SO WHAT’S THE POINT?
Galatians 6:11-18
S: Jesus
Th: The Primacy of Jesus
Pr: JESUS CHRIST ALONE MUST BE THE FOCUS FOR OUR LIVES.
?: Why?
KW: advantages
TS: We will find three reasons in Galatians 6:11-18 that indicate why Jesus Christ alone must be the focus for our lives.
The _____ reason that indicates why Jesus Christ alone must be the focus of our lives is so...
I. WE WILL KNOW OUR ENEMIES (12).
II. WE WILL UNDERSTAND OUR WEAKNESS (13).
III. WE WILL CELEBRATE IN GOD’S WORK IN OUR LIVES
(14-18).
GBC 6/13/93 AM (2x)
RMBC 11/05/00 AM (revised)
INTRODUCTION:
1. Have you ever taken pictures that were out of focus?
Dondra and I used to have one of those 35 mm. cameras that you have to take the time to focus properly.
And although we can could get some pretty good-looking shots, it was too often true that when the pictures were developed, some of them come back out of focus.
We would then discuss with each other about who took that one.
We frequently said to each other, “You must have taken this one.”
I would always disagree until the evidence was present—like everybody in the family is in the picture except me.
Then my only excuse is, “The dog did it!”
Anyway, we would go through the pictures and find that we focused on something rather than what we wanted to, like the lamp behind the kids.
The kids may all be out of focus, but it is a stunning portrait of the lamp behind them.
2. In the same way, our lives can become out of focus.
Easily, we can become focused on things that really don’t matter.
And they become a distraction to us.
They draw us away from that which should occupy us.
This focus could be on people, either ones we admire greatly or ones for whom we have lost respect.
This focus could be on worldly items that we are trained to see as needs, rather than the luxuries they really are.
This focus could be an unhealthy concentration upon ourselves and our emotional needs.
This focus could be on financial success and a striving to find security in finances.
This focus could be on disciplined living, a system of spiritual behavior that guarantees godliness.
And there are many more...
And do you know what happens when such things become the focus of our lives?
We become exhausted.
We become frustrated.
Why?
Because all of these ultimately fail.
TRANSITION:
1. What is your focus?
If we were to take a picture of your life, where do you suppose the focus would be?
In other words, if you are going to take a picture of what best represented what your life should be characterized about, what would the picture be?
Would the picture be of...
…you,
…money,
…your kids,
…some addiction,
…some possession,
…another person?
Do you know where it ought to be?
Scripture helps us here for the beginning of Heb. 12:2 says:
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..."
2. JESUS ALONE MUST BE THE FOCUS FOR OUR LIVES.
When a person fails you...
When a possession doesn’t satisfy...
When you cannot come up with the answer by yourself...
Remember this...
Jesus alone must be the focus of our lives.
Therefore...
3. We will find three reasons in Galatians 6:11-18 that indicate why Jesus alone must be the focus for our lives.
(11) See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand! (12) Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. (13) Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. (14) May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (15) Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. (16) Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God. (17) Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. (18) The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
4. The final words that Paul writes here reflect the passion in which he writes (11).
Paul commonly used someone to write his letters, a scribe to whom he would dictate.
Now, he takes the pen in his own hands.
He does it, I believe to give it authentication.
Some have commented that he wrote with large letters because his eyesight was not good, or his handwriting was poor, but I think such reasons miss the point of the text.
He is emphasizing his final words.
He is saying, in effect: DON’T MISS THIS!
Paul has written this letter to contrast two ways of life:
...bondage or liberty
...to live by the Spirit or by the flesh
...to live for yourself or for others
So, Paul’s final words are: DON’T MISS THIS!
OUR STUDY:
I. The first reason that indicates why Jesus Christ alone must be the focus of our lives is so WE WILL KNOW OUR ENEMIES (12).
1. We need to be careful of those that accuse other Christians of not being saved or sanctified.
Paul states that the legalists were trying to make a good impression outwardly.
They were trying to put forward a pleasing front, so men (flesh) would be impressed.
In so doing, they were saying, if you are not circumcised, you are not spiritual, and therefore salvation is suspect.
The problem in the church of Galatia has not gone away.
We still find people today who make extra requirements regarding spirituality.
They say, “You can’t do this or that...or dress in that way...or worship in that style...or serve in that manner.”
It is a problem we all have.
Why do we do this?
It is because we become so afraid to be associated with someone or something that does not measure up to what we think the standard of holiness is.
And the concern really becomes for our own honor, our own ease, and our own reputation—and not God’s honor and reputation.
ILL
I remember back when I was first a Christian, our church was really growing because of the Jesus movement. We had young kids coming into church without proper dress: beads, long hair, bell bottom pants... It’s a shame those good styles aren’t around anymore. But I remember how many of the “churched” people looked at them with distrust: What are those kids up to? And there was hurt at the lack of acceptance, when there should have been a positive response to see God at work.
We have to be careful what we enlist as the “dos” and “don’ts” of Christianity.
For displays of religious devotion require no heart devotion or reliance on the Holy Spirit.
Any ungodly person can learn to do them and feign sincerity.
So…
2. We need to see who our real enemies are.
We often reject other Christians because of appearance or our standard of holiness.
But they aren’t the problem.
The enemies, according to Paul, are those that are opposed to the cross.
The enemies are identified as the Judaizers who had added circumcision back as a requirement along with the gospel.
The truth was, though, that these legalizers were afraid of the persecution that came with the cross.
Culturally, the cross was a symbol of shame.
It was the lowest form of death.
It was designed not to just kill, but to degrade and humiliate its subject.
The legalizers were trying to keep a connection to the past.
They had hoped to blunt criticism, alienation and rejection from their Jewish counterparts.
But you see, anyone, anyone who denies the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice is an enemy of the cross.
The cross is still hated today because it humbles man.
It states we are not good enough.
We are sinners.
Since we are under the curse of God, salvation cannot be earned.
ILL Notebook: Jesus (Emma)
In the book The Fire of Your Life, Maggie Ross recounts the story of Emma, a survivor of the Holocaust, who regularly at 4 P.M. each day stood outside a Manhattan church and screamed insults at Jesus.
Finally the pastor, Bish-op C. Kilmer Myers, went outside and said to Emma, "Why don’t you go inside and tell him?" She disap-peared into the church.
An hour went by, and the bishop, worried, decided to look in on her. He found Emma, prostrate before the cross, absolutely still. Reaching down, he touched her shoulder. She looked up with tears in her eyes and said quietly, "After all, he was a Jew, too."
Emma mistook Jesus as her enemy.
3. Do you know who your enemies are?
We get this mixed up all the time.
Do you know who we usually accuse of being our enemy?
It is another brother or sister in Christ.
And Satan jumps with glee.
He needs do nothing more.
The work is done.
Instead we need to recognize that those who oppose the cross are the enemy.
Those that become appearance-oriented are the enemy.
Those that become works-dependent become the enemy.
Those that become solely dependent on…
…being baptized
…having gone forward in church or at a crusade
…read their Bible for two hours every morning
…giving 20% of their income.
You see, Christianity is not primarily something you do on the outside.
It is something you are on the inside.
A Christian is what we are when Jesus alone becomes the focus of our lives.
II. The second reason that indicates why Jesus Christ alone must be the focus of our lives is so WE WILL UNDERSTAND OUR WEAKNESS (13).
1. We need to recognize that any law is impossible to follow perfectly.
God’s law is an impossible standard for anyone to follow.
These legalistic Christians should have understood that.
They couldn’t do it..
They didn’t do it!
It is like what Jesus said of the Pharisees in Mt 23:3:
“...do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”
These legalists were using the law, and thus, religion as a cover for sin.
2. We also need to recognize that we fall prey to following man’s law.
The church, throughout history, is famous for this.
We are consistently setting up new standards to judge spirituality.
These extras we add on are easier to measure, but what they really are are standards of pride.
We must recognize that nothing can choke the heart and soul out of walking with God like legalism.
ILL Notebook: Legalism (Hans the Tailor)
Consider the story of Hans the tailor. Because of his reputation, an influential entrepreneur visiting the city ordered a tailor-made suit. But when he came to pick up his suit, the customer found that one sleeve twisted that way and the other this way; one shoulder bulged out and the other caved in. He pulled and struggled and finally, wrenched and contorted, he managed to make his body fit. As he returned home on the bus, another passenger noticed his odd appearance and asked if Hans the tailor had made the suit. Receiving an affirmative reply, the man remarked, “Amazing! I knew that Hans was a good tailor, but I had no idea he could make a suit fit so perfectly someone as deformed as you.”
Often that is just what we do in the church.
We get some idea of what the Christian faith should look like.
Then we push and shove people into the most grotesque configurations until they fit wonderfully!
But it is death.
It is a wooden legalism that destroys the soul.
But here is the solution…
3. When we set our focus on Jesus, we understand our frailty.
So, we cannot follow God’s law.
Man’s law is also impossible (and immoral when acting as an equal supplement to God’s).
Instead, we are come to Him humbly and lay our lives at His feet.
There is nothing to do but to offer ourselves, as we are, in all our weakness.
And we say, “Do with me what You will.”
“Here am I!”
“Send me!”
This is the place that God needs us to be.
This is what understanding our weakness is all about.
For now God can freely mold and use us.
4. What standard are you living by?
More importantly, whose standard?
A good work is spoiled by a bad motive.
Is your motive based on your weakness or your supposed strength?
It is to our advantage to have Jesus alone the focus of our lives, for it helps us to have a realistic understanding of our weakness.
III. The third reason that indicates why Jesus Christ alone must be the focus of our lives is so WE WILL CELEBRATE GOD’S WORK (14-18).
ILL Internet (Dennis the Menace)
In the cartoon, Dennis the Menace, Dennis and his little friend, Joey, are leaving Mrs. Wilson’s house with their hands full of cookies. As you may remember, Dennis is not always very considerate toward the Wilsons who are his next-door neighbors (especially Mr. Wilson). But Joey says, "I wonder what we did to deserve this?" Dennis answered, "Look, Joey, Mrs. Wilson gives us cookies not because we’re nice, but because she’s nice."
Paul would say, “Amen.”
God blesses and saves us, not because we are nice, but because He is nice.
Salvation is a gift from God.
So…
1. We need to celebrate God’s work of death in our lives.
That is an odd statement, isn’t it?
You see, though, if we are to boast in anything, it must be the cross.
It must be in Jesus.
The cross had made an impact in Paul’s life.
Before the cross, we were like the legalizers, ruled by externals, glorying in human achievement.
ILL Isaac Watts
“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
This was Paul’s thought earlier in Galatians 2:20:
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
The world was now dead to Paul.
It no longer charmed him.
But it doesn’t stop there.
2. We need to celebrate God’s work of life in our lives.
Paul states:
Circumcision means nothing;
Not being circumcised means nothing too.
Together, they represent all of religion and it fails.
But what does not fail is the truth of the gospel.
The truth is the blessing of new life, being recreated, a new creation.
This is God’s promise to us in Revelation. 21:5:
“I am making everything new!”
ILL Christians “Tozer”
I like how A.W. Tozer describes the Christian…
A real Christian is an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another, empties himself in order to be full, admits he is wrong so he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up, is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest, and happiest when he feels worst. He dies so he can live, forsakes in order to have, gives away so he can keep, sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passeth knowledge.
The new creation does not fail.
Peace and mercy do not fail.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ does not fail.
These are the matters of the greatest value.
3. Are you placing value in what really counts?
The legalists were boasting in their trophy count--how many Galatians that were now of the circumcision party.
We are not to reach more people so that we can count how many people we touch.
We reach people because people count.
ILL
There was a church near my former church who has a logo out in front of their building that said: “People Matter to God!”
They are right.
But we are never to view reaching people successfully as something we have done.
You see, when we focus our lives on Jesus alone, we understand we had nothing to do with it, and it is then we gain the advantage.
It is then we are truly able to worship.
It is then we can celebrate God’s person and His work among us.
APPLICATION:
What does this mean for us as a church?
And what does this mean we come to our concluding study on the letter Paul has written to the churches in Galatia?
It means that…
1. We are going nowhere as a church if our focus is wrong.
We will go nowhere as a church family if our eyes are on each other and not straight ahead on Jesus.
We are destined to fail if we are picking out the specks in each other’s eyes, but walking around with planks in our own.
So where is your focus today?
If you want to be a grace-full Christian, then I would like to suggest that it is time to have your focus on Jesus alone.
2. It is time to get back to Jesus alone.
Because…
ILL Notebook: Jesus (Back to Jesus Alone [revised])
When you can’t figure out whether to: sit at His feet, walk in a manner worthy of His call, stand in battle, or run the race with diligence, it is time to get back to Jesus alone...
When you can’t even remember: The twenty-two characteristics of a good wife or husband, the seven steps of appeal to authority, the eight things to do when you are worried, or the nine ways of love, it is time to get back to Jesus alone…
When the proof of authority is simply "they say" and, "they say" have faith, just trust, let go and let God; and "they say" just love, have joy, receive peace, and pray, and you can’t figure out who "they" are, it is time to get back to Jesus alone…
When your pastor says: hear the Word, read the Word, mark the Word, memorize the Word, study the Word, and meditate on the Word, and you are lost in the middle of Leviticus or Revelation, and Jeremiah is just too much, it is time to get back to Jesus alone…
When you hear: it is pre, mid, post, a, or pan, don’t take the "mark," it is "times, time and half a time," and you can’t get through the next hour, it is time to get back to Jesus alone…
When you are getting a multitude of requests and letters to give to: Wycliffe, Billy Graham, CBN, AIM, BCM, SIM, CCC, CORE, NAACP, NRA, YWAM, IVCF, YFC, 700 Club, and the health club, CBS, ABC and XYZ, it is time to get back to Jesus alone…
When you can’t figure out whether to: wash the dishes, do the laundry, have a quiet time, or change a diaper, mow the grass, or read, it is time to get back to Jesus alone…
When it is running the car to: soccer, volleyball, softball, basketball, handball, football, or just plain ball, and you feel the road is your home, it is time to get back to Jesus alone…
When your critics have watched religious T.V, all week and expect you to: preach like Charles Stanley, exercise faith like Kenneth Copeland, build glass monuments like Robert Schuller, heal like Oral Roberts motivate like Norman Vincent Peale, and you can’t stand to watch any of them, it is time to get back to Jesus alone…
When you are asked, "how’s it going at your church?" and, you know it means "ask me how it is going at mine?" and you know you are about to hear about: a huge explo-sion of numbers, miracles, tongues, radio broadcasts, and seminars, and you feel a failure, it is time to get back to Jesus alone...
When you are overweight and feel like run-ning by the mirror and people are suggesting: spas, running, wogging, cycling, swimming, weight watchers, triathalons, biathalons, and trampalons and you are out of breath just thinking, it is time to get back to Jesus alone…
When you have gone to your 5th con-ference this year; that claimed "this is it," and you tried “it” and “it” didn’t work, and the guy left town with your $200, and you can’t get a hold of him to ask why "it" didn’t work, it is time to get back to Jesus alone…
When you just heard another "thus saith the Lord," that contradicted the last "word from the Lord," that was contrary to the pre-vious "the Lord told me," and you finally get the picture the Lord is being dragged into things He never said, it is time to get back to Jesus alone…
It is time to separate His commands from Christian demands. It is time to hear Him speak the Word. It is time to simplify. It is time for one step at a time. It is time to consider some lilies and birds. It is time for the secret place with Him alone.
It is time to get back to Jesus alone!
COMMUNION:
Paul Daniel was picking up his son at daycare, and he got into a conversation with a group of parents. One woman bragged that her son sat up alone at four months, crawled at six months and was walking long before his first birthday. She said, at, 16 months he now was talking in full sentences. Turning to Paul’s friend Helen, she asked, “Is your 16-month-old talking yet?”
"No, Andy doesn’t say much," Helen replied. "He mainly writes things down for us."
Well, there is no doubt, when it comes to our children, we like to brag.
If you don’t think so, just read one of my Christmas letters that I send out to my friends and family…and then I’ll read yours and we will see who did a better job of bragging.
But our text today tells us that there is only one thing worth bragging about…only one thing worth boasting in…it is the cross of Jesus.
And that is the very thing we are doing right now.
Here is the story we celebrate and remember today…
Luke 23:26-47
(26) As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. (27) A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. (28) Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. (29) For the time will come when you will say, `Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ (30) Then "`they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" ’ (31) For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?" (32) Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. (33) When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals-one on his right, the other on his left. (34) Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. (35) The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." (36) The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar (37) and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." (38) There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. (39) One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" (40) But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don’t you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? (41) We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." (42) Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." (43) Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (44) It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, (45) for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. (46) Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. (47) The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man."
As you have heard these words once again, I trust that Paul’s words are also your words as well:
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
Being led in prayer by _______________ let us take a moment and thank Him for being our sacrifice.
(Prayer)
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
_________________ will now come and lead us in prayer.
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
BENEDICTION:
Boast in Jesus alone…and recognize that when our focus is one Jesus alone we will know who His friends are and who His enemies are;
Boast in Jesus alone…and recognize that when our focus is one Jesus alone we will understand our weakness and celebrate that Jesus more than adequately handles them all;
Boast in Jesus alone…and recognize that when our focus is one Jesus alone we will find peace, mercy, and grace, we will find the power for grace-full living.
Now…may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
