From Pain to Peace, Part 2

Psalm 129
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How can we journey from pain to peace, coping with the open wounds life may leave us with? Pastor Colin discusses how God meets us in our suffering, bringing hope and healing even in our deepest struggles.

Drawing insights from Psalms 129, 130, and 131, Pastor Colin sheds light on the spiritual growth that comes through life’s trials. He reminds us that we don’t need to be healed before coming to God; rather, we come to Him to find healing. Whether you’re in the depths of despair or yearning for a renewed relationship with God, the psalms offer a path to peace.

We also explore the concept of forgiveness, stressing the distinction between being forgiven and feeling forgiven. Pastor Colin encourages us to place our faith in the forgiveness that comes from God, moving beyond the unanswered questions of our lives with trust and hope.

100:00:00,320 –> 00:00:07,680You can find God in the open wounds of your life.200:00:07,680 –> 00:00:08,760He will meet you there.300:00:08,760 –> 00:00:15,840He reaches out to you there and the sammis does precisely the right thing for a wounded person.400:00:16,120 –> 00:00:19,879He pours out his wounds in the presence of God.500:00:20,180 –> 00:00:24,240That’s where the path from pin to piece begin.600:00:25,500 –> 00:00:28,760Welcome to open the Bible with pastor Collins Smith and Colin.700:00:28,760 –> 00:00:36,240Last time, we began to look at the subject of pain and how all of us probably have something in our life which has caused deep pain.800:00:37,040 –> 00:00:40,540How do we find peace with God in the middle of that?900:00:40,540 –> 00:00:43,000I think the samis has a great message for us today.1000:00:43,320 –> 00:00:44,459Yeah that’s right.1100:00:44,459 –> 00:00:49,639The Psalms really address every circumstance that a believer could possibly find in life.1200:00:49,639 –> 00:00:53,840And here in Psalm 129 and Psalm 130.1300:00:54,200 –> 00:01:00,840And we particularly find the wounded believer, the person who really has gone through it.1400:01:00,840 –> 00:01:07,040And there are open wounds and yet that person is looking to find healing from God.1500:01:07,040 –> 00:01:11,180You don’t need to find healing in order to come to God.1600:01:11,180 –> 00:01:15,239But rather come to God in order to find healing.1700:01:15,239 –> 00:01:17,080And so Psalm 130,1800:01:17,080 –> 00:01:25,620so as you’re listening today, if you’re in the depths, if you have open wounds,1900:01:25,620 –> 00:01:30,800if you have gone through an experience in which you have felt completely devastated2000:01:30,800 –> 00:01:33,239and you feel your need today,2100:01:33,239 –> 00:01:38,160the scriptures are going to give you the very way in which you can come to the Lord.2200:01:38,160 –> 00:01:42,019So latch on to them today, receive the word of God today.2300:01:42,019 –> 00:01:48,699Use this as your means of coming to the God in whom alone healing is found for all of2400:01:48,699 –> 00:01:51,779the open wounds of Christian believers.2500:01:51,779 –> 00:01:52,779Thanks for that Colin.2600:01:52,779 –> 00:02:00,099So today we are in Psalms 129-131 as we continue our message from pain to peace.2700:02:00,099 –> 00:02:01,980Here is Colin.2800:02:01,980 –> 00:02:09,220Now this Psalm is good news for the sufferer who screams out with the anguished cry.2900:02:09,220 –> 00:02:11,759Look at verse 4.3000:02:12,160 –> 00:02:16,320This is one to underline circle, yellow highlight and all the rest of it in your Bible but get3100:02:16,320 –> 00:02:18,639it into your mind and into your soul.3200:02:18,639 –> 00:02:19,639Verse 4.3300:02:19,639 –> 00:02:25,520With you, he says to God, there is forgiveness.3400:02:25,520 –> 00:02:34,399With you, there is forgiveness.3500:02:34,399 –> 00:02:41,559Now, I want to speak this word of hope.3600:02:42,320 –> 00:02:44,779To us as a congregation today.3700:02:44,779 –> 00:02:49,320With you, God, there is forgiveness.3800:02:49,320 –> 00:02:56,740Listen, there are some situations in which your wife may not forgive you, your husband3900:02:56,740 –> 00:03:04,279may not forgive you, your children may not forgive you, the state may not forgive you,4000:03:05,160 –> 00:03:10,839your employer may not forgive you, people in the church may not forgive you, but there4100:03:10,839 –> 00:03:16,539is forgiveness with God.4200:03:16,539 –> 00:03:22,979And here’s the psalmist, with all the regrets of his life, and with all the things that4300:03:22,979 –> 00:03:27,080he wishes he could turn the clock back and rerun and foolish mistakes that he wishes4400:03:27,080 –> 00:03:32,979he had never got himself involved in, and he knows he can’t change the past.4500:03:32,979 –> 00:03:33,979But he can.4600:03:33,979 –> 00:03:38,559He can look up into the face of God and he can see with you, there is forgiveness.4700:03:38,559 –> 00:03:42,820It’s wonderful.4800:03:42,820 –> 00:03:47,220And in the darkness we need to hear it.4900:03:47,220 –> 00:03:49,320And notice how he goes on.5000:03:49,320 –> 00:03:54,460With you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.5100:03:54,460 –> 00:04:01,380Now, that really isn’t how you would expect the verse to end, is it?5200:04:01,380 –> 00:04:06,779You’d expect it to say, with you, oh Lord, there is forgiveness that you may be loved.5300:04:06,779 –> 00:04:11,259That’s not what it says.5400:04:11,259 –> 00:04:16,200With you there is forgiveness that you may be feared.5500:04:16,200 –> 00:04:24,380So, what kind of fear increases with forgiveness?5600:04:24,380 –> 00:04:27,940What kind of fear is generated by forgiveness?5700:04:27,940 –> 00:04:30,519Because that’s what he’s saying.5800:04:30,880 –> 00:04:36,320So, he’s not talking about the fear of condemnation because the fear of condemnation disappears5900:04:36,320 –> 00:04:38,160with forgiveness.6000:04:38,160 –> 00:04:42,019Perfect love casts out that kind of fear so he’s certainly not talking about the fear6100:04:42,019 –> 00:04:43,019of condemnation.6200:04:43,019 –> 00:04:48,140So, what is this fear that is generated by forgiveness?6300:04:48,140 –> 00:04:53,640Remember the story in the gospels about Jesus being in a boat with his disciples and there6400:04:53,640 –> 00:04:55,600was a storm on the lake.6500:04:56,600 –> 00:04:59,320And, they were real scared.6600:04:59,320 –> 00:05:03,679Jesus got up and he spoke to the storm and he said peace be still and there was a great6700:05:03,679 –> 00:05:04,679calm.6800:05:04,679 –> 00:05:08,480You remember how the story ended.6900:05:08,480 –> 00:05:12,679Disciples danced around in the boat high-fiving each other.7000:05:12,679 –> 00:05:14,559It doesn’t end like that, does it?7100:05:14,559 –> 00:05:17,600You remember how it does end?7200:05:17,679 –> 00:05:20,119Jesus said peace be still.7300:05:20,119 –> 00:05:25,440The next thing Mark tells us is they were terrified.7400:05:25,440 –> 00:05:28,299Isn’t this fascinating?7500:05:28,299 –> 00:05:34,519When there was a storm, they were scared but when Jesus stopped the storm, they were terrified.7600:05:34,519 –> 00:05:36,000The fear went up.7700:05:36,000 –> 00:05:37,000Why?7800:05:37,000 –> 00:05:39,040What kind of fear was this?7900:05:39,359 –> 00:05:48,760They realized, even if dimly, that they were in the presence of Almighty God, who alone8000:05:48,760 –> 00:05:50,600can still a storm.8100:05:50,600 –> 00:05:56,279That he had come and he had touched their lives and was right with them.8200:05:56,679 –> 00:06:00,260They were overwhelmed with awe.8300:06:02,019 –> 00:06:03,920See, this is a wonderful kind of fear.8400:06:03,920 –> 00:06:08,160This is the sort of fear that the Bible talks about being the beginning of wisdom.8500:06:09,079 –> 00:06:14,000To realize that Almighty God has come near and has touched your life.8600:06:14,519 –> 00:06:21,140That the forgiveness that he’s released to you came at the cost of the death of his Son.8700:06:21,920 –> 00:06:26,100And that he didn’t give this to you so that you could just go back and make a mess in8800:06:26,100 –> 00:06:30,299the same way all over again, but rather so that through the power of his spirit, you8900:06:30,299 –> 00:06:35,540could walk in newness of life, and there is a sense of awe that God is now calling you9000:06:35,540 –> 00:06:37,320and saying, follow me.9100:06:37,799 –> 00:06:42,959Notice what happens by the way, after forgiveness.9200:06:42,959 –> 00:06:47,000These Psalms are packed full, spiritual wisdom.9300:06:47,000 –> 00:06:50,160Look at what happens after forgiveness.9400:06:50,160 –> 00:06:56,899Verse five, I wait for the Lord.9500:06:56,899 –> 00:07:01,880I wait for the Lord more than watchmen, wait for morning.9600:07:01,880 –> 00:07:03,679Now he’s already forgiven.9700:07:03,679 –> 00:07:09,839He said present tense that is forgiveness with you, so he’s not waiting for forgiveness.9800:07:09,839 –> 00:07:13,200What is he waiting for?9900:07:13,200 –> 00:07:18,720Well he says he is waiting for the Lord.10000:07:18,720 –> 00:07:25,320He’s waiting in other words to enjoy a restored sense of the presence and blessing of God10100:07:25,320 –> 00:07:26,619in his life.10200:07:26,619 –> 00:07:32,200By the way, that reminds us of a very important principle.10300:07:32,279 –> 00:07:39,779Forgiveness is immediate, healing is gradual.10400:07:39,779 –> 00:07:44,859Forgiveness is immediate, healing takes time.10500:07:44,859 –> 00:07:48,899Very important to understand the distinction between these two things.10600:07:48,899 –> 00:07:53,260The psalmist knows he’s forgiven, but he wants more than that.10700:07:53,260 –> 00:07:59,339He wants to feel again the intimacy of fellowship with God that he enjoyed before and that takes10800:08:00,000 –> 00:08:02,480He says I’ll wait for it.10900:08:02,480 –> 00:08:07,660I think you find the same thing with David in Psalm 51, where he prays in these two11000:08:07,660 –> 00:08:08,660dimensions.11100:08:08,660 –> 00:08:12,500Cleanse me with hyssop and I shall be clean wash me I shall be whiter than snow.11200:08:12,500 –> 00:08:14,359But it doesn’t end there.11300:08:14,359 –> 00:08:21,279He says restore to me the joy of my salvation and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.11400:08:21,279 –> 00:08:29,320So, don’t confuse being forgiven with feeling forgiven.11500:08:29,339 –> 00:08:30,899I find a lot of folks confused there.11600:08:30,899 –> 00:08:33,820I don’t feel forgiven so that must mean that God hasn’t forgiven me.11700:08:33,820 –> 00:08:36,020Now that’s a confusion.11800:08:36,020 –> 00:08:41,080Don’t confuse being forgiven with feeling forgiven.11900:08:41,080 –> 00:08:46,059Being forgiven is an act of God on the basis of the blood of Jesus Christ.12000:08:46,059 –> 00:08:48,919There is forgiveness.12100:08:48,919 –> 00:08:51,080With you.12200:08:51,080 –> 00:08:54,979Feeling forgiven is part of the process of recovery.12300:08:55,020 –> 00:09:01,960And sometimes it takes a while for your feelings to catch up with the new reality.12400:09:01,960 –> 00:09:08,020The wonderful thing is though that may take time and frankly it normally will, it will12500:09:08,020 –> 00:09:10,359happen.12600:09:10,359 –> 00:09:14,780That’s why the psalmus uses this wonderful image of my soul waiting for the Lord more12700:09:14,780 –> 00:09:18,260than watchmen wait for morning.12800:09:18,260 –> 00:09:21,640The watchman feels that the morning is a long time coming.12900:09:21,640 –> 00:09:25,820If you have had the experience of being awake at night, you will know how long the night13000:09:25,820 –> 00:09:28,380is if you cannot sleep.13100:09:28,380 –> 00:09:40,780But the morning will come, weeping endures for a night, the joy comes in the morning.13200:09:40,780 –> 00:09:46,780So an open wound, an anguished cry.13300:09:47,020 –> 00:09:52,239An open wound, an anguished cry, and we will look at a third in just a moment.13400:09:52,239 –> 00:09:56,400You are listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called, From Pain13500:09:56,400 –> 00:09:57,979To Peace.13600:09:57,979 –> 00:10:00,400Open the Bible is supported by our listeners.13700:10:00,400 –> 00:10:04,440If you already give to support the work, we want to thank you so much.13800:10:04,440 –> 00:10:08,880If you are considering doing that in the future, If this month you are able to set up a new13900:10:08,880 –> 00:10:14,200direct debt to the work of Open the Bible in the amount of £5 per month or more or14000:10:14,479 –> 00:10:19,580a one-off gift of £50 or more, we would love to thank you by sending you a copy of14100:10:19,580 –> 00:10:22,460Pastor Colin’s book, Fly Through the Bible.14200:10:22,479 –> 00:10:27,280The book is a high-level view of the whole of the Bible and is great for Bible study14300:10:27,280 –> 00:10:33,419for individuals, and one to one with an interested friend or a small Bible study group.14400:10:33,419 –> 00:10:39,820Full details of Fly through the Bible are on our web site openthebible.org.uk.14500:10:39,820 –> 00:10:44,440Select the menu item Resources and follow the link to fly through the Bible.14600:10:44,440 –> 00:10:49,880You will find information about the videos and the Bible study materials for groups and14700:10:49,880 –> 00:10:51,400individuals.14800:10:51,400 –> 00:10:56,179Our website address again openthebible.org.uk.14900:10:56,179 –> 00:11:00,460If you are about to start supporting Open The Bible Financially and you want to take15000:11:00,460 –> 00:11:05,840advantage of our special gift offer of Pastor Colin’s book, Fly Through The Bible, please15100:11:05,859 –> 00:11:10,559make sure that you don’t give anonymously and that you leave your full address so that15200:11:10,559 –> 00:11:12,739we can send you your free gift.15300:11:12,739 –> 00:11:19,440Full terms and conditions are on our website openthebible.borg.uk Back to the message now15400:11:19,440 –> 00:11:20,919here again is Colin15500:11:20,919 –> 00:11:29,719An open wound, an anguished cry, here’s the third, the third picture as we’re following15600:11:29,739 –> 00:11:33,979progress through this experience of suffering- the weaned child.15700:11:33,979 –> 00:11:43,799Psalm 131 verse 2, I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother.15800:11:43,799 –> 00:11:47,260Now every mother knows weaning is a difficult business.15900:11:47,260 –> 00:11:50,580Bring back some memories for those who are mums here…16000:11:50,580 –> 00:11:58,219A lot of tears, a lot of tantrums.16100:11:58,239 –> 00:12:06,739Weaning isn’t easy for the child for the mother but it is part of the process of moving from16200:12:06,739 –> 00:12:11,200infancy to maturity.16300:12:11,200 –> 00:12:15,880It is a great relief for the child and for the mother when the process for weening is16400:12:15,880 –> 00:12:16,880complete.16500:12:16,880 –> 00:12:22,919At last the crying has stopped, the tantrums are over, and instead of making constant demands16600:12:22,919 –> 00:12:27,880on the mother, the child is now contented, sitting beside her.16700:12:28,020 –> 00:12:31,280That’s the picture here.16800:12:31,799 –> 00:12:38,359Now the point is, of course, that we go through a process of weaning in the Christian life16900:12:38,359 –> 00:12:45,580and this is part of what it means to move from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity.17000:12:45,840 –> 00:12:49,700See, the young child sees its mother as being there to give the little scrap everything17100:12:49,700 –> 00:12:56,039that he needs or wants on demand, as it were, and when the little fella feels hungry he17200:12:56,260 –> 00:13:01,820he cries out day or night and goes on yelling until he gets what he wants.17300:13:01,840 –> 00:13:08,000And there’s nothing wrong with that but it is infant.17400:13:08,000 –> 00:13:14,000There is something wrong with that if you are still doing it at age 25, right?17500:13:14,000 –> 00:13:19,320The mature son no longer sees his mother as existing to provide him with everything he17600:13:19,520 –> 00:13:27,679wants, but rather stands alongside his mother as one who is deeply loved.17700:13:29,799 –> 00:13:34,239We all begin the Christian life as spiritual infants.17800:13:34,239 –> 00:13:38,799And at that stage it is quite natural for us to feel that God is the one who exists17900:13:38,799 –> 00:13:42,479to keep us satisfied.18000:13:42,479 –> 00:13:46,479But God does not want us to remain in spiritual infancy.18100:13:46,539 –> 00:13:53,000He wants us to grow into the full measure of a mature son and daughter of God.18200:13:55,239 –> 00:14:01,039And you see that’s what suffering does.18300:14:01,039 –> 00:14:08,359It weans us off an infant approach to God.18400:14:08,359 –> 00:14:13,599It brings us to the place where we’re no longer loving God because everything is in18500:14:13,599 –> 00:14:15,479our life as we would want it to be.18600:14:15,640 –> 00:14:20,820We are loving God with the maturity of one who loves him for who he is.18700:14:22,140 –> 00:14:22,919That’s growth.18800:14:25,619 –> 00:14:30,039Now I want you to notice just briefly one of the key parts of this growth, the thing18900:14:30,039 –> 00:14:32,859that underlies the weaning process.19000:14:32,859 –> 00:14:41,200Notice in verse 1 that the psalmist has let go of some of the unanswerable questions of19100:14:41,200 –> 00:14:43,479his life.19200:14:43,979 –> 00:14:48,039And this is really the foundation of weaning or at least a major part of it.19300:14:48,039 –> 00:14:51,520My heart is not proud, he says O lord, my eyes are not haughty.19400:14:51,520 –> 00:14:55,559I don’t concern myself with great matters or things that are too wonderful for me.19500:14:55,559 –> 00:14:56,359That’s very important.19600:14:58,119 –> 00:15:03,359If you want to move in the right direction, if you want to pursue this path through the19700:15:03,359 –> 00:15:06,080valley of suffering, coming out the other side.19800:15:06,799 –> 00:15:15,880If you want to move from pain to peace, then at some point you will have to let go of the19900:15:15,880 –> 00:15:19,440questions you cannot answer.20000:15:19,440 –> 00:15:26,559Usually these questions will begin with the words, Why did God allow?20100:15:26,559 –> 00:15:33,159You got a question like that, and you’re not going to get an answer.20200:15:33,859 –> 00:15:40,380Why did God allow the particular suffering that has been most painful plowing up your20300:15:40,380 –> 00:15:43,380life?20400:15:43,380 –> 00:15:44,799I don’t know.20500:15:44,799 –> 00:15:49,640I don’t know.20600:15:49,640 –> 00:15:55,419And all of us struggle with the unanswered questions of our lives.20700:15:56,080 –> 00:16:05,260But at some point, if you’re going to move from infancy to maturity, you have to bring20800:16:05,280 –> 00:16:09,960the unanswered question to the foot of the cross of Jesus, and leave it there as something20900:16:09,960 –> 00:16:15,239that you trust to Him in faith also.21000:16:15,239 –> 00:16:21,299Way back in the 11th century, there was an English monk by the name of Anselm, a very21100:16:21,299 –> 00:16:22,900famous Christian.21200:16:22,900 –> 00:16:29,460He struggled with this whole question of believing when you do not understand, and he wrote a21300:16:29,460 –> 00:16:31,739very famous prayer.21400:16:31,739 –> 00:16:33,260This is what he said.21500:16:33,260 –> 00:16:41,099I do not seek, O Lord, to penetrate thy depths.21600:16:41,099 –> 00:16:48,320I by no means think my intellect equal to them.21700:16:48,320 –> 00:16:55,700But I long to understand in some degree thy truth which my heart believes and loves.21800:16:55,700 –> 00:16:58,679And then his most famous words.21900:16:58,679 –> 00:17:10,459For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe that I may understand.22000:17:10,459 –> 00:17:13,800There is great wisdom there.22100:17:13,800 –> 00:17:16,599The secret things belong to the Lord.22200:17:17,239 –> 00:17:24,300There are some questions to which you will never know the answer in this life.22300:17:24,300 –> 00:17:29,400And frankly, wanting to know all things is like trying to put yourself in the position22400:17:29,400 –> 00:17:30,859of God.22500:17:30,859 –> 00:17:33,599And that is idolatry.22600:17:33,599 –> 00:17:39,760Only God knows all things, and you are not God.22700:17:39,760 –> 00:17:44,339So faith knows that it has to live with some unanswered questions.22800:17:45,339 –> 00:17:50,339I believe that I may understand.22900:17:50,339 –> 00:17:54,439There comes a point where I have to lay my unanswered questions at the foot of the cross23000:17:54,459 –> 00:17:59,900of Jesus, and say with Anselm, I don’t need to understand everything, Jesus, before23100:17:59,900 –> 00:18:09,380I believe, but I will believe so that one day I will truly understand.23200:18:09,380 –> 00:18:16,719The open wound, the anguished cry, the weaned child.23300:18:16,719 –> 00:18:21,180See the path of progress?23400:18:21,180 –> 00:18:28,420Now, in our very last moments, briefly, I want us to think, and I hope to think with23500:18:28,420 –> 00:18:38,060worship, about what it meant for Jesus to pray these Psalms.23600:18:38,239 –> 00:18:41,199Can you hear Jesus saying this?23700:18:41,199 –> 00:18:47,599They have greatly oppressed me from my youth.23800:18:47,599 –> 00:18:57,719No, no sooner was he born Herod wanted to murder him, and the hatred of Christ went23900:18:57,719 –> 00:19:01,640all the way through his life right up to the cross.24000:19:01,640 –> 00:19:07,099Can you hear Christ saying this?24100:19:07,099 –> 00:19:16,839They have plowed my back with long furrows.24200:19:16,839 –> 00:19:18,800You’ve seen the film of the passion.24300:19:18,800 –> 00:19:22,439It will immediately come back to you.24400:19:22,439 –> 00:19:32,239The scourging of Jesus Christ, lacerating not only his back, but the whole of his body.24500:19:32,239 –> 00:19:39,319They have plowed my back with long furrows.24600:19:39,319 –> 00:19:45,439Can you hear Jesus praying this from Psalm 130?24700:19:45,439 –> 00:19:52,020Out of the depths I cry to you O Lord.24800:19:52,020 –> 00:19:56,780Remember him in the awesome darkness that came over Calvary while he hung on the cross24900:19:56,780 –> 00:19:59,959for three of these hours and he cries out of the depths,25000:19:59,979 –> 00:20:03,479God, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?25100:20:06,420 –> 00:20:10,380But his suffering does not end in the cry of dereliction.25200:20:10,380 –> 00:20:15,339He puts his hope in the Lord and after the darkness passes he is able to say with the25300:20:15,339 –> 00:20:24,459spirit of a weaned child, Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit.25400:20:25,459 –> 00:20:33,339And our Lord Jesus Christ is able to say as no other can say, they have not gained the25500:20:33,339 –> 00:20:35,280victory over me.25600:20:36,920 –> 00:20:44,060That is why David at the end of Psalm 131 could say, O Israel put your hope in the Lord25700:20:44,060 –> 00:20:47,459both now and for evermore.25800:20:49,459 –> 00:20:53,119You know in all the discussion that goes on in our culture about religion and25900:20:53,319 –> 00:20:59,680about all the stuff we keep hearing about everything’s the same.26000:20:59,680 –> 00:21:05,400I find myself thinking more and more these days about the uniqueness of Jesus.26100:21:07,319 –> 00:21:14,619You go into a Buddhist temple, travel anywhere in the Far East you’ll see so many, and you’ll26200:21:14,800 –> 00:21:23,660see an image there, a large image of one sitting with folded arms and expressionless eyes looking26300:21:23,660 –> 00:21:30,060remote, passive, distant, as uncaring as you could imagine.26400:21:30,060 –> 00:21:42,280The arms of Jesus are not folded in detachment, the arms of Jesus are spread out in sacrificial26500:21:42,300 –> 00:21:46,219love.26600:21:46,219 –> 00:21:52,300When you go through the dark valley of pain and suffering He will meet you there.26700:21:52,300 –> 00:22:02,040A broken world needs Jesus because only Jesus can speak to a broken world.26800:22:02,040 –> 00:22:09,160He knows what it is for the open wound to bleed.26900:22:09,939 –> 00:22:18,099He knows what it is to cry out in the darkness.27000:22:18,099 –> 00:22:25,219He knows what it is to come through the triumph of victory.27100:22:25,219 –> 00:22:29,020And He’ll meet you in your darkness.27200:22:29,020 –> 00:22:34,300He’s the only One who can bring you through.27300:22:34,380 –> 00:22:38,400We’ve heard a message of hope here today, and it’s good to be reminded that because27400:22:38,400 –> 00:22:44,800of what Jesus did, we can move from pain to peace — the title of today’s message.27500:22:44,900 –> 00:22:50,020It’s part of our series Moving in the Right Direction, based on the Psalms of Assent,27600:22:50,020 –> 00:22:52,459that’s Psalms 120-134.27700:22:52,459 –> 00:22:56,859And if you’ve missed any of the series, or if you want to go back and listen again,27800:22:56,859 –> 00:23:03,699that’s easy to do by coming online to our website, openthebible.org.uk, or you can find27900:23:03,800 –> 00:23:08,640Pastor Collin’s teaching as a podcast, and those are on all the main podcast sites.28000:23:08,640 –> 00:23:14,000Simply search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe if you want to receive regular updates.28100:23:14,160 –> 00:23:18,920You can also find a link to the podcasts on our website.28200:23:18,920 –> 00:23:23,599Also on our website, and available as podcast, is Open the Bible Daily, and that’s our28300:23:23,599 –> 00:23:29,400series of short – two to three minute – daily reflection pieces based on Pastor Collin’s28400:23:29,400 –> 00:23:32,400teaching, and read in the UK by Sue McLeish.28500:23:32,400 –> 00:23:37,719There’s a new one every day and many Christians tune in every day to get that uplifting message28600:23:37,719 –> 00:23:39,500from Pastor Collins.28700:23:39,500 –> 00:23:45,520Let’s open the Bible daily which you can find on our website Open The Bible.org.uk28800:23:45,520 –> 00:23:53,219Collin, God says in his word that when we confess our sins he is faithful and just to28900:23:53,219 –> 00:23:58,079forgive us our sins but sometimes it just doesn’t feel like that.29000:23:58,219 –> 00:24:01,880Yeah and the good news is that your forgiveness does not depend on your29100:24:01,880 –> 00:24:02,880feeling.29200:24:02,880 –> 00:24:06,140It depends on faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.29300:24:06,140 –> 00:24:07,920That’s where it comes from.29400:24:07,920 –> 00:24:12,719So I may feel pretty bad about myself and maybe with some good reason.29500:24:12,719 –> 00:24:16,400But my forgiveness comes through the shed blood of Christ.29600:24:16,400 –> 00:24:23,359That’s what it costs and I’ve got to fix my faith on forgiveness that comes from him29700:24:23,359 –> 00:24:29,199and then lay hold of the strength that comes from him to begin to move in a different direction29800:24:29,199 –> 00:24:32,099as I head following Jesus into the future.29900:24:32,099 –> 00:24:36,880Thanks Colin I think many of us needed to hear that today.30000:24:36,880 –> 00:24:40,920You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith on Open The Bible and I hope you’ll tune in30100:24:40,920 –> 00:24:46,439again tomorrow for the next message in the series Moving In The Right Direction.30200:24:46,439 –> 00:24:50,959For Pastor Colin and Open The Bible I’m David Pick and I look forward to being with you30300:24:50,959 –> 00:24:51,780again tomorrow.30400:24:53,699 –> 00:24:54,880Door Break30500:25:02,719 –> 00:25:09,079We all have dreams. I wonder what yours are? To start your own business, to raise happy30600:25:09,180 –> 00:25:14,959and successful children, to make a difference in the world. What do you do when it seems30700:25:14,959 –> 00:25:20,000your dreams are out of reach? Find out next time on Open The Bible.

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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Sermons on Psalms 120–134 You may be on the move… but are you moving in the right direction? The Songs of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) were sung by Old Testament believers making their way to Jerusalem, where God had promised to meet with His people. They are filled with spiritual wisdom for your journey through life.

Colin Smith

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A man of crime. A ruthless empire. A fellow prisoner. A promise of Paradise. 

Discover the story of the thief on the cross, and his life-changing encounter with Jesus, in this brand new full colour graphic novel version of Colin S Smith’s Heaven, How I Got Here: The Story of the Thief on the Cross.

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