100:00:00,920 –> 00:00:07,520if you drive tomorrow down the expressway in anger at everyone else200:00:07,520 –> 00:00:11,000come into your office bark at your secretary, grumble over your pile of300:00:11,000 –> 00:00:14,420papers on your desk make life generally miserable for everyone around you400:00:14,420 –> 00:00:18,700don’t expect that you will experience much of the love of God500:00:18,700 –> 00:00:23,500welcome to open the Bible with pastor Colin Smith I’m David Pick. I’m glad you600:00:23,500 –> 00:00:25,160could join us today and Colin700:00:25,160 –> 00:00:29,540I expect most of us have had days like that maybe not everything but certainly800:00:29,740 –> 00:00:30,260some of them900:00:30,260 –> 00:00:32,759well perhaps one of these things hopefully not all of them1000:00:32,759 –> 00:00:36,180Imagine this guy going around like a beer with a sore head1100:00:36,180 –> 00:00:38,060that making everybody absolutely miserable you know1200:00:39,060 –> 00:00:41,000and we’re looking at what Jude says keep1300:00:41,000 –> 00:00:45,259yourselves in the love of God that’s a huge statement1400:00:45,259 –> 00:00:49,439now he’s not saying keep God loving you it’s not that I need to do something to1500:00:49,439 –> 00:00:54,360keep God loving me the love of God streams towards his children and of1600:00:54,360 –> 00:00:59,139course Jude is writing to Christian believers but he is making it clear that1700:00:59,139 –> 00:01:01,540if we are living in the kind of way that1800:01:01,540 –> 00:01:06,459perhaps in an exaggerated fashion I tried to describe don’t expect to be1900:01:06,459 –> 00:01:12,099experiencing much of the love of God in terms of your experience as that day2000:01:12,099 –> 00:01:17,279rolls on or as it comes to an end it does make a difference how I live and I2100:01:17,279 –> 00:01:21,379want to live so that there is free course for the love of God to be running2200:01:21,379 –> 00:01:25,339into and through my soul and out into the lives of other people as well2300:01:25,339 –> 00:01:28,839so in today’s message we’re going to look at some things we can do to keep2400:01:28,900 –> 00:01:33,900experiencing God’s love so join us if you can in the book of Jude as we2500:01:33,900 –> 00:01:37,980continue the message remaining God’s love here is Colin when you were2600:01:37,980 –> 00:01:43,660tempted to doubt God’s love for you call to mind the unchangeable and2700:01:43,660 –> 00:01:49,360indisputable and overwhelming evidence of God’s love for you in the Lord Jesus2800:01:49,360 –> 00:01:55,080Christ that’s where you begin so you’re struggling with some overwhelming2900:01:55,279 –> 00:01:59,019difficulties as you’ve come to church today you wonder how you’re going to3000:01:59,019 –> 00:02:02,000face this coming week you’ve said at the back of your mind I don’t know if God3100:02:02,000 –> 00:02:08,419really cares about me at all I’m saying to you from the Scriptures begin here by3200:02:08,419 –> 00:02:14,479calling to your mind intentionally the overwhelming and indisputable evidence3300:02:14,479 –> 00:02:22,679of God’s love in Jesus God demonstrates his love for us in this but while we3400:02:22,720 –> 00:02:30,020were still sinners Christ died for us now some of us desperately need to work3500:02:30,020 –> 00:02:35,820this into our minds and into our souls we have been plagued with a psychology3600:02:35,820 –> 00:02:41,080that we’ve kind of grown up with a way of thinking that says that I will only3700:02:41,080 –> 00:02:46,660be loved by God if I earn that love some of us really think like that we find it3800:02:46,660 –> 00:02:50,960very very difficult to get away from that I going to speak directly to that3900:02:51,039 –> 00:02:56,759this morning remember the love of God let me try and make it a little more4000:02:56,759 –> 00:03:01,119personal by taking an example we’re gonna have two imaginary characters this4100:03:01,119 –> 00:03:04,039morning here’s the first we’ll call them Bill and ben we’ll have Bill now we’ll4200:03:04,039 –> 00:03:09,520have Ben later okay Bill’s in high school imaginary character4300:03:09,520 –> 00:03:14,119Bill has been brought up in an evangelical Church just like this where4400:03:14,119 –> 00:03:18,600he is taught that God loves him he believes this and he has put his faith4500:03:18,860 –> 00:03:27,600Jesus Christ Bill’s a perfectionist and he’s rather shy Timid by nature he’s had4600:03:27,600 –> 00:03:31,539throughout his high school career a string of straight ays in his school4700:03:31,539 –> 00:03:36,779report that’s what he aims for bill and when he doesn’t get it he’s pretty4800:03:36,779 –> 00:03:42,039disappointed with himself he’s a sincere lad and he genuinely wants to4900:03:42,039 –> 00:03:46,559please God he has many fears though and he sometimes wonders if God can really5000:03:46,699 –> 00:03:52,279love him when it comes to the Communion service he sits and wonders if he should5100:03:52,279 –> 00:03:56,539really take the bread and wine because there are after all many things in5200:03:56,539 –> 00:04:01,479Bill’s life that are not really as they should be his thought life is one of5300:04:01,479 –> 00:04:08,039them it really struggles with that one and then last week when he was at school5400:04:08,039 –> 00:04:12,000there were some kids who really got on his case and he lost it5500:04:12,199 –> 00:04:18,519let out that afternoon a string of foul language and he felt so ashamed a5600:04:18,519 –> 00:04:24,279Christian doesn’t behave like that Bill said to himself in fact sometimes Bill5700:04:24,279 –> 00:04:27,200has wondered if he’s really a Christian at all5800:04:27,200 –> 00:04:34,440Bill needs to remind himself of God’s love by grasping God’s unconditional5900:04:34,880 –> 00:04:43,540love to him as he is. Bill you do not earn the love of God with your straight6000:04:43,540 –> 00:04:53,679A’s you do not earn the love of God by achieving victory over every temptation6100:04:53,679 –> 00:05:01,500Bill God does not stop loving you when you fail God loves you Bill with an6200:05:01,859 –> 00:05:06,899everlasting and an unchangeable love6300:05:07,119 –> 00:05:13,040now you may be a little older or younger than Bill but essentially that’s what6400:05:13,040 –> 00:05:16,760you need to get into your mind because you struggle with the same thought6500:05:16,760 –> 00:05:23,220pattern as he does how are you gonna get that into your mind here’s three ways to6600:05:23,220 –> 00:05:28,320remember the first the Lord’s Supper let’s begin there you see at the very6700:05:28,399 –> 00:05:33,519center of Christian worship God has given us an exercise to keep you in6800:05:33,519 –> 00:05:42,079spiritual shape we come to a table where we receive bread and wine that direct6900:05:42,079 –> 00:05:49,459our attention if we follow God signposts to across where the body of Jesus was7000:05:49,459 –> 00:05:58,000broken and the blood of Jesus was shed for you this is love the Bible says7100:05:58,760 –> 00:06:03,880not the we loved God but the God has loved us and given his Son as an7200:06:03,880 –> 00:06:15,700atoning sacrifice for our sins and God uses the supper to tell you that he7300:06:15,700 –> 00:06:21,299loves you some of us are just sitting here and I’m wondering going I don’t7400:06:21,299 –> 00:06:27,640really know if God loves me you may go through great days of great darkness7500:06:27,679 –> 00:06:35,079bereavement sorrow confusion pain and right now you find it difficult to see7600:06:35,079 –> 00:06:45,359where God is or where his love is in all of this but God gives you bread and God7700:06:45,359 –> 00:06:56,579gives you wine and he says look at this cross and don’t ever say that I don’t7800:06:56,600 –> 00:07:02,200love you don’t ever say that7900:07:02,739 –> 00:07:09,980secondly the Scriptures while back a friend of mine pastor was in India for a8000:07:09,980 –> 00:07:14,859series of meetings and when he arrived in this particular town in South India8100:07:14,859 –> 00:07:20,100there were posters all over the town that were advertising this campaign that8200:07:20,100 –> 00:07:25,339was going to be held in a large stadium at which he would speak the poster was8300:07:25,420 –> 00:07:33,220supposed to say that he would bring the evening messages unfortunately there was8400:07:33,220 –> 00:07:41,540a typo and the poster said that the visiting pastor from England would bring8500:07:41,540 –> 00:07:51,459the evening massages. A fascinating thought, but you know the work of the8600:07:51,459 –> 00:08:01,040preacher is to massage the word of God into your soul, to massage it into your8700:08:01,040 –> 00:08:06,940soul until it changes not only what you think but what you feel. That’s what a8800:08:06,940 –> 00:08:16,179massage does isn’t it. Now I know that some of us who experienced little love8900:08:16,380 –> 00:08:23,660earlier in our lives or some of us who are perfectionist by nature have great9000:08:23,660 –> 00:08:34,619difficulty in feeling that we are really loved by God. So you need this workout.9100:08:35,179 –> 00:08:42,900Massage the Word of God in its simplest form into your soul.9200:08:42,900 –> 00:08:49,380Memorize and personalize scripture that speaks to you of the love of God.9300:08:49,380 –> 00:09:00,919Personalize it – the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me. Now, in your9400:09:00,919 –> 00:09:08,580meditation, in your reflection, massage that into your soul until eventually it9500:09:08,580 –> 00:09:11,859will change, not only the way that you think, but I promise you, the way that9600:09:11,979 –> 00:09:21,780you feel. God demonstrates his love for me in this, that while I was still a9700:09:21,780 –> 00:09:28,380sinner Christ died for me. Allow God to tell you that he loves you. That is what9800:09:28,380 –> 00:09:33,700the word is stating. This is what God is saying to you in the Scripture. This is9900:09:33,700 –> 00:09:40,260his revelation. Now listen to what he says.10000:09:40,400 –> 00:09:45,900Thirdly, prayer. I love Garrison Keillor’s books about Lake Wobbegon. You ever read10100:09:45,900 –> 00:09:50,859these Lake Wobbegon books? Some are absolutely hilarious. And he describes at10200:09:50,859 –> 00:09:54,380one point a rather awkward teenager growing up. In fact throughout the books10300:09:54,380 –> 00:10:00,580growing up in a small town. And at one point this lad makes a speech at a high10400:10:00,580 –> 00:10:06,239school graduation. And afterwards someone comes up and says, hey nice speech. But10500:10:06,280 –> 00:10:11,799the kid can’t receive a compliment. Oh, no he says, no I was just rambling. I10600:10:11,799 –> 00:10:14,640didn’t know what I was talking about. I was just glad when it was over and I was10700:10:14,640 –> 00:10:22,440able to sit down. He couldn’t receive a compliment Keillor says, because inside10800:10:22,440 –> 00:10:29,260there was a raging monster that didn’t just want to hear nice speech but wanted10900:10:29,260 –> 00:10:35,400someone to fall down before him in worship. That’s probably where some of us11000:10:35,599 –> 00:10:41,799are. For some of us we are so consumed either with our own pain now or with11100:10:41,799 –> 00:10:46,719our own perfectionism that we do not hear the word of God. We cannot receive11200:10:46,719 –> 00:10:53,200the affirmation of God’s love. So when God says I love you, you brush it off and11300:10:53,200 –> 00:10:59,039go on thinking exactly as you did before. Now that is why Paul tells us that the11400:10:59,039 –> 00:11:04,000love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. There is a distinct11500:11:04,080 –> 00:11:11,380work of the Holy Spirit to convert the very feeling dimension of our souls to a11600:11:11,380 –> 00:11:16,919true faith in the God who loves us. That is why he prays for this to be11700:11:16,919 –> 00:11:21,599happening in the lives not of the unconverted but of believers. He asks in11800:11:21,599 –> 00:11:27,979Ephesians 3 that God would give to young believers the power, notice that word,11900:11:27,979 –> 00:11:33,299the power to grasp how long and high and wide and deep is the love of Christ.12000:11:33,320 –> 00:11:37,280What I’m praying for you is that you’ll have the inner strength, the inner12100:11:37,280 –> 00:11:42,500capacity to contain the knowledge of this love that up till now you’ve just12200:11:42,500 –> 00:11:48,260been brushing off, as if it was something of no account. Now that’s a great way to12300:11:48,260 –> 00:11:57,380pray. Oh God, you know how little this container is able to hold the knowledge12400:11:57,380 –> 00:12:07,359of your love. How shriveled this dried-up soul is. Open it up and expand my12500:12:07,359 –> 00:12:15,539capacity to contain something of the breadth and depth and length and height12600:12:15,539 –> 00:12:22,760of your love for me. Start praying like that. Get in this gymnasium and you will12700:12:23,059 –> 00:12:29,659that the love of God begins to touch the inner places of your soul. That’s the12800:12:29,659 –> 00:12:36,099first thing, remember. You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin12900:12:36,099 –> 00:12:40,479Smith and a message called Remain in God’s Love. It’s part of our series13000:12:40,479 –> 00:12:45,140Keeping Yourself in Spiritual Shape and if you ever miss one of the series, you13100:12:45,140 –> 00:12:48,820can easily catch up or go back and listen again by coming online to our13200:12:48,859 –> 00:12:55,659website, openthebible.org.uk. We’ll get back to the message shortly. Many13300:12:55,659 –> 00:13:00,219of us love reading but our busy lives don’t allow much time for that, so we13400:13:00,219 –> 00:13:05,380often listen to audiobooks and podcasts maybe when we’re driving or out for a13500:13:05,380 –> 00:13:11,219walk. So we have a new podcast starting this month and it’s called Hike Through13600:13:11,219 –> 00:13:15,059the Bible. Yeah and the Hike Through the Bible podcast will take you on a journey13700:13:15,440 –> 00:13:20,400the entire Bible story, giving you the option of listening or watching rather13800:13:20,400 –> 00:13:25,479than reading. And in each episode I’ll read a chapter of my book, Hike Through13900:13:25,479 –> 00:13:30,159The Bible, and then I’ll discuss it with some friends. I hope you’ll join me in14000:13:30,159 –> 00:13:35,880Hiking Through the Bible. You’ll grow in your faith, you’ll deepen your grasp of14100:13:35,880 –> 00:13:40,780Scripture, and you’ll come to love Jesus more. So that’s the Hike Through the14200:13:40,799 –> 00:13:45,580Bible podcast and it’s not too late to get started. You’ll find the Hike Through14300:13:45,580 –> 00:13:50,340the Bible podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and there’s a link on our14400:13:50,340 –> 00:13:56,239website at openthebible.org.uk. You’ll also find more information about the14500:13:56,239 –> 00:14:00,640podcast. Back to the message now. Here again is Colin. That’s the first thing …14600:14:00,640 –> 00:14:07,059remember. Now I did tell you the first was the longest. Here’s the second. You14700:14:07,119 –> 00:14:14,440said, Amen. That was the wrong place to say it. Secondly, obey. Now Jesus spoke14800:14:14,440 –> 00:14:20,119about this clearly in John chapter 15 and verse 10. If you obey my commandments,14900:14:20,119 –> 00:14:25,460he says, you will remain in my love. Now it’s pretty clear when you read that15000:14:25,460 –> 00:14:29,919that Jude had these words in his mind when he wrote, verse 21, under the15100:14:29,919 –> 00:14:33,280inspiration of the Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God. You obey15200:14:33,460 –> 00:14:39,020commandments, you will remain in my love, keep yourselves in the love of God. Now15300:14:39,020 –> 00:14:42,859we’ve had Bill’s story. Very briefly let’s have Ben’s story. Here’s another15400:14:42,859 –> 00:14:47,340high schooler. He’s been brought up in the same church as his friend Bill. He15500:14:47,340 –> 00:14:51,299also has been taught that God loves him. He believes this and he also has put his15600:14:51,299 –> 00:14:56,200faith in Jesus Christ. And last week the pastor was in fine form and preached a15700:14:56,200 –> 00:15:01,260marvelous sermon on God’s love. There is nothing, he said, that you can do that15800:15:01,260 –> 00:15:05,099will make God love you more. There is nothing, he said, that you can do, that15900:15:05,099 –> 00:15:12,719will make God love you less. This was of tremendous help to Bill, but it became a16000:15:12,719 –> 00:15:18,119stumbling block to Ben. Because on Tuesday, you see, Ben was in the shopping16100:15:18,119 –> 00:15:23,039mall with some friends. They were looking through the racks of CDs and Ben saw one16200:15:23,039 –> 00:15:26,479that he would like and he slipped it under his coat and then walked out of16300:15:26,520 –> 00:15:31,799shop with his friends. Later that night, he was watching TV. He found what’s16400:15:31,799 –> 00:15:35,359called an adult film. He knew he shouldn’t be watching it, but he felt in16500:15:35,359 –> 00:15:39,919the mood and so he watched it anyway. Ben of course knows that what he was doing16600:15:39,919 –> 00:15:45,099was not right but God loves him and God’s love does not depend on anything16700:15:45,099 –> 00:15:52,500Ben does, right? That’s what the pastor said. Ben, and there are some Ben’s among16800:15:52,500 –> 00:16:00,919us needs to hear this. Ben, what you are doing right now will bring God’s16900:16:00,919 –> 00:16:11,700disciplining love on you. It will cost you your fellowship with God and frankly17000:16:11,700 –> 00:16:16,359Ben, if you persist in this kind of behavior, it actually raises questions17100:16:16,359 –> 00:16:20,900over whether you may even be deceived about your own salvation because those17200:16:20,940 –> 00:16:27,520who belong to Christ declare war on sin. You see there’s all the difference in17300:16:27,520 –> 00:16:38,119the world between Bill and Ben. We can’t always see it, but God surely does. If Ben,17400:16:38,119 –> 00:16:45,039you remain, obey Jesus commandments then you will remain in his love. It’s the17500:16:45,039 –> 00:16:50,580Word of God to you. This does not mean Ben, that you’re earning the love of God17600:16:50,580 –> 00:16:56,159by not stealing and by not watching particular films, but it does mean that17700:16:56,159 –> 00:17:02,520disobedience to God forfeits the knowledge of his fellowship. Frankly17800:17:02,520 –> 00:17:05,380Ben all the attendance of the Lord’s Supper, and all of the reading of the17900:17:05,380 –> 00:17:09,239Bible, and all of the praying for a greater capacity to contain the love of18000:17:09,239 –> 00:17:13,079God is not going to do you any good unless you’re prepared to change18100:17:13,160 –> 00:17:17,660what you’re doing that is in direct disobedience to God’s command.18200:17:17,660 –> 00:17:23,099The father never stopped loving the prodigal son, but the son did not remain18300:17:23,099 –> 00:17:29,520in his love. He went his own way, and it was a disaster until he decided to18400:17:29,520 –> 00:17:33,739return to the father and submit himself wholly to what the father was calling18500:17:33,739 –> 00:17:39,859him to do. The sun never stops shining, but on a day where there are clouds, we18600:17:39,920 –> 00:17:44,839do not feel the warmth of the sun, just as the prodigal did not experience the18700:17:44,839 –> 00:17:50,020love of the father that was waiting for him to return. Sinner, like the clouds in18800:17:50,020 –> 00:17:56,239the sky, that though God’s love streams towards us, cut us off from the18900:17:56,239 –> 00:18:01,479knowledge and the fellowship and the affirmation of that love flooding our19000:18:01,479 –> 00:18:08,900souls. When Jude says keep yourselves in the love of God, he was reminding us of19100:18:08,979 –> 00:18:14,099something absolutely fundamental to healthy relationships. If you want to19200:18:14,099 –> 00:18:19,599cultivate a close relationship with someone, don’t do what annoys them. This is19300:18:19,599 –> 00:18:27,239very simple stuff to take home. If your wife does not like you getting up at19400:18:27,239 –> 00:18:37,079midnight to practice the trumpet, don’t do it. She may not stop loving you19500:18:37,199 –> 00:18:42,900because you play the trumpet at midnight, but because it annoys her she may very19600:18:42,900 –> 00:18:50,920well take a high-heeled shoe and fling it at you. If you want to remain in the19700:18:50,920 –> 00:18:57,739love of God, don’t do those things that displease him. If you do it’s not that19800:18:57,739 –> 00:19:02,599he’ll stop loving you, but there will be a conflict in this relationship until19900:19:03,020 –> 00:19:07,640reconciled with him. That’s why Paul says in 2 Corinthians, by the way, to20000:19:07,640 –> 00:19:14,439believers be reconciled to God. Think about that. If you drive tomorrow down20100:19:14,439 –> 00:19:18,579the expressway in anger at everyone else, come into your office, bark at your20200:19:18,579 –> 00:19:22,280secretary, grumble over your pile of papers on your desk, make life generally20300:19:22,280 –> 00:19:27,079miserable for everyone around you, don’t expect that you will experience much of20400:19:28,020 –> 00:19:33,619the love of God. You are grieving the Holy Spirit and when the Spirit is grieved20500:19:33,619 –> 00:19:39,900he is silent, he does not speak the love of God to your heart. And some of us are20600:19:39,900 –> 00:19:44,540spending a great deal of time under the clouds. We wonder why communion and Bible20700:19:44,540 –> 00:19:47,959and prayer don’t do us any good and the answer is simply there’s disobedience20800:19:47,959 –> 00:19:54,079going on. It’s going to stop and we won’t be reconciled to God until it does.20900:19:54,760 –> 00:20:01,640Thirdly and most briefly of all, reflect. Here’s something for Bill and Ben and21000:20:01,640 –> 00:20:09,199everyone else, the experience of the love of God is about giving as well as21100:20:09,199 –> 00:20:14,619receiving. God’s love is a love that is both given and received even before the21200:20:14,619 –> 00:20:18,520creation within the mystery of the Trinity, Father and Son and Spirit,21300:20:18,520 –> 00:20:26,140there was the giving and receiving of love, eternal, wonderful, glorious mystery.21400:20:26,140 –> 00:20:32,420Now, keeping yourself, myself, in the love of God means more than me receiving it,21500:20:32,420 –> 00:20:38,260it means me reflecting its very nature and that involves giving it and that’s21600:20:38,260 –> 00:20:41,400what John makes clear in his first letter when he says, If we love one21700:20:41,400 –> 00:20:46,619another then God lives in us and his love is made complete in us, if we love21800:20:46,619 –> 00:20:51,459one another, God’s love does its work in you when it brings you to the place21900:20:51,459 –> 00:20:56,160where you are truly able to love another person with the same love that he has22000:20:56,160 –> 00:21:01,140given you and we read it from the very words of Jesus, I am the vine and you22100:21:01,140 –> 00:21:05,540are the branches, think of that incredible picture, remain in me and I22200:21:05,540 –> 00:21:09,680will remain in you and you will bear much fruit. A Christian is a person who22300:21:09,680 –> 00:21:16,500is in Christ, the life of God, the love of God, the Spirit of God flows into the22400:21:16,540 –> 00:21:21,020life of a Christian believer, it’s not just that you believe in him it is that22500:21:21,020 –> 00:21:26,660you are in him Christian and he is in you by the power of his Holy Spirit and22600:21:26,660 –> 00:21:30,979just as the life of a tree flows into its branches, the life of God and the22700:21:30,979 –> 00:21:36,500love of God flows in to every member of the body of Christ, so some of us will go22800:21:36,500 –> 00:21:40,500home very shortly to a difficult relationship, some of us will go22900:21:40,540 –> 00:21:47,880tomorrow to work in a cold and heartless place, keep yourself in the love of God23000:21:47,880 –> 00:21:54,660and as that love flows into you, you will have something to give that is a23100:21:54,660 –> 00:22:00,160reflection of the love with which you have been loved and the most beautiful23200:22:00,160 –> 00:22:04,020thing about it is that it is the most natural thing in all of the world, it is23300:22:04,020 –> 00:22:09,640not a case of me saying now I’ve got to go and love these horrible people, it is23400:22:09,640 –> 00:22:16,160that the life and the love of God flows into the believer. Keeping yourself in23500:22:16,160 –> 00:22:21,119the love of God you will have compassion even towards some cold and heartless23600:22:21,119 –> 00:22:26,040people around you, keeping yourself in the love of God you will find the23700:22:26,040 –> 00:22:31,640ability to forgive that most difficult offence, keeping yourself in the love of23800:22:31,880 –> 00:22:40,400God. Others will see the love of God in you.23900:22:40,800 –> 00:22:47,319Well this is Pastor Colin, and I want you today to take in the breadth and24000:22:47,319 –> 00:22:52,359length and depth and height of the love of Jesus Christ for you. Will you pause24100:22:52,359 –> 00:23:00,260for a moment and take this in. God loves you He has poured out His love,24200:23:00,959 –> 00:23:06,260God has demonstrated His love in the giving of His Son Jesus Christ on the24300:23:06,459 –> 00:23:11,219cross. Don’t just blow over that, don’t just move away and say I’ve heard24400:23:11,219 –> 00:23:18,579that before listen to how Paul puts it, The Son of God loved me and gave24500:23:18,579 –> 00:23:23,479Himself for me. Now if you’re a believer you can say that before God today,24600:23:24,280 –> 00:23:31,859The Son of God loved you and He gave Himself for you. Take that in, lay hold of it24700:23:31,859 –> 00:23:37,819see the extent of the love of God for you at the cross of the Lord Jesus24800:23:37,819 –> 00:23:43,420Christ. iIt’s placarded there it’s painted before you. You say you don’t24900:23:43,420 –> 00:23:49,680feel the love of God look at the cross of Jesus Christ and take in the love of25000:23:50,219 –> 00:23:56,459God in Christ redeeming you today and remember that that Savior who poured out25100:23:56,459 –> 00:24:01,219His life for you is alive for you today, He’s at the right hand of the Father He25200:24:01,219 –> 00:24:07,079lives for you, He’s interceding for you, He stands up on your behalf. He is for25300:24:07,079 –> 00:24:12,640you. And if God in Christ be for you today, whatever you’re facing, who can be25400:24:12,640 –> 00:24:17,160against you? There is life-changing power in the knowledge of the love of25500:24:17,479 –> 00:24:22,900God, in Jesus Christ. Today, I need to take that in every day and so does every25600:24:22,900 –> 00:24:27,859believer. But what a marvelous reality this is, it is thank you so much Colin.25700:24:27,859 –> 00:24:32,540You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message25800:24:32,540 –> 00:24:35,800called remain in God’s love part of our series,25900:24:35,800 –> 00:24:41,140keeping yourself in spiritual shape and we’ll be back again tomorrow with26000:24:41,140 –> 00:24:45,719another message from the series. If you ever miss one of the series, it’s very26100:24:45,800 –> 00:24:50,400easy to catch up or go back and listen again by coming online to our website26200:24:50,400 –> 00:24:56,520OpenTheBible.org.uk or you can find us as a podcast on all the main podcast26300:24:56,520 –> 00:25:03,280sites. Try searching Open the Bible UK or follow the link from our website.26400:25:03,280 –> 00:25:07,560For Open The Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick and I look forward to26500:25:07,560 –> 00:25:15,680being with you again next time.26600:25:16,719 –> 00:25:23,020All of us enjoy a workout when we’re using our strongest muscles. Find out26700:25:23,020 –> 00:25:30,459which spiritual muscles you most need to exercise next time on Open the Bible