100:00:00,700 –> 00:00:10,200On the one side you have the mountain of impossible demands and on the other side200:00:10,200 –> 00:00:17,860you have a swamp of inadequate solutions. Right through the middle there is a highway,300:00:17,860 –> 00:00:23,400a clearly marked road on which God calls all His people to travel.400:00:23,400 –> 00:00:26,920It is called the highway of repentance.500:00:26,940 –> 00:00:29,420Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith.600:00:29,420 –> 00:00:30,420I’m David Pick.700:00:30,420 –> 00:00:35,540I’m glad you could be with us today and Colin that’s a great picture for us to get hold of.800:00:35,540 –> 00:00:38,580Repentance isn’t always like a straight motorway.900:00:38,599 –> 00:00:43,779Often it’s more like a winding lane and we don’t always have a clear picture of what1000:00:43,779 –> 00:00:44,820repentance involves.1100:00:44,820 –> 00:00:48,560It sounds like a negative kind of a word at first and yet it’s not.1200:00:48,560 –> 00:00:52,299Here’s the hidden path to newness of life.1300:00:52,380 –> 00:00:58,040I think part of the problem is that often repentance gets mixed up in people’s minds1400:00:58,040 –> 00:01:02,040with an idea that somehow I’ve got to atone for what I did wrong.1500:01:02,040 –> 00:01:03,639I’ve got to make up for it.1600:01:03,639 –> 00:01:06,320Well how in the world are you going to do that?1700:01:06,320 –> 00:01:11,000Not possible for me to do things that are going to make up for my sins.1800:01:11,000 –> 00:01:15,699That’s why I need a Savior who laid down his perfect life as the sacrifice for me.1900:01:15,699 –> 00:01:18,820And it’s not enough for me merely to say, well, I’m sorry and move on.2000:01:19,540 –> 00:01:23,199Something does have to be done and it’s done in the atonement that the Lord Jesus2100:01:23,199 –> 00:01:26,120offered, not in anything that I can do to atone.2200:01:26,120 –> 00:01:30,339So we’re going to get into the heart of what real repentance looks like.2300:01:30,339 –> 00:01:35,940And when we discover it, it’s a wonderful thing because it leads into newness of life.2400:01:35,940 –> 00:01:40,320And that’s because it’s always tied to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and what he’s2500:01:40,320 –> 00:01:41,320accomplished for us.2600:01:41,320 –> 00:01:44,339We’re going to go into much more detail in our message today.2700:01:44,339 –> 00:01:50,339So join us if you can in Psalm 51, as we begin a message, get on the road to recovery.2800:01:50,339 –> 00:01:51,480Here is Collin.2900:01:51,480 –> 00:01:59,480One of the hardest things in life for any Christian is to really grasp the full scale3000:01:59,480 –> 00:02:03,860of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.3100:02:03,860 –> 00:02:08,919It’s difficult for us at the beginning to really understand the full diagnosis of our3200:02:08,919 –> 00:02:10,800problem.3300:02:10,800 –> 00:02:17,699It’s hard for us to really grasp the full extent of the treatment that is needed.3400:02:17,699 –> 00:02:25,139And we don’t find it easy even as Christians to really appreciate what would have been3500:02:25,139 –> 00:02:30,880if it had not been for the grace and mercy and the work of God in our lives.3600:02:30,880 –> 00:02:37,100So often, we live at the level of grumbling about the frustrations and difficulties of3700:02:37,100 –> 00:02:44,500our Christian lives when if we could only grasp what God has done for us in Christ there3800:02:44,500 –> 00:02:51,199would be a new filling of gratitude and a new note of praise.3900:02:51,199 –> 00:02:52,300David knew about this.4000:02:52,300 –> 00:02:54,919It was one of the great discoveries of his life.4100:02:54,919 –> 00:03:02,300You remember in Psalm 103, he says blessed the Lord, oh my soul, and do not forget all4200:03:02,300 –> 00:03:03,380his benefits.4300:03:03,380 –> 00:03:06,960And first among them, David says he forgives.4400:03:07,940 –> 00:03:10,779For he forgives all your sins.4500:03:10,779 –> 00:03:14,440That is what this series on Sunday mornings has been about.4600:03:14,440 –> 00:03:17,759We started with diagnosis, what’s the problem?4700:03:17,759 –> 00:03:23,320And we saw from Psalm 51 that there is the problem of transgression that is our breaking4800:03:23,320 –> 00:03:24,720of God’s law.4900:03:24,720 –> 00:03:29,199The problem of sin that is our falling short of God’s standard.5000:03:29,199 –> 00:03:34,320And the reason for these two things lies in the third problem which the Bible calls Iniquity5100:03:34,440 –> 00:03:39,899That is the twistedness within our very nature that gives rise to our sin and our transgression.5200:03:40,699 –> 00:03:45,100Then last Sunday morning, we thought about the effects of this problem.5300:03:45,100 –> 00:03:55,740We thought about the picture of the Amoco Cadiz, that supertanker with its 233,000 tons5400:03:55,740 –> 00:04:00,440of crude oil, running aground off the shore of Brittany.5500:04:00,440 –> 00:04:04,699And we saw that as a result, there is a problem in the courts.5600:04:04,699 –> 00:04:07,479There is a problem on the beaches.5700:04:07,479 –> 00:04:13,820And with that amount of crude inside the container, there is also still a problem in the hull.5800:04:13,820 –> 00:04:16,980The problem in the courts is the issue of justice.5900:04:16,980 –> 00:04:20,980There’s a price to be paid for this disaster.6000:04:20,980 –> 00:04:23,880The problem on the beaches is the problem of pollution.6100:04:23,880 –> 00:04:28,160There is a cleanup job that has to be done, and it is not easy.6200:04:28,179 –> 00:04:36,279The problem in the hull is that if we do not deal with the source of this leaking crude,6300:04:36,279 –> 00:04:39,739then the problem will only get worse in the future.6400:04:39,739 –> 00:04:46,660And we have seen that when we come as sinners to God, he deals with us at each of these levels.6500:04:46,660 –> 00:04:53,679Christ died so that when it comes to the justice of God in his court, you should be forgiven6600:04:53,679 –> 00:04:56,239with no price to pay.6700:04:56,239 –> 00:05:02,140And Christ died so that when it comes to your heart and mind and conscience, you should6800:05:02,140 –> 00:05:05,059be cleansed and washed and made clean.6900:05:05,059 –> 00:05:10,640And Christ died so that by the power of his spirit you should become different, so that7000:05:10,640 –> 00:05:16,179the very source of the problem, the heart itself, should be progressively renewed throughout7100:05:16,179 –> 00:05:19,059the course of the Christian life.7200:05:19,059 –> 00:05:24,619And we saw that God never addresses one without at the same time addressing the other two.7300:05:24,619 –> 00:05:30,959There is no such thing as forgiveness for a man or a woman who wants to continue in7400:05:30,959 –> 00:05:32,820their sin.7500:05:32,820 –> 00:05:35,380But here is the prescription.7600:05:35,380 –> 00:05:42,959There is a great physician and in the gospel he says to us, you need the mercy of Christ,7700:05:42,959 –> 00:05:50,660you need the cleansing of his blood, you need the surgery of the spirit in your heart.7800:05:50,660 –> 00:05:52,920So we’ve thought about diagnosis.7900:05:52,920 –> 00:05:58,640We’ve talked about prescription and this morning I want us to think in the last of these three8000:05:58,640 –> 00:06:03,600about the process of recovery.8100:06:03,600 –> 00:06:09,420What does this thing we call repentance look like?8200:06:09,420 –> 00:06:16,799What would be the recognisable marks of a recovering sinner?8300:06:16,799 –> 00:06:22,859Before we get into Psalm 51 this morning, I want to clear away the two most common misunderstandings8400:06:22,859 –> 00:06:26,200of this subject.8500:06:26,200 –> 00:06:29,920What does recovery look like?8600:06:29,920 –> 00:06:34,500Misunderstanding number 1, often repeated throughout the history of the church is this.8700:06:34,500 –> 00:06:42,119Recovery, some have said, is doing penance.8800:06:42,119 –> 00:06:47,299This was one of the earliest errors that ever crept into the Christian church.8900:06:47,299 –> 00:06:54,420It happened because early on in church history, there was a widely used Latin translation9000:06:54,420 –> 00:06:56,859of the Greek New Testament.9100:06:56,859 –> 00:07:00,820It was called the Vulgate and it became very popular.9200:07:00,820 –> 00:07:08,399It included a disastrous translation of the Greek word used in the original manuscript9300:07:08,399 –> 00:07:10,359for repentance.9400:07:10,359 –> 00:07:16,440The Vulgate translation was-‘do penance’.9500:07:16,440 –> 00:07:22,799So over the years, working from that translation, theological writers developed a teaching that9600:07:22,799 –> 00:07:28,959basically said this-when you do something wrong, what has to happen is you will have9700:07:28,959 –> 00:07:34,040to do something good by way of a discipline in order to put it right.9800:07:34,040 –> 00:07:40,519Through the course of history, the medieval church developed a whole system or process9900:07:40,519 –> 00:07:42,600for dealing with this subject of sin.10000:07:42,600 –> 00:07:45,040There were four parts.10100:07:45,200 –> 00:07:47,179The first, they said, is confession.10200:07:47,179 –> 00:07:49,720You must admit to what you have done wrong.10300:07:49,720 –> 00:07:52,359The second, they said, is contrition.10400:07:52,359 –> 00:07:56,000There must be genuine sorrow for what you have done wrong.10500:07:56,000 –> 00:08:03,279Third, they said, there will be absolution, that is forgiveness, but it will be on condition10600:08:03,279 –> 00:08:05,640of a fourth thing.10700:08:05,640 –> 00:08:11,000This completion of works of satisfaction.10800:08:11,000 –> 00:08:14,959So really the system was a little bit like what happens sometimes in school if you’re10900:08:15,059 –> 00:08:19,679late with an assignment and the teacher says to you you’re late with the assignment, that’s11000:08:19,679 –> 00:08:21,000not good.11100:08:21,000 –> 00:08:28,959However, we will not charge it against your grade on condition that you do hand in the11200:08:28,959 –> 00:08:31,440completed assignment properly done, and in addition,11300:08:31,440 –> 00:08:35,039that you do an extra piece of makeup work,11400:08:35,039 –> 00:08:38,119which will help to teach you not to hand in an assignment late again.11500:08:38,119 –> 00:08:42,919Now, that may work very well in the school,11600:08:43,000 –> 00:08:48,219but it is altogether another thing when it comes to our standing before God.11700:08:49,500 –> 00:08:57,299What works can we offer that would make up for what we have done wrong?11800:08:58,719 –> 00:09:04,739You see this problem very clearly in the story of Martin Luther, his very wonderful testimony.11900:09:04,739 –> 00:09:06,359Most of you will know the story.12000:09:06,359 –> 00:09:12,239Martin Luther was a young monk in the 16th century, a man with a sensitive conscience12100:09:13,159 –> 00:09:15,320who wanted to be right with God.12200:09:15,320 –> 00:09:19,380He tried therefore to confess all of his sins.12300:09:19,380 –> 00:09:24,260He scoured his memory to try and make sure that he had called them all to mind.12400:09:24,260 –> 00:09:28,559Under the system in which he was brought up, there were works that were assigned to him12500:09:28,559 –> 00:09:32,840in order to make up for the things that he’d done wrong, but he says in effect, this was12600:09:32,840 –> 00:09:34,479the problem.12700:09:34,479 –> 00:09:38,479In the middle of doing penance for some things that I’d done wrong, there were all kinds12800:09:38,479 –> 00:09:42,960of other things that occurred in my mind that were wrong also.12900:09:42,960 –> 00:09:49,320And so he found himself being sucked into this swamp deeper and deeper.13000:09:49,320 –> 00:09:54,619A swamp of guilt and of condemnation.13100:09:54,619 –> 00:10:00,960His attempts to do penance never led him to peace of conscience.13200:10:00,960 –> 00:10:08,419Penance he found an impossible mountain to climb.13300:10:09,260 –> 00:10:14,419By the way if you ever want to stop someone from changing the first way to13400:10:14,419 –> 00:10:18,440do it is just to set an impossible standard. You don’t want a person to jump13500:10:18,440 –> 00:10:23,840just set the bar way too high. But then there’s a second great13600:10:23,840 –> 00:10:28,960misunderstanding. See some Christians and some churches have come along in13700:10:28,960 –> 00:10:32,539reaction to all of this and they’ve said oh we don’t find works of satisfaction13800:10:32,539 –> 00:10:36,859in the Bible. No the Bible is very simple they say. God is only looking for one13900:10:37,219 –> 00:10:45,820thing, one thing only, from a sinner. That he is sorry. Really sorry. In fact this view14000:10:45,820 –> 00:10:51,140of recovery is often stated this way repentance is being sorry for your sins14100:10:51,140 –> 00:10:57,099so sorry that you’ll never do them again.14200:10:57,099 –> 00:11:01,059Now if you’ve been following over these last two weeks you should very quickly14300:11:01,059 –> 00:11:06,460see the problem with that. Being sorry will never change the source14400:11:06,619 –> 00:11:12,859problem in my heart. Being sorry is not a big enough thing to change the direction14500:11:12,859 –> 00:11:19,940of a man’s life, being sorry doesn’t begin to address the hidden springs14600:11:19,940 –> 00:11:26,780within from which our behavior arises it is an inadequate solution to the scale14700:11:26,780 –> 00:11:29,380of the problem that we’ve been talking about.14800:11:29,380 –> 00:11:31,280You’re listening to Open the14900:11:31,280 –> 00:11:35,140Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and we have to pause a message briefly there15000:11:35,179 –> 00:11:40,020then we’ll be back very shortly. The message is called get on the road to15100:11:40,020 –> 00:11:44,340recovery and it’s part of our series Changing Direction all about repentance15200:11:44,340 –> 00:11:49,520and based on Psalm 51 and if you ever miss one of the series you can easily15300:11:49,520 –> 00:11:53,539catch up or go back and listen again by coming online to our website15400:11:53,539 –> 00:11:59,479openthebible.org.uk or by finding Pastor Colin as a podcast on all the main15500:11:59,479 –> 00:12:04,260podcast sites search for open the Bible UK or follow the link from our website15600:12:04,799 –> 00:12:12,200back to the message now here again is Colin so if do penance is the error15700:12:12,200 –> 00:12:20,099into which the Roman Catholic Church has often fallen then be sorry is the error15800:12:20,099 –> 00:12:26,359into which evangelical churches have often fallen I find it helpful to think15900:12:26,359 –> 00:12:32,140of these as two opposite errors on the one side you have the mountain of16000:12:32,440 –> 00:12:39,619impossible demands and on the other side you have the swamp of in adequate16100:12:39,619 –> 00:12:45,559solutions I want to suggest this morning as we open our Bibles now that right16200:12:45,559 –> 00:12:50,940through the middle that is a highway a clearly marked road on which God calls16300:12:50,940 –> 00:12:57,159all his people to travel it is called the highway of repentance and if you’ll16400:12:57,159 –> 00:13:01,780open your Bibles at Psalm 51 I want us to look together at its16500:13:01,840 –> 00:13:08,760characteristics what does repentance look like we’re going to see three16600:13:08,760 –> 00:13:14,080things from Psalm 51 beginning with verse 11 this morning16700:13:14,080 –> 00:13:23,280and the first of these is this true repentance is always a turning to God16800:13:23,280 –> 00:13:28,700true repentance is always a turning to God16900:13:28,859 –> 00:13:31,840Notice how David puts it in verse 11,17000:13:31,840 –> 00:13:40,780do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me17100:13:40,780 –> 00:13:46,520here’s his starting point as he works through this confession of sin17200:13:46,520 –> 00:13:52,539a deep passionate longing for God17300:13:53,059 –> 00:13:59,900The New Testament tells us a story of two men who were sorry for their sins17400:13:59,900 –> 00:14:05,140The first one was Peter you remember that he denied Christ and after he denied Christ17500:14:05,140 –> 00:14:10,380he was very sorry. He went out the Bible tells us and he wept bitterly17600:14:11,299 –> 00:14:17,940The second was a man named Judas. He betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver17700:14:17,940 –> 00:14:22,020I don’t know what he thought would happen but clearly when he heard the17800:14:22,020 –> 00:14:24,700news that Jesus was condemned to death17900:14:24,700 –> 00:14:27,700he became quite desperate over all that he had done18000:14:28,299 –> 00:14:32,640He went the Bible tells us to the chief priest had given him the money and he18100:14:32,640 –> 00:14:36,179takes the bag of silver and he throws it on the floor at their feet18200:14:36,179 –> 00:14:38,780he doesn’t want it18300:14:38,780 –> 00:14:45,440Two men who are both desperately sorry about what they have done18400:14:45,440 –> 00:14:50,859but of course there was a great difference in the outcome18500:14:50,859 –> 00:14:54,460Peter was restored by our Lord Jesus Christ18600:14:55,460 –> 00:14:58,640Judas the Bible tells us went and hanged himself18700:14:58,640 –> 00:15:05,419interesting that the Bible makes it very clear that there will be sorrow over18800:15:05,419 –> 00:15:08,419sin in hell18900:15:09,219 –> 00:15:13,500remember what Jesus said is very graphic he said there will be weeping and19000:15:13,500 –> 00:15:20,239gnashing of teeth but the Bible never suggests that there will be repentance19100:15:20,239 –> 00:15:25,200in hell the two are different things19200:15:25,580 –> 00:15:32,299repentance is much more than sorrow for sin that is made very clear in the19300:15:32,299 –> 00:15:35,799scripture reading that we had earlier from 2 Corinthians chapter 7 and verse19400:15:35,799 –> 00:15:42,88010. Did you notice it there? Godly sorrow brings repentance it leads19500:15:42,880 –> 00:15:49,020us into repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret but19600:15:49,020 –> 00:15:57,500worldly sorrow brings death. Think of sorrow like this it’s rather like a19700:15:57,500 –> 00:16:05,539large foyer and as you come into this foyer there are two doors ahead of you19800:16:05,539 –> 00:16:12,580one door is marked with the name repentance the other door is marked with19900:16:12,619 –> 00:16:20,859the name despair and as you come into this foyer of sorrow for sin you have20000:16:20,859 –> 00:16:27,520the choice as to where that sorrow takes you which door you enter beyond20100:16:27,520 –> 00:16:35,500your sorrow if you go through the door that is marked repentance you will find20200:16:35,500 –> 00:16:41,799beyond that door there is a room that is filled with light the presence of God is20300:16:41,820 –> 00:16:48,679there but if you choose to go through the door of despair you will enter a20400:16:48,679 –> 00:16:54,159room in which there is only darkness now I want to speak for just one moment20500:16:54,159 –> 00:17:01,479now very directly and very pastorally to those in our congregation this morning20600:17:01,479 –> 00:17:07,199who are experiencing sorrow over their sins20700:17:07,199 –> 00:17:17,579you’re standing in the foyer it’s where you are today you’re sorry my question20800:17:17,579 –> 00:17:23,300for you is this which door are you going to go through where are you going to20900:17:23,300 –> 00:17:27,420take that sorrow21000:17:27,560 –> 00:17:36,199Judas chose the door of despair and went into darkness but Peter chose the door21100:17:36,199 –> 00:17:44,260of repentance and was restored to the light of the presence of Christ to21200:17:44,260 –> 00:17:50,020repentance you see is always a turning to God it is a choosing that my sorrow21300:17:50,020 –> 00:17:54,760will not lead to the darkness of despair but that I will take my sorrow through21400:17:54,760 –> 00:17:59,140that door that leads me into the presence of God and that’s what David is21500:17:59,140 –> 00:18:06,439saying here verse 11 do not cast me from your presence do not exclude me21600:18:06,439 –> 00:18:13,900from that room of repentance do not take your Holy Spirit from me do not shut me21700:18:13,900 –> 00:18:20,060out from your plans do not mark your work in my life as something that is a21800:18:20,119 –> 00:18:26,020discontinued line of course in David’s mind I guess the must have been the21900:18:26,020 –> 00:18:30,920story of his predecessor David was the second king of Israel the first as you22000:18:30,920 –> 00:18:36,900know was King Saul he had had the Holy Spirit of God he had the anointing God22100:18:36,900 –> 00:18:42,780had made him king and yet when things went wrong in his life like Judas he22200:18:42,780 –> 00:18:49,239chose the path of despair and he was replaced in the purposes of God for the22300:18:49,739 –> 00:18:56,359people David says please don’t do that for me do not cast me from your presence22400:18:56,359 –> 00:19:04,619I’m sorry but where I want to come with that sorrow is to you22500:19:04,619 –> 00:19:08,319open the door for me22600:19:09,060 –> 00:19:15,359David’s first concern is not with his position his first concern is not with22700:19:15,359 –> 00:19:23,180his money you don’t find him here saying God please don’t allow any consequences22800:19:23,180 –> 00:19:32,380of my sin to occur in my life no all he says is this God please don’t22900:19:32,380 –> 00:19:41,680give up on me please don’t put me on the shelf please do not separate yourself23000:19:42,219 –> 00:19:47,800for me that I cannot bear for in my heart of hearts I have a hunger a thirst a23100:19:47,800 –> 00:19:57,359passion after you that is repentance what does it look like a genuine hunger23200:19:57,359 –> 00:20:03,420after God for repentance is a reorientation of life around the God23300:20:03,420 –> 00:20:10,099from whom we had departed it is a movement towards God think of it this23400:20:10,420 –> 00:20:15,619way in Jesus wonderful story about the productions Sun you know it could have23500:20:15,619 –> 00:20:21,020had a different ending couldn’t it I mean it could have gone that he wasted23600:20:21,020 –> 00:20:26,280all his money and he ended up among the pigs and so forth but then eventually he23700:20:26,280 –> 00:20:32,660came to himself and gradually rebuilt his life and recovered his dignity and23800:20:32,699 –> 00:20:41,780met a nice lady he married he found a good job and continued to live a life in23900:20:41,780 –> 00:20:47,500which he found much fulfillment as a conceivable ending to the story we all24000:20:47,500 –> 00:20:53,599know people who do that but that’s not the ending of Jesus story because that’s24100:20:53,880 –> 00:21:01,839repentance. The ending of Jesus story is he came back to the Father that’s24200:21:01,839 –> 00:21:09,680repentance. It is the choice to draw near again to the God from whom we have24300:21:09,680 –> 00:21:19,459become distanced so I asked you this morning is this your desire to come to24400:21:19,459 –> 00:21:26,939God or are you just sorry. Sadly that’s where we have to leave the message today24500:21:26,939 –> 00:21:32,400we’ve been hearing about what repentance really is all about and as24600:21:32,400 –> 00:21:37,680pastor Colin just shared it’s a movement or direction towards God and we’ll24700:21:37,680 –> 00:21:41,979revisit that subject in our next broadcast so I hope you’ll join us for24800:21:41,979 –> 00:21:47,359that. At open the Bible we welcome contact with our listeners you can email24900:21:47,400 –> 00:21:54,800us by using the contact form on our website open thebible.org.uk25000:21:54,800 –> 00:22:02,680you can write to us at OpenTheBible PO Box 1420 Cheltenham GL5025100:22:02,680 –> 00:22:11,4799PG or you can phone us on 0330 335 808925200:22:11,479 –> 00:22:16,680If we’re not available when you call leave a message for us and25300:22:17,140 –> 00:22:22,300we’ll return your call. All of these contact details are available on our website openthebible.org.uk25400:22:22,300 –> 00:22:29,160Open the bible is supported by our listeners financially.25500:22:29,160 –> 00:22:33,439And if that’s something you’ve been considering doing this month we have an25600:22:33,439 –> 00:22:38,079offer for you. If you were able to set up a new direct debit in the amount of25700:22:38,079 –> 00:22:43,920£5 per month or more or a one-off gift of £50 or more, this month we’ll25800:22:44,000 –> 00:22:48,859send you two copies of the book Christmas Stories by Colin Smyth and25900:22:48,859 –> 00:22:55,119also five beautiful Christmas cards with illustrations from the book.26000:22:55,119 –> 00:22:59,160Christmas Stories is a retelling of the Christmas Story from the point of view of26100:22:59,160 –> 00:23:05,560several biblical characters. Characters like Adam, Joseph, Herod Mary’s cousin26200:23:05,560 –> 00:23:12,439Elizabeth and even the angel Gabriel. You know I have really enjoyed telling the26300:23:12,660 –> 00:23:16,280Christmas Story from the perspective of different characters who were involved26400:23:16,280 –> 00:23:20,920and the one exception to that is Herod. I can’t say I enjoyed that because of26500:23:20,920 –> 00:23:25,839course he was on the wrong side of the Christmas Story, absolutely opposed the26600:23:25,839 –> 00:23:30,920coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the world and whereas telling the story from26700:23:30,920 –> 00:23:35,839Mary and Joseph’s perspective or Simeon’s perspective you know you’re able26800:23:35,839 –> 00:23:40,479to think about well here’s a person who’s in Heaven looking back on this26900:23:40,739 –> 00:23:43,939most marvelous good news of the birth of Jesus into the world27000:23:43,939 –> 00:23:49,780well Herod’s certainly not there and the message that comes from his rejection of27100:23:49,780 –> 00:23:54,260Jesus is it’s too late now for him to change direction, but it’s not too late27200:23:54,260 –> 00:24:00,219for you and what a marvelous thing it is that we are in the day of God’s grace27300:24:00,219 –> 00:24:05,900where mercy and love are extended towards every person in Jesus Christ and27400:24:05,900 –> 00:24:09,619what a marvelous thing to be able to invite our friends and our loved ones to27500:24:09,719 –> 00:24:15,540receive that mercy and that grace. I hope that this book will be a real help to27600:24:15,540 –> 00:24:20,180many folks in sharing the gospel be a lovely gift just to give to someone27700:24:20,180 –> 00:24:24,599it’s 24 pages beautifully produced and it tells the Christmas story from these27800:24:24,599 –> 00:24:29,060different angles in the first person through the eyes of people who were27900:24:29,060 –> 00:24:33,579actually involved. Well we’d love to send you two copies of this book and the five28000:24:33,579 –> 00:24:38,300beautiful Christmas cards if you are able to set up a new direct debit of28100:24:38,939 –> 00:24:44,579£5 per month or more or a one-off gift of £50 or more this month full28200:24:44,640 –> 00:24:50,319terms and conditions are on our website open the Bible dot org dot UK and please28300:24:50,339 –> 00:24:53,760remember if you want to take advantage of this offer don’t give28400:24:53,760 –> 00:24:57,839anonymously and remember to leave your full name28500:24:57,839 –> 00:25:03,060and address so we can send you your free gift. For Open the Bible and Pastor28600:25:03,060 –> 00:25:07,619Colin Smith I’m David Pick and I hope you’ll join us again next time on Open28700:25:07,619 –> 00:25:21,020the Bible28800:25:21,500 –> 00:25:27,339do you remember the reason that Jesus gave for repentance find out what it is28900:25:27,339 –> 00:25:31,219next time on Open the Bible
