Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] All right, church. Well, it's. It's so good to be back with you. I missed you last week. Yeah. But it was thankful to minister Anderson for preaching.
[00:00:16] It was good to see him, huh? Wasn't it?
[00:00:20] He's like Kevin Hart, just not funny or cool. But.
[00:00:25] But he.
[00:00:28] Oh, he took some. He took some digs at me. I heard the sermon.
[00:00:33] But no, I love Jovan. He's doing God's blessing him so much at our old Brooklyn campus. So make sure. I hope you're proud of him. I hope you're praying for him.
[00:00:43] And I am thankful for him and thankful for his preaching, but I'm glad to be with you today. And as Tina said, man, this is a big week for us as a church. We've got week of prayer and Thursday nights kicking off.
[00:00:58] So excited about that. And if you don't plan on coming to Thursdays, but you're free, come help us kick that off. Well, come just support and be there. And let's make it a good first Thursday of the fall. That sound good? All right. And today we're going to talk about Galatians. But before we do, let's pray. Father, we just ask for your blessing and for your help.
[00:01:25] Pray, lord, that we could experience the richness of the gospel. And, lord, we could experience what it means to be your sons and your daughters, that there could be that sense of comfort and connection and boldness in our relationship with you. So help us in this, and we ask all this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
[00:01:52] Well, when I was a kid, I had a great uncle that lived in southern Ohio, and he was very wealthy guy, but I didn't really know him, you know, great uncle, that's pretty far down the family tree, or at least kind of. I didn't really know a lot of them. And when I was a kid, I remember we had this family reunion, and in the afternoon we were going to go to his house, and I'd kind of heard about him. Like, he had a really, really nice house. And so I was, like, excited to go see this house because he had all kinds of cool stuff. He had a beautiful indoor pool and kind of, that was all that I needed to know about him, you know? And I was excited, interested. And so when me and my cousins were kind of getting geared up to go, some of our other families said, hey, I just want you to know, you guys gotta behave when you go here.
[00:02:52] He's very uptight, and so don't be your usual selves. That kind of speech. You ever get that, and so we were like, yes, we will be good. We had our fingers crossed behind our backs, but, you know, we were like, okay, message received. And so we got there, and it was, it was this beautiful place. It was so cool. He had this amazing indoor pool, and, I mean, it was awesome. He had, like, a rec room with a pool table. He had, like, a cool weight room. Like, everything was cool and interesting, but basically, we could not touch anything there.
[00:03:35] So it was like, oh, this pool table, man, that looks really fun. They're like, yeah, you can't play on it because you're a kid and you'll mess up the felt, which was probably true, but, you know, and then the pool, I was like, well, you know, maybe we can go have some fun in the pool. And then the pool. And we walked in there, and there was all these rules. No kidding. There's actually a list of rules. And basically it was, don't splash, don't jump, don't laugh, don't smile.
[00:04:10] In the name of the Lord, don't have fun.
[00:04:13] That's kind of how I remember it.
[00:04:15] And so we were at this amazing place, but I was like, this guy is a stiff.
[00:04:22] He is so uptight. How am I related to this guy? You know? Because I'm a fun guy. Amen.
[00:04:30] You know, that's like, isn't that what pastors are known for, how fun we are? You see, you ever met someone, they're like, they're so fun. You're like, man, they were probably a pastor.
[00:04:43] That hasn't happened to you.
[00:04:46] I was like, how is this guy so uptight? So we tried to, we tried to make the most of it, but it was, it wasn't the experience I was hoping for. And the reason I tell you that story is because as we've been looking at the book of Galatians, there's been this theme that God has brought us to an incredible place, that God's brought us, that what the message of Galatians is, is the central message of Christianity, which we call the gospel. And the gospel means good news. And the good news is that God loves us, that God forgives us, that you don't have to do anything to earn his love, to earn his blessings. You just receive them, because Jesus Christ did everything for you. That's what Galatians has been telling us. And so it's kind of like Galatians has brought us to this beautiful place, this place with an indoor pool and a pool table. It's brought us to this incredible place. But then here's what's so cool. Where we're gonna go today is Paul's gonna say, it's brought us to this place, but you're meant to feel a certain way, this place.
[00:06:16] You're meant to feel like this place is your home.
[00:06:23] You're meant to feel, not that you are an uninvited guest here, but Galatians say God wants you to feel, to not just know. It's one thing to know something. It's another thing to feel something. Amen. It's one thing to know someone loves you. You're like, yes, I know they do, but it's another thing to feel that they love you. And what Galatians are going to show us is God doesn't just want you to know that he loves you, but to actually feel it in a way that changes your relationship with him. You with me on this church. And this is such a powerful idea to me today, and I'm excited to share it with you. So we're gonna pick up at the end of Galatians chapter three, and I'm gonna read just into the early verses of chapter four. So there's a lot in here, but we'll work through it one point at a time. So I'm gonna start here at verse 24.
[00:07:27] Paul says this. So then the law was our guardian until Christ came. Now, there's gonna be a lot about this idea of the law, and I know we've talked about it. Jovan talked about it a little bit. I want to talk about it again today. And there's a really important reason why this keeps coming up. He says, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we're no longer under our guardian, for in Christ Jesus. Now, here's the big idea. You are all sons of of God through faith.
[00:08:05] You see, what Paul's saying is that the gospel, it's not just God taking things away from your life, like taking away guilt and shame and saying, hey, all your failures and shortcomings, I'm forgiven. That's God taking things away. But what Paul is saying. But the gospel does even more than that.
[00:08:26] It gives you this incredible thing that now God looks at you and he looks at me as if we were perfect sons and daughters, even though I know and he knows and you know you're not, but he still looks at you that way, and he treats you that way. You are sons and daughters through Christ. That's what he's saying. So he goes on, for as many of you were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither jew nor greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ. And if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. I mean that an heir, as long as he has a child, is no different from a slave, though he's the owner of everything, but he's under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. And the same. We also, when we were children, we were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under a law, to redeem those who are under the law so we might receive adoptions as son. Let's just say this in a real simple way. Paul is saying that through Christ, God has adopted us. Whether you feel like it or not, if you trust in Christ today, God looks at you as his perfect son or daughter. He said that's what Christ came to do. But then look at this. Verse six. Because you are sons, God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts.
[00:10:08] Christ came into the world, but the spirit comes into your heart. You see the difference there? Christ came outside of you, but the spirit comes inside of you. Well, what is he doing?
[00:10:23] He comes into our hearts crying, Abba, Father, so you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God. So what he's saying is, Christ did something for you outside of you, but the spirit wants you to feel that.
[00:10:42] I want you to not just think about this all in your head, but to feel it in your heart so you know you are God's son. And if you're God's son, if you're God's daughter, you have nothing to worry about. And you have everything to look forward to. This is what Paul is saying. This is powerful stuff. So let's talk about this, the gospel. It makes us sons, but it makes us feel the boldness, the intimacy, the confidence of being a son or daughter. See, when I was at my great uncle's house, I felt like I had to walk on eggshells.
[00:11:25] I didn't feel like a son.
[00:11:27] I felt like, you're really not wanted here. But someone twisted my arm and allowed you in. That's what it felt like. And that's probably what happened.
[00:11:36] But in our relationship with God, he wants the freedom, the boldness, the intimacy of being a son. So just three ideas I want to talk about today. I want to talk about the law here. And then we're going to talk about identity or the center. And then I want to talk about this idea of the spirit making a son. So the law, the center and the spirit. The law of the center and the spirit. Now let's talk about this idea of the law real quick. Paul begins a section, and he's talking about the law. Now, this might not sound relevant to us, but it is actually really, really relevant. He says, the law is our guardian until the coming of Christ. Now, every religion in the world has some kind of law. Now, when you hear law, don't think about traffic laws, don't think about real estate law, don't think about law in that way. Think about law in this way, law, as if you do these things, you will live a worthwhile life.
[00:12:43] Like, what are the list of things I need to do to live a worthwhile life? That's a law. And so a law is, here are my steps. Here's what I have to do to get to this place of meaning, of purpose, of acceptance, of approval. And here's what's so powerful about this church, which we don't even always realize this. We're either living by some law or we're living through the freedom of the gospel, because you can make a religious law for yourself, or you can make non religious law, but they all have the same effect. They're all a ladder that you can never climb. You with me on this? And so what Paul says is the law for most people and most religions of the world, and all this, the law is a ladder. Do these things, take these steps, pray in this way, and if you do all this, you'll climb the ladder. Each action is a rung of that gets you higher. Oh, you didn't do this. So now you lost a rung and you're down. But you can climb back up if you do the next right thing. And every religion is built like that. But Paul says in Christianity, the law is not a ladder.
[00:14:07] He said it's a guardian.
[00:14:10] Now, this is so interesting. This word is actually a word for in the ancient world, they had household slaves that would take the kids to school and they would oversee the young kids and make sure that they kind of stay in line and make sure that they get to school and they get their education. And that's what this law, this word guardian is. It is this slave that took the kid to school. Now, our culture has advanced so much that we don't have that anymore. We have moms and dads and grandparents. But I will tell you. It's the same type of thing.
[00:14:53] My daughters, Emmy and Emmy, they're five and three. So Emory goes to kindergarten, Abby goes to preschool.
[00:15:01] And God forbid they take the bus. So we take them to school. Sometimes I take them to school. And let me tell you, this is dangerous business. Church, I don't know the last time you were in a preschool or a kindergarten line, but it is dangerous business.
[00:15:21] There's weeping all over the place.
[00:15:25] It's chaos.
[00:15:27] Of course, the school jams us into the smallest aspect area of their parking lot that they possibly can. And you have to do the most complicated maneuvering in human history.
[00:15:42] And you know what? I really resonate with this idea of the slave there. Like, yeah, I get it. I get it.
[00:15:50] And I know what my role is. I walk them right to that door.
[00:15:57] Right to the door, and I drop them off. I don't know what happens after that, but I'm okay with it, you know? Cause I'm like, I did. I made it through. I made it through. I bring them there and then they go and they have. They love school, man. They have so much fun there, and they have a blast.
[00:16:21] But here's what Paul says. Paul says, that's what the guard. That's what the law does.
[00:16:26] It takes you by the hand and it brings you to Jesus Christ. Now, what does he mean by that? Because this is an interesting image, isn't it? It's not a ladder.
[00:16:39] It's a guardian. Now, here's what he means.
[00:16:44] When you look at any law you've tried to live by, there's one thing you and I will find true about that law, and that's that we don't live up to it.
[00:16:59] Is that fair to say, set any standard for yourself and see if you can perfectly abide by that standard.
[00:17:11] It's not going to happen. And I'm not trying to discourage you today. If you just started a new workout routine or something, you can do it, all right? You're going to.
[00:17:20] You're going to be the exception. But for the rest of us, the law. The law, what it shows us. Here's what Paul is saying. It shows that we can't do that. Now, one of the difficulties is many times when people think about what it means to be a Christian, they think about, well, it means that you're climbing some moral ladder.
[00:17:45] Be nice, treat people the way you want them. Many times. That's how people envision. Maybe some of us see it that way. But what Paul's saying is Paul saying, no, that's a wrong way to think about it, because God has set standards for his people. He says, I want you to treat people this way. I want you to have these sort of habits and rhythms and approaches in your life.
[00:18:07] But those are not the way that we earn God's love and acceptance, because we will always fall short of it. Here's what Jesus did. Jesus took the ten Commandments, and he said, here's what it really looks like to follow him.
[00:18:30] And he started with anger, and he said, you've heard that it was said, you shall not murder.
[00:18:38] And I'll be honest with you, church, I've done pretty good on that one so far.
[00:18:45] And I could look at that and I could say, well, check Mark, got that one. But then Jesus says, whoa, slow down. He said, here's what that commandment really looks like in your life. If you've had anger towards your brother or you've called them a fool, Jesus, I've called people a lot worse than that.
[00:19:07] That's not even close to. He said, well, if you've done that, you've broken that commandment, you've murdered.
[00:19:17] Now, I know you are so godly. You've never had any real anger towards anyone in your life. I know you're so squared away that you're like, oh, Jesus, I'm okay on that one. No, we're not. Right?
[00:19:30] The law. And so what does that mean? It means that what Jesus is saying is that when we think about these things, we realize that we're not even close to relating to God through the law as a ladder. You with me on this? And Jesus goes on, and he goes through some other commands, and he does that same thing. He says, look, look, you gotta think about this at a deeper way. And what does that all mean? That means that if we're trying to perform our way to God, the law will take you by your hand and say, no, no, no. The way in the door is right here, and his name is Jesus Christ.
[00:20:14] You can't be good enough. You can't be spiritual enough. You can't be holy enough. We need Christ to do for us what we can't do for ourselves. You with me on this? And so Paul says that's the real purpose of the law, is just to show you that, so that you stop trying to do it in your own spiritual delusion.
[00:20:40] And you look to the only one who can do it for you. And his name is Jesus Christ, and he's done it for you, church. That's why as Christians, we always have to be humble, because we realize it wasn't us.
[00:20:55] God's at work, helping us despite us. Amen.
[00:21:00] And Paul says the law teaches us that. And then he says, and as we are in Christ, it changes. It gives us a whole new identity to live from. And this is where he talks about this idea. He says, you've put on Christ, and there's neither jew nor Greek. There's neither slave nor free. There's no male or female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ.
[00:21:29] Paul says, the work of Christ, it gives you a new source of identity to live from.
[00:21:39] Now, when you think about yourself today, how do you think about yourself?
[00:21:45] We all want an identity that is powerful in the right ways, that's not fragile, that provides power and security and guidance and wisdom to our life.
[00:22:03] I think identity is a huge thing, and I think we all want an identity that is bigger than our history, that's bigger than our roles in life, that's bigger than our performance in any type of endeavor, but an identity that is real and lasting. And here's what Paul says.
[00:22:28] At the end of the day, you are in Christ. That's your identity. And guess what? If you're in Christ, you're a son or daughter of goddess. That's the most important thing about who you are. It's so powerful. I heard years ago, I had this really cool opportunity, and I got to hear this general. His name was Michael Farrider, and he was a general, and he brought into the army the army combatives program.
[00:23:05] Y'all aren't excited about this because you probably don't know what I'm talking about, but here's what it is. It was army combatives. It's kind of like jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts, all that. Like, the army has a big part of that. And he was the guy that actually brought it into the army. And so I got to hear him talk about it, and I was like, this dude is so cool. I could just listen to him for hours, talk about all this stuff. You seem less interested than I was. That's okay. It was really cool, and he was a cool dude. But this happened a while ago. He was retired now, but through his whole, like, speech, he just kept saying. He'd say this line again and again. He said, I'm just an old ranger.
[00:23:47] I'm just an old ranger, you know? And he was. Well, he wasn't a Ranger anymore. You know, I still wouldn't mess with the dude, but, you know, he wasn't. I'm sure, what he was. Amen.
[00:24:00] Those days were behind him, but you could tell he was still holding onto that identity.
[00:24:08] He's still trying to say, but that's who I am. Well, that was a role and certainly a very cool role and a very powerful role, but the identity was wearing out.
[00:24:22] And church, how many times are we trying to grab hold of an identity that's going to wear out of or an identity that someone can take from us? You can make your job your identity, but one day you might retire, one day you might move on or want to do something different. And then if you lose that, you might fear that you're losing yourself.
[00:24:52] There's all these things. But here's what my point is. Paul is saying, in Christ we have a solid identity that's bigger than where we came from, it's bigger than what we're into. It's bigger than all these things. It's lasting and it's powerful and it's good. See, church, I just want you to know, on your worst day, the day where you just.
[00:25:21] You can't do anything right, you are still as much of a son of God on that day as you are on your best. You with me on this?
[00:25:32] The days that you just. You want to rip those out of the pages of your life, guess what? Your identity, from God's perspective, has not changed at all. And church, that is good news.
[00:25:47] We all need that place of stability.
[00:25:50] And Paul says, the gospel gives that to us. And he says, but here's the deal. God wants to make it real in our lives and he sends his spirit into our hearts and he says this phrase. And if you remember. I know you don't forget any of my sermons. I know you don't, but if you remember romans eight, he used this exact phrase and we talked about it. You remember?
[00:26:18] Yeah. Yeah. You can't lie in church.
[00:26:22] You just did. But in romans eight, he talked about it. He said this exact phrase. He said, crying out. The spirit comes in our heart, crying out, abba. Father.
[00:26:35] Now, I want you to think about this. This word crying out, it's just what it sounds like. It's not like, hey, dad. Hey, dad, dad, dad. Now it's.
[00:26:48] You know, it's the. Some of that sound might resonate in your season of life. Maybe you could go back to that season of life. But my son, this really resonates with me. My son, Teddy, he's turning one years old this week. Isn't that cool? Yeah.
[00:27:04] First year, it's been a complete blur. I don't even know where I am right now, but it's been great.
[00:27:13] But he's turning one, and he doesn't talk, but he does cry out, and he doesn't really cry so much as he grunts at things.
[00:27:27] And what I notice is that when he wants something from me or he wants to get my attention, he does not care what's on my calendar.
[00:27:45] He doesn't care what I'm doing at the moment.
[00:27:49] He doesn't care about if I had a really busy day the day before or wasn't feeling good. He doesn't care church, about any of that. Can you believe that? He doesn't.
[00:28:05] Doesn't care. Doesn't cross his mind.
[00:28:07] When he wants something, he will just grunt and pull on my leg. And if I try to, like, move him and distract him with the toy, it won't work. He'll just come back and start doing the same thing, in fact. And he has no shame in it at all.
[00:28:27] No shame. Like, he doesn't ask his sisters, like, hey, what do you think my chances are getting dad to give me that car over there? Like, what do you. None of that happens. There's absolute freedom to bug the daylights out of me.
[00:28:45] There's no shame. There's no pretenses. There's no, like, hey, let me make sure my onesie zipped up before I go talk. How's my hair?
[00:28:55] None of that.
[00:28:57] Just absolutely anarchy.
[00:29:02] But here's what the spirit says. That type of freedom. Check this out.
[00:29:10] That type of freedom you're meant to feel towards your heavenly father.
[00:29:17] Now, the Lord is. His heart's a lot better than my heart, I think. He's. I know he has a lot more patience, a lot more grace, a lot more wisdom, all those things.
[00:29:28] But today, do you feel that freedom to go to him in that way?
[00:29:36] That's what Paul's saying. God wants you to feel that.
[00:29:41] Do you feel like in your relationship with God, you're walking on eggshells, or do you feel the freedom of a young son?
[00:29:49] That's how much he loves you. That's how much he's for you, and that. That's what we can experience in our relationship with him. You know, there's some days where Teddy, he always wants to get my cell phone. How are you already attracted to a cell phone at this age? But he is.
[00:30:12] It's crazy. And so, you know, I always, like, you know, try to get it. Move it away from him or whatever. And when I'm taking something away from him that he really wants, he looks at me like, with this crazy look, like what are you doing with holding something from me?
[00:30:33] Who do you think you are, old man? You know, it's just got this. There's a lot that's said with his looks, and because it seems that it's just hard for him to imagine his father withholding something from him now. He'll learn about that a lot more as he gets older, but right now, it's hard to comprehend. But I just want you to think about this for a second.
[00:31:01] Do you look at God and do you see God as someone who does not withhold anything good from you?
[00:31:11] I think that's what, in the most pure states, between a father and a son, there's that sense that my father withholds no good thing from me. When you look forward into life, are you always waiting for the shoe to drop?
[00:31:30] You're always kind of looking like, okay, man, things are going too well, I'm getting a little nervous right now.
[00:31:35] Do you look, are you always kind of anticipating the word? Or here's what. Or are you living as a son?
[00:31:42] So it says, yeah, look, my father may withhold things, but it will be for my good, and I will trust him.
[00:31:49] But here's what I know.
[00:31:53] He will provide, he will bless, he will help. His heart is for me in the deepest way.
[00:32:06] Paul says, God wants you to feel, to feel that relationship with him. Now, this is the work of the spirit. And my prayer is that the spirit would give you that today, that you would feel a new boldness in your relationship. You would feel a new comfort in your relationship with God. That maybe today, if you come in and you feel distant, or maybe you haven't been to church in a decade or two or ever, that's okay. God still wants you to feel that through Christ, through the gospel. And my prayer is that you would. And here's my big challenge for us today.
[00:32:48] We are sons and daughters of God through Christ. If you trust Christ, you are sons and daughters of God.
[00:32:59] And we are starting week of prayer this week.
[00:33:03] And I want to invite you to come, but I want to invite you to pray like a son and daughter, to pray with that level of confidence, with that kind of boldness. You know, it's amazing that every week of prayer, there are always big challenges in people's lives and usually big opportunities and challenges that we're facing as a church. We do this twice a year. And every week of prayer that I've ever been a part of, I have seen God's fatherly goodness in my life and other people's.
[00:33:49] I've seen people just come in a desperate situation, and we prayed and we called out, and God answered.
[00:34:00] I've seen our church face obstacles that seemed impossible.
[00:34:07] And God broke through, and God answered. And the reason is. Here's what I believe. The reason is because I believe God wants us to know what Paul is saying is true, that we can cry out. And I want to invite you to experience that. I want to invite you to be part of it. And I believe that it honors God. It honors God when you ask for some specific thing, and then he does it. And you know it wasn't coincidence, you know, because you asked for that specific thing. You saw God do it. Here's what it does. It builds your faith that he really is the way Paul says he is, that he really is who the scriptures say he is. And it builds your faith. And I want you to be part of it. I want you to experience it, because you will see he is trustworthy. He is good friends. The problems you're facing, it's no coincidence that you're facing it. This week.
[00:35:11] I believe God wants to show you his fatherly heart.
[00:35:15] So let's pray as sons and daughters. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you for the power of the gospel. Lord, I thank you that you're not just content to do something for us, but you want us to feel the reality of what you've done for us.
[00:35:40] I pray, Lord, for my brothers and sisters who are here.
[00:35:44] Father, maybe we're coming in and our hearts feel so distant from you. I pray we could feel that closeness of Abba, Father.
[00:35:56] Lord, maybe life has been confusing or it's been painful. I pray we could have the confident assurance of your love and your care.
[00:36:08] I pray what we know about the gospel could become real in our hearts and in our minds today.
[00:36:17] And I pray, Lord, that we would live with the confidence and the boldness of being your sons and daughters.
[00:36:28] Bless us with this through your spirit. In Jesus name, amen.
