Heavenly Jerusalem.
Galatians 4.
Do you realize as a saved, blood bought Son or Daughter of God, you have heavenly Jerusalem living within you. (Christ in you... you have become the temple for the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor. 3.16.
Galatians chapter 3 & 4 teach us that before Jesus Christ, we were slaves to this world and slaves to the law.
However, now because we are his children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts.
Galatians 4:21-27NLT “Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? 22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. 23 The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.
You know what human attempt produces? Ishmael.
Diapers. (Buy a lot).
Reaping Ishmael can effect the future.
Mount Sinai is impossible to climb.
Ishmael eat. (Ishmael eats more).
The free son is free because of his free father. For the free son was born as God’s fulfillment of his promise, (Gal 4.23).
Galatians 4:24-26 These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. 25 And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law. 26 But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother.
So until this day, Jerusalem is held in slavery by the law. As of today, Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai!
They have neglected being free through the freedom-maker and speaker, Jesus. PH.
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John 1.17NLT For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love (grace) and faithfulness (truth) came through Jesus Christ.
If you compare the Law verses the Holy Spirit, you’ll find that when the Law came down, 3,000 people died. That’s in, Exodus 32:28.
However, when the Holy Spirit came down, 3,000 people were saved. That’s in, Acts 2:41.
That’s the difference between God’s Law and God’s Grace!
Victor Hugo, in his book, Les Miserables, gives a great example of grace. Victor Hugo writes, An ex-convict named Jean Valjean, who was imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family, is forced to carry around a yellow ticket for everyone to see that he’s an ex-convict. With that ticket displayed, he tries to get a room at an inn, even offering to sleep in the barn. But the innkeeper throws him out, telling him that they are law-abiding, Godly people. In despair, Valjean sits outside a house and laments: And now I know how freedom feels, The jailer always at your heels, It is the law! This piece of paper in my hand, That makes me cursed throughout the land, It is the law! I walk the street, The dirt beneath my feet. Just then the bishop steps out of the house, sees Valjean, and invites him inside for food, drink, and rest, offering him a bed sleep in, and shelter from the cold outside. So Valjean accepts the Bishop’s offer, eats a hearty meal, and steals the silverware in the middle of the night. When the police catch him, he tries to tell them that the bishop gave him the silverware as a present. So the police bring him back to the bishop’s house to prove he’s lying. When they arrive at the house, the bishop comes running out the door holding two silver candlesticks, which he gives to Valjean, telling the police that he forgot to give the candlesticks to Valjean when he gave him the rest of the silverware. -So the police release Valjean and they walk away.
Bishop say’s to Valjean, “Now that’s the grace given to you by acceptance of Jesus, and now live likewise to yourself, and with others.”
And that’s just what Jesus did for us. We were imprisoned by the law, sentenced to eternal death for our sins against God, but while we were still sinners, Jesus rescued us from our accuser, Satan, and offered us His free grace, upon acceptance, Romans 5.8.
Say, “Free grace, not cheap grace, free grace.”
The Law condemns; but Jesus gives life. -John 1.17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Because of this grace and truth given freely to all who choose to receive this eternal gift, the apostle Paul writes to these privileged:
Galatians 4.27NLT As Isaiah said, “Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!”
I want to give you a few points from this powerful text:
Point 1: The Bondage of the Law.
Paul reminds the Galatians that they were once enslaved to the law. (Why go back)? He uses the allegory of Hagar, the slave woman, and her son Ishmael to illustrate the bondage of the law.
The law demands perfection, but the reality is that we are all sinners, unable to keep the law fully.
Illustration: Imagine being bound by chains, unable to break free no matter how hard you try. This is how the law makes us feel - trapped and hopeless.
We may not be under the Mosaic law like the Galatians, but we can still fall into the trap of legalism.
We may try to earn God's love and approval through our good works, but the truth is that we cannot save ourselves. -We must rely on Jesus’ sacrifice for our salvation.
Again, the law itself produces bondage. P.H
Point 2: The Promise of Freedom in Christ.
Paul presents the Biblical document of Sarah and her son Isaac, they represent the promise of freedom in Christ.
-Sarah was barren, and past child-bearing age, but God promised her a son. And true to His promise, Sarah gave birth to Isaac.
Jesus promised you freedom. Jesus states in, John 8.36NIV So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Listen to the next verse, John 8:37 Jesus tells these Pharisees...that these men have no room for My Word...
Do you have room for His (God’s) Word?
In contrast to the law, Paul presents the story of Sarah and her son Isaac, who represent the promise of freedom in Christ.
Paul even ask a question in, Galatians 3.1-4 “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
-Sarah was barren and past child-bearing age, but God promised her a son. -And true to His promise, she gave birth to Isaac.
Illustration: Close your eyes for a moment, Think of a barren desert, dry and desolate. But then, out of nowhere, a spring of water flows, quenching the thirst of the dry land. This is the promise of freedom that Jesus Christ offers us.
Galatians 3.13NKJV Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),
John 7.37-38NKJV On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
As your pastor this is the word I want to give you. Believe!
Just like Sarah, our own efforts are fruitless. Only through faith in Christs finished work on the cross can we experience true freedom from the bondage of sin and the law. We are no longer slaves, but children of promise.
Point 3: The Power of Faith.
Here is the key, Romans 4.1-3NIV What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Abraham’s faith made him righteous. -Abraham was Justified by Faith. Acquitted by faith.
Romans 4.16-22NIV Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. 18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
This is what Jesus said about the power of faith:
Matthew 9.1-2NIV Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
In the heart of Christian belief lies a profound concept: Faith. More than just a word, faith forms the foundation of a Christian’s relationship with God. It’s a powerful blend of trust, belief, and conviction that shapes our understanding of the Divine and our place in God’s plan.
“Jesus Seeing Their Faith”: A Testament to Belief!
When we delve into the Biblical document of Jesus in, Matthew 9:2, we encounter a pivotal moment that exemplifies the power of faith.
Here, faith is not just a passive state of mind; it’s an active, dynamic force!
Mark 9.23NIV “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Mark 11.22-23NKJV So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
What words and actions do you ‘say’ and ‘do’ the most, during the day? P.H
You could say, Faith in Christianity is multidimensional. It encompasses:
Belief in the unseen and trust in God’s promises.
Devotion and unwavering commitment to God’s teachings.
Confidence in God’s love and assurance in His plan.
Reliance on God’s wisdom and hope in His providence.
These elements combine to form a steadfast, abiding faith that is central to the Christian experience. PH.
What believers want most,
Confidence.
Abiding faith.
Peace, God is with me; therefore, it will be okay.
The power of love in action.
Benediction.
