Gospel Allegory - Galatians 4:21-31 - Sunday Sermon

Good morning.

>> Merry Christmas.

>> My name is Matis. If you're new, I'm the

teaching pastor here. And we are working

our way through Galatians. So, you can

go ahead and open your Bible up to

Galatians chapter 4. We're going to be

Galatians 4 · chapter mention

starting in verse 21. Before we even get

into that, I do want to mention our

welcome cards. They're a way for us to

get to know you or connect with you more

deeply or even just uh get a prayer

request if you have those. We pray for

those every Wednesday morning. And the

prayer time is open to anyone to join on

Zoom or in the prayer room. We meet at 7

on Wednesday mornings. So when you do

write your prayer request, it write it

as a public prayer request. If you want

it to be confidential, write that down

and then it would uh probably just be

prayed for by the elders kind of thing.

But I just thought I'd let you know

that. So really enjoying the Christmas

season already and uh we've got a lot to

cover today. to be honest, some of the

most difficult scripture to interpret in

all of the scripture in my opinion. And

I think you'll understand why. But if

you understand what's being said, it's

just profound and amazing. So, I'm

really looking forward to this. Let's uh

let's pray and then get into it. Father,

thank you for the opportunity

to be taught your word through Paul and

through the use of allegory, which is

actually

basically unique to this passage in

scripture. I pray that we would not only

understand what you're trying to teach

us about the gospel today, but that we

would take it to heart and that we would

know because of your spirit's work in

our lives how you want it to apply to us

so that we can continue to be

transformed into the likeness of your

son. And I pray these things in Jesus

name. Amen.

I want you to think about something that

you desire that you want. In this case,

I'm thinking of things that are not

inherently bad. If you want something

that you know is a sin, that's not what

we're talking about. Those kinds of

things can happen in our hearts as well.

But I'm thinking about things like, you

know, if you are working in a job that's

not particularly fulfilling and you're

doing a good job, you're providing for

your family, but you're really looking

for God's vocation for you. So, you

might be wanting a job that feels more

like a calling. That is something I talk

to men about all the time. Um, if you're

single, you might want to be married. If

you're married and don't have children,

you might want to have children. These

are these are deep desires for good

things that um God does not generally

withhold from people. But when you don't

have it yet, when you don't have

something that you desire, there's an

option to try to pursue it in your own

power.

One of the biggest examples of that in

my life was trying to make it into the

NFL.

And when you pursue something in your

own power to gain it that God hasn't

given you, he this is just a pattern

basically a spiritual law. He becomes

more and more unsatisfying to you.

Although he his glory and the his the

his ability to satisfy us completely

hasn't diminished at all. It's our

spiritual perception of it because we're

pursuing something. The Bible will often

call that thing an idol. And so

sometimes an idol is altogether an

inherently evil thing. But even did you

know that even marriage can become an

idol? Even your work can become an idol.

These are things that are inherently

good. It's good to have a a job that is

uh you know able to help you pay for the

things that you need. It's good to have

a marriage. It's good to have kids. It's

good to have a house. I think it's good

to be able to take vacations and step

away from the hard work and recharge. Uh

so, whatever it is, there's so many

different things that it could be. Uh

sometimes it's just as simple as you

wish you had a nicer TV to watch your

shows on. So anything anything can

become something that becomes that

started a little bit as a side quest but

then it becomes the actual mission and

you find yourself less and less

satisfied with the Lord. Uh church

becomes going through the motions.

Worship becomes going through the

motions and then when it becomes obvious

and sometimes it takes a long time for

something to become obvious that you're

not going to get it. But when like the

door closed on me trying to make it in

the NFL. I didn't I didn't make it.

wasn't tall enough. That's what I was

always told. And then you get to a

certain point and you know you're not

going to get picked up by any teams.

When that door closes, then there's

there's a window of opportunity where

you can realize, wow, I was pursuing an

idol um and start pursuing God again.

But there's another thing that can

happen. I've actually literally said

this phrase and especially as a result

of studying this material here, what

Paul's teaching was very convicted about

it. What can happen is you can fall back

towards God as a consolation prize.

At least I still have you.

Have you ever said that before? You

didn't get something you really wanted,

something that's actually good. For a

long time, you pursued it in your own

power. It becomes obvious you're not

going to get it. The door is closed.

With some of these things, it takes a

long time for the doors closed.

Sometimes we perceive in our spirit that

do God is closing the door, but we chill

try to ram right through it. But when it

becomes clear, you're probably not going

to have it. Have you ever said in your

heart words similar to, "At least I

still have you."

At least you still have God.

The psalmist in Psalm 73 says, "Whom

have I in heaven but you? And on earth

there is nothing I desire beside you."

That's very different than treating God

like a consolation prize. I played

football at Lake Asiggo High School and

they won the state championship this

year. I didn't know that there was a

second tournament. It's kind of like a

consolation bracket and I think that's

fantastic. Honestly, we went my senior

year we lost in the semi-finals and then

that was my last high school football

game ever. Um I think sports are

probably at their purest at a high

school level. still high competition,

but money is not as involved yet. And uh

football in college was just nowhere

near um as enjoyable because money was

involved. And I imagine the NFL is even

more in that direction where it's just

so cutthroat economically.

But man, I would have loved if there was

like a consolation bracket back when I

played and we could play a couple more

games, even just one more. Um but it's

not like winning the championship.

Even if you win the consolation bracket

and you're the champion of the

consolation bracket, you're not the

state champion and you know it. And so

in this case, obviously I'm call I'm

could like the satisfaction that you'd

gain out of winning a state championship

you can take with you for the rest of

your life. No one can ever take that

away. Um but even that could become the

thing that you pursue some athletic feat

some kind of promotion at work. Maybe

you're married, maybe you have kids, but

there's a thing that's wrong in your

marriage or there's a thing that's wrong

in your relationship to your kids. And

so that's the thing that you're trying

to pursue and change. And as you become

more and more

bent on getting what you really want,

the level of your felt and experienced

satisfaction in the Lord just keeps

dropping. And so if it's like this then

then your heart starts to deceive itself

and think well I mean there's not that

much satisfaction in the Lord. It's not

that real. If I just place my faith in

him and seek my satisfaction in him it's

just it's not because your felt

experience currently is that it's not

that satisfying because you've been

pursuing an idol and you become so

disconnected from the Lord relationally.

One thing that even just authors of

novels do to point out this very human

reality that we will pursue to the point

of our own detriment, sometimes even to

the point of our own death, things that

we cannot actually obtain in our own

power. An author will use the literary

genre of allegory. And you guys all know

what allegory is. I bet even the young

kids know what allegory is. Um, I did

not fully realize before researching

this that Moby Dick is definitely an

allegory. I thought it might be, but um,

probably most Americans that have gone

through high school have to read Lord of

the Flies. Lord of the Flies is an

allegory. Famous Christian allegory uh,

The Chronicles of Narnia.

So, and and you'll know uh, what who

does Aland represent if you read the

Chronicles of Narnia? You can actually

say it out loud.

>> God.

>> God. Jesus. Right. So, so within an

allegory, characters in the story will

represent something with a deeper

meaning. Sometimes they'll res represent

a person, sometimes they'll represent a

concept. Okay? So, in Moby Dick, for

example,

um and and here's another thing before I

even say that the authors, especially if

they're masterful, will not tell you

exactly what things represent. and

they'll leave quite a bit of freedom for

interpretation.

And to my knowledge, the author of Moby

Dick has not clearly stated exactly what

he intended everything to represent. But

you have some major elements. You have

the white whale, you have Captain Ahab,

you have Ishmael. The book starts

famously with Call Me Ishmael, and he's

actually the sole survivor of uh this

whale attacking the ship, and he lives

to tell the story. Um, you als you also

have the ocean itself,

um, and the crew. And so you have to

decide, okay, some of these elements

probably don't mean anything. They're

just kind of part of the story

necessarily, but you start figuring out

Captain Ahab represents something, the

whale represents something, the ocean

represents something, and the ship

definitely represents something. And

authors will argue about it because it's

not 100% obvious, but in general, it's

clear enough. the the whale. Examples of

interpretations of of what the whale

represents in Moby Dick uh range from

the ultimate unknowable force or God,

nature, evil, meaningless reality

itself, but ultimately something that is

un inscrutable, inscrable,

non-comprehendable, and unobtainable.

You can't get it.

Ahab then embodies an obsessive will and

pride and potentially destructive quest

for answers that he's not going to get.

Right?

And so he spends his entire life. One

character that's almost not even

mentioned in Moby Dick is Ahab's wife.

He has a wife. He's married. He spends

all his time at sea pursuing this white

whale. The whiteness of the whale

itself, the uniqueness, and I think it's

spoken of like the inscrable whiteness

seems to represent something as well.

But it starts to become murky at times,

like exactly what it is. But at least

Moby Dick is a story about a man

absolutely white knuckle committing in

revenge to kill this whale and pursuing

him no matter the cost. And it

ultimately cost him his life. Okay. So

that it's kind of interesting because

that is an allegory not based entirely

on the fictional genre. There's there

was a um a whale that capsized a ship

named Essex that the author based the

story off of, which is kind of

interesting. So now you have an allegory

that is based to a degree on a

non-fictional event, an actual

historical event with some fictionalized

elements, which I thought was

interesting because I couldn't think of

a whole lot of other books that were

non-fiction, but also definitely

allegory. Why am I talking so much about

allegory? But we're coming into a

passage here, uh, Galatians 4:21-31,

Galatians 4:21–31

where Paul tells us that a historical

event or complex of events that involved

people and children

is to be interpreted allegoric

allegorically. So what that means is

that elements of the story, people,

settings have a to some degree hidden

deeper meaning. But I find it

fascinating that in this case, the

biblical allegory is dramatically

different than any allegory in a novel.

For example, if you mess up the meaning

of Moby Dick, is it that big of a deal?

Well, I mean, I don't think we should be

sloppy with our scholarship of important

historical novels, but it's not probably

going to have any terrible effect.

There's some freedom in discussing what

it actually meant, and I don't think

oftenimes the authors tell you exactly

what it meant. However, when it comes to

biblical interpretation, if you mess up

the different al allegorical uh

comparisons of like what means what, you

will not arrive at the right meaning.

And that's really significant because

from what I know in scripture, I can't

think of a single example where we're

given permission. I'd even go farther

where we're told that the interpretation

of this is allegorical. You have lots of

parables. Parables are basically

allegorories. Um, but parables are not

stories that we would like I think it'd

be kind of absurd to be like, well,

those were definitely historical.

They're stories that Jesus told um to

encapsulate and hide actually a deeper

meaning about the kingdom of heaven. But

he told these stories in such a way that

people would immediately be like

relatable. So if you're in agrarian

society who relies on wheat for bread to

survive, well then when he the parable

of the sewer uh is so relatable soil on

the or seed on the path, seed on rocks,

seed in a place where there's weeds and

seed in the good soil that would just

happen to farmers. You know, they're

spraying the seed and some seed would go

in different place. And yeah, sure,

birds would come eat the seeds. I

recently resolded my uh lawn uh before

we put the house on the market. And one

thing you do is you you have some kind

of covering so the birds don't come eat

all the seeds. So you just you get

what's being said on the earthly side of

it. And then Jesus will with a lot of

the parables tell you exactly what

everything represents. So in that case,

I'm not going to go through the whole

thing, but the seeds represent someone

preaching the gospel and the birds

represent uh when it when it falls on

the hardened path, Satan coming to

snatching it away. Okay, so we know

those ravens, those birds, that's the

enemy. The seeds, the gospel, hardened

soil is a heart condition, unwilling to

receive the gospel at all. Okay, we're

told directly, so there doesn't have to

be a whole lot of interpretation. We

know what it means. There are, however,

some parables where he doesn't tell us

the exact meaning, and you have to

interpret it. Either way, those are are

stories that no one I think that's being

reasonable is going to insist, well,

those things act he meant to tell a

story about something that actually

happened. It's a story. However, this

allegory that we're talking about today

is about actual history of God's people.

And furthermore, it's a history God

authored.

I don't I'm not even sure what genre you

would call that because God wrote the

story to turn out the way that it did

and then showed us that he did it so

that he could use the people, the

setting, their children, and what he did

to them to show us something about the

gospel.

That's it's not the same thing as well,

something happened like the Essex being

capsized by a giant whale. uh multiple

eyewitnesses

and which is Moby Dick is based off of

and then he uses elements of that mixes

that with fiction and then you know that

allows you to manipulate the not in a

negative way but manipulate the entire

story so as to encapsulate the deeper

meaning of the allegory but in this case

it's history that God planned in advance

that God decided would be that way long

before Abraham uh uh uh came to be born

himself. self. And so he's the author of

the actual historical happenings in the

people and the one who knitted them

together in the womb. The one who

sustains their very being, their senu

and their muscles and the neurons and

the electric impulses that go along the

neurons. He sustains everything in that

way. So he's the he's the author of all

history and he's the one that's telling

us this is what I meant by it. The

reason why I'm belaboring this is

because you can use allegory in a really

wrong way. Oh, Paul just was being l

fast playing fast and loose with the

scriptures. And he says, "Yeah, this can

be taken allegorically even though

that's not really the way it's meant."

And so you have to ask yourself, well,

is Paul actually playing fast and loose

with the scriptures? There are plenty of

scholars that will accuse him of that,

and I believe that's entirely false. One

more warning about this before we get

into it actually is the reality that

unless we're given permission to take an

historical narrative of scripture and

interpret it allegorically. We ought not

to do so. You can't just claim this

thing which the Bible doesn't say has

this hidden meaning has this hidden

meaning. And you will get Bible

teachers, I would consider them

unfaithful Bible teachers at least

sometimes maybe even false teachers.

They'll use allegorical interpretation

to make the scripture say whatever they

want to say. That's dangerous. Okay. But

I don't think we ought to take that

concern, that good concern to not play

fast and loose with the scriptures into

what Paul says and start feeling awkward

about can it be taken allegorically. So

the very first thing I would just say is

since Paul was inspired verbally by God

to write everything he wrote. That means

God is saying it can be taken

allegorically. So let's just settle

that. It's supposed to be taken

allegorically. Interestingly until you

do that it's really hard to just accept

what's being said. So it's kind of this

this silly thing like in order to accept

what's being said you need to accept

what's being said. But but when you do

that, when you just lock in, it was like

this this is right to be taken allegory.

It's not dangerous. Um this what I'm

about to say is total speculation. But I

wonder when Paul was caught up to the

third heaven, when Paul received

revelations that he describes as just

about greater than any man has ever

received. I wonder if that's when God

explained to him and showed him this can

be taken allegorically. Don't put a

whole lot of weight on that because the

Bible doesn't say that. What we do know

is that this is invertbally inspired by

the Holy Spirit. Every word is from God.

Every meaning of every sentence and

every paragraph is from God. And so

therefore, we can say yes, it can be

taken allegorically. Okay, back to the

concept of pursuing things you can't

obtain. The main point of this passage

is about that. If we could put the main

point up here, the thing that we're

going to be considering obtaining is

being born of the spirit.

And there's a huge amount of freedom

that comes with being born of the

spirit. And there is an enslavement to

doing what Captain Ahab did. He was

enslaved to pursuing that whale and

getting his revenge. It's like being

enslaved to trying to get the

unobtainable

in your own power. Now, is marriage

unobtainable? No. But if God has decided

it's not time for you to be married or

it's not time for you to have children,

it's not time for me to reveal your

vocation. I'm looking for other things

that I want you to accomplish first. Or

if whatever it is that you want, he's

actually just saying no to like he said

no to me in the NFL. Um then you can

become enslaved to pursuing something

that's unobtainable.

And

slavery in that way is the opposite of

freedom. So the main point today, and I

think you're going to see this from the

passage, is that all the freedom of

being born of the spirit is obtained

exclusively by faith.

Exclusively by entrusting yourself to

God. Exclusively by trusting God.

Exclusively by faith. But pursuing that,

pursuing God, pursuing

going to heaven, pursuing being born

again of the spirit in your own power,

it will enslave you. It will enslave

you. And it does so just in sort of an

increasing fashion, but in a way, you

know, I think about the book of uh

Captain Ahab and I think of people like

this and oftentimes they have friends

that care about them and they'll try to

speak into their life and I think you

need to relinquish this. But each time

they they they decide to recommmit to

not relinquish it and keep going it.

They get captured even more by it. And

there comes a point they're listening to

no one. And to them it seems good

to pursue it even it costs them their

life. How serious is this? Well,

according to the author of uh Moby Dick,

the last words that King Ahab um excuse

me, I say King Ahab, it has a lot of

biblical language, doesn't it? Captain

Ahab uh says before he's basically

tangled in the harpoon and dragged down

by this whale to his death. He says, "To

the last I grapple with thee. From

hell's heart I stab at thee. For hate's

sake I spit my last breath at thee."

When you become enslaved to pursue

something God's not currently giving

you,

your heart can become convinced

that dying for the pursuit of it is

somehow worth it.

And the author of Moby Dick just knows

that's the way the human heart is and is

just brilliant in his way of

encapsulating it in a story, but it's so

relatable. Have you ever committed to

that degree? That's the degree to which

I committed to try to make it the NFL.

You think that's an exaggeration?

Everything I'm about to say, I regret.

And I I don't say it like it's somehow

okay. But

I took just about every steroid I could

get my hands on to try to make it the

NFL.

Steroids taken over a long time. Even I

guess all steroid use is probably

abused, but I abuse steroids on top of

it. You know, there are ways to under

medical um care uh if your testosterone

is just way too low to do some

testosterone replacements therapy or

something like that. I'm not talking

about that. I'm talking about what they

call exogenous testosterone use where

you're like from the outside of your

body, not testosterone your body uses

that goes so far beyond any human limit.

Um, and when you do that, you can grow

muscle faster, you can heal faster, all

these things. But I I was literally told

by a doctor, I was in the hospital for

an allergic reaction to a fish, like

anaphylactic reaction, and he took one

look at me and in front of my parents

say, "Young man, if you keep using

steroids, you're going to die."

I literally was like, "Shut up in front

of my parents." That's what I thought,

you know. But isn't that why did I do

that? Well, I know I'm not 6'4. I'm that

best 61. Probably closer to 6 foot,

actually. 61 if I pull my socks down and

slightly stand on my toes, you know, and

as a defensive tackle, it's like 6'3 or

four. 63 or 6'4. And you're like, you

can't teach size. That's what they say,

you know. So, I was trying to pursue

something and if it kills me, I don't

care. I want it. So, I know exactly what

it's like to be Captain Ahab. And I

think you do, too. Maybe you're not that

far along that you haven't started doing

all kinds of things that are basically

becoming lethal, most importantly lethal

to your relationship with the Lord. But

it is such a relatable thing to want

something, to know that the thing that

you want itself is not good, and to

basically have it be leeching all your

satisfaction in life to the point where

God is just a consolation prize.

So think about that as we're walking

through this because one way to try to

get what is ultimately the greatest

thing you can get eternal life heaven

everlasting joy and power and purpose

and never having any heart sorrow or

anything like that that that being born

of the spirit being a child of the

promise you can pursue that in your own

power too even after having actually

obtained it according to Paul but also

before actually obtaining what we would

call justification where God declares

you righteous by faith and you are

definitely saved. You receive the spirit

never to leave you again. You can start

being tricked by the enemy and his

servants that you should pursue God in

your own effort and your own power. And

this is not the way. And in this case,

the Galatians were doing so uh by being

tempted to decide to pursue the law for

the sake of righteousness, to pursue the

law for the sake of being a child of

God, to being right with God, to getting

the greatest prize you could possibly

get, which is heaven. So verse 21 says

this, "Tell me, you desire to be under

the law, do you listen to the law?

For it is written that Abraham had two

sons, one by the slave by a slave woman

and one by a free woman. One thing we

also just have to accept is that

specifically and properly you could call

the law the things that are written down

as like thou shalt not or thou shall in

books like Exodus. However, uh Paul and

you can call Genesis the law too. The

first five books of the Bible are the

first five books of the law. And that's

all Paul's talking about. that that

means the whole study of Genesis, we

were studying the law. We took two and a

half years of studying Genesis. So I

think a lot of you are going to remember

exactly what uh uh Paul is talking about

here. So he's saying there's these

people who have been taken in by the

Judaizers, the circumcision party. These

are Jews that are saying that they're

Christian and saying that they follow

Christ, but they're saying that the path

to righteousness does require keeping

the law. That's what circumcision

represents. If you get circumcised in

that way of thinking, that mean you're

devoting yourself to keeping the whole

law in order to be right by God.

Therefore, you're a child of Abraham.

Therefore, you're a child of God. It's

pointing to the own. You got to do it.

You got to do it. And and evidently, you

can desire that because they did. So he

says tell tell me you who desire to be

under the law. You desire to prove your

righteousness to self-justify to say I

did this so therefore I deserve this. Do

you not listen to the law? Let's just

stop with the desire there or stop for a

moment and talk about the desire there.

The basic human desire there even if

it's not consciously about like the

Mosaic law or uh talking about the

scripture in Genesis as the law. Um,

if if you want to prove that you're good

enough,

which I believe inherently every Gentile

and every Jew that's ever been born,

with the exception of Jesus,

has this fleshly desire

to prove to God, I'm good enough. And

then once they've proven, he can accept

it. And there's a lot of deep things to

reflect about that. But just think about

one reason that I'll present to you here

of why we do that. If

if your eternal destiny is based just on

faith, which is an arrow pointing

towards trust in God, you got to trust

God.

It's not a whole lot of control that you

have there, is there? What you're saying

is I trust God's control for my eternal

destiny.

Right? And we're not just talking about

like you e you just like stop existing

or you continue to exist in the greatest

possible place you could possibly

imagine and then by orders of magnitude

greater. We're talking about actual

condemnation in hell.

A place a realm where God justly

punishes people for their sin.

And then a place where people are

eternally in right relationship to the

Lord. There's no more death. There's no

more pain. There's always just joy and

perfect satisfaction. And you don't have

to work to be satisfied. Every day you

just wake up as satisfied as you could

possibly and then some and worshiping

the Lord and relating to others. And and

according to Paul, the human heart uh is

is built with eternity inside it, but

not in such a way that it can figure out

what God did from the beginning to the

end. That's Ecclesiastes 3:11 slightly

Ecclesiastes 3:11

paraphrased, right? So, the human heart

has this desire for that eternity. It

has a weightiness to it. It's not like

animals. Animals are not like, I wish I

had a better vocation. You know, they're

like, I'm going to sleep now cuz I'm

tired and I'm going to get up and I'm

going to go eat. And their patterns are

pretty simple. I'm going to go fight

right now cuz that guy's in a place I

don't want him to be. You know, talking

about deer, obviously. So, but human

beings like you can think about why do I

have this job?

What's the point? And if you can't find

a point for it, then you become

dissatisfied in the work. So, that's

that's a huge difference between human

beings and every human being has this in

their heart. God placed it there. And

the human way to try to control the fear

of not, you know, all

all imperfect love according to John is

as a result of fear of judgment. You

know, there's this deep foroding primal

fear that we're not going to go to the

right place eternally. You could pretend

like you don't think that, but God knows

he put it in your heart and he knows you

have to suppress the truth. Paul said

that in Romans 1 in order to pretend

like it's not true. But what he's not

put in your heart is the understanding

uh just naturally to know what the

pathway actually is. Natural revelation

helps us to understand that God does

exist and there's some things about his

character that we can understand.

Therefore, we have no excuse for denying

it. Like just look at creation. Your

heart intuitively knows there's a

creator. So denying it, you have to

suppress the truth. No matter how much

you suppress the truth, deep down, you

still know you're suppressing it. And so

therefore, you have no excuse, right? So

everyone everyone's trying to do

something to deal with this eternity in

their heart that they don't understand.

And what we mean by anything other than

faith is you're trying to control

something that you don't have the power

to obtain.

Trying to control something that you

don't have the power to obtain. And if

you're not willing to repent, say, "God,

I don't deserve to go to heaven. I've

proven that over and over again with my

thoughts, with my actions, with my

dispositions, with my words. And I need

you to forgive me. I need I need you to

tell me it's okay even though I don't

deserve it. You have to do something.

We'll talk about what he's done. You've

heard it many times. But but the point

is unless you relinquish this desire to

self-justify, to say I'm good enough, to

say, "See, I'm better than those people.

I'm not that bad." to come up with your

own standard of the law and then say,

"See, I kept this law. I didn't break

this law."

To basically pretend like you don't

actually know what God's law is.

Diminish it. The the reason that people

desire that naturally is that it's them

that can be in control of that. But what

you're in control of will never get you

what you actually desire. because you

can't kill a whale that's basically

supernatural.

You don't have the power to do so.

So, I I you know, God created all

literary genres and he knows that

there's something about allegory that

just speaks to our heart, to our

imagination, to our spirit. And because

it's God's word, it has the power

to unlock you from that enslavement to

obtain in your own power what you can

only obtain by God's power.

So Paul says, "For is written that

Abraham had two sons, one by the slave

woman and one by the free woman." We're

talking about Hagar and Sarah.

You can go back to Genesis 16 and 21.

These are the two places that uh Paul is

kind of dropping in and talking about.

We're not going to go there because

these stories are so famous and I can

summarize them. What had happened is

that God had promised to Abraham that he

was going to have a biological son and

that God was going to make him into a

great nation. Uh we also know that that

promise was ultimately about Jesus. We

also discovered in Galatians 3 that it

wasn't just about Jesus, but that it was

a promise God made directly to Jesus. We

also know from John 8 that Jesus said

before Abraham was, I am. So, we know

that actually, if we think about it,

when did God make this promise to Jesus?

Well, from everlasting ancient past, he

did. Because the incarnate son of God is

God and omnisient and knows everything

that there is to know which includes

God's plan for salvation for people. And

so Jesus would have had this promise

forever. And this was an unbelievably

new and powerful thing for me to

discover in the summer where we're

studying this. And

the reality is it wasn't just that Jesus

received this promise once he was

incarnated, but that it was made ever

since. And and I used to think that the

first time the promise shows up is to

Abraham in chapter 12, but it turns out

the first time it shows up is in the

curses uh for having decided to eat from

the tree of the fruit of knowledge good

and evil. And it turns out there's going

to be this offspring that Eve has. So it

shows up very early in the Bible.

And he's coming back and revealing

something more about that promise

through Abraham and Sarah. Well, Abraham

believed and it was credit to him as

righteousness. Sarah ultimately

believed, but she tried to accomplish

that in her own power.

Nobody knows how painful it is not to be

having be able to have children than the

mother who wants them and hasn't been

able to have them.

So Sarah wasn't able to have children

and they tried. She recognized that she

was not able to. And when she basically

started realizing

that doors seems to be closing on that,

she decided to accomplish God's plan in

her own power. And they had what this uh

um what Paul calls a slave woman, a

servant gal that was a servant of

Sarah's. Her name was Hagar. And she

came up with a plan. How about Abraham?

I give you Hagar and you can have a

child through her but it'll be I'll our

child like surrogacy almost in modern

terms

right we talked about how polygamy is

never the answer but when you leave

unfulfilled desires untreated and you

lock in to pursue them you will end up

doing things that cause terrible damage

in order to accomplish them and but

they're not accomplishable in human

power.

And so it ends up that Sarah gets real

jealous about Hagar and her son Ishmael,

interestingly uh starts persecuting

Isaac and mocking him. And so she's

like, "I want her out. I want her out."

Abraham's initially upset about that,

but God ends up telling him, "Cast her

out."

Paul actually we'll talk about that. So

that kind of catches us up to where

we're at. The the idea here is though

that there was a child Ishmael from the

servant gal, the slave woman and there

was a child from Sarah and his name is

Isaac and she's the free woman. And so

we're actually already in the allegory

before knowing it because there's

something about these sons and something

about the concept of slavery and the

concept of freedom. Now, it's easy

enough to focus on the mothers, but what

Paul's really asking here is, uh, what

kind of son are you? What kind of

daughter are you? What kind of child are

you? If you ask that question, it'll be

a lot easier to understand the allegory.

So, let's continue. I think you guys all

understand what he's saying so far from

the law from Genesis. But the son of the

slave woman was born according to the

flesh, while the son of the free woman

was born through the promise.

What that means is that Hagar's son was

born not only naturally but by fleshly

means. Halfcocked human plan to

accomplish God's will. Captain Ahab

stuff, right? Stuff from below, not

stuff from above. And that's going to be

really important. We're going to be

thinking a lot about what's from below

and what's from above because that will

help to for you to to grasp. And I'm not

talking down to you when I say to grasp.

It was I can't remember the last time

I've spent so much time trying to

understand a passage. And then it locked

in and I get it. Uh but it was complex

and it took a lot of thought and and

figuring it out and then I was like boom

boom boom boom boom I get it. And so I'm

walking you through that. So if you want

to un first of all you can't understand

it apart from the spirit. So, if you do

understand it, that's about to be one

really encouraging thing in this

Christmas season is that you are born of

the spirit. If you get this, this is

impossible to get. It just doesn't it's

just so beyond human understanding. It's

not like Moby Dick, Lord of the Flies,

or or even Narnia. It is so deep and in

some ways so complex. But then when you

get it, it's just it's so simple.

Explaining it even after understanding

how simple it is is hard. So when I when

I uh reiterate something over and over

again, that just means I want you to

really anchor that there. And I'll try

not to say it too often, but here is the

idea.

One child was born just of natural means

and with sinful desire in mind. I'm

going to do your will. I'm not going to

wait by faith. Another child, the free

woman, was born through the promise. So

I want you to think about this because

it's actually double supernatural. Um,

and what do I mean by double

supernatural? Um, I mean when I say

natural, when there's nothing wrong in a

woman's body and nothing wrong in a

man's body, a couple can naturally have

children. No laws of nature are broken

by that. Well, sometimes we call that a

miracle and I understand why because

it's kind of unbelievable all the things

that happen and God does sustain those.

But the laws of nature are not being

broken by God. Some nothing like crazy

out of the ordinary happen when a couple

does have children. And that's what

happened with Hagar. And we know that,

which is why Sarah's like, I can get

this done through Hagar. I know I can

get this done, right? And then I don't

have to be so heartbroken that I have

not been able to have this child. I

don't have to wait anymore either.

But Isaac was not born that way. First

of all, Sarah was barren. She could not

have children.

And you'd think after, you know, several

decades, maybe uh into her early 30s,

God would have been like, "Okay, I've

proven she can't have kids. Now I'll

give her Isaac." God's like, "No, I'm

going to have her go way past menopause

on top of it." So, she's barren and way

past the time everyone back then also

knew you don't have children.

She had to wait a long time.

God had her wait past two doors

that in her heart would have definitely

meant that's that those doors are

closed. I'm not having any kids. Now,

scripture does say Abraham and Sarah

actually believed. It commends them as

faithful. Even uses Sarah as a model uh

for for women and for wives and how they

should treat their husbands. So, I'm not

I'm not talking down to them either. But

you you could imagine how you'd feel.

I know how it feels.

About a year and a half after all the

combines and all the tests, I was like,

I'm not making the NFL. So, I've pretty

much probably played my last snap of

football. And I'd made my whole life

about it. Devastating to lose that.

Nowhere near as devastating as

you know the droning decades going by

with no child when God personally

promised you one. So you can see how

much the enemy could tempt her to do it

in her own power and she does that. But

what what happened in order for Isaac to

be born was impossible. She was barren.

She's on top of that way past the time.

So, you know, God is pointing to I did

that. Isaac's from above.

People say, well, I'm not saying that it

wasn't actually uh from Abraham and from

Sarah biologically. I'm saying that God

had to do two sap supernatural things.

He had to stop her from being barren and

since she was beyond the age that even

healthy women reproductively would have

kids, he had to have her have a child

beyond the time that's even normally

possible. And he did. So where's Isaac

from? God proved Isaac's from above,

right? I don't literally mean like Jesus

is from above. I think you understand.

Isaac's birth is as a result of God's

work from above. That's what I mean.

Okay? And Paul is hammering that home.

Then he says, "Now this what we just

talked about may be interpreted

allegorically." Again, what we mean by

that is that the people, the context,

the happenings, the ideas, the

personhood can be taken to describe

something else. Okay? Normal allegory is

often a fictional thing that nobody's

going to insist was actually happening.

Describing something that really exists

conceptually or humanly regarding desire

or whatever else. In this case though,

before we even get into this, you have

to understand God is using a story he

designed that really happened to

describe something else that is also

definitely real but spiritual.

Nothing's fictional here. So that's a

very different kind of allegorical way

of thinking about things when nothing

talked about is fictional. So let's get

into it. Now this may be interpreted

allegorically allegorically. These women

are two covenants. One is from Mount Si,

bearing children for slavery. She is

Hagar. Now, if you've been around the

church for a while and you've read

through the Bible yourself, you know

Mount Si is where God gave the law. So

then we're talking about the covenant of

the law. And uh Hagar represents that

covenant. By the way, I'm going to give

you a visual here just in a minute. I

want to walk through it first and then I

think you'll understand the uh the um

the allegoric allegory visually a little

bit easier. Um and remember this is just

what it is. And as stupid as that sounds

or silly as that sounds, if you can just

accept what he just said is just a fact.

That is what it represents. That's why

God wrote the story the way he wrote and

real people with real choices. But God

was God's the author of that. We'll go

back into that idea in a moment. And

evidently Hagar was bearing children for

slavery. Uh and she's Hagar. Now Hagar

is Mount Si in Arabia. She corresponds

to the present Jerusalem on top of it.

For she is in slavery with her children.

What does Paul mean by slavery? It's

people that are committing to do the law

for the sake of righteousness, which was

never a purpose for the law in the first

place. So they're in wrong relationship

to the law. The law is not the problem.

It's their attitude towards the law.

It's the pride of thinking I can do this

when the law is actually one of its main

purposes is to show you the utter

sinfulness of sin. So if you're being

honest in relationship to the law, you

will over and over and over admit I

can't do this.

Right? So you have very you have to be

very prideful, very self-righteous, very

hypocritical to act like you can do it

yourself. Except aren't we all doing

that when we go the Captain Ahab route?

you know,

we're not really being honest with

ourselves. Deep down, we know we're

suppressing it, but we know we shouldn't

be trying to get this in our own power,

but we do it anyway. So when I say

self-righteous hypocrite, I I don't

actually think I'm a Pharisee in that

sense because I don't believe I'm

relating to God in a legalistic way. But

I see within myself attitudes and

desires that are worth nothing but put

being put to death where but I can do it

myself. But I can do it myself. I think

you probably, if you're being honest,

see some of those attitudes in there as

well. And that represents action from

below. Ishmael, Hagar,

the covenant, trying to keep it in your

own power. The current present spiritual

state of people in Jerusalem, the vast

majority of them from below. I can do it

myself. That's what's being said. But

the Jerusalem above is free. She's our

mother.

Imagine trying like I I bet you like

just get that idea right already. Our

being born again status is from above is

what's being said. We're citizens from

heaven.

When I when I But did you know the

heavenly Jerusalem is a real place made

not with human hands. It exists. It will

come down out of heaven onto the new

heavens, the new earth, and we'll live

in it with God. There's some

supernatural things about that. Won't

need the sun for light. God himself will

be the light.

You know, cool. I mean, he made the

light before he made the sun anyway.

Where was the light coming from? Him,

his word. So, I can't wait. That's the

kind of thing we get to look forward to.

But imagine trying to explain someone in

whom the spirit of God does not reside

that there's a city above and it's our

mother.

I I I don't believe it sounds kooky, but

I believe in those ears it sounds like

absolute

kookery. No cra you guys are crazy

believing that stuff.

I totally believe it.

I don't know if I understand it as

deeply as it can be understood, but I

feel like I understand it deeply. I get

it. Yeah. You're regeneration. You're

being born again. It's from above. You

belong to a city. You're a citizen of a

city. And it's the heavenly Jerusalem

just like the earthly Jerusalem. It

really exists, but God built it. It's

not less real. It's not less literal. It

is spiritual, but it has real substance,

real existence. We just can't see it.

It's in another realm. It's in the

spiritual realm, which we're to think of

as above. It's where Jesus ascended to.

Right? So, do you see what I mean about

how the allegory is not quite like

literary genre allegory? Because in

literary allegorical genre, it's usually

based on fiction. So, that didn't even

really happen or at least it's

significantly embellished. And then it's

representing a concept that isn't itself

necessarily concrete and real, but more

about human thought and the way to live.

Here we're talking about actual things

that exist. Mount Sinai exists. Hagar

existed. Ishmael existed. Sarah existed.

Isaac existed. The uh the the earthly

Jerusalem exists. The heavenly Jerus

Jerusalem is exists. Let's continue

here. But the Jerusalem above is free

and she is our mother. For it is

written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does

not bear. Break forth and cry aloud, you

who are not in labor. For the children

of the desolate one will be more than

those of the one who has a husband."

I'll be I'll be really honest.

I felt like I sort of basically and

generally understood what Paul was

saying. He's quoting here from Isaiah

Isaiah 54:1

54:1,

but I was confused

in terms of the one to one

representation allegorically,

historically and allegorically. So

rejoice, O baron one, you'd think we're

talking about Sarah and and to a degree

we are. Who does not bear? So we were

just talking about who didn't bear. He

got bared. Sarah didn't. And she's

supposed to rejoice. And then it says,

"Break forth and cry aloud." Well, why?

I mean, Isaac was literally named

laughter because just imagine waiting

all your life and then think it's over

and then having this child and you know

it's supernatural. He just can't but

laugh for joy. And so they named him

laughter.

you who are not in labor. For the

children of the desolate one, so the

barren one

uh will be more than the one who has a

husband. Here's what confused me and I

didn't understand. First of all, you

have to understand what the context of

Isaiah is because Paul never quotes the

Bible out of context. I don't think he

ever reinterprets the Bible either. I

think he interprets it correctly and it

was wrongly interpreted. So, we think

it's a reinterpretation. Paul's saying

what God meant to say. That's that's

that's my conviction. But you would

think if you're talking about the barren

one who actually has a husband that the

comparison seems strange. What's being

talked about for the children of the

desol Sarah will be more of the one that

has a husband. So in a way Hagar did

have a husband because Sarah gave Hagar

to uh uh Abraham as a second wife. But

you would think the comparison would be

the desolate one to the one who was

fruitful or something because Sarah was

married too. She had a husband. So I'm

like, I feel like we're crossing from

Sarah to allegorical meaning here. But

does the husband represent something?

And can I figure that out?

And I don't know how I didn't see it in

my first read through in in Isaiah 54,

but we can figure it out. Scripture does

tell us who the husband is in this case

of the desolate one.

Okay, so let's go back to Isaiah 54. And

this is a real crux in understanding uh

why Paul quotes what he's saying here.

So Isaiah 54,

this is where he quotes it from. We got

it up. Yeah. Sing, oh barren one who did

not bear, break forth into singing and

cry aloud, you who have not been in

labor, for the children of the desolate

one will be more than the children of

her who is married. Now, the entire

context of the book of Isaiah is a

prophecy that he is to share uh and and

speak and proclaim to the Israelites uh

that if they do not change their way,

they're going to be judged in a very

specific way. They're going to taken off

into exile to Babylon. But God even

tells is uh Isaiah that they're not

going to listen. And so, he says, "For

how long should I tell them this

message?" And he says, "Until they're

hardened."

It's a hard scripture, but this was not

a prophecy where the people of God were

going to repent. So, they were

definitely going to go off to Babylon.

And the context is here is that just

because God has judged them and put them

off into exile is it doesn't mean he's

done with them. So, that's I don't think

we need any more context right now.

There's more to that. I can't wait to go

through Isaiah someday, but it says this

single barren one. Verse two, enlarge

the place of your tent and let the

curtains of your habitations be

stretched out. Do not hold back.

Lengthen your cords and strengthen your

stakes, for you will spread abroad to

the right and to the left. They weren't

allowed to spread abroad. They were

confined, basically slaves in exile,

constantly under threat of being forced

to worship uh someone other than God.

And your offspring will possess the

nations and will uh and will people the

desolate cities like populate the

desolate cities. Fear not, for you will

not be ashamed. Be not confounded, for

you will not be disgraced. For you will

forget the shame of your youth and the

reproach of your widowhood.

You will remember no more. For your

maker is your husband.

That's what Paul's talking about. Even

though he's also talking about Sarah,

the desolate one, and Hagar, not the

desolate one, but Hagar is having a

child of slavery. and Sarah is going to

have a child of the promise.

What's happening is we're comparing

things on earth to their actual true

counterpart in heaven. And the husband

in that case is not Abraham. It's God

himself. Okay, I see you nodding your

head. You're getting it. That means the

spirit of God resides in you. You can't

get this stuff without him. Let me read

on. For your maker is your husband. The

Lord of hosts is his name. And the Holy

One of Israel is your redeemer. The God

of the whole earth is he. For the Lord

has called you like a wife, deserted and

grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth

when she is cast off, says your God.

Okay? So, sometimes there are questions

you have of scripture and I'm not sure

if the answer is findable. Other times

I'm pretty sure it's not. Sometimes it

is and it just locks it all in. Okay, I

think we're ready to look at the uh the

visual representation here.

So, going back to Galatians 5, um, you

have I can't quite see that far. So, I'm

going to look here. Hagar, the earthly

Jerusalem, the arrows pointing up is in

terms of the action of the flesh, right?

Not that she can actually reach to

heaven. See how we stop short of any, it

just stops at enslaved. So, Hagar,

earthly Jerusalem, children of the

flesh, enslaved. We're talking about

spiritual slavery here. Whereas Sarah,

it represents the Jerusalem from above.

children of the promise who were free.

That's what's being said. You get it? If

if you don't yet, it took me so long.

So, I'd love to talk about it more.

Maybe you have specific questions.

Sermon preaching format isn't like

question answer is a little tough. So, I

would love to talk it more afterwards.

And there's more to be said about this,

but basically the children of the

promise, the children who are free, the

people who have put their faith in Jesus

alone rather than their own works are

born from above, born of the spirit.

Let's see how Paul says that very thing.

I'll read 27 again. For it is written,

"Rejoice, O barren one who does not

bear. Break forth and cry aloud, you who

are not in labor. For the children of

the desolate one will be more than those

of the one who has a husband." Now you

brothers, all Christians, uh, brothers

and sisters alike, like Isaac are

children of the promise. Children of

what promise? the promise that God made

to his son from everlasting past and in

would include all of those in who would

have faith in him, the Jews first and

then the Gentiles. And therefore, there

is neither Jew nor Gentile anymore

because we've all been made sons of God,

adopted, regenerated from above, born of

the spirit, born again.

So, the fact that you're here and

believe in Jesus Christ

is at least every bit as supernatural. I

would say it's more supernatural than

the way Isaac is born.

Isn't that satisfying to your heart?

Doesn't that make you want to say, "Whom

have I in heaven but you? On earth

there's nothing I desire beside you."

And yet,

me too, we make God our consolation

prize.

It's

I wrote that sentence out and I'm like,

whoa, I've done that.

We're in the middle of moving our entire

house. Got to be out on the 19th at 5.

We get the keys to the new house on

Wednesday at 5. I think it's five acres.

I'd given up the dream to raise my

children on land. Wasn't that difficult

to give up because God had already given

us such a nice house and such a great

setting and wonderful church to it

wasn't out of dissatisfaction. I just

thought I'd love to do that, but I

looked at the houses and they were too

expensive. The taxes were too expensive.

Just can't afford it. It would be

unwise. So instead of continue trying to

pursue it even in my desired life

underneath I just like I'll give that up

and we found a house timber deferred can

pay the taxes can work it out cuz my

parents helped me with so much equity on

our house really nothing I did

something God did try to pursue it put

our house on a contingency sale everyone

didn't like our house and I'm like

I talked to the elders I prayed I don't

think I'm trying to do this in my own

power, but man, I think I might have

been right to just have given it up in

the first place. Am I trying to force

this? Had to make a decision. Should we

spend $6,000 on a new carpet? Cuz

everyone keeps saying the carpet's

gross. I thought they'd just let a

carpet credit. Real estate agent did,

too.

All this time, I'm thinking about, am I

doing the Captain Ahab thing here? I

can't deny I want the land, but God, I I

I'll give it up again. I didn't mean I

don't want to lead my family into some

kind of dangerous situation. as you go

along, there are certain things that you

can't get out contractually. If you ever

like put your house on sale, like you

got to be careful what you're signing

because sometimes like, well, if the if

you can't buy the house, you still have

to move out of the house. So, I'm like,

I'm on the hook here for leading

correctly and being wise.

I decide, you know what? It seems like

if we just put a new carpet in, maybe

people it just it was such a focus for

them. They couldn't see anything else.

Put a new carpet in. We end up getting

$500 off on the carpet because they

didn't install it by the time that they

said they would. Like 7day get

guarantee. I won't say what company. I

was not trying to talk trash on anyone.

But point is the like the very first

people that came in on on on the on the

very next open house fell in love with

the house just like we did.

All of a sudden, we're back on. You

know, now we're about to get keys. I can

honestly say in terms of materialistic

things, God's never never given me a

better gift. Looks like it's definitely

going to go through.

Everything on earth has a certain weight

of glory. Whales, sperm whales, they

have a weight of glory. It's why you're

in awe when you go whale watching.

Property, land, houses, jobs, people.

God has put a certain weight of glory in

them.

But when that weight of glory becomes

disconnected from them, from God,

that thing becomes a very powerful

temptation to become an idol.

So then you put your satisfaction in the

land and in the house and the setting

that you're in. And guess what happens

to the weight of the glory of the thing

that now is just earthly? It just fades

and fades and fades because God has put

eternity in your heart and you cannot

understand it not connected to him.

You ought not to pretend like there

aren't things on earth that you desire.

That's not what that psalmist is saying.

There's nothing I desire beside you. He

says,

I desired football above him. I refuse

to desire this house about what I'm

going to do is praise him in my heart

because any weight of glory that's in

that property or in that house or

anything I receive is about the weight

of glory

of him.

Do you feel what I mean about weight of

glory? When things have a certain weight

of glory like a state championship has a

weight of glory to it. Super Bowl a

greater weight of glory. There's there

can be satisfaction in it. But if you

cut that off as being about the glory of

God, everything that's made was by was

made by, through, and for Jesus Christ.

And you know what it says about him in

in Hebrews? I'll just quote it. He is

the radiance of God's glory, the very

imprint of his nature.

So what on earth will satisfy you more

than him?

you I know you're saying nothing, but

then why do we keep making God our

consolation prize? Or at least why are

there temptations to do so that are so

strong?

What needs to happen?

What needs to happen? Okay, let's let's

finish out Galatians uh the passage here

and what he says so we get a feel for

what I'm about to say means to you. Now

you brothers like Isaac are children of

the promise. But just as at that time he

who was born according to the flesh

persecuted him who was born according to

the spirit. So it is now. So if you if

you say and commit to that I will only

be made righteous. I will only be a

child of the promise and I will only be

born again of the spirit by faith by

trust in God. It is not my work. It's

not from a below. It's from above. You

will be persecuted by those who refuse

to admit that. Why? Because what you're

exposing is their unobtainable pursuit

of glory in their own power. It's

convicting and it's angering to them.

But 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. So

brothers, we are not children of the

slave but children of the free woman.

Can we put the main point up again?

All the freedom of being born of the

spirit is obtained exclusively by faith.

Not but pursuing that in your own power

will enslave you.

Let's talk a little bit about that

slavery.

Let's go to one passage in John chapter

John 6 · chapter mention

6. Let's finish up with Isaiah 53. right

before the passage that Paul, it's a

mind-boggling passage that Isaiah 54

finds its context in Isaiah 53. And it

is the solution to everything.

Whatever it is you're pursuing,

if you're pursuing it by faith,

wonderful. And I don't I'm not even

guessing about whether you are or not.

But if you're pursuing it from below,

meaning you're not really trusting God

from it, and you know, you're not really

willing to relinquish it,

whatever satisfaction you could find in

it will fail.

To the last, I grapple with thee. From

hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hate's

sake, I spit my last breath at thee.

That's what happens at the end of

Pursuit of an Idol.

It's enslaving.

It captures you. It takes control. You

thought you were doing something you

were control of. It turns out there's

something taking control of you.

Formerly, when you did not know God, you

were enslaved to those who are by nature

not gods. But now that you've come to

know God, or rather be known by God, how

can you turn back to the weak and

worthless elementary principles of the

world whose slaves you want to become

once more? That's what he's saying to

the Galatians. That's what he means to

us, too. It can be true for

non-Christians who are being falsely

taught and misled to devote themselves

to the law. So, non-Christian Gentiles.

It can also be unbelievably harmful to

believing Gentiles or believing Jews or

anyone that hears this. Do it in your

own power is what's really being said.

And this this let's go to John chapter

John 6 · chapter mention

6. I think we're I don't have a I didn't

mark it. Then they the disciples said to

him, "What must we do to be doing the

works of God?" Don't go to the next

verse. What must we do to be doing the

works of God?

Do you hear the meaning of it?

I don't even think the disciples before

they became apostles meant this in bad

faith. But where's the focus?

What must me do to be doing the works of

God? What do I have to do? Listen to

what Jesus says. Jesus answered them,

"This is the work of God." And what's

the work of God? That you believe in him

whom he has sent.

Could

it be any more clear?

I don't think he's being aggressively or

harshly corrective, but he's not saying

this is what you do. He's saying this is

the work of God that you believe in him

who he has sent. We're bent.

Even when we don't really fully

understand that what we're saying is

bent, it's it's bent to what do I do?

The son of God says it's about what God

does. And what God does is help you to

believe.

Let me show you how Paul says that in an

undeniably clear way in many of your

favorite passage in the Bible. This is

uh Ephesians chapter 2

Ephesians 2:4–10

verse 4-10. But God being rich in mercy

because of his great love with which he

loved us. Even when we were dead in our

trespasses,

dead and trying to do it oursself.

Dead because what it says is that if you

don't do all of the law, you deserve to

die. Made us alive together with Christ.

By grace you have been saved and raised

you up with him and seated us with him

in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

so that in the coming ages he might show

you show the immeasurable riches of his

grace and kindness towards us in Christ

Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through

faith. And this is not your own doing.

It is the gift of God,

not the result of works, so that no one

may boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in

Christ Jesus for good works, which God

prepared beforehand, that we should walk

in them.

I don't think I'm going to be able to

get through this next

portion of Isaiah chapter 53 without

Isaiah 53 · chapter mention

being emotional, so just bear with me.

What has to happen for someone like

Captain Ahab to be set free so he

doesn't get drowned in the ocean in

works righteousness?

What has to happen so that when we

commit the perplexing but also lethal

sin of making God our consolation prize?

What has to happen for us to be

forgiven? What has to happen so that we

can be transformed and say meaningfully

and with integrity, whom have I in

heaven but you and on earth there's

nothing I desire beside you. What has to

happen was spoken of by the prophet

Isaiah

in prophetic forcehortening language

meaning talking about it from the past

as though you're looking at it from the

future.

53 of Isaiah, verse three. He was

despised and rejected by men, a man of

sorrows and acquainted with grief. And

as one from whom men hide their faces,

he was despised and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs and

carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him

stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our

transgressions. He was crushed for our

iniquities.

Upon him was the chastisement that

brought us peace

and with his wounds we are healed.

It's hard for me to get through this

because of just the amount of sin that

I've had to be forgiven for.

I think you've heard my testimony. You

know all we like sheep have gone astray.

We've turned everyone to his own way.

And the Lord laid on him the iniquity of

us all. He was oppressed. He was

afflicted.

Yet he opened not his mouth. Like a lamb

that is led to the slaughter. And like a

sheep before its shears is silent, he

opened not his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken

away. And as for his generation, who

considered that he was cut off out of

the land of the living, stricken for the

transgression of his people? And they

made his grave with the wicked and with

a rich man in his death. Although he had

done no violence, and there was no

deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush

him.

He has put him to grief. When a soul

makes an offering for guilt, he shall

see the offspring. He shall prolong his

days, the will of the Lord shall prosper

in his hand. Out of the anguish of his

soul, he shall see and be satisfied. By

his knowledge shall the righteous one,

my servant, make many to be accounted

righteous, and he shall bear their

iniquities.

I don't know what you don't have this

Christmas season. And unfortunately,

some of the most satisfying times in

life, like Christmas season and

families, we're also reminded of what we

don't have. And in some ways, we're

almost forced to look at what someone

else has that we don't have. Um, I don't

mean you're forced to covet. God always

gives you a way out, but it's just right

there. And you can be unbelievably

lonely. You can be just not feeling like

things are right in your life in the

midst of all the lights, the gifts, and

the foods and the smells and the warmth

of fellowship.

And so, I understand what it's like to

desire something that you don't have,

but it's the enemy who will tell you

that you can get it in your own power.

And he knows the end of that is death.

He knows the end of that is enslavement.

So what's the point especially as a

Christian of even walking down that road

for a while? It will diminish your

satisfaction in God. And yet

can any can anybody rightly say that God

has not done enough and that he's not

enough.

So much so that no matter what you don't

have currently, he's enough to satisfy

you all the way down so that you are not

dissatisfied.

That's what that means. Whom have I in

heaven but you?

So it's it's why it's such a painful

thing to think about making him our

consolation price.

So, if you've done it, if you're feeling

as convicted as I am, if you've been

maybe just like going through the

motions and like maybe not even forcing

yourself to read scripture anymore, you

just don't want to because you're so

overfocused on the thing you don't have

and prayer seems like a slog and coming

to the church. I know I have to have to

have to come and worship the one who

died for your sin.

Here's here's what the gospel says.

Just confess that a sin and God is

faithful and just to forgive you your

sin and to cleanse you from all

unrighteousness. And that is what

communion is about.

And and no matter how far your

perception has fallen of how satisfying

God is, when you confess, your faith

will ignite. The spirit will fill you

again. And is there anyone here believes

that God's not satisfying enough?

Really, no, you don't.

But just admit, you haven't pursued him

like you should.

The problem isn't really that you don't

have something that you don't want. And

I or that you do want, and I do not

diminish that desire. It's not my point.

Ultimately,

everything that you could possibly want

finds its true rate of glory in him.

He's the genuine article.

And so all you have to do is just admit

that. Say, "God, fill me with your

spirit again. I want to be satisfied in

you. I want it to be true. I I know that

you have given me everything for life

and godliness that you've withheld

nothing. And I know that your spirit

will even give me the felt experience

and power to walk in that satisfaction."

Let's put the main point up one more

time.

I think now will make more sense than it

ever has before. All the freedom of

being born of the spirit is obtained

exclusively by faith.

One arrow pointing up. Trust in his

work, in his person and his work. He's

done everything. But pursuing that in

your own power will enslave you. You can

be free right now.

Emily and Analise will be coming up.

They'll be leading us in worship. You

can let the Holy Spirit minister to you

and have God speak directly to your

heart about what he wants you to bring

to the table and relinquish. Let me

pray. Father, thank you for giving us

your spirit and therefore the mind of

Christ that can understand things that

no natural h human can fathom. the

things the depth of which seem entirely

incomprehensible.

And yet

I understand, I think we understand, and

we know what you want from us. You want

us to find all of our satisfaction in

you. You want us to walk and live in the

freedom

of being able to say with a whole heart

like the psalmist did, whom have I in

heaven but you and on earth? There is

nothing I desire beside you. Amen.