Changing the Future by Owning the Past, Part 1

Deuteronomy 1:26-36
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In this episode, Pastor Colin delves into Deuteronomy Chapter One, highlighting six impulses that naturally occur within us all. These include rebellion against God, treating God’s grace with contempt, blaming others, resisting truth, refusing to believe, and ultimately, being under God’s wrath. The sermon raises an urgent question: How can we enter the promised land if we inherit these traits?

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If I’d been there, I’m sure I’d want to have raised my hand an …

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Excuse me, Moses. Excuse me. Why are you saying this to us?

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I was only 12 when these things that you’re talking about happened and most

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of the rest of us weren’t even born. It was our parents who did these things,

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not us.

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Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick.

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Colin, I can imagine people gathered around Moses listening to him saying

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hang on. Why are you having a go at us?

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This was stuff our parents did.

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Yeah, the place we’re at in the Bible story is the beginning of the book of

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Deuteronomy. God’s people have been wandering in the desert for 40 years.

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A whole generation has died in the desert.

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Moses is now addressing the younger generation who will go on to enter the

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promised land, and he says to them, now you have been here too long.

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Well, it was the older generation that had all died off, really, that were

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responsible for not having the faith to go into the promised land earlier.

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Of course, the point here is what’s in our parents is in us as well.

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We all have to fight the battle against the impulse to unbelief that lurks

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within every human life.

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And how we can overcome that?

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Well, that’s what we’re going to look at in the scriptures together today.

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So join us if you can today in Deuteronomy Chapter One, near the end of the chapter,

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as we begin our message Change the Future by Owning the Past.

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Here’s Colin.

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I hope you have your Bible open at Deuteronomy.

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Last week, we really answered the question.

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What does this book have to do with us today?

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And we saw that the book of Deuteronomy is really about how people with a faith

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become people with a mission.

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This is the word that God spoke through Moses to his people on the very verge of the land of Canaan.

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God is telling them, giving them what it takes to break free from the habits

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of the past and to enter into something that is new.

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And that is why we have called this series Take To The Power Of A Fresh Start.

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Now, if you have your Bible open at the first chapter, you may recall from verse six

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that the book begins with a flashback.

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Picture this, Moses is with the people, camped on the verge of the River Jordan.

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They’re about to go into the land of Canaan.

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And from verse six of chapter one, Moses goes back and tells the story

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of what has happened in the last forty years.

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The Lord, our God said to us at Horeb

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that was 40 years before, you have stayed long enough at this mountain.

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And then he tells the story

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as we saw last time, of how the people rebelled against God.

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They refused to trust in him.

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They declined to go into the land of Canaan.

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And there, for 40 years were wasted wandering in the desert.

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After 40 years, we saw last time

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that all the men who were of fighting age,

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all the men, what’s fighting age?

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I’m going to call that 18 years and older.

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OK, let’s just use that as a figure.

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All the men, 18 years and older, all the men of fighting

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age at the time of the Exodus, the time of Mount Sinai,

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all of them died in the desert

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during the next 40 years.

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So I want you to get the picture.

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Because it’s very important for us to understand the message

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from God’s word today.

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Let’s assume that fighting age is 18 and work this out.

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If everybody over 18

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is dead after 40 years.

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Then nobody over

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the age of 58 is alive,

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are you with me?

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OK, let’s just think about this.

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Think about the implications of this with me.

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Everyone aged 18 and older at Mt.

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Sinai, I all the folks 18 and older at the time of the exodus.

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When they came out of Egypt, they’ve all died after 40 years.

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The 18 year old.

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That’s the youngest of them would be 58.

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So 58 is the oldest person in the nation.

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You’re 58. You’re a geriatric.

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As far as this generation is concerned,

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all the adults that came out of Egypt,

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all the adults who were standing there at Mount Sinai when God gave his law,

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all of them died in the desert.

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None of them entered into the promised land.

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And we saw that last week in chapter 2 and verse 15.

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What that means is that the children at the time of the Exodus,

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those who were just young,

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all those who were in the age of 18 at the time of Mount Sinai,

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they’re going to have moved up.

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And they’re going to be between the ages of 40 and 58.

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Imagine that.

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A nation where the oldest is

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58 years of age.

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And the 40 to 58 year olds, they can think, 40 years ago,

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what is that? That’s 1970. What do you remember about 1970?

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Is it vivid for you? You know,

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those are 40 years old and over,

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they only have vague memories of these events According to the stage

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that they were at in life, 40 years ago,

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the vast majority of the people thirdly,

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third observation were obviously under the age of 40.

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They were born to parents who then died fairly young in the

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desert. So this is a young nation.

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Yeah,

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no one really over 60 with the

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exception of Moses who’s now over a hundred

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and Caleb and Joshua,

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these guys must have been having a major experience of a generation

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gap. Can you imagine being Moses over 100 and the next guys are 58

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huge cap.

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This missing generation,

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those who have died in the desert.

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I just want to make really sure we’ve all got this and that we’re all together

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before we move on, because it’s,

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it’s key to understanding this part of the scripture. I believe.

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How many of you here today are under the age of

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40. Let’s have a show of hands. All the under forties. Okay.

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Everyone under 40.

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Now you are the ones who were born in the desert.

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You went into life at the time of the Exodus,

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you were born in the desert.

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Let’s have the 40 to 58 year olds. I’m in that group.

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All the ones who are 40 to 50 you come on a hands up.

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Very good. There’s a good number of us here. Okay.

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We were there at Mount Sinai, but most of us were very young,

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40 years ago I was 12.

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So I’m trying to put myself in the shoes of these guys.

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What would I remember from all of these events?

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And those of you who are over 58,

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thank God today that you are not in the generation that was in the desert,

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the generation that came out of Egypt,

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because you wouldn’t be alive if you were in that generation.

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Thank God for his gift of life.

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To you. Now we’ve got it. Clear in our minds. Look at chapter one. Verse six,

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please. When Moses says the Lord, our God said to us,

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you have stayed long enough at this mountain.

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And he’s talking about what happened 40 years ago when most of the people

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weren’t even born.

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And many of the rest were too young to remember.

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Now I want you to look at verse 26,

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which is the beginning of our passage for today,

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and I want to see if you notice something that is obviously very strange.

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Verse 26,

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you were unwilling to go up.

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Verse 26,

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you rebelled against the Lord.

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Verse 27,

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you grumbled in your tents and said,

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the Lord hates us.

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Verse 32.

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You did not trust in the Lord your God.

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Now you see what, I’m going with this.

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The obvious question is why in the world is Moses saying this to them.

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If I’d been there, I’m sure I’d want to have raised my hand at it.

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Excuse me, Moses, excuse me.

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Why are you saying this to us?

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I was only 12 when these things that you’re talking about happened,

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and most of the rest of us weren’t even born.

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It was our parents who did these things, not us.

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How can you say, Moses, we refuse to go up?

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Why are you saying, Moses, that we were the ones who grumbled?

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It wasn’t us who did these things, it was our parents.

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That’s what I want to say to him. Wouldn’t you?

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So why is Moses saying this?

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Is he blaming the children

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for the sins of the parents?

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No, God never does that.

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He is teaching the children

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to learn from the parents.

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The message here is very simple, and Moses is making it plain.

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Understand this, folks, that what was in your parents

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is also in you.

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You will face the same temptations, the same struggles that they did.

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What defeated them, you now have to overcome

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in your time, in your life, and in your experience.

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You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith,

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and the message today Change the Future by Owning the Past.

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We’ve been compiling a list of the most requested messages

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Back to the message now, here’s Colin.

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Understand this folks,

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that what was in your parents is also in you.

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You will face the same temptations, the same struggles that they did.

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What defeated them, you now have to overcome

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in your time, in your life and in your experience.

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And that is why I’ve called the message

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from Deuteronomy today, changing the future by owning the past.

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What is this past that they must own?

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What is it that’s in these people

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that also was in their parents

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and also is in us that we must overcome?

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I want you to see that from the passage that’s in front of me.

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So let me offer to you from the scriptures here six impulses

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that are in you, as they are in me by nature.

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Six impulses that are in you, as they are in me by nature.

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They’re all right here in front of you in the scripture.

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Number one, verse 26.

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By nature, I rebel against God.

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Now, I mean me and I mean you.

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By nature, I rebel against God.

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You were unwilling to go up,

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he says, to this younger generation.

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You rebelled, rebelled against the command of the Lord,

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you’re God.

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So what this means is that our corruption,

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the effect of sin in you and the effect of sin in me

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is deeper than a few sins and a few mistakes.

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By nature, I resent God.

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By nature, I resist his authority over my life.

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By nature, it is my nature,

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my old nature to want to assert my independence from God.

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I want by nature to be my own savior.

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I want by nature to be my own Lord.

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By nature, I rebel against God.

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Second, by nature, I treat God with contempt.

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Verse 27.

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You grumbled in your tents and you said,

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the Lord hates us, isn’t that striking?

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So that’s why he brought us out of Egypt

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to deliver us into the hands of the Ammonites.

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He was just out to destroy us.

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Now, think about this.

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The deliverance from Egypt is this miracle of God’s grace.

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And these people are treating the miracle of God’s grace

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by which they’ve been brought out of slavery

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with absolute contempt.

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They’re so twisted that they have the idea

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that God’s miraculous deliverance

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is some kind of plot to do them harm.

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And this is me.

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This is me by nature.

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I treat God with contempt.

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By nature, what I do, by nature what we do

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is that we hold back praise to God for his goodness

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and we apportion blame to God whenever we experience evil.

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By nature I say, here I am in the desert

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and it’s all God’s fault.

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You recognize that?

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By nature, I insult God.

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By nature I treat the abundant goodness of God

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with contempt.

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Number three, by nature I blame others.

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Verse 28, notice what they say.

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Our brothers have made us lose heart.

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It’s always the brother’s fault, isn’t it?

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They say that the people are stronger

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and taller than we are.

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The reference here of course is to the spies coming back

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and the spies who brought this negative report

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and brought discouragement to the people.

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And now the people are saying

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well it’s all the spy’s fault.

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They’re the ones that discouraged us.

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It’s not my fault it’s the spy’s.

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By nature, you recognize this?

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I blame others for all my problems.

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By nature, what’s wrong is always everyone else’s fault.

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By nature, in the words of the Lord Jesus,

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I see a speck of dust in the eye of my neighbor

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when I cannot see a plank of wood.

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In my own eye.

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I blame others.

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Number four, by nature, I resist the truth.

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Look at verse 29.

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Here’s Moses speaking to the people.

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They’re afraid and he says,

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now don’t be terrified, don’t be afraid of them.

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That’s the Canaanites.

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The Lord your God who is going before you

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will fight for you just as he did in Egypt

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and in the desert.

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Haven’t you seen how God bears you up

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as a father carries his own son?

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And Moses is pleading with the people here.

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They’re full of fear.

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And so, what does Moses do as a prophet?

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He pours the Word of God into their lives,

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but it makes no difference.

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These folks hear the Word of God

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and it’s just like water off a duck’s back.

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It never goes in.

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It doesn’t change them.

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In spite of this, verse 32,

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you did not trust the Lord your God,

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00:16:14,020 –> 00:16:17,539

but by nature I am always hearing the Word of God,

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but never really understanding.

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00:16:18,919 –> 00:16:22,260

I’m always seeing God at work, but I never perceive it.

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00:16:24,119 –> 00:16:25,940

I resist the truth by nature.

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00:16:28,179 –> 00:16:32,340

Number five, by nature, I refuse to believe, verse 32,

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00:16:32,340 –> 00:16:35,520

you did not trust in the Lord your God

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who went ahead of you.

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00:16:39,580 –> 00:16:43,900

This is the reality of our sinful nature.

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00:16:43,940 –> 00:16:46,380

This is the reality of our fallen condition.

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00:16:46,380 –> 00:16:49,700

By nature I am suspicious of God.

295

00:16:50,739 –> 00:16:55,059

By nature I hold back from full devotion to him.

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00:16:55,059 –> 00:16:57,580

By nature I do not trust him.

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00:16:58,700 –> 00:17:00,960

And here’s God, he is beside these people.

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00:17:00,960 –> 00:17:03,059

He’s walking with them in the pillar of cloud

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00:17:03,059 –> 00:17:05,640

and in the pillar of fire.

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00:17:05,640 –> 00:17:08,319

And yet they refuse to believe.

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00:17:09,260 –> 00:17:10,660

Now you see what this is telling us?

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Folks, none of us is neutral.

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00:17:13,819 –> 00:17:17,579

When it comes to this matter of faith.

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00:17:17,579 –> 00:17:19,859

You’re not neutral when it comes to the matter of faith.

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00:17:19,859 –> 00:17:21,619

No one is.

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00:17:21,619 –> 00:17:26,619

By nature I am antagonistic towards God and so are you.

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00:17:28,739 –> 00:17:33,739

By nature we are unwilling to believe.

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00:17:35,959 –> 00:17:38,579

And that leads to the sixth thing here,

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by nature I am under the wrath of God.

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00:17:44,579 –> 00:17:46,359

Verse 34, it’s so clear.

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When the Lord heard what you said,

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he was angry and solemnly swore

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00:17:55,260 –> 00:17:58,500

not a man of this evil generation

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00:17:58,500 –> 00:18:01,459

will see the good land that I swore to your forefathers

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00:18:01,459 –> 00:18:02,560

and none of them did.

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00:18:04,479 –> 00:18:07,500

What this is telling me is that by nature

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I am alienated from God

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and by nature I am justly under his wrath.

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There is a heaven,

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00:18:21,439 –> 00:18:24,599

but folks, by nature it’s not for me

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00:18:25,739 –> 00:18:27,819

and by nature it’s not for you either.

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By nature I have no basis on which to enter

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00:18:33,300 –> 00:18:36,239

into the land of promise

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00:18:36,239 –> 00:18:39,079

that is full of God’s good things.

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00:18:40,060 –> 00:18:43,160

And Moses is saying so clearly here now folks,

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understand this, all of this was in your parents,

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but don’t think it’s stopped there

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because all of it’s in you, that’s the message.

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Makes you wanna weep doesn’t it?

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00:18:56,119 –> 00:18:58,660

But folks, this is the human condition,

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this is by nature my condition.

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00:19:04,319 –> 00:19:06,900

This is by nature your condition.

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This is who we are.

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That crosses all the economic differences between us,

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00:19:14,319 –> 00:19:17,239

all the cultural and racial differences between us.

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This is who we are by nature.

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00:19:19,339 –> 00:19:21,880

This is what sin has done to us

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00:19:23,439 –> 00:19:27,819

and this is what we need saving from.

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00:19:28,599 –> 00:19:33,699

The gospel will always be like

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00:19:33,699 –> 00:19:35,979

water off a duck’s back to you

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00:19:35,979 –> 00:19:40,979

until you grasp the extent of what you need saving from.

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00:19:42,739 –> 00:19:44,599

Now, this raises an obvious question.

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00:19:47,260 –> 00:19:49,359

If everything, think about it.

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If everything that kept your parents out of Canaan

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00:19:54,339 –> 00:19:55,880

is also in you,

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00:19:56,839 –> 00:20:01,140

if everything that kept them out is also in you,

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00:20:01,140 –> 00:20:03,920

then what hope is there of you

348

00:20:03,920 –> 00:20:06,760

ever getting into the promised land?

349

00:20:06,760 –> 00:20:08,920

That’s the question, isn’t it?

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00:20:08,920 –> 00:20:12,719

If all that kept them out now is also in me,

351

00:20:12,719 –> 00:20:17,719

what hope is there of me ever getting in?

352

00:20:20,619 –> 00:20:22,300

When you see the human condition,

353

00:20:22,300 –> 00:20:25,640

when you see yourself before God

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00:20:25,640 –> 00:20:28,880

as you really are, by nature, that is the question.

355

00:20:30,459 –> 00:20:31,739

Do you see yourself here?

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00:20:33,619 –> 00:20:37,160

See, maybe you would say with me right now,

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00:20:37,160 –> 00:20:40,500

yeah, I see myself here.

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00:20:42,160 –> 00:20:47,160

I see that in my very nature I am totally messed up.

359

00:20:47,439 –> 00:20:49,599

I see that I’m a rebel against God.

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00:20:49,599 –> 00:20:52,760

I see that I treat his mercy with contempt.

361

00:20:53,719 –> 00:20:56,599

I see how I live blaming others

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00:20:56,599 –> 00:20:58,420

for everything that’s wrong in my life.

363

00:20:58,420 –> 00:21:01,800

I see how much I resist the truth, however much I hear it.

364

00:21:01,800 –> 00:21:05,540

I see how I’m a person who for all the professions

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00:21:05,540 –> 00:21:07,839

of faith that have been made actually true,

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00:21:07,839 –> 00:21:11,300

refuses to trust God in the reality of life.

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I see that I am under the wrath of God.

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00:21:15,680 –> 00:21:17,640

So now what hope is there for me?

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00:21:17,640 –> 00:21:20,040

That’s the question, isn’t it?

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00:21:20,040 –> 00:21:21,199

And we have to pause there,

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00:21:21,260 –> 00:21:22,359

but we’ll continue to look

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00:21:22,359 –> 00:21:25,359

at that question in our next broadcast.

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You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith

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00:21:27,140 –> 00:21:29,839

on Open The Bible and the message today

375

00:21:29,839 –> 00:21:32,959

called Change The Future By Owning The Past.

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00:21:32,959 –> 00:21:35,579

It’s part of our series Listener Favorites,

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00:21:35,579 –> 00:21:37,599

and that’s a list of messages

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00:21:37,599 –> 00:21:40,020

which we’ve compiled from the most requested

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00:21:40,020 –> 00:21:44,680

and downloaded messages of the last 12 months.

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Don’t forget if you ever miss one of our messages,

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you can always catch up or go back

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00:21:48,780 –> 00:21:50,239

or you can listen again online,

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00:21:50,239 –> 00:21:54,199

at our website, openthebible.org.uk,

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00:21:54,199 –> 00:21:56,339

or by finding us as a podcast

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00:21:56,339 –> 00:21:57,760

on your favorite podcast site

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00:21:57,760 –> 00:22:00,540

or by following the link from our website.

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00:22:00,540 –> 00:22:02,060

And the podcasts are available

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00:22:02,060 –> 00:22:05,640

by searching a podcast site for Open The Bible UK.

389

00:22:06,500 –> 00:22:09,040

On our website and also available as a podcast

390

00:22:09,040 –> 00:22:10,760

is Open The Bible Daily,

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00:22:10,760 –> 00:22:12,400

and that’s a series of short

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00:22:12,400 –> 00:22:14,760

two to three minute reflective pieces,

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00:22:14,760 –> 00:22:15,839

a new one every day,

394

00:22:15,839 –> 00:22:17,839

based on Pastor Colin Smith’s teaching

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00:22:17,839 –> 00:22:20,239

and read in the UK by Sue MacLeish.

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00:22:21,160 –> 00:22:24,319

At Open The Bible, we welcome contact with our listeners.

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00:22:24,319 –> 00:22:27,520

If you’ve been blessed by Pastor Colin Smith’s teaching

398

00:22:27,520 –> 00:22:29,380

and you’d like to reach out to us,

399

00:22:29,380 –> 00:22:31,239

there are several ways you can do that.

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00:22:31,239 –> 00:22:34,079

You can write to us at Open The Bible,

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00:22:34,079 –> 00:22:38,579

P.O. Box 1420, Cheltenham, GL50, 9pg.

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00:22:40,959 –> 00:22:42,280

Or you can phone us

403

00:22:42,280 –> 00:22:47,280

on 0330 335 8015.

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00:22:48,839 –> 00:22:51,040

If we’re not available when you call,

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00:22:51,040 –> 00:22:53,859

leave a message for us and we’ll return your call

406

00:22:53,859 –> 00:22:56,079

and you can find all those contact details

407

00:22:56,079 –> 00:22:59,699

on our website, openthebible.org.uk.

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00:23:01,079 –> 00:23:03,439

Open The Bible is able to stay on this station

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00:23:03,439 –> 00:23:06,680

and on the internet because of your generosity.

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00:23:06,680 –> 00:23:09,040

Open The Bible is a listener supported ministry,

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00:23:09,040 –> 00:23:12,819

so thank you for giving and supporting Open The Bible.

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00:23:12,819 –> 00:23:15,359

If that’s something that you’re thinking about doing,

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00:23:15,479 –> 00:23:16,520

if you’re able to set up

414

00:23:16,520 –> 00:23:20,180

a new gift of five pounds per month or more this month,

415

00:23:20,180 –> 00:23:22,339

we’d like to thank you by sending you a copy

416

00:23:22,339 –> 00:23:25,880

of pastor Colin’s new book, Flying Through the Bible.

417

00:23:25,880 –> 00:23:29,680

And Colin, when you do this kind of high altitude flight

418

00:23:29,680 –> 00:23:31,920

over the entire Bible story,

419

00:23:31,920 –> 00:23:34,439

there’s so much in there that you really have to focus in.

420

00:23:34,439 –> 00:23:37,280

So what are the themes that you’ve focused on

421

00:23:37,280 –> 00:23:38,719

in this new book?

422

00:23:38,719 –> 00:23:42,079

Well, it really is a high altitude flight

423

00:23:42,079 –> 00:23:43,520

over the Bible story.

424

00:23:43,680 –> 00:23:46,079

We’re talking about around a hundred pages,

425

00:23:46,079 –> 00:23:49,160

so it’s covering at a great speed,

426

00:23:49,160 –> 00:23:53,560

but you can get an overview of the Bible very simply

427

00:23:53,560 –> 00:23:57,819

by thinking about five people in the Old Testament,

428

00:23:57,819 –> 00:24:01,959

Adam and Abraham and Moses and David and Ezra.

429

00:24:01,959 –> 00:24:04,280

If you get the stories of these five people,

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00:24:04,280 –> 00:24:06,959

you’ve really got a broad outline

431

00:24:06,959 –> 00:24:08,880

of the Old Testament story.

432

00:24:08,880 –> 00:24:10,780

Then when we come to the gospels,

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we look at five events in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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He was born, he was tempted, he was crucified,

435

00:24:17,939 –> 00:24:20,859

he is risen, and he has ascended.

436

00:24:20,859 –> 00:24:22,979

And grasp these five events,

437

00:24:22,979 –> 00:24:25,119

and you have a broad outline

438

00:24:25,119 –> 00:24:27,979

of what you need to know about the Lord Jesus Christ.

439

00:24:27,979 –> 00:24:30,040

And then in the New Testament letters,

440

00:24:30,040 –> 00:24:32,560

there are five marvelous gifts

441

00:24:32,560 –> 00:24:34,540

that God gives to all who believe.

442

00:24:34,540 –> 00:24:37,739

The gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of faith,

443

00:24:37,739 –> 00:24:40,540

the gift of forgiveness, the gift of the church,

444

00:24:40,540 –> 00:24:42,699

and the gift of heaven itself.

445

00:24:42,699 –> 00:24:45,619

So there’s a very quick fly through the Bible.

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00:24:45,619 –> 00:24:47,420

It’s cookies on the bottom shelf,

447

00:24:47,420 –> 00:24:50,339

and I hope folks are going to find it really helpful.

448

00:24:50,339 –> 00:24:51,819

Well, we’d like to send you a copy

449

00:24:51,819 –> 00:24:54,219

of Pastor Colin’s book, Flying Through the Bible,

450

00:24:54,219 –> 00:24:57,579

to say thank you for supporting Open the Bible this month.

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00:24:57,579 –> 00:25:00,579

Full details of this offer are on our website.

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00:25:00,579 –> 00:25:04,619

That’s at openthebible.org.uk.

453

00:25:04,619 –> 00:25:06,900

For Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick,

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00:25:06,900 –> 00:25:08,579

and I hope you’ll be able to join us again soon.

455

00:25:09,140 –> 00:25:14,020

Turning over a new leaf won’t change what’s in you.

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00:25:14,020 –> 00:25:17,339

Find out what will next 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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