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I am absolutely persuaded to the core of my being, that the Greatest Need of the Christian
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Church today is a fresh outpouring, a filling, of Faith and of Hope and of Love.
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Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith.
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I’m David Pick and Colin, of all the things that you believe, the Church needs, more than
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anything, it’s that infilling of Faith, Hope and Love.
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Well, Faith because there is so much discouragement around us, Hope because so many people feel
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a sense of despair and Love because we’re absolutely surrounded by conflict.
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And, of course, Faith, Hope and Love, we’re told in the Bible, are the three things that
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will remain.
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Thank God for that.
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The things that are around us will pass away, but Faith, Hope and Love will remain forever,
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and the calling of the Church is to be different from the world in which we live.
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William Graham, I think Faith, Hope and Love, and growing in these three, are at the very
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heart of what makes us different and distinct from the world around us.
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Let’s begin our message as we think about little Faith.
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Here’s Colin.
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Well, please open your Bible at Matthew, Chapter 6.
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The Bible says that when everything else passes away, there are three things that will remain.
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Faith, Hope and Love remain forever.
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Faith, Hope and Love are our distinct calling from God,
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and I am absolutely persuaded to the core of my being that the greatest need of the
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Christian Church today is a fresh outpouring, a filling of faith, and of hope, and of love.
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Why do we need to grow in faith?
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What does that look like?
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And how is that possible?
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Luke records that the disciples on one occasion said to Jesus,
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Lord, increase our faith.
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Lord, increase our faith.
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That’s our prayer for this series.
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These men, the disciples, had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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They were followers of the Lord Jesus Christ,
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to a point in their lives where they knew
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that they had to grow in their faith.
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And you’ll know what this is like in your life
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as I know what it’s like in mine.
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Perhaps you’ve been a believer for some time,
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perhaps for many, many years,
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but then suddenly some crisis erupts in your life.
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And though you’ve been a believer for a long time,
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you suddenly find yourself saying,
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well, now I’m really going to have to trust God.
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Lord increase my faith.
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Well that is the prayer for our series.
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And we are starting today at a place
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where each and every one of us can begin.
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Jesus spoke on five occasions about little faith.
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The first of those is in our reading
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from Matthew and chapter six.
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If you have your Bible open
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you will see it in verse 30,
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where he says to the disciples,
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Oh, you of little faith.
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Now, our Lord used this phrase little faith
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almost as if it was a name.
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It’s almost as if he’s using this as a name
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by which he refers to his disciples.
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And you might feel that little faith
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could be your middle name.
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Little faith, that’s me.
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I have faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ
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but I often feel that my faith is small.
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Now, all of us have times in our lives
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when we feel that our faith is small
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but no believer should ever be content
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with little faith.
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Our faith needs to grow.
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And today as we begin this new series
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I want us to see why.
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We’re going to look at five occasions
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where Jesus spoke about little faith
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and we’re going to see from these five occasions
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five reasons for growing in faith.
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Now the first time then, that Jesus refers
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to little faith is in the passage
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that was read for us in Matthew
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and chapter six.
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And from this, we learn that little faith
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is ineffective against anxiety.
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That’s a first reason that we want to grow in faith
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because little faith is ineffective against anxiety.
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Look back up to verse 25 if you would
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and see that Jesus is speaking here about anxiety.
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Do not be anxious.
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He says about your life what you will eat
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or what you will drink, nor about your body
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what you will put on.
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Now you read these words of Jesus
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and it’s very clear these are the things
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we’re anxious about all the time.
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Do we have enough to cover our costs?
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Have we saved enough for the future?
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Will we be able to make ends meet
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have we actually bitten off more than we can chew?
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These are the unavoidable questions of life
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and their natural tendency is to produce anxiety.
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But here Jesus says do not be anxious.
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You read that, you say well how can we do that?
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Well Jesus tells us why we must not give way to anxiety.
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Notice he tells us first 26 there’s no need for anxiety,
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look at the birds of the air,
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they neither sown or reap nor gather into barns
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and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.
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Are you not of more value than they?
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Look your Heavenly Father cares for the birds Jesus says.
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Do you not think that your Heavenly Father
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will care for you as well?
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There is no need for you to be anxious.
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Then he follows it up in verse 27
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by saying there is no point in being anxious.
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Verse 27, which of you by being anxious
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can add a single hour to the span of His life.
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You see what Jesus is saying?
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Worry doesn’t change a thing.
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It can’t make your health better.
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It can’t extend your life by a single day or a single hour.
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Worry is in its nature completely and utterly unproductive.
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So if there’s no need for anxiety
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and there’s no point in anxiety, why do we worry?
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Now Jesus tells us,
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O you of little faith, verse 30.
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We worry because our faith is small.
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Now, remember that Jesus is talking here to Believers.
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He doesn’t say to these first hearers of these words
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that they have no faith.
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No, He says they have little faith.
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And what Jesus is saying here
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is that little faith is ineffective against anxiety.
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Yes, you believe, but you’re anxious so much of the time.
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It is possible to be a believer
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in the Lord, Jesus Christ
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and yet still to be overwhelmed with anxiety.
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And none of us wants to be there.
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And that’s the first reason
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why we all want to grow in faith.
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The more we grow in faith,
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the more we will prevail over anxiety.
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Grow in your faith and you will worry less.
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Grow in your faith and you will have greater peace.
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You’ll have greater freedom
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and you’ll have greater joy.
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So how can we grow in faith?
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That’s always the practical question, isn’t it?
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Well, there are many, many answers to that question.
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How can we grow in faith?
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We’re going to pick up on five of them today
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and God willing, in the weeks that lie ahead
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we’re going to see many more answers to the question,
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how can I grow in faith?
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I hope you’re going to embrace each and every one of them.
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Notice what our Lord says to little faith here.
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Verse 33, seek first the kingdom of God
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and all these things will be added to you.
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You see the point?
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Faith grows as we seek God’s kingdom.
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Give yourself to serving the Lord
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and you will grow in faith.
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Hold back and your faithful remain little
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but give yourself to seek his kingdom.
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Give yourself to serve the Lord
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and you will grow in faith.
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You’re listening to Open the Bible
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with Pastor Colin Smith
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and today’s message,
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Little Faith it’s part of our series
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Growing in Faith, Hope and Love.
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Impossible Christianity
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it’s by Kevin de Young
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Why Following Jesus Does Not Mean
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You Have To Change The World
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Be An Expert In Everything
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Accept Spiritual Failure
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and Feel Miserable Pretty Much
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All Of the Time
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If you’re intrigued by that title
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and we’ll be talking more about that later
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Back to the message now
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We’re in Matthew
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Chapter 6
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Verses 25 to 33
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Here’s Colin
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Now, the second time
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that Jesus refers to Little Faith
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is in Matthew and Chapter 8
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and here we come to the story
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of where the disciples
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were shaken to the core
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by a sudden storm
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and from this story
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we learn that Little Faith
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underestimates
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the ability
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of Jesus
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Notice Jesus said to them
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Why are you afraid
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O you of Little Faith?
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And then he rose
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and he rebuked the winds
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and the sea
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and there was a great calm
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Now
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If you look up a few verses
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in Matthew and chapter 8
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to verse 18
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you will see that the
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disciples got into the boat
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at the express command
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of the Lord Jesus Christ
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He
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commanded them
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He gave orders
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Matthew said
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that they go over
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to the other side of the lake
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And it seems that the water was calm
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when the disciples set out
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in obedience to the command of Jesus
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What could be more pleasant
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than an evening boat trip
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with the Lord Jesus Christ
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But you know the story
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Suddenly
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Unexpectedly
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everything changed
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Verse 24
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And behold there arose a great storm
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on the sea
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so that the boat
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was being swamped by
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the waves
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Matthew tells us that Jesus
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was asleep
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So you see
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Here you are in a crisis
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and the first question you have is
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What in the world is Jesus doing?
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And
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the truth is he doesn’t appear to be doing anything
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He doesn’t seem even to be engaged
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So the disciples go and they
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waken the Savior
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Save us Lord
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They say we are perishing
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See that’s what faith does
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Faith’s first instinct in times of trouble
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is to turn to the Lord
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and to ask for help
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Matthew records that Jesus said to them
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Why are you afraid?
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O you of little faith
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Now what I want you to notice here is that little faith
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is obedient to Jesus
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The disciples obeyed the command of Jesus
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They got in the boat when He told them to cross to the other
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side of the lake
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Little faith obeys the Lord Jesus
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and little faith prays to the Lord Jesus
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The disciples called on Jesus
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They asked Him for help
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Save us, we are perishing
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So little faith obeys and little faith prays
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and yet little faith still lives in fear
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because little faith
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underestimates
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The ability of Jesus
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You see, it is possible to be an obedient, praying believer
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and still to underestimate
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what Jesus Christ
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is able to do
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That is what little faith does
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And none of us wants to underestimate
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the ability of Jesus
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Now, notice where the story ends
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because here is where we pick up another lesson
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on how to grow in faith
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Verse 26, Matthew records
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Faith grows
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as we get to know Jesus
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walk with him
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learn of him
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look to him
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and your faith will grow
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You know Paul says that he is able to do
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far more abundantly
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above all that we ask
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and even above all that we think
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Little faith believes enough to ask Jesus for help
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Little Faith thinks that God can help
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that is why he or she asks
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But God is able to do far abundantly more
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the little faiths asks or thinks
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He’s able to do far more than any of us here today even thinks
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Walk with him and you will find out what he can do
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Now, the third time that Jesus refers to little faith
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is in Matthew in chapter 14
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And you might like to turn over to that with me now
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This is the story of when Jesus came to his disciples
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walking on the water
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And from this story we learn
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that little faith is easily distracted
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Notice Matthew 14 in verse 31
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Immediately Jesus reached out his hand
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and took hold of him that is Peter
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saying to him,
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Oh you of little faith
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Why did you doubt?
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Now, again this is a story
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that some of us know well
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The disciples were in the boat at night
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and Jesus had gone to a mountain
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on his own in order to pray
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But late in the night
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Jesus came to the disciples
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walking on the water
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00:17:10,339 –> 00:17:11,839
At first the disciples thought
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that they were seeing a ghost
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But Jesus said,
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Take heart, it is I
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Do not be afraid
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And Peter said
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Lord If it is you command me
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To come to you on the water
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00:17:25,239 –> 00:17:26,040
And Jesus said,
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Come
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Peter got out of the boat
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And he walked on the water
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To Jesus
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Now, here we learn something else
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about faith
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Faith takes bold initiatives
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At the command of the Lord Jesus Christ
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When we look at this story
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Peter getting out of the boat
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Our first thought is most likely
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Well, Peter must have had great faith to do that
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I mean, I’m not sure I would have done it
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Would I have got out of the boat?
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Peter must have had great faith to get out of the boat
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00:18:03,339 –> 00:18:06,140
And yet, what Jesus says to him here is
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Oh you have little faith
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Spurgeon suggests that
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Peter’s faith was little from the beginning
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Because
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Little faith is always looking for a sign
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Listen to what he says, I quote
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Little faith is far too eager for signs
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Spurgeon says
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I do not think Peter’s faith suddenly became little
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It was always little
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And the sight of the wind made its littleness apparent
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He continues
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Strong faith is content without signs
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It believes God’s bare word and asks for no confirming
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miracle
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Now, it’s clear from the story then that little faith
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that’s the name by which Jesus addresses Peter here
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Little faith can achieve great things
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But it’s also clear from the story that little faith
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gets easily distracted. Here’s Peter taking what looks
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like this bold initiative of faith.
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He is responding to the invitation of Jesus to come
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but Matthew tells us that when he walked on the water
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he saw the wind. Verse 30, and he was afraid so picture
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this.
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His eyes are on Jesus as he walks towards the master.
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But you see the thing with little faith is it’s easily
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distracted and when he saw the wind, oh, well, then
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he was afraid and he began to sink.
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Now, this is one of the marks of little faith.
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It looks to Jesus and then it looks away to something
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else.
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Now, we’re asking the practical question throughout
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the series, how can my faith grow?
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Well, again from this story, we’ve got another very
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obvious answer.
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And it’s this that faith grows as we worship.
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And that’s where the story ends here.
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Verse 32, when they got into the boat, the wind ceased
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and those in the boat worshiped him saying, Truly,
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you are the son of God.
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Worship is the gaze of the soul upon the Lord Jesus Christ
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and your faith will grow
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as you worship.
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You’ve been listening to Pastor colin smith on.
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Open the Bible and our message today little faith part of the series.
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Growing in faith, hope and love and if you’ve missed any of the series,
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00:21:05,939 –> 00:21:07,739
or if you want to go back and listen again,
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00:21:07,839 –> 00:21:10,439
you can do that by coming online to our website.
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00:21:10,540 –> 00:21:14,140
Open the bible.org.uk.
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00:21:14,140 –> 00:21:18,939
There you can listen to any of the broadcasts that have already gone out on air also on
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00:21:18,939 –> 00:21:21,239
open the bible dog UK,
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00:21:21,239 –> 00:21:26,540
you’ll find open the Bible daily and that’s a series of short two to three minute
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00:21:26,640 –> 00:21:30,239
daily reflections based on Pastor Collins teaching
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00:21:30,239 –> 00:21:32,839
and read in the UK by Sue MacLeish.
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Many people find it’s a great way to start the day.
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The open the Bible website contains
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a number of resources which are designed
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for individual Christians as well as church fellowships.
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For example go to open the bible.org.uk forward slash articles there.
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You’ll find a number of written articles based on Pastor Collins,
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which are designed to help individual Christians
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00:21:58,239 –> 00:22:00,540
with particular issues in their lives.
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00:22:00,640 –> 00:22:03,339
You’ll find articles on subjects such as
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How to overcome your fears
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and what does what your life and doctrine closely actually mean.
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00:22:14,839 –> 00:22:19,540
You can also find Pastor Collins’s sermons on a number of topics.
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00:22:19,739 –> 00:22:23,640
OpentheBible.org.uk forward slash sermons
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takes you straight to that page.
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There you’ll find topics such as
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and
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Each topic takes you to a series of sermons
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00:22:41,239 –> 00:22:44,040
including a video introduction to each.
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00:22:44,140 –> 00:22:46,040
Again to find these resources
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00:22:46,040 –> 00:22:49,040
go to OpentheBible.org.uk
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00:22:49,339 –> 00:22:52,040
and select the menu item sermons.
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00:22:52,739 –> 00:22:55,239
Open the Bible is supported entirely by
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00:22:55,239 –> 00:22:57,040
the generosity of our listeners
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00:22:57,140 –> 00:22:58,439
and we want to thank you
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00:22:58,439 –> 00:23:00,939
for supporting our ministry in that way.
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00:23:01,040 –> 00:23:03,540
If you haven’t previously supported Open the Bible
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00:23:03,540 –> 00:23:05,339
but you’d like to begin doing so
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00:23:05,439 –> 00:23:07,040
we’d like to thank you by
447
00:23:07,040 –> 00:23:09,640
sending you a copy of Kevin de Young’s book
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00:23:09,739 –> 00:23:11,439
Impossible Christianity.
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00:23:11,640 –> 00:23:14,439
It has a very long subtitle.
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00:23:14,939 –> 00:23:16,439
The subtitle is
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00:23:16,640 –> 00:23:18,140
Why following Jesus
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00:23:18,140 –> 00:23:20,640
does not mean you have to change the world
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00:23:20,839 –> 00:23:22,339
be an expert in everything
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00:23:22,540 –> 00:23:24,140
accept spiritual failure
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00:23:24,439 –> 00:23:27,239
and feel miserable pretty much all the time.
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00:23:28,040 –> 00:23:30,239
Colin, how did the book help you?
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00:23:30,439 –> 00:23:33,540
Well, it brought a fresh sense of peace to my soul.
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The problem is that
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sometimes we put burdens on ourselves
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that God never intended us to carry.
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00:23:40,239 –> 00:23:43,339
We all know that we never do anything perfectly
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and that none of us is perfect,
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but what we can lose sight of
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is that it is actually possible
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to live a life that is pleasing to God
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and that acts of faith and hope and love
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00:23:53,939 –> 00:23:56,040
really are pleasing to him.
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00:23:56,239 –> 00:23:59,439
And Kevin DeYoung brings this out in a beautiful way
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00:23:59,640 –> 00:24:02,540
that I think will bring a sense of relief
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00:24:02,739 –> 00:24:05,540
to the souls of many people who read this book.
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00:24:05,540 –> 00:24:06,739
And that’s why I’m really excited
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00:24:06,739 –> 00:24:08,640
that we’re able to share it this month.
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00:24:08,640 –> 00:24:10,739
It was immensely helpful to me
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00:24:11,040 –> 00:24:13,140
and I think that it will be immensely helpful
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00:24:13,140 –> 00:24:14,439
to everyone who reads it
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00:24:14,640 –> 00:24:17,439
especially people who have a tendency
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00:24:17,540 –> 00:24:20,239
to put too great burdens on themselves.
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00:24:20,939 –> 00:24:23,140
Well we want to send you a copy of this book
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00:24:23,140 –> 00:24:24,239
Impossible Christianity
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00:24:24,239 –> 00:24:25,239
by Kevin DeYoung
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00:24:25,739 –> 00:24:27,040
as a way of saying thank you
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00:24:27,040 –> 00:24:29,339
for your financial support this month.
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00:24:29,839 –> 00:24:31,640
If you’re able to set up a new payment
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00:24:31,739 –> 00:24:33,540
of 5 pounds per month or more
485
00:24:33,839 –> 00:24:35,540
to the work of Open the Bible
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00:24:35,540 –> 00:24:37,540
we’d love to send you this book.
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00:24:37,839 –> 00:24:39,939
Full details of this on our website
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00:24:40,140 –> 00:24:41,739
and you can give online.
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00:24:42,239 –> 00:24:44,540
For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith
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00:24:44,540 –> 00:24:45,939
I’m David Pick
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and I hope we’ll see you again next time!
