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There are lots of people in America today who want God’s blessing. God Bless America!
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But there are many people who want God’s blessing and are not ready to take the yoke of obedience
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to Christ.
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Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick, and we’re continuing
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our series, Give Yourself a Break – How to Enjoy God’s Gift of Rest.
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And Colin, when you talk about taking on a yoke, that doesn’t sound like rest, that
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sounds like work.
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Yes, and that’s because neither of us were brought up on a first century farm. Think
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about the picture here, that two animals are yoked together, and they’re pulling this
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plough, and Jesus is speaking about being yoked to Him.
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Now think about this, would you rather pull a plough on your own, or would you rather
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be yoked to all the strength that is in Jesus Christ, and you and Jesus be pulling it together?
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Well, I’ll take option B, please.
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You’ve gotta go with Option B. There is no question about it, that’s going to put
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you in an entirely different position. So rather than being a burden, here is the way
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in which we are able to pull the load of life by being yoked to Christ, which is why
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he says if you’re yoked to Me, then you’re going to find rest, not that you’re not
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going to be actively engaged in life, but you’re going to be able to fulfil what otherwise
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you could not accomplish.
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So that’s where we’ll be today, so if you can, join us in Matthew chapter 11 as we
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continue the message, Come, Take, Learn. Here’s Colin.
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Look at what Jesus says, Come to me All you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will
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give you rest. But we have no right to cut him off, have we, in the middle of the flow
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of his statement. Look what he says next, Take my yoke upon you and learn of me and
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you will find rest for your souls. In other words, if you are going to live a life that
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will issue in a fulfilled purpose, a completed project, you must not only come believing
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in Jesus. But you must, he says it himself, be ready to take his yoke upon you. Now when
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Jesus talks about the yoke, he is using a very simple picture. When farmers were plowing
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a field, they tied two animals together to pull the plow. There was a kind of harness
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that tied the two animals together, and then there was a piece of wood that would be across
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the necks of the animals that was called the yoke. You can still see that in many third
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world countries today. The point of the yoke was to make sure, of course, that the two
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animals were pulling in the same direction together and that they were not pulling apart.
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A very painful thing to wear a yoke if you’re pulling in the opposite direction from the
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one you are yoked to. Now, Jesus says, take my yoke upon you. In other words, if you want
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to experience this rest, if you want your life to be a completed project, a fulfilled
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purpose, you have to pull in the direction that I’m pulling. You have to move in the
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direction that I’m going. Don’t pull against me. Give up doing your own thing. Give up
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going your own way. Take my yoke upon you. Now, of course, this is a marvelous picture,
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isn’t it, of a life of obedience, being yoked to Jesus. Jesus says, if you take my yoke
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upon you, then you will find rest for your soul. Saying that you’re a believer, and
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doing your own thing, will never lead you into a life in which God’s purpose for you
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is completed or is project accomplished. Now, if you question that, remember that the Bible
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gives us a very powerful story to illustrate the point. Remember back in the Old Testament
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that God’s people were slaves in Egypt? Now think about that word, slaves. Slaves
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certainly have no rest. Seven days a week, slaves. No Sabbath. No rest. But God brought
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them out of that, and brought them to Sinai. Where God’s presence came down. God promised
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to give them a land where they would enjoy rest. He said go and take possession of this
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land, the Land of Canaan. That was God’s purpose, that was God’s project. And they were in obedience
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to become those who brought about God’s purpose in the world. However when they got to the
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borders of Canaan, many of you know the story well, they sent out spies, and the spies came
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back with a gloomy report saying that what God had called them to do, was going to be
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much more difficult and much more costly than had been previously thought. So instead of
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being obedient to God’s command, they turned back into the dessert.
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The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 3 in verse 11 that God was angry with them. Because
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disobedience. And said they will never enter my rest.
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So here we have people who come to Mount Sinai. But they’re not ready to take the yoke of
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obedience to what God calls them to do. They want God’s blessing, but they’re not ready
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for the yoke of costly obedience.
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Now let’s pause for a moment. Is that you? See there are lots of people in America today
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who want God’s blessing. God bless America. But there are many people who want God’s blessing
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and are not ready to take the yoke of obedience to Christ. God bless America and let me do
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my own thing. Now if that’s where you are you need to know what happens to a generation
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of people like that. These folks who came to God in that way, spent the rest of their
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lives wondering for 40 years in the desert and contributed nothing to advancing the purpose
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of God for the world, they died in the desert and their lives were an unfulfilled purpose,
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an incomplete project, they never entered God’s rest. So let’s establish this clearly
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from the teaching of Jesus and from the pattern of scripture in our minds, a person who wants
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the blessing of God but will not take the yoke of Christ will never enter God’s rest.
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Take my yoke upon you and learn of me and you will find rest for your souls. Now if
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you doubt the importance of this, read Hebrews chapter 3 and chapter 4 because the writer
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to the Hebrews takes up this whole story of those who wanted the blessing of God but wouldn’t
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take the yoke of obedience and never entered into his rest and applies it to the Christian
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church and says this is a danger for some who gather to worship God on Sunday mornings.
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Hebrews 3-12, see to it brothers that none of you has a sinful unbelieving heart that
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turns away from the living God. Hebrews 3-14, we’ve come to share in Christ if we hold firmly
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to the end the confidence that we did at first. See I know people who at one time made a decision
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for Jesus, and then wandered off the rest of their lives to do their own thing. The
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Bible is making it clear, you will not enter into God’s rest that way. God’s purpose
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for your life is to be fulfilled. The project is to be completed.
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And Jesus says if that’s to happen you have to come to me and you have to take the yoke.
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That’s why the writer to the Hebrews can say in chapter four in verse eleven, make every
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effort to enter into that rest so that no one will fall by following their example of
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disobedience. He’s talking about the generation in the desert.
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As some of you may be getting nervous at this point and saying wait a minute, is this salvation
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by works. No of course not, salvation is by grace through faith alone.
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But listen the Bible everywhere makes clear that where true faith exists it shows itself
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in obedience. And that’s what Jesus brings together, come to me, take my yoke upon you.
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That’s the way to a life that fulfils the purpose of God for you that ends up being
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a completed project that enter into God’s Holy Rest. The marvelous thing, of course,
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is that when you yoke yourself to Christ it’s not just you that pools with Him but he pools
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with you. Think of the blessing of that. Christ pooling with you in your worry, Christ pooling
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with you in your job search, Christ pooling with that conflict you’re not sure how to
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resolve, Christ pooling with you in everything that you face. That’s why he says, my yoke
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is easy and my burden is light. Or you may find the challenge of giving up your own agenda
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and yoking yourself to Christ, becoming as it were a slave of Christ, to be something
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that you shrink from at first but when you see who is your yoke to, it becomes the greatest
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privilege of life. Your life will be lived in partnership with me, the one who has entered
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into my rest and that is precisely where I will take you.
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And so I ask not simply have you come to believe in Jesus, but I ask this morning have you
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come to the place of pledging your unconditional allegiance to Christ, rather like a vow of
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marriage. An exclusive commitment that begins a new way of life that revolves around another
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person.
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Come. Take.
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You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and today’s message,
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come, take, learn. Part of our series give yourself a break. How to enjoy God’s gift
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of rest. And we’ve been looking at come and take, and in a moment we’ll return to look
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at learn. So I hope you’ll stay with us.
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If you tuned in late or you’ve missed any of the messages in the series to date, you
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can always go online to catch up or go back and listen again. Our website address is openthebible.org.uk
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and there you can download any of the messages which have already been broadcast.
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You’ll also find us as a podcast if that’s a better way to keep up with Pastor Colin’s
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teaching and that’s available in all the regular podcast sites. Just follow the link on our
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website or indeed go to your favorite podcast site and search for Open the Bible UK. Subscribe
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to receive regular updates.
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Back to the message now where in Matthew in chapter 11 here’s Colin.
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Come, take. And then you’ll notice that there’s one more thing that Jesus says to us here.
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Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.
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Take my yoke and learn of me.
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And you will find rest for your souls.
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Jesus is making it clear that to become a Christian,
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to live a life that will enter into this completion of purpose and will issue in God’s rest,
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it involves learning a whole new way of life.
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It involves a whole new set of values.
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Now there’s great emphasis isn’t there in our culture today on defining your own values.
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What are your values?
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Determining your own lifestyle.
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What is your lifestyle?
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And Jesus is saying, if you really want your life to be a
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fulfilled purpose, a completed project,
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you need to learn my values and you’re going to need to
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follow my lifestyle.
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If you’re going to enter into my rest, you need to become my
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student, learn of me.
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You need to have me as your teacher and place
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yourself in the position of a learner who will live life
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patterned after my teaching.
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Over the summer, I have been struggling with a major
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psychological trauma on the tennis court.
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For the first time, I have been beaten consistently and
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comprehensively by my 15-year-old son.
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I’ve always loved tennis.
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I’ve never had any lessons.
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I can hit the ball hard and straight, but
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that’s about it.
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David has been in tennis lessons for the last five
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years.
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Now he has a spin serve, a drop volley, a topspin lob, a
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cross-court drive.
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And I’m still hitting the ball hard and straight.
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Nobody, I promise you, could ever question my passion or
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commitment.
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Thundering up and down the court with loud grunts and a
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face that turns a strange shade of purple.
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Every time I go out to play, my wife says, now don’t kill
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yourself, dear.
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I think the sight of this middle-aged guy thundering
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around a tennis court being beaten into the ground by a
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15-year-old who has hardly broken sweat must look faintly
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ridiculous.
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See, passion and commitment can take you to a certain
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point, but winning takes more than commitment.
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It also takes skill.
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My problem on the tennis court certainly does not lie in the
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area of commitment.
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The issue is skill.
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I never had a teacher.
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I never learned properly from someone other than myself.
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Now, Jesus is saying to us, I can give you rest.
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But here’s how it’s going to happen.
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You need not only to come to me believing.
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You need not only to take my yoke upon you in a commitment
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of sold out obedience.
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But you also need something else.
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You need to learn from me.
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You need the lessons.
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You need the teacher.
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You need to discover the life skills.
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That’s actually a good translation
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of the Bible’s word wisdom, for knowing
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how to be a disciple of Jesus in this world.
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And notice what Jesus is saying, I will be your teacher.
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You can learn of me.
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But you do have to humble yourself
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and get away from the cultural norm of my values,
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my lifestyle, and say, no, my position
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is that I’m a student of Jesus.
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And He is my teacher.
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This is probably one of the most neglected aspects
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of the gospel in evangelical churches.
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A total response to Jesus Christ means
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that you come to Him as your Savior,
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that you yoke yourself to Him as your Master,
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and that you learn from Him as your teacher,
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that you quit the arrogance that says, I know how to live life,
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and you come to Him as a student.
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And you say, Lord Jesus, I need to sit
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in your class of lifelong learning.
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That’s why we have the scriptures.
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That’s why we build all that we do in this church
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around the Bible.
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That’s why God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit
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so that we can learn to do life as Jesus did it.
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And if you do that, Jesus says, your life
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will be a completed purpose.
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And it will be a finished project.
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And I will give you rest.
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And some of us have come to believe in Jesus.
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And some of us have made a strong commitment.
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But some of us have not learned much.
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And that’s why you never grow.
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Like my rather clumsy efforts on the tennis court,
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you’ve got bags of commitment but not much skill.
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And Jesus comes to you and he said,
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you’ve got to learn from me.
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You’ve got to learn what I can teach you
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about living in this world where you
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have anxieties and troubles, where your fears.
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Let me be your teacher to take you through this.
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This is the life long learning of a Christian disciple.
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Josh McDowell has written a very important book entitled
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Beyond Beliefs.
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He says that one of the major crises of the church
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in our time is that many people hold beliefs that do not
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make any practical difference to their lives.
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He points out that when churches have interviews,
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as we and most other churches would do,
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for people coming into membership for example,
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we often ask questions like this.
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Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
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Do you believe in the resurrection?
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He says a much better question to ask would be this.
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What difference has your belief in Jesus
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made to your working life?
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What difference has the conviction that God loves you
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made to your attitude to other students at school?
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What difference has your belief that God is sovereign
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made to your approach to the things that worry you?
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See, there’s so much to learn.
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And Jesus says, will you let me be your teacher?
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God wants you to enter his rest.
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God wants you at the end of your life
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to know that it is a completed project, a fulfilled purpose.
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And he set that in your heart too.
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Jesus says, I can take you there.
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And this is what it will look like.
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It’s uniquely my gift, so you must come to me.
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You’re not gonna get this anywhere else.
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And as you come to me believing,
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you have to take the yoke of unconditional commitment
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to obedience upon you, that’s what it looks like.
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That’s what it looks like.
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You have to get off the self confidence that says
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I know how to do life my way and enroll as a student
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in my lifelong school of learning.
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But if you will come, take and learn,
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I will give you rest.
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You will find rest.
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For your soul.
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You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith
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on Open the Bible.
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And we have to be reminded often to come to the Lord
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so that we can take and learn to receive his rest.
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This was the last message in the series.
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Give Yourself a Break, How to Enjoy God’s Gift of Rest.
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And if you’ve missed any of the series
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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
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to our website, openthebible.org.uk.
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There you can hear any
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of the previously broadcasted messages.
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You can also find them as podcasts,
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if that’s a better way for you
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to stay with Pastor Colin’s teaching.
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And those podcasts are available
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on all the major podcast sites.
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There’s a link to it on our website.
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And if you go directly to a podcast site
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and search for Open the Bible UK,
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you’ll find them there as well.
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If you want to receive the podcasts regularly,
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subscribe to them to receive regular updates.
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Also on our website and available as a podcast
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is Open the Bible Daily,
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a series of short daily reflections
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based on Pastor Colin Smith’s teaching
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and read in the UK by Sue McLeish.
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You’ll find Open the Bible Daily on our website,
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openthebible.org.uk and also as a podcast,
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go to your favorite podcast site,
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search for Open the Bible UK
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and subscribe to Open the Bible Daily
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to receive regular updates.
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Open the Bible is able to stay on this station
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and on the internet because of your generosity.
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Open the Bible is a listener-supported ministry,
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so thank you for giving and supporting Open the Bible.
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If that’s something that you’re thinking about doing,
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if you’re able to set up a new gift
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of five pounds per month or more this month,
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we’d like to thank you by sending you
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a copy of Pastor Colin’s new book,
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Flying Through the Bible.
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And Colin, when you do this kind of high-altitude flight
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over the entire Bible story,
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there’s so much in there that you really have to focus in.
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So what are the themes that you focused on
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in this new book?
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Well, it really is a high-altitude flight
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over the Bible story.
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We’re talking about around 100 pages.
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So it’s covering at a great speed.
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But you can get an overview of the Bible very simply
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by thinking about five people in the Old Testament,
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Adam, and Abraham, and Moses, and David, and Ezra.
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If you get the stories of these five people,
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you’ve really got a broad outline
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of the Old Testament story.
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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,
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he is risen, and he has ascended.
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Grasp these five events, and you have a broad outline
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of what you need to know about the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And then in the New Testament Letters,
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there are five marvelous gifts
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that God gives to all who believe.
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The gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of faith,
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the gift of forgiveness, the gift of the Church,
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and the gift of Heaven itself.
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So there’s a very quick fly through the Bible.
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It’s cookies on the bottom shelf,
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and I hope folks are going to find it really helpful.
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Well, we’d like to send you a copy of Pastor Colin’s book,
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Flying Through the Bible,
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to say thank you for supporting Open the Bible this month.
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Full details of this offer on our website,
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that’s at openthebible.org.uk
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For Pastor Colin Smith, I am David Pick,
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and I hope you’ll be able to join us again soon.
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‹ music ›
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There’s a lot of talk these days about your soul,
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but what is your soul?
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Find out next time on Open the Bible.
