1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,140 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 2 00:00:07,140 –> 00:00:14,860 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 or visit our website OpenTheBible.org. 3 00:00:14,860 –> 00:00:17,440 Let’s get to the message. 4 00:00:17,440 –> 00:00:19,020 Here is Pastor Colin. 5 00:00:19,020 –> 00:00:26,459 I want to invite you to join me on another journey today into the interior of your life 6 00:00:26,540 –> 00:00:31,580 as we take a second look at the secret life of the soul. 7 00:00:31,580 –> 00:00:37,220 To help us understand what’s going on on the inside of your soul we are using the analogy 8 00:00:37,220 –> 00:00:39,160 of a boardroom. 9 00:00:39,160 –> 00:00:46,160 Last week we pictured such a room with a large oak table, six chairs around it and the appointed 10 00:00:46,240 –> 00:00:52,180 members of the board sitting in conference together, and we identified them as, mind, 11 00:00:52,180 –> 00:00:55,139 heart, will, conscience, imagination and memory. 12 00:00:55,139 –> 00:01:00,820 Memory are the faculties, the board members of your soul, they debate the great issues 13 00:01:00,820 –> 00:01:07,820 of your life and they determine as a result of these debates the decisions, the direction 14 00:01:08,699 –> 00:01:12,419 and ultimately therefore the destiny of your life. 15 00:01:12,419 –> 00:01:17,800 So we are seeing that it is very important to know what is going on inside your own soul. 16 00:01:17,800 –> 00:01:23,739 We began our journey last week as we saw that we all tend to move in the direction of that 17 00:01:23,980 –> 00:01:29,019 which we must admire. You will be powerfully drawn in the direction of that which your 18 00:01:29,019 –> 00:01:35,599 soul regards as of greatest importance. You will become in other words like whatever you 19 00:01:35,599 –> 00:01:40,180 put in the position of God. And we saw that from the Bible that those who worshiped gods 20 00:01:40,180 –> 00:01:46,400 of stone ended up with hearts of stone. They became like what they most admired. If you 21 00:01:46,400 –> 00:01:51,139 worshiped that which is worthless you become worthless. If you set your affections on what 22 00:01:51,139 –> 00:01:56,699 is vile you will become vile. If you centered your life around what is trivial you will 23 00:01:56,699 –> 00:02:03,680 become trivial. We move in the direction of that which our soul admires. And so we are 24 00:02:03,680 –> 00:02:10,679 faced we saw with this terrible possibility that your soul can be shrivelled. It can actually 25 00:02:11,580 –> 00:02:18,059 reduce as you move through life. Its capacity can shrink and the result is that it maybe 26 00:02:18,600 –> 00:02:25,600 man or woman may become a shadow of what God calls and intends you to be. Now this came 27 00:02:26,860 –> 00:02:33,860 home to me powerfully a number of years ago when we were still living in London. One weekend 28 00:02:35,520 –> 00:02:40,679 Karen and I had the privilege of having a very distinguished Pastor and Christian leader 29 00:02:40,679 –> 00:02:47,679 by the name of Joseph Ton living in our home. Joseph is a leader of the Church in Romania 30 00:02:48,779 –> 00:02:55,000 a Christian man of great integrity who suffered greatly for his faith during the communist 31 00:02:55,000 –> 00:03:00,779 time, has profound insight into what it means to follow Christ kept me up into the night 32 00:03:00,779 –> 00:03:06,820 spellbound listening to him for hours and hoping that he would never stop. He came and 33 00:03:06,820 –> 00:03:11,779 spoke at our church. And it was just one of these occasions, I hope you know what I’m 34 00:03:11,779 –> 00:03:18,020 talking about when the Spirit of God was so at work in the place that you could feel it 35 00:03:18,279 –> 00:03:26,199 you could sense it across the congregation, God was speaking to our souls, challenging 36 00:03:26,199 –> 00:03:33,520 us through this man’s testimony and ministry about the cost of really following Jesus Christ 37 00:03:33,520 –> 00:03:39,220 and putting all else behind us. I’ll not forget the last hymn when the whole congregation 38 00:03:39,220 –> 00:03:45,600 rose and sang, take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord to thee. The singing was 39 00:03:45,600 –> 00:03:51,399 so heartfelt you would think the roof would come off. At the end of the service, I walked 40 00:03:51,399 –> 00:03:59,419 to the back of the church with Joseph. Within fifteen seconds, there was a man in front 41 00:03:59,419 –> 00:04:06,399 of me with a face the color of beetroot. He had come to church that morning, and he had 42 00:04:06,399 –> 00:04:11,800 found that a small piece of furniture had been moved and that there had been a small 43 00:04:11,800 –> 00:04:22,700 amount of damage to it. That’s it, he said. I’m done with this church, and proceeded 44 00:04:22,700 –> 00:04:27,059 in front of our guests to my great embarrassment. For that reason, I have to say, into a tirade 45 00:04:27,059 –> 00:04:32,980 of anger and frustration that seemed to have been brought to a head through a piece of 46 00:04:33,380 –> 00:04:38,920 furniture. I went home profoundly perplexed in my own 47 00:04:38,920 –> 00:04:47,920 soul. Here was a man who for an hour had sat in a place where several hundred had felt 48 00:04:48,040 –> 00:04:55,000 the tangible presence of the Spirit of God. Many had sensed that in a profound and an 49 00:04:55,000 –> 00:05:02,000 unusual way their own souls had been searched and touched, and challenged, and changed. 50 00:05:03,839 –> 00:05:10,839 And here was someone who had been a Christian for many years and yet completely missed it. 51 00:05:13,179 –> 00:05:20,179 His soul was filled with anger over a small damaged piece of furniture. 52 00:05:23,959 –> 00:05:30,019 I went to his home, of course, a few days later, and we talked about the piece of furniture. 53 00:05:30,019 –> 00:05:34,640 And he accepted that accidents happen, and then I said to him, 54 00:05:35,299 –> 00:05:48,899 You know, I felt sad for you last Sunday because something wonderful happened in church and you seem to miss it. 55 00:05:51,239 –> 00:05:53,619 What happened, you said? 56 00:05:54,299 –> 00:05:56,779 And I tried to explain. 57 00:05:59,899 –> 00:06:06,959 We talked for a long time and then he began to open up the condition of his soul. It was a wonderful conversation. 58 00:06:09,420 –> 00:06:15,239 He told me hesitantly at first, but very frankly, that his prayer life had died some years before. 59 00:06:17,220 –> 00:06:21,140 That he felt that he’d committed his life to Christ, but he’d never grown, 60 00:06:24,100 –> 00:06:26,519 that things weren’t much good with his wife either. 61 00:06:29,179 –> 00:06:32,880 His own soul had shriveled, and 62 00:06:35,140 –> 00:06:42,040 somewhere in the journey of this Christian man, he had missed the blessing of God. 63 00:06:44,839 –> 00:06:48,579 Now I wonder, has there ever been a moment when you’ve been surprised 64 00:06:49,739 –> 00:06:52,760 by the shallowness of your own soul? 65 00:06:52,760 –> 00:06:57,700 Have you ever wondered why when we sing about Christ 66 00:06:58,839 –> 00:07:02,799 giving everything for us, and we sing wonderful words like, I’m forever grateful, 67 00:07:02,799 –> 00:07:06,540 have you ever wondered why your own soul isn’t more deeply moved than it is? 68 00:07:10,279 –> 00:07:13,920 Have you ever wondered why your own heart is sometimes so cold? 69 00:07:19,440 –> 00:07:21,559 The good news is that your soul can grow, 70 00:07:23,720 –> 00:07:31,079 that we’re somewhere along the journey of life we’ve become less than God is calling us to be, 71 00:07:31,079 –> 00:07:41,500 that the capacity of the shriveled heart can once again be enlarged, the faculties of your 72 00:07:41,500 –> 00:07:49,799 soul can be wonderfully renewed, the heart can be softened, the mind can be opened, 73 00:07:49,799 –> 00:07:57,480 the will can be redirected, a conscience can be educated and made much more sensitive than 74 00:07:57,480 –> 00:08:06,920 before. The imagination can be opened, the memory can be focused, and what you missed before can be 75 00:08:06,920 –> 00:08:13,079 recovered. Now I invite you therefore to open your Bibles at Luke and chapter 7, where we’re 76 00:08:13,079 –> 00:08:20,200 going to see together how it is that this can happen. Luke records the story of an evening when 77 00:08:20,200 –> 00:08:27,480 a distinguished man by the name of Simon had invited Jesus to attend a dinner party in his 78 00:08:27,480 –> 00:08:34,039 home. In those days, as you may well know, they used to recline around the table sitting in a 79 00:08:34,039 –> 00:08:41,239 circle around a low table close to the floor, with their feet tucked behind them, facing away from 80 00:08:41,239 –> 00:08:46,359 the table. And we’re told that a woman who had lived a sinful life came into this room where 81 00:08:46,359 –> 00:08:51,320 this rather large dinner party was going on. There would have been several other servants and other 82 00:08:51,320 –> 00:08:56,520 people milling around the room, outside of the central circle of guests around the table, and 83 00:08:56,520 –> 00:09:00,679 so it’s not surprising that someone would have been able to come into the room without attracting 84 00:09:00,679 –> 00:09:07,880 a great deal of attention. She knelt down outside of the circle, right behind the feet of Jesus, 85 00:09:08,599 –> 00:09:15,719 and as she knelt down there, she began weeping and as she did, her tears fell on the feet of Christ 86 00:09:16,280 –> 00:09:23,960 and she wiped them with her hair. It was an extravagant expression of repentance and of love. 87 00:09:24,919 –> 00:09:28,520 Here was a woman who knew how much she needed to be forgiven 88 00:09:28,520 –> 00:09:36,599 and she was looking to Christ to bring peace to her soul. Her action led Jesus to tell Simon, 89 00:09:36,599 –> 00:09:46,039 the host of the banquet, a story. There were two men, Jesus said, who owed money. One of them owed 90 00:09:46,039 –> 00:09:52,280 a few dollars, the other owed several thousand. The creditor wrote off both of the debts. Who was 91 00:09:52,280 –> 00:09:58,679 the more grateful? Pretty easy question for Simon. Pretty obvious, the one who had the greater debt 92 00:09:58,679 –> 00:10:07,159 written off would of course be the more grateful. Then Jesus began to open up Simon’s soul. 93 00:10:08,840 –> 00:10:14,440 Here was a man who had invited Christ into his home just as many of us have invited Christ into 94 00:10:14,440 –> 00:10:21,719 our lives, but Jesus noted very honestly in this conversation that although Simon had welcomed 95 00:10:22,359 –> 00:10:27,559 Jesus into his home, he had given him a somewhat cool reception. 96 00:10:28,679 –> 00:10:33,640 He could after all, as Jesus pointed out, have washed Christ’s feet, but he didn’t. 97 00:10:34,760 –> 00:10:39,400 He could have welcomed Christ with a kiss as they did in those days, but he didn’t. 98 00:10:40,679 –> 00:10:46,520 If he had wanted to honor Jesus he could have poured oil over his head, but he chose not to. 99 00:10:47,239 –> 00:10:52,280 So here was a man who had welcomed Christ, but had welcomed him low key. 100 00:10:52,840 –> 00:10:58,440 He didn’t particularly want to serve Christ, he didn’t have a great love for Christ, he didn’t 101 00:10:58,440 –> 00:11:03,960 in any particular way honor Christ, he gave him a cautious welcome. 102 00:11:05,960 –> 00:11:10,119 Jesus said, Simon, here’s your problem. 103 00:11:11,080 –> 00:11:17,880 You invite me into your home, but you don’t feel that there’s much that I can do for you that you 104 00:11:17,880 –> 00:11:23,000 can’t do for yourself. You don’t think that you need to be forgiven for much, 105 00:11:24,599 –> 00:11:30,200 and that is why you do not love me much. 106 00:11:31,719 –> 00:11:40,039 Simon’s problem that shriveled his soul was a diminished sense of forgiveness, 107 00:11:40,359 –> 00:11:50,760 need. Now, come with me into the boardroom of Simon’s soul, the soul of the man or the woman 108 00:11:50,760 –> 00:12:00,760 who loves little, and listen to what’s going on inside of that soul. The members of the board 109 00:12:00,760 –> 00:12:07,320 gather round the table. Mind has called the meeting because he has been reading the Bible, 110 00:12:07,880 –> 00:12:12,280 and he wants to talk about what he’s learned with other members of the board. 111 00:12:13,799 –> 00:12:20,520 I’ve been reading the Bible, says Mind, and I’ve come to this wonderful statement that we 112 00:12:21,239 –> 00:12:28,520 can be forgiven. It seems like this is important, so I thought that all the members of the board of 113 00:12:28,520 –> 00:12:33,239 the soul should have a little talk about it. What do you say about it, conscious? 114 00:12:33,239 –> 00:12:43,000 Well, says conscience, I’m not aware of a great deal that we actually need to be forgiven for. 115 00:12:44,520 –> 00:12:50,119 Obviously none of us round this table is perfect, but we have done our best to make wise choices 116 00:12:50,119 –> 00:12:57,719 and to move our owner in the right direction. I have heard, says conscience, that some of my 117 00:12:57,799 –> 00:13:04,520 colleagues serving on the boards of other souls have had to carry terrible burdens of guilt. 118 00:13:04,520 –> 00:13:12,280 It must be awful, but that has never been my experience. Forgiveness must be wonderful for them, 119 00:13:13,880 –> 00:13:20,760 but I have to say that we are not desperately in need of it here. Unless, of course, there’s 120 00:13:20,760 –> 00:13:27,559 something that I don’t know about — and conscience turns to memory. Oh, no, says memory, I’ve told you 121 00:13:27,559 –> 00:13:32,119 everything there is to be known about this person. Nothing hidden from you. 122 00:13:34,919 –> 00:13:37,719 You know, our Master pulled his sister’s hair when he was young. 123 00:13:38,760 –> 00:13:44,359 Had a few temper tantrums growing up. Has shown himself to be a bit over-aggressive at times, 124 00:13:44,359 –> 00:13:49,559 but other than that, he has really done rather well. I can’t think of much that needs forgiving. 125 00:13:49,640 –> 00:13:59,320 What about pride, says imagination? Who usually thought of something that the others missed? 126 00:14:01,000 –> 00:14:04,440 Oh, that’s not the sort of thing that I worry about too much, says conscience. It 127 00:14:04,440 –> 00:14:10,919 doesn’t even show up on my radar screen. Seeing that the discussion is getting nowhere fast, 128 00:14:10,919 –> 00:14:20,280 mind turns to heart. Heart, what do you feel about this forgiveness thing? Well, says heart, 129 00:14:21,880 –> 00:14:27,320 it’s difficult for me to feel too much about it when conscience and memory have so little 130 00:14:27,320 –> 00:14:32,280 enthusiasm, you haven’t really given me much to get excited about in this conversation. 131 00:14:35,000 –> 00:14:37,880 At this point, the members of the board look towards Will, 132 00:14:38,119 –> 00:14:42,039 who surprisingly is sitting with his feet on the table. 133 00:14:43,640 –> 00:14:51,559 Uncharacteristically quiet, he leans back in his chair. Don’t ask me for a response, says Will. 134 00:14:52,840 –> 00:14:58,679 I’m not gonna do anything until the rest of you tell me something significant. 135 00:15:00,760 –> 00:15:04,359 Well says mind, it does seem from me from reading the Bible this morning that this 136 00:15:04,359 –> 00:15:09,080 business of being forgiven is a big deal and that all of us should be responding to it. 137 00:15:10,760 –> 00:15:13,080 But the rest of the board members look at each other, 138 00:15:15,080 –> 00:15:18,599 it doesn’t seem that way to us they say. 139 00:15:22,280 –> 00:15:25,960 Now I want to suggest to you that there are many good people in church 140 00:15:26,919 –> 00:15:31,159 And that’s exactly a picture of what’s going on in your soul 141 00:15:32,940 –> 00:15:34,940 So that you can 142 00:15:35,119 –> 00:15:40,299 Sing about the cross you could read a passage from the Bible about the forgiveness of the sins 143 00:15:40,320 –> 00:15:41,679 but somehow it doesn’t 144 00:15:41,679 –> 00:15:46,520 penetrate deeply because the rest of the boardroom of the Soul are not that impressed because 145 00:15:46,659 –> 00:15:49,900 They’ve never sensed that you’re that much in need of it 146 00:15:50,239 –> 00:15:52,239 And 147 00:15:52,280 –> 00:15:56,619 That’s where Simon was and Jesus says those have been forgiven little 148 00:15:58,479 –> 00:16:00,479 love little 149 00:16:02,119 –> 00:16:04,119 At the end of the Bible 150 00:16:05,440 –> 00:16:08,659 Christ speaks to a whole church of 151 00:16:09,820 –> 00:16:12,340 people exactly like Simon 152 00:16:14,140 –> 00:16:19,380 Imagine it several hundred of them in that same condition of soul with a 153 00:16:19,500 –> 00:16:23,059 Diminished sense of need they met in a place called 154 00:16:24,440 –> 00:16:26,179 Laodicea 155 00:16:26,179 –> 00:16:30,820 It was a great church in many ways, but the people there had one thing in common 156 00:16:30,820 –> 00:16:34,039 They all suffered from a diminished sense of need 157 00:16:34,840 –> 00:16:42,960 They would have welcomed Jesus just as Simon did but they found it hard to think that they needed very much from him 158 00:16:43,979 –> 00:16:46,659 We have need of nothing they said and 159 00:16:46,940 –> 00:16:49,000 And their souls 160 00:16:53,940 –> 00:16:58,099 Now will you turn with me to a second passage of the Bible because having looked at 161 00:16:58,580 –> 00:17:02,159 Simon’s soul I want us to look at another 162 00:17:02,739 –> 00:17:08,239 Completely different scenario that will broaden out the picture and take us forward together 163 00:17:08,800 –> 00:17:12,800 Will you turn with me to John’s gospel and chapter 12? 164 00:17:13,640 –> 00:17:21,599 It’s very fascinating that the Gospels record not one but two dinner parties to which Jesus was invited and 165 00:17:22,619 –> 00:17:29,760 The way in which these are recorded and the parallels between them are so striking that it is almost as if the Bible 166 00:17:30,020 –> 00:17:32,979 invites us to contrast these two occasions 167 00:17:33,699 –> 00:17:39,619 When Jesus comes into Simon’s home a man who feels that he’s not got that much that needs to be forgiven 168 00:17:39,619 –> 00:17:41,800 He gets a cool reception 169 00:17:42,800 –> 00:17:49,500 But when Jesus comes to the second dinner party in John in chapter 12 in the home of Martha and Mary 170 00:17:49,640 –> 00:17:53,339 It was entirely different John 12 in verse 1 171 00:17:54,199 –> 00:18:00,020 6 days before the Passover Jesus arrived at Bethany where Lazarus lived whom Jesus had raised from the dead 172 00:18:00,819 –> 00:18:03,119 Here a dinner was given in Jesus honor 173 00:18:03,800 –> 00:18:09,140 Martha served while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him 174 00:18:09,599 –> 00:18:11,599 So here we have another table 175 00:18:12,040 –> 00:18:16,359 Another circle of people reclining around it. Exactly the same picture 176 00:18:17,800 –> 00:18:23,819 But this time there is a great spirit of celebration and of honoring Jesus Christ 177 00:18:25,099 –> 00:18:27,099 the reason of course is that 178 00:18:27,579 –> 00:18:30,140 These friends of Christ are still 179 00:18:30,479 –> 00:18:34,780 Struggling to take in the miracle that they have seen in John in chapter 11 180 00:18:34,780 –> 00:18:36,660 Where the brother of Martha and Mary 181 00:18:36,660 –> 00:18:43,140 Whose name was Lazarus has been raised from the dead by the power of Jesus Christ 182 00:18:44,660 –> 00:18:51,020 Picture Mary’s sitting in the circle a few days before she’s been leading a funeral procession 183 00:18:52,339 –> 00:18:54,619 And now she sits and she looks at Jesus 184 00:18:55,420 –> 00:18:58,900 And then she looks at her brother whose funeral she attended 185 00:18:59,140 –> 00:19:02,680 she looks from the one to the other from the other to the one and 186 00:19:02,680 –> 00:19:06,459 She simply cannot take it in 187 00:19:09,020 –> 00:19:11,020 Lazarus had been buried for four days 188 00:19:12,119 –> 00:19:17,500 But John records the story of how Jesus Christ the Son of God came to the tomb and raised 189 00:19:17,939 –> 00:19:20,680 Lazarus back to life. He had said to Martha 190 00:19:20,680 –> 00:19:25,500 I am the Resurrection and the life he who believes in me even though he lives will never die 191 00:19:26,239 –> 00:19:31,719 Martha believed that but she never expected that the resurrection power of Jesus Christ would be 192 00:19:32,119 –> 00:19:37,339 Demonstrated in her own family circle. It was incredible the sisters had never seen anything like it 193 00:19:37,959 –> 00:19:44,000 But in this revelation of who Jesus Christ really is they had discovered that their little lives 194 00:19:44,119 –> 00:19:49,439 Had been swept up in the greatest thing that God had ever done in the course of human history 195 00:19:50,459 –> 00:19:53,160 It was all too great to be put into words 196 00:19:54,640 –> 00:19:56,640 But on the evening of the party 197 00:19:57,719 –> 00:20:00,920 Mary longed to find some way 198 00:20:01,839 –> 00:20:04,339 to express to Jesus the 199 00:20:04,859 –> 00:20:09,540 Gratitude she felt for what he had poured into her life 200 00:20:12,079 –> 00:20:16,439 Try and picture what’s going on in her song 201 00:20:18,439 –> 00:20:21,239 Heart calls the meeting 202 00:20:22,859 –> 00:20:29,540 This is a special occasion says heart and I feel that we have to do something I 203 00:20:30,040 –> 00:20:32,040 Agree says mind 204 00:20:33,160 –> 00:20:36,800 We’re sitting at the same table as the son of God 205 00:20:38,300 –> 00:20:42,599 He calls the dead to life, and he calls us his friends 206 00:20:43,959 –> 00:20:47,000 This family has become the place of his greatest miracle 207 00:20:48,359 –> 00:20:50,359 What can we do? 208 00:20:50,920 –> 00:20:52,920 Heart has an idea 209 00:20:53,660 –> 00:20:59,680 There’s a pint of perfume in the closet says heart I’ve had my eyes on it for years 210 00:21:01,760 –> 00:21:03,760 Why don’t we take some and 211 00:21:04,520 –> 00:21:07,160 Pour it over Christ. What are the rest of you think? 212 00:21:08,939 –> 00:21:12,540 Aches conscience. I can’t imagine a better way to use it 213 00:21:14,880 –> 00:21:19,579 My Greece’s memory there won’t ever be anything greater than this for me to record 214 00:21:19,599 –> 00:21:21,599 Well 215 00:21:22,060 –> 00:21:28,420 Says imagination if we cannot picture anything greater than what he has done for us. Why poor a little over his head 216 00:21:28,420 –> 00:21:30,420 Let’s give the lot 217 00:21:31,579 –> 00:21:37,780 Let’s do it says well, let’s pour on the will 218 00:21:39,280 –> 00:21:43,900 so John 12 verse 3 Mary took about a pint of pure nerd an 219 00:21:44,560 –> 00:21:48,260 expensive perfume she poured it on Jesus feet and 220 00:21:49,260 –> 00:21:57,500 Wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume 221 00:21:59,599 –> 00:22:02,319 Two people prepared to dinner for Jesus 222 00:22:03,599 –> 00:22:08,979 And what was going on in their soul was entirely different 223 00:22:10,880 –> 00:22:14,739 One suffered from a diminished sense of need 224 00:22:14,939 –> 00:22:20,140 That brought him to be a man who welcomed Christ coolly 225 00:22:22,680 –> 00:22:26,660 The other was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude 226 00:22:28,560 –> 00:22:35,339 That moved her to sacrifice all at the feet of Jesus Christ 227 00:22:38,180 –> 00:22:40,180 Which one are you like 228 00:22:42,219 –> 00:22:43,479 Of course 229 00:22:43,479 –> 00:22:48,800 The great question is how can we move from being Simon to being Mary 230 00:22:50,959 –> 00:22:52,959 How can we move from the 231 00:22:53,300 –> 00:22:56,680 calculating coldness of a soul that 232 00:22:57,319 –> 00:23:00,040 just has a place for Jesus to the 233 00:23:00,959 –> 00:23:02,760 freedom and the joy and the 234 00:23:02,760 –> 00:23:04,699 worship of one 235 00:23:04,699 –> 00:23:07,099 overwhelmed with gratitude and responding freely 236 00:23:07,619 –> 00:23:13,060 Well, if you think of what brought each of them 237 00:23:14,780 –> 00:23:19,260 To the place where they were you’ll understand the key of moving from the one to the other 238 00:23:20,839 –> 00:23:23,979 And it’s right here that we come to the very heart of 239 00:23:24,500 –> 00:23:28,800 The work of the Holy Spirit. What was Simon’s problem a diminished sense of need 240 00:23:28,800 –> 00:23:34,140 What is the work of the Holy Spirit to convince you of sin righteousness and judgment? 241 00:23:34,359 –> 00:23:36,359 Righteousness and judgment 242 00:23:36,699 –> 00:23:43,780 Jesus made it very clear that one of the primary works of the Holy Spirit when he gets to work in your soul is 243 00:23:44,439 –> 00:23:50,939 That he begins to show you that you need to be forgiven much more than you ever thought 244 00:23:52,800 –> 00:23:59,839 It’s not just people who have had a background in crime and in drugs who can come to love Christ deeply it is those who have 245 00:24:00,160 –> 00:24:07,540 Understood their own need of Christ and the Holy Spirit comes to teach you that he says to your imagination 246 00:24:08,359 –> 00:24:12,140 Think where you’d be if it wasn’t for God’s grace in your life 247 00:24:13,319 –> 00:24:15,319 It says to your mind 248 00:24:15,839 –> 00:24:20,459 Think about the fact that sin is not just your actions, but your thoughts and your innermost 249 00:24:20,959 –> 00:24:24,400 Motivations since what’s going on around the boardroom of the soul 250 00:24:24,400 –> 00:24:26,199 he 251 00:24:26,199 –> 00:24:33,400 awakens the conscience and even the memory so that we begin to see as the Spirit of God works within us that we need 252 00:24:33,800 –> 00:24:36,780 Jesus far more than we ever thought before 253 00:24:38,640 –> 00:24:44,520 But the Holy Spirit does not just speak about our sin to awaken our sense of need 254 00:24:46,239 –> 00:24:53,380 He also speaks about the glory of Jesus Christ to arouse our sense of gratitude 255 00:24:54,619 –> 00:24:58,000 Jesus said he will take the things concerning myself 256 00:24:58,680 –> 00:25:04,839 Jesus said and he will make them known to you. There are the two works of the Holy Spirit in a soul 257 00:25:05,660 –> 00:25:10,640 to awaken a sense of need by showing you your own sin and 258 00:25:11,119 –> 00:25:13,319 to arouse a sense of gratitude 259 00:25:13,959 –> 00:25:19,420 By showing you the beauty of the Savior. He begins to teach the mind through the scripture 260 00:25:19,420 –> 00:25:24,400 Think of this the God sent his son into the world born of a woman 261 00:25:25,219 –> 00:25:27,160 Think of this heart 262 00:25:27,160 –> 00:25:29,119 the Son of God 263 00:25:29,380 –> 00:25:31,859 Loved you and gave himself for you 264 00:25:33,319 –> 00:25:34,640 Graspold of this 265 00:25:34,640 –> 00:25:36,439 Imagination when you go through death 266 00:25:36,439 –> 00:25:42,739 Jesus Christ is going to raise you into everlasting life and bring you into eternal joys at his right hand 267 00:25:46,400 –> 00:25:48,260 Well 268 00:25:48,260 –> 00:25:53,260 He has come to bring you into life and there’s no greater life that you can live 269 00:25:54,219 –> 00:25:56,219 Than to lay everything at his feet 270 00:25:57,060 –> 00:26:03,300 And to live for his glory. What better thing can you pour out the riches of your soul upon? 271 00:26:04,520 –> 00:26:06,520 Than Jesus Christ 272 00:26:09,420 –> 00:26:13,939 It’s the Spirit of God doing that within your own soul, do you know anything about this? 273 00:26:14,500 –> 00:26:21,500 Do you know what the psalmist was talking about when he said Oh bless the Lord oh my soul 274 00:26:21,819 –> 00:26:27,979 And all that is within me praise his holy name he forgives your sin 275 00:26:30,140 –> 00:26:35,760 Do you know what Charles Wesley was talking about when filled with the Spirit of God he said 276 00:26:36,219 –> 00:26:39,180 oh for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise 277 00:26:47,640 –> 00:26:50,699 Has the Spirit of God shown you your sin 278 00:26:51,800 –> 00:26:59,420 Has he shown you the glory of Christ as he’s show you these things now because in these ways he opens up the soul 279 00:27:00,819 –> 00:27:03,619 So that we move from a diminished sense of need 280 00:27:04,400 –> 00:27:09,479 to an overwhelming sense of gratitude 281 00:27:11,520 –> 00:27:13,520 And if he’s showing you your sin 282 00:27:14,719 –> 00:27:17,040 And he’ll be showing you the Savior 283 00:27:19,060 –> 00:27:21,060 Why don’t you come to him 284 00:27:21,979 –> 00:27:25,859 you know there are a thousand ways in which that happens within the soul a 285 00:27:26,099 –> 00:27:29,800 Thousand ways in which around the boardroom of the soul there is a 286 00:27:30,699 –> 00:27:32,699 Movement a decision 287 00:27:33,859 –> 00:27:40,579 Circumstance that arises in which the members of the board make a movement to open themselves up to Jesus Christ 288 00:27:42,140 –> 00:27:47,400 But let me just end in this last moment by giving you one that I’ve written 289 00:27:49,599 –> 00:27:52,640 It was conscience who called the meeting 290 00:27:54,719 –> 00:27:56,719 I’m through he said I 291 00:27:57,699 –> 00:28:00,359 Can’t handle this burden any longer I 292 00:28:01,900 –> 00:28:03,900 Agree said memory 293 00:28:04,280 –> 00:28:06,760 We simply cannot go on living like this 294 00:28:08,780 –> 00:28:13,339 What we’ve been living like this for a long time said mind what’s brought it to a head 295 00:28:15,060 –> 00:28:17,040 Jesus 296 00:28:17,040 –> 00:28:19,040 What do you want us to do? 297 00:28:20,219 –> 00:28:24,640 Well, we’re proposing a radical change said conscience none of us have known anything like it before 298 00:28:25,400 –> 00:28:30,160 Tell us more said imagination whose interest was immediately aroused 299 00:28:32,319 –> 00:28:38,780 Well Christ has offered to take over the direction of this entire soul 300 00:28:40,959 –> 00:28:47,400 His proposal is that his spirit should take over control here occupying the vacant seat at this table 301 00:28:48,239 –> 00:28:52,079 And that he should lead each of the six of us in a new direction 302 00:28:53,000 –> 00:28:56,459 He’s offering us total forgiveness and 303 00:28:57,439 –> 00:29:00,359 peace for all the members of the board 304 00:29:01,540 –> 00:29:08,599 And I says conscience proposed that we accept his offer and that we agree to his terms 305 00:29:11,000 –> 00:29:13,000 I’ve been thinking about this said mind 306 00:29:14,859 –> 00:29:17,400 He claims to be the Son of God and 307 00:29:18,479 –> 00:29:20,719 There’s good evidence to back up his claims 308 00:29:22,599 –> 00:29:24,859 And if he is God with us 309 00:29:24,859 –> 00:29:27,880 Then it makes sense that he can forgive us 310 00:29:27,880 –> 00:29:34,459 And if he is truly God, he is able to strengthen all of the members of the board to move in a new direction 311 00:29:36,060 –> 00:29:38,060 What do you think heart? 312 00:29:39,500 –> 00:29:46,780 Can’t tell you what it would mean to me to have peace says heart I’ve been looking for that for years 313 00:29:47,280 –> 00:29:50,020 I’m just trying to picture what this would be like says imagination 314 00:29:50,140 –> 00:29:57,619 His spirit will come into the empty chair and the six of us will operate under his direction instead of doing our own thing, right? 315 00:29:58,640 –> 00:30:00,640 That would make everything different wouldn’t it? 316 00:30:02,540 –> 00:30:06,420 Yes, says memory nothing like this has ever happened in our experience before 317 00:30:07,380 –> 00:30:10,319 But I also could use some peace 318 00:30:12,800 –> 00:30:14,800 Okay says well 319 00:30:15,160 –> 00:30:21,859 Okay says will the case is overwhelming let’s ask him to forgive us and 320 00:30:23,619 –> 00:30:26,839 Tell him we accept his terms 321 00:30:28,479 –> 00:30:31,380 The motion was carried 322 00:30:32,979 –> 00:30:34,979 unanimously 323 00:30:35,000 –> 00:30:37,000 Let’s pray together 324 00:30:37,920 –> 00:30:39,920 Father 325 00:30:40,520 –> 00:30:45,099 Some of us in this moment need to confess a diminished sense of need 326 00:30:46,640 –> 00:30:50,099 Which has led to a coldness within our own hearts a 327 00:30:52,079 –> 00:30:56,459 Self-sufficiency that has thought we were doing you a favour by being religious 328 00:30:57,839 –> 00:30:59,680 and 329 00:30:59,680 –> 00:31:02,199 By your spirit you’re awakening within us 330 00:31:03,680 –> 00:31:06,859 The realization that we need you more than we thought 331 00:31:07,000 –> 00:31:09,000 And 332 00:31:11,160 –> 00:31:13,160 Some of us are sensing a 333 00:31:14,439 –> 00:31:16,439 new sense of gratitude 334 00:31:17,880 –> 00:31:19,880 so grateful 335 00:31:20,760 –> 00:31:27,439 As we begin to glimpse in our minds and hearts and souls what it meant for the Son of God to come for me and 336 00:31:27,439 –> 00:31:29,599 to die and rise for me and 337 00:31:30,760 –> 00:31:32,959 To open everlasting life to me 338 00:31:32,959 –> 00:31:34,959 . 339 00:31:38,780 –> 00:31:43,400 Some of us are wanting right now that our souls may 340 00:31:45,560 –> 00:31:49,520 Receive the gift of Christ and accept his terms 341 00:31:52,479 –> 00:31:56,640 Take that vacant chair in the boardroom of my life 342 00:31:58,560 –> 00:32:00,560 bring me your peace and 343 00:32:01,439 –> 00:32:06,459 And lead my soul in a whole new direction 344 00:32:09,760 –> 00:32:12,619 Deliver us we pray from the shriveled Ness 345 00:32:13,920 –> 00:32:17,579 the coldness of self-sufficiency and 346 00:32:18,599 –> 00:32:20,939 Bring us into the liberty and joy 347 00:32:21,640 –> 00:32:22,599 of 348 00:32:22,599 –> 00:32:25,199 lives off worship and obedience 349 00:32:26,540 –> 00:32:28,619 that flow out of an 350 00:32:28,699 –> 00:32:31,260 Overwhelming sense of gratitude 351 00:32:34,000 –> 00:32:37,319 Through Jesus Christ our Savior and our Lord 352 00:32:44,660 –> 00:32:50,280 You’ve been listening to a sermon with pastor Colin Smith of open the Bible to contact us, call us at 353 00:32:51,380 –> 00:32:56,400 1877 open 365 or visit our website open the bible.org 354 00:32:58,619 –> 00:33:01,579 You