Alright, let's turn to Galatians
chapter 4. Galatians chapter 4, and we're going to read verse 21. ye that desire to be under the
law. Do ye not hear the law? The natural mind knows that there
is a God. And the natural mind knows that
God is our creator. And because He is our creator,
He is our judge. We're told in Hebrews 4.13 that
all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom
we have to do. And you may recall the description
of Adam and Eve when they had eaten of the fruit of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil. We're told that their eyes
were opened. And they knew that they were
naked. They saw as God sees. Everything's
naked before the Lord. He knows our shame. He knows
our sin. He knows our nakedness. Nothing's
hid from the true and living God. And we were in Adam when
he sinned and when he knew that. And so we know. We know that
we are naked before the true and living God. And we know that
we shall face him in the judgment, in the day of judgment. We're
told that it is appointed unto man once to die. And after that, the judgment,
the judgment. Now, the scriptures confirm this
very truth to us, that we know, we know. In Romans chapter one,
in verse 18 and 19, we're told that the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known
of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them. God shown every one of us that
He is God, that He is our Creator, and we shall stand before him
in the day of judgment." Now, because this is so, there's a
natural desire in man. There's a natural desire that's
in man, and we know that the natural man is enmity in God,
against God. The natural mind is enmity against
God. And this natural desire in man
seeks to find a refuge from God. The natural mind seeks to find
a refuge from God. He doesn't seek reconciliation
with God, he seeks a refuge from God. The scriptures tell us that
no man seeketh after God. The natural mind is not seeking
after God. He's not looking to be reconciled
to God. He's seeking a refuge from God. He's trying to hide himself from
God. I'm going to read from Genesis
3, verse 8. Why don't you turn there? I want
you to see this. Genesis 3, 8. We see that Adam
sought a refuge from God. Genesis 3, 8. Adam had just taken a bite of
the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And
when he did that, he and Eve knew that they were naked. Their
eyes were open and they were naked, and no sooner had they
got some fig leaves together and sewed them together to try
and cover their nakedness. But that in verse 8 it says,
they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in
the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves
from, see that, from the presence of the Lord God among the trees
of the garden. They sought a refuge from God,
didn't they? They sought a refuge from God
among the trees of the garden. Another example where man is
found seeking a refuge from God, look over at Revelation. Go to
Revelation chapter 6, the last book in the Bible. Revelation
6, and we'll pick up in verse 15. The Lord's showing us that from the
beginning of the book to the end of the book, The natural
man, the natural mind of man is enmity against God and he
seeks a refuge from God. He's trying to hide from God
in his sin. It says verse 15, and the kings
of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief
captains, and the mighty men. and every bondman and every free
man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains
and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us
from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath
of the lamb. For the great day of his wrath
has come and who shall be able to stand? We see they're seeking
a refuge from God. That's man. That's the testimony
of man. He seeks a refuge from God. You know, I remember, I
think it's been about 10 years now, I was reading an article
in the New Yorker magazine, the New Yorker magazine, and it was
telling us about all these wealthy people buying these homes underground. There was some investor purchasing
missile silos, I guess that were used for ICBMs, Intercontinental
Ballistic Missiles, and they were converting them into dwelling
places. They were building floors and
rooms on those floors for people who could afford it to live in
them if there was ever a need to hide out, to protect oneself
underground. So I saw that and then I kept
seeing these articles and I think it was two years ago Michelle
and I were driving east of Springfield. I think we were on Sunshine Road
going to look at a chicken coop. And I look over on the right
side and I see this ugly structure. It was just a tan concrete type
structure. It wasn't pretty at all. It looked
like the FBI building in Washington, D.C., just ugly. It was about
one story high off the ground only. And that's because it was
a dump, what's called a deep underground military base. And
so all the building was under the ground. And there's things
like that around the country, and I guess in other countries
as well. And in fact, I even saw a TV program before I ever
moved here that there's some guy, a wealthy guy, a rich man,
and he had bought or purchased, or I'm sorry, built a castle. in going down towards Branson
and underneath supposedly he has some structures down there
underground and some passageways, roadways that could actually
carry a tractor trailer or something like that supposedly. So you
see that there's people for whatever reason building structures to
hide out from whatever they think is going to be. Now I don't know
what it's going to be like in that day. I don't know whether
they'll have any time but to think about it, but to cry out
when Christ comes again. But today, in our day, right
now, there are men and women crying out for the mountains
and the rocks to fall on them, looking to Mount Sinai. Fall
on us! Cover me! Use stones of the tablets
of the law. Fall on me. Cover me from the
face of the Lamb. Hide me from Him. They're calling
to the law. They're looking to the law for
a righteousness to provide a refuge from the face of God, who shall
meet them in judgment. They're going to meet God in
judgment. Paul asks, tell me. Ye that desire
to be under the law. Do you not hear the law? You're
going to be crushed under the law. If you seek a refuge from
the face of God under the law, you shall be crushed. It will not save you. It shall
not deliver you in that day. You shall come under the curse
of the law and be crushed by it. Our Lord was saying something
very relevant to this. Turn over to Luke 14. Luke 14. Let's go to verse 31. Our Lord says there in Luke 14,
verse 31, Or what king? going to make war against another
king, sitteth not down first and consulteth whether he be
able with 10,000 to meet him that cometh against him with
20,000. Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth
an embassage and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever
he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, He cannot be
my disciple." If you would have peace with God, not need to run
from God and hide from Him, but if you would have peace with
God, there is reconciliation provided in the blood of the
Lamb for sinners. That is where we find peace with
God, in the blood of the Lamb. being reconciled to God. There's
no need for a refuge from God in the blood of the Lamb because
He reconciles us to the Father. There's peace, there's fellowship,
there's friendship, and love, and comfort, and joy in the blood
of the Lamb. We need a reconciliation with
God, not a refuge from God. And that reconciliation is provided
freely, fully, sovereignly, sufficiently in the blood of the Lamb of God. And that's the difference between
the natural mind, which is enmity against God, and the new man,
which is born of the Spirit of God and dwells in the people
of God. And they dwell in the Son of
God, their salvation, their hope. One seeks a refuge from God in
the law where it's cold. It's a dead letter religion that
cannot save, that cannot protect and deliver. And he seeks salvation
in coldness, in darkness, in death and things that provide
no covering, while the other, born of the Spirit of God, seeks
reconciliation with the Father and the Son of God, in Him, believing
Him, trusting Him, knowing that He is the Savior of their souls,
knowing that we have no hope but in Christ alone. Look to
the Son of God. He is the righteousness and peace
whom God has provided for His Son. Now Paul describes going
to the law as a desire. It appeals to this flesh. The natural mind, the natural
man desires this law, this going to the law. And we saw from Revelation
6 that it's because we're trying to preserve ourselves. It's about
self-preservation. It's about self-righteousness
and thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think.
It's about protecting ourselves. And this desire is not of the
spirit of God. This desire to hide from God
and find a refuge from God is of the flesh. It's wicked. It's of the flesh. It's darkness.
It's evil. It's about keeping God at bay.
which means it's about keeping him at a distance. Just stay
back. I got this. I'm doing what you asked me to
do, Lord. I'm angry about it. I'm bitter. I'm not happy, but
I'm doing what you said for me to do. Just stay back. Stay back. And that's why the flesh turns
to the law. It's looking to be justified.
It wants peace. It wants to be comforted. It
wants assurance that everything's fine, but the flesh is looking
in all the wrong places. It's not looking for reconciliation.
It's looking for peace from God. And therefore, the flesh doesn't
seek after the Lord. He never looks to God for peace. He doesn't look to God for comfort.
He doesn't look to the Lord for the assurance of faith, which
is given in Christ. Now, one of the examples that
Paul had referenced in this letter to the Galatians And showing
us where the flesh goes is seen in verse 10, so Galatians 4 verse
10, let's look there. And Paul points out that these
Galatians which had been charmed by the appeal of circumcision,
by the appeal of doing something in the flesh like circumcision,
moving on from Christ and getting themselves circumcised. They
had done some more things. They didn't stop there. And he
says in verse 10, ye observed days and months and times and
years. And when I read that, it reminds
me of a time in my life when I was under great duress. I was very stressed and I was
greatly afraid and shaken. And there was only so much that
I could do each month to help myself, to work myself out of
the trouble that I had brought myself into. And because I could only do so
much, I had to sit and wait. I had to wait and wait. And what I began to do was, each
day I, well, one day I woke up and I made the bed. And then
I went downstairs and I put the dog out. And I brought the dog
in. And if there were some dishes
on the counter, I could put the dishes in the dishwasher or I
could empty the dishwasher. I could take the garbage out
and put it in the garbage can. And on the days when it was going
to be picked up, I could take that garbage can out to the curb.
And when I got home from work, I could bring that garbage can
back up from the curb and put it next to the house. And I liked
that. It gave me something to do. And I felt some comfort in that
because I was in control of something. I had control. I could do certain
things until the next time there was something else to do. And
that's what's so appealing about the law to the flesh. It makes
us feel like, hey, I'm in control. I'm doing the little things that
I have to do. I'm keeping things moving forward,
and I'm doing what I need to do. It's about getting things
done, and it gives us that sense that we are in control rather
than depending on and waiting upon the Lord, rather than trusting
the true and living God. And so when we're doing the law,
we're trying to ensure that we are laying up for ourselves some
kind of refuge against the judgment of God that we might bring that
judgment down and that we would be accepted and received by the
Lord. We're laying up, by the works
of the law, something to help ourselves against that day of
judgment. But there's no love in that.
There's no life in the law. There's no peace in the law. There's no fellowship with God
in the law. There's only a working, a laboring
under fear and threat of judgment and worry. That's no hiding place
for you that believe. the Lord Jesus Christ. For you
who have no righteousness, the law is no hiding place." And
yet we see the Galatians were desiring that. They were desiring
it. And Paul asked them in Galatians
4.15, he asked, where then is the blessedness he spake of? Where's that blessedness? Where's
the life? the love, the fellowship that
you spoke of, that joy rejoicing that you just poured out of you,
hearing of Christ and what he's done to put away the sins of
his people. The law is fleshly. The law is
carnal. And in the hands of man, it's
enmity against God because man is fallen. dead in trespasses
and sins, whereas faith is not of this flesh. Faith is of the
Spirit. Faith is of the Spirit of God,
whereby we walk in the light of God, having fellowship with
Him, walking in the Spirit by faith, trusting His Word, believing
His Word, hoping in the promises which He has made to us freely
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're confident in God that
we live by His Son, in the Son, and that we by Him are the adopted
sons and daughters of God. There's love there. There's rejoicing
in Christ, and we're thankful. We're thankful that we're not
under the law, and under condemnation, and in darkness, and coldness,
and threats, and worries, and doubts. We have the blessedness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a blessing. The appeal of
the law is a fleshly appeal, and it's not of the spirit. Look
now at Galatians 5, 5 and 6. Galatians chapter 5, verse 5
and 6. Paul said, we through the spirit,
not the law, through the spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness
by faith. When I was waiting, I was doing
things by the law to feel some kind of comfort in keeping the
thread of what word me at bay. But we, brethren, wait for the
hope of righteousness which God has promised to us in His Son,
Jesus Christ. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision
availeth anything nor uncircumcision. The flesh profiteth nothing,
but faith which worketh by love." There's the blessedness. There's
the blessedness that the child of God speaks of. We've been
given faith by the Lord, and he's formed love in our hearts
for him, establishing us in the blood of Christ to have fellowship
with God, to be at peace with him, to not be trying to work
our own righteousness and our own salvation, resting in the
Lord Jesus Christ. If you believe in Christ, don't
be turned to the law for help. And if you do, Paul, the Apostle
John wrote, you've left your first love. You've left your
first love in turning from Christ, looking to the law. If ever you
did love him, you've left your first love. Now, the next thing
Paul asks in verse 21 is, do ye not hear the law? Don't you hear what the law is
saying to every son and daughter of Adam? It's cursing you. It's calling curses upon you. Look there at Galatians 3.10.
This is where we hear this. Galatians 3.10, Paul says, for as many as are
of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written,
Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. Once you look to the law
for your righteousness, for your help, any help in salvation,
you're under the curse. Well, I look to the law for wisdom.
I get wisdom from the law. I look to the law for righteousness.
Well, I wouldn't do that, but I look to the law for my sanctification. It cleans me up, makes me holy,
makes me feel good to stand before God. I look to the law for sanctification. Well, you might as well look
to the law for redemption then. because that's what you're saying.
But God makes Christ all those things to the child of God. God
hath made Christ to be wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption to the child of God, so that he is all our boast
and all our confidence. And looking to the law, that's
just like looking to those little things like days and months and
times and years. And Paul says, cursed is everyone
that continue. Or rather, the scriptures say,
cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things to do them,
that do everything in the law. Now turn over to Deuteronomy
27. We should see that this is where Paul takes that verse from,
Deuteronomy 27. We're going to go to the last
verse, verse 26. All right, Deuteronomy 27, 26,
there it says, Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words
of this law to do them, and all the people shall say, Amen. Now look up at the verse before
that, verse 25, and the first word in that verse says what?
Curse it. Look at verse 24, the first word
there says curse it. And just scan your eye up each
verse. Curse it, curse it, curse it,
curse it. Verse 19, curse it, curse it,
curse it, curse it. Verse 15, cursed. Cursed. Cursed is everyone who
practices idolatry and worships a false god. Cursed is everyone
who doesn't honor their parents. Cursed is everyone who steals
from their neighbor, and so on. And it's twelve times just in
those verses. And that's just a few of the
laws contained in the commandment of the Lord. That's just a few
of them. It's there twelve times. And what our Lord is, what he's
showing us there is that, well, even when you get to the end
there, even if you think that you found a way to justify yourself
before the law, and even if you think you've got an excuse to
excuse yourself from one of the laws, or maybe you didn't understand
that it meant that, or maybe you just forgot. I forgot. I
forgot. That's no excuse. You've bound
yourself with a curse under the law. Eternal death, separation
from the true and living God. You're under the curse. Cursed
be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. No excuses. You're confirming,
whether I understand it or not, this law is true. It's true,
and I've bound myself under the curse. And all the people shall
say amen. Not if you agree to this, just
you're saying amen. You're bound under the curse
of the law. Well, think of that man who on
the Sabbath day, right? He had just, the law had just
been given. Just been given. And now it was the Sabbath day.
And this man goes outside and he picks up sticks. He picks
up sticks. And they said, what are you doing?
I said, I'm just getting some sticks. I got to warm myself.
I got to prepare some nourishment for myself. I have some needs
I need to take care of, and I'm getting some sticks. And others
ask, what's he doing? It doesn't matter what he's doing.
It doesn't matter what his excuse is. You're under the curse. You're
under the curse. You must be put to death. Gather
up the stones, boys. We got to put this man to death.
He's breaking the law. He was working on the Sabbath
day instead of resting. That's what he was doing. He
was working instead of resting. And that's what everyone is doing. who claims to believe that the
Lord Jesus Christ is their peace and their rest before God, their
righteousness before God, but believes, yet I've got to do
works in the law. And the very act of observing
the Sabbath day for sanctification or righteousness, that very act
of observing a day in the week, is actually working and breaking
the rest of that Sabbath day. Because that Sabbath speaks of
Christ. He is the Sabbath rest of his
people. And so doing a work under the
law is actually breaking the law. Because you're working when
you should be resting in Christ. And you're trying to work a righteousness
for yourself. You're saying, I need some sticks.
warm myself. I need to make a little spark,
a little light before God. I'm just trying to get the flame
and get myself worked up for the Lord. Yeah, you're working.
You're not resting in Christ. You're laboring for your rest
and your peace. And that's contrary to the Lord. That's actually breaking the
law because you're not resting in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so that there is rebellion
against God who said, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased. Here ye Him, He's the rest that
I've provided. Cease from your labors for righteousness
and trying to work a righteousness and a justification for yourselves,
for trying to make a refuge for yourselves from God. Be reconciled
in the Lord Jesus Christ. The correct hearing of the law
is found in Romans 3 verse 19 and 20. And it says there, In Romans 3, 19 and 20, now we
know that what thing soever the law saith, it saith to them who
are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all
the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds
of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For
by the law is the knowledge of sin. Now you brethren who believe
Christ, who look to Christ, you hear what the law sayeth. You
know because you've been taught by the Lord. We know that I'm
dead in trespasses and sins in Adam. We know I have no righteousness
and I cannot make a righteousness for myself under the law. In my flesh I am condemned. Apart
from Christ I have no hope before the true and living God. We need
the righteousness which God has provided. We need that reconciliation
to God, our Creator. We must be found in the One whom
He has provided and sent, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of
God. He came and bore witness to the
true and living God and told us the truth, working perfect
righteousness, having no sin or guile in Him, and He went
to the cross as the Lamb of God, taking His people in Himself,
bearing our sins in His own body on the tree to make an atonement. a covering for our sin, to put
away our sin and wickedness, to put away our death in Adam,
to deliver us from all our wickedness and made a righteousness for
us before God. He is our very righteousness. He is the hope of the child of
God. He is the promise of God made
unto his people. chosen in Him before the foundation
of the world, and His blood redeemed us, purchased His people, delivering
them from death. and darkness and the prison and
the bondage of the law and gives us life by his spirit who reveals
Christ in us, who gives us that hope of righteousness in him
and looks to him for all our salvation and comfort before
our God. And so this flesh, this flesh
wants to look for a refuge from the true and living God. But
we look to Christ, who said, if you believe not that I am
he, you shall die in your sins. There's no refuge apart from
Christ. But thanks be to God, we have more than a refuge. We
don't have a refuge from God. We have reconciliation with God
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the blessed, precious Savior
whom God has provided. Look to Him. Believe Him. Call
out to Him for mercy and salvation, for God promises that all who
believe Him shall receive the forgiveness of sins, and they
shall not be ashamed in that day, for they shall not be naked
before Him who sees all things, but they shall be robed in the
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Alright Brevin, let's close in
prayer and then we'll be dismissed for 15 minutes. Our gracious
Lord, we thank you, Father, for your grace. We thank you, Lord,
for your mercy. We thank you, Lord, that you
do not leave us to ourselves and this flesh, but you have
delivered us from the desire of the flesh to find a refuge
from you. that instead, living by the life
of Christ, being given His spirit and life in Him, we now seek
reconciliation and find that reconciliation which you've given
freely in your Son. Lord, thank you. Help us to rest
in our Savior, not trying to add a righteousness by our works,
not trying to sanctify ourselves or or find peace by the things
that we do or assurance from those things, but let us find
all our peace, all our comfort, all our assurance, all our forgiveness
in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. It's in his name we pray and
give thanks. Amen.