100:00:00,000 –> 00:00:10,720If there is no such thing as objective truth and what is called truth is really only a200:00:10,720 –> 00:00:16,620matter of personal opinion after all. If there is no objective standard against which to300:00:16,620 –> 00:00:25,680measure our personal opinions that means that ultimately the most powerful opinion wins.400:00:25,680 –> 00:00:28,100And that’s the law of the jungle.500:00:28,100 –> 00:00:32,220Welcome to Open The Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick. I’m glad you could600:00:32,220 –> 00:00:37,500be with us today and Colin, you used the phrase objective truth. What do you mean by that?700:00:37,500 –> 00:00:44,360Well, it’s saying it like it is. It’s what is actually reality as opposed to spin which800:00:44,360 –> 00:00:50,619is you know my interpretation of or impression, that I want to make and what I want other900:00:50,619 –> 00:00:53,820people to think which may or may not actually be the reality.1000:00:53,820 –> 00:00:58,060Well, we live in a world of spin. People will say something like that may be true for you1100:00:58,340 –> 00:01:03,680or what you say about Jesus may be true for you, but how do I know if it’s true for me?1200:01:03,680 –> 00:01:09,220Well, you got to go back to what Jesus Himself says, He says, I am the truth.1300:01:09,220 –> 00:01:15,000So, He’s claiming something more than an expression of opinion. He’s speaking to us as the Son1400:01:15,000 –> 00:01:19,160of God. So, I suppose the question is, how do I know that that’s going to be true?1500:01:19,160 –> 00:01:23,900Well, we’ve got to follow after the Lord Jesus Christ and then we discover His truth1600:01:23,900 –> 00:01:26,059and discover the truth that makes us free.1700:01:26,120 –> 00:01:28,320So, there has to be faith involved too?1800:01:28,339 –> 00:01:31,860Yeah, well I mean Jesus says I’m the light of the world. He says you’ve got to follow1900:01:31,860 –> 00:01:37,800the light while you have the light. The light’s passing by here and we don’t come to a knowledge2000:01:37,800 –> 00:01:40,160of truth by remaining disengaged.2100:01:40,160 –> 00:01:46,540Let’s engage now with Exodus 20 and verse 16 as we begin the message, Your Struggle2200:01:46,540 –> 00:01:48,559with Truth. Here’s Colin.2300:01:48,559 –> 00:01:52,940Now, it’s good to remember that all of these Commandments are a reflection of the character2400:01:52,980 –> 00:01:59,260of God and the Bible tells us that He is a God who keeps His promises, in fact a God2500:01:59,260 –> 00:02:08,380who cannot lie. And when we come into relationship with this God therefore, He calls us to reflect2600:02:08,380 –> 00:02:13,179His character in the way that we live our lives. And that means that we’re called to2700:02:13,179 –> 00:02:16,860live life in a way that is characterized by the truth.2800:02:17,740 –> 00:02:21,820Now strictly speaking as you look at this ninth commandment, it is about the issue2900:02:21,820 –> 00:02:29,179of perjury. That is the reality of standing up in a court and making false accusations.3000:02:30,139 –> 00:02:36,139Accusations that you know not to be true against somebody else. You shall not give false testimony3100:02:36,139 –> 00:02:42,059against your neighbour. Remember this is precisely what happened when the Lord Jesus was arrested3200:02:42,139 –> 00:02:48,059and brought to trial. False witnesses were brought against Him, they wanted to have Him crucified3300:02:48,059 –> 00:02:52,779and they were prepared to say whatever it would take to get what they wanted done.3400:02:54,619 –> 00:03:02,539Now most of us will never have committed perjury in court and are not particularly likely to do so3500:03:03,660 –> 00:03:08,940but remember that each of these commandments is addressed not just to one sin but to a whole3600:03:08,940 –> 00:03:15,580category of sins. We’ve used the picture of each of these commands being like a railway track with3700:03:15,580 –> 00:03:22,779stations all the way down the line and the ninth commandment is of course simply the line of lying.3800:03:23,979 –> 00:03:29,179Perjury in court is right down the end of that particular track and you may never have been to3900:03:29,500 –> 00:03:39,419station. But all of us again have been somewhere on this line. We travel it far too frequently.4000:03:40,619 –> 00:03:47,660The essence of lying of course is saying what will achieve the desired result irrespective4100:03:47,660 –> 00:03:53,179of whether it’s the truth. That’s the heart of lies, it’s saying what will achieve the4200:03:53,179 –> 00:03:59,979results that I want, irrespective of whether what I say is actually the truth. And of course4300:03:59,979 –> 00:04:05,179there are a number of different ways in which this can happen. One of them is flattery.4400:04:06,139 –> 00:04:15,020Someone has said that flattery is saying to a person’s face what you would never say behind4500:04:15,020 –> 00:04:20,299their back. You need to think about that one, but actually it’s true. Flattery is saying to4600:04:20,299 –> 00:04:27,260someone’s face what you would never say behind their back. The desired result is that you want4700:04:27,260 –> 00:04:33,579this person to like you and so you say all kinds of flattering things to them, even though they4800:04:33,579 –> 00:04:39,339bear no reality resemblance to the truth. I love the story of the man who was introduced as a4900:04:39,339 –> 00:04:45,739speaker after dinner in rather overglowing terms. The emcee said that he was the owner of an oil5000:04:45,739 –> 00:04:51,899company operating in the North Sea and that he had turned in a $100 million profit in his first month.5100:04:52,940 –> 00:04:58,299And the man got up to speak and he said rather hesitantly that he had a few corrections to make5200:04:58,299 –> 00:05:02,299to the introduction that had just been given. First he said it isn’t5300:05:02,299 –> 00:05:07,500actually the North Sea it’s the Caspian Sea. And it’s not actually me that owns the company.5400:05:07,500 –> 00:05:13,420It’s my father. And the first month wasn’t a $100 million profit, it was a $100 million loss.5500:05:15,739 –> 00:05:20,940Then there’s exaggerating. Exaggerating because you want to impress.5600:05:20,940 –> 00:05:25,899And so you overstate what you said, or what you did, or the part that you had in a particular5700:05:25,899 –> 00:05:32,859triumph. Or exaggerating because you want sympathy, and because you want to gain someone else’s5800:05:32,859 –> 00:05:38,059sympathy, you overstate a wrong that was done to you because you want another person to feel5900:05:38,059 –> 00:05:46,220sorry for you. Lying is saying, whatever achieves a desired result, irrespective of the question of6000:05:46,220 –> 00:05:53,339truth. And of course, it goes to the whole issue of gossiping as well. A way of doing such damage6100:05:53,339 –> 00:06:00,619to a neighbour. Passing on news about another person that may or may not be true. Someone has6200:06:00,619 –> 00:06:11,260likened gossip to ripping open a feather pillow outside on a windy day. And you see once the6300:06:11,260 –> 00:06:17,179feathers have blown in the wind, there’s no way in all the world that you’re ever going to be6400:06:17,179 –> 00:06:26,220able to capture them back again. So there are many versions of lying. We all occupy this track6500:06:26,220 –> 00:06:32,380too frequently. And the reason of course that we are so prone to a lying in one of these6600:06:32,380 –> 00:06:38,140different forms is that we are more deeply committed to ourselves than we are to the truth.6700:06:39,179 –> 00:06:45,420The reality is that we often hide from the truth, we fail to see things about ourselves that6800:06:45,420 –> 00:06:54,299others see in us, simply because the truth never puts any of us in a pure light. And because the6900:06:55,100 –> 00:07:00,459truth never puts any of us in a completely pure light, there is always something within us7000:07:00,459 –> 00:07:05,980that wants to retreat from it. So, this morning I want to map out two roads.7100:07:06,859 –> 00:07:12,540The first we’re going to call the broad road of deception and the second we’re going to call7200:07:12,540 –> 00:07:20,220the narrow path of truth. First then, the broad road of deception. The bible makes it very clear7300:07:20,220 –> 00:07:27,579that the entire human race has fallen into the grip of a lie. In fact, the whole Bible story7400:07:27,579 –> 00:07:36,459is the unfolding and then the exposing of one massive deception. The Bible story begins with7500:07:36,459 –> 00:07:42,779a lie in the garden, it ends in Revelation Chapter 21 with all liars being destroyed7600:07:42,779 –> 00:07:47,500in the lake of fire, and at the center is Jesus Christ who says, I am the truth.7700:07:47,500 –> 00:07:55,579Lies always have a source. And if you turn over to John Chapter 8, which was read to us,7800:07:55,579 –> 00:08:03,019you’ll see there that Satan is the father of lies. Jesus says in John 8, 44, he doesn’t hold7900:08:03,019 –> 00:08:12,220to the truth, that is no truth in him. When Satan lies, he speaks his native language,8000:08:13,179 –> 00:08:21,500For he is a liar, and he is the father of lies. And the problem with all forms of lying,8100:08:21,500 –> 00:08:26,940of course, is that they are precisely a reflection of the character of the enemy.8200:08:28,220 –> 00:08:34,219That is why lying comes number two in the list of things that God hates,8300:08:34,219 –> 00:08:38,460in the book of Proverbs, second only to pride, which of course is the devil’s first sin.8400:08:39,020 –> 00:08:43,020I want us to notice then two ways in which the father of all lies,8500:08:43,020 –> 00:08:49,340the source of all deviation from the truth, leads people down the broad road of deception.8600:08:50,140 –> 00:08:53,900The first is, of course, that he questions the reality of truth.8700:08:55,260 –> 00:08:59,020This was his very first strategy when he tempted Eve in the garden.8800:08:59,020 –> 00:09:01,179You remember Genesis chapter 3 and verse 1.8900:09:01,739 –> 00:09:08,219And it’s at Genesis chapter 3 in verse 1, did God really say?9000:09:10,219 –> 00:09:15,179Can you really know what God says? This is his first route to deceiving us.9100:09:16,619 –> 00:09:22,299This really is a question, he would say, can anyone in the 21st century really know the9200:09:22,299 –> 00:09:30,059truth? Is there any such thing as truth? This is his native language.9300:09:31,419 –> 00:09:37,580In the present fullness of time, when God comes into the world in the person of Jesus Christ,9400:09:37,580 –> 00:09:43,979he stands before a man called Pontius Pilate. And Jesus says to him,9500:09:43,979 –> 00:09:49,739for this reason, I came into the world. For this reason, I was born to testify to the truth.9600:09:51,739 –> 00:09:57,820And Pilate looks at him and shrugs his shoulders and says, what is truth.9700:09:57,820 –> 00:10:04,380You have the fundamental clash of two world views that are fighting it out even within our society9800:10:04,380 –> 00:10:14,219today right there. Jesus is saying there is such a thing as truth. It flows from God who is truth9900:10:14,219 –> 00:10:22,140and it is found in me. I am the truth. And Pilate lives in the raw world of harsh power.10000:10:23,179 –> 00:10:27,340He’s a politician. He knows the people in this world10100:10:27,419 –> 00:10:32,859say what they like to get what they want. That is the way of the world. He has become so used10200:10:32,859 –> 00:10:36,780to it he cannot imagine anything else, and he has come to the conclusion that there is10300:10:36,780 –> 00:10:46,700no such thing as truth. Only power, only spin, only words that are being used to get what people want,10400:10:46,700 –> 00:10:53,739and so he shrugs his shoulders and he says what is truth? Pilate has no place for truth,10500:10:54,700 –> 00:10:58,940and if there is no place for truth in a society, there is no place for Jesus,10600:10:58,940 –> 00:11:05,900and so they led him away to crucify him, they crucified the truth.10700:11:09,659 –> 00:11:14,460This is a huge issue for us at the beginning of the 21st century in the western world.10800:11:17,179 –> 00:11:21,820See if, as is being increasingly taught in this postmodern society10900:11:22,299 –> 00:11:28,859in our universities, and among our philosophers, if a person cannot the truth,11000:11:30,380 –> 00:11:34,059then a person cannot be expected to tell the truth.11100:11:36,859 –> 00:11:44,539If there is no such thing as objective truth, and what is called truth is really only a matter11200:11:44,539 –> 00:11:49,900of personal opinion after all. If there is no objective standard against which11300:11:49,900 –> 00:11:57,900to measure our personal opinions, that means that ultimately the most powerful opinion wins,11400:11:58,780 –> 00:12:05,820and that’s the law of the jungle, right. So that’s what Satan does. By undermining truth,11500:12:05,820 –> 00:12:11,659he takes us from the garden to the jungle. Once you lose objective truth, which you do11600:12:11,659 –> 00:12:17,260as soon as you discard God from society because all truth flows from him, is that you end up in11700:12:17,260 –> 00:12:27,500a world in which there is only power, only power, only opinion, and the most powerful opinion wins.11800:12:47,260 –> 00:13:05,500This is the11900:13:05,500 –> 00:13:13,200Satan strategy, taking down the broad road of deception, questioning the very possibility12000:13:13,200 –> 00:13:15,940of truth!12100:13:15,960 –> 00:13:22,200And secondly he operates by keeping people from grasping the truth. You see12200:13:22,200 –> 00:13:26,580the fundamental human problem the Bible makes clear is that we are trapped in a12300:13:26,580 –> 00:13:34,320delusion. Notice John 8 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Jesus says12400:13:34,320 –> 00:13:43,559because you’re unable to hear what I say. You’re unable to hear what I say,12500:13:43,679 –> 00:13:49,140Jesus said. Paul makes the same point when he says in 2nd12600:13:49,140 –> 00:13:53,760Corinthians chapter 4 that the God of this world has blinded the eyes of those12700:13:53,760 –> 00:14:00,159who do not believe so that they cannot come to a knowledge of the truth. So12800:14:00,159 –> 00:14:08,179there is a blindfold over human eyes, that our earmuffs over human ears and12900:14:08,179 –> 00:14:13,520the only way that any of us human beings is going to come and see and to hear13000:14:13,599 –> 00:14:18,919the truth of God, is if someone can come into this kingdom of darkness like a13100:14:18,919 –> 00:14:24,020great raider, take off the blindfolds, take off the earmuffs and lead us out of13200:14:24,020 –> 00:14:28,840this darkness of deception and into his marvellous light. And this is precisely13300:14:28,840 –> 00:14:33,700why Jesus Christ has come into the world. He is the light of the world and he says13400:14:33,700 –> 00:14:43,799here in John 8 that his truth set people free. You say well if human beings13500:14:43,799 –> 00:14:52,719naturally can’t see the truth and Jesus says here that they can’t hear the truth,13600:14:52,719 –> 00:15:00,340what is the point in speaking the truth? What is the point in teaching the Bible?13700:15:00,679 –> 00:15:05,659What is the point of anything if the natural human condition is that folks13800:15:05,659 –> 00:15:14,299can’t hear and can’t see, and here’s the answer. The Spirit of God creates the13900:15:14,299 –> 00:15:20,979capacity to hear the Word of God through the Word of God. That’s worth writing14000:15:20,979 –> 00:15:25,799down and remembering. It’s a huge important piece as to why we engage in14100:15:25,880 –> 00:15:32,880work of evangelism. The Spirit of God creates the capacity to hear the Word of14200:15:32,880 –> 00:15:41,580God through the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing. You say, yeah, but the big14300:15:41,580 –> 00:15:51,239question is how does hearing come? Answer, hearing comes by the Word of God. It is14400:15:51,539 –> 00:15:59,479the entrance of God’s Word that gives light the psalmist says. That is, you see,14500:15:59,479 –> 00:16:05,780why so many people come to faith in Jesus through a Bible study. The14600:16:05,780 –> 00:16:11,039entrance of God’s Word gives light. Faith comes by hearing and the capacity of14700:16:11,039 –> 00:16:17,280hearing comes by the Word of God. The power of the delusion is broken by the14800:16:17,320 –> 00:16:24,179setting free of the truth. Now, you see, that is why Satan hates the preaching of14900:16:24,179 –> 00:16:30,400the Word of God if he can lure the church away from the preaching of the15000:16:30,400 –> 00:16:36,400Word of God in a central position. He will be well pleased. So the pressure15100:16:36,400 –> 00:16:41,159will always be on pastors to become entertainers or counselors or15200:16:41,159 –> 00:16:45,119administrators are anything other than folks who preach and teach the Word of15300:16:45,239 –> 00:16:50,479God. Paul says the time will come in the last days when people will gather around15400:16:50,479 –> 00:16:57,960them, people who will say whatever their itching ears want to hear. But if the15500:16:57,960 –> 00:17:03,919Bible is preached, then Satan has to resort to plan B, because the great15600:17:03,919 –> 00:17:08,099danger is if the truth is coming to you, it may create within you the capacity of15700:17:08,099 –> 00:17:11,839hearing and seeing, and you may embrace the truth and be saved, and that’s what15800:17:12,199 –> 00:17:15,619to stop happening. So what does he do then? When the seed of the Word of God15900:17:15,619 –> 00:17:19,959goes out Jesus says this is what he does, he’s like a bird coming and picking all16000:17:19,959 –> 00:17:24,780the seed off the pathway and taking it away out of your mind, out of your memory,16100:17:24,780 –> 00:17:30,939out of your sight, so that you will not believe and be saved. This is the broad16200:17:30,939 –> 00:17:38,040road of deception. This is where the enemy is always active, and this is how16300:17:38,040 –> 00:17:49,439he does his work questioning the truth and keeping you from grasping the truth.16400:17:49,800 –> 00:17:55,119Now let’s move quickly then from the broad road of deception to the narrow16500:17:55,119 –> 00:18:01,119path of truth, and I hope you have your Bibles still open at John chapter 8.16600:18:01,439 –> 00:18:04,479I want us to grasp, this morning, how the truth works16700:18:05,359 –> 00:18:12,800in a person’s life. So please look with me at John chapter 8 and verse 31 and 32.16800:18:14,959 –> 00:18:19,359To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said,16900:18:20,800 –> 00:18:24,160if you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples17000:18:25,439 –> 00:18:31,040and then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.17100:18:32,079 –> 00:18:37,760And I notice that Jesus sets out four dimensions of living in the truth.17200:18:39,199 –> 00:18:43,199It’s very interesting to me that most often half of this information, and only half of it17300:18:43,199 –> 00:18:48,640is quoted. But if we’re to take the word of God seriously, as we want to do here, this morning,17400:18:49,520 –> 00:18:52,000there are four dimensions to living in the truth.17500:18:53,280 –> 00:19:00,800They are believing, obeying, seeing, and releasing.17600:19:01,920 –> 00:19:07,520Believing, obeying, seeing, and releasing.17700:19:07,520 –> 00:19:12,079Do you see them there in this verse he speaks to Jews who had believed in him.17800:19:13,839 –> 00:19:16,640Now these are folks who today we would probably call seekers.17900:19:18,079 –> 00:19:22,079They’re folks who are drawn to Jesus, and they’re listening to his words, good thing!18000:19:24,239 –> 00:19:30,239And Jesus wants these folks to know what the truth can do in their lives and how it might happen.18100:19:31,760 –> 00:19:34,160And so he says to these folks now here’s what it is,18200:19:35,040 –> 00:19:40,560if you hold to my teaching, literally if you continue in my word,18300:19:41,520 –> 00:19:49,040if you take what you’re hearing and you apply it and you do it, then you are really my disciples.18400:19:50,319 –> 00:19:57,839Notice he says then you will know the truth, then you will know the truth and the truth will set18500:19:57,839 –> 00:20:05,439you free. So you see the order in which these things come, believing that leads to obeying,18600:20:06,479 –> 00:20:13,280which as I obey leads to seeing and in turn leads to releasing, the truth will set you free,18700:20:13,280 –> 00:20:17,359which in turn strengthens my faith and goes through the cycle again.18800:20:17,359 –> 00:20:20,400These things that God has joined together we can never take apart.18900:20:20,400 –> 00:20:28,560The problem I think for many in evangelical churches is that we’ve developed a view of19000:20:28,560 –> 00:20:32,319believing that has nothing to do with obeying, nothing to do with seeing and nothing to do19100:20:32,319 –> 00:20:39,359with releasing. And that is not biblical faith. What God has joined together no one should19200:20:39,359 –> 00:20:44,239separate this is what it means to live in the truth. Some people come and listen to a19300:20:44,239 –> 00:20:48,640few words of Jesus they’re accepting them. Jesus is saying this is good but here’s what you have19400:20:48,640 –> 00:20:54,560to understand living in the truth is all about. It’s a four-fold thing. It is believing. It’s19500:20:54,560 –> 00:21:01,280not only believing it’s obeying. And from that comes seeing. Seeing yourself. Seeing19600:21:01,280 –> 00:21:12,079an understanding at a new and a different level. Releasing. See that is why the apostle Paul prays19700:21:12,880 –> 00:21:19,920in Ephesians that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. Why would the apostle pray that for19800:21:19,920 –> 00:21:23,119Christians? Why is he praying for Christians to see?19900:21:24,400 –> 00:21:29,439He’s praying that you will know the hope to which you have been called, that you will know20000:21:29,439 –> 00:21:35,040the riches of the inheritance that are yours in Christ, that you will know his incomparable20100:21:35,040 –> 00:21:39,280great power. The reason he’s praying that kind of thing is that there are a lot of people in20200:21:39,280 –> 00:21:44,479church world who say they believe and have no idea of the eternal riches of Christ,20300:21:44,479 –> 00:21:49,520no grasp of his great power, no sense of the glorious and victorious hope.20400:21:50,800 –> 00:21:58,560And why is that? Because we’ve become stuck on a kind of believing that never gets to obeying.20500:22:01,199 –> 00:22:04,560And what remains, therefore, is just a notional faith.20600:22:04,959 –> 00:22:07,560I believe in God, the father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit,20700:22:07,560 –> 00:22:10,719but if that’s it, what difference will that make?20800:22:13,359 –> 00:22:16,560See, if you don’t translate what you hear into what you do,20900:22:18,000 –> 00:22:19,520it is of no benefit to you.21000:22:20,839 –> 00:22:23,760You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith on Open the Bible21100:22:23,760 –> 00:22:26,520with a message called, Your Struggle with Truth.21200:22:27,199 –> 00:22:31,000The series it comes from is called The Ten Greatest Struggles of Your Life.21300:22:31,319 –> 00:22:33,479And if you’ve missed any of the series, don’t forget,21400:22:33,719 –> 00:22:35,760you can always catch up or go back and listen again21500:22:35,800 –> 00:22:38,560online at our website OpenTheBible.org.uk.21600:22:41,079 –> 00:22:43,439In the series, we’re seeing that the Commandments21700:22:43,439 –> 00:22:46,719are not just an arbitrary series of rules that God made up,21800:22:47,680 –> 00:22:50,800but rather, they address the greatest struggles that we face.21900:22:51,640 –> 00:22:55,000Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners,22000:22:55,359 –> 00:22:57,719and if you already give to support the work of Open the Bible,22100:22:58,079 –> 00:22:59,800we want to say a huge thank you.22200:23:00,199 –> 00:23:02,680If it’s something you’ve been considering doing,22300:23:02,719 –> 00:23:05,040if you’re able to begin a new direct debit22400:23:05,119 –> 00:23:07,560to the work of Open the Bible this month22500:23:07,680 –> 00:23:10,239in the amount of £5 per month or more22600:23:10,359 –> 00:23:12,839or a one-off gift of £50 or more,22700:23:13,119 –> 00:23:15,280we’d love to thank you by sending you22800:23:15,319 –> 00:23:17,680a copy of Pastor Colin Smith’s new book22900:23:17,760 –> 00:23:19,199Drive Through The Bible.23000:23:19,719 –> 00:23:22,040Colin, who did you write this book for?23100:23:22,199 –> 00:23:23,319Where do you begin?23200:23:23,640 –> 00:23:25,800And so, people pick up bits and pieces23300:23:25,839 –> 00:23:28,119and the story from here, a story from there.23400:23:28,479 –> 00:23:31,400But sometimes, even after years in the Christian life,23500:23:31,400 –> 00:23:33,920people don’t feel like they have a grasp of the whole.23600:23:34,199 –> 00:23:35,800And then, of course, every year.23700:23:35,839 –> 00:23:38,280Praise God, there are people coming new to Faith23800:23:38,319 –> 00:23:40,479and this is an entirely new book for them.23900:23:40,520 –> 00:23:44,040And where do you begin in a book that is so vast?24000:23:44,079 –> 00:23:45,839Well, Drive Through The Bible24100:23:45,880 –> 00:23:48,599really is a marvellous place to begin,24200:23:48,760 –> 00:23:52,040to get the whole story, the big picture24300:23:52,439 –> 00:23:54,479of what the Bible is really all about.24400:23:54,520 –> 00:23:56,400And I just love saying that24500:23:56,479 –> 00:23:58,359the whole Bible is one story.24600:23:58,400 –> 00:24:01,160It begins in a garden, ends in a city and ends in a village.24700:24:01,160 –> 00:24:02,839It starts in a city and all the way through,24800:24:02,880 –> 00:24:04,319it’s about the Lord Jesus Christ.24900:24:04,719 –> 00:24:07,239Drive Through The Bible will take you through the story25000:24:07,239 –> 00:24:11,319so that you feel that you have a sense of what the Bible is all about25100:24:11,599 –> 00:24:14,239and why Jesus Christ is the centre,25200:24:14,439 –> 00:24:16,640who he is and what he has accomplished25300:24:16,640 –> 00:24:18,880and what he’s able to do in our lives today.25400:24:19,239 –> 00:24:22,400So this is not simply a sort of learning exercise.25500:24:22,439 –> 00:24:24,880This is an introduction to the Lord Jesus Christ25600:24:24,880 –> 00:24:26,319all the way through Scripture.25700:24:26,640 –> 00:24:29,280And I think whether someone’s been a Christian for a long time25800:24:29,319 –> 00:24:30,680new to the Scriptures25900:24:30,959 –> 00:24:32,560and just wants to get a handle26000:24:32,560 –> 00:24:34,040on what the Bible’s all about,26100:24:34,359 –> 00:24:36,560Drive Through The Bible’s going to be a place to begin26200:24:36,560 –> 00:24:38,920and I hope it will be a blessing to many people.26300:24:39,119 –> 00:24:40,199Well we’d love to send you26400:24:40,199 –> 00:24:42,000a copy of Pastor Collin’s new book,26500:24:42,160 –> 00:24:43,359Drive Through The Bible26600:24:43,599 –> 00:24:45,959along with a lovely Open The Bible26700:24:45,959 –> 00:24:48,439tote bag, pen and bookmark.26800:24:48,439 –> 00:24:50,760If you are able to begin a new direct debit26900:24:50,959 –> 00:24:53,040to the work of Open The Bible this month27000:24:53,319 –> 00:24:55,959in the amount of £5 per month or more27100:24:56,199 –> 00:24:58,920or a one-off gift of £50 or more.27200:24:59,040 –> 00:25:00,719Full terms and conditions27300:25:00,719 –> 00:25:03,160and to give online come to our website27400:25:03,160 –> 00:25:06,439openthebible.org.uk27500:25:07,119 –> 00:25:09,520For Open The Bible and Pastor Colin Smith27600:25:09,839 –> 00:25:10,880I’m David Pick27700:25:10,880 –> 00:25:12,479and I hope you will be able to join us again27800:25:12,479 –> 00:25:14,160next time on Open The Bible27900:25:19,640 –> 00:25:22,880As Christians, we know that we are called to tell the truth28000:25:23,280 –> 00:25:26,239Find out what happens when we take this too far28100:25:26,640 –> 00:25:28,599That’s next time on Open The Bible