Drive Through the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith – Week 4

Welcome to week 4 of this epic, unforgettable road trip as Pastor Colin Smith guides us as we Drive Through the Bible in a 30-Day Journey toward a better understanding of the Scriptures.

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:00):
You're listening to Moody Radio 89.3. This is mornings with
Eric and Bridget.

S2 (00:04):
And we are journeying through God's Word. Drive Through the
Bible is our resource. Colin Smith is our guide and
he is taking us through the hills and valleys of Scripture.
But one of the things you say, Pastor Smith, is
that you know what? That's also the Christian life. There
are hills and there are valleys, isn't there?

S3 (00:23):
Yeah, that's exactly right. And, um, so you think about
what the New Testament tells us about life in Christ.
We have the power of the Holy Spirit. We have
peace that the Lord Jesus Christ gives to us. We
have joy and we have life, and the end of
it will be glory where we'll be in heaven forever
with our Savior. But then the New Testament also makes

(00:45):
it very clear that we experience weakness and conflict and
suffering and Christians to die. So there are peaks and
there are valleys. And the key to this is that
the Lord Jesus Christ walks with us and is present
in us by the power of His Holy Spirit in
every circumstance of life. And so peaks and valleys has

(01:06):
to me been a very helpful picture, um, to understand
the nature of the Christian life.

S1 (01:12):
One thing that is always climbing, which is interesting, is
that the church started in acts with just a few,
just over 100 people, and then it went. It exploded.
I mean, all of a sudden we've got thousands and
and then thousands and it continues to peak. The church
just continues to grow year after year, actually day after day.

S3 (01:30):
Yeah. So I mean, you have 3000 people coming to
faith in Christ on the day of Pentecost and then
many more being added in the days that follow. But
then when you get to acts in chapter eight, what
happens is that the church is scattered. There's this terrible
persecution that breaks out, and a man by the name
of Saul of Tarsus seems to be at the center

(01:51):
of it. The first Christian martyr, Stephen, is stoned to death,
and his last words were an echo of the last
words of Jesus. So there you have the growth of
the church, and then you have this terrible suffering of
the church. And then you say, well, what comes out
of that? And the answer is, as the believers are scattered,

(02:11):
as you said, Eric, the church just continues to grow
because God's work advances even under the worst of circumstances.
And I think that's true not only for the church
in general. It's true for us as individuals. I think
those who are Christians listening to us today, if if
you were to answer the question honestly, when have you

(02:32):
grown most in your Christian life? Has it been when
everything was going well, or has it been when your
back was really against the wall and you were struggling
and you were facing great difficulties? I think everyone fairly
quickly is going to say, I know the answer to
that question. It was when things were really tough that
I was cast back on the Lord, and I grew

(02:53):
in faith, and I found that God did things in
my life that he did not do in easier times.
So I think that's part of the key to why
there are valleys in the Christian life. The good news
is that we have the power and presence of Christ
when we go through them.

S2 (03:08):
And one name that you mentioned, Saul, that turned into Paul,
is someone we're going to meet in these coming chapters.
And there is a chapter called power, but there's also
a chapter called weakness and the two go together, and
especially in his life.

S3 (03:21):
Yeah. That's right. In Second Corinthians Paul says, when I
am weak, then I am strong. I don't think that
Paul was some kind of weakling. I mean, when you
look at what he suffered being beaten and shipwrecked, I mean,
he must have been one very tough person. But he
does tell us that he had anxiety. This is in

(03:42):
Second Corinthians 11, because of the weight of responsibility that
was on him as an apostle, because of the care
of all the churches. I think many Christians who are
listening to us talk about this will know the experience
of being pushed outside of your own depth, that Christ
calls you to do something, or to take some responsibility,

(04:05):
or to walk through some experience where you think, I
really can't do this. And what you're experiencing right there
is what Paul would describe as as weakness, the sense
of I'm out of my depth. But, you know, it's
when you're out of your depth that you will prove
God's grace in ways that you never thought possible. And

(04:25):
that's one of the profound realities of Christian experience, that
when we're pushed beyond ourselves, we begin to experience what
the Apostle Paul calls weakness. Then Christ's power rests on
us in a very special way.

S1 (04:40):
Well, we would love for you to continue on with us,
or maybe even start. It's not ever too late to
start driving through the Bible. This is such a wonderful resource.
If you text the word club, we'll send you some
more information. [phone]. This book is taken us up and
down and up and down for days and days, and
we're about to wrap it up. But you can you

(05:01):
can jump on board, find out more information about the book,
and finish off the course with us as we drive
through the Bible here in the next few days. It's
a 30 day journey and it has been tremendous. If
you missed any of our conversations, by the way, they're
also available when you text the word club. [phone] pastor,
thank you again for for your time, your generosity with

(05:24):
your time today.

S3 (05:25):
It's a joy to be on this journey with you.

S4 (05:27):
Thank you.