If you from sin are longing to be free, look to the Lamb of God. He to redeem you died on Calvary, look to the Lamb of God. For He alone is able to save you, Look to the Lamb of God. When Satan tempts and doubts and fears assail, Look to the Lamb of God. You in His strength shall over all prevail, Look to the Lamb of God Look to the Lamb of God Look to the Lamb of God For He alone is able to save you Look to the Lamb of God Are you weary?

Does the way seem long? Look to the Lamb of God. His love will cheer and fill your heart with song. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. For He alone is able to save you. Look to the Lamb of God. Fear not when shadows on your pathway fall. Look to the Lamb of God. Enjoy your sorrow. Christ is all in all. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. For He alone is able to save you. Look to the Lamb of God.

If you'll be seated, we'll sing hymn number six. Hymn number six. Come Thou Almighty King, Help us Thy name to sing, Help us to praise, Father all-glorious, Lord all-victorious, Come and reign over us, Ancient of days. Come Thou incarnate Word, occurred on Thy mighty sword. Our prayer attend, come and Thy people bless, and give Thy word success, Spirit of holiness, honesty send. Come, holy Comforter, Thy sacred witness bear In this glad hour.

Bow to almighty art, Now rule in every art, And ne'er from us depart Spirit of power. To the great one in three Eternal praises be In sever mood His sovereign majesty May we in glory see And to eternity love and adore Turn with me to Galatians chapter four. Galatians four. Let me start back in verse 4 and read down to verse 11.

For when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Oh, I enjoyed that last week.

And because he asked, you are sons, because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Howbeit then, when you knew not God, you did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements whereunto you desire to be again in bondage? You observe days and months and times and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain.

Lord, in your word, you're called Abba Father. And that's what we call you, our Father, our Father, our Father. Not only our Father and our God by creation, but you are God by your electing grace, by your sovereign mercy, by the grace that you gave us in Christ before the world ever began. Oh, you are God. You told us that you'd be our God and that you'd love us. And oh, to have you to be our God, what a blessing. What a blessing.

So many people in this world don't know you, don't want to know you, don't care to know you. But Lord, there's some people that you made yourself known to, and we want to know you. We want to know what it is to have a relationship with you, to be able to come freely, freely into your presence, to confess, oh, Lord, that without you, we have nothing, know nothing, can do nothing.

And, Lord, it's through you, by you, and because of you and your blessed son that we have this glorious, glorious hope for our future and our eternity. God, we've gathered here tonight to honor you, to worship you, and magnify your holy name. And Lord, we pray for our brothers and sisters who are going through a trial, whose bodies are weak and frail, whose people, oh Lord Jesus, have heartaches and weakness of flesh. And Lord, we again pray for Jim and Debbie, and we pray for Rick and Helen, and for others among us, we bless you that you've enabled us to meet tonight.

Please have mercy on our families. Please have mercy, oh God, on our sons and our daughters. Lord, our children have no hope apart from you, no more than we do. So please meet with us tonight. Bring glory to yourself for Christ's sake. Amen. Find it. We'll try 477. 477. Years I spent in vanity and pride, Caring not my Lord was crucified, Knowing not it was for me He died on Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free. Pardon there was multiplied to me.

There my burdened soul found liberty at God's hand. By God's word at last my sin I learned, Then I tripled at the law I'd spurned, Till my guilty soul and boring turn to Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free. Pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary. Verse 4 Oh, that love that drew salvation's plan, Oh, the grace that brought it down to man, Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free.

Pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary. I asked him, I said, do you know where it is where it says, mercy is great, grace was free? Because I was trying to think of it, because that's what I was thinking of, and he found it for me. And I'm glad he did. All right, let's look back in Galatians 4. I want to deal with verses 8 through 11 this evening, if God would enable me.

Howbeit, you know, he talked about we're no more servants but sons, and if a son, then an heir of God. Then he turns around and says, Howbeit, then when you know not God, you did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements were unto you desired again to be in bondage. Known of God.

You know, Paul was a wise master builder. He said, there's no other foundation can be laid than that which is Christ. And it is God's preachers to build upon that foundation, the same foundation, the apostle said, You know, if you build upon this foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and stubble, the fire will try what work it is. If it's wood, hay, and stubble, it's going to burn up. But if it's gold, silver, and precious stones, then when the fire tries it, it'll be okay. And that's why he's a wise master builder.

But there were these in Galatia that wasn't even trying to build on the foundation of Christ. They weren't even trying to build on the foundation of Christ. A lot of folks don't have any idea that it is the foundation, that there is a foundation. And I tell you what, but they were trying to build their hope.

And so many people do this, try to build their hope upon the law and keeping the law as a rule of life. They try to have their works to commend themselves to God, their merits, their worth, or their ceremonies or their rituals that they go through. But the apostle is very, very wise, very wise, and he's gracious, and yet he's also firm how he deals with these Galatian believers. Here he reminds them of what they were and what they are now. And without God's grace, how they would end up without the grace of God. You know how we would end up without the grace of God? I know how I ended up until God in grace came and done something for me. And it was by grace that he did it. I had no merit. I had no worth. I had no works. I didn't have anything.

But yet he came and gave me grace. And that's what he's saying here now. Without God, and without grace being given, where would these folks end up? And that's why Paul's asking this question. Would you now go back under bondage? Would you desire to be in bondage? Now look at their past, down here in verse 8. This is their past.

Believers, for the gospel was preached to them. He said, how be it How be it, even though you're now Son, God sends forth the Spirit of His Son into your heart. You know, he said, how be it when you knew not God, you did not know God, you had no idea there was a real God, a true God, a God of heaven and earth, when you knew not God. The psalmist said in Psalm 114 and 2, he said, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God for me. And what he's saying is, I wish and I hope that there ain't no God. I hope that there ain't no God.

Not only did they not know him, they didn't want to know him. They were ignorant of him. They were in darkness. Our Lord came and he preached unto them and the light shined in darkness and men loved darkness rather than light. He came unto his own and his own received him not. They're ignorant and they're indoctors.

He said, you served gods. Ain't that what he says, gods? You know, see how those are small? But the God of the Bible's in capitals. But here he says, gods. You served gods. Gods. You did service for them. You did service for them gods. And you did service to them gods. And so these gods that they did were idols. things of their imagination. And I tell you, here's, you know, you know how many people say, well, my God, and this is how they always refer to my God.

He's not like that. He loves everybody. Oh, my God, he would not never mistreat anybody. He would not never. He's got to give everybody a chance. My God would do that. My God would do that. He'd do this or he wouldn't do that. But oh, look over with me in Psalm 115. Look in Psalm 115. Oh, there's, I remember I was ignorant of God. Thought I knew some things about him. And that's what Job said. He said, I heard about you with the hearing of the ear, but now I see you. And I've abhorred myself. I've abhorred myself. But oh my, look what this, you know, my God wouldn't do this or my God wouldn't do that.

Oh, my God wouldn't send anybody to hell. He got to give everybody a chance. But look what he says here in verse four. Their idols are silver and gold. That's gods that they make for themselves. In fact, in the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar made a great old, big, tall statue.

He said, if you don't worship me, we're going to kill you. We'll destroy you. And people had to go and say, if we find anybody worshiping any other god than this one of Nebuchadnezzar, we're going to kill them. If we find you worshiping anybody else.

And oh, my. Oh, the works of men's hands. They got mouths. These little statues got mouths. These crucifixes got mouths. These priests got mouths. These rabbis got mouths. These Pentecostals got mouths. These freewheelers got mouths. But they don't have nothing to say. Huh? They have eyes, but they can't see Christ. They can't see God. They can't understand the scripture. They don't know what God's saying. They don't know. They don't know.

And you know what the greatest idol today is? And I mean it's an idol. It's an idol. The greatest idol today is man's free will. You know, man in his free will has all the power right now. And every preacher anywhere that's not preaching the free grace of God in Christ is preaching free will. And free will's the biggest idol that they are. You attack a man's free will and it makes him fight mad. He wants to argue with you, wants to debate with you.

Free will. And oh, they've got their, I know my rights. I know my rights. God's got to do this for me, and got to do that for me, and got to do this other thing for me. They know that they've got the power. I heard a preacher say one time that God's at the mercy of your sovereign will. Can you imagine a man saying something like that? That God's at the mercy of man's sovereign will? That God's a gentleman and Christ is a gentleman. He would not dare infringe upon your free will.

Oh, they're gods of their own making. Oh, my. Setting up, they know their righteousness, but they don't know nothing about Christ's righteousness. They know how to trust their own works, but they don't know nothing about the work of Christ. Oh my, setting up priests, saints, praying to saints, praying to angels, seeing angels, gods like themselves.

Oh my. And I'll tell you what, he says, you know, after you served other gods, other gods, If a man's ignorant of God, and I know this because I've been there, if a man's ignorant of God, and Paul said, I don't know how many times, brethren, I would not have you to be ignorant. Ignorant. If a man's ignorant of God, God being a sovereign God a power all-powerful God an immutable God an eternal God a spiritual God a God that does supernatural things And I'll tell you what You know, and if they don't worship that God and injured of him there ain't but one alternative to that worship in a false God and worship in a false Christ and They preach another Jesus, they preach by another spirit and believe another gospel.

Oh my. And I tell you what, they make idols out of evolution. There's people now that believe that you can believe the Bible and evolution at the same time. Now how do you do that? How do you do that? How do you believe And the God of the Bible, in all ways, I say, well, evolution, because so much time happened before God said, I'm going to straighten this mess out. And then a great big boom happened one time. Here we all are. That's idols, idols, evolution, science, and church, church, church, church, church, church, made an idol out of church.

They never talk about, let's go hear Christ. Let's go hear the gospel. They all say, well, we gotta go to church. We gotta go to church. Well, we really need to go to church. Well, the church is not this building. Let's go worship Christ. Let's go hear about what Christ has to say. Go hear the gospel.

But oh my, and they're left to their opinions and their feelings. Oh, people don't want their feelings hurt. I tell you what, our Lord hurt his, you know, he hurt those men's feelings so bad that they said, we'll crucify you, we'll not have you to reign over us. And what, they're gonna stone him one day, said, what are you gonna stone me for? For what good work you gonna stone me? We're not gonna stone you for good work because you being a man, you're just a man.

And you're making yourself to be God and that can't be possible. ain't possible, then there ain't no salvation for nobody if He wasn't God made in a man and come in a man. And when they knew not God, ain't that what it says there in verse 8? When you knew not God. God is the only and right God of heaven and earth and the only one worthy of worship and of knowing.

The God, that big God there says where it's got the capital letters. But look at what a change took place in him. I love this verse 9. And this is one of Paul's favorite sayings, but now. He says that so many places. He'll paint this picture and he'll say, but now. This is the way it is now. And oh, he says, but now. Now watch this. Watch how he phrases this.

After that you have known God. And then he changes up and says rather are known of God. You know why you know God? Because God know you. But after you've known God, or rather have known of God, known of God, God knoweth them that are His. But now after you've known God, how does anybody know God? How does anybody know God?

I mean, I don't know about Him. I mean, know Him. Know Him. Know Him. Acquainted with Him. Rest in Him. Rejoice in Him. How in the world does anybody know God? Well, there's only one place you can know God at, and that's in Christ. Only one place. You know where God manifested Himself at? In His Son. The son was in the bosom of the father, but he come and declared him, told him out.

Oh, Philip, show us the father and we'll be satisfied. We won't bother you anymore. Philip, have you been with me such a long time and you've not seen the father? Who do you think's been doing this work? And all by the gospel. Our Lord says, no man, no man, no man. unto the Father, but by me. You're going to go to God, and God's going to come to you. He got to do it through His Son. I love that. I just love that. I love that, that God's made a way for us to approach Him, and God made a way for us to be known of God enough for us to know God. And God did that, sending His Son into this world.

Oh, bless His name. And He says, Our Lord, praying to His Father, He just got through talking to all his disciples, telling them about leaving them, and you know, and how you'd see him again. And then he turned, lifted up his eyes, started praying to his father. And the second thing, verse of that says, Father, thou hast given him, me, all power, all power in heaven and earth, that I, I, eternal life to as many as thou hast given me. And this is life eternal, that they know God and the Son. Let me see. Oh, I love the way God does things. I just love it. Don't you? Ain't you grateful? You know, how many times have we said, if we laid out, if we had anything to do with it, be a mess. It'd be no hope. But if we have, we don't have our fingerprints on any of this business of salvation. Our fingerprints ain't on nowhere.

Oh, He saves us from ignorance to know God. And then I love this right here, or rather, are known of God. Now, I tell you what, when you're known of God, this is grace language here. This is grace language. This is sovereign grace language. Our Lord Jesus says, I know, I know my sheep. I know them. I know who they are. I know where they are. I know how they are. I know them. When he turns around and tells a bunch of others, says, I never knew you. But there's never a time that he said that about us. Oh, known of God. I know my sheep, our Lord said.

He told Jeremiah, before I formed you in the belly, I ordained you to be a prophet. He said, before I formed you in your mother's belly, before you was ever conceived in your mother's womb, I ordained you something. as many as were ordained to eternal life, predestinated to eternal life, take it any way you want to, they believe. Oh my, the sovereign grace. Paul says, you know, when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb.

And this is what it says, to reveal, to reveal. His Son in me. Reveal His Son to me. Oh, my. Known of God. Oh, to be known of God. Look over here in 1 Thessalonians 1. Well, you know, we turn from idols. 1 Thessalonians 1. Look what it says down in verse 9. Oh my. For they themselves show us what manner of entering in we had unto you. Now watch this. And how you turn to God, turn to God from idols to the true and living God. You turn from idols, where'd you go? To God. That's what conversion is. Turn it. Turn it. Oh, my.

And this says here, known of God. Known of God. You know, God knew us, and He's always knew us. For whom He foreknew, for them He foreloved. And oh, my. Known of God in Christ. before the foundation of the world. Grace was given us in Christ before the foundation of the world. We were chosen in Christ before God ever laid the foundation. And that's why he asked Job, where was you, Job, when I laid the foundation? And before God ever laid a foundation in this earth, He chose us in Christ, knew us in Christ.

Christ stood as a lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and because He stood as that lamb, God could look on us and choose us and elect us and predestinate us and cause Christ to die for us because He stood in our stead before the world ever began. I believe that with all my heart. I do, I believe that. You know the reason God knew me and I'm known of God?

He did that way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way back yonder. Father, you and I can go. Hermione can't go there. We can't, you know, we can't even go into tomorrow. But to go back there, what he done, Oh, my. Oh, chosen in him, redeemed by him, adopted sons, loved before we ever existed. Oh, my.

Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies them. My Lord says, no, you're not. You've not chosen me, but I've chosen you and I ordained you. I did that. I did that. I ordained you. And then look what he says about him now. In verse 9.

But now after you have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn you again to weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage? How do you turn again? You going to turn back? Turn from this freedom you have in Christ? Turn from knowing God and being known of God? Turn from being sons and heirs of God? You're gonna turn from that?

You've been taught by God? You've been heard the gospel? You see, Paul said, Christ has been set evidently before you. He said, you've begun in the Spirit, you're gonna be now made flesh. How turn you again? Oh, you that have seen the light, Enjoyed the liberty of Christ and the love of God in Christ.

How are you gonna turn? back You're gonna leave the liberty of Christ and turn back to the weak They got no strength This gosh this law and these works and stuff beggarly cause them beggarly elements They ain't got no wealth to them they ain't got no worth to them they ain't got no substance to them weak and beggarly elements Oh, my. And you go back, is that because you desire to be under bondage after Christ set you free? You desire to go back and be under bondage again? Huh? Oh, my. Weak. You were in bondage once to idols. Now you're going to now turn to law ceremonies that just bring you in bondage and idolatry?

Oh, there's been so many people, so many people, that when God taught them the gospel, and they started teaching people the gospel, these churches would exclude them, put them out, say, we can't stand that. When I first started preaching the gospel back years ago, and They believed that Christ wasn't going to come as a king until he set up his kingdom in Jerusalem for a thousand years. And I got up and preached out Acts 17 that there's another king, even Jesus, and he's king now. If he ain't king now, he's never going to be a king. And I preached that Christ died for a particular people. He died for his elect. Preacher got up and said, this guy's a heretic. I want him out of here. I want him out of here. I want him excluded. I tell you what, you're better on the outside than you are inside.

Ain't that right? If it don't have the gospel. And that same preacher that did that, that he was mean, oh my goodness, he'd stand up and be preaching, you know, If you look at me like that again, I'll throw this songbook at you. Stupid stuff like that. Oh boy, I'm telling you.

I'm so grateful. But why would you go back? Why would you go back to rituals? Why would you go back to ceremonies? Why do you go back to elementary worthless things? such as circumcision, holy days, and meads and drinks, which can do nothing for you before God, can't do anything for you before God. They can't make you acceptable. They can't make you righteous. They can't make you better. They can't do anything for you. And Paul is amazed that these professed believers would want to be in bondage to things that Christ set them free from. And look what he says down here now in verse 10.

You observe days. You know, the Jews have served days. They had so many days that they observed. They served seven days eating unleavened bread before the Passover. They observed certain holy days. They observed the Sabbath from Friday night, six o'clock to six o'clock Saturday evening.

But oh my, these are days. And months. Oh, certain months. These are certain months of the year. You know, new moons. The harvest month. Beginning of months. Oh my. They kept religious feasts. Years, new moons, beginning. Religious feasts, abstaining from work. Then it talked about times. Times, you know what times they kept?

Three times during the year, just males, just males, were supposed to come to Jerusalem. They come for the Feast of Tabernacles, they come for the Passover, and they come for Pentecost. Those three things they had to come every year for. And oh my, they had to do that three times, three feasts every year. And then he talked about years, years. You observe years. You know, under the law, they had what they call sabbatical years. Sabbatical years.

That means every seventh year, your field had to lay dormant. You didn't plow it. You didn't plant it. You didn't do anything. The seventh year, it was a year of rest for the property, a year of rest for the land. You didn't do anything to it. You just left it there. You didn't do nothing. Seven years, and that's what they'd do. Then a year, fields were to be idle, no plowing, no planting.

And these Gentiles, this is something that people don't understand, were never under these things. Being drawn into them, but these people were being drawn into them. Weak, no strength to do anything for you. Beggarly elements, no wealth, no riches. Can't make you worth anything or can't make you acceptable in any way. Now look what he said about him in verse 11.

I'm afraid of you. I am afraid of you. I am. I'm afraid of you. What are you afraid of, Paul? Lest I bestowed upon you my labor, the labor that I brought, the labor in the gospel. It's vain. It's useless. It won't amount to anything. I'm afraid for you. But let me tell you something.

The gospel's never in vain. Never. The real, true gospel is never in vain. It may look like it. It's been a long time since we had anybody make a profession of faith here. But listen, the gospel don't go forth in vain. You know, we always cause the triumph in Christ. But in reference to these Galatians, Paul is saying, if you continue to listen, and to follow these lawmongers, these Judaizers, that add anything, and they add to Christ's redemptive works, then the gospel I've preached unto you is in vain. Salvation can't be by grace and works, is what he's telling.

Now, look over in Galatians 2.21. Let me wind this thing up. I do not frustrate the grace of God. I ain't gonna, I ain't gonna frustrate grace. I'm not gonna change it from any other thing that it's ever meant to do.

For if righteousness by the law, you know what amounts to then? Then Christ died in vain. There was no need for Christ. Now look in Galatians 5, 1. Stand fast. Galatians 5, Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty, the freedom, wherewith Christ hath made us free. If the Son makes you free, you're free indeed. And be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Don't do that.

Behold, I, Paul, say unto you, that if you be circumcised in order to make yourself acceptable to Christ, Christ will profit you nothing. Now that's scary, ain't it? Christ will profit you nothing. If you Gentiles want to go and be a Jew, say Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again, I'm going to tell you again, any man that is circumcised, that he's a debtor to do the whole law. And oh, this is incredible when you think about it. become of no effect unto you. His work is not effectual, His blood is not effectual, His cross is not effectual, His righteousness is not effectual.

Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever are you who justified by the law. And you know what he says? You know what you do when you do that? You fell from grace. Grace will not have anything to do with that. You can't believe grace and believe that same time. Can't do it. Wouldn't you agree with that? Oh, listen, you know how blessed we are. Oh, how blessed we are. How blessed we are that God didn't leave us to our sin. How blessed we are.

Our Father, precious name, blessed name, glorious name, saving name, strong name, powerful name, the only name under heaven whereby we must be saved, the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, we come with thanksgiving and joy in our hearts that you and your wondrous grace, wondrous grace, Oh my, where mercy was great and grace was free. And you came, done for us what we could not do for ourselves, and you keep doing for us what we cannot do. And we're so thankful for it.

God bless these dear saints. Meet the needs of their hearts, their lives, their homes, their bodies, their strength. Be everything to them, Lord Jesus. We bless you and praise you in his name. Amen. He's the Savior of my soul Jesus, my Jesus He's the Savior of my soul He's the Savior of my soul. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. He's the Savior of my soul. He's the Savior of my soul. And there ain't nobody else, just Him and Him alone. I'll see you Sunday, God willing. Lord bless you.