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You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible.

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To contact us, call us at 1-877-open365 or visit our website opensmithpeace.org.

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Let’s get to the message.

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Here is Pastor Colin.

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Good morning, everyone, and welcome on this very special Mother’s Day, and a special welcome

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to sons, daughters, other family members who are here because it is Mother’s Day.

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So glad that all of you are here today.

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Now, on one occasion, Jesus Christ asked a question that we’re considering in the series

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that we continue today.

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He asked, what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?

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So, Jesus is making very clear, you have a soul, and your soul is of great value.

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We’ve been seeing in this series, that your soul is yourself, it’s your life, it’s all

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that makes you the person that you are, it’s the seat of your memory, your feelings, your

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imagination, your convictions, your desires, and your affections.

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I have a soul.

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It’s inside me.

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I can’t see it, it lasts forever.

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That’s how we tried to teach this to our children when they were young.

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And Jesus says your soul is of greater value than all the world.

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And then Jesus says something else, that it is possible for a person’s soul to be lost.

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That’s why he asks the question.

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What would be the gain, what would be the value if you were to gain all the material

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wealth in this world and you were to lose your soul?

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So, it is possible for a person’s soul that is more valuable than all the world to actually

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be lost.

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And we looked last week at how that can happen.

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Your soul can be starved, you soul can be strangled, and your soul can be surrendered.

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And we saw that to lose your soul would be the greatest loss of all because it is the

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one loss that can never, never, never be recovered.

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Now today we come to the message that I most looked forward to and most wanted to bring

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in all of this series.

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The message today is about how your soul, which is of such great value, can be saved.

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It is a wonderful, wonderful subject.

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Whether you are young, whether you are old, this is a message for you, it concerns you

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directly because it is about your life, it is about your soul.

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It is about your eternal future.

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I cannot imagine anything more important or more valuable for us to do together than for

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us to hear what the Bible has to say about your soul, your life.

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So, I invite you to turn in your Bible to 1 Peter.

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Five times in this very short letter, Peter speaks about the soul and it’s a great emphasis

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of this letter.

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We read a moment ago from chapter 1 and verse 9, which is the first reference to the soul

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in Peter, where he speaks about obtaining the outcome of your faith.

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And what is the outcome of your faith?

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He says, it’s the salvation of your souls.

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So that’s the great theme of this letter.

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The salvation of your soul.

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How can your soul, your life, your very self be saved?

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And what does this actually look like?

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Now you can read through the whole letter of 1 Peter at some point later, if you’re

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interested to do that.

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It’s only five chapters and you’ll pick up the references to the soul throughout the

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letter.

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What I want us to do today is to go right to the middle of the letter where Peter most

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clearly answers the question, what does it look like for your soul to be saved?

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If you turn over just one page, to chapter 2 and verse 24 and 25, and I’d like just to

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read these verses to you, you’ll notice that the last word in verse 25 speaker of the soul.

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Verse 24, He himself, that’s Christ, bore our sins in his body on the tree.

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That we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

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By his wounds you have been healed.

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For you were going astray like sheep,

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but have now returned to the shepherd

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and the overseer of your souls.

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Your souls, the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

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Now, my wife, Karen, and I

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have now been married for 33 years,

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but at one point,

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I feared that we might not even get started.

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To marry in England,

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the bride and the groom in advance of the wedding

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have to register in the particular place

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where each of them is living

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in the months before the wedding.

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And a few months before our wedding

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I had moved into our future home in London,

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the home that the church that we serve there owns,

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and Karen was at her family home near to Torquay in Devon

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where the wedding was to take place.

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So she went to see the registrar there

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and I went to see the registrar in London.

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I went into this little office in North London

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and said, well, my name’s Colin Smith.

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I’ve recently moved into the area.

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I want to register to be married

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and the wedding is taking place in Torquay.

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Oh, the woman said, I’m sorry,

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I don’t think I can help you with that.

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So I said, well, I’ve got my birth certificate,

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I’ve got my driving license,

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I’ve got my passport, what else do you need?

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Oh, she said, I don’t think I can deal with this.

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She said, I’d better go and see my manager

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and so off she went and a few minutes later,

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she came back and she said to me,

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well, all we can do is to give you

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a government confirmation of your identity,

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but that’s it.

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I said, look, I really don’t understand

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what the problem is here.

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I’m living in this area, I have all of my paperwork,

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all I want to do is to register to get married in Turkey.

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Oh, she said, Turkey, I thought you said turkey.

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Turkey!

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Now evidently a Scottish accent is as much a liability

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in London as it is in America.

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A small understanding, misunderstanding,

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can make a world of a difference.

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And the enemy of your soul is the master

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of the small distortion, a small distortion of the gospel

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that will lead many people

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into complete and utter confusion

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about how their souls can be saved.

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And what I want to do for you today

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is to give to you what I think are

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the three most commonly believed distortions of the gospel

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and for us to measure them by the Bible

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that is open in front of you

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so that you can see the distortion for yourself

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and so come to a knowledge of the truth.

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Because the greatest tragedy of all would surely be

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that a person might think themselves to be saved

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when actually they are lost.

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Many of you will have, I’m sure,

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a carbon monoxide detector in your home

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and if you have that,

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you will have purchased that piece of equipment

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because you want to be able to detect poison.

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You know that if you were to breathe in carbon monoxide,

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it would kill you.

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So you buy an alarm

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and you want that alarm

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to go off with the dreadful shrieking sound that it makes

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if a hint of carbon monoxide should be present

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because then you would be in danger.

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Now, my job today is to be that alarm to you.

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It is to make the sound

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that will draw your attention

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to dangerous distortions

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that may lead to the loss of many souls.

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So I hope you have the Bible open in front of you,

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there’s one in the back of the pew,

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you want to hear what God’s Word says?

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You want to see it with your own eyes?

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You pick it up and look at 1 Peter and chapter 2.

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Here’s distortion number one.

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Jesus died so I’m okay.

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Jesus died so I’m okay.

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Now this is a dangerous distortion

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because it contains such a precious and wonderful truth.

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Jesus died.

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Look at what Peter says about that here in verse 24.

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He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.

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Now Peter is talking about the cross.

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He describes it here as a tree

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and he’s answering the question,

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what happened when Jesus suffered and died?

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And here’s what he says,

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he bore our sins in his body.

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And he sort of double underlines who it is that did this.

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It’s Jesus Christ, it’s the Son of God.

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Nobody else has ever done this, nobody else ever could.

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He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.

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So here is this wonderful gift.

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Jesus died for our sins.

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He bore them, that’s the word Peter uses.

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And what that means is that he took the guilt

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of our sins upon himself.

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That he took the punishment of divine justice

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due to these sins into himself.

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He bore it in his body on the tree.

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That is why Isaiah the prophet says,

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the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.

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It went from us, and it went to him.

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Now we hear this and it is natural for us to say,

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well now Jesus died for our sins so our sins are forgiven.

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But here’s the question.

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Whose sins are forgiven?

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Whose sins?

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He bore our sins, who is included in the hour?

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Well to answer that question,

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you have to look at the second half of the verse.

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Look at what it says,

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he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree

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that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

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So what he is saying is that Jesus died

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so that there might be a change in us.

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He bore our sins so that we might die to sins.

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The hour whose sins he bore

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is the wee who die to sin and live to righteousness.

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And when you look at that,

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you will immediately see then that that is very different

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from, hey, Jesus died so I’m okay.

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God got my attention as a teenager

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in a conference in England

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when I heard Dr. Alan Redpath say

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with characteristic force and clarity,

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God has not promised to forgive one sin

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that you are not willing to forsake.

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And I thought and thought and thought about that

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until I became convinced that it was absolutely true.

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God has not promised to forgive one sin

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that you are not willing to forsake.

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Matthew Henry says it so clearly and so well,

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no one, he says, can safely depend upon Christ

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as having borne his sin,

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till he dies to sin and lives to righteousness.

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You cannot say safely, hey, Jesus is my Savior

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if you are not dying to sin and living to righteousness.

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So, here’s my question,

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if you believe that your sins are forgiven,

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that your soul is going to be saved,

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and that it is okay between you and God,

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here’s the question, how is it going for you

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with your dying to sin and your living to righteousness?

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Because it is not safe for you or for anyone else

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to drift through life saying

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Jesus died for sin, so I’m okay irrespective of how I live,

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that is a distortion by which the enemy of souls

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is bringing many souls into never ending lostness,

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but the Bible says is he bore our sins in his body

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on the tree that we might die to sin

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and live to righteousness.

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Distortion number two, I believed, so I’m okay,

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I believed, so I’m okay.

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Now again, this is a dangerous distortion

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because it contains such an important truth.

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Satan is crafty and the enemy of your soul

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doesn’t come out with some outlandish sort of heresy

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to lure souls away from Christ and from salvation,

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what he does is he just twists truth

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so that it becomes a lie and here’s another way

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in which he does it, what’s the important truth here,

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the important truth is that salvation is by grace

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through faith in Jesus Christ.

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We read that from 1 Peter 1,09,

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the outcome of your faith is the salvation of your souls.

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But friends, it’s very important to understand

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that faith is more than signing off on a creed.

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See, some folks have the idea that if they simply say,

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well, I believe that Jesus died for my sins,

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or if at some time in the past, you know,

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I was at a camp when I was seven years old or whatever

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and I said that I believe this,

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that therefore their souls are saved,

245
00:15:33,940 –> 00:15:37,979
but there is much more to being a Christian

246
00:15:37,979 –> 00:15:42,780
than simply believing that Jesus died for your sins

247
00:15:42,820 –> 00:15:45,159
and I want you to see what more there is

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in verse 25 right in front of you.

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He says, for you were straying like sheep

250
00:15:53,640 –> 00:15:58,219
but have now returned to the Shepherd

251
00:15:58,219 –> 00:16:03,179
and Overseer of your souls.

252
00:16:04,359 –> 00:16:08,000
So he’s presenting Jesus Christ to us

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00:16:09,080 –> 00:16:11,859
and in verse 24, he presents Jesus

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as the savior who died on the cross.

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In verse 25, he presents Jesus as the shepherd

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who rose from the dead.

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So that being a Christian is more than believing

258
00:16:25,400 –> 00:16:28,979
in a savior who died, it is submitting

259
00:16:28,979 –> 00:16:31,479
to the shepherd who lives.

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Now think about the shepherd and the sheep.

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The shepherd cares for the sheep,

262
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the shepherd guards the sheep.

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00:16:39,419 –> 00:16:41,580
The shepherd provides for the sheep.

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00:16:41,659 –> 00:16:44,020
But the most important thing of all to say

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is that the shepherd owns the sheep.

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They’re his sheep.

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00:16:52,380 –> 00:16:54,659
A man by the name of William Still,

268
00:16:54,659 –> 00:16:57,739
a godly pastor in Scotland now with the Lord,

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00:16:57,739 –> 00:17:02,020
wrote a book some time ago called The Work of a Pastor.

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I read it first in my early 20s, little book.

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I’ve gone back to it time and again

272
00:17:06,699 –> 00:17:08,739
and always found it very helpful.

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00:17:08,739 –> 00:17:11,119
He asks the question, what does it mean

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to be a shepherd of the flock of God?

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What does it mean to be a pastor?

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00:17:16,459 –> 00:17:18,760
And on the first page of the book,

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he says something very striking

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00:17:20,400 –> 00:17:22,280
that I had never seen before and in all these years

279
00:17:22,280 –> 00:17:25,640
I’ve never seen it stated anywhere else either.

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Here’s what he says.

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Israel’s sheep were reared, fed, tended,

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00:17:33,000 –> 00:17:36,160
retrieved, healed and restored, for what?

283
00:17:36,359 –> 00:17:41,000
For sacrifice on the altar of God.

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00:17:42,319 –> 00:17:44,140
You think about that.

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00:17:44,140 –> 00:17:48,680
Here’s the shepherds and Israel’s sheep

286
00:17:48,680 –> 00:17:52,199
and they’re bringing them back when they stray

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00:17:52,199 –> 00:17:53,640
and they’re feeding them and nourishing them

288
00:17:53,640 –> 00:17:57,540
and raising these lambs, and what for?

289
00:17:58,920 –> 00:18:03,380
Israel’s sheep were reared, fed, tended, retrieved,

290
00:18:03,420 –> 00:18:05,939
healed, and restored, all for what purpose?

291
00:18:05,939 –> 00:18:08,680
For sacrifice on the altar of God.

292
00:18:10,680 –> 00:18:13,500
And therefore he says the end of all pastoral work

293
00:18:13,500 –> 00:18:15,859
must never be forgotten, that it’s ultimate aim

294
00:18:15,859 –> 00:18:20,599
is to lead God’s people to offer ourselves to him

295
00:18:20,599 –> 00:18:25,599
in a total devotion of worship, life, and service.

296
00:18:27,939 –> 00:18:30,579
Now what then does it mean for Jesus Christ

297
00:18:30,579 –> 00:18:35,579
to be the shepherd and the overseer of your soul?

298
00:18:35,819 –> 00:18:39,319
It means that all that you are and all that you have

299
00:18:39,319 –> 00:18:42,540
is placed at his disposal.

300
00:18:42,540 –> 00:18:45,060
It means that you offer yourself to him,

301
00:18:45,060 –> 00:18:46,500
in William Still’s words,

302
00:18:46,500 –> 00:18:51,500
in a total devotion of life and worship and service.

303
00:18:53,319 –> 00:18:55,180
That’s what it means.

304
00:18:55,180 –> 00:18:57,900
That’s what it means to be a Christian.

305
00:18:58,219 –> 00:19:01,780
Now, I was trying to think of a way of illustrating this

306
00:19:01,780 –> 00:19:03,079
to bring it home to us.

307
00:19:03,079 –> 00:19:03,920
So I was thinking, well,

308
00:19:03,920 –> 00:19:08,280
what else apart from our lives themselves actually has value?

309
00:19:09,560 –> 00:19:12,660
And so think with me for a moment about your money.

310
00:19:12,660 –> 00:19:14,780
Your money has value.

311
00:19:14,780 –> 00:19:17,739
It doesn’t have as much value as your life and your soul,

312
00:19:17,739 –> 00:19:19,319
but your money does have value.

313
00:19:19,319 –> 00:19:21,520
So what do you do with it?

314
00:19:22,439 –> 00:19:25,459
So one thing that you could do with the money

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00:19:25,459 –> 00:19:27,500
that you are able to save

316
00:19:27,500 –> 00:19:32,060
is that you could stuff it under your mattress.

317
00:19:32,060 –> 00:19:33,859
I’m not gonna ask for a show of hands

318
00:19:33,859 –> 00:19:36,599
as to how many people are actually doing that.

319
00:19:36,599 –> 00:19:38,339
I hope you’re not.

320
00:19:38,339 –> 00:19:40,420
But I suppose there’s a logical case

321
00:19:40,420 –> 00:19:42,660
that a person could come up with and say,

322
00:19:42,660 –> 00:19:44,839
now look, it’s my money,

323
00:19:45,780 –> 00:19:49,339
and I want to keep it where I can see it.

324
00:19:49,339 –> 00:19:51,300
And I’m not gonna trust anyone else,

325
00:19:51,300 –> 00:19:52,760
I’m not gonna trust it to a bank

326
00:19:52,760 –> 00:19:54,420
or any of these fancy funds,

327
00:19:54,479 –> 00:19:56,239
I’m gonna keep it where I can see it

328
00:19:56,239 –> 00:19:59,199
because it’s my money, I’m stuffing it under the mattress.

329
00:20:00,739 –> 00:20:04,040
Now, my guess is that most of you don’t do that.

330
00:20:04,040 –> 00:20:07,680
And here’s what you probably do if you’re wise.

331
00:20:08,660 –> 00:20:13,239
You say to yourself, now, look, my money has value.

332
00:20:14,560 –> 00:20:18,900
So I want to put it in a place where number one, it is safe.

333
00:20:20,040 –> 00:20:23,660
And number two, it will grow.

334
00:20:23,680 –> 00:20:26,560
That’s what you say to yourself if you’re wise.

335
00:20:26,560 –> 00:20:30,099
And then you will select funds or whatever, investments,

336
00:20:30,099 –> 00:20:33,540
and that you will trust your money

337
00:20:33,540 –> 00:20:35,979
into the safest hands you can find.

338
00:20:37,079 –> 00:20:39,680
That’s what you do because your money has value.

339
00:20:39,680 –> 00:20:42,000
Now, what about your soul?

340
00:20:43,560 –> 00:20:46,900
Your soul is of greater value than your money.

341
00:20:48,619 –> 00:20:51,000
And if you were to say, well now wait a minute,

342
00:20:51,000 –> 00:20:53,339
this is my life, and I’m gonna do

343
00:20:53,339 –> 00:20:55,560
with this life as I please,

344
00:20:55,560 –> 00:20:58,560
what you’re doing is the spiritual equivalent

345
00:20:58,560 –> 00:21:00,680
of stuffing the money under the mattress.

346
00:21:00,680 –> 00:21:01,520
That’s what you’re doing.

347
00:21:01,520 –> 00:21:03,280
And Jesus says, if you do that,

348
00:21:03,280 –> 00:21:05,199
if you try to save your life,

349
00:21:05,199 –> 00:21:07,959
here’s what will happen, you lose it.

350
00:21:07,959 –> 00:21:09,199
You lose it.

351
00:21:10,560 –> 00:21:12,099
You have a soul.

352
00:21:13,079 –> 00:21:14,520
It’s more valuable than all the world.

353
00:21:14,520 –> 00:21:17,719
It’s more valuable than your total net worth.

354
00:21:18,380 –> 00:21:23,119
But if you try to keep it in your own hands,

355
00:21:23,119 –> 00:21:24,739
you lose it.

356
00:21:26,140 –> 00:21:27,479
And here is the good news.

357
00:21:27,479 –> 00:21:29,199
There is a savior.

358
00:21:29,199 –> 00:21:31,040
There is a shepherd.

359
00:21:31,040 –> 00:21:32,660
There is an overseer.

360
00:21:32,660 –> 00:21:34,540
There is a guardian of souls.

361
00:21:34,540 –> 00:21:37,359
And his name is Jesus Christ.

362
00:21:37,359 –> 00:21:40,479
And if you will trust, your soul, your very life,

363
00:21:40,479 –> 00:21:43,479
all that you are and all that you have into his hands,

364
00:21:43,479 –> 00:21:46,040
your soul will prosper.

365
00:21:46,079 –> 00:21:48,699
Your life will become more.

366
00:21:48,699 –> 00:21:52,040
And here is this strange enigma that Jesus teaches to us.

367
00:21:52,040 –> 00:21:54,540
It’s hard for us to get our minds around it.

368
00:21:54,540 –> 00:21:57,880
But in the very act of losing your life,

369
00:21:57,880 –> 00:22:01,079
by giving it into the hands of Jesus Christ,

370
00:22:01,079 –> 00:22:06,079
you will save it and you will keep it for eternal life.

371
00:22:07,520 –> 00:22:08,839
And friends, I say to you today,

372
00:22:08,839 –> 00:22:11,560
there is nothing greater in all the world

373
00:22:11,560 –> 00:22:16,579
than being able to say, the Lord is my shepherd.

374
00:22:17,439 –> 00:22:20,579
Because when you can say the Lord is my shepherd,

375
00:22:20,579 –> 00:22:25,579
you can also say, I will not want.

376
00:22:26,680 –> 00:22:31,680
My life, my death, my eternal future

377
00:22:34,079 –> 00:22:37,800
is safe in his hands.

378
00:22:38,800 –> 00:22:41,459
Distortion number one,

379
00:22:41,459 –> 00:22:43,839
Jesus died and I’m okay,

380
00:22:43,839 –> 00:22:45,880
totally ignores dying to sin

381
00:22:45,880 –> 00:22:47,880
and living to righteousness.

382
00:22:48,699 –> 00:22:51,680
Distortion number two,

383
00:22:51,680 –> 00:22:53,160
I believed so I’m okay,

384
00:22:53,160 –> 00:22:56,459
totally ignores your life being placed

385
00:22:56,459 –> 00:22:59,180
into the hands of the shepherd who lives.

386
00:23:00,420 –> 00:23:01,880
Distortion number three,

387
00:23:01,880 –> 00:23:05,300
perhaps the most common of all these days in our culture,

388
00:23:05,800 –> 00:23:10,099
I’m on a spiritual journey, so I’m okay.

389
00:23:10,099 –> 00:23:12,560
I’m on a spiritual journey,

390
00:23:12,560 –> 00:23:15,280
so I’m okay.

391
00:23:15,280 –> 00:23:18,140
And again, this is a dangerous distortion

392
00:23:18,140 –> 00:23:21,400
precisely because it does contain a very important truth,

393
00:23:21,400 –> 00:23:23,760
which is that the Christian life

394
00:23:23,760 –> 00:23:27,280
can rightly be described as a journey.

395
00:23:27,280 –> 00:23:31,760
Jesus spoke about the Christian life as the narrow way.

396
00:23:31,760 –> 00:23:34,959
He said, I am the way, the truth,

397
00:23:34,959 –> 00:23:36,839
and the life.

398
00:23:37,880 –> 00:23:40,119
In Christian history, John Bunyan,

399
00:23:40,119 –> 00:23:43,119
who wrote perhaps the greatest of Christian books

400
00:23:43,119 –> 00:23:46,479
outside of the Bible, The Pilgrim’s Progress,

401
00:23:46,479 –> 00:23:48,900
he pictured in that book, the life of a Christian

402
00:23:48,900 –> 00:23:52,319
as a journey to heaven in which we pass through

403
00:23:52,319 –> 00:23:54,280
many, many difficulties.

404
00:23:54,280 –> 00:23:55,420
I do encourage you to read that book.

405
00:23:55,420 –> 00:23:58,040
It’s a great book to read with your children

406
00:23:58,040 –> 00:24:00,540
at some point as they grow up.

407
00:24:00,540 –> 00:24:02,839
But notice this as you read it,

408
00:24:02,839 –> 00:24:06,579
as Bunyan depicts the journey, there is a definite path

409
00:24:07,619 –> 00:24:10,599
and there is a clear destination.

410
00:24:11,880 –> 00:24:15,260
In our culture, the spiritual journey

411
00:24:15,260 –> 00:24:19,819
has become a sort of metaphor for the sum total

412
00:24:19,819 –> 00:24:23,859
of an individual’s spiritual experience.

413
00:24:23,859 –> 00:24:25,180
In other words, your spiritual journey

414
00:24:25,180 –> 00:24:28,739
becomes a kind of soup comprising of any faith

415
00:24:28,739 –> 00:24:30,939
that you might have, any doubts that you might have,

416
00:24:30,939 –> 00:24:33,020
any experiences that you might have,

417
00:24:33,020 –> 00:24:34,180
they all get mixed together

418
00:24:34,180 –> 00:24:36,619
and they become your spiritual journey

419
00:24:36,619 –> 00:24:39,280
and the journey seems often in our culture

420
00:24:39,280 –> 00:24:40,739
to become an end in itself.

421
00:24:40,739 –> 00:24:42,900
It doesn’t have a particular destination.

422
00:24:42,900 –> 00:24:44,739
The journey is the thing.

423
00:24:46,160 –> 00:24:49,160
Now, here’s the problem and I want you to hear this clearly.

424
00:24:50,819 –> 00:24:53,939
There is a spiritual journey on the way to being lost

425
00:24:53,939 –> 00:24:56,780
as well as a spiritual journey on the way to being saved.

426
00:24:57,560 –> 00:25:00,939
There is a spiritual journey that ends in being lost

427
00:25:02,260 –> 00:25:05,739
as well as a spiritual journey that ends in being saved

428
00:25:05,739 –> 00:25:07,339
and the reason that that is the case

429
00:25:07,339 –> 00:25:09,979
is that you cannot be saved by your spiritual journey.

430
00:25:09,979 –> 00:25:11,000
No one can be saved by it.

431
00:25:11,000 –> 00:25:13,000
How can your spiritual journey save you?

432
00:25:14,500 –> 00:25:16,359
Only Jesus Christ can save you.

433
00:25:17,219 –> 00:25:20,260
Not the sum total of your faith, doubts, and experiences.

434
00:25:21,560 –> 00:25:24,099
Spend your life as a wandering sheep

435
00:25:24,219 –> 00:25:28,760
and you spend your eternity as a lost soul.

436
00:25:30,380 –> 00:25:33,020
So compare the vagueness of all

437
00:25:33,020 –> 00:25:34,699
this spiritual journey language

438
00:25:34,699 –> 00:25:37,099
that is all around us in our culture today

439
00:25:37,099 –> 00:25:38,900
with what Peter says here

440
00:25:38,900 –> 00:25:41,020
and you will see that there is a vast difference.

441
00:25:41,020 –> 00:25:42,380
Look at verse 25.

442
00:25:43,459 –> 00:25:47,939
For you were straying like sheep.

443
00:25:47,939 –> 00:25:50,099
Well, there’s the journey.

444
00:25:50,099 –> 00:25:53,219
Wandering all over the place in confusion,

445
00:25:53,339 –> 00:25:55,119
not really knowing who you are,

446
00:25:55,119 –> 00:25:57,400
what you believe or to whom you belong.

447
00:25:58,540 –> 00:26:01,560
You were straying like sheep,

448
00:26:01,560 –> 00:26:03,979
but so here’s something different.

449
00:26:03,979 –> 00:26:06,540
Here’s something that has happened and what is it?

450
00:26:06,540 –> 00:26:09,699
You have now returned.

451
00:26:11,599 –> 00:26:13,079
Now notice he doesn’t say,

452
00:26:13,079 –> 00:26:15,300
but now you’re in a process of returning,

453
00:26:15,300 –> 00:26:17,140
working out what it all means.

454
00:26:17,140 –> 00:26:18,099
No, he doesn’t say that.

455
00:26:18,099 –> 00:26:21,099
He says, now you have returned.

456
00:26:21,099 –> 00:26:25,380
It’s a definite, completed action.

457
00:26:27,300 –> 00:26:29,699
Now hear me clearly.

458
00:26:29,699 –> 00:26:33,140
There is a whole journey of following Jesus Christ

459
00:26:33,140 –> 00:26:38,140
and of growing in Jesus Christ that is the Christian life.

460
00:26:39,199 –> 00:26:42,400
But the Christian life begins

461
00:26:42,400 –> 00:26:47,400
with a definite return to Jesus Christ as the shepherd,

462
00:26:48,239 –> 00:26:53,239
the owner, the overseer and the Lord of your life.

463
00:26:55,800 –> 00:26:57,219
Now you see this all over the Bible.

464
00:26:57,219 –> 00:26:59,119
Let me simply back up what I’m saying here

465
00:26:59,119 –> 00:27:01,939
from a couple of places that will be familiar to you.

466
00:27:01,939 –> 00:27:04,800
Luke chapter 15, Jesus tells the story

467
00:27:04,800 –> 00:27:07,540
of the parable of the lost sheep.

468
00:27:07,540 –> 00:27:10,479
And the shepherd goes and finds this lost sheep.

469
00:27:10,479 –> 00:27:11,979
lays the sheep on his shoulder,

470
00:27:11,979 –> 00:27:14,479
brings the sheep back to the fold.

471
00:27:14,479 –> 00:27:17,459
There is a definite return.

472
00:27:17,459 –> 00:27:22,000
The sheep was lost, but the sheep is now found.

473
00:27:22,000 –> 00:27:25,260
And the reason that the sheep is no longer lost

474
00:27:25,260 –> 00:27:27,380
is that the sheep is now under

475
00:27:27,380 –> 00:27:30,260
the direction of the shepherd.

476
00:27:30,260 –> 00:27:32,439
That’s how you know that you’re not lost,

477
00:27:32,439 –> 00:27:36,199
that your life is under the direction of the shepherd.

478
00:27:36,199 –> 00:27:37,839
Not under the direction of the shepherd,

479
00:27:37,839 –> 00:27:40,239
you’re away from the shepherd you’re lost sheep.

480
00:27:41,239 –> 00:27:43,800
Then Jesus tells another story,

481
00:27:43,800 –> 00:27:45,719
about a lost son.

482
00:27:45,719 –> 00:27:46,880
And you remember this story,

483
00:27:46,880 –> 00:27:50,239
he went to the far country and he indulged himself

484
00:27:50,239 –> 00:27:51,599
in all this reckless living,

485
00:27:51,599 –> 00:27:52,739
then as a great famine

486
00:27:52,739 –> 00:27:53,680
and he doesn’t know what to do

487
00:27:53,680 –> 00:27:56,560
and he comes to his senses and he says I will arise

488
00:27:56,560 –> 00:27:58,459
and I will go to my father.

489
00:27:58,459 –> 00:28:01,119
He decided to return,

490
00:28:01,119 –> 00:28:03,800
that’s the word that Peter is using here.

491
00:28:03,800 –> 00:28:07,839
And when he returned he said to his father,

492
00:28:07,839 –> 00:28:09,959
I have sinned against Heaven

493
00:28:10,040 –> 00:28:12,199
and against you.

494
00:28:13,140 –> 00:28:14,920
And returning to the father

495
00:28:14,920 –> 00:28:18,540
meant leaving his life of sin.

496
00:28:19,800 –> 00:28:22,099
Friend of mine gave me this marvellous quotation

497
00:28:22,099 –> 00:28:24,959
from Spurgeon on the prodigal son.

498
00:28:24,959 –> 00:28:26,900
Spurgeon says this,

499
00:28:26,900 –> 00:28:30,839
the prodigal left the swine trough,

500
00:28:30,839 –> 00:28:34,839
more, he left the wine cup

501
00:28:34,839 –> 00:28:37,640
and he left the harlots.

502
00:28:37,640 –> 00:28:39,640
He did not go with the harlot

503
00:28:39,640 –> 00:28:43,000
on his arm and the wine cup in his hand

504
00:28:43,000 –> 00:28:46,079
and say, I will take these with me

505
00:28:46,079 –> 00:28:48,459
and go to my father.

506
00:28:48,459 –> 00:28:50,060
It could not be so.

507
00:28:51,300 –> 00:28:53,640
These were all left.

508
00:28:54,900 –> 00:28:57,979
And though he had not goodness to bring,

509
00:28:59,040 –> 00:29:03,199
yet he did not try and keep his sins

510
00:29:03,199 –> 00:29:05,699
and come to Christ.

511
00:29:06,599 –> 00:29:10,359
Now Isaiah the prophet says what Spurgeon says

512
00:29:10,359 –> 00:29:13,160
in that vivid picture very, very clearly

513
00:29:13,160 –> 00:29:15,939
and I want us to take this in today

514
00:29:15,939 –> 00:29:17,880
for this is the very word of God.

515
00:29:17,880 –> 00:29:21,239
He says to us, seek the Lord while he may be found

516
00:29:21,239 –> 00:29:24,260
and call upon him while he is near.

517
00:29:25,239 –> 00:29:27,880
And then he explains to us what this means.

518
00:29:27,880 –> 00:29:31,760
Let the wicked forsake his way

519
00:29:31,760 –> 00:29:35,599
and the unrighteous man his thoughts

520
00:29:36,239 –> 00:29:38,780
Let him return, notice that word.

521
00:29:38,780 –> 00:29:41,160
The word that Peter uses.

522
00:29:41,160 –> 00:29:44,380
Return to the Lord that he may have compassion on him

523
00:29:44,380 –> 00:29:47,599
and to your God that he will abundantly pardon.

524
00:29:47,599 –> 00:29:49,540
So you see what Isaiah is saying.

525
00:29:49,540 –> 00:29:52,560
Returning it means forsaking

526
00:29:52,560 –> 00:29:57,040
and it means forsaking both ways and thoughts.

527
00:29:57,040 –> 00:30:00,479
To return means that you quit known sins

528
00:30:00,479 –> 00:30:03,239
that you forsake wicked ways

529
00:30:03,239 –> 00:30:06,099
that you quit thinking that you can live for yourself

530
00:30:06,099 –> 00:30:08,000
and still call yourself a Christian.

531
00:30:08,000 –> 00:30:09,719
That you quit the wicked idea

532
00:30:09,719 –> 00:30:12,319
that you can define what is right and wrong for yourself

533
00:30:12,319 –> 00:30:15,439
and still somehow be under the rule of God.

534
00:30:15,439 –> 00:30:18,040
Returning means forsaking all that.

535
00:30:18,920 –> 00:30:21,479
And returning means submitting.

536
00:30:21,479 –> 00:30:24,640
It means that I submit my life to Jesus Christ

537
00:30:24,640 –> 00:30:27,040
as the shepherd and the overseer,

538
00:30:27,040 –> 00:30:28,880
the owner of my soul.

539
00:30:28,880 –> 00:30:31,199
I submit my life to Christ’s Word

540
00:30:31,199 –> 00:30:33,719
so that He is the one who tells me what is right

541
00:30:33,719 –> 00:30:35,239
and tells me what is wrong

542
00:30:35,239 –> 00:30:38,800
so that forsaking what He tells me is sin

543
00:30:38,800 –> 00:30:41,920
and pursuing what He tells me is righteousness,

544
00:30:41,920 –> 00:30:44,439
I can walk that path of dying to sin

545
00:30:44,439 –> 00:30:46,239
and living to righteousness.

546
00:30:48,020 –> 00:30:49,280
That’s what it looks like.

547
00:30:51,140 –> 00:30:54,079
The starting point for being a Christian

548
00:30:54,079 –> 00:30:57,339
is that Jesus Christ is your Lord.

549
00:30:58,959 –> 00:31:00,880
That’s why the way we like to teach the gospel

550
00:31:00,939 –> 00:31:02,780
in the Orchard is these four words.

551
00:31:02,780 –> 00:31:06,939
Lord, sin, Saviour, faith.

552
00:31:08,520 –> 00:31:11,060
The Lord is my Shepherd.

553
00:31:12,859 –> 00:31:15,979
If he’s not your Lord, how can he be your Shepherd?

554
00:31:17,760 –> 00:31:20,180
And if he’s not your Shepherd, why in the world

555
00:31:20,180 –> 00:31:22,920
are you going around thinking that he is your Saviour.

556
00:31:23,800 –> 00:31:27,400
If you’re away from the fold and you have not return.

557
00:31:29,400 –> 00:31:30,599
So here’s the message.

558
00:31:31,880 –> 00:31:36,880
You have a soul and it is of greater value

559
00:31:38,119 –> 00:31:41,739
than the whole world and one of two things

560
00:31:41,739 –> 00:31:42,979
will happen to your soul.

561
00:31:42,979 –> 00:31:44,959
Either your soul will be saved

562
00:31:44,959 –> 00:31:47,239
or your soul will be lost.

563
00:31:49,180 –> 00:31:52,239
And I want your soul to be saved.

564
00:31:54,520 –> 00:31:57,359
I wish I could just sit for a minute

565
00:31:57,359 –> 00:31:59,859
with every young person, every boy and girl,

566
00:31:59,939 –> 00:32:01,939
every teenager in the congregation today

567
00:32:01,939 –> 00:32:04,180
and look you in the eye and say,

568
00:32:04,180 –> 00:32:07,140
I want your soul to be saved.

569
00:32:09,099 –> 00:32:11,619
I wish I could sit with every older person

570
00:32:11,619 –> 00:32:12,900
in the congregation.

571
00:32:12,900 –> 00:32:15,300
And you’re moving into the later seasons of life,

572
00:32:15,300 –> 00:32:17,660
I wish I could say to you with the urgency

573
00:32:17,660 –> 00:32:22,660
that I feel, I want your soul to be saved.

574
00:32:25,859 –> 00:32:28,339
There’s a Shepherd, there’s a Savior.

575
00:32:29,239 –> 00:32:34,040
There is a Lord who is able to save your soul.

576
00:32:35,800 –> 00:32:39,339
And no person who comes to him, however late

577
00:32:39,339 –> 00:32:43,939
and whatever you may have done will ever be turned away.

578
00:32:44,979 –> 00:32:49,979
And no soul that is ever trusted into his hand

579
00:32:50,020 –> 00:32:51,739
will ever be lost.

580
00:32:53,699 –> 00:32:55,040
Have you returned to him?

581
00:32:55,760 –> 00:33:00,780
And you say, he is my Lord and he is my Savior.

582
00:33:02,060 –> 00:33:04,380
Are you on the journey of dying to sin

583
00:33:04,380 –> 00:33:06,780
and living to righteousness under the authority

584
00:33:06,780 –> 00:33:09,459
of Jesus Christ with his word ruling in your life?

585
00:33:09,459 –> 00:33:12,020
Are you ready to begin that today?

586
00:33:14,000 –> 00:33:16,839
Or are you doing the spiritual equivalent

587
00:33:17,920 –> 00:33:20,579
of stuffing your money under the mattress?

588
00:33:21,479 –> 00:33:26,339
Because if you’re doing that my life stuff,

589
00:33:27,699 –> 00:33:29,800
then you need to hear that Jesus Christ,

590
00:33:29,800 –> 00:33:31,319
the Son of God says to you,

591
00:33:31,319 –> 00:33:35,099
if you save your life you will lose it.

592
00:33:36,880 –> 00:33:39,359
But now with love and with compassion he says to you

593
00:33:39,359 –> 00:33:42,119
but if you lose your life for my sake and for the gospel’s

594
00:33:42,119 –> 00:33:45,099
give it to me, trust it to the shepherd,

595
00:33:46,160 –> 00:33:50,119
your whole self all that you are, you’ll keep it.

596
00:33:51,359 –> 00:33:55,439
You’ll save it even for eternal life.

597
00:33:55,439 –> 00:33:56,979
Will you pray with me together.

598
00:33:58,739 –> 00:34:02,599
Perhaps some son, daughter, younger or older

599
00:34:04,920 –> 00:34:08,679
you want to come before God today and to say from your

600
00:34:08,679 –> 00:34:10,919
heart something like this,

601
00:34:10,919 –> 00:34:15,120
I have been a wandering sheep for far too long.

602
00:34:16,120 –> 00:34:19,800
Not knowing who I am or to whom I belong

603
00:34:22,260 –> 00:34:24,959
and today I want to return.

604
00:34:26,899 –> 00:34:29,060
I want Jesus Christ to be my shepherd,

605
00:34:29,060 –> 00:34:31,219
my owner, my overseer.

606
00:34:31,219 –> 00:34:32,699
The overseer of my soul.

607
00:34:32,699 –> 00:34:35,719
I want to trust all that I am into his hands

608
00:34:35,719 –> 00:34:38,280
not try to keep it in mine.

609
00:34:39,280 –> 00:34:44,280
And therefore I ask that you will cleanse and forgive

610
00:34:45,919 –> 00:34:49,000
dear Lord, dear Shepherd my many sins

611
00:34:50,719 –> 00:34:55,040
through the power of your shed blood on the cross

612
00:34:56,080 –> 00:34:59,560
and grant to me the gift of your Holy Spirit

613
00:34:59,560 –> 00:35:03,280
so that I may broker that way

614
00:35:03,280 –> 00:35:08,280
of dying to sin and living to righteousness

615
00:35:08,719 –> 00:35:12,000
in a whole new life that will be for your praise

616
00:35:12,000 –> 00:35:14,399
and for your glory.

617
00:35:14,399 –> 00:35:18,560
So help me God as I’ve come to you today

618
00:35:19,620 –> 00:35:21,719
through Jesus Christ, my Lord.

619
00:35:23,080 –> 00:35:26,080
Lord hear our prayer and work deeply in many hearts

620
00:35:27,080 –> 00:35:30,100
for Jesus’ sake, amen.

621
00:35:31,100 –> 00:35:33,419
You’ve been listening to a sermon

622
00:35:33,419 –> 00:35:35,820
with Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible.

623
00:35:35,820 –> 00:35:40,820
To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365

624
00:35:41,100 –> 00:35:44,699
or visit our website, openedhebible.org.