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Polishing the slate

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The truth is that right now I feel far from God.

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It may be that you have believed for some time, but honestly heart religion, heart faith

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has gone cold for you.

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Yeah you believe, but you feel far from God.

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It may be that the reason you feel far from God is that you are far from God.

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Welcome to Open The Bible with Pastor Colin Smith.

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Hi I’m David pick and Colin, I’m guessing many of us have felt that at some point or

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other and it can be a very miserable place to be.

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The really important question is where do I find God?

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And that’s a fascinating question in the bible, where do I find God?

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Now if you lived in the Old Testament, there were particular places that you had to go

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in order to worship God, where can I go to meet with God?

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Now why was that?

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Why did God make it in that way in the Old Testament?

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I think it’s because he was pointing us to something very important for us today which

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is we can’t meet God at any place of our choosing, we meet God at the place of His choosing and

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that’s going to be in His Son as we’re humbled before Him.

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So when someone says well where can I meet God that rather leads to the question and

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whether you’re looking in the right place, it’s got to be in relation to Jesus and you

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can only come to Him humbled, you can’t come to Him with full hands or with anger, you’ve

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got to come to Him with humility and there you will meet Him and there He will find you.

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So we’re going to look much more deeply into this question where can I find God in today’s

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message.

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So if you can go to Isaiah Chapter 57 as we begin the message Restore Repentance, here’s

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Colin.

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in continuing our series Restore My Soul, 9 Heart Cries for Revival.

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And we’re really asking that God would work in a new way in our lives.

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I hope you’re making that your prayer, that there will be a fresh outpouring of the Holy

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Spirit in many of our hearts and across our congregation more widely, that God will move

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in a fresh way in your life as we respond with faith and obedience to His Word as we

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hear it.

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And we’ve been learning that real life change begins when God restores faith.

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That’s the root of everything else in this series.

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Remember Isaiah presented in chapter 53 the atoning death of our Lord Jesus Christ, but

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And then he asks very significantly of the people of God who believes this.

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And not who says they believe it, but who really believes that God is totally for me

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in Jesus Christ.

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Who is tasting this, and savoring this, and living upon this.

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And we saw that the gospel is so staggeringly great that I need to preach

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it to myself every day, we all need to do that, who I am in Christ, and all that is

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mine in Christ.

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And everything else in the Christian life flows from this fundamental conviction

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that God is totally for me in Jesus Christ.

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And I want to repeat that at the beginning today simply because you can’t skip

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that first heart cry and move on to the others.

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See, you could say, well, I’d rather start with restore my joy, and you can ask God

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to restore your joy.

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But if you are not deeply believing in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ,

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nothing much will happen, or you could try to begin with the cry that we’ve got

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today, restore repentance.

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You could say, Oh, that’s what I need.

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Lord, restore repentance.

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And you could ask that of God, and what I’m saying to you is that if you ask

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that of God but you are not deeply rooted in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ,

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and you don’t have your eyes fixed at the cross of Jesus Christ,

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nothing much will actually change in your life.

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So, believing the gospel opens the door to all the other life changes that follow.

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And so, we began to follow that path and saw that it is good to cry out,

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Lord, restore joy.

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Many people have found that sorrow is the backdoor to God’s joy.

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And that God uses sorrow to create a thirst within our own souls by which we

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come to Him in a new way, which is why the first people to find God’s joy,

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as we saw last week, were surprisingly the barren woman and the deserted wife

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and the folks of the ruined city.

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And then, when you realize that sorrow is often God’s backdoor to joy,

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it’s not so surprising that they were the first.

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Now, some folks at this point, three weeks into our series,

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you may be feeling, this sounds a long way off from me.

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Pastors talking about new work of the Spirit in my life.

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And the truth is that, right now, I feel far from God.

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It may be that you have believed for some time, but honestly,

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heart religion, heart faith has gone cold for you.

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Yeah, you believe, but you feel far from God.

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It may be that the reason you feel far from God is that you are far from God

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and that He is far from you.

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Now, if that is how you feel, sort of on the circumference of these things,

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feeling that they are at a distance from you, I am especially glad that you are

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here today because in Isaiah chapter 57, the prophet speaks specifically

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how God reaches out to those who feel far from Him to bring you near.

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Look at verse 19, for example, where God speaks about peace to those

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who are far, as well as peace to those who are near.

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So he’s speaking to those who are far from him.

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We’ll see why in just a moment.

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And notice what He’s doing for those who are far from him in verse 14.

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He speaks about building up the road.

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He speaks about removing obstacles out of the way of His people.

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So God, in this passage, is clearing away obstacles, clearing away roadblocks

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that separate you from Him, so that you may be able to come to Him,

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or perhaps better, so that He may be able to come to you.

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Now, the Scripture this morning, therefore, speaks to those who may feel

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far from Christ.

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It speaks about what the roadblocks are that cause you to feel far

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from Christ, and what it is that God will do to remove them,

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so that you may draw near to Christ today.

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Now, we’re going to look at three very simple questions as a way into these

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wonderful and important issues, and I want to begin with a very obvious

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question from Verse 15, where can I find God?

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And if you have felt far from Him, this will be a very real question,

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that perhaps you’ve pondered, and perhaps wistfully said, you know,

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how can I find God?

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Now, God’s presence, of course, is everywhere, God is omnipresent,

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but that does not mean that you can find Him everywhere.

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In fact, the Bible is very specific about places where God is found,

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never more clearly so than in Isaiah chapter 57, that identifies two places.

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One, of course, is in heaven, Verse 15.

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This is what the high and lofty one says, he who lives forever,

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whose name is Holy.

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I live in a high and Holy place.

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So God says, I live in a high and a Holy place, He’s obviously referring

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If you could ascend to heaven, you would see Him there,

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but of course, the problem is that none of us here can do that.

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But in the Old Testament, God’s people knew another answer to this question,

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where does God live.

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Remember, the story of the Old Testament,

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and if it’s new to you, it’ll really help you to understand

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the power of what Isaiah is saying here.

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When God’s people came out of Egypt,

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God commanded them to make an ark,

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a rectangular box carried on poles,

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kept in a tent, which was where the priests made the sacrifices.

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And if you check out Exodus 25, verse 22,

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you will find that God made a specific promise.

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He said, I will meet you there at the Ark of the Covenant

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when the sacrifice is made.

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And if you read at the end of Exodus 40, verse 34,

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you will find that when the sacrifice was made

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and the blood was applied to the lid on the top

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of the Ark of the Covenant,

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the cloud of the glory of God’s presence

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came to that tent and covered the people.

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Wonderful, they found God’s presence there.

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When God’s people entered into the Promised Land,

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God gave them very specific instructions about the place

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where they were to seek Him and to find Him.

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If you check it out in Deuteronomy, chapter 12

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and reading from verse five,

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you will find that when God told them very clearly,

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when you go into the land you’re not to worship

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at any old place of your choosing,

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which is what the pagans did.

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See, pagan worship was about convenience.

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And so wherever there was a little community of people,

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there would be a shrine and an altar that got put up.

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Kind of like McDonald’s.

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Everywhere there’s a, everyone’s a decent-sized community,

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it’s not long before there’s a McDonald’s goes up.

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You see?

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And in ancient pagan culture, shrines and altars

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popped up wherever there was a decent-sized community.

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Now, God says to them, Deuteronomy and chapter 12

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when you go into the land it is not

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to be like that for you.

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You are to worship me at the place of my choosing.

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Let me read to you from Deuteronomy and chapter 12

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and verse five.

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You are to seek the place that the lord, your God,

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will choose from among all the tribes

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to put his name there.

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To that place you must go.

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There bring your offerings and sacrifices.

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There, the presence of the Lord, your God.

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You will rejoice with your families

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and you will eat, and so forth, and so on.

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So there’s a very important principle in the Old Testament

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that we do not meet with God at the place of our choosing.

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We meet with God at the place of his choosing.

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You’re listening to Open the Bible

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with Pastor Colin smith,

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and answering the question, where can I find God?

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Hearing that it will be in a place of his choosing

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and not ours, and, the first place we find him is in heaven.

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In a moment we’ll see that God is found

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with a contrite heart.

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And if you’ve tuned in late,

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or if you’ve missed any of the message

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or you want to go back and listen to this

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or earlier messages, you can do that online

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at our website openthebible.org.uk

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or as a podcast, on your favorite podcast site,

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just search for Open The Bible UK

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or follow the link on our website.

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Back to the message now.

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It’s called Restore Repentance

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and it’s based on Isaiah chapter 57.

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Here’s Colin.

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So, this is a very important principle

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in the Old Testament, that we do not meet with God

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at the place of our choosing.

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We meet with God at the place of his choosing.

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So when they got into the land,

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the question, obviously was, well, what’s the place?

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And in the time of King David,

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as the anointed leader of God’s people,

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David discerned that the place was

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the great holy city of Jerusalem.

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And that is why there was such great joy

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of when the ark of the covenant

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was brought to the city of Jerusalem.

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And remember, in the time of Solomon,

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David’s son, a temple was built

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and when the temple was built

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and the priests went in to make the sacrifice

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on the ark of the covenant,

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that was now at the center of this great temple

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that had been put up,

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the cloud of the glory of God’s presence

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came and filled the temple,

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God’s presence right there with his people.

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So if you had asked

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an Israelite in Old Testament times,

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where can I go and meet with God,

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he would have known the answer.

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He would have said, easy.

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You go to Jerusalem,

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take a pilgrimage,

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go to the holy city,

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go to the place where God

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has put his name Deuteronomy.

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Chapter 12 and verse five,

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and promised his presence.

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You seek him there.

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And that of course is why pilgrimage to Jerusalem

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was so important in the Old Testament.

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Crowds of people, every year,

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going up the hill to Jerusalem,

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singing these songs of ascents.

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Which are recorded for us.

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Psalm 120-134

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are all Psalms that were sung

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as God’s people went to the place

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where they could find him.

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Now,

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remember that, right in the middle of Isaiah’s ministry,

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the year 722 BC.

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The northern kingdom,

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where 10 of the 12 tribes lived,

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was completely overrun

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by the Assyrian army.

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The people were deported,

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they were repatriated to foreign countries.

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And if you had been a person

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in one of these 10 tribes,

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you would never have seen Jerusalem again.

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Which would make you think,

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I’m miles from Jerusalem,

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I’ve no chance of ever going

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to the place where God has placed his name.

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I am living my life far

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from God.

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Would’ve been very obvious to you

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if you’d lived in Old Testament times.

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And these folks must’ve really owned Psalm 42.

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Remember Psalm 42?

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My soul thirsts for God.

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When can I go and meet with God?

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These things I remember how I used to go

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with the multitude, leading the procession

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to the house of God, with songs of joy.

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But I can’t get back there now.

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Maybe you have some sense of that.

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Maybe you remember times when you came to worship

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with a heart full of joy,

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but that seems a long, long way away,

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and a long time ago.

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And you don’t have very much ideas

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to how you could get back there again.

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Well now 150 years later, now after the time of Isaiah

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when others would have been reading his book

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and thanking God for it, something even worse happened.

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Remember the Babylonian army marched

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against the remaining two tribes in the southern kingdom.

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And of course, Jerusalem itself the great holy city

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was in that southern part.

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And when the Babylonian army came 586 B.C.

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and invaded the southern territory,

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Jerusalem the holy city itself

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including the temple was destroyed

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and the arc of the covenant

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at the very center of their worship was lost

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and has never ever, ever, ever been found to this day.

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And Jerusalem then lay in ruins for 70 years

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with God’s people being now reduced

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to just a small group of refugees

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living by the Kebar river in Babylon, modern day Iraq

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and singing songs like this,

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how can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land.

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Now, I want you to put yourself for a moment in their shoes.

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You know that God is in heaven

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but you can’t go there to meet him.

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You know that God has promised to meet his people

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in Jerusalem and particularly above the ark of the covenant

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but the city of Jerusalem has destroyed

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and besides, you are now a refugee in Babylon,

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there’s no way in the world

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therefore you can meet him there.

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What hope is there therefore,

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you would ask yourself of me finding God

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in any real and meaningful way

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when the holy city is destroyed,

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the temple of God is in ruins

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and the ark of the covenant is totally lost?

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So there you are far from home and feeling far from God

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and one of your neighbors has a scroll

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with the words of the Prophet Isaiah on it

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and you say, you know, let’s have some prayer here

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let’s read what the Prophet says.

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And so you’re sitting there by the Qebpar River

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feeling far from God and you read chapter 57

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in verse 15, this is what the high and lofty one says

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he who lives forever whose name is holy,

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I live in a high and holy place

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and you say, yes, Amen Lord I know that you live in heaven.

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I just wish I was there

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and you are absolutely sure

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as a believing Old Testament Israelite

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that you know what Isaiah will say next.

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He’s got to say, I the high and the lofty one,

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the Lord’s speaking, I live in a high and a holy place

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and also on Zion my holy city

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and already you’re saying in your mind

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because you’re quite sure that’s what Isaiah’s got to say

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well there’s another place

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that Got promised his presence and I can’t get to it,

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but as you pull down the scroll

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and you suddenly realize to your amazement and your joy

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that that is not what Isaiah says.

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I live, look at verse 15 if you would,

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in a high and holy place, the Lord says,

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but also not in Jerusalem,

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but with Him who is contrite and lowly in spirit.

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And lowly in spirit.

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That was mind blowing.

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Not heaven and Jerusalem,

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but heaven and the contrite heart.

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This is mind blowing stuff for deported people

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who feel that they are miles from Jerusalem, far from God.

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And it is mind blowing stuff for some of us

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who feel far from God and are not sure how to get back.

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Look at what God is saying right here.

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I live with him who is contrite.

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Contrite, of course means penitent,

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humbled by our own sins and failures,

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seeking after God.

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And God says, when I see a contrite spirit,

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whatever you’ve done, however cold you’ve become,

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whatever your background, when I see a contrite spirit,

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I will choose that person as my friend.

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If you have a contrite spirit, I will come to you.

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And I will not just come to you, I will stay with you.

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I will, notice the word, live with you.

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I will make my home in your life,

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so God lives with the person who is contrite.

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And notice what he does when he comes to the contrite heart.

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I live in a high and holy place,

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but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit.

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Here’s what he does to revive the spirit of the lowly

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and to revive the heart of the contrite.

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Now, we called this series, Restore My Soul.

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Nine heart cries for revival.

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And here’s that word right here in Isaiah chapter 57,

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revive.

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When God comes to the contrite, what does he do?

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He will revive your spirit.

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00:20:31,239 –> 00:20:34,719

He will breathe new life into your heart.

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Just as God imparted the breath of life

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into the corpse of Adam,

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so he brings breath,

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life,

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freshly into the heart, the contrite heart

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when he draws near.

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By the way, just so we’re very clear,

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revival in the Bible

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isn’t a series of meetings with a traveling evangelist.

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That’s a definition some of us have become used to.

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It’s kind of unique to this country,

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what has been used that way,

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but revival in the Bible

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is not a series of meetings with a traveling evangelist.

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Revival in the Bible

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is God coming to the contrite heart.

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It is God’s life, God’s wind, God’s breath,

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God’s spirit being poured into you,

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breathed into you, bringing to you new life,

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new peace, new joy, new hope.

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You’ve been listening to Open the Bible

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with pastor Colin Smith

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and a message called Restore Repentance,

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part of our series, Restore My Soul.

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00:21:39,400 –> 00:21:41,319

And if you’ve missed any of the message today

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00:21:41,339 –> 00:21:42,680

or any of our earlier messages

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00:21:42,680 –> 00:21:45,599

or you simply want to go back and listen again,

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you can do that online

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at our website, openthebible.org.uk.

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00:21:50,540 –> 00:21:53,660

Today’s message was based on Isaiah 57

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and we’ve been hearing that we will meet God

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in a place of his choosing, not of ours.

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00:21:59,660 –> 00:22:02,479

And two of those places are in heaven

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00:22:02,479 –> 00:22:04,359

and with a contrite heart.

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00:22:05,260 –> 00:22:06,239

At Open the Bible,

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00:22:06,239 –> 00:22:08,459

we welcome contact with our listeners.

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00:22:08,500 –> 00:22:11,579

If you’ve been blessed by pastor Colin Smith’s teaching

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00:22:11,579 –> 00:22:13,500

and you’d like to reach out to us,

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00:22:13,500 –> 00:22:15,380

there are several ways you can do that.

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00:22:15,380 –> 00:22:19,979

You can write to us at Open The Bible PO Box 1420

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00:22:20,819 –> 00:22:25,099

Cheltenham GL 50 9PG

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00:22:25,099 –> 00:22:29,920

or you can phone us on 0330-335-8089.

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00:22:33,099 –> 00:22:35,079

If we’re not available when you call,

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00:22:35,079 –> 00:22:38,319

leave a message for us and we’ll return your call.

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00:22:38,319 –> 00:22:41,300

All of these contact details are available on our website,

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00:22:45,520 –> 00:22:46,640

OpenTheBible.org.uk

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00:22:46,640 –> 00:22:48,239

Open the Bible is only able to remain on the air

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00:22:48,239 –> 00:22:51,160

and on the internet because of the financial support

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00:22:51,160 –> 00:22:54,000

of our listeners people just like you.

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00:22:54,000 –> 00:22:56,239

And if that’s something you’d like to do,

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00:22:56,239 –> 00:22:58,540

then we have an offer for you this month

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00:22:58,540 –> 00:22:59,920

for the whole of this month.

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00:22:59,920 –> 00:23:02,280

If you are able to set up a new donation

419

00:23:02,280 –> 00:23:03,920

to the work of Open the Bible

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00:23:03,920 –> 00:23:06,719

in the amount of £5 per month or more

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00:23:06,719 –> 00:23:08,199

we’d love to say thank you

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00:23:08,280 –> 00:23:11,160

by sending you a copy of C. H. Spurgeon’s book

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00:23:11,160 –> 00:23:12,979

Encouragement for the Depressed.

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00:23:12,979 –> 00:23:14,839

Colin can you give an example

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00:23:14,839 –> 00:23:16,920

of Spurgeon’s encouragement?

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00:23:16,920 –> 00:23:18,359

Well the first part of this book

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00:23:18,359 –> 00:23:20,760

is based on Zechariah Chapter 4

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00:23:20,760 –> 00:23:21,839

and verse 10.

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00:23:21,839 –> 00:23:25,079

Who has despised the day of small things?

430

00:23:25,079 –> 00:23:27,699

When the temple was rebuilt after the exile

431

00:23:27,699 –> 00:23:29,819

people who remembered the old temple

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00:23:29,819 –> 00:23:31,479

that was very grand

433

00:23:31,479 –> 00:23:32,939

looked at the foundations and they said

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00:23:32,939 –> 00:23:34,119

is this it?

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00:23:34,119 –> 00:23:36,420

You know, it just looks so small

436

00:23:36,540 –> 00:23:38,900

and I think that speaks to us today

437

00:23:38,900 –> 00:23:42,420

that many who really labour in serving the Lord

438

00:23:42,420 –> 00:23:45,339

have the question is this all that’s really coming from it?

439

00:23:45,339 –> 00:23:48,040

Is this the extent of what we shall see

440

00:23:48,040 –> 00:23:50,479

God doing in our lifetime?

441

00:23:50,780 –> 00:23:53,119

Do not despise the day of small things.

442

00:23:53,119 –> 00:23:55,260

Well Spurgeon takes that verse

443

00:23:55,260 –> 00:23:58,339

and applies it to the discouragements

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00:23:58,339 –> 00:24:01,619

that we often feel when we look at our own lives

445

00:24:01,619 –> 00:24:03,000

and think that things are small.

446

00:24:03,000 –> 00:24:05,040

You know, I only have a little knowledge.

447

00:24:05,040 –> 00:24:07,040

I’m not as bright as other people.

448

00:24:07,040 –> 00:24:09,199

My faith seems very small.

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00:24:09,199 –> 00:24:10,880

And to that Spurgeon says,

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00:24:10,880 –> 00:24:14,780

do not mourn that your faith is small.

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00:24:14,780 –> 00:24:17,180

Thank God that you have any faith at all.

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00:24:17,180 –> 00:24:18,219

I love that.

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00:24:18,219 –> 00:24:19,040

– That’s great.

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00:24:19,040 –> 00:24:20,119

– Thank God that you have this gift.

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00:24:20,119 –> 00:24:21,260

It’s the most marvellous gift.

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00:24:21,260 –> 00:24:23,400

He says, if you believe in Jesus

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00:24:23,400 –> 00:24:26,199

though your faiths be small as a mustard seed,

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00:24:26,199 –> 00:24:29,680

it will save you and over time it will grow.

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00:24:29,680 –> 00:24:31,319

So I feel find that Spurgeon’s writing

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00:24:31,319 –> 00:24:32,979

is just nourishing to my soul.

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00:24:33,020 –> 00:24:36,579

When I feel down, I often go to Spurgeon

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00:24:36,579 –> 00:24:38,579

because I find that he picks me up.

463

00:24:38,579 –> 00:24:40,359

And I think that that’s what folks will find

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00:24:40,359 –> 00:24:42,140

as they read this wonderful little book.

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00:24:42,140 –> 00:24:43,540

– Well, the book is called

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00:24:43,540 –> 00:24:45,260

Encouragement for the Depressed.

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00:24:45,260 –> 00:24:46,900

It’s by C.H. Spurmgeon,

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00:24:46,900 –> 00:24:48,500

and it’s our thank you gift

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00:24:48,500 –> 00:24:50,579

for being able to support

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00:24:50,579 –> 00:24:53,579

the work of Open the Bible financially this month

471

00:24:53,579 –> 00:24:57,300

in the amount of five pounds per month or more.

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00:24:57,300 –> 00:24:59,579

Full details or to give online

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00:24:59,579 –> 00:25:04,479

come to our website – www.OpenTheBible.org.uk

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00:25:04,479 –> 00:25:07,119

For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith,

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00:25:07,119 –> 00:25:08,160

I’m David Pyke.

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00:25:08,160 –> 00:25:09,660

And I hope you’ll be able to join us again

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00:25:09,660 –> 00:25:11,500

next time on Open the Bible.

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00:25:17,500 –> 00:25:20,540

If repentance is something we have to do,

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00:25:20,540 –> 00:25:23,859

why should we ask him to change our heart?

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Find out next time on Open the Bible.