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If you live for yourself, you are actually both the boss and the servant, you’re kind
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of both sides of the ledger, so to speak. The demands that you set are the demands that
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you must meet. And so you’re always in conflict with yourself.
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Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick. I’m glad you could
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be with us today and Colin, in a world that encourages us to live for ourselves, you’re
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saying that if we do that, the reward is not necessarily what’s promised?
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Yeah, not only will it be disappointing, I mean happiness is absolutely impossible for
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a person who lives for themselves. And I hope to demonstrate why that is in the course of
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the message today. But of course, our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to a life that’s precisely
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the opposite of living for yourself. I mean we have that in 2 Corinthians chapter 5,
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that he, Jesus, died for all that those who live, might no longer live for themselves,
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but for him for their sake died and was raised. So, that’s the life to which we’re called
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and it’s the life in which supreme happiness and joy is going to be found.
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So, let’s hear about that in Romans chapter 12, if you can join us today. As we continue
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the message, love involves sacrifice. Here’s Colin.
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Now, very simply when you became a Christian, you became to be in Christ. And, because you
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are in Christ, what was true of Jesus is also true of you. Jesus died and Jesus rose again.
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When you are in Christ, the same is true of you as well. The person that you were before,
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the person living for himself or herself, died. And you have been raised to a whole
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new life. That is what Paul is referring to here. That you might walk in newness of life.
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Of course, all of this is beautifully expressed in baptism. Going down into the water is
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a sign that the person you were has died. And coming up out of the water is a sign that
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you are now walking in newness of life.
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In Christ, you have already died and risen. Now that’s the principle. And what I want
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us to see today is how it works out in practice.
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First, you can grow in love because having died, you are no longer a slave to yourself.
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What a wonderful truth this is. Because in Christ you have died already, you are no longer
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a slave to yourself and that is why and how you can love.
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You see this very clearly in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5 and verses 14 and 15.
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Notice how Paul speaks about love here, for the love of Christ controls us.
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Because we have concluded this, that one has died for all therefore all have died, and
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he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him
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who for their sake died and was raised.
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Now what a marvelous statement this is, the love of Christ controls us.
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Who would not want to be able to say that, the love of Christ controls me.
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What would that mean?
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Well it would mean that the love of Christ restrains me from speaking a harsh or hurtful
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word.
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It would mean that the love of Christ moves me to care, to bless and support others.
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A life controlled by the love of Christ would be energized, moved, directed, active.
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Love would reach into and touch the lives of other people inasmuch as we are controlled
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by the love of Christ.
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Now how does this come about?
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That’s Paul’s purpose in these verses how is it that a person comes to be controlled
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by the love of Christ?
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Well notice what he says, the love of Christ controls us because we have concluded this
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that one has died for all and therefore all have died.
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You see he’s picking up the same wonderful truth that we just saw in Romans and chapter
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6 that if you are in Christ you have already died.
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And what is the effect of the person you were, already having died?
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Well he says this, that having died they might no longer live for themselves.
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No longer live for themselves.
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No longer.
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So you see living for yourself is actually the default life that’s just how we all start
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out, that’s what we are by nature.
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The Bible says this quite clearly in Philippians chapter 2 verse 21 all seek their own interests
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not those of Jesus Christ.
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Everyone seeks their own interest and unless something changes we all default to living
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for ourselves.
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Now living for yourself might sound attractive but actually if you think about it nothing
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could ever be more miserable.
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Think about this, to live for yourself.
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If you live for yourself, you’re the one that’s doing the living and you’re the one that’s
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being lived for.
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So, if you live for yourself, you are actually both the boss and the servant.
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You’re kind of both sides of the ledger so to speak.
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The demands that you set are the demands that you must meet.
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And, so, you’re always in conflict with yourself.
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If you live for yourself, you’re gonna find yourself constantly in this very strange position
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of beating up on yourself.
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You’re gonna look at your life and self the boss is going to say,
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Well, you should have accomplished more, and then self the servant gets beat up on
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because of underperforming.
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And that goes on until at some point you say,
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Well, this is, I’m not happy. This isn’t working.
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I need to lighten up on myself.
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That thought will occur to you.
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I’m being too hard on myself. I need to give myself a break.
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And, so, now you lighten up on yourself except you’ve still got a problem
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because self the servant gets let off the hook
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and now self the master doesn’t get what he or she wants.
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Living for yourself is an absolute nightmare.
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When you lay it out as the master,
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you end up crushing yourself as the servant.
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And when you lighten up on yourself as the servant,
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you end up being short-changed
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as self the master.
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You can never, never win.
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And what Paul is saying in this marvelous verse
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is that when you come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
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you are actually delivered from the miserable existence
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of living for yourself.
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You’re now a new creation in Christ.
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You’ve been set free from this misery.
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You’ve been brought into a new liberty
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of living for Christ who loved you and gave himself for you.
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And the good news is that a life of saying no
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to self in order to bring blessing to others
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goes with the grain of the new creation
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that you are in Jesus Christ.
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Some of you will know the name of Eric Liddle.
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His story is told in the movie Chariots of Fire.
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Liddle was an Olympic athlete, and he said on one occasion,
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God made me fast.
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And when I run, I feel his pleasure.
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See, running was going with the grain, for Eric Liddle.
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He was made for it.
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No doubt training was hard work for him
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as it would be for anyone else, but God made him fast.
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God made him to run.
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Now, when you are in Christ, you can say,
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God made me to love.
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And when you love, you will feel his pleasure.
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The last thing you want to do as a Christian believer
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is to live for yourself.
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You died to that when you came to be in Christ.
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You’ve risen to a whole new life in the power
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of the Holy Spirit of God.
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And when you love, you are going with the grain of the new life
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that you now enjoy in Jesus Christ.
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When you say, no to self in order
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to bring blessing to others, you are being who you are.
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And that is why you will experience peace and joy
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when you pursue a life of love.
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So we’ll continue to look at how we can
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grow in love in just a moment.
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You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin
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Smith and a message called Love Involves Sacrifice.
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It’s part of our series, Growing in Faith, Hope, and Love.
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And if you’ve missed any of the series
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you can always catch up or go back and listen again online.
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Come to our website, Open the Bible.org.uk.
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There you’ll find all the messages which
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have already been broadcast.
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You can also find us as a podcast.
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And those are on all the major podcast sites.
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Search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe
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to receive regular updates.
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We’re coming up now to the end of the month.
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And so this will be the last opportunity
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to receive our gift for setting up a new payment
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to Open the Bible this month.
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It’s a book called Respectable Sins
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and it’s by Jerry Bridges.
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And I’ll be talking to Colin
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about the book later on in the programme.
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So I hope you’ll stay for that.
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Back to the message now we’re in Romans 12, here’s Colin.
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How can we grow in love?
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You can grow in love
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because having died,
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you are no longer a slave to yourself.
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And then the second thing I want us to see today is this,
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and it’s very wonderful,
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that you can grow in love because having risen
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you enjoy an endless life.
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Now it’s the Apostle John
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who records the scene at the Last Supper
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the night when Jesus was betrayed,
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when Jesus beautifully
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washed the feet of his disciples.
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It was a stunning expression
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of humble serving love.
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How did Jesus do this?
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Especially on the night that he knew he would be betrayed.
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The night that was ahead of all that he suffered?
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Especially because his disciples,
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when they should have known better,
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were getting into a foolish argument
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about who was the greatest.
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And what the Lord Jesus Christ does
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is not thinking of himself.
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He gives himself
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to this marvelous expression
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of humble serving love
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towards his own disciples.
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How did he do it?
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Well John tells us.
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John in chapter 13 in verse 3,
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he says,
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Jesus,
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knowing that he had come from God
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and was going back to God,
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rose from the supper.
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He laid aside his outer garments
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and taking a towel,
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tied it around his waist.
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Now you see what John’s saying.
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Jesus knew what lay ahead of him.
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He knew that he was going back to God.
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He knew that the endless joy of life
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in the presence of the Father
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was what was in store for him.
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And knowing this he was free to serve.
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Put yourself for a moment with me
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in the shoes of someone who does not have eternal life.
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I want you to think about this.
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Your life in this world is the best you will ever know.
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And your life in this world is short.
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And so you are always worried about it slipping away.
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If the only good you’re ever going to enjoy
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is what you get here and now,
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you will live in the constant fear of missing out.
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And with so little life,
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if something should happen in your experience
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that harms or shortens this little life that you have,
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you will feel a sense of ultimate loss.
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All I have is this little stretch of life.
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And now it’s all being spoiled.
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Without eternal life you’re going to be drawn
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into one of two alternatives.
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Either you’re going to throw yourself recklessly
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into a life of indulgence.
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Try everything, eat, drink and be merry
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and for tomorrow we die just live it up.
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Or you’re going to live with a sense of constant fear,
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grasping onto what you have,
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trying desperately not to let it slip through your fingers.
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But brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ,
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we have life everlasting, everlasting.
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Life inexhaustible, never ending,
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pleasures greater by far than anything that we can know
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in this life and in this world at its very best.
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They are stored up forever and forever
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for you in the presence of the Father.
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And knowing this puts you
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in an entirely different position
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throughout the days and months and years
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of your life in this world.
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When you know you have eternal life,
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you can offer yourself as a living sacrifice.
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You can give yourself to the service of others,
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you can offer yourself
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into the hands of the Lord, Jesus Christ,
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and knowing his love for you,
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that is precisely what you will want to do.
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When you know that having risen you enjoy an endless life,
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you will be delivered from the haunting fear
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of missing out.
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And if the life that you had hoped to enjoy
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is in some way harmed or spoiled
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or unexpectedly shortened,
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you will grieve,
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You will grieve,
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but you will do this
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knowing that you have an endless life
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of unclouded joy that stretches eternally
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in front of you.
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And that makes all the difference in the world.
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How can I grow in love?
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Well, as we saw last week,
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we can grow in love because we are loved.
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And today we’re adding
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these two further marvelous answers to this question.
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You can grow in love because having died,
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you are no longer a slave to yourself.
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And you can grow in love because having risen,
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you enjoy an endless life.
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Mm.
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Some of you will know the name of Amy Carmichael
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a marvelous lady who served the Lord Jesus Christ
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as a missionary in India for 55 years,
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an extraordinary life of love.
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Amy Carmichael wrote an extended meditation
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on what she called Calvary love.
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That is love that sacrifices,
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that’s what Jesus did when he laid down his life
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at Calvary.
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Let me read just seven sentences
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from what Amy Carmichael wrote.
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‘-‘If I have not compassion on my fellow servant,
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even as my Lord had pity on me,
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then I know nothing of Calvary love.”
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If I can easily discuss the shortcomings
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and the sins of others,
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then I know nothing of Calvary love.
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If I can write an unkind letter,
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speak an unkind word,
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think an unkind thought without grief and shame,
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then I know nothing of Calvary love.
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If my thoughts revolve around myself,
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if I am so occupied with myself
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that I rarely have a hart at leisure from itself,
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then I know nothing of Calvary love.
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If I do not give a friend the benefit of the doubt,
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but put the worst construction instead of the best
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on what is said or done,
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then I know nothing of Calvary love.
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If I take offence easily,
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if I’m content to continue in a cool unfriendliness,
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though friendship be possible,
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then I know nothing of Calvary love.
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If I say, yes, I forgive, but I cannot forget
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as though the God who twice a day washes all the sands
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on all the shores of all the world
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could not wash such memories from my mind
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then I know nothing of Calvary love.
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Our series has been entitled, growing in love.
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So I want to close it by saying it this way.
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Grow in love and you will be patient.
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Grow in love and you will be kind.
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Grow in love and you will always have hope.
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Grow in love and you will be freed from resentment.
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Grow in love and you will be able to forgive.
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Grow in love and you will deny yourself.
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Grow in love and you will take up your cross.
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Grow in love and you will be a disciple of Jesus.
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Grow in love and you will shine like a light
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in this world.
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Pastor Colin, wrapping up our message today,
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Love Involves Sacrifice,
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it’s the last message in our series,
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How To Grow In Faith, Hope and Love.
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And if you’ve missed any of the series so far,
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do come online to our website openthebible.org.uk.
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And there you can listen to any of the messages
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which have already gone out on air.
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And don’t forget you can also find us as a podcast.
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Many people find that’s an easier way
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to access Pastor Colin’s teaching.
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Those are 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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Also on our website and available as a podcast,
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you’ll find Open the Bible Daily.
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That’s a series of short two to three minute reflections
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with a new one every day based on Pastor Colin’s teaching
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and read in the UK by Sue McLeish.
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Many Christians find it’s a great way to start the day.
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So if you aren’t already listening
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to Open the Bible Daily, why not give it a try?
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Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners.
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That’s ordinary people just like you.
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If you appreciate Open the Bible’s ministry
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and you’d like to support us in this way
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but you haven’t yet done so,
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can I encourage you to begin a donation this month
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to Open the Bible?
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If you’re able to support Open the Bible
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with a direct debit of five pounds per month or more
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or a single donation of 50 pounds or more,
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we’d love to say thank you
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by sending you a copy of Jerry Bridge’s book,
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Respectable Sins.
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Colin, we know what sin is,
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but what in the world is respectable sin?
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It’s a fascinating title for a book, isn’t it?
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Jerry Bridge’s point is that there are some sins
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that are so despicable
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that we immediately recognize them as things
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that we would never touch or go near
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but there are other things that are displeasing to God
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and are equally sins
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that we may be tempted to accommodate in our lives
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and perhaps not even recognize them as sins,
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which they are
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and what’s so helpful is that Jerry actually lists these.
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He has a short chapter on any number of them including
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anger, frustration, discontent, un-thankfulness,
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pride, selfishness, lack of self-control,
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impatience, irritability, judgmentalism, envy, jealousy.
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I mean the list goes on
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but what he does is he identifies them,
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speaks about why they’re sins,
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why they’re displeasing to God,
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why they bring destruction in our lives
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and how we can fight against them
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and begin to prevail over them.
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So this is a wonderful book for anyone
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who wants to grow in likeness to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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I have found it immensely helpful.
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It’s a book I’ve gone back to many times
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and that’s why I’m really pleased
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that we’re able to commend it to others this month.
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Well, Jerry Bridges’ book Respectable Sins
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is our gift to you.
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When you were 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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For Open The Bible and Pastor Colin Smith
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I’m David Pick and I hope you’ll join us again next time.
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Caption card reads Open The Bible
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The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Son of God
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and Christians will affirm that.
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But what does Son of God actually mean?
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Find out next time on Open The Bible
