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Bro. Otis Fisher
Pables to the book of Galatians, please. Greg called my attention to the fact that the last three or four years, in April, May, or June, we have studied Galatians. So it must be a yearly thing. Galatians 1 .1.
Now, I would ask you to not get too comfortable where you are. Don't settle for mediocre when you can have the best. Make the most of what you have where you are right now. Paul, an apostle. Yes. Let's wait until Greg gets turned on.
Okay. Paul, an apostle. Not of men, not by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead. Paul was appointed an apostle by the risen Christ. I think that is a very honorable position.
By the power that raised him from the dead. Let's talk about power for a moment. We know all power comes from God. Both secular and religious. Why is that, Joy? From God's viewpoint, is there any bad?
From man's viewpoint, there is bad. And it's bad as we construe it to be, as we judge it to be. What's bad for one may be good for another. Therefore, it's all good. Paul took the place of Judas on earth.
The other apostles received their commission from Jesus while he was here. Paul, from the risen Christ. And all the brethren which are with me unto the churches of Galatia. How soon, or how, or if you could get rid of all of your fleshly problems, how many would remain?
Russell, if you get rid of all your fleshly problems, how many problems would you have? That's right. That's right. Now, they're all spiritual problems, if they're problems. Bill, what are we? What are we?
I know that I ask the wrong man because he'll go into a long lengthy discussion. But that's all right. What are we? All right. That's enough. If you're born again, you're a spiritual human being. If you're not born again, you're a spiritual human being.
Is that right or wrong? That's right. You're going to live someplace forever. Grace be to you. Peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wants nothing but peace. Peace to you. Grace to you.
What's the difference in grace and peace, Verge? Yes. Clarence, what's the difference in grace and peace? Well, I think grace... Do you add anything to that, Diane? Grace and peace. All right. Which comes first?
Grace. Grace and peace. Yes. That's right. That's right. Now, what is it we should strive for? Verge? Strive for peace. Always peace. Always. Among us. Among the brethren. Peace. And with the world as much as they'll allow you.
Now, the fourth verse, I want to read it through. And then I want you to read it as I show you how. First, who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God our Father.
Now, I want you to plug into that the phrase, according to his grace. And we read it like this. Who gave himself according to the will of the Father. Not grace will. According to the will of the Father.
He gave himself. Is that true? For our sins. According to the will of the Father. Is that true? That he might deliver us according to the will of the Father. From this present evil. And the word evil means annoyances, hardships, pressed and harassed by laborers, bringing toils, perils of a time full of peril is the Chinese Christian faith.
From this world. Now, we come to world. What does world mean? All right. Is he talking about the cosmos? No. Not here. He's talking about. Aha on. Aha on. H-E-E-O-H-O. And that means the people in the world.
So according to the world, according to the will of our Father. Every bit of that. Each phrase is according to the will of our Father. I know Paul summed it all up at the last. According to the will of our Father.
But break it down and read it individually. Now. What is. Great. What is the will of the Father? All right. Diane, what's the will of the Father? That's right. Clarence. Bill, you got anything to add to that?
Look at John 3 .23. We could find many, many references for this. David, read that. Yes.
Is that 3 .20? First John 3 .23? I told you wrong, didn't I? I was waiting to say that.
First of all, he called us in the grace of Christ. Or into the grace of Christ. Into. Greg, tell me what that means. All right. I hope you understand that. We were at one time a sinner. Into the grace of Christ.
Unto another gospel. Now. Russell, the world is full of gospels. How are you going to pick out the true one? All right. The Greek word here for another is heteros. It means one of the same nature, form, class, kind.
The same kind of gospel. So, our Father. I mean. They were under the leadership of being called into another gospel. They presented it as the same. It would accomplish the same end. You go about it this way.
What does Paul say about that? In the seventh verse, which is not another. Elos. Of the same kind. It's not the same thing. But there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. Verge, what does the word pervert mean?
All right. We get our term invert from the same prefix. Well, it would be the same gospel, only it would be absolutely different. They want to pervert this. Now, turn to Revelation 22 .18. Not first revelation, but revelation.
Revelation 22 .18. David, read that. Pretty strong words, aren't they? Lots of people. People got plagues added to them. I never said in front of you, but what I feel fear. That I will misrepresent. That I will lead someone astray.
That I will teach the wrong thing. Now, that's not like these people. They were teaching. They knew the truth, but they knew it knowledge-wise. And they were preaching something that they thought would be the same thing.
But I fear God in that I might make a mistake. I don't want ever to make a mistake. If I do, call me on it. And we'll talk about it. Paul felt the same way. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Anathema is the word. Now, he does not mean that angels preach. But they do nothing higher. Accursed. Anathema. Anathema means to be bound under a great curse. Therefore, a person or thing doomed to destruction.
So if someone comes to you, and they preach something other than the Bible, let them be accursed. Let them be anathema. Let them be. As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be anathema.
He repeats it. It's very, very important. For do I now persuade men or God? David, are we in the business of persuading men? David? That's right. We must proclaim the truth. Wherever it is. For do I now persuade men or God?
Or do I seek to please men? Fred, are we in the business of pleasing men? Now, we're to get along with them as much as we can. That's right. Now, you can please God in an antagonistic way, or you can please him in a pleasant way.
You can tell the truth as though it's an untruth. Don't do that. For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ. Very, very simple.
If you're a pleasing man, if I come and sit and Russell believes one way and I cater to that, even though it's wrong, the whole, I might as well not be here. In fact, I'd be better off to not be here.
For should he now please men, being an apostle, he did not at times pass being a Pharisee. He should not be the servant of Christ. Was it the pharisaical office that kept him from serving Christ? It did interfere.
Yes. It is. Well, the ministerial alliance, which is alive and well in this town, personally I think it's a tool of the devil. The ministers of Christ must not be men-pleasers. They must not please men either by flattery or falsehood or accommodate their doctrines to humor and dispositions of men.
Pleasing of God is our great work in business. All my life I have been in business for the Lord. Now, I have financed it in several ways, depending on where I worked and what I did. Most of it in electronics, most of it telephone system.
But I was really in business for the Lord. I hope each one of you look at it like that. You're in business for the Lord. Man-pleasing is endless, needless, and further from their good and the gospel's gain.
11. But I certify you, brethren, by the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. Your name escapes me. Dennis, Dennis, Dennis. Tell me what certified means. Clarence, what does certified mean?
All right. Bill, if I was going to give you an object and tell you here's a certification for it, what would the certification be? All right. Diane, what did Paul mean here when he says, I certify, where?
I qualify. I've lost my place. I certify you, brethren. I qualify you, brethren. Now, does it mean that Paul is certified or he's certifying them? Which was preached to me is not after man. He guarantees it.
It's guaranteed to you. You can look it up. You can check it by whatever means you want, and it's the truth. If your research is the truth. That's right. Yes. That's notified. Notary. Notary. Does it not also?
Sure. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. He's certifying them. They have the certification. All they have to do is listen to him for truth because that's all he wants to bring is the truth.
For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now, Bill, where did he get his schooling? What do you think? He didn't receive it of man, neither was I taught it.
That'd be man, wouldn't it? Now, can man teach the truth? Well, can man teach the truth now? What? I'd have to say yes, Joy. I knew what you was trying to say. I didn't get there. All right. For I neither received it of man.
He did not receive this wisdom from man. He could not be taught this except from God. Now, there's lots of times I've had revelations. I have something that's been revealed to me and I bring and I give it to you and I'm so excited about trying to hold myself down, waiting until the proper time to explain it.
And you say, so what? It took me a long time to realize it wasn't revealed to you, it was just revealed to me. He was not taught, nor did he receive it of man. But when it pleased God. Now, Dennis, is God...
No, you'd answer yes there. But I'm so glad you're here. For you have heard of my conversion conversation as conducts what it is. In time past of the Jewish religion, how that beyond measure, I persecuted the church of God and wasted it.
Was this according to God? You'd have to say yes, even though we don't understand it. And if there had been one of those being persecuted, we wouldn't have believed it. But it was of God. Ephesians 3 .3, How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery.
As I wrote you afore in few words. The way I gained a good reputation was to be that which you desire to be. Notice the change of pronouns. The way I gained a good reputation was to be that which you desired to be.
As though he's saying to people in Galatia, you desire to be the very best. So I want to be that which you desire to be, but that doesn't mean you are what you are. The way I gained a good 14 and profited in the Jewish religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my father.
What's that mean? Uh, Dennis? All right. Bill, before he was saved, was Paul doing what he thought to be right? He was very zealous in it, was he not? Very good at it. Very zealous. But on the way to Damascus with papers in his pocket to arrest the followers of Jesus, he was arrested.
We'll get into that later. But when it pleased God. Now, wouldn't you like to say that? You can. When it pleased God, you were notified. Who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, by his favor.
He favored me above all others at this particular moment. When it pleased God who separated me. Uh, Virge, what does that teach? One doctrine that it teaches? The sovereignty of God. Predestination, however you want to look at it.
But when it pleased God, this happened.
Brother, that's exactly those. And they were some terms that he didn't want to happen to us, too. Sure. It wasn't like the road to Damascus. But I remember what, on the town, exactly the same notification he got.
That's exactly right. You were, uh, Paul was no more saved than you are. He was notified more dramatically than most of us. Psalms 115 .3. David, turn over to that. Psalms 115 .3. Uh, Bill, go to Psalms 135 .6.
Greg, go to Ephesians 4 .4. Diane, go to 2 Timothy 2 .19. And Clarence, go to 2 Thessalonians 2 .13. First Psalms 115 .3. Psalms 135 .6. Ephesians 4 .4. 2 Timothy 2 .19. 2 Thessalonians 2 .13. Did I go too fast?
All right, go to 115 .3. Pretty simple, isn't it? He has done. It's already done. It's already finished. And he did it according to his will. Psalms 135 .6. Here he breaks it down a little. But it's still everything.
Ephesians 4 .4. Is that Ephesians 4 .4? Read 1 .4. All right. Dennis. According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. When? Before the foundation. As Bill would say, half an eternity ago.
2 Timothy 2 .19. He knows those that belong to him. Before they belong to him. So, everyone, let everyone. Let is an accounting term. It means you can let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
Don't sin anymore. Don't make it a practice of sin. I know you don't. But we do sin. I hate to even add that on. But if we do, what do we have? 2 Thessalonians 2 .13. All right. He chose you by salvation.
He brought into effect salvation. That chose you through sanctification. What's that mean, Virg? But what does sanctification mean? Russell, is that what it means, David? All right. By the spirit and belief of the truth.
Could we have any of this if we did not believe the truth? He gives you first the belief to believe the truth. But when God was pleased, half an eternity ago. I can't get over that, Bill. How long has half an eternity?
To pick me out, he did. And I've always belonged to him. To reveal his son in me that I might preach him among the heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. Now he believed his son in me, not through me.
It was in me. You do not have the Holy Spirit working through you. He works in you. That's so important. He works in you. If it was just through me, it would give me no use for being here. But he works in me.
Noting presence within an inherent equality, distinguishing characteristic or intimacy of revelation, such as he has the potential of a good man, means it's in him. Or to reveal his son that is in me.
Jesus has always been in you, even though some of you don't act like it. Some of us don't act like it. We have all had the son in us from the beginning. How could it be any other way? If he chose me before there was a world, then I had to have the son, or I would not have ever been chosen.
Yes. Yes. Yes. You've always had him. You were always his. Well, that's what I mean. Well, it's for the knowledge of us. Yes. Yes. He's always had us, but we've had him since we know it. Are you with us now?
He was just revealed at a certain time. We've always had the son from the beginning, but he was revealed to you at a certain time. How could it be any other way? He was just, if there were no God, if there was no God, nothing would be prohibited.
It'd be an awful world if there was no God. Well, we need to stop here. Yes. All right, we'll start with 17 next week. And if you have questions about this week, save them until next week. Bill, lead us in prayer, would you?
Would you stand, please?