100:00:00,000 –> 00:00:12,300Friendship is a wonderful gift from God. God did not intend any of us here today to live200:00:12,300 –> 00:00:20,600in isolation and so we must seek friends intentionally. How do you do that?300:00:22,480 –> 00:00:27,820Welcome to Open The Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick. Glad you could join us today.400:00:28,080 –> 00:00:33,259That’s right. This is called Wisdom For Life and it’s amazing how often the Book of Proverbs500:00:33,259 –> 00:00:35,700talks about friendship.600:00:35,700 –> 00:00:38,959Yeah that’s right, because this is a spiritual700:00:38,959 –> 00:00:43,459issue and God speaks to us directly on it. It’s easy to get the idea, you know,800:00:43,459 –> 00:00:47,320that the Christian life is about the Bible and prayer and about going to900:00:47,320 –> 00:00:51,799church for worship and well friends that’s just part of, you know, ordinary1000:00:51,799 –> 00:00:56,240life in a different kind of category but as we’re in the Book of Proverbs you1100:00:56,240 –> 00:01:01,779know what are the major themes in which God speaks to us about wisdom for life,1200:01:01,779 –> 00:01:07,500well friendship is one of them and I think that’s a very significant fact in1300:01:07,500 –> 00:01:13,379and of itself. God speaks to us about how to make friends. He speaks to us about1400:01:13,379 –> 00:01:19,599how to keep friends and he speaks to us about how to be a good friend. I mean1500:01:19,599 –> 00:01:23,660isn’t that an important thing to be a better friend? How can I be a better1600:01:23,699 –> 00:01:28,500friend to other people? The one who would have friends must show him or herself1700:01:28,500 –> 00:01:33,860friendly, how can I do that more? Well all of that is in the scriptures as God1800:01:33,860 –> 00:01:38,260speaks to us about wisdom in regards to our friends and so I’m so glad we have1900:01:38,260 –> 00:01:41,739the opportunity of looking at this very important theme together today.2000:01:49,940 –> 00:01:52,099Last week we said three things by way of2100:01:52,220 –> 00:01:55,919introduction that are important to remember. The first is that the Proverbs2200:01:55,919 –> 00:02:01,379are proverbs they are wise sayings that describe the normal pattern that2300:02:01,379 –> 00:02:07,220prevails in this world. The Proverbs are not promises that’s very important to2400:02:07,220 –> 00:02:13,759remember they are proverbs, they describe the normal pattern that prevails in this2500:02:13,759 –> 00:02:18,520world. Second the proverbs assume a relationship they are spoken in the2600:02:18,520 –> 00:02:23,179first instance by a father to a son. King Solomon speaking to his son2700:02:23,179 –> 00:02:28,419Rehoboam there’s a relationship of love there and because these proverbs are in2800:02:28,419 –> 00:02:34,800holy scripture we are to hear in these words the voice of our loving Heavenly2900:02:34,800 –> 00:02:43,259Father speaking to us His children and imparting his wisdom to us. Thirdly, the3000:02:43,259 –> 00:02:49,000Proverbs points to the Lord Jesus Christ. All scripture as we saw throughout last3100:02:49,000 –> 00:02:54,199year points to the Lord Jesus Christ and this book particularly points to Jesus3200:02:54,199 –> 00:03:00,639in this way we’re told that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom3300:03:00,639 –> 00:03:08,979and of knowledge. All wisdom is hidden in Christ. Christ is our wisdom and so to3400:03:08,979 –> 00:03:15,240follow Jesus is to follow wisdom. To listen to Jesus is to listen to wisdom.3500:03:15,240 –> 00:03:22,160To grow in Jesus is to grow in wisdom. The way of wisdom is always the way of3600:03:22,160 –> 00:03:31,899Jesus and the way of Jesus is always the way of wisdom so Proverbs declares to us3700:03:31,899 –> 00:03:37,279what a life of wisdom or a life of following Jesus it’s really the same3800:03:37,440 –> 00:03:43,820thing you see. What a life of following Jesus really looks like. Here then is a3900:03:43,820 –> 00:03:50,779map for a life of discipleship. Now in this series is going to be very4000:03:50,779 –> 00:03:56,880practical. We’re going to look at the way of wisdom, the way of Jesus in relation4100:03:56,880 –> 00:04:02,419to five areas of our lives. Today we’re going to look at friendship then we’re4200:04:02,419 –> 00:04:08,899going to look at family and words and work and wealth. We begin today then with4300:04:08,899 –> 00:04:13,399the subject of friends. I don’t want to recommend an excellent resource, a book4400:04:13,399 –> 00:04:19,559that I have mentioned before, and that is Drew Hunter’s excellent book entitled4500:04:19,559 –> 00:04:25,079Made for Friendship. Drew Hunter is a pastor in Indianapolis. This is the most4600:04:25,079 –> 00:04:30,359helpful book that I have read on the subject of friendship. It is full of4700:04:30,480 –> 00:04:37,420insight and I warmly commend that to you. Now, today I want us to focus from the4800:04:37,420 –> 00:04:42,079book of Proverbs on three main areas. The first is how you can have good friends.4900:04:42,079 –> 00:04:46,920Very important and practical subject. We’ll spend most of our time there—how5000:04:46,920 –> 00:04:52,519you can have good friends. Second and more briefly, we will look at how you can5100:04:52,519 –> 00:04:58,959be a good friend. How can I become a better friend? And then thirdly, and just5200:04:58,980 –> 00:05:05,000very briefly at the end, why you should seek the best friend. So first then, how5300:05:05,000 –> 00:05:10,480you can have good friends and three things here drawn from the Proverbs. The5400:05:10,480 –> 00:05:14,519Proverbs are not arranged by theme, so throughout this series we’ll be drawing5500:05:14,519 –> 00:05:18,700Proverbs from different parts of the book and altogether we’ll look at 145600:05:18,700 –> 00:05:24,200different Proverbs in the course of our time together this morning. First then,5700:05:24,559 –> 00:05:30,160seek friends intentionally. If you want to have good friends, you have to seek5800:05:30,160 –> 00:05:33,859them intentionally. Proverbs 18 and verse one says,5900:05:33,859 –> 00:05:39,399whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire,6000:05:39,399 –> 00:05:46,679he breaks out against all sound wisdom. There is a very striking statement,6100:05:46,700 –> 00:05:55,980whoever isolates himself, I just want to be a loner. That person seeks his own6200:05:55,980 –> 00:06:03,239desire, the Bible says. In other words, he’s only concerned about himself and if6300:06:03,239 –> 00:06:10,079you’re only concerned about yourself, you break out against all sound judgment.6400:06:10,239 –> 00:06:18,019Now, why? Why is that? Well, the answer is because you are made in the image of God6500:06:18,019 –> 00:06:26,279who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God enjoys relationship within the tri-unity6600:06:26,279 –> 00:06:34,920of his own being and you are made in his image, Drew Hunter says this very well in6700:06:34,920 –> 00:06:41,739the book I referred to a moment ago. He says to be made in God’s image means to6800:06:41,739 –> 00:06:48,100be wired for relationship, and that’s very true. You are wired for relationship.6900:06:48,100 –> 00:06:53,440That’s part of what it means to be made in the image of God. And again, Drew7000:06:53,440 –> 00:06:58,339Hunter points out that the first human problem – the first problem in the world7100:06:58,339 –> 00:07:04,559was not actually sin, it was solitude. You remember on the days of creation?7200:07:04,839 –> 00:07:08,239At the end of each of the days, God looked at what he had done, and he said,7300:07:08,239 –> 00:07:12,640”It is good. It is good. It is good.’ But after He made the man,7400:07:12,640 –> 00:07:17,640for the very first time, he said, ”It’s not good.” What he said was not good7500:07:17,640 –> 00:07:25,859was it is not good for the man to be alone. So, Proverbs says,7600:07:25,859 –> 00:07:31,299because, ”It is not good for the man to be alone,’ whoever isolates himself7700:07:31,619 –> 00:07:37,679breaks out against sound judgment.’ We are wired for relationship,7800:07:37,679 –> 00:07:44,299and therefore, friendship is a wonderful gift from God.7900:07:44,299 –> 00:07:49,279God did not intend any of us here today to live in isolation,8000:07:49,279 –> 00:07:56,679and so we must seek friends intentionally. Now, how do you do that?8100:07:56,700 –> 00:08:02,600Well, very practically speaking, the way that you do that is by taking an active8200:08:02,600 –> 00:08:08,679interest in the lives of other people. There’s a wonderful reference in the8300:08:08,679 –> 00:08:12,100New Testament Scriptures in Philippians, Chapter 2, where Paul speaks about8400:08:12,100 –> 00:08:16,160Timothy. And Paul says about Timothy,8500:08:16,200 –> 00:08:24,600I have no one else like him who takes a genuine interest in your8600:08:24,600 –> 00:08:32,400welfare.’ Here’s Timothy, and whats outstanding about him is that he takes8700:08:32,400 –> 00:08:37,280a genuine interest in the lives of others. If you would have friends…8800:08:37,280 –> 00:08:41,979well, the old proverb says, He who would have friends must8900:08:42,359 –> 00:08:49,179himself friendly. Now, how many friends do you think you should have?9000:08:49,179 –> 00:08:54,700There’s an interesting question. Well, here’s Proverbs 18 and verse 24.9100:08:54,700 –> 00:09:04,780A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks9200:09:04,780 –> 00:09:08,179closer than a brother. We’ll come to the last part of that9300:09:08,179 –> 00:09:11,880proverb a little later this morning, but I want you to look at the first part.9400:09:11,880 –> 00:09:20,140A man of many companions may come to ruin. Now, the point here, of course,9500:09:20,140 –> 00:09:27,119is that it is possible in life to have a very wide circle of acquaintances9600:09:27,119 –> 00:09:37,200or companions, and no real friends. And you know, the higher your profile9700:09:37,280 –> 00:09:43,739and the faster paced your life, the harder it is to make good, deep,9800:09:43,739 –> 00:09:50,200and lasting friendships. You can easily end up with many companions,9900:09:50,200 –> 00:09:54,619many acquaintances, many people that you know and that know you,10000:09:54,619 –> 00:10:01,380but only at the shallowest level, and no real friends.10100:10:01,500 –> 00:10:06,940And then you can find yourself feeling very lonely in a crowd.10200:10:06,940 –> 00:10:09,440So remember the wisdom of Proverbs.10300:10:09,440 –> 00:10:15,119That the quality of your friendships is more important than the quantity,10400:10:15,119 –> 00:10:21,280that character among your friends is more important than their number,10500:10:21,280 –> 00:10:26,200that depth is more important than breadth.10600:10:26,200 –> 00:10:30,659The important question is not, how many friends do you have?10700:10:30,719 –> 00:10:34,119But how deep are these friendships?10800:10:34,119 –> 00:10:39,619Well we’ve got to pause the message briefly there but we’ll be back very shortly so please stay with us.10900:10:39,619 –> 00:10:44,780Our message today is called Friends and it’s part of our series Wisdom for Life.11000:10:44,780 –> 00:10:49,200And we’ve been focusing on how to have good friends.11100:10:49,200 –> 00:10:54,000If you ever miss one of our messages you can easily catch up or go back and listen again.11200:10:54,000 –> 00:10:58,460When you come online to our website openthebible.org.uk11300:10:58,739 –> 00:11:04,460or wherever you find your podcasts go there and search for Open The Bible UK.11400:11:04,460 –> 00:11:11,059I know many of you listen to podcasts and we’re excited to tell you about a new podcast for Open The Bible.11500:11:11,059 –> 00:11:15,500It’s a companion to Pastor Colin’s book Hike Through The Bible.11600:11:15,500 –> 00:11:21,039Yeah and each week I’ll read a chapter from the book and then I get to discuss it with some friends.11700:11:21,039 –> 00:11:27,159So if you join us on the podcast in 50 weeks we’ll cover 50 chapters of the Bible together11800:11:27,219 –> 00:11:31,859and in a year you’ll have hiked through the entire Bible story.11900:11:31,859 –> 00:11:39,580Now if you think hiking sounds like hard work don’t worry I promise you this hike will be an easy gentle pace.12000:11:39,580 –> 00:11:46,679There’s a link to the podcast and lots more information on our website at openthebible.org.uk12100:11:47,780 –> 00:11:54,380We’re in chapter 27 of Proverbs. As we return to our message friends, here again is Pastor Colin.12200:11:54,580 –> 00:11:57,760Now I suppose thinking today about the subject of friends12300:11:57,760 –> 00:12:05,159that there’s no place where the word friends is more frequently used today than in connection with Facebook12400:12:05,159 –> 00:12:09,539How many friends do you have on Facebook?12500:12:09,539 –> 00:12:19,960And I did Google this just to check and the average number of friends on Facebook across the world is 38012600:12:20,039 –> 00:12:27,260which since that’s the average means that some people at the top end have a very large number of friends indeed12700:12:27,640 –> 00:12:34,799Now the important thing here in which the word friends has popularly become used12800:12:34,799 –> 00:12:39,479in connection with the widest circle of acquaintances12900:12:39,479 –> 00:12:47,380The important thing here is for us to remember that there are different levels of friendship13000:12:47,380 –> 00:12:50,580You see this in the life of the Lord Jesus13100:12:50,580 –> 00:12:54,359He ministers to the crowd13200:12:54,359 –> 00:13:03,340But then Luke chapter 10 speaks about a circle of around seventy who are sent out on a mission13300:13:03,340 –> 00:13:06,219They’re clearly closer to Jesus13400:13:06,219 –> 00:13:08,780Then of course there are the twelve13500:13:08,780 –> 00:13:12,719And even within the twelve there are three13600:13:12,900 –> 00:13:15,260who have the deepest access to Jesus13700:13:15,260 –> 00:13:18,840And they of course are Peter, James, and John13800:13:18,840 –> 00:13:23,119They are the ones, and the only ones, of the disciples13900:13:23,119 –> 00:13:27,840who are there when Jesus raises Jairus daughter from the dead14000:13:27,840 –> 00:13:33,419They’re the only ones who are there with Jesus on the top of the Mountain of Transfiguration14100:13:33,419 –> 00:13:36,140Where His glory is made known14200:13:36,140 –> 00:13:39,159They are the ones who are invited in the garden of Gethsemane14300:13:39,159 –> 00:13:47,080to come a little further with Jesus, and to watch with Him, and to pray14400:13:47,080 –> 00:13:52,119Now, let me suggest to you, we need different circles14500:13:52,119 –> 00:13:54,179Or levels14600:13:54,179 –> 00:13:56,020Of friendship14700:13:56,020 –> 00:14:00,219Or depths of relationship in our lives14800:14:00,219 –> 00:14:05,960So lets suppose you have three hundred and eighty friends on facebook14900:14:05,979 –> 00:14:09,359Who are the seventy in your life?15000:14:09,359 –> 00:14:12,320Who are the twelve?15100:14:12,320 –> 00:14:15,559And who are the two or three15200:14:15,559 –> 00:14:19,400To whom your lives is most open?15300:14:19,400 –> 00:14:22,640To whom you are the closest?15400:14:22,640 –> 00:14:27,400There are levels of friendship, and to miss that15500:14:27,400 –> 00:14:33,739Is to miss the very important principle that is being taught to us here in the book of Proverbs15600:14:34,280 –> 00:14:38,179Now, what then does it look like to have an inner circle of friends?15700:14:38,179 –> 00:14:41,599What does it look like to have two or three people15800:14:41,599 –> 00:14:44,599Who are really in your life15900:14:44,599 –> 00:14:48,179And are the very closest to you?16000:14:48,179 –> 00:14:53,719Well, our Lord Jesus gives us a description of what that looks like16100:14:53,719 –> 00:14:58,659In fact, one might even call it a definition of true friendship16200:14:58,659 –> 00:15:00,619I wonder if you’ve ever noticed this16300:15:00,859 –> 00:15:03,179It’s in John’s Gospel, in chapter 1516400:15:03,179 –> 00:15:04,559Here are the words of Jesus16500:15:04,559 –> 00:15:05,479He says this16600:15:05,479 –> 00:15:10,340No longer do I call you servants16700:15:10,340 –> 00:15:13,260For a servant does not know16800:15:13,260 –> 00:15:18,159What his master is doing16900:15:18,159 –> 00:15:23,500But I have called you friends17000:15:23,500 –> 00:15:24,500For17100:15:24,500 –> 00:15:26,099Now we’re going to get the explanation17200:15:26,099 –> 00:15:29,979Here’s what it looks like to be a friend of Jesus17300:15:30,219 –> 00:15:33,900For all that I have heard from my Father17400:15:33,900 –> 00:15:36,940I have made known to you17500:15:36,940 –> 00:15:38,840So here is at least a description17600:15:38,840 –> 00:15:42,960And probably even a definition of friendship17700:15:42,960 –> 00:15:45,059Jesus is telling us17800:15:45,059 –> 00:15:47,960That His closest friends17900:15:47,960 –> 00:15:51,679Are the ones to whom He opens Himself up18000:15:51,679 –> 00:15:53,960Most fully18100:15:53,960 –> 00:15:58,020And the reason that they are His closest friends is18200:15:58,140 –> 00:15:59,739That he has made known to them18300:15:59,739 –> 00:16:01,940Notice the word all18400:16:01,940 –> 00:16:05,419All that he has heard from the Father18500:16:05,419 –> 00:16:09,419Jesus opens Himself up18600:16:09,419 –> 00:16:13,219To His closest friends18700:16:13,219 –> 00:16:17,000Now from that we can derive this very clear principle18800:16:17,000 –> 00:16:20,940That you open your life most fully18900:16:20,940 –> 00:16:25,659To the friends you can trust most deeply19000:16:25,979 –> 00:16:28,179Open your life most fully19100:16:28,179 –> 00:16:30,739To the friends you can trust most deeply19200:16:30,739 –> 00:16:37,820Remember Jesus opened His life to people in different degrees19300:16:37,820 –> 00:16:40,520And if you are following His example and walking in His way19400:16:40,520 –> 00:16:43,059You will be wise and you will open your life19500:16:43,059 –> 00:16:46,760To different people in different degrees19600:16:46,760 –> 00:16:51,640To the crowd He spoke in parables19700:16:52,000 –> 00:16:58,119To Herod, who was antagonistic, he said nothing at all19800:16:58,119 –> 00:17:00,960To the disciples who were his friends19900:17:00,960 –> 00:17:06,359He opened up all that the Father had spoken to him20000:17:06,359 –> 00:17:11,560And for this reason, because of this deep opening of life20100:17:11,560 –> 00:17:16,680He calls them His friends20200:17:16,680 –> 00:17:18,060How can you have good friends?20300:17:18,060 –> 00:17:23,300You must seek them intentionally20400:17:23,300 –> 00:17:24,540Then here’s the second thing20500:17:24,540 –> 00:17:26,099If you would have good friends20600:17:26,099 –> 00:17:30,500You must choose your friends wisely20700:17:30,500 –> 00:17:31,819Here’s a wonderful principle20800:17:31,819 –> 00:17:35,180From Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 2020900:17:35,180 –> 00:17:42,260Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise21000:17:42,500 –> 00:17:49,540But the companion of fools will suffer harm21100:17:49,540 –> 00:17:51,859Now here we’re being told very clearly21200:17:51,859 –> 00:17:55,180That the people you become closest to21300:17:55,180 –> 00:17:59,060That is the ones you open your life most fully to21400:17:59,060 –> 00:18:01,579The ones who become your real friends21500:18:01,579 –> 00:18:05,819They will have a great influence on your life21600:18:05,819 –> 00:18:07,900The character of those closest to you21700:18:07,900 –> 00:18:09,939Will rub off on you21800:18:09,939 –> 00:18:14,780That’s a principle that prevails in this world21900:18:14,780 –> 00:18:18,400And the deeper a friendship becomes22000:18:18,400 –> 00:18:22,959The more like your friend you will be22100:18:22,959 –> 00:18:24,099So you will see from that22200:18:24,099 –> 00:18:29,219That friendship has the potential to do us great good22300:18:29,219 –> 00:18:31,380And also if we choose the wrong friendships22400:18:31,380 –> 00:18:35,900It has the potential to do us great harm22500:18:35,900 –> 00:18:38,319So chose your friends wisely22600:18:38,319 –> 00:18:45,479Notice that the companion of fools will suffer harm22700:18:45,479 –> 00:18:49,780That’s the normal pattern that prevails in this world22800:18:49,780 –> 00:18:52,680Bad company ruins good character22900:18:52,680 –> 00:18:54,239And it would be naive for23000:18:54,239 –> 00:18:56,199Any of us here in the service today23100:18:56,199 –> 00:18:58,400To think that we are an exception23200:18:58,400 –> 00:19:03,479To that normal principle that prevails in this world23300:19:03,579 –> 00:19:08,280Now when you grasp this very powerful principle23400:19:08,280 –> 00:19:11,619That the people to whom you give the deepest access23500:19:11,619 –> 00:19:15,260Into your life will exercise a profound influence23600:19:15,260 –> 00:19:17,640in your life23700:19:17,640 –> 00:19:21,140Then you will see that good friends23800:19:21,140 –> 00:19:23,699Are a wonderful gift23900:19:23,699 –> 00:19:27,060And a marvelous blessing from the Lord24000:19:27,099 –> 00:19:27,780but think about it24100:19:27,780 –> 00:19:32,339whoever walks with the wise24200:19:32,339 –> 00:19:35,540becomes wise24300:19:35,540 –> 00:19:42,739So get close to the kind of people you want to be like24400:19:42,739 –> 00:19:44,500and then on the other side24500:19:44,500 –> 00:19:50,500Proverbs exhorts us to exercise great restraint24600:19:50,500 –> 00:19:53,060in getting too close24700:19:53,060 –> 00:19:56,020to people you don’t want to become like24800:19:56,020 –> 00:19:57,219for example did you know24900:19:57,219 –> 00:19:59,780Proverbs chapter 22 and verse 2425000:19:59,780 –> 00:20:07,780it says make no friendship with a man given to anger25100:20:07,780 –> 00:20:11,939so you see this person and you notice that they are habitually angry25200:20:11,939 –> 00:20:14,900given to anger25300:20:14,900 –> 00:20:19,859don’t make that person your friend25400:20:19,859 –> 00:20:22,500if you give that person deep access into your life25500:20:22,500 –> 00:20:25,619you will become more angry yourself25600:20:25,619 –> 00:20:29,380it will rub off on you25700:20:29,699 –> 00:20:36,099you may of course have to work beside such a person for 20 years of your life25800:20:36,099 –> 00:20:39,780but what proverbs is saying to you is don’t give him deep access into your25900:20:39,780 –> 00:20:42,099heart26000:20:42,099 –> 00:20:47,060choose your friends wisely and of course part of that part of that26100:20:47,060 –> 00:20:52,260wisdom is to allow friendships to develop slowly26200:20:52,260 –> 00:20:56,819good friendships are always like fruit that is they take time to grow26300:20:56,819 –> 00:21:01,939and they take time to ripen and over time you will find that the26400:21:01,939 –> 00:21:06,099true character of people you know begins to emerge26500:21:06,099 –> 00:21:08,739and you will begin to discover the people that you26600:21:08,739 –> 00:21:13,060want to become more like and the people that you do not want to become26700:21:13,060 –> 00:21:18,420more like and you will be able to discern if this friendship is one that26800:21:18,420 –> 00:21:23,540should go deeper or if it is not26900:21:23,540 –> 00:21:28,020and always beware of friendships that seem to spring up very quickly27000:21:28,020 –> 00:21:31,540you remember some friendships you know they’re like the plant27100:21:31,540 –> 00:21:34,739that gave shade to Jonah remember Jonah’s plant27200:21:34,739 –> 00:21:39,380it sprung up so quickly so oh this is the most wonderful thing27300:21:39,380 –> 00:21:42,500and then it withered as fast as it came up27400:21:42,500 –> 00:21:46,979now there are some friendships like that and remember jonas plant and you’ll be27500:21:46,979 –> 00:21:51,219warned with regards to the danger of impulsiveness27600:21:51,219 –> 00:21:56,979choose your friends wisely pastor colin smith27700:21:56,979 –> 00:22:00,420they’re talking about the subject of friends from the book of27800:22:00,420 –> 00:22:05,939proverbs chapter 27 and next time we’ll hear how we have to27900:22:05,939 –> 00:22:10,180guard our friendships carefully and how you can be a true friend28000:22:10,180 –> 00:22:14,339so join us for that if you can you’ve been listening to open the bible with28100:22:14,500 –> 00:22:17,219pastor colin smith and a message called friends28200:22:17,219 –> 00:22:21,459part of a series wisdom for life and if you ever miss one of the series28300:22:21,459 –> 00:22:26,020you can catch up or go back and listen again by coming online to our website28400:22:26,020 –> 00:22:30,099that’s at open the bible.org.uk28500:22:30,099 –> 00:22:33,859while you’re on our website don’t forget to check out open the bible daily28600:22:33,859 –> 00:22:38,660that’s our series of short two to three minute daily reflections28700:22:38,660 –> 00:22:43,300available on our website openthebible.org.uk28800:22:43,380 –> 00:22:46,979also available wherever you get your podcasts28900:22:46,979 –> 00:22:51,140open the bible is supported by our listeners we’re able to bring you pastor29000:22:51,140 –> 00:22:55,219collins teaching on the radio internet and podcasts as29100:22:55,219 –> 00:22:58,339a result of the generosity of listeners like you29200:22:58,339 –> 00:23:02,979so if you already give to support our work thank you so much we do appreciate29300:23:02,979 –> 00:23:06,020it this month when you begin to support open29400:23:06,020 –> 00:23:09,459the bible for the first time we’d love to say thank you by sending29500:23:09,459 –> 00:23:12,180you a copy of pastor colin’s brand new book29600:23:12,180 –> 00:23:17,140bro in faith this devotional book is not yet available in the uk so our offer29700:23:17,140 –> 00:23:21,459is very exclusive colin why did you write this book29800:23:21,459 –> 00:23:26,339well the bible speaks to us repeatedly about the central importance of29900:23:26,339 –> 00:23:30,739faith and of hope and of love at the end of first Corinthians 13.30000:23:30,739 –> 00:23:34,020Paul speaks about everything else is going to pass away30100:23:34,020 –> 00:23:37,140but these things are going to remain faith hope30200:23:37,140 –> 00:23:41,060and love so they’re of central importance and of course they speak to30300:23:41,300 –> 00:23:44,420needs of our world today i mean we’re living30400:23:44,420 –> 00:23:50,339in days where so many people experience fear and a sense of gloom and where30500:23:50,339 –> 00:23:55,300there’s so much conflict we need faith hope and love and so grow30600:23:55,300 –> 00:23:57,859in faith is actually the first of a series30700:23:57,859 –> 00:24:02,739of three books that are coming out beginning this month and then in the30800:24:02,739 –> 00:24:06,500two months that follow really excited and grateful for the30900:24:06,500 –> 00:24:12,020opportunity to do this if god’s people can grow in faith31000:24:12,020 –> 00:24:17,780grow in hope and grow in love then the world is going to see something31100:24:17,780 –> 00:24:22,660distinct about us that is very powerfully attractive and so i31200:24:22,660 –> 00:24:25,699hope that these books are going to be a means of god’s blessing31300:24:25,699 –> 00:24:28,819an encouragement to many start this month with grow31400:24:28,819 –> 00:24:33,140in faith and uh follow up next month with growing hope and the month after31500:24:33,219 –> 00:24:36,180with growing love well pastor colin’s book31600:24:36,180 –> 00:24:39,540grow in faith is our special offer to you this month31700:24:39,540 –> 00:24:42,900when you support open the bible financially for the first time31800:24:42,900 –> 00:24:46,180with a one-off gift of 60 pounds or more or31900:24:46,180 –> 00:24:49,380a monthly direct debit of five pounds per month32000:24:49,380 –> 00:24:53,140or more full terms and conditions are on our website32100:24:53,140 –> 00:24:58,660that’s at openthebible.org.uk and you can give online please do32200:24:58,660 –> 00:25:01,140remember to leave your full name and address32300:25:01,140 –> 00:25:05,380when you set up your payment so we can send you your free gift32400:25:05,380 –> 00:25:08,819for open the bible and pastor colin smith i’m David Pick32500:25:08,819 –> 00:25:21,540and i look forward to you joining us again next time on open the bible32600:25:22,579 –> 00:25:25,619how can you become a better friend to other people32700:25:25,619 –> 00:25:35,140find out next time on open the bible