Children of the Free Woman
First B Jackson
2015-06-14

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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You made it this morning. Congratulations. You made it to church. It is a beautiful day. Do you agree?

It is God who's made this day. And he's given us another day, breath in our lungs. Shall we praise him with it? Is that a yes? Let's stand up.

We'll sing together. Children of the living God, let's sing to the living God.

Children of the living God, come and sing, sing out loud. Children of the living God, sing to the living God. Sing of the wonders he's made. Sing the wonders he has made. Burden flying, falling rain.

Sing the wonders he has made. Sing to the living God. And how he loves us with great love, he who sits enthroned above, pour our lives and spilled his blood, send his spirit like a blood. Sing of his gentle healing hands. Sing to the living God.

Sing the mercy that he gives though we sin he forgives. Sing of the mercy that he gives sing to the living God and how he loves let's sing and how he loves us with great love he who sits enthroned above for our lives have spilled his blood Children of the living God, sing to the living

God. Let's pray. God, we're grateful to be here. We're grateful to meet with you. We're grateful to sing.

Thank you that you have given us life. Now I pray that we would be continually ready here to meet with you, to love you, to love each other just as you commanded. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. You can have a seat for a minute.

Amen. I've got a few announcements this morning and we're getting into the weird season. This is summertime where there's a lot of weird stuff going on and forgive me, I'm gonna announce some stuff for other churches too. There's all kind of stuff going on in this valley. I I think it's pretty cool.

So, here we go. What's better than a day in the park? Hey, Monday nights at first b. Monday nights at first b. 06:15, meal, music, and a message.

That's a high standard for Carl but he's going through right now the epistles of John and it's just great. So, walking in the light. Walk in the light in the daytime and then come to Monday nights at night. This is for Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church. This week, they're doing Bible School, Vacation Bible School.

It's Everest Conquering Challenges with God's Mighty Power. That starts at 08:30 in the morning to twelve noon at Shepherd Of The Mountains. That's an Indian trails. Okay? Everybody got that?

Why are we advertising it? Because it's awesome. God is good. So, Solid Rock Student Ministry, this is the youth trip. Renzi, do you wanna say anything about it?

Since

I have a mic in my hand. We are taken off tomorrow. Actually, seventh and eighth grade. We leave tomorrow morning at 7AM. We're meeting in the church parking lot.

We've got five people going so far. And if anybody wanna jump on last minute, they sure can. But it's for seventh and eighth grade students. It's about a six hour car ride, but it's a week full of awesomeness. So if you know any seventh or eighth graders or are a seventh and eighth grader and like to join, shoot me a text or grab me after the service and we can get it all figured out.

Alright. Thank you. The G Force Vacation Bible School Awesomeness is starting here on the twenty second through the twenty sixth. It'll be here at 1st B, 9AM to noon right here in this room. Preregistration by Thursday of this week would be very very helpful.

If you know that you're gonna come to that, next week, starting on Monday, go ahead and preregister by Thursday this week. It helps us plan, get everything squared away. There'll still be time that you can register after that. Jackson, my goodness, commitment phobic people. Would you just go ahead and preregister?

It would be great for em but preregistering by Thursday of this week. There's also, if you grab the donation slip from that back table, would you please bring those supplies in for the sanity of all involved? It's as quickly as you can so that Krista can kinda separate them out, get everything going. Is there anything else you wanna say about this? Yes, it's not like you have to be rich.

It's not like college, alright? Come on, show up. We will put you in a class. I promise. Jackson Hole Church of Christ, they sent me this a couple weeks ago and I just forgot to send it to the people I meant to.

So, for the seven of you who are really into acapella singing, there's an acapella singing symposium tonight at the Church of Christ in Indian Trails. So, if you dig it and you wanna be there, I'm gonna be there. Acapella singing symposium tonight, 03:30 to five. Pretty awesome. Turning Point is doing the annual gala on July 16.

Shelley Donahue will be the speaker that night and it should be great. So, put that on your calendar, July 16 and then check your bulletin for everything else. I don't think there's any other weird announcement. Is there? Is there?

Okay. Would you stand up and greet one another? And we'll bring you back together with a song.

The change. One thing remains. Let's sing that line again. And you're higher than the mountains that I face, remains as love never fails. Your love never fails and never gives up, never runs out on me.

Your love never fails and never gives up, never runs out on me. Your love never fails and never gives up, never runs out on me. Your love. And on and on it goes. And on and on and on and on it goes.

And it overwhelms and satisfies my soul. Yes. One thing remains. Let's sing it. Your love never fails and never gives up, never runs out on me.

Your love never fails and never gives up, never runs out on me. Your love never fails and never gives up, never runs out on me. You're love. And in death and in life, and in death and life, I'm comforting and covered by the power of your prayer love. Of And my debt is paid.

There's nothing that could separate my heart from your great Your love never fails and never gives up, never runs out on me. Your love never fails and never gives up, never runs out on me. Your love. And this solemn ground. From through the fiercest drought and storm, what hides alone, one that's a peace.

But with the precious blood of pride. And

From Isaiah 53, he was despised and rejected. A man of sorrows acquainted with the deepest grief. He was pierced for our rebellion. He was crushed for our sins. He was beaten so that we could be made whole.

By his own betrayed. The sin of man and wrath of God soul cries out. Hallelujah. Praise and honor to you today. And our debt is paid.

It's paid in full. It is paid it is paid in full by the precious that my Jesus now the curse of sin has no hold on me when the sun sets free oh it's free indeed and now my dead has no hold on me. When the sun sets free, oh, he is free indeed. Oh, that rugged cross my salvation merry all up poured out over me now my soul cries out hallelujah behold the unity tune hallelujah God be praised He's risen from the grave. Amen.

And all that are again cross my salvation where your love poured out over me. And how my soul cries out. Hallelujah. Praise and honor to thee. Praise and honor.

Praise and honor unto thee.

Indeed. Lord, whom you set free, we are free. And I pray that that is a truth. In spite of our feelings, sometimes we we don't we don't always feel that. We don't always feel that freedom, but it's there.

And we are free in you. We are set free in you. And I pray that day by day, you show us more what that means. We're free to love you, free to serve you, free to serve others. We're free from the from the curse of sin, from the penalty of sin as we put our faith and trust in you.

We are eternally secure in Christ, and I pray that that truth would also sink in. I thank you, God, that you love so much that you gave. You are the most generous giver, and we cannot out give you. And it is better to give than to receive. And we know that to be true because as we do that, we see that we're filled up.

And I pray that as we give, not just today, not just these offering plates, but as we give throughout the week and we give of ourselves to others and we really lay ourselves down for others, that we would see the joy and the fulfillment that it brings. We see that it would... It is truly better to give than to receive. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

I've got I haven't done any artwork in a while. We've we've just kind of been skipping over stuff. This is the name of this piece is the dying Galatian and actually, it's from about two hundred years, maybe three hundred years before Paul wrote to the Galatians. I'm not gonna give you a better look at it but this guy is uncircumcised, and he's a Galatian. And it was a point of pride for these people.

And last week, somebody came down to the front right after and said, never heard anybody preach a whole message on Galatians without mentioning the word circumcision. Just thought I'd mention it first thing this morning. Actually, this is a copy of a bronze. This is a Roman copy of a bronze and so, the Romans, when they were copying things that were made by the Greeks, the Hellenists, they were much less exaggerated and this is one of the highest of Roman copies and it was beat up pretty bad but it's called the dying Galatian and this is something that they would have known about. This piece was something that was pretty famous.

So, I just thought I'd throw that up there. It's pretty awesome. You can look it up if you want to. We're up to Galatians four twenty one through five one and it's an allegory of two covenants. Now, Paul says it's an allegory.

That's why I say it's an allegory because he says it flat out. Typically, you won't hear me using allegory as an scriptural interpretation method very often because that can get out of hand really, really fast. When people start seeing things that aren't there like, oh well, the the in the temple, this represents that. Unless scripture says, this represents that. Whoo.

I'm not so sure about that. There are even for a while before the reformation, Gregory the Great claimed that the 2p that the widow put into the offering plate, one of em was the Lord's supper and the other one was baptism. I don't think so. So, Paul says it's an allegory. We're gonna say it's an allegory.

So, the history part comes first and Paul tells a story to them right here. Now, he's been in his personal appeal last week. He had this very personal appeal for these first 20 verses or but he's going into telling something to these Galatians that he's used every possible form of argument so far except for their own style of argument. The Judaizers style of argument would have been a rabbinical style of teaching and he has not used that against them yet but he's going to right here. So, tell me, Paul says, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?

Now, when he says the law there at the end, do you not listen to the law? He's saying, alright, Let's go on your own terms. Let's go with what it is that you believe. Tell me you who desire to put yourselves up under the law including all of the ritual stuff like circumcision or the other holidays. He's just mentioned about your keeping days and weeks and months, the holidays of the Jewish calendar.

You're going back and trying to put yourself up under this law. Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? Have you ever heard this term, what aboutism? I like the term. What aboutism?

It's only been around a few years, but the concept has been around a long time. If somebody like... And this comes up a lot in international relations. Right now, between the Muslim Brotherhood and everybody else, in the fifties with Russia and The United States during the Cold War, this was something. The what aboutism.

When you start saying Russia, you can't do that. You're violating people's human rights. You cannot do that. And they said, oh, and you're lynching Negroes. Does that make sense?

What about the Negroes in your country? You've got a big moat in your own eye and you're trying to see a speck in ours. What aboutism? But this is not what aboutism. It's been a claim that it was that Paul was saying, hey, wait just a second.

Let's go back and examine and I'm gonna teach you from your own experience. He is doing that but he believes it just like they believe it. He's not throwing away the Jewish scriptures. He's saying that Christ came to fulfill the law. Is this making sense to you?

Are you with me? It's kind of sleepy this morning. Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? Now, when he said law, they're thinking ceremony ritual law but he says, do you not listen to the law? The law is the first five books, the Torah, the first five books of the Bible.

Typically, legalists spend their time more in Leviticus and less time in Genesis. Leviticus, even Exodus where God gives the law at Sinai but it had been four thirty years since that promise to Abraham. Paul is gonna go back to Abraham. Again, he was with Abraham in the third chapter. He's been with Abraham a couple of times in this book of Galatians but he's gonna go back to Abraham one more time here and say, for it is written, that's a good old fashioned Jewish way of saying, hey, pay attention.

It's been written down. This is, we've all agreed on this ages, hence. For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. Genesis 12, if you wanna see it, it's God's original blessing of Abraham saying that he would make him a great nation and he would bless those who bless him and the ones who did not would be cursed. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.

All of that. He got up and left his home and went out but this particular story is highlighted. The slave woman and the free woman. These are highlighted in thirteen, sixteen, fifteen one, seventeen, sixteen, 22. I'm not going to read it for a second time but y'all know the story of Abraham.

Do this if you do. Okay. Alright. God promised him that he would have a son. He did not specifically say, he and Sarah would have a son but he said, I promise you that you will have an heir that will be your own and then in chapter, I think it's 13, maybe 15, where he says, ugh, still don't have a son.

Eliezer, the slave in my house is gonna be my only heir. God says, nope. That's not it. I'm gonna give you and Sarah a son. Then Sarah and Abraham conspired, take things into their own hands, and decide that Hagar the handmaiden will be the way, be a surrogate mom, and this will be the way that Abraham receives an heir.

But this happened in the natural way. We'll see this in the text in just a minute. One by a slave woman and one by a free woman. Let's go on. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, the normal way, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.

Now, what promise? It's the promise that God made Abraham, the covenant that he made with him. He believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness and God said, I will do this. It's a promise. You can bank on that.

Abraham got tired of waiting for the promise. Sarah got tired of waiting for the promise. They already thought, we're too old. This can't happen. And so they tried to take things into their own hands.

Through promise is what we're waiting on though. So, now now Paul goes straight in. He has just 21 through 23, three verses about history and then he goes into interpretation. Now, so far, everyone of the people reading this letter, whether they were influenced by the Judaizers or Judaizers themselves. Everybody reading the letter agrees with the facts thus far.

Nobody is disputing any of that. Interpretation. He says, now, this may be interpreted allegorically and it says it in the Bible. It says that that's where we actually get our word allegory. It's from two Greek words and it looks just like this in in Greek.

These women are the two covenants. So, in his allegory, he's saying, Hagar and Sarah. Two covenants. One of them is the covenant of law, and one of them is a covenant of faith or grace. One is from Mount Sinai.

That would be Hagar, bearing children unto or for slavery. She is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. Actually, going back, nobody disputes this fact either that that Hagar is the mother of the Arab peoples. In the Negev Desert, the the people that the conflict started that long ago.

And it's still going on. This is enmity between what started out as half brothers. Now, this may be interpreted allegorically. These women are the two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery and she is Hagar.

Now, Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. So far, everybody's with him. Okay. I'm with you. Preach it.

I got this. Yeah. I agree with you. Even the Judaizers, the far far right wing legalist would say, yeah. Okay.

But this next thing that he says after the semicolon there is that she corresponds to the present Jerusalem. First century Jerusalem was embroiled by what? Legalistic Judaism. The present Jerusalem. Now, wait just a second here.

Everybody that had a Judaistic tendencies or legalistic tendencies would say, no, no, no, no, wait a second. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, those are ours. We're Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not Ishmael. Ishmael is nowhere in there. It's not, no, that's not us but Paul saying very very clearly under inspiration of the Holy Spirit that Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, the Arab peoples.

Oh, we agree with them. We hate their guts. She corresponds to the present Jerusalem. So, he draws another equal sign. Oh my goodness.

He's saying that we're with them. Ishmael was what? Conceived in the normal natural human way with using only human resources, not the child of promise. Went outside of God's plan to try to provide a way in human resources. It was within our power to do that.

She corresponds to the present Jerusalem. How are they trying to save themselves? They're trying to save themselves by their human resources, pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, doing what they could do, following the law, the covenant of the law. He said, but she, the present Jerusalem, is in slavery with her children, enslaved to this legalistic mindset that you have to obey. Every point of the law.

Now, the truth is, Paul says it very plainly. If you transgress the law in any, you have transgressed the whole. Jesus said it too. Other gospel writers say it too. For she's in slavery with her children, in slavery to what?

In slavery to the law. But the Jerusalem above is free and she is our mother. Now, who's this letter to? Paul is writing to Christians, right? He's writing to Christians and he says, that Hagar is representing what?

First century Jerusalem, the legalistic Judaizers, this party but he says, we are of the Jerusalem that is above. This is a common concept throughout the Old Testament. The new heavens and new earth or the new Jerusalem is not something that's just a New Testament concept. People have known this for a long long time. All of the prophets spoke of the Jerusalem that is above.

It was a very common thing. He's saying the Jerusalem above the real city of God is our mother, Christian. So, the allegory of two covenants. Start off Hagar and Sarah just to lay it out there. Hagar corresponds to Mount Sinai which is where?

Where the law was given. What were they doing at the foot of Mount Sinai? Breaking all of them. Breaking all 10 of those at the same time. God was giving them the law so that they would see their sin.

They would see that they were wrong. And she bears children unto slavery. The child of a slave is a slave. That's that's the way that it is. A child of a slave is a slave.

They are not born free people. Hagar. There are some people... The reason I put it again because there are some folks that see in the Arabic term Hagar a different location. I don't, but that's enumerated.

Arabia. So the Arab peoples are children of Hagar's line of Ishmael. And then when he hits the equal sign there and says, this is first century Jerusalem who is in slavery with all of her children. Anybody who would follow this legalistic path to try to get to God is in slavery. That is the problem.

This is the rub for the people that are, woah, woah, wait, wait a second. No, we're children of Isaac, not of Ishmael. He's saying, no. That's the point of the whole allegory here. It's the point of the whole thing.

You're listening to the law. The rules, you like your rules. You've added to em even but you're not listening to the whole law. This promised Abraham was four hundred years before you ever got the law and it was something that was by the spirit. So, Sarah is equated with the Jerusalem above and a free woman, beautiful, and our mother.

If you want to go back and read from 12 up to about 21 of Genesis, you'll hear a lot about Sarah and Abraham or Abraham, Sarah E and Abraham or Sarah and Abraham but you'll also see that they weren't perfect people. They're they're not great examples. They lie, they cheat, they move things around for their own advantage, they conspire to do things ahead of God's promise, they try to get things done by their own resources. So, but God is good and he is sovereign and he made a covenant and it is through that promise that Abraham and all who bless him will be blessed. Alright.

Galatians four twenty seven, for it is written, rejoice, oh barren one who does not bear, break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor. Seems like that's representing Sarah, right? That's what it looks like right there. For the children of the desolate one will be more than one of those who has a husband. This is quoting Isaiah fifty four one.

He draws back to it because that's another. The prophets, all of them would agree on this and they're saying, It was written thirteen hundred years after Abraham and about seven fifty years before Paul's writing right here. This one, there are lots of interpretations of why this is in here at all because it's after. So it's not prophecy about what's gonna happen to Sarah. It was written thirteen hundred years later.

A lot of people see in there that the Gentile church and the Jewish church. Rejoice, oh barren one who does not bear, break forth, and cry aloud, you are not in labor, for the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband. A lot of people seeing that and I kind of do too that the Gentile church even at this time that Paul was writing was already larger than the Jewish church. Does that make sense? The number of Jewish believers, the Jewish people who had grown up Jewish and converted to Christianity or seen Christianity as the fulfillment of their Judaism were a small number compared to the number of Gentiles that God was bringing in day by day by day.

It's growing like crazy. Do y'all are y'all with me on that? It's kind of in a in a way we think of ourselves in America as being the church. We send more missionaries than anybody. We could say that for a long time.

We can't say that anymore. The church is growing so fast in South America, in Africa, and in Asia. That that's not, we don't have anything to do with it. It's a move of God. God is doing it.

The desolate ones, the ones who didn't have the word a few hundred years ago. Now, it's spread like crazy among them. So, we can see a little bit of what that's about. We almost want to hold on to our American Christianity and blend the two as if they were one thing and they are not. God's saying, I'm going to do this work.

I'm gonna make it happen through promise. Y'all get that? Are you getting that it's not through law or through what you do? It's through what he says that he will do and you sometimes you just have to wait on him to do it. If you start trying to take it into your own hands, you get ahead of him and that's where we get, The Arab Israeli conflict.

My goodness. That's a big one. So, then, Paul goes into application. He's just a like a three point preacher. History first then interpretation and then application.

So, Galatians, he says, now you brothers and he says, brothers, you're Christians. I know that you are. I saw you when you were converted. You have to remember that they didn't do this week to week. They read the whole letter at one time.

I know you brothers. Now, you are like Isaac. Your children of promise. Do you remember what that was like? Do you remember what it was like when you weren't trying to do everything just so but it just was God filling you up and you're right here.

But just as at that time, he who was born according to the flesh, who was that? Son of Hagar, Ishmael. Last week, I asked a question of y'all and the answer was not a one word thing and it wasn't yes or no. It was like a paragraph and it cracked me up because I could see on a couple of faces like, how does he expect us to answer that? If it's a one word, just scream it out.

If it's not, I'll just look silly. He who is born according to the flesh, Ishmael, persecuted him who was born according to the spirit. Do y'all remember that part of the story? So, it was at the time when they were celebrating Isaac Ishmael looked at him, arms folded, started to jeer and mock Isaac. He was the firstborn of Abraham.

He felt like he deserved the party that Isaac was getting and he it burned within him and it burned within his mom. Hagar was like, this is not right. It's just not right. We are the first ones and she was being legalistic even in that. And Paul is equating Christianity which comes later, right?

Christianity comes later than Judaism. It's not a legalistic thing. It is by the spirit. He's saying that the one who is born according to the flesh persecuted the one who's born according to the spirit, capital S, Holy Spirit. Are you with me?

Okay. He said, just like that, that's the way it is now. I, Paul, am being persecuted and lambasted and so are you, Galatians, by those legalistic folks because they don't want to have their their heritage taken away from em. They don't want to have their rules and regulations, the thing that they find comfort in taken away from em. They don't want to be wrong and so they're holding on to this and they're persecuting us.

Later on, Paul will say, if if I were actually preaching what they say that I'm preaching, they wouldn't be against me. The the whole offense of the cross would be gone. Paul's whole message is Jesus paid it all. All to him we owe. He's saying it over and over and over that it's not by your works but it's by faith in what God has done through the promise.

Now, we are waiting on that. We have not seen all the benefits of the promise but the rest of this letter after today will be about results. So, he's argued from his own experience and experience of the early church. He's argued from theology for the last two chapters and he's going to argue from results that you can see in the lives of Christians and legalists. He'll argue from results.

Going on forward, so also it is now. He said, that's the whole reason. It's the same thing. The first century Jerusalem, the present day legalist are against the ones from the Jerusalem above. So, here they are again.

The list of the covenant. Sarah, son of was Isaac, born through promise, and according to the spirit, those last couple of verses said, they equate to the Jerusalem that is above. What did Jesus say to Nicodemus? You must be born from above. You must be born again.

Free. She was free. When Isaac was born, he was free. When Ishmael was born, he was a slave. And she is our mother but what does the scripture say?

He continually goes back. Oh Lord, may I never say anything that's not scriptural. Up here or in life, what does the scripture say? Go back and look at it. Cast out the slave woman and her son for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.

Does that make sense? Are you with me still? This is just straight up what it says. Actually, Sarah is the one who said that. Sarah is the one to say, cast out Hagar.

She's gotta get out of here and then, Abraham, Abraham went to God and said, but Sarah says that we gotta kick Hagar out and I I don't know about that. What do you say? And he said, do what she says. I love that. Do what she says.

That's right. That's right. The son of the slave shall not inherit with the son of the free. You've gotta be free to be able to make that choice. So, what does the scripture say?

Cast out the slave woman and her son for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman. God did say that he would make of of them a great nation. He said to Hagar, to Ishmael, that he'd make up him a great nation and he has but it's an earthly nation that still follows legalistic rules. They're caught way, way, way over here and they wanna draw everyone into these rules and that's not what God is asking. God is asking for you to believe what he said, the offer that he has made through his son to live a life looking to Christ for your cleansing.

Looking to Christ for grace. It's the only way. He's the only one who's ever lived a perfect life. We have all sinned and I wanna mention something else too that doesn't come up a whole lot and I don't know why it doesn't. Ishmael was circumcised.

That whole promise of God thing, the covenant that God made, he made that with Abraham years before, years before Isaac was ever born and he said, you'll take everybody in your household, you, yourself, and everyone in your household and you will do this. You'll follow this ritual and it'll mark you. Now was Ishmael of the line of promise? No. But he still had the legalistic sign that he was.

Does that make sense? I I think that ought to come up more often When we're pointing things out, what aboutism? What about Ishmael? So, here it is. Sarah, son was Isaac, through promise, according to the according to the spirit, the Jerusalem above, free, our mother, will receive an inheritance.

Abraham was a very, very rich man. Father Abraham, the very rich man and his inheritance would pass down through Isaac and then Jake to Jacob. But Hagar's children, those who depend on their own human resources to work their way to God will be cast out with no inheritance. You see, New Testament testament application here. Paul is saying, this is the way that it is.

If you insist on doing things your way, you will fail. You will fail. You cannot live up to God's holy and righteous law. That's the point of the law. It shows you that you can't live up to it and if that's the case, if you want to receive an inheritance from God your father, you must come to him with nothing in your hand and just say, I believe you.

Trust in the grace of God. And then last verse here in chapter four, I think the last verse ought to be five one and so we're going to go on to that in a minute but so, brothers, brothers and sisters, brethren, so, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. We have been born from above. The heavenly Jerusalem is our real home. This is something that's available only by Christ.

We are not children of the slave but of the free woman. So, act like it. Be that. Do that. Live out of where you what you are.

We, he says. That's a big one. Paul knows exactly who he is in Christ. He does not trust in any of his human effort. We are saved by grace through faith so that no one can boast.

The only thing we can boast in is what? The cross. Paul knows that. So, he's saying, wait, we, Christians, trust in the grace and promise of God. Now, they're under pretty extreme persecution to be over here, the legalistic camp but he's saying, no.

Terry, trust in the promise of God. Put all your trust in that and he will sanctify you. He will work on you. It's not freedom to sin. A lot of people haven't been on this side of stage at all this morning, right?

It's not a freedom to sin. It's a freedom to do what's right. It's a freedom to actually do what's right and not trust in your own righteousness, self righteousness, self reliance. That's what Ishmael was a product of, self reliance. Isaac was born when Abraham was a 100 years old and Sarah was 90 and that's way past childbearing normally but God in a dramatic move of the spirit made it so because he said that he would.

He can be trusted to do what he says he'll do. He's made a way available. The old covenant was the covenant at Sinai was Hagar was the law. The new covenant is in Christ blood. In Christ alone, my hope is found, right?

That's it. So, today, you see up here we have right here communion, the Lord's supper and we're gonna go to that. We're gonna switch from talking about the old covenant and the new covenant and we're gonna do this. Now, this is something the church has thought about for years. How exactly you should do this?

And that's legalistic. That's wrong. I know a guy in South Carolina started pastoring a church. As the guy starts pastoring the church, he was doing great. Everything was fine until it came around to do communion.

He didn't know that you're supposed to get the silver platter from so and so's house and bring it in and this other platter from here and get everything exactly so and so he didn't know their tradition and he served it in some other way and they ran him off because he didn't do things the right way. That's way over here, people. That's just wrong. I saw another guy, outdoor enthusiast. I've mentioned this a time or two before who used Reese cups and Mountain Dew out in the middle of a hike one time.

That might be another ditch but anyway, he said, when you do this, remember me. So, we take this as a symbol. It is a wide open table. If you believe in Jesus, if you believe that his blood covers your sin, you are welcome to partake. So, I'm going to invite the frontline team forward or the elders, excuse me, the elders forward and KL up to play and we're going to go into this.

Now, nothing in your hands do you bring? Simply to the cross you must cling in order to partake. God, would you remind us now, lord, that we are children of the promise and when we don't feel like it, when we feel like people are beating us up for living in your freedom and in your grace, or when we feel like people think that we're legalist just for living in your grace. God, would you just bind us as a family together, the family of God? Would you bind us together and let us know that we approach you on level ground.

All of us are sinners. All of us needing grace because we have nothing to offer for our sin. So, God, thank you that you made a way. Jesus, thank you for coming. Spirit, thank you for staying, for convicting, for convincing of the righteousness and goodness of God, convicting us of our sin.

Lord, as we go into this time where we're thinking about you, would you, lord, just impress upon us that you're with us every day. Keep us right here in the center of your will and allow us, free us up to do your work. In Jesus name, amen. Lord God, I ask that you would bless this body as we remember your body. Lord, on the night that you were betrayed, you took bread after supper and after you broke it and gave thanks, you said this was your body and to do this every time that we do it in remembrance of you.

Lord, maybe we'd be always cognizant of that and remember you. Take, eat. This is my body given for you. Now, lord, we think of your perfect life in your in your body here on this Earth but lord, your spilled blood is what washes us of our sin. Would you please, lord, let us be mindful.

Lord, that we are free because of the price that you paid at Calvary. Would you bless this as we distribute the cup? In Jesus name, for his sake, amen. So, the same way that he took the bread after supper, he took the cup and he said that this is the new covenant in my blood. Now, that promise had been made to Abraham many many years before.

Many, many years before. Before the law, that promise had been made and Christ is saying, this is that new covenant. This is that fulfillment. Do this as often as you will in remembrance of me. Paul says, that's the way we proclaim Christ's death until he comes again.

Would you stand with us and we're gonna sing? I do wanna go actually to the last slide of my sermon that I skipped a minute ago, Blake. This is why. This is why. I said, this one belongs.

We're not slaves. We're not born of the slave woman but of the free and it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. So, stand firm therefore and not submit again the yoke of slavery. This is what we believe.

We believe in God father alone. Alone. Not conquered death. We believe in the resurrection. Yeah.

He's coming back again. We believe. Let's sing that again. We believe in God the father. We believe in Jesus Christ.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, and he's given us new life. We believe in the crucifixion. We believe that he conquered death. We believe in the resurrection. Now he's coming back.

Yeah. We believe. We believe.

Now, would you direct each of us to go and do as you please so that others may be set free. In Jesus name, amen. Amen.