Defiant, Part 1

Hebrews 6:4-8

Why might those who have tasted the gospel turn away and become defiant? This episode focuses on Hebrews chapter six, addressing the deeply compelling character of ‘Defiant,’ who represents individuals who have experienced Christianity but chose a different path. Pastor Colin highlights the distinction between spiritual and saving experiences, elucidating how even those who seem engaged with the faith can still turn away. Through real examples from scripture, including the stories of Peter, Judas, and others, Colin reveals the complexities of spiritual commitment and defiance.

100:00:00,000 –> 00:00:08,640The hardest people in the world to reach are not those who have200:00:08,640 –> 00:00:14,520never heard the gospel and they are not those who are living in flagrant, open300:00:14,520 –> 00:00:22,719rebellion against God either. The hardest people in the world to reach are those400:00:22,719 –> 00:00:28,200who have tasted the truth and then have turned away and become defiant.500:00:28,200 –> 00:00:29,580Welcome to Open the Bible600:00:29,600 –> 00:00:33,980with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick. Glad you could be with us today.700:00:33,980 –> 00:00:38,459And Colin, why do you think it is that the very hardest people to reach are800:00:38,459 –> 00:00:41,360the ones who have already had a taste of the gospel?900:00:41,360 –> 00:00:43,040Oh well, for example,1000:00:43,040 –> 00:00:45,619people who’ve grown up with the Christian faith and they’re quite sure1100:00:45,619 –> 00:00:48,880that they know what it is and they’ve nothing more for to receive and1200:00:48,880 –> 00:00:53,759then they decide this is not for me. Usually that person becomes very, very1300:00:53,759 –> 00:00:58,360resistant indeed even defiant. I mean they may not be openly angry but they’re1400:00:58,400 –> 00:01:02,459determined that they’re never going to go back to something that they’ve left.1500:01:02,459 –> 00:01:08,540And I had the opportunity of speaking about this at Taylor University and I’ll1600:01:08,540 –> 00:01:11,959tell you it was an unforgettable experience in speaking about the1700:01:11,959 –> 00:01:17,320dangers of becoming defiant towards God. Being brought up with the faith and then1800:01:17,320 –> 00:01:21,040deciding this is not for me, and going off and rejecting it. There were moments1900:01:21,040 –> 00:01:24,580where you could have heard a pindrop in the chapel and we were looking at one of2000:01:24,660 –> 00:01:30,180the most serious and sobering passages in all of the Scriptures Hebrews chapter2100:01:30,180 –> 00:01:36,120six that speaks to us about crucifying again the Son of God. That’s what a2200:01:36,120 –> 00:01:40,860person does when they have had some knowledge of the truth and then become2300:01:40,860 –> 00:01:45,860defiant towards the truth that at one time they may even have professed. So2400:01:45,860 –> 00:01:49,300we’re going to look at something really important. We’re in our series Faith that2500:01:50,220 –> 00:01:55,080last and to anyone who’s being defiant towards God I want to say from the heart2600:01:55,080 –> 00:01:59,699today stop doing that, it can’t take you anyplace good. There is an opportunity2700:01:59,699 –> 00:02:04,879for you to come back and to find Christ and you need to find it today so as you2800:02:04,879 –> 00:02:10,240heard we’re in Hebrews chapter six. As we begin the message defiance. Here’s Colin2900:02:10,240 –> 00:02:15,479now the theme of these four sessions that I’m privileged to have with you3000:02:15,559 –> 00:02:21,880this week is faith that lasts and I’m introducing you to four characters who3100:02:21,880 –> 00:02:27,580are really addressed in these verses from Hebrews. This morning we met3200:02:27,580 –> 00:02:32,100drifting the first of the four characters, thinks of himself as a good3300:02:32,100 –> 00:02:36,539person but lacks clear conviction is searching for more but still has not3400:02:36,860 –> 00:02:46,199found it and drifting we saw needs to grasp why he needs Jesus. Needs to grasp3500:02:46,199 –> 00:02:52,899the most basic principle of the Word of God. Needs to get the road that leads to3600:02:52,899 –> 00:03:00,100faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is really really important because I’m3700:03:00,160 –> 00:03:06,440sure you don’t need me to say, you will have seen this, that too often the3800:03:06,440 –> 00:03:13,660gospel has been replaced in our time with a message that basically says3900:03:13,660 –> 00:03:19,479either that Jesus offers you a better life or that Jesus invites you to sign4000:03:19,479 –> 00:03:24,740up for his cause. And here’s the problem, that if you come to some form of4100:03:24,740 –> 00:03:29,720profession of faith on that basis then there will come a time when drift sets4200:03:29,960 –> 00:03:33,919in and you will find yourself saying you know what I can have a good life without4300:03:33,919 –> 00:03:41,979Jesus and I can sign up for a better cause than Jesus. And the drift will set4400:03:41,979 –> 00:03:52,360in. A faith that lasts begins with grasping deeply why we need Jesus. Now4500:03:52,360 –> 00:03:58,360tonight I want to introduce you to a second friend of mine who I’m going to4600:03:58,419 –> 00:04:06,000call Defiant. And I expect that you know someone like her maybe you will see4700:04:06,000 –> 00:04:12,600something of yourself in her. Let me describe Defiant to you. Defiant grew up4800:04:12,600 –> 00:04:18,500in the Church. Over the years she often went to camps, she played in concerts, she4900:04:18,500 –> 00:04:25,399served on teams, she engaged in Bible studies. Her parents were relentless5000:04:25,519 –> 00:04:29,959in trying to encourage her to get involved. And she felt the pressure to5100:04:29,959 –> 00:04:36,880conform. And she really did try and fit in, but somehow she always felt that she5200:04:36,880 –> 00:04:45,220was on the outside and that she was looking in. Defiant can remember times5300:04:45,220 –> 00:04:50,760when she might have come to faith. That time at the camp when she felt that God5400:04:50,880 –> 00:04:57,359was speaking to her. And she wanted to respond, but then she held back. There5500:04:57,359 –> 00:05:01,700was that trip when she was serving the poor. And she felt like ah! This is what5600:05:01,700 –> 00:05:07,920I meant to be doing. But then it passed. And then there was the time when her5700:05:07,920 –> 00:05:13,799friend was diagnosed with cancer. Everybody prayed. And the friend was5800:05:13,799 –> 00:05:20,220wonderfully healed. On each of these occasions, defiant came5900:05:20,339 –> 00:05:29,279very very close to faith. But she helped back. Because she knew deep in her heart6000:05:29,279 –> 00:05:37,899that in many ways, following Jesus Christ would be costly for her. And over time6100:05:37,899 –> 00:05:41,500she realized that somewhere down the line, she was going to have to make a6200:05:41,500 –> 00:05:47,019clear-cut choice between either going with Jesus or walking away from him6300:05:47,040 –> 00:05:51,959altogether. Being close to faith without being committed to Christ was6400:05:51,959 –> 00:05:58,420ultimately unsustainable. She knew that sooner or later she’d have to6500:05:58,420 –> 00:06:02,440give herself completely to Christ or else she would walk away from Christ6600:06:02,440 –> 00:06:10,619altogether. And today she avoids talking about faith. If the subject comes up, she6700:06:10,619 –> 00:06:16,299has already defense. From time to time people from the church she grew up in6800:06:16,700 –> 00:06:24,040try and reach out to her, try and draw her back. But, she really has no interest at6900:06:24,040 –> 00:06:28,940all. And that’s why I’m calling her defiant.7000:06:28,940 –> 00:06:34,160So here’s a summary of defiant. She had some experience of Christianity but7100:06:34,160 –> 00:06:39,079found it costly. She has decided to leave it behind. She7200:06:39,239 –> 00:06:45,399has no interest in following Jesus Christ.7300:06:45,399 –> 00:06:48,660Now let me say to you candidly, and I’ve observed this over many years as a7400:06:48,660 –> 00:06:54,820pastor, that the hardest people in the world to reach are not those who have7500:06:54,820 –> 00:07:01,299never heard the gospel. And they are not those who are living in flagrant open7600:07:01,299 –> 00:07:07,839rebellion against God either. The hardest people in the world7700:07:08,739 –> 00:07:15,119to reach are those who have tasted the truth and then have turned away and7800:07:15,119 –> 00:07:20,440become defiant. And Hebrews, in the verses that were read, speaks7900:07:20,440 –> 00:07:24,540particularly about those who have fallen away from faith in Jesus.8000:07:24,540 –> 00:07:32,220That is, people who have walked away from a faith that they may once have professed.8100:07:32,799 –> 00:07:43,880Now, as we saw this morning, Jesus said my sheep will never perish.8200:07:43,880 –> 00:07:49,619So, how is it possible for people who once made a profession of faith to fall away, if they8300:07:49,619 –> 00:07:55,940abandoned the faith, were they ever Christ’s sheep? Now, you will know that8400:07:55,940 –> 00:08:01,380some Christians believe that a person who truly belongs to Jesus Christ can8500:08:01,619 –> 00:08:07,480lose their salvation. And these words in Hebrews in chapter 6 are often pointed8600:08:07,480 –> 00:08:12,179to, the words about falling away are often pointed to in support of that8700:08:12,179 –> 00:08:21,320belief. But here’s the problem as I see it. The words of Hebrews about falling8800:08:21,320 –> 00:08:30,000away need to be put alongside the words of Jesus when he says my sheep never8900:08:30,000 –> 00:08:36,820perish. All Scripture is breathed out by God, and God never contradicts himself so9000:08:36,820 –> 00:08:45,440all Scripture must be read in the light of Scripture and cannot be understood in9100:08:45,440 –> 00:08:52,619such a way as to create open contradiction. So Jesus said, my sheep9200:08:52,619 –> 00:08:59,520will never perish. Hebrews 6 then cannot possibly mean that some of them will.9300:09:00,479 –> 00:09:05,140Scripture tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God which9400:09:05,140 –> 00:09:08,260is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That’s the end of Romans chapter 8.9500:09:08,260 –> 00:09:12,179So Hebrews 6 cannot mean that there will be some things that will separate us9600:09:12,179 –> 00:09:17,739from the love of Christ. Scripture says that when God begins a good work in us9700:09:17,739 –> 00:09:22,119he does bring it to completion. That’s Philippians and chapter 1, so Hebrews 69800:09:22,119 –> 00:09:26,260cannot therefore mean that in some cases God will start a work and then9900:09:26,320 –> 00:09:32,359abandon it and leave off what He has begun. So we must understand Hebrews10000:09:32,359 –> 00:09:36,820chapter 6 as those who believe that the whole Bible is the Word of God we must10100:09:36,820 –> 00:09:41,159understand the warnings of Hebrews 6 in a way that is consistent with the10200:09:41,159 –> 00:09:44,280promise of Jesus when He says,10300:09:52,200 –> 00:09:53,919Now putting these together then10400:09:54,039 –> 00:10:01,039we can say two things. The first is that we can say with confidence that a person10500:10:01,039 –> 00:10:11,400who was truly one of Christ’s sheep and turned away will come back. If she is one10600:10:11,400 –> 00:10:17,619of Christ’s sheep if he is one of Christ’s sheep he will come back, must, must. May be10700:10:17,700 –> 00:10:26,340gone for a long time, may wander very, very far away but if they are among Christ’s10800:10:26,340 –> 00:10:32,020sheep they will come back. They must come back it is inevitable because Jesus Christ10900:10:32,020 –> 00:10:41,059never loses one of his own. Take Peter as an example. I mean he denied that he ever11000:10:41,280 –> 00:10:48,280knew Jesus and he did it with cursing! And if you had stood there on that night when11100:10:48,599 –> 00:10:54,760this explosion came out of it you would have thought, I would have thought, oh he is gone!11200:10:54,760 –> 00:11:01,000There is no coming back from this. But Peter repented and he was wonderfully, wonderfully11300:11:01,000 –> 00:11:06,080restored showing that he was indeed truly one of Christ’s sheep. The evidence of11400:11:06,140 –> 00:11:12,080it was that he became back. On the other hand, surely putting these two truths together,11500:11:12,080 –> 00:11:19,080we can conclude this, that a person who turns away from Jesus Christ and never comes back11600:11:19,820 –> 00:11:25,179to the end of their life, never comes back, thereby gives demonstration that they never11700:11:25,200 –> 00:11:31,919were among Christ’s sheep. And of course we have an example of this in Judas Iscariot11800:11:32,039 –> 00:11:39,039who walked away from Jesus and never returned. Now what makes this confusing and difficult11900:11:40,799 –> 00:11:47,799for all of us is of course that Peter and Judas look pretty much the same. Both professed12000:11:48,419 –> 00:11:55,419faith, both followed Jesus, both served in ministry, how could one have belonged to Christ’s12100:11:56,359 –> 00:12:03,359have belonged to Christ’s flock and the other not? Hebrews chapter 6 really helps us here12200:12:03,840 –> 00:12:09,479by making it clear, and this is the fundamental point to grasp about Hebrews 6 tonight, that12300:12:09,479 –> 00:12:16,340it is possible to have spiritual experience that is not saving experience.12400:12:16,340 –> 00:12:21,260You’re listening to Open The Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, and a message called Defiance.12500:12:21,260 –> 00:12:26,419We’ve been learning how it’s possible to have a spiritual experience which is not in12600:12:26,419 –> 00:12:31,119the end the saving spiritual experience. So I hope you’ll stay with us for the rest of12700:12:31,119 –> 00:12:35,840the broadcast. If you’re not able to do that, you can easily catch up or go back and listen12800:12:35,840 –> 00:12:41,960again by coming online to our website, openthebible.org.uk.12900:12:41,960 –> 00:12:47,080Many of us love reading, but our busy lives don’t allow much time for that. So we often13000:12:47,119 –> 00:12:53,479listen to audiobooks and podcasts. Maybe when we’re driving or out for a walk. So we have13100:12:53,479 –> 00:12:58,000a new podcast starting this month, and it’s called Hike Through The Bible.13200:12:58,000 –> 00:13:02,880Yeah. And the Hike Through The Bible podcast will take you on a journey through the entire13300:13:02,880 –> 00:13:08,859Bible story, giving you the option of listening or watching rather than reading. And in each13400:13:08,859 –> 00:13:13,479episode I’ll read a chapter of my book, Hike Through The Bible, and then I’ll discuss it13500:13:13,739 –> 00:13:21,140friends. I hope you’ll join me in hiking through the Bible. You’ll grow in your faith, you’ll13600:13:21,140 –> 00:13:25,559deepen your grasp of scripture, and you’ll come to love Jesus more.13700:13:25,559 –> 00:13:30,659So that’s the Hike Through The Bible podcast. And it’s not too late to get started. You’ll13800:13:30,659 –> 00:13:36,599find the Hike Through The Bible podcast wherever you get your podcasts and there’s a link on13900:13:36,599 –> 00:13:43,359our website at openthebible.org.uk. You’ll also find more information about the podcast.14000:13:43,979 –> 00:13:46,500Back to the message now. Here again is Colin.14100:13:46,500 –> 00:13:51,219Now notice what is said in verses 4-6 in which various spiritual experiences that do not14200:13:51,219 –> 00:13:57,919save are described. It is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened,14300:13:57,919 –> 00:14:02,840who have tasted the heavenly gift, have shared in the Holy Spirit, have tasted the goodness14400:14:02,840 –> 00:14:08,500of the Word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it’s impossible14500:14:08,700 –> 00:14:15,700restore them again to repentance. Now Hebrews here lists five kinds of spiritual experience14600:14:17,880 –> 00:14:24,880that a person can have without being saved. They have been enlightened, that’s number14700:14:26,159 –> 00:14:33,159one, in other words it is possible to have the light of truth. To be brought up in a14800:14:33,559 –> 00:14:38,880faithful biblical church to come to a faithful biblical place like Taylor University and14900:14:38,880 –> 00:14:45,880to know the truth and for you to understand it and even as in the case of Judas to teach15000:14:47,500 –> 00:14:54,500it because he did that and yet not to be saved. Notice secondly they have tasted the heavenly15100:14:56,159 –> 00:15:01,780gift. What’s the heavenly gift? The heavenly gift clearly is Jesus himself, God so loved15200:15:01,780 –> 00:15:07,080the the world that he gave his one and only Son. Jesus is the heavenly gift. And what15300:15:07,080 –> 00:15:14,080we’re being told here is that it is possible for someone who is not one of Christ’s sheep15400:15:14,159 –> 00:15:21,159to have at least some taste of the love of God. Remember that tasting is not the same15500:15:21,539 –> 00:15:27,039as eating. Before Jesus was nailed to the cross Matthew tells us that they offered to15600:15:27,080 –> 00:15:34,080him wine to drink, mixed with gall, and when he tasted it he would not drink it. The wine15700:15:35,780 –> 00:15:41,159mixed with gall actually had mild anesthetic properties. It was the one little piece of15800:15:41,159 –> 00:15:45,099compassion that was offered to someone when they were nailed to a cross. But, of course,15900:15:45,099 –> 00:15:52,080Jesus had to be fully conscious throughout all of his suffering. And when he tastes it16000:15:52,080 –> 00:15:56,659and realizes what it is, he refuses and he will not take it. Now, in the same way, it16100:15:56,659 –> 00:16:03,659is possible to taste the heavenly gift, to have some knowledge of Jesus, and yet not16200:16:04,340 –> 00:16:11,340to have any appetite for more. Third, they have shared in the Holy Spirit.16300:16:12,320 –> 00:16:18,700Now, when I have the opportunity as a pastor of speaking to someone who has turned away16400:16:18,739 –> 00:16:25,739from faith, the question that I sometimes ask is this. What was the nearest you ever16500:16:26,039 –> 00:16:33,039came to being a Christian? And I often get an answer like this, well, you know, I remember16600:16:33,140 –> 00:16:39,419one night at camp and I did feel that God was speaking to me then and I wanted to respond,16700:16:39,419 –> 00:16:43,520but I didn’t. And when I hear a story like this, there’s16800:16:43,659 –> 00:16:50,659absolutely no question in my mind that the Holy Spirit touched this person’s life. They16900:16:51,719 –> 00:16:56,239shared in the Holy Spirit, though of course sharing in the Holy Spirit is not the same17000:16:56,239 –> 00:17:03,039as being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. What happened was that this person had a spiritual17100:17:03,039 –> 00:17:10,040experience, but it was not a seething experience and it is possible to see and experience the17200:17:10,920 –> 00:17:17,920spirit of God at work without being truly saved. And then number four, they have tasted17300:17:21,280 –> 00:17:26,439the goodness of the Word of God. Notice again the word tasted, and remember that tasting17400:17:26,439 –> 00:17:32,640is not the same as eating. It is possible to be well-taught in the word of God over17500:17:32,640 –> 00:17:38,800many, many years to have that as a spiritual experience, but for it not to be a saving17600:17:39,239 –> 00:17:44,640experience and still not to be one of Christ’s sheep. And then fifthly and17700:17:44,640 –> 00:17:51,640finally they have tasted the powers of the age to come. In other words it is possible17800:17:52,000 –> 00:17:59,000for a person to experience real answers to prayer, even to experience a miracle, to be17900:17:59,859 –> 00:18:05,140used in a remarkable way by God, even to bring someone else to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ18000:18:05,160 –> 00:18:12,160and still not to be saved yourself. Now it would be easy when you go through this list18100:18:12,500 –> 00:18:19,500to simply assume that someone who has, let’s put them together, been enlightened, tasted18200:18:19,839 –> 00:18:25,380the heavenly gift, shared in the holy spirit, tasted in the goodness of the Word of God18300:18:25,380 –> 00:18:32,140and the powers of the age to come, that such a person must belong to Jesus Christ. And18400:18:32,280 –> 00:18:39,020Hebrews chapter six is quite clearly telling us that that would be a false assumption.18500:18:39,020 –> 00:18:46,260Now at this point you might very reasonably be asking and wondering, well are there any18600:18:46,260 –> 00:18:53,260examples, real examples, in the Bible of people who experienced these five things and were18700:18:53,260 –> 00:19:02,300it not Christ’s sheep? And the answer to that is yes, plenty of examples. I don’t18800:19:02,300 –> 00:19:07,079want to keep you here all night on this. So let me just give you three, the first would18900:19:07,079 –> 00:19:14,739be the people of Bethsaida. Listen to what Jesus says in regards to them, then Matthew19000:19:14,739 –> 00:19:24,140says Matthew 11 20, he began to denounce the cities, where most of his mighty works had19100:19:24,140 –> 00:19:30,739been done, because they did not repent, now notice that we’ve being told quite clearly19200:19:30,739 –> 00:19:37,020here in the Gospels that Bethsaida was the place, one of the places, where most, most19300:19:37,020 –> 00:19:46,959of Jesus miracles were done, the light of Christ came to this town, the people of Bethsaida19400:19:46,959 –> 00:19:54,920they tasted the miraculous powers of the age to come, they heard the word of God from the19500:19:54,920 –> 00:20:01,319lips of Jesus himself, you can’t get better than that, they saw the Holy Spirit working19600:20:01,319 –> 00:20:08,819in power, the people of Bethsaida enjoyed remarkable spiritual experiences but in the19700:20:08,819 –> 00:20:17,800end they rejected Jesus and they did not repent. Second example, John chapter 6 speaks about19800:20:17,800 –> 00:20:24,160disciples who turned back, after this many of His, that’s Jesus disciples, turned back19900:20:24,160 –> 00:20:31,060and no longer walked with Him, that’s John 6, and verse 66. Now the story here begins20000:20:31,060 –> 00:20:35,579at the beginning of John 6 where Jesus feeds 5,000 people with the loaves and the fish20100:20:35,579 –> 00:20:42,819that are given to Him by a little boy and the people were fed, miraculously fed on that20200:20:42,819 –> 00:20:48,180day, they heard the Word of God from the lips of the Son of God and they literally tasted20300:20:48,180 –> 00:20:54,280a miracle, tasted a miracle. So it’s not surprising that on the next day when they20400:20:54,280 –> 00:20:58,260find that Jesus isn’t in that place they come to the other side of the lake, they follow20500:20:58,260 –> 00:21:03,119Him all the way round there because they want something more and Jesus teaches them the20600:21:03,119 –> 00:21:10,359significance of the multiplying of the loaves and the fish. I am the bread of life, He says,20700:21:10,359 –> 00:21:17,760whoever comes to Me shall not hunger and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst, whoever20800:21:18,280 –> 00:21:24,400feeds upon Me will live because of Me. He teaches them throughout John and chapter 620900:21:24,400 –> 00:21:31,339but this teaching of Jesus made them uncomfortable and John chapter 6 and verse 60 says, when21000:21:31,339 –> 00:21:38,339many of His disciples many of them heard it, they said this is a hard saying. Don’t like21100:21:39,119 –> 00:21:46,619what Jesus is saying here, who can listen to it? And eventually John 6, 66 many of His21200:21:46,800 –> 00:21:53,680disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. Now here again are people who have21300:21:53,680 –> 00:22:00,680heard the Word of God from the Son of God, they have experienced a miracle and they have21400:22:00,719 –> 00:22:06,739followed Jesus around the lake, they’ve seen enough of Jesus to want to follow Him up to21500:22:06,739 –> 00:22:13,739a certain point, but when they are faced with the full implications of His sovereign claim21600:22:14,560 –> 00:22:20,839upon their lives, what do they do? They’re off. They turn back.21700:22:20,839 –> 00:22:24,359And the third example I’ll give to you this evening, of course is the one that is best21800:22:24,359 –> 00:22:29,920known and that is the example of Judas Iscariot. Everything that is said in Hebrews in chapter21900:22:29,920 –> 00:22:35,839six was true of Judas Iscariate, but despite all of this spiritual experience that was22000:22:35,839 –> 00:22:42,839not saving experience, Judas Iscariot walks away. Now I’m saying to you, from Judas Iscariot22100:22:43,839 –> 00:22:49,420in this passage of scripture and from these very clear examples that it is therefore possible22200:22:49,420 –> 00:22:56,420to have spiritual experience that is not saving experience. It is possible to enjoy spiritual22300:22:56,939 –> 00:23:03,939privilege, opportunity without actually becoming one of Christ’s sheep. And that puts a person22400:23:04,000 –> 00:23:11,000in the most dangerous spiritual position of all.22500:23:13,099 –> 00:23:18,560What a sobering place to leave today’s program, thinking about that dangerous position to22600:23:18,560 –> 00:23:23,680be in. We’ll continue to look at that in Hebrews chapter 6 in our next program, so22700:23:23,680 –> 00:23:28,880I hope you’ll join us for that. You’ve been listening to Open The Bible With Pastor Colin22800:23:28,880 –> 00:23:31,920Smith and A Message Called Different Teacher.22900:23:32,640 –> 00:23:35,479It’s part of our series Faith That Lasts, and don’t forget,23000:23:35,479 –> 00:23:40,900if you ever miss one of the programs in the series, or if you want to go back and listen23100:23:40,900 –> 00:23:47,939again, you can do that by coming online to our website openthebible.org.uk or join us23200:23:47,939 –> 00:23:54,079as a podcast on all the main podcast sites, by searching for Open The Bible UK, or follow23300:23:54,079 –> 00:23:56,479the link from our website.23400:23:57,400 –> 00:24:02,859What if you could go on a hike with pastor Colin through The Bible story? See how it23500:24:02,859 –> 00:24:09,699all fits together, and how it all points to Jesus. Well, now you can with the new podcast23600:24:09,699 –> 00:24:11,260Hike Through The Bible.23700:24:11,260 –> 00:24:16,719Yeah, and this is for everyone who wants to understand the Bible better and for everyone23800:24:16,719 –> 00:24:22,300who wants to love Jesus more. In each episode, I’ll read a chapter from my book Hike Through23900:24:22,560 –> 00:24:28,000the Bible and then I’ll discuss it with some friends. A new episode releases every week,24000:24:28,219 –> 00:24:33,420and so you can take this hike at a gentle pace. In a year, you’ll have covered the24100:24:33,420 –> 00:24:35,099entire Bible story.24200:24:35,099 –> 00:24:40,219I really hope that you’ll join me on this journey, and it’s not too late to get started24300:24:40,219 –> 00:24:41,219now.24400:24:41,219 –> 00:24:46,199Well, you can subscribe to Hike Through the Bible Podcast wherever you get your podcasts,24500:24:46,199 –> 00:24:51,420and you can find out more information on our website openthebible.org.uk24600:24:52,359 –> 00:24:57,459You’ve been listening to Open The Bible, with Pastor Colin Smiff, I’m David Pick,24700:24:57,459 –> 00:25:02,839and I very much hope you’ll join us again next time.24800:25:08,719 –> 00:25:14,339It would be natural to assume that someone who had experienced miracles, tasted the Word24900:25:14,339 –> 00:25:20,400of God, and been used in ministry must belong to Jesus. Find out why that would be a false25000:25:20,400 –> 00:25:23,199assumption 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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Faith that lasts is the only kind of faith worth having. In this series, you will meet four characters—Drifting, Defiant, Doubting, and Disciple. You may recognize some of these characters in your own life.

Colin Smith

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