any particular time, I want nothing more to do with it.

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Lord by your grace, help me now to grow

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in the patience that I need.

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Guard this heart from the enemy within

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so that dear Lord, the very circumstances

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that caused the red light to flash

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would be the circumstances in which

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the green light will become fully lit.

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So that’s a triumph of the Gospel,

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that the very circumstances that promoted the impatience

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or whatever it is should become by God’s grace

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the circumstances that light the green light

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of the fruit of the Spirit, patience in the soul.

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Lord that’s what I want.

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And that doesn’t come by the change of circumstances,

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that comes by a change in the heart.

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I got to keep my heart with all vigilance

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because from it flow the springs of life.

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And that takes me to the last one which is simply trust,

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which is trust.

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Now we’ve talked here about this very important

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spiritual exercise of looking at your own heart.

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Bible says, let a man examine himself,

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let a woman examine herself.

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Keep your heart with all vigilance,

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watch, investigate, confess, commit.

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But here’s the reality.

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When godly people look at their own hearts,

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we find it very, very discouraging,

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because what we find is,

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is what Octavius Lewinslow said.

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That after all of the goodness of God,

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and after all of our Christian experience,

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and all these years of serving him,

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it is astonishing to look into one’s own heart

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and still to find there a principle

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the tendency of which is to secret, perpetual,

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and alarming departure from God.

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And you say, how in a world,

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after all of God’s abundant goodness,

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can that still be?

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And I think that that’s one reason

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why a lot of Christians

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don’t actually ever look at their own heart,

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because they think that’s just going to be so discouraging,

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it’s a mess,

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it’s like a room that’s completely chaotic.

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Just close the door on that,

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I don’t even want to look.

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But God says, you have to look

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because you have to guard your own heart.

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So what are you gonna do,

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and how are you going to be protected

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against the overwhelming sense of discouragement

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that will be Satan’s tactic

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when you begin to look seriously at your own heart?

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And one of my great heroes,

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Robert Murray McShane,

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has the answer to that,

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and he says it so beautifully.

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For every look at self, he says,

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take 10 looks at Christ.

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You love that?

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00:19:56,979 –> 00:19:58,180

I have this in my memory,

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00:19:58,180 –> 00:19:59,239

but I’ve misremembered it,

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00:19:59,239 –> 00:20:01,380

I’m Googling it and I thought he said,

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for every look at yourself,

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00:20:03,239 –> 00:20:04,920

take two looks at Jesus Christ.

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00:20:04,920 –> 00:20:06,359

So I’m Googling this and I find,

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oh, I can’t find it,

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because what he really said is,

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for every look at yourself take,

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say it with me,

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10 looks at Jesus Christ,

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that’s about the right proportion.

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Now I look at my own heart

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and I say, this is so alarming.

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And I look up to Jesus Christ

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and I say, this is precisely why

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the fountain for cleansing was opened.

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And the power of the cleansing blood

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of Jesus Christ is greater

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than all of the impulses

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that exist within the human heart

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throughout this life.

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I will depend upon the cleansing of Jesus

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until the moment that I enter into heaven.

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And as I look up to Christ,

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I am reminded not only

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of the power of his cleansing blood,

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but as we saw last time,

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the power of his risen life.

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So that faith and love

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and all the green lights

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that are the fruit of the Spirit,

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how are they sustained?

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00:21:05,680 –> 00:21:07,359

Not by their own power,

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but by a communication of life

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and of nourishment and of refreshment

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00:21:12,500 –> 00:21:14,060

and of strength that comes

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right from the throne of God,

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that comes from Jesus Christ himself.

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So I’m able to say, Lord Jesus,

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as I see what’s in this heart,

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I see the need.

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Lord, by your mercy,

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apply the cleansing of the blood of Christ

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in this area, at this time,

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and now, by the power

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00:21:34,520 –> 00:21:36,939

of your gracious Holy Spirit,

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00:21:36,939 –> 00:21:38,339

give to me in this area

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00:21:38,339 –> 00:21:40,180

in which the front of the battle

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00:21:40,180 –> 00:21:42,859

in my heart is now being waged,

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00:21:42,859 –> 00:21:45,199

give to me that renewal of strength,

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00:21:45,199 –> 00:21:47,319

that renewal of nourishment,

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that renewal of all that flows from you,

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00:21:50,319 –> 00:21:51,880

so that coming from you,

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the springs of life

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00:21:53,400 –> 00:21:56,400

may not only come to my heart,

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but spring from that heart

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00:21:59,479 –> 00:22:01,040

by your grace.

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You’ve been listening to Open the Bible

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00:22:02,520 –> 00:22:03,959

with Pastor Colin Smith

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00:22:03,959 –> 00:22:05,680

and our message today called

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00:22:05,680 –> 00:22:07,199

Caring for Your Soul.

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00:22:07,199 –> 00:22:09,099

It’s all about how to take good care

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00:22:09,099 –> 00:22:10,140

of your heart.

467

00:22:10,140 –> 00:22:12,959

Watch, investigate, confess,

468

00:22:12,959 –> 00:22:14,760

commit, and trust.

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00:22:14,760 –> 00:22:15,560

And if you’ve missed

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00:22:15,560 –> 00:22:16,719

any of our series

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00:22:16,719 –> 00:22:17,640

or if you want to go back

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00:22:17,640 –> 00:22:18,959

and listen to the message again,

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00:22:18,959 –> 00:22:20,479

you can do that by coming online

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00:22:20,479 –> 00:22:21,760

to our website

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00:22:21,800 –> 00:22:24,439

openthebible.org.uk.

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00:22:24,439 –> 00:22:26,500

You can also find us now as a podcast

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00:22:26,500 –> 00:22:29,239

and that’s on your regular podcasting site.

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00:22:29,239 –> 00:22:31,239

Just search for Open the Bible UK

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00:22:31,239 –> 00:22:33,839

and subscribe to receive regular updates.

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00:22:33,839 –> 00:22:34,900

You’ll also find a link

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00:22:34,900 –> 00:22:37,859

on our website to the podcast.

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00:22:37,859 –> 00:22:39,160

And that address again is

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00:22:40,680 –> 00:22:42,520

openthebible.org.uk

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00:22:42,520 –> 00:22:44,619

Open the Bible is listener supported.

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00:22:44,619 –> 00:22:45,839

It’s your generosity

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00:22:45,839 –> 00:22:47,640

that keeps Pastor Colin’s teaching

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00:22:47,640 –> 00:22:49,880

on this station and online.

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00:22:49,880 –> 00:22:51,119

Thank you if you already

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00:22:51,319 –> 00:22:52,760

give regularly if that’s something

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00:22:53,180 –> 00:22:54,859

you’ve been thinking about doing.

491

00:22:54,859 –> 00:22:56,439

If you’re able to set up a regular

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00:22:56,439 –> 00:22:58,079

gift to the work of Open the Bible

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00:22:58,079 –> 00:23:00,119

in the amount of £5 per month

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00:23:00,119 –> 00:23:01,119

or more.

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00:23:01,199 –> 00:23:02,760

This month we’d love to thank you

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00:23:02,760 –> 00:23:04,380

by sending you a copy of Chris

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00:23:04,380 –> 00:23:06,920

Lungard’s book The Enemy Within

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00:23:06,920 –> 00:23:08,839

Straight Talking About The Power

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00:23:08,839 –> 00:23:10,319

And Defeat Of Sin.

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00:23:10,319 –> 00:23:12,079

Colin, for those of us not familiar

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00:23:12,079 –> 00:23:13,640

with Chris Lungard, what can you

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00:23:13,640 –> 00:23:14,640

tell us about him?

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00:23:15,079 –> 00:23:16,680

Well, Chris Lungard has done a

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00:23:16,680 –> 00:23:19,319

brilliant job of describing

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00:23:19,319 –> 00:23:20,800

the battle that Christians have

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00:23:20,800 –> 00:23:22,560

against sin and

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00:23:22,800 –> 00:23:24,660

pointing us in the direction

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00:23:24,719 –> 00:23:26,319

of how we can prevail

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00:23:26,380 –> 00:23:27,420

in that battle.

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00:23:27,880 –> 00:23:29,160

Now the Bible speaks about this

511

00:23:29,160 –> 00:23:31,140

very clearly, especially in Romans

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00:23:31,160 –> 00:23:32,640

Chapter Eight and verse 13.

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We’ve got to put to death

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00:23:34,880 –> 00:23:36,599

the misdeeds of the body by the

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00:23:36,599 –> 00:23:38,479

power of the Holy Spirit who lives

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00:23:38,520 –> 00:23:39,520

within us.

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That’s the ongoing battle of the

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Christian life.

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00:23:42,920 –> 00:23:44,479

I think one of the most insightful

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00:23:44,819 –> 00:23:47,079

writers in all of human history

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00:23:47,079 –> 00:23:49,119

on this is a Puritan writer

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00:23:49,119 –> 00:23:50,800

by the name of John Owen.

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00:23:51,199 –> 00:23:52,280

He wrote on the battle

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00:23:53,119 –> 00:23:54,459

against sin in a profoundly

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00:23:55,599 –> 00:23:56,599

helpful way.

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00:23:57,060 –> 00:23:59,020

You’ve got to know what sin you’re

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00:23:59,079 –> 00:24:00,079

up against.

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00:24:00,280 –> 00:24:01,699

You’ve got to find where it’s

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00:24:02,040 –> 00:24:03,959

lurking in your heart, and then

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00:24:03,979 –> 00:24:05,400

you’ve got to be ruthless in

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00:24:05,439 –> 00:24:07,400

giving it no quarter in putting it

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00:24:07,400 –> 00:24:09,000

to death. That Romans Chapter Eight

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00:24:09,000 –> 00:24:10,119

in verse 13.

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00:24:10,680 –> 00:24:12,339

But the problem with John Owen is

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00:24:12,560 –> 00:24:14,920

that he was a 17th century Puritan

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00:24:15,319 –> 00:24:17,500

and he wrote hundreds of pages

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00:24:17,500 –> 00:24:19,380

that are quite difficult to read.

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00:24:19,739 –> 00:24:21,479

And the genius of Chris Lungard

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00:24:22,540 –> 00:24:24,959

is that he has taken the insights

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00:24:25,060 –> 00:24:26,680

of John Owen, some of the richest

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00:24:27,500 –> 00:24:29,020

insights into the battle of the

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00:24:29,140 –> 00:24:30,660

Christian life in history.

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00:24:31,060 –> 00:24:33,239

And he has put these in clear

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00:24:33,339 –> 00:24:35,619

and contemporary and compelling

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00:24:35,619 –> 00:24:36,579

terms.

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00:24:36,579 –> 00:24:37,880

And that is why this is such a

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00:24:37,900 –> 00:24:38,900

wonderful book.

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00:24:39,180 –> 00:24:40,979

It is brilliantly titled The

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00:24:41,099 –> 00:24:43,319

Enemy Within – Straight Talk

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00:24:43,380 –> 00:24:44,760

About the Power and Defeat of

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00:24:45,300 –> 00:24:46,099

Sin.

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00:24:46,099 –> 00:24:48,260

Anyone who wants to prevail

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00:24:48,300 –> 00:24:49,859

in their battle against sin

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00:24:50,119 –> 00:24:51,140

should read this book.

555

00:24:51,380 –> 00:24:53,079

It is wonderfully practical,

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00:24:53,420 –> 00:24:54,739

wonderfully encouraging and

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00:24:55,040 –> 00:24:56,040

wonderfully helpful.

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00:24:56,540 –> 00:24:57,979

Well, we’d love to send you a copy

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00:24:57,979 –> 00:24:59,479

of this book and a thank you for

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00:24:59,479 –> 00:25:01,020

setting up a new donation to the

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00:25:01,160 –> 00:25:02,660

work of Open the Bible this month.

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00:25:03,000 –> 00:25:04,300

There are full details on our

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00:25:04,300 –> 00:25:05,300

website, openthebible.org.uk.

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00:25:08,680 –> 00:25:10,560

For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin

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00:25:10,579 –> 00:25:12,219

Smith. I’m David Pick, and I hope

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00:25:12,219 –> 00:25:13,660

you’ll join us again next time.

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00:25:16,579 –> 00:25:20,579

If you have the idea

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00:25:20,579 –> 00:25:22,280

that the Christian faith is about

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00:25:22,280 –> 00:25:24,380

believing in Jesus from a distance,

570

00:25:24,699 –> 00:25:26,619

discover what he really says about

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00:25:26,619 –> 00:25:28,579

that. That’s next time on

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00:25:28,619 –> 00:25:29,520

Open the Bible.