I m not letting up, shutting up, giving up, or backing up.

Transcription

1 1 2 I m not letting up, shutting up, giving up, or backing up. Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? Galatians 5:1 & 7 1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? 8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. INTRO: Ye did run well: This wording is used to describe a persons career or life work: Paul is saying, At one time you had taken this very seriously It was your goal, It was your ambition, At one time you treated like this was worthy of your best efforts. HINDER: "to cut into" Prevented, Kept, interfered impeding, hampered, disabled you Who or what placed the obstacle in the path; & detained you unnecessarily For the Galatians, it was the Judaizers, who were trying to persuade them to go back to the works of the law, or the flesh, they were mixing law works w/grace. The danger in this is that when you believe that your righteousness w/god is attained by your own works, You are fallen from Grace, Eph 2:8-9 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. KJV

2 3 4 Gal 5:7 WHO DID HINDER YOU (NIV)... Who cut in on you... (TLB)... Who has interfered with you (MSG)... Who cut in on you, deflecting you (BBE)... who was the cause of your not giving ear to what is true? YOU WERE KEEPING TO THE COURSE, YOU WERE MAKING STEADY PROGRESS. YOU WERE PUTTING A GREAT EFFORT, YOU WERE DOING REALLY GOOD YOU WERE REALLY FAITHFUL YOU WERE ON FIRE YOU WERE COMMITTED YOU WERE EXCITED TO COME TO CHURCH Gal 5:7 WHO DID HINDER YOU Was it Worldly enticements that did it That was the thing that Hindered Lot s wife from escaping the condemnation of Sodom... Ge 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. - Was it the sports - Was it the internet - Was it the guys girls / education Was it Worldly possessions That s what Hindered the rich young man from discipleship - you want to have more stuff that you put God last - you find it difficult to get rid of some stuff Mt.19:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. (NIV) You cannot serve both God and Money. (TLB) You cannot serve two masters: God & money. (MSG) You can't worship God and Money both. (BBE) You may not be servants of God and of wealth. SOME ONE SAY: I m not letting up,

3 5 6 Natural earthly concerns robbed martha of the presence of Jesus. Mark 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. Weights, as Well as Sins, Impede Progress: Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Weight= a mass (as bending or bulging by its load), burden (hindrance): whatever is prominent, a bulk, a mass; a weight, a LOAD, Concern, worry, headache, annoyance, irritation Someone say I m not shutting up Gal 5:7 Ye did run well, WHO DID HINDER YOU Tell me Who or What hath hindered you? What have you allowed to break, your stride? What or Who have you allowed to come between you & the Lord,? What Has Caused You to Feel as Though You No Longer Need to Give 100% What weights are you tolerating in your life? What have you allowed your flesh to get involved with? What unchristian feelings or attitudes have you given permission to settle in your heart? (Pride) (Anger) (Resentment) (Self Pity) (Indifference) Luke-Warmness? Sometimes storms come into our lives, & it s not always the devil trying to destroy us, some storms are allowed by God to save us, to deliver us from the things that are holding us back, From the things that break our stride, From the things that distract us from the goal.

4 7 8 Example: Acts 27:18-19 Paul the apostle is In the midst of a Great storm. 18 And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; 19 And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. (The furniture, the utensils). The bible says everything that can be shaken will be shaken & only those things that cannot be shaken will remain. Sometimes it takes a storm to show us what is unnecessary in our lives, Sometimes the things that we are the most proud of are the 1st things to go in the middle of the storm. Sometimes we need to lighten the ship, Sometimes we allow our hearts to pick up excess baggage & we need to lighten the ship but it s not it get to a point of a matter of life or death that we actually take the initiative and get rid of it Sometimes the storm comes to reveal the enemies of your destiny. If you feel like you re going through a storm, it may be time to lighten the ship. Who hath hindered you? What has hindered you? There are things in this life that at times slow us down, & some of these things we have no control over. But there are other things that hinder our progress in God that are things that we simply allow & we must choose to lay them aside & GET BACK TO RUNNING THIS RACE WITH A 100% COMMITMENT. We need to make up our mind & say I m not letting up, shutting up, giving up, or backing up.

5 9 10 I m going to HOLD FAST 1 Cor 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. KJV Prov 23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. 1 Cor 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. KJV Phil 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; KJV 2 Thess 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. KJV Heb 4:14 let us hold fast our profession. Heb 10:23 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; KJV Rev 2:25 hold fast till I come. KJV Jude 3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. KJV