100:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,900In a world of opinion God has given us revelation.200:00:06,900 –> 00:00:12,520In a world full of religion and philosophy and psychology, there is no other book like300:00:12,520 –> 00:00:13,520this book.400:00:13,520 –> 00:00:17,240In all the history of the world, in all the continents of the world, there never has been500:00:17,240 –> 00:00:19,620anything like it, never will be anything like it.600:00:19,620 –> 00:00:26,780God has spoken to us in Jesus Christ through the apostles and the prophets.700:00:26,780 –> 00:00:29,040Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith.800:00:29,280 –> 00:00:32,000I’m David Pick, I’m glad you could join us today.900:00:32,000 –> 00:00:36,680And Colin, it sounds as if today we’ll be hearing what it means for the Bible to be1000:00:36,680 –> 00:00:38,240inspired by God.1100:00:38,240 –> 00:00:43,480Yeah, and this is a really important subject for a Christian believer to come to a settled1200:00:43,480 –> 00:00:48,900conviction that the Bible really is the Word of God and what I read in the Bible is what1300:00:48,900 –> 00:00:52,220God Himself is actually saying to me.1400:00:52,220 –> 00:00:54,020And here’s why it’s so important.1500:00:54,020 –> 00:01:00,480If I’m going to make a decision of conscience that is going to be really costly for me,1600:01:00,480 –> 00:01:05,300financially, emotionally, and I’m going to do it on the basis that my conscience is1700:01:05,300 –> 00:01:12,220captive to the Word of God, I need to be settled in my mind if I’m going to pay a price, that1800:01:12,220 –> 00:01:17,580this really is the Word of God and it’s not just the opinion of Paul or Peter, or whoever.1900:01:17,580 –> 00:01:23,120And so, settling what we believe about the Bible is really foundational to being able2000:01:23,160 –> 00:01:27,519to live a devoted, faithful, and obedient Christian life. And that’s why it’s such2100:01:27,519 –> 00:01:29,639an important subject for all of us.2200:01:29,639 –> 00:01:33,660With an introduction like that, we need to get into the message. So, join us, if you2300:01:33,660 –> 00:01:39,360can, in 2 Peter chapter one, as we continue the message, Everything You Need for Faith.2400:01:39,360 –> 00:01:41,959Here is Pastor Colin.2500:01:41,959 –> 00:01:46,879Everything we need for life is in the knowledge of Jesus. But how do we have the knowledge2600:01:47,839 –> 00:01:54,839answer? Through the Bible. Well then, how do we know that the Bible is reliable? How2700:01:56,480 –> 00:02:01,040can we be sure that we have a true knowledge of Jesus? If everything we need for life lies2800:02:01,040 –> 00:02:07,419in knowing Him, how do we know that we know Him truly? Can we, in other words, trust the2900:02:07,419 –> 00:02:12,600source of that knowledge, which is through the Word of God, through the Bible?3000:02:12,839 –> 00:02:18,039You see then that that is why very naturally, Peter comes in verses 12 to 21 to address3100:02:18,039 –> 00:02:22,699this whole issue of Scripture, and this is one of the most important passages in the3200:02:22,699 –> 00:02:27,119New Testament with regards to what we believe about the Bible.3300:02:27,119 –> 00:02:33,479Just to give it a quick frame in our minds by way of overview, Dr. Wayne Grudem, who3400:02:33,479 –> 00:02:39,559taught for many years at Trinity University, has identified four things that we need to3500:02:39,580 –> 00:02:43,580know about the Bible and that the Bible claims in regards to itself.3600:02:43,580 –> 00:02:47,020This is a good little overview that might be worth keeping in mind for you.3700:02:47,020 –> 00:02:50,100First, there’s the authority of Scripture.3800:02:50,100 –> 00:02:56,860And, it’s interesting that right here, Peter speaks about how men spoke from God as they3900:02:56,860 –> 00:02:59,259were carried along by the Holy Spirit.4000:02:59,259 –> 00:03:03,500The authority of Scripture is that it is the word, not simply of men, but it is the word4100:03:03,500 –> 00:03:06,339of God, and Peter states that clearly here.4200:03:06,500 –> 00:03:10,080Secondly, the sufficiency of Scripture.4300:03:10,080 –> 00:03:15,119That is Scripture has all that we need for knowing Christ, who has all that we need for4400:03:15,119 –> 00:03:16,119living life.4500:03:16,119 –> 00:03:20,559Now, that’s the whole point that Peter is making here in this first chapter.4600:03:20,559 –> 00:03:24,440God has given us everything we need for life and knowing Jesus, and he has given us everything4700:03:24,440 –> 00:03:27,479we need for knowing Jesus in the Bible.4800:03:27,479 –> 00:03:30,440These two things, obviously, must go together.4900:03:30,440 –> 00:03:34,139Third, the clarity of Scripture.5000:03:34,139 –> 00:03:38,860In other words, God has spoken in the Bible in a way that we can understand.5100:03:38,860 –> 00:03:44,720Notice how in verse 19, Peter picks up this theme when he says the Scripture is like a5200:03:44,720 –> 00:03:48,820light shining in a dark place.5300:03:48,820 –> 00:03:53,699In other words, you must never think of the Bible as an obscure kind of book that only5400:03:53,699 –> 00:03:57,899scholars or priests or whatever could understand.5500:03:57,899 –> 00:04:01,539And then the fourth thing is the necessity of Scripture.5600:04:01,539 –> 00:04:04,479What would we know about God if we didn’t have the Bible?5700:04:04,479 –> 00:04:11,860So, the necessity of the Scripture reminds us that God has given us this revelation so5800:04:11,860 –> 00:04:15,520that we may know Christ in whom we find everything we need for life and godliness.5900:04:15,520 –> 00:04:19,380Because apart from the Bible, you would simply not have a knowledge of Jesus Christ.6000:04:19,380 –> 00:04:23,739What would you know if it was not from the Scriptures?6100:04:23,739 –> 00:04:28,859Therefore, our confidence in the Bible and in the reliability of the Scripture is a very6200:04:28,859 –> 00:04:31,019important issue for us.6300:04:31,140 –> 00:04:33,660And that’s what’s before us today.6400:04:33,660 –> 00:04:37,559And what Peter wants us to know, and you’ll see it very clearly in this passage today,6500:04:37,559 –> 00:04:44,140is that you can trust both the witness of the apostles to our Lord Jesus.6600:04:44,140 –> 00:04:50,000That’s the essence of the New Testament, and he speaks about that in verses 16 to 18.6700:04:50,000 –> 00:04:56,220And you can trust the word of the prophets, which was about the Lord Jesus Christ, which6800:04:56,220 –> 00:05:00,339is the subject of verses 19-21.6900:05:00,339 –> 00:05:04,420The witness of the apostles and the word of the prophets, put these two together and you7000:05:04,420 –> 00:05:07,100really have the whole Bible.7100:05:07,100 –> 00:05:10,880Apostles and prophets is a shorthand way of referring to the whole Bible.7200:05:10,880 –> 00:05:17,640You find that, for example, in Ephesians chapter 2, in verse 20 where the apostle Paul speaks7300:05:17,640 –> 00:05:25,160of how the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ7400:05:26,059 –> 00:05:30,739himself being the chief cornerstone.7500:05:30,739 –> 00:05:37,119So prophets, Old Testament, point forward to Jesus, apostles, New Testament, bear witness7600:05:37,119 –> 00:05:44,100to Jesus, these two together being the sum of all the Scriptures.7700:05:44,100 –> 00:05:49,459In a world of opinion, God has given us revelation.7800:05:49,459 –> 00:05:54,679In a world full of religion and philosophy and psychology, there is no other book like7900:05:54,679 –> 00:05:56,420this book.8000:05:56,420 –> 00:05:59,600In all the history of the world and all the continents of the world, there never has been8100:05:59,600 –> 00:06:02,179anything like it, never will be anything like it.8200:06:02,179 –> 00:06:12,160God has spoken to us in Jesus Christ through the apostles and the prophets.8300:06:12,160 –> 00:06:14,399Apostles saw.8400:06:14,399 –> 00:06:15,619Prophets spoke.8500:06:15,619 –> 00:06:19,279And here’s the last thing today, we remember.8600:06:19,440 –> 00:06:26,299Now, if you think that sounds like a nighty climax, which it may sound like, hang on,8700:06:26,299 –> 00:06:29,980we need to know what the Bible means by remember.8800:06:29,980 –> 00:06:33,839And probably this is the most important thing for us to grasp, it is life changing for us8900:06:33,839 –> 00:06:36,799today.9000:06:36,799 –> 00:06:40,679Notice the emphasis on remembering, beginning in verse 12.9100:06:40,679 –> 00:06:42,920Peter speaks about it three times.9200:06:42,920 –> 00:06:47,880I will always remind you, verse 12, of these things that’s the gospel, even though you9300:06:48,160 –> 00:06:51,480know them and are fully established in the truth that you now have.9400:06:51,480 –> 00:06:54,040I’ll always remind you of the things you already know.9500:06:54,040 –> 00:06:56,480Isn’t that a strange thing to say?9600:06:56,480 –> 00:07:01,980He repeats it again in verse 13, I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as9700:07:01,980 –> 00:07:05,679I live in the tent of this body, so he’s going to carry on saying the same thing for the9800:07:05,679 –> 00:07:08,299rest of his life?9900:07:08,299 –> 00:07:12,339And as if we hadn’t already got the point verse 15 he says, I will make every effort10000:07:13,260 –> 00:07:18,339with my departure you will be able to remember these things.10100:07:18,339 –> 00:07:27,619Now, being reminded of things you already know, gets old pretty fast doesn’t it?10200:07:27,619 –> 00:07:33,160And so if Peter is committed to spending the whole of his life reminding the church of10300:07:33,160 –> 00:07:40,100things that Christian believers already know, isn’t that going to be a formula for frustration?10400:07:41,019 –> 00:07:45,940We’re going to come next week to the work of the false teachers, which is the subject10500:07:45,940 –> 00:07:47,260of chapter 2.10600:07:47,260 –> 00:07:50,899And we will find that the mark of the false teacher was that they were always saying something10700:07:50,899 –> 00:07:52,480new.10800:07:52,480 –> 00:07:55,959And Peter is right up front in saying that you don’t expect that to come from an apostle.10900:07:55,959 –> 00:07:59,899What my ministry is all about is to bring you back to something old.11000:07:59,899 –> 00:08:05,299I will keep reminding you of all that you have already known and become established11100:08:05,500 –> 00:08:10,220with regards to Jesus Christ.11200:08:10,220 –> 00:08:17,760Suppose you get into your car and every time you do, the person with you says, don’t forget11300:08:17,760 –> 00:08:21,980to drive on the right side of the road.11400:08:21,980 –> 00:08:28,320And every time you come to junction, the person says, don’t forget to indicate.11500:08:28,320 –> 00:08:32,460And when the light is red, don’t forget to pull up and stop.11600:08:32,619 –> 00:08:37,320You know this goes on for a while and at some point you’re gonna pull your car into the11700:08:37,320 –> 00:08:45,719side of the road and you’re going to say, now look, please stop telling me what I already11800:08:45,719 –> 00:08:48,380know, right?11900:08:48,380 –> 00:08:55,859You ever had that experience where you’ve been asked to bring something home, guys from12000:08:55,859 –> 00:08:59,140work at the end of the day, a gallon of milk.12100:08:59,140 –> 00:09:01,979Will you remember to bring a gallon of milk home with you?12200:09:01,979 –> 00:09:05,739And so faithfully, because you’re just a wonderful person you go into the grocery and you’re12300:09:05,739 –> 00:09:08,380standing in front of the fridge and what happens?12400:09:08,380 –> 00:09:10,539Your cell phone goes.12500:09:10,539 –> 00:09:15,299And it is your dear one and she says, hi, just called to remind you to bring home a12600:09:15,299 –> 00:09:17,200gallon of milk or whatever it is.12700:09:17,200 –> 00:09:19,280You wanna say, I’m doing it, I’m doing it.12800:09:19,280 –> 00:09:20,820I mean, what is the point of reminding me?12900:09:20,820 –> 00:09:22,119I am already doing it.13000:09:22,119 –> 00:09:23,280Do you think I don’t know?13100:09:23,280 –> 00:09:25,099Do you think I can’t remember?13200:09:25,099 –> 00:09:31,460Now, you see, I’m wanting you to think about the strangeness of what Peter says here.13300:09:31,460 –> 00:09:37,039I’m committed to a lifelong ministry of reminding you of what you already know.13400:09:37,039 –> 00:09:41,979Isn’t that going to play right into the hands of the false teachers who are offering something13500:09:41,979 –> 00:09:45,320new?13600:09:45,320 –> 00:09:47,919What does it mean to remember?13700:09:47,919 –> 00:09:49,000That’s the issue.13800:09:49,000 –> 00:09:53,700You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and we’ve got to pause the message13900:09:53,700 –> 00:09:57,559very briefly now, but we’ll be back shortly so do stay with us.14000:09:57,559 –> 00:10:00,739The message is called everything you need for faith.14100:10:00,739 –> 00:10:05,159And if you ever tune in late or have to leave early or miss the message altogether or if14200:10:05,159 –> 00:10:09,760you simply want to go back and listen again, it’s easy to do that by coming online to our14300:10:09,760 –> 00:10:16,559website openthebible.org.uk and there you’ll find all the messages which have already been14400:10:16,559 –> 00:10:20,739broadcast and you can also find them if you prefer to, listen to a podcast on all the14500:10:20,739 –> 00:10:22,520main podcast sites.14600:10:22,520 –> 00:10:24,960Search for Open the Bible UK.14700:10:24,960 –> 00:10:29,880Back to the message now, we’re in 2 Peter Chapter 1, here again is Pastor Colin.14800:10:31,039 –> 00:10:33,140What does it mean to remember?14900:10:33,140 –> 00:10:35,340That’s the issue.15000:10:35,340 –> 00:10:40,460And if you can grasp this today, you’ve grasped something very important.15100:10:40,460 –> 00:10:47,500Remembering in the Bible is more than being able to recall something that happened.15200:10:47,500 –> 00:10:55,260Remembering in the Bible is about what happened becoming real and fresh and alive and present.15300:10:55,260 –> 00:11:00,539Now, let me give you just two illustrations and then we’re through.15400:11:00,859 –> 00:11:05,659So, if you look back to verse 9, you’ll see that Peter speaks there about a person who15500:11:05,659 –> 00:11:11,780professes faith but has forgotten, the opposite of remembering, obviously, he’s forgotten15600:11:11,780 –> 00:11:14,059that he’s been cleansed from his past sins.15700:11:14,059 –> 00:11:20,580So, here’s a guy in church world, but he’s not a growing, prospering Christian.15800:11:20,580 –> 00:11:22,280He’s just kind of stuck in his Christian life.15900:11:22,280 –> 00:11:25,780But there he is in the church in the group of people to whom Peter is writing.16000:11:25,780 –> 00:11:30,179Now, you go up to that guy on a Sunday morning and you say to him, do you know I just want16100:11:30,219 –> 00:11:37,380to tell you something, Jesus Christ died to cleanse you from your sins.16200:11:37,380 –> 00:11:42,539That guy has been in the church for a while, he’s going to say, I know that.16300:11:42,539 –> 00:11:47,359The problem for this guy is not that he is unable to recall the death of Jesus for the16400:11:47,359 –> 00:11:50,080forgiveness of his sins.16500:11:50,080 –> 00:11:55,299The problem for this guy is that his forgiveness doesn’t mean much to him any more.16600:11:55,299 –> 00:12:00,619It is no longer a reality that is shaping his life, it is no longer for him something16700:12:00,619 –> 00:12:03,979that is real and fresh and alive and present.16800:12:03,979 –> 00:12:05,700He’s forgotten.16900:12:05,700 –> 00:12:09,419He doesn’t know what it means to remember.17000:12:09,419 –> 00:12:16,500The greatest use of course of remembering in the Bible is the Lord’s Supper.17100:12:16,500 –> 00:12:19,880Remember when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, he took bread and wine and he said17200:12:20,840 –> 00:12:25,380Do this in remembrance of me.17300:12:25,380 –> 00:12:27,159Now let me ask you a question.17400:12:27,159 –> 00:12:33,299If you never went to another communion service in all of your life, you never went to another17500:12:33,299 –> 00:12:38,760communion service, do you think that you would when you were old have forgotten that Jesus17600:12:38,760 –> 00:12:39,760died on the cross?17700:12:39,760 –> 00:12:41,880Be unable to recall that fact?17800:12:42,859 –> 00:12:43,859Of course not.17900:12:43,859 –> 00:12:50,739You’re never going to be unable to recall that Jesus died on the cross.18000:12:50,739 –> 00:12:53,119If you never went to another communion service, you’d always know that.18100:12:53,119 –> 00:12:55,119You would always be able to recall that.18200:12:55,119 –> 00:13:00,580So, what does Jesus mean when He says you to do this in remembrance of me?18300:13:00,580 –> 00:13:06,979See, Jesus wants His death and His resurrection to be something more to you than an event18400:13:06,979 –> 00:13:09,599you can recall.18500:13:09,640 –> 00:13:11,500He wants you to savor it’s blessing.18600:13:11,500 –> 00:13:13,940He wants you to taste its goodness.18700:13:13,940 –> 00:13:17,219He wants you to taste the power that flows from his death and resurrection.18800:13:17,219 –> 00:13:21,859He wants it to be real, and alive, and fresh, and present.18900:13:21,859 –> 00:13:25,340That’s what the Bible means by remember.19000:13:25,340 –> 00:13:30,900I learned this in a most moving meeting that I attended years ago.19100:13:30,900 –> 00:13:33,859It would be forever imprinted on my mind.19200:13:33,859 –> 00:13:38,739Back in London, there was a group of ministers from different denominations, and we met probably19300:13:38,880 –> 00:13:41,599four times a year to discuss various topics.19400:13:41,599 –> 00:13:48,719There was a Methodist minister, a Baptist pastor, a Church of England vicar, a charismatic19500:13:48,719 –> 00:13:51,780lay leader, a Catholic priest, and myself.19600:13:51,780 –> 00:13:54,780Sounds like the beginning of a joke, doesn’t it?19700:13:54,780 –> 00:13:59,679We actually had some wonderful meetings and discussions together.19800:13:59,679 –> 00:14:07,440On one occasion, the subject that was set for us was, what makes a valid communion service.19900:14:07,739 –> 00:14:11,799Now, you can understand in that context, there were very, very different ideas about what20000:14:11,799 –> 00:14:15,239makes a valid communion service.20100:14:15,239 –> 00:14:18,679Do you have to have an ordained priest present?20200:14:18,679 –> 00:14:23,119Can it be a valid communion service if it’s just students on a campus, and not a church.20300:14:23,119 –> 00:14:24,539Do you have to use real wine?20400:14:24,539 –> 00:14:26,700Does it have to be unleavened bread, and so forth and so on.20500:14:26,700 –> 00:14:28,960There was all these kinds of discussion.20600:14:29,859 –> 00:14:39,280There was an Anglican priest in the group, an old man by the name of Cannon Harry Wittenbach.20700:14:39,280 –> 00:14:43,140Cannon is a title they give in the church of England, quite an extraordinary one.20800:14:43,140 –> 00:14:48,599Harry was a soft spoken man, didn’t contribute much to the discussion at all.20900:14:48,599 –> 00:14:52,440But after it had gone on for some time, he spoke.21000:14:52,559 –> 00:14:57,000He said, you know when I think of what makes a valid communion,21100:14:57,000 –> 00:15:02,299I think about when I was in prison in China.21200:15:02,299 –> 00:15:07,080You can imagine the room went very very quiet indeed at that point.21300:15:07,080 –> 00:15:12,099We all knew that Harry had been in prison for some time in China,21400:15:12,099 –> 00:15:17,020but like many folks who have gone through an ordeal of that sort, he very very rarely spoke about it.21500:15:17,020 –> 00:15:21,640It was Christmas day, he said.21600:15:21,799 –> 00:15:28,539There were three of us who were believers.21700:15:28,539 –> 00:15:38,979We didn’t have any wine, and none of us would have ordained priests at the time.21800:15:38,979 –> 00:15:47,539We had kept a few crusts of bread, and we’d kept a little water in a cup,21900:15:47,700 –> 00:15:54,440And on Christmas Day, we remembered the Lord.’22000:15:54,440 –> 00:15:58,400And his eyes filled with tears and his voice faltered, I’ll never forget it.22100:15:58,400 –> 00:16:03,580He said, I’ve never known a communion service like it.22200:16:03,580 –> 00:16:07,979He said, the Lord was there.22300:16:07,979 –> 00:16:10,320The Lord was there.22400:16:10,320 –> 00:16:17,020Now you see, that’s what the Bible means by remembering.22500:16:17,020 –> 00:16:25,000It’s more than knowing about Jesus dying and rising in your head, it’s savoring this22600:16:25,000 –> 00:16:29,719Christ crucified and risen in your heart.22700:16:29,719 –> 00:16:36,400And Harry Wittenbach had found that he had everything he needed for life, even life in22800:16:36,400 –> 00:16:46,719prison in China, in the knowledge of this Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.22900:16:46,719 –> 00:16:50,299And Peter had proved that, of course, in his own life too, being imprisoned many times23000:16:50,299 –> 00:16:52,280as well.23100:16:52,280 –> 00:16:57,020And that’s why, you see, he’s saying here, folks, this is why my ministry is going to23200:16:57,020 –> 00:17:00,599be about one thing and one thing only.23300:17:00,599 –> 00:17:03,039I’m never going to move away from this.23400:17:03,039 –> 00:17:11,599I want you to be able to lay hold of Christ, to savor Christ, to feed on Christ, to live23500:17:12,300 –> 00:17:16,420And I’m never going to stop reminding you therefore about Him.23600:17:16,420 –> 00:17:19,640I’m going to do it as long as I live in this body.23700:17:19,640 –> 00:17:24,819And after I’ve died, I will make every effort to see that the church continues to be focused23800:17:24,819 –> 00:17:31,400and centered on Him because it is in Him that we find everything that we need for life,23900:17:31,400 –> 00:17:32,400for godliness.24000:17:32,400 –> 00:17:36,760Folks, that is the purpose of communion.24100:17:37,119 –> 00:17:42,520With faith you draw near to the Savior and feed on the richness of what He has accomplished24200:17:42,520 –> 00:17:43,520for you.24300:17:43,520 –> 00:17:45,739That’s the purpose of preaching.24400:17:45,739 –> 00:17:50,500If you think preaching’s about imparting a bunch of information, you haven’t understood24500:17:50,500 –> 00:17:53,800what preaching is.24600:17:53,800 –> 00:18:01,979It is to bring the reality of Christ freshly to impress upon the soul, that we may live24700:18:02,760 –> 00:18:05,160in the good of this.24800:18:05,160 –> 00:18:08,439And when you read the Bible, I hope you read the Bible every day.24900:18:08,439 –> 00:18:12,239When you open the Bible tomorrow, and you read something from the Bible, what are you25000:18:12,239 –> 00:18:13,239doing?25100:18:13,239 –> 00:18:14,239Why are you doing that?25200:18:14,239 –> 00:18:16,099Why is this going to nourish your life?25300:18:16,099 –> 00:18:21,640Hn, done my reading for the day, good for me.25400:18:21,640 –> 00:18:25,859No if you’ve understood what this is about, you open the scriptures in order that you25500:18:25,859 –> 00:18:31,459may feed on Christ, that you may draw near to Christ, that you may be strengthened by25600:18:31,459 –> 00:18:36,640Christ, that you may find Jesus Christ.25700:18:36,640 –> 00:18:44,459That you may, in one simple word, remember that you may live in the fresh reality of25800:18:44,459 –> 00:18:50,219all that He is, of all that He has done and of all that He has to give and holds in His25900:18:50,219 –> 00:18:53,619hand for you even now.26000:18:53,619 –> 00:19:00,420It’s I think one of the reasons that we get stuck in the Christian life is that we persuade26100:19:00,579 –> 00:19:03,800ourselves that we know what in biblical26200:19:03,800 –> 00:19:08,900terms we don’t really know at all.26300:19:08,900 –> 00:19:19,900When a girl says, I know that God loves me but I really hate myself, if Peter was her26400:19:19,900 –> 00:19:25,339pastor, he’d come and he’d put her arm round her shoulder and he’d say something like this,26500:19:25,719 –> 00:19:33,040you know, you say you know that God loves you and you think you know that God loves26600:19:33,040 –> 00:19:41,160you but really you don’t know that God loves you, because if right now you were savouring26700:19:41,160 –> 00:19:50,660the love of God for you, you would never say that you hate yourself. How could you?26800:19:50,660 –> 00:19:54,619And in that ministry he would seek to show her the love of Christ that she thinks she26900:19:54,660 –> 00:20:00,739knows but really doesn’t and there she would find the healing of her soul, everything you27000:20:00,739 –> 00:20:12,219need in him. And when a guy says, I know the gospel but I cannot overcome a compulsive27100:20:12,219 –> 00:20:18,280temptation in my life, if Peter was your pastor he’d put his arms around you and he’d say,27200:20:19,239 –> 00:20:26,180You say you know the gospel, you think you know the gospel but the truth is you really27300:20:26,180 –> 00:20:34,520don’t know the gospel because when you give way to that temptation, at that moment at27400:20:34,520 –> 00:20:41,079least you have lost sight of the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life27500:20:41,079 –> 00:20:46,199and if that was fresh and real and alive and present to you, if you remembered, if you27600:20:46,199 –> 00:20:52,160knew that, you wouldn’t have fallen as you did.27700:20:52,160 –> 00:20:59,839An effective and productive Christian life hangs on the great truths of the gospel being27800:20:59,839 –> 00:21:05,979real, alive, fresh, present for you every day of your life.27900:21:05,979 –> 00:21:10,020It’s a purpose of communion, that’s a purpose of preaching, that’s a purpose of reading28000:21:10,020 –> 00:21:15,459the bible, that is why God has given us his word.28100:21:15,459 –> 00:21:22,260There’s an old song that puts it like this, it’s really a prayer, some of you will know28200:21:22,260 –> 00:21:23,280it.28300:21:23,280 –> 00:21:32,060Make the book live to me oh lord, show me your self within your word, show me my self28400:21:32,140 –> 00:21:37,819and show me my savior and make the book live to me.28500:21:37,819 –> 00:21:40,900That’s an expression of faith.28600:21:40,900 –> 00:21:47,900Now if you will seek after Jesus Christ and his word like that everyday and if you will28700:21:47,900 –> 00:21:56,400come to church to receive the ministry of the word preached like that every week, it28800:21:56,400 –> 00:21:59,339will change your life.28900:21:59,359 –> 00:22:07,260You will not be the same, you will no longer be stuck and you will discover as Harry Wittenbach29000:22:07,260 –> 00:22:12,420discovered, as Peter discovered and as Christians through the ages have discovered, that God29100:22:12,420 –> 00:22:20,560has given us everything that we need for life, in the knowledge of his son, Jesus Christ.29200:22:20,560 –> 00:22:23,660As Peter would say, we need to remember the gospel.29300:22:23,859 –> 00:22:29,500To remember that sin is not our master and not to lose sight of the presence and power29400:22:29,500 –> 00:22:31,300of the Holy Spirit.29500:22:31,300 –> 00:22:35,180You have been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, and a message called29600:22:35,180 –> 00:22:36,819Everything You Need for Faith.29700:22:36,819 –> 00:22:42,579It is part of our series, Everything You Need for Life, which is based on the book of 229800:22:42,579 –> 00:22:43,579Peter.29900:22:43,579 –> 00:22:46,800If you have missed any of the series, don’t forget you can easily catch up or go back30000:22:46,800 –> 00:22:51,079and listen again online at our website www.openthebible.org.uk30100:22:52,000 –> 00:22:56,160There you will find all the messages that have already been broadcast which you can30200:22:56,160 –> 00:23:01,079freely listen to on our website, also available as a podcast.30300:23:01,199 –> 00:23:05,699While you are on our website, don’t forget to check out Open the Bible Daily.30400:23:05,699 –> 00:23:10,680That’s our series of short two to three minute daily reflections, based on pastor Colin’s30500:23:10,680 –> 00:23:13,880teaching and specially read in the UK.30600:23:13,880 –> 00:23:16,280Open the Bible Daily.30700:23:16,280 –> 00:23:21,000Open the Bible is able to be on this station, as well as our website and the podcasts,30800:23:21,079 –> 00:23:25,020because listeners like you give generously to support our work.30900:23:25,020 –> 00:23:30,119So if you are already a supporter Open the Bible in this way, thank you so much.31000:23:30,119 –> 00:23:34,439If supporting Open the Bible is something you’d want to start doing this month, we’d31100:23:34,439 –> 00:23:39,319love to say thank you by sending you Pastor Colin’s brand new book Grow in hope.31200:23:39,319 –> 00:23:46,520It’s a thirty day devotional study drawing on Scripture and years of pastoral experience.31300:23:46,520 –> 00:23:49,540Colin, why did you write this book?31400:23:49,660 –> 00:23:55,060Well, Grow in Hope is the second of three books that we are putting out from Open the31500:23:55,060 –> 00:23:56,500Bible this year.31600:23:56,500 –> 00:24:00,479Grow in Faith, Grow in Hope and, Grow in Love.31700:24:00,479 –> 00:24:05,800And the reason for all three is that, as Paul says in First Corinthians and Chapter 13,31800:24:05,800 –> 00:24:07,920everything else will pass away.31900:24:07,920 –> 00:24:10,939I mean, that’s quite a statement, isn’t it?32000:24:10,939 –> 00:24:18,020Everything else will pass away, but these things will remain faith, hope and love.32100:24:18,079 –> 00:24:21,060So these are things of supreme importance.32200:24:21,060 –> 00:24:27,819I’m absolutely persuaded that our greatest need is to have a stronger faith, to have32300:24:27,819 –> 00:24:32,579a more certain hope and to be renewed in a resilient kind of love.32400:24:32,579 –> 00:24:36,520You know, if that happens in the lives of Christian believers, some very, very good32500:24:36,520 –> 00:24:37,660things will follow.32600:24:37,660 –> 00:24:42,699So Pastor Colin’s book, Grow in Hope, is our gift to you when you set up a new direct32700:24:42,780 –> 00:24:49,380debit of £5 per month or more, or a one-off gift of £60 or more to support the work of32800:24:49,380 –> 00:24:51,2601Open The Bible this month.32900:24:51,260 –> 00:24:58,640Full terms and conditions are on our website at openthebible.org.uk and you can give online.33000:24:58,640 –> 00:25:02,900Don’t forget though to leave your full name and address when you donate, so we’ll be33100:25:02,900 –> 00:25:04,699able to send you your gift.33200:25:04,699 –> 00:25:09,099For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick.33300:25:09,739 –> 00:25:13,239Thanks for being with us today and we look forward to having you join us again next time.33400:25:20,520 –> 00:25:25,739False prophets were rampant in the Old Testament among God’s own people.33500:25:25,739 –> 00:25:29,780Find out where they can be found today, next time on Open the Bible.