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Inevitably you will ask this question. As I have asked the question coming to the bible,

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well now how is this possible? How is it possible

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for an ordinary person like you or like me

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to have peace at all times

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and in every way.

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Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith I’m David Pick I’m glad you can be with us today.

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And Colin I’m glad you’re asking this question.

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I’m also hoping you have the answer because many of us are going

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really? Peace at all times and in every way.

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You know it’s a great question to face honestly.

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Two things to say. The first is that in the scriptures

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Paul himself speaks about having conflicts

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outside and fears within that’s part of Christian experience that

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we’re not walking around with smiles on our faces all day and

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experiencing this marvellous, marvellous peace.

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There is such a thing as the real experience of trouble and

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conflict. Having said that, what we’re reading here in the Bible

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is a prayer. Paul says, I am praying that you would

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experience peace at all times and in every way.

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That’s a wonderful prayer.

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It’s a prayer for us to use for each other and for ourselves.

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And it raises this question when we’re looking at the

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scripture.

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Do I think that there is any situation in which I could not

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know God’s peace?

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What would be the situation in which I think it would be

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impossible for me to know God’s peace?

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Is none!

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It is possible to know the peace of God in any and every

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situation.

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And therefore I should make this my prayer.

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And especially when I experience, as Paul did,

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conflicts around and fears within.

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Then especially, I need to make this my prayer.

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And we’re going to look at the foundation on which peace

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rests and the way in which we may move towards it.

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So today’s message is called the Peace and Presence

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of God and we’re in 2 Thessalonians and Chapter 3

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verses 16 to 18.

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Here’s Colin.

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How is it possible for an ordinary person like you or

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like me to have peace at all times?

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And in every way.

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And I want you to notice here how he introduces the person

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of our Lord Jesus Christ and he introduces the Lord Jesus

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Christ by this wonderful name in verse 16, he calls him,

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gives him this title the Lord of peace.

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Now you say now, what does that mean?

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Well, it means first that he has peace, he has it in

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himself.

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He has peace that is why he is able to say to his disciples,

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my peace I give to you, what I have in myself I can give to

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you.

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It means that Christ makes peace.

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That’s what it means that he’s the Lord of Peace.

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This is why he came into the world, he came to make peace

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between God and us, we celebrate this today around the

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Lord’s table as we take bread and wine in a few minutes time.

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This is why the angels said when the Lord Jesus Christ was born

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into the world, peace to men, because this

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is why he was born.

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And he has made this peace how?

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By shedding his blood, that is what he did on the cross .

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And he’s the Lord of Peace not only because he has peace and

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because he makes peace, but because he gives peace.

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And that’s the particular point that Paul is

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making in this verse.

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May the Lord of Peace himself give you peace.

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He has peace, he makes peace, he gives peace.

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That’s what it means for him to be the Lord of peace.

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The Lord of peace.

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The word lord has authority and it doesn’t it?

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That means he has command over peace.

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Peace goes where he sends it.

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And of course the most obvious illustration of that is the occasion when Jesus was in a boat.

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Do you remember the story well?

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And a storm rises on the sea of Galilee.

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And the whole lake is in turmoil.

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And the disciples are there in a panic.

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And Jesus speaks, and remember what he says…

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Peace, be still.

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And as he speaks, he imparts peace to the lake.

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He imparts it.

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That’s what it means to be the Lord of peace.

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Now Paul is saying, this is what I am asking this Lord Jesus Christ, your savior, to do for you.

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May the Lord of peace give you peace.

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And notice that this is something that Jesus Christ does himself.

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May the Lord of peace himself give you peace.

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This is a direct ministry of Jesus Christ to your soul.

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And he knows what you’re worried about.

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He knows what you’re anxious over.

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And he’s able to do this.

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And Paul says, as I think of all that you’re facing, this is what I’m on my knees praying for you.

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That the Lord of peace himself will give to you peace, at all times and in every way.

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Now, I’m reading through this chapter, and when I get to this point, I’m asking a question.

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Why doesn’t he end there?

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Don’t you think that would be the perfect ending for this letter?

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Don’t you think you could just put a period at the end of that and say, that’s the perfect close.

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May the Lord himself give you peace.

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And then you look and you say, he goes on about writing greetings in his own hand and

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adding a couple of things here, you think now, what’s happening?

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Why has he gone, why didn’t he just stop?

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Let me suggest this to you, and I think there is something very wonderful here.

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We need not only to ask for peace, but we also need to know how to receive it.

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You need that, I need that.

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I pray and what do I do next?

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I need to know not only that I can ask the Lord of peace for this marvelous gift, but

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I also need to know how can I receive it.

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Remember, this is a real letter that is being written to these people who are facing extraordinary

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difficulties, like us they didn’t know what the future holds.

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They have many fears.

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They have to know how to get up on Monday and face life just as you have to do that

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in the week that lies ahead of you.

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And let me simply say this, it’s a very important principle to understand that the

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worst thing you can ever do with your fears is to suppress them.

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It’s the worst thing you can ever do is to try and push them away.

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Listen, fear is like a coiled spring.

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The more you compress it, the more is presses back against you.

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The harder it becomes.

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You try and push your fears down, push them away, don’t think about it.

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Don’t think about it.

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Don’t think about it.

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You know what?

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You think about it.

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You can’t beat fear that way.

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There is only one way to deal with the lurking fears of our lives, and that is to bring them

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out into the open and to face them at their worst.

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It doesn’t help to say, don’t worry, it might never happen.

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Don’t say that to yourself.

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Don’t say that to someone else.

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It’s never helpful because it merely leads to you saying, but what if it does?

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What if it does happen?

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What if I do have cancer?

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What if I do lose my job?

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What if I am left alone?

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What if that court judgement does go against me?

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Well you see there will be times when you lie awake at night,

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and you’re worrying about these things, and you say, oh God give me peace!

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And what are you going to do next?

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What if the unthinkable happens?

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What if you face the nightmare scenario that you’re trying not to admit

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and push away all the time.

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Well, here’s what you can do in these times.

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You can ask Christ to give you peace,

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and that’s why the letter doesn’t end here.

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You can remind yourself of the foundation on which peace rests.

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That’s very important.

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You can ask Christ for peace

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and you can remind yourself

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of the foundation on which peace rests.

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In other words, this prayer for peace,

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it’s not some kind of helpless cry in the dark.

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It is grounded in the promise of God.

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And as you make this prayer,

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you are to bring to mind what Paul does here,

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which is the foundation on which this peace of God rests.

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You say, what is the foundation?

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It’s just in three simple parts, very briefly.

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But they will be so helpful to you

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on those occasions when you worry

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and when you lie awake at night,

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and you say,

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what if that does happen?

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Here’s the foundation of peace,

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God’s presence is with me.

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You see that in verse 16,

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the Lord be with all of you.

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The Lord be with all of you.

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Now there is a special beauty in this

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because remember,

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the Apostle Paul could not be

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with all of them.

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He had led them to Christ.

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He had established them as disciples.

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He was their Father in the faith.

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He was the one that they looked to.

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He was the gift of God to them in their lives,

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but after just three weeks,

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he had been taken from them

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and he was not able to return to the city.

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So now you think for a moment

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of the circle of people

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that God has placed around you,

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the people you look to,

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the people who mean much in your life.

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Family, friends, colleagues.

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Who is the person on whom you lean most for help?

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And when you think about that person

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and all that they mean to you,

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maybe you say sometimes,

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what would I do without him?

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What would I do about without her?

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And here’s your answer.

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God’s presence is with me.

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God’s presence is with me.

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Say that with me, would you?

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God’s presence is with me.

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You may need to say that to yourself

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to re-establish the foundation of faith

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in the middle of the night.

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To face your fears.

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Then there’s something else

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that’s the foundation of faith and it’s this

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that God’s promise is sure.

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God’s promise is sure.

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You’re listening to Open the Bible

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with Pastor Colin Smith

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on a message today called The Peace and Presence of God.

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It was originally part of a series called

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Staying the Course when You’re Tired of the Battle.

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And this message has been one of the most requested

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and downloaded messages of the past 12 months.

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So we’ve bundled it up

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along with the other most popular and requested broadcasts

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under the title Listener Favorites.

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And we’ll be featuring those all this month on the radio.

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Don’t forget, if you ever miss one of our broadcasts,

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you can always catch up or go back and listen again online.

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That’s on our website, openthebible.org.uk

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or by finding us as a podcast

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on your favorite podcast site

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by searching openthebible.uk.

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Back to the message now,

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we’re in 2 Thessalonians 3 16-18.

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Here’s Colin.

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And notice this strange thing in Verse 17.

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And at first you may find looking at it,

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you say now what in the world is that therefore?

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And certainly that’s the question I had

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as I came to it first.

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He talks about the distinguishing mark

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that is in all of my letters.

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What is all this about?

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Stay with me for a moment.

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I promise you this is worth it.

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It’s good to remember how the books

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and the letters that make up our Bible

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were actually given.

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And as we study the word of God every weekend

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there are really just two scriptures

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that you need to know

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that tell you everything you need to know

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about the Bible.

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The first is in 2 Timothy chapter three and verse 16.

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It says that all scripture is God breathed.

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A wonderful statement.

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All the words in this book, the Bible,

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have been breathed out by God.

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God is their source.

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They are his words that have been given

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to us in scripture.

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God spoke his word and he gave it

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to apostles and prophets.

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The second scripture that you need to know

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to grasp what is most important

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about scripture is in 2 Peter in chapter one.

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Peter says this in verse 20,

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no prophecy of scripture came about

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by the prophets own interpretation.

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In other words prophets, apostles

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weren’t just making up their own thoughts

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to try and help and encourage people

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in these various churches.

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He says this, prophecy never had its origin

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in the will of man.

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It didn’t come from what a man wanted to say

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but men spoke from God as they were carried along

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by the holy spirit.

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That’s a hugely important statement

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about the inspiration of Scripture.

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Put these two together, all scripture,

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everything in your Bible has been breathed out by God.

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How did it come to us?

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Men spoke from God as they were carried along

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by the holy spirit.

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Who were these men, apostles and prophets.

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Now, that is so important and I say it for this reason,

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the words of this letter on which our souls

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have been fed over these last weeks

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the words of second Thessalonians

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did not have their origin in Paul.

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These words came to him, they were God breathed.

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Their source and their origin was in God.

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Paul wrote them as he was carried along by the Holy Spirit.

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And when you read the Bible,

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whether it be two Thessalonians

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or any other book of the Bible,

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you can read it with this confidence

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that you are reading the word of God.

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Now it seems from what is said here

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that Paul dictated the words of this letter.

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I want you to try and picture this,

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picture the apostle and he’s walking around the room

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and words are coming to him.

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They’re coming to him by the direct inspiration of God.

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He is being in Peter words carried along by the Holy Spirit

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and he is speaking out these words

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and some scribe is writing them down,

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maybe it was Timothy, maybe it was Silas,

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maybe it was some other scribe who was with them

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and he’s writing down these words

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as they are being given to the apostle Paul

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and as he speaks them out.

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And then as Paul gets to the end, can you picture this?

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He goes over to the desk where all this

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has been written down and he says, give me the pen,

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give me the pen.

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And he writes, I, Paul,

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write this greeting in my own hand,

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which is the distinguishing mark of all my letters.

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This is how I write.

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Now do you see the importance of that?

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He is signing the document

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with the mark of apostolic authenticity.

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And it’s more than an autograph.

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It’s more than just, you know, Paul.

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You’re sincerely Paul.

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You know, it’s more than that

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because that might be easy to forge.

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He writes out two entire sentences in his own hand

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and he says, now this is the distinguishing mark

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of all my letters.

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This is how I write.

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And if you remember from earlier in our series,

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you will see the importance of that

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because back in chapter two in verse two,

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we read about a letter that had been circulated

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supposedly having come from Paul

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that was saying that the day of the Lord had already come.

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In other words, there were forged letters

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that were being pushed around the church

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and you can easily understand why.

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Apostolic letters had authority in the churches.

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Letters from the apostles, even from early days,

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were exchanged between the churches,

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passed from one church to another

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so that churches could benefit

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from these God given writings.

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And so it is not surprising

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that even in the early days of the church

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there were false teachers.

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Folks, and there are always these folks

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who want to try and promote themselves

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and so what they did was they wrote their own letters

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and then claimed that these letters were apostolic

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so that the churches would read them

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and they would build an audience.

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And so you can see

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that there was great potential for confusion.

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How could we know that a letter really came from Paul?

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How could we tell a genuinely apostolic letter

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from one that was a fake or one that was a forgery.

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00:19:05,599 –> 00:19:08,660

And Paul takes the pen and he writes these sentences

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and he says, this is the distinguishing mark

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in all my letters, this is how I write.

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And you see the importance for them

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and you see the importance for us.

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God spoke his word through apostles and through prophets.

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This letter really is apostolic.

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This is what God says, and you can trust it.

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That’s the point of verse 17.

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This is what God says, and you can trust it.

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So here is how you can face your greatest fears,

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your darkest days, God has spoken in the scriptures,

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and you can rest your life, you can rest your death,

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you can rest your eternity on what he has said.

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God cannot lie.

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The scripture cannot be broken.

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All of God’s promises are yes and amen.

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They’re signed, sealed, and delivered.

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Jesus said, my words will never pass away.

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So here on these occasions, when you might be awake

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at night, and anxiety is pressing in on you,

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here is how you face your fears.

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Whatever happens, even the worst I can imagine,

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God’s presence is with me, and God’s promise is sure.

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God’s promise is sure!

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I can arrest my life, my death, my eternity in this.

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Then very briefly, and lastly, God’s grace is sufficient.

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You see, the very last line there.

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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

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And you know that Paul knew what it was

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to be unbearably crushed.

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He knew what it was, as some of you know right now,

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what it is to face overwhelming pressure.

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He knew what it was to feel his own weakness,

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as I so often experience that, and I’m sure you do too.

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And he knew what it was for Christ to say to him,

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my grace is sufficient for you.

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And his grace is sufficient for us as well,

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at all times, and in every way.

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So face your fears.

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Don’t push them back.

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Bring them out into the open.

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And when you find yourself awake at night,

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ask Christ to give you His peace,

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and then remind yourself of the foundation

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on which this peace rests.

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And say it with me.

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God’s presence is with me.

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God’s promise is sure.

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God’s grace is sufficient.

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What a powerful way to finish today’s broadcast.

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Face your fears.

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Don’t push them back.

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00:22:23,560 –> 00:22:24,920

Bring them out into the open,

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00:22:24,920 –> 00:22:28,239

and ask Christ to give you his peace.

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00:22:28,239 –> 00:22:30,219

You’ve been listening to Open the Bible

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00:22:30,219 –> 00:22:31,680

with Pastor Colin Smith,

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00:22:31,800 –> 00:22:32,640

and our message today,

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00:22:32,640 –> 00:22:35,099

the peace and the presence of God.

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00:22:35,099 –> 00:22:36,780

It was originally in the series

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00:22:36,780 –> 00:22:39,800

Staying the Course When You’re Tired of the Battle.

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00:22:39,800 –> 00:22:42,479

And it’s been one of the most popular broadcasts

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00:22:42,479 –> 00:22:44,420

of the past 12 months.

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00:22:44,420 –> 00:22:46,959

That and many of our other popular broadcasts

417

00:22:46,959 –> 00:22:48,739

have been bundled up this month

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00:22:48,739 –> 00:22:51,479

in a series we’re called Listeners’ Favorites.

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00:22:51,479 –> 00:22:53,040

And if you miss any of the series

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00:22:53,040 –> 00:22:54,500

or you want to go back and listen again,

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00:22:54,500 –> 00:22:57,339

that’s always possible by coming to our website,

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00:22:57,420 –> 00:23:00,140

openthebible.org.uk.

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00:23:00,140 –> 00:23:01,900

Or by finding us as a podcast

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00:23:01,900 –> 00:23:04,339

and that’ll be on your favorite podcast site

425

00:23:04,339 –> 00:23:06,880

by searching Open the Bible UK

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00:23:06,880 –> 00:23:09,699

and subscribing to receive regular updates.

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00:23:09,699 –> 00:23:12,439

Also available on our website and as a podcast

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00:23:12,439 –> 00:23:14,099

is Open the Bible Daily.

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00:23:14,099 –> 00:23:15,780

And that’s a series of short

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00:23:15,780 –> 00:23:18,140

two to three-minute daily reflections

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00:23:18,140 –> 00:23:20,020

based on Pastor Colin’s teaching

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00:23:20,020 –> 00:23:22,819

and read in the UK by Sue McLeish.

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00:23:22,819 –> 00:23:25,380

You’ll find that on our website,

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00:23:25,420 –> 00:23:29,040

openthebible.org.uk.

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00:23:29,040 –> 00:23:32,140

Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners,

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00:23:32,140 –> 00:23:33,959

people just like you,

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00:23:33,959 –> 00:23:36,660

and if that’s something you’ve been considering doing,

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00:23:36,660 –> 00:23:38,459

we have an offer for you this month

439

00:23:38,459 –> 00:23:41,260

to say thank you for your support.

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00:23:41,260 –> 00:23:43,099

If you’re able to set up a new payment

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00:23:43,099 –> 00:23:44,880

to the work of Open the Bible

442

00:23:44,880 –> 00:23:47,760

in the amount of five pounds per month or more,

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00:23:47,760 –> 00:23:49,380

this month we’d love to thank you

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00:23:49,380 –> 00:23:51,819

by sending you Pastor Colin’s new book,

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00:23:51,819 –> 00:23:53,619

Flying Through the Bible.

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00:23:53,660 –> 00:23:56,660

Colin, why did you use the Flying metaphor

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00:23:56,660 –> 00:23:58,099

to describe this book?

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00:23:58,099 –> 00:23:59,979

Well, suppose you were making a visit

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00:23:59,979 –> 00:24:03,560

to the Grand Canyon and exploring it for the first time.

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00:24:03,560 –> 00:24:05,260

I mean, I guess you could hike down

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00:24:05,260 –> 00:24:07,719

and you’d get a sense of the depth of the canyon,

452

00:24:07,719 –> 00:24:09,140

you could drive around the rim,

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00:24:09,140 –> 00:24:11,900

you’d get a sense of the length of it,

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00:24:11,900 –> 00:24:15,319

but perhaps the best way to get an overall sense

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00:24:15,319 –> 00:24:18,040

of the vastness and beauty of the Grand Canyon

456

00:24:18,040 –> 00:24:20,280

would be to take a flight over it.

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00:24:20,280 –> 00:24:22,760

Now, when it comes to the Bible,

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00:24:22,760 –> 00:24:25,739

to get a high altitude overview

459

00:24:25,739 –> 00:24:28,140

of what the Bible’s story is all about

460

00:24:28,140 –> 00:24:31,119

seems to me to be the best place to begin.

461

00:24:31,119 –> 00:24:32,859

The Bible really is one story,

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00:24:32,859 –> 00:24:34,859

it begins in a garden, it ends in a city,

463

00:24:34,859 –> 00:24:36,040

and all the way through it,

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00:24:36,040 –> 00:24:38,060

it’s about the Lord Jesus Christ.

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00:24:38,060 –> 00:24:39,280

And flying through the Bible

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00:24:39,280 –> 00:24:41,020

is kind of, cookies on the bottom shelf,

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00:24:41,020 –> 00:24:43,020

to change the analogy.

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00:24:43,020 –> 00:24:45,319

It gives an overall picture,

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00:24:45,319 –> 00:24:47,239

an introduction to the scripture

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00:24:47,239 –> 00:24:50,020

that I hope will help and encourage people

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00:24:50,099 –> 00:24:51,579

to want to explore more,

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00:24:51,579 –> 00:24:53,199

when they get on the ground.

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00:24:53,199 –> 00:24:55,280

Well, we’d love to send you a free copy

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00:24:55,280 –> 00:24:57,560

of Colin’s book, Fly through the Bible.

475

00:24:57,560 –> 00:24:58,439

To say thank you

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00:24:58,439 –> 00:25:00,380

for setting up a new donation

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00:25:00,380 –> 00:25:02,719

to the work of Open the Bible this month,

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00:25:02,719 –> 00:25:05,739

in the amount of five pounds per month or more.

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00:25:05,739 –> 00:25:08,619

Full details of this offer are on our website,

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00:25:08,619 –> 00:25:11,319

openthemeible.org.uk.

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00:25:11,319 –> 00:25:13,920

For Pastor Colin Smith and Open the Bible,

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00:25:13,920 –> 00:25:14,760

I’m David Pick,

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00:25:14,760 –> 00:25:17,180

and I hope you’ll come and join us again soon.

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00:25:17,939 –> 00:25:22,939

Why is unbelief the dominant response to the gospel?

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00:25:27,319 –> 00:25:30,099

Find out next time on Open the Bible.