Book of Galatians - Ch. 4, Vs. 13-Ch. 5, Vs. 3 (08/27/2000)

Now if I could have everybody's attention, please I want someone here to tell me how it is that a

Christian can never go to church How can a

Christian never go to church now, it's the truth

Leave it up to Nichols Most people think of the church as this building

A Christian cannot go to this building and be in church, and go to church because they bring the church with them

And as Clarence pointed out, we're always in church Does that confuse everybody?

Confused you? You can go to the church building, you can't go to church because God put you in the church

I begin to think it wasn't for a minute Just before we get separated, we're bringing the church together by bringing ourselves together

To encourage, to instruct, to learn, to praise Alright, come now to Galatians 4, 13

Paul is reminding these people of something that it seems like they have forgotten

He says, you know how through infirmity of the flesh

I preached the gospel unto you at the first He is talking about his infirmity, his problem, his illness, his disease

He never spells it out exactly, I think he has though indirectly That it was a problem with the eyes

And he says, I want you to remember that when I first came to you, I had this awful disease of the eye

And that my temptation or my infirmity which was in my flesh, you despised not nor rejected

But received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus Where is then the blessedness you speak of?

For I bear you record that if it had been possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me

I said that's the way you were when I first come You received me as you would receive

God The word temptation, going back to it for a moment

The trial made of you by my bodily condition Paul speaking to them since condition served as to test the love of the

Galatians toward Paul And they passed the test Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?

Now we're getting rather personal He said, I have not changed

Something has changed You consider me now to be your enemy Why is that?

Since it is the very same gospel that I'm teaching you I'm giving you the truth and now you don't like it

Something had to change Now we're going to see what it is because he certainly addresses it

They consider him to be an enemy They zealously affect you but not well

Yea, they would exclude you that you might affect them He goes on to say

I want you to tell me what is it that has affected you It has caused you to think that now

I'm your enemy I'm telling you the very same truth

The truth has not changed Do you now consider me to be trying to mislead you?

Is that what you're saying? I tell you with all assurance of God that it is not

I that is misleading you Somebody has Somebody has misled you to the point that you now think that I am leading you astray

He says they are your enemy They're trying to draw you away from the truth so that they can make money off of you

Greed, pride, money is the root of all evil

These false teachers saw an opportunity in which in the absence of Paul They took the opportunity,

Virge, to little by little teach an untruth In order to draw them, to depend upon them, and to make money off of them

Question Why do false teachers attract large crowds?

Because it makes them feel good

In other words the false teacher says things that appeal to the worldly people

The spiritual side of it It tickles their ears

It tickles their ears Richard, what do you think?

Why do false teachers draw such a large crowd? Because it would be hard to take the responsibility for them being there along with Virge Alright Anyone have anything to add?

They teach tolerance instead of truth Tolerance allows you to accomplish whatever you're doing

It convicts the spirit and causes you to want to change

Tolerance tells you you don't have to Okay, just a minute,

Jessie You want to say something? I was just going to say, thinking of today's church world

I've been promised, and that you can accomplish

That your flesh, living in the flesh, desires

To make it easy and desirable And the people that follow that are the ones that do not know the

Word And if they're not grounded in the Word, they have no way of knowing what you feel

Okay, that's good, Jessie That's right

Yes Alright, you're all saying exactly the same thing, and it's right

But at the same time, you're pointing out these things You're also saying that the truth is hard The truth is the truth

And we don't like to hear it sometimes If we're still in the flesh

And most of us spend a lot of time in the flesh, even though we would rather not

But it appeals to the carnal man I was listening to one on the television yesterday for a little bit

Anytime I want a good laugh, I usually go to him And maybe

I shouldn't laugh about it, but it's ridiculous Just pure ridiculous And such intelligent looking people

And they're so sincere I pray that the Lord will shake them up And cause them to see the truth, if they're saved

If they're not, that's another story So, anything that attracts a huge crowd, real quick, be very careful of it

Any movement, any program Anything, whether it's in the church or out of the church

If it grows fast, be very, very cautious My little children, verse 19, now

My little children, the very dear term he's giving to them Remember, he's very angry with them

Of whom I prevail in birth again until Christ be formed in you

Now he's going back to the thought of a child being formed in the womb

And being birthed And he said, it's just like having birth pangs again with you

I went through it once, and now I find that Christ is not even formed in you yet Getting your children to believe is like having a prolonged birth

The pain of it almost more than he can bear He said,

I would have you to grow up Hebrews addresses this very problem Said, let's move on, away from all of the front end of everything

Get into the meat of the gospel Get into the heart of it Because that's where you should be by now

But you're still babes, he says in Hebrews In verse 20,

I desire to be present with you now And to change my voice Bill, what does he mean, change my voice?

Well, it's not the latter It's the first He's already pointed out things they're doing wrong

And he knows it, he knows that they're doing it They know that they're doing it

And he said, I would, that I didn't have to do it But I do

In other words, he's saying, I've been commissioned to this And I have no choice

Therefore, you'll hear the truth from me He added,

I stand in doubt of you Well, Virgie would, since they have changed so radically since he left them

He's saying, I would really like to be there with you So that I could look you in the eye as I speak to you

How many would rather talk on a telephone As to stand face -to -face with the person and talk?

How many would rather see the person to whom you're speaking? One of those minutes,

Paul, walking back to the telephone And that is the escape route

Very many of you do Sometimes it's easier on the phone And then again,

I doubt it from the way you're acting 21, tell me, ye that desire to be under the law

Do you hear what the law says? Do you even understand the law?

So he's putting out a challenge to them I challenge you to tell me What does the law tell you?

For it is written That Abraham had two sons The one by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman

But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh

Now, Greg, explain to me and make me understand

That statement that the son that was born to Hagar Which was after the flesh

How is it Paul uses that as a symbol of the flesh?

Why does he take that route? That's right

They thought that since we're to have a son And we're way too old to have any children

This must be the way God has planned for us to Therefore, Sarah gave to her husband, her maid

And she had a son by that We'll get into more of that this afternoon in Genesis Because we're right at that point

And I hope we understand a little more then But Ishmael was born of the flesh representing the world

The free woman, which was who? Sarah How old was she when their son was born?

How old? Ninety That's way too old for a woman to have a child

We know that, she knew that That only added to her confusion

And it was all a lack of understanding and believing Beyond any shadow of a doubt

What God had said If God says it, is it apt to happen?

When we say something, is it apt to happen? See, when we say something and then later do it, there's two different things

When God says something and it happens, it's all one thing If he says it, it happens It's just one thing

Which things are an allegory? So he's going to use, or is using Ishmael and Isaac now as a picture

For these are the two covenants The one from Mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage

The other is Hagar For this, Hagar is

Mount Sinai in Arabia And answereth to Jerusalem, which now is

And is in bondage with her children But Jerusalem, which is above, is free

John, what did he mean, Jerusalem that is above? David, what does it mean to you,

Jerusalem which is now above? Let me ask a question, which comes first?

Now David, don't answer Which comes first, the real thing or the false thing?

Clarence? The real

The real, how did you come to that conclusion? That's what

I thought Well, Christ came and was here and we're going to see the false prophets

Why didn't we see the false prophets first? Why don't you see counterfeit money before they ever made any money?

That's right There has to be something to copy So the false came second, always second

The false leaders in the Old Testament, starting with Nimrod, or even before that Nimrod had a full -blown church organization

Priests, temple virgins, and everything But it was copied after the real

Look at Agar and Isaac Who's speaking? If you looked at Agar, Agar would represent the world and towards the living world

And Isaac representing us living in spirituality

Mary Ann, she won't say anything, so I'll speak for her You didn't need to say that But Jerusalem, which is above, is free

Which is the mother of us all The us all,

Deborah is referring to who? To Christians, to born again, the seed of God in the world

For it is written, Rejoice thou barren that bearest not, break forth and cry

Thou that travailest not for the desolate, hath many more children than she which hath an husband

Now, Greg, how are we going to make sense out of that verse? She was part of it,

I can't see all Well, what you saw was backwards I can see the desolate, the seed of Satan is reporting more on it

Than we are, additional You had it right on it, it just turned around,

Greg Multiply what he talks about, that they'll be multiplying because the desolate has many more children

That's the multiplying verse that would not have occurred Had there not been sin

Alright, does everyone understand? The desolate is the wicked, there'll be many more of those than there will of the wife that had a husband, which was

Sarah Even though they were married, he was married to Agar Now, we brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise

But as then, he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit

Even so it is now Will it ever be any different in this world?

When did Ishmael start tormenting Isaac? What makes you say that?

That's the reason that Sarah insisted that Agar and Ishmael vanish

When did that happen? He was just a young lad But what had, what occurred?

What was the feast for? It was for winging him, winging him from his mother

He was being winged from his mother Alright, but there was something else that took place too

Well, look it up It started at a feast, alright, but we want to know

The feast was for the weaning and something Now, Galatians 5

In this chapter, Paul is speaking about grace as daily living You must get that fixed in your mind

What? Well, I guess they didn't get copied

No, they're here Nevertheless, what says the scripture?

Always go to the scripture Cast out the bondwoman and her son for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman

They both cannot be the seed of God So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free

The average church of today Let me describe it for you Not this church

We're not average folks What?

The average church consists of this A mild -mannered man stands in a mild -mannered pulpit

Telling the mild -mannered people to be more mild -mannered He says, you're doing fine, just be better Now, chapter 5

In this chapter, Paul is speaking about grace as daily living The grace for daily living

Not about saving grace That's a different subject What God does in time is only what he determined in infinity

His own will be His own will being the alone cause

His own will being the lone cause of all of his acts and works

I hope you really understand that God's will is the only cause of everything that he does

So that, David, would make him sovereign, wouldn't it? He is sovereign

God from all infinity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will

Freely and unchangeably foreordain whatever comes to pass

Whatever has already been fixed, it is a done deal Everything's finished

He cannot change without undoing everything It is perfectly and divinely true that God has ordained for his own glory

Whatever comes to pass Verse 1

Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free Now, Greg, to stand fast means what?

Not move Don't keep looking around for someplace to jump Stand fast

Stay Be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage

Jesse, what was the yoke of bondage? The law

Are we to make sure of where we are and where we stand and who we are? Is that any concern to us,

David? How do you determine who you are and where you are?

Through the word Is it of much importance then to study the word?

How important is it? This man sitting with you, I don't recognize him this morning

How important is the word, Richard? It's our past, our eternal past It can be no more important, can it?

It's just, it is It is God in printed form

So, do not let anyone teach you to return again to the living of the law

We are free from the yoke of the law Now, in this chapter, we're going to see some small things that lead to the law that actually are under the law

Behold, I, Paul, say unto you that if ye be circumcised,

Christ shall profit you nothing So, if you have to do anything, then

Christ is not going to be of any benefit to you whatsoever If you do anything for salvation

The joining of circumcision with the gospel as a thing necessary to justification and salvation

Christ's undertaking will profit you nothing 4. Embracing circumcision after Christ's coming is virtually to deny and disown that He has come

You follow? If you think you have to add something to it, it's the same as saying that He did not come or that what

He did was not sufficient And in effect, it is to renounce and disclaim

Him because of His coming The promise was fulfilled and circumcision of its own nature ceased

So, learn this To join anything, and I stress that To join anything with Christ and faith in Him 5.

For justification of a sinner before God is a plain denial of Christ and a despising of His ability and sufficiency to justify and to save us

If you know someone that says, well, salvation is of God, alright, but I must do and then tell you what they must do

That cannot be and you be a child of God It has got to be

His way, His method only He will not accept part man in it

It requires no movement on part of man for salvation

You understand that? Is anyone here a little bit foggy on that?

Now, I'm talking about baptism or anything else It cannot be added to salvation

There's a place for baptism, but not for salvation

For I testify again to every man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to the whole law

He's a debtor, not a debtee A debtor Clarence means what?

He's a debtor to the law Alright And we do not

What did Christ do to the law? Fulfilled it.

Did He do away with it? He fulfilled it. It's fulfilled in Him Then how is it that the

Father can say there can be no one spend eternity with me unless they keep the law?

And we're in Him Therefore, did

He keep the law for us? Why did

He keep the law? For the

Heavenly Father Everything He did while He was here was for the Father He came to save and to redeem that which was lost

What is it that was lost? Who's talking?

Is that all? He came to fill the law We were lost, but He came to claim us back

He came so that we could see

God And He came so that we could know

God That's the only way we could come to God I've seen the law.

Something else has slipped my mind I have. And He said, you're...

He came to redeem everything that was lost

I didn't hear you, Jesse You need to stand up and wave,

I guess Now, He came to seek and to save that which was lost

If you go back to Genesis, you find out what was lost It was the entire creation

It tells us in the New Testament that the creation is waiting, groaning, waiting on the manifestation of us

So that the creation can get a new body Does this creation belong to God?

Alright Is this creation under a curse? Why? Because of man

So He had to come in the form of man, because man is the one that sinned He didn't come in the form of a tree or a rock

Because creation was made the subject of the curse, but not willingly

God put it under that curse Now, what I want you to understand is that He did not come just to save you and me

He came to redeem everything that belongs to God And He did

When it says, He so loved the world, the word is cosmos That is all of His creation

Are you following me? So the

Bible plainly tells us that everything Jesus did while He was here was to please the

Father Not to please you and I, but to please the Father Now it so happens in God's wisdom and plan

That in the saving of the entire creation, it included us

We that are His Because we were lost along with everything else

So fix it in your mind this morning that He came to save everything or to redeem

The very word redeem means to buy back Meaning once it was and now it wasn't and now

He bought it back and it is So He came to redeem everything that belonged to the

Heavenly Father That in itself indicates that there is something that does not belong to the

Father Virg, what is that? Seed of Satan They will not be redeemed

Is there any questions? Well, we are going to stop here and see if there are any more questions

And where did we get to? Three?

Ok, we will start with four next time Now, did you have something that you thought of while going through this and you want to voice it?

Was that a hand up or just somebody scratching their head? Then everybody understands everything perfectly

Think about it this week Keep it in your computer, pull it up every once in a while, look at it

Make a copy of it Let's stand, I am going to ask

Richard if you will dismiss us today, please sir Dear Lord, we just thank

You again for this day that You have provided for the hearts of all of us