The Sermon Today

Hello again!

Today, pastor Chris preached on Galatians 3:26-4:7. In that passage, he saw three points, which were as follows:

1. Unity (Vs. 26) — We are all brothers and sisters through Jesus.
2. Redemption (Vs. 28) — We are all redeemed in Jesus.
3. Inheritance (Chap. 3:29 – Chap. 4:1-7) — We all have an inheritance because of Jesus.

Concerning the second point, pastor Chris brought out how people in religions aside from Christianity tend to agree that there are ‘several different ways to climb the ‘Spiritual mountain’ to God’. Yet that, in our case, we don’t believe that; our God, the only real ‘God’ in existence, came down from the mountain to us. – Pastor Chris continued, bringing out this example ‘If your bitten by a rattlesnake, you need rattlesnake anti-venom, you don’t need black widow anti-venom. We’ve all been bitten at the garden of Eden, along with Adam, by Satan, and are dying of the venom of sin. What we need is the anti-venom of Jesus!‘ Meaning that there is no other way to God, except God-incarnate: Jesus Christ.

– Pastor Chris preaches at Penfield Community Church.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

The Sermon Today

Hello again!

Pastor Chris decided to preach on Galatians 3 (I can’t remember the exact verse; we didn’t really look at the verse much) but he mainly focused on the Old Testament. — The subject of the sermon was, simply put, promises. Specifically: the promises God made to Abraham, David, and Joseph. One of his main topics was that we shouldn’t expect God to fulfill his promises to us in the way we expect him to do so.

The three promises in question: God promised Abraham he would have many descendants, he promised  David that he would be king when he was anointed, and he promised Joseph that all his brothers would bow down to him in a dream. These are three very different promises, but they all had one thing in common: between the promise being made, and the promise being fulfilled, there was a lot of hardship. In Abraham’s case, this hardship was in the form of twenty-five (or so) years.

For David, “the hardship” was pretty obviously Saul chasing him around and, more pressingly, trying to kill him.

With Joseph… Well, I’d dare to say being sold into slavery (by his own brothers, no less), getting accused of doing something he didn’t do, namely, raping a women, getting thrown into prison, etc. would put anyone off their dinner.

The point was simply this: God probably wont choose to fulfill his promises to you instantly or in the exact way that you think they should be fulfilled. He also mentioned that Abraham in particular had to wait awhile for his promise to be fulfilled, as it was only truly fulfilled at the cross when Jesus become a, “blessing for all nations.”

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

P.S. As you may have noticed, I decided to make a quick detour from my posts on legalism to bring you the sermon today. I’ve scheduled the next post on the subject for 6:00 A.M…. Though honestly, I don’t know who’d be up at 6.00 A.M. to read the post, I figured I may as well have it be posted early.

 

The Sermon Today

Hello again!

Today the pastor preached on Galatians 3:1-14; mainly focusing on verses six and fourteen. The main focus of his sermon was we should be like Abraham (I can’t remember the exact road Pastor Chris used to get there…), in that Abraham obeyed God in everything. Specifically, (just to let you know, this isn’t an exact quote) ‘… Abraham left his native land and just kept going until God told him to stop. Now I’m not saying you should hop in your car and start driving until God tells you stop, I’m saying that if God lays on your heart to do something, you should do it; if He tells you to share the Gospel with whoever, then you should do it.’ Or, at least, He said something along those general lines, though probably with some variation to the way I put it.

The gist of the sermon was, as I saw it, this: we aren’t saved by the law, we’re saved by God’s grace. Therefore, because we have that grace, we should spread it to others; should obey God’s command in our lives.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

The Sermon Today

Hello again!

Today the pastor decided to change it up a bit and preach on Luke two today, rather than Galatians. Here where his four points:

I. Christ is worth pursuing first.

II. Christ is worth pursuing fast.

III. Christ is worth pursuing faithfully.

IV. Christ is worth pursuing foolishly.

For all of these points he used the shepherds (in the Christmas Story which is found in Luke two) as examples:

I. Christ is worth pursuing first. — The shepherds didn’t care about their sheep, instead, they went straight to Jesus.

II. Christ is worth pursuing fast. – The first point overlaps with this one.

III. Christ is worth pursuing faithfully. — Somewhere in Luke two is says something like, “and all who heard were amazed” in reference to the shepherds proceeding to tell everyone about the Messiah. We should be like the shepherds in that we should, in our day-to-day lives, be faithful to Christ… I’m going to get to how exactly that’s possible in a minute.

IV. Christ is worth pursuing foolishly. — “Imagine for a moment that some shepherd with a scraggly beard and who smells like sheep runs up to you and gives you a hug. He says, ‘Christ is born!’ and then goes running off. Suddenly, another shepherd does the same, and so forth twenty-eight more times.” — Pastor Chris. We shouldn’t be worried about who it is that sees us, instead, we should be willing to spread the Gospel everywhere and anywhere we go. Whether by simply handing out tracks, or in the case of revival, hugging people.

Here are my (and my dad’s) four sub-points:

I. Christ pursued us first. – He didn’t hold an angelic board meeting. He didn’t wander around Heaven for a bit, instead, he went after us first. Therefore we can now go after Him and pursue Him; and indeed, should.

II. Christ pursued us fast. — As soon as it was ‘the right time’ Jesus came down to Earth. He didn’t dally, he rushed. Therefore we should now rush to Him!

III. Christ pursues us faithfully. – We can run but we can’t hide (why we would want to do either though is beyond me). Christ pursues us faithfully; he doesn’t slack off for a night. Therefore now we can pursue Him faithfully as well.

IV. Christ pursues us foolishly. — Do you think that Christ coming down from on high to lowly man, and then dying for said lowly man, is a smart idea? Many would regard it as foolish; Christ pursued us ‘foolishly’, thus we can now, and should, do the same to Him.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

The Sermon Today

Hello again!

The sermon was on Galatians 3:1-6 (I’m not completely sure about the verses, just the chapter).

If you’ll bother to look at Galatians 3, you’ll note Paul’s saying, “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?”. Pastor Chris said this was somewhat sarcastic on Paul’s part. “You can’t possibly be so unintelligent that you would actually believe we must work for our salvation. You must have been bewitched to believe it!” i.e. He reviewed what he said last week.

For the most part, I remember his example about himself. Which is sad, as I don’t remember that too well just now… If it comes back to me later tonight I’ll be sure to share it with you.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

The Sermon Today

Hello again!

Today Pastor Chris preached on two passages:

Revelation 3:14-21 and Galatians 3. He had one main point: It’s not what we do, but what He (meaning Jesus) did for us. Namely, dying on the cross for us. In fact, “Paul’s calling the Galatians dum here.” Because they thought working would get them into Heaven. – Paul went so far as to be unable to believe they could have just thought this up, as far as he was concerned, they had to be bewitched to believe works could get them into Heaven. This is what the pastor was saying.

There was much more to the sermon, but, as I didn’t get around to writing this out until a little after an hour of the sermon’s end, I can’t quite bring it mind just now.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

The Sermon Today

Hello again!

Today’s sermon was on Galatians 2:11-21. For the most part, I remember the first part of the sermon, wherein the Pastor talked on verses 11-13. For the most part (in that section) he talked about, go figure, Paul rebuking Peter for retreating from the Gentiles when the Circumcision group walked in. Unless I’m mistaken, he used Paul’s rebuking Peter as an example: meaning, if someone is in the wrong, we should rebuke them in love.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

Eternal Life or Corruption?

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:8-9)

We’re presented with two things here, we can either sow to the flesh, which will reap us corruption. Or, we can sow to the Spirit, where we’ll reap eternal life. Not a very hard decision to make. Or is it? After all, sowing to the Spirit requires work. Sowing to flesh on the other hand, is where we take a million dollar loan and never have to actually sow a thing. Easy, but results in corruption.

Eternal life, or corruption?

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. (Galatians 6:10-13)

What exactly does it mean to sow to the Spirit? Does it mean being perfect? Does it mean we buy a dove and ‘sow to it’ seeds by giving it bird-seed? Well, actually, no it doesn’t mean either of those things. We neither buy doves in bulk, nor do we have to be perfect. In fact, the impossibility of our being perfect, is the very thing Paul has been saying throughout all of Galatians! So then, I repeat, what does it mean to ‘sow to the Spirit’? Well, before I answer that question, let me point something out: “but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (notice it never says, will reap his/her eternal life. Instead, it simply says, “reap eternal life”)

There isn’t anything required of us, as Christians, to be saved. With that understood, let’s answer the questions Sowing in the Spirit, means bringing others to Christ. There are two ways to understand the verse, the first, is that we, the sower, reap eternal life. This is incorrect. The second was of understanding it, is that when we bring others to Jesus, we reap the reward of their eternal life.

On the other hand: If we sow in our flesh, and don’t do anything to help others, we will reap corruption. Specifically, we will witness the corruption of everyone around us as the world eats them. For that matter, likewise will happen to us. – If a father and husband simply sits by and doesn’t even try to help his family grow Spiritually, his family will corrupt. In the world, marital disputes are common; expected. Children who hate their home? Part of life. That is because their Spiritual life is non-existent! No one stepped in and helped them grow in(to) Christ. Or, to put it another way: corruption reigns.

So the questions remains: Eternal life, or corruption? Which do you want to see around you?

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

Walking In the Spirit

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:13-16)

Don’t use your freedom as a license to sin, instead love and serve one another. Don’t bite and devour one another, or you’ll get bitten. Walk in the Spirit, or you’ll gratify the desires of the flesh. Now then, I understand the bit about not using my freedom as a license, and I understand the part about walking in the Spirit; by reading the Bible and praying. But what could Paul mean by, “don’t bite and devour one another”. Isn’t that sort of… Redundant? Isn’t it pretty obvious to Paul that these people are humans and therefore wont bite each other? Much less attempt to devour one another!

What does Paul mean when he refers to them biting and devouring one another?

As this is Paul (who seems to hardly ever talk about physical things), we know he’s talking Spiritually, rather than physically. The Galatians, it seems, were attempting to Spiritually kill each other. Not a pleasant thought. How is it possible to Spiritually rip each other apart? By words, and by actions. That’s why Paul’s next words are about walking in the Spirit, rather than in the desires of the flesh: because walking in the Spirit would mean not gratifying their sinful desires, and consequently, not attempting bite and devour one another. – Guess what, everything Paul told the Galatians to do, doesn’t just apply to them. Instead, it applies to us as well.

We’ve been set free through Jesus’ death and Resurrection, that doesn’t mean we now have a license to point out every else’s problems. Instead, it means we’re asked to love and serve one another. Loving and serving does not include biting and devouring. – When Jesus died on the cross for us, ‘the comforter’ (Holy Spirit) came. Paul is now asking us to walk in the Spirit, in order to be able to resist the temptation to bite and devour.

Why is it, I wonder, that someone might stoop to biting and devouring a brother? It’s a little like a king having all his subjects bow when he walks by: he’s trying to be taller, by having everyone else be smaller. When we’re walking in the flesh, rather than in the Spirit, we want to be bigger, we want to be better (or: worse. Depending on how you look at it I suppose). That’s because when walking in the flesh, we’re Satan’s kids: Satan, if you remember, wanted to be God. He wanted to move up in the world Heaven. Ironically, he got kicked down to the world, but that’s for another day. The point is this: If we’re not walking in the Spirit, we’re walking in the Flesh. And if we’re walking the flesh, we’re going to get beaten to a bloody pulp and dethroned when God teaches us a lesson.

Jesus was beaten to a bloody pulp for us! He was crucified for us! This in no way gives us permission to beat up on others (physically or Spiritually!). – When we’re walking in the flesh, our sinful desires are dominant. Our wants and cravings become our king. I’ll put things this way: would you want to crown a Nero, a ruthless, bloody killer (who murdered his own mother) as king, or someone who is calm, forgiving, and at least somewhat forgetful? Nero represents you in your flesh. The forgiving and forgetful king, should represent you now/walking in the Spirit.

But what exactly does it mean to walk in the Spirit, rather than the flesh? Walking in the Spirit, is the same thing as walking in Jesus. Therefore, by extension, walking in the Spirit means reading the word, because:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

In general, it means doing exactly what the two of us are doing now, going through God’s word and gleaning what it has for us. – In summary: We, as Christians, should love and serve one another; rather than bite and devour one another in an attempt to make our-self look better. Even if it is only in our own mind.

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland

 

No Longer Under A Guardian

Hello again!

This is what God gave me today in his word:

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. (Galatians 3:16-18)

The law (as I think I have now already thoroughly mentioned), cannot save. Only Jesus through his death and rising again can save us. As Paul said, our inheritance comes by a promise rather than by our works. Imagine if someone was promised a couple million dollars, as a gift. Then, that same person immediately went and started working for hours and hours for that person, in order to try to earn that couple of million. Well, we could expect that person to be there for a couple of decades, but more importantly, it would foolish for him/her to that. After all, the gift, is just that: a gift. We have been promised an inheritance (Heaven), it would be foolish of us to now go and try to somehow earn Heaven. But the obvious question now come: “Why was the law even given if it was useless?”

Why then the law?

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. (Galatians 3:19-22)

I dislike repeating myself honestly, but in some cases, such as this, I make an exception (see the post from yesterday and the post before that):

The law is where we have to obey. If we don’t obey, we die. In fact, we don’t just die, we die and go to hell. The law requires perfection, forever and from birth. This, as we know, is impossible to do. However, the law has now been done away with. “done away with.” Meaning 100% (the law is gone, but we still study the old testament).

As for the questions I believe Paul answered it:

“Why was the law even given if it was useless?” - It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, - Side note: The law wasn’t strictly speaking, “useless,” and it still isn’t. It’s just now we don’t obey the law (it’s completely invalid to us), but we can still learn things from it, as we can from all scripture.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (2 Timothy 3:16)

Everything I’ve been saying for the past couple of days can be summed up in this:

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. (Galatians 3:23-26)

You are Loved!

Joshua Cleveland