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Belief

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Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Trust him to save you and the reason window

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that you trust him to save you is because you have come to believe that he is the

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Son of God and that he died and that he rose again.

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So, faith involves these two dimensions.

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It involves believing and it involves trusting,

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and these are two sides of the same coin.

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Welcome to Open the Bible withaster Colin Smith.

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I’m David Pick.

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I’m glad you could join us today and Colin when things are going well,

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and we seem to have answers to our questions, faith seems pretty easy,

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but sometimes it feels like it’s a real struggle to believe.

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Yes, and I think that that’s where the distinction between faith

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as believing and faith as trusting is really important.

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And of course both of these belong together.

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They’re both part of what faith really is.

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Faith involves believing God in what He has revealed.

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So He’s revealed that Jesus is His son.

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We’re to believe that.

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That Jesus rose from the dead.

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That’s been revealed.

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We’re to believe that.

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So faith involves believing God in what He’s revealed, but it also involves

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trusting God in what He’s kept secret.

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What has He kept secret?

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Well, why am I suffering as I am?

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Why am I enduring this particular difficulty?

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Why did God not intervene in a different way in that circumstance?

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These are things that God has kept secret.

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And because they’ve not been revealed, as perhaps they will be one day when

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we’re in His presence in heaven, until then, we’ve got to trust Him.

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We’ve got to walk by faith and not by sight.

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So both of these dimensions are really important and they’re especially

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important when our faith is tested.

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Let’s continue to look at tested faith.

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That’s the title of today’s message and will be in the first book

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of Peter, Chapter One and Verses, 3-9.

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Today, as we begin our message is Colin.

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Now I want to begin today with a very simple definition of faith.

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Faith involves two elements.

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The first is belief and the second is trust.

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They’re really two sides of the same coin.

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Someone asked me just last week if believing is the same as faith and

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that’s a very good question and the answer to it is well, sometimes.

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You see, sometimes the word believe is used in the Bible simply of

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knowing that something is true.

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For example, James tells us that even the demons believe and they

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shudder.

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In other words, the demons know that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

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They have no doubt about it whatsoever.

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They believe it and because they know it to be true, they even tremble in the

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light of it.

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The demons believe but they do not trust.

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Despite what they know to be true, they remain in rebellion against God.

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So faith is more than believing that certain things are true.

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Faith involves trusting the one we have come to believe, and sometimes the Bible

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uses the word believe in a way that includes trust.

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For example, when Paul said to the Philippian jailor, Believe in the Lord

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Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

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He’s saying more there than simply that the jailer should believe that Jesus

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died and rose.

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Yes, he must believe this, but more than that he must trust the Lord Jesus

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Christ to save him.

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That’s what the apostle Paul is saying, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, trust

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him to save you and the reason that you trust him to save you is because you

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have come to believe that he is the son of God and that he died and that he rose

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again.

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So faith involves these two dimensions.

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It involves believing and it involves trusting and these are two sides of the

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same coin.

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Now I find it helpful to put these two dimensions of faith alongside a

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distinction that God makes in Deuteronomy, chapter 29 and verse 29.

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The scripture says,

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So, there are some things that God

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has revealed and there are other things that God has kept hidden.

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And very simply, faith, then, is believing God in what He has revealed

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and trusting God in what He has kept secret.

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God has revealed His Son.

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God has revealed His promises.

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And faith believes what God has revealed.

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But there are many things that God has kept secret.

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I mean, for example, none of us knows what tomorrow holds.

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God has not revealed it.

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So we have to trust Him.

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And faith trusts God in what He has kept hidden.

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And we trust Him in what He’s kept hidden

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because we believe Him in what He has revealed.

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God has said,

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And so faith says, well now, I can trust God for tomorrow

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because I believe the promise that God has given to me today.

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So faith involves believing God in what He has revealed

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and trusting God in regards to what He has kept hidden.

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So when we pray,

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as we were looking at the disciple’s prayer last week,

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Lord increase my faith.

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Well, then what we are asking is Lord

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help me to believe You in what You have promised

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and help me to trust You in what I do not understand.

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That’s faith.

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Now, today we’re going to look together at how faith is tested

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and every believer knows what it is for our faith to be tested.

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If we were to have a sign up sheet

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and to pass it all the way around the congregation

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for folks to sign up for faith to be tested,

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well, I don’t suppose we would have many folks

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who were immediately volunteering.

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But the reality is that all of us experience

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what it is for our faith to be tested.

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We’re going to see today

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that tested faith is more precious than gold

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and we’re going to see that the same trials

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that cause you grief and sorrow right now

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will one day bring praise, glory, and honor

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when Jesus Christ is revealed.

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Right now, you are grieved by the trials of your life,

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but a day is coming

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when you will rejoice in what God has accomplished

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through them.

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Now, I hope you have the Bible opened

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at 1 Peter and chapter 1

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and you will see in verse three

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that Peter begins by reminding us of the blessing

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that is ours in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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According to his great mercy,

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he has given us new birth to living hope

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through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

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We have new birth.

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We have living hope.

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These gifts are ours through the mercy of God.

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And they have come to us

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because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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And then Peter goes on to say,

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we have an inheritance that is kept in heaven.

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Can’t ever spoil or fade.

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And God keeps the inheritance for you.

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And then on the other hand,

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Peter says God keeps you for the inheritance

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so that you will actually arrive in heaven

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and receive what he has prepared for you.

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So, it is as it were,

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God keeps the inheritance for you in one hand,

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He keeps you for the inheritance in the other,

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and one day He will bring these two marvelously together.

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And Peter says, in this, you rejoice.

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Look at what is yours in Christ.

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New birth, living hope,

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an inheritance kept for you,

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you kept for the inheritance,

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a God who one day will bring the two together

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when His salvation is revealed at the last time.

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And in this, you rejoice.

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Then Peter says,

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in this, you rejoice,

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though now, for a little while,

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if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.

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Why would God, who has blessed His children

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so richly in the Lord Jesus Christ,

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allow His own dearly loved children to be grieved?

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Why would God do that?

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This is the great enigma of the Christian life.

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If God really loves me so much, why is my life so hard?

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How can it be that if you are truly a child of God

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and an heir of heaven that you would be grieved

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by various trials.

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That’s what Peter is about to address.

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You have been grieved, he says.

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He says.

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Now grief is what we feel when we experience loss.

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Dr. Jim Packers says very helpfully

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that grief is the inward desolation

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that follows the losing of something or someone we loved.

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A child, a relative, an actual or anticipated life partner,

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a pet, a job, one’s house, one’s hopes,

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one’s health, or whatever.

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Now notice that Peter says here

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you have been grieved by various trials.

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There’s a broad range of what this looks like

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in Christian experience.

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Some are tried with physical pain,

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others are tried with mental anguish.

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Some live with the stress of responsibility that they carry.

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Others grieve the loss of responsibilities

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that they once enjoyed.

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Some would wish that they could have

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and enjoy the gift of marriage.

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And others endure a marriage from

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which they would gladly be free.

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Some live with great anxiety over a loved

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one and others grieve with great pain

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because a loved one has been taken away from them.

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Everyone has something in their life

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that they wish was different.

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And Peter says covering the whole range

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you have been grieved with various trials.

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And you can fill in the detail of what that means for you.

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Now here’s the question, why?

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What purpose could God have in these trials?

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What good might we hope would come out of them?

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And Peter says you have been grieved by various trials,

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so that, so that …

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Now you see he’s gonna tell us,

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something good will come out of the trials

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that cause you to grieve.

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Peter’s going to tell us what that is.

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You’re listening to Open the Bible

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with Pastor Colin Smith.

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We’ve met Pastor Colin Smith

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and we have to pause the message briefly there.

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The message is called Tested Faith

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and it’s part of our series

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Growing in Faith, Hope and Love.

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And if you ever miss one of our messages

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you can always come online to openthebible.org.uk

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and there you can listen to any of the messages

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which have already gone out on air.

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You can also find us as a podcast

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if that’s a better way for you to keep up

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with Pastor Colin’s teaching

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and those are available on all the main podcasting sites.

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Search for Open The Bible UK

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and subscribe to receive regular updates.

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We’re in 1 Peter Chapter One in verses three to nine today.

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As we come back to the message, here’s Colin.

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Now we’re going to see three things today.

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First, that tested faith is genuine faith.

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Second, the tested faith is more precious than gold.

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And third, that tested faith will result in praise,

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glory, and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.

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First then, tested faith is genuine faith.

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Look at what he says,

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”You have been grieved by various trials

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”so that the tested genuineness of your faith

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”may be found to result in praise and glory and honour

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”at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

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I love these words, tested genuineness,

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faith that has been proved genuine by testing.

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That’s what he’s talking about here.

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So the question then that’s before us is,

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how do you know that your faith is genuine?

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And that is a real question

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because there are many people who at one time

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professed some kind of faith and then turned back.

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Jesus speaks about this very clearly

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in the parable of the sower.

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You remember he says now,

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some people they’re just like a rocky soil

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and when the seed of the Word is sown in them,

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they receive it immediately

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and they receive it with great joy.

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But Jesus says they have no root in themselves

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but endure for a while, just for a while

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and then, when tribulation or persecution arises

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on account of the Word, immediately, they fall away.

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They’re gone.

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They turn their back on what they once professed.

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And then Jesus says there are others

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who are like ones sown among thorns.

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They are those, says Jesus, who hear the Word

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but the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches,

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and the desire for other things,

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enter in and choke the Word and it proves unfruitful.

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Now, we all know someone who at one time

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professed faith and then is turned back.

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So, how do you know that your faith is genuine?

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Well, Peter has the answer.

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He tells us that when you are grieved by various trials

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and despite them, you continue to love and to trust

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and to obey the Lord Jesus Christ,

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then you have decisive proof that your faith is genuine.

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Faith is genuine, and here’s why.

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If your faith was simply a human decision,

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if it was simply a sort of religious interest,

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if it was simply a passing phase,

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then you would renounce your faith

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as soon as it became too costly.

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If God did not do what you wanted,

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if he did not give you what you asked,

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well, if your faith was simply a human decision,

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you would turn away from worship.

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You would turn away from the Word of God.

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You would give up on prayer.

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You would no longer believe,

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and you would no longer obey the Lord Jesus Christ.

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The natural response, the natural response,

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when Jesus Christ leads a person into hard places

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would be to turn back and no longer follow him.

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But you see, Peter is writing here

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to people who have endured great trials

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and they did not turn back.

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And he is saying to them,

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well, there can only be one explanation.

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You have been born of God.

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You have a living hope

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through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

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The life of God is in you.

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The Spirit of God indwells you.

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Your faith has been proved genuine.

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You belong to Jesus Christ

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and He is yours

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forever.

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Tested faith

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is genuine faith.

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And now Peter

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goes on to tell us why that is so important.

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Because,

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tested faith is more precious than gold.

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The tested genuineness of your faith, he says,

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more precious

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than gold

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that perishes.

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Now, do you see that Peter is talking here

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about the value of a genuine faith?

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Now, the world looks on with condescending disdain

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in regards to faith.

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While faith is a good thing, you know,

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especially for those who feel that they need it,

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that’s the way in which the world views faith.

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It’s something of very little value indeed.

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The world sees faith as a kind of crutch for weak people.

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But you see, Peter tells us here

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that far from being a crutch,

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genuine faith is a gift of infinite value.

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And to press home how valuable it really is,

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he makes this comparison.

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He puts it alongside money,

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not just a little money, but a lot of money.

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He talks about pure gold.

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Suppose a man has millions of dollars, millions.

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He is blessed.

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There are many joys of life that he can savor

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because of his money,

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but only for a short time.

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Very soon, he will have to kiss his money goodbye.

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Gold is a finite value,

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but genuine faith, Peter is telling us,

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is of greater value by far,

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it is more precious than gold.

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Gold will give you access to many pleasures

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for a short while,

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genuine faith will give you access

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to the presence of God, where there is fullness of joy

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and pleasures at his right hand forevermore.

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So faith that is tested and proved genuine

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is more precious, Peter says, than gold.

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Spurgeon says, if you have faith,

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you don’t need to ask for much more,

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except that your faith will grow.

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And then Peter takes this comparison

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between faith and gold a step further.

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Notice that he speaks here about gold that perishes

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though it is tested by fire.

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I was talking, of course,

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about the way in which gold is purified

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or refined in the fire.

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And he’s saying in the same way faith is strengthened,

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faith grows, faith is refined

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when it is tested and when it is tried.

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00:22:05,400 –> 00:22:07,400

You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith

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on Open the Bible with today’s message,

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00:22:09,760 –> 00:22:12,579

Tested Faith, part of our series,

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00:22:12,579 –> 00:22:15,479

Growing in Faith, Hope and Love.

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00:22:15,479 –> 00:22:19,239

And we’ll continue with this message on our next broadcast.

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00:22:19,239 –> 00:22:20,839

If you miss any of our messages

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or if you want to go back

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00:22:21,819 –> 00:22:23,780

and listen again, as many people do,

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00:22:23,780 –> 00:22:25,380

you can do that by coming online

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00:22:25,380 –> 00:22:29,540

to our website, Openthebible.org.uk.

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00:22:29,540 –> 00:22:30,579

There, you can find all

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00:22:30,579 –> 00:22:33,479

and any of our previously broadcast messages

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00:22:33,479 –> 00:22:36,040

and you can listen to them completely free.

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You can also find Pastor Colin’s messages as podcasts

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00:22:39,619 –> 00:22:40,579

and those are available

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00:22:40,579 –> 00:22:43,339

on all the major podcasting sites.

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00:22:43,339 –> 00:22:46,140

Simply search for Open the Bible UK

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and subscribe to receive regular updates.

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00:22:48,699 –> 00:22:52,060

There’s also a link to the podcast on our website.

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00:22:52,060 –> 00:22:55,439

Our website address again is openthebible.org.uk.

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00:22:57,739 –> 00:23:00,380

Also on our website and available as a podcast

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00:23:00,380 –> 00:23:02,099

is open the Bible daily

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00:23:02,099 –> 00:23:04,819

and that’s a series of short two to three minute

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00:23:04,819 –> 00:23:08,699

daily reflections based on Pastor Colin Smith’s teaching

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00:23:08,699 –> 00:23:11,280

and read in the UK by Sue MacLeish.

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There’s a fresh one every day

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00:23:12,599 –> 00:23:16,199

and many Christians enjoy them as a way to start the day.

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00:23:17,079 –> 00:23:19,479

If you’re a regular listener to Open the Bible,

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00:23:19,479 –> 00:23:21,599

you’ll know that we are supported financially

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00:23:21,599 –> 00:23:23,280

by many of our listeners.

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00:23:23,280 –> 00:23:26,079

If you thought about helping the ministry in that way,

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00:23:26,079 –> 00:23:27,599

but you haven’t yet done it,

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00:23:27,599 –> 00:23:29,420

why not start this month?

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If you want to do that,

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00:23:30,880 –> 00:23:33,020

we have an offer for you this month.

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00:23:33,020 –> 00:23:35,699

If you’re able to begin a new regular donation

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00:23:35,699 –> 00:23:37,439

to the work of open the Bible

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00:23:37,439 –> 00:23:40,439

in the amount of £5 per month or more,

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00:23:40,439 –> 00:23:41,760

we’d love to say thank you

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00:23:41,760 –> 00:23:44,479

by sending you a copy of Jerry Bridge’s book,

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00:23:44,719 –> 00:23:46,619

Respectable Sins.

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00:23:46,619 –> 00:23:49,060

Colin who is this book for?

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00:23:49,060 –> 00:23:51,699

Well, this is a really helpful and practical book

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00:23:51,699 –> 00:23:53,300

for any Christian believer.

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00:23:53,300 –> 00:23:54,979

No matter how long you have been

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00:23:54,979 –> 00:23:57,319

following the Lord Jesus Christ.

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00:23:57,319 –> 00:24:00,319

As Christians we all recognise that we’re sinners.

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00:24:00,319 –> 00:24:02,380

We all confess that in general.

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00:24:02,380 –> 00:24:04,260

But, what would you say,

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if you were asked what are 3 sins

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that you need to be fighting against

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more strongly in your life?

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As Christians, we’re committed to living good lives.

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We’re not gonna be murdering,

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we’re committed to be loyal and faithful to our spouse.

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00:24:19,319 –> 00:24:21,400

We’re not gonna be robbing a bank.

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But, the point of course,

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is that there are more subtle sins

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alongside these obvious ones

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that may actually lurk in our hearts.

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Sins like pride, sins like discontent, judgmentalism.

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And what this book does so helpfully

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is it identifies the respectable sins.

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00:24:40,400 –> 00:24:44,500

The ones that might just be accommodated in our lives.

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And alerts us to how we need

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to engage in battle against them.

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00:24:48,599 –> 00:24:50,760

Well this book, Respectable Sins,

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00:24:50,760 –> 00:24:54,339

is our gift to you, if you’re able to start a new donation

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00:24:54,339 –> 00:24:55,839

to the work of Open The Bible

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00:24:55,839 –> 00:24:59,479

in the amount of five pounds per month or more.

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00:24:59,479 –> 00:25:02,119

For Open The Bible and pastor Colin Smith,

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00:25:02,119 –> 00:25:04,540

I’m David Pick and I hope you’ll be able to join us again

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00:25:04,540 –> 00:25:06,619

next time on Open The Bible.

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We all know that our faith will get tested at some time.

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But why is that?

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Find out next time on Open The Bible.