BE WATCHFUL SO THAT YOU DON'T FALL AWAY
Galatians 4:8-20
WHEN
WE WERE IN THE WORLD WE WERE SLAVES
V:8 "However at that time, when you did not know God,
you were slaves to those which
by nature are
no gods."
A. How is it that
when you were in the world you followed the ways of the world?
1. How is it when
you were in the world you were held bound by ways of the world?
2. When you were
in the crowd, you readily followed the crowd.
3. When you were
in the crowd you had a crowd appetite.
4. When you were
in the dark, you had an appetite for darkness
5. When you were
in the world, you lack the wisdom of God.
6. When you were
in the world, the world was your god.
7. Since idol
gods are nothing, you had nothing for a god.
B. The world, your idol god, provided nothing of value.
1. The world, your
idol god, was a constant drain on your emotions,
your trust and
your pocketbook.
2. The world, your
idol god, drove a wedge between you and your neighbor.
3. People spent
thousands of dollars to get to the super bowl and came away with
nothing but an
experience.
a. An
experience for some that ended in frustration and disappointment.
b. An
experience that made the rich richer and the majority poorer.
c. They
experienced the excitement for a few hours, now it is just a memory
4. Let me give you
an example of how much influence the world has on us, the
church.
( I not
trying to make anyone feel quilt, but making a point about our focus.
There is
nothing wrong with having a good time, but put God first)
a. Just
before the super bowl there was a plea from the pulpit
to help a
totally incapacitated deacon of a church who lost everything he
owned in a
fire.
b. The majority
of the church walked out without helping, headed straight
to their
destination and some I am sure, to a super bowl party.
c. The majority
of the church missed an opportunity to participate in
the grace of
giving. 2 Cor 8:7
d. We give our
money to the world which gives back nothing.
e. We give up
the finer things in life for things that have no lasting value.
f. We have the
SUPER BOWL OF FAITH which we exercise only when we
need
something for ourselves.
IN CHRIST, WE ARE SLAVES TO HIM
V: 9. " But now that you have come to know God, or
rather to be known by God, how is
it that you
turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which
you desire
to be enslaved all over again?"
A. Now that you know
God, you are no longer blind but in the light.
1. Now that you
know God, you are no longer without the wisdom of God.
2. Now that you
know God, you have been freed from the bondage of the world.
3. Now that you
know God, you have access to all God's commands and
the power of
the Holy Spirit to understand them.
4. Now that you know God, you have the power
and the authority of God to live
a successful
and profitable life.
5. Now that you
know God, you have experienced the grace and mercy of God.
6. Now that you
know God, you know the love of God.
B. How is it that you know the eternal God and still turn
back to the control of
idols and
worthless gods of this world?
1. How is it that
knowing what the truth is, that you turn back to false things?
2. How is it that
knowing the light, you turn back to darkness?
3. How is it that
knowing what true value is, that you turn to things that are
worthless?
4. How is it that
having been freed from the troubles and frustrations of life
that we run
back to them?
KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT WISDOM
V:10. " You
observe days and months and seasons and years."
A. Paul makes the case, I know you are not dumb.
1. You know the
days, the months the years and the seasons.
2. Not only that,
you know what is to be done in each of these
time frames.
B. I know you have
street knowledge and know how to
take care of
yourself in this worldly environment.
1. I know that
you are blessed by the almighty God.
2. You are not
using the God given gifts you have.
3. If you were using God gifts, you would not look
like the
world.
IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO KNOW THE WORD, WE MUST APPLY IT
V:11. " I fear
for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain."
A. The Word of God
cannot return void.
1. We have
knowledge of the Word of God, but lack the wisdom of
God to apply
the Word to our lives.
2. The Apostle
Paul was concerned that the Galatians, having experienced
the Glory of
God through their conversion were back sliding and
falling away.
3. The Apostle Paul
was concerned that instead growing in Christ, the
Galatians were
allowing themselves to be bound by the Jewish traditions
and rules of
the Law.
B. Knowledge of God and faith in God are two different
concepts.
1. All believers
have a knowledge of God, but not all believers
exercise faith
in God.
2. Pastors and
teachers proclaim the Word of God with the hope that
there will be
conviction of hearts and noticeable change in the
lives of the
hearers.
LIKE THE APOSTLE PAUL, GET RID OF THE WORTHLESS THINGS
V:12-13. " I beg
of you, brethren, become as I am, for I also have become as you are.
You have done
me no wrong; 13 but you know that it was because of a bodily
illness that
I preached the gospel to you the first time;"
A. Paul reminded the Galatians that He was a Jew and once zealous
of the Law and its
traditions. Paul
laid all that aside to take on the Christian faith. Acts 22:3
1. Paul admonished
the Galatians to become like him.
2. He encouraged
the Galatians to put away the traditions of the Law to fully
embrace their
faith in Jesus Christ.
B. Paul had an
illness that may have detained him in Galatia
for a time. 2 Cor 12:9
1. However, the
Galatians received the message of God and professed
their faith
in Jesus Christ during that time.
2. Initially the Galatians embraced Paul and
became one with him in the faith.
STIR UP THE GIFTS OF FAITH
V:14. "And that which was a trial to you in my
bodily condition you did not despise or
loathe, but
you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself."
A. You cannot let you personal conditions stop you from
proclaiming the
word of God.
1. Paul's illness
turned out to be an a blessing to the Galatians.
2. When we minister
to others, that favor will be returned to us.
B. The Galatians received the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a
church was formed.
1. Our personal
conditions may become a catalyst to the growing faith of
another
individual.
2. Initially the
Galatians received the Word of God gladly because it freed them from
hopelessness of
the Law and gave them a new hope in Jesus Christ.
STIR UP YOUR DEVOTION TO CHRIST
V:15. " Where
then is that sense of blessing you had? For I bear you witness that, if
possible, you would have plucked out
your eyes and given them to me."
A. Initially the Galatians were so excited about their new
faith in Jesus that they
would have gone to any length to embrace Paul.
1. As time went,
their excitement for the Gospel died out and was replaced
again with the hopelessness of the Law.
2. There were those
who may have been waiting for Paul to leave Galatia
so that
they could
impose the traditions of the Law as a condition of their salvation.
B. This proves that continued Bible study is necessary to
maintain our faith in the
Word of God.
1. Satan is always
on the job trying to find a weakness in our knowledge of the
Word to push
false doctrine into our beliefs.
2. There is nothing
more profitable than personal study and meditation of the Word.
THE WORLD IS YOUR ENEMY, NOT GOD
V:16-17. " So
have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 They eagerly seek
you, not
commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will seek them."
A. The Jews who opposed the Christian doctrine made Paul an
enemy to the Jewish
faith and their traditions.
1. While Paul was
away establishing churches in other areas, Satan was busy
undermining
the Christian Church.
2. We have to be
on guard and watchful because a weak faith can easily be destroyed.
B. The enemy wants to shut you out of the grace and mercy of
our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ.
1. The truth is,
once we confess our faith in Jesus we are sealed to the day of
redemption. Eph 4:30
2. Ignoring that
fact, Satan wants you to feel hopeless in your redeemed state.
3. It is Satan's
desire to make you think God is your enemy when trials
show up in
your life.
4. If Satan can keep your focus on the your
circumstances rather than the God
who controls
your circumstances, he will succeed in sucking the joy out
of your life.
BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
V:18. " But it is good always to be eagerly sought in a
commendable manner, and not only when I am present with you."
A. It should be our aim to present ourselves as angels of
light so that world is
drawn to us.
1. If we lift up
Jesus in our talk and actions, He will draw men to himself.
John 12:32
2. We should
resist the temptations to walk in darkness, so others can see
our devotion
to Christ.
B. We ought to be Church
folk in the Church and outside the Church.
1. Evangelism
gets it's promotion in the Church but is put into
action
outside the Church.
2. In the Church,
we are talking mostly to believers, but it is outside the Church
where we will
find the unsaved. Matt
28:19
BE CONSTANT IN PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH
V:19-20. " My
children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you —
but I could
wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am
perplexed
about you."
A. It is our job to
pray for believers constantly, because we can easily be drawn away
from Christ by our environment.
1. Prayer is a
labor of love for the Gospel and those in Christ.
2. It is our job
to mother the weak with encouragement and love as they grow
stronger in
their faith.
B. We can't be around
the weak in Christ all the time, but we can offer our prayers
to God continuously.
1. Paul makes his
plea personal; he says "my children".
2. He takes
responsibility for his children.
3. Parents should
never give up on their children
4. The prayers of
the righteous accomplishes much.
5. Prayer is a
powerful tool that we must exercise.
6. Our prayers
changes lives.
7. We never know
how God works in our children lives
because of
our constant prayer.
PRAISE GOD FOR HIS GRACE
AND MERCY
Rev M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
For more lesson visit me on facebook and my blogs
www.revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blobspot.com
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