Sermon Transcript:

Thank you. Good morning. We're going to be talking about the New Covenant gospel. I pray that you're ready to receive a word from God. You know, I was thinking about

as we were partaking in the Lord's Supper. You know, really, that was at the beginning of the New Covenant. Jesus was explaining it to his disciples, as, we're not going to do things the old way. We're going to do things the new way. And he was talking about the new covenant. So we like new stuff, don't we? New cars have a distinct smell. When you go buy one, it wears off pretty quick, but it's known as the new smell, or new smell. You know that you can buy one of those air fresheners that smells like a new car, so you can put it in your Humpty, you know,

come on, man, you guys know what a Humpty is, right?

It's so popular that they bottled it, and you can actually get it in a spray.

It's those chemicals that they use in the foam cushions. Is what smells like a new car chemicals, is what that real smell is. They emit gasses that slowly go away after time. It really isn't that glamorous, now that you think about it,

most studies have shown that that smell triggers things in us thinking that you've accomplished something, it reminds us of money and how you're committed to paying that beautiful vehicle off to the bank for six, seven years. Now, remember, we see the only four year, five year loans now that you get an eight year loan on a car. Now that smell should remind you of all the money that you're going to give to the bank when you pay for that car. Oh, the smell of money going, going, gone. Right? We like new things when Jesus appeared on this earth

after many years of prophecy. They talked about this new messiah that was coming. They really received a lot of fanfare about it, and he didn't seem to have the new thing that people were looking for. He had nothing about him that was influential, about his looks, his appearance and whatever made him attractive. In Isaiah 53, two, it says he had no beauty or majesty that attracts us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

That's the Jesus of this world. He didn't come with all of this fanfare. Ever since the new way has come to humankind,

we've been bucking the system, and we've still been trying to do things our way.

We like comfort, don't we? We like to do things the old way, what we how we've always done them, even when our way fails every time we continue to do things our way, we think I'll still try it one more time. Well, let me I know you know this, but that's the definition of insanity. Keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It doesn't work. Paul ends the chapter four of Galatians with a huge wake up call to the church and to the people and to the churches of El Paso, not just in life or Galatia, he's giving the churches a warning. He says, When we choose the Old Covenant over the New Covenant, we choose to be locked up instead of free. We choose to continue to try to be good to God so that he'll love me. No, he's already loved you when he sent his Son to die on a cross for you, and so you can live in that freedom. Why would you continue to live under the Old Covenant, under the old law? Is what Paul's telling us. Let's read from our text this morning, Galatians chapter four, verses 21 through 31 it'll finish up our chapter. Let's stand with me, if you would. I'm

going to read from the New International Version you read with, from whatever version that you read from.

If you have the Bible, even on your tablet or your phone or whatever, I suggest that you watch and look, because I can say whatever I want. I could write whatever I want up there on the screen. It could be the wrong text. I could fool you if I wanted to. I want you to see what God wants to talk to you about yourself. Tell me who you who want to who you want to be under the law. Are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as a result of the Divine promise. These things are being taken figuratively. Figuratively the woman represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves. This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But Jerusalem, that is above, is free, and she is our mother, for it is written, Be glad, barren woman, you have you who have never bore a child. Shout for joy and cry aloud you who were born, never born, never in labor because more.

Her are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband that comes from Isaiah, 54 verse one. Now you brothers and sisters like Isaac are children of promise. At that time, the son born according the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does the Scripture say? Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son. That's Genesis. 2110 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave woman, but of the free woman. Let's pray, Father. We ask again, as we do every Sunday, speak to us now in your name, I pray amen. You may have a seat.

My first point is this, the new covenant is always right. The New Covenant is always right.

Isn't it awesome to think that no matter what we do, if we choose Jesus, we're doing the right thing. If

we choose Jesus, we're doing the right thing. He says, You don't have to ever wonder what that is. If it's right or wrong, it's always going to be right when you choose Jesus. You see, with other things in life, we wonder, are we making the right decision? What about this and what about that? Did we buy the right car? Did we choose the right church? Are we going in the right direction? There's a lot of what ifs in life, but not with Jesus. Every time we choose him, it's right, absolutely. 100% of the time, we can know for sure when he says who he says he is. That is what Paul has been really trying to communicate through this journey, through Galatians that we've been doing. He's really saying, listen, church, I know you like doing things your way, but there's a new way. And his name is Christ. Well, let's go that route. In verse 21 it sounds like a broken record. He's been keeping up with the book of Galatians. He says again and again, tell me, you who want to be under the law? I mean, if I were to ask you right now, hey, do you want to be under the law? I mean, how many people would raise around yeah, I want to be under law. I want to get those 10 Commandments for me. And that's all I got. No Jesus just the 10 Commandments. And when you're talking about the law, he's talking about the book of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, those are called the five books of the Old Covenant, or the old law, or known as the Pentateuch. It's a valid question. We try to convince God that we're going to be good this time, right? This time, I'm going to be good man. The pastor preached and I heard at that time, and when I walk out this time, I'm really going to try harder. It's not about trying harder. It's about surrendering your life to Christ in His ways. You see, Paul asked this. Now watch this. Have you really looked at the stipulations that for following the law? Have you really checked them out. What it means to follow the law. Paul says, are you aware is that what you really want,

thou shalt have no other gods before me.

We have a lot of Gods before God, don't we?

Maybe not in the form of a grave in the image, but we have a lot of gods that we put before God. We put our spouses before God. We put our kids before God. We put our job before God. We even put our church before God.

There's nobody that can be above God. It's only him, and that's what he's saying. Do you really want to follow the old law? Are you aware of what it really says? You see

when you see the New Testament reference the law? That's what they're talking about. It's usually a reference to the mosaic pentateu. So the question says, Are you completely aware of what the law requires for you to be able to follow the law? Because if you aren't, I'm going

to, I'm going to tell you what it really says. Okay,

Paul's asking. He knew already, and it didn't work. So in verse 22 he says this, Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.

Who are these two women? We've got to understand the text before we can ask God to speak to us. We understand what he's really what is he really saying? What is he talking about? We gotta have illumination on that. So I'm going to, I'm going to go down of Genesis road with you. Genesis 12, verses two and two to four, say this. Genesis 12, two through four. I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse. And all peoples of the earth will be blessed through you. So Abraham went, or Abraham, as his name was back then, before the Lord changed it, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abraham was 75 years old when he set out for from Haran. He was 75 when God called them. I'm

going to be 60 in January, and I go, man, I hope this is my last stop in El Paso. You know, I don't want to move again. But you never know what God wants to do, right? It's an amazing thing to think that he doesn't look at age. He looks at calling Genesis 15, four through six. Say this, and the Lord of the word of the Lord came to him. This man will.

Be this man will not be your error, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir. He took him outside, and he said, look up at the sky and count the stars. If indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, so shall your offspring be. He's talking to Abraham. Abraham believed the Lord, and it was credited to him as righteousness. This was the second reminder by God about the covenant that God made with Abraham. You know how old he was on the second time, 85

I said, Man, this is going downhill quick. God, 75 now he's 85 and he's still saying, don't worry, you're still going to have a son, and that son is going to be the heir to the throne. He's going to I'm going to give you that son, and the lineage of is going to be amazing. Genesis, 16, one through three. Now, sarai Abram's wife had borne to him no children, but she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar. So she said to Abram, the Lord has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my slave, and perhaps I will can build the family through her. Abraham agreed to do what Sarah said. Now, if your wife, husband ever says anything crazy like that, just say, no. Okay. I mean, I read this and I go, what was he thinking? Going, sure. So Abraham had been living in Canaan 10 years, and Sarah, his wife took her Egyptian slave, Hagar and gave him to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar and she conceived. It's pretty good for 85 years old, huh?

Genesis, 1615, and 16. So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abraham gave him the name Ishmael, the son, the son she had born. Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. So he she obviously got pregnant on her on her wedding night, right? She was he was 8586

the kid was born, Genesis, 17, one through two. Abraham was 99 years old, and the Lord appeared to him and said, I am God Almighty. Walk before me faithfully and be blameless, then I will make my covenant between Me and you, and you will greatly increase your numbers. 13 years after Isabel was born, God reminds him of the original covenant that he was going to have with him, Genesis, 17, five through eight. No longer will you be called Abraham. Your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. You know the song we sing with kids. Father, Abraham

has many sons, and many sons as father, Abraham, I am one of them, and so are you. This is where they get that song from that text. I will make you very fruitful, and I will make you nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you, for generations to come to be your God and the God your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside, as a foreigner, I will give an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you. I will be their God. His name is changed. The promises everlasting. And in Genesis 15 or 1715, through 18, God also said to Abraham, as for Sarai, your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai. Her name is now to be Sarah. I will bless her and her, and I will bless her, and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that you shall that so that she will be the mother of nations, Kings of people will come from her? Abraham fell face down. He laughed, and he said to him himself, will a son be born to a man 100 years old? Will Sarai Sarah build bear a child at the age of 90? And Abraham said to God, if only Ishmael might live under your blessing. Remember, Ishmael was the son of the slave Genesis, 1811, through 15, Abraham and Sarah, who were already old, and Sarah was past her age or age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself, and she thought, after I mourn now, and my Lord is and my Lord is old, and now, and I now will have this pleasure. Then the Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh and say, Well, I really have a child now that I'm old.

Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son. Sarah was afraid, and she lied and said, I did not laugh. But he said, Yes, you did laugh. Genesis, 21 one through five. Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah, Sarah, and he had, as he had said, And the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age. At the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him when his son Isaac was 80 days old, or eight days old. Excuse me, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded. Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him, God's covenant is always right. It.

Never let us down. He got called when he was 75 years old, and it didn't come to play till he was 125

years so I ask you this morning church, are you willing to wait for God to do something amazing in your life? Would you even wait if God told you in 25 years this is going to happen? Are you willing to wait?

Or will you do like Abraham did? And he says, and listen to his wife and do something that should have never been done.

Verse 23 of our text, Galatians four, his son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as a result of divine promise.

When we take things into our own hands, we move away from the promises of God.

It doesn't mean his promises aren't still going to happen, because our God never lies. He will make it come to pass. So what does it mean? It

means you're not going to put yourself in position to receive God promises you need to put yourself in position for the blessing and the promises you see positioning is everything. Tim Keller, before he died, wrote a lot of stuff on Twitter, and I used to follow him. I think somebody's still doing Twitter for him, because his name is so famous, but he wrote this on Twitter, religion operates on the principle of I obey, therefore I am accepted by God. The basic principle of God is this, I'm accepted by God through the work of Jesus Christ, therefore I obey. You see the difference? I obey, therefore I'm accepted by God. God. And Tim says, Oh no, you're accepted by God already. Therefore you obey. It's opposite. Paul is asking us today, are you under the Old Covenant? Are you under the new covenant?

By the way, the old covenant is not bad. It just can't save you. It's just a set of rules that you have to follow in order to have a relationship with God. Now, Jesus broke the mold. Are you right about the true gospel, the New Covenant gospel. Have you accepted the cross and Jesus' bloodshed like we participated this morning for this New Covenant into your life? If you haven't friends, I urge you to do that today, not wait one more day. Could you imagine December the first 2024 you give your life to Jesus, and finally, say, once and for all, I put it to rest. I want to live underneath the new covenant God. I want Jesus in my life.

Secondly, the new covenant is still valid today. Paul knows what he's discussing is a figure of speech. Jesus said something that might be able to help us understand this in John chapter three, verses three through 80s. Jesus said this very truly, I tell you,

no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. I remember reading that the first time when I was like, what does that mean? Well, one of the Pharisees, Nicodemus, said the same thing. How can somebody be born when they are old? Nicodemus asked, surely they cannot enter a second time in their mother's womb to be born? Jesus answered, silly man, right? He didn't say that very truly. I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water. And the Spirit Flesh gives birth to the flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to the Spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying you must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it's coming from or where it's going. So is it with everyone born of the Spirit? Hagar represents slavery, and Sarah represents freedom, the promise we are. What we're really saying is I choose Sarah or I choose Hagar. What are you doing? Paul just wants us to know that when we choose the Old Covenant, we're doing it by our own efforts. We want to choose the New Covenant, the new gospel covenant, is still valid today. You

go and hit that video.

Walk out my desire has been that Jesus, in Cummins little mission statement is to provoke and inspire artists to revolutionize the world. For Jesus, is that a crazy dream of mine, to want to see artists all over the world just giving it all for Jesus, doing whatever it takes to make him famous wherever they're at with whatever level of fame or success, or, you know, whatever they have. I love your dream. It's not about a career or a position or or, you know, being famous, it's he's doing something. And so I just we can always, I think everybody should be challenging themselves.

Us to do more

for him, you know, and with him, because we're not doing alone. Galatians 220 I've been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. There's a version that says I now enjoy a new existence, which is simply Jesus Christ using my body. And that's what he wants to do with us musicians, too. He wants to use our bodies. He wants to use our bodies to play the the music. He wants to use our bodies to to because we're influencers. I want people to pray for boldness and find your way to do it, because there is a way. I get to go to a chord show and a Rob Zombie show, and I get to leave. You don't ever leave. This is this is your life. So I just want to honor you by being someone who's courageous enough to have gone back into what I would consider maybe one of the harder places anybody could minister the metal thing is more like Halloween. You know, that's like metal Isabel. It's not real, and it's just like entertainment. That's all it is. So kind of ministered a lot after the shows.

And sometimes it's, it's hard, but there's always like, there's always at least a couple few people that they know the Lord led them there, and they're and they get they get touched, and they get changed. And I just, I have fun seeing God touch people. And even if it's tears, if it's joy, if it's excitement, I just have fun doing that. So I'm trying to be faithful, you know, in what I have in front of me, and if you're faithful in the small then, then he'll make you faithful and much, and he's doing that a lot, you know, I want to be exactly where I'm supposed to be, because there's no greater peace knowing that you're in the exact same spot you're supposed to be with the Lord. And he's confirmed it over and over, and he's just moving. So I just, you know, I want to know him. That's my biggest motive. I just enjoy him. You

God can reach anybody, right? I mean, of all people,

Brian head Welch for Jesus. And he stepped away from his band for quite a while, and he went back into that arena so that he could minister to people that we and you will never, ever come in contact with, and you see him after the shows, leading people to Jesus, Touching Lives.

Where you at in your understanding of Jesus?

It's a serious question this morning, are you still working under the old system of God? Are you working under the new system of God, the New Covenant gospel. Lastly, the New Covenant gospel gives us freedom. When we choose Jesus, all of our past sins that we've been enslaved to are now forgiven. They're gone. They're no longer in prison, imprisoning us. We're free. Before you say anything, here's what I mean, a man serves his time for the crime, and he's committed, and he has to that he's committed, he has to go to prison,

and then he he does his time, and they let him out, and he enters a free world. Many of them don't know how to act in the free world because they've been told all their life what to do, or all the time in prison, what to do, when to eat, when to go to the bathroom, when to do this, when to get in in groups, or whatever. They're being told, all of that. And then now they're told, now you're free.

What ends up happening is they commit crimes on purpose to go back into the system that they already know because it's easier. They're going to tell me what to do, and that's what we do. When we come to front, confront confrontation with Jesus. We have this, this confrontation with Christ, and yet we choose to go back to prison because it's too hard these over here, I understand this new life. There's too much freedom in it.

Are you telling me I can walk with Christ and still have the world at my fingertips available to me. Yes,

he's trusting you to do the right thing. That's the freedom we have in Christ. See, we're given our freedom in Jesus, and now we have this freedom that we've never had before.

And it's hard.

It's hard. That's why a lot of Christians fail in their Christian life, because they don't know how to they've not been discipled. They don't understand what it means to walk with Jesus. Every day, they still choose the Old Covenant, the old way, even though Jesus has offered him true life.

It's like we want to sin on purpose.

We walk out of here and go bad. Let's do whatever I want to do. It doesn't matter.

Sinning on purpose. We want to see if he's actually going to hold it against us,

send us back to prison.

Not my God,

not my.

God, if you've truly confessed Him as your Lord and Savior, and you've had a relationship with him, he's never going to send you back to prison. He's going to say you're free forever. His guarantee is a sure thing. And I'm going to finish my sermon with this last text, we're free under the new covenant. This is Romans, chapter eight, verses one through four,

therefore there is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ, Jesus, none you're not going to be told you're not doing the right thing. Jesus is never going to bring those sins back up against you and say

there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ, Jesus, because through Christ, Jesus the law of the Spirit. Christ, Jesus the law of the Spirit, who gives us life, has set you free from the law of sin and death, For what the law was powerless to do because it has weakened. It was weakened by the flesh God did by sending His own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, to be a sin offering. Now that's a mouthful.

He became a sin offering on our behalf without being a sinful person. What

Jesus was fully God and fully man at the same time. And he became that offering for you in verse four, in order that the righteousness requirement of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

So all I can do is ask you this morning, are you free?

Are you truly free? Truly free?

John, chapter eight

says this verse 31

the truth has set you free and you have been set free. Indeed,

the truth has set you free and you've been set free. Indeed, listen, church. I know Paul's been hammering that message the whole way through Galatians, but I think it's a real message for the church as well. It's a wake up call to say, are we going to continue in our old ways? Are we going to continue in the new ways? What a great time to start your life fresh December, the first

the Christmas season. Season is upon us. To say you're going to understand who Jesus really is at Christmas this year, because you're going to have a relationship with him. It's not going to be about the gifts and the parties and the glamor. I like all that stuff. I think it's fun. But there's nothing better than have Christ in your life

in lieu of that stuff. Amen.

Listen, church, we have an opportunity to make a decision this morning for Christ. If you're here this morning and you need Jesus to be the Lord of your life, it's as simple as a child can understand. ABC, you admit that you're a sinner, you believe that God sent His Son Jesus on your behalf to forgive you of your sins, and you confess Him as your Lord. ABC, we teach that all the time to our kids, but I think it's something that as adults, we need to learn that as well, admit, believe and confess. If you'll do those three things, I promise you your life will never be the same. Jesus will come, and he'll have room in your heart, and he's going to take residence in your life, and you can live for Him, and you may be here this morning and you've been disconnected from Jesus. Oh. He says, You can always come back. Remember Romans eight. One says, Therefore, now there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ, Jesus. If you come back to Christ, he's not going to say, well, you're going to have to go do this and say, this many our fathers and this many? No, he doesn't do that. He just says, I'm glad you're back. Let's get back to business. Let's get back to what we're supposed to be doing. So if you want to reconnect with him, you come forward and you ask him, would you stand with me? I'm

going to pray this prayer over you. We're going to sing this song and this invitation and this altar is open for you to make a decision for Christ, whether it's for salvation, baptism, church membership, reconnection, whatever that is, whatever God is asking you to do. Choose freedom this morning. Choose the New Covenant gospel. Father, you're good to us. We, thank you God for loving us. We, thank you for your word. We, thank you that you called

Abraham at an old age and you fulfilled that promise, even though it seemed impossible, but God, you specialize in the impossible. We received that word this morning. So this morning, God, as we come here face to face with you, would you speak to those that need to have a relationship with you? Would you give them the courage to come and say, I need Jesus in your name, I pray Amen. Maybe you can't come and there's someone you're sitting next to and you're afraid to come by yourself, grab their hand and bring them down here with you.

Let's go.