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You can come to know the living God not through your own speculation, ideas or feelings about

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what He may be like, but through His own revelation of Himself.

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Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick. And Colin, today we’re

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continuing with our series Close Encounters with the Living God with a message called

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The God Who Speaks for Himself.

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Yeah. And this is a huge issue because the reason that we

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can know God is that God has made Himself known. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard

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this thing about all religion is like blind men trying to describe an elephant. So, you

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know, one guy’s feeling the tail of the elephant and says, oh, this is like a rope. One’s feeling

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the side of the elephant and then someone else has got the trunk and so forth and so

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on. And so you know religion is just like blind men trying to describe an elephant.

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In other words, none of us can really know. But here’s the thing that makes

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the difference. What if the elephant could speak? What if the elephant could say, hey,

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let me tell you blind men who I am and what I am? That would change everything. And what

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the scripture makes plain to us is that the God of the Bible is the God who speaks. God

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who makes Himself known. That’s how we can have confidence in really knowing him. We

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want to open the Bible where God has spoken in order that we may know who he really is.

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Not by trying to guess, not by our own opinion, oh, I like to think that God’s like this,

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but by actually listening to what God Himself has said.

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So today we’re in Micah and chapter 2. So I hope you’ll be able to join us in your Bible

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we begin the message—the God who speaks for Himself. Here’s Colin.

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Now we saw last week that the God of the Bible is sovereign. What that means is that He is

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not overwhelmed by evil. The disasters of life and of this world in other words cannot

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overwhelm His purpose. He is in control of history and He is moving it towards its climactic

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moment when Jesus Christ will be revealed. And He is in control of your life. He will

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use every experience, both the good and the bad to advance His purpose which is that a

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true reflection of His Son- Jesus Christ will be formed in you and will therefore reflect

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His glory for all eternity. Now this is good news. There may be many things in our lives

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that are not as we would want them to be right now, but they are not there by random chance

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and God is at work in every circumstance of your life. So we concluded last week that

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God of the Bible is worth knowing. This God who can bring great good out of even the worst

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disasters is the God I need to know, living in this world I need to have a close encounter

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with Him. Now the obvious question that follows from then is how is that possible? How can

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I know this sovereign God of the Bible? How can I know God? That really is the most fundamental

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question a human being can ever ask, isn’t it? How can I know Him? I mean God is invisible.

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I can’t see Him, hear Him, touch Him, taste Him, or smell Him. And more than that, God

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is incomprehensible, I mean, how could I, a small part of this creation in a tiny capsule

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of time ever expect to know the Creator who is eternal? How is that possible? I have an

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rechargeable electric shaver, or at least I did until I took it over to Britain, found

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an adapter and plugged it into the 240-volt electric supply. And you know what happened.

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It fried. Now you see, if you were to take all the power and glory of the Eternal God

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and try to communicate it down to this tiny little brain, that is exactly what would happen.

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I mean, the storm of thunder and lightning is overwhelming to us. How much more the infinite

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glory of the Eternal Creator God? So, how can I know God?

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There really are two approaches, one that works and one that doesn’t. We’re going

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to take a few moments to look at them both. Two ways in which people attempt to know God,

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one that works, one that doesn’t. Let’s start with the one that doesn’t,

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and that is speculation. Now very simply, a large part of the world’s

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religion is simply human speculation about the nature of God. Men and women, though frankly

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it has to be said mainly men, have thought and talked and meditated and written about

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what they think God is like. And the 21st Century Secularists, are picking up on this.

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They are making the point that a large part of religion is really only a projection of

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people’s own ideas, which reflect of course, their own prejudices and their own limited

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point of view. And therefore, that we should not be bound by this.

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21st Century Secularists are saying very clearly in our day that we can gain light, we can

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gain inspiration from great religious thinkers and teachers, but what really matters is not

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what they said, but what it means to you today. What do you think about God? What is your

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experience about God? What do you feel about faith?

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Now I’d suggest to you today that any approach to knowing God that begins with our speculation

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will lead to idolatry. Any approach to knowing God that begins with our speculation will

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lead to idolatry, and idol of course is simply my idea of what God is like. And in ancient

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times of course, and still in a large part of the East today, idols were fashioned out

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of wood, stone, metal. In modern times and in most of the West today, idols are not metal,

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but they are mental. They are constructed not in a workshop, but in a classroom. I like

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to think of God like this we say, and then proceed to lay out our own speculation. Now

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an idol is simply my idea of what God is like, and any approach to knowing God that begins

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with our speculation will lead to idolatry, that’s what it is. Now it has to be said

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that around the world, religion that is based on speculation can bring to a person some

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strength and comfort. Let me tell you how. Some years ago, some friends of ours were

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taking a vacation, and we had their little boy to stay with us over the weekend while

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they were gone, and just before the parents left, the little lad’s mother said to us,

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oh by the way, you need to know that he has an imaginary cat, and so if he starts, as

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he’s going up to bed talking to the cat, don’t worry about it. That’s what he does every

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night, and it seems to comfort him, and sure enough, that’s exactly what happened.

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Now, in the same way, an imaginary god may be of great comfort to many, but an imaginary

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god cannot save you. An imaginary god cannot reach with power into your life when something

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is overwhelming you. An imaginary god can’t do that. A god who is merely a projection

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of your own thoughts and feelings is simply an extension of yourself. And so when you’re

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in trouble, an extension of yourself can’t do anything about it. If that is your god,

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you are ultimately on your own. So it becomes quite clear then that you cannot come to know

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the living god by speculation. So we come back to our question, how then can I know

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god? If speculation won’t work, if it can’t just be an extension or expression of my thoughts

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and my feelings and my experiences, then how can I come to know god? Here’s the answer

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that will work, revelation. Now this is the word that we use to describe how the invisible

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and incomprehensible god has made himself known. You can come to know the living god

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not through your own speculation, ideas or feelings about what he may be like, but through

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his own revelation of himself. You say, well how has god revealed himself? two ways, by

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words and by deeds, by speaking and by acting. You say, well what are gods actions? He created

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the world. He sent his son into the world. Jesus died on the cross. On the third day

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the tomb was empty. But alongside gods actions there are also gods words. Its very important

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that the two come together. We often say actions speak louder than words, and that’s true.

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But it is also true that words speak clearer than actions. Let me try and illustrate that

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for you. I recently saw a documentary about the event of September 11th the story being

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told from the perspective of the vice president. And he told about at one point during that

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dreadful morning, two men from the secret service came into his office to take him to

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the undisclosed location. He described the incident that sir, these two men said, there

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is a threat to the White House we must leave immediately and the vice president responded

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to this, apparently by some comment to the effect that he would just finish what he was

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doing only to hear the words sir we must leave now! With this the vice president said the

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two men literally took him from his chair and with one either side holding him by the

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arms, literally manhandled the vice president of the United States out of his office.

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Now that action. I want you to imagine what it would have been like without words. I mean

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what if these two men from the secret servants had simply stormed into the office of the

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vice president of the United States and without saying a word had come around his desk and

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grabbed him and taken him out? With no words at all?

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How could the vice president possibly have understood what was happening?

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You see actions without words are often ambiguous. When the secret servicemen said the white

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house is under attack we must leave now, their words make sense of their actions.

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So it is a wonderful thing that God speaks in actions but it is also a wonderful thing

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he speaks in words because if he spoke in actions only we would have no way of knowing

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what these actions mean. Now that is precisely where a lot of people are today you see there

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are many and this is a wonderful thing in the scientific community today who are opening

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up to the idea that the world bares the marks of intelligent design, that’s good, but even

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if there is intelligence behind the universe what difference does that make to my life?

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That action of intelligence is meaningless to me unless it is explained in words. So

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Jesus claimed to be the son of God and died on the cross, what difference in all the world

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does that going to make to me? See, if you want to understand God’s action, you need

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to listen to God’s word. What does the cross have to do with you? God’s words tell you.

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The son of God loved you and gave himself for you. That is why though it was two thousand

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years ago, it speaks right into your life today. He died for your sins, according to

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the scripture. God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for you, so that in him you

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might become the very righteousness of God. That’s what it’s got to do with you. God

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speaks, and his words give meaning to his actions, and his actions give substance to

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his words. And you can have a close encounter with a living eternal God, because he has

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made himself known. He has made himself known in words and deeds that are found in the scriptures

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that everywhere point you to Jesus Christ. That’s revelation.

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To watch this, one of our broadcasts, or if you want to go back and listen again, you can do that by coming online to our website openthebible.org.uk

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And there you can listen to any of the messages which have already been broadcast. You’ll

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also find our messages now as a podcast if that’s a better way for you to keep up with

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Pastor Colin’s teaching, and those are available on all the major podcasting sites. Simply

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search for Open The Bible UK and subscribe to receive regular updates

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Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners and later on in the programme we’ll

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hear about a special offer if you’re able to begin supporting the work of Open the Bible

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this month. Back to the message now, here’s Colin.

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Well, I hope you still have Micah Chapter 2 open in front of you because we’re now going

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to see that this entire chapter is about speculation and revelation. What we find here is first

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speculation that is offered to the community of those who believe by false prophets and

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then revelation that is offered to the same community by the very words of God. Let’s

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look at God’s revelation first, beginning in verse one. Let’s look at what God says.

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Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds.

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Now here God is speaking through the prophet Micah who received remember directly the

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word of the Lord, he’s speaking to people who are intentionally pursuing the wrong path.

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The aims of these people who take the name of being believers and think of themselves

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as being righteous. The aim of their plans is to make money by taking advantage of vulnerable

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people, verse 2, they covet fields, they seize them, and houses, and take them, and they

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defraud a man of his home, and a fellow man of his inheritance. Of course and farming

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communities the land was everything. If you lost your land, you lost your means of income

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and that is why the Old Testament had special laws that were about protecting the land so

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that even if you were faced with great financial difficulty and had to sell it, the land would

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revert either to you or to your children after a period of years, in other words it was only

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sold on a lease-hold basis, never freehold.

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These land laws in the Old Testament were intended to put a break on the process by

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which the rich become richer and the poor become poorer that is otherwise seen throughout

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society. But of course implementing the law was in the hands of the powerful who also

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be the rich and therefore these laws were not in the interest of those who were supposed

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to implement the laws and so they were simply ignored. And God has something to say about

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that.

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Micah chapter 2 makes it very clear that God is interested in how you make your money.

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He’s not very interested in the amount of money you have but He’s very interested

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in how you made it. So let’s take a moment to think about that. Is it something that

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contributes to the community? Or do you make your money by taking advantage of the misfortune

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of others? What Micah chapter 2 is saying is that God the God of the Bible is angered

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by business schemes that take money simply by exploiting the weakness of vulnerable people.

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How is that loving your neighbor? Now in Micah’s day this sort of thing happened a great deal

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it seems by those who would make loans and then foreclose on the loans, moving people

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of their homes, seizing their property at a fraction of its real value and of course the

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same thing can happen today. In our time we have other expressions of it. In the abuse

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of our court system so full of people attempting to destroy each other financially grasping

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opportunities at the slightest pretext to bring a lawsuit in order to gain money. And

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of course it’s the same spirit that has led to the multiplication of lotteries and gambling

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in our culture. If your only question is how can I make money here? If that’s the only

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question you ask, not the wrong question to ask, but if that’s the only question you ask

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and you do not think about effect of what you are doing on the lives of other people

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and especially perhaps those who are vulnerable, then you will very soon find yourself in some

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scheme that takes advantage of the weakest people in society. I often think about this

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when I see adverts on television for ways of making fantastic amounts of money through

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repossessed property that can be bought at a fraction of the cost with no money down.

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Someone is very interested in how you make your money. Where did it come from, how did

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you get it? Was it earned by something that contributed to the community? Or did you get

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it by taking advantage of the most vulnerable? Now this pattern you see, of taking advantage

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most vulnerable in society become endemic in Israel in Micah’s day, and therefore

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in verse 3 God speaks about it. Therefore, the Lord says. The name there is the name

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Yahweh 4 capital letters for Lord, God’s distinct personal name given in the Old Testament.

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Therefore Yahweh says, God is speaking, and he explains the action that he is about to

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take towards those who have taken advantage of the most vulnerable? Verse 3 Here’s what

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God says. I’m planning, disaster. Against those people from which you can not save yourselves.

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Now of course, this is precisely what happened sometime later, 586 years before the birth

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of Jesus Nebuchathnessar’s armies came to Jerusalem, and there was dreadful destruction.

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So God says I’m planning disaster. That’s the first thing, verse 3. Here’s the second,

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I will gather a remnant verse 12. This is what God says in his revelation. Verse 12

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I will surely gather all of you O Jacob. I will surely bring together the remnant of

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Israel. God’s hand was upon that small community and they stayed there for the next 70 years

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and then this remaining group, that is why they’re called the remnant, the group that

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remained out of all this disaster, they were brought back 70 years later to rebuild Jerusalem

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in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. So, very simply then, if we were to say what does God

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say, God’s word is a message about judgement and salvation.

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You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith on Open The Bible and a message called The

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God Who Speaks For Himself. We have to pause the message right there for now, but when

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we come back, we’ll continue next time to hear about the action that God can take accounts

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of those who take advantage of the vulnerable. So I hope you’ll join us for that.

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The message is part of a series called Close Encounters with the Living God and if you’ve

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missed any of the series so far or if you want to go back and listen again, you can

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do that by coming online to our website open the Bible.org.uk. You can find all of the

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previously broadcasted messages there. You can also find them as a podcast, if that’s

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a better way for you to keep up with Pastor Colin’s teaching and that’s available

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on all the regular podcasting sites, by searching for Open the Bible UK.

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Also on our website and available as a podcast, you can find Open the Bible Daily, that’s

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a series of short two to three minute daily reflections based on Pastor Colin’s teaching

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and read in UK by Sue McLeishe. Open the Bible is supported entirely by our

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listeners, and if thats something you’re considering doing this month we’d like to

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thank you by sending you a copy of Kevin de Jonge’s book Impossible Christianity.

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Colin who would you say this book is for? Well you get a flavour of what this book is

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about from its subtitle, now it’s really long so are you ready?

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By following Jesus does not mean that you have to change the world, be an expert in

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everything, accept spiritual failure and feel miserable pretty much all of the

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time and it really points to what the book is all about that sometimes we put

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burdens on ourselves that God never intended us to carry and that’s hence

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the reason for the title Impossible Christianity we put burdens on ourselves

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that were never given to us by God and one of the wonderful things about this

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I find reading it was just liberating it brought a sense of fresh peace to my

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soul that it is possible to live a life that is pleasing to God and that this is

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the life into which the Lord Jesus Christ himself leads us.

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Well we’d love to send you a copy of Kevin de Young’s book Impossible Christianity as a thank-you gift

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by giving up a new payment to the work of open the Bible in the amount of five

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pounds per month or more that offer runs all this month and you can find details

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on our website at open the Bible.org.uk. you can also give online.

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For open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith I’m David Pick and I hope you’ll be able to join us again next time on open the Bible

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Wherever the Word of God is spoken you’ll find there are those who will bring an

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alternative message. Find out why it can seem so attractive next time on Open The Bible.