You need to have a certain amount of money in your pocket, or belong to a certain denomination, or have a certain type of skin color, or educational background. The gospel is an appeal to all men. The offer is made to every man and every woman, and every child that's old enough to comprehend it, that you're saved by grace through faith. God's call is a sovereign call. It goes out to everyone, not to just a special group. And we see that God's fulfilling his promise. How do I know the Bible's true? Because of what a bunch of Jewish prophets wrote thousands of years ago is happening. It started with 12 scared men who had a rabbi they really didn't trust. And then once he showed that he wasn't just a regular rabbi, that he was Jesus Christ God himself come in the flesh. And once he was killed on that tree for us, it had to become sin for us. He was our substitute. You and I deserve that. You deserve the wrath of hell that's been placed on us. But he took that unto himself. And not only was he taken off the cross and placed in the tomb, but more importantly, he rose. because he was the son of God, and he was perfect, and he deserved none of what he received, what we deserved, but all that honored him. It was a beauty and a love that couldn't be held in the earth. He rose, he ascended into heaven, he calls all men and women, all of us, especially in this nation where we've heard the gospel for so long, for so many years, and where we eat every day And we have access to housing, and showers, and baths, and clothing, things that 90% of the world would beg for. 90% of the world would beg for the problems we have in America, as bad as we think it is at times. For us to reject that goodness, judgment won't be solved from God. So that's why we don't just preach in a building, we preach in the streets. Everyone here is an ambassador for Christ. Men and women. You don't need a title in front of your name. Just love people enough to want to offer them the gospel. What's more impressive, what's more powerful than you being used by God to snatch a person from a fire? Being an instrument. People really go to hell. They really will spend an eternity in hell. And you know what God's going to remember when you face Him in heaven? He's not going to remember if you have amazing prophecy. He's not going to remember if you were part of some type of miraculous healing and these other things. He's going to remember we are faithful to the Son and the Word. Anyone can be healed of cancer and then be a blasphemous sinner anyway. Anyone can have an amazing vision and make a prediction. Even Jean Dixon once lied about millions of predictions. She must have hit it right once. But it doesn't mean you're saving anyone. The most important thing for a person that comes into this world, when God separates you from the world and brings you into his kingdom, is now you are so grateful in your heart, you can't watch people perish. You have to talk to him about Jesus and what he did. So it's a simple message. Now today we're going to work through the book of Galatians again, we're breaking it down verse by verse, we're trying to do some expository preaching. So when you sit down with the Bible, you can go verse by verse, get all the meat out of it. We've stopped some of the topical preaching, we're trying to do some decent expository preaching. And we've been going line by line, verse by verse. Today we're up to part 3 in the sermon series. This sermon series is titled the testosterone gospel, and the reason why is you have to be bold. You have to be bold in faith. The Apostle Paul would be welcomed nowhere today. I mean, maybe 1% of the churches would let the Apostle Paul come through their doors. You don't believe me? Read the epistles for yourself. He's too divisive. He criticizes. He picks on people. He mentions names. I love when people say that. If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all like the Bible says. And I say, congratulations, you just quoted Disney bumper from the movie Bambi, the Disney movie Bambi, because you will not find that anywhere in the Bible. It's not in the Bible. Sometimes you gotta say things that upset people. In love, not in judgment. We confront people with the gospel because we know we were just as wicked as they were. I will say it every day of my life. I am a dirty dog, a piece of trash that God has grace upon. That's the only reason why I'm here. I'm not better than anyone else. The most ruthless of sinners. I am not one, one iota better than the most ruthless of sinners. It's by His grace and all by His power and His doing that I believe, and that I'm even here today. We're not judging. The most wicked of sinners can turn around tomorrow. That's what God means by, doubt shall not judge. It doesn't mean doubt shall not judge. You can't tell people what sin is, what perversion is, or if they're a Christian and not being faithful. We don't fall into the trap, you're a Christian, you're not a Christian, you're... Hey, no problem, you're all Christians. Now read this book and stop behaving like one. Be sanctified. Let your actions and your behavior glorify God when people look at you, not give Him a bad name. And when you don't do it, repent, and come into a right communion again with God. It's a very simple message. It's not judgmental, it's not biased, but it is truthful. Paul, speaking on behalf of God, corrects people. So the subtitle of today's sermon is God's Sovereign Call, because this is what Paul is discussing in the book of Galatians. You have these slick preachers, these suprapostles, the guys with the fancy suits. They went to college for 8 years, 12 years. They use the fancy words. They give sermons you really can't understand, but they use the word, we go, ooh, ah, they must be smart. They're saying things I can't understand, like your doctor. How many people have gone to a bad doctor? He gives you a diagnosis. It sounds great. He uses Latin terms and all these advanced medical terms you can't understand. And then in the end, he misdiagnosed you anyway. And then you go to an old-school doctor, no fancy language, he looks at you, bada bing, bada boom, OK, it's dead. Shut up, go home, take this, and you'll feel better. It's not always the guy with the slick vocabulary and the best office and the most professional-looking secretary and staff that can help you. A lot of times, they might be the ones that kill you. And this is the appeal Paul is making. I'm not slick. My speech is all, I'm kind of a rudimentary looking little Jewish guy, nothing, I'm not Joel Osteen, don't have the six-pack abs and the nice hair and the great teeth, but I'm telling you the truth. Listen to me. And this is his appeal. So let us pray and then we'll start breaking down this book. Almighty God, we ask for that only you and your son will be glorified today, no one else. We thank you, God, for the mercy that you've had on us, as well as our children, to bless us to be here this day, to worship in peace, to be protective. We pray, dear God, that you would soften our hearts, all of us, myself included, that we can receive in humbleness what is written in this word and then bring it to our community. We pray, dear God, that you would make us all men, women, children, mighty ambassadors for Christ who speak the gospel when we leave this building today. we thank you lord in the name of your son our only king king jesus amen so now turn to Galatians chapter 1 we're working through verses 11 through 17 today and I'll read that first and then we'll break it down we have 3 points in the sermon point number 1 we'll break down verses 11 and 12 point number 2 verses 13 and 14 and point number 3 the last three verses of this section of scripture. So let's just read. This is Paul speaking to the churches in Galatia. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the Church of God and wasted it, and profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood, neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me, but I went into Arabia and returned again unto Damascus." So here's Paul speaking to churches that are in trouble. They have many of the things you need in the gospel, but they added something to it. They're getting themselves in trouble. They took a simple, pure message, that Jesus Christ was sending, I guide for you. All people, take all the ritual out of it, be word focused, study my word, accept what I did for you, stay focused on that, not on rituals. You're not extra special because you do a ritual. Does this mean that certain cultures can't do things in their churches that come from their culture? No. Of course not. You don't need Africans to act like Englishmen when they worship. You don't need Englishmen to act like Asian people when they worship. But the message is universal. Focus on the word and the gospel, not on your culture and your customs. And many times we build things around the world. Instead of helping people understand the word, we push them away from it. And that's what Paul's speaking about. The Galatians had the same gospel. They knew that Jesus died. for the sins of the world, that he made the offer to all men. They know that he went into a tomb, and then that he was raised again from the dead. They're not arguing that. They would even say that salvation came from faith in Jesus Christ. But what were the Galatians doing? What were the Judaizers doing? They were adding other stuff. They were adding other things. So if I came into the church with, say, an Italian background, And I didn't follow Jewish ritual, but I loved the Lord, and I accepted the message. And we're praying together, and I'm studying the scriptures, saying, wait a minute, were you circumcised when you were born? I'm like, no. Well, if you really want to be saved, you've got to be circumcised. Now, to any grown man, that's really not an appealing thing. And then you get into all the other laws, and all the other things. And instead of bringing all people in from all nations, We go back to ritual and ordinances that were just for one people. We got that? And all groups start to do this. Churches do this today. You have churches do it. We talked about with Roman Catholicism, with the leadership. You can't just believe in Jesus and be saved. You've got to do the sacraments. And even then, you still might not really be saved right away if you went to purgatory. And you have Protestants do it today. So many charismatic churches have gotten caught up in this. Well, you're really not a believer unless you believe with the Holy Spirit and you speak in tongues. That's the evidence of you being saved. You're adding to the Word of God. And even proper churches, even your proper churches are believers. You follow the Bible, or you have to follow the Bible and do everything they say and act the way they say to be considered a faithful Christian. This is what Paul is speaking against. Now, verses 11 and 12, but I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man, for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. What's being stated here is that the king of the universe personally instructed the apostle Paul in the gospel and its power. And we're going to make a comparison, like the prophet Jonah. God crushed the old Paul. and rename him to perform his will. How can we make a statement like that? Well, let's turn to the book of Jonah, chapter 2, and we'll see why. Our Bible computer is back. And the audio is working. OK. And we know what Jonah was called to do. Jonah was called to preach to Nineveh, who were a dastardly people. They were a horrendous people, the way they treated other nations. So Jonah was judging in the way God said not to judge. Because they're wicked doesn't mean they can't be saved. God wants to send Jonah to give a witness, to have these people repent that they might save themselves from destruction. And what does Jonah do? He takes a ship. He goes to Tarshish, which at that time was the area of ancient Spain, he goes to the other end of the known world. That's his response. You want me to preach here? I got you. Get on the ship, I'm going over there. I'm going in the exact opposite direction, that's how faithful I am. So what does the Lord do? The Lord, in his providence, in his sovereignty, Jonah is eventually tossed over the ship. Now, does it end there? Does Jonah get out of witnessing for the Ninevites because he gets tossed into the water? No, something else happens. Let's listen to Jonah's prayer. Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, and said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me out of the belly of hell, cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hast cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas, and the floods compassed me about, and my billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight, yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about even to the soul, the depths closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head, I went down to the bottoms of the mountains, The earth with her bars was about me forever, yes, has now brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came in unto Thee, into Thy holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy, but I will sacrifice unto Thee. How? With the voice of thanksgiving, I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation. In the Hebrew, Yeshua. Salvation is of the Lord. And the Lord spake unto the fish and abomin'd out Jonah upon the dry land. God is sovereign. God will teach especially important people at important times. He will grab people by his sovereign hands and he will shake them up. and He will make them perform the acts that He wants them to perform. People are so caught up on this, you know, this free will. You are not truly free until God calls you in His sovereignty and gives you a heart that wants to perform righteousness. All of us know this. You're only free to perform evil. All of us, before we came to Christ, when we have a choice, what are we going to do? even if it looks good, even if it looks like a charitable act, it's still to make me feel good, to make me feel better, to make me score points with God. Your heart has to be changed first. What type of free will did Jonah have being swallowed by a fish? How is he in control in any way? Goes down into the water, a picture of baptism, He's a dead man, not listening to God. But God will have his will done. He gets tossed into the water. He's baptized. He changes inside that water. God remakes him, that when he comes out of that water, and that fish spits him out, he might have not understood when he went into the water, but he sure understands that God means business when he comes up out of that water. And the word that he uses for salvation, Yeshua. That's why Jesus, the Hebrew name Yeshua, that's why that name was picked for Jesus. When you looked at him, and you called him by his name, you were saying, hey, salvation, what's up? And they still missed it anyway. Because unless God changes your heart, you can walk the walk and talk the talk. God sees your heart. You've got to be changed. You've got to be born again. Now why bring up Jonah and Paul? Because Paul is the same length. Jonah, three days in the deep and darkness. Paul, three days in darkness. Jonah, swallowed by a fish. Paul, the blindness when it was healed, something like scales fell from his eyes. Paul was a different person until God grabbed him and remade him and humbled him. Did Paul look like he really had a choice? This is our argument against people that want to put man and himself and his will up here and God down here. We don't have a big image of men and women and a little God. God is big and we are small. He's righteous. We are wicked. He fixes us. We don't fix Him. Jesus isn't a little weasel behind a door. Would you just open it for me? Would you just open it for me? You should be begging God. that he opens the door for you. That's the message that people need to hear. That's why they won't listen to you if you give the wrong gospel, the wrong message. God didn't pick me. I should say God picked me, I didn't pick him. I didn't die for God. Did I die for Jesus? Jesus died for me. Did I rescue him? So what type of choice and sovereignty did Jonah have? And even when he spit out from the fish's mouth and he lands in Nineveh, after the Ninevites are converted, he's depressed. Picture in your mind the most wicked person you've ever known in your life. They've done unspeakable things to you that you wouldn't even bring up to another human being. And that's fine. That will die with you. There's no problem with it. Would you want to see that person converted? Would you really want to see them make it into heaven? If it's not by the Spirit, you don't get to that point. You can't want to see people that you hate saved unless God does something in your heart. And this is what was happening to Paul. This is why Jesus himself had to ambush Paul on that road and take him down and say, listen, you're following the religion that acts like me, God, was made for them. You were made for me. He got it all twisted. You're going to do what I say because you are the clay. I'm the potter. You're not shaping me. I'm shaping you. And just in case he thought he was, bam, you're blind. You can't even get yourself off the road now. How do you like that? So he crushed Paul. And that's why Paul can say in his heart that what was revealed to him wasn't given to him by men. It wasn't the traditions of men. It didn't come out of a man's mind. It was from the mouth of God. And that's why Paul had authority over these man-made preachers that came into Galatia. And it's astonishing, but we're all like that. We all get impressed by the guy with the fancy language, the fancy suit. you know, the big vocabulary, the titles before his name, and we fall for it every time instead of listening to the simple gospel that Jesus Christ has given us. Now, in the book of Galatians, we see in verses 13 and 14, Paul says, Can ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jewish religion? Now that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God and wasted it. and profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers." Point number two in the sermon, the Apostle Paul was a super Jew. Not to be insulting or facetious, he was a super Jew. He was as Jewish as you can get. As great in that religion The heights that he ascended to in that religion were unreal. And he was doing well. And the people loved him. Why? Because when you're doing something that doesn't represent the gospel, it's not offensive. People are going to love you. He was doing it of his own power. It's like becoming a cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. People are going to come out on all holidays, fall at your feet, treat you like you're something holy. You're going to have private flights and travel stipend and vacation stipend. You're going to do well. All I had to do was become a Roman Catholic priest. I was doing well in my own religion at one time also. But there's a problem. I read the Bible and believed it. And it wasn't what my people were teaching. So Paul had it made. God ambushed him and changed him. So Paul was a super Jew in every sense of the word. Paul's zeal for the traditions of pharisaical Judaism, meaning he was a Pharisee, and that was his tradition, was unmatched, both in his orthodoxy and orthopraxy. That's just fancy language for he practiced what he preached. You know how you always call out people? They say they're Christian, they treat you like you're a maniac, or they're being nasty to you? Oh, practice what you preach. That's what it meant. Paul believed in the religion of his fathers with all his heart, and he practiced it, too, more than any of them. We're going to read about it. Let's see if I'm lying. I lie on Monday, but never on Sunday. Let's look at Acts chapter 22. That's why we check Scripture with Scripture. You don't need my words. Let's read the Bible. How did Paul act? Well, Paul speaks about himself. Acts chapter 22, this is Paul speaking to fellow Jews, making an appeal. Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you. And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the most silence. And he said, I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia. yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel. And Gamaliel was a very famous rebbe, a rebbe of rebbes. So he had a tremendous reputation and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers and was zealous toward God as you all are this day. And I persecuted this way. See, Christianity at that time, they were practicing what they preached. They were known as the way. These people act this way. They believe this way, and they act this way. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. And also the high priest doth bear me witness in all the estate of the elders, from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, or to be punished. And it came to pass that as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid. But they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. And when I could not see for the glory of the light being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus, And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, came unto me and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy scythe. In the same hour I looked up upon him. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that just one, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth, for thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now, why tarryest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Hallelujah. And it came to pass that when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance, and saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning thee. And I said, Lord, they know that I am in imprisoned and beaten every synagogue down that believed on thee. And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. And he said unto me, Depart, for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live. And I went one verse further to point out that Jews were able to hear everything until Paul said he was going to non-Jews and the Gentiles, because they were trapped in their religion, in their self-righteousness. And so many Christians do the same thing today. I'm good. I go to church. I'm good. I read the Word. I'm good. I'm not going to talk these animals out. They're savages. They'll never listen. How do you know unless you talk to them? Take the risk to be offended. The person that you swear won't come to the Lord, won't hear the gospel, speak to them once, be insulted, and then cast the dust from off your feet. Don't look at them, say nothing, and then cast the dust off your feet. And too many of us do that. And that was not going to be Paul's mission. And what a practical joke. What a joke to play on somebody. You take Paul, a Jew of Jews, exceeding amongst the Jews, and you make him an ambassador to who? The Gentiles, the non-Jew. Because God wants the humble people. And then he takes Peter, who was not a learned man, who didn't know letters, who wasn't educated properly in seminary, right? And he takes this uneducated Jew, a rough man, and makes him a witness to the Jews. because God takes the weak to confound the strong. God takes what seems foolish to take down the wise. So it's like a guy coming out of the forest with a Bible and walking into one of these famous seminaries with no shoes on and dirt on his face. I've got a word for you! And walking in and teaching everyone. You'll see their hearts, because even though he just came out of the forest with a dirty book and a dirty face, if he says things that pertain to God, they should listen. They shouldn't look at the outward appearance. And that's why God does things like this. He humbles us. He brings His salvation in a way that unless you're moved by His Spirit, you won't accept. If you're trapped in the flesh, you won't accept the Word. And you have to laugh at the foolishness. You have to laugh. I walk around, I get a little excited. I start singing a hymn. People look at me like I'm crazy. And they're reciting Jay-Z's latest song. Or Kanye West's latest song. You know? I start speaking a little bit of scripture out loud, things that I can remember, you know, and encourage myself. But God's all over the world. He's the only begotten son. And people are giggling. A lot of these guys are not. You know? And then they're mumbling, gotta leave the room anyway. What do you want? Basing your face on an 8-track, keeping it good to the woods. What? I'm the weirdo? Alright. You know, the Him and Lady Gaga songs. And then you're singing Amazing Grace and you're the freak. Okay. Maybe it's me. But this is how God confounds those who think they're wise. They're singing popular music. They'll give their money to someone who's making money off of them and sending them to hell. But they won't learn the scripture and the hymns and the spiritual songs of one that asks no money from them and can get them into heaven. Very ironic, isn't it? Let's look at verses 15 through 17. But when it pleased God, this is one of those beautiful part descriptions. But when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace to reveal his son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood, neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me, but I went into Arabia and returned again unto Damascus. Paul reveals how God predestined his calling from the womb. The Bible clearly shows God's sovereignty when he chooses a vessel to glorify him. During important times in covenant history, this is an essential theme. Examine the lives of the Prophet Jeremiah and John the Baptist for confirmation. How beautiful this is. God calls people He ordains them before the womb and calls them from the womb. You see, I didn't need sonograms. I didn't need modern science to confirm that a child, a fetus in the womb, is really a child. Because I had scripture for a couple thousand years. We're not backwards and ignorant because we trust the things in scripture even though we can't see it for ourselves. Because God is always true, and wicked men are always liars. So now with the invention of the sonogram, I see there's really something in there. It's not just a bump in a woman's belly. Hey, after 13, only 13 weeks, babies cry, suck the thumb, can feel pain, all types of things. I don't need a sonogram. Now we have sonograms. So science has confirmed the Bible. Now we have full-color sonograms that it's a baby in that belly, and wicked men kill it anyway. And when you try to tell them, don't touch that womb, there's something holy inside of there. You made your choice to be a rebel and to be a freak. Go kill yourself, don't kill that child. You know what they say? It's not a child, and don't you dare show any sonograms to the women before they have an abortion. You know why you can't show a sonogram to a woman? Because women aren't stupid. They're very smart, many times smarter than men. They'll look at the picture and look. The thing is moving and wiggling in full color, 3D image. This is a baby. I'm not going to kill it, no matter how much my stupid boyfriend who got me pregnant, or my stupid husband who has no faith He thinks he can't make enough money at his job, we gotta kill the couple kids that come after what we're able to feed. I'm not gonna kill this baby. So now when you protest, they don't want you showing pictures, they don't want you showing sonograms. So who's smart? My God told me there's something there from the beginning. My God told me He has a plan for these children. for the people that are in that womb from the beginning. And who are you, you filthy dog, to hurt that unborn child? Now thank God we have a merciful God. We have people that have had abortions and they've gone on to do great things for the Lord Jesus Christ. They've come to the Lord. They are clean. There is no blood on their hands. We're not condemning people that have come to the Lord. But for those who haven't, what a condemnation! And if I'm remembering correctly, even the woman herself who helped win that case for Roe v. Wade in 1973, she came to believe that she's now against abortion herself. That's why we don't judge. That's why the woman that just had a third abortion, if she hasn't heard the gospel, give witness to her. God can make her clean. When you have that knucklehead guy who thinks, well, we had two and a half kids, That's what we're supposed to have. That's what the average is. Anything over that, we gotta kill. Give witness to him! You don't know who's gonna come to God! But a beautiful, beautiful part of scripture, called from the mother's womb, from his mother's womb, to glorify God and to do God's will. Is this original? Is this something original? Let's turn to the prophet Jeremiah. How was he called? Come on, Bible computer, you're making me nervous. I almost didn't find it. Jeremiah chapter 1, verses 4 through 10. Is this something unique to the New Testament? Let's read it. Jeremiah speaking, then the word of the Lord came unto me saying, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, O Lord God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child, for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations, and over the kingdoms to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. This is the two-fold purpose of God's law. When I give witness to Jonah Plummer on the street, and I tell him the gospel, if he accepts it, God used me as an instrument to bring him to life. He will never taste hell. He will rejoice with me in heaven, as we praise the Father for giving me the honor to give witness to Him, to bring Him there. Right? Or, He'll reject it, and to Him it was a ministry of death. He heard the Gospel, and He cast it aside. That's why God speaks like this. You're going to tear down, you're going to destroy, but you're also going to plant, and you're also going to build. God does this with people. He does it with you and me. He does this with entire nations. How many nations were smashed because of their iniquity and God brought them up and made them something more beautiful afterwards? He does this. America is a perfect story. This perfectly fits the United States. A world not known, a part of the world undiscovered. Trapped with you know, paganism. And even the Christians that came in, they weren't perfect. They did a lot of horrible things. But in the end, what God brought out of it, what He raised up through all these calamities, was a nation that replaced Britain at one time as the nation that sent the most faithful missionaries throughout the world. We were a light set upon a hill. For a while, a city set upon a hill, we were alive. Our leadership doesn't always reflect us. It's up to us, the little people, to be faithful. Bringing the gospel is always a grassroots movement. It doesn't work from the top down. You're not going to poke the eye in the pyramid and get them to listen, and then turn things into a Christian nation, or a Christian world order. It doesn't happen that way. God takes the weak. We get our act together instead of criticizing everybody above us. And then God smashes them. And we have a time of freedom where the gospel goes out. Are there conspiracies against us? You bet there are. But I'm going to tell you a secret that's in the Bible. The conspiracy that is forming through the Lord Jesus Christ is more powerful than any conspiracy against me in the world. And the same thing for you. Jesus, the Son, God, the Father, the Holy Spirit, they are conspiring to make your life something mighty based on His Word. They're more powerful than those that conspire against you. Because our God is a sovereign God. He calls prophets before they even came into their mother's womb. Now, is this something unique to the Old Testament? Again, one of the most beautiful parts of scripture. Turn to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1. Now, you talk about an argument against abortion, against God not being sovereign, and why we are not to do such horrible and wicked things. Let's look at the story of how John the Baptist was born, and then what happened when John the Baptist's mother saw Mary. She had John in her womb. And Mary had Jesus or Yeshua. She had salvation in her womb. And they both met each other before they came out of the womb. We'll read verses 5-17 and then we'll jump down to 39-45. There was in the days of Herod the king of Judea a certain priest named Zacharias of the course of Abia. And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Alisheba, or Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because now that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years, doesn't it harken back to Abraham? Him and his wife looks impossible. Are they going to give birth to anything? And it came to pass that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb. Now listen to this. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God, and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias or Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and to disobedience to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Amazing. So like Jeremiah, he's going to be chosen. He's going to be chosen for God. And again, the twofold ministry. He's going to prepare the way. those who can be humbled and those who will accept the word when Jesus comes he's setting them up he's preparing Israel and he's also preparing many setting them up for destruction because they're not going to receive the Messiah when he comes now jump down to verses 39 through 45 one of the most amazing parts of scripture this is Mary who's going to be the vessel to bring in the Messiah. And Mary rose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah. And entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she spoke out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For although as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believeth, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. You think it's just a speck of blood in the wall? It doesn't have personhood yet? This child jumped. Because God in his sovereignty will call who he wants. He has his chosen vessels. Now, does this mean as we're moving and living through life, we don't have a sense of freedom? in the way we do things, in the way we feel, of course not. Somehow, our responsibility, when it comes to God, and God's sovereignty, they work in a mysterious way at times. But he is always sovereign, and we are always the vessel. and we are always beneath him, nothing created can be equal to something that had no creation, that is uncreated. It doesn't make sense. So, in an example that I've used before speaking to people, we were talking about this. I want to use the restroom. In my sovereign choice, my free will, I'm going to use the restroom. God bursts a pipe. There's water splattered all over the floor, rushing out of the door. In my sovereign will, I chose to use that restroom, but by God's sovereign will, am I going to have a chance to use it? I felt very free in my choice, and God felt able to be very sovereign in His choice with what He wanted to happen. When you can explain the Trinity, Come back to me and you can explain how our choices and our moral responsibility, human responsibility before God works out perfectly for His sovereignty. Certain things you can't fully understand. But what we want to bring out, Paul was correcting arrogant churches that were caught up with an arrogant leadership. Galatians is a nuclear bomb when it comes to books and the Bible. If you learn the book of Galatians, you'll understand everything that's going on within the church today. People are making stuff up as they go along. They're changing the word. For 2,000 years, no Christian movement ever affirmed any type of marriage that was outside of a man marrying a woman. Ever! For 2,000 years, so you're saying for 2,014 years we got it wrong? But now some little kid writes a book, Matthew Vines, who's 23 years old, he writes a book, a little kid writes a book, and he's going to overturn all of divine revelation and all of scripture and all of history. You know, it makes you scratch your head. But this is what happens when a minister, an apostle like Paul isn't welcome in the church. There's no correction going on. People are just making it up as they go along. No training, no guidance, just picking up the book. Let me see my verse for today. This is going to be my life verse. There is a burning in my lungs. Right? Like the old joke. Is that going to be your life verse? It's in the Bible. This is the stupidity that we've undertaken. So what we want to do is focus on scripture, focus on the word, stay faithful. You're going to need your Bible today, more than ever before. There are people doing crazy things in God's name. And it's going to go all the way. They're ruining marriage, they're ruining childhood, they're killing babies. You have people saying prayers for Planned Parenthood and telling them God bless you at the end of the prayer to kill children. Have you lost your mind? You have people making the Christian defense of killing old people when they feel they can't go on anymore or if their health insurance is going to be tapped too much. Just put them to sleep. This is our future because we've left the work. Let's get back to the work. Amen. Almighty God, we ask you, Lord, that you would bless the reading of your word. We thank you that we have your simple word to follow, that if we do not remove the old guideposts, we can be successful in our sanctification and wanting to please you and live a life that's pleasing to you. We pray, dear God, that you keep us strong until we meet as a family next week. And we pray, Lord, you protect us. And we thank you always. In the name of Jesus Christ, your precious Son, amen.