100:00:00,640 –> 00:00:06,480We all do wrong things at least some of the time.200:00:06,480 –> 00:00:11,360But Ephesians chapter 2 is going behind the fact that we all do wrong things300:00:11,360 –> 00:00:14,160some of the time and it’s asking the question why?400:00:14,160 –> 00:00:17,840Why do I sin? Why did I do it? That’s the question.500:00:17,840 –> 00:00:22,040Welcome to Open The Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick.600:00:22,040 –> 00:00:26,000I’m glad you could join us today and Colin, we’re tackling a big question today.700:00:26,000 –> 00:00:27,420Why do we sin?800:00:27,420 –> 00:00:32,619That’s a pretty big question isn’t it and there are really only two possible ways to go with the answer,900:00:32,619 –> 00:00:36,459either the problem is out there or else it’s in here.1000:00:36,900 –> 00:00:41,400In other words, either we’re going to default to saying that it’s my circumstances,1100:00:41,400 –> 00:00:45,340it’s my environment, it’s other people, it’s just a lot that I’ve been given to carry,1200:00:45,340 –> 00:00:51,340it’s always someone else’s problem or we’re going to say that there is something internal at work within me1300:00:51,340 –> 00:00:57,939that causes me to respond in certain ways, and I’m responsible for it because it’s part of me.1400:00:57,939 –> 00:01:04,860Now the Bible takes us to that second reality, the reality that sin dwells in all human beings1500:01:04,860 –> 00:01:08,940and its remains still dwell within a believer so that as a Christian1600:01:08,940 –> 00:01:12,220no Christian is able ever to say I am without sin,1700:01:12,220 –> 00:01:14,360if we say we’re without sin, we deceive ourselves.1800:01:14,720 –> 00:01:19,059It’s pretty important to understand where this is coming from1900:01:19,059 –> 00:01:23,599and then to know what it is that we can do about it by the grace of God.2000:01:23,599 –> 00:01:29,699So that’s today’s message, what we can do about it so join us if you can in Ephesians 22100:01:29,699 –> 00:01:35,120as we begin a message that the heart wants what it wants, here is Pastor Colin.2200:01:35,120 –> 00:01:39,180Well, we’re continuing our series that’s entitled The Inside Story2300:01:39,440 –> 00:01:45,120And we’re asking the question, why is the world as it is today?2400:01:45,120 –> 00:01:50,699If you’re just joining us in the series, we started in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 292500:01:50,699 –> 00:01:56,660where these read these words, that God made Adam upright but men have gone in search of2600:01:56,660 –> 00:01:58,919many schemes.2700:01:58,919 –> 00:02:03,940So God made Adam upright, but men and women today are not upright.2800:02:03,940 –> 00:02:08,800Something has changed, we are not as Adam was.2900:02:08,820 –> 00:02:14,039We have followed the story in the Bible to see how it is that this happened.3000:02:14,039 –> 00:02:19,160And we have looked in Genesis at how Adam and Eve were tempted.3100:02:19,160 –> 00:02:22,860Sin was outside of Adam when he was in the garden.3200:02:22,860 –> 00:02:27,220But after he committed that first sin sin got into him.3300:02:27,220 –> 00:02:32,279And when Adam and Eve’s children were born, they were born, not only in the image of God3400:02:32,279 –> 00:02:37,039as Adam was made, but they were also born in the likeness of their father Adam.3500:02:37,240 –> 00:02:43,479In other words, from Seth onwards, we find that the generations of human history are3600:02:43,479 –> 00:02:50,059in fact marked with the impulse of sin already within the nature that we inherit from our3700:02:50,059 –> 00:02:51,880father Adam.3800:02:51,880 –> 00:02:56,960And so we saw from this that all of us today live with what we called the enigma of the3900:02:56,960 –> 00:02:58,080double image.4000:02:58,080 –> 00:03:00,100The enigma of the double image.4100:03:00,100 –> 00:03:04,639That is, you are made in the image of God, which is what gives your life meaning, value,4200:03:04,639 –> 00:03:06,360and worth.4300:03:06,360 –> 00:03:11,139But at the same time, we are all born in the likeness of our father Adam, which means that4400:03:11,139 –> 00:03:14,960by nature we are messed up and we are vulnerable.4500:03:14,960 –> 00:03:18,100That’s what we’ve learned so far.4600:03:18,100 –> 00:03:24,419Now over the last few weeks, a number of you have asked or commented about the riots that4700:03:24,419 –> 00:03:29,440broke out in various parts of Great Britain last month.4800:03:29,440 –> 00:03:34,979Some of you have picked up on the fact that one of the hotspots for these sad troubles4900:03:35,139 –> 00:03:41,979was Enfield, which was the small suburb on the north side of London where Karin and I5000:03:41,979 –> 00:03:45,660lived for 16 happy years.5100:03:45,660 –> 00:03:50,740I’ve got to tell you, when you hear news of such violence breaking out literally round5200:03:50,740 –> 00:03:55,660the corner from the home where you have lived, it is really hard to take this in.5300:03:55,899 –> 00:04:00,979Watching the news and knowing that the rioting was on the very streets that I walked from5400:04:01,100 –> 00:04:07,740our home to the church every day in life, I found myself asking, how can this happen,5500:04:07,740 –> 00:04:12,699and who would be doing these things and why?5600:04:12,699 –> 00:04:17,980Of course, in the aftermath of these events, all of the common explanations that are often5700:04:17,980 –> 00:04:20,959repeated, have been rolled out again.5800:04:20,959 –> 00:04:22,899Is it deficiencies in education?5900:04:22,899 –> 00:04:27,720Is it deficiencies in housing and employment and so forth and so on?6000:04:27,739 –> 00:04:34,799Then just last month, I read a piece in the London Times that really got my attention,6100:04:34,799 –> 00:04:37,500and I’d like to read from it to you.6200:04:37,500 –> 00:04:47,200This is the front page of the London Times on August the 12th of this year, and the newspaper6300:04:47,920 –> 00:04:53,959led, the national newspaper, led with a five-word banner headline.6400:04:53,959 –> 00:04:58,140Why did I do it?6500:04:58,140 –> 00:04:59,140Why did I do it?6600:04:59,140 –> 00:05:03,359And I will read from the article as follows.6700:05:03,359 –> 00:05:11,500Last month, Natasha Reid’s parents watched with pride as she graduated from university6800:05:11,500 –> 00:05:14,399and prepared for a career as a social worker.6900:05:14,820 –> 00:05:21,420Yesterday, they were picking up the pieces of her shattered life as she sobbed inconsolably7000:05:21,420 –> 00:05:28,040in her bedroom, rueing the wrong turn that had added a criminal record to her degree7100:05:28,040 –> 00:05:32,299and had jeopardized her dream of professional success.7200:05:32,299 –> 00:05:41,079Reid, age 24, from a comfortable upbringing in Edmonton, North London, walked in brazenly7300:05:41,079 –> 00:05:47,399and stole a flat-screen television when she noticed that the Enfield branch of Comet—7400:05:47,399 –> 00:05:49,760Comet’s kind of like Best Buy, okay?7500:05:49,760 –> 00:05:55,760So Best Buy is what’s prized open, if you think of what that image is like in this main7600:05:55,760 –> 00:05:56,880town.7700:05:56,880 –> 00:06:00,959She walks in, she steals a flat-screen TV, when she noticed that the Enfield branch of7800:06:00,959 –> 00:06:05,359Comet had been broken into on Sunday night.7900:06:05,480 –> 00:06:12,000Reed’s mother, Pamela, told The Times last night that her daughter was, quote,8000:06:12,000 –> 00:06:15,500’…baffled by her criminal behaviour.’8100:06:15,519 –> 00:06:18,839The mother says she didn’t want a TV.8200:06:18,839 –> 00:06:20,859She doesn’t even know why she took it.8300:06:20,859 –> 00:06:25,959She doesn’t need a tele, she said, adding that a 27-inch television already hangs in8400:06:25,959 –> 00:06:29,440her bedroom in the family home.8500:06:29,440 –> 00:06:34,679Speaking from her home in Rosemary Avenue, where a huge, legally acquired TV dominates8600:06:34,760 –> 00:06:43,100the living room and an Audi sits in the driveway, Reed’s relatives said that she bitterly8700:06:43,220 –> 00:06:51,500regrets the, quote, ‘…apparently spontaneous theft that, at a stroke, has put her future8800:06:51,500 –> 00:06:53,920career in jeopardy.’8900:06:53,920 –> 00:07:00,799Reed said that she had been on her way to McDonald’s in nearby Enfield on Sunday night9000:07:00,980 –> 00:07:07,019when she noticed that the Comet store had been broken into. Caught up in the hysteria9100:07:07,019 –> 00:07:14,899of the riots, she made a split-second decision to join the intruders.9200:07:14,899 –> 00:07:16,359Well, you know what happens?9300:07:16,359 –> 00:07:20,480Here’s this girl and she’s just graduated from university. She’s going to be a social9400:07:20,480 –> 00:07:24,559worker. She comes from a very good family, prosperous family.9500:07:24,559 –> 00:07:28,359And she has a telly already in her own bedroom as well as a huge one in the living room.9600:07:28,559 –> 00:07:31,279And here’s this hysteria that’s going on.9700:07:31,279 –> 00:07:32,959And she makes a split-second decision.9800:07:32,959 –> 00:07:33,959In she goes.9900:07:33,959 –> 00:07:35,359She walks out with a flatscreen TV.10000:07:35,359 –> 00:07:38,760It’s all, of course, recorded on the videos cameras.10100:07:38,760 –> 00:07:44,000And a few days later the police are knocking at Natasha’s door.10200:07:44,000 –> 00:07:45,279I end the quote here.10300:07:45,279 –> 00:07:51,839Natasha’s family told the reporter, she hasn’t slept since Sunday night.10400:07:51,839 –> 00:07:55,679She hasn’t eaten this morning.10500:07:55,679 –> 00:07:59,600She’s bawling her eyes out.10600:07:59,600 –> 00:08:04,799She says, I just don’t get it.10700:08:04,799 –> 00:08:08,600Why did I do it?10800:08:08,600 –> 00:08:12,059Have you ever asked that question?10900:08:12,059 –> 00:08:17,559Have you ever said something that just came out of your mouth and you knew immediately11000:08:17,559 –> 00:08:20,220that it was a hurtful thing and you should never have said it.11100:08:20,220 –> 00:08:24,839Why did I say that?11200:08:25,100 –> 00:08:29,880And last week we looked at words from Jeremiah, chapter 17, in verse 9, The heart is deceitful11300:08:29,880 –> 00:08:32,599above all things, and it is beyond cure.11400:08:32,599 –> 00:08:35,000Who can understand it?11500:08:35,000 –> 00:08:36,559Do you understand your own heart?11600:08:36,559 –> 00:08:40,200Do you understand all that you do?11700:08:40,200 –> 00:08:48,119And David says in Psalm 19 he asked the same question, who can discern his errors?11800:08:48,119 –> 00:08:52,119So here’s David, the king, and here’s Jeremiah the prophet, and they’re both making exactly11900:08:52,280 –> 00:08:53,280the same point.12000:08:53,280 –> 00:08:57,219They have discovered from their own experience, as I’ve discovered from mine, I’m sure you12100:08:57,219 –> 00:09:03,080have from yours, that there is something going on inside of me that makes me a mystery to12200:09:03,080 –> 00:09:07,700myself, I cannot understand all that I say or even understand all that I do.12300:09:07,700 –> 00:09:09,799Why did I do that?12400:09:09,799 –> 00:09:16,080There isn’t a thoughtful human being alive who has not asked that question.12500:09:16,080 –> 00:09:20,140You’re listening to Open The Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called12600:09:20,619 –> 00:09:26,260The Heart Wants What It Wants, part of our series, The Inside Story of Human Life.12700:09:26,260 –> 00:09:29,979And if you’ve missed any of the messages in the series, or if you want to go back and12800:09:29,979 –> 00:09:36,239listen again, you can do that by coming online to our website, openthebible.org.uk,12900:09:36,239 –> 00:09:42,719or alternatively go and find it on your favourite podcast site, search there for Open The Bible UK,13000:09:42,719 –> 00:09:45,460or follow the link from our website.13100:09:45,539 –> 00:09:52,119Open The Bible is supported by our many listeners, and if you’re one of them, thank you so much!13200:09:52,119 –> 00:09:57,659It’s not just the radio programme, the website, and podcasts that you’re supporting.13300:09:57,659 –> 00:10:00,500Here’s Open The Bible’s executive director, John Martin.13400:10:00,500 –> 00:10:06,000David, it’s very exciting that we’ve seen an open door ironically into prisons.13500:10:06,000 –> 00:10:10,280We have distributed the film of the story of the thief on the cross, Heaven How I Got13600:10:10,280 –> 00:10:11,940Here, based on Colin’s short book.13700:10:12,440 –> 00:10:18,159We printed this onto a DVD and sent it into every prison in England and Wales last year,13800:10:18,159 –> 00:10:24,119and this year we’re trialling a 15-session course of Colin’s material, Fly Through The13900:10:24,119 –> 00:10:25,559Bible.14000:10:25,559 –> 00:10:29,919This has been done in partnership with Daylight Christian Prison Trust, who also helped us14100:10:29,919 –> 00:10:36,340distribute the film, and we’re also partnering with London City Mission to trial this course.14200:10:36,340 –> 00:10:40,380Sessions begin with inmates watching a short video of Pastor Colin reading each chapter14300:10:40,400 –> 00:10:45,840of the book, and then they do a simple Bible study with booklets designed for prison use14400:10:45,840 –> 00:10:49,119given to every participant.14500:10:49,119 –> 00:10:51,080One prison chaplain said this.14600:10:51,080 –> 00:10:54,239The men really listen to Pastor Colin.14700:10:54,239 –> 00:10:58,940The focus on the Bible characters has been really good, and rich conversations have come14800:10:58,940 –> 00:11:00,659from it.14900:11:00,659 –> 00:11:05,140One of the men is using it on his wing to lead his own Bible study with other men who15000:11:05,140 –> 00:11:06,760aren’t in the groups.15100:11:06,760 –> 00:11:08,880It’s all very encouraging.15200:11:08,900 –> 00:11:13,739So David, if listeners are interested in supporting this prison ministry that we have in partnership15300:11:13,739 –> 00:11:17,780with Daylight Christian Prison Trust and the London City Mission, they can get in touch15400:11:17,780 –> 00:11:20,739with us and do a donation through the website.15500:11:20,739 –> 00:11:25,140You can get involved in supporting Open the Bible’s work by coming to our website.15600:11:25,140 –> 00:11:26,979openthebible.org.UK.15700:11:26,979 –> 00:11:32,820You’ll find lots more information, terms and conditions, and you can give online.15800:11:32,820 –> 00:11:34,559Back to the message now.15900:11:34,559 –> 00:11:36,700Here, again, is Pastor Colin.16000:11:37,440 –> 00:11:41,179Now, would you open your Bibles today at Ephesians in chapter 2?16100:11:41,200 –> 00:11:44,020Ephesians in chapter 2.16200:11:44,020 –> 00:11:47,479Because God speaks directly to this question.16300:11:47,479 –> 00:11:52,919Why did I do that in these verses that are before us today?16400:11:52,919 –> 00:11:56,799Ephesians chapter 2-I’m going to read just the first three verses and our focus will16500:11:56,799 –> 00:11:59,599be on verse three.16600:11:59,599 –> 00:12:03,840Ephesians chapter 2, from the beginning we read these words.16700:12:03,979 –> 00:12:10,179As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you16800:12:10,200 –> 00:12:15,099followed the ways of the world, and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, and the spirit16900:12:15,099 –> 00:12:19,239who is now at work in those who are disobedient.17000:12:19,239 –> 00:12:28,419And Paul says, verse 3, all of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings17100:12:28,460 –> 00:12:36,400of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.17200:12:36,400 –> 00:12:41,760I want to make just two observations from this verse today, and then to apply them to17300:12:41,780 –> 00:12:43,719all of our lives.17400:12:43,719 –> 00:12:47,520The first very obvious observation is that sin goes everywhere.17500:12:47,520 –> 00:12:57,599Do you notice in this verse, verse 3, that sin clearly inhabits our thoughts, our desires,17600:12:57,799 –> 00:13:01,679and when it refers to the cravings, it is clearly referring there to the heart, so you’ve17700:13:01,679 –> 00:13:04,719got the mind and the will and the heart.17800:13:04,719 –> 00:13:09,719You’ve got the thoughts, you’ve got the desires, and you’ve got the affections.17900:13:09,719 –> 00:13:16,320And what the apostle Paul is saying here is that sin penetrates and corrupts all dimensions18000:13:16,320 –> 00:13:18,159of the human personality.18100:13:18,159 –> 00:13:20,539It is pervasive.18200:13:20,539 –> 00:13:23,080It affects what we love.18300:13:23,080 –> 00:13:25,520It affects what we want.18400:13:25,659 –> 00:13:27,940It affects what we think.18500:13:27,940 –> 00:13:33,719All of these things are shot through by the impulse of sin, which is why our Lord Jesus18600:13:33,719 –> 00:13:35,320says this is the verdict.18700:13:35,320 –> 00:13:41,559Light has come into the world, but men have loved darkness instead of light.18800:13:41,559 –> 00:13:45,760It’s not just our failure to believe the right things, it’s our failure to love the right18900:13:45,760 –> 00:13:50,479things, because sin goes pervasively through the whole of the personality.19000:13:50,479 –> 00:13:55,619And so this issue of sin that we’re trying to get our minds around in the series, it19100:13:55,619 –> 00:14:00,719runs deeper and it is wider than we may often think.19200:14:00,719 –> 00:14:07,700Not only are we sinners because we sin, but what we are learning here is that we sin because19300:14:07,700 –> 00:14:10,719we are sinners.19400:14:10,719 –> 00:14:14,119And most people grasp the first statement, you know, we all do wrong things at least19500:14:14,119 –> 00:14:20,080some of the time, but Ephesians chapter two is going behind the fact that we all do wrong19600:14:20,119 –> 00:14:23,640things some of the time and it’s asking the question why?19700:14:23,640 –> 00:14:24,640Why do I sin?19800:14:24,640 –> 00:14:25,760Why did I do it?19900:14:25,760 –> 00:14:28,659That’s the question.20000:14:28,659 –> 00:14:29,760Where does this come from?20100:14:29,760 –> 00:14:35,640And the answer that we’re gaining here is that we sin because we are sinners, it comes20200:14:35,640 –> 00:14:40,940out of us, there is a nature within us that produces sin.20300:14:40,940 –> 00:14:45,799So if you think of that awful image of the oil well that seemed to take forever to be20400:14:46,580 –> 00:14:52,179and every night earlier this year we were hearing of oil that was spewing itself out20500:14:52,179 –> 00:14:53,640into the Gulf.20600:14:53,640 –> 00:14:56,359See, that’s what the sinful nature is like.20700:14:56,359 –> 00:15:00,320It’s always producing, always producing.20800:15:00,320 –> 00:15:08,700Always throwing up some new way of wrong thinking and wrong affections and wrong desires and20900:15:08,700 –> 00:15:14,919if you’re a Christian you’re battling that all of your life.21000:15:14,940 –> 00:15:20,520So to repeat the analogy that we used from last week, the problem of sin, it’s bigger21100:15:20,520 –> 00:15:23,340than crayon on the wall.21200:15:23,340 –> 00:15:28,659You know a kid’s crayons on the wall you can wipe that off or you can paint it over,21300:15:28,659 –> 00:15:32,200but the problem of sin is bigger than crayon on the wall.21400:15:32,200 –> 00:15:35,679It’s more like mold in the wall.21500:15:35,679 –> 00:15:38,500You can’t just paint over that, it’s a living thing.21600:15:38,799 –> 00:15:45,659It spreads, it grows, and unchecked it will take you to your destruction.21700:15:46,919 –> 00:15:51,659In other words, the Bible’s teaching is that sin is in us, not just around us, not simply21800:15:51,659 –> 00:15:57,299environmental, not that we’re sort of born really good people at heart but then we’re21900:15:57,299 –> 00:15:59,580put into a bad world and that’s where problem lies.22000:15:59,580 –> 00:16:05,520No, the problem lies in us, which is why we read the words of Jesus from Mark chapter22100:16:05,679 –> 00:16:15,0997 where he says from within out of man’s hearts, that’s where greed comes from.22200:16:15,099 –> 00:16:21,080That’s where malice or deceit or envy or arrogance or folly comes from.22300:16:21,080 –> 00:16:27,539In other words, Jesus is saying quite clearly, foolishness comes out of your heart.22400:16:27,539 –> 00:16:32,799Putting other people down, that put down line, it came out of your heart.22500:16:32,799 –> 00:16:34,539The endless desire for more.22600:16:34,539 –> 00:16:37,200Where does that come from, that drives so many men.22700:16:37,200 –> 00:16:41,340It comes out of the sinful heart.22800:16:41,340 –> 00:16:44,400These things are in us.22900:16:44,400 –> 00:16:46,280That’s where sins comes from.23000:16:46,280 –> 00:16:53,320That’s the Bible’s answer to the question, why did I do it?23100:16:53,320 –> 00:16:58,059So sin goes everywhere and here’s the second very simple observation this morning, sin23200:16:58,059 –> 00:17:00,460is in everyone.23300:17:00,799 –> 00:17:07,839Here it is verse three again, all of us, all of us, very important words, the apostle Paul23400:17:07,839 –> 00:17:13,380writing and he includes himself, all of us also lived among them at one time, that’s23500:17:13,380 –> 00:17:18,420we were all in these sins, in this pattern of disobedience, gratifying the cravings of23600:17:18,420 –> 00:17:23,060the sinful nature and following its desires and its thoughts.23700:17:23,060 –> 00:17:24,060This is very significant.23800:17:24,119 –> 00:17:33,160You notice how Paul moves from you in verse one to us in verse three.23900:17:33,160 –> 00:17:39,900There were particular forms of darkness that no doubt were part of the Ephesian past with24000:17:39,900 –> 00:17:45,540a gross immorality of the culture and the apostle Paul, as a Pharisee, was not part24100:17:45,540 –> 00:17:52,459of that, but notice by the time he gets to verse three he very deliberately includes24200:17:52,479 –> 00:17:59,780himself, so that this problem of sin and of this sinful nature, we cannot simply say it24300:17:59,780 –> 00:18:01,699is with the rebel out there.24400:18:01,699 –> 00:18:05,619Here’s the apostle Paul who was the most religious man you could imagine.24500:18:05,619 –> 00:18:11,160Folks, this was about the most conservative man you would ever meet.24600:18:11,160 –> 00:18:13,599This was one of the most moral men you would ever meet.24700:18:13,599 –> 00:18:18,920This was one of the most disciplined men you could ever meet.24800:18:18,920 –> 00:18:25,520And he poured his life effort into being a good person.24900:18:25,520 –> 00:18:32,819And for many years in his life he felt that he was righteous.25000:18:32,819 –> 00:18:37,319And the strange thing is that his own religion actually reinforced that impression within25100:18:37,319 –> 00:18:40,359his own soul.25200:18:40,359 –> 00:18:47,079But then he had a living encounter with the risen Lord Jesus Christ and he discovered25300:18:47,359 –> 00:18:50,920far from righteous he really was.25400:18:50,920 –> 00:18:53,719And everything changed.25500:18:53,719 –> 00:19:03,880And Jesus opened his eyes, Paul’s eyes, to see how lost he really was.25600:19:03,880 –> 00:19:07,560And so he writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in this verse, it’s not just25700:19:07,560 –> 00:19:14,160you, it’s not just people who are pursuing an openly immoral life out there, as it where.25800:19:14,160 –> 00:19:18,319It’s all of us, it is all of us.25900:19:18,319 –> 00:19:21,739The Apostle includes himself.26000:19:21,739 –> 00:19:26,040By the way here’s a great question.26100:19:26,040 –> 00:19:32,780When did you first realize that you were totally lost?26200:19:32,780 –> 00:19:38,500I think I’m going to suggest that question for membership interviews.26300:19:38,500 –> 00:19:41,640We got a new membership class coming up, you know.26400:19:41,640 –> 00:19:45,400We ask people how did you become a Christian, you know, and people say, I haven’t said26500:19:45,400 –> 00:19:47,739that in a long time and everyone is very vague.26600:19:47,739 –> 00:19:51,520Here’s our specific question.26700:19:51,520 –> 00:19:56,400When did you fist realize that you were totally lost?26800:19:56,400 –> 00:20:02,640Do you realize that, apart from Jesus Christ, that’s your reality now?26900:20:02,640 –> 00:20:10,699When did you come to the place of seeing, for the first time, I am a sinner by nature27000:20:10,859 –> 00:20:14,900and by practice?27100:20:14,900 –> 00:20:21,560Is it clear to you today, as you sit in church this morning, apart from Jesus Christ, I am27200:20:21,560 –> 00:20:26,180absolutely lost for all eternity, even if judged at my best?27300:20:26,180 –> 00:20:30,560At my best?27400:20:30,560 –> 00:20:32,839Is that clear to you?27500:20:32,839 –> 00:20:38,719Friends, this is what the Bible teaches, this is what a true Christian believes, is it what27600:20:38,719 –> 00:20:41,400you believe?27700:20:41,400 –> 00:20:45,520All of us, all of us.27800:20:45,520 –> 00:20:51,040Now, these are the two simple observations then, sin goes everywhere in the human personality27900:20:51,040 –> 00:21:02,479and it is in everyone, there are no exceptions, this is my reality, and yours, by nature.28000:21:02,479 –> 00:21:06,699Sinners by nature, and by practice.28100:21:06,939 –> 00:21:11,540Now, let’s try and look a little more closely at what this means in practical terms for28200:21:11,540 –> 00:21:12,540us.28300:21:12,540 –> 00:21:14,060Here’s what this looks like.28400:21:14,060 –> 00:21:17,540And again, two observations, here’s the first.28500:21:17,540 –> 00:21:26,979The sinful nature produces what the Apostle Paul here calls sinful cravings.28600:21:26,979 –> 00:21:29,939Notice what he says in verse 2, as we focus in more closely.28700:21:30,140 –> 00:21:40,260Gratifying the cravings, very strong word, the cravings of our sinful nature.28800:21:40,260 –> 00:21:51,880Now, a craving, of course, is a strong desire, or an intense longing.28900:21:51,880 –> 00:21:59,160A few years ago I decided to try the Atkins diet.29000:21:59,199 –> 00:22:02,239Now I’ll tell you why this appealed to me.29100:22:02,239 –> 00:22:06,839This is the one where you can eat all the protein that you want29200:22:06,839 –> 00:22:10,619just so long as you eat no carbs.29300:22:10,619 –> 00:22:12,160Now, think about this.29400:22:12,160 –> 00:22:13,420It appealed to me.29500:22:13,420 –> 00:22:21,979A diet in which you can eat as much steak as you want, and burgers, and sausage.29600:22:21,979 –> 00:22:24,680I mean, this is a guy kind of a diet.29700:22:25,300 –> 00:22:27,640I thought I’m going to try this one.29800:22:27,739 –> 00:22:31,280Well, I have to tell you, it didn’t last long for me for two reasons.29900:22:31,280 –> 00:22:37,300Number one, my wife was implacably opposed to it,30000:22:37,300 –> 00:22:40,199and number two, if you’ve tried it, you will know this,30100:22:40,199 –> 00:22:48,880after a few days, my whole body was crying out for just one slice of bread,30200:22:48,880 –> 00:22:51,160crying out,30300:22:52,040 –> 00:22:59,020A craving, a craving, strong desire, intense longing.30400:22:59,880 –> 00:23:02,900You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith on Open the Bible30500:23:02,900 –> 00:23:06,579with a message called The Heart Wants What It Wants.30600:23:06,579 –> 00:23:11,439A powerful reminder today of how sin goes everywhere in the human personality30700:23:11,439 –> 00:23:14,660and we often find ourselves asking the question,30800:23:14,660 –> 00:23:17,020why did I do that?30900:23:17,020 –> 00:23:20,280Colin, there may be someone listening today who thinks of themselves31000:23:20,359 –> 00:23:24,479as a Christian but they’ve never really come to the point of recognising31100:23:24,479 –> 00:23:28,560that they’re a sinner by nature and practice until today.31200:23:28,680 –> 00:23:30,640What would you say to them?31300:23:30,640 –> 00:23:35,180Yeah, and I think that’s very often a person’s experience.31400:23:35,180 –> 00:23:38,359Think of it this way, the sun rises slowly.31500:23:38,359 –> 00:23:43,260It doesn’t turn in an instant from night to day and so many people31600:23:43,260 –> 00:23:46,380have the experience that they begin to be drawn to Jesus Christ,31700:23:46,380 –> 00:23:52,180they have some form of faith and it’s emerging, it’s growing, it’s developing31800:23:52,180 –> 00:23:57,260but then you begin to see not only some great things in Jesus that you’re drawn to31900:23:57,260 –> 00:24:00,459but you begin to see some things in yourself32000:24:00,459 –> 00:24:04,280that show you I really need Him more than I thought32100:24:04,280 –> 00:24:06,140and that’s called the conviction of sin,32200:24:06,140 –> 00:24:08,739it’s one of the great works of the Holy Spirit32300:24:08,739 –> 00:24:13,380and what it will do is, it will drive you towards Christ with greater intensity.32400:24:13,380 –> 00:24:15,959It will warm your heart and love towards Him32500:24:16,079 –> 00:24:19,140and it will give you the real sense that you’re given the Holy Spirit32600:24:19,140 –> 00:24:21,400because you are in a fight.32700:24:21,400 –> 00:24:23,119Welcome to the Christian life.32800:24:23,319 –> 00:24:24,540It’s good to hear that.32900:24:24,540 –> 00:24:27,520It really is a fight, it’s not an easy life is it?33000:24:27,640 –> 00:24:30,199You see the problem is so many folks have got the idea33100:24:30,199 –> 00:24:32,640that Christianity is simply a belief system33200:24:32,640 –> 00:24:35,780and that I believe certain things and now I’ve got a ticket to Heaven33300:24:35,780 –> 00:24:39,400and actually what we’re learning today is the gospel takes us much deeper33400:24:39,400 –> 00:24:41,959and it goes right into the realities of life.33500:24:42,140 –> 00:24:45,359So we’ll be thinking more about this issue in our next broadcast33600:24:45,400 –> 00:24:47,280so I hope you’ll join us for that.33700:24:48,020 –> 00:24:51,579You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith.33800:24:51,579 –> 00:24:56,280I’m David Pick and on behalf of Colin and myself and Open the Bible33900:24:56,400 –> 00:24:58,880I look forward to being with you again, next time.34000:25:15,400 –> 00:25:19,800Just follow your heart. Is that really good advice?34100:25:19,800 –> 00:25:22,459Find out next time on Open the Bible