Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #14814 - You Are Already Free in Jesus - Galatians 4:8-20

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#14814 - You Are Already Free in Jesus - Galatians 4:8-20 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
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Taylor, recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co.
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To learn more about the many resources available through
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Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services,
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visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now.
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Here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
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Amen. Take your Bibles, open them to
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Galatians chapter 4. We're going to pick up where we
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left off at last time in verse 8 and I've entitled our Bible
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study. You are already free in Jesus.
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You're already free. And this is the substance of
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this section that we're going to be studying today.
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It's like Paul saying, why would you leave?
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You have everything that you need in Christ.
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You're already free. And even as I'm saying that, I
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noticed how I changed the tone of my voice and the posture of
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my body because Paul is taking the position of pleading.
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He's pleading with the believers in Galatia.
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And it brought a question to mind.
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How do you plead? How do you plead with someone to
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leave religion and rituals for a relationship with Jesus Christ?
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Now, the answer to that question, of course, is going to
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vary. There are different ways because
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it all depends on who the person is and the type of relationship
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you have with them and your personality and what religion
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they're a part of or what they're all into.
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So the approach will be different.
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But it is important that we plead because we're all praying
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for unsafe family and friends, praying for those that are close
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to us. We're, we're getting a glimpse
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though, of one way to plead right here.
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We're getting a glimpse of how important it is that we plead
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with those that are stuck in legalism or being ripped off by
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false teaching. And that really is the essence.
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Like it's a frustrating and kind of a painful thing where you're,
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you're seeing somebody being ripped off in their life and God
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has sent you to them, but they're unwilling to see it with
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their own eyes. They're like, but bro, you're
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getting ripped off. Oh, no, no, no, this is the way.
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This is the truth. This is the full revelation.
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Like, no, it's not. It's actually not.
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And and I saw this increase more and more.
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I've been around ministering for many years now, but I've saw it
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increase way more when COVID hit and everybody were watching
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people on YouTube and everybody was developing and I say
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everybody, it's truly not everybody.
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A few or many or more were developing these new theologies
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and these new beliefs because of YouTube.
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They go on and now they spend 4050 sixty hours studying some
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guys some weird doctrine and then they bring it to me and go,
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hey pastor, I got this new doctrine.
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No bro, it's not new. It's not new and I could
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dismantle it with just one verse.
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Just one verse. So you spend 5060 a hundred
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hours of your time on some false teacher and one verse dismantles
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their whole viewpoint And then they would say, bro, you're
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getting ripped off. No, no, no, I'm not getting
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ripped off. You just never seen that before,
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Ed. Not like, OK, OK, you're
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probably right. I've never seen some whacked out
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false teaching that was invented by some dude on YouTube.
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You're right, I probably haven't.
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But Even so, I know the truth. I spend those 5000 hours in the
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word of God so that when you know the truth, any false thing
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can be easily seen. So it's like that doesn't sound
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like God, that doesn't look like God.
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That doesn't that that's not, that's not something that God
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would say. Like you had to get that from a
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man. And so this is where Paul is and
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you're going to feel a little bit of passion, you're going to
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see some sternness. I mean, we've already seen that
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so far in Galatians for sure. But in this section alone,
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there'll be a little bit of sternness that there'll be some,
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some like, what are you guys doing?
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Kind of like we saw last time when he said, who's bewitched
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you? And then he's going to appeal to
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their relationship, which is always hopeful.
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That's always a good tool to use to appeal to the type of
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relationship that you have with the person.
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What are the Galatians dealing with?
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They're dealing with false teachers that they never met
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before rolling into town after Paul left.
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Telling them grace is not enough.
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That's Jesus alone by faith is not enough.
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You have to keep the law. That's where this was their
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message. You have to keep the law in
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order to be saved. And the way that we're applying
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that today, the way to apply that today would be those that
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are stuck in legalism, those that want to relate to God
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through a list of rules and regulations.
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Instead of coming to God in the freedom that they have in
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Christ, they would rather come to God through a list of what to
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do, what not to do, whether they developed it themselves or most
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likely somebody gave it to them and said this is the way to
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relate to God. Paul is pleading with them and
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we pick up now in verse 8 where he says, but then indeed, when
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you did not know God, let's pause there for a minute and be
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reminded. The time that they did not know
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God refers to the days when they were unbelievers and the days
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that they were unbelievers, they were pagans.
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They, they did not worship the one true God.
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They did not care about the one true God.
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They woke up in the morning and they worship their false idols,
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did their own thing, whatever it was their life.
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They didn't care about God at all.
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They had false gods. So he's saying, I want you to
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remember. I want you guys to remember your
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life before you were saved, when you didn't know God.
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And then he describes it. You guys served those which by
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nature are not gods. But now verse 9, after you have
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known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn
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again to the weak and beggarly elements to which you desire
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again to be in bondage? Here's the essence.
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Through their idolatry, through their fear of false gods,
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through their desire to appease the false gods so they don't
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have judgment shut down upon them and suffer all the
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superstitious consequences that they made-up in their Pagan
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minds. They were in bondage every day,
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not sure if they pleased the gods, Little G not sure if they
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did things right. God sends them a messenger, Paul
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the Apostle with the message of hope, the gospel.
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Your sins can be forgiven. God is appeased through the
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blood that was shed by his own son, that he loved you so much.
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He sent his Son to die for you. He was buried and rose again the
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third day. Your life can be altered and
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radically changed beginning today.
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Those received, those that received were born again.
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They started to live the joy filled life.
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The false teachers come in and go, no, no, no, that's not how
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it works, that's not how it works, that's not enough.
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You need to keep the law. You need to be circumcised.
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Jesus Messiah is attached to the Torah.
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He is promised in the Old Testament.
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So if you want to follow him, you need to keep the Old
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Testament and on and on. As we have learned and Paul
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says, why are you making this choice?
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You're not going back to paganism.
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You're adopting another form of bondage when you're already free
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and he keys in on this verse 9 after you have known God, or
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rather are known by God. Those are relational statements
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known. It's the Greek word gonosco.
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It's a word that's used to describe personal intimate
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knowledge of someone. It is.
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It is a relational aspect. I mean, we use the same language
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today, known. When you know someone to the
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degree that you know someone is, to the degree that they're
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you're, they're in relationship with you.
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You know someone from a distance, you know someone
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close. There's a big difference between
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the two. Every relationship in our lives,
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whether it be a relationship with God or a relationship with
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one another, grows or doesn't grow the same way.
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So in relationship, your relationship will grow or not
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grow with two things. You might want to jot them down.
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Super important but also easy to remember.
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Relationships grow through time and testing.
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Time and testing. Think about it, the longer you
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spend time with someone, the more you share your life with
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them and the more you experience.
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And the new phrase today is do life together.
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You will either grow closer or not grow closer at all.
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That's relationships. So you go through something
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together and you go through it together.
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What happens on the other side? Your relationship is stronger or
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you go through something and it reveals in a person their true
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identity. And you're like, Oh no, I don't
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know. They, they didn't show up or
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they didn't help or they're really mean.
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And and then you're like, OK, now our relationship has to
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change because time and testing has revealed the depth of our
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relationship with the Galatians here.
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They're newer believers, but they know God enough.
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He says, look, you guys already live this life as pagans.
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Why now as Christians do you want to live a life in bondage
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to rules and regulations? Then he identifies one notice in
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verse 10. You observe days and months and
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seasons and years. You've imposed all of the
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celebrations of the Old Testament on yourself now.
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And because of them, these self-imposed laws, you have now
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used them as a means to approach God.
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But all the while in Christ you can come to God anytime you
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want, any day you want, any moment that you want.
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Why would you go to that now? Not only that, later on Paul
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would teach and the Bible would be very clear about days.
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You know, take days for example. It really doesn't matter what
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day you worship on. It doesn't matter.
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So anybody that wants to throw some heavy trip on you about
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worshiping on Saturday or Monday or where, don't let them.
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It doesn't matter. As a matter of fact, the way the
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Bible teaches the day on which you worship should be you ready
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every day that everything is as on worship unto the Lord.
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So notice with me you can just jot it down.
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In Romans chapter 14 and verse 5, it says one person esteems
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one day above another and another esteems every day alike.
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Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
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Just let him worship. If Saturday is important to you,
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as long as it's not legalistic, we got a Saturday night service.
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See you there. If Sunday's important to you,
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then we'll see you on Sunday. You want to make it.
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You know you can't make it on Sunday.
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That's fine. We'll be here on Wednesday.
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We worship the Lord together, and it's important that we do.
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Let me give you another one. We'll get here soon enough.
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When we study Colossians, but in Colossians chapter 2 and verse
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16, it says this. So let no one judge you in food
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or in drink or regarding a festival or a new moon or
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Sabbath's which are a shadow of things to come, but the
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substance is of Christ. Don't let anyone judge you the
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substance. These things, these religious
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activities in the Old Testament are pointing to Messiah that
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that's their whole point. The whole point was to get your
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eyes on God who promised to save you.
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All these rituals, all these sacrifices, all these days
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pointed to Jesus. It it's amazing because the
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logic of going back to the law or the logic of saying, OK, now
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I'm a Christian, I need to keep the law doesn't make sense.
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Because if you come back to the law and you start following the
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law for what it is, what does the law say over and over again,
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Messiah is coming, Messiah is coming, Messiah is coming,
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Messiah is coming. And then you learn or you
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already know Messiah has come. So now that he's come, he's to
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be embraced. New covenant replaces the old
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covenant and there's no reason now and no good logical reason
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besides theological, no good logical or theological reason to
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go back to the law because the law is going to just take you
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back to Christ and then you're going to embrace.
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And it's just a vicious circle of man made religion.
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And that's what man made religion is a vicious circle of
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frustration and confusion. He says back in our text, you
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observe the days. He says in verse 11, I'm afraid
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for you lest I've labored for you in vain.
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Circle the word vain there in verse 11, you like to write in
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your Bibles, circle the word vain.
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It means empty. But I also put a little phrase
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here just to remind me when I read through this section, you
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should write this phrase too. It might help you.
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I just wrote a little note here that says legalism can destroy.
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Legalism can destroy, and here's what I see.
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Paul invested his life in the Gospel.
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He invested his a portion of his life in the lives of these
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unbelieving Galatians. He's been beat up.
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He's already been run out of town, but he's committed.
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Nothing's going to stop him. He is a committed man to the
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King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
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He's committed to his ministry. He'll do whatever it takes.
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He, he is a man sold out to the things of God and nothing's
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going to stop him. And yet he comes to the
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Galatians and goes, man, everything I've done for you
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guys, maybe it wasn't worth it. Maybe you're just going to throw
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it away. All the work that I've invested
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in your life. I'm concerned.
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Now he uses the word afraid and again, in the context of
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pleading with someone, you may feel the same way when you're
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talking to people. You may not use the word afraid.
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You may use the word concerned. I'm concerned for you.
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I can't tell you how, how many times I've spoken with someone
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where I'm trying to help them see what God sees in their life
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and even what I see. So they would just pray through
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it. And, and I, I'm not using my
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words lightly when I'm sharing with them.
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I've fought them through, I've prayed them through.
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And then when they're just keep pushing back, pushing back,
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pushing back. I'm just like, I'm concerned for
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you. What's happened?
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This is not how you started what happened.
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I can't help you if you don't identify what happened.
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Why did you turn either either what happened in the beginning,
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you didn't give us the truth or something changed.
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And here Paul is very clear something changed and he labored
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and labored for them and he's he's concerned.
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Then he says in verse 12, brethren, now again, a very
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relational statement, some hard words and he's got a few more
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hard words, but brethren, very relational.
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Hey brothers, sisters, very relational.
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I urge you to become as I am, for I am as you are.
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You have not injured me at all. It's like Paul saying don't be
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offended at what I'm sharing with you.
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I love you and I must tell you the truth even if it hurts.
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And you know that's what a person does when they love you,
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they tell you the truth. People that don't tell you the
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truth, you have a right to question their love It's like
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what is this whether it's in the moment or it's in relationship.
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What do you mean? I, I, why would you not tell me
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the truth? Because I love you.
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I'm going to tell you the truth, Paul says, he says you haven't
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injured me because I'm still walking in freedom, but you are
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injuring yourself and you're probably going to injure a lot
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of other people unless there's a change that takes place.
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Not only that, this phrase, verse 12 is interesting.
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You have to pause there. It's one of those awkwardly
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staged sentences. You know, the way it's all set
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up. I urge you to become as I am for
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I am as you are. And you're like, what is he
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saying? And as I thought about it,
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here's my conclusion. He says, I want you to be like
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me because I'm enjoying freedom. I want you to be like me because
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you are, you're believers. You have freedom, but you're not
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like me because you're not enjoying it.
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You have set it aside and listen to these people.
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You've listened to these people and now you're following them.
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And really what Paul is saying is, hey, both then and now,
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religion does nothing to save a person.
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It leaves it leads to emptiness and bondage.
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It might make a person feel holier when they do some
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religious activity, but it doesn't touch the soul.
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It it it doesn't help them. And Paul says, I want you to be
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like me. I'm free, you know, you guys
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born and good believers, you're free too.
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You're just not enjoying it. Paul was able to take the
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freedom that God gave him in Christ and use it for the
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gospel. I think that's another
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ingredient here. I want you to be like me because
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you guys are listening to false teachers and you're not
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evangelizing, you're not serving others, you're not loving
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others. You're all caught up now in your
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little doctrine. That's all we ever hear about.
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Your little doctrine, your little binder, your little
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emails, your videos. They're not talking about the
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things of the Lord anymore. They're talking about the law
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and you meet people like that, they get into stuff.
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They're not talking about the Lord anymore.
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They're talking about their stuff, their new thing, their
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new idea, their new theory. It's like, no, no, no, what
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happened? What happened?
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Paul says, let me show you in First Corinthians Chapter 9,
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would you turn there with me? That's going to be left from
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Galatians, so go left. I want you to see this because I
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think this is a great description of what Paul says.
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I want you to be where I am. I want you to enjoy the life
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that I have. I want it to be for the sake of
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the gospel. I want you guys to know that you
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have so much freedom that you can approach people where
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they're at with the gospel and when you get there.
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This is a great cross reference. By the way, some of the best
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cross references in your Bible are the ones you write down and
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the ones you find. This is a great one for
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Galatians 4. When you come back, you can just
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jot it down. Notice in verse 19 Paul says,
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For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a
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servant to all that I might win the more.
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To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win the Jews to
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those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win
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those under the law. To those who are without the
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law, which would be the Galatians, I I am as as without
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the law. Verse 22 To the weak I became as
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weak that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all
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men, that I might by all means save some.
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But this I do for the gospel sake, that I may be a partaker
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of it with you. Paul is teaching them that his
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freedom has led him to be a servant of the Lord and a
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servant to people for the gospel.
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This group of believers in Galatia have become followers of
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false teachers. That's their new identity.
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They've adopted a false teaching and have begun to follow these
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people turning against Paul. Now come back to Galatians 4
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with me, where he continues and he says, brethren, I urge you,
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be like me. You haven't injured me at all.
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Verse 13, you know. That because of physical
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infirmity, I preached the gospel to you at 1st and my trial,
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which was in my flesh, in my body you did not despise or
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reject, but you received me as an Angel of God, even as Christ
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Jesus. Again, after some deep theology,
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Paul says, don't you guys remember?
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Again, he's pleading. Do you guys remember the time we
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spent together? Do you Remember Me?
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It's almost like he's saying, Do you remember?
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Do you remember when we met? Remember I rolled into town,
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remember how sick I was, how much pain I was carrying in my
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body? Do you remember my eyes?
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He points that out. You remember my eyes?
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My eyes? They, they, they were in need.
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I needed some help, man. I was so sick.
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It was in my eyes. Many people believe that this
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was some oriental eye disease that made his eyes puff out and
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kind of bulge out and nasty old pus running out of his eyes down
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his face. Very unattractive, very
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difficult. You combine that with a
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description of Paul from the 1st century and Paul is a very
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unattractive man. It says he was a man of small
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stature with meaning furled eyebrows, bald head, bow leg,
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strongly built red complexion which means the skin was red,
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with a beard, bulging eyes and pus coming all down his face.
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That's how he came to Galicia. But not only that, he came to
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Galicia, no, no doubt having been beat up, chased out of
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town. I mean, this could have been
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malaria, could have been epilepsy, it could have been the
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beatings he took after he was beaten and stoned.
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It could have been a lot of different things.
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But he doesn't, he doesn't come to the Galatians like with
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anything to prove and anything to show off.
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He came very weak, like physically in his appearance.
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He came what weak and physical appearance, but he came in the
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power and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
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And he says, don't you guys remember?
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You guys need to remember this, You need to remember this
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because he noticed, he says in verse 15, what then was the
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blessing that you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that if
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possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them
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to me. I mean, that's a pretty powerful
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memory, isn't it? You guys Remember Me.
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You remember my appearance, you remember my sickness, you
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remember my weakness. And you received me like an
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Angel. I'm just a man.
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But you treated me like God sent me, like a heavenly being.
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You took care of me. You love me.
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You didn't just take care of me and love me.
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You demonstrated that you you would be willing, if it was even
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possible. It wasn't.
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But you'd be even willing to give me your own eyes.
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How did it come to this? Because Paul hasn't changed.
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How did it come to this? And we know how it came to this.
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They didn't guard that relationship and they listen to
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these guys with the false teaching.
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It got pretty bad. Notice in verse 16 it says have
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I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth.
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I mean, they go from wanting to sacrifice their own eyeball
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because they love Paul and appreciate him so much to now
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treating him like an enemy. That's a pretty radical
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transformation, a painful one at best, radically turning against
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the one that cared for them and labored there and gave himself
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to them and watch the fruit. Like he came and there was
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evidence that God sent him. There was evidence he belonged
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there. It was it was all it was
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amazing. But now some are just going,
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yeah, Paul, you're no big deal. I mean, this stepping back,
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thinking about giving your eye, I mean, I would call that pretty
24:21
generous. Wouldn't you give out, give your
24:24
eye? I mean, that's generous.
24:25
I think of our friend Pastor Al and his wife Norma, who had a
24:29
couple of people donate their kidneys to her.
24:32
I mean, that that's a, that's generous.
24:34
That's a generosity. And I, I step back because this
24:37
is a pretty convicting passage for me personally.
24:40
Perhaps it will be for you as well.
24:42
But I step back and I, I look at my life in general, especially
24:46
compared to when I wasn't saved. And, and I would conclude, and I
24:49
think there are people be, there would be people close to me that
24:51
could confirm this, that, that I'm a generous person.
24:54
I, I would consider I'm generous.
24:56
I like giving, I like blessing. I am generous.
25:00
I, I would say that I want to grow in it for sure.
25:03
I have a desire to help when I hear a need.
25:05
I want to see people as pain relieved and on and on when this
25:09
goes. I would say that I'm a generous
25:10
person, especially for the cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
25:14
But you know, we all have our limits.
25:18
We all have our limits. I have my limits.
25:21
And God is continually bringing things into our lives to test
25:24
our limits. Oh, you know, Ed, you're such a
25:27
generous person. Yes, Lord, thank you.
25:29
Yes. And then he lays something
25:31
before me and they're like, well, what about this?
25:35
And if you're not careful, all sorts of things come, well,
25:37
haven't I been generous enough? Now don't use the word generous
25:41
anymore. There's no such thing generous
25:43
enough. The whole word generous means
25:45
you go above and beyond. Jesus would teach us that.
25:48
He says, this is a play, this is a principle of the Kingdom.
25:51
This is something that's equal among all of us.
25:54
We can all follow that, that when someone asked for our for
25:59
our jacket, we give them our tunic too.
26:01
We we give them more above and beyond that would pour out above
26:07
just completely beyond our limits, although we do have our
26:10
limits. And so I started thinking, well,
26:14
Ed, you're reading now I'm just reading the text like you're
26:16
reading the text. I'm preparing a Bible study, but
26:19
I'm also interacting with. OK, Ed, would you give an eye to
26:22
someone that needs an eye? Now, you can ask that question
26:25
of yourself, and most likely because you're in your Bible and
26:28
your study or you're doing your DeVos, you'd probably go.
26:31
Of course I would. But I've learned over the years
26:35
that I don't give that answer anymore.
26:38
Here's the answer when I asked this question of myself a few
26:41
weeks ago, putting this study together, here's the answer I
26:44
gave. I don't know.
26:46
I hope I would, but I don't know.
26:50
I don't know. I guess I would find out if the
26:53
situation present itself, but I really don't know.
26:57
I'd like to think I'm generous. I'd like to think I'm a giver.
27:00
But that scenario, I don't know. And I think you can back off
27:04
something so dramatic. I mean, that's a pretty
27:06
dramatic. That's what makes this
27:07
relationship so sweet, such a dramatic offering.
27:10
I wonder if someone in Galatia offered it to him, maybe got a
27:14
doctor in town to see if it's even possible.
27:18
But as we're looking to grow in the things of God, you have to
27:21
understand your limits, but you also have to admit them before
27:24
the Lord and give him space to move the line.
27:28
Give him space to move the line. No matter where you are in your
27:31
walk with the Lord, no matter where you are in relation to
27:34
generosity and giving. God wants to move the line and
27:38
he wants it to be more. I want to be careful because in
27:41
the church there, there is this reputation that we have.
27:44
It's more than giving to the church.
27:46
It's more than tithes. There's always that phrase,
27:49
right? Tithes and offerings.
27:52
And what is the offering that God wants from us?
27:55
He wants our eyes, He wants our ears, He wants our life.
27:58
He says, lay yourself down as what?
28:01
A living sacrifice. So I step back from now, I'm
28:05
like, OK, wow, you're a giver. Yes, I am.
28:09
Pastor, would you give up your eye?
28:11
Sure. All right, let's do it right now
28:14
because my eyes are going bad. I right now.
28:16
No, it's like, I don't know. I don't know what the Lord would
28:20
want to do, but I'm open. And I'm grateful that God would
28:24
put these things before us to test us because we're growing in
28:27
our relationship with him, aren't we?
28:29
Time and testing. And he puts these people in our
28:33
lives and these situations and he puts these opportunities and
28:38
he uses what's happening at work and he uses what's happening in
28:41
your neighborhood. And he's using what's happening
28:43
in culture and what you're reading and watching on the news
28:47
so that he might move the lines so that we might become closer
28:50
to him. When we come back to Paul's
28:53
relationship, these are this is a man's relationship with other
28:57
men and women, real gospel oriented relationship.
29:02
He goes, how have I become your enemy?
29:04
I don't understand it, how have I?
29:07
Why is this? Why is your situation all of a
29:11
sudden become about me? Why is it me?
29:14
Why are you? Well I'll tell you why because
29:17
either you do it to yourself or the enemy does it.
29:20
Somebody false teacher. They have to do 2 things in
29:23
order to gain you two things. Number one, they need to create
29:26
some kind of confusion where they can be the answer to your
29:29
confusion and #2 they have to separate you from people that
29:33
tell you the truth. They have to, they have to
29:36
separate you from the people that tell you the truth so that
29:39
they can, you can have complete loyalty to them.
29:43
Now, sometimes that's false teaching, but sometimes it's
29:45
just you where you separate yourself from people.
29:48
They're going to tell you the truth because you just don't
29:50
want to grow or you just don't want to admit that this is a
29:53
place in your life right now that God is wanting to grow you
29:56
and you just don't want to grow. It's got to be someone else's
29:58
fault. It's always someone else's
30:00
fault. It's always someone else, some
30:02
situation, and it can be never be you.
30:04
Listen, if that's the phraseology you're thinking or
30:07
living out in your life right now, that's a red light for your
30:11
spiritual growth. You will make no progress if
30:15
that's where you're at, and you'll be more susceptible to
30:19
believing lies about situations and even to the point where you
30:23
like man, somebody that's actually your friend, you think
30:26
they're an enemy and you separate from them and don't
30:31
listen to them. Here's what they have.
30:32
Here's what happened. Verse 17.
30:34
They zealously court you. So that that is a phrase that's
30:38
describing they want you to follow them.
30:42
They are doing much in your life to gain your loyalty.
30:46
They zealously court you, but not for good.
30:49
You see that it's not good, even though you might be flattered
30:53
and even though you might enjoy the attention, it's not good.
30:58
It says they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for
31:03
them, but it is good to be zealous and a good thing always,
31:08
and not only when I'm present with you.
31:11
There's the two pieces. They're going after you to draw
31:13
the you after themselves, and then they're also wanting to
31:17
exclude you from those that would tell you the truth.
31:23
It's important that we recognize this because this is the work of
31:28
false teachers. This is how they operate.
31:32
Paul says. You should be careful of the
31:34
legalists who want to court you so that they can exclude you,
31:37
drawing you after themselves. That's the phrase you'll hear
31:40
being used here because there's always people.
31:43
We've been around a long time and in a large church like this,
31:46
there's always people that come through wanting to draw you
31:49
after themselves. And they are not welcome here to
31:55
do that. They are not welcome to take
31:58
advantage of you as a flock for their own thing, whatever their
32:01
thing is. This is the House of God.
32:04
You've come here to worship God, not follow someone.
32:08
And it's important that you realize that because you can be
32:10
in a vulnerable place and in a vulnerable place, in a very
32:14
trusting place, it's easy to be taken advantage of, even with
32:18
language like, well, it's for your own good.
32:20
No, not necessarily. Not necessarily.
32:24
I was with Marie this week and we went to Walmart for a typical
32:28
trip. We get out of the car and we're
32:31
walking around and there were two Mormon missionaries in the
32:35
parking lot arguing with someone or trying to convince someone
32:39
with their open Book of Mormon there.
32:42
And I'm just going to Walmart, right?
32:44
And they're not in the DVD section in Walmart anymore.
32:47
You know why the DVD section doesn't work anymore?
32:50
They're hitting the parking lot and so I'm walking on and
32:52
waiting for Marie to get on. And we're walking and I'm
32:54
looking at, I'm looking at and Marie says she's on my left
32:57
hand. She says, you want to go and
32:58
talk to them, don't you? And I said, yeah, but I just, it
33:03
was a bad day for me. I just didn't have the energy.
33:06
I just didn't. I just didn't have it.
33:08
So I just said a quick prayer for them and went in and we did
33:11
whatever we need to do and get whatever we needed in the store.
33:15
And it. I already know what's going to
33:18
happen. I already know how it's all
33:19
going to work. They're going to ask some
33:21
question that's going to lead to some confusing thing and they
33:24
already know the answer to that confusing question because
33:27
they've been trained to do this. You have to be so careful
33:31
because it's in the confusion that someone takes advantage of
33:34
you. They, they, it's a very well
33:37
rehearsed script, you know, and you can tell the difference when
33:40
someone shares with you their script or their life.
33:45
A script is easy to hear and how careful you need to be
33:49
especially when it comes to theology and who God is.
33:54
Listen, the message of this church and the teaching of this
33:57
church and the training of this church is you are not to follow
34:01
man. Your relationship was with Jesus
34:04
Christ and He deserves your complete 100% loyalty.
34:10
He is worthy of all of your time, all of your attention.
34:14
He is worthy. Certainly God will use human
34:16
beings in your life, but they are never to take the place of
34:21
the Lord. Never.
34:23
But also, you need to be careful, and I need to be
34:26
careful of men and women like this, zealously courting you,
34:31
drawing you to themselves. It's not good.
34:36
Let me give you a scripture. You might want to memorize it.
34:38
Let's turn to Titus chapter 3. Titus chapter 3, The Church of
34:45
Jesus Christ is not for you to use for your own purposes.
34:49
The Church of Jesus Christ is not for you to test things out,
34:54
you know, to see and to to build a Kingdom or to build anything.
34:59
If anything, the Church of Jesus Christ is to build the Kingdom
35:02
of God and to make heaven crowded and to help people in
35:06
their worst days and encourage people when they're hopeless and
35:10
to give generously to serve in such a way where God gets all
35:15
the credit. So that when someone comes and
35:18
wants to argue with you, I think of the radio.
35:21
We have a a live radio program that we do Monday through Friday
35:24
on our radio station and it gets broadcast around the country.
35:28
And we make it very, very clear. We make it clear this call in
35:32
show is not for you to argue or share some weird doctrine that
35:38
you have come up with with your 50 hours on YouTube.
35:41
We're not going to do it because there's thousands of people
35:44
listening. And when the thousands of people
35:47
are listening, we don't want them confused and stumbled by
35:51
your weird doctrine that you made-up or found or whatever.
35:54
And we have a special button in the in the studio that takes
35:58
care of that. I used to be able to do it, but
36:00
now it's on the other side of the window.
36:01
But let me show you how it works.
36:03
Click the radio station in the audience that we have have been
36:09
entrusted to us by God. You are not allowed to use it
36:12
for your weird false doctrines. Now I'm not saying you in
36:15
particular because you're like I don't not you in particular, but
36:19
in general we are entrusted with the flock of God and we're to
36:23
take care of them and protect them and guard them.
36:27
And even today you're hearing like man, those are pretty
36:29
strong words. That's because it burns me to
36:31
see you guys taken advantage of. That's not why you came here.
36:34
I think the honey, let's wake up and go to church so we can be
36:36
ripped off. No, that's not your heart.
36:39
You came why you woke up this morning.
36:41
Go seek the Lord. My heart is heavy.
36:44
I need to hear, I need to sing, I need to be in the I need to be
36:48
on the property. You know, sometimes people come
36:50
to church, they stay in their cars.
36:51
Did you know that this won't be on the property?
36:54
They don't have enough energy to for the hugs and the handshakes
36:57
or anything. Just stay in their car because I
36:59
can listen to the service in their car, but they're in
37:00
proximity. Why?
37:02
Because the closer they get to the Lord, the stronger they're
37:05
going to get. They're not here to be taken
37:07
advantage of. And so here, here's something
37:10
for you, because it takes some time for this, for us to find
37:13
out about it. And until then, this is God's
37:16
word to you. You ready?
37:17
Titus, chapter 3, verse 9. But avoid foolish disputes,
37:22
genealogies, contentions, strivings about the what does
37:27
your Bible say the law. That's exactly what the
37:31
Galatians are dealing with. He says avoid these for they are
37:36
and circle these words unprofitable and useless.
37:41
You know, we might say today they're a waste of your time,
37:44
but they're also dangerous because they can confuse you
37:48
because somebody could use some obscure passage.
37:51
Somebody could say, did you know this was in the Bible?
37:53
I didn't know that was in the in that moment, you're more
37:56
vulnerable than you were. And then it says in verse 10,
37:58
reject the divisive man after the 1st and 2nd admonition,
38:02
knowing that such a person is warped and sinning being self
38:06
condemned. So now you have a button that
38:08
you can say see ya and the button is avoid.
38:13
You have a responsibility. It's not solely our
38:16
responsibility as pastors and leaders.
38:18
You and I have a responsibility not to get caught up in these
38:22
dumb arguments and and new things, he says.
38:26
Avoid them. They're unprofitable and they're
38:29
useless for you. The word avoid means to place
38:33
yourself at a distance from and we have a responsibility to obey
38:38
this truth, to stay away from false teaching.
38:42
And I know sometimes you're, you're not even looking for it.
38:45
I see this all the time. I don't know how it all works in
38:47
the algorithm, but like I, I don't, I don't listen to false
38:50
teaching very much, but I'm looking for a Bible study on
38:52
YouTube. And then the whole right side is
38:55
whacked out stuff. I'm like, does YouTube really
38:57
think I'm not whacked out? Like, what are they doing?
39:00
I don't know. Maybe there's someone behind the
39:02
algorithms that you're looking for truth and they want to give
39:06
you error, but they can't give you error unless you click it.
39:11
And so the word is avoid it. It'd be better to spend 50 hours
39:15
just reading the Bible. It'd be better just to spend 50
39:19
hours praying and seeking the Lord than to be dabbling in
39:22
things that will harm you. The Bible says avoid them, avoid
39:27
them. We're not even to get into that
39:29
conversation. Avoid them and not even to go
39:32
there. It's amazing how people will
39:36
want to just, it's, it's amazing.
39:39
I mean, I got them thinking of all these emotions.
39:40
I've taught this message three Times Now.
39:42
I'm thinking, man, it's, it's frustration, it's holy righteous
39:47
anger. It's hurt because I've watched
39:49
families just destroyed by this stuff.
39:51
But it's it the church is filled with people that just want to
39:55
attack your faith, your simple faith.
39:57
You just love God. You bleach your Bible everyday.
40:00
You raising your kids on the way to the on in the ways of the
40:03
Lord. You just got a simple faith.
40:05
And then you meet somebody in the parking lot.
40:07
I go, hey, where do you go to church?
40:09
I go to church over at Calvary. Well, do you guys take communion
40:12
every week? What?
40:13
What do you? I don't think so.
40:16
Oh. Oh, you guys.
40:17
Yeah, it's a horrible church. You don't take communion.
40:21
And how do you take communion? Do you guys break bread through
40:23
the room? Oh, no.
40:24
Oh, oh, you're not. I don't even think you're a real
40:27
believer. What?
40:29
I, I just came in for a toothbrush, bro.
40:31
Now I'm not a believer. Like what do you mean?
40:36
And, and before you know it, you got people nitpicking communion.
40:40
Hey, look, the Bible, Jesus never told you exactly how to
40:44
take communion. You know what he said as often
40:48
as you do this, do this in remembrance of me.
40:51
Now, I started off with that one because wouldn't you know it, a
40:54
brother comes up after service and he says, Ed, what timely
40:59
message. I was just taking the light rail
41:01
to the other side of town and I sat down and sit next to someone
41:05
and they asked me, what church do you go to?
41:07
And I told them and they asked me that communion.
41:09
I just told you what that brother told me that just
41:12
happened to him, just happened to him on the light rail.
41:17
This stuff is real. There's always like, oh, you
41:21
know what? You're using the wrong Bible.
41:22
I'm using what? Bro?
41:25
Before I was saved, I didn't even own a Bible.
41:26
This is the wrong Bible. Oh, what Bible should I use?
41:30
Don't you know I happen to have it?
41:33
And it was written by our organization and our cold.
41:36
And it's perfect for you. No, no, you need to learn to
41:40
know Jesus. You need to follow him.
41:45
It's not the day on which you worship.
41:47
It's not the Bible that you read.
41:49
You know, people you're worshiping on the wrong day.
41:51
You're singing the wrong songs. You can't be a believer in sing
41:55
no songs or or you're singing them wrong.
41:59
And I'm like, whoa, I'm sorry. I forgot the words and I made
42:02
them up and my eyes were closed. I didn't see them like I'm just
42:05
worse. You do really think like you're
42:06
coming here and I don't you, you miss a word or you, you sing a
42:10
song incorrectly. Do you really think God's going?
42:12
Oh, no, no, try again. Get the words right.
42:16
You're going to worship me. And by the way, that is not an
42:19
acceptable worship song to worship me.
42:21
Let me give you the 10 songs that were written at a certain
42:24
amount of time. Those are the songs.
42:27
I mean, God doesn't sound like that, but man does.
42:32
Man does. You can make a joyful noise
42:34
under the Lord. And God's just like, oh, so
42:37
cute. You know, a lot of your kids,
42:38
when I get to minister them and hang out with them, they got
42:41
that stage of baby talk that's going to go away.
42:45
The kind of baby talk we've you come up after service and I'm
42:48
just give them a hug and talking about the message where they're
42:50
saying some and I look up at mom and like, what in the world is
42:54
she saying right now? Can you interpret that for me?
42:57
And mom does because mom knows exactly what the kids saying.
43:01
And eventually you're going to grow out of that.
43:03
It's like, oh man, you got to enjoy those seasons because it's
43:07
a sweet season. But do you think in that
43:09
inability to understand a child of baby talk, that somehow would
43:13
offend me and I would look up at mom instead of asking for an
43:16
interpreter? Teach your kid how to talk to a
43:19
pastor. I'm getting old.
43:22
I can't even hear anymore, you know?
43:24
Like nobody would stick around with a pastor like that because
43:31
that pastor is not representing the heart of God.
43:34
You just bring what you got. And are there things to learn
43:38
about Bible translations? And yes, but don't complicate
43:43
things. Just read the Bible and pray
43:45
everyday. Just worship God with a pure
43:49
clean heart before him. Just confess your sins, look to
43:53
do good, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.
43:59
The Galatians had gotten away from it and made it like it was
44:02
Paul's fault somehow. Paul was the enemy for telling
44:04
them the truth and he closes up coming back now to Galatians
44:11
notice he closes up this section.
44:14
They're they're they're ripping you off.
44:15
He's saying they're courting you.
44:17
They're drawing people. They're drawing you after them.
44:19
They're making you upset with me.
44:22
It's not good. You guys got to see it for what
44:25
it is. He says in verse 19, he uses
44:28
even a deeper relational statement.
44:30
My little children, it's like, you know, like I, I consider you
44:34
my kids in the faith, my little children.
44:37
Now, that phrase is used a lot by John.
44:39
You know how John is known as the apostle of love?
44:42
He uses it a lot. We'll learn it when we get into
44:45
first, second and third John on Wednesdays.
44:47
But Paul only uses it one time right here.
44:52
And it's in a place of pleading, Hey, I I kind of see you like my
44:58
kids. You see the you see the imagery
45:01
because notice what he says for whom I labor in birth again
45:06
until Christ is formed in you. He describes the labor of the
45:11
Gospel like some of you ladies, the pain of giving birth to a
45:16
child painful that that's what he describes it to like super
45:21
intense pain, except that that pain leads to joy, but it's
45:26
still pain. He says, look, I'm really to go
45:30
through that all over again to see you guys follow Jesus again.
45:35
It's worth it. I'm willing to do it.
45:37
He says verse 20, I would like to present with you now.
45:41
I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone
45:46
because I have doubts about you. It's a very difficult thing for
45:50
Paul to write this, very hard as a leader, as a brother or sister
45:56
in the Lord. You know, hard conversations are
45:58
hard, just very difficult. But because it's a letter, he
46:02
can kind of anticipate along the way.
46:05
Man, I know they're going to listen to me this time.
46:07
I know they're going to listen to me this time.
46:09
I know they're going to listen to me this time.
46:10
And kids just know how willing to labor all over again.
46:14
I'll do it all over again if it meant you'd come back to Christ
46:19
because you're worth it. The thrill of living in the
46:23
Spirit and pleading with men and women to leave false religion,
46:27
to leave man made religion and to follow the Lord once again.
46:31
It's powerful, it's beautiful, it's wonderful.
46:34
I can almost feel in my own soul right now.
46:36
I wish you were as I am now, enjoying my freedom in the Lord,
46:42
enjoying the love that God has for me, enjoying His grace and
46:47
His mercy. Though a man falls 7 times,
46:51
he'll rise again, and the Lord will get you up and get you
46:55
going once again if you keep your eyes on him.
46:58
Amen. So Father, thank you for your
47:00
word as we come to that place where we accept you for who you
47:04
are. We accept you for who you are,
47:07
our great God, Savior, the King of our lives.
47:13
Thank you for sending men into our lives and women to help us
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see the truth. Lord, thank you for giving us
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clarity of your word that we can compare even things that we've
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seen or heard or videos or teachings or people hitting us
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up in the parking lot. We're grateful that you are able
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to keep us. I think what Peter said, we are
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kept by the power of God, but also you have given us some
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things to respond to and one of them, God, is to avoid foolish
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and ignorant disputes about all these things.
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And the list could go on and on because they're useless and
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profitable. They're unprofitable.
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And so develop that in US, Lord, strengthen us that we might
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enjoy the grace that's ours by faith.
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Pour out your spirit on this little Church of ours, Lord,
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that it's just a little family. It's our little family of
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believers, part of the big church around the world, every
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tribe, every tongue, every nation.
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We get to be a small part of it, but we want to be Make us
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generous people, Lord, not clinging to things so tightly,
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investing in lives in the Kingdom, investing in the
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gospel. Let us live our lives with a
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self sacrificial and I know we we see that in ourselves and
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it's true, but we all have our limits.
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So just keep moving the line, Lord, keep moving the line.
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Keep moving the line so that we might continue to grow in your
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grace. Father, I pray for those that
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are listening to me. I pray for those in particular
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you have an appointment with today that you've brought them
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here or within the sound of my voice because you want to save
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them. You want to radically change
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their life, but so do they. They need, they need you in
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their lives, God, they know that they need a life change.
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They need a new direction. They need to forsake their sin
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and the pattern of their life and all that they've been into
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because they know God. They've come to that place today
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of how much you love them, how you've demonstrated it.
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And so if you're here today and you would say something, I may
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not even be my words. You have your own words to
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describe where you are right now.
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But here's the invitation. If you're here today and you
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want to follow Jesus Christ with your life or what Jesus said,
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you want to be born again like new life on the inside.
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I'd ask you right where you are in this room.
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Would you just stand to your feet so we can pray for you?
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I want to help you to become a believer in Jesus Christ, to
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affirm that in your life, God bless you guys in the back, that
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today would be the day. God bless you guys right here
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and now is the time. This is an invitation to follow
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Jesus. I'm not asking you to join a
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church or asking you to follow me as much as if you follow me,
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then you keep your eyes on the Lord.
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That's what the Bible says. Imitate me as I imitate Christ.
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So when you get to know Him, it's unbelievable what God wants
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to do. And so today in this room, you
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guys out on online watching live because I know you do.
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You've stuck with it this far. Why?
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Because God loves you and you love God.
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I think of all of you listening on the radio right now live,
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you're listening to a live broadcast.
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So I want you to think about this.
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You're in a live broadcast as much as people are in a live
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building right now. And God has my voice in your
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kitchen or in your car or in your hospital room or your jail
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cell in your earbuds. Why?
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Because He loves you and He's been pursuing you.
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But you guys are in the room right now, and all of it applies
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to you too. You have my voice because you're
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in the room. And what a joy it is to pray
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with you and to help you. Here's what the Bible says.
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OK? If you confess with your mouth
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the Lord Jesus and you believe in your heart God raised him
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from the dead, you will be saved.
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All you need to do is ask for forgiveness genuinely, sincerely
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when you confess with your mouth.
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It's a talking to God church language for that is we pray.
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All that means is we talk to God.
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And so I want to help you talk to God today and you could say
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something like this. You ready?
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You could say, God forgive me of my sin.
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I believe that you sent Jesus Christ to live for me, to die
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for me, and I believe Jesus rose again from the dead to save my
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soul. And I choose to follow you
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today, to turn away from my sins and to receive your forgiveness.
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God, I pray for those that would turn to you today, those that
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would pray that it be real and genuine and that this would be
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the beginning of great things. They don't fully understand it
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yet. They probably don't understand
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hardly anything, but they get a sense of your presence in their
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lives and they hear the words and they choose to believe the
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truths that I've shared today. And I know you honor that.
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Your word says that you accounted for them for
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righteousness. And we believe that.
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We pray that over our sons and daughters.
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We pray that over our brothers and sisters.
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We pray that over our moms and dads, our grandmas and grandpas
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that are yet saved by faith. We believe those truths and we
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pray for their salvation even as we get to see it today.
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In Jesus name, Amen. We pray that you've been
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encouraged by this Bible study, delivered live from the
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sanctuary of Calvary Church. For prayer, call us at 87730
53:42
Grace that's 877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
53:49
integrity or to join us for our live stream services, visit us
53:53
online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
53:58
Church app. Be blessed as you worship Jesus
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this week.