What was also interesting was the portion of the sermon where Dr. Jeremiah discusses the fact that God made a promise of a child to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. Abraham was 100 years old, and Sarah was 90 years old.
Of course, we know the story in Genesis where Sarah became anxious (at the ripe old age of @ 77 years old) and decided to have her Egyptian maidservant Hagar become impregnated with a child by Abram to "speed along" the promise that God made to them regarding having a child.
Hagar gave birth to a baby boy named "Ishmael." You will notice that in Genesis chapter 16 Sarah's original name was Sarai and Abraham's was Abram. FYI, both Sarah and Abraham's names were changed by God in Genesis 17 when God made the covenant with Abraham through the coming birth of Isaac.
We find out in the Scriptures that when Hagar became preganant, Sarai was jealous. She wanted Hagar out of the household. Sarai was "hard on Hagar" and she fled. But God saw Hagar's affliction and intervened:
Gen 16:6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid [is] in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
Gen 16:7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
Gen 16:8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
Gen 16:9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
Gen 16:10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
Gen 16:11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou [art] with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
Gen 16:12 And he will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
Most Bible scholars agree that the "angel of the LORD" in the Old Testament is the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. We can see how even though the people in this passage went against God's laws and did not trust by faith that they (Sarai and Abraham) would bear a child from their own bodies, that the promise was ultimately fulfilled. The fact that both Sarai had been barren her entire life up until the point where she conceived Isaac, and was way past child-bearing age, indicates that Isaac's birth was through a miracle of God. It was not the same thing as Mary, the mother of Jesus' miracle (the Virgin birth). Our long awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ would enter the world through the incarnation.
During the sermon, Dr. Jeremiah pointed out that Ishmael was the ancestor of the Arab people. The fact that they were against their Jewish brothers thousands of years ago, and are still, to this day, fighting against the Jews in Israel is just another important proof that the Bible is true and the Word of God.
Here is the link to the entire televised sermon:
David Jeremiah.org Scroll down a bit and click on the green box that states "WATCH NOW - THIS WEEK'S BROADCAST."
Here is a copy of the summary about the current T.V. Series:
Claiming Faith, Finding Freedom
ABOUT THE CURRENT TELEVISION SERIES
Sometimes we diminish the power of grace in our lives by leaning on our own strength. We try to earn a right standing with God, and get caught up in legalistic practices that turn our focus off Christ and on to ourselves. That is what the Galatians did. They were drawn astray by the false teaching of the Judiazers who taught that keeping the law was necessary for salvation. The believers, who were once solid in their faith and had received sound teaching from Paul, conformed to their previous lifestyle under the law. They had forgotten the power of grace! In the Book of Galatians, Paul confronts the believers’ weakened faith, reminding them that salvation comes through the Spirit. The law merely illuminates sin, but it is through God’s grace that we have the assurance of salvation. When we claim our faith in this truth, we will find the freedom Christ offers us. From July 17 through September 11, Dr. Jeremiah is teaching the Book of Galatians on Turning Point Television. He examines the difference between law and liberty and why we are to embrace the freedom grace allows us. He also teaches how we as Christians are to properly use our liberty so that our actions do not cause others to stumble, but edify fellow believers. God’s grace is not an excuse to sin, but should motivate us to a greater love for our Savior and others.
The portion where Dr. Jeremiah discusses the difference between choosing to live under the law (Mount Sinai - where Moses received the Ten Commandments) or under grace (Mount Zion - where Jesus Christ brings us through the Gospel) is truly riveting!! It explains in a better way than I have ever heard before the difference between legalism (religion) and liberty (finding faith, claiming freedom)! A LOT OF CHRISTIANS do not understand the difference. It can be a difficult concept to grasp, but Dr. Jeremiah explains it all in such a way that you will never confuse the two ever again!
The following outline might be helpful to print out and study as well:
CLAIMING FAITH, FINDING FREEDOM: THE STUDY OF GALATIANS
Dr. David Jeremiah
“The Story”
Galatians 4:21-31
August 21 2011
I. The Argument – Galatians 4:21
II. The Allegory
A. The Two Sons
Galatians 4:22
Genesis 15:4
Genesis 17:18-19
Genesis 17:17
Genesis 21:8-9
B. The Two Systems
Galatians 4:23
Romans 4:19-22
C. The Two Symbols
1. The Covenant of Law
Galatians 4:24-25
2. The Covenant of Liberty
Galatians 4:26-27
Hebrews 12:18-21
Hebrews 12:22-24
III. The Application
A. We Are Children of Promise
Galatians 4:28
B. We Are Candidates for Persecution
Galatians 4:29
1. This Can be Applied Historically
2. This Can be Applied Religiously
3. This Can be Applied Spiritually
Galatians 5:17
C. We Are Not to Compromise With the Flesh
Galatians 4:30
D. We Are Called to Liberty Not Law
Galatians 4:
Hat tips to all links.
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3 comments:
Hi Christine,
We worship an awesome G-d and what he is doing in and through you continues to amaze me. I love it when you speak out boldly about the G-d of the Jews, the GOD of ISRAEL, who is our GOD!
I worship the God of the Jews as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets (Acts 24:14).
You mentioned “legalism vs. liberty”… the message I heard out loud yesterday (Sunday) in a very small church was about “legalism not being the same as discipline.” The ONE Church body is working together powerfully, step by step, and precept by precept. I can see it and hear it all over the earth.
You and your worldwide readers have my love this day from the east to the west! (ss)
Hi Susan,
Thanks for your wonderful response. How great it is to realize that we both heard similar messages yesterday! I know you are extremely busy, but I hope that you have the time to view the entire video of the sermon presentation. I personally learned so much! Would love to hear your reaction.
It is so helpful to understand that the original followers of Jesus called their movement "The Way." Jesus tells us in Scripture:
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." - John 14:6
How appropriate for his followers to use "The Way" as the name of their faith! There is NO OTHER WAY under heaven by which we can be saved!
Jesus Himself also warned us:
Mat 24:24 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Mat 24:25 "See, I have told you beforehand.
The elect in Christ cannot be totally deceived because the Holy Spirit of God within us, and the written Word of God that we read and study keeps us away from such deception.
The TRUTH can be preached by large churches as well as small ones. Knowing the absolute truth via the Word of God keeps us away from deception, uncertainty, heresy or apostasy. I am currently reading John MacArthur's clsssic - "The Truth War - Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception." This is probably the fifth time I have read it. It is so good for determining what is worth fighting for (vs. what might be considered trivial) when it comes to the Gospel of Christ. If you haven't read it, I really recommend that book! It has helped me when I've been in churches that were (unfortunately) straying from the true gospel and were compromising with the world. It was sad for me to have to leave a church that our family had attended for over 10 years, but it was necessary.
Years later, I also found out that a church that had an excellent Women's Bible Study has a pastor who wrote a book that showed how he had strayed from the truth. It was another sad time for me. But we CANNOT COMPROMISE in this growing age of deception. Jude warns us that many churches can (and will) be destroyed from within by those who "crept in unawares." See Jude 3 - 4.
God bless you today and always Susan! We are standing for the way of God in truth through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
It is becoming increasingly more important to defend our faith in courts and in the government. Thank you for standing up for those values we hold so dear! A good resource for us all is The Center for Vision and Values at Grove City College (http://www.visionandvalues.org), a conservative think tank whose purpose is to defend faith and freedom in our government. I definitely recommend them as a good resource.
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