Galatians: Starting Over {Yet Again} gods The Exorcist.
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Transcript of Galatians: Starting Over {Yet Again} gods The Exorcist.
Galatians:Starting Over {Yet Again}
gods
The Exorcist
The DevilDemonsFallen Angels
"I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven"
- Jesus
…so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs- 2 Cor. 2:11
Context: forgiving
The ExorcistI'd run…fast
More like…A beautiful, spiritual personWho invites you to reject TruthAnd find your own path
Or someone who agreesWith your anger and victimhood
And helps magnify Your bitterness
"Trust me- I'll give you control of your life"
In order enslave
If the enemy comesDressed as the enemyWe run
If he comes dressed as a friendWe may welcome him
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and
empty deceit…
Gnosticism
…according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ- Colossians 2:8
Where you place your trustDetermines how you Experience life
Jesus came to set you free
The Enemy promises controlIn order to enslave
Jesus promises LifeAnd gives freedom
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who
are oppressed- Luke 4:18
Anything I place my ultimate Faith in- other than Jesus -
Opens me up to the influenceOf the enemy in my life
And enslaves me
In a very Jewish cultureTo a very Jewish audience
Bound by very Religious Rules:
There's no pleasing you guys!
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle
and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”- Jesus, Matthew 11
Captive to Jewish TraditionsAnd Laws
And the approval of men
"Reject it all and follow me"
Where you place your trustDetermines how you experience life
Jesus came to set you free
The Enemy promises controlIn order to enslave
Jesus promises LifeAnd gives freedom
If you experience anythingOther than freedomOf heart and mind
That's the warning signTo go back and follow Jesus
Satan enslaves with Beautiful lies and half-truths
Jesus sets free With a simple command:
Take up your cross & follow me
Christ calls us to Create relationshipsThat mirror his grace
Which sets people…free
I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from
a slave, though he is the owner of everything
…but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father
In the same way we also, when we were children, were
enslaved to the elementary principles of the world
Gods work through Fire, Water, Air, Earth To control lives and destinies
And they must be appeased
1. False gods- idols-Must continually be served
Or else bad things happen
MoneyPhysical Appearance
Future-tellingWork
Relationship
What's the harm?
Hedging my bets…Checking my start charts…On the safe side…
I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want
you to be participants with demons
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons- 1 Cor. 10
It's not harmlessIt's not hedging the bet
It's not that God looks away
It has a spiritual component andCauses spiritual enslavement
Where you place your trustDetermines how you Experience life
The enemy always enslaves
The Enemy promises controlIn order to enslave
Jesus promises LifeAnd gives freedom
You were childrenYou were doing those thingsYou were enslaved
…until the date set by his Father
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son
into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
Papa! Daddy!
So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God
The power of the enemyCrushed by the cross of Jesus
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to
those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have
come to know God, or rather to be known by God
1. False gods must be continually served
2. Cause a loss of wonderAnd gratitude toward God
…how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
3. False gods- idols- go against All sense of logic
Warning against idolatryServing false gods
Empowering the Enemy
By…?
Warning against idolatryServing false gods
Empowering the Enemy
By trusting OT Law rather thanThe cross of Jesus Christ
You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am
afraid I may have labored over you in vain
Ultimate faith in anything Other than Jesus- Even a very religious thing-
Is an idol that enslaves
The Enemy promises controlIn order to enslave
Jesus promises LifeAnd gives freedom
Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are
So zealous for his religionMurdered in the name Of his God, kept all the rules
Got set free from all of itAnd walks in freedom
Look at me…am I free?Then follow that!
When taking adviceCheck to see how truly freeThat person is
You did me no wrong. You know it was because of a bodily
ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first
…and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus
What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you
that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and
given them to me
Delay and DetourThorn in the fleshEye problems
That apparently looked bad
When you follow Jesus There is no such thing as a
Detour or a Delay
That he can't use for his glory
Key? Surrender of my plansTo God's Greater Purposes
Where you place your trustDetermines how you Experience life
"My trust is in JesusRather than my plans, so…"
"Received with honorGiven friendship and help
And love"
As he set hearts freeBy the Gospel of Jesus
If you follow JesusExpect to do ministry
But don't expect to do ministryWithout getting hurtIt's impossible
Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?
4. Can't hear Truth And turn on those who
Threaten your idols
We trust them…so we can'tListen to you anymore
They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to
shut you out, that you may make much of them
Ego games and manipulation
What does that tell youAbout what they preach?
Put your trust in usWe know what's best!
Where you place your trustDetermines how you
Experience life= enslavement
It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you
…my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of
childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you
Father AbrahamHad many sons…
Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by
a slave woman and one by a free woman
But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise
Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are
two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children
for slavery; she is Hagar
Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children
Where you place your trustDetermines how you Experience life
The Mosaic Law leads to the same slavery as false gods
The Enemy promises controlIn order to enslave
Jesus promises LifeAnd gives freedom
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”
Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of 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 also it is nowAnd now…
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”(Genesis 21)
So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and
do not submit again to a yoke of slavery
- Galatians 4:1-5:1
The enemy probably won't Look like the Exorcist
But he'll do his best to affirmThe things that will enslave you
And will question/redefine the Christ who sets you free
Idols= anything I place my Ultimate trust in Other than Jesus
RelationshipSmarts
Physical appearance/abilitiesMoney
MetaphysicalPet Sin
Warning Signs:1. Never appeased2. Loss of gratitude for God3. Follow when makes no sense4. Turn on friends…speak truth5. Relationships of manipulation
Jesus sets us freeThe cross crushes the powerOf the enemy
You are free…if you want to be
Let's Pray…
Questions, CommentsDisagreements
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MCWMen's Retreat
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