100:00:00,960 –> 00:00:08,320And then as he hangs on the cross, Jesus cries out,200:00:08,360 –> 00:00:12,160My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?300:00:12,200 –> 00:00:15,720If you or I had been there, we would have said,400:00:15,720 –> 00:00:18,580Where is God in this?500:00:18,600 –> 00:00:25,320And the answer is, He is the one on the cross.600:00:25,360 –> 00:00:29,400He is right at the centre of it all.700:00:29,799 –> 00:00:32,200But to grasp that,800:00:32,200 –> 00:00:37,320you have to move from seeing to believing.900:00:37,360 –> 00:00:39,799Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith.1000:00:39,840 –> 00:00:41,119I’m David Pick.1100:00:41,119 –> 00:00:42,439Glad you could be with us today.1200:00:42,480 –> 00:00:45,160And Colin, we can picture people there at the cross1300:00:45,160 –> 00:00:47,520as Jesus is being crucified,1400:00:47,520 –> 00:00:51,119looking around and saying, Where is God in all this?1500:00:51,119 –> 00:00:52,799But as you point out,1600:00:52,840 –> 00:00:55,160He really is there, right in the middle of it all.1700:00:55,160 –> 00:00:55,919Yeah, that’s right.1800:00:55,959 –> 00:00:57,759And it takes faith to see that.1900:00:57,919 –> 00:01:00,119That’s what you have with the Centurion,2000:01:00,119 –> 00:01:03,520the soldier who says, surely this was the Son of God.2100:01:03,520 –> 00:01:04,879He moved from seeing2200:01:04,919 –> 00:01:09,400what he thought was a person being crucified only.2300:01:09,400 –> 00:01:11,839And now he says, no, no, no, this is the Son of God.2400:01:11,879 –> 00:01:14,480So he moves from seeing to believing.2500:01:14,480 –> 00:01:16,839That’s what this message is about today.2600:01:16,839 –> 00:01:19,720How do we move from people who simply look2700:01:19,760 –> 00:01:23,000at the observable reality of the world around us,2800:01:23,000 –> 00:01:26,160which is very frightening, very disturbing,2900:01:26,160 –> 00:01:27,879produces all kind of anxiety?3000:01:27,879 –> 00:01:30,559How do we move from that to faith?3100:01:30,559 –> 00:01:32,279And I think that’s perhaps3200:01:32,279 –> 00:01:34,879the most distinctive Christian testimony3300:01:34,879 –> 00:01:36,800we can give at this time.3400:01:36,800 –> 00:01:37,720What do you mean by that?3500:01:37,720 –> 00:01:42,720Well, Peter says at one stage, do not fear what they fear.3600:01:42,879 –> 00:01:46,000The world is afraid and the world is afraid3700:01:46,000 –> 00:01:47,320because the world is just looking3800:01:47,320 –> 00:01:48,879at what’s going on in the world.3900:01:48,919 –> 00:01:51,320We’re able to look at a sovereign God4000:01:51,360 –> 00:01:53,320who has all things in His hand4100:01:53,320 –> 00:01:54,839and to put our trust in Him.4200:01:54,839 –> 00:01:55,720That’s faith.4300:01:55,720 –> 00:01:58,959So we need to move beyond seeing and to believing.4400:01:58,959 –> 00:02:01,800And if we can get that, then there’ll be something different4500:02:01,800 –> 00:02:03,680that even the world will see in us.4600:02:03,720 –> 00:02:07,080Well, let’s look into this in Psalm 1224700:02:07,080 –> 00:02:10,119as we continue the message from seeing to believing.4800:02:10,119 –> 00:02:10,839Here’s Colin.4900:02:10,839 –> 00:02:13,440Now in this world,5000:02:13,440 –> 00:02:17,759faith is better than sight.5100:02:18,240 –> 00:02:19,679See, I got that the wrong way around5200:02:19,679 –> 00:02:21,000for many years in my own thinking.5300:02:21,080 –> 00:02:25,160I used to think that faith was the poor relation of sight.5400:02:25,160 –> 00:02:27,080But we can’t see God.5500:02:27,080 –> 00:02:29,440So we just have to put up with believing him.5600:02:29,440 –> 00:02:31,919That’s not the way it is in this world.5700:02:31,919 –> 00:02:32,800It’s the other way round.5800:02:32,800 –> 00:02:34,660We live by faith, not by sight.5900:02:34,660 –> 00:02:35,000Why?6000:02:35,000 –> 00:02:39,960Because in this world, faith is better than sight.6100:02:40,800 –> 00:02:44,960For this simple reason, sight is so incredibly limited.6200:02:44,979 –> 00:02:52,559I cannot see the final outcome of a single event in my life.6300:02:52,559 –> 00:02:55,279And neither can you.6400:02:55,279 –> 00:02:57,720I cannot see the past.6500:02:57,720 –> 00:02:59,679I cannot see the future.6600:02:59,679 –> 00:03:01,179I cannot see eternity.6700:03:01,179 –> 00:03:02,240I cannot see angels.6800:03:02,240 –> 00:03:04,679I cannot see God.6900:03:04,679 –> 00:03:06,039I can see the things that go wrong.7000:03:06,039 –> 00:03:06,960I can see trouble.7100:03:06,960 –> 00:03:10,360I cannot see what God will bring from them.7200:03:11,339 –> 00:03:16,339For that I have to move from seeing to believing.7300:03:16,339 –> 00:03:19,039That’s a step forward, not a step back.7400:03:19,039 –> 00:03:26,800You see, believing, faith, operates on a wider stage, with a larger horizon than sight in7500:03:26,800 –> 00:03:30,979this world can ever encompass.7600:03:30,979 –> 00:03:34,979Moving from seeing to believing is moving in the right direction.7700:03:34,979 –> 00:03:36,500It is moving forward.7800:03:36,500 –> 00:03:38,960It is expanding the horizons.7900:03:38,960 –> 00:03:42,699It is faith that lays hold of God.8000:03:42,699 –> 00:03:47,399It is faith that receives the love of Christ poured out at Calvary.8100:03:47,399 –> 00:03:53,639It is faith that anticipates the final outcome that will not be known until we are in the8200:03:53,639 –> 00:03:55,320presence of God.8300:03:55,320 –> 00:04:00,000The God’s people have always had to live by faith and not by sight.8400:04:00,000 –> 00:04:06,399See, think of Jeremiah the prophet, coming to the city of Jerusalem.8500:04:07,199 –> 00:04:11,779Imagine him trying to sing Psalm 122.8600:04:11,779 –> 00:04:16,940Read the book of Lamentations and see what the city looked like after Nebuchadnezzar8700:04:16,940 –> 00:04:18,239had finished with it.8800:04:18,239 –> 00:04:22,399Not one stone left on top of another.8900:04:22,399 –> 00:04:27,480Jeremiah describes in the book of Lamentations what he saw.9000:04:27,480 –> 00:04:28,820The dust!9100:04:28,820 –> 00:04:30,839The ashes!9200:04:30,839 –> 00:04:34,019The devastation of war.9300:04:34,059 –> 00:04:36,540The utter destruction!9400:04:37,739 –> 00:04:41,220Then he tells us what he believed.9500:04:41,220 –> 00:04:46,260Your mercies are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.9600:04:46,260 –> 00:04:51,540He’s moving from seeing to believing.9700:04:53,299 –> 00:05:00,260Seventy years later or so, Nehemiah comes to the same site of the devastated city of9800:05:00,260 –> 00:05:02,140Jerusalem, and what does he find?9900:05:02,459 –> 00:05:05,260The rubble has just been lying there all these years,10000:05:06,459 –> 00:05:08,059and the walls need to be rebuilt.10100:05:08,059 –> 00:05:13,179What he sees is just a massive task that seems absolutely overwhelming.10200:05:13,179 –> 00:05:18,540What he believes is that God will bring hope from the ashes.10300:05:19,739 –> 00:05:22,500Faith is better than sight.10400:05:23,820 –> 00:05:25,739It reaches much further.10500:05:26,299 –> 00:05:31,820If you go by what you see in this fallen world, you will live your life at the level of discouragement,10600:05:31,820 –> 00:05:38,459and you’re gonna move in the right direction, which is from seeing to believing.10700:05:40,700 –> 00:05:45,260As we come to the application of that very simple principle that arises from the psalm,10800:05:46,059 –> 00:05:48,380it’s good for us to ask, you see, in the Bible.10900:05:48,380 –> 00:05:53,739Not just what does this say, but also where does it go.11000:05:53,739 –> 00:05:55,980You studying the Bible, that’s a great question to ask.11100:05:56,220 –> 00:05:57,019What does it say?11200:05:57,019 –> 00:05:59,179But then where does it go?11300:05:59,179 –> 00:06:04,380What place does this truth have in the big picture of God’s plan for the universe,11400:06:04,420 –> 00:06:07,899the big picture of the Bible as a whole?11500:06:07,920 –> 00:06:15,519So as we try to apply this morning, I want to follow where the psalm goes in four specific ways.11600:06:15,519 –> 00:06:22,459First I want to relate it to the story of Jesus, second to the story of the church,11700:06:22,459 –> 00:06:26,700third to the story of your life,11800:06:26,720 –> 00:06:30,619and then fourth to the story of eternity.11900:06:30,619 –> 00:06:33,859First then where does this psalm go in relation to the story of Jesus?12000:06:33,859 –> 00:06:40,140Now it’s obvious that these songs of ascent in the Old Testament, describing a journey12100:06:40,140 –> 00:06:46,160to Jerusalem, are obviously connected in some way to the journey that Jesus took to Jerusalem12200:06:46,160 –> 00:06:51,980during his ministry when he came there to be crucified and then to rise again.12300:06:51,980 –> 00:06:56,079And so I want you to picture again in your mind Jesus coming to Jerusalem,12400:06:56,079 –> 00:07:01,839the city uniquely blessed, but also uniquely troubled.12500:07:01,839 –> 00:07:06,299And when he came to Jerusalem what did he see?12600:07:06,299 –> 00:07:11,119Well he saw that the city was in a sorry state.12700:07:11,119 –> 00:07:14,700The king who was on the throne of David,12800:07:14,700 –> 00:07:20,260Herod Antipas, was little more than a playboy.12900:07:20,260 –> 00:07:25,540The temple that was supposed to be a house of prayer had been so overrun by commercial13000:07:25,540 –> 00:07:33,720interests that Jesus described it as a den of thieves and robbers.13100:07:33,720 –> 00:07:38,399The city as a whole was under the governorship of a foreigner by the name of Pontius Pilate13200:07:38,399 –> 00:07:44,079and his rule was enforced by legions of Roman soldiers.13300:07:44,220 –> 00:07:51,260It would be enough to make you ask the question, where is God in this.13400:07:51,260 –> 00:07:53,200Jesus could not come to Jerusalem with joy.13500:07:53,200 –> 00:07:57,279In fact, when he came to the city and looked over it from the top of the Mount of Olives,13600:07:57,279 –> 00:08:05,040having climbed up and now looking over the city, the new testament tells us he wept.13700:08:05,040 –> 00:08:07,220He wept over Jerusalem.13800:08:08,220 –> 00:08:14,899And he said, Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, if only you had known what would bring you peace.13900:08:14,899 –> 00:08:16,859David says, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.14000:08:16,859 –> 00:08:19,540Jesus says, You don’t know what will bring you peace.14100:08:19,540 –> 00:08:23,320I’ll come to bring you peace, and the prince of peace and you’re gonna crucify me outside14200:08:23,320 –> 00:08:26,640your gates.14300:08:26,640 –> 00:08:31,160Like David before him, Jesus in the spirit of prophecy, saw what was lying ahead.14400:08:31,160 –> 00:08:37,359The time will come, he said, when enemies will build ramparts against you, they will14500:08:37,359 –> 00:08:41,159not leave one stone on top of another.14600:08:41,159 –> 00:08:46,299It happened, of course, in the year AD70.14700:08:46,299 –> 00:08:54,140Jesus goes on into the city and a week later he is arrested and tried and condemned and14800:08:54,140 –> 00:08:56,520crucified.14900:08:56,599 –> 00:09:02,719Then as he hangs on the cross, God turns out the light and the sun stops shining in the15000:09:02,719 –> 00:09:10,580middle of the day and Jesus cries out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?15100:09:10,580 –> 00:09:18,520And if you or I had been there, we would have said, where is God in this?15200:09:19,520 –> 00:09:25,919And the answer is he is the one on the cross.15300:09:27,979 –> 00:09:31,239He’s right at the center of it all.15400:09:32,820 –> 00:09:45,359His presence is right here in this darkness, but to grasp that, you have to move from15500:09:45,380 –> 00:09:55,320seeing to believing, which is, of course, what one Roman soldier did when he said truly15600:09:55,320 –> 00:09:59,080this is the Son of God.15700:09:59,080 –> 00:10:02,940You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called15800:10:02,940 –> 00:10:07,159From Seeing to Believing based in Psalm 122.15900:10:07,159 –> 00:10:11,520And if you tuned in late or if you ever missed any of our messages, you can always catch16000:10:11,520 –> 00:10:13,880up or go back and listen again online.16100:10:13,880 –> 00:10:18,000Visit our website – openedthebible.org.uk.16200:10:18,000 –> 00:10:21,440And don’t forget you can also find them as a podcast if you prefer to listen in that16300:10:21,440 –> 00:10:24,140way and those are on all the main podcast sites and16400:10:24,140 –> 00:10:27,960you can find them by searching for Open the Bible UK or16500:10:27,960 –> 00:10:30,659by following a link from our website.16600:10:30,659 –> 00:10:33,919Back to the message now, here again is Colin.16700:10:33,919 –> 00:10:36,940Let’s try and relate this psalm to the story of the Church.16800:10:36,940 –> 00:10:42,719See, much of what the Old Testament has to say about Jerusalem the place where God put16900:10:42,719 –> 00:10:48,760his name and promised his presence can obviously be applied in the New Testament to what is17000:10:48,760 –> 00:10:50,460true of the Church.17100:10:50,460 –> 00:10:55,659The Lord Jesus Christ has put his name upon the Church, his body.17200:10:55,659 –> 00:10:59,559I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.17300:10:59,559 –> 00:11:03,659He has promised his presence to the Church where you are gathered together in my name17400:11:03,659 –> 00:11:06,559there I am in the midst among you.17500:11:06,559 –> 00:11:12,119You have my name put upon you, you have my presence within you, you are the place that17600:11:12,119 –> 00:11:18,179bears my name in the world wherever Christ’s people are gathered together.17700:11:18,179 –> 00:11:23,979So we can use Psalm 122, I think aptly as a description of our joy, in gathering together17800:11:23,979 –> 00:11:28,559as believers to worship Jesus.17900:11:28,559 –> 00:11:33,479But just as the city of Jerusalem in the Old Testament was both uniquely blessed and uniquely18000:11:33,479 –> 00:11:39,460troubled so the Church where Christ has put his name and promised his presence in the18100:11:39,679 –> 00:11:46,320New Testament is uniquely blessed and uniquely troubled.18200:11:46,320 –> 00:11:48,479Paul says there is one body.18300:11:48,479 –> 00:11:54,200Peter says we declare the praise of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful18400:11:54,200 –> 00:11:56,460light.18500:11:56,460 –> 00:11:59,919But the Church has its enemies.18600:11:59,919 –> 00:12:03,780Jesus said to his disciples, in this world you will have trouble, the world hated me,18700:12:03,780 –> 00:12:06,599it will hate you.18800:12:07,239 –> 00:12:17,760And if you look at the Church carefully, across history and across the world, you look at18900:12:17,760 –> 00:12:25,799the Church of Jesus Christ carefully, you will see that it bears all the marks of this19000:12:25,799 –> 00:12:29,179fallen world.19100:12:29,260 –> 00:12:37,280If you look at the Church, what you will see will include some tragedy, some conflict,19200:12:37,280 –> 00:12:42,580some sin and death.19300:12:42,580 –> 00:12:47,299I don’t suppose that there has ever been a Christian believer who has not experienced19400:12:47,299 –> 00:12:50,580some disappointment in the Church.19500:12:50,580 –> 00:12:54,900Part of life.19600:12:54,900 –> 00:12:57,200The Church has its blemishes.19700:12:57,200 –> 00:13:00,099It is troubled.19800:13:00,099 –> 00:13:06,679You know what this is, the silly things Christians sometimes say, the poor decisions Christians19900:13:06,679 –> 00:13:12,340sometimes make, the personal agendas that so often seem more important than God’s purposes.20000:13:12,340 –> 00:13:16,659And sometimes, when you’ve had your fill of it, you get to the point of saying, where20100:13:16,659 –> 00:13:18,700is God in this?20200:13:18,700 –> 00:13:24,219And the answer is he’s right in the middle of it.20300:13:24,219 –> 00:13:31,640But in order to see that, to grasp that, you have to move from seeing to believing.20400:13:31,640 –> 00:13:34,059What do we believe?20500:13:34,059 –> 00:13:41,059What we believe about the Church is that God is at work redeeming people in Christ.20600:13:41,140 –> 00:13:46,840God is at work reconciling people through Christ, God is at work bringing hope, God20700:13:46,840 –> 00:13:52,179is at work bringing his people to everlasting life, and he’s at work doing these things20800:13:52,179 –> 00:13:56,000in the middle of all the trauma and all the difficulty.20900:13:56,000 –> 00:14:01,340The Bible describes the church as the bride of Christ.21000:14:01,340 –> 00:14:08,380Frankly, right now we’re talking about a bride that needs a great deal of make-up and probably21100:14:08,380 –> 00:14:18,500an extreme makeover as well, but for all her fault she is loved by Christ.21200:14:18,500 –> 00:14:19,979She bears his name.21300:14:19,979 –> 00:14:25,080She is the place of his presence.21400:14:25,080 –> 00:14:33,340She represents him on the earth, and those who love him love her.21500:14:33,799 –> 00:14:39,919See, that is why when you have grasped that the church bears the name of Jesus21600:14:39,919 –> 00:14:44,159Christ, and for all its unique trouble, it is also uniquely blessed, you will be21700:14:44,159 –> 00:14:48,840able to say about the church, as David said of Jerusalem in verse 9,21800:14:48,840 –> 00:14:55,280For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.21900:14:55,280 –> 00:14:58,799In I.V. he says prosperity.22000:14:58,799 –> 00:15:02,520Probably better translated, I will seek your good.22100:15:02,520 –> 00:15:08,780And one of the distinguishing marks of a person who belongs to Jesus Christ is that they have22200:15:08,780 –> 00:15:13,119a deep passion for the good of the church.22300:15:13,119 –> 00:15:18,520A deep commitment to the health of the body.22400:15:18,520 –> 00:15:25,539A passionate desire to see the church prosper, right across the face of the earth.22500:15:26,500 –> 00:15:33,119And a lifelong readiness to serve, and to give, and to pray, and to work for the good22600:15:33,119 –> 00:15:39,719of the church, because this is the place where Christ has put his name.22700:15:39,719 –> 00:15:47,340This is the place where he has promised his presence.22800:15:48,219 –> 00:15:52,059I love a comment from C.S. Lewis.22900:15:52,380 –> 00:16:01,380He says, if you could see the glory that will one day be revealed in the most ordinary Christian,23000:16:01,380 –> 00:16:10,260if you could see it now, you would seriously be tempted to fall down in front of that person23100:16:10,260 –> 00:16:11,280and worship.23200:16:11,640 –> 00:16:14,840Isn’t that beautiful?23300:16:14,840 –> 00:16:19,340If someone is saying extraordinarily foolish things or behaving in an extraordinarily23400:16:19,739 –> 00:16:21,020foolish manner.23500:16:21,020 –> 00:16:24,919Try and remember that.23600:16:24,919 –> 00:16:32,140The glory that will be one day be revealed in you, is such that if I saw it now, I would23700:16:32,140 –> 00:16:38,140be severely tempted to fall down in worship.23800:16:38,140 –> 00:16:43,419What we will be has not yet been made known.23900:16:43,419 –> 00:16:54,140And those who have grasped this will seek the good of the church.24000:16:54,140 –> 00:17:00,260Now, let’s apply this thirdly to the story of your life.24100:17:00,260 –> 00:17:03,840The story of Jesus, the story of the church, the story of your life.24200:17:03,840 –> 00:17:07,859If you’ve seen how this psalm works out in the first two, it’ll be very obvious now how24300:17:07,859 –> 00:17:10,479this relates to the story of your life.24400:17:10,619 –> 00:17:18,140If you are a Christian believer, then God’s presence is with you and in you.24500:17:18,140 –> 00:17:22,920Christ puts his name upon you, that’s what it means to be Christian.24600:17:22,920 –> 00:17:33,119I bear the name of Christ, I bear his name, I have his presence.24700:17:33,119 –> 00:17:36,760What that means is that as a believer, I am uniquely blessed,24800:17:36,959 –> 00:17:42,619but it also means that I will be uniquely troubled.24900:17:42,619 –> 00:17:48,760As a follower of Jesus, you have to contend with the world, the flesh, and the devil.25000:17:48,760 –> 00:17:55,319You’re living a life of faith, but you’re living it in the difficulties of this body.25100:17:55,319 –> 00:18:00,260You’re uniquely troubled because of course any dead fish can float down the river,25200:18:00,260 –> 00:18:05,839but it takes life and energy and a great deal of struggle to move against the stream.25300:18:06,060 –> 00:18:09,619And that’s what you’re doing as you pursue the Christian life.25400:18:09,619 –> 00:18:14,180Now as you look at your life, what do you see?25500:18:14,180 –> 00:18:22,140You’re going to see at times, your fair share of tragedy and conflict and sin and death.25600:18:23,280 –> 00:18:26,900You look at your life, you’re going to see your own failures, your own sins, you’re going25700:18:26,900 –> 00:18:28,920to see people you love who are far from Christ.25800:18:28,920 –> 00:18:33,500You’re going to see all kinds of things that are not the way you would like them to be.25900:18:33,599 –> 00:18:35,819That’s what you see.26000:18:37,599 –> 00:18:42,880And there may be times when you look at your life and you say, where is God in this?26100:18:44,920 –> 00:18:47,479And the answer is, he’s right in the middle of it.26200:18:49,060 –> 00:18:55,140But in order to grasp that, you need to move from seeing to believing.26300:18:56,020 –> 00:19:02,180What you believe is that he’s redeeming you, that he’s reconciling you, that he’s26400:19:02,180 –> 00:19:08,099always at work to give you hope, and that he is always leading you into everlasting life.26500:19:10,420 –> 00:19:14,339And Paul leaned into that when he said, look, outwardly we’re wasting away,26600:19:15,599 –> 00:19:17,859but inwardly we are being renewed day by day.26700:19:18,739 –> 00:19:23,560Our light and momentary troubles, that’s what we see,26800:19:25,579 –> 00:19:28,959are working for us an eternal weight of glory, that’s what we believe,26900:19:30,160 –> 00:19:31,739that will far outweigh them all.27000:19:34,439 –> 00:19:39,739Then the last thing is how this psalm relates to the story of eternity.27100:19:39,739 –> 00:19:42,780The Story of Jesus, the story of the Church, the story of your life,27200:19:43,140 –> 00:19:46,260the story of eternity.27300:19:47,619 –> 00:19:50,819Because at the end of the Bible the apostle John was given a vision of the27400:19:50,839 –> 00:19:53,479future and he saw a new heaven and a new Earth.27500:19:54,099 –> 00:19:57,660You remember in Revelation chapter 21, seeing the new heaven and the new earth,27600:19:57,660 –> 00:20:02,660he sees a new Jerusalem coming down out from heaven.27700:20:03,959 –> 00:20:08,500The curse on the old earth has now been removed and God’s people are entering27800:20:08,500 –> 00:20:10,699into this city through open gates,27900:20:10,880 –> 00:20:14,959to the north and to the south and to the east and to the west.28000:20:16,880 –> 00:20:21,619You know, when that happens, you’ll take another step forward.28100:20:23,719 –> 00:20:25,880You move from seeing to believing,28200:20:26,979 –> 00:20:30,760on that day you will move from believing to seeing,28300:20:32,020 –> 00:20:37,020but what you will see on that day is not this fallen world with its curse,28400:20:38,280 –> 00:20:39,140with its death,28500:20:39,160 –> 00:20:41,420its mourning, its crying and its pain.28600:20:42,920 –> 00:20:45,680What you will see on that day28700:20:47,680 –> 00:20:49,380is the presence of God,28800:20:50,839 –> 00:20:53,479the completion of his purposes.28900:20:54,859 –> 00:20:59,859You will see the Lord and the Lord will wipe all tears out from your eyes.29000:21:02,979 –> 00:21:05,439You will enter the place where he has put his name29100:21:06,400 –> 00:21:11,400and you will begin to enjoy his immediate visible presence29200:21:12,839 –> 00:21:15,880which will be your life forevermore.29300:21:19,619 –> 00:21:24,619In this fallen world you’ve gotta move from seeing to believing29400:21:28,000 –> 00:21:29,400that in the New Jerusalem29500:21:31,079 –> 00:21:35,280we may move from believing to seeing.29600:21:36,420 –> 00:21:40,660that’s moving in the right direction.29700:21:41,079 –> 00:21:45,119For the Christian believer what a lot we have to look forward to!29800:21:45,119 –> 00:21:47,760One day our faith will be turned to sight!29900:21:48,520 –> 00:21:51,599You’ve been listening to Reading the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith30000:21:51,599 –> 00:21:54,479and a message called From Seeing to Believing.30100:21:54,479 –> 00:21:58,119It’s the second in our series, Moving in the Right Direction30200:21:58,119 –> 00:22:00,959and if you ever miss one of our messages in the series30300:22:00,959 –> 00:22:03,560you can always catch up or go back and listen again30400:22:03,560 –> 00:22:05,000on-line at our website30500:22:05,160 –> 00:22:08,380openthebible.org.uk30600:22:08,739 –> 00:22:12,400Open the Bible is able to stay on the radio and on the Internet30700:22:12,400 –> 00:22:16,239because of the very generous donations made by our listeners.30800:22:16,239 –> 00:22:19,199So if you already give to support Open the Bible30900:22:19,199 –> 00:22:20,699thank you so much.31000:22:20,699 –> 00:22:23,699If that’s something you’ve been considering doing in the future31100:22:23,699 –> 00:22:26,660each month, we aim to offer a special gift31200:22:26,660 –> 00:22:31,280in return for setting up a new support payment for Open the Bible.31300:22:31,500 –> 00:22:36,939If you’re able to set up a new monthly direct debit of £5 per month or more31400:22:36,939 –> 00:22:39,719or a one-off gift of £50 or more31500:22:39,719 –> 00:22:44,119we’d love to say thank you by sending you a copy of Colin Smith’s book31600:22:44,119 –> 00:22:45,800Fly Through the Bible.31700:22:45,800 –> 00:22:49,500Here’s Open the Bible’s Amanda Cunningham to talk about the book31800:22:49,500 –> 00:22:52,219and also about some other exciting resources31900:22:52,219 –> 00:22:54,520which are free for everyone to receive.32000:22:54,520 –> 00:22:56,260Thanks, David.32100:22:56,260 –> 00:22:58,699Well, if you’ve been listening for a while32200:22:58,819 –> 00:23:02,380you’ll of course know that each month we give away a free book32300:23:02,380 –> 00:23:04,439when you support our ministry32400:23:04,439 –> 00:23:07,420either with a one-off gift of £50 or more32500:23:07,420 –> 00:23:11,359or by setting up a new direct debit of at least £5.32600:23:11,359 –> 00:23:16,439But this July and August we’ve got something even bigger going on.32700:23:16,660 –> 00:23:21,520We’re running a special campaign, packed with free resources32800:23:21,520 –> 00:23:25,780all designed to help you open the Bible with others.32900:23:25,939 –> 00:23:29,619Because, let’s face it that’s not always easy to do.33000:23:29,619 –> 00:23:35,699So yes, when you donate you will still receive a free copy of Fly through the Bible33100:23:35,699 –> 00:23:40,819But this summer everyone can access a range of free tools.33200:23:40,819 –> 00:23:44,819First there’s a video series with Colin Smith33300:23:44,819 –> 00:23:50,540walking through each session of the Fly through the Bible course on our website.33400:23:50,540 –> 00:23:54,160Great for personal study or for small groups.33500:23:54,579 –> 00:23:56,579Second, we’ve got a free app.33600:23:56,579 –> 00:24:00,819Just head to your app store and search Fly through the Bible.33700:24:00,819 –> 00:24:05,819Could you invite a friend for coffee this week and go through it together?33800:24:06,500 –> 00:24:11,099Or if you’re a church leader thinking ahead to your autumn small groups33900:24:11,099 –> 00:24:12,699we’ve got you covered.34000:24:12,699 –> 00:24:18,760Head to openthebible.org.uk forward slash fly34100:24:18,760 –> 00:24:22,420To download a free small group discussion guide34200:24:22,439 –> 00:24:24,719with questions for every session.34300:24:25,300 –> 00:24:28,819We are praying these resources will encourage and equip you34400:24:28,900 –> 00:24:32,219whether you’re reading the Bible on your own or with others.34500:24:32,280 –> 00:24:37,719And honestly what better place to start than a journey through the Bible story.34600:24:37,719 –> 00:24:39,199Thanks Amanda.34700:24:39,199 –> 00:24:45,020You can access these free resources at our website openthebible.org.uk34800:24:45,020 –> 00:24:50,640And you can download the Fly app at the Apple App Store or Google Play.34900:24:50,819 –> 00:24:54,579Our offer to send you a copy of Colin’s book Fly Thru the Bible35000:24:54,579 –> 00:24:56,660is available all this month.35100:24:56,660 –> 00:25:02,479Full details, terms, and conditions are on our website openthebible.org.uk35200:25:02,479 –> 00:25:04,119And you can give online.35300:25:04,119 –> 00:25:08,560Please do be sure to leave your address details when you donate online35400:25:08,560 –> 00:25:10,859in order to receive your free book.35500:25:10,859 –> 00:25:14,560For Open The Bible, Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick35600:25:14,560 –> 00:25:17,280and I hope you’ll join us again next time.35700:25:21,599 –> 00:25:24,900Would you like to have a more meaningful prayer life?35800:25:24,900 –> 00:25:28,439Find out where it starts next time on Open The Bible.