Get the Right Prescription, Part 1

100:00:00,000 –> 00:00:10,700Have mercy on me, he says, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your200:00:10,700 –> 00:00:19,639great compassion, blot out in me all your transgressions. David discovers that God is300:00:19,639 –> 00:00:29,440merciful. You will never begin to change until you discover the mercy of God.400:00:29,480 –> 00:00:34,340Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick. Glad you could join500:00:34,340 –> 00:00:38,680us today, and Colin, let’s talk about what you just said there. You’ll never begin to600:00:38,680 –> 00:00:41,639change until you discover the mercy of God.700:00:41,639 –> 00:00:47,840Well, I’m thinking about how the Lord Jesus said whoever comes to me, I will never drive800:00:47,840 –> 00:00:52,759them away. Now, if you really believe that, if a person believes if I come to Jesus he’ll900:00:52,759 –> 00:00:57,700not turn me away, he’ll receive me, he’ll embrace me in love, if I really believe that,1000:00:57,820 –> 00:01:02,840I’ll come. If I think he’s going to frown on me, he’s going to hold up his hands against1100:01:02,840 –> 00:01:08,300me, he’s going to push me away, I’ll likely not come. Because who wants to have that experience.1200:01:08,300 –> 00:01:14,660So when we see that he is merciful, when we see that there is love in Jesus Christ, then1300:01:14,660 –> 00:01:21,099we’ll come to him, why would you stand at a distance from Jesus Christ if you believe1400:01:21,099 –> 00:01:25,220that he will receive you and that he will receive you gladly. And that’s what he says1500:01:25,220 –> 00:01:26,220he will do.1600:01:26,260 –> 00:01:30,160This interview series is called, Changing Direction, looking at Psalm 51. And last1700:01:30,160 –> 00:01:35,860time we heard, all about making sure we have the right diagnosis, today we’ll hear about1800:01:35,860 –> 00:01:40,000getting the right treatment, doing the right thing by coming to Jesus.1900:01:40,000 –> 00:01:44,580That’s right. Well it begins with coming to realize the extent of my own sin, that’s as2000:01:44,580 –> 00:01:49,279we’re following the story of David what happens. But you see the danger is that when you realize2100:01:49,279 –> 00:01:53,860the extent of your own sin you might just go to despair. You say well, you know I’ve2200:01:53,959 –> 00:01:59,599really blown it now. Now you got to lift up your eyes and say, Now despite all that I2300:01:59,599 –> 00:02:06,059have done and the mess that I am in if I come to the saviour He will welcome me, He promises2400:02:06,059 –> 00:02:11,660that, and that’s the reason that will come. So, join us if you can in Psalm 51, as we2500:02:11,660 –> 00:02:15,740begin a message, get the right prescription, here’s Colin.2600:02:15,740 –> 00:02:22,039Last week we began our exploration of how to get right when you know that you have gone2700:02:22,080 –> 00:02:29,080wrong, and we saw together that the first issue is always the issue of correct diagnosis.2800:02:30,160 –> 00:02:36,539Nobody can begin to talk about recovery until we have a full understanding of the nature2900:02:36,539 –> 00:02:42,240of the problem we face. So we explored that together in Psalm 51, and I hope you’ll have3000:02:42,240 –> 00:02:47,399that part of the scripture open in front of you again this morning.3100:02:48,000 –> 00:02:52,199What we saw last time. You’ll remember if you were here, that there are really three3200:02:52,199 –> 00:02:59,199words that are used in the scripture to describe our condition of sinfulness. First, there3300:03:00,059 –> 00:03:07,059is that word trespass, transgression. Each of us has set, repeatedly, over the line of3400:03:07,740 –> 00:03:13,419the boundaries that God has set for our lives. Then there is the word sin. We fall short3500:03:13,419 –> 00:03:19,820of the target that God has set for us. Look at any area of your life, whether it be work3600:03:19,820 –> 00:03:24,960or marriage or conversation or ministry and you’ll find that you’re a long way short of3700:03:24,960 –> 00:03:30,919the perfection of a holy God. And then David uses that word Iniquity, which3800:03:30,919 –> 00:03:37,220speaks of twistedness that is in every one of us, and that is the spring of these other3900:03:37,220 –> 00:03:43,339two problems. The reason that we sin and the reason that we transgress is that there is4000:03:43,339 –> 00:03:48,699something that is fundamentally wrong in the human heart. Our thinking is skewed. We love4100:03:48,699 –> 00:03:56,039the wrong things. Our desires are too often pulled in the wrong direction. We have broken4200:03:56,039 –> 00:04:02,639God’s laws, we have failed to reach God’s standards, and the reason is that there is4300:04:02,720 –> 00:04:09,399something twisted inside. That’s the diagnosis of the problem as it’s laid out for us in4400:04:09,399 –> 00:04:14,440the Scriptures. Now, just by way of review so that that learning is clear for us, I’d4500:04:14,440 –> 00:04:18,760like you to just glance for one moment at the worship folder, and if you look there4600:04:18,760 –> 00:04:26,059at the As We Prepare For Worship section, you’ll find that there is a prayer which comes4700:04:26,059 –> 00:04:31,679all the way from the 16th century – it’s part of the liturgy of the Church of England4800:04:31,679 –> 00:04:37,480– and you’ll notice there that there are three phrases that describe the problem of4900:04:37,480 –> 00:04:41,940the human condition. I’m reading from the middle of the fourth line. First of all, the5000:04:41,940 –> 00:04:48,880general confession includes these words, ”We have left undone those things that we ought5100:04:48,880 –> 00:04:54,299to have done.” Now, that’s sin, isn’t it? We’ve missed the mark. We’ve not got5200:04:54,299 –> 00:05:01,299up to the mark in the things that God called us to do. But then it says we have done those5300:05:01,540 –> 00:05:08,220things that we ought not to have done. That’s transgression, trespass, stepping over the5400:05:08,220 –> 00:05:16,140boundaries. Then, says the general confession, there is no health in us. That’s iniquity.5500:05:16,140 –> 00:05:21,799So here is a biblical analysis of the human condition, and we saw, you remember, from5600:05:21,799 –> 00:05:27,019Psalm 51 that this wasn’t something unique to David, the result of some bad experiences5700:05:27,019 –> 00:05:32,459in his early life or anything like that. No, says David, this problem in me goes right5800:05:32,459 –> 00:05:39,459back to my very conception. It goes back to the day of my birth. It’s been with me from5900:05:39,859 –> 00:05:46,859the beginning. The sin thing is programmed into my very nature. I was born with it, and6000:05:48,940 –> 00:05:55,940it is no small issue. Because sin is offense against God, and I stand before God with absolutely6100:05:56,380 –> 00:06:03,380no excuse. So there is the issue of diagnosis. It’s not good news. Many people do not want6200:06:04,380 –> 00:06:11,380to hear it. Many persist in the belief that human beings are basically okay if there are6300:06:12,700 –> 00:06:16,660imperfections. Oh, none of us are perfect. It’s merely a surface problem. But the Bible6400:06:16,660 –> 00:06:22,940takes us deeper. And the importance of understanding this is if you don’t grasp the problem, you6500:06:22,940 –> 00:06:29,940will never understand the solution. Only when we understand sin can we really appreciate6600:06:30,940 –> 00:06:37,940the cross. For Christ came to save sinners. Now today we’re going to move on. A serious6700:06:39,899 –> 00:06:46,899problem needs a radical solution. And if a doctor gives you a serious diagnosis, your6800:06:49,660 –> 00:06:56,660first question instinctively is always, what can be done about it? Last week we were introduced6900:06:57,179 –> 00:07:04,179to the patient and his problem. Today we’re going to be introduced to the great physician7000:07:05,100 –> 00:07:12,100and his prescription. Psalm 51 not only gives us the diagnosis, but it takes us forward7100:07:14,339 –> 00:07:21,339in understanding the cure. Christ is the physician who brings hope for every soul, and his prescription7200:07:22,279 –> 00:07:27,799I want us to understand this morning touches three areas. First, it deals with the issue7300:07:27,799 –> 00:07:33,880of guilt, second, it deals with the problem of pollution, and thirdly, it deals with the7400:07:33,880 –> 00:07:40,880power that lurks because of our sinfulness. It’s important that we distinguish between7500:07:41,299 –> 00:07:48,299true guilt and false guilt. True guilt is when I have offended God through some word7600:07:48,899 –> 00:07:55,899or thought or action. False guilt is when I am worrying myself about something that7700:07:56,660 –> 00:08:02,920is not offensive to God. I think that if often in earlier years of ministry, I would have7800:08:02,920 –> 00:08:07,420worked flat out in pastoral visitation and come home not with any satisfaction of what7900:08:07,420 –> 00:08:14,140was done, but with a sense of burden of all that was not done. That was just false guilt.8000:08:14,140 –> 00:08:17,920And there’s a lot of it about in Christian circles. It’s important that we can tell the8100:08:17,920 –> 00:08:23,239difference between these two. They are different in their origin, and they’re different in8200:08:23,239 –> 00:08:30,359the strategy that we use to confront them. True guilt is brought to our attention by8300:08:30,359 –> 00:08:37,119the Holy Spirit, and the response should be Confession and Repentance. But false guilt8400:08:37,119 –> 00:08:44,000is engendered within us by the devil, and our response to that should be Confrontation8500:08:44,679 –> 00:08:49,880and Resistance. So if anyone comes and says, pastor, I’m struggling with guilt. My first8600:08:49,880 –> 00:08:56,320question is always, is it true guilt or false guilt? Let’s distinguish between these two.8700:08:56,320 –> 00:09:02,260Then secondly, there is the guilt that we feel, and there is some guilt that we do not8800:09:02,260 –> 00:09:08,559feel. There are times when we feel the burden of something we shouldn’t be carrying. There8900:09:08,559 –> 00:09:15,020are other times when we are insensitive to something in our lives that really is offensive9000:09:15,020 –> 00:09:20,500to God. Now, if we put these two things together, we’ll see fairly quickly that there are two9100:09:20,500 –> 00:09:27,500things that are healthy when it comes to this matter of guilt. The first is that we do feel9200:09:27,580 –> 00:09:33,039the weight of our real offenses against God. That is obviously right, and it is the work9300:09:33,200 –> 00:09:40,200of the Spirit to bring us to that point. Secondly, it is healthy that we should not feel the9400:09:40,359 –> 00:09:46,919burden of false guilt, and it is the work of the Spirit to set us free in those areas9500:09:46,919 –> 00:09:53,419of our lives. But equally it should be very obvious to us that in the other two boxes9600:09:53,419 –> 00:10:00,419there is an area of problem. If we are weighed down with false guilt, with burdens that God9700:10:00,739 –> 00:10:05,880never called us to bare, something needs to be done about that. And if we are insensitive9800:10:05,880 –> 00:10:11,020to our true offenses against God, something needs to be done about that. The wonderful9900:10:11,020 –> 00:10:16,520thing is that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to help us in both of these areas, and he10000:10:16,520 –> 00:10:23,020does it through the truth. It is through the truth that sets us free, that the Holy Spirit10100:10:23,020 –> 00:10:30,020releases us from those burdens of false guilt that no human being should carry. But it is10200:10:30,140 –> 00:10:35,900equally by the word of his truth that the Holy Spirit brings us from insensitivity about10300:10:35,900 –> 00:10:42,900our real offenses, into a position where we understand our true guilt before God. The10400:10:42,919 –> 00:10:49,659Holy Spirit, through the ministry of Nathan, we saw last week, has moved David from insensitivity10500:10:49,659 –> 00:10:55,859about true guilt to the point where he realizes the gravity of his offenses before God.10600:10:55,940 –> 00:11:00,099You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, and a message called Get the10700:11:00,099 –> 00:11:05,880Right Prescription – part of our series Changing Direction, A Look at Psalm 51. If10800:11:05,880 –> 00:11:10,059you ever miss one of Pastor Colin’s messages, or if you want to go back and listen to them10900:11:10,059 –> 00:11:15,940again, that’s easy to do by coming online to our website openthebible.org.uk11000:11:17,140 –> 00:11:19,919Back to the message now. Here again is Colin.11100:11:20,440 –> 00:11:27,380The Holy Spirit, through the ministry of Nathan we saw last weck, has moved David from insensitivity11200:11:27,400 –> 00:11:34,599about true guilt, to the point where he realizes the gravity of his offences before God. And11300:11:34,599 –> 00:11:45,500every one of us has multiple entries in this box. And when that is diagnosed the question11400:11:45,859 –> 00:11:50,400is what can be done about it? Well look at David’s prayer in verse 1, as it relates11500:11:50,400 –> 00:11:52,320to the guilt of sin.11600:11:52,320 –> 00:11:59,760Have mercy on me, he says, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your11700:11:59,760 –> 00:12:07,659great compassion, blot out all of my transgressions.11800:12:07,659 –> 00:12:12,520David discovers that God is merciful.11900:12:12,520 –> 00:12:21,820And grasp this this morning, you will never begin to change until you discover the mercy12000:12:21,840 –> 00:12:23,280of God.12100:12:23,280 –> 00:12:26,940The crucial principle.12200:12:26,940 –> 00:12:32,880Think about the prodigal son, and how it was the Bible tells us that he began the process12300:12:32,880 –> 00:12:33,979of change.12400:12:33,979 –> 00:12:37,679Remember, he also has real guilt.12500:12:37,679 –> 00:12:41,580He has disgraced the family, he’s blown the trust that’s been placed in him, he’s12600:12:41,580 –> 00:12:45,659wasted the resources that have been given to him, and finally he comes to the end of12700:12:45,659 –> 00:12:47,280his rope.12800:12:47,280 –> 00:12:49,419But then two things happen, the Bible tells us.12900:12:49,419 –> 00:12:53,200The first is, he comes to his senses.13000:12:53,200 –> 00:12:57,919He realizes for the first time that the direction of his life has been wrong.13100:12:57,919 –> 00:12:59,679He hadn’t thought that before.13200:12:59,679 –> 00:13:05,840The party was in full swing, he was full of joy, but now he moves into the box of realizing13300:13:05,840 –> 00:13:06,840real guilt.13400:13:06,840 –> 00:13:10,020He feels the weight of it.13500:13:10,020 –> 00:13:13,539That’s the work of the spirit.13600:13:13,539 –> 00:13:19,340But God never wants anyone of us to stay there.13700:13:19,340 –> 00:13:23,799God never wants us when we get into that box to be sitting like the prodigal son, with13800:13:23,799 –> 00:13:30,119our head as it were between our knees, merely feeling our misery.13900:13:30,119 –> 00:13:31,479Now there’s something else that happens.14000:13:31,479 –> 00:13:38,400He says, I will arise and go to my father.14100:13:38,400 –> 00:13:42,840And you see, the root of that decision was that deep in his mind, even though estranged14200:13:42,840 –> 00:13:52,179from his father, he had the sense that if he went back, he would be well-received.14300:13:52,179 –> 00:13:57,919Perhaps he will make me one of his hired servants.14400:13:57,919 –> 00:14:04,900Now you see, no matter how much the prodigal’s conscience may be stung, no matter how much14500:14:04,900 –> 00:14:12,159he may feel the misery of his condition, he will just keep running from father, until14600:14:12,219 –> 00:14:18,159he feels that father will receive him back.14700:14:18,159 –> 00:14:26,919He needs the awareness of his misery to give him the desire to come back, but he also needs14800:14:26,919 –> 00:14:34,159the assurance of a welcome to give him the confidence to come back.14900:14:34,159 –> 00:14:39,960Put these two things together and you have the dynamic of the movement that the Bible15000:14:39,960 –> 00:14:44,400calls repentance.15100:14:44,400 –> 00:14:49,919If the prodigal had reckoned that the father’s primary interest was justice, and that coming15200:14:49,919 –> 00:14:55,119back home would mean years of raking over the coals, prolonged investigation and years15300:14:55,119 –> 00:15:00,280of tension, he would just have kept running.15400:15:00,280 –> 00:15:04,580But as he thinks about his father, he has better thoughts.15500:15:04,820 –> 00:15:08,820Perhaps he will make me one of his hired servants.’15600:15:10,219 –> 00:15:15,299John Calvin has a brilliant comment about this that I found so helpful.15700:15:15,299 –> 00:15:16,299He says,15800:15:16,299 –> 00:15:24,080the beginning of repentance is a sense of God’s mercy.15900:15:24,080 –> 00:15:31,059It is only when a man is persuaded that God is ready to forgive that he begins to gather16000:15:31,059 –> 00:15:33,820the courage to repent.16100:15:33,820 –> 00:15:35,380Great phrase.16200:15:35,380 –> 00:15:41,539It’s when you realize that God stands ready to forgive that you’ll begin to gather the16300:15:41,539 –> 00:15:45,140courage to repent.16400:15:45,140 –> 00:15:52,679Sinners always run away from justice, but they will be drawn by mercy.16500:15:52,679 –> 00:15:56,979And there’s so much for us in our relationships to learn from the way God deals with us.16600:15:56,979 –> 00:15:59,900Is there someone who is running from you?16700:15:59,900 –> 00:16:04,960Could it be that the reason is that they think your primary issue is sorting out the truth16800:16:04,960 –> 00:16:08,599and establishing justice?16900:16:08,599 –> 00:16:18,119Find a way of conveying to them that if and when they choose to turn there’s a welcome.17000:16:18,119 –> 00:16:24,679You see the sense of sin without the knowledge of mercy makes a man keep on running but David’s17100:16:24,679 –> 00:16:26,320repentance begins at this point.17200:16:26,479 –> 00:16:32,960He says, let me tell you about the mercy of God.17300:16:32,960 –> 00:16:40,000There is a great physician, there is a God in Heaven revealed throughout the Bible and17400:16:40,000 –> 00:16:46,859focused in his revelation in Jesus Christ and he is big in mercy.17500:16:46,859 –> 00:16:52,359He does not pursue mercy at the expense of justice.17600:16:52,419 –> 00:16:59,419All our entries in the box of real guilt have consequences and that is why Christ came into17700:16:59,419 –> 00:17:01,679the world.17800:17:01,679 –> 00:17:10,060God became man in Christ Jesus and he said, I will bear the consequences of your sin in17900:17:10,060 –> 00:17:12,439my own body.18000:17:12,439 –> 00:17:18,020And here is the mystery of the gospel, God lays the guilt of our sin upon his son.18100:17:18,020 –> 00:17:26,420He takes our sin upon himself and God says, I will not pursue justice with you, but I18200:17:26,420 –> 00:17:32,900will pursue justice with my son on your behalf.18300:17:32,900 –> 00:17:44,020So God pours out his justice on Christ so that he may show mercy to all who are in Christ.18400:17:44,099 –> 00:17:49,959David begins to rebuild his broken world as we will begin to rebuild ours with the discovery18500:17:49,959 –> 00:17:52,859that god is merciful.18600:17:52,859 –> 00:17:54,979God is full of compassion.18700:17:54,979 –> 00:18:00,380God pours out unfailing love.18800:18:00,380 –> 00:18:02,900Let me introduce you to the great physician.18900:18:02,900 –> 00:18:05,939He is full of mercy.19000:18:05,939 –> 00:18:08,859And that’s the first part of the prescription.19100:18:08,959 –> 00:18:11,680Sinne makes us guilty.19200:18:11,680 –> 00:18:13,939Really guilty.19300:18:13,939 –> 00:18:16,560And we need the merciful forgiveness of God.19400:18:16,560 –> 00:18:21,160But there’s a second part to the prescription that we are looking at this morning.19500:18:21,160 –> 00:18:26,920It’s not only that God forgives the guilt of our sin, but David goes on to explore this19600:18:26,920 –> 00:18:35,540dimension that God cleanses the pollution of our sin.19700:18:35,579 –> 00:18:45,119Some of you will remember, back on the 17th of March, 1978, 20 years ago, a super tanker19800:18:45,119 –> 00:18:50,800by the name of the Amoko Cadiz ran aground off the coast of Brittany.19900:18:50,800 –> 00:18:59,099It’s really hard to imagine the scale of this, but this tanker was carrying 233 million tons20000:18:59,099 –> 00:19:00,000of crude oil.20100:19:00,000 –> 00:19:04,800Nearly a quarter million tons of oil.20200:19:04,800 –> 00:19:12,979And it runs aground 20 years ago off the coast of Brittany, tipping tons of this crude oil20300:19:12,979 –> 00:19:14,780into the Atlantic Ocean.20400:19:14,780 –> 00:19:22,180Now as the disaster progressed, oil was swept up onto more than 130 beaches on the coast20500:19:22,180 –> 00:19:24,300of Brittany.20600:19:24,300 –> 00:19:33,020Some of them were covered with crude oil up to one foot deep.20700:19:33,359 –> 00:19:35,959What an amazing disaster.20800:19:35,959 –> 00:19:39,400The damage was incredible.20900:19:39,400 –> 00:19:46,300But when you think about that, you see a disaster like this gives rise to more than one problem,21000:19:46,300 –> 00:19:48,280doesn’t it?21100:19:48,280 –> 00:19:50,880I mean for a start there’s obviously the issue of compensation.21200:19:50,880 –> 00:19:55,859There are legal issues which actually were dealt with here in Chicago where a judge awarded21300:19:55,859 –> 00:19:59,239damages against the company of $85.2 million.21400:19:59,439 –> 00:20:08,959There were legal issues and costs to be dealt with, but there are other problems to be addressed.21500:20:08,959 –> 00:20:14,500Justice may be served in the courts, but there’s still a massive clean up to be done on the21600:20:14,500 –> 00:20:16,359beaches.21700:20:16,359 –> 00:20:19,160It is one thing to pay compensation.21800:20:19,160 –> 00:20:22,219It is another thing to deal with the mess.21900:20:23,099 –> 00:20:31,579Now when God deals with our sin problem, you see he not only deals with the cost, the penalty,22000:20:31,579 –> 00:20:39,979sin and forgiveness, he also deals with the issue of pollution and cleansing.22100:20:39,979 –> 00:20:43,719Remember how it’s beautifully brought together in 1 John, chapter 1 and verse 9.22200:20:43,719 –> 00:20:50,819If we confess our sins, he’s faithful and just to forgive us our sins.22300:20:50,819 –> 00:20:54,520He deals with these matters of justice, mercy.22400:20:54,520 –> 00:20:55,680He clears the record.22500:20:55,680 –> 00:20:57,000Nothing to pay.22600:20:57,000 –> 00:21:04,119But remember it goes on, not only that, he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.22700:21:04,119 –> 00:21:05,760And these are distinct things.22800:21:05,760 –> 00:21:13,920Sin causes an offense against God, which leaves a price to be paid that was paid by Jesus.22900:21:13,920 –> 00:21:21,880But sin also causes pollution in our hearts, a pollution that only God can cleanse.23000:21:21,880 –> 00:21:28,079And God always acts in these two spheres together, they’re part of the same prescription.23100:21:28,079 –> 00:21:35,599You cannot have forgiveness if you do not also want to be clean.23200:21:35,599 –> 00:21:40,180Notice how David puts it here in verse seven, having explored the mercy of God that leads23300:21:40,180 –> 00:21:41,439to forgiveness.23400:21:41,439 –> 00:21:43,760He now comes in verse seven, and he says,23500:21:43,760 –> 00:21:50,979’…cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean, wash me, and I shall be whiter than23600:21:50,979 –> 00:21:53,219snow.’23700:21:53,219 –> 00:21:58,819You see, he is saying to himself, Lord, it’s not just that I’m guilty, it’s that I feel23800:21:58,819 –> 00:22:00,819dirty.23900:22:00,819 –> 00:22:09,300He says, ‘…cleanse me with hyssop,,’ hyssop was used as part of the ritual of cleansing24000:22:09,300 –> 00:22:10,540of lepers.24100:22:11,540 –> 00:22:15,819I think the fact that he makes that reference just gives you an indication of24200:22:15,819 –> 00:22:17,160how he feels.24300:22:17,160 –> 00:22:21,300I just feel like a leper.24400:22:21,300 –> 00:22:26,880I find it hard to stand with Joy before you because I know I’ve offended you.24500:22:26,880 –> 00:22:28,239But there’s another problem, God.24600:22:28,239 –> 00:22:34,079I find it hard to live with myself because of what I know I’ve done.24700:22:34,079 –> 00:22:37,099To make a man clean after this sort of thing will take a miracle.24800:22:37,859 –> 00:22:41,380And that’s exactly what David is asking for.24900:22:41,380 –> 00:22:43,060Cleanse me.25000:22:43,060 –> 00:22:45,900What an encouraging thing to think about today.25100:22:45,900 –> 00:22:52,560God is compassionate, He’s merciful, and as we draw near to Him, we can find forgiveness25200:22:52,560 –> 00:22:54,119when we sin.25300:22:54,119 –> 00:22:58,380Our message today is called, get the right prescription.25400:22:58,380 –> 00:23:04,140Part of our series, changing direction, a look at Psalm 51, and of course if you missed25500:23:34,140 –> 00:23:39,500Sir Colin’s book Christmas Stories, and also five beautiful Christmas cards based on the25600:23:39,500 –> 00:23:41,319illustrations from the book.25700:23:41,319 –> 00:23:44,920Colin, what are some of the ways we can use this book?25800:23:44,920 –> 00:23:49,479It’s designed really to be read with family or friends at Christmas.25900:23:49,479 –> 00:23:56,180If you picture being with friends or family and someone says, why don’t we read one of26000:23:56,180 –> 00:23:58,380the Christmas stories?26100:23:58,380 –> 00:24:04,420And here’s a short version of the Christmas story seen through the eyes of the angel Gabriel26200:24:04,420 –> 00:24:07,560or Mary or Joseph or Simeon or Herod.26300:24:07,560 –> 00:24:14,099You could read one of these easily in 10 minutes, and all of them get to the heart of the gospel.26400:24:14,099 –> 00:24:19,800That’s what we’ve wanted to do, to give people a resource that you could use with your family26500:24:19,800 –> 00:24:25,819or your friends, to read part of the Christmas story, so that the gospel of the grace of26600:24:26,140 –> 00:24:29,619Jesus Christ will be clear to your family and your friends.26700:24:29,619 –> 00:24:30,619Very simple.26800:24:30,619 –> 00:24:31,839And it’s beautifully presented.26900:24:31,839 –> 00:24:36,020The team has done a marvellous job in putting these Christmas stories together.27000:24:36,020 –> 00:24:40,239Well we’d love to send you two copies of this book along with the five beautiful Christmas27100:24:40,239 –> 00:24:41,239cards.27200:24:41,239 –> 00:24:46,380If you are able to begin setting up a new direct debit to the work of Open the Bible27300:24:46,380 –> 00:24:52,079for £5 per month or more or a one-off gift of £50 or more.27400:24:52,079 –> 00:24:59,280Full terms and conditions are on our website openthebible.org.uk and you can give online.27500:24:59,280 –> 00:25:05,020If you want to receive this gift, please don’t give anonymously and do remember to leave27600:25:05,020 –> 00:25:07,699your full name and address.27700:25:07,699 –> 00:25:12,400For Open The Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, and I hope you’ll join us27800:25:12,400 –> 00:25:20,420again next time on Open The Bible.27900:25:20,420 –> 00:25:25,380If God only dealt with the guilt of your sins, your life would still be a mess.28000:25:25,380 –> 00:25:28,140Find out why next time on Open The Bible.