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Duo
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I am wholly persuaded
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that the greatest need of the church today
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is a fresh outpouring of faith, hope, and love.
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Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith.
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I’m David Pick and we’re in a series called
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Growing in Faith, Hope and Love.
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And Colin, today we’re focusing on love,
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yes, and love being the one that is of supreme value.
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The apostle makes it very clear that there are three things that remain.
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Everything else is going to pass away,
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but faith, hope and love will remain,
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and that is why they are of supreme value.
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But he then says the greatest of these is love.
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So here is the thing that we must pursue.
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We can’t talk about it too much.
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It’s outlined for us here in First Corinthians, in Chapter 13,
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where Paul goes through the many gifts and achievements
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that we may have in our lives.
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People are able to accomplish remarkable things.
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But the thing that really matters, the apostle says,
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is are we growing in love?
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That’s our focus today.
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Join us, if you can, in One Corinthians, Chapter 13.
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As we continue our message,
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Love is our Distinct Calling.
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Here’s Colin.
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I’ve been reading this story of William Wilberforce,
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a member of the British Parliament
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in the 18th and early 19th century
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who proposed legislation to abolish slavery.
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He was defeated 11 times over a period of 20 years.
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But by God’s grace,
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he overcame that mountain of opposition
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and was finally blessed with wonderful success.
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Wilberforce had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
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and God used him
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to move a mountain.
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Now some people, like Wilberforce,
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are drawn to the hardest tasks,
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and if that’s you, it’s a very wonderful gift indeed.
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Some people have a special kind of faith
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that enables them to believe
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that a mountain can be overcome.
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And if God has given you that kind of gift,
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I want to encourage you,
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find the mountain that he is calling you to move
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and then give yourself to moving it, by faith,
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even if it takes the whole of your life
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to see it happen.
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But remember this.
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That every gift brings
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its own unique temptation,
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and the obvious temptation
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to those who accomplish great things
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is the temptation to pride.
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The feeling that what has been accomplished
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was the result of your own power.
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James Denny gives this warning to pastors
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as well as to those who are successful in business.
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Let me quote what he says.
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The sense may steel upon a man’s mind
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that his commanding personality
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is that to which circumstances yield.
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His practical capacity
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is that which transmits force
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and sees that work is done.
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And when that happens Denny says,
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all is lost.
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If you think
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that the moving of a mountain was ultimately
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your personality, your force, your power,
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rather than that God in His marvelous grace
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used you to do it,
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you’ve lost everything.
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That’s what Denny’s saying
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and that’s what the Apostle Paul is saying here.
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If I have all faith
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so as to remove mountains
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but have not love,
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I am nothing.
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Nothing.
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Love
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is what enables a person to achieve great things
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and then still to serve with humility.
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Love reminds a believer
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that his calling to move one mountain
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may not be the calling of another believer
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who may be called to move another mountain.
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And love will enable you to find joy
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in the achievements of others
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as much as you find joy
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in the achievements of your own.
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And then fifthly,
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Paul identifies this gift of unusual generosity.
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Look at what he says,
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if I give, verse three, all I have,
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not a tenth, not even half,
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if I give everything, all that I have.
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This is what Jesus called the rich young ruler to do.
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And he couldn’t do it.
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He wasn’t offering himself to do it
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because he didn’t have love.
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Paul says, if I give all that I have.
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Now, God calls all of us to be generous,
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but some people have a special calling
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and a special ability in this regard.
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And if God has put it into your heart to be generous,
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be as generous as you possibly can.
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But remember that every gift carries
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its own hidden temptation.
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And the temptation to those who give generously
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is that it is possible to give simply as a matter of duty.
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It’s possible to give in order to make an impression.
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It’s possible to give as a means of exercise and control.
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You can give without love.
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And Paul says, if I give all that I have and have not love,
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I gain nothing.
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But you see, growing in love is what
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will enable you to give with freedom and with joy.
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And your reward will be very great.
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The Apostle Paul says in 2nd Corinthians,
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the next letter in the New Testament,
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whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly.
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And whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
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Sow bountifully, because your heart is growing in love.
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Grow in love, and you will sow bountifully.
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And then the last gift that Paul identifies here
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is the gift of courageous commitment.
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Look at what he says.
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And if I deliver up my body to be burned.
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Now, Paul is describing here the courage
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of believers who pay the ultimate price of laying down
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their own lives for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Believers have faced persecution,
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from the earliest times, and around the world,
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many still do today.
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Some have died, and still die, horrible and painful deaths.
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And no one could possibly do this
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without being given a special gift of strength
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to meet the unique challenge of this particular calling.
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Now, God may have called you to an unusual level of sacrifice
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and of commitment.
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And if that is the case,
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give yourself to what God has called you to do,
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irrespective of the cost,
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knowing that God will give to you all that you need
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to fulfill all that he has called you to do.
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But, remember that it is possible to make great sacrifices without love.
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And the obvious temptation for those whose sacrifices have been great
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is to resent those whose paths in life have been easier.
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I remember very vividly hearing from a pastor
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in a country in Eastern Europe who told me that the greatest difficulty
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that the churches faced after the fall of communism was
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the tension that emerged between church leaders
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who had been imprisoned during the communist time
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and others who had not.
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And you can understand this.
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We took a costly stand, where were you when we were in jail?
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Why were you with us?
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Why didn’t you take the same stand as we did?
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But, you see, what is the point in taking a costly stand
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if you cannot love your own brother who chose a different path?
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If I deliver my body up to be burned,
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the apostle says,
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but have not love,
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I gain nothing.
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Nothing.
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And what a tragedy it would be
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to make great sacrifices for the Lord Jesus Christ
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and gain nothing from it.
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Now, this temptation to resent people
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who choose an easier path than the one that you walk
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may actually be closer to home than some of us might think.
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The more committed you become,
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the more you will be tempted to resent those
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who don’t show the same measure of commitment that you do,
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but it is love that will set you free
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from this kind of resentment.
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It is love that will enable you to say,
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what I do, I do for the Lord Jesus Christ
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and for his people and though it be costly,
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I have no regrets.
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Love will enable you to say that.
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Courageous commitment is a marvelous gift,
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but only if it is exercised
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with love.
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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 is
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Love is our Distinct Calling.
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It’s part of our series Growing in Faith, Hope and Love
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and if you ever miss one of the series
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or if you want to go back and listen again,
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you can do that by coming online to our website,
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OpenTheBible.org.uk,
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there you can hear any of our previously broadcastess.
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You can also find us as a podcast
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on your favorite podcast site,
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search for Open The Bible UK.
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Open the Bible is supported by our listeners,
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that’s people just like you.
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If that’s something you’re considering doing,
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this month we’d like to make an offer.
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If you are able to set up a new regular donation
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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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we’d love to thank you
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by sending you a copy of the book, Respectable Sins.
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I’ll be talking to Colin more about the book
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and what it means to him later in the program.
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Back to the message now, we’re in 1 Corinthians 13,
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here’s Colin.
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I had originally intended to try and speak
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from the whole of 1 Corinthians in chapter 13 today,
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but there’s just so much in these first three verses
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that I’ve decided to leave the rest for next week
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and we’ll come back to it then.
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So let me in these remaining minutes
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try to press this home into our hearts.
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The main point of the message today
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is that whatever our gifts we all need to grow in love.
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I wonder if you noticed that these verses
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written by the Apostle Paul
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are framed in the first person.
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Paul says, if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,
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but have not love,
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I am a noisy gong, or a clanging cymbal.’
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And, you know, the Apostle gives us
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a rather marvelous example
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of expressing oneself in love
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by the way that he puts this.
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A less thoughtful person would say,
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if you speak with the tongues of men and angels,
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and if you don’t have love,
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well, you know what?
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You are just a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal,
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but the Apostle Paul doesn’t say it like that.
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He offers himself as an example
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of someone who would gain nothing, be nothing
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if he did not have love.
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And so, now the more I think about this,
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the more staggering it seems to me that it is.
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Think about Paul’s speaking.
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God used this man’s gift of speaking
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more than any other person to spread the gospel
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across the entire ancient Roman world,
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and it happened with extraordinary effect.
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And then think about this man’s spiritual experience.
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He saw the glory of the risen Lord
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who appeared to him on the road to Damascus.
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It would be hard to imagine
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a more remarkable spiritual experience than that.
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And then think about this man’s brilliant mind.
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I mean, he was trained in the School of Gamaliel,
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one of the best schools that anyone could have gone to
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at the time and his natural gifts
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were heightened even further
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by the work of the Holy Spirit,
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opening his eyes to the meaning of Scripture
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and to the mystery of the gospel.
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And think about the Apostle Paul’s extraordinary achievement.
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I mean, planting churches across the Roman Empire
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in the face of relentless hostility and opposition.
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This man was used by God to move mountains.
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He really was.
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And think about his generosity.
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The Apostle Paul gave himself
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to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ freely.
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He often worked as a tent maker by day,
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then giving himself to ministry at night.
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Why?
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So that he did not have to impose
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a financial burden on newly formed churches
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by asking people to support him.
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Then think about this man’s courage.
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Shipwrecked.
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Beaten with rods.
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Repeatedly arrested and imprisoned.
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You could hardly have a more gifted,
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committed, generous, courageous person
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than the Apostle Paul, and yet he says,
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if I speak with the tongues of men
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and of angels, but have not love.
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I am a noisy gong,
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and a clanging cymbal.
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And if I have prophetic powers
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and understand all mysteries and have all knowledge.
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If I have faith that can move mountains,
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but I have not love,
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well, I am nothing.
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The Apostle Paul.
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And if I gave all that I have
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and deliver up my body to be burned,
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if I make the ultimate sacrifice itself
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and have not love, I gain nothing.
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The Apostle Paul gaining nothing.
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And friends, if this was true for him,
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how much more true is it for me and for us?
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The message today is really very simple.
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I am asking you to join me in seeking to grow in love.
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In love.
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I am wholly persuaded
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that the greatest need of the church today
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is a fresh outpouring of faith, hope and love.
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And in as much as that happens,
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the world will see something radically different
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that could only have come from the hand of Jesus.
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You may be wondering where could I find love like this?
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Maybe you’re thinking, I’ve never been loved like this.
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Maybe the very mention of the word love
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makes you feel something that you lack.
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I’ve never been loved like this.
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Oh, yes you have.
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I want you to remember today that the man
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who wrote these words was once an angry, violent man.
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He lived with a passion for his own particular issue
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and he hated everyone who disagreed with him, hated.
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How did love come into his life?
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Well, he tells us in Galatians in chapter two in verse 20,
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The son of God loved me
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and gave himself for me.
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And the knowledge of that love of Jesus Christ
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for this man transformed him from the inside out
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and the same love of the Lord Jesus Christ
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can change you too.
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Love is at the heart
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of all that God calls us to do for Him.
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And love is at the heart
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of all that God has done for us.
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God shows his own love for us in this,
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that while we were still sinners,
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Christ died for us.
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In this is love,
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not that we loved God, which of course we didn’t,
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but that he loved us.
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And he sent his son,
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to be the propitiating sacrifice for our sins.
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God so loved the world that he gave his only son,
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that whoever believes in Him,
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should not perish,
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but have eternal life.
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You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith
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and I hope that you
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have experienced the love of God
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that Colin’s talking about there.
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Why not contact us and tell us about your Christian journey.
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At Open the Bible, we welcome contact with our listeners.
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If you’ve been blessed by Pastor Colin Smith’s teaching
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00:22:00,900 –> 00:22:02,859
and you’d like to reach out to us,
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there are several ways you can do that.
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You can write to us at
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OPEN THE BIBLE POWOX 1420 CHELTENHAM GL50 9PG
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or you can phone us on 0330 335 8089.
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If we’re not available when you call,
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leave a message for us and we’ll return your call.
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And you can find all those contact details on our website
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www.openthebible.org.uk
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Today’s message was called
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Love is Our Distinct Calling.
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It’ part of a series called
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Growing in Faith, Hope and Love
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and if you’ve missed any of the series
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or if you want to go back and listen again
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don’t forget you can always do that
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by coming online to our website
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www.openthebible.org.uk
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You can also find us as a podcast
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go to your favourite podcast site
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and search for Open The Bible UK
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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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00:23:07,739 –> 00:23:09,339
and you’d like to support us in this way
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but haven’t 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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00:23:15,540 –> 00:23:18,020
If you are able to support Open The Bible
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00:23:18,020 –> 00:23:21,540
with a direct debit of £5 per month or more
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00:23:21,540 –> 00:23:24,420
or a single donation of £50 or more
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We’d love to say thank you
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By sending you a copy of Jerry Bridges book
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Respectable Sins
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Colin we know what sin is
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but what in the world is respectable sin?
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00:23:37,020 –> 00:23:39,739
It’s a fascinating title for a book isn’t it
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Jerry Bridges point is
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that there are some sins
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that are so despicable
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that we immediately recognise them as things
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that we would never touch or go near
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but there are other things
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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 recognise them as sins
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which they are
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and what’s so helpful
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is that Jerry actually lists these
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he has a short chapter
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on any number of them
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and including
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anger, frustration,
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discontent, un-thankfulness,
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00:24:15,420 –> 00:24:16,400
pride,
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00:24:16,400 –> 00:24:17,300
selfishness,
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00:24:17,300 –> 00:24:18,520
lack of self-control,
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00:24:18,520 –> 00:24:19,319
impatience,
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00:24:19,319 –> 00:24:20,219
irritability,
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00:24:20,219 –> 00:24:21,040
judgementalism,
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00:24:21,040 –> 00:24:22,079
envy, jealousy
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I mean the list goes on
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so 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
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for anyone who wants to grow in likeness
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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, Gerry Bridges book
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Respectable Sins is our gift to you
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when you are able to set up a new direct debit
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00:25:00,099 –> 00:25:01,900
to the work of Open The Bible
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00:25:01,900 –> 00:25:04,920
in the amount of £5 per month or more
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00:25:04,920 –> 00:25:08,540
or, a single donation of £50
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For Open The Bible, and Pastor Colin Smith
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I’m David Pick
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and I hope you’ll join us again next time
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1 Corinthians 13 is all about love
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and it’s often read at weddings
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Find out what it means for you
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next time on Open The Bible
