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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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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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but they came to a point in their lives where they knew that they had to grow in their faith.
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Welcome to Open the Bible with pastor Colin Smith.
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I’m David Pick. Glad you could make it today.
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Colin, do you think every believer will come to the point at some time where they need to pray that prayer?
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Absolutely. I mean, what happens in life is that you are going along
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and it seems that things are okay, and then suddenly
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you find yourself confronted by a situation that you had not known before.
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It may be to do with health. It may be a crisis in a relationship.
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It may be a loss. It may be something to do with employment.
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Suddenly you find yourself saying, you know, I thought I was doing fine,
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but now I’m in a position where I know I really need more help.
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Lord increase my faith, and I’m sure of that’s where the disciples where,
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when they made that famous prayer, it’s a wonderful, wonderful prayer
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and that’s what we’re looking at today.
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The reality is that we do need to grow in faith and the question is how?
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And we’re going to continue to see some of the strategies
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as we grow in faith, as we confront some of the greatest challenges
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that we face in life.
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Well, let’s hear more about that.
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Were in Matthew Chapter 6 as we continue the message
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little faith, here’s Colin.
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Faith grows as we get to know Jesus.
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Walk with him, learn of him, 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 far more abundantly
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above all that we ask, 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, that is why he or she asks.
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But God is able to do far abundantly more than little faith 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 is in Matthew 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 walking on the water,
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and from this story we learn that little faith is easily distracted.
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Notice Matthew 14 and verse 31.
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Now again this is a story 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 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 walking on the water.
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At first the disciples thought that they were seeing a ghost
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but Jesus said, take heart it is I, do not be afraid.
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And Peter said, Lord of it’s you command me
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to come to you on the water and Jesus said, come.
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Peter got out of the boat
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and he walked on the water to Jesus.
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Now here we learn something else 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, 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’ve had great faith to get out of the boat
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and yet what Jesus says to him here is,
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oh, you of little faith.
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Spurgeon suggests that Peter’s faith
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was little from the beginning
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because little faith is always looking for a sign.
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Listen to what he says,
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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
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”and asks for no confirming miracle.”
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Now, it’s clear from this story then
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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 this story
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that little faith gets easily distracted.
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Here’s Peter taking what looks like
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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.
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So picture this, his eyes on Jesus
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as he walks towards the master.
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But you see, the thing with little faith
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is it’s easily distracted.
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And when he saw the wind, oh, well then he was afraid
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and it 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 else.
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Now, we’re asking the practical question
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throughout this series, how can my faith grow?
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Well, again, from this story
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we’ve got another very 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,
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the wind ceased and those in the boat worshiped him saying,
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”Truly 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 as you worship.
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Now the fourth time that Jesus speaks about little faith
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is in Matthew chapter 16.
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And again, you might like to turn there.
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And here we see that little faith
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forgets what Jesus has done.
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Matthew 16 in verse 8.
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But Jesus aware of this said,
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Oh, you of little faith,
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why are you discussing among yourselves
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the fact that you have no bread.
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Now, the context of this here
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is that Jesus had said to the disciples
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in verse six,
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watch and beware of the leaven
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of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
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And Matthew tells us that on that particular day,
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the disciples had forgotten to pack lunch.
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They had forgotten to bring bread.
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And so when Jesus referred to leaven,
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they thought that he was raising the subject of lunch.
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Did he say leaven?
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Oh, no, we’ve forgotten the bread, oh.
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We should have brought some lunch.
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Yes says one of the disciples,
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why did he say beware of the leaven of the Pharisees?
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Oh says another, well,
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maybe he’s saying that we shouldn’t be asking
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the Pharisees to give us bread,
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I mean they did give alms,
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they did give help to people who were in need.
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Maybe Jesus is saying, don’t ask them.
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No, no, no, says someone else,
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maybe he’s saying that we shouldn’t eat
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with the Pharisees,
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because we are not walking in fellowship
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with them and so forth.
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Their conversation was all about food,
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and Jesus says verse eight,
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oh, you of little faith.
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Why are you discussing among yourselves
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the fact that you have no bread?
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And then he says verse nine,
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do you not remember?
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And he reminds them of how he fed 5,000 people
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with five loaves and two fish,
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multiplying them so that all the people
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had plenty to eat with 12 baskets left over.
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And how on another occasion,
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he did something very similar
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with a crowd of about 4,000 people.
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Verse nine, do you not remember
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Little faith forgets what Jesus has done.
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And this points us surely to another way
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in which faith grows.
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Faith grows as we remember the words
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and the works of Jesus.
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That’s how faith grows.
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And this is why the Lord’s supper
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is such a marvelous gift
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for the strengthening of our faith.
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Faith grows as we fix our minds and our hearts
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on what Jesus has done.
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And this is why a daily diet of the Word of God
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is so vital to a growing faith.
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Little faith forgets what Jesus has done
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but faith grows as it is nourished
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by the Word of God.
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You are listening to Open the Bible
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with Pastor Colin Smith.
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We’ll pause the message briefly there
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but we’ll be back in a moment.
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Our message today is called Little Faith
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and it’s part of our series
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Growing in Faith, Hope and Love.
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And if you ever miss any of the series
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don’t forget you can always catch up
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or go back and listen again
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online, come to our website openthebible.org.uk
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and there you can hear any of the messages
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which have already gone out on air.
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You can also find us as a podcast
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and those are available on all the favourite podcast sites.
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Just search for Open the Bible UK
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Back to the message now,
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we’re in Matthew Chapter 6 here’s Colin.
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And then the fifth and the last time
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that Jesus referred to little faith
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is found in the next chapter Matthew and Chapter 17.
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And here we learn that little faith
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gives up too soon.
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Notice verse 19 and 20 of this passage.
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The disciples came to Jesus privately and said,
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why could we not cast it out?
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And he said to them because of your little faith.
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Now, the story here is that Jesus
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had gone up on the mountain with Peter, James and John,
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where his glory was revealed in the Transfiguration.
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The other nine disciples were left behind
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at the bottom of the mountain.
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And while Jesus was gone,
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a man whose son was possessed by an evil spirit
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came to the disciples and asked them for help.
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Now, the disciples had been in situations like this before.
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Much earlier, the gospels tell us
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that Jesus had sent them out.
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In Mark in chapter six and verse seven,
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we read these words that Jesus gave them authority
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over unclean spirits.
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And Mark tells us that they cast out many demons
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and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
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So these disciples had been successful many times
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in bringing deliverance to people
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who were oppressed by evil powers,
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but on this occasion, they were unable to help.
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And this man brought his afflicted son.
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I expect that the disciples said and did
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what they had said and done before,
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but this time, nothing happened,
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and they were perplexed.
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Why is this?
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And I expect they were embarrassed as well.
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Jesus came down the mountain,
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and Jesus immediately delivered the boy
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from the evil power that had afflicted him,
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but I want you to notice what happened next, verse 19.
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Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said,
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why could we not cast it out?
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Well, that’s the question.
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And of course, this is a problem
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that all of us will recognize.
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Here we find ourselves today,
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we’re surrounded in so many ways by great evil
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that manifests itself in all kinds of ways.
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And the church seems powerless.
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People say, why can’t the church do something about it?
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Why could we not cast it out?
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That’s the question.
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And Jesus says, because of your little faith.
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Now you read that and you think,
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wow, what he’s saying is, you need greater faith.
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If only you had stronger faith.
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If only you believed more,
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then you would have been successful
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in dealing with this problem.
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But I want you to notice that is not what Jesus is saying
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because in the very next verse, verse 20,
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he says, truly I say to you,
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if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed,
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that’s the smallest of all seeds.
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If you have, in other words, even the littlest faith,
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you will say to this mountain,
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move from here to there, and it will move,
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and nothing will be impossible for you.
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We see very clearly what Jesus is saying there in verse 20
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is that even the smallest faith can move mountains,
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even little faith can see great things happen.
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And we saw that already in the story of Peter
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who had a little faith walking on the water.
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So why were the disciples not able to deliver the boy
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from the evil power that afflicted him?
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But if you look at your Bible very closely
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you will see that there is a footnote here
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and the footnote reads,
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some manuscripts insert verse 21,
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but this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting.
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Now, whether or not
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that was originally part of Matthew’s gospel,
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for sure it is recorded in the gospel of Mark.
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Mark chapter nine and verse 29.
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And fasting in its nature
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is something that you do over a period of time.
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You can’t fast for five or 10 minutes.
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You do it over a period of time.
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That’s the point.
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And it seems to me that when Jesus says,
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Oh, you of little faith here,
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he’s saying, you’ve given up too soon.
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Even with a little faith,
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even with faith as small as a grain of mustard seed,
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you would have been successful if you had persevered,
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but that’s what you didn’t do.
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When there’s a difficult passage of scripture to understand,
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and this one isn’t easy to understand,
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it’s helpful to be able to look at some commentaries.
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What have people who are wiser than us
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being able to see and discern?
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And I’ve found great help after meditating on this myself
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just to check what John Calvin said
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and to find that this is actually the point that he makes.
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He says this,
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when Satan has taken deep root in anyone
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and has been confirmed by long possession,
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the victory is difficult and painful,
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and therefore the contest must be maintained,
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maintained, continued, with all of our might.
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So I’m convinced that Jesus’ critique of the disciples here
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is not that their faith was too small,
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because He says even faith like a grain of mustard seed
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would move mountains.
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His critique is that they gave up too soon.
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Here’s the application for us, and it’s very obvious.
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When you are faced with great evil,
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when you find yourself in a struggle with great darkness,
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keep praying.
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Keep fasting.
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Keep seeking the face and the help of God.
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If you have a loved one who seems trapped
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by the power of the enemy,
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and it’s been like this for a long time,
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don’t give up hope.
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Remember that Jesus said
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that we ought always to pray and not to lose heart.
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Someone here today has been fighting
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a particular temptation.
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And that battle for you has been hard,
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and it’s been quite discouraging
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and now you’re tempted to say,
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oh, it’s no use, I can’t overcome this.
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I want you to hear the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ to you.
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Oh, you of little faith.
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You’re giving up too soon.
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Understand that some victories
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are only won after a long and hard struggle.
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Stay in the battle and your faith
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will grow as you persevere.
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So here from the scriptures,
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we have seen five reasons for growing in faith.
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Why should we individually and together
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be praying and crying out to the Lord Jesus Christ,
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Lord increase our faith.
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Why should we own that?
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Why should we pursue that together?
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Well, we want to grow in faith
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because little faith is ineffective against anxiety.
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Little faith underestimates the ability of Jesus.
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Little faith is just so easily distracted,
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little faith forgets what Jesus has done
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and little faith gives up too soon
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and none of us wants to be content to remain there.
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And from these stories, we’ve seen five strategies
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for growing in faith,
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faith grows as we seek God’s kingdom,
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faith grows as we get to know Jesus,
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faith grows as we worship,
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faith grows as it is nourished by the word
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and faith grows as we persevere.
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May God grant that we will grow in faith.
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That’s a tremendous idea and also makes a great prayer
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that God would increase our 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 our message today, Little Faith,
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part of the series, Growing in Faith, Hope and Love.
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And if you miss any of the series
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00:22:19,979 –> 00:22:21,439
or if you want to listen again,
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00:22:21,439 –> 00:22:24,959
just come to our website, openthebible.org.uk.
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Also you can find us as a podcast,
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if that’s a better way for you to keep up
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with Pastor Colin’s teaching.
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And those are available on all the major podcasting sites
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or by following a link from our website.
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If you’re looking for it on a podcast site,
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search for Open the Bible UK
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Also on our website and available as a podcast
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is Open the Bible Daily,
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00:22:50,239 –> 00:22:54,040
and that’s a series of short two to three minute reflections
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00:22:54,060 –> 00:22:56,099
based on Pastor Colin’s teaching
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00:22:56,099 –> 00:22:59,060
read in the UK by Sue McLeish.
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00:22:59,060 –> 00:23:02,280
At Open the Bible we welcome contact with our listeners,
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you can email us by using the contact form on our website.
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You can write to us at,
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Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners,
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and if that’s something you’re considering doing
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00:23:30,640 –> 00:23:31,719
this month,
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00:23:31,719 –> 00:23:34,099
we’d like to thank you by sending you a copy
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00:23:34,099 –> 00:23:36,920
of Kevin de Jong’s book, Impossible Christianity.
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00:23:36,920 –> 00:23:39,920
Colin, who would you say this book is for?
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00:23:39,920 –> 00:23:42,640
Well, you get a flavour of what this book is about
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from its subtitle.
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Now its really long.
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So, are you ready?
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Why following Jesus does not mean
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that 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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00:23:57,500 –> 00:24:00,479
and feel miserable pretty much all of the time.
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00:24:00,479 –> 00:24:03,439
And it really points to what the book is all about.
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00:24:03,439 –> 00:24:06,599
That sometimes we put burdens on ourselves
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00:24:06,599 –> 00:24:09,599
that God never intended us to carry,
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00:24:09,599 –> 00:24:11,599
and that’s, hence, the reason for the title,
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00:24:11,599 –> 00:24:12,959
Impossible Christianity.
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00:24:12,959 –> 00:24:15,599
We put burdens on ourselves
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00:24:15,599 –> 00:24:17,979
that were never given to us by God.
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00:24:17,979 –> 00:24:20,479
And one of the wonderful things about this,
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00:24:20,479 –> 00:24:23,260
I find reading it was just liberating.
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00:24:23,260 –> 00:24:26,760
It brought a sense of fresh peace to my soul,
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00:24:26,760 –> 00:24:29,180
that it is possible to live a life
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00:24:29,180 –> 00:24:31,520
that is pleasing to God,
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and that this is the life
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into which the Lord Jesus Christ himself leads us.
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00:24:36,000 –> 00:24:38,760
Well, we’d love to send you a copy of Kevin de Jong’s book,
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00:24:38,760 –> 00:24:41,959
Impossible Christianity as a thank-you gift
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00:24:41,959 –> 00:24:45,239
for setting up a new payment to the work of Open The Bible
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00:24:45,239 –> 00:24:48,560
in the amount of five pounds per month or more.
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00:24:48,560 –> 00:24:50,079
That offer runs all this month,
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00:24:50,819 –> 00:24:52,520
and you can find details on our website
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00:24:52,520 –> 00:24:55,400
at openthebible.org.uk
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00:24:55,400 –> 00:24:57,339
You can also give online.
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For Open The Bible and pastor Colin Smith.
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I’m David Pick, and I hope you’ll be able
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to join us again next time on Open The Bible.
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♪♪
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The Apostle said to Jesus,
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Increase our faith
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Now, if the Apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith,
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shouldn’t we do the same?
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Find out next time on Open The Bible.
