In today’s insightful episode, “Hope’s Surprising Outcomes,” Pastor Colin explores how hope positively transforms our lives in remarkably practical ways. You’ll discover four powerful outcomes: hope enhances our witness, leads us to purer living, provides deeper comfort, and strengthens us for life’s journey.
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May we, by God’s grace and mercy, grow in hope.
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As we do, we will be a better witness.
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As we do, we will lead purer lives.
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As we do, we will experience a deeper comfort.
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And as we do, we will enjoy greater strength.
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Welcome to Open the Bible, with Pastor Colin Smith.
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I’m David Pick.
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And Colin, last time, we began a message, Hope’s Surprising Outcomes, and you just
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highlighted those four surprising outcomes.
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We looked at the first two last time, that hope will make us a better witness and help
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us lead purer lives.
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So today, we have the other two?
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Yes.
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And the way in which hope makes a difference to our grieving, it brings us comfort in our
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sorrow is the first of these.
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Paul speaks very wonderfully, of we do not grieve like those who have no hope.
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He’s not saying we don’t grieve at all.
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He’s saying that hope makes a difference to the nature of how we grieve.
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We’re going to look at how hope brings comfort.
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And we’re going to look today at how hope brings strength.
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The apostle says that
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because we have our hope set on the living God, in other words, you won’t
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have energy to keep doing the work that God calls you to do unless you have hope
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set on the living God.
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That’s what energises and sustains us in the work that God calls us to do.
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So these are wonderfully practical things, comfort and strength.
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Who doesn’t need these two things?
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Well, these are the things that hope brings.
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Let’s look again at Romans chapter 8, if you can join us in the word.
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As we continue the message, hope’s surprising outcomes.
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Here’s Colin.
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When you look at the suffering of your own life or the suffering that is in the life
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of another Christian believer, remember that you are not seeing the full picture.
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Well, you say what is the full picture?
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Now there are some ways in which we are like the Lord Jesus
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Christ already.
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Remember that the Lord Jesus Christ became like us.
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From all eternity, he shared the life and glory of God the Father.
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He has always been at the Father’s side.
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But when he came into the world, he had to walk by faith, not by sight.
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He needed to pray.
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He knew what it was to be hungry, to weep, to fall asleep exhausted.
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He knew what it was to wrestle with the cost of commitment to God’s own will.
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He carried a cross, and he went right into the valley of the shadow of death.
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The Lord Jesus Christ became like us in the pain and suffering of his Incarnation so that
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we might become like him in the glory of his resurrection, and that’s our living hope.
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And the Apostle Paul speaks of it in 2 Corinthians and chapter 4 where he speaks about how as
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the part of our Christian experience, we find ourselves afflicted, and perplexed, and persecuted,
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and struck down.
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So then the question is, well then, why are we not crushed?
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Why are we not driven to despair?
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Why are we not destroyed?
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And the answer he gives is this,
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We have this living hope,
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and your faith will stand as you look to the glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ and
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find hope in what you will be when He appears.
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We shall be like him.
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Now, how do we know that this is so?
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Well John tells us, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is.
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Friends this is an amazing statement, God said to Moses, no one can see the Lord and
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live, no one.
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Why?
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Well, because, as our Lord Jesus made clear, only the pure in heart can see God.
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If you were not completely and utterly pure, the immediate presence of God would consume
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you in just a moment.
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When God’s people sinned in the desert after the commandments had been given the first
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mount Sinai, God said to Moses that he would send an angel to lead the people into the
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Promised Land.
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But then God said this, I will not go up among you lest I consume you.
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And then God said, if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume
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you.
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The presence of the glory of the infinitely holy God, his immediate presence with sinners
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would consume us in a moment.
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And so God says, well, I can’t go with you because no one can see the Lord and live.
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That is why the prophet Malachi at the end of the Old Testament says, who can endure
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the day of his coming?
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And who can stand when he appears, for he is like a refiner’s vial?
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And yet right here, John tells us, Christian believers, that we shall see God.
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Now do you see what that means?
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Only the pure in heart can ever see God.
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So if you were to see God then every vestige of sin would need to be removed from you completely
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And John says that’s how it’s going to be!
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We shall see him as he is.
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Now, notice the direction of the argument.
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This is very important.
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The fact that we will see him is the proof that we will be like him.
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Because only spirits made perfect, only glorious resurrected bodies, perfect spirits in glorious
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bodies could ever hope to see God.
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And what john is saying is, see him we will.
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And that wonderful truth that you will see him tells you that you will, indeed, be like
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him.
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See, the question that he’s dealing with is how do we know that we will be like him?
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And the answer that he gives is we know that we will be like him because we will see him
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as he is.
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So just to be clear, he is not saying you had better become like him if you’re going
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to have any hope of seeing him.
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That would be to leave the impossible task on us of trying to earn our own final salvation.
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Have I lived a life that is pure enough to get me into heaven?
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That is not what he is saying.
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The argument is entirely the other way around.
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He’s saying to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, this is your glorious hope.
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You will see him.
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And when you see him, you will be completely free from sin and from all of its ugly effects.
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You will be holy.
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Your heart will be completely pure.
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You will love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and you will love
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your neighbor as yourself.
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I shall behold his face.
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I shall his power adore and sing the wonders of his grace forevermore.
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Now, that is your glorious future.
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In Christ, that is your hope, and when that hope burns brightly in you, it will have a
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transforming effect on your life.
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Look at what John says.
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Everyone, who thus hopes in him, purifies himself as he, the Lord Jesus Christ, is pure.
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Now, notice here that John is making a statement of fact.
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He doesn’t say, if you have this hope, well, you ought to purify yourself.
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You will.
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You will.
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See we all move in the direction of the thing we really hope for.
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What we hope for shapes what we do.
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A man hopes to marry a woman he loves.
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His hope is to spend his whole life with her.
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So how does that hope shape his behavior?
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Well, he moves in the direction of his hope.
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He spends as much time with her as he possibly can.
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Hope drives his behavior.
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And if he wasn’t interested in spending time with her, well, no one would really believe
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that he was actually had his heart set on spending his life with her.
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Clearly his heart’s somewhere else!
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Now our great hope is to be with Christ
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and it’s to be like Christ.
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And hope drives behavior.
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And this hope will shape what we do.
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Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself.
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The brighter your hope
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of being like Jesus in glory,
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the purer your life will become right now.
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You’ll pursue what you hope for.
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Grow in hope and you will live a purer life.
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You’re listening to Open The Bible
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with Pastor Colin Smith
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on the message called Hope’s Surprising Outcomes.
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And we’ll continue in a moment
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with those two surprising outcomes.
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Our series is called Growing in Faith Hope and Love.
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And if you’ve missed any of the series so far
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or you’d like to go back and listen again,
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you can do that by coming online to our website
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openthebible.org.uk
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Back to Romans 8 now.
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Here’s Colin.
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So we’ve seen two things.
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Grow in hope and you’ll be a better witness.
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Grow in hope and you will lead a purer life.
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Here’s the third marvellous and glorious thing.
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Grow in hope and you will experience deeper comfort.
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1 Thessalonians 4, verses 13 and 14.
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We do not want you to be uninformed brothers
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about those who are asleep,
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that you may not grieve as others do, who have no hope.
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For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
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even so, through Jesus God will bring with him
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those who have fallen asleep.
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Now, the apostle Paul is not suggesting here
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that Christians don’t grieve.
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The more a person loves,
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the deeper they will grieve the loss of a loved one.
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Paul is not saying that Christians don’t grieve.
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What he is saying is that our grief is different
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from the world’s grief
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because it is shot through with living hope.
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And Paul then describes our hope,
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the glorious day in which every single one of us
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as believers will participate,
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no believer will miss out on this.
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One way or another,
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all share in the joy of this glorious day.
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And in the verses that follow,
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the apostle makes five glorious affirmations.
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First, the Lord himself
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will descend from heaven.
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Jesus Christ is coming again.
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Second, God will bring with him
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those who have fallen asleep.
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Now some of you will be thinking right now
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of the names and the faces of dear loved ones
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who have died and you miss them.
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But you are going to see them again.
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They are with Jesus
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and he will bring them with him when he comes.
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Then the apostle makes a third affirmation,
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the dead in Christ will rise first.
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The souls of believers are with the Lord Jesus
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already perfect in his presence.
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These souls are away from the body
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and they are at home with the Lord.
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But when the Lord Jesus Christ comes again,
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the souls of believers who have died
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and are already with Jesus will be clothed
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with resurrected bodies,
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bodies adapted for eternal life.
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This is stated very beautifully, clearly and wonderfully
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in the Shorter Catechism,
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it’s a document that was written in 1674
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by believers who wanted to frame
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in as clear a way as possible
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the heart of the Christian faith
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and they did it, a catechism does this
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in the form of questions and answers.
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It was a kind of tool for teaching the Christian faith.
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And so there’s this question.
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What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
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The answer is this,
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the souls of believers are at their death
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made perfect in holiness
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and do immediately pass into glory.
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And their bodies still being united to Christ
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do rest in their graves til the resurrection.
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Christ will bring with Him the souls
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of believers who have died
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and they will be clothed with resurrected bodies.
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Then the apostle says,
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we who are alive,
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who are left will be caught up together with them
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in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
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Now you read a statement like that
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and you say now, how can this possibly be?
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How could these bodies rise to meet the Lord in the air?
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I mean, even Michael Jordan could only jump
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to a staggering height of around four feet.
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Well, the point of course, is that on this glorious day
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we will be given resurrected bodies
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and we will be given resurrected bodies
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at the same time as our departed loved ones.
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This is what the apostle Paul says
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in 1 Corinthians chapter 15,
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we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
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In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye
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at the last trumpet, the trumpet will sound
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and the dead will be raised imperishable
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and we shall be changed.
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And then he says,
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and so we will always be the lord.
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So, encourage each other,
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comfort each other with these words.
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Take this in brother, sister,
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believe it, grow in hope
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and you will experience a deeper comfort.
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So we’ve seen three things,
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grow in hope and you’ll be a better witness,
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grow in hope and you’re gonna lead a purer life,
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grow in hope and you will experience a deeper comfort
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and very briefly and lastly,
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grow in hope and you will enjoy greater strength.
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Listen to this from 1st Timothy 4 and verse 10,
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we toil and strive
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because we have our hopes set on the living God.
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Now, what a wonderful verse that is to end with this morning.
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Is there anyone here who feels tired, jaded, exhausted?
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Anyone here who feels a need for greater strength
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maybe you can identify with a discouraged old man
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who said my back is all sore,
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my knees are all bent,
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my get up and go has got up and went.
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Well, grow in hope and your strength will be renewed.
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You’ll be able to continue in the battle.
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You’ll be able to toil and to strive
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in as much as your hope is set on the living God.
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Grow in hope and your strength and energy will be renewed.
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Toiling, striving takes energy.
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Losing hope is the fastest way to run out of steam.
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But if your hope is set on the living God,
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your strength will be renewed.
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Now every single one of us needs this.
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Isaiah says, even youth faint and become weary
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and young men shall fall exhausted.
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You know my older son has competed
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on a number of occasions in the Ironman.
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What an extraordinary competition that is,
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the fitness of athletes who can swim more than two miles
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and then cycle for more than a hundred miles
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and then run 26 miles as a kind of a warm down.
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I mean, it is absolutely astonishing
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but you only need to stand at the finish line
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and see the truth of what Isaiah is saying.
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There are limits to all human endurance.
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Even youth shall faint and be weary
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and young men shall fall exhausted.
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But then Isaiah says, but those who hope in the Lord
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shall renew their strength.
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This is how you stay the course
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when you’re feeling really tired of the battle,
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grow in hope and your strength will be renewed.
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So may we buy God’s grace and mercy, grow in hope.
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As we do, we will be a better witness.
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As we do, we will lead purer lives.
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As we do, we will experience a deeper comfort.
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And as we do, we will enjoy greater strength.
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You’ve been listening to Open the Bible
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with Pastor Colin Smith
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and a message called Hope’s Surprising Outcomes
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is part of our series Growing in Faith,
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Hope and Love.
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And if you’ve missed any of the series
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or if you’d like to go back and listen again,
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you can easily do that by coming online to our website,
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openthebible.org.uk.
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There you’ll find all the broadcasts
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that have already gone out on air.
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You can also find our messages as podcasts
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and those are available on all the major podcast sites.
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Search for Open the Bible UK
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and subscribe to receive regular updates.
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Whether you listen to Open the Bible
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on the radio, on our website or as a podcast,
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it’s your generosity that keeps
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Pastor Colin’s messages available.
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So thank you for supporting the ministry.
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If that’s something you’ve thought about doing
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and you’re able to set up a new direct debit
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to the work of Open the Bible
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in the amount of five pounds per month or more
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or a single donation of 50 pounds,
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we’d love to say thank you
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by sending you a copy of Jerry Bridges’ book
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Respectable Sins.
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Colin, how is this book helpful for you?
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Well, I’ve found it helpful in my own life in three ways.
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I mean, the first is that Jerry Bridges identifies
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some of these sins that can easily hide
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in our hearts as Christian believers.
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And, you know, you can’t fight against what you don’t see,
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you can’t confess what you don’t see.
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So the first thing is to be able to see
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what might be lurking there
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and that’s the great value of this book.
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So when you’re able to identify
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what you need to be fighting against more strongly,
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then the next thing to do is to confess it,
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to seek the cleansing of the blood of Christ,
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and then to begin to fight against it.
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And Jerry Bridges has a chapter in here
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that is absolutely worth its weight in gold.
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It’s certainly well worth getting the whole book for.
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Directions for Dealing with Sins.
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How are you going to deal with the sins
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that lurk in your heart and in your life?
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She gives seven very practical directions.
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It’s worth its weight in gold.
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So this is a treasure.
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It really helps us to move forward
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so we don’t just become an older version
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of the person we were before,
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but actually become someone
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who’s more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ,
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which is what every Christian really wants.
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So Jerry Bridges book, Respectable Sins,
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is our gift to you.
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00:24:46,180 –> 00:24:48,739
If you’re able to set up a new direct debit
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to the work of Open the Bible this month
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in the amount of five pounds a month or more
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00:24:54,060 –> 00:24:57,020
or a single donation of 50 pounds,
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00:24:57,020 –> 00:24:59,280
full terms and conditions on our website,
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00:24:59,280 –> 00:25:02,160
OpenTheBible.org.uk.
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For Open the Bible
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and for Pastor Colin Smith,
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I’m David Pick
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and I hope you’ll join us again next time.
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affiliate link in the description
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You’d like to use your spiritual gifts more effectively.
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Find out how next time on Open the Bible.
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.
